#Andrew Chesworth. Bobby Pontillas

[movies-to-add-to-your-tbw]

Title: One Small Step

Rating: NR

Director: Andrew Chesworth, Bobby Pontillas

Cast: N/A

Release year: 2018

Genres: family, fantasy, adventure

Blurb: Luna is a vibrant young Chinese-American girl who dreams of becoming an astronaut. From the day she witnesses a rocket launching into space on TV, Luna is driven to reach for the stars. Luna lives with her loving father Chu in the big city, who supports her with a humble shoe repair business he runs out of his garage. As Luna grows up, she enters college, facing adversity of all kinds in pursuit of her dreams.

[simplyrobotix]

Animation Highlight: One Small Step

In April of this year TAIKO studios debuted the trailer for their short film “One Small Step”. Although I was not aware of the trailer there was no missing the many retweets and reposts of the film itself a few days ago on Sept 20th.

TAIKO is an award winning animation studio that believes in the power of story.

TAIKO Studios was founded in 2017 by CEO Shaofu Zhang in both Los Angeles and Wuhan, China. As a truly international company, the studio endeavors to bridge eastern and western cultures together to create memorable stories with universal appeal.

I felt that this film was worth sharing because I’m a

sap for father / daughter narratives and I LOVE the toon shaders and the light treatment. Please watch the film before reading any further because *SPOILER ALERT*

Luna is a young girl with an obsessive passion for space. She is so consumed by her multiple defeats in trying to get into a space program that she distances herself from her dad only for him to pass away. Through his death she regains the drive to try again and succeeds in graduating and getting into the space program.

This short film  hit entirely too close to home. This month makes 10 years since the unexpected passing of my father. Much like Luna, I was consumed with my own passion, animation. My father did not get to see me graduate from SVA with my degree in computer animation or get to see my first feature film credit in Blue Sky Studio’s 2016 Ice Age: Collision Course.

I really resonated with this film much more than I anticipated. The story telling was perfect. Saying more by saying less is my favorite. I feel like this film was just the encouragement I needed in this moment where I, like Luna, am falling short a bit more often than I would like. I know the next job for me is on the horizon and I will not give up until I’m in another studio being a part of the production team of the next animated project.

I deeply thank TAIKO studios for creating such a beautiful and heartfelt film.

Directed by Andrew Chesworth and Bobby Pontillas Produced by Shaofu Zhang CG Supervisor Joy Johnson Head of Pipeline Andrew Jennings Music Steve Horner

Visit TAIKO Studios to learn more about the film and the studio.

[filmsoundtracks-moved]

One Small Step 2018 (a short film) - TAIKO Studios presents the story of Luna, a Chinese American girl who dreams of becoming an astronaut.

[jerichopalms]

#15: One Small Step (2018, dir. by Andrew Chesworth & Bobby Pontillas)

[dweemeister]

Best Animated Short Film Nominees for the 91st Academy Awards (2019, listed in order of appearance in the shorts package)

So continues a proud tradition on this blog. This is the first of hopefully three omnibus write-ups on this year’s Oscar-nominated short films. We begin with this year’s slate for Animated Short Film. The category – once the domain of Walt Disney Animation Studios, Paramount, and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) – is now one of the most democratic of all Academy Award categories, with so many smaller independent studios nominated in recent decades. This year, four of the five nominees are about child-parent relationships – from the beginning to the end of life; showing parents who can be overbearing, bad influences, supportive. Here now are the Oscar-nominated animated short films.

Bao (2018)

Armed with an awards campaign war chest from Pixar and Disney, Domee Shi’s Bao is the prohibitive favorite on paper. For Bao, Shi – a Chinese-Canadian storyboard artist for Pixar – was influenced by her father’s artwork (he was an art professor) as well as two anime films in My Neighbors the Yamadas (1999) and Spirited Away (2001). The film opens with a Chinese-Canadian woman cooking baozi dumplings for herself and her husband. Once he goes to work, one of the dumplings sprouts limbs and begins acting like a human. She takes care of the dumpling as if it was her child. This relationship between the mother and the dumpling child is actually an allegory for her inability to let her real-life child go – empty nest syndrome, if you will, playing alongside Toby Chu’s beautiful score.

The film should be lauded for its display on how the Chinese mother in the film expresses how much she cares for her dumpling child/actual child – through food and other smaller acts of love across time. Bao nevertheless runs into trouble when its twist first appears (far too late and far too abruptly). The moment – though steeped in allegory – is such a tonal departure from the rest of the film, that it is impossible to know whether a gasp of disbelief or belly laughter is the appropriate response. It calls into question why even use the dumpling child as a stand-in for the mother’s actual child in the first place. And, as one of very few Asian-American persons who personally dislikes Bao, if the relationship problems between mother and son is concentrated on the mother’s inability to let her child grow into adulthood, then why is it incumbent upon the son to come to her to reconcile (the fact the father literally shoves his son to do so is nearing emotional abuse)? It is unclear if the mother has learned from her behavior, acknowledging what damage she has done to the relationship. As valuable as Bao is in its depiction of an Asian expatriate family, its mixed messaging continues to vex me.

My rating: 7/10

^ I saw Bao last year in front of Incredibles 2 as part of the 2018 Movie Odyssey. I enjoyed it more the second time around, lifting it from a 6/10.

Late Afternoon (2017)

From Ireland’s Cartoon Saloon, Late Afternoon is directed by Louise Bagnall. Bagnall served as character designer and animator on Song of the Sea (2014) and The Breadwinner (2017). An elderly woman named Emily (voiced by Fionnula Flanagan) lives at home with dementia. On this titular afternoon – the title perhaps also referring to Emily’s stage in life – Emily is recalling experiences from the past, not entirely living in the present. Also in Emily’s home is another woman who is seen packing Emily’s personal belongings. This woman seems familiar to Emily, somehow. For anyone who has ever had a loved one with dementia, what is represented in the film will be familiar: a reliving of scenes from one’s past (whether real, murky, exaggerated, or imagined) at any and all parts of life. Their speech, rooted in those flashbacks, make little sense in the moment.

But with Bagnall’s direction, Emily’s utterances become comprehensible. Awash in and playing with simple colors, Bagnall takes us inside Emily’s mind – breaking geometric reality whenever she is reliving her expressionistic memories. Though Emily may find joy in these reflections, there is melancholy in her inability to understand all that she is going through. Emily’s dementia breaks through in the final seconds of the film, but we suspect that when the day or the hour is new, she again will be frolicking on the beach as a child or playing with her teenage friends or something else that may cause nightmares. Late Afternoon will probably play best to those who have been close to those with dementia, but the film will still move those who have not.

My rating: 8/10

Animal Behaviour (2018)

The National Film Board of Canada (NFB) has been responsible for many memorable animated short films, and Alison Snowden and David Fine’s Animal Behaviour is the newest addition to that lineup. Snowden is a long-time NFB figure who also helped develop the Shaun the Sheep television series for Aardman Animation and the BBC; Fine is married to Snowden and, together, created the adult animation series Bob and Margaret. For Animal Behaviour, we sit in on a therapy session. The catch is that this very human situation is comprised entirely of animals. Dr. Clement is a pitbull who has repressed the urge to sniff another dog’s butt when meeting them for the first time, Lorraine the leech has a problem about being clingy in a relationship; Cheryl the praying mantis keeps cannibalizing her significant others; Todd the pig had a chocolate addiction but remains gluttonous; Jeffrey the bird says nothing about a past trauma; and newcomer Victor the ape has many things to sort out himself. There is also a cat whose reasons for attending the therapy group session are unclear.

Animal Behaviour’s jokes are tonally uneven and it almost wears out its welcome after Victor the ape has been present at the session for a few minutes. Many of the behavioral issues found among the therapy session participants are grounded in each animal’s typical behavior. Animal Behaviour romps around in its darkly comedic dialogue – from the animals sniping at each other’s behavior in direct and passive-aggressive ways. The humor is not the most inappropriate for children, but it is dependent on one’s acceptance of biting zingers that never descend into demeaning exchanges (a comedic balancing act that is difficult for humans to master, let alone through the medium of animation via animal characters).

My rating: 7/10

Weekends (2017)

Trevor Jimenez has been a storyboard artist for Blue Sky Studios, Pixar, and Walt Disney Animation Studios. With Weekends, Jimenez presents a semiautobiographical story about a six- or seven-year-old boy who splits his time between divorced parents – drawn from his own life going to his father’s residence on the weekends and staying with his mother during the week (in Jimenez’s own words, a, “fractured family”). The film is without dialogue, set in 1980s Toronto, and shows a boy in near-constant emotional anxiety (overt and otherwise). Unable to express to his parents the turmoil their divorce is having on his mentality, Jimenez instead uses music (Erik Satie’s Gymnopédie No.1 when with his mother; Dire Straits’ “Money for Nothing” when with his father) and especially surrealistic dream sequences reflect the boy’s sense of displacement. Using a charcoal background with hand-drawn animation, Weekends is gorgeously animated – with the assistance from Jimenez’s Pixar colleagues – and it would not be surprising if Jimenez was influenced by Bill Plympton’s (2008′s Idiots and Angels, 2013′s Cheatin’) angular, pencillike lifestyle.

Few divorce narratives ever adopt a child’s perspective. We see the mother attempting to adjust to her new life, as well as the father living in a way more befitting of an undergraduate student in a dorm room rather than an independent adult. But Weekends always draws back to the boy, allowing the audience to see how he feels about his parents’ attempts to move on from the other (he is terrified of his parents forming new relationships; because Weekends is not seen through the adults, much is suggested, left off-screen) and his evolving relationship between both his parents. Weekends takes a meditative pace, but never feels overly ponderous in delivering its message. A sense of belonging and togetherness is essential to being human. In times of distress, it can be difficult to understand what role one plays in another’s life. All that doubt and the comforting revelations that eventually arrive are on full display in Weekends.

My rating: 8.5/10

One Small Step (2018)

Fledgling animation studio Taiko Studios has made their first film in One Small Step – a co-production between the United States and China. Directed by Andrew Chesworth (former Disney animator) and Bobby Pontillas (formerly with Disney and Blue Sky), One Small Step is about a Chinese-American girl named Luna Chu, who is inspired to become an astronaut after watching television coverage of NASA’s Apollo 11 mission. She lives with only her father, a shoemaker and footwear repairman. Mr. Chu helps support her fascination with spaceflight and her dreams as best he can, even on the days when Luna is in a dire mood, believing that becoming an astronaut is out of reach.

