By Ray Bennett
Anticipation of this year’s Academy Awards was a pleasure with many great films and terrific performances but then came the nominations for the prizes that lead up to the Oscars and it all went pear-shaped.
Inexplicable awards have been given to films such as “Argo”, “Les Misérables” and “Django Unchained” while prizes for splendid films such as “Life of Pi”, “Lincoln”, and “Silver Linings Playbook” have been hit and miss. Wonderful productions such as “The Master” and “Moonrise Kingdom” have found honours limited while the excellent “Killing Them Softly” was ignored entirely.
It means that tonight’s Oscar show might well turn out to be a major disappointment so many of these selections are made in hope that Academy Awards voters will prove smarter than the others, but history suggests they won’t be. A list of my choices follows:
BEST PICTURE
Will win: Lincoln
Could win: Silver Linings Playbook
Should win: Lincoln, Silver Linings Playbook
Should have been nominated: The Master, Killing Them Softly
BEST DIRECTOR
Will win: Steven Spielberg, Lincoln
Could win: David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook
Should win: Steven Spielberg, David O. Russell
Should have been nominated: Paul Thomas Anderson, The Master
BEST ACTOR
Will win: Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
Could win: Daniel Day-Lewis, Joaquin Phoenix, The Master
Should win: Daniel Day-Lewis, Joaquin Phoenix
Should have been nominated: Brad Pitt, Killing Them Softly
BEST ACTRESS
Will win: Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
Could win: Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty
Should win: Jennifer Lawrence
Should have been nominated: Rachel Weisz, Deep Blue Sea
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Will win: Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln
Could win: Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Master
Should win: Philip Seymour Hoffman
Should have been nominated: James Spader, The Master
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Will win: Anne Hathaway, Les Miséreables
Could win: Sally Field, Lincoln; Amy Adams, The Master
Should win: Sally Field, Amy Adams
Should have been nominated: Samantha Barks, Les Misérables
BEST SCORE
Will win: Life of Pi (Mychael Danna)
Could win: Anna Karenina (Dario Marianelli)
Should win: Life of Pi
Should have been nominated: Jonny Greenwood, The Master
BEST ORIGINAL SONG
Will win: ‘Skyfall’, Adele and Paul Epworth, Skyfall
Could win: ‘Pi’s Lullaby’, Life of Pi
Should win: ‘Pi’s Lullaby’
Should have been nominated: ‘Ancora Qui’ by Ennio Morricone & Elisa, Django Unchained
BEST EDITING
Will win: Argo
Could win: Zero Dark Thirty
Should win: Life of Pi
Should have been nominated: The Master
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Will win: Life of Pi
Could win: Skyfall
Should win: Life of Pi
Should have been nominated: The Master
BEST FOREIGN FILM
Will Win: Amour (Austria)
Could Win: Kon-Tiki (Norway)
Should win: No (Chile)
Should have been nominated: Intouchables (France)
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Will Win: Searching for Sugarman
Could Win: The Gatekeepers
Should Win: Searching for Sugarman
Should have been nominated: The Imposter, Marley
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Will win: Moonrise Kingdom
Could win: Zero Dark Thirty
Should win: Moonrise Kingdom
Should have been nominated: The Master
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Will win: Silver Linings Playbook
Could win: Lincoln
Should win: Silver Linings Playbook
Should have been nominated: Killing Them Softly
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Will win: Anna Karenina
Could win: Lincoln
Should win: Anna Karenina
Should have been nominated: The Master
BEST MAKEUP AND HAIR
Will win: The Hobbit
Could win: Les Misérables
Should win: Snow White and the Huntsman
Should have been nominated: Cloud Atlas
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Will win: Anna Karenina
Could win: Lincoln
Should win: Anna Karenina
Should have been nominated: The Master
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Will win: Life of Pi
Could win: Lif of Pi
Should win: Life of Pi
Should have been nominated: The Dark Knight Rises
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Will Win: Wreck-it Ralph
Could Win: Brave
Should Win: The Pirates: Band of Misfits
BEST SOUND EDITING
Will Win: Life of Pi
Could Win: Skyfall
Should Win: Zero Dark Thirty
BEST SOUND MIXING
Will Win: Zero Dark Thirty
Could Win: Skyfall
Should Win: Zero Dark Thirty
My picks for the 2013 Academy Awards
By Ray Bennett
Anticipation of this year’s Academy Awards was a pleasure with many great films and terrific performances but then came the nominations for the prizes that lead up to the Oscars and it all went pear-shaped.
