2011 Academy Award Analysis
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Acting Film Type Audio Visual Other
Leading Actor x Picture Sound x Cinematography x Direction
Leading Actress x Foreign Film Sound Editing x Art Direction x Original Screenplay x
Supporting Actor x Animated Feature x Song x Visual Effects x Adapted Screenplay x
Supporting Actress x Short, Animation Score x Costume Design x Editing x
Feature Documentary Makeup x
Short, Documentary x
Short, Live Action

Recap:

  • 18/24 this year. best i've done yet. knew that king's speech was the smart money for best pic, but still went with social network because i'm trying to go for the homerun from now on. learned that strategy in the last bowl pool.
  • beat ebert so i should get some part of the $100k prize money, maybe $10.
  • king's speech was a really good movie, but it wasn't the best of the year.

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    Key:

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

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    Best Motion Picture of the Year Nominees:
    127 Hours (2010): Christian Colson, Danny Boyle, John Smithson
    Black Swan (2010): Mike Medavoy, Brian Oliver, Scott Franklin
    The Fighter (2010): David Hoberman, Todd Lieberman, Mark Wahlberg
    Inception (2010): Christopher Nolan, Emma Thomas
    The Kids Are All Right (2010): Gary Gilbert, Jeffrey Levy-Hinte, Celine Rattray
    The King's Speech (2010): Iain Canning, Emile Sherman, Gareth Unwin
    The Social Network (2010): Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca, Ceán Chaffin
    Toy Story 3 (2010): Darla K. Anderson
    True Grit (2010): Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, Scott Rudin
    Winter's Bone (2010): Anne Rosellini, Alix Madigan

  • i'm sticking with inception here, but social network held up real well the second time around so i have no problem with it winning and i think it still might in spite of the hype the king's speech is getting. king's speech is the smart money, but i gotta go out on a few limbs so social network is the first one...

    • Best Achievement in Directing Nominees:
    Darren Aronofsky for Black Swan (2010)
    Ethan Coen, Joel Coen for True Grit (2010)
    David Fincher for The Social Network (2010)
    Tom Hooper for The King's Speech (2010)
    David O. Russell for The Fighter (2010)

  • fincher will and should win. russell shouldn't have been nominated. aronofsky was fine, coen brothers did a good job. hooper does a nice job as well. fincher is above all the rest though in terms of style and finished product.

    • Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role Nominees:
    Javier Bardem for Biutiful (2010)
    Jeff Bridges for True Grit (2010)
    Jesse Eisenberg for The Social Network (2010)
    Colin Firth for The King's Speech (2010)
    James Franco for 127 Hours (2010)

  • really tough to choose my pick here. colin firth will win, but i like him just as much as i liked eisenberg. if i had to pick one performance i guess i'd have to pick firth because it was flawless. from an entertainment perspective, i liked eisenberg's character more, but firth's performance is undeniable.

    • Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role Nominees:
    Annette Bening for The Kids Are All Right (2010)
    Nicole Kidman for Rabbit Hole (2010)
    Jennifer Lawrence for Winter's Bone (2010)
    Natalie Portman for Black Swan (2010)
    Michelle Williams for Blue Valentine (2010)

  • i liked lawrence's performance and that film more, but portman will and probably should win. when i vote for the academy i sort of go by a different standard

    • Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role Nominees:
    Christian Bale for The Fighter (2010)
    John Hawkes for Winter's Bone (2010)
    Jeremy Renner for The Town (2010)
    Mark Ruffalo for The Kids Are All Right (2010)
    Geoffrey Rush for The King's Speech (2010)

  • bale is the favorite and his only real competition here is rush. bale's performance shows more range and ends up being a feel good character so he'll win.

    • Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role Nominees:
    Amy Adams for The Fighter (2010)
    Helena Bonham Carter for The King's Speech (2010)
    Melissa Leo for The Fighter (2010)
    Hailee Steinfeld for True Grit (2010)
    Jacki Weaver for Animal Kingdom (2010)

  • weaver is supposed to be great in animal kingdom and could be a dark horse, but leo is cleaning up other awards and will likely win here. my vote would be for steinfeld

    • Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen Nominees:
    Another Year (2010): Mike Leigh
    The Fighter (2010): Scott Silver, Paul Tamasy, Eric Johnson, Keith Dorrington
    Inception (2010): Christopher Nolan
    The Kids Are All Right (2010): Lisa Cholodenko, Stuart Blumberg
    The King's Speech (2010): David Seidler

  • king's speech had to be written well in order for it to succeed and it does succeed. it's a tough story to write because it could so easily become trite or even a joke. inception's writing is a bit thick and has too much exposition at times. haven't seen another year, the others weren't all that great.

    • Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published Nominees:
    127 Hours (2010): Danny Boyle, Simon Beaufoy
    The Social Network (2010): Aaron Sorkin
    Toy Story 3 (2010): Michael Arndt, John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton, Lee Unkrich
    True Grit (2010): Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
    Winter's Bone (2010): Debra Granik, Anne Rosellini

  • true grit and winter's bone may have won if they were in the other category, but social network is the winner here - it stands above the rest in every way, especially when you look at the original screenplay.

    • Best Achievement in Cinematography Nominees:
    Black Swan (2010): Matthew Libatique
    Inception (2010): Wally Pfister
    The King's Speech (2010): Danny Cohen
    The Social Network (2010): Jeff Cronenweth
    True Grit (2010): Roger Deakins

  • deakins is always a threat. maybe i'm being overly optimistic, but i think inception's visual style wowed enough to take it this year.

    • Best Achievement in Editing Nominees:
    127 Hours (2010): Jon Harris
    Black Swan (2010): Andrew Weisblum
    The Fighter (2010): Pamela Martin
    The King's Speech (2010): Tariq Anwar
    The Social Network (2010): Kirk Baxter, Angus Wall

  • social network should and will win. the others shouldn't have even showed up.

    • Best Achievement in Art Direction Nominees:
    Alice in Wonderland (2010): Robert Stromberg, Karen O'Hara
    Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010): Stuart Craig, Stephenie McMillan
    Inception (2010): Guy Hendrix Dyas, Larry Dias, Douglas A. Mowat
    The King's Speech (2010): Eve Stewart, Judy Farr
    True Grit (2010): Jess Gonchor, Nancy Haigh

  • this one's kinda difficult. it typically goes to a film also nominated for costume design, but these days some of the sfx blockbusters are getting noms and nods more (like avatar last year). alice in wonderland was a horrible film, but its art direction was a strong point. didn't see harry potter.

    • Best Achievement in Costume Design Nominees:
    Alice in Wonderland (2010): Colleen Atwood
    I Am Love (2009): Antonella Cannarozzi
    The King's Speech (2010): Jenny Beavan
    The Tempest (2010/II): Sandy Powell
    True Grit (2010): Mary Zophres

  • haven't seen i am love, but from what i've heard and from the clips i've seen, it appears to have costume design worthy of a win. it's a dark horse here, though. i think alice in wonderland's only strength was the visuals created by the costumers and art department.

    • Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score Nominees:
    127 Hours (2010): A.R. Rahman
    How to Train Your Dragon (2010): John Powell
    Inception (2010): Hans Zimmer
    The King's Speech (2010): Alexandre Desplat
    The Social Network (2010): Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross

  • both inception and social network had great scores and i think they have to be the two front runners here. reznor and ross have won at least one or two other awards this season so i'm predicting them to win, but zimmer's score was essential to inception for me.

    • Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song Nominees:
    127 Hours (2010): A.R. Rahman, , Dido ("If I Rise")
    Country Strong (2010): Tom Douglas, Hillary Lindsey, Troy Verges ("Coming Home")
    Tangled (2010/I): Alan Menken, Glenn Slater ("I See the Light")
    Toy Story 3 (2010): Randy Newman ("We Belong Together")

  • i don't have a dog in this race and i haven't seen country strong. i like ar rahman, but honestly can't remember any song from that film standing out other than the one used in the trailer and that wasn't from rahman. toy story 3 and randy newman take it.

    • Best Achievement in Makeup Nominees:
    Barney's Version (2010): Adrien Morot
    The Way Back (2010): Edouard F. Henriques, Greg Funk, Yolanda Toussieng
    The Wolfman (2010): Rick Baker, Dave Elsey

  • huh? only even heard of and seen one of these. ok, just looked them up and barney's version and the way back look familiar, but i haven't seen them and they don't fit into the usual makeup nominee mold. i'm gussing wolfman will take it.

