The Oscars Seth McFarlane Entertained, but the Show Dragged

Everyone was nervous about Seth, and while his opening number started a bit slow, and got off to a bumpy start I think he did a great job as the emcee.  I am going to steal a line from my friend Karl who said "it was the perfect perfect blend of class and crass." The opening bit with Shatner was great, MacFarlane knows how to to bring that hilariously awkward pop culture reference into the mix.  Watching Channing Tatum, and Charlize Theron was magnetic, then see Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Daniel Radcliffe soft shoe was fun as well.

Throughout the show Seth throughout some jokes with edge relating to Lincoln's death (too soon), a Chris Brown/Rihanna joke, and one of the best jokes introducing Christopher Plummer with a Sound of Music joke.  Although Christopher Plummer gets this award shows Grumpy Old Man Award! In contrast opening the show and getting Tommy Lee Jones to laugh was hilarious, maybe expected, but brilliant.

Music was the central focus of the show, and paying tribute to the role music plays in film, and while it was fun to see Catherine Zeta Jones lip sync, Jennifer Hudson steal the night, the Lis Miserables cast sing better than they did in the film (except Russell Crowe), Shirley Bassey's tribute to Bond with Goldfinger, Adele, and Norah Jones singing their perspective Best Song nominees, and Babs paying tribute to the great Marvin Hamlisch. Whew, I got tired just typing that.

I think it was a bit tacky not having all the Best Song nominees performed on the show, have them all performed or none of them, and my money is on none of them.  I love Babs, and Marvin Hamlisch but this post in memoriam was not needed.  While I love movie music this lacked focus.  Oh how can I forget the awkward closing number, just say good night, some of us on the east coast have work in the morning.

Along with songs with no pay, the tribute to the Bond was wasted, and fell flat.  It was cool to see the clips of the different films, but what was the point?  The marketing on this was off the charts, but they did not reunite the Bonds after Shirley Bassey's number.  Having Adele perform later and not be connected to this made no sense.  Damn you Pierce Brosnan for backing out of this!

With the winners/presenters/speeches let's look at this from a Good, Bad, Ugly Perspective

The Good 

Ang Lee winning director (although I would have preferred Zeitlin), but his win was better than one for Spielberg.  Lee's film was a technical marvel and his direction was great.

The speech from Innocente was the best of evening, celebrating art.

Lincoln winning more than just one award for Daniel Day Lewis (Production Design as well)

Silver Linings Playbook only winning one award, and Harvey could not buy them anymore, including a win for DeNiro.

Speeches from Daniel Day Lewis and Jennifer Lawrence were good!  DDL had me tearing up because he seemed really appreciative, then had me in stitches when he talked about his and Meryl's freaky Friday with Margaret Thatcher in Lincoln.  Even though J-Law tripped you could tell just appreciative she was and, it was sweet to wish Emanuelle Riva a Happy Birthday!

Ted and Mark Wahlberg were the only entertaining duo who presented, glad he only did his Ted schtick, loved this!

The Bad 

The Django wins, sorry Waltz is a lead, and that is Quentin's worst screenplay (even worse than Jackie Brown)

Anne Hathaway's speech (and outfit) while her win isn't the worst (although Field or Hunt deserved it more) she had all this time to practice, and prep, but she just never nailed it, and I still am not a huge fan.

Most of the presenters who tried to do something were mediocre, I guess at Oscar if you can't hack it just present

The Ugly 

Zero Dark Thirty winning only one award in the sound category when it was the best film of the year

Les Miserables winning 3 Oscars!

Beasts of the Southern Wild going home empty handed, criminal

In a year with so much upset potential these awards were incredibly predictable, and boring, I got 23 out of 26 right (only missing Production Design, the Sound tie, and Documentary Short)

Paul Rudd and Melissa McCarthy were beyond lame, they will not be hosting anytime soon.

The Cool 

Having Michelle Obama present Best Picture with Jack Nicholson, may be one of the oddest/coolest things I have ever seen.

Ben's sheer genuine appreciation while accepting Best Picture, Grant Heslov is in the not cool category, we realize Argo was directed by Affleck, the Academy knows!!

I did not place Argo's win into any categories, because I like and respect the film, but I am not sure it fits within any of these categories.  

Academy Award Week (2013): Best Director (No Your Pick Can't be Ben Affleck)

This year one of the most interesting, if not the most interesting race is Best Director.  Over the years at the Academy Awards Best Picture and Best Director often match up.  Over the last twenty years (from 1992-2012) Best Picture and Best Director have matched up 16 times, which is an impressive statistic.  This year Argo's name is chiseled on the statue already, and unless if you have been living under a rock you know Ben Affleck was snubbed.  Affleck has won this award at the BFCA, Golden Globes, DGA, and BAFTA.  Without Affleck nominated this makes this race a lot more interesting than I can remember.

While I am not going to go on a rant about sexism within the film industry I am a bit baffled at why more people over cited Affleck's snub instead of Bigelow's snub.  I do believe that this will go down as one of the biggest mistakes in Oscar history.

