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OSCAR PREDICTIONS-2010
2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006
OSCAR PICKS 2010 PART 1.mp4  

JR & BO'S  OSCAR PREDICTIONS-1

Best Supporting Actor & Actress, Best Original Score, Best Song, Best Adapted & Original Screenplay are covered.
OSCAR PICKS 2010 PART 2.mp4  

JR & BO'S  OSCAR PREDICTIONS-2

Best Animated Feature Film, Best Actor & Actress, Best Director and of course Best Film are all handicapped.

2010 ACADEMY AWARDS
OSCAR PREDICTIONS by:
-
Larry "Bocepheus" Evans
-Jim "Good Old JR" Rutkowski
The 2010 Academy Awards are coming up and our two media opinion makers "BO" & "JR" have their predictions all set for Oscar Night. How close will they be? We'll find out on Sunday March 7th.
BO-The 82nd Annual Academy Awards are on the way and it could be an interesting show since the hosts are Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin. It will be even more interesting if the show ends in less than three hours. The nomination breakdown was as follows: AVATAR and The HURT LOCKER  got nine nominations each, INGLORIOUS BASTERDS got eight nominations, PRECIOUS and Up in the Air got six; UP  got five; DISTRICT 9, NINE and STAR TREK got four while An Education, CRAZY HEART, The Princess and the Frog and The Young Victoria got three.
JR-Oscar begins the new decade of 2010 with its own Decalogue of change. The Academy, in their effort to create more of a horse race in the Best Picture category, have increased the amount films for the top prize from 5 to 10. By doing this, they hope to quell the criticism that has been leveled at them in recent years, that they have avoided recognizing more audience pleasing films. So this year we have double the films. I can't say that I approve. It sounds like the Oscar version of the wild card race. But we are stuck with it for the foreseeable future. It might have been a feasible concept if they had not got it wrong the first time out! Why on Earth is The Blind Side nominated for Best Picture? WATCHMEN took more chances. STAR TREK was extremely entertaining. WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE is a timeless film. But alas, Sandra Bullocks inspirational college football movie is apparently able to stand toe to toe with the likes of  HURT LOCKER . Let's move on to the predictions. Here are my prognostications for all the major categories with the option of who I think WILL win and who SHOULD win. And, as always, please no wagering.
SUPPORTING ACTRESS:
Penelope Cruz for NINE
Vera Farmiga for Up in the Air
Maggie Gyllenhaal for
CRAZY HEART
Anna Kendrick for Up in the Air
Mo'Nique for
PRECIOUS
 
BO-The general rule of thumb is that if two people from the same film are nominated then they cancel each other out but I am predicting that this isn’t the case here and Farmiga wins for Up in the Air even with Kendrick nominated.
 
JR-Mo'nique for PRECIOUS will/should win. A harrowing piece of work from someone who is only known as a comedienne. Not just surprising in that regard, but also a hateful yet sad characterization. A spectacular performance.
 
BO'S PICK FOR WINNER: Vera Farmiga for Up in the Air
JR'S PICK FOR WINNER: Mo'Nique for PRECIOUS
2010 WINNER: Mo'Nique for PRECIOUS 
SUPPORTING ACTOR:
Matt Damon for Invictus
Woody Harrelson for The Messenger
Christopher Plummer for The Last Station
Stanley Tucci for The Lovely Bones
Christoph Waltz for
INGLORIOUS BASTERDS
 
BO-After his first scene Waltz had the award locked up and so it’s him in a walk.
 
JR-Christoph Waltz in INGLORIOUS BASTERDS will/should get the gold. Waltz was really the only great thing in Quentin Tarantino's alternate history lesson. I'm not a fan of the film but there is no denying that Waltz creates an indelible character.
 
BO'S PICK FOR WINNER: Christoph Waltz for INGLORIOUS BASTERDS
JR'S PICK FOR WINNER: Christoph Waltz for INGLORIOUS BASTERDS
2010 WINNER: Christoph Waltz for INGLORIOUS BASTERDS
BEST ACTRESS:
Sandra Bullock for The Blind Side
Helen Mirren for The Last Station
Carey Mulligan for An Education
Gabourey Sidibe for
PRECIOUS
Meryl Streep for Julie & Julia.
 
BO-Mulligan and Sidibe are new so I would count them out. Bullock may have given a great performance but she didn’t do any special in a film that removed all the edges off a great book. Streep to me has entered the Tom Hanks zone of ‘don’t you have enough Oscar’s?’ so I am casting my vote for the always wonderful Helen Mirren.
 
