Simon's Oscar Preview 2013: Technical Achievements

This week's schedule:
Monday - Art & Design, Music
Tuesday - Technical Achievements
Wednesday - Short Films, Special Feature Films
Thursday - Writing & Directing, Acting
Friday - Best Picture

Films I haven't seen are marked accordingly. 

FILM EDITING

Nominees: Argo, Life of Pi, Lincoln, Silver Linings Playbook, Zero Dark Thirty

Who Will Win: Argo
Who Should Win: Zero Dark Thirty

Let's not beat around the bush here: I believe Argo will win Best Picture. However, it faces a challenging and potentially historic road to get there, given its lack of a Best Director nomination. One thing that will help it on its way to victory will be picking up key awards, like Best Editing. Although it often gets lost in the shuffle of "those damn technical awards," Editing is closely linked to Best Picture wins, which makes sense when you sit down and think about it. The Academy has surprised us in this category before, but Argo seems like a very safe bet for now. 

CINEMATOGRAPHY
Nominees: Anna Karenina, Django Unchained, Life of Pi, Lincoln, Skyfall

Who Will Win: Life of Pi
Who Should Win: Skyfall

Please, for the love of all that is holy and sacred, can be please give Roger Deakins an award? The veteran cinematographer (nominated here for Skyfall) now has ten frickin' nominations without ever winning an Oscar. He's worked on some of my favorite films of all time, most notable The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, along with most of the Coen brothers' movies. Maybe, just maybe, he can beat out the established favorite, Claudio Miranda for Life of Pi. It would make me so very happy. 

VISUAL EFFECTS

Nominees: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Life of Pi, Marvel's The Avengers, Prometheus, Snow White and the Huntsman

Who Will Win: Life of Pi
Who Should Win: Life of Pi

Have you seen Life of Pi? Have you seen that CGI tiger? It's actually amazing and I totally understand why it will win this category. It's refreshing to see a film that uses visual effects in such an understated and naturalistic way, rather than going for something wildly stylized or aggressively otherworldly. There are plenty of worthy candidates in this field, but Life of Pi and its massively fake tiger should chow down on the other nominees.

SOUND EDITING

Nominees: Argo, Django Unchained, Life of Pi, Skyfall, Zero Dark Thirty

Who Will Win: Skyfall
Who Should Win: Skyfall

Without an aggressive technical juggernaut like last year's Hugo, it appears that the technical awards are going to more spread out than in years past. Hopefully, this will include Skyfall snagging a much-deserved award for Sound Editing. Skyfall is a dense, taut film that benefits immensely from its detailed sound work. As with other categories, I'd be perfectly happy seeing Zero Dark Thirty win some awards, just on principle, but Skyfall is both more likely and more deserving.

SOUND MIXING

Nominees: Argo, Les Misérables, Life of Pi, Lincoln, Skyfall

Who Will Win: Les Misérables
Who Should Win: Skyfall

Okay, fine, I understand. Live singing, yadda yadda yadda. I guess that warrants some level of recognition. I happen to think that Les Mis' sound mixing wasn't always completely successful, but I do have to tip my (almost entirely irrelevant) cap to the ambition and scope of what Tom Hooper & Co. were trying to accomplish. Again, I think the sound work on Skyfall outpaces everything else in the category, but we do not live in a fair world. Perhaps if Tom Hooper zooms in incredibly close on my face and positions me slightly to the right of the frame while I sing, you'll understand my internal emotional state better. 

Simon's Oscar Preview 2013: Music

This week's schedule:
Monday - Art & Design, Music
Tuesday - Technical Achievements
Wednesday - Short Films, Special Feature Films
Thursday - Writing & Directing, Acting
Friday - Best Picture

Films I haven't seen are marked accordingly. 

MUSIC (ORIGINAL SCORE)

Nominees: Anna Karenina, Argo, Life of Pi, Lincoln, Skyfall

Who Will Win: Life of Pi
Who Should Win: Skyfall

A more complicated category than one might assume. Life of Pi, Lincoln and Skyfall have all won awards in various places, but no real consensus has emerged. Alexandre Desplat is only represented here by Argo, but his body of work this year has been phenomenal, highlighted by the sadly missing Zero Dark Thirty score. Lincoln is represented by John Williams, the venerable titan of film composing, but will his understated score be enough? Any of these composers could win, although Life of Pi's Mychael Danna is slowly beginning to pull ahead of the pack on betting sites. The IFMCA Awards on February 21st should shine more light on the subject.

