Wednesday, 23 February, 2011 12:45 PM
Michael Stark's
2011 Oscar Picks: Who Will Win?
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credit: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
2011
Oscars Poster
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HOLLYWOOD,
Calif. -- We are just days away from Anne Hathaway
and James Franco taking the stage to host the Academy Awards.
Several of the high profile accolades are still up for grabs,
including Best Picture. While others seem to be a forgone conclusion,
like Best Actress. Let’s take a look at what is up for
grabs at Sunday’s ceremony along with my predictions for
what or who will take home the top prizes.
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS - “Inception.” Not
only did Christopher Nolan’s crew do an excellent job
creating several different worlds, but they did it without any
3D gimmicks.
BEST SOUND MIXING & SOUND EDITING - “Inception.”
These two trophies usually go to the best action picture, and
that is without a doubt “Inception.”
BEST SONG - “Country Strong.” I’ll
give “Coming Home” the edge over the other songs
in a relatively weak year for this category.
BEST SCORE - “The Social Network.” I would
love to see the bombastic and in-your-face score by Hans Zimmer
for “Inception” win. However, I believe that Trent
Reznor’s equally in-your-face melodies and tones will
take the top prize.
BEST MAKEUP - “Barney’s Version.”
I just love that “The Wolfman” was nominated in
this category. That means this category has once again likely
given us the worst film to be nominated for an Oscar. Remember
a few year’s ago when Eddie Murphy’s “Norbit”
was nominated?
BEST COSTUME DESIGN - “The King’s Speech.”
This award always seems to go to the best film that also happens
to be a period piece.
BEST ART DIRECTION - “Inception.” The movie’s
production crew had to literally design dreams. I feel like
that has to be worth something.
BEST EDITING - “The Social Network.” No
surprise here as David Fincher’s films are always well
edited and well paced.
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY - “Black Swan.” Call
it a hunch. It seems that Roger Deakins is the favorite for
his work on “True Grit.” But I loved the look of
“Black Swan.” I feel that its camera man, Matthew
Libatique, did a tremendous job crafting the look of the film,
which really helped give it such a dark tone.
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM - “Toy Story 3.”
Another win for Pixar. No surprise here.
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY - “The Social Network.”
I loved this film’s cast, but they were given pretty strong
material to work with. Aaron Sorkin winning here is a lock.
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY - “The King’s
Speech.” I really want to say that ”Inception”
will win this, especially after its Writer’s Guild win.
But the Academy tends to eat up well done biopics.
BEST DIRECTOR - David Fincher. There were very few
flaws in “The Social Network,” in large part due
to Fincher’s strive for perfection. However, I would not
be surprised if Tom Hooper or the Coen Brothers pull off a minor
upset.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS - Melissa Leo. The first of
two acting awards for “The Fighter.” Leo not only
holds her own opposite Christian Bale, Mark Wahlberg, and Amy
Adams (who all give phenomenal performances), but her character’s
tenacity seemed to bring out the best in everyone else on the
screen.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR - Christian Bale. Bale dominates
the screen during every one of his scenes in “The Fighter.”
Geoffrey Rush might pull off an upset, especially after he won
the BAFTA Award for this category. But Bale has won all of the
other big awards, including the Golden Globe and SAG Award.
BEST ACTRESS - Natalie Portman. Portman turned in the
performance of her life for “Black Swan,” and it
may have been the year’s single best performance.
BEST ACTOR - Colin Firth. As soon as “The King’s
Speech” debuted at the Toronto Film Festival, critics
immediately began anointing Firth as the year’s Best Actor.
A win for the man who portrayed King George VI is another one
of the evening’s locks.
BEST PICTURE - “The Social Network.” “The
King’s Speech” has been gaining momentum, including
a Producer’s Guild Awards victory (normally an excellent
prognosticator of what will win the Oscar), but I expect the
Academy will go with the movie that clearly gained a bigger
audience. If it were up to me though, I would go with Christopher
Nolan’s mind-bending masterpiece, “Inception.”
Find
out who wins when you watch the 2011 Academy Awards (Oscars)
LIVE Sunday, Feb. 27 at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on ABC.
Related
Story: Complete
list of nominations for the 2011 Academy Awards (Oscars)
PHOTO
BY JASON RZUCIDLO / ©AMERICAJR.com
The
Oscars will take place at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Calif.
