Review of 2010: Oscar Night Reaction & General Reflection

Jennifer Hudson bids farewell to 2010.

Last night was one of the strangest Oscar ceremonies in recent memory, and I'm not solely talking about the outlandish behaviour of a certain James Franco. With the possible exception of 2005, every year since I've been watching (2001-Present) has seen a decent tally of wins for the Best Picture victor, especially when they were particularly nailed-on for victory (Lord of the Rings, Slumdog Millionaire.) Moreover, the amount of times I've seen technical prizes tokenly handed out to Picture frontrunners in tick-the-box fashion, is downright obscene. Despite feeling reviled by the awardage of the big prize to "The King's Speech" I'm actually encouraged that the Academy appeared to consider the merits of each category more closely this year, awarding cinematography to "Inception" (a close second to "Black Swan" by my reckoning) and Best Original Score to the intricate score of "The Social Network," both of which remained cool outsiders in the betting.

The good parts of the ceremony largely entailed of a more sensible broadcast, short on montages and mini-introductions (we know what the nominated films are!), and back to substantial acting clips and song performances (which I believe in, despite their tendency to nominate terrible songs.) The bad emerged in the form of Celine Dion's excruciatingly sentimental accompaniment to the In Memoriam segment,  and the tacky sketch-style methods of the hosts, who just didn't seem to have the knack for this brand of comedy. I also felt that it was rather hurriedly ploughed through, managing to omit some of the staple unnecessary elements of the broadcast, but content to once again burden the winners with rashly-utilised exit music.

The Full List of Oscar Winners:

Best Picture: "The King’s Speech"

Best Director: Tom Hooper, "The King’s Speech"

Best Actor: Colin Firth, "The King’s Speech"

Best Actress: Natalie Portman, "Black Swan"

Best Supporting Actor: Christian Bale, "The Fighter"

Best Supporting Actress: Melissa Leo, "The Fighter"

Best Adapted Screenplay: Aaron Sorkin, "The Social Network"

Best Original Screenplay: David Seidler, "The King’s Speech"

Best Animated Feature: "Toy Story 3"

Best Editing: Angus Wall, Kirk Baxter, "The Social Network"

Best Cinematography: Wally Pfister, "Inception"

Best Original Score: Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, "The Social Network"

Best Art Direction: "Alice in Wonderland"

Best Costume Design: "Alice in Wonderland"

Best Visual Effects: "Inception"

Best Make-Up: "The Wolfman"

Best Sound Mixing: "Inception"

Best Sound Editing: "Inception"

Best Song: We Belong Together, "Toy Story 3"

Best Documentary: "Inside Job"

Best Documentary Short: "Strangers No More"

Best Live Action Short: "God of Love"

Best Animated Short: "The Lost Thing"

Best Foreign Language Film: "In a Better World," Denmark

Best Speech: Charles Ferguson, director of "Inside Job," whose only fault at the podium was not being Banksy. Keep knocking those bankers down.

Worst Speech: Tom Hooper, who does little for the white-British stereotype that we're all well-to-do and listen to our mothers.

Most Satisfying Victory: Aaron Sorkin's screenplay victory must rank as one of the finest in the category for a long, long time.

Least Satisfying Victory: I'm trying not to sound too bitter, but again, it has to be Tom Hooper. It's no wonder he looked like the cat that got the cream, when he beat such visionary opponents with a film that feels so visually drab and lifeless.

Thankfully for Colin, this rant is over.

Some Words about 2010 in General: From an Indie perspective, there was an awful lot to be encouraged about this year. I don't approve of a ten-wide Best Picture field, but it's heartening that smaller productions can gather a lot of traction from critical adoration and early popularity (see: "Winter's Bone" and "The Kids Are All Right") and gain multiple acting nominations in the process. I sincerely hope that this isn't a one-off, and I suspect it won't be, if American mainstream cinema continues to generally struggle.

The other key observation is that there simply is no accounting for taste. Connotative, schematic displays of "prestige" still rule the roost, but only when enough people rally behind them. One hopes that this royal triumph does not aid in slackening the tolerance towards gaudy shows of period elegance, but as ever, we'll have to wait until next year to find out.

Final Oscar Predictions: Part 2/2

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

"127 Hours"

"The Social Network"

"Toy Story 3"

"True Grit"

"Winter's Bone"

Predicted Winner: "The Social Network"

My Favourite: "The Social Network"

Writing (Original Screenplay)

"Another Year"

"The Fighter"

"Inception"

"The Kids Are All Right"

"The King's Speech"

Predicted Winner: "The King's Speech"

My Favourite: "The Fighter"

The screenplays are pretty much a done deal. I still think "The Social Network" is way stronger than any of its competitors, and Aaron Sorkin has too much respect to lose.