If this story and this parent-child bond sounds rote, One Small Step handles one aspect of this narrative differently (the film, however, could benefit with more time due to its packed plot). On Luna’s darkest of days, she forgets to remember how important it is to treat herself and others with grace and kindness. Her academic failures are not an indication of who she is as a person. Her changing relationship with her father demonstrates how Luna loses sight of what is important as she struggles with schoolwork. Things as simple as her father’s offering of extra food before and after she heads off to university for the day or his repairing her shoes are taken for granted. Deliberately or otherwise (perhaps incidentally because there is no dialogue in this film), the film intuits that many parents of Asian descent express love through their actions, not with words. That includes Mr. Chu. As we see Luna in the film’s closing scene, she is of an age where she knows there are many things she wishes she could have expressed to her father. The tenacity she has shown in pursuing her dreams is enough.

My rating: 7.5/10

^ Based on my personal imdb rating. Half-points are always rounded down. My interpretation of that ratings system can be found here.

Two other films also played with this package: Wishing Box (2017) and Tweet Tweet (2018, Russia).

From previous years: 85th Academy Awards (2013), 87th (2015), 88th (2016), 89th (2017), and 90th (2018).

[giullia-jung-art]

So happy One Small Step was nominated as Animated short film 😍💕🚀

[lostgoonie1980]

16. One Small Step (One Small Step, 2018), dir. Andrew Chesworth & Bobby Pontillas

[mensagensalemdoinfinnito]

Olá, seja bem vindo ao canal Além do Infinnito! Acompanhe aqui lindas mensagens, vídeos feitos com muito amor e carinho. Fique com a gente, se inscreva no canal, deixe seu like e ative o sininho para não perder nenhum vídeo. '' One Small Step é um curta-metragem de animação sino-americano de 2018 de Andrew Chesworth & Bobby Pontillas e produzido pela Taiko Studios sobre a história de Luna, que é uma jovem sino-americana vibrante que sonha em se tornar uma astronauta. Desde o dia em que ela testemunhou o lançamento de um foguete no espaço na TV, Luna foi levada a alcançar as estrelas. Na cidade grande, Luna mora com seu amoroso pai Chu, que a sustenta com um modesto negócio de conserto de sapatos que ele administra em sua garagem. Conforme Luna cresce, ela entra na faculdade, enfrentando adversidades de todos os tipos em busca de seus sonhos. '' Música original de Steve Horner Dirigido por Andrew Chesworth e Bobby Pontillas Produzido por Shaofu Zhang

[cinemalerta]

91st ACADEMY AWARDS NOMINEES

BEST PICTURE

Black Panther

BlackKklansman

Bohemian Rhapsody

The Favourite

Green Book

Roma

A Star Is Born

Vice

BEST DIRECTOR

Spike Lee – BlackKklansman

Pawel Pawlikowski – Cold War

Yorgos Lanthimos – The Favourite

Alfonso Cuarón – Roma

Adam McKay – Vice

BEST ACTOR

Christian Bale – Vice as Dick Cheney

Bradley Cooper – A Star Is Born as Jackson “Jack” Maine

Willem Dafoe – At Eternity’s Gate as Vincent Van Gogh

Rami Malek – Bohemian Rhapsody as Freddie Mercury

Viggo Mortensen – Green Book as Frank "Tony Lip" Vallelonga

BEST ACTRESS

Yalitza Aparicio – Roma as Cleodegaria "Cleo" Gutiérrez

Glenn Close – The Wife as Joan Castleman

Olivia Colman – The Favourite as Anne, Queen of Great Britain

Lady Gaga – A Star Is Born as Ally Maine

Melissa McCarthy – Can You Ever Forgive Me? as Lee Israel

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Mahershala Ali – Green Book as Don Shirley

Adam Driver – BlacKkKlansman as Philip "Flip" Zimmerman

Sam Elliott – A Star Is Born as Bobby Maine

Richard E. Grant – Can You Ever Forgive Me? as Jack Hock

Sam Rockwell – Vice as George W. Bush

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Amy Adams – Vice as Lynne Cheney

Marina de Tavira – Roma as Sofía

Regina King – If Beale Street Could Talk as Sharon Rivers

Emma Stone – The Favourite as Abigail Masham

Rachel Weisz – The Favourite as Sarah Churchill

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

The Favourite – Written by Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara

First Reformed – Written by Paul Schrader

Green Book – Written by Nick Vallelonga & Brian Currie & Peter Farrelly

Roma – Written by Alfonso Cuarón

Vice – Written by Adam McKay

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs – Screenplay by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen; based on the short stories All Gold Canyon by Jack London, The Gal Who Got Rattled by Stewart Edward White, and short stories by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen

BlacKkKlansman – Screenplay by Charlie Wachtel & David Rabinowitz and Kevin Willmott & Spike Lee; based on the book by Ron Stallworth

Can You Ever Forgive Me? – Screenplay by Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty; based on the book by Lee Israel

If Beale Street Could Talk – Screenplay by Barry Jenkins; based on the book by James Baldwin

A Star Is Born – Screenplay by Eric Roth, Bradley Cooper & Will Fetters; based on the 1954 screenplay by Moss Hart and the 1976 screenplay by Joan Didion, John Gregory Dunne & Frank Pierson; based on a story by Robert Carson & William A. Wellman

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

Capernaum – Nadine Labaki – Lebanon

Cold War – Paweł Pawlikowski – Poland

Never Look Away –Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck – Germany

Roma – Alfonso Cuarón – Mexico

Shoplifters – Hirokazu Kore-eda - Japan

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM

Incredibles 2 – Brad Bird, John Walker and Nicole Paradis Grindle

Isle of Dogs – Wes Anderson, Scott Rudin, Steven Rales and Jeremy Dawson

Mirai – Mamoru Hosoda and Yūichirō Saitō

Ralph Breaks the Internet – Rich Moore, Phil Johnston and Clark Spencer

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse – Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

Free Solo – Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin, Evan Hayes and Shannon Dill

Hale County This Morning, This Evening – RaMell Ross, Joslyn Barnes and Su Kim

Minding the Gap – Bing Liu and Diane Quon

Of Fathers and Sons – Talal Derki, Ansgar Frerich, Eva Kemme and Tobias N. Siebert

RBG – Betsy West and Julie Cohen

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Cold War – Łukasz Żal

The Favourite – Robbie Ryan

Never Look Away – Caleb Deschanel

Roma – Alfonso Cuarón

A Star Is Born – Matthew Libatique

BEST EDITING

Cold War – Łukasz Żal

The Favourite – Robbie Ryan

Never Look Away – Caleb Deschanel

Roma – Alfonso Cuarón

A Star Is Born – Matthew Libatique

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

Black Panther – Production Design: Hannah Beachler; Set Decoration: Jay Hart

The Favourite – Production Design: Fiona Crombie; Set Decoration: Alice Felton

First Man – Production Design: Nathan Crowley; Set Decoration: Kathy Lucas

Mary Poppins Returns – Production Design: John Myhre; Set Decoration: Gordon Sim

Roma – Production Design: Eugenio Caballero; Set Decoration: Bárbara Enríquez

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs – Mary Zophres

Black Panther – Ruth E. Carter

The Favourite – Sandy Powell

Mary Poppins Returns – Sandy Powell

Mary Queen of Scots – Alexandra Byrne

BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING

Border – Göran Lundström and Pamela Goldammer

Mary Queen of Scots – Jenny Shircore, Marc Pilcher and Jessica Brooks

Vice – Greg Cannom, Kate Biscoe and Patricia Dehaney

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

Avengers: Infinity War – Dan DeLeeuw, Kelly Port, Russell Earl and Dan Sudick

Christopher Robin – Christopher Lawrence, Michael Eames, Theo Jones and Chris Corbould

First Man – Paul Lambert, Ian Hunter, Tristan Myles and J. D. Schwalm

Ready Player One – Roger Guyett, Grady Cofer, Matthew E. Butler and David Shirk

Solo: A Star Wars Story – Rob Bredow, Patrick Tubach, Neal Scanlan and Dominic Tuohy

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

Black Panther – Ludwig Göransson

BlacKkKlansman – Terence Blanchard

If Beale Street Could Talk – Nicholas Britell

Isle of Dogs – Alexandre Desplat

Mary Poppins Returns – Marc Shaiman

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

"All the Stars" from Black Panther – Music by Mark Spears, Kendrick Lamar Duckworth and Anthony Tiffith; Lyrics by Kendrick Lamar Duckworth, Anthony Tiffith and Solána Rowe

"I'll Fight" from RBG – Music and Lyrics by Diane Warren

"The Place Where Lost Things Go" from Mary Poppins Returns – Music by Marc Shaiman; Lyrics by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman

"Shallow" from A Star Is Born – Music and Lyrics by Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando and Andrew Wyatt

"When a Cowboy Trades His Spurs for Wings" from The Ballad of Buster Scruggs – Music and Lyrics by David Rawlings and Gillian Welch

BEST SOUND EDITING

Black Panther – Benjamin A. Burtt and Steve Boeddeker

Bohemian Rhapsody – John Warhurst and Nina Hartstone

First Man – Ai-Ling Lee and Mildred Iatrou Morgan

A Quiet Place – Ethan Van der Ryn and Erik Aadahl

Roma – Sergio Díaz and Skip Lievsay

BEST SOUND MIXING

Black Panther – Steve Boeddeker, Brandon Proctor and Peter J. Devlin

Bohemian Rhapsody – Paul Massey, Tim Cavagin and John Casali

First Man – Jon Taylor, Frank A. Montaño, Ai-Ling Lee and Mary H. Ellis

Roma – Skip Lievsay, Craig Henighan and José Antonio Garcia

A Star Is Born – Tom Ozanich, Dean Zupancic, Jason Ruder and Steve A. Morrow

BEST DOCUMENTARY – SHORT

Black Sheep – Ed Perkins and Jonathan Chinn

End Game – Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman

Lifeboat – Skye Fitzgerald and Bryn Mooser

A Night at the Garden – Marshall Curry

Period. End of Sentence. – Rayka Zehtabchi and Melissa Berton

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM

Detainment – Vincent Lambe and Darren Mahon

Fauve – Jérémy Comte and Maria Gracia Turgeon

Marguerite – Marianne Farley and Marie-Hélène Panisset

Mother – Rodrigo Sorogoyen and María del Puy Alvarado

Skin – Guy Nattiv and Jaime Ray Newman

BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM

Animal Behaviour – Alison Snowden and David Fine

Bao – Domee Shi and Becky Neiman-Cobb

Late Afternoon – Louise Bagnall and Nuria González Blanco

One Small Step – Andrew Chesworth and Bobby Pontillas

Weekends – Trevor Jimenez

[bongaboi]

