For Your Consideration: Sandra Bullock, Best Actress

It seems like Best Actress has been locked up since the critics groups continuously deemed Cate Blanchett's performance in Blue Jasmine the best of the year. After viewing it a couple of times, I would have to agree that it is quite a show stopper, and that there is no possible way she is losing the Oscar. The only person who has even the slightest chance at upsetting Cate would be Amy Adams. Adams has not turned in a bad piece of work yet, and quite frankly I was more impressed with her in American Hustle than Jennifer Lawrence, which is another minority I seem to keep finding myself in. It would be terrible if she won this year, because people would think it was one of the worst Best Actress wins in a long time; plus I think it may be her year next year. Interesting fact :  she is the only Best Actress nominee this year who has never received an Oscar. Then you have a couple of veteran actresses, two of the most brilliant and well respected woman still working in film, Meryl Streep in August: Osage County and Judi Dench in Philomena. Meryl continues to top herself, she is the most Oscar nominated person with 18 nominations, but I think even she has become annoyed with her success at this stage in her career. The Academy loves her, maybe one day, I hope, she will be tied with Katherine Hepburn for the most Oscars won be anyone.  Judi Dench deserves to win a Best Actress Oscar, she has only won supporting, but sadly her competition is just too big. All of these women deserve their spot this year, with such rich and fantastic performances. The one though that has stolen my heart, is Sandra Bullock in Gravity. 

Sandra Bullock has the same status that Julia Roberts has, and that is being America's sweetheart. It seemed as though Bullock was bound to being in romantic comedies/comedies, suspenseful thrillers, and action films and most of America would have been okay with that. It wasn't until her small performance in Best Picture winner Crash, that even she has admitted, that truly showed us that she could be a dramatic actress. Her performance in Crash made Sandra want to do awards worthy work, and I am glad it did. In 2009, Bullock received the Best Actress Oscar for The Blind Side, a win which is disliked in most circles; I personally loved it and cheered for her to win! Ever since then Bullock has carefully chosen her work, and from what I can tell, she chooses things that stretch her to become a better actress. If her performance this year in Gravity is not proof of that, then I do not know what would be. It is funny to me that the people who bash on her winning the Oscar for The Blind Side have said this is her best performance, and many of them say had she not won for The Blind Side, she would be the one to beat this year. I am happy to see her nominated for Gravity and that she showed everyone that she can act, and that her Oscar was not just some random spoof. 

Gravity is one of those movies that you either really love or hate. The people who truly loved Gravity rally behind Sandra Bullock winning the Oscar for her performance. The movie is completely her show. She carries the movie alone for more than half of the time, and that is not an easy task to do, especially as a female. In fact, the director, Alfonso Cuaron, had to fight against the studio, because they wanted the main character to be a man; they did not think a female could carry the film. Well thank goodness Alfonso Cuaron stuck to his guns, because here we are, Gravity being the most nominated film this year with its leading female receiving such highly deserved praise. There are two sides of Bullock's performance that you have to realize, it is completely a physical performance and an emotional one. Bullock had, and wanted, to do every single stunt of the movie, which requires so much of you as an actor, as you are already handling the emotional side of a character. Often times, actors put all of their eggs in one basket on either the physical side or the emotional side, but somehow Bullock nails it. Your whole being is just in awe of the film and Sandra as you watch it, and it makes you feel like you are right there in the movie with her. For a second I had to remember to breathe as I watched Bullock fighting for her life; or even having to tell myself to shut up as I tried to talk to her on the screen while I rooted for her survival. That type of performance, when done accurately, makes the audience part of the movie. That is why Gravity is so loved, and the credit goes to the brilliant direction of Alfonso Cuaron, but even more to Sandra Bullock. 

If I had it my way, I would give the Oscar to Sandra Bullock without hesitating. You can hardly find a performance like hers that is worthy of an Oscar. The emotional depth she brings to the character, of a broken women who has lost a child and has nothing left to live for but to go into space to get away from it all and then having to fight to survive when it seems like there is nothing left to fight for. PLEASE SOMEONE JUST GIVE HER THE DANG OSCAR. It is such a moving and inspirational movie, because she brings an emotion and feeling that many of us real life people face; are we gonna let our heartbreak of our past dictate our survival or are we gonna choose to accept and live with it and fight to survive? This is why we root for her. We know, because we've been there. If you do not feel any emotional impact after watching Gravity then you completely missed the point. Sandra lays it all out there, giving us everything that is within her, and is completely vulnerable with no one on the screen to talk to and hardly any dialogue. That, my friends, is the kind of performance that is worthy of an Oscar. Bullock pushed herself in new ways to act this character, and that's what you have to do if you want to make anything meaningful. Again I say, PLEASE SOMEONE JUST GIVE HER THE DANG OSCAR!!!!

