William David Lee, ESQ.

Blah. Who picked these movies? Well, let's get to it...

BEST PICTURE
Babel
The Departed
Letters From Iwo Jima
Little Miss Sunshine
The Queen

What a bland selection. I was no fan of Babel and I thought Departed and The Queen were decent enough, but neither really stood out. The real surprise is Little Miss Sunshine, the low-budget indie flick up against the big-budget studio films. I thought it was good, but didn't love it as much as everyone else. It was your standard indie film, nothing more, nothing less. Letters From Iwo Jima is the only nominee that differentiates itself from the pack. As this year's Crash, Babel seems the likely winner, although Departed could get the win if they decide to finally give Scorsese his due.
WHO WILL WIN: Babel
WHO SHOULD WIN: Letters From Iwo Jima
OVERLOOKED NOMINEES: Children of Men, Pan's Labyrinth, United 93

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In all honesty, I have not seen most of the nominees. I shall endeavor to do my insightful best. Here we go...

BEST PICTURE
Brokeback Mountain
Capote
Crash
Good Night, and Good Luck
Munich

This one's a very tough call. Academy loves them some Spielberg. Good Night and Good Luck and Crash are appealing to leftwing sensibilities. Brokeback Mountain has been hot at the other awards shows. Capote is great, but a long shot. Tough, tough, tough.
WHO WILL WIN: Brokeback Mountain
WHO SHOULD WIN: ?
OVERLOOKED NOMINEES: The Constant Gardener, A History of Violence, Match Point, Syriana, Walk the Line

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Philip Seymour Hoffman - Capote
Terrence Howard - Hustle and Flow
Heath Ledger - Brokeback Mountain
Joaquin Phoenix - Walk the Line
David Strathairn - Good Night, and Good Luck

Biopic roles were all the rage last year and this year continues that trend. Both, Phoenix and Hoffman punched out remarkable performances without doing mere impressions. Straithairn (who was great in Blue Car and L.A. Confidential) followed suit with his portrayal of Edward R. Murrow. Ledger proved to people he can act and, hopefully, he isn't a fluke like Halle Berry or Kim Basinger. The big one here is Terrence Howard who had his breakout year with Hustle & Flow and Crash.
WHO WILL WIN: Joaquin Phoenix or Terrence Howard
WHO SHOULD WIN: Terrence Howard
OVERLOOKED NOMINEES: Eric Bana (Munich), Ralph Fiennes (The Constant Gardener), Viggo Mortensen (A History of Violence)

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Judi Dench - Mrs. Henderson Presents
Felicity Huffman - Transamerica
Keira Knightley - Pride and Prejudice
Charlize Theron - North Country
Reese Witherspoon - Walk the Line

Reese Witherspoon has been snatching up the awards and Felicity did one of the uglied up roles that they love so much. When in doubt, go for the glamorous actress turned fugly woman or the guy pretending to be retarded.
WHO WILL WIN: Felicity Huffman
WHO SHOULD WIN: Reese Witherspoon
OVERLOOKED NOMINEES: Yeong-ae Lee (Sympathy for Lady Vengeance), Naomi Watts (Ellie Barker or King Kong)

DIRECTING
George Clooney - Good Night and Good Luck
Paul Haggis - Crash
Ang Lee - Brokeback Mountain
Bennett Miller - Capote
Steven Spielberg - Munich

It's safe to say that whoever takes Best Director will also take Best Picture. Academy sure loves them some Spielberg, but he's got no more shelf space.
WHO WILL WIN: Ang Lee
WHO SHOULD WIN: George Clooney
OVERLOOKED NOMINEES: David Cronenberg (A History of Violence), Stephan Gaghan (Syriana), James Mangold (Walk the Line), Fernando Meirellas (The Constant Gardener)

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
George Clooney - Syriana
Matt Dillon - Crash
Paul Giamatti - Cinderella Man
Jake Gyllenhaal - Brokeback Mountain
William Hurt - A History of Violence

Clooney might take this if Good Night, and Good Luck doesn't win in any of the other big categories. Dillon was the cream of the crop in Crash and Giamatti finally gets a nomination after being overlooked for American Splendor and Sideways. He might get his due, unless Cinderella Man has already been forgotten.
WHO WILL WIN: George Clooney
WHO SHOULD WIN: Matt Dillon
OVERLOOKED NOMINEES: Chris Cooper (Capote), Ed Harris (A History of Violence), Terrence Howard (Crash), Jeffrey Wright (Broken Flowers or Syriana)

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Amy Adams - Junebug
Catherine Keener - Capote
Frances McDormand - North Country
Rachel Weisz - The Constant Gardener
Michelle Williams - Brokeback Mountain

