Movies Oscar Picks Win Your Office Pool

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JANUARY 7, 2011 FRONT PAGE POLITICS BUSINESS MEDIA ENTERTAINMENT COMEDY SPORTS STYLE WORLD GREEN FOOD TRAVEL TECH LIVING HEALTH DIVORCE ARTS BOOKS RELIGION IMPACT EDUCATION COLLEGE NY LA CHICAGO DENVER BLOGS Michael Giltz Freelance writer and raconteur Posted: March 5, 2010 09:26 PM BIO Become a Fan Get Email Alerts Bloggers' Index 1 0 views 0 28Inspiring Funny Hot Scary Outrageous Amazing Weird CrazyOscar Picks: Win Your Office Pool! What's Your Reaction: Read More: Academy Awards , Avatar , Inglorious Basterds , Kathryn Bigelow , Oscar , Quentin Tarantino , The Hurt Locker , Up In The Air , Entertainment News RESULTS: In one of the easiest years to predict in memory, I only got 17 out of 24. I blew it on the smaller categories where you have to shine, like the live action and animated and documentary shortswhere I only got 1 out of 3 right. Oh well, there's always next year. Ok, I won't guarantee that you'll win your office pool. My track record is spotty -- especially during years when I passionately love a movie. (Never bet on your favorite team; you never bet smart.) But I've spoken to friends in Hollywood who attend the screenings, studied the tea leaves and here are my picks for the winners, along with info on close races if you want to ignore my advice. And when people tell you, "But it's been 60 years since a movie grossed so little money and won Best Picture" or "no movie that has been nominated for Best Director AND won Best Editing has ever...." Yep, all those trends are good to note. But Academy voters don't vote that way. They (or their sister or theirassistant) vote spontaneously from their heart. Assuming they themselves aren't on the ballot. So here's my ballot followed by my explanations where necessary and the favorite choice among other voters. Good luck! BEST PICTURE The Hurt Locker YES! BEST DIRECTOR Katheryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker YES! BEST ACTOR -- Jeff Bridges for Crazy Heart YES! BEST ACTRESS -- Sandra Bullock for The Blind Side YES! BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR -- Christoph Waltz for Inglorious Basterds YES! BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS -- Mo'Nique for Precious YES! BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY -- Inglorious Basterds NO. BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY -- Up In The Air NO. BEST ANIMATED FEATURE -- Up YES! MOST POPULAR ON HUFFPOST 1 of 2 BIG NEWS: Ellen Degeneres | Celebrity Body | Playboy | Movies | Smarter Ideas | More... More Dead Birds, Fish Found Across The World WATCH: Demi Moore In A Teeny Bikini Elizabeth Edwards' Will Revealed Lindsay Garvey iPhone Alarm Glitch: How It Cost Me My Job Intestinal Parasites May Be Causing Your Energy Slump Rudeness Is A Neurotoxin WATCH: Ashton & Natalie Get Naked, Have Sex In New Movie Two House Republicans Violate Constitution With Voting Blunder BECK IN TROUBLE? Dropped From New York Radio Station, TV RatingsLOG IN | SIGN UP Get Entertainment Alerts Email Comments 28 Recommend 63K Like 114 Recommend 465 Recommend 1K Like 302 Like 6K Like 137 Like 15K BEST FOREIGN FILM -- El Secreto De Sus Ojos YES! BEST DOCUMENTARY -- The Cove YES! BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT -- Music By Prudence YES! BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT -- Instead of Abracadabra NO. BEST ANIMATED SHORT -- A Matter Of Loaf And Death NO. BEST SCORE -- Up YES! BEST SONG -- "The Weary Kind" from Crazy Heart YES! BEST SOUND EDITING/SOUND MIXING/ART DIRECTION -- Avatar NO. NO. YES! BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY -- The White Ribbon. NO. BEST MAKEUP -- Star Trek YES! BEST COSTUME DESIGN -- The Young Victoria YES! BEST FILM EDITING -- The Hurt Locker YES! BEST VISUAL EFFECTS -- Avatar YES! BEST PICTURE The Hurt Locker (runner-up Avatar or could it be Inglorious Basterds or Up In The Air? ) -- I'm the only one who thinks Up In The Air still has a shot but with this new ranking system where voters list all 10 movies in preference, anything goes. And whichever movie wins, people will point to that new voting twist rather than the simple fact that The Hurt Locker or Avatar or whatever was the most popular film among voters. Why do I pick Up In The Air as the dark horse? It plays very well on TV (where many voters watch the nominees), it's a film in the classic Hollywood style a la Billy Wilder and thus appeals to older voters, it stars an honest to goodness movie star and it was a strong hit (unlike Locker ). Most importantly, the people who love Hurt