Actor in a Leading Role

Javier Bardem in "Biutiful"

Jeff Bridges in "True Grit"

Jesse Eisenberg in "The Social Network"

Colin Firth in "The King's Speech"

James Franco in "127 Hours"

Predicted Winner: Colin Firth, "The King's Speech"

My Favourite: Jesse Eisenberg, "The Social Network"

I think this category is eminently improvable, but Firth is a decent winner.

Actor in a Supporting Role

Christian Bale in "The Fighter"

John Hawkes in "Winter's Bone"

Jeremy Renner in "The Town"

Mark Ruffalo in "The Kids Are All Right"

Geoffrey Rush in "The King's Speech"

Predicted Winner: Christian Bale, "The Fighter"

My Favourite: John Hawkes, "Winter's Bone"

Rush only wins if a big sweep happens, which I don't think it will. Bale has everything going for him as an Oscar candidate, and Dickie has significantly more impact as a character than Lionel Logue.

Actress in a Leading Role

Annette Bening in "The Kids Are All Right"

Nicole Kidman in "Rabbit Hole"

Jennifer Lawrence in "Winter's Bone"

Natalie Portman in "Black Swan"

Michelle Williams in "Blue Valentine"

Predicted Winner: Natalie Portman, "Black Swan"

My Favourite: Nicole Kidman, "Rabbit Hole"

It would be rather amusing watching the celebrity mags guffaw over a loss for the blushing Natalie Portman (she's PREGNANT, wouldn't you know?) but even I can't really justify a Bening triumph (either qualitatively, or prognostically.)

Actress in a Supporting Role

Amy Adams in "The Fighter"

Helena Bonham Carter in "The King's Speech"

Melissa Leo in "The Fighter"

Hailee Steinfeld in "True Grit"

Jacki Weaver in "Animal Kingdom"

Predicted Winner: Melissa Leo, "The Fighter"

My Favourite: Jacki Weaver, "Animal Kingdom"

The interesting category, which unfortunately should be over fairly early in the ceremony. Unless they're somehow aware that this one's a closely-fought battle. I suspect it's less close than people think, because no one woman has been able to mount a challenge against Leo's precursor-winning trashy Mom turn. Maybe Helena at a push, but I don't see it happening.

Directing

Darren Aronofsky, "Black Swan"

Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, "True Grit"

David Fincher, "The Social Network"

Tom Hooper, "The King's Speech"

David O. Russell, "The Fighter"

Predicted Winner: Tom Hooper, "The King's Speech"

My Favourite: David O. Russell, "The Fighter"

I don't want to predict this, but I feel I must. I will admit that the rare occasions that DGA has not correlated with Oscar, it's usually been for more well-known directors, and Hooper hasn't really managed to win anything beyond that guild prize. But still, you sense that there is an awful lot of love for this film, and Fincher himself doesn't project much likeability.

Best Picture

"Black Swan"

"The Fighter"

"Inception"

"The Kids Are All Right"

"The King's Speech"

"127 Hours"

"The Social Network"

"Toy Story 3"

"True Grit"

"Winter's Bone"

Predicted Winner: "The King's Speech"

My Favourite: "The Fighter"

This seems nailed on now.

The British Weighs In (and so do BAFTA)

Things are hotting up on the Awards front (or cooling down, depending on whether you think there's hope of an upset in one of the Actress categories) with the HFPA and BAFTA announcements these past couple of days. Yesterday was a serious hangover day for me (so many spirits, so little time) so at the risk of flogging a dead horse, here are the Golden Globe winners:

Drama: The Social Network

Musical or Comedy: The Kids Are All Right

Director: David Fincher, The Social Network

Best Actor, Drama: Colin Firth, The King's Speech

Best Actress, Drama: Natalie Portman, Black Swan

Best Actor, Musical or Comedy: Paul Giamatti, Barney's Version

Best Actress, Musical or Comedy: Annette Bening, The Kids Are All Right

Best Supporting Actor: Christian Bale, The Fighter

Best Supporting Actress: Melissa Leo, The Fighter

Original Score: Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, The Social Network

Original Song: "You Haven't Seen the Last of Me" (written by Diane Warren), Burlesque

Foreign Language Film: In a Better World

Animated Film: Toy Story 3

Screenplay: Aaron Sorkin, The Social Network

The winners were much less interesting than the whole hoopla around Ricky Gervais, who insulted anyone and everyone. For the record, I don't think you need to be personal about people to be funny, but when there's an organisation as shamelessly celeb-motivated as the HFPA they need to be taken down a peg or two. Awards shows exist to celebrate movies, but, as anyone on Twitter knows, most of the comments directed at performers/films involved are a critique. It's difficult to say what everyone else is thinking, but doesn't Gervais succeed simply because he's willing to call the Globes out on nominating "The Tourist" for ridiculous reasons? Personally, I wish he'd gone a step further and said something about "Alice in Wonderland" and "Red" while he was at it.

