Director Steven Spielberg (“War of the Worlds”) and Daniel Day-Lewis (“There Will Be Blood”) teamed up for “Lincoln”. The film earned critical praise, lots of money and awards, including an Oscar for Best Actor for Lewis. Now the pair may reunite for “Thank You For Your Service”, which is about soldiers dealing with PTSD.
Lukas Eggen can be reached at eggen.lukas@gmail.com.
This one also appears to be a lock. But can anyone steal the Oscar from the favorite?
The nominees this year for Best Actor are: Daniel Day-Lewis for “Lincoln”, Hugh Jackman for “Les Miserables”, Joaquin Phoenix for “The Master”, Denzel Washington for “Flight” and Bradley Cooper for “Silver Linings Playbook”.
Like when he starred in “There Will Be Blood”, this seems to be Lewis’ award. Phoenix is a definite no and I’m shocked he even got nominated because of his little anti-Oscar rant. Washington was great in “Flight”, but just not too much sward season buzz for that film. Cooper is the dark horse candidate. But most of the awards attention for “Silver Linings Playbook” seems to be going to Jennifer Lawrence. That being said, if Jacki Weaver and/or Robert De Niro pull an upset in the Supporting Actress or Actor category, it could be an early sign that momentum is in this film’s favor. If that’s the case, don’t be shocked if Cooper takes home the Oscar. But it would seem that only Jackman has any real shot to take the award from Lewis. To be honest, it would seem if Lewis wasn’t in this category, this would be Jackman’s to win, so perhaps voters will throw him a bone since Lewis already is a decorated and respected actor? That’s probably his best chance at winning. But I’ll go with the safe pick Lewis.
Lukas Eggen can be reached at eggen.lukas@gmail.com.
Since being snubbed by the Oscars in the Best Director category, Ben Affleck and the film he directed and starred in, “Ar’go”, is on quite a roll. The film won Best Picture and Best Director at the BAFTA Awards. Daniel Day-Lewis won Best Actor, Emmanuelle Riva won Best Actress. Christoph Waltz took home Best Supporting Actor while Anne Hathaway took home Best Supporting Actress. “Brave” won Best Animated Film.
Lukas Eggen can be reached at eggen.lukas@gmail.com.
Here’s the entire nominee list for the Oscars:
Best Picture
“Argo”
“Django Unchained”
“Les Miserables”
“Life of Pi”
“Amour”
“Lincoln”
“Silver Linings Playbook”
“Zero Dark Thirty”
“Beasts of the Southern Wild”
Actor in a Leading Role
Bradley Cooper – “Silver Linings Playbook”
Daniel Day-Lewis – “Lincoln”
Hugh Jackman – “Les Miserables”
Joaquin Phoenix – “The Master”
Denzel Washington – “Flight”
Actress in a Leading Role
Jessica Chastain – “Zero Dark Thirty”
Jennifer Lawrence – “Silver Linings Playbook”
Emmanuelle Riva – “Amour”
Quvenzhané Wallis – “Beasts of Southern Wild”
Naomi Watts – “The Impossible”
Actor in a Supporting Role
Alan Arkin – “Argo”
Robert De Niro – “Silver Linings Playbook”
Philip Seymour Hoffman – “The Master”
Tommy Lee Jones – “Lincoln”
Christoph Waltz – “Django Unchained”
Actress in a Supporting Role
Amy Adams – “The Master”
Sally Field – “Lincoln”
Anne Hathaway – “Les Miserables”
Helen Hunt – “The Sessions”
Jackie Weaver – “Silver Linings Playbook”
Animated Feature Film
“Brave”
“Frankenweenie”
“ParaNorman”
“The Pirates! Band of Misfits”
“Wreck-It Ralph”
Directing
“Amour” – Michael Haneke
“Beasts of the Southern Wild” – Benh Zeitlin
“Life of Pi” – Ang Lee
“Lincoln” – Steven Spielberg
“Silver Linings Playbook” – David O. Russell
Writing – Original Screenplay
“Amour” – Michael Haneke
“Django Unchained” – Quentin Tarantino
“Flight” – John Gatins
“Moonrise Kingdom” – Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola
“Zero Dark Thirty” – Mark Boal
Writing – Adapted Screenplay
“Argo” – Chris Terrio
“Beasts of the Southern Wild” – Lucy Alibar & Benh Zeitlin
“Life of Pi” – David Magee
“Lincoln” – Tony Kushner
“Silver Linings Playbook” – David O. Russell
Music – Original Song
“Before My Time” from “Chasing Ice,” music and lyrics by J. Ralph
“Everybody Needs a Best Friend” from “Ted,” music by Walter Murphy, lyrics by Seth MacFarlane
“Pi’s Lullaby” from “Life of Pi,” music by Mychael Danna, lyrics by Bombay Jayashri
