And the Oscars this year...

[Cybsled]

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:
*Cate Blanchett - THE AVIATOR
* Laura Linney - KINSEY
*Virginia Madsen - SIDEWAYS
*Sophie Okonedo - HOTEL RWANDA
*Natalie Portman - CLOSER

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:
*Alan Alda - THE AVIATOR
*Thomas Haden Church - SIDEWAYS
*Jamie Foxx - COLLATERAL
*Morgan Freeman - MILLION DOLLAR BABY
*Clive Owen - CLOSER

BEST ACTRESS:
*Annette Bening - BEING JULIA
*Catalina Sandino Moreno - MARIA FULL OF GRACE
*Imelda Staunton - VERA DRAKE
*Hilary Swank - MILLION DOLLAR BABY
*Kate Winslet - ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND

BEST ACTOR:
*Don Cheadle - HOTEL RWANDA
*Johnny Depp - FINDING NEVERLAND
*Leonardo DiCaprio - THE AVIATOR
*Clint Eastwood - MILLION DOLLAR BABY
*Jamie Foxx - RAY

BEST DIRECTOR:
*Martin Scorsese - THE AVIATOR
*Clint Eastwood - MILLION DOLLAR BABY
*Taylor Hackford - RAY
*Alexander Payne - SIDEWAYS
*Mike Leigh - VERA DRAKE

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:
*John Logan - THE AVIATOR
*Charlie Kaufman & Michel Gondry & Pierre Bismuth - ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND
*Keir Pearson & Terry George - HOTEL RWANDA
*Brad Bird - THE INCREDIBLES
*Mike Leigh - VERA DRAKE

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:
*Richard Linklater & Julie Delpy & Ethan Hawke; Story By Richard Linklater & Kim Krizan - BEFORE SUNSET
*David Magee - FINDING NEVERLAND
*Paul Haggis - MILLION DOLLAR BABY
*Jose Rivera - THE MOTORCYCLE DIARIES
*Alexander Payne & Jim Taylor - SIDEWAYS

BEST FOREIGN PICTURE:
*AS IT IS IN HEAVEN
*THE CHORUS
*DOWNFALL
*THE SEA INSIDE
*YESTERDAY

BEST ANIMATED PICTURE:
*THE INCREDIBLES
*SHARK TALE
*SHREK 2

BEST PICTURE:
*THE AVIATOR
*FINDING NEVERLAND
*MILLION DOLLAR BABY
*RAY
*SIDEWAYS


ART DIRECTION:
*Dante Ferretti (Art Direction); Francesca Lo Schiavo (Set Decoration) - THE AVIATOR
*Gemma Jackson (Art Direction); Trisha Edwards (Set Decoration) - FINDING NEVERLAND
*Rick Heinrichs (Art Direction); Cheryl A. Carasik (Set Decoration) - LEMONY SNICKET'S A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS
*Anthony Pratt (Art Direction); Celia Bobak (Set Decoration) - THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA
*Aline Bonetto - A VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT

CINEMATOGRAPHY:
*Robert Richardson - THE AVIATOR
*Zhao Xiaoding - THE HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS
*Caleb Deschanel - THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST
*John Mathieson - THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA
*Bruno Delbonnel - A VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT

COSTUME DESIGN:
*Sandy Powell - THE AVIATOR
*Alexandra Byrne - FINDING NEVERLAND
*Colleen Atwood - LEMONY SNICKET'S A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS
*Sharen Davis - RAY
*Bob Ringwood - TROY

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE:
*Ross Kauffman and Zana Briski - BORN INTO BROTHELS
*Luigi Falorni and Byambasuren Davaa - THE STORY OF THE WEEPING CAMEL
*Morgan Spurlock - SUPER SIZE ME
*Lauren Lazin and Karolyn Ali - TUPAC: RESURRECTION
*Kirby Dick and Eddie Schmidt - TWIST OF FAITH

FILM EDITING:
*Thelma Schoonmaker - THE AVIATOR
*Matt Chesse - FINDING NEVERLAND
*Joel Cox - MILLION DOLLAR BABY
*Paul Hirsch - RAY
*Jim Miller and Paul Rubell - COLLATERAL

