So tonight is another one of those random nights in which I kind of wish I was living across the pond again, just so I could participate in and enjoy the madness that is the Academy Awards (a.k.a. the Oscars). I used to enjoy the show (and rooting for my favourite films) quite a bit, but since moving to Europe I've rarely had the chance to indulge in the craziness... 9h time difference with L.A. and the fact that it's on Canal+ (pay extra) definitely put a damper on any celebrations... So in Spain people don't really pay much attention to the Oscars. Hell, most people don't really pay any attention to the Goyas either (Spain's equivalent). I've only done anything Oscar-related here my first year in Uni when we organised an Oscar pool at the dorms and stayed up to watch it! (but of course, any excuse is a good excuse to stay up and party, so lol!) I've managed to stay up and watch it on a few other occasions, including once in Belgium... but this is the first time in like forever that I'm participating in an Oscar pool, albeit long-distance! My aunt's sister's family in the US apparently do this every year and since we've been communicating a lot via Facebook lately (we met last year in Paris, big coincidence our both being there at the same time) and discovered we have similar tastes (books, movies) and she invited me to join in! It gives the proceedings a bit of an added thrill for me. Fun! :o)
Unfortunately I'm not as well prepared for the Oscars as I have been other years (too many movies I haven't seen yet: Tree of Life, Midnight in Paris, Albert Nobbs, Hugo, Beginners...), the Academy's upping the number of films in Best Picture category complicates things, and later release dates in Spain don't help (Hugo just came out this weekend)! So I kind of figuratively flipped a coin in some categories while filling out my ballot, but here are a few I did give a bit more thought to... I have no way to honestly judge who "should" win, so I'm just saying who I would vote for if I had the chance, plus who I think might actually win it (if different).
Best Picture - The Artist
I thought this a beautiful movie! Loved the story (simple though it was, but we don't always need complicated!), the characters (and the actors' work), the music, the whole thing coming to life. Please, please, please win!!! If it doesn't, the only other film winning that wouldn't upset me would be Moneyball.
Best Director - Michael Hazanavicius for The Artist
Hat's off to Michael Hazanavicius for pulling this off!
Best Actor - Jean Dujardin in The Artist
He brilliantly brought his character to life, without saying a word!!! (please take the dog up on stage too!)
But I would be equally happy to see Brad Pitt win, I can't really decide which of the two performances I prefer! Pitt was amazing in Moneyball!
Best Actress - Viola Davis in The Help or Meryl Streep in The Iron Lady
I quite honestly can't decide between the two! Viola was the soul of her film, and the Iron Lady rests completely on Meryl's shoulders... can we divvy it up? ;o)
Best Supporting Actor - Christopher Plummer in Beginners
To be honest I've only seen one of the candidates (Moneyball), but from what I've been reading online Plummer is finally going to take an Oscar home, and apparently well-deserved too! I have to look for this film...
Best Supporting Actress - Octavia Spencer in The Help
Simply loved her in that movie, so full of life, everyone reacting around her! :o)
Best Adapted Screenplay - Moneyball
A movie about baseball statistics sounds so boring... then how come this was so entertaining / intriguing / informative? They totally deserve the win!
Best Original Screenplay - Midnight in Paris
Although I have yet to see it (I gave it to my dad for Christmas, but on blu-ray and I don't have a player so haven't been able to steal it from him yet!), from what I've heard Woody Allen was in top form when he wrote this one.
Best Editing - Christopher Tellefsen for Moneyball (but The Artist will win)
They say this one usually goes to the Best Picture winner, although I preferred the editing on Moneyball.
Best Cinematography - Janusz Kaminski for War Horse
Just felt so... epic! The lighting, the shots chosen... wonderful!
Best Original Score - Ludovic Bourse for The Artist
The music is crucial in helping us "feel" what's going on in this film, and was beautiful to boot! (Although John Williams is an Oscar favourite and hasn't been nominated in a while, I think his votes would get split up between his two movies so I don't see him winning, but who knows?!)
For once I have absolutely nothing to say about Best Animated or Foreign Picture since I haven't seen any of the nominated films (I miss my international movie theatre in Liège! lots of fabulous non-anglo films to discover!). But from what I've been reading around the internet I think Rango will take Animated.
What about you? Are you psyched about the Oscars? Couldn't care less? Share some of your picks (nominees here)!!! And tell me what you thought of the show! I'll go digging around the internet for highlights tomorrow... I'm peeved at missing out on Billy Crystal live!
I'm honestly part of the "couldn't care less" crowd, until the following morning when I read about who won in the papers. It also doesn't help that the TV has been bombarded by commercials for the Oscars 24/7. :P
ReplyDeleteTo be fair, most of my friends are part of the same "couldn't care less" mentality so maybe all need is someone who is psyched about it (like you)!
-Barb
Barb, were I in the US I'd be one of those crazy people throwing an "Oscar Party" on the big night. :p
DeleteI miss when the BBC used to show the whole thing. 3 of us got together for return of the king, and apart from me having indigestion and spending half the time in the bathroom, we had a great time! These days it's trickier as I can't afford sky... (that was one advantage to living at home, I told work o wasn't free the next day and stayed up!)
ReplyDeleteThe worst part for us over the pond is that pesky time difference! Why couldn't they do this on a Saturday instead of a Sunday???
DeleteWell, you certainly did a good job of picking the winners! I watched it and enjoyed seeing Meryl finally win her much deserved Oscar. But I also felt bad for Viola, because she deserved it too! And the Artist? I LOVED that it won!
ReplyDeleteDJan, for once I was really wishing they could divvy up that Oscar between the two of them! I caught Meryl's reaction and acceptance speech in the news the next day: FABULOUS!
DeleteAnd yeah: the Artist for the win!!! :o)
You certainly picked the winners. I am pleased the Artist won – a first for a French star. I wonder if he would have won if he had been speaking….? I think that for America it was a plus that he did not…
ReplyDeleteVagabonde, une première pour un acteur français ET pour un film français, je crois. BRAVO! :o)
DeleteAlthough I think you're right to wonder whether he would have won if he had been speaking...
In fact, having gone through the lists the only acting award given for a role NOT in English I could find was to Marion Cotillard for Edith Piaf in the movie La Môme. And then there's Penelope Cruz in Vicky Cristina Barcelona who had a bilingual role.
I went to my first Oscar Party this year. Everyone was dressed up and there were games, good food, and prizes. I definitely had fun! I also liked Pitt in Moneyball, and I'm not a big fan of baseball. I loved The Help. I read the book first, which was better, in my opinion, but missed The Artist and some of the others. Just not enough time for movies this year.
ReplyDeleteOoooooh Nancy, I'm jealous! Sounds like a blast!
DeleteThe Artist has actually gotten quite a few more screens here in Alicante now that it won the Oscar! For a month it was on a single screen in a small cinema downtown. Then a week before the Oscars another cinema was also showing it. Now 3-4 cinemas.