JR-I have a feeling that Sandra Bullock will win for The Blind Side. Hollywood loves a comeback story and Bullock has come back this past year in a major way. After falling off the radar, she's had several large successes. Plus this is the sort of feel good performance that the Academy likes. But should she win? No. Yet the category is not an easy one to peg this year. All of the nominees are fine. Meryl Streep completely inhabits Julia Child. Newcomer Gabourey Sidibe is impressive in her debut film. Helen Mirren chews up the set in her turn as Tolstoy's wife. But my pick for who should win is Carey Mulligan for An Education. Playing a school girl that finds herself in a relationship with a professor, Mulligan conjures comparisons to Audrey Hepburn. Fragile yet strong. Funny yet pensive. But always with an underlying sense of the intelligence of a very old soul. Mulligan will be a huge star but more so, she shows the possibility of being an actress for the ages.
 
BO'S PICK FOR WINNER: Helen Mirren for The Last Station
JR'S PICK FOR WINNER: Sandra Bullock for The Blind Side
2010 WINNER: Sandra Bullock for The Blind Side
BEST ACTOR:
Jeff Bridges for CRAZY HEART
George Clooney for Up in the Air
Colin Firth for A Single Man
Morgan Freeman for Invictus
Jeremy Renner for
HURT LOCKER
 
BO-CRAZY HEART is a film that barely got released but there is a lot of sentiment for Bridges to finally take home the gold. Until the end of the year Clooney was the favorite and I think that may still be the case. If I had a vote I would give it to Renner but I don’t so I am betting on Clooney.
 
JR-Hands down, the most difficult category this year to handicap. Each and every nominee is worthy. My choice for who should win is Jeff Bridges for CRAZY HEART. It's a career performance that Bridges seems to mine from deep in his soul. Bridges has been giving great performances for decades now. Not to infer that this prize should be his based on career achievement. His turn in CRAZY HEART is as great as it gets. I also think the Academy will give him the gold. However, George Clooney could very well win for Up In The Air. Until CRAZY HEART came along, I was picking Clooney as the lock for this category. If he should win, it would not be a bad thing.
 
BO'S PICK FOR WINNER: George Clooney for Up in the Air
JR'S PICK FOR WINNER: Jeff Bridges for CRAZY HEART
2010 WINNER: Jeff Bridges for CRAZY HEART
ORIGINAL SONG:
Almost There from The Princess & the Frog
Down in New Orleans from The Princess & the Frog
Loin de Paname from Paris 36
Take it All from Nine
The Weary Kind from
CRAZY HEART.
 
BO-This year we will not see the sings sung live and will instead listen to taped segments of the songs. That’s actually a good move in most years and a perfect one this time around since most of the nominees are crappy, bland ass songs that seem to have been nominated to fill out the category. The only song with any heft to it is The Weary Kind and so that’s my choice
 
JR-The Weary Kind from CRAZY HEART sung by Jeff Bridges will/should win. It perfectly exemplifies Bridges performance and the entire tone of the film.
 
BO'S PICK FOR WINNER: The Weary Kind from CRAZY HEART
JR'S PICK FOR WINNER: The Weary Kind from CRAZY HEART
2010 WINNER: The Weary Kind from CRAZY HEART.
ORIGINAL SCORE:
AVATAR
FANTASTIC MR. FOX
HURT LOCKER
SHERLOCK HOLMES
UP REVIEW-A-PALOOZA.
 
BO-Of all of these films the only score I remember is from SHERLOCK HOLMES but that doesn’t mean that I think it will win. UP could win here but I think that AVATAR will win in a toss up.
 
JR-Micheal Giacchino's score for UP will and should win. Giacchino also did fine work in this years STAR TREK  and has been scoring Pixars last few films to great success.
 
BO'S PICK FOR WINNER: SHERLOCK HOLMES
JR'S PICK FOR WINNER: UP
2010 WINNER: UP
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:
HURT LOCKER
INGLORIOUS BASTERDS
The Messenger
A SERIOUS MAN
UP
 
BO-In any other year Tarantino walks away with this but HURT LOCKER is from Mark Boal, a journalist who had never written a screenplay before. It’s a tough skill set to learn and for that he gets the Oscar if I am voting.
 
JR-Mark Boal for The HURT LOCKER will win. A tightly wound, war torn thriller. Great stuff.
But if it was up to me, The Coen Brother's script for
A SERIOUS MAN would take the prize. This is some of the brothers very best writing.
 