2019 Academy Awards - The List.

Best Picture

Green Book – Jim Burke, Charles B. Wessler, Brian Currie, Peter Farrelly and Nick Vallelonga

Black Panther – Kevin Feige

BlacKkKlansman – Sean McKittrick, Jason Blum, Raymond Mansfield, Jordan Peele and Spike Lee

Bohemian Rhapsody – Graham King

The Favourite – Ceci Dempsey, Ed Guiney, Lee Magiday and Yorgos Lanthimos

Roma – Gabriela Rodríguez and Alfonso Cuarón

A Star Is Born – Bill Gerber, Bradley Cooper and Lynette Howell Taylor

Vice – Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Adam McKay and Kevin J. Messick

Best Director

Spike Lee – a

Spik

Paweł Pawlikowski – Cold War

Yorgos Lanthimos – The Favourite

Adam McKay – Vice

Best Actor

Rami Malek – Bohemian Rhapsody as Freddie Mercury

Christian Bale – Vice as Dick Cheney

Bradley Cooper – A Star Is Born as Jackson "Jack" Maine

Willem Dafoe – At Eternity's Gate as Vincent van Gogh

Viggo Mortensen – Green Book as Frank "Tony Lip" Vallelonga

Best Actress

Olivia Colman – The Favourite as Anne, Queen of Great Britain

Yalitza Aparicio – Roma as Cleodegaria "Cleo" Gutiérrez

Glenn Close – The Wife as Joan Castleman

Lady Gaga – A Star Is Born as Ally Maine

Melissa McCarthy – Can You Ever Forgive Me? as Lee Israel

Best Supporting Actor

Mahershala Ali – Green Book as Don Shirley

Adam Driver – BlacKkKlansman as Philip "Flip" Zimmerman

Sam Elliott – A Star Is Born as Bobby Maine

Richard E. Grant – Can You Ever Forgive Me? as Jack Hock

Sam Rockwell – Vice as George W. Bush

Best Supporting Actress

Regina King – If Beale Street Could Talk as Sharon Rivers

Amy Adams – Vice as Lynne Cheney

Marina de Tavira – Roma as Sofía

Emma Stone – The Favourite as Abigail Masham

Rachel Weisz – The Favourite as Sarah Churchill

Best Original Screenplay

Green Book – Written by Nick Vallelonga, Brian Currie & Peter Farrelly

The Favourite – Written by Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara

First Reformed – Written by Paul Schrader

Roma – Written by Alfonso Cuarón

Vice – Written by Adam McKay

Best Adapted Screenplay

BlacKkKlansman – Screenplay by Charlie Wachtel & David Rabinowitz and Kevin Willmott & Spike Lee; based on the book by Ron Stallworth

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs – Screenplay by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen; based on the short stories All Gold Canyon by Jack London, The Gal Who Got Rattled by Stewart Edward White, and short stories by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen

Can You Ever Forgive Me? – Screenplay by Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty; based on the book by Lee Israel

If Beale Street Could Talk – Screenplay by Barry Jenkins; based on the book by James Baldwin

A Star Is Born – Screenplay by Eric Roth, Bradley Cooper & Will Fetters; based on the 1954 screenplay by Moss Hart and the 1976 screenplay by Joan Didion, John Gregory Dunne & Frank Pierson; based on a story by Robert Carson & William A. Wellman

Best Animated Feature Film

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse – Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller

Incredibles 2 – Brad Bird, John Walker and Nicole Paradis Grindle

Isle of Dogs – Wes Anderson, Scott Rudin, Steven Rales and Jeremy Dawson

Mirai – Mamoru Hosoda and Yūichirō Saitō

Ralph Breaks the Internet – Rich Moore, Phil Johnston and Clark Spencer

Best Foreign Language Film

Roma (Mexico) in Spanish and Mixtec – Directed by Alfonso Cuarón

Capernaum (Lebanon) in Arabic – Directed by Nadine Labaki

Cold War (Poland) in Polish and French – Directed by Paweł Pawlikowski

Never Look Away (Germany) in German – Directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck

Shoplifters (Japan) in Japanese – Directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda

Best Documentary – Feature

Free Solo – Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin, Evan Hayes and Shannon Dill

Hale County This Morning, This Evening – RaMell Ross, Joslyn Barnes and Su Kim

Minding the Gap – Bing Liu and Diane Quon

Of Fathers and Sons – Talal Derki, Ansgar Frerich, Eva Kemme and Tobias N. Siebert

RBG – Betsy West and Julie Cohen

Best Documentary – Short Subject

Period. End of Sentence. – Rayka Zehtabchi and Melissa Berton

Black Sheep – Ed Perkins and Jonathan Chinn

End Game – Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman

Lifeboat – Skye Fitzgerald and Bryn Mooser

A Night at the Garden – Marshall Curry

Best Live Action Short Film

Skin – Guy Nattiv and Jaime Ray Newman

Detainment – Vincent Lambe and Darren Mahon

Fauve – Jérémy Comte and Maria Gracia Turgeon

Marguerite – Marianne Farley and Marie-Hélène Panisset

Mother – Rodrigo Sorogoyen and María del Puy Alvarado

Best Animated Short Film

Bao – Domee Shi and Becky Neiman-Cobb

Animal Behaviour – Alison Snowden and David Fine

Late Afternoon – Louise Bagnall and Nuria González Blanco

One Small Step – Andrew Chesworth and Bobby Pontillas

Weekends – Trevor Jimenez

Best Original Score

Black Panther – Ludwig Göransson

BlacKkKlansman – Terence Blanchard

If Beale Street Could Talk – Nicholas Britell

Isle of Dogs – Alexandre Desplat

Mary Poppins Returns – Marc Shaiman

Best Original Song

"Shallow" from A Star Is Born – Music and Lyrics by Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando and Andrew Wyatt

"All the Stars" from Black Panther – Music by Mark Spears, Kendrick Lamar Duckworth and Anthony Tiffith; Lyrics by Kendrick Lamar Duckworth, Anthony Tiffith and Solána Rowe

"I'll Fight" from RBG – Music and Lyrics by Diane Warren

"The Place Where Lost Things Go" from Mary Poppins Returns – Music by Marc Shaiman; Lyrics by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman

"When a Cowboy Trades His Spurs for Wings" from The Ballad of Buster Scruggs – Music and Lyrics by David Rawlings and Gillian Welch

Best Sound Editing

Bohemian Rhapsody – John Warhurst and Nina Hartstone

Black Panther – Benjamin A. Burtt and Steve Boeddeker

First Man – Ai-Ling Lee and Mildred Iatrou Morgan

A Quiet Place – Ethan Van der Ryn and Erik Aadahl

Roma – Sergio Díaz and Skip Lievsay

Best Sound Mixing

Bohemian Rhapsody – Paul Massey, Tim Cavagin and John Casali

Black Panther – Steve Boeddeker, Brandon Proctor and Peter J. Devlin

First Man – Jon Taylor, Frank A. Montaño, Ai-Ling Lee and Mary H. Ellis

Roma – Skip Lievsay, Craig Henighan and José Antonio Garcia

A Star Is Born – Tom Ozanich, Dean Zupancic, Jason Ruder and Steve A. Morrow

Best Production Design

Black Panther – Hannah Beachler (production design); Jay Hart (set decoration)

The Favourite – Fiona Crombie (production design); Alice Felton (set decoration)

First Man – Nathan Crowley (production design); Kathy Lucas (set decoration)

Mary Poppins Returns – John Myhre (production design); Gordon Sim (set decoration)

Roma – Eugenio Caballero (production design); Bárbara Enríquez (set decoration)

Best Cinematography

Roma – Alfonso Cuarón

Cold War – Łukasz Żal

The Favourite – Robbie Ryan

Never Look Away – Caleb Deschanel

A Star Is Born – Matthew Libatique

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

Vice – Greg Cannom, Kate Biscoe and Patricia Dehaney

Border – Göran Lundström and Pamela Goldammer

Mary Queen of Scots – Jenny Shircore, Marc Pilcher and Jessica Brooks

Best Costume Design

Black Panther – Ruth E. Carter

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs – Mary Zophres

The Favourite – Sandy Powell

Mary Poppins Returns – Sandy Powell

Mary Queen of Scots – Alexandra Byrne

Best Film Editing

Bohemian Rhapsody – John Ottman

BlacKkKlansman – Barry Alexander Brown

The Favourite – Yorgos Mavropsaridis

Green Book – Patrick J. Don Vito

Vice – Hank Corwin

Best Visual Effects

First Man – Paul Lambert, Ian Hunter, Tristan Myles and J. D. Schwalm

Avengers: Infinity War – Dan DeLeeuw, Kelly Port, Russell Earl and Dan Sudick

Christopher Robin – Christopher Lawrence, Michael Eames, Theo Jones and Chris Corbould

Ready Player One – Roger Guyett, Grady Cofer, Matthew E. Butler and David Shirk

Solo: A Star Wars Story – Rob Bredow, Patrick Tubach, Neal Scanlan and Dominic Tuohy

[filmspun]

2019 Oscar Nomination:

Best Picture:

“Black Panther” “BlacKkKlansman” “Bohemian Rhapsody” “The Favourite” “Green Book” “Roma” “A Star Is Born” “Vice”

Lead Actor:

Christian Bale, “Vice” Bradley Cooper, “A Star Is Born” Willem Dafoe, “At Eternity’s Gate” Rami Malek, “Bohemian Rhapsody” Viggo Mortensen, “Green Book”

Lead Actress:

Yalitza Aparicio, “Roma” Glenn Close, “The Wife” Olivia Colman, “The Favourite” Lady Gaga, “A Star Is Born” Melissa McCarthy, “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”

Supporting Actor:

Mahershala Ali, “Green Book” Adam Driver, “BlacKkKlansman” Sam Elliott, “A Star Is Born” Richard E. Grant, “Can You Ever Forgive Me?” Sam Rockwell, “Vice”

Supporting Actress:

Amy Adams, “Vice” Marina de Tavira, “Roma” Regina King, “If Beale Street Could Talk” Emma Stone, “The Favourite” Rachel Weisz, “The Favourite”

Director:

Spike Lee, “BlacKkKlansman” Pawel Pawlikowski, “Cold War” Yorgos Lanthimos, “The Favourite” Alfonso Cuarón, “Roma” Adam McKay, “Vice”

Animated Feature:

