It's that time of year. The
10th Annual Academy Award Guessing Game®
Actually, it's well past that time of year.............but you know, Covid.
It's Academy Award season. Which means, it's Mike vs Blobby in our now DECADE-long contest to see who is the best Oscar guesser who resides in Eastern Daylight Time, owns a dog, is gay and is losing their hair.
It's a very very very specific group. If Mike's blood type is A-, and if he's left handed, then it's a very very very very very c\very very specific group.
Over the years, you've all been invited. No one else has participated, so........it's it's really just mano e mano. Or......mano e Mike.
Honestly, I'm not sure either of us knew there'd be an awards this year. While my movie viewing habits have changed and Mike's lack there of have not, the crap (yes, I said it) that made it into this year's offerings is worthy of the Nickelodeon's Kid's Choice Awards. I mean, I'm assuming. I'll wait for Mike to confirm that.
"Guessing" has been the part of the title for the past 10 years, and never more appropriate than 2021 (from 2020 releases......allegedly). At least before I could go in with a little knowledge of what was out there, because usually I'd have seen half of the best picture nods. This does not hold true this year.
If anything, Mike and I are truly starting on an even playing field this year: we have each seen one 'movie' and it was the same one -
Mank.
Mike and his husband were bored with it. My husband too. My friend Jon, the same. It held me a little longer than they, but I loved Citizen Kane (eventually). And it was better than the Melissa McCarthy claptrap we saw, or the Prom, so............
Guesses abound.
Winner - should it be me, gets a red-hot photo shoot with one Mr. Ollie.........Mike and Peter's dog. Winner - should it be Mike (ha!), gets a bottle of vodka and a red-hot photo shoot for Ollie and myself. Either way, I win. And technically, either way, Mike's drunk.
Look at him there with his 1986 People's Choice Award and his "Worlds' Best Boss" mug (psssst.....he works from home!). It's sad. He has no Oscar. IF he acted nice to me, he'd be a shoe in for a golden statue. But.........that would be a stretch that even Streep couldn't pull off.
So welcome to the 10th Annual Academy Award Guessing Game®. I am not sure I have witty comments to add to the nominations (Mike will question whether I ever did!). I literally have almost nothing to go on.
ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE: RIZ AHMED
Sound of Metal
CHADWICK BOSEMAN
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
ANTHONY HOPKINS
The Father
GARY OLDMAN
Mank
STEVEN YEUN
Minari
A previous Oscar winner portraying a man with Alzheimer's. It seems like a shoe-in. But Boseman is dead, so if they're running long on the broadcast he might get the win. It's not like he'll be doing an acceptance speech.
ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE: SACHA BARON COHEN
The Trial of the Chicago 7
DANIEL KALUUYA
Judas and the Black Messiah
LESLIE ODOM, JR.
One Night in Miami...
PAUL RACI
Sound of Metal
LAKEITH STANFIELD
Judas and the Black Messiah
I dunno. He was on SNL a few weeks back. And he' isn't Cohen, so........that's a plus.
ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE: VIOLA DAVIS
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
ANDRA DAY
The United States vs. Billie Holiday
VANESSA KIRBY
Pieces of a Woman
FRANCES MCDORMAND
Nomadland
CAREY MULLIGAN
Promising Young Woman
I LOVE Kirby but....... All signs point to McDormand. And she should get an Oscar each and every time she is up for one. And I hears she poops in a coffee can or something. I dunno, we don't have Hulu.
ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE: MARIA BAKALOVA
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
GLENN CLOSE
Hillbilly Elegy
OLIVIA COLMAN
The Father
AMANDA SEYFRIED
Mank
YUH-JUNG YOUN
Minari
I suppose it could be Close's year, as she is the Lucci of the Oscars. But I think she'll remain a loser perpetual nominee. That anyone in a Borat movie is being recognized - and only because Rudy frottaged himself in front of her - shows how bad the year and the awards are. It's going to a 74 year old woman. I just want to see which presenter is going to fuck up the pronunciation.
ANIMATED FEATURE FILM: ONWARD
Dan Scanlon and Kori Rae
OVER THE MOON
Glen Keane, Gennie Rim and Peilin Chou
A SHAUN THE SHEEP MOVIE: FARMAGEDDON
Richard Phelan, Will Becher and Paul Kewley
SOUL
Pete Docter and Dana Murray
WOLFWALKERS
Tomm Moore, Ross Stewart, Paul Young and Stéphan Roelants
It's Pixar, whom I used to love. Now it's just an awards studio.
CINEMATOGRAPHY
NOMINEES
JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH
Sean Bobbitt
MANK
Erik Messerschmidt
NEWS OF THE WORLD
Dariusz Wolski
NOMADLAND
Joshua James Richards
THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7
Phedon Papamichael
Mank has the Kane-esque film qualities about it. Voters love that shit.