Unfortunately every time I think about the possibility of Sandra winning Best Actress, I get slapped with the reality of Cate Blanchett. Cate is equally worthy of the award, she just plays a completely opposite character of Bullock, one you root against and find little to no sympathy for. I have no doubts that Cate will win, and I should be happy that it will be a great win; but my heart is not satisfied. My heart wants Sandra Bullock up on that stage accepting that award. Maybe had it been a different year the pieces could have fallen differently, but it is what it is. Let us not forget this powerful film and performance; I have a feeling we won't, simply because of its brilliance. BUT, a worthy winner is Cate Blanchett, but a deserving winner would have been Sandra Bullock. 

For Your Consideration: Bruce Dern, Best Actor

Everyone knows how I feel about the Best Actor category by now. If you aren't aware of the fact that I think Leonardo DiCaprio is most deserving of the win here, and the person I think might take down the frontrunner, Matthew McConaughey, then you probably have not been paying any attention to my blog. I have to say though, that I love every nominated performance in this category, and would be happy seeing any one of the nominees win; that is a first for me. The two performances that seem to have been left out of much of the discussion for Best Actor are Bruce Dern for Nebraska and Christian Bale for American Hustle. Christian Bale gave such a trans-formative performance, as he usually does, that it is hard not to watch him and just be amazed at the lengths he is willing to go to turn in a meaningful performance. His dedication to the craft of acting is just impressive, I have no words. His nomination is well deserved, although I feel I am in the minority in saying that, because I think most people would have chosen Tom Hanks for Captain Phillips over Bale. The performance that I am most concerned about being forgotten is Bruce Dern's subtle work as an aging man on a journey to receive a one million dollar prize that is a hoax, just to leave behind a legacy for his children. It truly is the most subtly brilliant performance nominated this entire year, and those kinds of performance are the ones that often get forgotten. 

I got the chance to see Nebraska early in January, the second movie in a double feature. I had mixed feelings about watching it, only because I have a touch and go relationship with the film’s director, Alexander Payne. You can never really be sure of what you are getting yourself into when you watch one of his movies, and every time I watch one, it takes me either multiple viewings to gain a respect for it or a long period of time after seeing it and thinking about it for me to come to a conclusion on how I feel. At first it is hard to get behind the movie because of the black and white film and the low budget design; it almost makes the whole movie feel a bit cheesy and hard to get into. Once you find it in yourself to sit through the movie, you will come to a point of satisfaction. Bruce Dern is what sold me on this; I wanted to know why he was the way he was and what happens to his character. His performance is so understated that you feel that his journey is just as much yours as it is his, and that is a sign of a great and worthy nominated performance. 

Bruce Dern is a veteran of Hollywood, having been in over 80 films in a career spanning over 50 years. He has made himself known for his supporting "character actor" performances. Dern was nominated once before back in 1978 for Best Supporting Actor in Coming Home. It is hard not to be amazed at how, at the age of 77, Dern is able to take hold of an entire film and give the performance of his career in Nebraska. We see a broken and aging elderly man so hoping and longing after this million dollar prize that he is not willing to see that it is a hoax. All Dern wants to do is claim his prize, so that he is able to leave behind something for his children when he dies. His character is so sold on the idea that he will not stop for anything to get that million dollars, so much so that he is willing to walk almost 900 miles from Billings, Montana to Lincoln, Nebraska. Along the journey he faces past demons, and gains a deeper relationship with his youngest son. Again I say, because of Dern, a movie that I at first hated has somehow turned to a movie I find to be inspirational and moving.

Somewhere inside, Bruce reaches down deep into his soul to bring to life a character that resonates with you. He makes you wish that the million dollars was real, and even though you know it is a hoax, you find yourself holding on to hope that the company will just give him the million dollars just for making the journey. As the movie takes you on a side story to go into the past of a man who came from nothing, it becomes apparent as to why he wants this money. You see Dern go from being a determined elderly man, to being confused, to joking around, to being let down, and then you have the end scene that just pulls at your heart. Somehow Bruce portrays all of those emotions with ease. He gives every emotion possible and showcases the heart of true human being; it is so precise that it is almost like he is not acting. I hear the term Tour-de-Force performance a lot in awards season, but Dern really does give a performance worthy of that term. There are no other adjectives I can throw out there that I have not said to describe his performance except, beautiful. The movie would be nothing, and I really mean nothing, without Bruce Dern. 