MAKEUP:
*Valli O'Reilly and Bill Corso - LEMONY SNICKET'S A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS
*Keith Vanderlaan and Christien Tinsley - THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST
*Jo Allen and Manuel García - THE SEA INSIDE

MUSIC (SCORE):
*John Williams - HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN
*Jan A.P. Kaczmarek - FINDING NEVERLAND
*Thomas Newman - LEMONY SNICKET'S A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS
*John Debney - THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST
*James Newton Howard - THE VILLAGE

MUSIC (SONG):
*"Accidentally In Love" - SHREK 2
*"Al Otro Lado Del Río" - THE MOTORCYCLE DIARIES
*"Believe" - THE POLAR EXPRESS
*"Learn To Be Lonely" - THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA
*"Look To Your Path (Vois Sur Ton Chemin)" - THE CHORUS

SOUND EDITING:
*Michael Silvers and Randy Thom - THE INCREDIBLES
*Randy Thom and Dennis Leonard - THE POLAR EXPRESS
*Paul N.J. Ottosson - SPIDER-MAN 2

SOUND MIXING:
*Tom Fleischman and Petur Hliddal - THE AVIATOR
*Randy Thom, Gary A. Rizzo and Doc Kane - THE INCREDIBLES
*Randy Thom, Tom Johnson, Dennis Sands and William B. Kaplan - THE POLAR EXPRESS
*Scott Millan, Greg Orloff, Bob Beemer and Steve Cantamessa - RAY
*Kevin O'Connell, Greg P. Russell, Jeffrey J. Haboush and Joseph Geisinger - SPIDER-MAN 2

BEST FX:
*Roger Guyett, Tim Burke, John Richardson and Bill George - HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN
*John Nelson, Andrew R. Jones, Erik Nash and Joe Letteri - I, ROBOT
*John Dykstra, Scott Stokdyk, Anthony LaMolinara and John Frazier - SPIDER-MAN 2


Thoughts: I think Eternal Sunshine should have gotten alot more nods...although it did have the disadvantage of coming out early in the year, and that always hurts films come nomination time. That's pretty own that Incredibles got a nod for best screenplay though It better win over Shrek 2 for best animated. Hopefully Foxx will get one for one of his nominations too.

[Kan]

Predictions:

Supporting Actress: Natalie Portman

Supporting Actor: Thomas Haden Church

Actress: Hilary Swank

Actor: Jamie Foxx

Director: Martin Scorcsese

Original Screenplay: John Logan (The Aviator)

Adapted Screenplay: David Magee (Finding Neverland)

Foreign Picture: no idea, never heard of any.

Animated Picture: toss up between Shrek 2 / The Incredibles

Best Picture: The Aviator or Ray

Art Direction: Phantom of the Opera

Cinematography: The Aviator

Costume Design: The Aviator

Documentery: no idea

Film Editing: The Aviator

Makeup: The Passion of the Christ

Music: The Passion of the Christ or Finding Neverland

Music (song): Accidentally in Love (Shrek 2)

Sound Editing: Spiderman 2

Sound Mixing: The Aviator

Best FX: Toss up between all 3

thats my predictions, Oscars always go some assbackwards way atleast once or twice so lets see what the big upset is this year come Oscar night.

[Grooverider]

Eastwood will get best director. You better believe that shit :P

[PatrickStar]

Too much crap. Comedies and actions will never get the love it deserves. I no longer put any credence on these sorry ass award shows. I am so sick and tired of dramas getting the love. Closer? Sideways? Are you fucking kidding me? There is a reason these movies are not money makers.

Everyone experiences drama.

I don't need a movie to experience relationship woes or problems with our society. You can get that in everyday life if you just go and live it. I enjoy comedies and action movies because I can't get that in everyday life. I don't often repel off buildings shootnig uzis at terrorists while a hot chick is in my arms. Only on Sundays.

