By Mark Saldana
This year’s Academy Award Broadcast went well without too many hitches. Host Seth MacFarlane served up his brand of irreverence with his charming and disarming personality, along with a few expected and hilarious cutaway gags ala Family Guy. I have to say that I really enjoyed his work as host this year. MacFarlane has charisma, as well as a talent for singing and performing, therefore, bringing a breath of fresh air to an awards show which has grown a bit stale in recent years.
As for my picks and predictions, I scored well in the acting categories, but not as well in the technical categories. Life of Pi surprised everyone, winning Oscars in the four categories of Best Director (Ang Lee), Best Cinematography (Claudio Miranda), Best Visual Effects, and Best Original Score. As Pi cleaned up on these accolades, I began to wonder if it actually had a chance to win the top honor last night. As it turned out, Ben Affleck’s Argo won the Best Picture honors, just as I predicted. As far as the rest is concerned, I’ll let my readers read how well or poorly I fared.
Best Motion Picture of the Year
Nominees:
Amour (2012):
Argo (2012): My Prediction and Winner
Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012):
Django Unchained (2012):
Les Misérables (2012):
Life of Pi (2012):
Lincoln (2012):
Silver Linings Playbook (2012):
Zero Dark Thirty (2012): My Pick
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
Nominees:
Bradley Cooper for Silver Linings Playbook (2012)
Daniel Day-Lewis for Lincoln (2012) My Prediction and Winner
Hugh Jackman for Les Misérables (2012)
Joaquin Phoenix for The Master (2012) My Pick
Denzel Washington for Flight (2012/I)
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
Nominees:
Jessica Chastain for Zero Dark Thirty (2012)
Jennifer Lawrence for Silver Linings Playbook (2012) My Prediction and Winner
Emmanuelle Riva for Amour (2012) My Pick
Quvenzhané Wallis for Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012)
Naomi Watts for The Impossible (2012)
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
Nominees:
Alan Arkin for Argo (2012)
Robert De Niro for Silver Linings Playbook (2012)
Philip Seymour Hoffman for The Master (2012)
Tommy Lee Jones for Lincoln (2012)
Christoph Waltz for Django Unchained (2012) My Prediction, Pick and Winner
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
Nominees:
Amy Adams for The Master (2012)
Sally Field for Lincoln (2012)
Anne Hathaway for Les Misérables (2012) My Prediction, Pick and Winner
Helen Hunt for The Sessions (2012)
Jacki Weaver for Silver Linings Playbook (2012)
Best Achievement in Directing
Nominees:
Michael Haneke for Amour (2012)
Ang Lee for Life of Pi (2012) Winner
David O. Russell for Silver Linings Playbook (2012)
Steven Spielberg for Lincoln (2012) My Prediction
Benh Zeitlin for Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012) My Pick
Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen
Nominees:
Amour (2012): Michael Haneke
Django Unchained (2012): Quentin Tarantino My Prediction and Winner
Flight (2012/I): John Gatins
Moonrise Kingdom (2012): Wes Anderson, Roman Coppola
Zero Dark Thirty (2012): Mark Boal My Pick
Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published
Nominees:
Argo (2012): Chris Terrio Winner
Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012): Lucy Alibar, Benh Zeitlin
Life of Pi (2012): David Magee
Lincoln (2012): Tony Kushner
Silver Linings Playbook (2012): David O. Russell My Prediction and Pick
Best Animated Feature Film of the Year
Nominees:
Brave (2012): Mark Andrews, Brenda Chapman My Prediction and Winner
Frankenweenie (2012): Tim Burton
ParaNorman (2012): Sam Fell, Chris Butler
The Pirates! Band of Misfits (2012): Peter Lord
Wreck-It Ralph (2012): Rich Moore My Pick
Best Foreign Language Film of the Year
Nominees:
Amour (2012)(Austria) My Prediction, Pick and Winner
War Witch (2012)(Canada)
No (2012/I)(Chile)
A Royal Affair (2012)(Denmark)
Kon-Tiki (2012)(Norway)
Best Achievement in Cinematography
Nominees:
Anna Karenina (2012/I): Seamus McGarvey
Django Unchained (2012): Robert Richardson
Life of Pi (2012): Claudio Miranda My Pick and Winner
Lincoln (2012): Janusz Kaminski My Prediction
Skyfall (2012): Roger Deakins
Best Achievement in Editing
