2008 Academy Award Analysis
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Acting Film Type Audio Visual Other
Leading Actor x Picture x Sound x Cinematography x Direction x
Leading Actress Foreign Film x Sound Editing Art Direction x Original Screenplay x
Supporting Actor x Animated Feature x Song x Visual Effects Adapted Screenplay x
Supporting Actress x Short, Animation x Score x Costume Design Editing x
Feature Documentary Makeup
Short, Documentary
Short, Live Action x

Recap:

  • i went 17 of 24 (correct answers are marked by an "x" in the table above) which isn't all that good, but isn't all that bad either. i got most of the big categories right and i didn't see as many of the films so maybe i'm getting better at this.
  • elizabeth was my first choice on costume design because the academy loves those period costumes, but i changed my answer because i didn't see many people writing about the film. other than that i'm happy with my picks.
  • in remembering my viewing of the first 45 minutes of the assassination of jesse james i remember thinking two things: brad pitt isn't that good in this movie and casey affleck is the only interesting thing about this movie. i actually really liked what i saw of his performance, but the film was too long and meryl wanted to leave so, since it was the back end of a double feature, we left.
  • overall i thought that the academy did a decent job of picking the winners from the nominees. i don't think they did a very good job in the nominating process, but i rarely do.


    • Key:

  • my pick
  • my prediction
  • if i've seen it, film titles will link to my review of that film.

    •  

     

    Best Motion Picture of the Year Nominees:
    Atonement
    Juno
    Michael Clayton
    No Country For Old Men
    There Will Be Blood
     

  • many have called this a good year, i simply disagree. juno is the only film on here that i'd really like to see win, the rest are overrated. no country for old men will probably pull out the big win, along with many others.

    • Best Achievement in Directing Nominees:
    Julian Schnabel - Bell And The Butterfly
    Jason Reitman - Juno
    Tony Gilroy - Michael Clayton
    Ethan Coen, Joel Coen - No Country For Old Men
    Paul Thomas Anderson - There Will Be Blood
     

  • the coens are great directors and so is p.t. anderson, but neither of those films was amazing to me. there will be blood didn't do it for me at all and no country for old men was a good film, but got way too much attention. juno is the best movie of the bunch here but i don't know that the direction is what made the film. all that said, i think that no country for old men will and should win. it was a finely directed film with a great pace and solid performances throughout, i just didn't think it was as amazing as everyone else.

    • Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role Nominees:
    George Clooney - Michael Clayton
    Daniel Day-Lewis - There Will Be Blood
    Johnny Depp - Sweeney Todd
    Tommy Lee Jones - In The Valley of Elah
    Viggo Mortensen - Eastern Promises
     

  • there will be little doubt about who will win here. i liked clooney in michael clayton, but the only actor whose performance really captivated me was daniel day-lewis and he'll win. would have liked to see phoenix and gyllenhaal get nods here for their turns in we own the night and zodiac.

    • Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role Nominees:
    Cate Blanchett - Elizabeth: The Golden Age
    Julie Christie - Away from Her
    Marion Cotillard - La Vie en Rose
    Laura Linney - The Savages
    Ellen Page - Juno
     

  • in a year where i had three women sharing this honor because it was too difficult to chose one, the academy chose only one from my list. linney wasn't great and i haven't seen the others, but i doubt their performances are anything new: a lot of crying and deep emotion. blah. gimme ellen page in juno (or hard candy for that matter) any day of the week over those old dried up hags who are always atop this list. i'd love to have a couple years in a row where we don't get glen close, meryl streep, or cate blanchett/helen mirren/judie dench as leading actress nominees. smart money is on julie christie here, but i'll say ellen page will win it.

    • Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role Nominees:
    Casey Affleck - The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
    Javier Bardem - No Country For Old Men
    Philip Seymour Hoffman - Charlie Wilson's War
    Hal Holbrook - Into the Wild
    Tom Wilkinson - Michael Clayton
     

  • my pick would be tom wilkinson here because his performance had the most power, but bardem is also a good pick and he'll win it. hoffman was the best part about charlie wilson's war. casey affleck was very good in what i saw of the assassination of jesse james, though i didn't finish that one.

    • Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role Nominees:
    Cate Blanchett - I'm Not There
    Ruby Dee - American Gangster
    Saoirse Ronan - Atonement
    Amy Ryan - Gone Baby Gone
    Tilda Swinton - Michael Clayton
     

  • a tough one to predict here, but i'll go with who i want to win because i'm hopeful that the academy saw swinton's quietly powerful impact in michael clayton.

    • Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen Nominees:
    Juno by Diablo Cody
    Lars and the Real Girl by Nancy Oliver
    Michael Clayton by Tony Gilroy
    Ratatouille by Brad Bird
    The Savages by Tamara Jenkins
     

  • this one isn't even close for me, and it shouldn't be for the academy either. three of the five were nominated for best picture (ratatouille in the animated category) so the other two don't have a chance. frankly, i don't know what the hell lars and the real girl is doing here as it was a pile of dung in many ways. diablo cody should and will win.

    • Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published Nominees:
    Atonement by Christopher Hampton
    Away from Her by Sarah Polley
    The Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Ronald Harwood
    No Country For Old Men by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
    There Will Be Blood by Paul Thomas Anderson
     

  • i'd like to see the diving bell and the butterfly, but i haven't gotten around to it yet. other than that potential winner in the future, my pick and prediction is for the coens' no country for old men.

    • Best Achievement in Cinematography Nominees:
    The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford - Roger Deakins
    Atonement - Seamus McGarvey
    The Diving Bell and the Butterfly - Janusz Kaminski
    No Country For Old Men - Roger Deakins
    There Will Be Blood - Robert Elswit
     

  • no michael clayton here? roger deakins is good, but his best work (fargo) is behind him if you ask me. elswitt should win here as one of the few things that struck me about there will be blood was the cinematography...i could practically taste and feel that oil and the heat of the sun. atonement had that one great tracking shot, but was unremarkable otherwise.

    • Best Achievement in Editing Nominees:
    The Bourne Ultimatum - Christopher Rouse
    The Diving Bell and the Butterfly - Juliette Welfling
    Into the Wild - Jay Cassidy
    No Country For Old Men - Roderick Jaynes (aka Coen bros.)
    There Will Be Blood - Dylan Tichenor
     

  • i loved tichenor's work in boogie nights, but didn't think his work on there will be blood did anything for the flailing picture. into the wild was edited by a child and the bourne ultimatum was edited by cuisinart. no country for old men should win, but the blended up action flick will instead.

    • Best Achievement in Art Direction Nominees:
    American Gangster - Art Direction: Arthur Max; Set Decoration: Beth A. Rubino
    Atonement - Art Direction: Sarah Greenwood; Set Decoration: Katie Spencer
    The Golden Compass - Art Direction: Dennis Gassner; Set Decoration: Anna Pinnock
    Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street - Art Direction: Dante Ferretti; Set Decoration: Francesca Lo Schiavo
    There Will Be Blood - Art Direction: Jack Fisk; Set Decoration: Jim Erickson
     

  • this usually goes to a film that was at least nominated for costume design. here there are two films that were nominated for both categories so i'm going with the hit play (Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street) to win it, but i'd rather see there will be blood take home the prize.

    • Best Achievement in Costume Design Nominees:
    Across the Universe - Albert Wolsky
    Atonement - Jacqueline Durran
    Elizabeth: The Golden Age - Alexandra Byrne
    La Vie en Rose - Marit Allen
    Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street - Colleen Atwood
     

  • i'm actually more than a little proud of the fact that i saw only one of the films that were nominated for this category; it's generally the category that churns out the least likeable/entertaining and most overrated/overly flamboyant films. Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street will win.

    • Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score Nominees:
    Atonement - Dario Marianelli
    The Kite Runner - Alberto Iglesias
    Michael Clayton - James Newton Howard
    Ratatouille - Michael Giacchino
    3:10 to Yuma - Marco Beltrami
     

  • no there will be blood or into the wild here? what the fuck ever. atonement will win and i don't know who i'd vote for since i've only heard two of the nominated film scores.

    • Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song Nominees:
    "Falling Slowly" from Once - Music and Lyric by Glen Hansard and: Marketa Irglova
    "Happy Working Song" from Enchanted - Music by Alan Menken; Lyric by Stephen Schwartz
    "Raise It Up" from August Rush - Music and Lyric by Jamal Joseph, Charles Mack and Tevin Thomas
    "So Close" from Enchanted - Music by Alan Menken; Lyric by Stephen Schwartz
    "That's How You Know" from Enchanted - Music by Alan Menken; Lyric by Stephen Schwartz
     

  • there's a decent chance that falling slowly won't win in which case the academy will prove what i already suspect. falling slowlyshould and will win.

