Catching Up on the Guilds 2020: An Oscar Precursors Roundup

Total Guild Nominations:

Abominable – CAS (1)

American Factory – ACE (1)

Apollo 11 – ACE (1), CAS (1)

Avengers: Endgame – SAG (1)

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood – SAG (1)

Bombshell – SAG (4)

Dolemite is My Name – ACE (1)

Echo in the Canyon – CAS (1)

The Farewell – ACE (1)

Ford v Ferrari – ACE (1), CAS (1), SAG (2)

Frozen II – ACE (1), CAS (1)

Harriet – SAG (1)

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World – CAS (1)

Hustlers – SAG (1)

I Lost My Body – ACE (1)

The Irishman – ACE (1), CAS (1), SAG (5)

Jojo Rabbit – ACE (1), SAG (3)

Joker – ACE (1), CAS (1), SAG (2)

Judy – SAG (1)

Just Mercy – SAG (1)

Knives Out – ACE (1)

Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice – ACE (1)

The Lion King – CAS (1)

Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound – ACE (1), CAS (1)

Marriage Story – ACE (1), SAG (3)

Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool – CAS (1)

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood – ACE (1), CAS (1), SAG (3)

Parasite – ACE (1), SAG (1)

Rocketman – CAS (1), SAG (1)

Toy Story 4 – ACE (1), CAS (1)

Us – SAG (1)

Woodstock: 3 Days That Changed Everything – CAS (1)

 

Full Guild Nominations Below

2020 ACE EDDIE

BEST EDITED FEATURE FILM (DRAMA)

Ford v Ferrari – Michael McCusker, ACE & Andrew Buckland
The Irishman – Thelma Schoonmaker, ACE
Joker – Jeff Groth
Marriage Story – Jennifer Lame, ACE
Parasite – Jinmo Yang

BEST EDITED FEATURE FILM (COMEDY)

Dolemite is My Name – Billy Fox, ACE
The Farewell – Michael Taylor & Matthew Friedman
Jojo Rabbit – Tom Eagles
Knives Out – Bob Ducsay
Once Upon a Time In Hollywood – Fred Raskin, ACE

BEST EDITED ANIMATED FEATURE FILM

Frozen II – Jeff Draheim, ACE
I Lost My Body – Benjamin Massoubre
Toy Story 4 – Axel Geddes, ACE

BEST EDITED DOCUMENTARY (FEATURE)

American Factory – Lindsay Utz
Apollo 11 – Todd Douglas Miller
Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice – Jake Pushinsky, ACE & Heidi Scharfe, ACE
Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound – David J. Turner & Thomas G. Miller, ACE

 

2019 CINEMA AUDIO SOCIETY 

MOTION PICTURE – LIVE ACTION

Ford v Ferrari
Production Mixer – Steven A. Morrow CAS
Re-recording Mixer – Paul Massey CAS
Re-recording Mixer – David Giammarco CAS
Scoring Mixer – Tyson Lozensky
ADR Mixer – David Betancourt
Foley Mixer – Richard Duarte

Joker
Production Mixer – Tod Maitland CAS
Re-recording Mixer – Dean A Zupancic
Re-recording Mixer – Tom Ozanich
Scoring Mixer – Daniel Kresco
ADR Mixer – Thomas J. O’Connell
Foley Mixer – Richard Duarte

Once Upon a Time in… Hollywood
Production Mixer – Mark Ulano CAS
Re-recording Mixer – Michael Minkler CAS
Re-recording Mixer – Christian Minkler CAS
Foley Mixer – Kyle Rochlin

Rocketman
Production Mixer – John Hayes
Re-recording Mixer – Mike Prestwood Smith
Re-recording Mixer – Mathew Collinge
ADR Mixer – Mark Appleby
Foley Mixer – Glen Gathard