“Incredibles 2,” Brad Bird “Isle of Dogs,” Wes Anderson “Mirai,” Mamoru Hosoda “Ralph Breaks the Internet,” Rich Moore, Phil Johnston “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman

Animated Short:

“Animal Behaviour,” Alison Snowden, David Fine “Bao,” Domee Shi “Late Afternoon,” Louise Bagnall “One Small Step,” Andrew Chesworth, Bobby Pontillas “Weekends,” Trevor Jimenez

Adapted Screenplay:

“The Ballad of Buster Scruggs,” Joel Coen , Ethan Coen “BlacKkKlansman,” Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz, Kevin Willmott, Spike Lee “Can You Ever Forgive Me?,” Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty “If Beale Street Could Talk,” Barry Jenkins “A Star Is Born,” Eric Roth, Bradley Cooper, Will Fetters

Original Screenplay:

“The Favourite,” Deborah Davis, Tony McNamara “First Reformed,” Paul Schrader “Green Book,” Nick Vallelonga, Brian Currie, Peter Farrelly “Roma,” Alfonso Cuarón “Vice,” Adam McKay

Cinematography:

“Cold War,” Lukasz Zal “The Favourite,” Robbie Ryan “Never Look Away,” Caleb Deschanel “Roma,” Alfonso Cuarón “A Star Is Born,” Matthew Libatique

Best Documentary Feature:

“Free Solo,” Jimmy Chin, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi “Hale County This Morning, This Evening,” RaMell Ross “Minding the Gap,” Bing Liu “Of Fathers and Sons,” Talal Derki “RBG,” Betsy West, Julie Cohen

Best Documentary Short Subject:

“Black Sheep,” Ed Perkins “End Game,” Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman “Lifeboat,” Skye Fitzgerald “A Night at the Garden,” Marshall Curry “Period. End of Sentence.,” Rayka Zehtabchi

Best Live Action Short Film: 

“Detainment,” Vincent Lambe “Fauve,” Jeremy Comte “Marguerite,” Marianne Farley “Mother,” Rodrigo Sorogoyen “Skin,” Guy Nattiv

Best Foreign Language Film:

“Capernaum” (Lebanon) “Cold War” (Poland) “Never Look Away” (Germany) “Roma” (Mexico) “Shoplifters” (Japan)

Film Editing:

“BlacKkKlansman,” Barry Alexander Brown “Bohemian Rhapsody,” John Ottman “Green Book,” Patrick J. Don Vito “The Favourite,” Yorgos Mavropsaridis “Vice,” Hank Corwin

Sound Editing:

“Black Panther,” Benjamin A. Burtt, Steve Boeddeker “Bohemian Rhapsody,” John Warhurst “First Man,” Ai-Ling Lee, Mildred Iatrou Morgan “A Quiet Place,” Ethan Van der Ryn, Erik Aadahl “Roma,” Sergio Diaz, Skip Lievsay

Sound Mixing:

“Black Panther” “Bohemian Rhapsody” “First Man” “Roma” “A Star Is Born”

Production Design:

“Black Panther,” Hannah Beachler “First Man,” Nathan Crowley, Kathy Lucas “The Favourite,” Fiona Crombie, Alice Felton “Mary Poppins Returns,” John Myhre, Gordon Sim “Roma,” Eugenio Caballero, Bárbara Enrı́quez

Original Score:

“BlacKkKlansman,” Terence Blanchard “Black Panther,” Ludwig Goransson “If Beale Street Could Talk,” Nicholas Britell “Isle of Dogs,” Alexandre Desplat “Mary Poppins Returns,” Marc Shaiman, Scott Wittman

Original Song:

“All The Stars” from “Black Panther” by Kendrick Lamar, SZA “I’ll Fight” from “RBG” by Diane Warren, Jennifer Hudson “The Place Where Lost Things Go” from “Mary Poppins Returns” by Marc Shaiman, Scott Wittman “Shallow” from “A Star Is Born” by Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando, Andrew Wyatt and Benjamin Rice “When A Cowboy Trades His Spurs For Wings” from “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs” by David Rawlings and Gillian Welch

Makeup and Hair:

“Border” “Mary Queen of Scots” “Vice”

Costume Design:

“The Ballad of Buster Scruggs,” Mary Zophres “Black Panther,” Ruth E. Carter “The Favourite,” Sandy Powell “Mary Poppins Returns,” Sandy Powell “Mary Queen of Scots,” Alexandra Byrne

Visual Effects:

“Avengers: Infinity War” “Christopher Robin” “First Man” “Ready Player One” “Solo: A Star Wars Story”

[pdproblems]

Performance by an actress in a supporting role

Regina King in "If Beale Street Could Talk" (WINNER)

Amy Adams in "Vice"

Marina de Tavira in "Roma"

Emma Stone in "The Favourite"

Rachel Weisz in "The Favourite"

Best documentary feature

"Free Solo" Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin, Evan Hayes and Shannon Dill (WINNER)

"Hale County This Morning, This Evening" RaMell Ross, Joslyn Barnes and Su Kim

"Minding the Gap" Bing Liu and Diane Quon

"Of Fathers and Sons" Talal Derki, Ansgar Frerich, Eva Kemme and Tobias N. Siebert

"RBG" Betsy West and Julie Cohen

Achievement in makeup and hairstyling

"Vice" Greg Cannom, Kate Biscoe and Patricia DeHaney (WINNER)

"Border" Goran Lundstrom and Pamela Goldammer

"Mary Queen of Scots" Jenny Shircore, Marc Pilcher and Jessica Brooks

Achievement in costume design

"Black Panther" Ruth Carter (WINNER)

"The Ballad of Buster Scruggs" Mary Zophres

"The Favourite" Sandy Powell

"Mary Poppins Returns" Sandy Powell

"Mary Queen of Scots" Alexandra Byrne

Achievement in production design

"Black Panther" production design: Hannah Beachler; set decoration: Jay Hart (WINNER)

"The Favourite" production design: Fiona Crombie; set decoration: Alice Felton

"First Man" production design: Nathan Crowley; set decoration: Kathy Lucas

"Mary Poppins Returns" production design: John Myhre; set decoration: Gordon Sim

"Roma" production design: Eugenio Caballero; set decoration: Barbara Enriquez

Achievement in cinematography

"Roma" Alfonso Cuaron (WINNER)

"Cold War" Lukasz Zal

"The Favourite" Robbie Ryan

"Never Look Away" Caleb Deschanel

"A Star Is Born" Matthew Libatique

Achievement in sound editing

"Bohemian Rhapsody" John Warhurst and Nina Hartstone (WINNER)

"Black Panther" Benjamin A. Burtt and Steve Boeddeker

"First Man" Ai-Ling Lee and Mildred Iatrou Morgan

"A Quiet Place" Ethan Van der Ryn and Erik Aadahl

"Roma" Sergio Díaz and Skip Lievsay

Achievement in sound mixing

"Bohemian Rhapsody" Paul Massey, Tim Cavagin and John Casali (WINNER)

"Black Panther" Steve Boeddeker, Brandon Proctor and Peter Devlin

"First Man" Jon Taylor, Frank A. Montano, Ai-Ling Lee and Mary H. Ellis

"Roma" Skip Lievsay, Craig Henighan and Jose Antonio Garcia

"A Star Is Born" Tom Ozanich, Dean Zupancic, Jason Ruder and Steve Morrow

Best foreign language film of the year

"Roma" Mexico (WINNER)

"Capernaum" Lebanon

"Cold War" Poland

"Never Look Away" Germany

"Shoplifters" Japan

Achievement in film editing

"Bohemian Rhapsody" John Ottman (WINNER)

"BlacKkKlansman" Barry Alexander Brown

"The Favourite" Yorgos Mavropsaridis

"Green Book" Patrick J. Don Vito

"Vice" Hank Corwin

Performance by an actor in a supporting role

Mahershala Ali in "Green Book" (WINNER)

Adam Driver in "BlacKkKlansman"

Sam Elliott in "A Star Is Born"

Richard E. Grant in "Can You Ever Forgive Me?"

Sam Rockwell in "Vice"

Best animated feature film of the year

"Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (WINNER)

"Incredibles 2" Brad Bird, John Walker and Nicole Paradis Grindle

"Isle of Dogs" Wes Anderson, Scott Rudin, Steven Rales and Jeremy Dawson

"Mirai" Mamoru Hosoda and Yuichiro Saito

"Ralph Breaks the Internet" Rich Moore, Phil Johnston and Clark Spencer

Best animated short film

"Bao" Domee Shi and Becky Neiman-Cobb (WINNER)

"Animal Behaviour" Alison Snowden and David Fine

"Late Afternoon" Louise Bagnall and Nuria Gonzalez Blanco

"One Small Step" Andrew Chesworth and Bobby Pontillas

"Weekends" Trevor Jimenez

Best documentary short subject

"Period. End of Sentence." Rayka Zehtabchi and Melissa Berton (WINNER)

"Black Sheep" Ed Perkins and Jonathan Chinn

"End Game" Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman

"Lifeboat" Skye Fitzgerald and Bryn Mooser

"A Night at The Garden" Marshall Curry

Achievement in visual effects

"First Man" Paul Lambert, Ian Hunter, Tristan Myles and J.D. Schwalm (WINNER)

"Avengers: Infinity War" Dan DeLeeuw, Kelly Port, Russell Earl and Dan Sudick

"Christopher Robin" Christopher Lawrence, Michael Eames, Theo Jones and Chris Corbould

"Ready Player One" Roger Guyett, Grady Cofer, Matthew E. Butler and David Shirk

"Solo: A Star Wars Story" Rob Bredow, Patrick Tubach, Neal Scanlan and Dominic Tuohy

Best live action short film

"Skin" Guy Nattiv and Jaime Ray Newman (WINNER)

"Detainment" Vincent Lambe and Darren Mahon

"Fauve" Jeremy Comte and Maria Gracia Turgeon

"Marguerite" Marianne Farley and Marie-Helene Panisset

"Mother" Rodrigo Sorogoyen and Maria del Puy Alvarado

Original screenplay

"Green Book" written by Nick Vallelonga, Brian Currie, Peter Farrelly (WINNER)

"The Favourite" written by Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara

"First Reformed" written by Paul Schrader

"Roma" written by Alfonso Cuaron

"Vice" written by Adam McKay

Adapted screenplay

"BlacKkKlansman" written by Charlie Wachtel and David Rabinowitz and Kevin Willmott and Spike Lee (WINNER)

"The Ballad of Buster Scruggs" written by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen

"Can You Ever Forgive Me?" screenplay by Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty

"If Beale Street Could Talk" written for the screen by Barry Jenkins

"A Star Is Born" screenplay by Eric Roth and Bradley Cooper and Will Fetters

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)

"Black Panther" Ludwig Goransson (WINNER)

"BlacKkKlansman" Terence Blanchard

"If Beale Street Could Talk" Nicholas Britell

"Isle of Dogs" Alexandre Desplat

"Mary Poppins Returns" Marc Shaiman

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)

"Shallow" from "A Star Is Born" music and lyrics by Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando and Andrew Wyatt (WINNER)

"All The Stars" from "Black Panther" music by Mark Spears, Kendrick Lamar Duckworth and Anthony Tiffith; lyric by Kendrick Lamar Duckworth, Anthony Tiffith and Solana Rowe

"I'll Fight" from "RBG" music and lyrics by Diane Warren

"The Place Where Lost Things Go" from "Mary Poppins Returns" music by Marc Shaiman; lyrics by Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman

"When A Cowboy Trades His Spurs For Wings" from "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs" music and lyrics by David Rawlings and Gillian Welch

Performance by an actor in a leading role

Rami Malek in "Bohemian Rhapsody" (WINNER)

Christian Bale in "Vice"

Bradley Cooper in "A Star Is Born"

Willem Dafoe in "At Eternity's Gate"

Viggo Mortensen in "Green Book"

Performance by an actress in a leading role

Olivia Colman in "The Favourite" (WINNER)

Yalitza Aparicio in "Roma"

Glenn Close in "The Wife"

Lady Gaga in "A Star Is Born"

Melissa McCarthy in "Can You Ever Forgive Me?"

