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2012 Academy Awards: Oscar Pool Picks

Strider

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Strider

Strider

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It's Academy Award time, and I don't know about you, but I always watch with a bunch of friends and fill out an Oscar ballot for the Oscar pool. We make a nice spread of food and make catty remarks as the stars promenade down the red carpet and try to get through Joan Rivers with their dignity intact.

For the first time I believe, I am divulging my Oscar ballot before the event in case you want to compare picks...or maybe even use mine as a guide. I've won the Oscar pool a number of times, which comes in handy in paying off any excess Christmas/New Year's/Valentine's Day spending.

Feel free to post your predictions or who you want to win(who you WANT and who you THINK will win are not always the same)...whoever guesses the most correctly can proclaim themselves "King of the World!"

Here we go...my picks for the 2012 Oscars:

BEST PICTURE:

"The Artist"

A fairly weak bunch. Plenty of deserving films left off the list: "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy", "Beginners", "The Trip"...while sappy soggy shit like "War Horse", "The Descendants" and "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Annoying" did. I was thinking "Hugo" would win(it deserves to) ever since the nominations came out, but "The Artist" is picking up some key awards and momentum lately.

BEST DIRECTOR:

Martin Scorsese "Hugo"

In years like this, where there isn't an overwhelming dominant favourite, the Academy usually spreads the wealth around. Hence the Best Director and Best Picture winners often get split. Of course, if I've underestimated the groundswell of support for "The Artist" and it starts winning all the categories it is nominated in, then I'll probably be sweating this category.

BEST ACTOR:

Jean Dujardin "The Artist"

If there was any justice, it should be Gary Oldman or Brad Pitt taking the golden statue home. Instead, it seems to be a two-man race between Clooney and Dujardin. There's a lot of people that don't like Clooney's politics, so I'm going with Dujardin.

BEST ACTRESS:

Meryl Streep "The Iron Lady"

A lock. Let's get one thing clear...contrary to popular conception, Meryl has only won twice and it's been 30 years since her last win. She's due and she deserves it. If you like rooting for the underdog, there's been a late buzz about Viola Davis from "The Help"...people in the industry seem to genuinely LIKE her. So she could be the dark horse candidate that pulls the upset. Hardly anybody has seen "Albert Nobbs" and the other two are too young(Rooney Mara...related to the NY Giants Maras) and too slight(Michelle Williams tried but she is NOT Marilyn Monroe).

Oh, and whoever wins is a double-winner as that impeccable male specimen Colin Firth is presenting the Best Actress award...I guarantee whoever wins will take advantage of the opportunity to give Colin a snog.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:

Christopher Plummer "Beginners"

Even more of a lock than Meryl Streep. Only the equally great and venerable Max von Sydow has a chance at an upset thanks to him being about the only worthwhile reason to see "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close".

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:

Octavia Spencer "The Help"

I wanted so badly to put Melissa McCarthy's name down, as she was so funny in "Bridesmaids". But the Academy has no respect for comedies, so I think it comes down to "The Artist" and "The Help". Usually two noms from the same film split the vote but I don't think that will happen with "The Help", as all the love and support seems to be flowing Octavia's way. Best Supporting Actress is usually one of the first awards presented...so this could be a bellwether on whether "The Artist" is going to sweep the awards if Bérénice Bejo wins.

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:

Woody Allen "Midnight in Paris"

It won the Writers Guild which is usually a good sign.

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:

Alexander Payne et al. "The Descendants"

Much as I prefer "Hugo" or "Moneyball" or "Tinker Tailor...", I'm afraid they'll give it to "The Descendants" as a consolation prize for not winning Best Picture.

BEST ANIMATED FILM:

"Rango"

BEST FOREIGN FILM:

"A Separation"

This is often the most frustrating category for me, as I see a lot of foreign movies, and am often dismayed by what actually wins the Oscar. Films that seemed like sure things have been upset by the merest trifle. Films like "Farewell My Concubine", "Europa Europa", "Raise the Red Lantern", "Amélie", "White Ribbon", "A Prophet", "The Baader-Meinhof Complex" all lost. But hey, they have to get it right some time, and there have been some great winners in the past. So, once again I'll pick what I think is the best one of the bunch, Iran's "A Separation".