How do you define great direction, and who was "snubbed?"  One way at looking at great direction is by using auteur theory.  Auteur theory "holds that a director's film reflects the director's personal creative vision, as if they were the primary "auteur" (the French word for "author"). In spite of—and sometimes even because of—the production of the film as part of an industrial process, the auteur's creative voice is distinct enough to shine through all kinds of studio interference and through the collective process."  While this perspective is a bit more old school and looks at film as a one man show, many would attribute this vision to greats like Orson Welles, and Alfred Hitchcock.  These men controlled the vision for their films.

If you look at this year's director race many would describe David O. Russell's direction using auteur theory.  O. Russell's Silver Linings Playbook is a passion project dedicated to his son.  O. Russell's film is about a bi-polar man returning home to his family.  O'Russell has talked openly about his son being bi-polar and what it meant for him to make this film.

Benh Zeitlin who directed Beasts of the Southern Wild directed the script and scored the film.  This was Zeitlin's first film and made on a shoe string budget.  Zeitlin's heart and soul went into this film, and his vision drives the heart of the film.

One of the reasons auteur theory is widely criticized is because it negates the contribution of other people who worked on the film stating the the director is the end all be all.  Zeitlin and O. Russell did not create their films out of thin air, no man is an island after all.  If you look at Steven Spielberg's work in Lincoln and here him talk about Tony Kushner's script, and every aspect of the film you feel this sense of teamwork.

This couldn't be more true with Ang Lee and his direction of Life of Pi.  Lee's work with his cinematographer, visual effects team, screenwriter, and son on created an beautiful experience from a book that was thought to be impossible to adapt to the big screen.  The use of 3D technology along with many other elements transcends most traditional aspects of film making, and made this an incredible achievement.

The nominees are 

Michael Haneke-Amour

Ang Lee-Life of Pi

David O. Russell-Silver Linings Playbook

Steven Spielberg-Lincoln

Benh Zeitlin-Beasts of the Southern Wild

Who will win?  Without a previous winner/front runner in the group this leads things wide open.  While many would probably say Spielberg I just do not think he is going to win.  My gut tells me this is a race between David O. Russell and Ang Lee.  In the past director's win in this category have won a good deal of the time because the film "feels important" or because it has an "epic" nature."  Think Ben-Hur, Lord of the Rings, Schindler's List, Out of Africa, The Sound of Music.  There are location shots, visual effects, and so on.  This could be Beasts, Pi, or Lincoln.  Zeitlin is in fifth leaving Lincoln and Pi to fit that category.  Pi and Lincoln are both well respected films, from respected directors.  Before I go on about those two films like Silver Linings Playbook rarely win director, Annie Hall fits within that category, but that rarely happens.  So I am going to go with my gut and say Ang Lee.

Will Win: Ang Lee-Life of Pi

Spoilers: Steven Spielberg and David O. Russell

Oscar Roundup 2012: BAFTAs Leaves Some Oscar Categories Shaken and Stirred Up

Well stick a fork in the Best Picture category folks, Argo has won almost every major Best Picture Award (non-critics), and will be poised to be the first film to win without a director nomination since Driving Miss Daisy in 1989.  Argo won two other prizes at BAFTA, Best Director, and Best Editing.

Affleck winning the Director race across the board, and being snubbed by the Academy poses an interesting question in this category.  Who will win?  Oscar pundits can't use data to help predict this award, predictions have to be based on a hunch this year.  At the moment I think this is a two person race, but surprise surprise I do not think either of those people is Steven Spielberg.  I think the director race is going to be between Ang Lee for Life of Pi, and David O. Russell for Silver Linings Playbook.  Spielberg may have received thunderous applause at DGA, and he is not out of this race, but Lincoln has been snubbed across the board; he was not even nominated for BAFTA.  Lee is a well like director, and many are impressed with the directorial achievement of this film.  O. Russell is ahead of Spielberg in my book for several reasons, this is seen as a personal project for him (people know this) he also has Harvey behind him, and Harvey could push him for a win in this category because of Affleck's snub.

BAFTA added a little variety to the Best Actress category picking Emanuelle Riva to win over favorites Jessica Chastain and Jennifer Lawrence. This is a big win, and here's why.  Silver Linings Playbook did not receive many nominations from BAFTA, they only received two nominations, and while no one predicted O. Russell to win Adapted Screenplay, he did, another surprise.  If BAFTA liked the film enough they would have picked Lawrence.  Zero Dark Thirty took home no awards, and while Chastain could still win she is in third place in my book.  While Zero Dark is fading Silver Linings Playbook is gaining momentum, and Amour is clearly beloved.  Winning at BAFTA in this category is a pretty good sign for a win at Oscar, Meryl Streep in The Iron Lady, Natalie Portman in Black Swan, Marion Cotillard in La vie en Rose, and many more.  While this is not fool proof this gives Emanuelle Riva a massive bump in the voting season.  Look for her to surprise with a potential win.

