And here we are. With such a suspenseful and unpredictable Oscar telecast looming, it’s perhaps disappointing that the big prize is already predetermined. But such is life.
NOMINEES
Amour
Argo
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Django Unchained
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Les Misérables
Silver Linings Playbook
Zero Dark Thirty Read More
The last time this category was even moderately exciting was in 2004, when Clint Eastwood won for Million Dollar Baby and held off Martin Scorsese for The Aviator, followed by Eastwood gunning down Scorsese outside a rain-soaked saloon and gravely intoning, “Deserve’s got nothing to do with it”. Here’s to some actual suspense for once.
NOMINEES
Michael Haneke – Amour
Ang Lee – Life of Pi
David O. Russell – Silver Linings Playbook
Steven Spielberg – Lincoln
Benh Zeitlin – Beasts of the Southern Wild Read More
You know how some baseball teams decide to move in the fences in order to increase home runs? I feel like the movie gods have moved in the fences when it comes to this category. This year’s Best Actor lineup is so loaded, they might as well hold the Oscars at Coors Field.
NOMINEES
Bradley Cooper – Silver Linings Playbook
Daniel Day-Lewis – Lincoln
Hugh Jackman – Les Misérables
Joaquin Phoenix – The Master
Denzel Washington – Flight Read More
Hey, a grouping of categories that actually makes sense! Admittedly, I only really care about one of the following four fields, but we at the Manifesto are nothing if not thorough.
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
NOMINEES
Anna Karenina – Dario Marianelli
Argo – Alexandre Desplat
Life of Pi – Mychael Danna
Lincoln – John Williams
Skyfall – Thomas Newman Read More
The gender gap in Hollywood may not have closed entirely, but between the increasing availability of plum parts for women and the rising crop of supremely talented actresses – not to mention Katniss Everdeen, Bella Swan, and Princess Merida burning up the box office – it’s definitely shrinking. And chauvinist pig that I am, it’s nice to live in a world where the performances in the Best Actress category aren’t clearly inferior to those of their male counterparts. Just remember that I wrote that the next time I make a tasteless crack about the true purpose of Scarlett Johansson’s role in The Avengers. Read More