BO'S PICK FOR WINNER: HURT LOCKER
JR'S PICK FOR WINNER: HURT LOCKER
2010 WINNER: HURT LOCKER
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:
An Education
DISTRICT 9
In the Loop
PRECIOUS
Up in the Air
 
BO-This is a category in which the writer has a hard job. Adapting something means you have to take the source material and turn it into a movie. DISTRICT 9 is a longer version of a short so that kills it in my mind because all that had to be done in extend what was already there. I toss out the other three (Education, PRECIOUS and Loop) purely for commercial reasons. None of the three are burning up the sales charts after getting the nods but every time I wander into Borders Up in the Air is wandering over to the registers. The book is all internal dialogue and turning a monologue into a film as engaging as it is deserves the Oscar.
 
JR-Geoffrey Fletcher's adaptation of PRECIOUS will/should win. But I also like Jason Reitman's work on Up In The Air.
 
BO'S PICK FOR WINNER: Up in the Air
JR'S PICK FOR WINNER: PRECIOUS
2010 WINNER: PRECIOUS
ANIMATED FEATURE FILM:
Coraline
FANTASTIC MR.FOX
The Princess and the Frog
The Secret of Kells
UP
 
BO-The Secret of Kells wandered in this category out of nowhere but UP gets the statue hands down. Princess shouldn’t even be in this group.
 
JR-Is there any other choice but UP? Will win and should win. Pixar will win this prize year after year for many years to come. As a side note, the other films are all excellent. Not a bad one in the bunch. My only surprise is that this is the first year that Japanese master film maker Hiyao Miyazaki's film did not get nominated. His film PONYO deserves to be on this list.
 
BO'S PICK FOR WINNER: UP
JR'S PICK FOR WINNER: UP
2010 WINNER: UP
DIRECTOR:
Kathryn Bigelow for HURT LOCKER
James Cameron for
AVATAR
Lee Daniels for
PRECIOUS
Jason Reitman for Up in the Air
Quentin Tarantino for
INGLORIOUS BASTERDS
 
BO-Daniels doesn’t have a chance in hell, Tarantino isn’t getting the nod here and Reitman was the front runner until Bigelow and Cameron wandered into the picture. That said, I am betting on Bigelow.
 
JR-This category holds the possibility of tremendous irony. Ex- husband and wife, James Cameron and Kathyrn Bigelow are both nominated. How great would it be to see Bigelow take the statue, raise it above her head and say, “I'm the queen of the world!”. Alright. Enough of that. Bigelow deserves this. She took a terrific screenplay and turned it into a tense, gripping and emotionally effective film about a bomb disposal unit in Iraq. It leaves you shaken, exhilarated and drained, but also thinking. Brilliant.
 
BO'S PICK FOR WINNER: Kathryn Bigelow for HURT LOCKER
JR'S PICK FOR WINNER: Kathryn Bigelow for HURT LOCKER
2010 WINNER: Kathryn Bigelow for HURT LOCKER
BEST PICTURE:
An Education
AVATAR
The Blind Side
DISTRICT 9
HURT LOCKER
INGLORIOUS BASTERDS
PRECIOUS
A SERIOUS MAN
UP REVIEW-A-PALOOZA
Up in the Air.
 
BO-The Academy added five more films to the list and even with that included films that shouldn’t be here such as Blind Side. In a perfect world HURT LOCKER should win but I wouldn’t be amazed if AVATAR took the little gold statue.
 
JR-Now for the big prize and I have no hesitancy in saying that The HURT LOCKER is the clear choice for all the reasons I gave in the previous category. Here is where things get dicey however. At this point, I believe the Academy will give The HURT LOCKER the Oscar. But I have a suspicion that the Academy may think they have an agenda this year. And that agenda is to prove to the audience that they like what everyone in America likes. They may want to show us that they are not the erudite, and snobbish bores that everyone thinks they are. If that's the case, we could be looking at that Oscar rarity: the split! Best Director could very well go to Kathryn Bigelow but Best Picture could be given to AVATAR. I'm hoping that good sense rules the day and HURT LOCKER remains the front runner. But just remember, you heard it here first!
 
BO'S PICK FOR WINNER: AVATAR
JR'S PICK FOR WINNER: HURT LOCKER
2010 WINNER: HURT LOCKER
FINAL TALLEY:
BO PICKED 5 of 11 WINNERS
JR PICK 11 of 11 WINNERS

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Article © 2010 Alternate Reality, Inc.

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