= My Pick for the winner!
= The Nominee I want to win!
= The Choice that if it wins, I'm puking! This is often times done very... tongue in cheek...
ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Matt Damon - GOOD WILL HUNTING
Robert Duvall - THE APOSTLE
Peter Fonda - ULEE'S GOLD
Dustin Hoffman - WAG THE DOG
Jack Nicholson - AS GOOD AS IT GETS
Well, here's the first category. All of these choices are "MY" personal picks. This is my opinion, and not necessarily the way it'll go.
But I will attempt to justify my 'guesses, theories, scribblings'. Matt Damon won just being nominated with this group, not to say he wasn't
wonderful in Good Will Hunting, but his nomination is a 'Audrey Hepburn' aka 'birth of a star nomination'.
Robert Duvall won't win because while he is terrific, he just isn't going to have the 'push' that the other four will get.
Peter Fonda was tremendous, the most dimensional performance of his career. I saw this way back in February of last year, and his character
has stayed with me ever since. He'll win because, well he's a Fonda, and the Academy loves to give Fondas awards, this will mean Henry won, Jane will have won, Peter will win, and then
it's up to Bridget to find the right material. Then Dustin Hoffman.... ugh... What happened to Dustin Hoffman? Remember when every character he played was fully realized and human, now
he plays a cartoon and gets rewarded. Finally Jack Nicholson, the only one who could upset things for Peter. His performance was a joy to behold. And remember he hasn't won in
the 90's. It is awfully cool to have these two easy riders riding right behind each other again.
ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Robert Forster - JACKIE BROWN
Anthony Hopkins - AMISTAD
Greg Kinnear - AS GOOD AS IT GETS
Burt Reynolds - BOOGIE NIGHTS
Robin Williams - GOOD WILL HUNTING
Why do I want Robert Forster to win? Well, because he had the best acting eyes of the bunch. He did more with the thoughts in his eyes
than everyone else here did with their entire bag of tricks and methods. Understated to perfection. He'll never win, but I can wish can't I?
Anthony Hopkins was a marvel to watch, the fella just can do anything, remember my criticism of Hoffman above? Well Hopkins does what Hoffman
used to do, but does it better than Hoffman ever did. (And I love vintage Hoffman) Greg Kinnear turned in his best performance yet, he will turn in
better performances still. He may very well do something great someday, if he doesn't Peter Lawford out on us (career wise, not alcoholism).
Then you will have the winner, Burt Reynolds. He'll win because he's been playing the game for a long time, he has a 'popular' role and he survived Loni
Anderson. So in that sense he deserves it, but his '6 mile stare' style of acting just didn't do it for me. He's the weakest in the bunch for me, but he'll win. Sigh...
Then there is Robin Williams, who almost took my 'wanna win' nod, and in a real sense he should be the guy the academy gives this award to. If for no other
reason, than to wake him up, and make him choose his parts a bit better. His next, What Dreams May Come, is once again in the right direction, but... well he might slip back.
ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Helena Bonham Carter - WINGS OF THE DOVE
Julie Christie - AFTERGLOW
Judi Dench - MRS. BROWN
Helen Hunt - AS GOOD AS IT GETS
Kate Winslet - TITANIC
Why would I puke if Helena Bonham Carter wins? Well, I'm having trouble forgiving her for destroying the memory of 'the bride of frankenstein' with her horrible performance, that damn flaming shrieking head from hell, bad memory bad memory... ugh...
It's kinda weird having Julie Christie in this category opposite the modern day 'Lara', Kate Winslet. All those years ago it was Julie Christie that enchanted the world, now 3 decades later she's up against the modern version of herself... Kate. She won't win, but
I hope this gets her more work, I love her. Judi Dench... the possible spoiler in the group. The award is Helen Hunt's unless a weird British thing happens for Judi Dench, who is quite popular.
But Helen Hunt will win because her role had a full range of emotions going for it, she's hot as hell, and the Academy will reward her for not making Twister again.
