MY FINAL OSCAR PREDICTIONS!

"The time has come," the Walrus said,
"To talk of many things:
Of shoes, and ships, and sealing-wax
Of cabbages and kings...." 

 - Lewis Carroll, excerpt from The Walrus and the Carpenter 

It is hard to believe that we are finally at this point. In a few hours we will finally know what will go down in history. The only thing is, will it be thought of well and worthy when we look back at this year? It truly has been a crazy awards season, most of which is still up in the air, and no one knows where it will land. It has been a long time since there was a race this close to call. I have never sat through an Oscar ceremony where I didn't know who/what is going to win, so I have a feeling I will just be on the edge of my seat the whole time. The good thing about all of this is I do not think there is an unworthy film or performance in the bunch, so to me, whatever films or performances win, I will likely be okay. 

I hope tomorrow I can bask in the glory of a Gravity win and a Leonardo upset. I truly do. I know that 12 Years a Slave is our likely Best Picture winner, I get it, and accept it, and can live with it; but I decided to go down with Gravity's sinking ship and Leo's too. If I am wrong I am wrong, but that is what my heart wants. I guess it is what it is. There is no turning back from here, so we might as well just strap ourselves in for a little three hour ride. I do not think we can go wrong though with Ellen as our host, I mean if all else fails, at least we still have Ellen to put a smile on our faces! Anyways here are my final and full Oscar Predictions: 

Best Picture: Gravity 

Likely winner 12 Years a Slave 

Best Director: Alfonso Cuaron, Gravity 

Best Actor: Leonardo DiCaprio, The Wolf of Wall Street 

Likely winner Matthew McConaughey 

Best Actress: Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine

Best Supporting Actor: Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club 

Best Supporting Actress: Lupita Nyong'o, 12 Years a Slave 

I'm really conflicted, because I think Jennifer Lawrence may upset here. 

Best Original Screenplay: Her 

Also conflicted, because David O. Russell could win here for American Hustle 

Best Adapted Screenplay: 12 Years a Slave 

Best Animated Feature: Frozen

Best Animated Short: Get a Horse

Best Foreign Language Film: The Great Beauty 

Best Production Design: The Great Gatsby 

Best Costume Design: The Great Gatsby 

Best Sound Mixing: Gravity

Best Sound Editing: Gravity

Best Film Editing: Gravity 

I feel like Captain Phillips could upset here in the film and sound editing categories 

Best Cinematography: Gravity 

Best Visual Effects: Gravity 

Best Original Score: Gravity

Best Song: Let it Go, Frozen 

Best Documentary Feature: 20 Feet from Stardom 

Best Documentary Short: The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life 

Best Live Action Short: Helium 

Best Makeup: Dallas Buyers Club 

There ya have it folks! I have no idea how well this will go, but I have a feeling we will be in for some serious upsets. I hope you all enjoy the Oscars! Don't miss it!!!! 

For Your Consideration: American Hustle and David O. Russell, Best Picture & Director

I know the For Your Consideration articles are suppose to be for films that have been left out of the discussions, but I chose American Hustle for Best Picture only to highlight David O. Russell. As I have said before, I firmly believe that Best Picture and Director should go hand in hand, which is why I am doing American Hustle and David O. Russell together; it seems only right. I am not going to say that American Hustle is a perfect film, but it surely is a great one! I think it pales in comparison to both 12 Years a Slave and Gravity, but American Hustle is still worthy for Best Picture, just in different ways. That being said, it also means David O. Russell is just as worthy. I believe either Gravity or 12 Years a Slave will be winning Best Picture, but there is still a chance for an upset and a split. In terms of Best Director, no one is taking down Alfonso Cuaron....which is why I am here getting you to take one last look at David O. Russell and his film American Hustle. 

                     

First, let's talk about American Hustle for Best Picture. Best Picture has and always will be subjective, it is always an in the moment choice. A lot of times the choice is based on making a political statement (12 Years a Slave), some are completely effects driven (Gravity), or for pure enjoyment (American Hustle).  From those three points come Best Picture nominees and winners. You can't sit and watch American Hustle and not be entertained. The movie makes you laugh, smile, get anxious, and even may surprise you. To me, that makes for a good movie. What makes it great is the acting and the visuals, and I guess you can include the screenplay. I think American Hustle has everything needed to be an Oscar Best Picture winner, but when it is up against two movies of "importance" it falls because it is only an enjoyment film. I have seen American Hustle twice, and have found it to be great both times. The movie makes you think, and the whole time you are trying to figure out who is conning whom, I loved that. I still believe we could see American Hustle upset 12 Years or Gravity, anything is possible. It is a well loved movie, and that could very well translate into Best Picture. We shall see in a few hours!!

Now let's talk about why I chose American Hustle, and that is simply to discuss David O. Russell. David generally writes his movies, which is a skill I am always impressed by with directors; to me it adds to their brilliance. This is Russell's third Best Picture and Director nomination in a row, and second Screenplay nomination: The Fighter, Silver Linings Playbook, and now American Hustle. It is very rare for directors to have three consecutive picture and director nomination. Even rarer is for a director to get actors nominated in all four categories, which he did twice consecutively. To me, that is just amazing. He is an actor’s director, and everyone in Hollywood wants to work with him.  He knows how to create a character on paper and how to let it go for his actors to bring that character to life. He has now achieved the overdue directing and writing status, where people just want him to have an Oscar already. He makes magic. I just wish we could see him up on stage some day, if not tonight! 

I have yet to come across a David O. Russell film I haven't liked. I just enjoy what he does and how he does it. There is no director like him. Unfortunately, the reality is we probably won't be seeing American Hustle win Best Picture or Director, those awards are going to even more worthy films. There is a chance David could win Original Screenplay, but that may go to Her. One day David O. Russell will strike gold, but his three brilliant past efforts will not go unnoticed and will only add to the fact that he is overdue.