Oscar season is upon us and I love it! I don’t think I have missed an Oscar presentation in over 50 years! I was watching when a man streaked across the stage behind David Niven. I saw Charlie Chaplin get his honorary Oscar and a 15 minute standing ovation. I got to see Sidney Poitier and Halle Berry make history. I even watched as Jack Palance (who was in his 70’s) did one armed push-ups on stage. I wonder what memorable event will happen this year? The most fun is in forecasting who will win, and then watching and adding up your winning predictions. So here they are – the people I think will win that coveted statue.
BEST ACTOR: This will go to Gary Oldman, who gave an impressive tour-de-force as Winston Churchill in “The Finest Hour”.
BEST ACTRESS: I am certain that Francis McDormand will earn an Oscar as the heart-wrenching mother of “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Sam Rockwell gave a compelling performance as a racist police officer who gets a little redemption in “Three Billboards”.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: This was really hard to predict but I think it will be Allison Janney as the cruel mother in “I,Tonya”.
BEST MOVIE: I have been vacillating between two movies, not quite sure who Hollywood is going to go with. Well, I guess I will go with …………”The Shape of Water”. I mean, who can argue with a woman who falls in love with a merman?
BEST DIRECTOR: Guillermo del Toro
These are my main picks, but I will throw in a few bonus prognostications just for the fun of it —
ANIMATED MOVIE: “Loving Vincent”
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: “Mudbound”
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: “Three Billboards”
ORIGINAL SCORE: Hans Zimmer for “Dunkirk”
ORIGINAL SONG: This is the only one I am going out on my own on. I have no idea what the members of the Academy will do, but I vote for “Remember Me” from “Coco”. I just really liked that song.
I would really love to hear what you think. Leave a comment with your choices, grab some popcorn and watch with me on March 4!
What was theother movie you we’re thinking about for Best Picture?
Well, the was a lot of Oscar buzz about “Three Billboards Outside of Ebbings, Missouri” earlier in the year. I thought the academy might prefer “The Shape of Water” because it was so creative. Last year I thought “LaLaLand” was a shoe in and the Academy surprised me with “Midnight”. So I am not confident with this call. I enjoyed both movies though. They each had something to offer.