2011 Academy Award Winners

"It's not the load that breaks you down, it's the way you carry it" - Lena Horne.. [This a great quote that was shown at the Oscars, and it seems appropriate relative to The King's Speech as well]

 

I'm posting this early to get my predictions here online, and I'll come back later and post the winners..
winners are highlighted in gold, and with an [AA]

 

Best Motion Picture of the Year

• 127 Hours (2010): Christian Colson, Danny Boyle, John Smithson
• Black Swan (2010): Mike Medavoy, Brian Oliver, Scott Franklin
• The Fighter (2010): David Hoberman, Todd Lieberman, Mark Wahlberg
• Inception (2010): Christopher Nolan, Emma Thomas
• The Kids Are All Right (2010): Gary Gilbert, Jeffrey Levy-Hinte, Celine Rattray
• The King's Speech (2010): Iain Canning, Emile Sherman, Gareth Unwin
• The Social Network (2010): Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca, Ceán Chaffin
• Toy Story 3 (2010): Darla K. Anderson
• True Grit (2010): Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, Scott Rudin
• Winter's Bone (2010): Anne Rosellini, Alix Madigan

Prediction: THE KING’S SPEECH ** [due to the guilds voting for it; my favorite is Winter’s Bone]

 

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role

• Javier Bardem for Biutiful (2010)
• Jeff Bridges for True Grit (2010)
• Jesse Eisenberg for The Social Network (2010)
• Colin Firth for The King's Speech (2010) [AA]
• James Franco for 127 Hours (2010)

Prediction: COLIN FIRTH, King's Speech **
[no Robert Duvall for Get Low? Wow.. Bardem is now 3rd alltime for acting awards with 66, one behind Nicholson; Streep has 84 to lead all actors]

 

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role

• Annette Bening for The Kids Are All Right (2010)
• Nicole Kidman for Rabbit Hole (2010)
• Jennifer Lawrence for Winter's Bone (2010)
• Natalie Portman for Black Swan (2010) [AA]
• Michelle Williams for Blue Valentine (2010)

Prediction: NATALIE PORTMAN, Black Swan **
[she’s overdue since The Professional at age 12, but Annette Bening is way overdue and was great last year in Mother and Child as well.. could be the UPSET of the night!]

 

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role

• Christian Bale for The Fighter (2010) [AA]
• John Hawkes for Winter's Bone (2010)
• Jeremy Renner for The Town (2010)
• Mark Ruffalo for The Kids Are All Right (2010)
• Geoffrey Rush for The King's Speech (2010)

Prediction: CHRISTIAN BALE, Fighter ** [but I’m a huge John Hawkes fan.. Mark Ruffalo?? lol..]

 

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role

• Amy Adams for The Fighter (2010)
• Helena Bonham Carter for The King's Speech (2010)
• Melissa Leo for The Fighter (2010) [AA]
• Hailee Steinfeld for True Grit (2010)
• Jacki Weaver for Animal Kingdom (2010)

Prediction: MELISSA LEO, Fighter **
[but I wish Jacki Weaver would win]

 

Best Achievement in Directing

• Darren Aronofsky for Black Swan (2010)
• Ethan Coen, Joel Coen for True Grit (2010)
• David Fincher for The Social Network (2010)
• Tom Hooper for The King's Speech (2010) [AA]
• David O. Russell for The Fighter (2010)

Prediction: DAVID FINCHER, Social Network -x
[Oscar may deviate from tradition, as Fincher is also overdue, as is Aronofsky - oh well, they just gave it to a first time nominee - argh!]

