I previously told you that I was the Queen of PLANNING; but that certainly was NOT the case this weekend... Had I thought better of it; I wouldn't have made my big, New York announcement yesterday; knowing that I was going to be occupied with all things Oscar today; but I was excited; I couldn't wait to share my VERY Big News.
I awoke happily to emails and comments about my impending trip; and as much as I would have liked to respond in greater detail, I had baked potato salad to make, brownies to bake, I had to finish my Oscar research, transpose emailed ballots to printed ballots, take call in ballots, email my picks to the pool participants, AND write my blog.
I did far less research this year than I usually do, but I'm feeling somewhat confident about my picks. I was on the fence about Original Song; but after listening to all of the nominees, I finally went with "Coming Home" from "Country Strong;" mostly because it didn't depress me like "If I Rise" from "127 Hours" did; "I See The Light" From "Tangled" was not my favorite song from that pic; AND "We Belong Together," from "Toy Story 3" did nothing for me.
I had a difficult time choosing the best director because I'm going with "The King's Speech" for best picture, but David Fincher was the favorite for director. You'd think that if something was the Best Picture, the director would have had a lot to do with why; however, I'm going to follow the pack and split my vote.
The last category that caused me to overthink, was Original Screenplay. I know that historically, the winner of Best Original Screenplay doesn't win the Best Picture; ie: "Good Will Hunting," "Juno," "Little Miss Sunshine" and "Lost In Translation" just to name a few; so I was unsure if I should choose "The King's Speech" as Best original Screenplay when I wanted it for Best pic. Ultimately I rationalized that if "The King's Speech" somehow didn't win Best Picture, and I didn't chose it for best screenplay, then I could lose two categories; so I'm taking a chance that it's going to win both.
With all of that being said; for better or worse, here are my 2011 Oscar predictions:
Leading Actor: Colin Firth
Supporting Actor: Christian Bale
Leading Actress: Natalie Portman
Supporting Actress: Melissa Leo
Animated Feature: "Toy Story 3"
Art Direction: "The King's Speech"
Cinematography: "True Grit"
Costume Design: "The King's Speech"
Directing: "The Social Network"
Doc. Feature: "Inside Job"
Doc. Short: "Strangers No More"
Film Editing: "The Social Network"
Foreign Language Film: "In A Better World"
Makeup: "The Wolfman"
Original Score: "The King's Speech"
Original Song: "Coming Home"
Animated Short: "Day & Night"
Live Action Short: "Na Wewe"
Sound Editing: "Inception"
Sound Mixing: "Inception"
Visual Effects: "Inception"
Adapted Screenplay: "The Social Network"
Original Screenplay: "The King's Speech"
Best Picture: "The King's Speech"
I'm playing for a $90 pot, and I'd love to win so I could put that money towards my New York trip. I'm wishing the best of luck to anyone who's participating in an Oscar pool; and I hope that you enjoy the show if you watch.
Till next time...
Queen of EVERYTHING
When I wrote "Oscar On My Mind," I told you that I was on the fence about hosting another Oscar pool; BUT, in the long run, I had decided that I would go ahead and do it. At first I'd planned to email the previous participants prior to The Golden Globes; but alas, that didn't happen. I then changed my game plan, and was going to send an email after The Awkward Awards, (aka the Golden Globes;) and I went so far as to take my notebook to Kelsie's soccer practice, so that I could draft the letter. I started writing the email, but got sidetracked and I was unable to finish. Fast forward to today, and much to my dismay, the email had still not been sent.
Shame on me! I'm falling short. So much so, that I wouldn't have even known that the Oscar nominations were announced today, had my cousin, Jackie not mentioned it to me. Right after I heard; I went directly to Oscar.com and sure enough, there were the nominations. I wasn't happy to see that the Academy is persisting with an excessive ten nominations in the Best Picture category. I think the only thing that wasn't nominated was "Sex & The City 2." I've had mixed feelings about James Franco as an Oscar co-host; and the fact that he's garnered himself a Best Actor nomination to boot; just makes the situation even that much more curious to me. It's not that I have anything against James Franco; but to me, there's something unsettling about him. It seems that he is a multi-talented man, acting, writing, obtaining multiple graduate degrees from various Universities in a multitude of disciplines. He's making Oscar nominated films AND, he's currently playing a serial killer on "General Hospital;" I don't get it. And now to top it off he's co-hosting the Oscars?? I dunno, there's just something a little too peculiar about this to me; and I just can't put my finger on it; but you know me - I will. As for Anne Hathaway; the other co-host; I enjoy her as an actress, I do; but again I'm not sure that she's Oscar co-host material. Let's face it; just because she was in Hugh Jackman's opening number for a hot minute, two Academy Awards ago; doesn't mean that she's ready to co-host an entire show; especially with someone else who has no hosting experience. Hmmm, maybe this is my hesitation about The Oscars; ya think?
