OSCARS 2020: The Winners!

The 92nd Academy Awards have been disbursed! How did I do in my prognostication this year?

Well, as usual, I did not get to watch anywhere near enough of the nominees to make the best decisions for this. I did knock down quite a few of the major ones though, so take from that what you will.

So, how did I do? 14/24! I picked 58% this year, which is not too shabby.

As in previous years, my picks will be BOLD. If the winner is GREEN, that means I guessed correctly. If it is RED, that means I chose poorly. I average 50% on these things, not expecting much. Here we go!

Best Picture

“Ford v Ferrari”
“The Irishman”
“Jojo Rabbit”
“Joker”
“Little Women”
“Marriage Story”
“1917”
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
“Parasite”

Parasite does it! Wow! The first non english film to take best picture!

Lead Actor

Antonio Banderas “Pain and Glory”
Leonardo DiCaprio “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
Adam Driver “Marriage Story”
Joaquin Phoenix “Joker”
Jonathan Pryce “The Two Popes”

No brainer. His performance is inspiring real life revolutionaries.

Lead Actress

Cynthia Erivo “Harriet”
Scarlett Johansson “Marriage Story”
Saoirse Ronan “Little Women”
Charlize Theron “Bombshell”
Renee Zellweger “Judy”

I think they played it safe. I’m sure Zellweger did a fine job, but this movie has no impact of any kind. It is already forgotten.

Supporting Actor

Tom Hanks, “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood”
Anthony Hopkins, “The Two Popes”
Al Pacino, “The Irishman”
Joe Pesci, “The Irishman”
Brad Pitt, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”

Pitt’s had this thing sewn up for months.

Supporting Actress

Kathy Bates, “Richard Jewell”
Laura Dern, “Marriage Story”
Scarlett Johannson, “Jojo Rabbit”
Florence Pugh, “Little Women”
Margot Robbie, “Bombshell”

I was hoping for Johansson, but Dern is deserving.

Director

Martin Scorsese, “The Irishman”
Todd Phillips, “Joker”
Sam Mendes, “1917”
Quentin Tarantino, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
Bong Joon Ho, “Parasite”

Yay for Bong Joon Ho! Quite an achievement!

Animated Feature

“How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World” Dean DeBlois
“I Lost My Body” Jeremy Clapin
“Klaus” Sergio Pablos
“Missing Link” Chris Butler
“Toy Story 4” Josh Cooley

Never bet against Toy Story.

Animated Short

“Dcera,” Daria Kashcheeva
“Hair Love,” Matthew A. Cherry
“Kitbull,” Rosana Sullivan
“Memorable,” Bruno Collet
“Sister,” Siqi Song

A lovely film.

Adapted Screenplay

“The Irishman,” Steven Zaillian
“Jojo Rabbit,” Taika Waititi
“Joker,” Todd Phillips, Scott Silver
“Just Mercy” Destin Daniel Cretton and Andrew Lanham
“Little Women,” Greta Gerwig
“The Two Popes,” Anthony McCarten

I am SO happy that Taika Waititi is now an oscar winner. Awesome.

Original Screenplay

“Knives Out,” Rian Johnson
“Marriage Story,” Noah Baumbach
“1917,” Sam Mendes and Krysty Wilson-Cairns
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Quentin Tarantino
“Parasite,” Bong Joon-ho, Jin Won Han

No brainer.

Cinematography

“The Irishman,” Rodrigo Prieto
“Joker,” Lawrence Sher
“The Lighthouse,” Jarin Blaschke
“1917,” Roger Deakins
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Robert Richardson

Deakins can win! yay!

Best Documentary Feature

“American Factory,” Julia Rieichert, Steven Bognar
“The Cave,” Feras Fayyad
“The Edge of Democracy,” Petra Costa
“For Sama,” Waad Al-Kateab, Edward Watts
“Honeyland,” Tamara Kotevska, Ljubo Stefanov

Blind guess – boo!

Best Documentary Short Subject

“In the Absence”
“Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone,” Carol Dysinger
“Life Overtakes Me,” Kristine Samuelson, John Haptas
“St. Louis Superman”
“Walk Run Cha-Cha,” Laura Nix

Blind guess – yay!

Best Live Action Short Film

“Brotherhood,” Meryam Joobeur
“Nefta Football Club,” Yves Piat
“The Neighbors’ Window,” Marshall Curry
“Saria,” Bryan Buckley
“A Sister,” Delphine Girard

Blind guess – boo!

Best Foreign Language Film

“Corpus Christi,” Jan Komasa
“Honeyland,” Tamara Kotevska, Ljubo Stefanov
“Les Miserables,” Ladj Ly
“Pain and Glory,” Pedro Almodovar
“Parasite,” Bong Joon Ho

Parasite all day long.

Film Editing

“Ford v Ferrari,” Michael McCusker, Andrew Buckland
“The Irishman,” Thelma Schoonmaker
“Jojo Rabbit,” Tom Eagles
“Joker,” Jeff Groth
“Parasite,” Jinmo Yang

Wow, this must be something.

Sound Editing

“Ford v Ferrari,” Don Sylvester
“Joker,” Alan Robert Murray
“1917,” Oliver Tarney, Rachel Tate
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Wylie Stateman
“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,” Matthew Wood, David Acord

I think I need to see Ford v Ferrari, lol.

Sound Mixing

“Ad Astra”
“Ford v Ferrari”
“Joker”
“1917”
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”

Production Design

“The Irishman,” Bob Shaw and Regina Graves
“Jojo Rabbit,” Ra Vincent and Nora Sopkova
“1917,” Dennis Gassner and Lee Sandales
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Barbara Ling and Nancy Haigh
“Parasite,” Lee Ha-Jun and Cho Won Woo, Han Ga Ram, and Cho Hee

Pleasantly surprised!

Original Score

“Joker,” Hildur Guðnadóttir
“Little Women,” Alexandre Desplat
“Marriage Story,”Randy Newman
“1917,” Thomas Newman
“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,” John Williams

I wanted Johnny to win one last Oscar, but I have no issues here. That score was haunting.

Original Song

“I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away,” “Toy Story 4”
“I’m Gonna Love Me Again,” “Rocketman”
“I’m Standing With You,” “Breakthrough”
“Into the Unknown,” “Frozen 2”
“Stand Up,” “Harriet”

When picking, I said “Never go against Randy Newman”. I’d forgotten that Elton John has NEVER lost a nomination.

Makeup and Hair

“Bombshell”
“Joker”
“Judy”
“Maleficent: Mistress of Evil”
“1917”

I’m a bit surprised at this one.

Costume Design

”The Irishman,” Sandy Powell, Christopher Peterson
“Jojo Rabbit,” Mayes C. Rubeo
“Joker,” Mark Bridges
“Little Women,” Jacqueline Durran
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Arianne Phillips

Always go with the period piece here. It was tougher this year as EVERYTHING was a period piece! Little women was the OLDEST setting, so it seemed the safe bet. lol.

Visual Effects