 

Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen

• Another Year (2010): Mike Leigh
• The Fighter (2010): Scott Silver, Paul Tamasy, Eric Johnson, Keith Dorrington
• Inception (2010): Christopher Nolan
• The Kids Are All Right (2010): Lisa Cholodenko, Stuart Blumberg
• The King's Speech (2010): David Seidler [AA]

Prediction: INCEPTION -x
[b..b..but King's Speech sounds so b..b..boring.. zzzz - UPDATE: Just saw it and it was, dreadfully slow]

 

Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published

• 127 Hours (2010): Danny Boyle, Simon Beaufoy
• The Social Network (2010): Aaron Sorkin [AA]
• Toy Story 3 (2010): Michael Arndt, John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton, Lee Unkrich
• True Grit (2010): Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
• Winter's Bone (2010): Debra Granik, Anne Rosellini

Prediction: The SOCIAL NETWORK (I'd pick Toy Story 3 here, it's terrific) **
[we're accidental billionaires after accidently stealing our original data and the idea.. too bad there's no accidental justice in the U.S. for the super-wealthy; once you get this rich, you can simply pay off all the right people and purchase the freedom they falsely promised all of us]

 

Best Animated Feature Film of the Year

• How to Train Your Dragon (2010): Dean DeBlois, Chris Sanders
• The Illusionist (2010): Sylvain Chomet
• Toy Story 3 (2010): Lee Unkrich [AA]

Prediction: TOY STORY 3 **
[I think if this had lost I wouldn't died of shock.. great story too]

 

Best Foreign Language Film of the Year

• Biutiful (2010): Alejandro González Iñárritu(Mexico)
• Dogtooth (2009): Giorgos Lanthimos(Greece)
• In a Better World (2010): Susanne Bier(Denmark) [AA]
• Incendies (2010): Denis Villeneuve(Canada)
• Outside the Law (2010): Rachid Bouchareb(Algeria)

Prediction: IN A BETTER WORLD **
[love Susanne Bier! she's way overdue, and she has a big heart - Yippee!]

 

Best Achievement in Cinematography

• Black Swan (2010): Matthew Libatique
• Inception (2010): Wally Pfister [AA]
• The King's Speech (2010): Danny Cohen
• The Social Network (2010): Jeff Cronenweth
• True Grit (2010): Roger Deakins

Prediction: TRUE GRIT -x

 

Best Achievement in Editing

• 127 Hours (2010): Jon Harris
• Black Swan (2010): Andrew Weisblum
• The Fighter (2010): Pamela Martin
• The King's Speech (2010): Tariq Anwar
• The Social Network (2010): Kirk Baxter, Angus Wall [AA]

Prediction: THE FIGHTER (just a guess, haven't seen it) -x

 

Best Achievement in Art Direction

• Alice in Wonderland (2010): Robert Stromberg, Karen O'Hara [AA]
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010): Stuart Craig, Stephenie McMillan
• Inception (2010): Guy Hendrix Dyas, Larry Dias, Douglas A. Mowat
• The King's Speech (2010): Eve Stewart, Judy Farr
• True Grit (2010): Jess Gonchor, Nancy Haigh

Prediction: ALICE IN WONDERLAND ** [insanely beautiful, but insane]

 

Best Achievement in Costume Design

• Alice in Wonderland (2010): Colleen Atwood [AA]
• I Am Love (2009): Antonella Cannarozzi
• The King's Speech (2010): Jenny Beavan
• The Tempest (2010/II): Sandy Powell
• True Grit (2010): Mary Zophres

Prediction: ALICE IN WONDERLAND **  [see comment above, insane stuff..]

 

Best Achievement in Makeup

• Barney's Version (2010): Adrien Morot
• The Way Back (2010): Edouard F. Henriques, Greg Funk, Yolanda Toussieng
• The Wolfman (2010): Rick Baker, Dave Elsey

Prediction: THE WOLFMAN **
[Rick Baker just won his 7th Oscar in 12 nominations]

 

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score

• 127 Hours (2010): A.R. Rahman
• How to Train Your Dragon (2010): John Powell
• Inception (2010): Hans Zimmer
• The King's Speech (2010): Alexandre Desplat
• The Social Network (2010): Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross [AA]

Prediction: SOCIAL NETWORK ** [probably one of its best features]

 

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song

• 127 Hours (2010): A.R. Rahman, Dido ("If I Rise")
• Country Strong (2010): Tom Douglas, Hillary Lindsey, Troy Verges ("Coming Home")
• Tangled (2010/I): Alan Menken, Glenn Slater ("I See the Light")
• Toy Story 3 (2010): Randy Newman ("We Belong Together")

Prediction: TOY STORY 3 (We Belong Together) **
[This was Randy's 20th nomination, and I believe his 2nd win]

