The Artist and Hugo tied for the most wins but most people will give the edge to The Artist because it won Best Picture. The biggest losers were War Horse and Moneyball which had six nominations each but brought home zero wins. The Moneyball losses bother me the most. It was one of my absolute favorites for the year.
There were a few surprises for the night, which is always nice. Meryl Streep's win was startling, if for no other reason than we've come to expect that she'll be nominated almost every year and then lose. I saw a fair number of people coming down on her for false modesty in her speech. Have we become so cynical that's impossible to believe that someone can be genuinely moved to win? Just because she's famous and nominated repeatedly doesn't mean she can't appreciate the moment. There are a lot of huge egos in Hollywood but most of the time you'll find that the most talented and hardest working people are the most modest. Don't shit on her moment. She's earned it.
The other big surprises were in technical categories, so the average person probably didn't even notice. The editing win for The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo left me gobsmacked. I had just bored my wife to tears with my dissertation on why Moneyball deserved it but wouldn't win, and why Thelma Schoonmaker was a legend but wouldn't win and why The Artist would win, and then the one I neither mentioned or even seriously considered got the win. She laughed long and hard as I sat there with my jaw hanging open. And then there was the win by Hugo for visual effects, which I picked but still have trouble believing won. Make no mistake, the VFX work in Hugo is magnificent, but it is mostly the sort that is so seamless, you might not have realized you were looking at effects. Compared to the flashy effects of the competition, Hugo might have seemed a serious underdog. But the Academy often gives the award to the movie that best integrates its effects into the story. Considering that, it's not such a huge shock.
As for the show itself, it was fine. The Cirque de Soleil thing was cool and weird, so that was appreciated. Billy Crystal was just fine, but thoroughly safe. Chris Rock's brief moment on stage had me hoping he'd come back to host, Sean Penn be damned. Will Ferrell and Zach Galifinakis had a nice little bit with the cymbals. Angelina Jolie made me giggle when she struck a pose and then the writers of The Descendants made me laugh more when they struck a pose. Emma Stone looked stoned but was funnier than just about anyone. The focus group film with Christopher Guest and his band of comedians was great. The show was a big improvement over last year's debacle but very safe. I'd really love to see them take more risks and try to be more about film and less of a stage show.
I picked the winner correctly 17 out of 24 categories. Not bad, but far from my best effort. Below are all the categories with my predictions and the winners.
Best Picture
Who Will/Did Win: The Artist
Lead Actor
Who Will/Did Win: Jean Dujardin
Lead Actress
Who Will Win: Viola Davis - The Help Who Did Win: Meryl Streep – The Iron Lady
Supporting Actor
Who Will/Did Win: Christopher Plummer -Beginners
Supporting Actress
Who Will/Did Win: Octavia Spencer - The Help
Animated Feature Film
Who Will/Did Win: Rango
Art Direction
Who Will/Did Win: Hugo
Cinematography
Who Will/Did Win: Hugo
Costume Design
Who Will Win: Hugo Who Did Win: The Artist
Director
Who Will/Did Win: Michel Hazanavicius - The Artist
Documentary Feature
Who Will Win: Pina Who Did Win: Undefeated
Documentary Short
Who Will/Did Win: Saving Face
Editing
Who Will Win: The Artist Who Did Win: The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
Foreign Language Film
Who Will/Did Win: A Separation
Makeup
Who Will Win: Harry Potter 8 Who Did Win: The Iron Lady
Original Score
Who Will/Did Win: The Artist
Original Song
Who Will/Did Win: Man or Muppet from The Muppets
Short Film - Animated
Who Will/Did Win: The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore
Short Film - Live Action
Who Will Win: Raju Who Did Win: The Shore
Sound Editing
Who Will/Did Win: Hugo
Sound Mixing
Who Will/Did Win: Hugo
Visual Effects
Who Will/Did Win: Hugo
Adapted Screenplay
Who Will/Did Win: The Descendants
Original Screenplay
Who Will Win: The Artist Who Did Win: Midnight in Paris
84th Oscars Recap
The Artist and Hugo tied for the most wins but most people will give the edge to The Artist because it won Best Picture. The biggest losers were War Horse and Moneyball which had six nominations each but brought home zero wins. The Moneyball losses bother me the most. It was one of my absolute favorites for the year.