will probably list Avatar last while those rooting for Avatar will list Hurt Locker last. And what will be second or third on all of their ballots? I'm betting it's Up In The Air and Inglorious Basterds. I don't love Hurt (it's quite good and very well directed) so I'm not passionate about this category. But since Oscar loves to frustrate me, the most annoying win would be Avatar and therefore that might just pull it off. BEST DIRECTOR Katheryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker. Long overdue for the gender, of course and Bigelow has come into her own. BEST ACTOR -- Jeff Bridges for Crazy Heart. A career award, yes, but also a very good performance. BEST ACTRESS -- Sandra Bullock for The Blind Side. The only acting category that's a close call. Meryl Streep is the dark horse here; if only her movie were better. Bullock had a career year thanks to The Proposal and then this wildly popular smash hit that she carried with some of her best acting yet. Not a great movie, but obviously they love it. (Best Picture nomination, anyone?) It's her year. BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR -- Christoph Waltz for Inglorious Basterds . BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS -- Mo'Nique for Precious . BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY -- Inglorious Basterds by Quentin Tarantino. Hollywood loved the film (it won the SAG for Best Ensemble), it was the biggest hit of his career and this is their best chance to reward him, assuming it doesn't swoop in and win Best Picture. The Hurt Locker could contend but that movie was all about the direction. BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY -- Up In The Air by Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner. A model of adaptation, especially if you read the very different book by Walter Kirn. (By the way, notice how I name the movie first and then the people? I wish the Academy Awards would do this instead of naming people we've never heard of before finally telling us it was, say, Avatar that won Special Effects or whatever.) BEST ANIMATED FEATURE -- Up by Pixar, of course. They should have won Best Picture by now and some day they will. BEST FOREIGN FILM -- El Secreto De Sus Ojos. The White Ribbon has won everything and Un Prophete was my favorite film of 2009, bar none. But this category is always a crazy wild card. I'm picking this film because of its heart, whereas White Ribbon is cold and austere. But most people pick White so if you want to be conservative go with that. BEST DOCUMENTARY -- The Cove. Food Inc also pushes the buttons the Academy loves and The Most Dangerous Man in America is liberal and has a Jewish angle but The Cove is about lovable dolphins being slaughtered and is moving them to tears.BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT -- Music By Prudence. I have NOT seen these shorts (I have in the other categories) so this is based solely on the subject matter. Heart-tuggers and anything on the 1 of 5 Sen. Jon Tester Tester Pushes to Reform Senate Rules With Greater Transparency, Efficiency Steve Ballmer My Keynote Address at the 2011 International Consumer Electronics ShowDON'T MISS HUFFPOST BLOGGERS HOT TRENDS TOP VIDEO PICKS 1 of 9 jennifer connelly baby bump jersey shore natalie portman pregnant raven symone weight loss rebecca budig Fall More Celebrity News at People.com More Celebrity News at Popeater.com Like 6K Camille Grammer: Kelsey Made Me Do Real Housewives READ MORE Rihanna to Launch Her First Fragrance READ MORE POLL: Take Sides in JerseyShore's Explosive First Feud READ MORE John Legend Parties With Pauly D, 'Precious' John Edwards Proposes to Mistress Already? J.Lo's Ex's Girlfriend Files For Restraining Order Holocaust usually triumph. China's Unnatural Disaster: The Tears Of Sichuan Province is about the shoddy school buildings in China that collapsed after an earthquake and killed so many children. It's painful. Music By Prudence also deals with adversity but with a far more upbeat way since it's about a deformed child cast out by her society but protected by her mother and ultimately proving to have a lovely, haunting singing voice that has been her salvation. See? You're tearing up already. (I'm not beingflippant about the actual issues addressed in these films, just the way Academy voters respond to them.) BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT -- Instead of Abracadabra. By far the best short of the five, and it's fun and sweet with a great kicker (ie. closing gag) to boot. The others are mostly grim. The New Tenants has some well-known actors (always a good pull with voters), but has awkward shifts in tone and ends poorly. Nonetheless, friends report it has played well at screenings. Still, my money is on Abracadabra . BEST ANIMATED SHORT -- A Matter Of Loaf And Death . Nick Park of Wallace & Gromit owns this category and that isn't changing this year. French Roast is very mild. Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty is very well-animated but has one joke and no ending. The Lady And The Reaper is not bad but also has a weak kicker that spoils the modest fun. Logorama is the only contender: it has a great visual look that employs logos for an entire world, not to mention advertising characters like the Michelin Man as cops,Mr. Clean as a gay tour guide and so on. Two negatives: it's not funny when EVERY character is foul-mouthed and the short is too long and goes completely off the rails with a very confusing ending. Still, ithas a cool factor and could upset. But stick with Wallace & Gromit. (Note: make sure you check out David Wallechinsky's post for more on the animated shorts, including clips and complete entries available for viewing. Then you can make up your own mind and tell me how crazy I am!) BEST SCORE -- Up by Michael Giacchino. You can take it to the bank. He's won every award in sight and it's a glorious work that tips a hat to classic Hollywood film scores. And it's from a movie everyone loves. BEST SONG -- "The Weary Kind" from Crazy Heart by Ryan Bingham and T-Bone Burnett. Another sure shot. Bet your house on it.BEST SOUND EDITING/SOUND MIXING/ART DIRECTION -- Avatar in a technical categories sweep. BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY -- The White Ribbon. Why would this win Best Cinematography but White Ribbon not win Best Foreign Film? Because everyone can vote in this category while you have to prove you saw all five foreign films to vote for that one. The White Ribbon is in black and white (which Hollywood is a sucker for), it won the guild award and it looks absolutely stunning. Still, this is a toss-up. Avatar or The Hurt Locker could triumph. Personally, I'd root for Inglorious Basterds and the great work of Robert Richardson. If he wins, that might mean an upset in Best Picture. BEST MAKEUP -- Star Trek by Barry Burman, Mindy Hall and Joe Harlow. BEST COSTUME DESIGN -- The Young Victoria by Sandy Powell. BEST FILM EDITING -- The Hurt Locker by Chris Innis and Bob Murawski. They won the guild award for this category so other editors love it the most. I'd vote for Sally Menke and her great, great work on Inglorious Basterds and if it wins that could be another sign of an upset. Obviously Avatar is also a factor here. BEST VISUAL EFFECTS -- Avatar by Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham and Andrew R. Jones. I'd give it to District 9, which did the most with the least (and beat out 2012 to get nominated) and my favorite of the three is Star Trek but Avatar it is. Without a doubt. Thanks for reading. Visit Michael Giltz at his website and his daily blog. Download his podcast of celebrity interviews and his weekly music radio show at Popsurfing and enjoy the weekly pop culture podcast he co-hosts at Showbiz Sandbox . Both available for free on iTunes. Link to him on Netflix and gain access to thousands of ratings and reviews. Follow Michael Giltz on Twitter: www.twitter.com/michaelgiltz Related News On Huffington Post: Oscars 2010 LIVE: Academy Awards REACTIONS, WINNERS, LOSERS The 2010 Oscars Awards Show may be entertaining to watch, butfollowing the Twitter feeds of celebrities, nominees, journalists, bloggers, and viewers is sure to... 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I've been checking them out here: bit.ly/9GP AIQFOLLOW HUFFINGTON POST Recency | Popularity HUFFPOST SUPER USER Cherie King 10:19 PM on 3/07/2010 Permalink | Share it Halsey 01:27 PM on 3/07/2010 Permalink | Share it Couch Potato 01:26 PM on 3/07/2010 Permalink | Share it HUFFPOST BLOGGER Michael Giltz 03:13 AM on 3/08/2010Comments are closed for this entry View All 258 Fans 59 Fans 0 Fans 589 Fans Follow 589 Fans Follow 589 Fans FollowYou're absolutely right. Not having a dog in the fight helps a lot. You should also never bet on your college sports team: emotion always trumps logic. Hence my inability to accept thatAvatar could win Best Picture. I rented Dist.9 (not my ilk in genre..but curiosity got the best of me)..and while the "team" deniesit...I kept wondering (which IS a good sign)..the re MUST be a sequel..3 years...th e promise... and, maybe because it was made in S. Africa...v ery political. ..uber day aparteide (sp?)