In a year jam packed with such showy and brilliant performances, it is hard for a veteran actor with the most understated performance of the bunch to get any widespread attention. Many people tried to push Bruce Dern into campaigning in the Supporting Actor category, which would be hardcore category fraud, just so he could get an Oscar; but just like his character, he would not settle for anything less than the big prize. Dern told people that he would rather be nominated and lose Best Actor than nominated and win for Supporting Actor. Dern got his wish and dream fulfilled with his Best Actor nomination, and that makes me extremely happy to see. He would be just as worthy of the Oscar as McConaughey or DiCaprio. If Leo was not in the running for Best Actor, hands down my heart and vote would go to Dern. McConaughey is great, but I do not think his performance stands up as strong against some of the other nominees, worthy yes, but one of the weaker performances of the group. Bruce gave it all in Nebraska, and it should not be left out or forgotten. I, for one, will always look back at this Oscar year, and will remember the brilliance of Bruce Dern. 

For Your Consideration: Jonah Hill, Best Supporting Actor

 There is no one other than Jared Leto that is winning the Oscar for Supporting Actor this year. This is the one category, save for Best Actress, that I feel confident that it is locked up. I recently re-watched Dallas Buyers Club, and I think it cemented in my head how amazing Jared Leto's performance was. The competition for Supporting Actor is not as strong as it normally is, but I cannot find a performance in it that I disliked. Barkhad Abdi, was fantastic in Captain Phillips, and like Lupita Nyong'o, it was his film debut. Michael Fassbender also gave a fierce performance, like the rest of his cast members, in 12 Years a Salve. His character is one you hate, which makes it hard for him to win. Bradley Cooper, another great supporting performance in American Hustle, turned in some more awesome work following his lead actor nomination last year. That leaves one more nominee, Jonah Hill in The Wolf of Wall Street. 

Say what you want about The Wolf of Wall Street. Tear the movie down for objectifying women, the usage of drugs and alcohol, the lying and scheming, the sexual content, or the 506 times the "f-word" was used and I would probably be on your side. There are just three things you cannot take from the movie: the brilliant performances, Martin Scorsese's fearless direction, and Terence Winter's no-holding-back screenplay. It is not a movie that makes you feel good, in fact, I thought of getting up and walking out of the theatre a couple of times, just to stand against the inappropriateness of the film. Every time the thought came in my head, the performances would shine through and I had to see what happened to the characters. I will likely never watch the movie again, and it is not a movie I would recommend. My mind though is still shocked at the range the actors went, and how Martin Scorsese can still surprise me in his direction. I just wanted to make these thoughts clear before I go any further in promoting Leonardo DiCaprio, and now Jonah Hill's astonishing work. 

Now on to Jonah Hill, who has been shocking everyone with his film choices over the past few years with Moneyball and his cameo in last year’s Django Unchained. Go back to circa 2006-2010, and I do not think anyone would have ever thought that Jonah Hill would ever give an award worthy performance. All he had to his name were teen/adult comedies and a couple of animated films, and then 2011 came along and there he was in Moneyball. He was nominated at every big award show for Supporting Actor for the film. Most people did not even know he could be a serious actor. From that moment on, he has continued with successful work. When it came time for The Wolf of Wall Street, no one really wanted to consider Hill's performance, many people wrote him off as not good enough or just completely underestimating his work. Not me. From the moment I saw the trailer I thought he would get nominated, and ever since, even after seeing Hill get left off of all the award nominations, I continued to advocate that he would get nominated. I was in the minority, but I proved to be right. I just could not understand The Academy not at least nominating him for such a performance: he does an accent, does something completely different in terms of depth in his acting, he is working with Leo and Scorsese, and when he is not on screen you want him to be. That is a prime example of a good supporting actor. 

