Who Will Oscar Smile At This Weekend? Will Q-C Boys Win Gold?
Could two Quad-Citians bring home an Oscar to Bettendorf?
This Sunday, the 91st annual Academy Awards will begin in Los Angeles at 7 p.m. CST, and “A Quiet Place,” written by Quad-Citians Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, was nominated in the sound editing category. Unfortunately, despite a Golden Globe and Critics’ Choice Award nom, Beck and Woods weren’t nominated in the Best Original Screenplay category, and “Place” lead Emily Blunt was snubbed for an actress pick despite some buzz.
The biggest surprises among the nominees were “Black Panther,” which became the first Marvel film to be nominated for Best Picture, although it was certainly deserved. In addition to being expectedly spectacular visually, “Panther” was the most complex and layered portrayal of a hero and villain in any of the comics genre flicks, and was universally praised by critics.
A film nowhere near universally praised but which expectedly got a nomination was “Bohemian Rhapsody,” which has been cleaning up at awards ceremonies despite mixed reviews. People seem to either love it or hate it, and I wonder how that’s going to effect its chances at an Oscar.
When it comes down to it, neither probably has much of a chance, given that more traditional and upscale Oscar bait like “Roma” and “The Favourite” are in the mix, and are likely the heavy favorites, alongside “A Star Is Born,” which has the charisma of likeable stars, terrific reviews, great box office and a past Hollywood pedigree. It’s also a movie about the industry of fame, which tends to resonate with voters, regardless of whether that fame is in the film industry, music industry or whatever. When it comes down to it, I’m predicting a big night for “Roma,” which seems to have heavy momentum coming in, and is exactly the kind of film Oscar typically leans towards.
On a personal note, in addition to saying congratulations to my friends Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, I’d like to congratulate my fellow Joliet Catholic Academy alum Melissa McCarthy for her nomination in the Best Actress category.
Below are the nominees, with my picks for victory:
Here’s the full list of nominees:
BEST PICTURE
“Black Panther”
“BlacKkKlansman”
“Bohemian Rhapsody”
“The Favourite”
“Green Book”
“Roma”
“A Star Is Born”
“Vice”
SEAN’S PICK TO WIN: Roma
ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Amy Adams, “Vice”
Marina de Tavira, “Roma”
Regina King, “If Beale Street Could Talk”
Emma Stone, “The Favourite”
Rachel Weisz, “The Favourite”
SEAN’S PICK TO WIN: Rachel Weisz
ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Mahershala Ali, “Green Book”
Adam Driver, “BlackKKlansman”
Sam Elliott, “A Star Is Born”
Richard E. Grant, “Can You Ever Forgive Me”
Sam Rockwell, “Vice”
SEAN’S PICK: Sam Elliott
FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
“Capernaum”
“Cold War”
“Never Look Away”
“Roma”
“Shoplifters”
SEAN’S PICK: Roma
DOCUMENTARY (SHORT)
“Black Sheep”
“End Game”
“Lifeboat”
“A Night at the Garden”
“Period. End of Sentence.”
SEAN’S PICK: Period. End of Sentence.
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
“Free Solo”
“Hale County This Morning, This Evening”
“Minding the Gap”
“Of Fathers and Sons”
“RBG”
SEAN’S PICK: RBG
ORIGINAL SONG
“All The Stars” – “Black Panther”
“I’ll Fight” – “RBG”
“Shallow” – “A Star Is Born
“The Place Where Lost Things Go” – “Mary Poppins Returns”
“When A Cowboy Trades His Spurs For Wings” – “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs”
SEAN’S PICK: “Shallow”
ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
“Incredibles 2”
“Isle of Dogs”
“Mirai”
“Ralph Breaks the Internet”
“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”
SEAN’S PICK: “Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse”
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
“The Ballad of Buster Scruggs”
“BlacKkKlansman”
“Can You Ever Forgive Me?”
“If Beale Street Could Talk”
“A Star Is Born”
SEAN’S PICK: “BlacKkKlansman”
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
“First Reformed”
“Green Book”
“Roma”
“The Favourite”
“Vice”
SEAN’S PICK: Roma
ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Christian Bale, “Vice”
Bradley Cooper, “A Star Is Born”
Willem Dafoe, “At Eternity’s Gate”
Rami Malek, “Bohemian Rhapsody”
Viggo Mortensen, “Green Book”
SEAN’S PICK: Rami Malek
ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Yalitza Aparicio, “Roma”
Glenn Close, “The Wife”
Lady Gaga, “A Star Is Born”
Olivia Colman, “The Favourite”
Melissa McCarthy, “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”
SEAN’S PICK: Melissa McCarthy; hey, gotta pick my fellow JCA alum
DIRECTOR
Spike Lee, “BlacKkKlansman”
Pawel Pawlikowski, “Cold War”
Yorgos Lanthimos, “The Favourite”
Alfonso Cuarón, “Roma”
Adam McKay, “Vice”
SEAN’S PICK: Alfonso Cuaron, “Roma”
PRODUCTION DESIGN
“Black Panther”
“The Favourite”
“First Man”
“Mary Poppins Returns”
“Roma”
SEAN’S PICK: “Roma”
CINEMATOGRAPHY
“Cold War”
“The Favourite”
“Never Look Away”
“Roma”
“A Star Is Born”
SEAN’S PICK: “Roma”
COSTUME DESIGN
“The Ballad of Buster Scruggs”
“Black Panther”
“The Favourite”
“Mary Poppins Returns”
“Mary Queen of Scots”
SEAN’S PICK: “Black Panther”
SOUND EDITING
“A Quiet Place”
“Black Panther”
“Bohemian Rhapsody”
“First Man”
“Roma”
SEAN’S PICK: Of course I’m going to pick “A Quiet Place”
SOUND MIXING
“Black Panther”
“Bohemian Rhapsody”
“First Man”
“Roma”
“A Star Is Born”
SOUND MIXING: “Black Panther”
ANIMATED SHORT FILM
“Animal Behaviour”
“Bao”
“Late Afternoon”
“One Small Step”
“Weekends”
SEAN’S PICK: “Late Afternoon”
LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
“Detainment”
“Fauve”
“Marguerite”
“Mother”
“Skin”
SEAN’S PICK: “Marguerite”
ORIGINAL SCORE
“Black Panther”
“BlacKkKlansman”
“If Beale Street Could Talk”
“Isle of Dogs”
“Mary Poppins Returns”
SEAN’S PICK: “If Beale Street Could Talk”
VISUAL EFFECTS
“Avengers: Infinity War”
“Christopher Robin”
“First Man”
“Ready Player One”
“Solo: A Star Wars Story”
SEAN’S PICK: “Avengers: Infinity War”
FILM EDITING
“BlacKkKlansman”
“Bohemian Rhapsody”
“Green Book”
“The Favourite”
“Vice”
SEAN’S PICK: “BlacKkKlansman”
MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
“Border”
“Mary Queen of Scots”
“Vice”
SEAN’S PICK: “Mary Queen of Scots”