Anyways I reject the notion that drama is more difficult to pull off than comedy. It's out right insulting to Jim Carrey that he is now getting Hollywood and mainstream acceptance since he started taking on more "dramatic" roles. Fuck you. Comedy is just as difficult. Being dramatic is no more difficult than being funny. In fact I would say being comedic is more difficult. How many Unfunny movies have you seen? Plenty. Even crappy drama is passable to the masses. Why? Cause it's just naturally accepted that drama rules all. Bullshit.


Closer. Kinsey. The Aviator. Finding Neverland. Sideways. Ray. Hotel Rwanda. Million Dollar Baby.

WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON!!!!!

The only people that see these films live on our two coasts. AKA NYC and LA. You may have seen one by you sure as hell haven't seen em all. CRAP CRAP CRAP.

That last movie is a perfect example. Just because you ahe Clint and Morgan Freeman in a movie doesn't make it legit. Just because you toss some storyline about a chick trying to be a boxer doesn't make it legit. I was TORTURED through this movie. Fucking ass it sucked. No one wants to watch a 90 year old Clint trying to teach this ugly chick with the big ass lips and overbite how to box. JFC and they didn't need the token old black guy with wisdom in Morgan Freeman. That's just insulting to a fine actor.

In closing, stop giving a fuck about these biased, close minded award shows. Look the Grammys to see an institution finally breaking free of it's hackneyed, Old White Guy image. They at least finally over the past 5 years to recognize more than just Steely Dan, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, and anything Paul Simon craps out. The Oscar? It's just about bad campy dramas.

PS Fuck I mispelled Dylan. His fault for mumbling every fucking song.

[Arbuste]

^ You are a moron.

*Natalie Portman - CLOSER

Because she is hot. But I always lose at the Oscars game.

[Castigator]

Anyways I reject the notion that drama is more difficult to pull off than comedy.

..
Comedy is just as difficult. Being dramatic is no more difficult than being funny. In fact I would say being comedic is more difficult.

Agreed.

That might after all be the reason why there wasn't a single funny movie this year.. and no, Jim Carrey is not funny.. never was.
(Besides, the Incredibles is in there.. though that one wasn't particularly funny either)

Closer. Kinsey. The Aviator. Finding Neverland. Sideways. Ray. Hotel Rwanda. Million Dollar Baby.

WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON!!!!!

The only people that see these films live on our two coasts. AKA NYC and LA. You may have seen one by you sure as hell haven't seen em all. CRAP CRAP CRAP.

I've seen em all.. every single one of em had more laughs than Jim Carreys whole fvcking c career I might add.

That last movie is a perfect example. Just because you ahe Clint and Morgan Freeman in a movie doesn't make it legit. Just because you toss some storyline about a chick trying to be a boxer doesn't make it legit. I was TORTURED through this movie. Fucking ass it sucked. No one wants to watch a 90 year old Clint trying to teach this ugly chick with the big ass lips and overbite how to box. JFC and they didn't need the token old black guy with wisdom in Morgan Freeman. That's just insulting to a fine actor.

I enjoyed this movie very much, but hey I guess you can't argue taste I suppose.. rumor has it there are even people out there who like Jim Carrey (*shakes his head in disgust*)

[Piriwi]

BEST FOREIGN PICTURE:
*AS IT IS IN HEAVEN - Så som i himmelen
*THE CHORUS - Les Choristes
*DOWNFALL - Der Untergang
*THE SEA INSIDE - Mar adentro
*YESTERDAY - Yesterday

The real names of the foreign movies. Der Untergang is probably the most well-known out of these 5. It got quite a lot of publicity here because it shows a more 'human' side of Hitler (besides the yelling nazi leader), even now still a risky subject ofcourse.

[PatrickStar]

I won't argue there are people like you. I will argue that there are far more of those with my overall taste and expectations than there are of your tastes. My point is that these awards are not based on the tastes of the whole populace. It's merely based on the opinions of those living in LA and NYC.

Therefore I give absolutely no credibility to the Oscars. You are absolutely correct, there are people out there with different tastes. Even some that like Jimmy. You may not like Jimmy but the box office says otherwise. People watch his movies because they want to be entertained in ways they can't get with everyday life. People want to laugh. People head to action movies to have experiences like fucking aliens invading the planet. Why? Because there is nothing in life that delivers that. People do not want to spend hours on end watching movies about bad relationships and life lessons because they are already living it.