Meanwhile there is Kate Winslet... Which reminds us of Leonardo... Remember you teary eyed lovers of Titanic... Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman didn't win for Casablanca. Ingrid wasn't even nominated for Casablanca, so take it easy. There's a part of me that wants to
storm the stage grab the award, jump out into the audience hand her the award, and then beg for her forgivness, but I sense that Robogeek will beat me to it.
ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Kim Basinger - LA CONFIDENTIAL
Joan Cusack - IN & OUT
Minnie Driver - GOOD WILL HUNTING
Julianne Moore - BOOGIE NIGHTS
Gloria Stuart - TITANIC
Kim Basinger won at the Golden Globes and I became a little ill. How? Why? Well you see Kim Basinger is the female
equivalent of Keanu Reeves... she's really great to hang clothes on. I don't think that you should reward someone for merely being in
a great movie. The concept of rewarding Kim... for putting a spotlight on her, above the 6 tremendous supporting actors in that film would be a crime.
Joan Cusack was cool in IN & OUT, I like Joan, she would be the "Rosie Perez/Marisa Tomei" of the group. Minnie Driver was a joy. She was soooo real,
so honest a character. She was unpretentious, she was natural, she was the candle that lit the movie. I do favor her. Julianne Moore was quite good in Boogie Nights, but
she has been better. She did have the most difficult role out of this group, it wouldn't suck if she won. Then you have the winner... Gloria Stuart. She sure did leave an impression with
Titanic didn't she? The older academy will rush to support her, ahhhh you'll cry when she wins. I mean she acted opposite Claude Rains and Boris Karloff when they were at the TOP of their
game. She will win, I know it.
ART DIRECTION
GATTACA
KUNDUN
L.A. CONFIDENTIAL
MEN IN BLACK
TITANIC
Where the hell is Fifth Element? Huh? What were y'all thinking?!?! Gattaca? RAAAAALLLLLLLLPPPPPPPPHHHHHHHH!!!!!! Get real, green-o-vision? ARGH!!! This is a hanging offense.
Kundun was beautiful, and LA Confidential perfectly recreated vintage Hollywood, Men In Black's design team did a good job,
and TITANIC will RUNAWAY with the Oscar. This is a film that has 'ART DIRECTION' stamped on each and every shot. Look no further... this is winning.
CINEMATOGRAPHY
AMISTAD
KUNDUN
L.A. CONFIDENTIAL
TITANIC
THE WINGS OF THE DOVE
Amistad was gorgeous... When I saw that opening sequence of Cinque, and the courtroom sequence, the bible story, the outside Washington DC sequences... ahhhhh... Lovely.
Then there was Kundun... Wow... umm beautiful, what can I say. Then after those two L.A. just isn't that glorius... so it gets the puke by default... not because of a fault, but simply because it's the weakest in the category.
Titanic will win, even though my father is screaming at me right now. He's yelling about how can you give Cinematography to a film that was composited together. All of the 'beauty shots' were created. Well, that ain't gonna matter because it
will win. Then there is the Wings of the Dove... once again stunning. What a strong category...
COSTUME DESIGN
AMISTAD
KUNDUN
OSCAR AND LUCINDA
TITANIC
THE WINGS OF THE DOVE
Overall a bit of a weak category for TITANIC to stomp. However, FIFTH ELEMENT shoulda been here. Sheesh, all the films preduction designs were based on
historical pieces and they all did their best, but TITANIC has that snowball thing going for it.
DIRECTING
THE FULL MONTY - Peter Cattaneo
GOOD WILL HUNTING - Gus Van Sant
L.A. CONFIDENTIAL - Curtis Hanson
THE SWEET HEREAFTER - Atom Egoyan
TITANIC - James "I'm too cool" Cameron - THE WINNER
Damn strong group. Curious though that James Brooks is missing, I'm sure Hallenbeck is stomping mad right about now.