COSTUME DESIGN: EMMA
Alexandra Byrne
MA RAINEY'S BLACK BOTTOM
Ann Roth
MANK
Trish Summerville
MULAN
Bina Daigeler
PINOCCHIO
Massimo Cantini Parrini
DIRECTING: ANOTHER ROUND
Thomas Vinterberg
MANK
David Fincher
MINARI
Lee Isaac Chung
NOMADLAND
Chloé Zhao
PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN
Emerald Fennell
Two women nominees. Does the Academy know they overused their quota? Do they know she'll be the only Asian female winner?
DOCUMENTARY (FEATURE): COLLECTIVE
Alexander Nanau and Bianca Oana
CRIP CAMP
Nicole Newnham, Jim LeBrecht and Sara Bolder
THE MOLE AGENT
Maite Alberdi and Marcela Santibáñez
MY OCTOPUS TEACHER
Pippa Ehrlich, James Reed and Craig Foster
TIME
Garrett Bradley, Lauren Domino and Kellen Quinn
I'm going on name only.
DOCUMENTARY (SHORT SUBJECT): COLETTE
Anthony Giacchino and Alice Doyard
A CONCERTO IS A CONVERSATION
Ben Proudfoot and Kris Bowers
DO NOT SPLIT
Anders Hammer and Charlotte Cook
HUNGER WARD
Skye Fitzgerald and Michael Scheuerman
A LOVE SONG FOR LATASHA
Sophia Nahli Allison and Janice Duncan
I mean, it could happen. And I've seen her grave, so I feel a personal connection.
FILM EDITING: THE FATHER
Yorgos Lamprinos
NOMADLAND
Chloé Zhao
PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN
Frédéric Thoraval
SOUND OF METAL
Mikkel E. G. Nielsen
THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7
Alan Baumgarten
INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM: ANOTHER ROUND
Denmark
BETTER DAYS
Hong Kong
COLLECTIVE
Romania
THE MAN WHO SOLD HIS SKIN
Tunisia
QUO VADIS, AIDA?
Bosnia and Herzegovina
From the filmmaking giants of Bosnia
MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING: EMMA
Marese Langan, Laura Allen and Claudia Stolze
HILLBILLY ELEGY
Eryn Krueger Mekash, Matthew Mungle and Patricia Dehaney
MA RAINEY'S BLACK BOTTOM
Sergio Lopez-Rivera, Mia Neal and Jamika Wilson
MANK
Gigi Williams, Kimberley Spiteri and Colleen LaBaff
PINOCCHIO
Mark Coulier, Dalia Colli and Francesco Pegoretti
MUSIC (ORIGINAL SCORE): DA 5 BLOODS
Terence Blanchard
MANK
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
MINARI
Emile Mosseri
NEWS OF THE WORLD
James Newton Howard
SOUL
Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross and Jon Batiste
One way or the other, Treznor is going home with his second Oscar, though he'll probably be at home, dialing into his Zoom award show.
MUSIC (ORIGINAL SONG): FIGHT FOR YOU
from Judas and the Black Messiah; Music by H.E.R. and Dernst Emile II; Lyric by H.E.R. and Tiara Thomas
HEAR MY VOICE
from The Trial of the Chicago 7; Music by Daniel Pemberton; Lyric by Daniel Pemberton and Celeste Waite
HUSAVIK
from Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga; Music and Lyric by Savan Kotecha, Fat Max Gsus and Rickard Göransson
IO SÌ (SEEN)
from The Life Ahead (La Vita Davanti a Se); Music by Diane Warren; Lyric by Diane Warren and Laura Pausini
SPEAK NOW
from One Night in Miami...; Music and Lyric by Leslie Odom, Jr. and Sam Ashworth
I dunno. Give it to Odom, he only has a Tony. And to tell you how shitty this year's awards are: a song from Eurovision - not the competition, but the Will Ferrell POS Netflix movie.
BEST PICTURE: THE FATHER
David Parfitt, Jean-Louis Livi and Philippe Carcassonne, Producers
JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH
Shaka King, Charles D. King and Ryan Coogler, Producers
MANK
Ceán Chaffin, Eric Roth and Douglas Urbanski, Producers
MINARI
Christina Oh, Producer
NOMADLAND
Frances McDormand, Peter Spears, Mollye Asher, Dan Janvey and Chloé Zhao, Producers
PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN
Ben Browning, Ashley Fox, Emerald Fennell and Josey McNamara, Producers
SOUND OF METAL
Bert Hamelinck and Sacha Ben Harroche, Producers
THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7
Marc Platt and Stuart Besser, Producers
One way or another, McDormand is going home with another Oscar.
