Monday, March 15, 2021

Oscar Nominations 2021 Reaction

79/103
If I did the math right, was this my worst year since I've been keeping track? I certainly seems so, dipping into the 70s, but then I remembered: one less category. Sound has been consolidated. So if I add three (let's say I got 3/5 to match each category to what I actually got), I get 82, which is about par.
So I think the story of this year is Judas and the Black Messiah, which has six nominations, including Best Picture and two in Supporting Actor -- four more than the two nominations I was expecting. Ma Rainey's Black Bottom didn't do quite as well as I was guessing, but I think in retrospect it makes sense. Interesting to see it miss out on Picture along with One Night in Miami, as both are stage adaptations, and although I haven't seen them yet, word is that both are, well, stagey.
Nomadland seems to be the frontrunner here now, as Trial missed out on a crucial Directing nomination: but as we have seen, this hasn't meant much the past few years. Green Book, anyone?

Best Picture
I've been over the past few years getting all of these correct. Not this year! Ma Rainey and One Night in Miami miss out.

1. Nomadland
2. The Trial of the Chicago 7
3. Minari
4. Promising Young Woman
5. Mank
8. Sound of Metal
11. Judas and the Black Messiah
13. The Father
6/8


Director
There were rumblings online that Vinterberg would be the surprise here, and they were correct. Happy to see two women become nominees. Sorry, Sorkin!

1. ChloƩ Zhao, Nomadland
2. David Fincher, Mank
4. Lee Isaac Chung, Minari
5. Emerald Fennell, Promising Young Woman
10. Thomas Vinterberg, Another Round
4/5

Actress

1. Viola Davis, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
2. Carey Mulligan, Promising Young Woman
3. Frances McDormand, Nomadland
4. Andra Day, The United States vs. Billie Holiday
5. Vanessa Kirby, Pieces of a Woman
5/5

Actor

1. Chadwick Boseman, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
2. Anthony Hopkins, The Father
3. Riz Ahmed, Sound of Metal
4. Gary Oldman, Mank
5. Steven Yuen, Minari
5/5

Supporting Actress

1. Olivia Colman, The Father
2. Yuh-Jung Youn, Minari
3. Maria Bakalova, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
5. Amanda Seyfried, Mank
6. Glenn Close, Hillbilly Elegy
4/5


Supporting Actor
No one, and as far as I can tell, no one expected Judas to get two nominations here. Apparently the film is without a lead?

1. Daniel Kaluuya, Judas and the Black Messiah
2. Sacha Baron Cohen, The Trial of the Chicago 7
3. Leslie Odom Jr., One Night in Miami
4. Paul Raci, Sound of Metal
-.
Lakeith Stanfield, Judas and the Black Messiah
4/5

Original Screenplay
A strong category, but Mank missing out is the story here. Sorry, David Fincher's father.

1. The Trial of the Chicago 7
2. Promising Young Woman
3. Minari
5. Sound of Metal
7. Judas and the Black Messiah
4/5

Adapted Screenplay
Okay, I loved hearing Borat Subsequent Moviefilm's full title and writing team being read aloud. Hilarious.

1. Nomadland
2. One Night in Miami
3. The Father
7. Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
9. The White Tiger
3/5


Editing
Mank didn't do as well as I thought it would, and with it missing here and in Original Screenplay.

1. The Trial of the Chicago 7
2. Nomadland
4. Sound of Metal
5. Promising Young Woman
6. The Father
4/5

Cinematography
I was right: there are surprises here. Minari misses out, and Judas continues its streak.

1. Nomadland
2. Mank
3. News of the World
6. The Trial of the Chicago 7
7. Judas and the Black Messiah
3/5

Production Design
Certainly didn't see The Father walking in here.

1. Mank
2. Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
3. News of the World
5. Tenet
-. The Father
4/5

Costume Design
Didn't expect Pinocchio to be double-nominated this year.

1. Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
2. Mank
3. Emma.
4. Mulan
-. Pinocchio
4/5

Makeup and Hairstyling
I really didn't want to see Hillbilly Elegy to be nominated here, but it was. It might win, too.

1. Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
2. Mank
3. Hillbilly Elegy
5. Emma.
6. Pinocchio
4/5

Original Score
NIN are double nominees. Wow!

1. Soul
2. Mank
3. Minari
4. News of the World
7. Da 5 Bloods
4/5

Original Song
It's rare that I get more than three here, let alone all five nominees.

1. "Speak Now", One Night in Miami
2. "Io Si (Seen)", The Life Ahead
3. "Fight for You", Judas and the Black Messiah
4. "Hear My Voice", The Trial of the Chicago 7
5. "Husavik", Eurovision Song Contest
5/5

Sound
Formerly Sound Mixing and Sound (Effects) Editing. For my score, assume this is doubled.

1. Sound of Metal
2. Mank
3. Soul
6. News of the World
7. Greyhound
3/5


Visual Effects
I found this to be a rather strange line-up, given the two surprises. I'm not even sure if I had heard of The One and Only Ivan before I started researching possible nominees.

1. Tenet
2. The Midnight Sky
3. Mulan
7. The One and Only Ivan
9. Love and Monsters
3/5

Animated Feature
I correctly predicted the selected five, foreseeing that the branch wouldn't nominate The Croods sequel.

1. Soul
2. Wolfwalkers
3. Onward
4. Over the Moon
5. Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon


International Feature
Two surprises!

1. Another Round (Denmark)
2. Quo Vadis, Aida? (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
3. Collective (Romania)
-. Better Days (Hong Kong)
-. The Man Who Sold His Skin
3/5

Documentary Feature
My worst category this year. Mole Agent surprises out of nowhere, and two well-received films that were expected to show up didn't. Always a tough call, this category is.

1. Time
2. Collective
6. Crip Camp
8. My Octopus Teacher
-. The Mole Agent
2/5

TALLIES
Films With More Than One Nomination

Nominations (Predicted Nominations)
Mank - 10 (13)
Judas and the Black Messiah - 6 (2)
Minari - 6 (7)
Nomadland
- 6 (6)
Sound of Metal - 6 (6)
The Father - 6 (3)
The Trial of the Chicago 7 - 6 (6)
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom - 5 (8)
Promising Young Woman - 5 (5)
News of the World - 4 (5)
One Night in Miami - 3 (4)
Soul- 3 (4)
Tenet - 2 (4)
Mulan - 2 (3)
Another Round - 2 (1)
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm - 2 (1)
Collective -
2 (2)
Emma. - 2 (2)
Hillbilly Elegy - 2 (0)
Pinocchio - 2 (0)
Da 5  Bloods - 1 (2)

Sunday, March 14, 2021

Oscar Nominations Predictions 2021

What a bizarre year 2020 was. Let's not dwell on the misery that it was, and let's divert our attention to the late Oscar season.

Mank seems to be poised to be the leader of this year's nominations --I'm looking at 13 nods-- but I don't see it translating well to Oscar night. The frontrunners in that respect are Nomadland and The Trial of the Chicago 7. Consensus seems to be that Trial will pick up Picture and Nomadland Directing, resulting in a "split year". In years past the general trick was to never predict Picture/Directing splits, as they were very difficult to see coming -- but as we have seen since Argo, these have become more common.

But the main story here is the diversity of nominees: we are suspecting that THREE of the Directing nominations could be women (Zhao, Fennell and King), which would also make (with Chung's Minari) THREE non-white directors. Considering that most years have five white men as the nominees, this is astounding!

Looking at the tallies, I see there are two films that I'm surprised to see racking up the potential nominations: Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (8 nods) and Sound of Metal (6 nods). Who woulda thunk it? Certainly not me a year ago.

Best Picture

1. Nomadland
2. The Trial of the Chicago 7
3. Minari
4. Promising Young Woman
5. Mank
6. One Night in Miami
7. Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
8. Sound of Metal
9. Da 5 Bloods
10. Soul
11. Judas and the Black Messiah
12. News of the World
13. The Father
14. Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
15. First Cow
16. The Mauritanian
17. Tenet
18. Pieces of a Woman
19. Hillbilly Elegy
20. Another Round

Director
How exciting would it be to have THREE women nominated? I think King might sneak in, but at whose expense? Could Sorkin miss? Or even *gasp* Fincher? I don't think anyone is locked here other than Zhao, including Fennell.

