Oscars 2013

Zach Galifianakis interviews Jennifer Lawrence, Naomi Watts, Christoph Waltz, Anne Hathaway, and Amy Adams here. Very amusing. Anne is (sigh) trying too hard but everyone else is funny, and Amy's is my favorite.

We've seen all of the best picture nominees, and all of the major award nominees with the exception of those for The Master and The Sessions. So here's how I would mark my ballot; these are my picks, and not who I think will actually win.

Best picture: Lincoln
Director: Ang Lee
Actor: DDL
Actress: Emmanuelle Riva
Supporting actor: DeNiro (though Gollum should rightly win this, imo)
Supporting actress: Hathaway
Original screenplay: Zero Dark Thirty
Adapted screenplay: Lincoln
Animated: The Pirates (just because I thought it was hilarious)
Cinematography: Anna Karenina (Skyfall a close 2nd)
Visual Effects: Life of Pi
Original Score: Skyfall/Life of Pi (tie)
Original song: Skyfall
Production design: Anna Karenina
Costumes: Anna Karenina
Documentary: The Invisible War (though I thoroughly enjoyed Searching for Sugar Man)

If I'm going by preference, the top 8 lineup would go like this:

Picture - N/A, I thought too many of them were great to pick a best
Director - Lee
Actor - DDL
Actress - Riva (Wallis was my favorite, but I always worry for kids who win Oscars)
Supporting Actor - Jones
Supporting Actress - Hathaway
Adapted Screenplay - Lincoln
Original Screenplay - Django

The ones I'm actually betting on in my Oscar pool:

Picture - Argo
Director - Senor Spielbergo
Actor - DDL
Actress - Riva
Supporting Actor - DeNiro
Supporting Actress - Hathaway
Adapted Screenplay - Silver Linings Playbook
Original Screenplay - Django

With the caveat that Actor and Supporting Actress are the only two I feel confident about, and I really have no clue for Director and picked one at random. This is going to be an interesting year.

If nothing else, with the exception of Hathaway and DDL, this is the first Oscar ceremony in years where everything didn't seem relatively inevitable. So that should make it a fun show.

Did you guys see Nate Silver's "scientific" Oscar picks? Here.

Those are pretty awesome. The reason I'm going with Riva over Lawrence is because I've learned not to discount BAFTA winners in that category (Christie/Cotillard, Davis/Streep). But watch this be the year when I'm wrong and Lawrence gets it after all. That category has been the hardest to predict all year, up until the Academy surprised us with the big Director snubs.

I am pleased that there's actual uncertainty. I predict: Argo, DDL, Lawrence, Hathaway, and Waltz.

However, I also wouldn't be surprised if I'm wrong about actress and supporting actor. I would love for Jones to win. His performance was great, but also, I love that grumpy guy.

I think Jones is likely to win, but I would prefer he didn't. I mean, I like Tommy Lee Jones, but up on screen with DDL, who was totally in character as Lincoln, Jones's performance was more or less Tommy Lee Jones as 19th Century Congressman.

I am pretty sure that Jones is way grumpier than the radical congressman he played - he totally toned it down for the movie!

The person I really think deserved supporting actor is John Goodman in Argo.

I'm opposite in that I want him to win, but I don't think he will. I thought he was great, and also the others did not impress me very much. Waltz is great but he's pretty much doing the same performance as he did in Inglourious Basterds, and I would've preferred to see Samuel L. Jackson in that slot. DeNiro was good, not great (imo), Arkin's was a catchphrase, and everything about The Master actively pissed me off or grossed me out so I can't root for Hoffman.

A bit of a disappointing category, really. With so many viable, interesting choices, they went for 5 previous winners. Bo-ring.

My two favorite moments from the Oscars last night: involved Robert Downey Jr. First when McFarlane came out to the typical welcoming applause, they cut to RDJ purposefully folding his arms in protest?, and then when McFarlane told that terrible joke about Rihanna and no one laughed they cut wide and RDJ is clapping his ass off. SO FUNNY. I have no idea if he legit has issues with McFarlane but that was hilarious.

I thought McFarlane did what McFarlane does, he started out fairly charming and funny, and increasingly became smug and offensive as the night wore on. His hosting aside I thought all the musical numbers were wonderful and very old Hollywood, right down to CZJ's seemingly terrible lip syncing.

It was a great year for movies, and while I wouldn't have given it to Argo, I'm fine with it winning. Otherwise I thought the spread it around nicely. I was super happy JLaw won for SLP over Riva and Chastain.

blixie wrote:... and then when McFarlane told that terrible joke about Rihanna and no one laughed they cut wide and RDJ is clapping his ass off. SO FUNNY. I have no idea if he legit has issues with McFarlane but that was hilarious.

I noticed that too and laughed my ass off. I heart RDJ.

