The Oscar 2019 Race Begins Now
Who do you think will win?
The glorious “Roma” and “The Favourite” (a film I hope to see sometime in the next few weeks) got all the nomination love, arriving into the race with 10 nominations each. I can’t say that I saw all of these films, as my membership status as an Outer Critics Circle voter occupied most of my free nights theatrically, either seeing shows or writing about them into the wee hours (like 10pm, very late by my standards) trying to post a Theatrejunkie review in a timely manner. But I do have some ideas about who I’d like to win and who I think will win, so let the games begin. Take your best shot, and let’s see who can guess the most winners.
My thoughts:
I was surprised that Bradley Cooper didn’t get a nomination as director and the film didn’t receive the important best editing nod, two categories that I thought were a pretty sure bet. I don’t believe either should win anyway. I can hear the gasps from the Gaga crowd, as I liked “A Star is Born“, and I’m hoping it wins for best song, but to be honest, that’s about it for me.
Lady Gaga should be proud of her nomination, but it’s Glenn Close for “The Wife” or Oliva Colman for “The Favourite” who probably should take the statue home that night. Gaga was good; a surprisingly not-disappointing performance, but definitely not award-winning in my humble mind. I loved that one moment when she walks onto the stadium stage for the first time to sing with Cooper; the look on her face is spectacular, but after that, the performance is really serviceable but not heart-breaking. Whether that’s because the screenplay fails to show a lot of nuance in the story of addiction or not, her character isn’t given anything special except a hallway punch to show anything deep. And wouldn’t it be just divine if Yalitza Aparicio for “Roma” won?
In the same way, I would love it if “Roma”s Marina de Tavira also won for Best Supporting Actress, although I think Regina King will win easily for “If Beale Street Could Talk”. I’d be content with that outcome.
Bradley Cooper did give a beautiful performance in his film, and worthy of the nomination, but I’m thinking it will be Christian Bale for “Vice” or even, hopefully, Rami Malek for “Bohemian Rhapsody” over the handsome Cooper. I think Rami’s Freddie was hypnotic although the teeth might have been overdone and distracting.
✅ who I think will win
🙏🏽 who I want to win
👎 who I’d rather not win
🏆 and finally, who actually won an Oscar
BEST PICTURE
✅ Roma for the win
ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
CINEMATOGRAPHY
COSTUME DESIGN
DIRECTING
DOCUMENTARY (FEATURE)
DOCUMENTARY (SHORT SUBJECT)
FILM EDITING
FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
MUSIC (ORIGINAL SCORE)
MUSIC (ORIGINAL SONG)
PRODUCTION DESIGN
SHORT FILM (ANIMATED)
SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION)
SOUND EDITING
SOUND MIXING
VISUAL EFFECTS
WRITING (ADAPTED SCREENPLAY)
WRITING (ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY)
front mezz junkies 