You cannot deny the greatness of a performance when it is clear that without it in the movie, the movie feels incomplete. That is how much the movie depends on Hill. Like Leo's character, Hill's just wants a new luxurious life and will stop at nothing to have it. He plays Leo's best friend, and helps aid him through the whole movie. If ever there was someone who holds up the lead actor, that is what Hill does. You simply can't watch the movie and not be in awe of Hill, more so Leo, but Hill too. Hill pushed the plot further and further, and Leo's character would be nothing without Hill. Hill taps into a new realm of himself to pull this performance out of thin air. He goes back and forth between being comedic and dramatic, probably better than most actors, which is saying something huge for Hill. This is not anything that he has ever done before, and it is something I am glad the Academy, of all people, noticed. In a film that makes you feel gross about yourself and society, it is somehow refreshing to see Hill act. His recognition is deserved, and I do not care what anyone has to say against it. 

Had it been any other year, I believe Jonah Hill could have received a lot more recognition than what he has gotten for this performance. I am happy that the Academy saw what every awards group missed, and that was Jonah. I understand the high praise for Jared Leto, but that should not cause us to forget the other nominees. If Leto was not nominated, Barkhad Abdi would probably be the frontrunner, and that would be deserved as well. My whole point of these For Your Consideration posts is it to draw attention to performances like Hill's. He should at least be considered worthy of his nomination by those who have looked past him, and those who have already found him worthy should keep him in the discussion for Best Supporting Actor. He does more work in his time in The Wolf of Wall Street than most of the other nominees, and to me it shows. I hope Jonah Hill continues to impress people, and show the world and The Academy that he is a great actor! 

For Your Consideration: Julia Roberts, Best Supporting Actress

In a category that is stacked with star power and towering performances, it is hard to gain any sort of attention. The race for Supporting Actress has been between Jennifer Lawrence, the "it girl" of the world, and Lupita Nyong'o, the newbie with the most astonishing few minutes on screen. There was never really much of a chance going up against them. They are also both in Best Picture frontrunners, which generally catapults you in front of your competition. When it comes down between two people fighting for the Oscar in any category, the other three nominees are left in the shadows and have to try desperately to gain attention; in this case, June Squibb, Sally Hawkins, and Julia Roberts are those three. June Squibb, I am sure is just happy to be nominated this late in life, especially since her performance will be called the performance of her career. Sally Hawkins is lucky she was even nominated, and I am sure is content with the fact she was able to knock out Oprah. That leaves Julia Roberts, who I believe should have been in a lot more discussions than she has been.

Julia Roberts was once the Jennifer Lawrence of her generation. Go back to the late 80s through the early 2000s and Julia was everywhere. She was once one of the biggest box office stars and the highest paid female actress. In 1989, she received her first Best Supporting Actress nomination for Steel Magnolias, followed by a Best Actress nomination for Pretty Woman in 1990, and then finally winning Best Actress in 2000 for her work in Erin Brockovich. Julia has certainly done it all.

In August: Osage County, Julia has turned in yet another fantastic performance. Some consider it the performance of her career, while others have praised Julia for just showing us a new and darker side to her acting. You could make the case that her character is co-lead along with Meryl Streep, which was once a source of conflict for the studios when they started their campaigns. I personally would consider her performance a leading performance, but The Academy ultimately rules where to place performances. There have been multiple cases of category fraud over the years, even winning performances, so this is not anything new or unheard of. Generally it would give you the upper hand to have a supporting nomination with a co-lead performance like Julia Roberts, but her competition has turned in show stopping performances as well, and that makes it harder to even be recognized.

Julia's performance is one to be discussed and remembered, not forgotten. She goes deep into her emotion as she portrays a woman desperately trying not to become bitter and washed-up, like her drug addicted mother, played by Meryl. Her character has to fight for her own sanity and freedom as her world crumbles apart, and as she slowly starts shaping into something she never wanted to be. It is in those last few minutes of the movie, where Julia shows this raw emotion that we all face, where we either choose to let our demons destroy us or we crush them ourselves and muscle the strength to move forward. It is a performance that I keep going back to in my mind, and that is due to the great acting done by Julia. Her character is a foul-mouthed, sharp witted, and a bitter one to swallow, which for me is normally little to be desired, that you struggle with through the whole movie, but if you are me you end up on the sympathetic side. I give Julia Roberts high praise, for turning in such a performance. It is nothing like she has done before, and that to me is always a great achievement. 