Nominees:
Argo (2012): William Goldenberg My Prediction and Winner
Life of Pi (2012): Tim Squyres
Lincoln (2012): Michael Kahn
Silver Linings Playbook (2012): Jay Cassidy, Crispin Struthers
Zero Dark Thirty (2012): William Goldenberg, Dylan Tichenor My Pick
Best Achievement in Production Design
Nominees:
Anna Karenina (2012/I): Sarah Greenwood, Katie Spencer
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012): Dan Hennah, Ra Vincent, Simon Bright
Les Misérables (2012): Eve Stewart, Anna Lynch-Robinson My Prediction and Pick
Life of Pi (2012): David Gropman, Anna Pinnock
Lincoln (2012): Rick Carter, Jim Erickson Winner
Best Achievement in Costume Design
Nominees:
Anna Karenina (2012/I): Jacqueline Durran Winner
Les Misérables (2012): Paco Delgado My Prediction and Pick
Lincoln (2012): Joanna Johnston
Mirror Mirror (2012/I): Eiko Ishioka
Snow White and the Huntsman (2012): Colleen Atwood
Best Achievement in Makeup and Hairstyling
Nominees:
Hitchcock (2012): Howard Berger, Peter Montagna, Martin Samuel
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012): Peter King, Rick Findlater, Tami Lane My Prediction and Pick
Les Misérables (2012): Lisa Westcott, Julie Dartnell Winner
Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score
Nominees:
Anna Karenina (2012/I): Dario Marianelli
Argo (2012): Alexandre Desplat My Prediction and Pick
Life of Pi (2012): Mychael Danna Winner
Lincoln (2012): John Williams
Skyfall (2012): Thomas Newman
Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song
Nominees:
Chasing Ice (2012): J. Ralph(“Before My Time”)
Les Misérables (2012): Alain Boublil, Claude-Michel Schönberg, Herbert Kretzmer(“Suddenly”) My Prediction and Pick
Life of Pi (2012): Mychael Danna, Bombay Jayshree(“Pi’s Lullaby”)
Skyfall (2012): Adele, Paul Epworth(“Skyfall”) Winner
Ted (2012): Walter Murphy, Seth MacFarlane(“Everybody Needs a Best Friend”)
Best Achievement in Sound Mixing
Nominees:
Argo (2012): John T. Reitz, Gregg Rudloff, José Antonio García
Les Misérables (2012): Andy Nelson, Mark Paterson, Simon Hayes Winner
Life of Pi (2012): Ron Bartlett, Doug Hemphill, Drew Kunin
Lincoln (2012): Andy Nelson, Gary Rydstrom, Ron Judkins
Skyfall (2012): Scott Millan, Greg P. Russell, Stuart Wilson My Prediction and Pick
Best Achievement in Sound Editing
Nominees:
Argo (2012): Erik Aadahl, Ethan Van der Ryn
Django Unchained (2012): Wylie Stateman
Life of Pi (2012): Eugene Gearty, Philip Stockton
Skyfall (2012): Per Hallberg, Karen M. Baker My Prediction, Pick and Winner (Tie)
Zero Dark Thirty (2012): Paul N.J. Ottosson Winner (Tie)
Best Achievement in Visual Effects
Nominees:
The Avengers (2012): Janek Sirrs, Jeff White, Guy Williams, Daniel Sudick
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012): Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton, R. Christopher White
Life of Pi (2012): Bill Westenhofer, Guillaume Rocheron, Erik De Boer, Donald Elliott Winner
Prometheus (2012/I): Richard Stammers, Trevor Wood, Charley Henley, Martin Hill My Prediction and Pick
Snow White and the Huntsman (2012): Cedric Nicolas-Troyan, Phil Brennan, Neil Corbould, Michael Dawson
Best Documentary, Feature
Nominees:
5 Broken Cameras (2011): Emad Burnat, Guy Davidi
The Gatekeepers (2012): Dror Moreh, Philippa Kowarsky, Estelle Fialon
How to Survive a Plague (2012): David France, Howard Gertler My Prediction and Pick
The Invisible War (2012): Kirby Dick, Amy Ziering
Searching for Sugar Man (2012): Malik Bendjelloul, Simon Chinn Winner
Best Documentary, Short Subject
Nominees:
Inocente (2012): Sean Fine, Andrea Nix Winner
Kings Point (2012): Sari Gilman, Jedd Wider
Mondays at Racine (2012): Cynthia Wade, Robin Honan
Open Heart (2013): Kief Davidson, Cori Shepherd Stern
Redemption (2012/V): Jon Alpert, Matthew O’Neill
Best Short Film, Animated
Nominees:
Adam and Dog (2011): Minkyu Lee
Fresh Guacamole (2012): PES
Head Over Heels (2012): Timothy Reckart, Fodhla Cronin O’Reilly
Paperman (2012): John Kahrs Winner
The Simpsons: The Longest Daycare (2012): David Silverman
Best Short Film, Live Action
Nominees:
Asad (2012): Bryan Buckley, Mino Jarjoura
Buzkashi Boys (2012): Sam French, Ariel Nasr
Curfew (2012/I): Shawn Christensen Winner
Death of a Shadow (2012): Tom Van Avermaet, Ellen De Waele
Henry (2011/III): Yan England