The Oscars are coming, the Oscars are coming!
It’s that time of year again, movie fans. The American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is offering up 24 coveted trophies, in categories as low-profile as Best Sound Mixing and as prominent as Best Picture, at the 83rd Academy Awards, set to air Feb. 27.
At Marquee, we sometimes get a little off-track during our desk meetings, but this week our meandering brought us to an unexpectedly exciting idea: Why not pick movies we think will win the Oscars?
Of course, due to space and time constraints, we can’t judge all of them, so we’ve picked the eight categories we think you’ll care about most.
There’s no guarantee that we’ll be right — especially since only one of our staffers saw every one of the movies nominated — but we’ll give it a shot anyway. Who knows? Maybe we’ll walk away with a proverbial trophy of our own.
Best Picture: “The King’s Speech”
The verdict was clear on this one: We all want “The Social Network” to win. We all know “The King’s Speech” will win. Pragmatism will out.
Best Director: David Fincher, “The Social Network”
Yes, the Director’s Guild of America gave their award to Tom Hooper for “The King’s Speech,” and yes, the DGA award for direction is usually an indicator of who’ll win Best Director. But Fincher pulled off the British version at the BAFTAs, and as staff writer Matt Mueller said, “I think the DGAs were just a little snookerloopy.”
Best Actor: Colin Firth, “The King’s Speech”
There’s a lot of great actors nominated for this category, but this one’s not really a contest. Yeah, someone could pull an upset, but it’s Colin Firth as a stuttering king. We doubt it.
Best Actress: Natalie Portman, “Black Swan”
This one’s another no-brainer, although the actresses opposing Portman are much better than the actors facing Firth. Portman is by far the frontrunner, though.
Best Supporting Actor: Christian Bale, “The Fighter”
This one was somewhat of a begrudging selection, since none of the nominated actors in this category seemed to stand out to anyone. Geoffrey Rush might upset for his role in “The King’s Speech,” but Bale is due for a statue.
Best Supporting Actress: Melissa Leo, “The Fighter”
This was another toss-up settled by pragmatism. Our other option is Hailee Steinfeld, the girl who sets the plot of “True Grit” into motion, but it’s much more likely the Academy will give the trophy to Leo.
Best Writing – Original Screenplay: “The King’s Speech”
“The King’s Speech” tells a good story, and it’s sweeping the awards shows. This wasn’t too hard a decision.
Best Writing – Adapted Screenplay: “The Social Network”
Likewise. “True Grit” is a close second, but it can’t stand up to Aaron Sorkin’s killer screenplay. And this is the movie we wanted to give Best Picture to. No way we’re letting it get out of here without this one.
