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OSCAR PREDICTIONS-2010
2018,
2017,
2016,
2015,
2014,
2013,
2011,
2010,
2009,
2008,
2007,
2006 |
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2010 ACADEMY AWARDS |
OSCAR PREDICTIONS
by:
-Larry "Bocepheus" Evans
-Jim "Good Old JR" Rutkowski
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The 2010 Academy Awards are coming up and our
two media opinion makers "BO" & "JR" have their predictions all set for Oscar Night.
How close will they be? We'll find out on Sunday March 7th. |
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 BO-The
82nd Annual Academy Awards are on the way and it could be an interesting show
since the hosts are Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin. It will be even more
interesting if the show ends in less than three hours. The nomination breakdown
was as follows:
AVATAR
and The
HURT LOCKER
got nine nominations each,
INGLORIOUS BASTERDS got eight
nominations,
PRECIOUS and Up in the Air got six;
UP
got five;
DISTRICT 9,
NINE
and
STAR TREK
got four while An Education,
CRAZY HEART,
The Princess and the Frog and The Young Victoria got three. |
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 JR-Oscar
begins the new decade of 2010 with its own Decalogue of change. The Academy, in
their effort to create more of a horse race in the Best Picture category, have
increased the amount films for the top prize from 5 to 10. By doing this, they
hope to quell the criticism that has been leveled at them in recent years, that
they have avoided recognizing more audience pleasing films. So this year we have
double the films. I can't say that I approve. It sounds like the Oscar version
of the wild card race. But we are stuck with it for the foreseeable future. It
might have been a feasible concept if they had not got it wrong the first time
out! Why on Earth is The Blind Side nominated for Best Picture?
WATCHMEN
took more chances.
STAR TREK
was extremely entertaining.
WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE is a timeless
film. But alas, Sandra Bullocks inspirational college football movie is
apparently able to stand toe to toe with the likes of
HURT LOCKER
. Let's move on to the predictions. Here are my
prognostications for all the major categories with the option of who I think
WILL win and who SHOULD win. And, as always, please no wagering. |
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SUPPORTING ACTRESS:
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Penelope Cruz for
NINE
Vera Farmiga for Up in the Air
Maggie Gyllenhaal for
CRAZY HEART
Anna Kendrick for Up in the Air
Mo'Nique for
PRECIOUS
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BO-The general rule of thumb is that if two people
from the same film are nominated then they cancel each other out but I am
predicting that this isn’t the case here and Farmiga wins for Up in the Air even
with Kendrick nominated. |
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JR-Mo'nique for
PRECIOUS will/should win. A
harrowing piece of work from someone who is only known as a comedienne. Not just
surprising in that regard, but also a hateful yet sad characterization. A
spectacular performance. |
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BO'S PICK FOR WINNER: Vera Farmiga for Up in the Air |
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JR'S PICK FOR WINNER: Mo'Nique for
PRECIOUS
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| 2010 WINNER:
Mo'Nique for
PRECIOUS
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SUPPORTING ACTOR:
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Matt Damon for Invictus
Woody Harrelson for The Messenger
Christopher Plummer for The Last Station
Stanley Tucci for The Lovely Bones
Christoph Waltz for
INGLORIOUS BASTERDS |
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BO-After his first scene Waltz had the award locked
up and so it’s him in a walk. |
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JR-Christoph Waltz in
INGLORIOUS BASTERDS
will/should get the gold. Waltz was really the only great thing in Quentin
Tarantino's alternate history lesson. I'm not a fan of the film but there is no
denying that Waltz creates an indelible character. |
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BO'S PICK FOR WINNER: Christoph Waltz for
INGLORIOUS BASTERDS |
| JR'S PICK FOR WINNER: Christoph
Waltz for
INGLORIOUS BASTERDS |
| 2010 WINNER:
Christoph Waltz for
INGLORIOUS BASTERDS |
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BEST ACTRESS:
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Sandra Bullock for The Blind Side
Helen Mirren for The Last Station
Carey Mulligan for An Education
Gabourey Sidibe for
PRECIOUS
Meryl Streep for Julie & Julia. |
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BO-Mulligan and Sidibe are new so I would count them out. Bullock may have given
a great performance but she didn’t do any special in a film that removed all the
edges off a great book. Streep to me has entered the Tom Hanks zone of ‘don’t
you have enough Oscar’s?’ so I am casting my vote for the always wonderful Helen
Mirren. |
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JR-I have a feeling that Sandra Bullock will win for The Blind Side. Hollywood
loves a comeback story and Bullock has come back this past year in a major way.
