Unnatural Selection

Blobby is uncharted territory with the 14th Annual Academy Award Guessing Games®. I'm kind of in Mike territory, actually. 

....and that is a scary place to be..........I'm told. 

Normally, I'm the one who has seen a handful of the movies in question and Mike has maybe seen one. Sometimes none. 

That would be me this year. 

None. 

Not one in any category. Some I haven't even heard about or of. Usually, I get at least that much 4-1-1: titles.  But alas, not reading news of most any kind has left me at a disadvantage. 

....or has it? 

Mike sees jack-squat and with his utter lack of knowledge usually prevails here (not just with movies, either, I must say). Maybe he's onto something.

I'm not even sure I can contribute a lot of quirky (read: funny) comments below. It won't stop me from trying, though it probably should. 

Mike has told me he's voting Wicked as a straight (ha!) ticket - even in the categories in which they are not nominated. That would give me a HUGE advantage, as I can't see them winning in the ones for which they did get nods. 

I considered voting for everything Emilia Pérez because, well.......illegal alien sounding name. And if it sweeps, it would just ignite MAGA. It's going to anyway, but.......let's pour on the gasoline. 

Alas, I'm just making guesses. Even more than before. 

Mike will post his selections in the comments section. 

Best picture "Anora" (Neon) "The Brutalist" (A24) "A Complete Unknown" (Searchlight) "Conclave" (Focus) "Dune: Part Two" (Warner Bros.) "Emilia Pérez" (Netflix) "I'm Still Here" (Sony Classics) "Nickel Boys" (Amazon/MGM) "The Substance" (Mubi) "Wicked" (Universal) 

Is there a world where Wicked should win - or be nominated?  Short answer is 'no'.  The long answer is "noooooooooo". 

Best director Sean Baker, "Anora" Brady Corbet, "The Brutalist" James Mangold, "A Complete Unknown" Jacques Audiard, "Emilia Pérez" Coralie Fargeat, "The Substance" 

Best actress Cynthia Erivo, "Wicked" Karla Sofia Gascón, "Emilia Pérez" Mikey Madison, "Anora" Demi Moore, "The Substance" Fernanda Torres, "I'm Still Here" 

I mean, she was robbed for no nods for St. Elmo's Fire or GI Jane. This is just payback. 

Best actor Adrian Brody, "The Brutalist" Timothée Chalamet, "A Complete Unknown" Colman Domingo, "Sing Sing" Ralph Fiennes, "Conclave" Sebastian Stan, "The Apprentice" 

I love Fiennes, but it's not his year. Nor Chalamet's. Maybe had he been nominated for Dune. To be fair, I've only seen (and liked) Brody in Wes Anderson movies, and one Tori Amos video. I'd say he'd "win by a nose", but that things half the size of Iowa. 

Best supporting actress Monica Barbaro, "A Complete Unknown" Ariana Grande, "Wicked" Felicity Jones, "The Brutalist" Isabella Rossellini, "Conclave" Zoe Saldaña, "Emilia Pérez" 

C'mon!  Original nepo baby for the win!  Listen - as long as it doesn't go to Wicked, I'd be happy. But we love Isabella. 

Best supporting actor Yura Borisov, "Anora" Kieran Culkin, "A Real Pain" Edward Norton, "A Complete Unknown" Guy Pearce, "The Brutalist" Jeremy Strong, "The Apprentice" 

It's Kendall v Roman. Though I like Guy Pearce. But just like in Succession, Kendall (Strong) isn't getting the nod.  (oh yeah, Succession spoiler alert)

Best original screenplay "Anora," Sean Baker "The Brutalist," Brady Corbet & Mona Fastvold "A Real Pain," Jesse Eisenberg "September 5," Tim Fehlbaum & Moritz Binder "The Substance," Coralie Fargeat 

The only way Eisenberg is ever going to be introduced as, "Academy Award winner......"

Best adapted screenplay "A Complete Unknown," Jay Cocks & James Mangold "Conclave," Peter Straughan "Emilia Pérez," Jacques Audiard, Thomas Bidegain & Nicolas Livecchi "Nickel Boys," RaMell Ross & Joslyn Barnes "Sing Sing," Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar, Clarence Maclin & John "Divine G" Whitfield 

Gotta throw something to the Catholics. I mean, they never get any love!

