OSCARS 202 GAUNTLET RUNDOWN AND PREDICTIONS
2022…
Another year has gone by and once again I have run the Oscar Gauntlet. I have seen, rated and spoken about every single nominated film. That doesn’t mean that I know who will win, in fact I think my opinions often outright clash with who I believe will take home a little gold statue, but I at least feel qualified to tell you who I think SHOULD win every award.
But first…
5 FILMS THAT WERE ROBBED AND SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOMINATED INSTEAD:
TITANE (BEST FOREIGN FILM AND/OR BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR)
THE GREEN KNIGHT (BEST PICTURE, BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY, PRODUCTION DESIGN)
THE SPARKS BROTHERS (BEST DOCUMENTARY)
C’MON C’MON (BEST PICTURE, BEST SCREENPLAY, BEST ACTOR)
ZOLA (BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY, BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS)
Now for the Oscar nominated films and picks:
BEST PICTURE
NOMINEES
(SORTED AS PREFERENTIAL BALLOT)
(Heart Chooses…) 1. Drive My Car
Teruhisa Yamamoto, Producer
(It won’t win, but I would choose Drive My Car as the Best Picture. It has lingered in my memory second most of these nominees (I mean, Dune has chiseled it’s own chunk out). Ethereal, powerful, lyrical, and effortlessly gorgeous. Marquee filmmaking.)
2. DUNE
Mary Parent, Denis Villeneuve and Cale Boyter, Producers
3. THE POWER OF THE DOG
Jane Campion, Tanya Seghatchian, Emile Sherman, Iain Canning and Roger Frappier, Producers
(Head Predicts…) 4. CODA
Philippe Rousselet, Fabrice Gianfermi and Patrick Wachsberger, Producers
5. LICORICE PIZZA
Sara Murphy, Adam Somner and Paul Thomas Anderson, Producers
6. NIGHTMARE ALLEY
Guillermo del Toro, J. Miles Dale and Bradley Cooper, Producers
7. WEST SIDE STORY
Steven Spielberg and Kristie Macosko Krieger, Producers
8. BELFAST
Laura Berwick, Kenneth Branagh, Becca Kovacik and Tamar Thomas, Producers
9. DON'T LOOK UP
Adam McKay and Kevin Messick, Producers
10. KING RICHARD
Tim White, Trevor White and Will Smith, Producers
DIRECTING
NOMINEES
(Head and Heart agree: Choice/Prediction) THE POWER OF THE DOG
Jane Campion
(Jane Campion deserves the win no matter what any face cowboy might say)
BELFAST
Kenneth Branagh
DRIVE MY CAR
Ryusuke Hamaguchi
LICORICE PIZZA
Paul Thomas Anderson
WEST SIDE STORY
Steven Spielberg
CINEMATOGRAPHY
NOMINEES
(Head and Heart agree: Choice/Prediction) DUNE
Greig Fraser
(Fraser and Denis do an immaculate job of visually capturing magic. Every shot would be welcome on my wall)
NIGHTMARE ALLEY
Dan Laustsen
THE POWER OF THE DOG
Ari Wegner
THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH
Bruno Delbonnel
WEST SIDE STORY
Janusz Kaminski
WRITING (ADAPTED SCREENPLAY)
NOMINEES
(Head and Heart agree: Choice/Prediction) CODA
Screenplay by Siân Heder
(Honestly, every single nominee would be a welcome winner here, but from what I have heard & seen a bit of, CODA does a great job taking the original french film and improving on it)
DRIVE MY CAR
Screenplay by Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Takamasa Oe
DUNE
Screenplay by Jon Spaihts and Denis Villeneuve and Eric Roth
THE LOST DAUGHTER
Written by Maggie Gyllenhaal
THE POWER OF THE DOG
Written by Jane Campion
WRITING (ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY)
NOMINEES
(Heart Chooses…) THE WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD
Written by Eskil Vogt, Joachim Trier
(The most unique and vibrantly rebellious of the films here. The standout for me.)
(Head predicts…) LICORICE PIZZA
Written by Paul Thomas Anderson
BELFAST
Written by Kenneth Branagh
DON'T LOOK UP
Screenplay by Adam McKay; Story by Adam McKay & David Sirota
KING RICHARD
Written by Zach Baylin
FILM EDITING
NOMINEES
(Head and Heart agree: Choice/Prediction) DUNE
Joe Walker
(The immersion within prophetic visions, playing off these multiple fantastic worlds while keying on action & intrigue - all with the rhythm and magic… the other nominees aren’t bad, but I have to put my money on Dune here)
DON'T LOOK UP
Hank Corwin
KING RICHARD
Pamela Martin
THE POWER OF THE DOG
Peter Sciberras
TICK, TICK...BOOM!
Myron Kerstein and Andrew Weisblum
ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
NOMINEES
(Heart Chooses…) BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH
The Power of the Dog
(Pure acting that didn’t feel like a melodramatic lob to the Oscar voters, none of these other nominees performed with the same turmoil and simmering passion as BC here.)
