Alright — I’ve thought and thought, analyzed and meditated.  Here are the list of 2013 Academy Awards nominations — with my predictions for winners in BOLD RED.  Comment below and let me know how you feel!  Join the conversation during the Oscars this Sunday night on @HR_Show on twitter (with the hash tag #hrsoscars), or find us on facebook!

BEST PICTURE

 

Argo — It’s a rising tide!  I think the best thing that happened to Ben Affleck was being snubbed by the Academy in the Directing category.  The film has gone on to win so many awards.  I picked it to be in the thick of it by now when I first saw it, and I’m standing by it.  Best Picture Oscar for Affleck and Clooney.

 

 

Amour

Beasts of the Southern Wild

Django Unchained

Les Misérables

Life of Pi

Lincoln

Silver Linings Playbook

Zero Dark Thirty

Actor in a Leading Role

 

Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln — Since the moment they released promotional photos of his portrayal of Lincoln, Daniel Day-Lewis has been the talk of Hollywood.  After seeing the performance, there was little doubt left that he would go home with the statuette.  Day-Lewis wins Oscar’s Best Actor award.

 

 

 

Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook

Hugh Jackman, Les Misérables

Joaquin Phoenix, The Master

Denzel Washington, Flight

Actor in a Supporting Role

Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln — Three major movies in 2012 featured Tommy Lee Jones.  We saw his blockbuster side as Agent K in Men in Black 3, the frustrated and confused husband opposite Meryl Streep in Hope Springs, and as the historic Congressman Thaddeus Stevens in Lincoln.  Academy voters love to see an actor show his range and Jones certainly did that in 2012.  He will go home with Oscar!

Alan Arkin, Argo

Robert De Niro, Silver Linings Playbook

Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Master

Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained

Actress in a Leading Role

Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook — Jennifer Lawrence was also on the big screen multiple times this year, most notably for the launch of The Hunger Games franchise followed by her critical turn in Silver linings Playbook.  Second year in a role nominated for Best Actress (2011 for Winter’s Bone) and this year she will win!

 

 

 

Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty

Emmanuelle Riva, Amour

Quvenzhané Wallis, Beasts of the Southern Wild

Naomi Watts, The Impossible

Actress in a Supporting Role

Anne Hathaway, Les Misérables — I can’t imagine there’s any way on Earth Anne Hathaway doesn’t win.  It’s the biggest safe bet since… ever.  In the event she doesn’t I’d hope for Helen Hunt to take it.

 

 

 

 

Amy Adams, The Master

Sally Field, Lincoln

Helen Hunt, The Sessions

Jacki Weaver, Silver Linings Playbook

Animated Feature Film

Frankenweenie — I loved this film and it’s homage to fun Hollywood horror films of old.  Even though Brave has won Best Animated Film from the BAFTA Awards and the Golden Globes, and despite the fact that many critics and prognosticators are calling Wreck-It Ralph the winner, I’m going Frankenweenie for the win!

 

 

 

Brave

ParaNorman

The Pirates! Band of Misfits

Wreck-It Ralph

CINEMATOGRAPHY

Skyfall, Roger Deakins

Anna Karenina, Seamus McGarvey

Django Unchained, Robert Richardson

Life of Pi, Claudio Miranda

Lincoln, Janusz Kaminski

COSTUME DESIGN

Lincoln, Joanna Johnston

Anna Karenina, Jacqueline Durran

Les Misérables, Paco Delgado

Mirror Mirror, Eiko Ishioka

Snow White and the Huntsman, Colleen Atwood

DIRECTING

 

Life of Pi, Ang Lee — There is an argument for almost everyone in this category.  It really was a stellar year for directing… despite the fact that Ben Affleck isn’t nominated.  Many feel it will go to Spielberg.  I have a special place in my heart for Amour’s Haneke — beautifully directed.  And how in the world did Zeitlin pull that big performance out of a four-year-old girl!?  And Russell’s Silver Linings Playbook just did practically everything right.  But I have to go with Ang Lee.  When you stop and think about the directing and how much of it was directing actors to play off of NOTHING.  So much of this film is CG and yet, the heart of the film remains.  Bravo to Ang Lee.

 

Amour, Michael Haneke

Beasts of the Southern Wild, Benh Zeitlin

Lincoln, Steven Spielberg

Silver Linings Playbook, David O. Russell

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

5 Broken Cameras, Emad Burnat and Guy Davidi

The Gatekeepers, Dror Moreh, Philippa Kowarsky and Estelle Fialon

How to Survive a Plague, David France and Howard Gertler

The Invisible War, Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering

Searching for Sugar Man, Malik Bendjelloul and Simon Chinn

Documentary Short Subject

Open Heart, Kief Davidson and Cori Shepherd Stern

Inocente, Sean Fine and Andrea Nix Fine

Kings Point, Sari Gilman and Jedd Wider

Mondays at Racine, Cynthia Wade and Robin Honan

Redemption, Jon Alpert and Matthew O’Neill

FILM EDITING

Zero Dark Thirty, Dylan Tichenor and William Goldenberg

Argo, William Goldenberg

Life of Pi, Tim Squyres

Lincoln, Michael Kahn

Silver Linings Playbook, Jay Cassidy and Crispin Struthers

Foreign Language Film

Amour, Austria — I loved this film.  It has won Best Foreign Film at the BAFTAs, Critics’ Choice, the Golden Globes, and the NY Film Critics Circle plus the Palme d’Or at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival.  So deserved.  If it doesn’t win Best Picture (second for me only to Argo) it must win Foreign Language Film.