    • Best Achievement in Makeup Nominees:
    La Vie en Rose - Didier Lavergne and Jan Archibald
    Norbit - Rick Baker and Kazuhiro Tsuji
    Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End - Ve Neill and Martin Samuel
     

  • i wouldn't mind watching the edith piaf film, but i only watched norbit. what a pathetic state of affairs. pirates of the caribbean will win.

    • Best Achievement in Sound Nominees:
    The Bourne Ultimatum - Scott Millan, David Parker and Kirk Francis
    No Country For Old Men - Skip Lievsay, Craig Berkey, Greg Orloff and Peter Kurland
    Ratatouille - Randy Thom, Michael Semanick and Doc Kane
    3:10 to Yuma - Paul Massey, David Giammarco and Jim Stuebe
    Transformers - Kevin O'Connell, Greg P. Russell and Peter J. Devlin
     

  • the bourne ultimatum will win here and it's as good a choice as any of the other films i've seen. scott millan has done a lot of great work in the past and he'll get another nod from the academy this year.

    • Best Achievement in Sound Editing Nominees:
    The Bourne Ultimatum - Karen Baker Landers and Per Hallberg
    No Country For Old Men - Skip Lievsay
    Ratatouille - Randy Thom and Michael Silvers
    There Will Be Blood - Christopher Scarabosio and Matthew Wood
    Transformers - Ethan Van der Ryn and Mike Hopkins
     

  • frankly i didn't pay enough attention to tell you which one should win this category, but i'll guess that transformers will win it.

    • Best Achievement in Visual Effects Nominees:
    The Golden Compass - Michael Fink, Bill Westenhofer, Ben Morris and Trevor Wood
    Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End -  John Knoll, Hal Hickel, Charles Gibson and John Frazier
    Transformers - Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Russell Earl and John Frazier
     

  • transformers had the best effects i've seen in a while and it's a film that is very dependent upon those effects to turn an animated show into a live action feature length film. for all the work they did they should and will win it.

    • Best Animated Feature Film of the Year Nominees:
    Persepolis - Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud
    Ratatouille - Brad Bird
    Surf's Up - Ash Brannon and Chris Buck
     

  • i'm guessing that persepolis is the best of the bunch, but ratatouille has gotten so much hype that i might actually like that one. doesn't much matter, though, since ratatouille will win it anyway.

    • Best Foreign Language Film of the Year Nominees:
    Beaufort - Israel
    The Counterfeiters - Austria
    Katyn - Poland
    Mongol - Kazakhstan
    12 - Russia
     

  • i haven't heard of four out of the five so i'm going to go with the one i've wanted to watch since i saw the preview: the counterfeiters will pick up the win.

    • Best Documentary, Features Nominees:
    No End in Sight - Charles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs
    Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience - Richard E. Robbins
    Sicko - Michael Moore and Meghan O'Hara
    Taxi to the Dark Side - Alex Gibney and Eva Orner
    War/Dance - Andrea Nix Fine and Sean Fine
     

  • i would probably vote for michael moore (again) and sicko, but somewhat begrudingly. i like his films, but i would rather see someone else win. i actually think that will happen this year - no end in sight seems to have gotten some buzz and is good and relatively unbiased. taxi to the dark side is intriguing because i liked gibney's film about the enron debacle, so i'll check that out eventually.

    • Best Documentary, Short Subjects Nominees:
    Freeheld - Cynthia Wade and Vanessa Roth
    La Corona - Amanda Micheli and Isabel Vega
    Salim Baba - Tim Sternberg and Francisco Bello
    Sari's Mother - James Longley
     

  • how many people have actually seen all of the films in this and the other short film categories? fewer than a thousand i'd guess. sari's mother will win.

    • Best Short Film, Animated Nominees:
    I Met the Walrus - Josh Raskin
    Madame Tutli-Putli - Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski
    Même les Pigeons Vont au Paradis (Even Pigeons Go to Heaven) - Samuel Tourneux and Simon Vanesse
    My Love (Moya Lyubov) - Alexander Petrov
    Peter & the Wolf - Suzie Templeton and Hugh Welchman
     

  • peter and the wolf

    • Best Short Film, Live Action Nominees:
    At Night - Christian E. Christiansen and Louise Vesth
    Il Supplente (The Substitute) - Andrea Jublin
    Le Mozart des Pickpockets (The Mozart of Pickpockets) - Philippe Pollet-Villard
    Tanghi Argentini - Guido Thys and Anja Daelemans
    The Tonto Woman - Daniel Barber and Matthew Brown
     

  • mozart of pickpockets


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