JAVIER BARDEM
ANDREW GARFIELD
(Head predicts…) WILL SMITH
DENZEL WASHINGTON
ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
NOMINEES
(Head and Heart agree: Choice/Prediction) OLIVIA COLMAN
The Lost Daughter
(Nobody knows who will win this one, so I went with who I thought actually did the best job and who I liked the most. She probably won’t win, but your guess is as good as anyone’s)
JESSICA CHASTAIN
PENÉLOPE CRUZ
NICOLE KIDMAN
KRISTEN STEWART
ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
NOMINEES
(Head and Heart agree: Choice/Prediction) TROY KOTSUR
CODA
(Kodi was in the lead for a while, but Troy seems to be the sure fire pick here, and I am pleased with that as well. Most everyone in CODA does a tremendous job and I am 1000% in favor of getting behind these brilliant actors and a charming film.)
CIARÁN HINDS
JESSE PLEMONS
J.K. SIMMONS
KODI SMIT-MCPHEE
ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
NOMINEES
(Heart Chooses…) JESSIE BUCKLEY
The Lost Daughter
(I personally tend to identify with complexity and swirling emotional depth in my prefered performances, which is something that Buckley brings in spades here. I appreciate Ariana’s performance, which was quite good, but I adored what Jessie brought)
(Head Predicts…) ARIANA DEBOSE
JUDI DENCH
KIRSTEN DUNST
AUNJANUE ELLIS
DOCUMENTARY (FEATURE)
NOMINEES
(Head and Heart agree: Choice/Prediction) SUMMER OF SOUL (...OR, WHEN THE REVOLUTION COULD NOT BE TELEVISED)
Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson, Joseph Patel, Robert Fyvolent and David Dinerstein
(It’s style, construction, and relevant social impact/appeal - Summer of Soul is the hands down winner)
ASCENSION
Jessica Kingdon, Kira Simon-Kennedy and Nathan Truesdell
ATTICA
Stanley Nelson and Traci A. Curry
FLEE
Jonas Poher Rasmussen, Monica Hellström, Signe Byrge Sørensen and Charlotte De La Gournerie
WRITING WITH FIRE
Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh
INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM
NOMINEES
(Head and Heart agree: Choice/Prediction) DRIVE MY CAR
Japan
(Despite probably being the best feature film nominated, I don’t see DMC getting the Parasite treatment with the Best Picture win. This will be its consolation, as it will dominate some other very fine films, Flee and Worst Person in the World among them.)
FLEE
Denmark
THE HAND OF GOD
Italy
LUNANA: A YAK IN THE CLASSROOM
Bhutan
THE WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD
Norway
ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
NOMINEES
(Heart chooses…) FLEE
Jonas Poher Rasmussen, Monica Hellström, Signe Byrge Sørensen and Charlotte De La Gournerie
(Heart is the far and away best film in this category, but Disney will dominate nonetheless)
(Head predicts…) ENCANTO
Jared Bush, Byron Howard, Yvett Merino and Clark Spencer
LUCA
Enrico Casarosa and Andrea Warren
THE MITCHELLS VS. THE MACHINES
Mike Rianda, Phil Lord, Christopher Miller and Kurt Albrecht
RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON
Don Hall, Carlos López Estrada, Osnat Shurer and Peter Del Vecho
COSTUME DESIGN
NOMINEES
(Head and Heart agree: Choice/Prediction) CRUELLA
Jenny Beavan
(I mean my true heart of hearts pick would be Dune, in which I thought the costume design choices and production was so meticulous and cool, but I understand and am fine with Cruella getting the W here. The film is essentially all about the costumes and they are pretty spectacular.)
CYRANO
Massimo Cantini Parrini and Jacqueline Durran
DUNE
Jacqueline West and Robert Morgan
NIGHTMARE ALLEY
Luis Sequeira
WEST SIDE STORY
Paul Tazewell
MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
NOMINEES
(Head and Heart agree: Choice/Prediction) THE EYES OF TAMMY FAYE
Linda Dowds, Stephanie Ingram and Justin Raleigh
(Again, I love Dune and thought it would be pretty deserving, but Eyes of Tammy Faye is a film where the Makeup is the backbone and has boosted a performance to a possible Best Actress win.)
COMING 2 AMERICA
Mike Marino, Stacey Morris and Carla Farmer
CRUELLA
Nadia Stacey, Naomi Donne and Julia Vernon
DUNE
Donald Mowat, Love Larson and Eva von Bahr
HOUSE OF GUCCI
Göran Lundström, Anna Carin Lock and Frederic Aspiras
MUSIC (ORIGINAL SCORE)
NOMINEES
(Head and Heart agree: Choice/Prediction) DUNE
Hans Zimmer
(Despite that Vanity Fair article about the unappreciated true makers of these film scores, Zimmer’s Dune score is transformative and stays with you long after you have left the sands of Arrakis.)