MUSIC (ORIGINAL SONG)

Nominees: "Before My Time" - Chasing Ice (have not seen), "Everybody Needs a Best Friend" - Ted, "Pi's Lullaby" - Life of Pi, "Skyfall" - Skyfall, "Suddenly" - Les Misérables

Who Will Win: "Skyfall" 
Who Should Win: "Skyfall"

Not even close. Adele's powerhouse theme for the new Bond film is leagues ahead of the rest of these tepid nominees. Original Song is always a bizarre category and we all just want to know how the songs are going to get worked into the award show. Will this be a year with dance numbers? An emotive medley? Or will they just play the songs for thirty seconds and move on, like last year? The suspense is killing me, folks! 

Simon's Oscar Preview 2013: Art & Design

Simon's Oscar Blog is back for its third year! As usual, I'll be spending the week breaking down every category in anticipation of the big show this Sunday. We've got a bit of a weird year of nominations on our hands, but I'm doing my best to make sense of it all. Be sure to watch the awards on Sunday to see if I was right.

This week's schedule:
Monday - Art & Design, Music
Tuesday - Technical Achievements
Wednesday - Short Films, Special Feature Films
Thursday - Writing & Directing, Acting
Friday - Best Picture

Films I haven't seen are marked accordingly.

PRODUCTION DESIGN
Nominees: Anna Karenina, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Les Misérables, Life of Pi, Lincoln

Who Will Win: Anna Karenina
Who Should Win: Anna Karenina

We kick things off with Production Design, the Award Formerly Known as "Art Direction." There are three real nominees here: Anna Karenina, Les Misérables and Lincoln. Les Mis may be the safest bet, what with all the costumes and the grime and so forth, but I'm picking Anna Karenina as a slight dark horse winner here. If you haven't seen this movie yet, I urge you to track it down, simply for the design elements. The film as a whole doesn't always cohere, but, my god, the beauty and images they get on screen are jaw-dropping. I'm going to avoid cynicism and guess that the Academy will agree with me here.

COSTUME DESIGN
Nominees: Anna Karenina, Les Misérables, Lincoln, Mirror Mirror, Snow White and the Huntsman

Who Will Win: Anna Karenina
Who Should Win: Anna Karenina

We see many of the same faces here in Costume Design, along with dueling Snow White adaptations. This should be a much clearer Anna Karenina victory, with Keira Knightley's stunning red dress leading the charge. A begrudging nod should also be given to Mirror Mirror, which functions solely as a vehicle for excellent costuming. Finally, the makers of Snow White and the Huntsman get to say they made an Oscar-nominated film. Isn't that adorable?

MAKEUP & HAIR

Nominees: Hitchcock, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Les Misérables

Who Will Win: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Who Should Win: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

A lightweight category, full of dwarves, Frenchmen and flabby, old men.  No amount of dirt slathered over Hugh Jackman should prevent The Hobbit from winning this one. As for Hitchcock, the Academy is likely too terrified of Anthony Hopkins' quivering jowls to give him the award. I'd have loved to see Looper nominated (and even win) here, but oh well. Time to head into the ol' time machine and change that mistake...

Simon's Oscar Preview 2013: Personal Favorites

We're only a couple weeks away from the Academy Awards! Starting next Monday, I'll be doing my usual breakdown for each category. However, to tide any potential readers over until that point, here's my personal list of favorites from 2012's films. I've seen nearly 80 films released in the last year, giving me a sizable pool to choose from. I would have liked to have seen The Loneliest Planet before posting this list, but we're still working on that one. Anyway, without further ado, Simon's Movie Awards for 2012:

BEST PICTURE

Zero Dark Thirty

• Django Unchained
• Holy Motors
• The Master
• Moonrise Kingdom

DIRECTOR

Leos Carax – Holy Motors

• Paul Thomas Anderson – The Master
• Wes Anderson – Moonrise Kingdom
• Kathryn Bigelow – Zero Dark Thirty
• Quentin Tarantino – Django Unchained

ACTOR

Denis Levant – “Mr. Oscar” in Holy Motors

• Daniel Day-Lewis – “Abraham Lincoln” in Lincoln
• Joseph Gordon-Levitt – “Joe Simmons” in Looper
• Joaquin Phoenix – “Freddie Quell” in The Master
• Jean-Louis Trintignant – “Georges Laurent” in Amour

ACTRESS

Jessica Chastain – “Maya” in Zero Dark Thirty

• Jennifer Lawrence – “Tiffany Maxwell” in Silver Linings Playbook
• Emmanuelle Riva – “Anne Laurent” in Amour
• Quvenzhané Wallis – “Hushpuppy” in Beasts of the Southern Wild
• Rachel Weisz – “Hester Collyer” in The Deep Blue Sea