Achievement in directing

"Roma" Alfonso Cuaron (WINNER)

"BlacKkKlansman" Spike Lee

"Cold War" Pawel Pawlikowski

"The Favourite" Yorgos Lanthimos

"Vice" Adam McKay

Best motion picture of the year

"Green Book" Jim Burke, Charles B. Wessler, Brian Currie, Peter Farrelly and Nick Vallelonga, producers (WINNER)

"Black Panther" Kevin Feige, producer

"BlacKkKlansman" Sean McKittrick, Jason Blum, Raymond Mansfield, Jordan Peele and Spike Lee, producers

"Bohemian Rhapsody" Graham King, producer

"The Favourite" Ceci Dempsey, Ed Guiney, Lee Magiday and Yorgos Lanthimos, producers

"Roma" Gabriela Rodriguez and Alfonso Cuaron, producers

"A Star Is Born" Bill Gerber, Bradley Cooper and Lynette Howell Taylor, producers

"Vice" Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Adam McKay and Kevin Messick, producers

I am terrible at keeping up with news /awards and I can’t get to them all, but I thought a list might be nice.

[tocinephile]

The Morning After - Oscars 2019 Edition

My favourite photo from the 91st Academy Awards

My two favourite moments from last night’s Oscars are better represent in audio, those being Olivia Coleman’s speech when she won Best Actress over the heavily favoured Glenn Close, and when Rayka Zehtabchi exclaimed “I can’t believe a film on menstruation won an Oscar!”

It was fun keeping up with everyone’s reactions and remarks during the awards, and chiming in with many of my own even though I do, as always, find the speed of twitter a little breakneck. Also friends and colleagues who, knowing that I’m a big movie buff, came by or message me to discuss last night’s show.  At times we got animated enough that random passerbys and company VPs felt the need to chime in, which is the best gathering of the minds possible in my world.

Here’s a list of the winners and what I thought of each recipient:

Best Picture

“Black Panther” “BlacKkKlansman” “Bohemian Rhapsody” “The Favourite” “Green Book” (WINNER) “Roma” “A Star Is Born” “Vice”

While not entirely classy of Spike Lee to turn his back when Green Book was announced, he was able to joke about it later that every time a film about driving was pit against his own film, he would lose to it (Do the Right Thing lost to Driving Miss Daisy) My silver lining was knowing that TIFF audiences picked yet another Best Picture winner.  We do have quite a track record, don’t we? I really thought the Academy was going to make a different type of history in diversity by awarding a foreign film (Roma) with Best Picture. Or at least Black Panther, that would’ve been cool too.

Director

Spike Lee, “BlacKkKlansman” Pawel Pawlikowski, “Cold War” Yorgos Lanthimos, “The Favourite” Alfonso Cuarón, “Roma” (WINNER) Adam McKay, “Vice”

I agree with this win.

Lead Actress

Yalitza Aparicio, “Roma” Glenn Close, “The Wife” Olivia Colman, “The Favourite” (WINNER) Lady Gaga, “A Star Is Born” Melissa McCarthy, “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”

I was ecstatic to have guessed wrong in my Oscar picks for this category.  Both Olivia Coleman and Glenn Close were such strong contenders (as was Melissa McCarthy).  Glenn Close carried her film, Olivia Coleman elevated her already very good movie to another level.

Lead Actor

Christian Bale, “Vice” Bradley Cooper, “A Star Is Born” Willem Dafoe, “At Eternity’s Gate” Rami Malek, “Bohemian Rhapsody” (WINNER) Viggo Mortensen, “Green Book”

It’s nice that Rami Malek won, and I guessed he would. But I think Christian Bale was still better.

Original Song

“All The Stars” from “Black Panther” by Kendrick Lamar, SZA “I’ll Fight” from “RBG” by Diane Warren, Jennifer Hudson “The Place Where Lost Things Go” from “Mary Poppins Returns” by Marc Shaiman, Scott Wittman “Shallow” from “A Star Is Born” by Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando, Andrew Wyatt and Benjamin Rice (WINNER) “When A Cowboy Trades His Spurs For Wings” from “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs” by David Rawlings and Gillian Welch

I don’t think any other song legitimately had a chance. 

Original Score

“BlacKkKlansman,” Terence Blanchard “Black Panther,” Ludwig Goransson (WINNER) “If Beale Street Could Talk,” Nicholas Britell “Isle of Dogs,” Alexandre Desplat “Mary Poppins Returns,” Marc Shaiman, Scott Wittman

One last time I’ll say this: Where was First Man? After not seeing it on the list I really had no one to root for.

Adapted Screenplay

“The Ballad of Buster Scruggs,” Joel Coen , Ethan Coen “BlacKkKlansman,” Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz, Kevin Willmott, Spike Lee (WINNER) “Can You Ever Forgive Me?,” Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty “If Beale Street Could Talk,” Barry Jenkins “A Star Is Born,” Eric Roth, Bradley Cooper, Will Fetters

I think a writing Oscar is an excellent award for Spike Lee to win. I’m rarely familiar with the original story vs its adaptation, therefore it’s hard to say who did the best job of adapting their source material.  That said, any way you slice it, BlacKkKlansman was a great script.

Original Screenplay

“The Favourite,” Deborah Davis, Tony McNamara “First Reformed,” Paul Schrader “Green Book,” Nick Vallelonga, Brian Currie, Peter Farrelly (WINNER) “Roma,” Alfonso Cuarón “Vice,” Adam McKay

While I put my money on Green Book, I can’t fathom why anyone would think it’s a better script than The Favourite nor Vice (I didn’t see First Reformed, and I think Roma is at least on par with Green Book) Destroyer was an original script right? I’m personally disappointed it wasn’t up for any writing awards.

Live Action Short Film

“Detainment,” Vincent Lambe “Fauve,” Jeremy Comte “Marguerite,” Marianne Farley “Mother,” Rodrigo Sorogoyen “Skin,” Guy Nattiv (WINNER)

I didn’t watch any of the shorts this year.

Visual Effects

“Avengers: Infinity War” “Christopher Robin” “First Man” (WINNER) “Ready Player One” “Solo: A Star Wars Story”

Again, please to be wrong in this category.  If anything I would have said First Man stood out more in audio achievement, but visual effects were also excellent and I’m glad the film got at least one Oscar because it is such a fine technical achievement.

Documentary Short Subject

“Black Sheep,” Ed Perkins “End Game,” Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman “Lifeboat,” Skye Fitzgerald “A Night at the Garden,” Marshall Curry “Period. End of Sentence.,” Rayka Zehtabchi (WINNER)

Amazing acceptance speech.  I want to see this now.

Animated Short

“Animal Behaviour,” Alison Snowden, David Fine “Bao,” Domee Shi (WINNER) “Late Afternoon,” Louise Bagnall “One Small Step,” Andrew Chesworth, Bobby Pontillas “Weekends,” Trevor Jimenez

Also a fine, inspiring acceptance speech by Domee Shi. I didn’t see any other shorts but I did watch Bao several times over and my Torontonian pride swelled when it won.  Growing up Asian, there’s a lot of embedded humour in this short as well, the husband character is still my absolute favourite. 

Animated Feature

“Incredibles 2,” Brad Bird “Isle of Dogs,” Wes Anderson “Mirai,” Mamoru Hosoda “Ralph Breaks the Internet,” Rich Moore, Phil Johnston “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman (WINNER)

I really gotta see this movie.

Supporting Actor

Mahershala Ali, “Green Book” (WINNER) Adam Driver, “BlacKkKlansman” Sam Elliott, “A Star Is Born” Richard E. Grant, “Can You Ever Forgive Me?” Sam Rockwell, “Vice”

As expected. Though Richard E Grant is still my favourite, anyone catch his interview with Ryan Seacrest on the red carpet? And how he’s besties with Melissa McCarthy now? Love it.

Film Editing

“BlacKkKlansman,” Barry Alexander Brown “Bohemian Rhapsody,” John Ottman (WINNER) “Green Book,” Patrick J. Don Vito “The Favourite,” Yorgos Mavropsaridis “Vice,” Hank Corwin

Fixing up a film in editing doesn’t warrant it as best edited film of the year! I cannot believe Bohemain Rhapsody won in this category. Especially again films such as The Favourite and Vice, the former’s editing has a hand in shaping its visual mastery, the latter is entirely built from the art of editing. What the hell?