The Irishman
Production Mixer – Tod Maitland CAS
Re-recording Mixer – Tom Fleischman CAS
Re-recording Mixer – Eugene Gearty
ADR Mixer – Mark DeSimone CAS
Foley Mixer – George A. Lara CAS

MOTION PICTURE—ANIMATED

Abominable
Original Dialogue Mixer – Tighe Sheldon
Re-recording Mixer – Myron Nettinga
Scoring Mixer – Nick Wollage
Foley Mixer – David Jobe

Frozen II
Original Dialogue Mixer – Paul McGrath CAS
Re-recording Mixer – David E. Fluhr CAS
Re-recording Mixer – Gabriel Guy CAS
Song Mixer – David Boucher
Scoring Mixer – Greg Hayes
ADR Mixer – Doc Kane CAS
Foley Mixer – Scott Curtis

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World
Original Dialogue Mixer – Tighe Sheldon
Re-recording Mixer – Gary A. Rizzo CAS
Re-recording Mixer – Scott R. Lewis
Re-recording Mixer – Shawn Murphy
Foley Mixer – Blake Collins CAS

The Lion King
Original Dialogue Mixer – Ronald Judkins CAS
Re-recording Mixer – Lora Hirschberg
Re-recording Mixer – Christopher Boyes
Scoring Mixer – Alan Meyerson CAS
Foley Mixer – Blake Collins CAS

Toy Story 4
Original Dialogue Mixer – Doc Kane CAS
Re-recording Mixer – Michael Semanick CAS
Re-recording Mixer – Nathan Nance
Scoring Mixer – David Boucher
ADR Mixer – Vince Caro CAS
Foley Mixer – Scott Curtis

MOTION PICTURE—DOCUMENTARY

Apollo 11
Re-recording Mixer – Eric Milano
Re-recording Mixer – Brian Eimer

Echo in the Canyon
Re-recording Mixer – Chris Jenkins
Re-recording Mixer – Paul Karpinski

Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound
Production Mixer – David J. Turner
Re-recording Mixer – Tom Myers
Scoring Mixer – Dan Blanck
Foley Mixer – Frank Rinella

Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool
Production Mixer – Gautam Choudhury
Re-recording Mixer – Benny Mouthon CAS

Woodstock: 3 Days That Changed Everything
Re-recording Mixer – Kevin Peters

 

2020 Screen Actors Guild (SAG)

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A CAST IN A MOTION PICTURE

Bombshell (Lionsgate)
The Irishman (Netflix)
Jojo Rabbit (Fox)
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (Sony)
Parasite (Neon)

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE

Christian Bale – Ford v Ferrari
Leonardo DiCaprio – Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Adam Driver – Marriage Story
Taron Egerton – Rocketman
Joaquin Phoenix – Joker

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE

Cynthia Erivo – Harriet
Scarlett Johansson – Marriage Story
Lupita Nyong’o – Us
Charlize Theron – Bombshell
Renée Zellweger – Judy

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Jamie Foxx – Just Mercy
Tom Hanks – A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
Al Pacino – The Irishman
Joe Pesci – The Irishman
Brad Pitt – Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Laura Dern – Marriage Story
Scarlett Johansson – Jojo Rabbit
Nicole Kidman – Bombshell
Jennifer Lopez – Hustlers
Margot Robbie – Bombshell

OUTSTANDING ACTION PERFORMANCE BY A STUNT ENSEMBLE IN A MOTION PICTURE

Avengers: Endgame
Ford v Ferrari
The Irishman
Joker
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

We Bought a Pod Episode 50: How to Train Your Academy to not Pick Crappy Best Picture Winners

 

Hello and welcome to our two year anniversary here at the pod! We’ve got a hot one where Aj and I go over the great and the not-so-great at the Oscars! Also we review the box office powerhouse How to Train Your Dragon 3. I heard Stephen Spielberg cried after reading the script! Does it live up to that level of hype? Give us a listen and find out!