There were a few surprises for the night, which is always nice. Meryl Streep's win was startling, if for no other reason than we've come to expect that she'll be nominated almost every year and then lose. I saw a fair number of people coming down on her for false modesty in her speech. Have we become so cynical that's impossible to believe that someone can be genuinely moved to win? Just because she's famous and nominated repeatedly doesn't mean she can't appreciate the moment. There are a lot of huge egos in Hollywood but most of the time you'll find that the most talented and hardest working people are the most modest. Don't shit on her moment. She's earned it.
The other big surprises were in technical categories, so the average person probably didn't even notice. The editing win for The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo left me gobsmacked. I had just bored my wife to tears with my dissertation on why Moneyball deserved it but wouldn't win, and why Thelma Schoonmaker was a legend but wouldn't win and why The Artist would win, and then the one I neither mentioned or even seriously considered got the win. She laughed long and hard as I sat there with my jaw hanging open. And then there was the win by Hugo for visual effects, which I picked but still have trouble believing won. Make no mistake, the VFX work in Hugo is magnificent, but it is mostly the sort that is so seamless, you might not have realized you were looking at effects. Compared to the flashy effects of the competition, Hugo might have seemed a serious underdog. But the Academy often gives the award to the movie that best integrates its effects into the story. Considering that, it's not such a huge shock.
As for the show itself, it was fine. The Cirque de Soleil thing was cool and weird, so that was appreciated. Billy Crystal was just fine, but thoroughly safe. Chris Rock's brief moment on stage had me hoping he'd come back to host, Sean Penn be damned. Will Ferrell and Zach Galifinakis had a nice little bit with the cymbals. Angelina Jolie made me giggle when she struck a pose and then the writers of The Descendants made me laugh more when they struck a pose. Emma Stone looked stoned but was funnier than just about anyone. The focus group film with Christopher Guest and his band of comedians was great. The show was a big improvement over last year's debacle but very safe. I'd really love to see them take more risks and try to be more about film and less of a stage show.
I picked the winner correctly 17 out of 24 categories. Not bad, but far from my best effort. Below are all the categories with my predictions and the winners.
Best Picture
Who Will/Did Win: The Artist
Lead Actor
Who Will/Did Win: Jean Dujardin
Lead Actress
Who Will Win: Viola Davis - The Help Who Did Win: Meryl Streep – The Iron Lady
Supporting Actor
Who Will/Did Win: Christopher Plummer -Beginners
Supporting Actress
Who Will/Did Win: Octavia Spencer - The Help
Animated Feature Film
Who Will/Did Win: Rango
Art Direction
Who Will/Did Win: Hugo
Cinematography
Who Will/Did Win: Hugo
Costume Design
Who Will Win: Hugo Who Did Win: The Artist
Director
Who Will/Did Win: Michel Hazanavicius - The Artist
Documentary Feature
Who Will Win: Pina Who Did Win: Undefeated
Documentary Short
Who Will/Did Win: Saving Face
Editing
Who Will Win: The Artist Who Did Win: The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
Foreign Language Film
Who Will/Did Win: A Separation
Makeup
Who Will Win: Harry Potter 8 Who Did Win: The Iron Lady
Original Score
Who Will/Did Win: The Artist
Original Song
Who Will/Did Win: Man or Muppet from The Muppets
Short Film - Animated
Who Will/Did Win: The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore
Short Film - Live Action
Who Will Win: Raju Who Did Win: The Shore
Sound Editing
Who Will/Did Win: Hugo
Sound Mixing
Who Will/Did Win: Hugo
Visual Effects
Who Will/Did Win: Hugo
Adapted Screenplay
Who Will/Did Win: The Descendants
Original Screenplay
Who Will Win: The Artist Who Did Win: Midnight in Paris