After falling off the radar, she's had several large successes. Plus this is the
sort of feel good performance that the Academy likes. But should she win? No.
Yet the category is not an easy one to peg this year. All of the nominees are
fine. Meryl Streep completely inhabits Julia Child. Newcomer Gabourey Sidibe is
impressive in her debut film. Helen Mirren chews up the set in her turn as
Tolstoy's wife. But my pick for who should win is Carey Mulligan for An
Education. Playing a school girl that finds herself in a relationship with a
professor, Mulligan conjures comparisons to Audrey Hepburn. Fragile yet strong.
Funny yet pensive. But always with an underlying sense of the intelligence of a
very old soul. Mulligan will be a huge star but more so, she shows the
possibility of being an actress for the ages. |
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BO'S PICK FOR WINNER: Helen Mirren for The Last Station |
| JR'S PICK FOR WINNER: Sandra
Bullock for The Blind Side |
| 2010 WINNER: Sandra Bullock for The Blind Side |
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BEST ACTOR:
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Jeff Bridges for
CRAZY HEART
George Clooney for Up in the Air
Colin Firth for A Single Man
Morgan Freeman for Invictus
Jeremy Renner for
HURT LOCKER
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BO-CRAZY HEART is a film that barely got released
but there is a lot of sentiment for Bridges to finally take home the gold. Until
the end of the year Clooney was the favorite and I think that may still be the
case. If I had a vote I would give it to Renner but I don’t so I am betting on
Clooney. |
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JR-Hands down, the most difficult category this year
to handicap. Each and every nominee is worthy. My choice for who should win is
Jeff Bridges for
CRAZY HEART. It's a career performance that Bridges seems to
mine from deep in his soul. Bridges has been giving great performances for
decades now. Not to infer that this prize should be his based on career
achievement. His turn in
CRAZY HEART is as great as it gets. I also think the
Academy will give him the gold. However, George Clooney could very well win for
Up In The Air. Until
CRAZY HEART came along, I was picking Clooney as the lock
for this category. If he should win, it would not be a bad thing.
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BO'S PICK FOR WINNER: George Clooney for Up in the Air |
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JR'S PICK FOR WINNER: Jeff Bridges for
CRAZY HEART |
| 2010 WINNER: Jeff Bridges for
CRAZY HEART |
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ORIGINAL SONG:
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Almost There from The Princess & the Frog
Down in New Orleans from The Princess & the Frog
Loin de Paname from Paris 36
Take it All from Nine
The Weary Kind from
CRAZY HEART. |
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BO-This year we will not see the sings sung live and
will instead listen to taped segments of the songs. That’s actually a good move
in most years and a perfect one this time around since most of the nominees are
crappy, bland ass songs that seem to have been nominated to fill out the
category. The only song with any heft to it is The Weary Kind and so that’s my
choice |
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JR-The Weary Kind from
CRAZY HEART sung by Jeff
Bridges will/should win. It perfectly exemplifies Bridges performance and the
entire tone of the film. |
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BO'S PICK FOR WINNER: The Weary Kind from
CRAZY HEART |
| JR'S PICK FOR WINNER: The Weary
Kind from
CRAZY HEART |
| 2010 WINNER:
The Weary Kind from
CRAZY HEART. |
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ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:
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HURT LOCKER
INGLORIOUS BASTERDS
The Messenger
A SERIOUS MAN
UP |
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BO-In any other year Tarantino walks away with this
but
HURT LOCKER
is from Mark Boal, a journalist who had never written a
screenplay before. It’s a tough skill set to learn and for that he gets the
Oscar if I am voting. |
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JR-Mark Boal for The
HURT LOCKER
will win. A tightly
wound, war torn thriller. Great stuff.
But if it was up to me, The Coen Brother's script for
A SERIOUS MAN would take
the prize. This is some of the brothers very best writing.
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BO'S PICK FOR WINNER:
HURT LOCKER
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| JR'S PICK FOR WINNER:
HURT LOCKER
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| 2010 WINNER:
HURT LOCKER |
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ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:
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An Education
DISTRICT 9
In the Loop
PRECIOUS
Up in the Air |
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BO-This is a category in which the writer has a hard
job. Adapting something means you have to take the source material and turn it
into a movie.