But Peter Cattaneo took his place, and well I do love The Full Monty so I can't gripe about it. Meanwhile, Gus Van Sant and Curtis Hanson rule the earth. Both of their films were tremendous. Wow. Then there is
Atom Egoyan... well it was just tooo... ummmm... understated. Tedious... uncomfortable (that's the idea Harry) (yeah Harry, but I didn't like it)
Then comes James Cameron, who just rules the whole damn universe. After making this movie payoff big for both studios... well Cameron deserves some sort of human sacrifice/church/really-good-ice-cream made in his honor. In PARADE, this weekend, some reporter person writing the 'Intelligent Report' leveled Titanic's success on my shoulders. This is insanely STUPID. Titanic's success is Cameron's. I'm just proud to have been able to go see it.
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
AYN RAND: A SENSE OF
LIFE
COLORS STRAIGHT UP
4 LITTLE GIRLS
THE LONG WAY HOME
WACO: THE RULES OF
ENGAGEMENT
First off... I HAVE NOT SEEN ANY OF THESE!!! And I hate this. Every year this category and the next several go by without so much as a smidgen of knowledge on my part. So I always guess on just a surface level on knowledge. So here it goes, a complete moron's best guess based on no facts...
I want Ayn Rand to win, because... I like Ayn Rand. 4 Little Girls will win because I heard somewhere that this was directed by Spike Lee. And I'll puke if Waco: The Rules of Engagement wins because... well I live in Texas and I hate that whole Koresh/Waco/ATF thing. We hear about it waaaaay too often. Koresh even
appears on some Rock-n-Roll posters here in town from time to time. Ugh. And then I have to scream at the Academy for being STUPID again and failing to nominate not only the best documentary I saw, but damn near the best movie I saw last year called FAST, CHEAP AND OUT OF CONTROL. Evil board of dummies!!! Get your crap together and reward the
people and work that really deserves to be rewarded. So There!!!
DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
ALASKA: SPIRIT OF THE WILD
AMAZON
DAUGHTER OF THE
BRIDE
STILL KICKING: THE FABULOUS PALM
SPRINGS FOLLIES
A STORY OF HEALING
Same as above, I have no clue what I'm talking about. I chose AMAZON because I like the Amazon, and if it has to do with clear cutting then it's important.
Daughter of the Bride will win because it's got a lame title, but not the worst title. And A Story Of Healing will make me puke because it sounds like one of them
new age 'lay hands on me' pretentious loads of celluloid. Of course I'm a pretentious load of excrement because I'm judging without seeing. But I blame the studios, theaters, and the world
around me for not allowing me to see these jewels.
FILM EDITING
AIR FORCE ONE
AS GOOD AS IT GETS
GOOD WILL HUNTING
L.A. CONFIDENTIAL
TITANIC
I wish Air Force One would win because...well it wouldn't be Titanic, and I like to spread the love around a bit. I really wanted Face-Off to be in this category, because it was a jewel.
I puke over As Good As It Gets because... editing was not a particularly strong point for this flick.
Good Will Hunting and L.A.Confidential were both strong, but TITANIC is a loooooong movie. And the Academy has the love for rewarding looooong movies for editing, it's generally a fave joke of mine. Just pick the longest running time, and there ya have it.
FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
BEYOND SILENCE - Germany
CHARACTER - Netherlands
FOUR DAYS IN
SEPTEMBER - Brazil
SECRETS OF THE HEART - Spain
THE THIEF - Russia
Well once again, here is a category that... well I just haven't seen much of. I saw Four Days In September and really liked it quite a bit. Typically I love foreign films, but unless it wins, typically I don't get to see it, because it doesn't come to town. Why do I think The Thief will win? I don't know. Just a feeling. One of them psychic urges... However, I do have to say I am very upset that Germany brought forth Beyond Silence instead of Knocking on Heaven's Door which was an incredible movie that should be the damn winner but noooooooooooooooooo.... Last I heard Miramax had this film, and well we ain't seen it. I saw it at a film festival by accident and it blew my mind. I believe it was the most successful German film since Das Boot. Oh yeah that reminds me of Mononoke Hime. Which is apparently one of the most brilliant animated films of all time and ummmm... it gets ignored. Oh well, since I haven't seen these I must refrain from suggesting substitions as that would be unfair to these films, BUT I never said I was fair did I?
