This is The End. My only friend, The End.
It all comes down to this, gang. MY PREDICTIONS for the 81st Annual Academy Awards, as well as my own personal selections IF I HAD A BALLOT. It's pretty self-explanatory. Should Win is what I HOPE wins on Sunday night. That doesn't mean I necessarily thought their work was the best of the year (for instance, I'd give Best Supporting Actress to Rosemarie DeWitt for Rachel Getting Married, but somehow she wasn't nominated), it just means that OF THE NOMINEES, this is who I would vote for. Likewise, just because I think someone WILL win, doesn't mean I think they SHOULD win. If you have an Office Oscar Pool, you can take these predictions to the bank, because they're money, baby!
There are a couple upsets sprinkled throughout, including both of the lead acting categories. Right now, the only other prognosticator picking Rourke AND Streep is Jeff Wells of Hollywood Elsewhere. I just think this is Mickey's year (Sean Penn just won for Mystic River) and Kate Winslet got nominated for the wrong performance, opening the door for Meryl Streep, who hasn't won since Sophie's Choice in 1983. I'd say she's every bit as due as Kate. Supporting Actress is a tight race (I even had difficult deciding who I'd vote for) but Penelope Cruz has a distinguished body of work behind her now, plus she's never won (sorry Marisa Tomei) and she has plenty of screentime (sorry Viola Davis), although that rarely matters in this category (ahem, Judi Dench). Original Screenplay is another one to watch. Dustin Lance Black has Milk's Best Picture nomination on his side but the Academy could choose to reward its first animated film and go with Wall-E. And no, I don't think The Curious Case of Benjamin Button will get shut-out. No way, no how. PLEASE NOTE: I will not be predicting any of the Short Film categories.
I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all my readers (i.e. friends and family) for checking out The InSneider. I hope you all enjoy the show and if you're in the Boston area, feel free to stop by The InSneider's temporary headquarters. It'll be a magical night to remember, so here's hoping Hugh Jackman has some surprises in store for us. So without further ado, here are my Final 2008 Oscar Predictions as well as my wishlist for Sunday night. The envelope, please...
BEST PICTURE
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Frost/Nixon
Milk
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire
SHOULD WIN: Slumdog Millionaire
WILL WIN: Slumdog Millionaire
BEST DIRECTOR
Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire
Stephen Daldry, The Reader
David Fincher, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Ron Howard, Frost/Nixon
Gus Van Sant, Milk
SHOULD WIN: Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire
WILL WIN: Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire
BEST ACTOR
Richard Jenkins, The Visitor
Frank Langella, Frost/Nixon
Sean Penn, Milk
Brad Pitt, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler
SHOULD WIN: Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler
WILL WIN: Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler
BEST ACTRESS
Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married
Angelina Jolie, Changeling
Melissa Leo, Frozen River
Meryl Streep, Doubt
Kate Winslet, The Reader
SHOULD WIN: Meryl Streep, Doubt
WILL WIN: Meryl Streep, Doubt
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Josh Brolin, Milk
Robert Downey Jr., Tropic Thunder
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Doubt
Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
Michael Shannon, Revolutionary Road
SHOULD WIN: Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
WILL WIN: Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams, Doubt
Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Viola Davis, Doubt
Taraji P. Henson, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Marisa Tomei, The Wrestler
SHOULD WIN: Marisa Tomei, The Wrestler
WILL WIN: Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Dustin Lance Black, Milk
Courtney Hunt, Frozen River
Mike Leigh, Happy-Go-Lucky
Martin McDonagh, In Bruges
Andrew Stanton and Jim Reardon, Wall-E
SHOULD WIN: Martin McDonagh, In Bruges
WILL WIN: Andrew Stanton and Jim Reardon, Wall-E
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Simon Beaufoy, Slumdog Millionaire
David Hare, The Reader
Peter Morgan, Frost/Nixon
Eric Roth, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