It's a big country with so much diverse tastes that to see the Academy Awards consistently "honor" the same category is pure bullshit. They mind as well be upfront about it and not give out best of awards. They should specify it's the "Best Actor in a bland drama film". Don't try and pass it off as something that is inclusive. Look at that nominee list. How exclusive do you have to be?

[Cybsled]

Well looking at the past 13 years or so...

Best Picture =

1990 Dances with Wolves

1991 Silence of the Lambs

1992 Unforgiven

1993 Schindler's List

1994 Forrest Gump

1995 Braveheart

1996 English Patient

1997 Titanic

1998 Shakespeare in Love

1999 American Beauty

2000 Gladiator

2001 Beautiful Mind

2002 Chicago

2003 Return of the King

And many of the nominees over that period have been films like Pulp Fiction, Fargo, Goodfellas, etc.

Not that I always agree with their picks, but can you honestly say you think all those above films are boring pieces of shit? Granted some of them are pieces of shit IMO (Titanic...), but a good chunk of those are action-oriented epics.

[Ham n Cheese]

This is more of a "who I think should win" than it is a prediction.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:
*Sophie Okonedo

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:
*Thomas Haden Church - SIDEWAYS

BEST ACTRESS:
*Kate Winslet - ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND

BEST ACTOR:
*Jamie Foxx - RAY

BEST DIRECTOR:
*Clint Eastwood - MILLION DOLLAR BABY

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:
*Charlie Kaufman & Michel Gondry & Pierre Bismuth - ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:
*Alexander Payne & Jim Taylor - SIDEWAYS

BEST FOREIGN PICTURE:
??????

BEST ANIMATED PICTURE:
*THE INCREDIBLES


BEST PICTURE:
*SIDEWAYS

CINEMATOGRAPHY:
*Zhao Xiaoding - THE HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS

COSTUME DESIGN:
*Colleen Atwood - LEMONY SNICKET'S A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE:
??????????

FILM EDITING:
*Jim Miller and Paul Rubell - COLLATERAL

MAKEUP:
*Valli O'Reilly and Bill Corso - LEMONY SNICKET'S A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS


MUSIC (SCORE):
*James Newton Howard - THE VILLAGE

MUSIC (SONG):
*"Accidentally In Love" - SHREK 2

SOUND EDITING:
*Paul N.J. Ottosson - SPIDER-MAN 2

SOUND MIXING:
*Kevin O'Connell, Greg P. Russell, Jeffrey J. Haboush and Joseph Geisinger - SPIDER-MAN 2

BEST FX:
*John Dykstra, Scott Stokdyk, Anthony LaMolinara and John Frazier - SPIDER-MAN 2

Thoughts: Paul Giamatti and Jim Carrey were fucking robbed. Jamie Foxx was not the supporting actor in collateral and Cruise should've gotten a nod for his SUPPORTING role in the movie. I'm also F9/11 wasn't nominated and the piece of shit super size me was.

note: I have not seen the aviator, and I hate movies that seem like they were created purely for oscar nods (finding neverland).

[Biggyto]

This is who I think should win which means none of them will.


BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:
*Natalie Portman - CLOSER

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:
*Thomas Haden Church - SIDEWAYS

BEST ACTRESS:
*Kate Winslet - ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND

BEST ACTOR:
*Jamie Foxx - RAY

BEST DIRECTOR:
*Alexander Payne - SIDEWAYS


BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:
*Charlie Kaufman & Michel Gondry & Pierre Bismuth - ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:
*Alexander Payne & Jim Taylor - SIDEWAYS

BEST FOREIGN PICTURE:
*THE CHORUS


BEST ANIMATED PICTURE:
*THE INCREDIBLES

BEST PICTURE:
*SIDEWAYS


ART DIRECTION:
*Anthony Pratt (Art Direction); Celia Bobak (Set Decoration) - THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA

CINEMATOGRAPHY:
*Zhao Xiaoding - THE HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS

COSTUME DESIGN:
*Colleen Atwood - LEMONY SNICKET'S A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS


DOCUMENTARY FEATURE:
*Ross Kauffman and Zana Briski - BORN INTO BROTHELS

FILM EDITING:
*Jim Miller and Paul Rubell - COLLATERAL

MAKEUP:
*Valli O'Reilly and Bill Corso - LEMONY SNICKET'S A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS

MUSIC (SCORE):
*John Williams - HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN

MUSIC (SONG):
*"Al Otro Lado Del Río" - THE MOTORCYCLE DIARIES

SOUND EDITING:
*Michael Silvers and Randy Thom - THE INCREDIBLES

SOUND MIXING:
*Randy Thom, Gary A. Rizzo and Doc Kane - THE INCREDIBLES


BEST FX:
*John Nelson, Andrew R. Jones, Erik Nash and Joe Letteri - I, ROBOT

[DiscW]

As Jim carry said when he was giving an award to someone whom I unfortunetly forget the name of... (it was a comedy lifetime acheivment award)

"I'm not allowed to touch those."

First Truman Show, now Eternal Sunshine gets gipped. I stopped watching the oscars when they gave Shakespeare in Love the best picture award over Saving Private Ryan.

[Fadaar]

On another note, at least Nip/Tuck won for best drama at the Golden Globes. Michael Chiklis got fucked over for best actor in a drama series though...

[PatrickStar]

Originally posted by Cybsled
Well looking at the past 13 years or so...

Best Picture =

1990 Dances with Wolves

1991 Silence of the Lambs

1992 Unforgiven

1993 Schindler's List

1994 Forrest Gump

1995 Braveheart

1996 English Patient

1997 Titanic

1998 Shakespeare in Love

1999 American Beauty

2000 Gladiator

2001 Beautiful Mind

2002 Chicago

2003 Return of the King

And many of the nominees over that period have been films like Pulp Fiction, Fargo, Goodfellas, etc.

Not that I always agree with their picks, but can you honestly say you think all those above films are boring pieces of shit? Granted some of them are pieces of shit IMO (Titanic...), but a good chunk of those are action-oriented epics.

The do redeem themselves with best pic winners.

However, expand to the nominees for best pic and the acting categories. You will see the same pattern. The pattern is that they cater to dramas and sadly neglect comedies and action. I would just like to see them be inclusive and honor other genres. At the moment, I believe they cater to the same 10 million people on each coast.

[Cybsled]

The problem, however, is many times said comedic roles or action roles dont require much in the way of actual acting. Action I really dont need to speak much about..."I really felt that the way Arnold said "Getcha ass to mahs...getcha ass to mahs" truely defined the pinnacle of human emotion and range". Comedy does get nods occasionally (Hey, look at last year...Depp with his Captain Jack Sparrow role), even if actual wins are rare. However, a good bulk of comedic roles usually dont require much in the way of actual acting...a large number of them are usually "starring X as himself", and the roles usually arent too large a leap from their normal routine. This is why character actors, while great at their roles, seldom get selected unless they have a REALLY kickass script backing them up and the movie was tailored for that character role.

To put it in a Counter Strike metaphor...2 guys...both are 30 kills and zero deaths. Guy one camped in a corner with an AWP. Guy two ran around using nothing but a knife. Who's the better player? Both yielded the same results, but one was signifigantly harder to do. Does that mean Mr. AWP cant do anything else but camp snipe? Not nessisarily, but from what we've seen, guy two has more skills. Now if the roles are reversed, and guy one does what guy two did, and guy two isnt as successful with the AWP...then yes, guy one is the better player. But until Guy One is able to prove himself to have a greater range then AWP camping, he carries the stigma associated with that. RL examples would be Tom Hanks or Jamie Foxx or Jim Carrey. All start with comedy...then they take on dramatic, and it turns out they do well in both.

Now while I do agree that some comedic roles are overlooked/not given a fair shake due to the fact dramatic roles net more oscar wins, I think you need to look at the overall picture as to why certain roles get more praise. While both comedy and drama both rely on the quality of the material and the actor's ability to convey that effectively...dramatic roles have the difficulty of having to maintain a evenly distributed delivery, whereas comedy is given the luxury of having points of delivery.