85th Academy Awards – 'Best Production Design’

  

I am 2 for 3 in this category.

Formerly known as ‘Best Art Direction’, this category still honors the work of Art Directors and Set Decorators; which begs the question… “Why change the name?”    Well, there are a couple reasons:

1.       The ‘Best Art Direction’ award was governed by the Academy’s ‘Art Direction Branch’.  However, the ‘Art Direction Branch’ also governed the award for ‘Best Costume Design’.  So, in an attempt to give Art Direction and Costume Design equal footing within the same branch, the ‘Art Direction Branch’ was renamed to the ‘Designers Branch’.

2.      Then, the newly formed ‘Designers Branch’ noted that the ‘Best Art Direction’ Oscar honors both Art Directors AND Set Decorators, not just Art Directors.  And by calling the category ‘Best Art Direction’ it marginalizes the work of the Set Decorator.  So, in order to give more equal footing to the two components of the category, the ‘Designer Branch’ renamed the award to more accurately describe the collaboration of an Art Director and Set Decorator, aka ‘Production Design’. 

That said, the role and voting procedures for Production Design (aka Art Direction) has not changed at all, so read more about it in last year’s post:  84^th Academy Awards – Best Art Direction.

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Nominations:

·         Anna Karenina

o   Sarah Greenwood – 4^th nomination. 

o   Katie Spencer – 4^th nomination.

This team has previously been nominated together for Pride & Prejudice, Atonement, and Sherlock Holmes.

They have also been nominated for the BAFTA Award, Broadcast Film Critics Association Award, San Diego Film Critics Society Award, Satellite Award, and Washington DC Area Film Critics Association Award.  They have already won the Hollywood Film Festival.

·         The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

o   Dan Hennah – 5^th nomination.  1 win for LOTR: The Return of the King.

o   Ra Vincent – 1^st nomination.

o   Simon Bright – 2^nd nomination.

Hennah has been nominated for all three Lord of the Rings films and King Kong.  Bright was nominated alongside Hennah for the latter.

Although the Lord of the Rings films received a butt load of nominations throughout the series, the Academy was fairly conservative when it came to actually handing them awards until the final installment as a way to honor the whole series.  I expect the Academy to take the same approach with The Hobbit.

This team has also been nominated for the Broadcast Film Critics Association Award.

·         Les Miserables

o   Eve Stewart – 3^rd nomination.

o   Anna Lynch-Robinson – 1^st nomination.

Stewart was previously nominated for The King’s Speech and Topsy-Turvy.  I think they have a real shot at the Oscar this year.

So far they have been nominated for the BAFTA Award, Broadcast Film Critics Association Award, San Diego Film Critics Society Award, Satellite Award, and the Washington DC Area Film Critics Association Award.

·         Life of Pi

o   David Gropman – 2^nd nomination.

o   Anna Pinnock – 3^rd nomination.

Gropman was previously nominated for The Cider House Rules.  And Ann Pinnock was previously nominated for Gosford Park and The Golden Compass.

Life of Pi is a stunning film and I would love to see these guys take home the Oscar, however, the competition this year is very tight.  They are also nominated for the BAFTA Award and the Broadcast Film Critics Association Award.

·         Lincoln

o   Rick Carter – 4^th nomination.  1 win for Avatar.

o   Jim Erickson – 2^nd nomination.

In addition to winning for Avatar, Carter has also been nominated for Forrest Gump and War Horse.  Erickson was previously nominated for There Will Be Blood.

They have also been nominated for the BAFTA Award, Broadcast Film Critics Association Award, Satellite Award, and the Washington DC Area Film Critics Association Award.

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Snubs:

Cloud Atlas may be the biggest snub of the year.  They have already won the Washington DC Area Film Critics Association Award and the San Diego Film Critics Society Award.  And say what you will about the film… the team behind Cloud Atlas had to create six different worlds, which was pretty impressive.

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Oscar Trends:

There are no real trends for this category… at least none that I can see.  So… I gotta go with my gut.  But I might change my mind when more awards start flowing.

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Prediction: 

1.      Life of Pi

2.     Anna Karenina

3.     Lincoln

4.     Les Miserables

5.     The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Best/Worst: Robert De Niro

In honor of Robert De Niro’s seventh Oscar nomination, I thought it would be fun to take a closer look at the best and worst of his career.  So here it is… the Robert De Niro dynamic list!