If I were an Academy member, I would be scratching my head at how to vote for this category. I think if it came down to it, my vote would probably go to Lupita Nyong'o, but every time I think that I feel dissatisfied. I go back to Julia's performance, and then to Jennifer's, and then to back to Lupita. I am happy that this is the case though, because that means they are all deserved nominees. My heart truly wants Julia Roberts to win, but because my head knows that won't happen, it fights with Jennifer, whose performance also has my heart. Soooo, here is how it should go: 

Should win: Julia Roberts 

Will Win: Lupita Nyong'o 

BIG Potential: Jennifer Lawrence 

I can say I would be happy to see any of those three walk away with that golden man named Oscar. My only wish is that people would not forget Julia's brilliant performance. I understand the competition gave just as astonishing work, but it would be a crime to not include Julia in the best performances of the year. I hope you can appreciate it as much as I do! 

For Your Consideration

If you are on the internet looking up movies or live in any big cities, you are likely familiar with a "For Your Consideration" ad. The one above is a current one, promoting American Hustle, and is somewhere on Sunset Strip in L.A. They are created for one purpose, to draw voters attention to a movie or performance. Generally these ads can be beneficial to someone like Christian Bale, who shocked everyone when he squeaked in for a Best Actor nomination over Tom Hanks and Robert Redford. Most films or performances that are already considered huge contenders, like 12 Years a Slave or Gravity, either opt out of these types of ads or just do them on a smaller scale, unlike American Hustle, where ads are all over the place. They're important to those movies/performances that are just swept under the rug that are just not getting buzzed about because of the "bigger and better" movies/performances that are stealing all the attention. Look around the internet and you will find For Your Consideration ads galore. 

When I thought about how I would set up this blog and looked forward to articles I would write, I always had in mind to do a For Your Consideration article for each of the main categories. I figured it would be fun to discuss a film or performance that really does not have much of a chance at winning, but that truly deserves the attention and some, if I were an Academy member, I would vote for. So, through this next week leading to Oscar Sunday, I will be posting my own For Your Consideration articles. I encourage you to look back and check them out! 

Just for fun, here are some more For Your Consideration ads from current and past Oscar Years: 

My personal favorites were the Meryl Streep and Melissa Leo ones. They hardcore campaigned for Meryl to get that third Oscar for The Iron Lady, and these ads helped people to realize she finally needed one. Melissa Leo notoriously paid for her own ads to be sent out, many people thought it would ruin her chances at winning Best Supporting Actress for the Fighter, but it turns out they helped. (Her ad is the one right above Argo) 

I hope you enjoyed looking at some of these, there are many more to be seen if you search for them. I also hope you look back to see my own Consider articles! Until then!!! 

The Home Stretch

It has been almost a month since I last posted on here. I felt the need to get my thoughts together on what has turned out to be one giant mess of an Oscar year, a good, giant mess. This year is one of those random years where just about anything can happen. Oscar predictors all across the board are frantically trying to figure out all the scenarios for winners come Oscar night; many have switched sides from predicting one movie to another, others are holding on to hope that they are predicting the right movies or performances to win. Some of these predictors are trying to get in the mind of an Academy member by looking to past trends, which is generally reliable, others are predicting what their heart is telling them...but in the end neither really matter. It’s as if everyone forgot that the Academy will do what they want and do not care what critics or other voting groups have chosen as their winners; they may nominate the same films and performances, but when it comes to winners, they do what they want. This has never changed, and it seems odd that so many have forgotten that. Nevertheless, here we are on the heels of The Academy Awards with the BAFTA'S, British Academy Awards, having just announced their shocking winners and it seems like there is nothing we can do now but watch as the pieces fall.

I, of course, have in my mind what I would like to see win, what I think the Academy will do, and what my heart wants. In some categories those three thoughts align, and in others it is completely all over the place, but I think that sums up exactly how the awards race has gone this year. People would like to think that the acting categories are locked up, and that Cate Blanchett, Matthew McConaughey, Lupita Nyong'o, and Jared Leto are bound for Oscar glory, but I refuse to believe that; it is the same for Best Picture:  Gravity vs 12 Years a Slave vs American Hustle, any one of them could win. I do not believe it is as locked as everyone thinks, I firmly believe there will be surprises on Oscar night. I have said that from day one, and I am sticking to it. At this point all you can do is make a good educated guess and unless you predict completely left wing nominees, you would probably come close to predicting the winners just as much as anyone else. I say all this, but the reason I created this blog was to predict and discuss the awards, so excuse the hypocrisy, I get this way towards the end of award season.

