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The Awards Part 2 – The 2009 Oscars

Written by Adam A. Donaldson Wednesday, 18 February 2009 10:00

And now that the Razzies are out of the way, we can focus on the big guys. The 81st annual Academy Awards looks to be a standard affair with a steady list of usual suspects and a few rookie nominees and surprise choices. But as I found in writing this, not everything amongst these nominees is how it seems, and there are a few categories where difficult choices lie. For reasons obvious reasons, I did not make a prediction for the Best Short Documentary, Live Action or Animated categories because I couldn’t make an informed choice. But otherwise, feel free to crib off me for your office pool.

Best Actor

Richard Jenkins in "The Visitor"
Frank Langella in "Frost/Nixon"
Sean Penn in "Milk"
Brad Pitt in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
Mickey Rourke in "The Wrestler"

Hollywood loves a man that claws his way back to the top. And while it was nice of the Academy to recognize Richard Jenkins for his work in The Visitor, it’s Mickey Rourke that’s got buzz for his surprisingly haunting and complex comeback performance in The Wrestler. Look for Rourke to come away the winner.

AND THE OSCAR GOES TO: Mickey Rourke

Best Supporting Actor

Josh Brolin in "Milk"
Robert Downey Jr. in "Tropic Thunder"
Philip Seymour Hoffman in "Doubt"
Heath Ledger in "The Dark Knight"
Michael Shannon in "Revolutionary Road"

Josh Brolin deserves more acclaim than he’s gotten for the way he played the slow-broiled lunacy of Dan White. Unfortunately for him, Heath Ledger’s train of posthumous honours will not end at Oscar. As much as a sure thing as you can get, Ledger will be the second actor in Oscar history that will get a statue after his death.

AND THE OSCAR GOES TO: Heath Ledger

Best Actress

Anne Hathaway in "Rachel Getting Married"
Angelina Jolie in "Changeling"
Melissa Leo in "Frozen River"
Meryl Streep in "Doubt"
Kate Winslet in "The Reader"

A tougher category this year over last, but in essence this is a two woman race. Anne Hathaway is young, with what’s sure to be a long and healthy career ahead of her (assuming she can stay away from claptrap like Bride Wars). And while Kate Winslet’s no old maid, she is starting to look like the Susan Lucci of Oscar nominees. She’s averaging about one nomination every three years, you know.

AND THE OSCAR GOES TO: Kate Winslet

Best Supporting Actress

Amy Adams in "Doubt"
Penélope Cruz in "Vicky Cristina Barcelona"
Viola Davis in "Doubt"
Taraji P. Henson in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
Marisa Tomei in "The Wrestler"

Now this is a really tough category. It’s also the most notoriously difficult to predict, but we’ll give it a shot anyway. Tomei, although excellent in The Wrestler,is the only past winner, so she’s out. Of the two Doubt nominees, I think Davis edges out Adams on the basis of potency in screen time and dramatic tension. But Davis wasn’t in Doubt that much, you say. True, though Dame Judi Dench was in Shakespeare in Love for like three minutes. So Adams is out. Henson’s worthy, but Button has lost a lot of steam. So I think people are going to revisit their choice and look back to the summer and the fiery Spanish artist that was the heart of Woody Allen’s latest rom-com.

AND THE OSCAR GOES TO: Penélope Cruz

Best Animated Film

"Bolt" - Chris Williams and Byron Howard
"Kung Fu Panda" - John Stevenson and Mark Osborne
"WALL-E" - Andrew Stanton

The Annie’s awarded their top prize to Kung Fu Panda, but the Oscars tend to be more traditional in whom they give statues too. I’d be very surprised if WALL-E walked away empty handed in this category.

AND THE OSCAR GOES TO: WALL-E

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

I have a theory that the Academy, in lieu of Best Picture and Director nods for The Dark Knight, will load up that film with technical achievement trophies. But of the nominees for Art Direction, I have to say that I like the team from Benjamin Button the best for the way they captured the gothic splendour of New Orleans through the ages. It’s just a beautiful looking film.

