How Well Did I Do?: 2006 Oscars

Well, the Oscars are over and it's time to see if my predictions were on the mark or way off base. Let's find out...

Best Actor
Philip Seymour Hoffman in Capote
Terrence Howard in Hustle & Flow
Heath Ledger in Brokeback Mountain
Joaquin Phoenix in Walk the Line
David Strathairn in Good Night, and Good Luck.

I Picked: Philip Seymour Hoffman
Who Won: Philip Seymour Hoffman
Verdict: CORRECT!

My Thoughts: Showy wins the race.


Best Supporting Actor
George Clooney in Syriana
Matt Dillon in Crash
Paul Giamatti in Cinderella Man
Jake Gyllenhaal in Brokeback Mountain
William Hurt in A History of Violence

I Picked: Paul Giamatti
Who Won: George Clooney
Verdict: WRONG!

My Thoughts: Since George Clooney was destined to lose the categories that Good Night, and Good Luck. was nominated for, I think this was more of an acknowledgment of his talent and how much the Academy members respect him.

Best Actress
Judi Dench in Mrs. Henderson Presents
Felicity Huffman in Transamerica
Keira Knightley in Pride & Prejudice
Charlize Theron in North Country
Reese Witherspoon in Walk the Line

I Picked: Reese Witherspoon
Who Won: Reese Witherspoon
Verdict: CORRECT!

My Thoughts: Reese is now officially America's sweetheart.

Best Supporting Actress
Amy Adams in Junebug
Catherine Keener in Capote
Frances McDormand in North Country
Rachel Weisz in The Constant Gardener
Michelle Williams in Brokeback Mountain

I Picked: Rachel Weisz
Who Won: Rachel Weisz
Verdict: CORRECT!

My Thoughts: With this, it's official...there were no surprises in the big categories.

Best Animated Feature Film
Howl's Moving Castle directed by Hayao Miyazaki
Tim Burton's Corpse Bride directed by Tim Burton and Mike Johnson
Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of The Were-Rabbit directed by Nick Park and Steve Box

I Picked: Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of The Were-Rabbit
What Won: Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of The Were-Rabbit
Verdict: CORRECT!

My Thoughts: The only real sure thing of the night.

Best Director
Brokeback Mountain (Ang Lee)
Capote (Bennett Miller)
Crash (Paul Haggis)
Good Night, and Good Luck. (George Clooney)
Munich (Steven Spielberg)

I Picked: Ang Lee
Who Won: Ang Lee
Verdict: CORRECT!

My Thoughts: Yes, I copped out by picking Ang Lee because he won the DGA award but that cop out paid off.

Best Cinematography
Batman Begins (Wally Pfister)
Brokeback Mountain (Rodrigo Prieto)
Good Night, and Good Luck. (Robert Elswit)
Memoirs of a Geisha (Dion Beebe)
The New World (Emmanuel Lubezki)

I Picked: Rodrigo Prieto for Brokeback Mountain
Who Won: Dion Beebe for Memoirs of A Geisha
Verdict: WRONG!

My Thoughts: Bright colors just seem more impressive, don't they?

Best Costume Design
Charlie and The Chocolate Factory (Gabriella Pescucci)
Memoirs of a Geisha (Colleen Atwood)
Mrs. Henderson Presents (Sandy Powell)
Pride & Prejudice (Jacqueline Durran)
Walk the Line (Arianne Phillips)

I Picked: Jacqueline Durran for Pride & Prejudice
Who Won: Colleen Atwood for Memoirs of A Geisha
Verdict: WRONG!

My Thoughts: Atwood's new motto: "I. Will. Not. Lose."

Best Documentary Feature
Darwin's Nightmare
Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
March of the Penguins
Murderball
Street Fight

I Picked: March Of The Penguins
This Won: March Of The Penguins
Verdict: CORRECT!

My Thoughts: The other nominees had no chance.

Best Original Score
Brokeback Mountain (Gustavo Santaolalla)
The Constant Gardener (Alberto Iglesias)
Memoirs of a Geisha (John Williams)
Munich (John Williams)
Pride & Prejudice (Dario Marianelli)

I Picked: Gustavo Santaolalla for Brokeback Mountain
Who Won: Gustavo Santaolalla for Brokeback Mountain
Verdict: CORRECT!

My Thoughts: I haven't even seen Brokeback Mountain yet, but the theme is almost stuck in my head.