I won't say too much about what this means for everyone's Oscar bids, mainly because I plan to assess the big eight races in the next week with some final Oscar nominee predictions. Save for Director, no category seems totally locked up - which is more than can be said for the eventual winners. Still, ask the people behind The Aviator, Brokeback Mountain, Babel, Atonement, and Avatar whether they'd be confident about repeating a Globe win at the Oscars.

BAFTA Nominees:

BEST FILM

Black Swan

Inception

The King's Speech

The Social Network

True Grit

OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM

127 Hours

Another Year

Four Lions

The King's Speech

Made in Dagenham

OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER

The Arbor

Exit Through the Gift Shop

Four Lions

Monsters

Skeletons

DIRECTOR

127 Hours - Danny Boyle

Black Swan - Darren Aronofsky

Inception - Christopher Nolan

The King's Speech - Tom Hooper

The Social Network - David Fincher

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Black Swan - Mark Heyman, Andrés Heinz, John McLaughlin

The Fighter - Scott Silver, Paul Tamasy, Eric Johnson

Inception - Christopher Nolan

The Kids Are All Right - Lisa Cholodenko, Stuart Blumberg

The King's Speech - David Seidler

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

127 Hours - Danny Boyle, Simon Beaufoy

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Rasmus Heisterberg, Nikolaj Arcel

The Social Network - Aaron Sorkin

Toy Story 3- Michael Arndt

True Grit - Joel Coen, Ethan Coen

FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Biutiful - Alejandro González Iñárritu, Jon Kilik, Fernando Bovaira

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Søren Stærmose, Niels Arden Oplev

I Am Love - Luca Guadagnino, Francesco Melzi D'Eril, Marco Morabito, Massimiliano Violante

Of Gods and Men - Xavier Beauvois

The Secret in their Eyes - Mariela Besuievsky, Juan José Campanella

ANIMATED FILM

Despicable Me

How to Train Your Dragons

Toy Story 3

LEADING ACTOR

Jarvier Bardem - Biutiful

Jeff Bridges - True Grit

Jesse Eisenberg - The Social Network

Colin Firth - The King's Speech

James Franco - 127 Hours

LEADING ACTRESS

Annette Bening - The Kids Are All Right

Julianne Moore - The Kids Are All Right

Natalie Portman - Black Swan

Noomi Rapace - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Hailee Steinfeld - True Grit

SUPPORTING ACTOR

Christian Bale - The Fighter

Andrew Garfield - The Social Network

Pete Postlethwaite - The Town

Mark Ruffalo - The Kids Are All Right

Geoffrey Rush - The King's Speech

SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Amy Adams - The Fighter

Helena Bonham Carter - The King's Speech

Barbara Hershey - Black Swan

Lesley Manville - Another Year

Miranda Richardson - Made in Dagenham

ORIGINAL MUSIC

127 Hours - AR Rahman

Alice in Wonderland - Danny Elfman

How to Train Your Dragon - John Powell

Inception - Hans Zimmer

The King's Speech - Alexandre Desplat

CINEMATOGRAPHY

127 Hours - Anthony Dod Mantle, Enrique Chediak

Black Swan - Matthew Libatique

Inception - Wally Pfister

The King's Speech - Danny Cohen

True Grit - Roger Deakins

EDITING

127 Hours - Jon Harris

Black Swan - Andrew Weisblum

Inception - Lee Smith

The King's Speech - Tariq Anwar

The Social Network - Angus Wall, Kirk Baxter

PRODUCTION DESIGN

Alice in Wonderland - Robert Stromberg, Karen O'Hara

Black Swan - Thérèse DePrez, Tora Peterson

Inception - Guy Hendrix Dyas, Larry Dias, Doug Mowat

The King's Speech - Eve Stewart, Judy Farr

True Grit - Jess Gonchor, Nancy Haigh

COSTUME DESIGN

Alice in Wonderland - Colleen Atwood

Black Swan - Amy Westcott

The King's Speech - Jenny Beavan

Made in Dagenham - Louise Stjernsward

True Grit - Mary Zophres

SOUND

127 HOURS - Glenn Freemantle, Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke, Steven C Laneri, Douglas Cameron

Black Swan - Ken Ishii, Craig Henighan, Dominick Tavella

Inception - Richard King, Lora Hirschberg, Gary A Rizzo, Ed Novick

The King's Speech - John Midgley, Lee Walpole, Paul Hamblin

True Grit - Skip Lievsay, Craig Berkey, Greg Orloff, Peter F Kurland, Douglas Axtell

SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS

Alice in Wonderland - Nominees TBC

Black Swan - Dan Schrecker

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 - Tim Burke, John Richardson, Nicolas Ait'Hadi, Christian Manz

Inception - Chris Corbould, Paul Franklin, Andrew Lockley, Peter Bebb

Toy Story 3 - Nominees TBC

MAKE UP & HAIR

Alice in Wonderland - Nominees TBC

Black Swan - Judy Chin, Geordie Sheffer

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 - Amanda Knight, Lisa Tomblin

The King's Speech - Frances Hannon

Made in Dagenham - Lizzie Yianni Georgiou

I'm slightly ashamed at the narrowness of it all. Fourteen nominations is excessive enough a total as it is, without bestowing them upon "The King's Speech", a film with dull performances and even duller production values. It's also disappointing how much the Picture, Director, Screenplay, Cinematography, Editing and Sound categories overlap. There were more than seven pictures out in 2010, wouldn't ya know?

On the plus side: Julianne Moore's hopes of an Oscar nod remain alive, and Hailee Steinfeld gets into the right category for once. However, I cannot fathom how anyone can think Noomi Rapace is better than Jennifer Lawrence, Michelle Williams, Tilda Swinton, or even Hilary Swank, who acquits herself well in "Conviction" and is surely in a baitier role. This category reinforces the sense that this is more about the popularity of the films than it is about other factors like (shock horror!) the performance, or (surprisingly) the reputation of the women in the running.

 

More commentary to follow this week, along with a review of Abbas Kiarostami's Certified Copy, recently released on DVD in the U.K. The film reaches cinemas across the Atlantic on March 11.

National Board of Review 2010, Predictions

Every year I do this, and every year I do terribly. Apart from the odd Clint Eastwood mention, this is pretty much random guesswork.

My NBR Predictions:-

Best Picture

Prediction: "The King's Speech"

Alternate: "The Way Back"

Predicted Top Ten:

"127 Hours"

"Get Low"

"Hereafter"

"The Kids Are All Right"

"Secretariat"

"The Social Network"

"Toy Story 3"

"True Grit"

"The Way Back"

"Winter's Bone"

I don't think "Inception" will be as strong as some people seem to think, since it is rather difficult to keep track of. They're usually very conservative, which isn't exactly in line with "The Kids Are All Right", but the film has enough reinforcement of family values to ingratiate itself with voters. Part of the reasoning behind this list is prioritising films about old people and/or which contain sentiment. "Black Swan" seems a bit too out-there for this body's tastes.

 

Director

Prediction: Danny Boyle, "127 Hours"

Alternate: Clint Eastwood, "Hereafter"

I almost put Eastwood, but Boyle will have the more popular, rousing film.

 

Actress in a Leading Role

Prediction: Natalie Portman, "Black Swan"

Alternate: Anne Hathaway, "Love and Other Drugs"

They have generally swayed towards the young and pretty in recent years; Portman has the buzz, but Hathaway the bait.

 

Actor in a Leading Role

Prediction: Robert Duvall, "Get Low"

Alternate: Colin Firth, "The King's Speech"

And generally stately men in this category. I suspect this might be one of the few precursors Duvall picks up.

 

Actress in a Supporting Role

Prediction: Dianne Wiest, "Rabbit Hole"

Alternate: Miranda Richardson, "Made in Dagenham"

Their Supp Actress choices usually either wow me or dumbfound me. That Gong Li pick a few years ago was crazy-inspired.

Actor in a Supporting Role

Prediction: Geoffrey Rush, "The King's Speech"

Alternate: John Hawkes, "Winter's Bone"

They like Rush, and I'm convinced that Hawkes will pick up precursor notices.

 

Best Ensemble Performance

Prediction: "The Kids Are All Right"

Best Original Screenplay

Prediction: "The King's Speech"

Alternate: "Somewhere"

Best Adapted Screenplay

Prediction: "127 Hours"

Alternate: "The Social Network"

Best Animated Feature

Prediction: "Toy Story 3"

Best Foreign Language Film

Prediction: "Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives"

Alternate: "Of Gods and Men"