 

 

 

Kon-Tiki, Norway

No, Chile

A Royal Affair, Denmark

War Witch, Canada

MAKEUP and hairstyling

Les Misérables, Lisa Westcott and Julie Dartnell — The attention to detail was exceptional.

Hitchcock, Howard Berger, Peter Montagna and Martin Samuel

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Peter Swords King, Rick Findlater and Tami Lane

Music (Original Score)

Lincoln, John Williams

Anna Karenina, Dario Marianelli

Argo, Alexandre Desplat

Life of Pi, Mychael Danna

Skyfall, Thomas Newman

Music (Original Song)

Skyfall, Skyfall, Music and Lyric by Adele Adkins and Paul Epworth

Before My Time, Chasing Ice, Music and Lyric by J. Ralph

Everybody Needs A Best Friend, Ted, Music by Walter Murphy, Lyric by Seth MacFarlane

Pi’s Lullaby, Life of Pi, Music by Mychael Danna, Lyric by Bombay Jayashri

Suddenly, Les Misérables, Music by Claude-Michel Schönberg, Lyric by Herbert Kretzmer and Alain Boublil

Production Design

Lincoln, Production Design: Rick Carter, Set Decoration: Jim Erickson

Anna Karenina, Production Design: Sarah Greenwood, Set Decoration: Katie Spencer

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Production Design: Dan Hennah, Set Decoration: Ra Vincent and Simon Bright

Les Misérables, Production Design: Eve Stewart, Set Decoration: Anna Lynch-Robinson

Life of Pi, Production Design: David Gropman, Set Decoration: Anna Pinnock

Short Film (Animated)

Paperman, John Kahrs

Adam and Dog, Minkyu Lee

Fresh Guacamole, PES

Head over Heels, Timothy Reckart and Fodhla Cronin O’Reilly

Maggie Simpson in “The Longest Daycare”, David Silverman

Short Film (Live Action)

Curfew, Shawn Christensen

Asad, Bryan Buckley and Mino Jarjoura

Buzkashi Boys, Sam French and Ariel Nasr

Death of a Shadow (Dood van een Schaduw), Tom Van Avermaet and Ellen De Waele

Henry, Yan England

SOUND EDITING

Zero Dark Thirty, Paul N.J. Ottosson

Argo, Erik Aadahl and Ethan Van der Ryn

Django Unchained, Wylie Stateman

Life of Pi, Eugene Gearty and Philip Stockton

Skyfall, Per Hallberg and Karen Baker Landers

SOUND MIXING

Les Misérables, Andy Nelson, Mark Paterson and Simon Hayes

Argo, John Reitz, Gregg Rudloff and Jose Antonio Garcia

Life of Pi, Ron Bartlett, D.M. Hemphill and Drew Kunin

Lincoln, Andy Nelson, Gary Rydstrom and Ronald Judkins

Skyfall, Scott Millan, Greg P. Russell and Stuart Wilson

VISUAL EFFECTS

Life of Pi, Bill Westenhofer, Guillaume Rocheron, Erik-Jan De Boer and Donald R. Elliott

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton and R. Christopher White

Marvel’s The Avengers, Janek Sirrs, Jeff White, Guy Williams and Dan Sudick

Prometheus, Richard Stammers, Trevor Wood, Charley Henley and Martin Hill

Snow White and the Huntsman, Cedric Nicolas-Troyan, Philip Brennan, Neil Corbould and Michael Dawson

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

Lincoln, Screenplay by Tony Kushner — Another hard category to call, with each of them having their own merits!  I honestly would be happy for any of these to win.  But I have to pick one and that one will be Lincoln.  With a screenplay adapted from Doris Kearns Goodwin’s biography “Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln,” Lincoln brought the battle of equal rights to life and the dialogue was the freshest and most natural I’ve seen on film from that period.

Argo, Screenplay by Chris Terrio

Beasts of the Southern Wild, Screenplay by Lucy Alibar & Benh Zeitlin

Life of Pi, Screenplay by David Magee

Silver Linings Playbook, Screenplay by David O. Russell

Writing (Original Screenplay)

Django Unchained, Written by Quentin Tarantino — This screenplay is just brilliant and thought-provoking. 

 

 

 

 

Amour, Written by Michael Haneke

Flight, Written by John Gatins

Moonrise Kingdom, Written by Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola

Zero Dark Thirty, Written by Mark Boal

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I love watching people win, and give speeches that move me to think that dreams come true for those who pursue them.  And frankly, every film that moves you is a winner in my book.  Good luck to all the nominees.

Follow the Oscars along with me on twitter and facebook! Find The Hampton Roads Show on facebook and @HR_Show on twitter with the hash tag #hrsoscars.  I will be commenting along the way and would love to have you join the conversation!

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