Foreign Language Film

“Capernaum” (Lebanon) “Cold War” (Poland) “Never Look Away” (Germany) “Roma” (Mexico) (WINNER) “Shoplifters” (Japan)

Capernaum was still better ;) 

Sound Mixing

“Black Panther,” Steve Boeddeker, Brandon Proctor and Peter Devlin “Bohemian Rhapsody,” Paul Massey, Tim Cavagin and John Casali (WINNER) “First Man,” Jon Taylor, Frank A. Montaño, Ai-Ling Lee and Mary H. Ellis “Roma,” Skip Lievsay, Craig Henighan and José Antonio García “A Star Is Born,” Tom Ozanich, Dean Zupancic, Jason Ruder and Steve Morrow

-and- 

Sound Editing

“Black Panther,” Benjamin A. Burtt, Steve Boeddeker “Bohemian Rhapsody,” John Warhurst (WINNER) “First Man,” Ai-Ling Lee, Mildred Iatrou Morgan “A Quiet Place,” Ethan Van der Ryn, Erik Aadahl “Roma,” Sergio Diaz, Skip Lievsay

Just because a film is about music doesn’t automatically qualify it for best sound! Have all the Academy voters gone out of their mind??? If you’re gonna go by that misguided logic then at least give it to A Star is  Born. It’s been a day and I still can’t fathom how anyone could think the sound editing of Bohemian Rhapsody is better than First Man, A Quiet Place, and Roma!

Cinematography

“Cold War,” Lukasz Zal “The Favourite,” Robbie Ryan “Never Look Away,” Caleb Deschanel “Roma,” Alfonso Cuarón (WINNER) “A Star Is Born,” Matthew Libatique

This was a pretty stacked category and Alfonso Cuaron did make a beautiful looking film. I don’t know if it was more striking that Cold War or The Favourite, but all in all he did deserve the win.

Production Design

“Black Panther,” Hannah Beachler (WINNER) “First Man,” Nathan Crowley, Kathy Lucas “The Favourite,” Fiona Crombie, Alice Felton “Mary Poppins Returns,” John Myhre, Gordon Sim “Roma,” Eugenio Caballero, Bárbara Enrı́quez

Fine. At least it wasn’t Roma, and I get that more often than not the period film usually wins it, so it’s cool to shake it up. The Favourite is still my fav.

Costume Design

“The Ballad of Buster Scruggs,” Mary Zophres “Black Panther,” Ruth E. Carter (WINNER) “The Favourite,” Sandy Powell “Mary Poppins Returns,” Sandy Powell “Mary Queen of Scots,” Alexandra Byrne

Again, I like The Favourite more.

Makeup and Hairstyling

“Border,” Göran Lundström and Pamela Goldammer “Mary Queen of Scots,” Jenny Shircore, Marc Pilcher and Jessica Brooks “Vice,” Greg Cannom, Kate Biscoe and Patricia Dehaney (WINNER)

I’d have been surprised if anyone else won.

Documentary Feature

“Free Solo,” Jimmy Chin, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi (WINNER) “Hale County This Morning, This Evening,” RaMell Ross “Minding the Gap,” Bing Liu “Of Fathers and Sons,” Talal Derki “RBG,” Betsy West, Julie Cohen

:) That’s the one I picked.

Supporting Actress

Amy Adams, “Vice” Marina de Tavira, “Roma” Regina King, “If Beale Street Could Talk” (WINNER) Emma Stone, “The Favourite” Rachel Weisz, “The Favourite”

I preferred Rachel Weisz and Emma Stone’s performances. Amy Adams even.

So, that’s it for awards season 2019. I did pitiful in my predictions this year because I was way off on the technical awards, not to mention some big ones too like Best Picture. 

I’ll wrap it up by recommending that you watch First Man (with a good sound set up as it is superb technical, has a great score, and supporting actress Claire Foy), Destroyer (for its story and Nicole Kidman), The Hate U Give (that delivers a much stronger message than Green Book ever will), and Beautiful Boy (where supporting actor Timothee Chalamet actually has a sizable role).

[locke-writes]

2019 Oscars Thoughts/Predictions

Tagging: @ghostofachancewithyou

Note: These are just my thoughts on each of the nominees as someone who loves films but also as a filmmaker. This is broken down by category and by nominee

Best Picture:

“Black Panther”: This was a great film but I don’t see it winning. If I’m being honest I wasn’t even sure it was going to be nominated. My thoughts on Black Panther winning are pretty much the same as my thoughts on Get Out last year. I enjoyed the film and if it wins I’ll be surprised but fine with it. If it wins I’ll be anticipating uproar but if it loses I’m anticipating uproar as well. “BlacKkKlansman”: I wasn’t able to see this so I don't have very many thoughts on this nomination. I enjoy Spike Lee’s films and I’m sure this follows as one of his best but I can’t say too much about something I haven’t seen. “Bohemian Rhapsody”: I see this more as the underdog film. While it was good I just really don't see it pulling off the win. Even the nomination was surprising if the Academy was picking based solely on critic reception. But I found the performances well done and I did enjoy the experience so if it wins it won’t be all bad. “The Favourite”: What can I say. It’s certainly a Yorgos film, no doubt about it. I enjoyed the story and the way that it was set up. I’m not anticipating this to win best picture but I was anticipating it to get a best pic nom. It was well put together and it’d be a surprise win. “Green Book”: Based on what happened during the Golden Globes I’m really unaware of what to expect. I doubt it will win Best Picture due to the films it’s up against but if it follows in reception then it is very possible. I’ll be surprised if it wins since I found the story lacking. I understand that it was more a family story since most of the writers/producers are related to Viggo Mortenson’s character (I know he was a real guy but I can’t remember his name). I just feel with the way it was marketed as a story about racism and friendship in American as well as a focus on the actual Green Book with it’s use. But the film itself felt lacking in this area and I believe it honestly should have focused more on Mahershala Ali “Roma”: This is my winner. I have a feeling that it’s going to take the top. It was a beautiful personal story for Alfonso and that came across in everything. Every shot, every line, was gorgeous and moving. I’d be shocked if it didn’t win. The performances are amazing, especially from Yalitza as a non-actor. Yeah, I’ve got high hopes for this one. “A Star Is Born”: Eh. The film was fine. It wasn’t spectacular, I wasn’t blown away by it, but it was well done. I found the shot choices and the lighting tied it all together. The performances weren’t terrible but I’m not sure that they gave it enough to put it as the top nominee. “Vice”: I’ve heard that it was a great film but I haven’t seen it. Anyway based solely on the other films in this category that it’s got a high chance of winning but I’m doubtful that it’s going to be the winning film.

Lead Actor:

Christian Bale, “Vice”: If he doesn’t win based on his performance as Cheney, then I’ll be thoroughly surprised. Bale always throws himself into his roles and while I haven’t yet seen the film, from the clips that I have seen, he’s done another great role. Bradley Cooper, “A Star Is Born”: His character has never been too difficult to portray based on the past versions they’ve had of this film. I think Bradley made his version only a bit unique by having it set in modern day but I mean, it didn’t thrill me. If he wins, ok, but it wasn’t something jaw-dropping Willem Dafoe, “At Eternity’s Gate”: I love Willem Defoe and I wasn’t able to see this film but if he wins then that’s fine with me. Rami Malek, “Bohemian Rhapsody”: Rami may possibly win this. The fact that unlike the Golden Globes he isn’t in a separate category than Bale does make it a neck-and-neck race. As Freddie he was immensely convincing and the fact the Freddie is such a music icon as well as an LGBT+ icon does make the role difficult. Not because he’s a real person but because a lot of people are going to make judgements about every move you make as Freddie. Rami pulled it off tremendously and if he wins it will be worth it. Viggo Mortensen, “Green Book”: Viggo could potentially win the race. Again I wasn’t that much a fan of Green Book but voters sure do seem to be.

Lead Actress:

Yalitza Aparicio, “Roma”: Just give it to her now. I mean her performance was beautiful and the fact that she’d never acted before is somewhat a benefit to that. Alfonso wrote her character to be personal, to basically be his mother and it worked. Her line delivery was beautiful and there are scenes I won’t mention (because of spoilers), that were breathtaking Glenn Close, “The Wife”: I love Glenn Close and if she wins it I won’t be mad. They haven’t been playing “The Wife” anywhere near me so I don’t have anything much to say since I haven’t seen it. Olivia Colman, “The Favourite”: The fact that quite a bit of her scenes relied on the use of facial expressions alone is insane. The fact that she was so convincing in her role with just the use of her facial expressions is a testament to Colman’s acting. I’m not certain that she will win but I have a feeling that there’s a large chance she will. Lady Gaga, “A Star Is Born”: She was good, no doubt about that. I think that her connection to Ally was obvious. She knew the experience of trying to become a musician but maybe not in the same way as Ally did with sudden fame. That being said I know a lot of people want her to win but I personally am fine with her only taking the nomination. Melissa McCarthy, “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”: This is the nomination I’m most surprised by. Honestly I didn't think anyone was paying attention to the film. I enjoyed it and Melissa’s performance, it was nice to see her in a dramatic role for once. I doubt that she’s going to win but it’s nice that she was recognized for this performance

Supporting Actor:

I don’t have many thoughts on this category since I’ve only seen two of the films in this. I have a feeling it’ll go to Rockwell whom I love as an actor and will be happy if he wins but I also feel they could hand it to Mahershala. Just like with Melissa McCarthy I’m surprised that Richard E Grant received recognition for Can You Ever Forgive Me?, I enjoyed the film but it wasn’t really talked about much as an award contender. As for Sam Elliott. Sorry Sam, I know you’re a family friend and all but I don’t think you’ll win and I’m surprised you’re even nominated because you were barely in the film at all.

Mahershala Ali, “Green Book” Adam Driver, “BlacKkKlansman” Sam Elliott, “A Star Is Born” Richard E. Grant, “Can You Ever Forgive Me?” Sam Rockwell, “Vice”

Supporting Actress:

I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t know. Really in this category everyone was brilliant and everyone deserves it and I don’t care who wins because I’ll be happy either way.

Amy Adams, “Vice” Marina de Tavira, “Roma” Regina King, “If Beale Street Could Talk” Emma Stone, “The Favourite” Rachel Weisz, “The Favourite”

Director:

I’ve loved all these directors for years. Spike is so deserving as a first time nominee and I’d love to see him take it. I’d also love to see either Alfonso or Pawel take it because both of them created beautiful films that I’m happy they reached out of their country of origin and spanned the world. I truly would be happy for anyone to take it and my prediction is Alfonso.

Spike Lee, “BlacKkKlansman” Pawel Pawlikowski, “Cold War” Yorgos Lanthimos, “The Favourite” Alfonso Cuarón, “Roma” Adam McKay, “Vice”

Animated Feature:

“Incredibles 2,” Brad Bird: Maybe it was because it came out years after the first when I got over the hype. I’m not seeing this as the winner. It didn’t blow me away, it was fine and I don't think it’ll win. “Isle of Dogs,” Wes Anderson: This was hilarious and if it takes Pixar down than I’ll be excited. I’m doubtful that it will win but I would love it if they did.

