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Every Oscar race has its showdowns, those one-on-one match-ups that transcend the field of five. Wanna know which ones we find most intriguing? Keep reading, oh loyal blog peruser. Best Picture: Atonement vs. No Country for Old Men - One has the whole tragic English Patient thing going for it. The other is a sweaty Texas tale of drug money and bad decisions and unconventional weapons used to kill cattle. A study in contrasts? You betcha. But Atonement didn't get a directing nod, and its odds feel long from here. Best Actress: Julie Christie vs. Marion Cotillard - It's looking like a good bet that this year's winner will hail from outside the States. Cotillard has earned raves for her fiery portrayal of French singer Edith Piaf, but Christie has big Mo (as in mentum) on her side as an Alzheimer's patient starting over near the end. What a cosmopolitan bracket. The only American nominee is Laura Linney. Best Animated Feature Film: Ratatouille vs. Persepolis - Here's a dandy David and Goliath battle. Ratatouille comes from Pixar, which practically manufactures its own Oscar statues. But this category has rewarded artsy fare in the past - Spirited Away won in 2003 - and Persepolis, opening in Dallas Friday, is a bona fide gem and a heart-tugger to boot. Don't count it out. |
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Comments
Posted by pt @ 6:16 PM Tue, Jan 22, 2008
for best picture clues, look to the film editing noms. atonement is not nominated. i think best picture and director will go to the coen brothers. i remember that crash was nominated for film editing and brokeback wasn't, and i remember reading that a lack of a film editing nomination virtually guarantees that the movie won't win best picture.
i think there will be blood's reward will be for best actor.
i think persepolis will win because it truly is an amazing film and this year's "underdog"
i think sarah polley's adapted screenplay nomination means julie christie will walk with best actress. julie christie did a whole lot with fewer lines than cotillard.
Posted by Kip Mooney @ 11:07 AM Wed, Jan 23, 2008
The more I think about it, the more I feel the Best Picture race is pretty wide open. Everyone (well, except you, Vognar) couldn't stop talking about the Coens' return to form, but my my my the movie's awful bleak; 'There Will Be Blood' seems mainly a showcase for Daniel Day-Lewis; 'Juno' has lots of love but it's a comedy, a genre which hasn't won since the magnificent upset of 'Shakespeare in Love'; and then there's that little legal thriller. It's by far the oldest movie nominated, and got all the big nods. I think it's the one to beat at the moment. I also think 'Atonement' is plum out of luck this year, thanks to only one acting nod, and zilch in the directing category.
Julie Christie is all but a lock unless Ellen Page has a ginormous push. The Oscars may make some odd choices, but no one, and I mean no one, has heard of 'La Vie en Rose' until now, so I'd count Marion Cotillard out.
Finally, I think 'Ratatouille' will be the winner. While there will certainly be lots of love for 'Persepolis,' it's not everyday an animated flick gets nominated for Best Original Screenplay, and the little movie about a rodent chef was the best reviewed movie of 2007 on just about every website, so I think it's pretty much a guarantee. But then again, I said pretty much the same things about 'Pan's Labyrinth' last year for Best Foreign Language Film, and we all know what happened there.
Posted by Chris Vognar @ 1:28 PM Wed, Jan 23, 2008
The editing point is a good one. The New York Times had a story about this very subject a couple weeks back in its special Oscar section.