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE:

"Paradise Lost 3 - Purgatory"

Wim Wenders' 3D dance extravaganza "Pina" and "Undefeated" will provide stiff competition, but my heart was in my throat the entire time of watching "Paradise Lost 3", which is about the travesty of the West Memphis Three case. I can't vote against my heart.

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT:

"The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement"

This is often a crap-shoot...even more so this year as I didn't see any of the nominees. I like the title of this one so I'm going with it, haha.

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM:

"Raju"

I did, however, see all the nominated short films-live action and animated. This is a tough category this year, as all the nominees are worthy of winning, especially the entrees from North Ireland, Ireland and Germany. "Tuba Atlantic", from Norway, was good but there's a lot of seagull slaughter that will piss off the animal lovets in the Academy. In the end, I picked "Raju" because it's a touching short about the timely problem of foreign adoptions.

BEST ANIMATED SHORT:

"A Morning Stroll"

This is really a two-horse, maybe three, race...between "A Morning Stroll" and "La Luna"(which has the Pixar muscle behind it)..."The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore" also has a shot, but although it has wonderful animation its story is weak. The other two suffer the same weakness of an opaque narrative and weak story, along with ordinary old-fashioned type animation. There's nothing wrong with old-style animation...but the story better pack a wallop. "A Morning Stroll" not only packs a wallop...it features three different types of animation. And it has a Zombie attack, haha!

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE:

"The Artist"

It's a travesty that this is going to win, as the only thing memorable about the score is the part stolen from Bernard Herrman's music for Hitchcock's "Vertigo". Boo hiss!

BEST SONG:

"Man or Muppet" from "The Muppets..."

This category is so useless and lame sometimes that it should be abolished. Christ, they could only come up with two nominations this year. Flip a coin.

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY:

Emmanuel Lubezki "Tree of Life"

One of the most polarizing films of 2011...but EVERYONE AGREED it looked amazing; as Malick's movies usually do. If "War Horse" wins I will vomit.

BEST EDITING:

"The Artist"

I went back and forth between "Hugo" and "The Artist"...it's hard to pick against the great Thelma Schoonmaker, but the main thing about "The Artist" that has endeared itself to the Industry is its craft. If you want an upset pick, go with "Dragon Tattoo".

BEST SOUND EDITING:

"War Horse"

This is usually where the big blockbusters have the best chance of winning; the movies with the big explosions and special effects. I would tend to pick "Transformers" even though I never saw it. But something in my gut told me to pick "War Horse".

BEST SOUND MIXING:

"Transformers"

Most people wonder what's the difference between sound editing and sound mixing. Frequently the winners of the two categories are the same film, but every so often it's split. Of course, watch me get it reversed...with Transformers winning sound editing and War Horse sound mixing. If you can win these technical categories it gives you an edge on your Oscar Pool competitors...let's face it, everybody's gonna have Meryl Streep and Christopher Plummer on their ballots, so you've got to separate yourself somehow.

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS:

"Hugo"

"Hugo" was the best 3D film of the year...well, after "Pina" that is...and the most visually appealing of the nominees. It should be a slam dunk.

BEST ART DIRECTION:

"Hugo"

Again, this will be "The Artist" vs. "Hugo"...I'm putting my money on the great Dante Ferretti and "Hugo".

BEST COSTUME DESIGN:

"W.E."

An interesting crop of choices...nothing really sticks out as a favourite. Since there's always a surprise or two during the night, I'm going to pick "W.E.", as the fabulous clothes Wallis wears are what I remember most about the movie.

BEST MAKEUP:

"Harry Potter"

WHAT?!? No Rick Baker nomination!?! Is that even allowed? Well, with no Rick Baker, the field is wide open...yet they only chose to nominate three films. My first instinct is to pick "The Iron Lady". But then I was thinking "The Iron Lady" and "Albert Nobbs" will split the venerable old actress vote...and "Harry Potter" has brought in so much money to Hollywood that it seems churlish not to give it something. This award might be it.

And those are my picks. I'm not as confident as I have been in the past. Hard to get a read on the momentum of certain films this year. Looking forward to seeing other people's picks.

Good luck.

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Strider

Strider

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Good luck on your picks.

I will probably be watching with my daughter she likes to follow the movie business.

The hubby will probably hide in his man cave as he has no interest at all in it.