1. ChloƩ Zhao, Nomadland
2. David Fincher, Mank
3. Aaron Sorkin, The Trial of the Chicago 7
4. Lee Isaac Chung, Minari
5. Emerald Fennell, Promising Young Woman
6. Regina King, One Night in Miami
7. Spike Lee, Da 5 Bloods
8. Darius Marder, Sound of Metal
9. Florian Zeller, The Father
10. Thomas Vinterberg, Another Round
Also in Contention: Paul Greengrass (News of the World) Shaka King (Judas and the Black Messiah), Kelly Reichardt (First Cow), George C. Wolfe (Ma Rainey's Black Bottom)

Actress
The top five here seem to be the general consensus: it's unlikely there will be a surprise here.

1. Viola Davis, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
2. Carey Mulligan, Promising Young Woman
3. Frances McDormand, Nomadland
4. Andra Day, The United States vs. Billie Holiday
5. Vanessa Kirby, Pieces of a Woman
6. Sophia Loren, The Life Ahead
7. Amy Adams, Hillbilly Elegy
8. Zendaya, Malcolm and Marie
9. Michelle Pfeiffer, French Exit
10. Yeri Han, Minari

Actor
I have a suspicion that Mikkelsen will make his way in, but again, at whose expense? Yuen?

1. Chadwick Boseman, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
2. Anthony Hopkins, The Father
3. Riz Ahmed, Sound of Metal
4. Gary Oldman, Mank
5. Steven Yuen, Minari
6. Delroy Lindo, Da 5 Bloods
7. Mads Mikkelsen, Another Round
8. Kingsley Ben-Adir, One Night in Miami
9. Tom Hanks, News of the World
10. LaKeith Stanfield, Judas and the Black Messiah

Supporting Actress
This is a strange category: everyone's saying Close is in, but I really don't think she survived the critical bashing of the film. Foster won the Globe, meaning that she's likely nominated, and Bakalova has been doing quite well I think. Seyfried seems to be the weak one here, but I somehow have a feeling that she's in.

1. Olivia Colman, The Father
2. Yuh-Jung Youn, Minari
3. Maria Bakalova, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
4. Jodie Foster, The Mauritanian
5. Amanda Seyfried, Mank
6. Glenn Close, Hillbilly Elegy
7. Ellen Burstyn, Pieces of a Woman
8. Helena Zengel, News of the World
9. Saoirse Ronan, Ammonite
10. Dominque Fishback, Judas and the Black Messiah

Supporting Actor
Will Trial of the Chicago 7 be multi-nominated here? If so, with who?

1. Daniel Kaluuya, Judas and the Black Messiah
2. Sacha Baron Cohen, The Trial of the Chicago 7
3. Leslie Odom Jr., One Night in Miami
4. Paul Raci, Sound of Metal
5. Chadwick Boseman, Da 5 Bloods
6. Mark Rylance, The Trial of the Chicago 7
7. Jared Leto, The Little Things
8. Alan Kim, Minari
9. Bill Murray, On the Rocks
10. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, The Trial of the Chicago 7

Original Screenplay
A rather strong category this year. I can see any of the top 8 getting in.

1. The Trial of the Chicago 7
2. Promising Young Woman
3. Minari
4. Mank
5. Sound of Metal
6. Soul
7. Judas and the Black Messiah
8. Da 5 Bloods
9. On the Rocks
10. Never Rarely Always Sometimes

Adapted Screenplay

1. Nomadland
2. One Night in Miami
3. The Father
4. News of the World
5. Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
6. I'm Thinking of Ending Things
7. Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
8. First Cow
9. The White Tiger
10. The Mauritanian

Editing

1. The Trial of the Chicago 7
2. Nomadland
3. Mank
4. Sound of Metal
5. Promising Young Woman
6. The Father
7. Minari
8. Tenet
9. News of the World
10. Da 5 Bloods

Cinematography
Tenet wasn't nominated by the Guild, but Trial was -- I still don't think that Trial's rather generic cinematography is deserving, but it somehow snuck in. Let's see if there's a surprise: I feel that this category is ripe for one.