I wish they could figure out the pacing of this show. They cut off people's speeches to make room for 8340568 musical numbers, and then the last few awards - you know, the ones people are REALLY interested in - are so rushed.

I'm sorry that Zero Dark Thirty was all but shut out, but I'm ok with Argo winning Best Picture. It was a really good movie. And I was THRILLED Ang Lee took Best Director; I would have been throwing things if Spielberg won.

The Jaws music to get people off the stage--I really want to know how that came up in the production meeting. So tacky but it also made me laugh in an evil way.

The Jaws music WAS pretty funny, as was that one guy (I forget who) who just kept calmly talking as the music got louder and louder AND LOUDER AND LOUDER.

I am no fan of Seth MacFarlane, but I didn't really find him to be significantly better or worse than any other host. I thought the conceit of the Shatner sketch was funny but went on way too long. I actually laughed at the boobs song, especially the audience "reactions" (like Jennifer Lawrence's thumbs up). And that they brought out the Gay Men's Chorus to sing it. But then he ruined it by going "I'm not IN the Gay Men's Chorus" like, we get it, and then Shatner is like "you join it in 2015" and that didn't even make sense. I think a lot of the jokes were just flogged for too long and tested the audience's patience. I can't be mad at DanRad and JGL singing and dancing (does Dan even know how to sing in a British accent anymore?), but, on and on and on.

After that, eh. Some of the jokes were stupid and some were funny. I was really happy about Ang Lee too, and Mychael Danna.

I wasn't a fan of McFarlane because I think he does the one thing a host shouldn't do, make it about himself. RDJ was on Family Guy as Lois' brother back when I used to watch. So I wonder if it stems from that.

I was fine with all the winners, thought Jennifer Lawrence was very charming, and I really liked the song and dance numbers.

I never thought I'd wish to see Rob Lowe and Snow White again or Franco and Hathaway, but I did after last night. It was just bad, but I am admittedly prejudiced because I don't find Seth McFarlane funny at all. And I can't remember the burn Ben Affleck had, but I remember grinning at it.

It was a good year for movies, but a bad year for the show. Hosting is such a tough thing to do and this was fail.

I feel like if they wanted to go edgier they should just give Chris Rock another shot.

I laughed SO HARD at the Sound of Music joke. I think even more so because the audience didn't seem to think it was funny at all, which made me realize just how much of a dork I am.

YES. I think Chris Rock deserves another chance. If you want nicer, go Conan or Fallon. Fallon would totally work it. And make The Roots the house band.

I'm sorry, the whole thing felt self-indulgent and gross. And then it spilled over to The Onion doing that horrible joke about McFarlane by way of Quvenzhane Wallis, which made me mad. And I've followed the Onion since it was based in Madison and did jokes only about UW-Madison.

swsa wrote:I laughed SO HARD at the Sound of Music joke. I think even more so because the audience didn't seem to think it was funny at all, which made me realize just how much of a dork I am.

OMG, HOW did I forget that? I also found that HYSTERICAL. It almost would have been funnier if it wasn't to introduce Christopher Plummer. It was just ELABORATE. I loved it very much. I think that was my favorite moment of the night actually.

And I am not at all a fan of MacFarlane's/Family Guy's overreliance on "random" humor (see: South Park, manatees), but this was an instance where it worked for me in spades.

swsa wrote:I laughed SO HARD at the Sound of Music joke. I think even more so because the audience didn't seem to think it was funny at all, which made me realize just how much of a dork I am.

That was one of the bright spots. I also enjoyed the Flight sock puppet bit, and him walking offstage wordlessly when "introducing" Meryl Streep. But that opening sequence was interminably long and awful. The guy's obviously talented and charming (I'm not as familiar with his work as a lot of you are, I guess) but wow, the writing was terrible - especially the stand-up comedy parts.

I also agree that the pacing is a long-term problem when they rush through the big awards at the end.

For me, the show was essentially a success no matter what else when Shirley Bassey belted out Goldfinger. That was the highlight of the night, right there.

Arabella wrote:The Jaws music to get people off the stage--I really want to know how that came up in the production meeting. So tacky but it also made me laugh in an evil way.

I laughed too. It was extremely rude but it was the Jaws theme music! Like what? Who decided that?

I laughed too, thought it was unfortunate timing the first person they chose to play off with it. But it was kind of meanly hilarious.

The Jaws theme was evil, but very funny. I laughed the hardest at the Flight sock puppet bit, and I think if he had ended it there it would have been best, or if he had interspersed the song/dance numbers I found supremely charming through the whole show. I thought the stage was gorgeous too.

For hosts I'm still 100% in the Tom Hanks/Eddie Izzard camp. Although I wonder if they've asked Tom a lot over the years and he just turns them down. C'mon Hanx, Oscar tv audiences need you!

I just had another thought -- Martin Short. Amiable, can sing and dance, maybe pair him with Steve Martin?