Don’t forget to download and rate us on iTunes! Lots of love!
-Aaron

Oscar Post-Mortem: 5 Things The Academy Should Change, 5 Things They Should Not

Alright, with these Oscars firmly behind us, let’s look ahead. Ratings are up for the first time in years, and that’s a huge positive. Does it mean that the Oscars will be complacent? Absolutely not. After all, there’s still a threat for a “popular Oscar” category, as if blockbuster or populist hits should not contend for the best films of the year. At the same time, the search the shorten the evening will never end. Well, here are five things we liked about the night this last year, and here are some things we still think the Oscar should look to change moving forward.

Things To Keep

1. The Preferential Ballot

This might be the reason that we’re in this mess right now, but it also brought us Moonlight, Spotlight, and The Shape of Water. Three out of four ain’t bad. The problem that few are addressing this year, is that the new guard of the Academy had so many great and progressive films to choose from for Best Picture (with BlacKkKlansman, Black Panther, and Roma) they couldn’t coalesce their vote. Those other years? In most cases, they look like mostly typical Oscar lineups. Which leads us to another point…

2. Keep an Expanded Best Picture Field

While I have issues with how the Best Picture nominees are selected (more on that later), we need more nominees instead of less. The days of five Best Picture nominees do not make sense in the modern film landscape. For example, BoxOfficeMojo reports that in 1994 (twenty-five years ago), 453 movies went to theaters. In 2018, 872 movies appeared in theaters. It’s unclear if this includes documentaries or narrative features that go to streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, and Shudder. So that number might actually be higher.

Besides, five nominees is so limiting. We would likely never see an animated feature, documentary feature (we still haven’t), or god forbid more foreign films. What if we had both Roma and Cold War in the Best Picture race? Won’t You Be My Neighbor? could have been the first documentary nominated for Best Picture. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse might have made it too. Who knows what possibilities may have existed for us? We’ll never know because two slots were left open. That makes no sense.

3. #PresentAll24

Simply put, there’s no reason that anyone who has spent their career fighting for this moment should have to do it while half the room runs to the bar. Also, think about the family’s that have to suffer their husbands, wives, sons, daughters, mothers, and fathers leaving the house for 3 months to go work on a movie in Arizona, Louisiana, or across the world. Those families don’t get to live a luxurious movie star life in most cases, and they should be allowed to see their loved wins receive the recognition of a lifetime in real time instead of hearing about it on Twitter.

Beyond that, at least one women won an Oscar for each of the Shorts. In the case of Period. End of Sentence and Bao, only women won. For an industry that is striving to be more inclusive, this is a great place to start making people feel represented.

4. Go Hostless Again

This really helped things move along. We also got a variety show feel to the night, which allowed the actual presenters to stand out in a lot of cases. Would Melissa McCarthy and Brian Tyree Henry have felt special if Kevin Hart had been running around doing bits the whole night? We obviously wouldn’t have had the “boom roasted” jokes from Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, and Maya Rudolph, who absolutely killed. I’d rather have a minute of genuine excitement from Awkwafina and John Mulaney than a five-minute detour. Let’s encourage this and try it out next year.

5. Let the Acting Winners Present Awards

This year, we got a slightly messed up version of the Oscar tradition. Normally, the Supporting Actor winner hands out Supporting Actress, and vice versa. However, the tradition was slightly moved when Casey Affleck declined to hand out Best Lead Actress during the #MeToo events of last year. It was a good choice for both the Academy and Affleck.

When the Academy said they weren’t going to let last year’s winners hand out the prizes at the 91st Oscars, the internet went into an uproar. Eventually, they were asked but instead consolidated to Best Actor and Best Actress.

On one hand, I don’t love the fact they were unable to get the stage to themselves, but at the same time, they at least got to hand out arguably two of the three biggest awards of the night. I’m not opposed to this in the future because this is when people are laser-focused on the show. This could also give more opportunities for the Rudolph/Poehler/Fey kind of starts to the show, which would be great.