I haven’t seen these other three but I’ve heard good things about each. Whoever wins will be great I’m sure but I don’t have a full prediction

“Mirai,” Mamoru Hosoda “Ralph Breaks the Internet,” Rich Moore, Phil Johnston “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman

Animated Short:

Bao is the only short in this category I’ve seen which means that I don't have anything to say. If it wins great, but I'm sure the other films have as much of a chance.

“Animal Behaviour,” Alison Snowden, David Fine “Bao,” Domee Shi “Late Afternoon,” Louise Bagnall “One Small Step,” Andrew Chesworth, Bobby Pontillas “Weekends,” Trevor Jimenez

Adapted Screenplay:

I don’t really know about this category. I have a feeling that it will go to A Star Is Born but there’s a possibility of it going to If Beale Street Could Talk.

“The Ballad of Buster Scruggs,” Joel Coen , Ethan Coen “BlacKkKlansman,” Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz, Kevin Willmott, Spike Lee “Can You Ever Forgive Me?,” Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty “If Beale Street Could Talk,” Barry Jenkins “A Star Is Born,” Eric Roth, Bradley Cooper, Will Fetters

Original Screenplay:

I enjoyed all of these films. First Reformed was wonderful and I’m glad it received the nom. I’m favoring Roma but again it could really go anywhere in this category.

“The Favourite,” Deborah Davis, Tony McNamara “First Reformed,” Paul Schrader “Green Book,” Nick Vallelonga, Brian Currie, Peter Farrelly “Roma,” Alfonso Cuarón “Vice,” Adam McKay

Cinematography:

Ahhhhhh. The Favorite, Roma, and Cold War are the three top contenders in my opinion. I’m not certain which I want to win more. The cinematography for each was gorgeous and made the films what they were. I’m sure it’s going to be one of those three however.

“Cold War,” Lukasz Zal “The Favourite,” Robbie Ryan “Never Look Away,” Caleb Deschanel “Roma,” Alfonso Cuarón “A Star Is Born,” Matthew Libatique

Best Documentary Feature:

I’ve not seen any of these, I’m just surprised the Mr Rogers doc wasn’t nominated.

“Free Solo,” Jimmy Chin, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi “Hale County This Morning, This Evening,” RaMell Ross “Minding the Gap,” Bing Liu “Of Fathers and Sons,” Talal Derki “RBG,” Betsy West, Julie Cohen

Best Documentary Short Subject:

I’ve not seen any of these this year so I’m not certain who should win.

“Black Sheep,” Ed Perkins “End Game,” Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman “Lifeboat,” Skye Fitzgerald “A Night at the Garden,” Marshall Curry “Period. End of Sentence.,” Rayka Zehtabchi

Best Live Action Short Film: 

Again I haven’t seen any of these so I can’t make a comment.

“Detainment,” Vincent Lambe “Fauve,” Jeremy Comte “Marguerite,” Marianne Farley “Mother,” Rodrigo Sorogoyen “Skin,” Guy Nattiv

Best Foreign Language Film:

I have a feeling that Roma will win but I’d prefer it to be Cold War. Cold War was a beautiful film and since Roma is nominated for Best Picture while Cold War is not I would truly love it if Cold War won Best Foreign Language film.

“Capernaum” (Lebanon) “Cold War” (Poland) “Never Look Away” (Germany) “Roma” (Mexico) “Shoplifters” (Japan)

Film Editing:

I’ve only seen two of these and while The Favourite had beautiful editing I can't really compare it to any films I haven’t seen.

“BlacKkKlansman,” Barry Alexander Brown “Bohemian Rhapsody,” John Ottman “Green Book,” Patrick J. Don Vito “The Favourite,” Yorgos Mavropsaridis “Vice,” Hank Corwin

Sound Editing:

I’m not saying too much about this category except that if they don’t give it to A Quiet Place I will be pissed. It’s the most deserving in terms of Sound Editing and you can fight me if you disagree.

“Black Panther,” Benjamin A. Burtt, Steve Boeddeker “Bohemian Rhapsody,” John Warhurst “First Man,” Ai-Ling Lee, Mildred Iatrou Morgan “A Quiet Place,” Ethan Van der Ryn, Erik Aadahl “Roma,” Sergio Diaz, Skip Lievsay

Sound Mixing:

Give it to Bohemian Rhapsody but uhhh. A Quiet Place was fucking robbed.

“Black Panther” “Bohemian Rhapsody” “First Man” “Roma” “A Star Is Born”

Production Design:

Truly I have nothing much to say in regards to this category because all these films had incredible production design and I’d be happy with any win

“Black Panther,” Hannah Beachler “First Man,” Nathan Crowley, Kathy Lucas “The Favourite,” Fiona Crombie, Alice Felton “Mary Poppins Returns,” John Myhre, Gordon Sim “Roma,” Eugenio Caballero, Bárbara Enrı́quez

Original Score:

Desplat is nominated and so he shall win. Doesn't necessarily mean I want him too although his score was wonderful, it just means that he's the big name on this list. All the scores were well orchestrated so I’d be pleased with any outcome

“BlacKkKlansman,” Terence Blanchard “Black Panther,” Ludwig Goransson “If Beale Street Could Talk,” Nicholas Britell “Isle of Dogs,” Alexandre Desplat “Mary Poppins Returns,” Marc Shaiman, Scott Wittman

Original Song:

They’re going to give it to Shallow I can feel it. I am surprised that they chose “The Place Where Lost Things Go” as I was certain they’d nominate Trip A Little Light Fantastic or (Underneath the) Lovely London Sky for Mary Poppins Returns. Personally I would have loved is A Conversation was nominated for the live performance alone but either way they did choose a good Mary Poppins song. 

“All The Stars” from “Black Panther” by Kendrick Lamar, SZA “I’ll Fight” from “RBG” by Diane Warren, Jennifer Hudson “The Place Where Lost Things Go” from “Mary Poppins Returns” by Marc Shaiman, Scott Wittman “Shallow” from “A Star Is Born” by Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando, Andrew Wyatt and Benjamin Rice “When A Cowboy Trades His Spurs For Wings” from “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs” by David Rawlings and Gillian Welch

Makeup and Hair:

Oh it’ll go to Vice but I’d prefer if they handed it to Border

“Border” “Mary Queen of Scots” “Vice”

Costume Design:

Black Panther needs the win. I personally think it’ll be the only win for the film but it’ll be a good one. Having to design that many costumes for entire nations in a fictional setting based off real tribal clothing is so intricate and they’ll be robbed if they don’t win. I know the classic choice will be The Favourite but who cares. Black Panther had the better costumes.

“The Ballad of Buster Scruggs,” Mary Zophres “Black Panther,” Ruth E. Carter “The Favourite,” Sandy Powell “Mary Poppins Returns,” Sandy Powell “Mary Queen of Scots,” Alexandra Byrne

Visual Effects:

My bet is for First Man but they tend to favor superhero films in this category and I’m not certain where the win will go

“Avengers: Infinity War” “Christopher Robin” “First Man” “Ready Player One” “Solo: A Star Wars Story”

[boasamishipper]

my oscars predictions (as of 2/5/19)

bold: who i think will win italics: who i want to win

best picture:

Black Panther

BlacKkKlansman

Bohemian Rhapsody

The Favourite

Green Book

Roma

A Star is Born

Vice

best actor:

Christian Bale, “Vice”

Bradley Cooper, “A Star Is Born”

Willem Dafoe, “At Eternity’s Gate”

Rami Malek, “Bohemian Rhapsody”

Viggo Mortensen, “Green Book”

best actress:

Yalitza Aparicio, “Roma”

Glenn Close, “The Wife”

Olivia Colman, “The Favourite”

Lady Gaga, “A Star Is Born”

Melissa McCarthy, “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”

best supporting actor:

Mahershala Ali, “Green Book”

Adam Driver, “BlacKkKlansman”

Sam Elliott, “A Star Is Born”

Richard E. Grant, “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”

Sam Rockwell, “Vice”

best supporting actress:

Amy Adams, “Vice”

Marina de Tavira, “Roma”

Regina King, “If Beale Street Could Talk”

Emma Stone, “The Favourite”

Rachel Weisz, “The Favourite”

best director:

Spike Lee, “BlacKkKlansman”

Pawel Pawlikowski, “Cold War”

Yorgos Lanthimos, “The Favourite”

Alfonso Cuarón, “Roma”

Adam McKay, “Vice”

best animated feature:

“Incredibles 2,” Brad Bird

“Isle of Dogs,” Wes Anderson

“Mirai,” Mamoru Hosoda

“Ralph Breaks the Internet,” Rich Moore, Phil Johnston

“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller

best animated short:

“Animal Behavior,” Alison Snowden and David Fine

“Bao,” Domee Shi and Becky Neiman-Cobb

“Late Afternoon,” Louise Bagnall and Nuria González Blanco

“One Small Step,” Andrew Chesworth and Bobby Pontillas

“Weekends,” Trevor Jimenez

best adapted screenplay:

“The Ballad of Buster Scruggs,” Joel Coen, Ethan Coen

“BlacKkKlansman,” Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz, Kevin Willmott, Spike Lee

“Can You Ever Forgive Me?,” Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty

“If Beale Street Could Talk,” Barry Jenkins

“A Star Is Born,” Eric Roth, Bradley Cooper, Will Fetters

best original screenplay:

“The Favourite,” Deborah David, Tony McNamara

“First Reformed,” Paul Schrader

“Green Book,” Nick Vallelonga, Brian Currie, Peter Farrelly

“Roma,” Alfonso Cuarón

“Vice,” Adam McKay

best original song:

“All The Stars” from “Black Panther” by Kendrick Lamar, SZA

“I’ll Fight” from “RBG” by Diane Warren, Jennifer Hudson

“The Place Where Lost Things Go” from “Mary Poppins Returns” by Marc Shaiman, Scott Wittman

“Shallow” from “A Star is Born” by Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando, Andrew Wyatt and Benjamin Rice

“When A Cowboy Trades His Spurs For Wings” from “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs” by David Rawlings and Gillian Welch

best original score:

“Black Panther,” Ludwig Göransson

“BlacKkKlansman,” Terence Blanchard

“If Beale Street Could Talk,” Nicholas Britell

“Isle of Dogs,” Alexandre Desplat

“Mary Poppins Returns,” Marc Shaiman

best costume design:

“The Ballad of Buster Scruggs,” Mary Zophres

“Black Panther,” Ruth E. Carter

“The Favourite,” Sandy Powell

“Mary Poppins Returns,” Sandy Powell

“Mary Queen of Scots,” Alexandra Byrne

best production design:

“Black Panther,” Production Design: Hannah Beachler; Set Decoration: Jay Hart

“The Favourite,” Production Design: Fiona Crombie; Set Decoration: Alice Felton

“First Man,” Production Design: Nathan Crowley; Set Decoration: Kathy Lucas

“Mary Poppins Returns,” Production Design: John Myhre; Set Decoration: Gordon Sim

“Roma,” Production Design: Eugenio Caballero; Set Decoration: Bárbara Enrı́quez

[jackiebarnard11]

(updated 3/11/19)

Drum roll…

These FIVE Oscar Pool Players Will Now Receive a Prize-In-the-Mail!!

