I am wondering how AR 'could' lose the best song Oscar to Wall-E, esp the whole funda of splitting of votes. I mean if all three songs are treated as separate tracks, the best one with max votes would win. The guys who are voting wouldn't care about both tracks being from a single album, and if they think the WALL-E ka song was better, it'd garner max votes. I don't get how AR could lose out just coz two of his songs from the same album have been nominated in the category.
--- In [email protected], Vithur <vith...@...> wrote: > > The 2009 Academy Awards may have the most predictable Oscar slate in recent > memory: most of the likely winners look like they'll carry their categories > in a walk. But upsets happen every year, and the most surprising turn of > events would be if nothing surprising happened. (By the way, did we mention > that we'll be Liveblogging the Oscars broadcast on Sunday night? We did? > Just checking.) At any rate, here's my complete list of predictions in every > categories. And they're my final answers, Anil Kapoor. > > *Best Picture:* *The Curious Case of Benjamin Button*, *Frost/Nixon, Milk*, > *The Reader* , *Slumdog Millionaire* > > *Prediction:* *Benjamin Button* received the most nominations and has earned > the most money at the box office, *Milk* has the greatest political cachet, > but *Slumdog Millionaire* has the most momentum, having virtually swept the > various Guild awards. Plus the movie actually leaves the audience feeling > good, which can't hurt at times like these. > > *Best Director:* Danny Boyle (*Slumdog Millionaire), *Stephen Daldry (*The > Reader), *David Fincher (*The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), *Ron Howard( > *Frost/Nixon), *Gus Van Sant (*Milk)* > ** > > *Prediction:* *Milk's *Gus Van Sant has a previous Oscar nomination and > seems the most likely to spoil the win for *Danny Boyle* (especially if Sean > Penn loses Best Actor). *Slumdog* has such visual energy and brio that it > feels very much like a "director's picture," and Boyle won the Director's > Guild Award, too. > > *Best Actor:* Richard Jenkins (*The Visitor), *Frank Langella (*Frost/Nixon), > *Sean Penn (*Milk), *Brad Pitt (*The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), *Mickey > Rourke (*The Wrestler)* > ** > > *Prediction:* The evening's tightest race comes down between two eminently > deserving "bad boys." Milk's Sean Penn offers a deeply-felt, nearly > unrecognizable change of pace performance, while *Mickey Rourke *mines his > own life experience while embracing a pumped-up physical transformation. > Penn could serve as a rallying point for Prop 8 opponents, but he already > has a Best Actor Oscar, so I suspect Rourke's comeback story will carry the > day. > > *Best Actress: *Anne Hathaway (*Rachel Getting Married), *Angelina Jolie (* > Changeling); *Melissa Leo (*Frozen River), *Meryl Streep (*Doubt), *Kate > Winslet (*The Reader)* > > *Prediction:* Despite some confusion as to whether she delivers a "lead" or > "supporting" performance, *Kate Winslet* does some of her best work in *The > Reader*, and has a staggering six nominations to date with no wins (yet). Of > her closest competitors, multiple-Oscar winner Meryl Streep seems a little > too established, and Anne Hathaway not established enough. > > *Best Supporting Actor: *Josh Brolin (*Milk), *Robert Downey, Jr. (*Tropic > Thunder), *Philip Seymour Hoffman (*Doubt), *Heath Ledger (*The Dark Knight), > *Michael Shannon (*Revolutionary Road)* > > *Prediction: *Due to his tragic death, *Heath Ledger's *instantly- iconic, > live-wire performance as Batman's psycho arch-nemesis The Joker seems > virtually assured of winning. Had Ledger lived, Robert Downey, Jr.'s > fearless balancing act as a white actor in blackface would offer close > competition. > > *Best Supporting Actress:* Amy