John Patrick Shanley, Doubt
SHOULD WIN: John Patrick Shanley, Doubt
WILL WIN: Simon Beaufoy, Slumdog Millionaire
BEST ANIMATED FILM
Bolt
Kung Fu Panda
Wall-E
SHOULD WIN: Kung Fu Panda
WILL WIN: Wall-E
BEST DOCUMENTARY
The Betrayal
Encounters at the End of the World
The Garden
Man on Wire
Trouble the Water
SHOULD WIN: Man on Wire
WILL WIN: Man on Wire
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
The Baader Meinhof Complex, Germany
The Class, France
Departures, Japan
Revanche, Austria
Waltz With Bashir, Israel
SHOULD WIN: Waltz With Bashir, Israel
WILL WIN: Waltz With Bashir, Israel
BEST ART DIRECTION
Changeling - Art Direction: James J. Murakami; Set Decoration: Gary Fettis
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Art Direction: Donald Graham Burt; Set Decoration: Victor J. Zolfo
The Dark Knight - Art Direction: Nathan Crowley; Set Decoration: Peter Lando
The Duchess - Art Direction: Michael Carlin; Set Decoration: Rebecca Alleway
Revolutionary Road - Art Direction: Kristi Zea; Set Decoration: Debra Schutt
SHOULD WIN: Donald Graham Burt and Victor J. Zolfo, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
WILL WIN: Donald Graham Burt and Victor J. Zolfo, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Anthony Dod Mantle, Slumdog Millionaire
Chris Menges and Roger Deakins, The Reader
Claudio Miranda, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Wally Pfister, The Dark Knight
Tom Stern, Changeling
SHOULD WIN: Claudio Miranda, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
WILL WIN: Anthony Dod Mantle, Slumdog Millionaire
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Danny Glicker, Milk
Catherine Martin, Australia
Michael O’Connor, The Duchess
Jacqueline West, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Albert Wolsky, Revolutionary Road
SHOULD WIN: Jacqueline West, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
WILL WIN: Michael O’Connor, The Duchess
BEST EDITING
Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Lee Smith, The Dark Knight
Mike Hill and Dan Hanley, Frost/Nixon
Elliott Graham, Milk
Chris Dickens, Slumdog Millionaire
SHOULD WIN: Chris Dickens, Slumdog Millionaire
WILL WIN: Chris Dickens, Slumdog Millionaire
BEST MAKEUP
Greg Cannom, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
John Caglione, Jr. and Conor O'Sullivan, The Dark Knight
Mike Elizalde and Thom Floutz, Hellboy II: The Golden Army
SHOULD WIN: Greg Cannom, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
WILL WIN: Greg Cannom, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
BEST SCORE
Alexandre Desplat, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
James Newton Howard, Defiance
Danny Elfman, Milk
A.R. Rahman, Slumdog Millionaire
Thomas Newman, Wall-E
SHOULD WIN: A.R. Rahman, Slumdog Millionaire
WILL WIN: A.R. Rahman, Slumdog Millionaire
BEST SONG
“Down to Earth,” Wall-E - Music by Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman; Lyrics by Peter Gabriel
“Jai Ho,” Slumdog Millionaire - Music by A.R. Rahman; Lyrics by Gulzar
“O Saya,” Slumdog Millionaire - Music and Lyrics by A.R. Rahman and Maya Arulpragasm
SHOULD WIN: “Jai Ho,” Slumdog Millionaire
WILL WIN: “Jai Ho,” Slumdog Millionaire
BEST SOUND EDITING
The Dark Knight - Richard King
Iron Man - Frank Eulner and Christopher Boyes
Slumdog Millionaire - Tom Sayers
Wall-E - Ben Burtt and Matthew Wood
Wanted - Wylie Stateman
SHOULD WIN: Richard King, The Dark Knight
WILL WIN: Richard King, The Dark Knight
BEST SOUND MIXING
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce and Mark Weingarten
The Dark Knight - Lora Hirschberg, Gary Rizzo and Ed Novick
Slumdog Millionaire - Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke and Resul Pookutty
Wall-E - Tom Myers, Michael Semanick and Ben Burtt
Wanted - Chris Jenkins, Frank A. Montano and Petr Forejt
SHOULD WIN: Lora Hirschberg, Gary Rizzo and Ed Novick, The Dark Knight
WILL WIN: Tom Myers, Michael Semanick and Ben Burtt, Wall-E
VISUAL EFFECTS
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton and Craig Barron
The Dark Knight - Nick Davis, Chris Corbould, Tim Webber and Paul Franklin
Iron Man - John Nelson, Ben Snow, Dan Sudick and Shane Mahan
SHOULD WIN: Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton and Craig Barron, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
WILL WIN: Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton and Craig Barron, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
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