Just in time, my choices for the Academy Awards. Since so many of this year’s best weren’t nominated, I’ve selected a best from the nominated works, and then what I consider to be actually the best in that category. Perhaps a secret write-in campaign will follow my choices. Perhaps not…
I’ve skipped a few categories for various reasons (no song deserves anything this year, missed as few docs and shorts, saw several films only on the small screen makes judging sound unfair, etc)
Onward. This is not a prediction of what will win, but what should win.
Picture
Nominees: Amour, Argo, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Django Unchained, Les Misérables, Life of Pi, Lincoln, Silver Linings Playbook, Zero Dark Thirty
Best of Nominees: Django Unchained
Best: Marvel’s The Avengers
Director
Nominees: Michael Haneke (Amour), Ang Lee (Life of Pi), David O. Russell (Silver Linings Playbook), Steven Spielberg (Lincoln), Benh Zeitlin (Beasts of the Southern Wild)
Best of Nominees: Steven Spielberg
Best: Ridley Scott (Prometheus)
Actor
Nominees: Bradley Cooper (Silver Linings Playbook), Daniel Day-Lewis (Lincoln), Hugh Jackman (Les Misérables), Joaquin Phoenix (The Master), Denzel Washington (Flight)
Best of Nominees: Daniel Day-Lewis
Best: Daniel Day-Lewis
Actress
Nominees: Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty), Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook), Emmanuelle Riva (Amour), Quvenzhané Wallis (Beasts of the Southern Wild), Naomi Watts (The Impossible)
Best of Nominees: Naomi Watts
Best: Naomi Watts
Supporting Actor
Nominees: Alan Arkin (Argo), Robert De Niro (Silver Linings Playbook), Philip Seymour Hoffman (The Master), Tommy Lee Jones (Lincoln), Christoph Waltz (Django Unchained)
Best of Nominees: Philip Seymour Hoffman
Best: Michael Fassbender (Prometheus)
Supporting Actress
Nominees: Amy Adams (The Master), Sally Field (Lincoln), Anne Hathaway (Les Misérables), Helen Hunt (The Sessions), Jacki Weaver (Silver Linings Playbook)
Best of Nominees: Anne Hathaway
Best: Anne Hathaway
Writing – Original Screenplay
Nominees: Amour, Django Unchained, Flight, Moonrise Kingdom, Zero Dark Thirty
Best of Nominees: Django Unchained
Best: Marvel’s The Avengers (unless we count it as an Adapted Screenplay, in which case it is best there)
Writing – Adapted Screenplay
Nominees: Argo, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Life of Pi, Lincoln, Silver Linings Playbook
Best of Nominees: Lincoln
Best: {See Original Screenplay}
Best Animated Feature
Nominees: Brave, Frankenweenie, ParaNorman, The Pirates! Band of Misfits, Wreck-It Ralph
Best of Nominees: Brave
Best: Brave
Best Production Design
Nominees: Anna Karenina, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Les Misérables, Life of Pi, Lincoln
Best of Nominees: Anna Karenina
Best: Upside Down
Best Cinematography
Nominees: Anna Karenina, Django Unchained, Life of Pi, Lincoln, Skyfall
Best of Nominees: Anna Karenina
Best: Prometheus
Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Nominees: Hitchcock,The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Les Misérables
Best of Nominees: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Best: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Best Film Editing
Nominees: Argo, Life of Pi, Lincoln, Silver Linings Playbook, Zero Dark Thirty
Best of Nominees: none (they are all horrible in editing)
Best: Marvel’s The Avengers
Best Visual Effects
Nominees: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Life of Pi, Marvel’s The Avengers, Prometheus, Snow White and the Huntsman
Best of Nominees: Marvel’s The Avengers
Best: Marvel’s The Avengers