Inexplicable awards have been given to films such as “Argo”, “Les Misérables” and “Django Unchained” while prizes for splendid films such as “Life of Pi”, “Lincoln”, and “Silver Linings Playbook” have been hit and miss. Wonderful productions such as “The Master” and “Moonrise Kingdom” have found honours limited while the excellent “Killing Them Softly” was ignored entirely.
It means that tonight’s Oscar show might well turn out to be a major disappointment so many of these selections are made in hope that Academy Awards voters will prove smarter than the others, but history suggests they won’t be. A list of my choices follows:
BEST PICTURE
Will win: Lincoln
Could win: Silver Linings Playbook
Should win: Lincoln, Silver Linings Playbook
Should have been nominated: The Master, Killing Them Softly
BEST DIRECTOR
Will win: Steven Spielberg, Lincoln
Could win: David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook
Should win: Steven Spielberg, David O. Russell
Should have been nominated: Paul Thomas Anderson, The Master
BEST ACTOR
Will win: Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
Could win: Daniel Day-Lewis, Joaquin Phoenix, The Master
Should win: Daniel Day-Lewis, Joaquin Phoenix
Should have been nominated: Brad Pitt, Killing Them Softly
BEST ACTRESS
Will win: Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
Could win: Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty
Should win: Jennifer Lawrence
Should have been nominated: Rachel Weisz, Deep Blue Sea
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Will win: Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln
Could win: Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Master
Should win: Philip Seymour Hoffman
Should have been nominated: James Spader, The Master
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Will win: Anne Hathaway, Les Miséreables
Could win: Sally Field, Lincoln; Amy Adams, The Master
Should win: Sally Field, Amy Adams
Should have been nominated: Samantha Barks, Les Misérables
BEST SCORE
Will win: Life of Pi (Mychael Danna)
Could win: Anna Karenina (Dario Marianelli)
Should win: Life of Pi
Should have been nominated: Jonny Greenwood, The Master
BEST ORIGINAL SONG
Will win: ‘Skyfall’, Adele and Paul Epworth, Skyfall
Could win: ‘Pi’s Lullaby’, Life of Pi
Should win: ‘Pi’s Lullaby’
Should have been nominated: ‘Ancora Qui’ by Ennio Morricone & Elisa, Django Unchained
BEST EDITING
Will win: Argo
Could win: Zero Dark Thirty
Should win: Life of Pi
Should have been nominated: The Master
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Will win: Life of Pi
Could win: Skyfall
Should win: Life of Pi
Should have been nominated: The Master
BEST FOREIGN FILM
Will Win: Amour (Austria)
Could Win: Kon-Tiki (Norway)
Should win: No (Chile)
Should have been nominated: Intouchables (France)
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Will Win: Searching for Sugarman
Could Win: The Gatekeepers
Should Win: Searching for Sugarman
Should have been nominated: The Imposter, Marley
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Will win: Moonrise Kingdom
Could win: Zero Dark Thirty
Should win: Moonrise Kingdom
Should have been nominated: The Master
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Will win: Silver Linings Playbook
Could win: Lincoln
Should win: Silver Linings Playbook
Should have been nominated: Killing Them Softly
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Will win: Anna Karenina
Could win: Lincoln
Should win: Anna Karenina
Should have been nominated: The Master
BEST MAKEUP AND HAIR
Will win: The Hobbit
Could win: Les Misérables
Should win: Snow White and the Huntsman
Should have been nominated: Cloud Atlas
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Will win: Anna Karenina
Could win: Lincoln
Should win: Anna Karenina
Should have been nominated: The Master
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Will win: Life of Pi
Could win: Lif of Pi
Should win: Life of Pi
Should have been nominated: The Dark Knight Rises
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Will Win: Wreck-it Ralph
Could Win: Brave
Should Win: The Pirates: Band of Misfits
BEST SOUND EDITING
Will Win: Life of Pi
Could Win: Skyfall
Should Win: Zero Dark Thirty
BEST SOUND MIXING
Will Win: Zero Dark Thirty
Could Win: Skyfall
Should Win: Zero Dark Thirty