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Oscar Winners-How Did I Do?

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So the Oscars were last night, and I wanted to see how well I did. Here was the list of nominees, and my original picks for who should win and who will win. I will add the who did win section with some thoughts.

BEST PICTURE

American Fiction
Anatomy of a Fall
Barbie
The Holdovers
Killers of the Flower Moon
Maestro
Oppenheimer
Past Lives
Poor Things
The Zone of Interest

SHOULD WIN: Oppenheimer

WILL WIN: Oppenheimer

WHO DID WIN: Oppenheimer

Not a surprise.

BEST DIRECTOR

Jonathan Glazer, The Zone of Interest
Yorgos Lanthimos, Poor Things
Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer
Martin Scorsese, Killers of the Flower Moon
Justine Triet, Anatomy of a Fall

SHOULD WIN: Christopher Nolan

WILL WIN: Christopher Nolan

WHO DID WIN: Christopher Nolan. Nolan was another fairly obvious pick.

BEST ACTRESS

Annette Bening, Nyad
Lily Gladstone, Killers of the Flower Moon
Sandra Hüller, Anatomy of a Fall
Carey Mulligan, Maestro
Emma Stone, Poor Things

SHOULD WIN: Emma Stone

WILL WIN: Lily Gladstone (I’ve got a feeling on this one. I could see Emma Stone winning easily too)

WHO DID WIN: Emma Stone. I should have stuck with my gut, but I thought Lily Gladstone had the momentum.

BEST ACTOR 

Bradley Cooper, Maestro
Colman Domingo, Rustin
Paul Giamatti, The Holdovers
Cillian Murphy, Oppenheimer
Jeffrey Wright, American Fiction

SHOULD WIN: Paul Giamatti

WILL WIN: Cillian Murphy

WHO DID WIN: Cillian Murphy.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Emily Blunt, Oppenheimer
Danielle Brooks, The Color Purple
America Ferrera, Barbie
Jodie Foster, Nyad
Da’Vine Joy Randolph, The Holdovers

SHOULD WIN: Da’Vine Joy Randolph

WILL WIN: Da’Vine Joy Randolph (LOCK!)

WHO DID WIN: Da’Vine Joy Randolph. It was a Sure thing lock. She was wonderful with ehr speech too.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Sterling K. Brown, American Fiction
Robert De Niro, Killers of the Flower Moon
Robert Downey Jr., Oppenheimer
Ryan Gosling, Barbie
Mark Ruffalo, Poor Things

SHOULD WIN: Robert Downey Jr.

WILL WIN: Robert Downey Jr. (Almost a LOCK)

WHO DID WIN: RDJ. Downey Jr. deserved his award for his performance and for years of great work.

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Justine Triet and Arthur Harari, Anatomy of a Fall
David Hemingson, The Holdovers
Bradley Cooper and Josh Singer, Maestro
Samy Burch, May December
Celine Song, Past Lives

SHOULD WIN: The Holdovers

WILL WIN: Anatomy of a Fall (I have not seen this film, waiting for the June Swoon.)

WHO DID WIN: Anatomy of a Fall. Got this one right. I did really well on the films that I have not yet seen.

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Cord Jefferson, American Fiction
Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach, Barbie
Tony McNamara, Poor Things
Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer
Jonathan Glazer, The Zone of Interest

SHOULD WIN: American Fiction

WILL WIN: Oppenheimer

WHO DID WIN: American Fiction. I did the Should Win here. Too bad I didn’t put it on the Will Win.

BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE

Io Capitano, Italy
Perfect Days, Japan
Society of the Snow, Spain
The Teacher’s Lounge, Germany
The Zone of Interest, United Kingdom

SHOULD WIN: Society of the Snow

WILL WIN: The Zone of Interest

WHO DID WIN: The Zone of Interest. Easy to pick, even if I liked Society of the Snow. I’ll see Zone of Interest in June Swoon 3.

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

The Boy and the Heron
Elemental
Nimona
Robot Dreams
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

SHOULD WIN: Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

WILL WIN: I’m uncertain for this. I am tempted to say The Boy and the Heron, but I’ll stick with Spider-Man.