MAKEUP
MEN IN BLACK - Rick "God" Baker
MRS. BROWN
TITANIC
Well this is a no-brainer, I want Men In Black to win, because... Rick Baker is a God, and he deserves to win constantly. Mrs. Brown just isn't what I like in make up. And then Titanic will win for all of them nifty crystallized faces afloating in the darkness. Gorgeous. It kinda combines traditional beauty make up and 'special effects' make up which should appeal to the entire voting group.
ORIGINAL DRAMATIC SCORE
AMISTAD - John Williams
GOOD WILL HUNTING - Danny Elfman (FINALLY YIPEE!!!)
KUNDUN - Phillip Glass
L.A. CONFIDENTIAL - Jerry Goldsmith
TITANIC - James Horner (He gonna win)
Finally after a million years of producing great scores, Danny Elfman gets a nomination. And for his weakest year (in recent memory) Why on earth did he not get nominated for Batman, Edward Scissorhands, Beetlejuice, Mars Attacks, Pee Wee's Big Adventure, Nightmare Before Christmas, etc. OOOOOOH NOOOOO, let's nominate the one score that doesn't even sound like Elfman. Sheesh. Well, I have to say I hope he wins, ain't gonna happen. James Horner will win for Titanic because, everyone in the country, has that damn music, because the stores don't. Everywhere you go you hear it. On all the Oscar Specials they'll play it. Meanwhile Amistad was a 'ok' score. KUNDUN was jarring to the ears. And I liked L.A. Confidential, but I wouldn't give the score a nod, because there ain't much to it. Ok ok, I admit it, I would smile and clap if Horner wins, but I'll hoot and holler if Elfman wins. Looks like I'm gonna smile and clap though.
ORIGINAL MUSICAL OR COMEDY SCORE
ANASTASIA
AS GOOD AS IT GETS
THE FULL MONTY
MEN IN BLACK - Danny Elfman (when it rains it pours!!!!)
MY BEST FRIEND'S WEDDING
Anastasia... gag choke gargle... no. This is the animated film that should not of had a note. As Good As It Gets? There was music? The Full Monty will win because I think it will. I have no validating proof of it winning, but I searched my feelings and I know it to be true. However, I would like to reiterate how ecstaticly happy I would be if Danny Elfman would win. Yes, he does need two awards. Because he has been shafted so much by the Academy music snobs, just as Horner has, but I like Elfman more. He has red hair. He's insane. He's my main man. He starred in a movie with Tatoo from Fantasy Island, that's too cool man. Yes, I am aware of how shallow I am acting.
ORIGINAL SONG
HERCULES
CON AIR
ANASTASIA
GOOD WILL HUNTING
TITANIC
While the Original Song category sucks again, I would like to say it doesn't suck as much as I was utterly convinced it would be sucking. Thank God for excluding Sheryl 'the harpie' Crow and Will 'I Rap' Smith. I would have been groaning soooooooooo hard if them two were in the mix. However, Go The Distance is not very good. How Do I Live from Con Air is annoying for me. Journey To The Past was an excrutiating piece of hellspawned earaches. I have no memory of that Good Will Hunting song, and well the Titanic song is the least painful, and can be quite pleasing to the ear when you are asleep. However, if I hear that nasty mix of her song with dialogue from the film, I'm gonna puke.
BEST PICTURE
AS GOOD AS IT GETS
THE FULL MONTY
GOOD WILL HUNTING
L.A. CONFIDENTIAL
TITANIC
Even though I love all four of the other nominees, and Good Will Hunting was my personal fave film of the year, I will puke if anything besides TITANIC wins. This is Cameron's year, he made a movie that defys criticism, that triumphed against all odds, and deserves to be in the record books as being a MASTERPIECE. Which generally is what the Best Picture is supposed to be (How Green Was My Valley aside)
SHORT FILM ANIMATED
FAMOUS FRED
GERI'S GAME - (I think this is super cool PIXAR flick)
LA VIEILLE DAME ET LES
PIGEONS
THE MERMAID
REDUX RIDING HOOD
I've heard that Famous Fred is fantastic. That the dang Pigeons is great, that Redux Riding Hood is a blast. BUT when PIXAR is in the mix, and are doing incredible CG cloth and human wrinkles I side with them. I puke at no animation unless it's a nasty ol UPI animation about stupid dots and lines. I wish I had these on tape, so I could have a clue which ones rock and which ones suck. I doubt any suck.