Things To Change

1. Move Best Picture to a Straight 10 With a Preferential Ballot

The two years where Best Picture had ten nominees, we had amazing lineups. An animated film made both years (Up & Toy Story 3), Sci-Fi was represented (Avatar, District 9, & Inception), and genre (Black Swan & True Grit) all made the cut. Four films by women (The Hurt Locker, The Kids Are All Right, Winter’s Bone, & An Education), which led to Kathryn Bigelow becoming the first woman to win Best Director. Even Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire earned Lee Jenkins the first nomination for a Black Director since Boyz N the Hood in 1991.

In the eight ceremonies since, here’s how those numbers look:

• 2011 – 0 Genre Films, 0 Animated, 0 Sci-Fi, 0 Foreign Films, 0 Women, 0 Directors of Color
• 2012 – 1 Genre Film (Les Miserables), 1 Foreign Film (Amour), 1 Director of Color (Ang Lee) 1 Film Directed By a Woman (Katheryn Bigelow – who went unnominated)
• 2013 – 2 Sci-Fi Films (Her. Gravity), 2 Directors of Color (Steve McQueen, Alfonso Cuarón)
• 2014 – 2 Directors of Color (Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Ava DuVernay), 1 Film Directed By a Woman (Ava DuVernay – who went unnominated)
• 2015 – 2 Sci-Fi (Mad Max: Fury Road, The Martian), 1 Genre (The Revenant), 1 Director of Color (Alejandro G. Iñárritu)
• 2016 – 1 Sci-Fi (Arrival), 2 Genre (La La Land, Hell or High Water), 2 Director of Color (Barry Jenkins, Denzel Washington – who went unnominated)
• 2017 –  1 Sci-Fi (The Shape of Water), 1 Genre (Get Out), 1 Film Directed By a Woman (Lady Bird), 2 Directors of Color (Guillermo del Toro, Jordan Peele)
• 2018 – 1 Sci-Fi (Black Panther), 1 Foreign Film (Roma), 1 Genre (The Favourite), 3 Directors of Color (Alfonso Cuarón, Spike Lee, & Ryan Coogler – who went unnominated)

That track record looks terrible with the exception that people of color are finally getting a chance to direct. However, the lack of animation, documentaries and foreign films continues to be a problem. Keep in mind, we’ve been in a golden age for all three of those “mediums,” as well as sci-fi and genre filmmaking. For example, Ex Machina, two Star Wars films, Blade Runner 2049, Interstellar, Inside Out, Coco, A Quiet Place, The Conjuring, and Gone Girl all feel like they should have received Best Picture nominations. Yet none made the cut. Maybe if we expanded out a little bit, we can be more inclusive.

2. Expand Makeup & Hairstyling to 5 Nominees

For some weird reason, this category still only has three nominees. At one point, there was a logic behind this. Not long ago, Animated Feature had a sliding scale of nominations, with 2010 representing the last year of three nominees. Best Original Song was dwindled down to two nominees in 2011. Yet each category had four nominees every year since then (with a disqualification in song being the only exception). At this point, it’s a disservice to the makeup & hairstyling teams to be the only ones without five nominees. If you need it to technically be an activated feature, like it is in animation, be my guest. But my money would be on the makeup branch easily finding five nominees regularly, especially given the greatness of several films left out of this year’s race.

3. Add 3 More Prizes

Rather than cut prizes, let’s add a few more. The first obvious choice is Best Stunt Work, which deserves to be put into the discussion. Stuntmen and women risk their lives in order to deliver for their films. Not only that, but it could push for more practical effects in films. This would reward the Stunt Supervisor of a film, and finally, give some of these people the due they deserve.

Second, we really need the Best Cast Ensemble prize. Unlike the SAG awards, which give all the title card actors this prize, this should go to Casting Director of the film. I’m not the first to suggest this award, but it’s a shame we don’t have it regardless.