WHO DID WIN: The Boy and the Heron. I had this feeling, but I could not pick against Spidey. I was not surprised at this ‘upset.’

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

Bobi Wine: The People’s President
The Eternal Memory
Four Daughters
To Kill a Tiger
20 Days in Mariupol

Haven’t seen any of these. I’ll guess 20 Days in Mariupol

WHO DID WIN: 20 Days in Mariupol. Good guesser!

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

El Conde
Killers of the Flower Moon
Maestro
Oppenheimer
Poor Things

SHOULD WIN: Oppenheimer

WILL WIN: Oppenheimer

WHO DID WIN: Oppenheimer.

BEST EDITING

Anatomy of a Fall
The Holdovers
Killers of the Flower Moon
Oppenheimer
Poor Things

SHOULD WIN: Poor Things

WILL WIN: Poor Things

WHO DID WIN: Oppenheimer. Part of the Oppenheimer rush -7 total wins!

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

Barbie
Killers of the Flower Moon
Napoleon
Oppenheimer
Poor Things

SHOULD WIN: Barbie

WILL WIN: Poor Things

WHO DID WIN: Poor Things. Very funny with a naked John Cena presenting this award.

BEST HAIR AND MAKEUP 

Golda
Maestro
Oppenheimer
Poor Things
Society of the Snow

SHOULD WIN: Poor Things

WILL WIN: Poor Things

WHO DID WIN: Poor Things. People were surprised this did not go to Maestro. I was confident in Poor Things.

BEST SOUND

The Creator
Maestro
Mission: Impossible—Dead Reckoning Part One
Oppenheimer
The Zone of Interest

SHOULD WIN: Oppenheimer

WILL WIN: Oppenheimer

WHO DID WIN: The Zone of Interest. This was a surprise for me. Of course, I have not seen the Zone of Interest yet.

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

The Creator
Godzilla Minus One
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Mission: Impossible—Dead Reckoning Part One
Napoleon

SHOULD WIN: The Creator

WILL WIN: Godzilla Minus One

WHO DID WIN: Godzilla Minus One. I was excited for this win.

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

Barbie
Killers of the Flower Moon
Napoleon
Oppenheimer
Poor Things

SHOULD WIN: Barbie

WILL WIN: Poor Things

WHO DID WIN: Poor Things. I did well with my Poor Things picks.

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

“What Was I Made For?”, Billie Eilish and Finneas, Barbie
“I’m Just Ken,” Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt, Barbie
“The Fire Inside,” Diane Warren, Flamin’ Hot
“It Never Went Away,” Jon Batiste, American Symphony
“Wahzhazhe (A Song for My People),” Osage Tribal Singers, Killers of the Flower Moon

SHOULD WIN: “I’m Just Ken”

WILL WIN: “What Was I Made For?”

WHO DID WIN: “What Was I Made For?” However Ryan Gosling’s performance of “I’m Just Ken” was one of the best moments of the night!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhWqpvGq6b4

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

American Fiction
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
Killers of the Flower Moon
Oppenheimer
Poor Things

SHOULD WIN: Oppenheimer

WILL WIN: Oppenheimer

WHO DID WIN: Oppenheimer

BEST LIVE-ACTION SHORT

The After
Invincible
Knight of Fortune
Red, White and Blue
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar

SHOULD WIN: The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar

WILL WIN: The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar

WHO DID WIN: The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar. Sad that Wes Anderson wasn’t at the ceremony.

BEST ANIMATED SHORT

Letter to a Pig
Ninety-Five Senses
Our Uniform
Pachyderme
War Is Over! Inspired by the Music of John & Yoko

SHOULD WIN: Letter to a Pig

WILL WIN: War is Over! Inspired by the Music of John & Yoko

WHO DID WIN: War is Over! Inspired by the Music of John & Yoko. Got this right. Letter to a Pig is much better still.

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT

The ABCs of Book Banning
The Barber of Little Rock
Island in Between
The Last Repair Shop
Nai Nai & Wai Po

Again, have not seen any of these. Guess: The Last Repair Shop

WHO DID WIN: The Last Repair Shop. Another lucky guess!