Tell him not to be such a stick in the mud. :D

Will you be making any special treats to munch on with your daughter? I'm making burgers and my famous macaroni and cheese. Oh, and sea salt chocolate chip cookies...I can never seem to make enough of those.

Well, I'm already starting to have second thoughts on some of my picks...Best Actress for instance. But I've had second thoughts before and changed my pick only to have it backfire. Sometimes you can outsmart yourself by going against your first instinct.

I will change one pick: Best Director...I am changing my pick from Martin Scorsese to Michael Hazanavicius of "The Artist".

So...it appears not many here have an Oscar office pool. Kind of surprising. Thought there'd be more action.

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Anjin-san

Anjin-san

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Hi all,

So...it appears not many here have an Oscar office pool. Kind of surprising. Thought there'd be more action.]

Well Bro,I got soured on the Academy Awards a good while back,......

"George C. Scott held nothing but contempt for the Oscar organization. He called it a '2 hour meat parade'. He said the whole thing was offensive, barbarous, and innately corrupt."

KB

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Strider

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Hi all,

Well Bro,I got soured on the Academy Awards a good while back,......

"George C. Scott held nothing but contempt for the Oscar organization. He called it a '2 hour meat parade'. He said the whole thing was offensive, barbarous, and innately corrupt."

KB

Yeah, I know all about George C. Scott's quote...TWO HOURS??? Haha, he evidently never saw a telecast if he thought it was only 2 hours. :D

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Janvier

Janvier

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BEST FOREIGN FILM:

"A Separation"

This is often the most frustrating category for me, as I see a lot of foreign movies, and am often dismayed by what actually wins the Oscar. Films that seemed like sure things have been upset by the merest trifle. Films like "Farewell My Concubine", "Europa Europa", "Raise the Red Lantern", "Amélie", "White Ribbon", "A Prophet", "The Baader-Meinhof Complex" all lost. But hey, they have to get it right some time, and there have been some great winners in the past. So, once again I'll pick what I think is the best one of the bunch, Iran's "A Separation".

Hævnen (In a Better World) won in this category in 2011. While I still have to watch this, I am a fan of Susanne Bier to the point where I would buy all of her films on DVD.

After the Wedding was nominated in 2007 but didn't win.

Brothers with Tobey Maguire and Natalie Portman was a remake of one of her earlier films Brødre which featured the always beautiful Connie Nielsen.

By the way, Baader-Meinhof is one of my favourite films of all time, good call there!

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ledzepfvr

ledzepfvr

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So Strider how many did you get right? I think I counted around 13 of your picks came were correct. Hope you made enough to pay off your Christmas bills.

No special dinner for Oscars. We did that last year but I wasn't even thinking about that this time around. I see you make that mac and cheese quite often. Must be good. You will have to post the recipe in the recipe thread, that is unless it is a secret.

I agree that Angelina looked a bit anorexic. Was it me or did J Lo's v neck pluge shift a little to far to one side?

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Strider

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So Strider how many did you get right? I think I counted around 13 of your picks came were correct. Hope you made enough to pay off your Christmas bills.

No special dinner for Oscars. We did that last year but I wasn't even thinking about that this time around. I see you make that mac and cheese quite often. Must be good. You will have to post the recipe in the recipe thread, that is unless it is a secret.

I agree that Angelina looked a bit anorexic. Was it me or did J Lo's v neck pluge shift a little to far to one side?

I appreciate the thought, Ledzepfvr, but I won no money this year...I SUCKED!

Last year, I finished 18-6, my lowest total in years...I had been averaging 20-22 wins a year for most of the 2000s.

Well, tonight I posted my lowest score in more than 20 years...maybe ever: 15-9. My teenage godson even beat me. What's fascinating is that I correctly picked the first 10 categories listed in my post, counting my change in the Best Director from Scorsese to Havanavicius.

But then it was helter skelter in all the technical and little catagories...I went 5-9 the rest of the way. Not a good showing by any means.

Some of the surprises I didn't mind though. I was happy "Hugo" won cinematography and the sound design awards. As for the shorts, as a book lover, I am happy a book-themed short won the animated short, no matter how slight the story. Plus, it was set and made in Louisiana. And the live action short winner, "The Shore", was made in North Ireland...Belfast to be exact. It is ironic that it was the longest of the short film entries. 28 minutes where the others were around 7 to 15 minutes.