... the whole Avartar thing just doesn't interest me (forget that I HATED Titanic).. I guess fantasy ..not my fav..altho ugh I have to say..I didn't see Lord of the Rings in theater..( again..did n't interest me)..and today..the Two towers is one of my favorite movies ever..so this old dog (me) CAN learn new tricks..I can't wait until White Ribbon is on DVD...I'm guessing it may effect me like The Boy in theStripped Pajamas (one of THEEE most powerful movies I've EVER EVER seen...).. .didn't it win last year or before for best foreign?Love Jeff Bridges... always have..alwa ys will A sequel to District 9 is certain to happen. The filmmaker and talent want to see it happenand probably won't be demanding so much money that they'd make it impossible . And the film was a huge success. It could be a prequel or a sequel or they might do both and makeit a trilogy. Glad to hear you're open to new things like sci-fi and fantasy movies that get alot of praise. Two Towers is definitely a corker and the trilogy as a whole one of the majoraccomplish ments of the decade. The Boy In The Striped Pajamas was not nominated for Best Foreign Film (which is a very complicate d country by country process) nor any other Oscars. I sometimes think it's easier to predict the winners if you haven't seen any of the nominees, as thereare so many additional factors affecting the voting. There certainly see to be some simple tips to winning an Oscar - I've been checking them out here: bit.ly/9GP AIQ I gotta go with Hurt Locker. There was a bit of the Lone Ranger and Tanto dynamic with the lead and supporting actors, but it's a solid movie. Well, I'm finishing watching The Hurt Locker and the suicide bomber scene really won me over. I'd say yeah, this is the best picture.Permalink | Share it Halsey 01:26 PM on 3/07/2010 Permalink | Share it HUFFPOST BLOGGER Michael Giltz 03:17 AM on 3/08/2010 Permalink | Share it Couch Potato 01:24 PM on 3/07/2010 Permalink | Share it HUFFPOST SUPER USER Balzac 07:39 PM on 3/06/2010 Permalink | Share it HUFFPOST SUPER USER Balzac 07:33 PM on 3/06/2010 Permalink | Share it HUFFPOST SUPER USER Balzac 07:32 PM on 3/06/2010 Permalink | Share it589 Fans Follow 258 Fans 64 Fans 11 Fans 71 Fans 88 FansOk, I've seen Inglorious Basterds, and I have to say, it had its moments and also it's moments lacking in something. .. I'm most of the way through The Hurt Locker, and the male-bondi ng aspect of it is pretty rancid. I haven't yet seen the movie about the blue aliens, but I vote it. Balzac...I 've not seen IB yet..but question.. do you think Quenton has unsolved anger issues? (seriously )...I mean.. Sam Peckenpah had a pretty high body count in his movies..bu t there was substance. ..n'est pas? My personal favorite Avatar..A movie you want to see again just for the effects.Ne ver saw anything like it before.... ...Do hope Up gets something as it was a very good film.. The anti-Ameri can movie "Avatar" had very cool special effects, but the liberalism throughout made it tough to enjoy. My son is a Sci-Fi fan. He made me watch District 9. While he can be political, a goodmovie to him is a good movie. For instance, Old Boy is one of his favorite movies. Wasthere a political undertone to that? No. Sometimes a movie is just a movie. In the 30'S and40's, movies were escapism from WWII. He didn't see political messages in that film. He saw no undertones in Avatar. He just saw a good Sci-Fi movie. Lighten up, enjoy a film for what it is. Watch Julie and Julia. Watch Nine. Watch Up In The Air. Those are character driven movies. Heh, I find it amusing when Liberal (or in your case, liberalism ) is used as a dirty word. If this is indeed America, Land of the Free, we're free to be Liberal and you have to live with it. Maybe you and Kirk Cameron can start your own production company to put out the movies you prefer to see. Meanwhile, you can ignore what's going on in the rest of the world and the movies they produce to illustrate it. Liberalism ? So indiscrimi nately destroying nature while stealing land and resources from the people who live there are not bad things to do (as those pesky Liberals claim) but are actually considered good things to do from the Conservati ve viewpoint? What if the Na'vi characters had simply said "Give me back my country!" Would that haveHUFFPOST SUPER USER Balzac 06:15 PM on 3/06/2010 Permalink | Share it Halsey 02:23 PM on 3/07/2010 Permalink | Share it bayside 03:24 PM on 3/06/2010 Permalink | Share it RobRob 01:50 PM on 3/06/2010 Permalink | Share it HUFFPOST SUPER USER byla 09:01 PM on 3/06/2010 Permalink | Share it free-thinking 10:49 AM on 3/07/201071 Fans 71 Fans 178 Fans 20 Fans 59 Fans 20 Fansmade it a Conservati