Best Male Actor in a Leading Role: Forest Whitaker, The Last Kind of Scotland (Alternate: Peter O'Toole, Venus)Best Female Actor in a Leading Role: Helen Mirren, The Queen (Alternate: Alternate: Meryl Streep, The Devil Wears Prada)
Best Male Actor in a Supporting Role: Alan Arkin, Little Miss Sunshine (Alternate: Eddie Murphy, Dreamgirls)
Best Female Actor in a Supporting Role: Jennifer Hudson, Dreamgirls (Alternate: Abigail Breslin, Little Miss Sunshine)
Best Ensemble Cast: Little Miss Sunshine (Alternate: The Departed)
Fairly standard selections here, but I'm not really "feeling" anything else. The only big change from my prior predictions is Alan Arkin for Supporting Actor, and even that's conventional by most standards. I figure that Forest Whitaker repeats Philip Seymour Hoffman's hat trick; sure Peter O'Toole is a real threat, but I figure if there was so much support, he would have won at least a critics' prize or something by this point. Even Jack Palance won a Golden Globe for City Slickers before getting a "career Oscar". Whitaker is, after all, playing a real-life personality in a showy performance - in today's awards norms, that's a big help (also see last year's and this year's Best Actress winner and winner-to-be.) I realize that O'Toole is playing a struggling actor, which obviously caters to SAG's voting demographic, but I'm thinking everyone stays safe this year. I don't think I need to say anything about my Helen Mirren prediction, while Jennifer Hudson looks likely to follow in the aforementioned actors' footsteps - Breslin will get an Actor when her film wins the Best Ensemble prize. Eddie Murphy could win for his memorable work in Dreamgirls, but he didn't have to compete against Alan Arkin at the Globes. And finally, Little Miss Sunshine takes home the ensemble trophy/ies in the tradition of Sideways and The Full Monty.
Post Ceremony Thoughts:
- 4/5; I guess Eddie Murphy's our front-runner after all.
- Anne Hathaway is an impeccable public speaker and knows how to work a crowd; just recall how she was able to deal with the unexpected standing ovation in the middle of her presentation. Very classy handling.
- I'm not for winners reading their speeches off a sheet of paper, but I'm hoping that Forest Whitaker does so for Oscar night (he's so adorable, but he needs structure to keep him organized. As well, it's so startling to see how soft-spoken and painfully shy he is in real life compared to the very scary and loud Idi Amin on-screen.) And yes, Whitaker will be winning the Oscar - if O'Toole isn't even showing up to these things, it's not looking good (not a criticism; I know he is in poor health and cannot easily travel, but it's the way this awards stuff works.)
- I don't know why Rachel McAdams continues to pink-streak her hair, it just looks plain silly and childish. Like she got bubble gum stuck in it.
- Helen Mirren = vast, vast, vast improvement. Vast. If she works in more anecdotes like the tweed costumes, I'll be happy.
- I found it so funny how none of the Best Actress nominees showed up besides Mirren (I know that Streep had a valid excuse - what about the others?) It's like all of them knew that there was no point.
- Abigail Breslin is so cute, but that outfit was so blaaaah. I'm not expecting a ball gown dress on her (a Dakota Fanning clone in other words), but it was just really drab.
- Greg Kinnear is great in front of the microphone.
- I loved Chandra Wilson's speech (well, specifically the end of it.)
- I should provide mention fashion commentary after mentioning Breslin; I think all the Grey's Anatomy girls looked smashing tonight (with the exception of Kate Walsh's yellow-dyed bed sheet monstrosity, and Ellen Pompeo's weirdness, because while I like the dress, I'm not sure I like it on her specifically; Walsh's hair/makeup solid tho.)
- Helen Mirren looked great, a big improvement from the Globes (maybe she's building up to the Oscars, improving her ensemble and speech with each successive awards show? Let's hope so...)
- Other faves: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Vera Farmiga, Jada Pinkett Smith, Michael C. Hall, Anne Hathaway, Mark Wahlberg, Rinko Kikuchi (how glam rock-ish) and Jennifer Hudson (if only for that generous cleavage display.)
- Ehhh: Cate Blanchett, Mirren (in terms of her makeup - too painted), and Kyra Sedgwick/Mary Lynn Rajskub (cute, but lose that poodle hair!)
- Not hot at all on: Eva Longoria, Demi Moore, Rachel McAdams (I know I already mentioned her, but it's just so freaking hideous), and Jeremy Irons (a mess, actually.) And please eat something Heather Graham!
- Oh yeah, and- *snooooooooooooooooore*
7 comments:
Well, it seems that Penelope was at the Goyas... at least according to the BBC... guess she thought she'd have more luck there.
Ah, I see; how great for her - thank you for informing me.
It was indeed the most predictable thing alive.
This year's Goyas will have radically better winners than the Oscars, apparently.
Agreed on Mirren improving. And Julie Andrews does NOT look 72.
If you have not seen every television episode of Strangers With Candy, then please do so immediately.
I'm thinking of blind-buying the entire series, that's how funny I found the material. (And pretty much everyone agrees the show is funnier than the big-screen prequel, so I can't wait.)
Yeah, Strangers With Candy is indeed very funny (the show, I mean).
But I honestly can't see how it holds together for the length of a feature. That show has the kind of worldview I just can't take for more than 24 minutes at a time. Like South Park, but worse.
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