BAFTA has added another interesting layer to the Best Supporting Actor category as well.  Christoph Waltz who won the Golden Globe, won at BAFTA here today.  Tommy Lee Jones won at SAG.  Phillip Seymour Hoffman won at the critics choice, so wins at the Oscars?  Several critics on Twitter have said it best Waltz is lead in a supporting category, which gives him the edge, and the Academy likes this type of performance.  Waltz could take this!  Django also won in Best Original Screenplay, and while Tarantino is not up for WGA, neither is its fiercest competitor Amour.  Look for Tarantino to win screenplay, making up for his loss for Inglorious Basterds in 2009.

The other big surprises is that Les Miserables won four trophies (Best Production Design, Best Make-Up/Hair, Best Sound, and Best Supporting Actress).  The film is a British production so I am not surprised it won these awards, but may not at the Oscars.  The other British film which scored big was Skyfall, which won for Best British Film, and Best Score (Thomas Newman).

Overall BAFTA seals the deal for wins by Argo (Best Picture, Best Editing), Daniel Day-Lewis (Best Actor), Anne Hathaway (Best Supporting Actress), Life of Pi (Best Cinematography, and Best Visual Effects), Anna Karenina (Best Costume Design), and Amour (Best Foreign Language Film), and the rest are up to the fate of the Oscar Gods.

BEST FILM

X - "Argo"

"Life of Pi"

"Lincoln"

"Les Misérables"

"Zero Dark Thirty"

BEST BRITISH FILM 

"Anna Karenina"

"The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel"

"Les Misérables"

"Seven Psychopaths"

X - "Skyfall"

BEST DIRECTOR

Michael Haneke, "Amour"

X - Ben Affleck, "Argo"

Quentin Tarantino, "Django Unchained"

Ang Lee, "Life of Pi"

Kathryn Bigelow, "Zero Dark Thirty"

BEST ACTOR 

Ben Affleck, "Argo"

Bradley Cooper, "Silver Linings Playbook"

X - Daniel Day-Lewis, "Lincoln"

Joaquin Phoenix, "The Master"

Hugh Jackman, "Les Misérables"

BEST ACTRESS

Jessica Chastain, "Zero Dark Thirty"

Marion Cotillard, "Rust and Bone"

Jennifer Lawrence, "Silver Linings Playbook"

Helen Mirren, "Hitchcock"

X - Emmanuelle Riva, "Amour"

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Alan Arkin, "Argo"

Javier Bardem, "Skyfall"

Philip Seymour Hoffman, "The Master"

Tommy Lee Jones, "Lincoln"

X - Christoph Waltz, "Django Unchained"

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Amy Adams, "The Master"

Judi Dench, "Skyfall"

Sally Field, "Lincoln"

X - Anne Hathaway, "Les Misérables"

Helen Hunt, "The Sessions"

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

"Amour"

X - "Django Unchained"

"The Master"

"Moonrise Kingdom"

"Zero Dark Thirty"

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

"Argo"

"Beasts of the Southern Wild"

"Life of Pi" 

"Lincoln"

X - "Silver Linings Playbook"

 

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM 

X - "Amour"

"Headhunters"

"The Hunt"

"The Intouchables"

"Rust and Bone"

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

"The Imposter"

"Marley"

"McCullin"

X-"Searching for Sugar Man"

"West of Memphis"

BEST ANIMATED FILM 

X - "Brave"

"Frankenweenie"

"ParaNorman"

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

"Anna Karenina"

"Life of Pi"

"Lincoln"

X - "Les Misérables"

"Skyfall"

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

"Anna Karenina"

X - "Life of Pi"

"Lincoln"

"Les Misérables"

"Skyfall"

BEST COSTUME DESIGN 

X - "Anna Karenina"

"Great Expectations"

"Les Misérables"

"Lincoln"

"Snow White and the Huntsman"

BEST EDITING

X - "Argo"

"Django Unchained"

"Life of Pi"

"Skyfall"

"Zero Dark Thirty"

BEST MAKEUP & HAIR 

"Anna Karenina"

"Hitchcock"

"The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey"

"Lincoln"

X - "Les Misérables"

BEST SCORE

"Anna Karenina"

"Argo"

"Life of Pi"

"Lincoln"

X - "Skyfall"

BEST SOUND

"Django Unchained"

"The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey"

"Life of Pi"

X - "Les Misérables"

"Skyfall"

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

"The Avengers"

"The Dark Knight Rises"

"The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey"

X - "Life of Pi"

"Prometheus"

BEST DEBUT BY BRITISH WRITER/DIRECTOR/PRODUCER

Thina Garavi (writer/director), "I Am Nasrine"

X - Bart Layton (writer) and Dimitri Doganis (producer), "The Imposter"

David Morris (director) and Jacqui Morris (director/producer), "McCullin"

James Bobin (director), "The Muppets"

Dexter Fletcher (writer/director) and Danny King (writer), "Wild Bill"

RISING STAR AWARD

Elizabeth Olsen

Andrea Riseborough

Suraj Sharma

X - Juno Temple

Alicia Vikander