SUPPORTING ACTOR

Javier Bardem – “Raoul Silva” in Skyfall

• Leonardo DiCaprio – “Calvin Candie” in Django Unchained
• Philip Seymour Hoffman – “Lancaster Dodd” in The Master
• Tommy Lee Jones – “Thaddeus Stevens” in Lincoln
• Christoph Waltz – “Dr. King Schultz” in Django Unchained

SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Amy Adams – “Peggy Dodd” in The Master

• Judi Dench – “M” in Skyfall
• Ann Dowd – “Sandra” in Compliance
• Anne Hathaway – “Fantine” in Les Misérables
• Brit Marling – “Maggie” in Sound of My Voice

SCREENPLAY

Mark Boal – Zero Dark Thirty

• Paul Thomas Anderson – The Master
• Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola – Moonrise Kingdom
• Drew Goddard & Joss Whedon – The Cabin in the Woods
• Rian Johnson – Looper

On the Zero Dark Thirty Controversy

Since last week, we've learned a lot about Zero Dark Thirty and the political climate surrounding the film. It appears that there is indeed a faction within the Academy voter base that worked to prevent the film from being nominated and is now working to prevent it from winning any categories (link). All of the complaints center around the issue of torture and the way it is depicted in the film. The film's detractors claim that the film reads as a direct endorsement of torture in the interrogations that led to the capture of Osama bin Laden. Director Kathryn Bigelow has responded with a series of statements (link) defending her film, saying that "depiction is not endorsement."

And so we find ourselves in a huge, media mess. Zero Dark Thirty was seen to have tremendous momentum going into the award season. However, Bigelow's snub among the Academy Award nominations has brought all of that to a screeching halt. Furthermore, we've now seen the Critics' Choice Awards and Golden Globes crown their winners, with Argo taking top honors (as well as Best Director) at both ceremonies. It appears that the perceived momentum was either an illusion or that the film's controversial atmosphere is dividing the various voting bodies.

So, why do I care? Well, I happen to believe that Zero Dark Thirty is the finest piece of American filmmaking released last year. Over 2.5 hours, the film unravels an intensely engaging mystery, guiding the viewer through the ups, downs and endless loopholes required to find a man who was determined to not be found. The film gives us a hero, a woman named Maya, who has dedicated virtually her entire adult life to this one endeavor. The entire thing culminates in an unbelievable raid sequence, executed with no bravado, sensationalism or ra-ra-America bullshit. This movie is high-quality art, folks. However, we should always remember that it is, in fact, a movie. Even with all the research that screenwriter Mark Boal poured into the project, Zero Dark Thirty is a work of fiction. It is not the definitive statement on the actual hunt for bin Laden. The question is: why are so many critics determined to treat it as a documentary?

Earlier today, Rolling Stone's Matt Taibbi posted an article titled "'Zero Dark Thirty' Is Osama bin Laden's Last Victory Over America." (link) Even ignoring that absurd, baiting title, I had too many issues with this article to ignore. Chief among them, though, is the following question he poses to Bigelow, in response to her "depiction is not endorsement" statement: "Are audiences not supposed to cheer at the end of the film, when we get bin Laden? They cheered in the theater where I watched it."

I must admit my own biases here: I hate Taibbi's writing. I find him to be a reactionary, sensationalist journalist, who attempts to manipulate his readers into muted outrage. However, even by his usual standards, asking that question is truly ridiculous. I encourage everyone to see the movie, just to understand how off-base that question truly is. The final shot of the film decisively answers that question once and for all.

To me, what writers like Taibbi (and many others in a similar vein) show is that we, as an American people, are not ready to deal with our own recent history. Here are some facts that cannot be denied: we tortured detainees in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. We gathered information that was used to find, assault and kill Osama bin Laden. Whether those two facts are directly related is open to debate, a debate which Zero Dark Thirty makes a point of not answering. However, it appears that viewers and critics are not ready to confront the possibility that, yes, we waterboarding people for information. If this is so morally repellant to Americans that they write columns and petitions decrying a filmmaking who dared suggest such events took place, what kind of culture of denial are we living in? Taibbi talks about America's "brutal, repressive hypocrite underneath" but doesn't seem willing to consider that perhaps, in that statement, he understands the movie even better than he realizes. We really do live in a country where morons on Facebook will write "spoiler alert: we got him" without understanding the full implications.

I urge everyone to see Zero Dark Thirty and ask yourself what is says about America and our own history. Try to leave as much baggage at the door as you can and watch the goddamn movie. If you don't like what you see, perhaps you have yourself to blame.