Adams (*Doubt), *Penélope Cruz (*Vicky > Cristina Barcelona), *Viola Davis (*Doubt), *Taraji P. Henson (*The Curious > Case of Benjamin Button), *Marisa Tomei (*The Wrestler)* > > *Prediction:** **Penélope Cruz *all but swept the critic's prizes and counts > as the front-runner, but this seems the most likely category for an upset: > the voting actors clearly love *Doubt*, with Viola Davis having the most > powerful moments but Amy Adams being a contender as a Hollywood "It" girl. > Henson's the only nominee from a Best Picture nominee and Tomei seems to > have a ton of buzz (but also already has an Oscar). Cruz may win, but it > could surprise us. > > *Best Original Screenplay: **WALL-E, Happy-Go-Lucky, Frozen River, In > Bruges, Milk* > > *Prediction:* *Milk* screenwriter Dustin Lance Black may be the film's sole > winner in a major category. > > *Best Adapted Screenplay:* *The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, > Frost/Nixon, The Reader, Slumdog Millionaire, Doubt* > > *Prediction:* Simon Beaufoy's *Slumdog Millionaire* adaptation has picked up > prior awards, although *Benjamin Button* has literary cred from F. Scott > Fitzgerald's source material, and the Academy seems like *Doubt's* John > Patrick Shanley, who won for his *Moonstruck* screenplay. > > *Best Animated Feature*: *Bolt, Kung Fu Panda, WALL-E* > > *Prediction*: Despite the popularity of *Kung Fu Panda, WALL-E's** *blend of > romance, visionary imagery and weighty social commentary seem to guarantee > the win, especially if they're not going to nominate it for Best Picture. > > *Best Foreign Language Film*: *Revanche* (Austria), *The Class* (France), *The > Baader Meinhof* Complex (Germany),* Departures* (Japan), *Waltz With > Bashir*(Israel) > > *Prediction*: I've only seen two of the nominees, but since the powerful *Waltz > With Bashir *won the Golden Globe in this category and has been gathering > world-wide raves, I'll assume it has the edge. > > *Best Animated Short*: *La Maison En Petits Cubes*, *Lavatory - Lovestory, > Oktapodi, Presto*, *This Way Up* > > *Prediction:* *"Presto"* was attached to WALL-E, so it's probably been seen > by the most people, while being uproariously funny, which makes it a > front-runner. A potential Pixar backlash could help the warm simplicity of > "Lavatory Lovestory" or the poetic "La Maison En Petits Cubes," although > "This Way Up" probably deserves to win for its deadpan hilarity. > > *Best Art Direction*: *Changeling*, *The Curious Case of Benjamin Button*, *The > Dark Knight*, *The Duchess*, *Revolutionary Road* > ** > > *Prediction*: *Benjamin Button's* script may not be particularly substantial > but director David Fincher specializes in films that are rich and eloquent > in their visual texture. Plus, it's the only Best Picture nominee in the > category. > > *Best Cinematography*: *Changeling*, *The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The > Dark Knight, The Reader*, *Slumdog Millionaire* > ** > > *Prediction*: *Reader* co-nominee Roger Deakins has multiple nominations and > is due for a win, and *The Dark* *Knight's* heightened imagery of "Gotham > City" sticks in the memory (especially for those who saw the film in IMAX), > but I'm going to go with *Slumdog Millionaire's* diversity of colors and > styles based on locations ranging from TV studios to Mumbai slums. > > *Best Costume Design:* *Australia, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button*, *The > Duchess*, *Milk*, *Revolutionary Road* > ** > > *Prediction:* The Academy usually loves costume dramas like *The Duchess*, > but for some reason, I think *Revolutionary Road* will get it as its > "consolation prize" for being shut out of most other categories. > > *Best Documentary Feature:* *Nerakhoon*, *Encounters at the End of the World, > The Garden, Man on Wire, Trouble