Who I want to win:

So it is that time of year again, Oscar season is upon us. Let's just hope that the WGA and studios figure something out by the awards ceremony so that it does not suck this year. The nominees were announced this morning and while I have not done any of my usual research on who I am actually putting my money on, here is who I want to win.

Notes:

I wish that either Emily Mortimer or Ryan Gosling got something for Lars and the Real Girl and it is disappointing that it only got one award nod this year. Though, I'll have to check out the Independent Spirit Awards and see if they got anything from them. And I am sure there will be more upsets but I can't think of them all right now.

Performance by an actor in a leading role
George Clooney in “Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros.)

Daniel Day-Lewis in “There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax) -- This will probably be my bet for who will actually win as well.

Johnny Depp in “Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” (DreamWorks and Warner Bros., Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount)

Tommy Lee Jones in “In the Valley of Elah” (Warner Independent)

Viggo Mortensen in “Eastern Promises” (Focus Features)

Performance by an actor in a supporting role
Casey Affleck in “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford” (Warner Bros.) -- This is because he didn't get nominated for "Gone, Baby, Gone" and he is an actor who has finally come into his own

Javier Bardem in “No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount Vantage)

Philip Seymour Hoffman in “Charlie Wilson’s War” (Universal)

Hal Holbrook in “Into the Wild” (Paramount Vantage and River Road Entertainment)

Tom Wilkinson in “Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros.)

Performance by an actress in a leading role
Cate Blanchett in “Elizabeth: The Golden Age” (Universal)

Julie Christie in “Away from Her” (Lionsgate)

Marion Cotillard in “La Vie en Rose” (Picturehouse) -- It is a three-way tie b/c each woman did a phenomenal job (well, I haven't seen LL but it would be a safe bet that she was awesome) but the roles are so different, I don't want to have to choose

Laura Linney in “The Savages” (Fox Searchlight)

Ellen Page in “Juno” (Fox Searchlight)


Performance by an actress in a supporting role
Cate Blanchett in “I’m Not There” (The Weinstein Company) -- As a wonderful actress, playing Bob Dylan is no easy feat and from what I heard she did a great job. I would also rather have her win the supporting role award as well. Though, Amy Ryan was not half bad in "Gone, Baby, Gone" as well.

Ruby Dee in “American Gangster” (Universal)

Saoirse Ronan in “Atonement” (Focus Features)

Amy Ryan in “Gone Baby Gone” (Miramax)

Tilda Swinton in “Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros.)

Best animated feature film of the year
“Persepolis” (Sony Pictures Classics) Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud

“Ratatouille” (Walt Disney) Brad Bird

“Surf's Up” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Ash Brannon and Chris Buck -- This was a really great film that I don't think was given enough credit

Achievement in art direction
“American Gangster” (Universal)Art Direction: Arthur MaxSet Decoration: Beth A. Rubino

“Atonement” (Focus Features)Art Direction: Sarah GreenwoodSet Decoration: Katie Spencer

“The Golden Compass” (New Line in association with Ingenious Film Partners)Art Direction: Dennis GassnerSet Decoration: Anna Pinnock

“Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” (DreamWorks and Warner Bros., Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount)Art Direction: Dante FerrettiSet Decoration: Francesca Lo Schiavo -- The way the blood flowed in the movie was so wonderful. The rest of the film was very typical Tim Burton, which not that there is anything wrong with that, but it was the blood that made it stand out and hopefully the Academy with take notice

“There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax)Art Direction: Jack FiskSet Decoration: Jim Erickson

Achievement in cinematography
“The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford” (Warner Bros.) Roger Deakins

“Atonement” (Focus Features) Seamus McGarvey

“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” (Miramax/Pathé Renn) Janusz Kaminski -- This film seemed to get shut out of a lot of other categories, and it seems that this would be its best bet for a win this year

“No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount Vantage) Roger Deakins

“There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax) Robert Elswit

Achievement in costume design
“Across the Universe” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Albert Wolsky -- I want this one to win, simply because it got shut out of all other categories. Julie Tamor is fabulous and this film did not get the recognition that it deserved.

“Atonement” (Focus Features) Jacqueline Durran

“Elizabeth: The Golden Age” (Universal) Alexandra Byrne

“La Vie en Rose” (Picturehouse) Marit Allen

“Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” (DreamWorks and Warner Bros., Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount) Colleen Atwood

Achievement in directing
“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” (Miramax/Pathé Renn) Julian Schnabel

“Juno” (Fox Searchlight) Jason Reitman-- I know that it won't win, but I do think that it was directed really well. And, in general, Jason Reitman is an awesome director.

“Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros.) Tony Gilroy

“No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount Vantage) Joel Coen and Ethan Coen

“There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax) Paul Thomas Anderson

Best documentary feature -- I have no idea about any of these, in fact the only one that I heard of is "Sicko"

“No End in Sight” (Magnolia Pictures)A Representational Pictures ProductionCharles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs

“Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience” (The Documentary Group)A Documentary Group Production Richard E. Robbins

“Sicko” (Lionsgate and The Weinstein Company)A Dog Eat Dog Films ProductionMichael Moore and Meghan O’Hara

“Taxi to the Dark Side” (THINKFilm)An X-Ray ProductionAlex Gibney and Eva Orner

“War/Dance” (THINKFilm)A Shine Global and Fine Films ProductionAndrea Nix Fine and Sean Fine

Best documentary short subject -- Again, I have no clue of what I want to win/will win
“Freeheld”A Lieutenant Films ProductionCynthia Wade and Vanessa Roth

“La Corona (The Crown)”A Runaway Films and Vega Films ProductionAmanda Micheli and Isabel Vega

“Salim Baba”A Ropa Vieja Films and Paradox Smoke ProductionTim Sternberg and Francisco Bello

“Sari’s Mother” (Cinema Guild)A Daylight Factory ProductionJames Longley

Achievement in film editing
“The Bourne Ultimatum” (Universal) Christopher Rouse -- This was a good film with lots of chase scenes that do require a lot of editing to make it all flow well

“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” (Miramax/Pathé Renn) Juliette Welfling

"Into the Wild” (Paramount Vantage and River Road Entertainment) Jay Cassidy

“No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount Vantage) Roderick Jaynes

“There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax) Dylan Tichenor

Best foreign language film of the year -- I am not going to pick, because there isn't any one that I want this year, especially with all the controversy about those films that got shut out of the category
“Beaufort” A Metro Communications, Movie Plus ProductionIsrael

“The Counterfeiters” An Aichholzer Filmproduktion, Magnolia Filmproduktion ProductionAustria

“Katyń” An Akson Studio Production Poland

“Mongol” A Eurasia Film ProductionKazakhstan

“12” A Three T ProductionRussia

Achievement in makeup
“La Vie en Rose” (Picturehouse) Didier Lavergne and Jan Archibald -- By far this film should win. The way they made Marion look like Edith was just amazing and how old she looked at the end despite her actual age.

“Norbit” (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount) Rick Baker and Kazuhiro Tsuji

“Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” (Walt Disney) Ve Neill and Martin Samuel

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)
“Atonement” (Focus Features) Dario Marianelli

"The Kite Runner” (DreamWorks, Sidney Kimmel Entertainment and Participant Productions, Distributed by Paramount Classics) Alberto Iglesias -- simply because I want it to

“Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros.) James Newton Howard

“Ratatouille” (Walt Disney) Michael Giacchino

“3:10 to Yuma” (Lionsgate) Marco Beltrami

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)
“Falling Slowly” from “Once”(Fox Searchlight)Music and Lyric by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova -- this is the most beautifully written songs that I have heard in a long time and when I see it performed it gives me goose bumps.
Plus I really do hate that "Enchanted" has 3 songs in the category, even though I loved the movie and Alan Menken is awesome ... give me a break and other songs a chance. Where is Eddie Vedder?

“Happy Working Song” from “Enchanted”(Walt Disney) Music by Alan MenkenLyric by Stephen Schwartz

“Raise It Up” from “August Rush”(Warner Bros.)Nominees to be determined

“So Close” from “Enchanted”(Walt Disney)Music by Alan MenkenLyric by Stephen Schwartz

“That’s How You Know” from “Enchanted”(Walt Disney)Music by Alan MenkenLyric by Stephen Schwartz

Best motion picture of the year

“Atonement” (Focus Features) A Working Title Production Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner and Paul Webster, Producers

“Juno” (Fox Searchlight)A Dancing Elk Pictures, LLC ProductionLianne Halfon, Mason Novick and Russell Smith, Producers -- Alright, I do want this to win, but that is also because I haven't seen any of the others. Maybe, "No Country..." merely because I heard it was awesome. But this year will be an interesting year for best film

“Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros.)A Clayton Productions, LLC ProductionSydney Pollack, Jennifer Fox and Kerry Orent, Producers

“No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount Vantage)A Scott Rudin/Mike Zoss ProductionScott Rudin, Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, Producers

“There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax)A JoAnne Sellar/Ghoulardi Film Company ProductionJoAnne Sellar, Paul Thomas Anderson and Daniel Lupi, Producers

Best animated short film -- No idea
“I Met the Walrus” A Kids & Explosions Production Josh Raskin “Madame Tutli-Putli” (National Film Board of Canada)A National Film Board of Canada ProductionChris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski

“Même Les Pigeons Vont au Paradis (Even Pigeons Go to Heaven)” (Premium Films)A BUF Compagnie ProductionSamuel Tourneux and Simon Vanesse -- Because it has pigeons in the title

“My Love (Moya Lyubov)” (Channel One Russia)A Dago-Film Studio, Channel One Russia and Dentsu Tec ProductionAlexander Petrov

“Peter & the Wolf” (BreakThru Films)A BreakThru Films/Se-ma-for Studios ProductionSuzie Templeton and Hugh Welchman

Best live action short film -- No clue
“At Night”A Zentropa Entertainments 10 ProductionChristian E. Christiansen and Louise Vesth

“Il Supplente (The Substitute)” (Sky Cinema Italia)A Frame by Frame Italia ProductionAndrea Jublin

“Le Mozart des Pickpockets (The Mozart of Pickpockets)” (Premium Films)A Karé Production Philippe Pollet-Villard

“Tanghi Argentini” (Premium Films)An Another Dimension of an Idea ProductionGuido Thys and Anja Daelemans

“The Tonto Woman” A Knucklehead, Little Mo and Rose Hackney Barber ProductionDaniel Barber and Matthew Brown

Achievement in sound editing
“The Bourne Ultimatum” (Universal)Karen Baker Landers and Per Hallberg

“No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount Vantage)Skip Lievsay

“Ratatouille” (Walt Disney) Randy Thom and Michael Silvers “There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax)Matthew Wood

"Transformers” (DreamWorks and Paramount in association with Hasbro)Ethan Van der Ryn and Mike Hopkins -- This would be a good award for the movie. Or maybe sound mixing, either one I would be happy with

Achievement in sound mixing -- See above
“The Bourne Ultimatum” (Universal)Scott Millan, David Parker and Kirk Francis

“No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount Vantage)Skip Lievsay, Craig Berkey, Greg Orloff and Peter Kurland

“Ratatouille” (Walt Disney)Randy Thom, Michael Semanick and Doc Kane

“3:10 to Yuma” (Lionsgate)Paul Massey, David Giammarco and Jim Stuebe

“Transformers” (DreamWorks and Paramount in association with Hasbro) Kevin O’Connell, Greg P. Russell and Peter J. Devlin

Achievement in visual effects
“The Golden Compass” (New Line in association with Ingenious Film Partners)Michael Fink, Bill Westenhofer, Ben Morris and Trevor Wood -- It seems so passé to have Pirates win and Transformers ... eh

“Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” (Walt Disney)John Knoll, Hal Hickel, Charles Gibson and John Frazier

“Transformers” (DreamWorks and Paramount in association with Hasbro)Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Russell Earl and John Frazier

Adapted screenplay
"Atonement” (Focus Features)Screenplay by Christopher Hampton

“Away from Her” (Lionsgate)Written by Sarah Polley

“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” (Miramax/Pathé Renn)Screenplay by Ronald Harwood

“No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount Vantage)Written for the screen by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen -- I heard that the book was great ... though maybe since Sarah Polley got shut out of best director, this should be her consolation prize

“There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax)Written for the screen by Paul Thomas Anderson

Original screenplay
“Juno” (Fox Searchlight)Written by Diablo Cody -- In reality, this is the only award that the movie is probably going to get this year. But it is also probably the one that it is most deserving of.

"Lars and the Real Girl” (MGM) Written by Nancy Oliver

“Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros.)Written by Tony Gilroy

"Ratatouille” (Walt Disney)Screenplay by Brad BirdStory by Jan Pinkava, Jim Capobianco, Brad Bird

“The Savages” (Fox Searchlight) Written by Tamara Jenkins