One of the first categories I broke down in this year's Blitz was Sound Mixing. So why, you may ask, did I then wait until the final week to do its counterpart, Sound Editing? Simple, really. I wanted to truly get some separation between the two fields - which as usual are 80% identical - … Continue reading Oscar Gold 2020 – Sound Editing
Strictly speaking, the award for Production Design is meant to be limited to the interior design of a film, namely the sets, props, and overall decoration. But in the case of our nominees this year, it has to be said that "interior" doesn't quite cover it. Each of the five films selected here have a … Continue reading Oscar Gold 2020 – Production Design
Every year I strive to see all nominees in all categories. This year, that lofty goal was long in doubt, due to the one category that does not require films to be screened locally at all, the newly renamed International Feature. Most films submitted to the Academy have a fairly standard keystone eligibility rule, and … Continue reading Oscar Gold 2020 – International Feature
The internet is a double-edged sword in many respects. For my purposes here, it is both essential, because it provides me a platform for talking about my favorite thing in the world (movies), and annoying, because part of the fun of Oscar season is seeing all the films and rating/prognosticating about the awards themselves. The … Continue reading Oscar Gold 2020 – Best Supporting Actor
In many a year at the Oscars, the Screenplay categories tend to act as consolation prizes to films that will be left in the cold when it comes to Best Director or Best Picture. But sometimes, the Academy doesn't even get the chance to apologize that far. This was the case two years ago. Both … Continue reading Oscar Gold 2020 – Adapted Screenplay
One of the guiding principles of the Academy process for movie music is a bit of a double-edged sword. For both Original Score and Original Song, the Music Branch never actually has to watch the movies for which the music has been submitted. Strictly speaking, they only have to hear snippets of the score and … Continue reading Oscar Gold 2020 – Original Song
Costume Design has been for the longest time a category all but reserved for period pieces. No matter the quality of whatever movie is put forward, for the better part of the last 70 years, if there's a movie that's set at least 50 years in the past, odds are it's going to get nominated … Continue reading Oscar Gold 2020 – Costume Design
It's appearing that the acting categories are going to be well sewn up long before Oscar Night arrives. The results from the Golden Globes and the Screen Actors Guild are identical, which means really, only the BAFTAs can create any real intrigue. That's what happened last year with Best Actress, as Olivia Colman's upset of … Continue reading Oscar Gold 2020 – Best Actor
Of all the technical categories, this might be my favorite, mostly because it's the one I could basically never do. I mean, my days of high school A/V class and eventually college taught me a thing or two about how to operate a camera. Hell, I even worked for my school's video department taping classes … Continue reading Oscar Gold 2020 – Cinematography
When I did my very first Blitz on this blog two years ago, I started with this category as the simplest way to explain my thought process, as at the time it was the only Oscar field that defaulted to three nominees, with four or two on rare occasions. But no more. This year, the … Continue reading Oscar Gold 2020 – Makeup & Hairstyling
I Actually Paid To See This 