Academy Awards Special

With the Academy Awards coming soon, I thought an Oscar special would be fun. I'm just going to take my little Academy Award nominations paper, fill in who I think will win, tell you why and offer some extra knowledge on the subject. I'll run through the obvious genres like best picture, best score and best original screenplay. I'm not exactly an expert on all of the genres but I know enough to give you a semi-detailed answer.

NOTE: The spreadsheet paper I was going to use for the Academy Award presentation is somehow corrupted or was brought down by the website. Therefore, I will just use bullets and the like. :) The strikes indicate my bet. Oh, and there will be some minor bias. Hey, you gotta do what you gotta do.

Best Leading Actor

Leonardo DiCaprio – BLOOD DIAMOND (Runner-Up)
Ryan Gosling – HALF NELSON
Peter O’Toole – VENUS
Will Smith – THE PURSUIT
OF HAPPYNESS
Forest Whitaker – THE LAST KING
OF SCOTLAND (My Pick)

His performance in the film was great, giving many critics the impression that he dug deep into his sadistic character. Without saying too much, the movie was very good, his performance merely a boost, a big boost at that.
Leo D. is the runner-up because of his gritty, manly performance in Blood Diamond. He wasn't nominated for The Departed so he very well might run away with this award. Another notable pick is Ryan Gosling.

CINEMATOGRAPHY

THE BLACK DAHLIA
CHILDREN OF MEN (My Pick)
THE ILLUSIONIST
PAN’S LABYRINTH (Runner-Up)
THE PRESTIGE

Children of Men was an amazing film so it was sure to get a nod for something, in this case, cinematography, which may seem like a back-burner award but sometimes it can make a movie. Children of Men was overall very well done with cinematography a big part of the film's deliverance. A close runner-up would have to be Pan's Labyrinth because it was just so engaging and beautiful.

Best Leading Actress

Penélope Cruz – VOLVER
Judi Dench – NOTES ON A SCANDAL (Runner-Up)
Helen Mirren – THE QUEEN (My Pick)
Meryl Streep – THE DEVIL WEARS
PRADA
Kate Winslet – LITTLE CHILDREN

Everyone thinks Helen Mirren will walk away with this one and I don't blame them. Her performance was astonishing and one of the reasons the movie was so damn good. However, Judi Dench is no pushover. She may steal this one from Helen, so watch out.

Screenplay Adapted

BORAT
CHILDREN OF MEN (Runner-Up)
THE DEPARTED (My Pick)
LITTLE CHILDREN
NOTES ON A SCANDAL

I have to go with The Departed on this one. It was originally a Japanese trilogy and to mold it into an Irish mobster film wasn't an easy task. Not to mention that The Departed was explosive and just a great movie, this screenplay should win. However, Children of Men has an incredible script marked by an interesting premise and creativity. Tune in to see who wins.

Original Screenplay

BABEL (Runner-Up)
LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA
LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE (Odd Ball Pick)
PAN’S LABYRINTH (My Pick)
THE QUEEN

This will be a tough one. All of the films in this category are superb and while I loved Pan's Labyrinth, it will be hard for it to beat out Babel and Little Miss Sunshine which I think are the biggest threats to Pan's Labyrinth's win. Babel was like Crash in how it compared human situations and used emotion as it's backdrop. I wouldn't be surprised if this won because it was just so damn good. Then you have Little Miss Sunshine. I loved this movie too because it's something everyone can watch and really is a heartwarming film about life and all of the disappointments and stories you can get from it. I give it my Oddball Pick so don't be astonished if it wins.

Directing

BABEL (My Pick)
THE DEPARTED
LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA (Runner-Up)
THE QUEEN
UNITED 93

I pick Babel for obvious reasons that I have stated before. My runner-up is "Letters From Iwo Jima" because Clint Eastwood did something not many directors would ever try. It directed an entire movie in Japanese with a cast that could not speak English. Talk about a language barrier. This feat alone was enough to propel him towards the Oscar but don't forget that the film itself was excellent. I might even change my mind and give him my pick moving Babel over to runner-up.

Best Picture

BABEL (My Pick)
THE DEPARTED
LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA
LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE
THE QUEEN (Runner-Up)

I'm going with Babel on this one. No one expected Crash to win last year and this movie is similar if not better. Babel had a powerful message and that's what wins Oscars. With that said, I have to go with The Queen even though Little Miss Sunshine is far behind. I would love to say The Departed hands down or Letters From Iwo Jima but it's going to be a tight race.

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Now I'm going to run through the "lesser" awards.

Documentary Feature - An Inconvenient Truth
This was a real eye-opener. Everyone should watch this to see how global warming is affecting Earth.

Art Direction - Pan's Labyrinth
Visually stunning, engaging and engulfs the audience. Simply wondrous.

Original Score - Pan's Labyrinth
Let's put it this way. It's the only score you'll remember after watching all of the films in this category.

Sound Mixing - Dreamgirls
Flawless sound mixing for..well...a musical!

Original Song - Dreamgirls (One of the three nominated)
I would be surprised if it didn't win. After all three of its songs were nominated out of the overall five Original Song nominations.

Sound Editing - Blood Diamond
Masterful sound editing in hectic scenes throughout the film.

Foreign Language Film - Pan's Labyrinth
It's in Spanish which isn't too foreign and it being in a different language is the only reason why this movie wasn't nominated for Best Picture.

Film Editing - United 93
When you consider the topic addressed, you realize the need for perfect film editing.

Supporting Actor - Alan Arkin (Little Miss Sunshine)
I give this one to him because of his stature in Hollywood and his quirky yet very good performance in Little Miss Sunshine.

Visual Effects - Superman Returns
Huge scale, convincing graphics, scarily good visual effects. It's Superman!

Animated Feature - Happy Feet
Catchy musical numbers, an all-star cast and great visuals bring this film to life and takes the Oscar easily.

Costume Design - Curse of the Golden Flower
Wowzerz! It's hard not to give the Oscar to this one. Just watch it.

Makeup - Apocalypto
Vibrant colors and divine paints make the Mayans a lost yet incredibly beautiful civilization. No point in disagreeing.

Supporting Actress - Rinko Kikuchi (Babel)
With such a powerful impact this movie left on me, it would not be possible without the heart-aching performance by Rinko which required a lot of preserverance. Watching the movie will show you just how hard it must have been for Kikuchi to portray a lost, deaf, mute and sorrowful Japanese girl on the brink of mental suicide.
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That just about wraps up my Oscar Special. As for the Academy Awards, they will be held on Februrary 25th at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood and will be hosted by Ellen DeGeneres. Tune in to see who wins and if I was right!

NOTE: I left out the nominations for Documentary Short, Short Film (Live Action), and Short Film (Animated.) I don't know too much about those.
A big thanks to Film.com for their Oscar Ballot PDF page: http://smilparse.real.com/showcase/filmcom/oscars_2007/filmcom_oscarballot_2007.pdf