Third, Best Digital Production Design. At this point, there are too many films that rely on digital effects to create their world that we can ignore them. In the past decade, films like Avatar, Beauty and the Beast, Blade Runner 2049, Interstellar, and Life Of Pi have been nominated here.

Until 1967, this category was split between Color and Black & White Nominees and Winners. Return to something like this, and give big budget films that dare to dream about fantastical worlds their due. This could also be used to reward films like Coco, Inside Out, or Kubo and the Two Strings, which use CG effects to help build their worlds.

4. Create A Streaming Platform For Oscar-Nominated Films

The biggest issue for most people is actually watching all the movies. If the Academy had a special streaming service available for 6 weeks a year, priced at $50 for the month between the nominations and two weeks after the awards, watch the money roll in. This would also give the Academy a strong revenue stream every year to help pay for the upcoming museum.

Write an agreement to split profits with all studios depending on their number of nominations, and have it be a prerequisite for submitting your film for Oscar consideration. Potentially, expand this over time so that audiences can have access to forty or so films that received nominations in the past for a lower price (like $5 a month?). It could also be a potential platform to stream the Oscar as well.

5. Allow More Movie Teasers During the Oscars

A few years ago, the Academy lifted the ban on showing trailers/teasers during the show. The result has been a few one-off trailers, with studios only being able to push one film each during the broadcast. The price for these spots is in the millions, and that makes sense. However, we’re missing out on an excellent chance to show off what kinds of movies we’re in store for in 2019.

The Captain Marvel and The Irishman teasers each became talking points after the show, and now audiences who were unaware of their development are excited. So why not own that for all of the studios? The Super Bowl has stolen their flare, with more than a half dozen movies premiering footage here. Let the blockbusters get their word out there, but let audiences know about The Goldfinch, Ad Astra, Knives Out, or god forbid, a Star Wars: Episode IX  tease during the show. Want ratings? Throw some of these out there and see how audiences respond. Make tonight about honoring the best of last year, and what to look out for in the year ahead.

What do you think of these ideas? What are some things you’d change about the Oscars? What would you get rid of? Let us hear your thoughts below! 

Check out more pieces from We Bought a Blog here!

Oscars 2019: Find All the Winners and Staff Picks Here!

Follow along with the team at We Bought a Blog as we pick our winners for the Oscars. AJ will be updating the list all night with the winners. He’ll also give some commentary after each winner as they go. Check back throughout the night to hear who wins the top prizes on Oscar night!

*NOTE – All of my notes occurred in real time as the show aired. So if I’m discussing where the night is heading, that is what was going on. Tomorrow I’ll have a full reaction piece to the wins and loses.

91st Oscar Winners

Best Picture:

• Black Panther
• BlacKkKlansman
• Bohemian Rhapsody
• The Favourite
• Green Book* Winner
• Roma
• A Star Is Born
• Vice

AJ: The Favourite (15/24)

Aaron: Roma (16/24)

Josh: BlacKkKlansman (12/24)

So Crash can sleep easy now. It is no longer the worst Best Picture winner of the century.

Director

• Spike Lee, BlacKkKlansman
• Pawel Pawlikowski, Cold War
• Yorgos Lanthimos, The Favourite
• Alfonso Cuarón, Roma* Winner
• Adam McKay, Vice

AJ: Alfonso Cuarón, Roma (15/23)

Aaron: Alfonso Cuarón, Roma (16/23)

Josh: Alfonso Cuarón, Roma (12/23)

Cuarón wins his second Oscar of the night, and it is hard to argue against it. Roma has four on the night. Could it be going for Best Picture?