 

Best Achievement in Sound Mixing

• Inception (2010): Lora Hirschberg, Gary Rizzo, Ed Novick [AA]
• The King's Speech (2010): Paul Hamblin, Martin Jensen, John Midgley
• Salt (2010): Jeffrey J. Haboush, William Sarokin, Scott Millan, Greg P. Russell
• The Social Network (2010): Ren Klyce, David Parker, Michael Semanick, Mark Weingarten
• True Grit (2010): Skip Lievsay, Craig Berkey, Greg Orloff, Peter F. Kurland

Prediction: INCEPTION **

 

Best Achievement in Sound Editing

• Inception (2010): Richard King [AA]
• Toy Story 3 (2010): Tom Myers, Michael Silvers
• TRON: Legacy (2010): Gwendolyn Yates Whittle, Addison Teague
• True Grit (2010): Skip Lievsay, Craig Berkey
• Unstoppable (2010): Mark P. Stoeckinger

Prediction: INCEPTION **

 

Best Achievement in Visual Effects

• Alice in Wonderland (2010): Ken Ralston, David Schaub, Carey Villegas, Sean Phillips
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010): Tim Burke, John Richardson, Christian Manz, Nicolas Aithadi
• Hereafter (2010): Michael Owens, Bryan Grill, Stephan Trojansky, Joe Farrell
• Inception (2010): Chris Corbould, Andrew Lockley, Pete Bebb, Paul J. Franklin [AA]
• Iron Man 2 (2010): Janek Sirrs, Ben Snow, Ged Wright, Daniel Sudick

Prediction: INCEPTION (mind blowing!) **

 

Best Documentary, Features

• Exit Through the Gift Shop (2010): Banksy, Jaimie D'Cruz
• GasLand (2010): Josh Fox, Trish Adlesic
• Inside Job (2010): Charles Ferguson, Audrey Marrs
• Restrepo (2010): Tim Hetherington, Sebastian Junger
• Waste Land (2010): Lucy Walker, Angus Aynsley

Prediction: INSIDE JOB **
[this is about the robbing of the world by corporate America] (but Restrepo is awfully good and Gift Shop is getting late buzz)

 

Best Documentary, Short Subjects

• Killing in the Name (2010): Jed Rothstein
• Poster Girl (2010): Sara Nesson, Mitchell Block
• Strangers No More (2010): Karen Goodman, Kirk Simon [AA]
• Sun Come Up (2010): Jennifer Redfearn, Tim Metzger
• The Warriors of Qiugang (2010): Ruby Yang, Thomas Lennon

[no prediction]

 

Best Short Film, Animated

• Day & Night (2010): Teddy Newton
• The Gruffalo (2009) (TV): Jakob Schuh, Max Lang
• Let's Pollute (2011): Geefwee Boedoe
• The Lost Thing (2010): Shaun Tan, Andrew Ruhemann [AA]
• Madagascar, a Journey Diary (2010): Bastien Dubois

[no prediction]

 

Best Short Film, Live Action

• The Confession (2010/IV): Tanel Toom
• The Crush (2010): Michael Creagh
• God of Love (2010): Luke Matheny
• Na Wewe (2010): Ivan Goldschmidt
• Wish 143 (2009): Ian Barnes, Samantha Waite

[no prediction]
 [Winner Luke sported an Afro and his first comment was "I guess I should've gotten a haircut"]

 

I picked 17 of 21 winners overall.. (I never predict the short films)

 

[update] Total Oscar count: King's Speech (4), Inception (4), Social Network (3), The Fighter (2), Toy Story 3 (2), Alice in Wonderland (2), Black Swan (1)

Predicted Total Count: Inception (4), The Fighter (3), King's Speech (2), Alice in Wonderland (2), Toy Story 3 (2), Black Swan (1) - if this happens, King's Speech would set a record for low total by a best picture post 1935 (in the early days, they really spread em around; sometimes a film would only win best picture)

The All Name Team: Geefwee Boedoe (animated short), Tanel Toom (live short), Banksy (documentary feature) - presenter Justin Timberlake came out and said, with a chagrin, "I am Banksy" - I would've said "I am Geefwee"