Cinema Vitæ

Admission: I hate watching award shows.

I am the type of person that watches the last two minutes of the football game because, after all, that’s all the really counts right? I watched about one hour of the BAFTA (i.e., British Academy of Film and Television Arts) awards last night and I went stir-crazy. Cut the rhetoric and the cheesy jokes and get to the awards. I, for one, like the Golden Globes’ 2008 model. Take 45 minutes and give me a laundry list of winners and spare me the red carpet. The declining Academy Award television ratings may be a strong indication that my perspective is becoming the majority. Less talk and more awards, that’s my motto. To that end, let’s do a quick zooming cut to my predictions:

Best Motion Picture of the Year

• Will Win: NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN
• Should Win: Juno

Best Actor in a Leading Role

• Will Win: DANIEL DAY-LEWIS
• Should Win: Daniel Day-Lewis

Best Actress in a Leading Role

• Will Win: MARION COTILLARD
• Should Win: Julie Christie

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

• Will Win: JAVIER BARDEM
• Should Win: Tom Wilkinson

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

• Will Win: CATE BLANCHETT
• Should Win: Cate Blanchett

Best Animated Feature Film

• Will Win: RATATOUILLE
• Should Win: Ratatouille

Best Directing

• Will Win: NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN
• Should Win: No Country for Old Men

Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

• Will Win: NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN
• Should Win: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Best Writing (Original Screenplay)

• Will Win: JUNO
• Should Win: Juno

Best Foreign Language Film

• Will Win: 12
• Should Win: The Counterfeiters

Best Cinematography

• Will Win: THERE WILL BE BLOOD
• Should Win: There will be Blood

Best Art Direction

• Will Win: ATONEMENT
• Should Win: There will be Blood

Best Costume Design

• Will Win: LA VIE EN ROSE
• Should Win: Sweeny Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Best Makeup

• Will Win: LA VIE EN ROSE
• Should Win: La Vie en Rose

Best Music (Score)

• Will Win: ATONEMENT
• Should Win: Ratatouille

Best Music (Song)

• Will Win: ONCE (”Falling Slowly”)
• Should Win: Once (”Falling Slowly”)

Best Visual Effects

• Will Win: THE GOLDEN COMPASS
• Should Win: Transformers

Best Sound Mixing

• Will Win: TRANSFORMERS
• Should Win: The Bourne Ultimatum

Best Sound Editing

• Will Win: THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM
• Should Win: The Bourne Ultimatum

Best Film Editing

• Will Win: THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM
• Should Win: The Bourne Ultimatum

Best Documentary Feature

• Will Win: SICKO
• Should Win: Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience

Best Documentary Short

• Will Win: SALIM BABA
• Should Win: La Corona (The Crown)

Best Short Film (Animated)

• Will Win: PETER & THE WOLF
• Should Win: I met the Walrus

Best Short Film (Live Action)

• Will Win: LE MOZART DES PICKPOCKETS (THE MOZART OF PICKPOCKETS)
• Should Win: Tanghi Argentini

Parting Thought: Of course, these are just “predictions,” so I’m not legally liable for inaccuracies. I’d love to hear where you disagree. Leave me a comment if you like.