Lead Actor

• Christian Bale, Vice
• Bradley Cooper, A Star Is Born
• Willem Dafoe, At Eternity’s Gate
• Rami Malek, Bohemian Rhapsody* WINNER
• Viggo Mortensen, Green Book

AJ: Rami Malek, Bohemian Rhapsody (14/21)

Aaron: Rami Malek, Bohemian Rhapsody (15/21)

Josh: Rami Malek, Bohemian Rhapsody (10/21)

Rami Malek wins on his first try. Right now, Bohemian Rhapsody is four for four on the night, with only Picture left on the table. Malek gave a great speech but still didn’t discuss the Singer stuff.

Lead Actress

• Yalitza Aparicio, Roma
• Glenn Close, The Wife
• Olivia Colman, The Favourite* WINNER
• Lady Gaga, A Star Is Born
• Melissa McCarthy, Can You Ever Forgive Me?

AJ: Glenn Close, The Wife (14/22)

Aaron: Glenn Close, The Wife (15/22)

Josh: Glenn Close, The Wife (11/22)

I hate to be the hater here, but I’m so glad I was wrong in my predictions. Olivia Colman delivered an all-time performance. This was incredible work and I’m so happy she won. The Favourite does not go home empty-handed.

Supporting Actor

• Mahershala Ali, Green Book* WINNER
• Adam Driver, BlacKkKlansman
• Sam Elliott, A Star Is Born
• Richard E. Grant, Can You Ever Forgive Me?
• Sam Rockwell, Vice

AJ: Mahershala Ali, Green Book (8/11)

Aaron: Mahershala Ali, Green Book (9/11)

Josh: Adam Driver, BlacKkKlansman (4/11)

Mahershala Ali wins his second Oscar in three years. A very quick turnaround that makes him only the second black actor with two Oscar wins.

Supporting Actress

• Amy Adams, Vice
• Marina de Tavira, Roma
• Regina King, If Beale Street Could Talk* WINNER
• Emma Stone, The Favourite
• Rachel Weisz, The Favourite

AJ: Rachel Weisz, The Favourite (0/1)

Aaron: Regina King, If Beale Street Could Talk (1/1)

Josh: Amy Adams, Vice (0/1)

One of the most emotional performances of the year rightfully won. King overcame misses at BAFTA and SAG. Huge moment for her, and she moves one step closer to EGOT.

Original Screenplay

• The Favourite written by Deborah Davis, Tony McNamara
• First Reformed written by Paul Schrader
• Green Book written by Nick Vallelonga, Brian Currie, Peter Farrelly* WINNER
• Roma written by Alfonso Cuarón
• Vice written by Adam McKay

AJ: The Favourite (11/17)

Aaron: The Favourite (12/17)

Josh: The Favourite (7/17)

Well, that is not great. Green Book may have won here, but I don’t expect anyone to talk about this movie in 5 years. I have nothing else to say. Three of these films are all timers.

Adapted Screenplay

• The Ballad of Buster Scruggs written by Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
• BlacKkKlansman written by Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz, Kevin Willmott, Spike Lee* WINNER
• Can You Ever Forgive Me? written by Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty
• If Beale Street Could Talk written by Barry Jenkins
• A Star Is Born written by Eric Roth, Bradley Cooper, Will Fetters

AJ: BlacKkKlansman (12/18)

Aaron: BlacKkKlansman (13/18)

Josh: BlacKkKlansman (8/18)

SPIKE LEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Samuel L. Jackson’s reaction said it all.

Animated Feature

• “Incredibles 2,” Brad Bird
• “Isle of Dogs,” Wes Anderson
• “Mirai,” Mamoru Hosoda
• “Ralph Breaks the Internet,” Rich Moore, Phil Johnston
• “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman* WINNER

AJ: Spider-Verse (9/12)

Aaron: Spider-Verse (10/12)

Josh: Spider-Verse (5/12)

YES! Spider-Verse was a breakthrough moment of filmmaking and deserved a Best Picture nomination. I love this movie and I’m so happy the Oscars did not screw this up. What an awesome win.