As we are almost two weeks away from the Oscars, there was one last chance to make an impact, which was at the BAFTA’S. Final voting ballots for the Oscars were sent out on Valentine’s Day, and BAFTA announced their winners on Sunday. The BAFTA will be fresh in the minds of voters, and you best believe the voters eyes were on these winners. So here is how it went down: 

Best Picture and Director

It has always been 12 Years a Slave vs Gravity vs American Hustle. Both Gravity and 12 Years are British made films, so both of them had wide support here. I thought if Gravity won, it would take Best Picture easily at the Oscars; but it had to settle with Best British Film. 12 Years a Slave came out on top taking Best Picture, but Gravity still has a chance at the Oscar's it just is going to have to fight. The movie in question is American Hustle. The BAFTA'S voting body were the first group, besides only the Academy who followed suit, to nominate the four actors from the film. That means there is obviously some huge love and support for the film. As everyone predicted, Alfonso Cuaron won Best Director. It seems as though, the British voting body, like the rest of the big awards groups, could not pick one film over the other. It is as if nobody can choose a winner, and everyone wants to just make everyone happy. It is like team sports for kids, everyone wins! In some ways it bothers me, because Best Picture and Director should go together. It is rare for there to be a split between those two, and it is never predictable like this seems to be, which makes me think the Academy is going to go all in for Picture and Director for either 12 years or Gravity. 

Best Actor

In my mind, this category is most important to me, for one reason. LEO. I said long before Oscar nominees were announced that if Leo gets nominated he will win the Oscar. This was Leo's chance to finally take Best Actor, but the British actor Chiwetel Ejiofor took it easily while riding the tails of 12 Years a Slave. Matthew McConaughey was shockingly snubbed from the BAFTAS, so Leo really needed this. BUT, and that is a big but, now Chiwetel Ejiofor could be a threat. Matthew will likely win at the Oscars, but my hope will still be with Leo. Leo is campaigning hard, and he really wants it, but Matthew seems to be too far out in front. 

Best Actress 

I really do not think anyone can beat Cate Blanchett, she won here with ease. The only thing that could affect her at this point would be the whole Woody Allen vs Mia Farrow fiasco; people have been ruthlessly speculating if it will crush her chances at winning the Oscar, mainly because the Academy likes to stay away from controversy. The people who have decided that it will crush her have opted for Amy Adams to sweep in at the 11th hour. I am not one of those people, and find it too difficult to choose Amy over Cate. Who I want to win has no hope at this point, because I think Cate may have this wrapped up with a pretty bow. 

Best Supporting Actor 

This category will be interesting as well. Like his leading co-star, Jared Leto was snubbed by the BAFTAS. This category was wide open, and everyone predicted Michael Fassbender would win, because of the love for 12 Years. I thought Bradley Cooper would pull out the shocking win, in the well loved American Hustle. I do not think anyone expected Barkhad Abdi from Captain Phillips to come along and win. It was a cool moment, but I am not sure he stands a chance against Jared Leto. 

Best Supporting Actress 

Lots of people believed that Lupita Nyong'o had this in the bag. I understood why everyone thought that, and part of me believed it to be true. Then the other part of me felt that if the BAFTA really liked American Hustle (and this is my thinking for the Oscars as well), enough to nominate it all across the board , will they really not vote for it to win a major award? That led me to believe that maybe Jennifer Lawrence could win this, even at the Oscars. As it turns out, Jennifer came out on top, crushing Lupita. This could be the same scenario that happens at the Oscars, they loved American Hustle enough to nominate it a lot, they will reward it somewhere, and Jennifer would likely benefit from it.  

Best Adapted and Original Screenplay 

I had no idea how to predict this category within the British voting body. Adapted screenplay went to the British film, Philomena and Original went to American Hustle. Most people are predicting 12 Years a Slave for Adapted and Her for Original at the Oscars, so who knows how this will go down. 

There really has not been any change in the awards race since my last post, as you can see. You may chose to disagree with me and think some categories are locked, but I just can't shake the feeling that there is something going on that we just do not know. I could be wrong, I will admit that. At this point in the awards race the Oscar campaigns are going strong, studios are trying to throw each other’s movies under the bus and create whisper campaigns to get them to notice their movies, and it gets ugly. Who knows where we will end up in two weeks? My hope is what it has been from the beginning, as long as they award worthy winners, I can be happy. The BAFTA's presented us with some new challengers and threw off everybody. It wouldn't be a good Oscar season without some surprises, and you can't say I didn't warn ya!

Look back later for my own "For Your Consideration" pleas, not that they will be heard, for who I want to win at the Oscars!