OscarOscar

Hats off to the Academy for putting together a very entertaining show last night. Hugh Jackman proved to be a great pick as  host, kicking things off at 7:3o with a recession shaped musical tribute to the 2009 nominated movies, and later anchoring an overblown big-time production number created by Baz Luhrman with Astaire like grace.”Slumdog Millionaire” was the night’s big winner with 8 statues and it was a joy to see the entire cast hit the stage to accept, especially the adorable child actors who were flown in from India for the event. I had “Slumdog” as Best Film and Danny Boyle as Best Director but overall my picks were not quite as successful. I was skunked on several peripheral categories, I missed with Mickey Rourke as the best actor,  but was impressed with Sean Penn’s acceptance. I had Kate Winslet as Best Actress and even though I thought Amy Adams would win as Best Supporting Actor I was right in saying Penelope Cruz should win, and she did. My pick tabulation: 9 right, 11 wrong, and in four categories I was correct with my “should win” predictions. This is why I stay away from VegasThe attempts at comedy were thankfully more successful than not. Tina Fey and Steve Martin set the bar high with some clever writing, Ben Stiller hot the mark with his parody of a distracted Joaquin Phoenix , and Judd Apatow delivered a clever “Pineapple Express” segment with James Franco and Seth Rogan reprising their stoners in a salute to the Comedies of 2009.I really liked the concept of having past winners deliver their well written tributes to the nominees in each of the major acting categories. The emotions seemed quite heartfelt.The show has it’s legitimate detractors, it’s always too long, but I must say I was very impressed with what seems to be a very successful reworking of the production. Way to go Academy, I’m looking forward to another year of cinema.

These were my picks for the 81st Annual Academy Awards as the Entertainment Editor for WCCO Radio:

1.        Best Picture: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “Frost/Nixon,” “Milk,” “The Reader,” “Slumdog Millionaire.”

Should win: Slumdog Millionaire

Will win: Slumdog Millionaire

2.        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

Will win: Mickey Rourke

3.        Actress: Anne Hathaway, “Rachel Getting Married”; Angelina Jolie, “Changeling”; Melissa Leo, “Frozen River”; Meryl Streep, “Doubt”; Kate Winslet, “The Reader.”

Should win: Melissa Leo

Will win : Kate Winslett

4.        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

Will win: Heath Ledger

5.        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: Penelope Cruz

Will win: Amy Adams

6.        Director: David Fincher, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”; Ron Howard, “Frost/Nixon”; Gus Van Sant, “Milk”; Stephen Daldry, “The Reader”; Danny Boyle, “Slumdog Millionaire.”

Should win: Danny Boyle

Will win: Danny Boyle

7.        Foreign Film: “The Baader Meinhof Complex,” Germany; “The Class,” France; “Departures,” Japan; “Revanche,” Austria; “Waltz With Bashir,” Israel.

Should win: “Waltz With Bashir”

Will lwin: “The Class

8.        Adapted Screenplay: Eric Roth and Robin Swicord, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”; John Patrick Shanley, “Doubt”; Peter Morgan, “Frost/Nixon”; David Hare, “The Reader”; Simon Beaufoy, “Slumdog Millionaire.”

Should win: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”

Will win: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”

9.        Original Screenplay: Courtney Hunt, “Frozen River”; Mike Leigh, “Happy-Go-Lucky”; Martin McDonagh, “In Bruges”; Dustin Lance Black, “Milk”; Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon and Pete Docter, “WALL-E.”

Should win: “Frozen River”

Will win: “In Bruges”

10.     Animated Feature Film: “Bolt”; “Kung Fu Panda”; “WALL-E.”

Should win: WALL-E

Will win: WALL-E

11.     Art Direction: “Changeling,” “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “The Dark Knight,” “The Duchess,” “Revolutionary Road.”

Should win: “The Curious case of Benjamin Button”

Will win: “The Curious case of Benjamin Button”

12.     Cinematography: “Changeling,” “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “The Dark Knight,” “The Reader,” “Slumdog Millionaire.”

Should win: “ Slumdog Millionaire”

Will win: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”

13.     Sound Mixing: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “The Dark Knight,” “Slumdog Millionaire,” “WALL-E,” “Wanted.”

Should win: “The Dark Knight”

Will win: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”

14.     Sound Editing: “The Dark Knight,” “Iron Man,” “Slumdog Millionaire,” “WALL-E,” “Wanted.”

Should win: ”WALL-E”

Will  win: “Slumdog Millioaire”

15.     Original Score: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” Alexandre Desplat; “Defiance,” James Newton Howard; “Milk,” Danny Elfman; “Slumdog Millionaire,” A.R. Rahman; “WALL-E,” Thomas Newman.

Should win:” Slumdog Millionaire”

Will win: “Slumdog Millionaire”

16.     Original Song: “Down to Earth” from “WALL-E,” Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman; “Jai Ho” from “Slumdog Millionaire,” A.R. Rahman and Gulzar; “O Saya” from “Slumdog Millionaire,” A.R. Rahman and Maya Arulpragasam.

Should win:”Down to Earth”

Will win: “Sown to Earth”

17. Costume: “Australia,” “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “The Duchess,” “Milk,” “Revolutionary Road.”

Should win:” The curious Case of Benjamin Button

Will win:” The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”

18. Documentary Feature: “The Betrayal (Nerakhoon),” “Encounters at the End of the World,” “The Garden,” “Man on Wire,” “Trouble the Water.”

Should win: “ Man on Wire”

Will win: “ Trouble the Water”

19. Film Editing: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “The Dark Knight,” “Frost/Nixon,” “Milk,” “Slumdog Millionaire.”

Should win:”Slumdog Millionaire”

Will Win: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”

20. Makeup: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “The Dark Knight,” “Hellboy II: The Golden Army.”

Should win: “ The Curios Case of Benjamin Button”

Will win: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”

21. Visual Effects: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “The Dark Knight,” “Iron Man.”

Should win:” The Curious Case of Benjamin Button “

Will win:” The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”

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