Best Documentary Feature

• “Free Solo,” Jimmy Chin, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi*WINNER
• “Hale County This Morning, This Evening,” RaMell Ross
• “Minding the Gap,” Bing Liu
• “Of Fathers and Sons,” Talal Derki
• “RBG,” Betsy West, Julie Cohen

AJ: Free Solo (1/2)

Aaron: Free Solo (2/2)

Josh: Of Fathers and Sons (0/2)

This was an extraordinary feat of filmmaking, and it’s incredible that they picked this one after all. The fact that the most diverse lineup picked the most diverse director combo is great news. Also, a woman director actually won tonight. That should be celebrated.

Best Foreign Language Film:

• “Capernaum” (Lebanon)
• “Cold War” (Poland)
• “Never Look Away” (Germany)
• “Roma” (Mexico)* WINNER
• “Shoplifters” (Japan)

AJ: Roma (7/9)

Aaron: Roma (7/9)

Josh: Roma (3/9)

This is the first time Mexico has won Foreign Language. It’s about time. Roma now has two big prizes on the night, but it was supposed to win both. So far Cuarón has been an excellent representative for the film. This was an easy call when you consider that every Best Picture nominee ever nominated in this category has won.

Original Song

• “All The Stars” from “Black Panther” by Kendrick Lamar, SZA
• “I’ll Fight” from “RBG” by Diane Warren, Jennifer Hudson
• “The Place Where Lost Things Go” from “Mary Poppins Returns” by Marc Shaiman, Scott Wittman
• “Shallow” from “A Star Is Born” by Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando, Andrew Wyatt and Benjamin Rice* WINNER
• “When A Cowboy Trades His Spurs For Wings” from “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs” by Willie Watson, Tim Blake Nelson

AJ: “Shallow” (13/20)

Aaron: “Shallow” (14/20)

Josh: “Shallow” (9/20)

This gives Lady Gaga her win that she’s been pushing hard for. A Star Is Born does not head home empty-handed, and with Black Panther taking score, this means the two musical achievements of the year each won a prize.

Original Score

• “BlacKkKlansman,” Terence Blanchard
• “Black Panther,” Ludwig Goransson* WINNER
• “If Beale Street Could Talk,” Nicholas Britell
• “Isle of Dogs,” Alexandre Desplat
• “Mary Poppins Returns,” Marc Shaiman, Scott Wittman

AJ: If Beale Street Could Talk (12/19)

Aaron: BlacKkKlansman (13/19)

Josh: Mary Poppins Returns (8/19)

An awesome score from the guy who helps to compose for Childish Gambino when he’s not writing for movies. Black Panther has three wins on the night. It’s now tied for the lead.

Production Design

• “Black Panther,” Hannah Beachler* WINNER
• “First Man,” Nathan Crowley, Kathy Lucas
• “The Favourite,” Fiona Crombie, Alice Felton
• “Mary Poppins Returns,” John Myhre, Gordon Sim
• “Roma,” Eugenio Caballero, Bárbara Enrı́quez

AJ: Black Panther (4/5)

Aaron: The Favourite (4/5)

Josh: Mary Poppins Returns (1/5)

There we go! The Production designer Hannah Beachler becomes the first Black person to ever get a nomination in this category, AND the first black person to ever win in this category. They made Wakanda real, and it was outstanding to visit this world.

Cinematography

• “Cold War,” Lukasz Zal
• “The Favourite,” Robbie Ryan
• “Never Look Away,” Caleb Deschanel
• “Roma,” Alfonso Cuarón* WINNER
• “A Star Is Born,” Matthew Libatique

AJ: Roma (5/6)

Aaron: Roma (5/6)

Josh: Roma (2/6)

Alfonso’s first of several potential wins tonight. He’s the first director to shoot his own film and take home the win for Best Cinematography. This was a no-brainer and the speech was excellent.