First place: Jane!

This is Jane’s 5th Oscar Pool and 4th win!

Jane is the Meryl Streep and Katherine Hepburn of the Oscar Pool...

Second Place Three-Way Tie: Caroline, Josh, and Sam!

This is Caroline’s 3rd Oscar Pool and 1st win!

This is Josh’s 5th Oscar Pool and 1st win!

This is Sam’s 5th Oscar Pool and 2nd win! - see new 3/11/19 press posting with his prize-in-the-mail. The Academy confirms all prizes are now in the mail. 

In last, but not least place, Diana who also was the first to join this year’s pool – thank you!

Final scores:

Jane                 17

Caroline           14

Josh                 14

Sam                  14

Lizz                  13

Ben                  12

Sarah                11

David                10

Holly                10

Mollie               10

Debbie              9

Rebecca           9

Amanda             7

Tracy                7

Jeanne             6

John                 5

Patty                5

Diana                4

My ballot doesn’t count, but I got 9 correct 😊

I liked this year’s Oscars; had to watch it over two days on DVR…but it was fun. I especially liked 3 of the song nominee performances: Bette Midler (Mary Poppins), Jennifer Hudson (RGB), Lady Gaga/Bradley Cooper (A Star if Born). Loved Olivia Colman’s and Alfonso Cuaron’s acceptance speeches, too.

Thanks to the 19 of you who played; the biggest turnout thanks to Sam getting his friends to play! This was fun.

Winners: stand-by your mail boxes for your coveted 2019 Oscar Pool prize-in-the-mail!! (small type: you must send me a photo of you with your prize-in-the-mail and be available at anytime for interviews and TV appearances!)

Congratulations again Jane, Caroline, Josh, Sam, and Diana!

2019 official Oscars website with stuff:

https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2019

Random comments below from me with the full list (updated 3/11/19):

Best Picture:

“Black Panther” - JT: Fun but sometimes get bored by marvel-type movies

“BlacKkKlansman” - JT: Sam says problematic FBI wrong doings, we liked it

“Bohemian Rhapsody” - JT: well done. Debbie has seen this at least 3 times! 

“The Favourite” - JT: I liked it but a bit dark for me

“Green Book” - winner. JT: entertaining, but bit dated, formulaic. Lots of criticism out there on this choice. 

“Roma” - JT: great

“A Star Is Born” - JT: I want to see this. There’s an “encore” version playing in NY for one week w/20 extra minutes..

3/11/19 update: we saw the “Encore” this weekend. 12 extra minutes...I loved it and thought Bradley Cooper did a great job and what a good singer! Lady Gaga was amazing, what a good actress! Very sweet, romantic, believable (except for two glaring moments to me: one when they first met and two, when they first sing together). Otherwise, now I want to get to know the soundtrack and see the other versions (Streisand, Judy Garland, Mitzi Gaynor). I just bought “American Sniper” with Bradley Cooper on Google Play for $3.99...

“Vice” 

Lead Actor:

Christian Bale, “Vice”

Bradley Cooper, “A Star Is Born”

Willem Dafoe, “At Eternity’s Gate”

Rami Malek, “Bohemian Rhapsody” - winner

Viggo Mortensen, “Green Book” - JT: just saw yesterday at the schmancy dine-in IPic theatre South Street Seaport. Thought he was really good and should have won best actor, though I loved, loved Rami’s performance. Haven’t seen much Viggo - his movies are too rough for me

Lead Actress:

Yalitza Aparicio, “Roma”

Glenn Close, “The Wife” - she was good, but I found the movie mediocre, so not surprised she didn’t win this time

Olivia Colman, “The Favourite” - winner

Lady Gaga, “A Star Is Born”

Melissa McCarthy, “Can You Ever Forgive Me?” - JT: excellent movie and she was amazing; could have won this. 

Supporting Actor:

Mahershala Ali, “Green Book” - winner

Adam Driver, “BlacKkKlansman”

Sam Elliott, “A Star Is Born”

Richard E. Grant, “Can You Ever Forgive Me?” - JT: he was excellent

Sam Rockwell, “Vice”

Supporting Actress:

Amy Adams, “Vice”

Marina de Tavira, “Roma”

Regina King, “If Beale Street Could Talk” - winner - JT: want to see this

Emma Stone, “The Favourite”

Rachel Weisz, “The Favourite”

Director:

Spike Lee, “BlacKkKlansman” - JT: should have won in my opinion even though Roma was great

Pawel Pawlikowski, “Cold War” - JT: want to see

Yorgos Lanthimos, “The Favourite”

Alfonso Cuarón, “Roma” - winner

Adam McKay, “Vice”

Animated Feature:

“Incredibles 2,” Brad Bird

“Isle of Dogs,” Wes Anderson

“Mirai,” Mamoru Hosoda

“Ralph Breaks the Internet,” Rich Moore, Phil Johnston

“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman - winner - JT: so good, trippy, fun to see on big screen

Animated Short:

“Animal Behaviour,” Alison Snowden, David Fine

“Bao,” Domee Shi - winner - JT: want to see

“Late Afternoon,” Louise Bagnall

“One Small Step,” Andrew Chesworth, Bobby Pontillas

“Weekends,” Trevor Jimenez

Adapted Screenplay:

“The Ballad of Buster Scruggs,” Joel Coen , Ethan Coen

“BlacKkKlansman,” Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz, Kevin Willmott, Spike Lee - winner - JT: good choice

“Can You Ever Forgive Me?,” Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty

“If Beale Street Could Talk,” Barry Jenkins

“A Star Is Born,” Eric Roth, Bradley Cooper, Will Fetters

Original Screenplay:

“The Favourite,” Deborah Davis, Tony McNamara

“First Reformed,” Paul Schrader

“Green Book,” Nick Vallelonga, Brian Currie, Peter Farrelly - winner

“Roma,” Alfonso Cuarón

“Vice,” Adam McKay

Cinematography:

“Cold War,” Lukasz Zal

“The Favourite,” Robbie Ryan

“Never Look Away,” Caleb Deschanel

“Roma,” Alfonso Cuarón - winner

“A Star Is Born,” Matthew Libatique

Best Documentary Feature:

“Free Solo,” Jimmy Chin, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi - winner

“Hale County This Morning, This Evening,” RaMell Ross

“Minding the Gap,” Bing Liu

“Of Fathers and Sons,” Talal Derki

“RBG,” Betsy West, Julie Cohen - JT: still need to see this

Best Documentary Short Subject:

“Black Sheep,” Ed Perkins - JT: Sam told us this was produced by The Guardian newspaper!

“End Game,” Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman

“Lifeboat,” Skye Fitzgerald

“A Night at the Garden,” Marshall Curry

“Period. End of Sentence.,” Rayka Zehtabchi - winner - JT: this is free on Netflix, excellent, funny, touching

Best Live Action Short Film:

“Detainment,” Vincent Lambe

“Fauve,” Jeremy Comte

“Marguerite,” Marianne Farley

“Mother,” Rodrigo Sorogoyen

“Skin,” Guy Nattiv - winner

Best Foreign Language Film:

“Capernaum” (Lebanon) - JT: must see, so moving and well done

“Cold War” (Poland) - want to see

“Never Look Away” (Germany)

“Roma” (Mexico) - winner

“Shoplifters” (Japan) - JT: we are probably renting it for $3.99 today..

3/11/19 update: wow, what a wonderfully filmed, acted film. Sweet, but also very heartbreaking. 

Film Editing:

“BlacKkKlansman,” Barry Alexander Brown

“Bohemian Rhapsody,” John Ottman - winner

“Green Book,” Patrick J. Don Vito

“The Favourite,” Yorgos Mavropsaridis

“Vice,” Hank Corwin

Sound Editing:

“Black Panther,” Benjamin A. Burtt, Steve Boeddeker

“Bohemian Rhapsody,” John Warhurst - winner

“First Man,”  Ai-Ling Lee, Mildred Iatrou Morgan

“A Quiet Place,” Ethan Van der Ryn, Erik Aadahl

“Roma,” Sergio Diaz, Skip Lievsay

Sound Mixing:

“Black Panther”

“Bohemian Rhapsody” - winner

“First Man”

“Roma”

“A Star Is Born”

Production Design:

“Black Panther,” Hannah Beachler - winner

“First Man,” Nathan Crowley, Kathy Lucas

“The Favourite,” Fiona Crombie, Alice Felton

“Mary Poppins Returns,” John Myhre, Gordon Sim

“Roma,” Eugenio Caballero, Bárbara Enrı́quez

Original Score:

“BlacKkKlansman,” Terence Blanchard

“Black Panther,” Ludwig Goransson - winner

“If Beale Street Could Talk,” Nicholas Britell

“Isle of Dogs,” Alexandre Desplat

“Mary Poppins Returns,” Marc Shaiman, Scott Wittman

Original Song:

“All The Stars” from “Black Panther” by Kendrick Lamar, SZA

“I’ll Fight” from “RBG” by Diane Warren, Jennifer Hudson

“The Place Where Lost Things Go” from “Mary Poppins Returns” by Marc Shaiman, Scott Wittman

“Shallow” from “A Star Is Born” by Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando, Andrew Wyatt and Benjamin Rice - winner

“When A Cowboy Trades His Spurs For Wings” from “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs” by David Rawlings and Gillian Welch

Makeup and Hair:

“Border”

“Mary Queen of Scots”

“Vice” - winner

Costume Design:

“The Ballad of Buster Scruggs,” Mary Zophres

“Black Panther,” Ruth E. Carter - winner

“The Favourite,” Sandy Powell

“Mary Poppins Returns,” Sandy Powell

“Mary Queen of Scots,” Alexandra Byrne

Visual Effects:

“Avengers: Infinity War”

“Christopher Robin”

“First Man” - winner

“Ready Player One”

“Solo: A Star Wars Story”

jacquelinetien@gmail.com

Jane: if you make it this far in this post, check out David’s comment about you, he he!