“Skyfall” from “Skyfall,” music and lyrics by Adele Adkins and Paul Epworth
“Suddenly” from “Les Miserables,” music by Claude-Michel Schönberg, lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer and Alain Boublil
Foreign Language Film
“Amour” (Austria)
“Kon-Tiki” (Norway)
“No” (Chile)
“A Royal Affair” (Denmark)
“War Witch” (Canada)
Cinematography
“Anna Karenina”
“Django Unchained”
“Life of Pi”
“Lincoln”
“Skyfall”
Costume Design
“Anna Karenina”
“Les Miserables”
“Lincoln”
“Mirror Mirror”
“Snow White and the Huntsman”
Documentary – Feature
“5 Broken Cameras”
“The Gatekeepers”
“How to Survive a Plague”
“The Invisible War”
“Searching for Sugar Man”
Documentary – Short
“Inocente”
“Kings Point”
“Mondays at Racine”
“Open Heart”
“Redemption”
Film Editing
“Argo”
“Life of Pi”
“Lincoln”
“Silver Linings Playbook”
“Zero Dark Thirty”
Makeup And Hairstyling
“Hitchcock”
“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey”
“Les Miserables”
Music – Original Score
“Anna Karenina”
“Argo”
“Life of Pi”
“Lincoln”
“Skyfall”
Production Design
“Anna Karenina”
“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey”
“Les Miserables”
“Life of Pi”
“Lincoln”
Short Film – Animated
“Adam and Dog”
“Fresh Guacamole”
“Head over Heels”
“Maggie Simpson in ‘The Longest Daycare'”
“Paperman”
Short Film – Live Action
“Asad”
“Buzkashi Boys”
“Curfew”
“Death of a Shadow (Dood van een Schaduw)”
“Henry”
Sound Editing
“Argo”
“Django Unchained”
“Life of Pi”
“Skyfall”
“Zero Dark Thirty”
Sound Mixing
“Argo”
“Les Miserables”
“Life of Pi”
“Lincoln”
“Skyfall”
Visual Effects
“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey”
“Life of Pi”
“Marvel’s The Avengers”
“Prometheus”
“Snow White and the Huntsman”
My initial thoughts:
I wish they would have nominated 10 films for Best Picture. A film like “Cloud Atlas” or “Moonrise Kingdom” really deserved to get recognized. Looks like Joaquin Phoenix’s little Oscar rant didn’t cost him a nomination after all. Stay tuned here in the coming days for predictions of all the categories!
Lukas Eggen can be reached at eggen.lukas@gmail.com.
Jean Dujardin (“The Artist”) beat out George Clooney (“The Descendants”) for Best Actor at the Oscars. Apparently there’s no hard feelings because Clooney wants Dujardin to join him in the adaptation “The Monuments Men”. Cate Blanchett and Paul Giamatti are also reportedly being courted for roles.
According to Cinemablend.com: the movie will center on the amazing true story of the titular group, who were men and women charged with hunting down the cultural treasures and pieces of art that Adolf Hitler and his Nazi forces were stealing and hoarding during their invasions in World War II. The book focused on the eleven-month span between D-Day and V-E Day, when Hitler’s hostile art thieves were not only taking irreplaceable works of art, but also destroying those the Fuehrer declared “degenerate.”
Lukas Eggen can be reached at eggen.lukas@gmail.com.
I know, the Oscars aren’t for a very long time and a lot can change. But, as we head toward the awards season, I wanted to take a look at what could be the most interesting race at the Oscars this year: The Best Actor race.
The locks
At first glance, this will come down to a battle between Daniel Day-Lewis for “Lincoln” and Joaquin Phoenix for “The Master”. The latter performance has been getting rave reviews and well, let’s just say Day-Lewis doesn’t choose roles that suck. So, one has to imagine his performance will draw raves as well.
The potential spoilers
Meanwhile, don’t overlook some of these other names. Jamie Foxx could get some more Oscar love for his role in the highly anticipated “Django Unchained”. And, Hugh Jackman looks to get some awards season recognition for “Les Miserables”. Also, Denzel Washington for “Flight” has Oscar potential written all over it as well.
The long shot
Tom Hanks for “Cloud Atlas”. Look, any film that has actors playing such vastly different roles is a true test of an actor’s ability. Jim Broadbent is already getting some serious momentum for Best Supporting Actor, but Hanks, if “Cloud Atlas” is received well, could be the one actor that shocks everyone this year.
Lukas Eggen can be reached at eggen.lukas@gmail.com.
Lukas Eggen 