The Academy Awards are close, and it’s going to be another year of screaming, ranting, raging, and debating snubs, deserving winners, etc. The Best Picture Award has no true frontrunner, and neither does most of the other awards in the 2013 crop. There is only sure-fire guaranteed win: Let it Go winning Best Song. Because seriously, if the Academy doesn’t hand Frozen that Oscar than it would be the stupidest decision they’ve made since giving Best Picture to Shakespeare in Love over Saving Private Ryan. But there are a few other major things to note as we approach Oscar Night:
1) Leonardo DiCaprio NEEDS to win Best Actor
This is not even up for debate. I don’t care who else is on the ballot. I don’t care if Wolf of Wall Street is secretly overrated and not worthy of Best Picture. DiCaprio ran this show, and gave that film the performance of his life. His epic rants, his incredible inspiring speeches, his physical humor, and his settling into the despicable character could not have been accomplished by anybody besides 90s Jim Carrey—who notoriously sacrificed his entire body for a laugh. This is his year. This is his moment. This is his. Give it to him. Honestly.
2) The Disney Backlash
Tom Hanks was not up for Best Actor. The ONLY reason why Tom Hanks was not up for Best Actor (despite an amazing performance in Captain Phillips) is because I believe that Disney’s ridiculous box office success of 2013 secretly annoyed the voters. Tom Hanks was also---Walt Disney. No nod there either. As a matter of fact, Saving Private Banks didn’t get nods on Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, and not even Best Supporting Actor (Colin Ferrell did quite well).
Frozen, the most talked-about movie of 2013 and one of the highest-acclaimed movies didn’t get Best Original Score, Best Sound Editing, and Best Picture. This film is not just a hit, it will be the most-remembered movie from 2013, the most-discussed movie from 2013 in the future, and will be classified as Disney’s coming out party for feminism, and its return to the Disney Renaissance expectations. It will not the one that makes the most money, but it will cross a billion dollars, will guarantee heavier DVD sales over the higher-grossing pictures, and will remain a staple in pop culture for an extremely lengthy period of time.
P.S. No Disney movie is up for Best Picture, even though 4 of the 10 highest-grossing films come from the House of Mouse.
3) The Oscars have no idea what to do with Captain Phillips
Alright, Best Picture nomination. But…no Best Director nomination, no Best Actor nomination. No Best Cinematography either. Let’s be honest, how can a film with plenty of technical Oscar nods but none of the big ones besides Supporting Actor possibly win the entire thing? Its nothing but false hope. Might as well have thrown in Lone Ranger or Frozen in the Best Picture category. Paul Greengrass should have gotten his nomination AT LEAST.
4) Before Midnight is snubbed
No Best Picture. No Best Director. No Best Cinematography. No Best Editing. No Best Actress. This is the best film of 2013, and it has a strong, strong chance of going home totally empty. A trilogy 15 years in the making and an average rating of 98% in Rotten Tomatoes, 87 in Metacritic, and 8.1/10 in IMDB deserves far far better than this.
Without further interruption, I am presenting my picks as well as the films I am rooting for in the upcoming Academy Awards tomorrow. As well as a notable snub nomination if applicable.
Best Picture:
Prediction: 12 Years a Slave
Desire: Gravity
Snub: Before Midnight and Frozen
Best Actor:
Prediction: Leonardo DiCaprio
Desire: Leonardo DiCaprio
Snub: Tom Hanks. Twice.
Best Actress:
Prediction: Cate Blanchett
Desire: Amy Adams
Snub: Julie Delpy
Best Director:
Prediction: Alfonso Curason
Desire: Alfonso Curason
Snub: Spike Jonze. Again
Best Supporting Actor:
Prediction: Michael Fassbender
Desire: Barkhad Abdi
Snub: Colin Farrell
Best Supporting Actress:
Prediction: Jennifer Lawrence
Desire: Jennifer Lawrence
Snub: Scarlett Johanasson (Seriously)
Best Original Writing:
Prediction: American Hustle
Desire: Her
Snub: This is The End
Best Adapted Screenplay:
Prediction: 12 Years a Slave
Desire: Before Midnight
Snub: n/a
Best Animated Feature:
Prediction: Frozen
Desire: Frozen
Snub: n/a
Best Original Score:
Prediction: Philomena
Desire: Her
Snub: Frozen
Best Original Song:
Prediction: Let it Go
Desire: Let it Go
Snub: n/a
Best Sound Editing:
Prediction: Gravity
Desire: Gravity
Snub: Lone Ranger
Best Sound Mixing:
Prediction: Gravity
Desire: Gravity
Snub: Lone Ranger
Best Production Design:
Prediction: 12 Years a Slave
Desire: Her
Snub: Iron Man 3
Best Cinematography
Prediction: Gravity
Desire: Gravity
Snub: Before Midnight
Best Makeup
Prediction: The Lone Ranger
Desire: Bad Grandpa
Snub: n/a
Best Costume
Prediction: American Hustle
Desire: 12 Years a Slave
Snub: The Lone Ranger
Best Film Editing:
Prediction: Gravity
Desire: Gravity
Snub: n/a
Best Visual Effects:
Prediction: Gravity
Desire: Gravity
Snub: n/a
Other Award Predictions:
Best Foreign Language Feature: The Hunt
Best Documentary: 20 Feet From Stardom
Best Short Documentary: Facing Fear
Best Live Action Short: Helium
Best Animated Short Film: Get a Horse!
Overall I predict a show in which multiple movies will win multiple awards, as opposed to one running away with it. But 12 Years a Slave should be the winner for sure, it has the credentials, it has the effort from the marketing crew, and has won plenty of awards leading up to it. It wont win the technical awards that Gravity will win, but name the very last time a science fiction movie won Best Picture.
Go ahead, I’ll wait…
If The Matrix, Wall-E, Terminator 2, Aliens, Star Wars, Empire Strikes Back, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Back to the Future didn’t win, what on earth makes you think Gravity has a chance? Out of all the Best Picture nominees, Gravity is the best of the crop, and most deserving of the ultimate award. But........12 Years a Slave, congratulations.
See you on Oscar Sunday.
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