Ebert has been pimping Amy Adams and with just cause. Wonderful performance. This one is a toughie. And how come McDormand and Theron were nominated for their work in North Country, instead of Aeon Flux? Tee-hee.
WHO WILL WIN: Amy Adams
WHO SHOULD WIN: Amy Adams

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
Howl's Moving Castle
Tim Burton's Corpse Bride
Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit

Usually, you get one or two good nominees and a clunker. This year has a pretty good crop, even though Corpse Bride wasn't so good.
WHO WILL WIN: Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
WHO SHOULD WIN: Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit

SCREENPLAY (Adapted)
Brokeback Mountain - Larry McMurtry & Diana Ossana
Capote - Dan Futterman
The Constant Gardener - Jeffrey Caine
A History of Violence - Josh Olson
Munich - Tony Kushner & Eric Roth

It's hard to see Brokeback Mountain winning Best Picture & Director without taking this one too. Then again, if Munich doesn't win any of the big ones. The screenplay awards sometimes seem to be a consulation prize. I'd love to see A History of Violence take it since it was adapted from a comic book.
WHO WILL WIN: Brokeback Mountain
WHO SHOULD WIN: Capote or A History of Violence (go underdogs)
OVERLOOKED NOMINEES: Walk the Line (Gil Dennis & James Mangold)

SCREENPLAY (Original)
Cinderella Man - Akiva Goldsman & Cliff Hollingsworth
Good Night, and Good Luck - George Clooney & Grant Heslov
Match Point - Woody Allen
The Squid and the Whale - Noah Baumbach
Syriana - Stephen Gaghan

Remember what I said about consulation prizes? Good Night or Syriana would be the odds-on favorite. Woody's return to form would be complete with a victory here.
WHO WILL WIN: Good Night, and Good Luck or Syriana
WHO SHOULD WIN: Good Night, and Good Luck
OVERLOOKED NOMINEES: Crash (Paul Haggis), Junebug (Phil Morrison), Sympathy for Lady Vengeance (Seo-Gyeong Jeong & Chan-wook Park)

ART DIRECTION
Good Night, And Good Luck
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
King Kong
Memoirs of a Geisha
Pride & Prejudice

Technical stuff. I will blow through these...
WHO WILL WIN: King Kong
WHO SHOULD WIN: King Kong or Good Night, and Good Luck

CINEMATOGRAPHY
Batman Begins
Brokeback Mountain
Good Night, And Good Luck
Memoirs of a Geisha
The New World

Whee! Batman Begins makes an appearance.
WHO WILL WIN: Good Night, and Good Luck or The New World
WHO SHOULD WIN: The New World

COSTUME DESIGN
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Memoirs of a Geisha
Mrs. Henderson Presents
Pride & Prejudice
Walk the Line

WHO WILL WIN: Memoirs of a Geisha
WHO SHOULD WIN: Walk the Line

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Darwin's Nightmare
Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
March of the Penguins
Murderball
Street Fight

Like last year's foreign-language category, this year's documentary category is pretty much worthless due to the exclusion of Grizzly Man. How in the Hell did that happen?
WHO WILL WIN: March of the Penguins
WHO SHOULD WIN: Grizzly Man
OVERLOOKED NOMINEES: Grizzly Man

DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
The Death of Kevin Carter: Casualty of the Bang Bang Club
God Sleeps in Rwanda
The Mushroom Club
A Note of Triumph: The Golden Age of Norman Corwin

Haven't seen or heard of any nominees. I will abstain.

FILM EDITING
Cinderella Man
The Constant Gardener
Crash
Munich
Walk the Line

WHO WILL WIN: Crash or The Constant Gardener
WHO SHOULD WIN: The Constant Gardener

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Don't Tell
Joyeux Noel
Paradise Now
Sophie Scroll - The Final Days
Tsotsi

WHO WILL WIN: Paradise Now
WHO SHOULD WIN: Sadly, I have not seen any of these films. Abstain.
OVERLOOKED NOMINEES: Cache, Riding Alone for a Thousand Miles, Sympathy for Lady Vengeance

MAKEUP
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe
Cinderella Man
Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith

WHO WILL WIN: The Chronicles of Narnia
WHO SHOULD WIN: The Chronicles of Narnia

MUSIC (SCORE)
Gustavo Santaolalla - "Brokeback Mountain"
Alberto Iglesias - "The Constant Gardener"
John Williams - "Memoirs of a Geisha"
John Williams - "Munich"
Dario Marianelli - "Pride & Prejudice"

WHO WILL WIN: John Williams
WHO SHOULD WIN: Gustavo Santaolalla

MUSIC (SONG)
"In the Deep" - Crash
"It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp" - Hustle & Flow
"Travelin' Thru" - TransAmerica

WHO WILL WIN: "It's the Deep"
WHO SHOULD WIN: "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp" cuz pimpin' ain't easy. Holla.