AND THE OSCAR GOES TO: Donald Graham Burt and Victor J. Zolfo “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”

Best Cinematography

"Changeling" Tom Stern
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" Claudio Miranda
"The Dark Knight" Wally Pfister
"The Reader" Chris Menges and Roger Deakins
"Slumdog Millionaire" Anthony Dod Mantle

Stark and gritty realism isn’t so easy to do on film, but the murky, street-level world of Gotham City (really Chicago) was captured with incredible finesse and believability. All the more impressive is the fact that the film broke new ground for the use of IMAX cameras in mainstream film. For technical achievement alone, the choice is clear.

AND THE OSCAR GOES TO: Wally Pfister “The Dark Knight”

Best Costume Design

"Australia" Catherine Martin
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" Jacqueline West
"The Duchess" Michael O'Connor
"Milk" Danny Glicker
"Revolutionary Road" Albert Wolsky

Costumes are like blockbusters: the bigger the better. So I award this prize to The Duchess because nothing says “costume” quite like eighteenth century dress design and male wigs.

AND THE OSCAR GOES TO: The Duchess

Best Documentary Feature

"The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)" Ellen Kuras and Thavisouk Phrasavath
"Encounters at the End of the World" Werner Herzog and Henry Kaiser
"The Garden" Scott Hamilton Kennedy
"Man on Wire" James Marsh and Simon Chinn
"Trouble the Water" Tia Lessin and Carl Deal

On the basis of subject matter, this category is always difficult. You have docs about the modern repercussions of Vietnam; a journey to Antarctica; rebuilding the community in South-Central Los Angeles after the riots; a guy that walked a tight rope between the Two Towers; and the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The award isn’t always given on the basis of popularity, but this year I think it’s hard to deny the reach and praise for the film about the little French guy that walked on a rope on top of the world.

AND THE OSCAR GOES TO: Man on Wire

Best Film Editing

"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall
"The Dark Knight" Lee Smith
"Frost/Nixon" Mike Hill and Dan Hanley
"Milk" Elliot Graham
"Slumdog Millionaire" Chris Dickens

Looking at this list reminds one of the way that the Best Picture list should have been. But I digress. Elliot Graham manages to work tragedy and inspiration as part and parcel with Milk, while the shifting timeline of Slumdog makes the film fluid and compelling. But Dark Knight has miraculous focus and tension, managing a large cast with high drama and significant action.

AND THE OSCAR GOES TO: Lee Smith “The Dark Knight”

Best Foreign Language Film

"The Baader Meinhof Complex" - Germany
"The Class" - France
"Departures" - Japan
"Revanche" - Austria
"Waltz with Bashir" – Israel

For the Academy to stick Waltz with Bashir in the Foreign Language category as opposed to Animated Feature stinks of loopholes and cheating. Not that I’m saying the film doesn’t deserve a birth in either category, but I will point out that this was Israel’s chosen submission. Regardless, I like the idea of two animated films pulling out a win at the Oscars, but my instinct says that the inspirational teacher movie will be a siren song to voters.

AND THE OSCAR GOES TO: “The Class”

Best Make-up

"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" - Greg Cannom
"The Dark Knight" - John Caglione, Jr. and Conor O'Sullivan
"Hellboy II: The Golden Army" - Mike Elizalde and Thom Floutz

Both Benjamin Button and Dark Knight leaned a lot on so-called digital make-up effects. Meanwhile, Hellboy is chock-a-block full of all kinds of weird creatures, most of which were created using practical effects on set. Who do you think deserves it more: the guys that made Brad Pitt old, the guys that smeared clown make-up on Heath Ledger, or the guys that created a demon with a cathedral for a head? No contest.

AND THE OSCAR GOES TO: Mike Elizalde and Thom Floutz "Hellboy II: The Golden Army"

Best 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

Unfortunately, none of these scores really stick out in my mind, but I will say that A.R. Rahman did a marvellous job of injecting new world beats into a classically Indian score, which accentuates the flavour of Slumdog Millionaire. I have a feeling there’s going to be a sweep.

