The 79th Annual Academy Awards are fast approaching, and The Daily Cardinal Arts Desk is back to share their Oscar predictions.
Our Panel
Eunice Abraham: Arts editor
Brien Barrett: Arts editor
Joe Pudas: former Arts columnist
Tarah Scalzo: current Arts columnist
Eric R. Schmidt: Arts writer
Dan Wohl: former Arts editor
(Oscar picks are listed in order of ""Who Should Win"" and ""Who Will Win."")
Best Supporting Actress
Nominees: Adriana Barraza ""Babel,"" Cate Blanchett ""Notes on a Scandal,"" Abigail Breslin ""Little Miss Sunshine,"" Jennifer Hudson ""Dreamgirls"" and Rinko Kikuchi ""Babel""
Abraham: Blanchett, Hudson
Barrett: Barraza, Hudson
Pudas: Breslin, Hudson
Schmidt: Barraza, Hudson
Wohl: Breslin, Hudson
Scalzo: Blanchett, Hudson—
The Golden Globes, as usual, gave no real indication of who will and won't go home with a gold statue this year—however, the one thing it did do was establish that ""Dreamgirls,"" while failing to garnish a nomination for Best Film, still dazzled with powerhouse supporting performances of both the musical and dramatic persuasion. Cate Blanchett gave the performance of a lifetime in ""Notes on a Scandal""—however, something tells me the Academy wants to go with a newbie. Plus, they'll be eager to make up for the fruitless buzz ""Dreamgirls"" received for most of 2006.
Best Supporting Actor
Nominees: Alan Arkin ""Little Miss Sunshine,"" Jackie Earle Haley ""Little Children,"" Djimon Hounsou ""Blood Diamond,"" Eddie Murphy ""Dreamgirls"" and Mark Wahlberg ""The Departed""
Abraham: Murphy, Murphy
Barrett: Wahlberg, Wahlberg
Scalzo: Arkin, Murphy
Schmidt: Arkin, Arkin
Wohl: Wahlberg, Murphy
Pudas: Haley, Arkin—
If you're betting on this category, put your money on frontrunner Eddie Murphy. But, is the Academy really going to reward the guy who just shit out ""Norbit""? We can outright exclude the only surprise nominee Djimon Hounsou, and we've got ourselves a tight four-way race. Haley gave this year's best performance, period—as a sex offender that manages to be loathsome, disgusting, vulnerable and sympathetic all at once—but the film didn't get as much exposure as the others in this category. That leaves us with two beautifully profane performances—Mark Wahlberg's acid-tongued cop in ""The Departed"" and Alan Arkin's salty grandpa in ""Little Miss Sunshine""—and I've got a hunch the elder Arkin will upset Murphy.
Best Actress
Nominees: PenAclope Cruz ""Volver,"" Judi Dench ""Notes on a Scandal,"" Helen Mirren ""The Queen,"" Meryl Streep ""The Devil Wears Prada"" and Kate Winslet ""Little Children""
Barrett: Mirren, Mirren
Pudas: Cruz, Mirren
Scalzo: Mirren, Mirren
Schmidt: Dench, Mirren
Wohl: Mirren, Mirren
Abraham: Winslet, Mirren—
There is no doubt Best Actress has the most talented pool of nominees. What is most noticeable is all five nominees portray women who either exist in real life or remind you of someone you have encountered. Cruz, Dench and Streep deliver believable performances, but Winslet deserves a lot of credit for the subtlety she brings to her role as an unhappy suburban wife who gets consumed by her affair. However, Mirren had the most difficult task of portraying Queen Elizabeth, who is still alive and well, and will probably be rewarded for her effort.