Best Original Song
"In the Deep" from Crash
Music by Kathleen "Bird" York and Michael Becker
Lyric by Kathleen "Bird" York
"It's Hard Out Here For A Pimp" from Hustle & Flow
Music and Lyric by Jordan Houston, Cedric Coleman and Paul Beauregard
"Travelin' Thru" from Transamerica
Music and Lyric by Dolly Parton

I Picked: "Travelin' Thru" by Dolly Parton
What Won: "It's Hard Out Here For A Pimp" by Jordan Houston, Cedric Coleman, and Paul Beauregard (aka Three 6 Mafia)
Verdict: WRONG!

My Thoughts: I could not be happier that Three 6 Mafia won. They seemed to be the only people genuinely excited to win. Some may say that Academy voters are "scared" to not vote for a hip-hop song. I think that they voted for "It's Hard Out Here For A Pimp" because it had energy and it stood out. I wasn't a fan of the song from Crash and upon hearing some of "Travelin' Thru," it seemed kind of lackluster too. It's amazing to think that Three 6 Mafia joins the select few African-American artists to win Oscars for music, a select few that includes Isaac Hayes and Prince.

Best Visual Effects
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (Dean Wright, Bill Westenhofer, Jim Berney and Scott Farrar)
King Kong (Joe Letteri, Brian Van't Hul, Christian Rivers and Richard Taylor)
War of the Worlds (Dennis Muren, Pablo Helman, Randy Dutra and Daniel Sudick)

I Picked: Joe Letteri, Brian Van't Hul, Christian Rivers and Richard Taylor for King Kong
Who Won: Joe Letteri, Brian Van't Hul, Christian Rivers and Richard Taylor for King Kong
Verdict: CORRECT!

My Thoughts: I'm looking forward to King Kong's DVD release in the coming weeks.

Best Adapted Screenplay
Brokeback Mountain
Screenplay by Larry McMurtry & Diana Ossana
Capote
Screenplay by Dan Futterman
The Constant Gardener
Screenplay by Jeffrey Caine
A History of Violence
Screenplay by Josh Olson
Munich
Screenplay by Tony Kushner and Eric Roth

I Picked: Larry McMurtry & Diana Ossana for Brokeback Mountain
Who Won: Larry McMurtry & Diana Ossana for Brokeback Mountain
Verdict: CORRECT!

My Thoughts: After I eventually see the film, I will have to read the short story and see just how different the two are.

Best Original Screenplay
Crash
Screenplay by Paul Haggis & Bobby Moresco
Story by Paul Haggis
Good Night, and Good Luck.
Screenplay by George Clooney & Grant Heslov
Match Point
Written by Woody Allen
The Squid and the Whale
Written by Noah Baumbach
Syriana
Written by Stephen Gaghan

I Picked: Paul Haggis & Bobby Moresco for Crash
Who Won: Paul Haggis & Bobby Moresco for Crash
Verdict: CORRECT!

My Thoughts: The writing is the best thing about Crash and the Academy honored it for that.

Best Picture
Brokeback Mountain
Capote
Crash
Good Night, and Good Luck.
Munich

I Picked: Brokeback Mountain
What Won: Crash
Verdict: WRONG!

My Thoughts: I don't know exactly what to make of this. I enjoyed Crash. The ensemble was amazing and the writing was at times very perceptive. However, I also thought that it was a bit overrated. Many predicted Brokeback Mountain to win the big prize but it didn't. I can't help but wonder if Crash won because, as my sister said, it was "the safe choice." It's funny to think of a film that tackles racism as a "safe choice" but this seems to be the case.

Overall Score: 10 out of 15 (~ 67% correct)

Final Thoughts: This year's show wasn't too bad. I enjoyed Jon Stewart as host and the sketches were very funny (especially the opening sketch with previous hosts and the "Attack Ads"). The only thing that was disappointing was the overall blandness of the winners. In a year like this, I should not have gotten 10 out of 15 categories correct. I wish things were a bit more interesting. Oh well.

I'm already looking forward to next year's show and who will be hosting it (if it isn't Jon Stewart, that is). Will Chris Rock return and actually make some people angry? How about some new blood like Ben Stiller, Will Ferrell, or Jack Black? How about a woman like Queen Latifah or Ellen DeGeneres? Maybe an "old-timer" should come back. Steve Martin's fresh off the success of his Pink Panther remake...why not him? And why hasn't that crazy Robin Williams ever hosted?