ve movie instead? Yes, one has to wonder, is Dances With Wolves a liberal movie? It surely is as Kevin Costner rides off with his Indian bride so the "white man" won't badger therest of the tribe. I dare say, Conservati sm is the whole reason Oklahoma exists. Oddly enough, American Indians are fairly conservati ve...just look at Ok's reps and senators. Yet, they do get a good healthcare plan through their respected nations which comes from the government . For me, I think it should be either Inglorious Basterds or Hurt Locker. I enjoyed them both. I haven'tseen Avatar, that's not really my favorite genre (I did see District 9, which I thought was outstanding) I just watched Up in the Air yesterday, and while it was a good flick, it was average. Preciouswas a good movie, but oh my goodness, the story was bleak and painful to watch. I love a good foreign film, so I'll be hunting the other nominees down soon. I did see The White Ribbon and enjoyed it, although the editing to me was at times a little disjointed and confusing. If Christoph Waltz doesn't win for Best Supporting Actor, the voting was rigged. I think Mo'Nique should win her category as well. She killed in that roll! Best Horror Show: Health Care Reform Debate I've seen none of the nominees. I'd rather watch a good planet earth nature show. Sorry :) Well, then I hope you've watched "The Blue Planet" and "Planet Earth" on DVD (especiall y BluRay). They really are head and shoulders above most nature programmin g I've ever seen. Great stuff. Wiki entry: http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/T he_Blue_Pl anet Thanks for the recommends . I'll watch them. I checked out michaelgil tz dot com. I’m a 15-year business and e-commerce website developer. I'm certain some 'glitz' can be added to michaelgil tz dot com and get more eyeballs while keeping it fun to visit. IMDB uses same leading back-end technologi es we use. I think michaelgil tzPermalink | Share it HUFFPOST SUPER USER byla 12:05 AM on 3/08/2010 Permalink | Share it HUFFPOST SUPER USER byla 01:20 PM on 3/06/2010 Permalink | Share it HUFFPOST SUPER USER Guitarsandmore 12:32 PM on 3/06/2010 Permalink | Share it ProComputer 11:07 PM on 3/05/2010 Permalink | Share it HUFFPOST BLOGGER Michael Giltz 11:43 PM on 3/05/2010 Permalink | Share it ProComputer 01:27 PM on 3/06/201088 Fans 59 Fans 595 Fans 59 Fansdot com can evolve into an even more robust and busy site with a little work. It’s not that expensive. Might you write a book soon? There are More Comments on this Thread. Click Here To See them All I love "The Blue Planet (Seas of Life)" but, unlike "Planet Earth", I don't think it's on Blu-ray hi-def yet (which is practicall y a crime!), so it's just on DVD. And every David Attenborou gh nature documentar y is an absolute must-see! ( http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/D avid_Atten borough#Fi lmography ). The high-quali ty is consistent across all of them. There are More Comments on this Thread. Click Here To See them All And if you like nature shows, why not check out The Cove, nominated for Best Documentary? It's a good (not great) film about dolphins and the people striving to protect them fromillegal slaughter in Japan. Not a pure nature film but should appeal to anyone interested innature and animals. I haven't even seen most of the nominees. Well, there are certainly some worthy ones. Up in The Air, Up, Inglorious basterds and ASerious Man are all on my best of the year list and District 9 is good fun. That's a drama,an art film, a war movie, an animated film and an art house movie. So hopefully one ofthem should be the sort of movie you like and worth a look. FRONT PAGE POLITICS BUSINESS MEDIA ENTERTAINMENT COMEDY SPORTS STYLE WORLD GREEN FOOD TRAVEL TECH LIVING HEALTH DIVORCE ARTS BOOKS RELIGION IMPACT EDUCATION COLLEGE NY LA CHICAGO DENVER BLOGS Advertise | Log In | Make HuffPost your Home Page | RSS | Careers | FAQ | Contact Us User Agreement | Privacy | Comment Policy | About Us | Powered by Movable Type Copyright © 2011 TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc. | "The Huffington Post" is a registered trademark of TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc. All rights reserved. Permalink | Share it free-thinking 10:58 AM on 3/07/2010 Permalink | Share it HUFFPOST BLOGGER Michael Giltz 11:45 PM on 3/05/2010 Permalink | Share it LMPE 10:02 PM on 3/05/2010 Permalink | Share it HUFFPOST BLOGGER Michael Giltz 10:15 PM on 3/05/2010 Permalink | Share it

Movies Oscar Picks Win Your Office Pool

📄 Movies Oscar Picks Win Your Office Pool

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