Best Actor
Nominees: Leonardo DiCaprio ""Blood Diamond,"" Ryan Gosling ""Half Nelson,"" Peter O'Toole ""Venus,"" Will Smith ""The Pursuit of Happyness"" and Forest Whitaker ""The Last King of Scotland""
Abraham: Gosling, Whitaker
Barrett: Gosling, Whitaker
Pudas: Gosling, Whitaker
Scalzo: Gosling, Whitaker
Schmidt: Whitaker, Whitaker
Wohl: Whitaker, Whitaker—
Three of the five nominees, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ryan Gosling and Will Smith, could have been sitting at Rusty Ryan's ""teen idol"" table not too long ago; should Gosling win, he would be the youngest Best Actor winner ever. The smart money is on Golden Globe, SAG and BAFTA award winner Forest Whitaker for playing Ugandan dictator Idi Amin: He's got the momentum, and the Academy loves to see actors ""become"" personages of historical importance. But don't rule out eight-time nominee and zero-time winner Peter O'Toole, who will collect more than a few sympathetic votes.
Best Song
Nominees: ""I Need to Wake Up"" from ""An Inconvenient Truth,"" ""Listen"" from ""Dreamgirls,"" ""Love You I Do"" from ""Dreamgirls,"" ""Our Town"" from ""Cars,"" ""Patience"" from ""Dreamgirls""
Abraham: ""Love You I Do,"" ""Listen""
Pudas: they all suck, ""Listen""
Scalzo: ""Listen,"" ""Listen""
Schmidt: ""I Need to Wake Up,"" ""Listen""
Wohl: ""Love You I Do,"" ""Listen""
Barrett: ""Listen,"" ""Listen""—
No disrespect to Randy Newman or Melissa Etheridge, but the PR powerhouse of ""Dreamgirls"" has this category in the bag. Not only does the picture have three songs in the category, but they are also the only impressive ones. What it will come down to is ""Love You I Do"" and ""Listen."" ""Listen"" will end up defeating the Jennifer Hudson-sung ""Love You I Do"" because of BeyoncAc's goose bumps-provoking vocals, but no worries, Hudson and ""Dreamgirls"" will walk out with a few of those coveted golden statues
Best Director
Nominees: Alejandro GonzA¡lez IAA¡rritu ""Babel,"" Martin Scorsese ""The Departed,"" Clint Eastwood ""Letters from Iwo Jima,"" Stephen Frears ""The Queen"" and Paul Greengrass ""United 93""
Abraham: Scorsese, Scorsese
Barrett: Scorsese, Scorsese
Pudas: Scorsese, Scorsese
Scalzo: Scorsese, Scorsese
Wohl: Scorsese, Scorsese
Schmidt: Greengrass, Scorsese
That Martin Scorsese will win Best Director this year has seemed certain ever since ""The Departed"" opened. In a pathetic gesture from suddenly-repentant voters, the visionary master will win his first Oscar for remaking a Chinese thriller. The most worthy nominee is Paul Greengrass, whose ""United 93"" transcribed sacred history onto celluloid in almost-real time. Among the other nominees, Clint Eastwood with ""Letters from Iwo Jima"" reaffirmed his seasoned craft; Alejandro GonzA¡lez IAA¡rritu's ""Babel"" captured Man's pathos on an international scale—and Stephen Frears's ""The Queen"" showed how regal and deliberate movies can be. But this is ""Scorsese's year,"" decades late.
Best Picture
Nominees: ""Babel,"" ""The Departed,"" ""Letters from Iwo Jima,"" ""Little Miss Sunshine,"" and ""The Queen""
Abraham: ""Sunshine,"" ""The Departed""
Barrett: ""The Departed,"" ""Babel""
Pudas: ""The Departed,"" ""The Departed""
Schmidt: ""Sunshine,"" ""Sunshine""
Wohl: ""Sunshine,"" ""The Departed""
Scalzo: ""The Departed,"" ""Little Miss Sunshine""—
This is a difficult one to call. While ""The Departed"" is clearly the best film of 2006, I feel strongly the Academy (snot-nosed as it is) would not have nominated ""Little Miss Sunshine"" if it did not intend to give it the Oscar. Many will disagree—however, ""The Departed"" is no ""Million Dollar Baby."" Meaning: This movie received just one nomination performance-wise, and as tragic as that may be, ""The Departed"" hasn't got the total package necessary to pull in a win for Best Picture, especially when considering the near certainty of a Best Direction Oscar for Scorsese as well as Best Adapted Screenplay.