I was 18/23 and I really came close to picking Emma Stone and The Boy and the Heron.

EYG 2024 Academy Award Picks

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https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/awards-insider-oscar-nominations-2024

Here are the picks from EYG for tonight’s Academy Awards. I am giving the Should Win, Will Win choice for each. These are my picks, the nominees I think are going to win, not necessarily my favorites.

BEST PICTURE

American Fiction
Anatomy of a Fall
Barbie
The Holdovers
Killers of the Flower Moon
Maestro
Oppenheimer
Past Lives
Poor Things
The Zone of Interest

SHOULD WIN: Oppenheimer

WILL WIN: Oppenheimer

BEST DIRECTOR

Jonathan Glazer, The Zone of Interest
Yorgos Lanthimos, Poor Things
Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer
Martin Scorsese, Killers of the Flower Moon
Justine Triet, Anatomy of a Fall

SHOULD WIN: Christopher Nolan

WILL WIN: Christopher Nolan

BEST ACTRESS

Annette Bening, Nyad
Lily Gladstone, Killers of the Flower Moon
Sandra Hüller, Anatomy of a Fall
Carey Mulligan, Maestro
Emma Stone, Poor Things

SHOULD WIN: Emma Stone

WILL WIN: Lily Gladstone (I’ve got a feeling on this one. I could see Emma Stone winning easily too)

BEST ACTOR 

Bradley Cooper, Maestro
Colman Domingo, Rustin
Paul Giamatti, The Holdovers
Cillian Murphy, Oppenheimer
Jeffrey Wright, American Fiction

SHOULD WIN: Paul Giamatti

WILL WIN: Cillian Murphy

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Emily Blunt, Oppenheimer
Danielle Brooks, The Color Purple
America Ferrera, Barbie
Jodie Foster, Nyad
Da’Vine Joy Randolph, The Holdovers

SHOULD WIN: Da’Vine Joy Randolph

WILL WIN: Da’Vine Joy Randolph (LOCK!)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Sterling K. Brown, American Fiction
Robert De Niro, Killers of the Flower Moon
Robert Downey Jr., Oppenheimer
Ryan Gosling, Barbie
Mark Ruffalo, Poor Things

SHOULD WIN: Robert Downey Jr.

WILL WIN: Robert Downey Jr. (Almost a LOCK)

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Justine Triet and Arthur Harari, Anatomy of a Fall
David Hemingson, The Holdovers
Bradley Cooper and Josh Singer, Maestro
Samy Burch, May December
Celine Song, Past Lives

SHOULD WIN: The Holdovers

WILL WIN: Anatomy of a Fall (I have not seen this film, waiting for the June Swoon.)

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Cord Jefferson, American Fiction
Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach, Barbie
Tony McNamara, Poor Things
Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer
Jonathan Glazer, The Zone of Interest

SHOULD WIN: American Fiction

WILL WIN: Oppenheimer

BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE

Io Capitano, Italy
Perfect Days, Japan
Society of the Snow, Spain
The Teacher’s Lounge, Germany
The Zone of Interest, United Kingdom

SHOULD WIN: Society of the Snow

WILL WIN: The Zone of Interest

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

The Boy and the Heron
Elemental
Nimona
Robot Dreams
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

SHOULD WIN: Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

WILL WIN: I’m uncertain for this. I am tempted to say The Boy and the Heron, but I’ll stick with Spider-Man.

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

Bobi Wine: The People’s President
The Eternal Memory
Four Daughters
To Kill a Tiger
20 Days in Mariupol

Haven’t seen any of these. I’ll guess 20 Days in Mariupol

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

El Conde
Killers of the Flower Moon
Maestro
Oppenheimer
Poor Things

SHOULD WIN: Oppenheimer

WILL WIN: Oppenheimer

BEST EDITING

Anatomy of a Fall
The Holdovers
Killers of the Flower Moon
Oppenheimer
Poor Things