SHORT FILM (ANIMATED)
Badgered
The Moon and the Son: An Imagined Conversation
The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello
9
One Man Band

Abstain.

SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION)
Ausreisser (The Runaway)
Cashback
The Last Farm
Our Time is Up

Six Shooter

Abstain.

SOUND EDITING
King Kong
Memoirs of a Geisha
War of the Worlds

WHO WILL WIN: King Kong
WHO SHOULD WIN: King Kong

SOUND MIXING
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe
King Kong
Memoirs of a Geisha
Walk the Line
War of the Worlds

WHO WILL WIN: King Kong
WHO SHOULD WIN: King Kong

VISUAL EFFECTS
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe
King Kong
War of the Worlds

WHO WILL WIN: King Kong
WHO SHOULD WIN: King Kong
OVERLOOKED NOMINEES: Sin City

Takin' a break from working on my script. I got Conan O'Brien on TV and "Mr. Brightside" by The Killers stuck in my head. Well, here on my thoughts on the major categories for the Academy Awards. Before I start, I am EXTREMELY disappointed that "A Very Long Engagement" only recieved 2 nominations (Art Direction, Cinematography). At the very least, it should've gotten a nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay. It was not nominated for Best Foreign-Language Film, but apparently because of a technicality. From what I've heard, Warner pitched in on the financing and since the movie wasn't made solely on French money, it wasn't considered a French film thus it was not submitted as France's choice (each country is only allowed to pick one film). I'll give my pick and my guess as to which will win.

Best Picture
The Aviator, Finding Neverland, Million Dollar Baby, Ray, Sideways.
Will's Pick: Million Dollar Baby
Possible Winner: The Aviator

I haven't seen Finding Neverland or Ray yet. Ray does come out next week on DVD, so I might pick it up. Otherwise, this is a tough choice. I'd have to nail it down to The Aviator and Million Dollar Baby, both as my picks to win and the ones the Academy will pick to win. Overlooked Nominees: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Kill Bill Vol. 2

Best Director
Clint Eastwood (Million Dollar Baby), Taylor Hackford (Ray), Mike Leigh (Vera Drake), Alexander Payne (Sideways), Martin Scorsese (The Aviator)
Will's Pick: Clint Eastwood
Possible Winner: Martin Scorsese

Again, a tough choice. And again I'll pick Million Dollar Baby over The Aviator. Clint created such a great atmosphere with the film that was funny, heartbreaking, triumphant, and tragic at the same time. What makes it tougher is that Scorsese has NEVER won an Oscar and I'm thinking he'll finally get it this year. The Aviator is certainly much better than the uneven Gangs of New York. Overlooked Nominees: Zach Braff (Garden State), Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine), Jean-Pierre Jeunet (A Very Long Engagement), Michael Mann (Collateral), Quentin Tarantino (Kill Bill), Mario Van Peebles (Baadasssss!)

Best Actor in a Lead Role
Don Cheadle (Hotel Rwanda), Johnny Depp (Finding Neverland), Leonardo DiCaprio (The Aviator), Clint Eastwood (Million Dollar Baby), Jamie Foxx (Ray)
Will's Pick: Leonardo DiCaprio
Possible Winner: Leonardo DiCaprio

I really didn't think Leo could pull it off as Howard Hughes. He was just too baby-faced, but with a little help from some great make-up, he did it. Starting as a young hotshot and descending into an obsessive-compulsive paranoid. Overlooked performances: Jim Carrey (Eternal Sunshine), Paul Giamatti (Sideways), & Mario Van Peebles (Baadasssss!). Tom Cruise did a great job with Collateral, but the man doesn't need more recognition.

Best Actress in a Lead Role
Annette Bening (Being Julia), Catalina Sandino Moreno (Maria Full of Grace), Imelda Staunton (Vera Drake), Hilary Swank (Million Dollar Baby), Kate Winslet (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind)
Will's Pick: Kate Winslet
Possible Winner: Hilary Swank?

Well, I've only seen Million Dollar Baby and Eternal Sunshine. I'd pick Kate out of the two, but Hilary's role is the kind the Academy loves to award. Beautiful girl uglies herself up. Hilary has already won for Boys Don't Cry so that might be a strike against her. Tough to pick since I haven't seen any of the others. Overlooked Performances: Audrey Tautou (A Very Long Engagement) and Uma Thurman (Kill Bill).

Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Alan Alda (The Aviator), Thomas Haden Church (Sideways), Jamie Foxx (Collateral), Morgan Freeman (Million Dollar Baby), Clive Owen (Closer)
Will's Pick: Morgan Freeman
Possible Winner: Jamie Foxx

EXTREMELY close call between Morgan and Thomas Haden Church. Jamie Foxx will probably win since he kinda has to for something. It's been his year, I don't see him winning for Ray due to the competition but I do see him winning for Collateral. Haven't seen Closer yet, but I love Clive Owen. Alan Alda was good, but I didn't see his role as something that would be nominated, especially since David Carradine was so unfairly overlooked for his extraordinary performance as Bill.

Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Cate Blanchett (The Aviator), Laura Linney (Kinsey), Virginia Madsen (Sideways), Sophie Okonedo (Hotel Rwanda), Natalie Portman (Closer)
Will's Pick: Cate Blanchett
Possible Winner: Cate Blanchett

Easy pick for me. One of my favorite actresses playing one of my favorite actresses. Hurts me only because I had to pick her over Virgina Madsen and Laura Linney (who didn't win for You Can Count On Me back in 2000). Overlooked Performances: Marion Cotillard (A Very Long Engagement), Minnie Driver (Phantom of the Opera), Darryl Hannah (Kill Bill), Natalie Portman (Garden State. Yeah, she got nominated for Closer, but I loved her in Garden State).

Best Original Screenplay
Brad Bird (The Incredibles), Terry George & Keir Pierson (Hotel Rwanda), Charlie Kaufman (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind), Mike Leigh (Vera Drake), John Logan (The Aviator)
Will's Pick: Charlie Kaufman
Possible Winner: John Logan

With The Aviator looking to be this year's big winner I'm thinking Logan will win. Personally, I'm pulling for Charlie Kaufman who has to be the craziest, most original writer in decades, who was passed over for Being John Malkovich. Overlooked Nominees: Pedro Almodovar (Bad Education), Jeff Baena & David O. Russell (I Heart Huckabee's)

Best Adapted Screenplay
Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke & Richard Linklater (Before Sunset), Paul Haggis (Million Dollar Baby), David Magee (Finding Neverland), Alexander Payne & Jim Taylor (Sideways), Jose Rivera (The Motorcycle Diaries)
Will's Pick: Alexander Payne & Jim Taylor
Possible Winner: Alexander Payne & Jim Taylor

If The Aviator or Million Dollar Baby become the big winner this year, then Sideways will most likely recieve this one as a consulation gift. It's a great script and Payne & Taylor are great writers as evidenced by Election and About Schmidt (they'll be excused for Jurassic Park III). Overlooked Nominees: Dennis Haggerty & Mario Van Peebles (Baadasssss!), Jean-Pierre Jeunet & Guillaume Laurant (A Very Long Engagement)

Best Foreign Language Film
As It Is In Heaven (Sweden), The Chorus (France), Downfall (Germany), The Sea Inside (Spain), Yesterday (South Africa)
Will's Pick: ?
Possible Winner: ?

Sorry...haven't seen any of these. The Sea Inside might be a good pick since its director, Alejandro Amenabar is pretty well-known in the States (Open Your Eyes, The Others). Overlooked Nominees: Bad Education (Spain), House of Flying Daggers (China), Tae Guk Gi (South Korea), 2046 (Hong Kong), A Very Long Engagement (France)

Best Animated Feature Film
The Incredibles, Shark Tale, Shrek 2
Will's Pick: Shrek 2
Possible Winner: The Incredibles

Nominees are always thin in this category. There's usually 2 good ones and one bad one that just has to be in there. Although, I actually did enjoy Shark Tale. I thought Incredibles was good, but I wasn't as blown away as I was by the other Pixar films. Overlooked Nominees: Hmm...Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence, Spongebob Squarepants: The Movie? Hell, I don't know. Looking forward to next year with Howl's Magic Castle, Steamboy, and the Wallace & Gromit movie coming out.

Best Cinematography
Bruno Delbonnel (A Very Long Engagement), Caleb Deschanal (The Passion of the Christ), John Mathieson (Phantom of the Opera), Robert Richardson (The Aviator), Xiaoding Zhao (House of Flying Daggers)
Will's Pick: Robert Richardson
Possible Winner: Robert Richardson

Overlooked Nominees: Christopher Doyle (2046), Robert Primes (Baadasssss!), Robert Richardson (Kill Bill Vol. 2), Tom Stern (Million Dollar Baby...my real pick to win)

No Nominations

Bad Education, Baadasssss!, Garden State: Nothing. What the hell?

Fahrenheit 9/11: Michael Moore really blew it by trying to go for Best Picture, instead of Best Documentary. It might be filled with half-truths and specious reasoning, it's still a film everyone should see. And obviously they didn't considering how the elections went.

Hellboy, Sky Captain and The World of Tomorrow: Fun films that shockingly didn't get any nominations in the technical categories.