the Water* > > *Prediction:* Will *Man on Wire's *acclaim and popularity work against it in > a category that often rewards more obscure nominees? Maybe, but perhaps its > haunting images of the World Trade Center will give it an extra boost. > > *Best Documentary Short:* *The Conscience of Nhem En*, *The Final Inch, Smile > Pinki, The Witness - From the Balcony of Room 306* > > *Prediction:* I have no idea: I haven't seen any of them. Apparently *"The > Conscience of Nhem En's"* Steven Okazaki has three prior nominations, so > that combined with the film's *Killing Fields* subject matter could earn it > a win, but "The Witness'" account of the assassination of Martin Luther King > seems particularly well-timed at the dawn of the Obama Administration. (By > the way, the other two involve Indian themes, which could redound to * > Slumdog's* benefit elsewhere.) > > *Best Film Editing:* *The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, **The Dark Knight > *, *Frost/Nixon, **Milk*, *Slumdog Millionaire* > ** > > *Prediction: Slumdog Millionaire* has won in this category elsewhere, and > its scrambled chronology and quick-cut scenes seem like an ideal showcase of > the editor's art. > > *Best Live Action Short:* *On the Line*, *Manon On the Asphalt, New Boy*, *The > Pig*, *Toyland* > ** > > *Prediction:* *"Toyland's"* Holocaust themes probably give it an advantage > over the competition, although it's not nearly as rich a film as the > achingly well-acted "On the Line" or the delicate, poetic "Manon on the > Asphalt." > > *Best Makeup*: *The Curious Case of Benjamin Button*, *The Dark > Knight*; *Hellboy > II: The Golden Army* > ** > > *Prediction*: Frankly, *Hellboy II *is the most deserving in this category, > although the horrific make-up of The Joker and Two-Face make *The Dark > Knight* hard to ignore. Nevertheless, *Benjamin Button's* transformation of > Brad Pitt from elderly toddler to beaming youth is that film's signature > trick. (I keep changing my mind, though.) > > *Best Original Score:* *The Curious Case of Benjamin Button*, *Defiance*, * > Milk*, *Slumdog Millionaire*, *WALL-E* > > *Prediction:** The Dark Knight's*thrilling score, having been deemed > ineligible and then reinstated as a contender, didn't make the cut. Of the > nominees, *WALL-E* had the only score I can remember, but *Slumdog > Millionaire's *Indian-flavored compositions by A. R. Rahman (who shares two > nominations in the Best Song category) set the film's tone. > > *Best Original Song: *"Down To Earth" (WALL-E), "Jai Ho" (Slumdog > Millionaire), "O Saya" (Slumdog Millionaire) > ** > > *Prediction:* The two *Slumdog* songs will split the vote between them, so > rock star Peter Gabriel will win for *"Down to Earth"* from *WALL-E* (unless > Gabriel's Oscar no-show works against him). > > *Best Sound Editing:* *The Dark Knight*, *Iron Man*, *Slumdog Millionaire*, > *WALL-E*, *Wanted* > > *Prediction*: *WALL-E*, with its wordless robotic "dialogue" (partly from > Ben Burtt, the voice of R2-D2), had the most memorably expressive noises of > the year. > ** > > *Best Sound Mixing*: *The Curious Case of Benjamin Button*, *The Dark Knight > *, *Slumdog Millionaire*, *WALL-E*, *Wanted* > > *Prediction:* I still have trouble distinguishing this category from "Sound > Editing," but *The Dark Knight's *multi-layered action scenes seem the most > deserving. > > *Best Visual Effects:* *The Curious Case of Benjamin Button*, *The Dark > Knight*, *Iron Man* > > *Prediction*: Ironically, *The Dark Knight's* relatively realistic urban > visuals may work against it in this category, with *Benjamin > Button's*century-spanning wizardry proving the most flashy. > > (Photo by Ishika Mohan) > http://blogs.creativeloafing.com/freshloaf/2009/02/18/our-complete- oscar-predictions-even-documentary-short/ > > -- > regards, > Vithur >