AND THE OSCAR GOES TO: A.R. Rahman “Slumdog Millionaire”

Best Original Song

"Down to Earth" from "WALL-E" Music by Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman
Lyric by Peter Gabriel
"Jai Ho" from "Slumdog Millionaire" Music by A.R. Rahman
Lyric by Gulzar
"O Saya" from "Slumdog Millionaire" Music and Lyric by A.R. Rahman and Maya Arulpragasam

Let’s say that the two Slumdog songs cancel each other out. But beside the point, the remaining song is from a Disney movie and written by PETER GABRIEL AND THOMAS NEWMAN. Now that’s a team-up.

AND THE OSCAR GOES TO: “Down to Earth” from “WALL-E”

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

This award recognizes sound design, and I don’t think that sounded design mattered more to a movie than the one that’s mostly about the unspoken love between two robots. The guys behind the “dialogue” of those robots are probably deserving of a great deal of the credit for making that story so effectively human.

AND THE OSCAR GOES TO: Ben Brutt and Matthew Wood “WALL-E”

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. Montaño and Petr Forejt

In The Dark Knight bits of atmospheric ambiance give way to the subtle, effective score by James Newton Howard and Hans Zimmer. And as compared to other action movies, The Dark Knight exercises a remarkable restraint. Sometimes, less is more.

AND THE OSCAR GOES TO: Lora Hirschberg, Gary Rizzo and Ed Novick "The Dark Knight"

Best 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

Poor Iron Man. Talk about being the bride’s maid. This is the film’s only nomination, but sadly I don’t think it’ll be a winner though. I talked earlier about subtlety. And I think in honour of The Dark Knight being the thinking man’s action picture, it will easily snatch up this Oscar.

AND THE OSCAR GOES TO: Nick Davis, Chris Corbould, Tim Webber and Paul Franklin “The Dark Knight”

Best Adapted Screenplay

"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" Screenplay by Eric Roth; Screen story by Eric Roth and Robin Swicord
"Doubt" Written by John Patrick Shanley
"Frost/Nixon" Screenplay by Peter Morgan
"The Reader" Screenplay by David Hare
"Slumdog Millionaire" Screenplay by Simon Beaufoy

It all begins with the screenplay, so they say. And the success of Slumdog Millionaire can probably traced right back to the written word. And although I think Eric Roth should get credit for taking a short story and turning it into a three hour movie, the Golden Globes got it right the first time.

AND THE OSCAR GOES TO: Simon Beaufoy “Slumdog Millionaire”

Best Original Screenplay

"Frozen River" Written by Courtney Hunt
"Happy-Go-Lucky" Written by Mike Leigh
"In Bruges" Written by Martin McDonagh
"Milk" Written by Dustin Lance Black
"WALL-E" Screenplay by Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon; Original story by Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter

Last year this was Juno’s to lose, but in 2009 it’s definitely a toss up between worthy contenders. I really want Martin McDonagh to come up a winner for the brilliantly hilarious In Bruges, but I fear it may not have reached everyone of voting eligibility. My second choice, and the probable winner, is Milk for its timely message about one man’s courage to buck the system and help establish the Gay rights movement.

AND THE OSCAR GOES TO: Dustin Lance Black “Milk”

Best Director

"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" David Fincher
"Frost/Nixon" Ron Howard
"Milk" Gus Van Sant
"The Reader" Stephen Daldry
"Slumdog Millionaire" Danny Boyle

He’s got momentum on his side, and his is the only movie that’s seemed to benefit from the Oscar bump. He’s worked on the Hollywood fringes for a long time, but has created a lot of seminal work in the process. He gave us fast zombies, child prophets and philosophical heroin addicts. And now he’s given us hope on a game show.

AND THE OSCAR GOES TO: Danny Boyle

Best Picture

"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall and Ceán Chaffin
"Frost/Nixon" Brian Grazer, Ron Howard and Eric Fellner
"Milk" Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen, Producers
"The Reader"
"Slumdog Millionaire" Christian Colson

It’s a surprise pick, and it came out of nowhere to win People’s Choice at TIFF. It’s hard to find anyone that walked away unaffected by this India-based fairy tale about a boy that wins Who Wants to Be A Millionaire simply because the girl he’s loved and lost watches the show regularly and he hopes she’ll see him. It’s even been the subject of an ongoing goof on The Daily Show.

AND THE OSCAR GOES TO: Slumdog Millionaire