    • Best Achievement in Sound Nominees:
    Inception (2010): Lora Hirschberg, Gary Rizzo, Ed Novick
    The King's Speech (2010): Paul Hamblin, Martin Jensen, John Midgley
    Salt (2010): Jeffrey J. Haboush, William Sarokin, Scott Millan, Greg P. Russell
    The Social Network (2010): Ren Klyce, David Parker, Michael Semanick, Mark Weingarten
    True Grit (2010): Skip Lievsay, Craig Berkey, Greg Orloff, Peter F. Kurland

  • true grit jumps out to me as a good pick and of course inception did a good job in all the technical categories. can't remember the other three having exceptional sound design. inception is probably the favorite here.

    • Best Achievement in Sound Editing Nominees:
    Inception (2010): Richard King
    Toy Story 3 (2010): Tom Myers, Michael Silvers
    TRON: Legacy (2010): Gwendolyn Yates Whittle, Addison Teague
    True Grit (2010): Skip Lievsay, Craig Berkey
    Unstoppable (2010): Mark P. Stoeckinger

  • these picks make a little more sense to me than the sound nominees beause king's speech and salt didn't really jump out to me. unusual to not see much overlap in the two categories. i think inception takes it again, but this one is a tighter race.

    • Best Achievement in Visual Effects Nominees:
    Alice in Wonderland (2010): Ken Ralston, David Schaub, Carey Villegas, Sean Phillips
    Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010): Tim Burke, John Richardson, Christian Manz, Nicolas Aithadi
    Hereafter (2010): Michael Owens, Bryan Grill, Stephan Trojansky, Joe Farrell
    Inception (2010): Chris Corbould, Andrew Lockley, Pete Bebb, Paul J. Franklin
    Iron Man 2 (2010): Janek Sirrs, Ben Snow, Ged Wright, Daniel Sudick

  • only inception should have any shot at this.

    • Best Animated Feature Film of the Year Nominees:
    How to Train Your Dragon (2010): Dean DeBlois, Chris Sanders
    The Illusionist (2010): Sylvain Chomet
    Toy Story 3 (2010): Lee Unkrich

  • only saw toy story 3 and only illusionist has any kind of chance of winning. if toy story 3 doesn't win i'll eat my hat.

    • Best Foreign Language Film of the Year Nominees:
    Biutiful (2010): Alejandro González Iñárritu(Mexico)
    Dogtooth (2009): Giorgos Lanthimos(Greece)
    In a Better World (2010): Susanne Bier(Denmark)
    Incendies (2010): Denis Villeneuve(Canada)
    Outside the Law (2010): Rachid Bouchareb(Algeria)

  • pathetically i haven't seen any of these.

    • Best Documentary, Features Nominees:
    Exit Through the Gift Shop (2010): Banksy, Jaimie D'Cruz
    GasLand (2010): Josh Fox, Trish Adlesic
    Inside Job (2010): Charles Ferguson, Audrey Marrs
    Restrepo (2010): Tim Hetherington, Sebastian Junger
    Waste Land (2010): Lucy Walker, Angus Aynsley

  • a solid group this year. only seen two, but gasland is next in the netflix queue and waste land sounds good and of course exit through the gift shop is intriguing because of banksy. gift shop has gotten some hype and some make pick it just to see banksy accept the award. i'll be optimistic again and guess that the academy will agree with me again.

    • Best Documentary, Short Subjects Nominees:
    Killing in the Name (2010): Jed Rothstein
    Poster Girl (2010): Sara Nesson, Mitchell Block
    Strangers No More (2010): Karen Goodman, Kirk Simon
    Sun Come Up (2010): Jennifer Redfearn, Tim Metzger
    The Warriors of Qiugang (2010): Ruby Yang, Thomas Lennon

  • the shorts are always a guessing game for me. didn't have enough time this year to seek them out so i'm picking randomly...

    • Best Short Film, Animated Nominees:
    Day & Night (2010): Teddy Newton
    The Gruffalo (2009) (TV): Jakob Schuh, Max Lang
    Let's Pollute (2011): Geefwee Boedoe
    The Lost Thing (2010): Shaun Tan, Andrew Ruhemann
    Madagascar, a Journey Diary (2010): Bastien Dubois

    Best Short Film, Live Action Nominees:
    The Confession (2010/IV): Tanel Toom
    The Crush (2010): Michael Creagh
    God of Love (2010): Luke Matheny
    Na Wewe (2010): Ivan Goldschmidt
    Wish 143 (2009): Ian Barnes, Samantha Waite