And the Oscar Goes To...

"When I was a kid the only way I saw movies was from the back seat of my family's car...the drive-in. And it wasn't my reality to think that I would be acting in movies, so receiving this honor tonight tells me its possible...its possible for a kid from east Texas, raised in South Central LA and Carson, who believes in his dreams and commits himself to them with his heart, to touch them and have them happen. Because when I first started acting it was because of my desire to connect with everyone, to that thing inside each of us, to that light that I believe exists in all of us, because acting for me is about believing in that connection. It's a connection so strong, its a connection so deep that we feel it and through our combined belief we can create a new reality." --Forest Whitaker, Best Actor Oscar Winner

So the 2007 Oscars are over. I have to say, there were quite a few surprises that popped up. The most OUTRAGEOUS, in my opinion, was that PAN'S LABYRINTH did not win for Best Foreign Language Film. Its sweeped most of its nominations, but when it came to the biggest one of all, it fell short. Very disappointing...especially for the GENIUS Guillermo del Toro I'm sure. Even though Babel wasn't my favorite, I feel like it kinda got shortchanged, probably because of its distinct similarities to last year's Best Picture winner Crash. Same with Dreamgirls. I was happy to see that Little Miss Sunshine had some glory moments, but bottom line is that the Academy just isn't ready to offer Best Picture to a light-hearted comedy...they'll get there someday I hope. Surprisingly in my opinion, The Departed was the clear Academy favorite this year. Interesting. See my other Oscar notes scattered below with my original predictions.


OSCAR WINNERS

Best Motion Picture of the Year: Really? The Departed? Good Movie, but Great Film? Not my choice. Great Cast though.
•BABEL
•THE DEPARTED--WINNER
•LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA
•LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE
•THE QUEEN


Best Actor: His speech...oh, his speech. Touched my heart.
•Leonardo DiCaprio - BLOOD DIAMOND
•Ryan Gosling - HALF NELSON
•Peter O'Toole - VENUS
•Will Smith - THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS
•Forest Whitaker - THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND--WINNER

Best Actress: Holy Cow, did Helen Mirren look STUNNING!
•Penélope Cruz - VOLVER
•Judi Dench - NOTES ON A SCANDAL
•Helen Mirren - THE QUEEN --WINNER
•Meryl Streep - THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA
•Kate Winslet - LITTLE CHILDREN

Best Supporting Actor: Yay, Alan Arkin and Little Miss Sunshine! PS, how adorable was Abigail Breslin?
•Alan Arkin - LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE--WINNER
•Jackie Earle Haley - LITTLE CHILDREN
•Djimon Hounsou - BLOOD DIAMOND
•Eddie Murphy - DREAMGIRLS
•Mark Wahlberg - THE DEPARTED

Best Supporting Actress: YAY!! Reality TV can breed a star. Man, did she look and sound FANTASTIC on stage during both her acceptance and performance.
•Adriana Barraza - BABEL
•Cate Blanchett - NOTES ON A SCANDAL
•Abigail Breslin - LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE
•Jennifer Hudson - DREAMGIRLS --WINNER
•Rinko Kikuchi - BABEL

Best Animated Feature Film of the Year: Oh my gosh, I thought Disney had this one in the bag, but I'm so happy that Happy Feet pulled through. I got dragged to this by my friends, but I have to say I LOVED IT. Adorable movie with a cute message.
•CARS
•HAPPY FEET --WINNER
•MONSTER HOUSE

Achievement in Art Direction: I called this one. GORGEOUS and FRESH movie.
•PAN'S LABYRINTH--WINNER
•THE GOOD SHEPHERD
•DREAMGIRLS
•PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST
•THE PRESTIGE

Achievement in Cinematography: LOVE LOVE LOVE. Pan's, Round 2.
•THE BLACK DAHLIA
•CHILDREN OF MEN
•THE ILLUSIONIST
•PAN'S LABYRINTH--WINNER
•THE PRESTIGE

