I see as many movies as I can over the course of a calendar year, but it's an all but impossible task to see everything that might be considered for the Academy Awards. This was especially true for 2019, as I had to track down two International Feature nominees that hadn't been released stateside by … Continue reading Back Row Thoughts – Digging for Oscar Gold
It's been a long Blitz, getting from there to here. There being the nominations and here being the annual official prediction blog! We're just over 48 hours away from handing out the hardware, and while I've spent the last 24 days giving my opinions on who should win, it's time to put my proverbial money in … Continue reading Oscar Gold 2020 – Who Will Win?
We come to it at last. Twenty-four days straight, no breaks, one category after another. And now, there's just one more to go, the big one, Best Picture. Now, because I cannot just let things be easy, I have a completely convoluted process for determining my rankings in this field. This is for two reasons. … Continue reading Oscar Gold 2020 – Best Picture
For the penultimate entry in this year's Blitz, it's somewhat appropriate that we look at Live Action Short. Tomorrow will be Best Picture, so why not precede it with Best Picture... Under 40 Minutes? Looking back at my archives, it appears I did this last year, too. Gee, I hope I don't end up repeating … Continue reading Oscar Gold 2020 – Live Action Short
I'm gonna get on my soapbox for just a second and say that I am so sick and tired of complaints about Best Director being an all-male field. I don't know the current membership of the Academy's Directors Branch, but it goes without saying that it's a boys club. It has been for a long … Continue reading Oscar Gold 2020 – Best Director
More so than any other short category, the Documentaries tend to be the most accessible. Thanks to YouTube, Netflix, HBO, and other sources, the short documentary has an outlet for basically anyone willing to seek them out. At the same time, the short documentary also has the trickiest road to making a complete movie. Much … Continue reading Oscar Gold 2020 – Documentary Short
We're six days away from the Academy Awards, and at this point, the prep work is just about complete. With the exception of the Independent Spirit Awards, which take place this Saturday and due to their nature can only have a mild effect on the outcome, Awards Season is essentially in the books. All that's … Continue reading Getting Ready for the Main Event – BAFTA and Guild Awards Results!
I mentioned this earlier in the Blitz, but I would absolutely love to attend a "Bake-Off" presentation for the Academy, mostly because I just want to get inside the heads of both the Academy voters (in any number of branches), and the marketing teams of the various films and studios making their cases for nomination. … Continue reading Oscar Gold 2020 – Visual Effects
One of the unfortunate side effects of the Academy's accelerated schedule this year is the fact that the short film categories weren't released until yesterday. Less than a week to go in our Blitz, and only now am I able to even crack three of the best categories in the entire ceremony. Animated Feature is … Continue reading Oscar Gold 2020 – Animated Short
Last year at the Oscars, we saw one of the few legitimate upsets that just elated me. Going in, it was all but a certainty that Glenn Close would finally get her award after six nominations. She had won a Golden Globe, the SAG award, and the Independent Spirit for her role in The Wife. … Continue reading Oscar Gold 2020 – Best Actress
I Actually Paid To See This 