1.      The Taxi Driver

De Niro will, more than likely, never be better than this.

2.     The Godfather Part II

3.     Jackie Brown

Most people don’t seem to like Jackie Brown.  I think it’s because it was the movie Quentin Tarantino made after Pulp Fiction and it just wasn’t Pulp Fiction enough.  Personally, I love this movie and I think De Niro is hilarious as the soft spoken pot smoking ex-con.

4.     Ronin

This is totally an underrated film!

5.     Sleepers

6.     The Deer Hunter

7.     Awakenings

8.    Goodfellas

9.     Meet the Parents

10.Wag the Dog

11.  Analyze This

12. Raging Bull

13. Casino

14. Heat

15. Cop Land

16. This Boy’s Life

De Niro’s first collaboration with Leonardo DiCaprio.  Great movie.

17. Stanley & Iris

18.Cape Fear

19. Flawless

20.           Marvin’s Room

21. Brazil

22.            The Mission

23.            City by the Sea

24.            Midnight Run

25.            The Score

26.            Meet the Fockers

27.Great Expectations

28.           15 Minutes

29.            Guilty by Suspicion

30.           We’re No Angels

31. The Untouchables

32.            Mean Streets

33.            Backdraft

34.            Analyze That

35.            The King of Comedy

36.            Once Upon a Time in America

37.The Fan

38.           Men of Honor

39.            A Bronx Tale

40.           Showtime

41. New York, New York

42.            Little Fockers

By the time Little Focker can around, I think the franchise was played out.  And I think De Niro was just playing a caricature of his original character.

43.            Sharks Tale

44.            Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein

45.            Machete

46.            The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle

47.Stardust

Oh man.  You MUST avoid Stardust!!!

Haven’t Seen

·         Three Rooms in Manhattan

·         Greetings

·         Sam’s Song

·         The Wedding Party

·         Bloody Mama

·         Hi, Mom!

·         Jennifer on My Mind

·         Born to Win

·         The Gang That Counldn’t Shoot Straight

·         Bang the Drum Slowly

·         1900

·         The Last Tycoon

·         True Confessions

·         Falling in Love

·         Angel Heart

·         Jackknife

·         Night and the City

·         Mistress

·         Mad Dog and Glory

·         A Hundred and one Nights

·         Godsend

·         The Bridge of San Luis

·         Hide and Seek

·         Arthur and the Invisibles

·         The Good Shepherd

·         Righteous Kill

·         What Just Happened

·         Everybody’s Fine

·         Stone

·         Manuale d’amore 3

·         Killer Elite

·         Limitless

·         New Year’s Eve

·         Being Flyn

·         Red lights

·         Freelancers

·         Silver Lining Playbook

85th Academy Awards – 'Best Cinematography’

I am only 1 for 3 in this category, however, out of the six categories I missed last year, this one hurt the most.  All of the indicators were pointing towards Emmanuel Lubezki for The Tree of Life… however, it just wasn’t meant to be. 

The role and voting procedures for Cinematographers have not changed, so feel free to read more about them in last year’s post if you wish:  84^th Academy Awards – Best Cinematography.

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Nominations:

·         Anna Karenina

o   Seamus McGarvey – 2^nd nomination.  Previously nominated for Atonement.

McGarvey hasn’t been nominated for any other major award, however, in addition to Anna Karenina, McGarvey also shot The Avengers… I have a feeling that this combination of films, this year, is what earned the nomination.

·         Django Unchained

o   Robert Richardson – 8^th nomination.  3 wins:  JFK, The Aviator, and Hugo.  Also nominated for Platoon, Born on the Fourth of July, Snow Falling on Cedars, and Inglourious Basterds.

Richardson is pretty much a badass, having filmed a significant number of Oliver Stone, Martin Scorsese, and Quentin Tarantino’s films.

Richardson has also been nominated for the San Diego Film Critic Society Award.

·         Life of Pi

o   Claudio Miranda – 2^nd nomination.  Previously nominated for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

In my opinion, Miranda is the clear front runner.  He has already won the San Diego Film Critics Society Award, Las Vegas Film Critics Award, and the Washington DC Area Film Critics Association Award.  He is also nominated for the BAFTA Award, the Broadcast Film Critics Association Award, Boston Society of Film Critics Award and the Satellite Award. 