DISTRICT 9 is a longer version of a short so that kills it in my
mind because all that had to be done in extend what was already there. I toss
out the other three (Education,
PRECIOUS and Loop) purely for commercial
reasons. None of the three are burning up the sales charts after getting the
nods but every time I wander into Borders Up in the Air is wandering over to the
registers. The book is all internal dialogue and turning a monologue into a film
as engaging as it is deserves the Oscar.
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JR-Geoffrey Fletcher's adaptation of
PRECIOUS
will/should win. But I also like Jason Reitman's work on Up In The Air. |
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BO'S PICK FOR WINNER: Up in the Air |
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JR'S PICK FOR WINNER:
PRECIOUS |
| 2010 WINNER:
PRECIOUS |
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ANIMATED FEATURE FILM:
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Coraline
FANTASTIC MR.FOX
The Princess and the Frog
The Secret of Kells
UP |
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BO-The Secret of Kells wandered in this category out
of nowhere but
UP gets the statue hands down. Princess shouldn’t even be in this
group. |
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JR-Is there any other choice but
UP? Will win and
should win. Pixar will win this prize year after year for many years to come. As
a side note, the other films are all excellent. Not a bad one in the bunch. My
only surprise is that this is the first year that Japanese master film maker Hiyao Miyazaki's film did not get nominated. His film
PONYO deserves to be on
this list. |
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BO'S PICK FOR WINNER:
UP |
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JR'S PICK FOR WINNER:
UP |
| 2010 WINNER:
UP |
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DIRECTOR:
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Kathryn Bigelow for
HURT LOCKER
James Cameron for
AVATAR
Lee Daniels for
PRECIOUS
Jason Reitman for Up in the Air
Quentin Tarantino for
INGLORIOUS BASTERDS |
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BO-Daniels doesn’t have a chance in hell, Tarantino isn’t getting the nod here
and Reitman was the front runner until Bigelow and Cameron wandered into the
picture. That said, I am betting on Bigelow. |
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JR-This category holds the possibility of tremendous irony. Ex- husband and
wife, James Cameron and Kathyrn Bigelow are both nominated. How great would it
be to see Bigelow take the statue, raise it above her head and say, “I'm the
queen of the world!”. Alright. Enough of that. Bigelow deserves this. She took a
terrific screenplay and turned it into a tense, gripping and emotionally
effective film about a bomb disposal unit in Iraq. It leaves you shaken,
exhilarated and drained, but also thinking. Brilliant. |
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BO'S PICK FOR WINNER: Kathryn Bigelow for
HURT LOCKER
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JR'S PICK FOR WINNER: Kathryn Bigelow for
HURT LOCKER
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2010 WINNER: Kathryn Bigelow for
HURT LOCKER
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BEST PICTURE:
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An Education
AVATAR
The Blind Side
DISTRICT 9
HURT LOCKER
INGLORIOUS BASTERDS
PRECIOUS
A SERIOUS MAN
UP
REVIEW-A-PALOOZA
Up in the Air.
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BO-The Academy added five more films to the list and
even with that included films that shouldn’t be here such as Blind Side. In a
perfect world
HURT LOCKER
should win but I wouldn’t be amazed if
AVATAR took the
little gold statue. |
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JR-Now for the big prize and I have no hesitancy in
saying that The
HURT LOCKER
is the clear choice for all the reasons I gave in
the previous category. Here is where things get dicey however. At this point, I
believe the Academy will give The
HURT LOCKER
the Oscar. But I have a suspicion
that the Academy may think they have an agenda this year. And that agenda is to
prove to the audience that they like what everyone in America likes. They may
want to show us that they are not the erudite, and snobbish bores that everyone
thinks they are. If that's the case, we could be looking at that Oscar rarity:
the split! Best Director could very well go to Kathryn Bigelow but Best Picture
could be given to
AVATAR. I'm hoping that good sense rules the day and
HURT LOCKER
remains the front runner. But just remember, you heard it here first! |
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BO'S PICK FOR WINNER:
AVATAR |
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JR'S PICK FOR WINNER:
HURT LOCKER
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2010 WINNER:
HURT LOCKER
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FINAL TALLEY:
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BO PICKED 5 of 11 WINNERS |
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JR PICK 11 of 11 WINNERS |
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OSCAR © Copyright 2010 Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences. No right given or implied by Alternate Reality, Incorporated.
Article © 2010 Alternate Reality, Inc.
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