SHOULD WIN: Poor Things

WILL WIN: Poor Things

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

Barbie
Killers of the Flower Moon
Napoleon
Oppenheimer
Poor Things

SHOULD WIN: Barbie

WILL WIN: Poor Things

BEST HAIR AND MAKEUP 

Golda
Maestro
Oppenheimer
Poor Things
Society of the Snow

SHOULD WIN: Poor Things

WILL WIN: Poor Things

BEST SOUND

The Creator
Maestro
Mission: Impossible—Dead Reckoning Part One
Oppenheimer
The Zone of Interest

SHOULD WIN: Oppenheimer

WILL WIN: Oppenheimer

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

The Creator
Godzilla Minus One
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Mission: Impossible—Dead Reckoning Part One
Napoleon

SHOULD WIN: The Creator

WILL WIN: Godzilla Minus One

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

Barbie
Killers of the Flower Moon
Napoleon
Oppenheimer
Poor Things

SHOULD WIN: Barbie

WILL WIN: Poor Things

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

“What Was I Made For?”, Billie Eilish and Finneas, Barbie
“I’m Just Ken,” Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt, Barbie
“The Fire Inside,” Diane Warren, Flamin’ Hot
“It Never Went Away,” Jon Batiste, American Symphony
“Wahzhazhe (A Song for My People),” Osage Tribal Singers, Killers of the Flower Moon

SHOULD WIN: “I’m Just Ken”

WILL WIN: “What Was I Made For?”

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

American Fiction
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
Killers of the Flower Moon
Oppenheimer
Poor Things

SHOULD WIN: Oppenheimer

WILL WIN: Oppenheimer

BEST LIVE-ACTION SHORT

The After
Invincible
Knight of Fortune
Red, White and Blue
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar

SHOULD WIN: The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar

WILL WIN: The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar

BEST ANIMATED SHORT

Letter to a Pig
Ninety-Five Senses
Our Uniform
Pachyderme
War Is Over! Inspired by the Music of John & Yoko

SHOULD WIN: Letter to a Pig

WILL WIN: War is Over! Inspired by the Music of John & Yoko

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT

The ABCs of Book Banning
The Barber of Little Rock
Island in Between
The Last Repair Shop
Nai Nai & Wai Po

Again, have not seen any of these. Guess: The Last Repair Shop

2023 “All Right, Mr. Deville, I am Ready for my Close Up” Award for Best Director

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“All Right, Mr. Deville, I am Ready for my Close Up” Award for Best Director

Previous Winners:  A.G. Inarritu (Birdman), Tim McCarthy (Spotlight), Damien Chazelle (La La Land), Patty Jenkins (Wonder Woman), Alfonso Cuarón (Roma), Anthony and Joe Russo (Avengers: Endgame), Spike Lee (Da 5 Bloods), Jon Watt (Spider-Man: No Way Home), Ryan Coogler (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever)

The director is a vital part of the film. In fact, these days, a lot of times, the director is more of a star of the movie than the lead actors. 

Again, these choices come from the EYG site and may be different than other awards shows. There are some crossover for sure, but there are some on my list than no one else will nominate.

Top 10 directors of 2023

10. Paul King (Wonka)

9. Ben Affleck (Air)

8. Yorgos Lanthimos (Poor Things)

7. Blitz Bazawule (The Color Purple)

6. Alexander Payne (The Holdovers)

5. Sean Durkin (The Iron Claw)

4. James Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3)

3. Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, Justin K. Thompson (Spider-Man: Across teh Spider-Verse)

2. Greta Gerwig (Barbie)

and the winner…

#1: Christopher Nolan (Oppenheimer)

I actually have always considered Nolan to be overrated as a director. There have not been that many of Nolan’s films that I loved. Most I felt were somewhat pretentious. Plus, it felt like critics always gave this guy a pass. Even garbage like Tenet had many critics making execuses.

There is no arguing that he has made a masterpiece in Oppenheimer. Every bit of this film is wonderful and, while it may be too long, all scenes feel important to what was happening. 

Then, the film was a massive hit as well, finding a place with Barbie in one of the biggest events of the summer, Barbenheimer.

Christopher Nolan surpassed what I expected and he truly deserves this award and I do think he is probably the front runner for the Oscar.

