Well Oscar time has come and gone,
”
Prom night
”
is over for Hollywood jet-setters and now the town is slowly
morphing back into something vaguely resembling reality.
Well Oscar time has come and gone, “Prom night” is over for Hollywood jet-setters and now the town is slowly morphing back into something vaguely resembling reality. This year the Oscars were boring, really boring – so boring it really made you just not want to watch except of course to see what Prom Queen Charlize Theron wore to the famed ceremony. I can say this: She looked like every other Prom Queen I’ve ever seen – too much bronzer/self tanner meets giddy, teary-eyed, makes you wanna throw up yuckiness. If I were able to pick all of the winners, these are who I would have chosen in the top categories – of course if I had all that power, I would probably hold my own Prom and just keep all the Oscars for me and maybe some of my bestest friends; anyway, here goes:
2004 Oscar predictions and results:
Best Picture (WINNER)
“Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King”
“The Lord of the Rings” trilogy has been snubbed by the Oscars for the past two years. This trilogy, by far, has set the bar higher for all epics and it is a cinematic achievement. The amount of work that went into this one trilogy is amazing, and the amount of planning, thought and work that went into creating just 10 minutes of any of the three films amounts to more than 90 minutes of your average Hollywood blockbuster. These films are revolutionary, similar to the “Star Wars” films, and the final film was the best of them all. This movie really should win the Oscar for Best Picture; otherwise the Academy has really been living in a cave for more than three years.
Needless to say, it won!
Best Performance (Actor, Lead Role) (LOSER)
Johnny Depp (“Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl”)
Depp is a fabulous, terrific actor, and I would go so far to say one of the best actors of our time. For so long, he has played terrific roles and no one has given him his due credit. Although I would say that “Pirates of the Caribbean” is very campy/kitschy film compared to the meaty roles he has played in such films as “Edward Scissorhands,” “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?”, “Ed Wood” (to name a few). However, he did a great job in this film and it looked like he had a lot of fun playing Capt. Jack Swallow. He had fun with this role and on top of that he was really, really funny. If you haven’t seen this film, you MUST see it, just to see Johnny, he MAKES the film!
Well, poor old Johnny struck out again, and the Oscar went to Sean Penn. I liked Penn’s performance as a psycho crime boss dad in “Mystic River” (it probably didn’t take him a lot of preparation time). No! I’m just kidding. I enjoyed his performance, but my heart has always belonged to Johnny Depp, so I had to be loyal.
Best Performance (Actress, Lead Role) (LOSER)
Keisha Castle-Hughes (“Whale Rider”)
Castle-Hughes, for a first time actress, did an incredible job in “Whale Rider.” She amazed and captivated audiences at only age 12!
I knew this one was coming. Oh well; Keisha has more time left in the shark pit called Hollywood. Hopefully she won’t lose her charm with age. Charlize Theron won for “Monster” – big whoop. She had to gain 30 pounds and make herself look ugly. I can do that! Anyone can do that! Prom Queen thanked her make-up artist during her speech – ugh typical prom queen.
Best Performance (Actor, Supporting Role) (LOSER)
Alec Baldwin (“The Cooler”)
Normally I am not a fan of Baldwin, but I must say he did an excellent job at playing a greedy old-school casino owner who plays by his own rules.
I knew this one too, but I had to go with my heart. However, I am glad that Tim Robbins (“Mystic River”) got the Oscar; I can live with that. Not to mention, he gave a really nice political-free speech.
Best Performance (Actress, Supporting Role) (LOSER)
Holly Hunter (“Thirteen”)
Hunter also did a fantastic job portraying the mother of a 13-year-old girl spinning out of control. Hunter was also a producer on this film, and it is obvious she dedicated a lot of time and energy to seeing the project to life, as is evident in her superb acting.
Once again I knew this one too, but I loved Holly Hunter’s performance too much and I really was tired of seeing Renee Zellweger’s (“Cold Mountain”) little pout baby face on the screen so much. Can’t she just go away?
Best Achievement in Directing (WINNER)
Peter Jackson (“Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King”)
Again, with no question in my mind, Jackson deserves the Oscar. After dedicating seven years of his life to this project, his feat of cinema that continues to be snubbed should be honored this year. Enough said.
WINNER!
Best Writing, Original Screenplay (LOSER)
“Finding Nemo”
“Finding Nemo” is the best Disney/Pixar film ever made! A simple story paired with lots of exciting, interesting and different characters made this film No. 1 at the box office.
Yuck. I can’t believe the Academy went for Sophia Coppola (“Lost in Translation”). Flat, non-interesting, racist, typical, boring, nothing happens plot of a movie. Whatever. Don’t even get me started on how much I loathe this film.
At least “Nemo” got the nod for best animated (but we all knew that was gonna happen).
Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published
“American Splendor” (LOSER)
“American Splendor,” a film based on the life and comics of Harvey Pekar, was great. Unique and witty, the film explored the underground comic scene as well as the amazingly dull and touching story of the comic and his troubles.
“Lord of the Rings” won, so it’s OK, but I still liked this film a lot. Go out and rent it.
Best Achievement in Cinematography
“Cidade de Deus (City of God)” (LOSER)
“Girl With a Pearl Earring” (LOSER)
This is a tough call for me, and I have yet to give a final answer, as I loved both of these films, especially for the use of cinematography. On the one hand, “Girl With a Pearl Earring” is gorgeous as it emulates exactly the paintings of Johannes Vermeer, whose life is the story of the film, you feel like you are actually in 17th century Holland. However, “City of God” used a variety of techniques and lighting styles to illustrate the beauty of Brazil, almost allowing Brazil to become another character in the film.
“Master and Commander?” “Master and Commander???” Aww, come on. All that movie had to offer was iguanas and absolutely no female characters. The film wasn’t even marketed for a female audience/demographic, and I heard that from an executive. What is Hollywood coming to these days? Not even one of my picks in this category won, I thought maybe one or the other would win.
Best Achievement in Editing
“Cidade de Deus (City of God)” (LOSER!)
“City of God” is my favorite film of the year, and I have seen it many times through the course of this year because it is a very compelling and interesting film. It is “Goodfellas” set in Brazil. The editing really helps to tell a story involving a boy’s life growing up around gangs in Brazil. Fast cuts, rapid editing and fabulous effects illustrate the powerful force of editing.
Well, once again, “Lord of the Rings” and I can understand why. I am happy for all the little hobbits, but “City of God” really got shut out this year, and it is such a fabulous film, my personal favorite of the year. Please go out and see this film, it is truly phenomenal.
Andrea Damkar, originally from Hollister, is a junior at the School of Cinema-Television at the University of Southern California.