Best international feature "I'm Still Here," Walter Salles (Brazil) "The Girl with the Needle," Magnus von Horn (Denmark) "Emilia Pérez," Jacques Audiard (France) "The Seed of the Sacred Fig," Mohammad Rasoulof (Germany) "Flow," Miguel Gomes (Latvia) 

It's the Roma of 2025. If you can't take the big prize, you get the international one. As long as you're nominated for both, that is. 

Best documentary feature "Black Box Diaries," Shiori Itō (MTV) "No Other Land," Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham & Rachel Szor (No distributor) "Porcelain War," Brendan Bellomo & Slava Leontyev (Picturehouse) "Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat," Johan Grimonprez (Kino Lorber) "Sugarcane," Julian Brave NoiseCat & Emily Kassie (Nat Geo) 

Had the BLOTUS' / Zelensky's oval office conversation taken place before ballot voting, Porcelain War might have taken this - it still might. All movies look worthy, but I love the juxtaposition of Coup d'Etat. 

Best animated feature "Flow" (Janus Films/Sideshow) "Inside Out 2" (Disney/Pixar) "Memoir of a Snail" (IFC Films) "Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl" (Aardman/Netflix) "The Wild Robot" (Dreamworks/Universal) 

I so wanted it to be Wallace & Gromit, but I think not. 

Best cinematography "The Brutalist," Lol Crawley "Dune: Part Two," Greig Fraser "Emilia Pérez," Paul Guillaume "Maria," Edward Lachman "Nosferatu," Jarin Blaschke 

Best costume design "A Complete Unknown," Arianne Phillips "Conclave," Lisy Christl "Gladiator II," Janty Yates "Nosferatu," Linda Muir "Wicked," Paul Tazewell 

This movie was about style over substance, right?  Not Substance. 

Best film editing "Anora," Sean Baker "The Brutalist," Dávid Jancsó "Conclave," Nick Emerson "Emilia Pérez," Juliette Welfling "Wicked," Myron Kerstein 

no witty remark. 

Best production design "The Brutalist," Judy Becker "Conclave," Suzie Davies "Dune: Part Two," Patrice Vermette "Nosferatu," Craig Lathrop "Wicked," Nathan Crowley 

see Best Costume design

Best original score "The Brutalist," Daniel Blumberg "Conclave," Volker Bertelmann "Emilia Pérez," Clément Ducol & Camille "Wicked," John Powell & Stephen Schwartz "The Wild Robot," Kris Bowers 

I listened to nothing. But you gotta figure the Brutalist would have an imposing score - just by title alone. 

Best original song "Never Too Late," "Elton John: Never Too Late" (Elton John & Brandi Carlile) "El Mal," "Emilia Pérez" (Clement Ducol, Camille & Jacques Audiard) "Mi Camino," "Emilia Pérez" (Clement Ducol & Camille) "Like a Bird," "Sing Sing" (Adrian Quesada & Abraham Alexander) "The Journey," "The Six Triple Eight" (Diane Warren) 

Honestly - anything that's not Elton is fine with me. Like I said last time, he's worth $500M and still wears shitty hair - whomever's it is. Or was. 

Best sound "A Complete Unknown" "Dune: Part Two" "Emilia Pérez" "Wicked" "The Wild Robot" 

I'm assuming a lot of sand noises. 

Best visual effects "Alien: Romulus" "Better Man" "Dune: Part Two" "Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes" "Wicked" 

How many fucking Planet of the Apes movies are there???? And WHY?

Best makeup and hairstyling "A Different Man" "Emilia Pérez" "Nosferatu" "The Substance" "Wicked" 

see Best Production design. 

Best documentary short "Death by Numbers" "I Am Ready, Warden" "Incident" "Instruments of a Beating Heart" "The Only Girl in the Orchestra" 

Torn here. I hope it is Instruments or the Orchestra. Both music oriented, one with a woman, one with a girl. 

Best animated short "Beautiful Men" "In the Shadow of the Cypress" "Magic Candies" "Wander to Wonder" "Yuck!" 

I watched all the trailers at least. None wow'd me. So, maybe the one where one of the animated guys looks like he's hanging brain?

Best live-action short "A Lien" "Anuja" "I'm Not a Robot" "The Last Ranger" "The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent"

Saw the trailers here. Most looked intriguing, but I like this premise of the I am Not a Robot. 

You will all find out Tuesday who has won. 

As to what we've won is another matter. I never fulfilled my obligation last year - as I lost. So, I suppose it will be double or nothing. And in that regard - either way, I lose. 

Song by: Muse