1. Nomadland
2. Mank
3. News of the World
4. Minari
5. Tenet
6. The Trial of the Chicago 7
7. Judas and the Black Messiah
8. Da 5 Bloods
9. Cherry
10. Ma Rainey's Black Bottom

Production Design

1. Mank
2. Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
3. News of the World
4. Mulan
5. Tenet
6. Emma.
7. The Midnight Sky
8. The Trial of the Chicago 7
9. Personal History of David Copperfield
10. Rebecca

Costume Design

1. Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
2. Mank
3. Emma.
4. Mulan
5. News of the World
6. The United States vs. Billie Holiday
7. Personal History of David Copperfield
8. Ammonite
9. Promising Young Woman
10. Birds of Prey

Makeup and Hairstyling
I really don't want to see Hillbilly Elegy to be nominated here, but I suspect it will.
1. Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
2. Mank
3. Hillbilly Elegy
4. Birds of Prey
5. Emma.
6. Pinocchio
7. Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey
8. One Night in Miami
9. The Glorias
10. The Little Things

Original Score

1. Soul
2. Mank
3. Minari
4. News of the World
5. The Midnight Sky
6. Tenet
7. Da 5 Bloods
8. The Trial of the Chicago 7
9. The Little Things
10. Mulan

Original Song

1. "Speak Now", One Night in Miami
2. "Io Si (The Life Ahead)", Seen
3. "Fight for You", Judas and the Black Messiah
4. "Hear My Voice", The Trial of the Chicago 7
5. "Husavik", Eurovision Song Contest
6. "Turntables", All In: The Fight for Democracy
7. "Wuhan Flu", Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
8. "Rain Song", Minari
9. "Green", Sound of Metal
10. "Loyal Brave True", Mulan

Sound

1. Sound of Metal
2. Mank
3. Soul
4. Tenet
5. Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
6. News of the World
7. Greyhound
8. Nomadland
9. The Midnight Sky
10. The Trial of the Chicago 7

Visual Effects

1. Tenet
2. The Midnight Sky
3. Mulan
4. Mank
5. Welcome to Chechnya
6. Birds of Prey
7. The One and Only Ivan
8. Soul
9. Love and Monsters
10. Bloodshot

Animated Feature

1. Soul
2. Wolfwalkers
3. Onward
4. Over the Moon
5. Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon
6. The Croods: A New Age
7. The Willoughbys
8. Earwig and the Witch
9. Trolls World Tour
10. No. 7 Cherry Lane


International Feature
I think that A Sun from Taiwan, which has recently been getting some notice by critics and audiences, will be the surprise here.

1. Another Round (Denmark)
2. Quo Vadis, Aida? (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
3. Collective (Romania)
4. La Llorona (Guatemala)
5. Two of Us (France)
6. Dear Comrades! (Russia)
7. A Sun (Taiwan)
8. Night of the Kings (Cote d'Ivoire)
9. I'm No Longer Here (Mexico)

Documentary Feature

1. Time
2. Collective
3. Welcome to Chechnya
4. Dick Johnson is Dead
5. Boys State
6. Crip Camp
7. All In: The Fight for Democracy
8. My Octopus Teacher
9. The Truffle Hunters
10. 76 Days

TALLIES
Films With More Than One Nomination

Mank -
13
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom - 8
Minari - 7
Nomadland
- 6
Sound of Metal - 6
The Trial of the Chicago 7 - 6
News of the World - 5
Promising Young Woman - 5
One Night in Miami - 4
Soul- 4
Tenet - 4
The Father - 3
Mulan - 3
Da 5  Bloods - 2
Emma. - 2
Judas and the Black Messiah - 2
The Midnight Sky - 2
Welcome to Chechnya - 2