Top Geek Stories 2023

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Top 12 Geek Stories of 2023

#12. Shohei Ohtani signs with Dodgers for $700 million. One of the best baseball players on the planet signed a record breaking contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers, 12-years, $700 million. However, Ohtani deferred payment on all but $20 million until after the life of the contract so the Dodgers would have financial flexibility.

#11. Fantastic Four, Superman: Legacy casting. The news of the casting of these two iconic movies are one of the biggest things people can talk about. While there has been no confirmed casting for Fantastic Four, there have been a lot of rumors. As for Superman: Legacy, David Corenswet is Clark Kent and Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane. Nicholas Hoult was cast as Lex Luthor.

#10. Disney vs. Desantis. Florida Governor Ron Desantis planned to take away Disney’s tax free status. Disney played the game and made it so the new people in charge had no power. Desantis took it as an act of war. Unfortunately for him, Disney made him look fairly foolish.

#9. Box Office Struggles. The box office was filled with low totals and major flops. There were only a couple of huge hits this summer and films from Disney, WB and Sony struggle to make back their money. Part of the trouble is film budgets are out of control. Another reason is streaming makes it too easy to see films at home. 

#8. UAP Hearing. UAPs or unidentified aerial phenomena became news this year. Formerly known as UFOs, the House of Representatives held hearing about the mysterious phenomenon. What does the government really know? Will we ever know?

#7. Jonathan Majors Case. Jonathan Majors, actor who played Kang the Conqueror in the MCU, was arrested on several charges of domestic abuse. Majors was found guilty on two of the lesser charges, but it has still cost him his role as Kang.

#6. WWE Sold. The WWE was sold to Endeavor, the company that co-owned the UFC. Vince McMahon had forced his way back into the WWE, but, after the sale, he was removed from creative completely and Triple H was given total control.

#5. Twitter sold. Twitter, the social media platform, was sold to Elon Musk and the name was changed to X. Musk paid $44 billion for Twitter only to send the social media platform into the red. 

#4. Marvel Studio Struggles. Marvel Studios has had a difficult year. The public view is that the studio is in chaos. Variety published an article that made this very claim. The internet is filled with negative pieces about the MCU, because they have their own prejudices and need for clicks on their articles. Kevin Feige is making plans to right the course.

#3. Taylor Swift Tour. The Taylor Swift Eras Tour was a massive success, making over $900 million, estimated by Billboard. It is on track to becoming the highest grossing tour ever. A movie was also made out of the tour and it made millions at the box office.

#2. Barbenheimer. Two major movies opened on the same day, Barbie and Oppenheimer. There was a promotion combining the idea of both movies and seeing them both as a double feature. The promotion was incredibly success as both Barbie and Oppenheimer over performed in a summer of flops. Barbie wound up making over 1.3 billion and Oppenheimer was around $900 million. Many people (including myself) dressed up for the double feature in pink or with hats. It was a major success for theaters that could have used one.

#1. Writer and Actors Strikes. Hollywood was froze in place once again as two union strikes happened in the summer. First, the writers went on strike and then, not too long later, the actors followed suit. Thankfully, both strikes were settles before the end of the year, but did run for many months.

2023 The Avengers: Endgame Ensemble Cast of the Year

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The Avengers: Endgame Ensemble Cast of the Year Award

Previous Winners:  Avengers: Endgame (2019), The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020), In the Heights (2021), Mass (2021), Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022), Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022)

This year had a few solid ensemble casts. I generally consider an ensemble cast here as a cast without a main lead, although some of the previous winners did have lead performances too.

Runners-Up: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. A great finale for this franchise within the MCU. Everybody got their awesome final moments. Dungeons & Dragons was a surprise hit of the year, at least critically. Their group of actors worked so well together. Air was another film that did great earlier in the year. The third Poirot film with Kenneth Branagh was the best of the three, A Haunting in Venice. Saltburn had a leading performance, but the ensemble around him was part of the weird film’s strength. 

Winner: Oppenheimer

Sure, you could make an argument that Cillian Murphy is the lead of the film. I mean, it is named after his character. However, there are so many rich and complex characters populating this film that you could argue that this might be one of the best ensemble casts of all time. Oppenheimer was a huge hit and should be heard from again come Oscar time.