Achievement in Costume Design: Oh man, I know Dreamgirls got all the hype, but for those of us that actually saw Marie Antoinette, there was little question which was most deserving of this award. The costumes in this movie were breath-taking. Both Classic and Fresh. I'm so happy about this one.
•CURSE OF THE GOLDEN FLOWER
•THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA
•DREAMGIRLS
•MARIE ANTOINETTE--WINNER
•THE QUEEN

Best Director: Oh, YAY! While The Departed wasn't my favorite, there was no question that Marty Scorsese was most deserving of this prestigious honor. Most actors are scrambling all over each other to work with this cinematic legend.
•Alejando Inaritu - BABEL
•Martin Scorsese - THE DEPARTED --WINNER
•Clint Eastwood - LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA
•Stephen Frears - THE QUEEN
•Paul Greengrass - UNITED 93

Best Documentary Feature: Oh, Al Gore. If only you would run for president again. It makes me so sad to think "what if?"...His presence gives me chills and this docu is no different. We can make a difference. We need to step up and take care of our Earth. I just love seeing a polician step up for a worthy cause and speak to us through our most common voice--Film.
•DELIVER US FROM EVIL
•AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH--WINNER
•IRAQ IN FRAGMENTS
•JESUS CAMP
•MY COUNTRY, MY COUNTRY

Achievement in Film Editing: The Departed again. meh.
•BABEL
•BLOOD DIAMOND
•CHILDREN OF MEN
•THE DEPARTED--WINNER
•UNITED 93

Best Foreign Language Film of the Year: HOLY CRAP. ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME???
•AFTER THE WEDDING
•DAYS OF GLORY (INDIGÈNES)
•THE LIVES OF OTHERS--WINNER
•PAN'S LABYRINTH
•WATER

Achievement in Makeup: Yay, Pan's. Such cool makeup!
•APOCALYPTO
•CLICK
•PAN'S LABYRINTH--WINNER

Best Original Score: This is the only category Babel won? I'm kinda surprised. Even so, I would have given this one to Pan's. I know, I know...I'm a Pan's cheerleader. But seriously, I thought the use of the lullaby woven throughout was genius. But what do I know...
•BABEL--WINNER
•THE GOOD GERMAN
•NOTES ON A SCANDAL
•PAN'S LABYRINTH
•THE QUEEN

Best Original Song: I was a little caught off guard when the powerful songs of Dreamgirls got overshadowed by the song from Inconvenient Truth, but these things are political afterall, and no one can deny the emotional connection you feel with a Melissa Etheridge song.
•"I Need to Wake Up" - AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH--WINNER
•"Listen" - DREAMGIRLS
•"Love You I Do" - DREAMGIRLS
•"Our Town" - CARS
•"Patience" - DREAMGIRLS

Achievement in Sound Editing: Yeah, I didn't know much about this category, but I'm glad this movie won something.
•APOCALYPTO
•BLOOD DIAMOND
•FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS
•LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA--WINNER
•PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST

Achievement in Sound Mixing: Seemed like the obvious, and clearly most deserving, choice in my opinion.
•APOCALYPTO
•BLOOD DIAMOND
•DREAMGIRLS--WINNER
•FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS
•PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST

Achievement in Visual Effects: Seemed obvious here too.
•PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST --WINNER
•POSEIDON
•SUPERMAN RETURNS

Adapted Screenplay: I was really sad that Children of Men didn't win any of its nominations. It really was an amazing movie that deserved a little recognition. But it seemed like The Departed was the star of these awards.
•BORAT: CULTURAL LEARNINGS OF AMERICA FOR MAKE BENEFIT GLORIOUS NATION OF KAZAKHSTAN
•CHILDREN OF MEN
•THE DEPARTED--WINNER
•LITTLE CHILDREN
•NOTES ON A SCANDAL

Original Screenplay: You have to love it when a former celebrity personal assistant wins an academy award. Especially for such a heartwarming film like Little Miss Sunshine. So happy about this one.
•BABEL
•LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA
•LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE--WINNER
•PAN'S LABYRINTH
•THE QUEEN

So ultimately, I was able to correctly predict 10 Wins, with an additional 4 pleasant surprises. That leaves me dead wrong about 7 categories. Not quite as good as last year's predictions with only two wrong, but a pretty good showing overall. Yay, Oscars!