Video by Chris Nguyen
Features Editor
This year’
s Academy Awards has gotten more buzz than ever before with big
blockbuster films, including Avatar, Up and The Blind Side, finally earning a huge number of nominations with an expanded nominations list. Ironically enough, the film looking to sweep most of the major categories is The Hurt Locker, a small-budget film that was quietly released in August.
Oscar predicting is quite the complex science, which requires taking into account voters’ true movie favorites and their need to make big statements and repressing one’s own desired winners to think like an Academy member. But The Sidekick’
s Chris Nguyen will try anyways with his predictions for 82nd Academy Awards, which airs March 7 on ABC at 7 p.m.
Best Picture
Avatar
The Blind Side
District 9
An Education
The Hurt Locker
Inglorious Basterds
Precious: Based on the novel ‘Push’
by Sapphire
A Serious Man
Up
Up in the Air
Although the Academy doubled the number of Best Picture nominations from five to 10 this year, The Blind Side, District 9, Up and A Serious Man should really be thankful just to be nominated, while An Education, Up in the Air, Precious and Inglorious Basterds should be content that their early burnouts as frontrunners did not hinder a mention in the race.
The Best Picture winner is down to a foot race between two movie: Avatar and The Hurt Locker. One is the big-budget,” future of film” project that has become the highest grosser of all-time that preaches the liberal Hollywood creed of ant-war and pro-environment. The other is a low-budget, low-grossing (only $12 million at the box office!) “serious”
film revolving around the war in Iraq that represents the liberal and artistic side of Hollywood.
Although The Hurt Locker looks like the underdog, wins at both the Producers Guild Awards and Director Guild Awards mean that the Academy members really love it and want it to earn the gold man. Avatar should prepare to content itself by rolling around in all the dough as well as the love of America it has earned.
Best Actor
Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart
George Clooney, Up in the Air
Colin Firth, A Single Man
Morgan Freeman, Invictus
Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker
George Clooney and Colin Firth got all the attention in the months before awards season began: Clooney gave a winning performance as a businessman that could charm even a chair while Firth transformed from lightweight romantic comedy actor to an ac-tor as a gay man in the ‘
60s contemplating suicide. However, Clooney has already won an Oscar (which some consider one too many) while Firth has many years to rack up the nominations, especially with this turning point in his career.
That leaves dark horse Jeff Bridges in his totally chill, Big Lebowksi-style coolness to moozie his way to frontrunner status with wins at the Screen Actor Guild, Critics’
Choice Awards and Golden Globes for his portrayal of a burned-out country artist trying to find his way. Since he has yet to earn an Oscar and the Academy loves to make amends for the frequent losers (see: Kate Winslet), he has all but sealed up what was once a contentious battle.
Best Actress
Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side
Helen Mirren, The Last Station
Carey Mulligan, An Education
Gabourey Sidibe, Precious
Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia
The Best Actress race is the only major category that is far from being a done deal thanks to the rising status of Sandra Bullock in The Blind Side. Meryl Streep looked to take her third Oscar for her spot-on performance as chef Julia Child once Carey Mulligan’
s acclaim for her turn in An Education died down.
However, Sandra Bullock won award after award at the Golden Globes, SAGs and Critics’ Choice (though, Streep did tie for the Critics and won in another category at the Globes) that she became not just the lucky nomination but the go-to winner. Bullock has many things going for her this year: huge box office returns in two movies, a humble yet funny personality evident in her acceptance speeches, a huge performance as a sassy-talking Southerner who changes a black teen’
s life with football and unlike Streep, her nominated performance comes from a Best Picture nominee that most film critics saw as saccharine.
And since she doesn’t look to be taking any more Oscar-worthy turns in the future, the Academy may feel that although it has been 26 years since Streep’s last win, this may well be Bullock’s last chance. Like the previous win from Julia Roberts in 2000, Bullock can look forward to going from America’
s Sweetheart to Oscar winner.
Best Director
James Cameron, Avatar
Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
Quentin Tarantino, Inglorious Basterds
Lee Daniels, Precious
Jason Reitman, Up in the Air
The Best Director race follows the Best Picture race between Avatar and The Hurt Locker with their respective directors, James Cameron and Kathryn Bigelow. The former married couple each shares their own distinctive mark: Cameron –the big blockbusters with huge special effects and an ambitious take on environmentalism and colonialism; Bigelow –
the small, thought-provoking film within the traditional action template for her Iraqi war film.
While Cameron may bring in more technical expertise, Bigelow puts true emotion into her direction and most importantly, the woman card. If she wins, she would be the first woman ever to win a Best Director Oscar. Whether or not voters consciously place weight on that issue, Bigelow’s ease and graciousness for her acclaim definitely attracts more voters than Cameron’s pompous, ego-inflating speeches. This year’
s Best Director Oscar has history-making written all over it.
Other Nominations
Best Supporting Actress
Penelope Cruz, Nine
Vera Fermiga, Up in the Air
Maggie Gyllenhaal, Crazy Heart
Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air
Mo’
Nique, Precious
Best Supporting Actor
Matt Damon, Invictus
Woody Harrelson, The Messenger
Christopher Plummer, The Last Station
Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones
Christoph Waltz, Inglorious Basterds
Best Animated Feature
Coraline
Fantastic Mr. Fox
The Princess and the Frog
The Secret of Kells
Up
Best Adapted Screenplay
District 9
An Education
In the Loop
Precious
Up in the Air
Best Original Screenplay
The Hurt Locker
Inglorious Basterds
The Messenger
A Serious Man
Up