Without having seen any of the nominated films other than "Toy Story 3" thus far; I'm going to go out on a limb and predict that Natalie Portman will win for Best Actress in "Black Swan." Colin Firth will win for Best Actor in "The King's Speech," and Toy Story 3" will win for Best Animated Feature Film. I may recant these predictions after I actually do some research; but hey, I have to start somewhere. AND, if I really want to have an Oscar pool this year; then I need to get that email out to my swimmers once and for all. I'm diving in. Let me know if you care to join me.
Till next time...
Queen of EVERYTHING
If it weren't for the Oscar pool that I started in 1998, "The Bumpy Ride" probably wouldn't exist. I've written about my $10 Oscar pool in a number of posts, starting with my very first, entitled; "The Queen of EVERYTHING and The Bumpy Ride (or Vice Versa.)" It was the newsletters that I wrote for the pool participants, that actually inspired me to attempt writing something on a more regular basis; and as The Golden Globes are rapidly approaching (January 16th;) I've got Oscar on my mind.
The thing that I like best about my Oscar pool, (other than the actual show;) is the fact that I don't know most of the people in the pool personally. OK, no need to read that line again. You saw it correctly. I said I DON'T know most of the people. How is that possible you ask? Well of course I'll explain. When I began the pool in 1998, it consisted only of me and a couple of friends. Some of the friends were local, but moved away and others were longtime friends who lived elsewhere. Over the course of time, the friends who lived elsewhere recruited their other friends and co-workers; and the pool grew and grew, to the point where each year I contact my "swimmers," even though we're virtual strangers. I LOVE that!
Now, let me explain "briefly," YES, "briefly!" We use the official Oscar ballot on Oscar.com and we vote on every category (even the crazy, hard ones that no one knows anything about.) It costs $10 to participate in the pool and , the pot is divided between 1st and 2nd place as well as $10 being sent back to the person who gets the least amount correct. Don't ask me why; it's just the way I've always done it. Now let me say this. EVERY year I have to remind everyone that it doesn't matter if you haven't seen any of the movies. In 1999 when I was pregnant with Nicky, I saw EVERY movie that was nominated, and that was the year that I did my worst in the pool; BUT, the following year when I saw NO movies; I tied for first place. So with that being said, I can honestly tell you that in terms of the pool, you're better off looking up critics picks online and reading articles, than you are seeing the movies. Of course if you enjoy seeing the movies, you should certainly do so. I was merely trying to explain that not seeing any of the movies, shouldn't be a deterrent from joining the pool; if you thought it might be fun.
Whew; OK; now. Over the past few years, the Academy awards date has moved up, so that it's no longer in April; but now in February. February 27 this year, to be exact. And I don't know about you, but I barely saw any movies last year; so other than hearing the buzz about Natalie Portman and "Black Swan," or Colin Firth and the cast of "The King's Speech;" I have no clue what will be nominated; and I'm hesitant to say this, but for the sake of honesty, I will... I'm not sure if I care. (One eye closed and waiting for the room to cave in;) nope nothing happened, it's OK. I can say that I'm not sure if I care about the Oscars and life will go on. (BIG SIGH;) Of relief; I'm not sure. You see the thing is, the Oscar pool doesn't take up SO much of my time; BUT, it is another thing that I will have to commit time (that I really don't have) to; and being that I'm not even excited about the movies; it would be relatively easy for me to say that I'm not going to do it this year. BUT, I will watch the show, because I'm a total Oscar fan, and I'm SO curious to see how James Franco and Anne Hathaway are going to do as hosts; AND I fear that while I'm watching, I'll be kicking myself and thinking "I should have done the pool." Yup; I know me; and that's what I'll do. So in order to prevent myself from any unnecessary bruising, and because; if it weren't for the Oscar pool that I started in 1998, "The Bumpy Ride" probably wouldn't exist; I think that I just got my answer. I need to put my Oscar Mistress hat (yes, hat;) on and start amping up for The Oscars. Anybody want to join me?
Till next time...
Queen of EVERYTHING