DON'T LOOK UP
Nicholas Britell
ENCANTO
Germaine Franco
PARALLEL MOTHERS
Alberto Iglesias
THE POWER OF THE DOG
Jonny Greenwood
MUSIC (ORIGINAL SONG)
NOMINEES
(Head and Heart agree: Choice/Prediction) DOS ORUGUITAS
from Encanto; Music and Lyric by Lin-Manuel Miranda
(I didn’t truly care for any of the songs this year, so I am fine with Lin finally getting the EGOT based on the popularity and consistency of his overall total work in 2021 (Encanto, Tick Tick, In the Heights)
BE ALIVE
from King Richard; Music and Lyric by DIXSON and Beyoncé Knowles-Carter
DOWN TO JOY
from Belfast; Music and Lyric by Van Morrison
NO TIME TO DIE
from No Time to Die; Music and Lyric by Billie Eilish and Finneas O'Connell
SOMEHOW YOU DO
from Four Good Days; Music and Lyric by Diane Warren
PRODUCTION DESIGN
NOMINEES
(Head and Heart agree: Choice/Prediction) DUNE
Production Design: Patrice Vermette; Set Decoration: Zsuzsanna Sipos
(Uhhh, the world of Dune RULES! Give them all the awards!)
NIGHTMARE ALLEY
Production Design: Tamara Deverell; Set Decoration: Shane Vieau
THE POWER OF THE DOG
Production Design: Grant Major; Set Decoration: Amber Richards
THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH
Production Design: Stefan Dechant; Set Decoration: Nancy Haigh
WEST SIDE STORY
Production Design: Adam Stockhausen; Set Decoration: Rena DeAng
SHORT FILM (ANIMATED)
NOMINEES
(Heart chooses…) BOXBALLET
Anton Dyakov
(I think Boxballet was the best in this “not for kids” animated race this year, but with it being Russian and not being chock full of celebrities & kid friendly, like Robin Robin, it won’t win)
(Head predicts…) ROBIN ROBIN
Dan Ojari and Mikey Please
AFFAIRS OF THE ART
Joanna Quinn and Les Mills
BESTIA
Hugo Covarrubias and Tevo Díaz
THE WINDSHIELD WIPER
Alberto Mielgo and Leo Sanchez
SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION)
NOMINEES
(Heart chooses…) ALA KACHUU - TAKE AND RUN
Maria Brendle and Nadine Lüchinger
(This was the most complete and moving of all the Live Action shorts, but the star power and racial politics should put the statue in Riz’s hands)
(Head predicts…) THE LONG GOODBYE
Aneil Karia and Riz Ahmed
THE DRESS
Tadeusz Łysiak and Maciej Ślesicki
ON MY MIND
Martin Strange-Hansen and Kim Magnusson
PLEASE HOLD
K.D. Dávila and Levin Menekse
DOCUMENTARY (SHORT SUBJECT)
NOMINEES
(Head and Heart agree: Choice/Prediction) AUDIBLE
Matt Ogens and Geoff McLean
(The richest and probably finest put together of the Doc shorts, though I could see Queen of Basketball’s feel good story gaining some traction)
LEAD ME HOME
Pedro Kos and Jon Shenk
THE QUEEN OF BASKETBALL
Ben Proudfoot
THREE SONGS FOR BENAZIR
Elizabeth Mirzaei and Gulistan Mirzaei
WHEN WE WERE BULLIES
Jay Rosenblatt
SOUND
NOMINEES
(Head and Heart agree: Choice/Prediction) DUNE
Mac Ruth, Mark Mangini, Theo Green, Doug Hemphill and Ron Bartlett
(The possibility of love for West Side Story exist, but I think and want the below the line awards juggernaut of Dune to keep rolling on)
BELFAST
Denise Yarde, Simon Chase, James Mather and Niv Adiri
NO TIME TO DIE
Simon Hayes, Oliver Tarney, James Harrison, Paul Massey and Mark Taylor
THE POWER OF THE DOG
Richard Flynn, Robert Mackenzie and Tara Webb
WEST SIDE STORY
Tod A. Maitland, Gary Rydstrom, Brian Chumney, Andy Nelson and Shawn Murphy
VISUAL EFFECTS
NOMINEES
(Head and Heart agree: Choice/Prediction) DUNE
Paul Lambert, Tristan Myles, Brian Connor and Gerd Nefzer
(Dune is best)
FREE GUY
Swen Gillberg, Bryan Grill, Nikos Kalaitzidis and Dan Sudick
NO TIME TO DIE
Charlie Noble, Joel Green, Jonathan Fawkner and Chris Corbould
SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS
Christopher Townsend, Joe Farrell, Sean Noel Walker and Dan Oliver
SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME
Kelly Port, Chris Waegner, Scott Edelstein and Dan Sudick