Nope, no money won this year.

Christopher Plummer and Meryl Streep were my favourite acceptance speeches of the night...I even teared up a little during Meryl's thank you.

I think Milla Jovovich looked the best...loved her dress and hair. Nathalie Portman also looked okay...especially with that sparkling necklace. Penelope Cruz was a bit of a disappointment; that dress was a bit tame.

And yes, Ledzepfvr, J Lo had a bit of areola showing.

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Strider

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I've been listening to rmc.fr this morning, one of their countrymen won in the best actor category for the first time in history. Dujardin gave a speech in both French and English.

Oui, it was a good night for the French...quelle gala.

People might want to challenge my man-card because I watched the Oscars instead of the All-Star game, but here's the great thing about living on the west coast...after the Academy Awards coverage was over, it was still early in the evening, around 8:30 or so.

I got home in time to watch TNT's 10pm replay of the NBA All-Star game...so it turns out I didn't miss a thing. Saw the awards, saw the game.

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redrum

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Where is Woody?

He must be too ashamed to show his face in public with his treatment of Mia Farrow.

The only pics I've seen that were up for Oscars are: The Tree Of Life, The Descendants & Moneyball.

I'll get around to the others eventually.

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Strider

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Where is Woody?

He must be too ashamed to show his face in public with his treatment of Mia Farrow.

The only pics I've seen that were up for Oscars are: The Tree Of Life, The Descendants & Moneyball.

I'll get around to the others eventually.

Woody doesn't care about the Oscars...he's like George C. Scott in that he thinks award shows are demeaning. Even when "Annie Hall" won all those awards in 1978, he didn't attend...instead playing his usual Monday night show at Michael's in New York with his jazz band.(This was when the Academy Awards were still held on Monday nights...they've recently moved them to Sunday and in February instead of late-March-April)

The only time Woody appeared at the Academy Awards was post-9/11 at the 2002 Awards for a New York tribute.

Oh, and if you believe everything in that Mia book, I've got a bridge to sell you.

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planted

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Gwenyth Paltrow was my best dressed. Amazing. I don't know WHAT Sandra Bullock was thinking...and Meryl? Well, no surprises, she really does need a better stylist.

JLo was weird. Even my teenaged daughter said, "That's just her personality". (referring to the areola show)

Angelina is gross. 'Nuff said.

Christopher Plummer made me cry.

What did you all think of Cirque de Soleil? Mesmerizing, IMHO.

I didn't lose any money, 'cuz I don't gamble. I'm a chicken-shit.

:)

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LedZeppfan77

LedZeppfan77

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I must be honest and say this is the first year I did not watch. I did want to see Billy Chrystal. How was his opening? I only saw two of the movies. Extremely Loud and up Close (is that it?) and the Help. It was not 1996 or 1939 to say the least. No Titanic's or Gone with the Wind's. Get sick of seeing Jolie and Pitt, both I do not care for. So was Jack in his usual place wearing his sunglasses? I assume?

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Strider

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I must be honest and say this is the first year I did not watch. I did want to see Billy Chrystal. How was his opening? I only saw two of the movies. Extremely Loud and up Close (is that it?) and the Help. It was not 1996 or 1939 to say the least. No Titanic's or Gone with the Wind's. Get sick of seeing Jolie and Pitt, both I do not care for. So was Jack in his usual place wearing his sunglasses? I assume?

Billy Crystal was Billy Crystal...some people like him, others think he's lame and tired of his schtick. He did his usual song spoofing all the Best Picture nominees...not as good as some of his earlier ones. But ANYTHING would have been an improvement over the mismatched lack of chemistry of last year's hosts, James Franco and Anne Hathaway.

"Titanic" came out in 1997 and swept the 1998 Oscars. 1996 was the year of "Braveheart".

Of the nominated films you have seen, "The Help" was all right, but you really need to see "Hugo" and "Moneyball". I won't recommend "The Artist" or "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" to you, as judging from your past posts, I don't think you'd care for these films.

Where's Jack indeed? This is a mystery...for the second year in a row, Jack was not there. Maybe he went to the NBA All-Star game instead? He's a big basketball nut, and it's not like he was nominated or anything.

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