Strike or not, the show must go on: A look ahead at the 2008 Academy Awards

(to be published in the next issue of The Ryder - which should be on the shelf in the next couple weeks)


Strike or not, the show must go on: A look ahead at the 2008 Academy Awards

It’s been over three months since the Writer’s Strike started, and there is still no clear end in sight. Though January’s Golden Globes telecast was cancelled, the 80th Annual Academy Awards ceremony will be televised at 8:00 PM EST on ABC on February 24th, though there are two different types of shows being planned. If the strike is still in progress, the Oscars will be full of film clips and pieces about the history of cinema. If the strike is over, we’ll get a show filled with all the glitz, glamour and celebrities we’re used to, as well as Jon Stewart returning for his second stint as host. I’m crossing my fingers for the Writer’s Strike to end so the show can go on and we can all tune in to watch the epic ceremony unfold as it should – with my favorite film of the season winning Best Picture.

Every year, amazing performances and films get nominated for Oscars, but there are always worthy people and pictures that get left in the dust. From one movie lover to another, I’m going to let you in on my favorites from this season, my prediction of who is actually going to go home with the award, and who should have at least been given a chance.

Supporting Actor Nominees: Casey Affleck (The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford), Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men), Phillip Seymour Hoffman (Charlie Wilson’s War), Hal Holbrook (Into the Wild), and Tom Wilkinson (Michael Clayton)

My pick: Casey Affleck – It was so unsettling to see how the other men in Jesse James’ posse treated Robert Ford when you know that he is ultimately going to kill the man he idolized. The standout scene for me was when Ford tried to stop the others from digging through his shoebox of Jesse James memorabilia.

The Academy’s Pick: Javier Bardem – Anton Chigurh is one of the creepiest film villains of all-time and so unlike any of Bardem’s previous roles.

Snubbed: For me, it’s a toss up between Ben Foster in 3:10 to Yuma and Steve Zahn in Rescue Dawn. In Yuma, Foster’s menacing outlaw outshone leads Christian Bale and Russell Crowe. In Rescue Dawn, Zahn (also playing opposite of Bale) withers away before your eyes as a POW, making you forget that he usually gets cast as a goofy sidekick.

Supporting Actress Nominees: Cate Blanchett (I’m Not There), Ruby Dee (American Gangster), Saoirse Ronan (Atonement), Amy Ryan (Gone Baby Gone), and Tilda Swinton (Michael Clayton)

My pick: Tilda Swinton – I have only seen two of the five performances nominated (Swinton and Ronan), but I feel the award should be given to Swinton as one of those "You’ve had an amazing career so far and have been overlooked before, so here’s some recognition now" Oscars.

The Academy’s Pick: Cate Blanchett – Though Amy Ryan has been stiff competition at the past few awards shows, Blanchett is a critics darling and an amazing actress to boot. Plus, she’s playing Bob Dylan.

Snubbed: Allison Janney has made quite an impact on me with her tiny, yet incredibly funny supporting roles in Hairspray and Juno. She deserved the nod for Juno, if only for the scene where she tells off the ultrasound technician.

Best Actor Nominees: George Clooney (Michael Clayton), Daniel Day-Lewis (There Will Be Blood), Johnny Depp (Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street), Tommy Lee Jones (In the Valley of Elah), and Viggo Mortenson (Eastern Promises)

My Pick: Johnny Depp – Of all the nominees, he took the biggest creative risk by being in a musical about a homicidal barber and he’s been nominated twice before. Too bad his charmed third time pins him up against…

The Academy’s Pick: Daniel Day-Lewis – One of the greatest actors of all time. He makes very few films these days, but when he does, his performance is always powerfully intense.

Snubbed: Usually great male actors get nominated for playing against type, or portraying someone whom has a disability or is mentally unstable. But what about James McAvoy’s heartbreaking performance in Atonement as Robbie Turner, a completely average young man whose life gets ripped out from under him because of a false accusation?

Best Actress Nominees: Cate Blanchett (Elizabeth: The Golden Age), Julie Christie (Away From Her), Marion Cotillard (La Vie En Rose), Laura Linney (The Savages), and Ellen Page (Juno)

My Pick: Laura Linney – I’d like to see Linney get the award, as she consistently gives strong performances and is one of my favorite American actresses.

The Academy’s Pick: Julie Christie – An amazing actress who has been racking up well deserved awards this season for her role as a woman with Alzheimer’s.

Snubbed: Already a nominee once for Junebug, Amy Adams should have been recognized this year for her blissfully innocent portrayal of the newest Disney Princess, Giselle, in Enchanted.

Best Picture Nominees: Atonement, Juno, Michael Clayton, No Country for Old Men, There Will Be Blood

My pick: Atonement – Brilliant in every aspect of filmmaking including score, script, cinematography and cast. My eyes well while watching movies maybe once every other blue moon, but I was so moved by the way Joe Wright brought Ian McEwan’s beautiful novel to screen that I needed to wipe away the tears more than once.

The Academy’s Pick: No Country for Old Men – It was nice to see the Coen Brothers make a good film after a couple of recent misfires (Intolerable Cruelty and The Ladykillers), but is this really the best film of the year? This movie lost the Golden Globe to Atonement, but has picked up Best Picture awards from critics all over the country. This category may still be up for grabs.

Snubbed: Tim Burton’s Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street was very deserving of a nomination for Best Picture. This was a solid film with a great cast, awesomely grotesque effects and music by Steven Sondheim – what more could you want from a movie musical?

So, go forth, fellow movie lovers, catch up on the nominees (many are still at a theater near you) and get your ballots ready because strike or not, the show must go on.