An interesting additional piece of information is that Miranda was the only Oscar nominated cinematographer to also be nominated by the Boston Society of Film Critics.

·         Lincoln

o   Janusz Kaminski – 6^th nomination.  2 wins:  Schindler’s List and Saving Private Ryan.  Previously nominated for Amistad, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, and War Horse.

Ever since filming Schindler’s List in 1993, Kaminski has worked, almost exclusively, with Steven Spielberg.  However, he has also filmed my favorite Cameron Crowe film (Jerry Maguire) and my favorite Judd Apatow film (Funny People)

Kaminski is also nominated for the BAFTA Award, Broadcast Film Critics Association Award, and the Satellite Award.

·         Skyfall

o   Roger Deakins – 10^th nomination.

To be honest, when I saw Skyfall listed in this category I was pretty surprised, however when I realized Deakins had filmed the movie I understood.  Deakins is a beloved member of the cinematography community.

Deakins has been previously nominated for The Shawshank Redemption, Fargo, Kundun, O Brother Where Art Thou, No Country for Old Men, The Assassination of Jessie James by the Coward Robert Ford, The Reader, and True Grit.

He has already won the Loas Angeles Film Critics Association Award and has also been nominated for the BAFTA Award, Broadcast Film Critics Association Award, Satellite Award, and Washington DC Area Film Critic Association Award.

Although I think Life of Pi is the statistical favorite… with this being Deakins’ 10^th nomination, having never won… he has a very good chance at winning… and I’m going to take that chance.

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Snubs:

Mihai Malaimare Jr. (The Master) won the Boston Society of Film Critics Award and is nominated for Broadcast Film Critic Association Award, Satellite Award, and the Washington DC Area Film Critic Association Award

Danny Cohen (Les Miserables) is nominated for the Boston Society of Film Critics Award, Broadcast Film Critics Association Award, and Washington DC Area Film Critic Association Award

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Oscar Trends:

To be honest, I have yet to find a trend for this category.  All in all, it all seems a bit subjective.  Even the American Society of Cinematographers Award can’t be used as a barometer since for the last 26 years, their winner has only gone on to win the Oscar 9 times!

So… the only thing I have to go on is the consistency of nominations and wins for the year (across the board), which leaves me with Life of Pi and Skyfall. 

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Prediction: 

1.      Life of Pi

2.     Skyfall

3.     Lincoln

4.     Django Unchained

5.     Anna Karenina

85th Academy Awards – 'Best Makeup and Hairstyling’

Alright folks, we’re now moving into categories where I excel.  I am currently 3 for 3 in the Best Makeup and Hairstyling, so I’d like to think I know what I am talking about… but I probably don’t.

Although the name of this category has been changed to include Hairstyling, it has always been part of the Makeup category, so there have been no major changes to those eligible for this award.  Nor have there been any changes to Voting Procedures.  Feel free to read more about them in last year’s post if you wish:  84^th Academy Awards – Best Makeup.

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Nominations:

·         Hitchcock

o    Howard Berger – 2^nd nomination.  Won for The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

o    Peter Montagna – 1^st nomination.

o    Martin Samuel – 3^rd nomination.  Previously nominated for Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl and At World’s End.

This team has also been nominated for the BAFTA award.

·         The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

o   Peter Swords King – 2^nd nomination.  Won for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.

o   Rick Findlater – 1^st nomination.

o    Tami Lane – 2^nd nomination.  Won for The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, (alongside Howard Berger)

This team has also been nominated for the BAFTA award.

·         Les Miserables

o   Lisa Westcott – 3^rd nomination.  Previously nominated for Mrs. Brown and Shakespeare in Love.

o   Julie Dartnell  – 1^st nomination.

This team has not been nominated for another award.

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Snubs:

The big snub for Makeup and Hair this year goes to Lincoln, which is nominated for the BAFTA award AND the Broadcast Film Critics Award.  And frankly, when it comes to makeup the only two movies people seem to be talking about are The Hobbit and Lincoln; however, the other two nominees are mentioned quite often as honorable mentions.

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Oscar Trends:

The Academy seems to like over the top and whimsical makeup and hair.  And since The Lord of the Rings took home two of these, coupled with the fact that The Hobbit seems to be all the buzz in this category… and since Lincoln was not nominated… there is a definite front runner.

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Prediction: 

1.      The Hobbit:  An Unexpected Journey

2.     Les Miserables

3.     Hitchcock