PRODUCTION DESIGN: THE FATHER
Production Design: Peter Francis; Set Decoration: Cathy Featherstone
MA RAINEY'S BLACK BOTTOM
Production Design: Mark Ricker; Set Decoration: Karen O'Hara and Diana Stoughton
MANK
Production Design: Donald Graham Burt; Set Decoration: Jan Pascale
NEWS OF THE WORLD
Production Design: David Crank; Set Decoration: Elizabeth Keenan
TENET
Production Design: Nathan Crowley; Set Decoration: Kathy Lucas
A period piece? And in black and white? Win! Tenet director Christopher Nolan ranted against how movies are released in a world where the industry was trying to find a way to survive. His team might be great, but they're going down because of him.
SHORT FILM (ANIMATED): BURROW
Madeline Sharafian and Michael Capbarat
GENIUS LOCI
Adrien Mérigeau and Amaury Ovise
IF ANYTHING HAPPENS I LOVE YOU
Will McCormack and Michael Govier
OPERA
Erick Oh
YES-PEOPLE
Gísli Darri Halldórsson and Arnar Gunnarsson
SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION): FEELING THROUGH
Doug Roland and Susan Ruzenski
THE LETTER ROOM
Elvira Lind and Sofia Sondervan
THE PRESENT
Farah Nabulsi and Ossama Bawardi
TWO DISTANT STRANGERS
Travon Free and Martin Desmond Roe
WHITE EYE
Tomer Shushan and Shira Hochman
SOUND
NOMINEES
GREYHOUND
Warren Shaw, Michael Minkler, Beau Borders and David Wyman
MANK
Ren Klyce, Jeremy Molod, David Parker, Nathan Nance and Drew Kunin
NEWS OF THE WORLD
Oliver Tarney, Mike Prestwood Smith, William Miller and John Pritchett
SOUL
Ren Klyce, Coya Elliott and David Parker
SOUND OF METAL
Nicolas Becker, Jaime Baksht, Michellee Couttolenc, Carlos Cortés and Phillip Bladh
It has the category right in the name!
VISUAL EFFECTS: LOVE AND MONSTERS
Matt Sloan, Genevieve Camilleri, Matt Everitt and Brian Cox
THE MIDNIGHT SKY
Matthew Kasmir, Christopher Lawrence, Max Solomon and David Watkins
MULAN
Sean Faden, Anders Langlands, Seth Maury and Steve Ingram
THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN
Nick Davis, Greg Fisher, Ben Jones and Santiago Colomo Martinez
TENET
Andrew Jackson, David Lee, Andrew Lockley and Scott Fisher
A lot of Crouching Tiger / Leaping Lizards going on here. Probably should have been Tenet, but won't be.
WRITING (ADAPTED SCREENPLAY): BORAT SUBSEQUENT MOVIEFILM: DELIVERY OF PRODIGIOUS BRIBE TO AMERICAN REGIME FOR MAKE BENEFIT ONCE GLORIOUS NATION OF KAZAKHSTAN
Screenplay by Sacha Baron Cohen & Anthony Hines & Dan Swimer & Peter Baynham & Erica Rivinoja & Dan Mazer & Jena Friedman & Lee Kern; Story by Sacha Baron Cohen & Anthony Hines & Dan Swimer & Nina Pedrad
THE FATHER
Screenplay by Christopher Hampton and Florian Zeller
NOMADLAND
Written for the screen by Chloé Zhao
ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI...
Screenplay by Kemp Powers
THE WHITE TIGER
Written for the screen by Ramin Bahrani
Can I just go on record that it took EIGHT people to 'write' Borat? EIGHT. A tale of dementia seems to be in order here for a win.
WRITING (ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY)
NOMINEES
JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH
Screenplay by Will Berson & Shaka King; Story by Will Berson & Shaka King and Kenny Lucas & Keith Lucas
MINARI
Written by Lee Isaac Chung
PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN
Written by Emerald Fennell
SOUND OF METAL
Screenplay by Darius Marder & Abraham Marder; Story by Darius Marder & Derek Cianfrance
THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7
Written by Aaron Sorkin
Sorkin always seems like the safe choice. But women..............am I right? Written by a woman for a woman and for women.
There you have it. Possibly the crapshoot to end all crapshoots. Mike has already begged off watching this with me. And even if he did, he'd razz me for not staying up for it all. And it's gonna be one of those weird Covid, low energy, socially distanced, empty stage things...........so, snore. (as if they are any better live and in person!)
May the best Cis Man win. ..........or Mike.
Song by: the Style Council