SHORT FILM LIVE ACTION
DANCE LEXIE DANCE
IT'S GOOD TO TALK
SWEETHEARTS?
VISAS AND VIRTUE
WOLFGANG
I have utterly no clue as to the subject matters. I'm completely judging on the name alone. Why do I puke on Sweethearts? Because that is a lame title. And in that list, it is the lamest title, and since I'll never see because no one ever shows these things, which I would love to see,
SOUND
AIR FORCE ONE
CON AIR
CONTACT
L.A. CONFIDENTIAL
TITANIC
Contact was completely shafted, Jodie Foster was slapped, and well I'm just gonna say this ain't fair at all! So I would like to be able to see a sticker on the Contact box, and since this is it's chance... well there you have it. Why the puke? Well, I heard L.A. in a big super sound auditorium and I left impressed with the film, but not the sound. It was the most 'ordinary' of the sound nominees. While listening to Air Force One, I was reminded about how much cooler the sound was in the Das Boot Special Edition. Finally TITANIC will win. Why? Because the sound help create a very emmersive enviroment. And momentum tends to pull these awards along.
SOUND EFFECTS EDITING
FACE/OFF
THE FIFTH ELEMENT
TITANIC
Well given these are three of my favorite films of last year, I can't go wrong. The boat chase in Face/off was so real, so visceral, that I have to acknowledge it. Titanic will win once again, because the big boat is just too powerful.
VISUAL EFFECTS
THE LOST WORLD: JURASSIC PARK
STARSHIP TROOPERS
TITANIC
I was one of them rare birds that liked The Lost World, but it just didn't do a whole lot new for me. Some of the shot selections weren't as cool, and there wasn't a shot sequence as cool as the car and the kids from Jurassic Park. I would love to see Phil Tippet accept for his badass bugs. I'd shriek with joy!!! Titanic will win because it takes FX to an invisible place of perfection. If you don't understand, then watch the 'Making of' special on FOX this Friday! Then you'll agree.
SCREENPLAY BASED ON MATERIAL PREVIOUSLY PRODUCED OR PUBLISHED
DONNIE BRASCO
L.A. CONFIDENTIAL
THE SWEET HEREAFTER
WAG THE DOG
THE WINGS OF THE DOVE
Donnie Brasco was a pretty damn cool movie, I loved Pacino and think it is a shame that Dustin Hoffman or Burt Reynolds took his place, but there just isn't the support for the script. This is the award I cheer for L.A. Confidential. YIPEE!!! The Sweet Hereafter just didn't involve me, Wag The Dog bored me, and I loved Wings of the Dove, but it won't win.
SCREENPLAY WRITTEN DIRECTLY FOR THE SCREEN
AS GOOD AS IT GETS
BOOGIE NIGHTS
DECONSTRUCTING HARRY
THE FULL MONTY
GOOD WILL HUNTING
(HARRY NOTE- Donde esta TITANIC y senor Cameron?)
As Good As It Gets had a great script. I loved the Full Monty. GOOD WILL HUNTING is indestructible in this category. This wins hands down. Then you have the two nominees that were both worse than Cameron's Titanic Script. Boogie Nights was severely lacking for me (it's a rant that takes at least 5,000 words) and then there is the kneejerk Woody Allen nomination, even though his script was awful in my opinion. The dialogue felt very staid and forced, it was just... awful. However, I am very very very very very happy that Ben and Matt will get to stand up in front of 1 billion people as best friends and co-writers to top a year of transformation for both of them. I will cry when they win... to accomplish this level of success so young and with your best friend is an act I salute wholeheartedly...