Visual Effects

• “Avengers: Infinity War”
• “Christopher Robin”
• “First Man”* WINNER
• “Ready Player One”
• “Solo: A Star Wars Story”

AJ: Avengers (11/15)

Aaron: Avengers (12/15)

Josh: Avengers (7/15)

It was great to see First Man take home the prize here because this movie deserved something. I’d much rather have this movie win here than not at all. Great effects work that hopefully gets used more often in film moving forward.

Costume Design

• “Ballad of Buster Scruggs,” Mary Zophres
• “Black Panther,” Ruth E. Carter* WINNER
• “The Favourite,” Sandy Powell
• “Mary Poppins Returns,” Sandy Powell
• “Mary Queen of Scots,” Alexandra Byrne

AJ: Black Panther (3/4)

Aaron: Black Panther (4/4)

Josh: Mary Poppins Returns (1/4)

WOOOO!!!!!! Ruth E. Carter deserves this for a career of amazing work, and this was a standout costume design. She’s the first black costume designer to win Best Costumes. If you want to see storytelling through costume work, look no further. Black Panther officially won’t go home empty-handed.

Film Editing

• “BlacKkKlansman,” Barry Alexander Brown
• “Bohemian Rhapsody,” John Ottman* WINNER
• “Green Book,” Patrick J. Don Vito
• “The Favourite,” Yorgos Mavropsaridis
• “Vice,” Hank Corwin

AJ: Vice (7/10)

Aaron: Bohemian Rhapsody (8/10)

Josh: Bohemian Rhapsody (4/10)

The argument here is that he saved the film. I guess. It was the most up in the air award of the night and after the Sound Editing win, the love is real. Now it’s very much in play for Picture.

Makeup and Hair

• “Border”
• “Mary Queen of Scots”
• “Vice” *WINNER

AJ: Vice (2/3)

Aaron: Vice (3/3)

Josh: Vice (1/3)

This was a sweep for us all. Really easy call with the 8 nominee film, Vice, in the category. It’s a great win and ultimately deserved. With the work on Rockwell, the old age makeup, and Bale makes sense.

Sound Mixing

• “Black Panther”
• “Bohemian Rhapsody” – WINNER
• “First Man”
• “Roma”
• “A Star Is Born”

AJ: Bohemian Rhapsody (6/8)

Aaron: Bohemian Rhapsody (6/8)

Josh: A Star Is Born (2/8)

This one I could see more than Sound Editing. Mixing together the music of Queen and the crowds at Live Aid probably wrapped this one up.

Sound Editing

• “Black Panther,” Benjamin A. Burtt, Steve Boeddeker
• “Bohemian Rhapsody,” John Warhurst* WINNER
• “First Man,” Ai-Ling Lee, Mildred Iatrou Morgan
• “A Quiet Place,” Ethan Van der Ryn, Erik Aadahl
• “Roma,” Sergio Diaz, Skip Lievsay

AJ: A Quiet Place (5/7)

Aaron: A Quiet Place (5/7)

Josh: First Man (2/7)

I’m not sure what to say here. This makes it clear that the Oscars voters love this movie. This could be a harbinger of things to come later in the night.

Animated Short

• “Animal Behaviour,” Alison Snowden, David Fine
• “Bao,” Domee Shi* WINNER
• “Late Afternoon,” Louise Bagnall
• “One Small Step,” Andrew Chesworth, Bobby Pontillas
• “Weekends,” Trevor Jimenez

AJ: Bao (10/13)

Aaron: Bao (11/13)

Josh: Bao (6/13)

Not a huge surprise here. Also fun fact, Disney/Pixar won this category every even number year this decade since 2012. Great win here.

Best Documentary Short

• “Black Sheep,” Ed Perkins
• “End Game,” Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman
• “Lifeboat,” Skye Fitzgerald
• “A Night at the Garden,” Marshall Curry
• “Period. End of Sentence.,” Rayka Zehtabchi* Winner

AJ: Period. End of Sentence (11/14)

Aaron: Period. End of Sentence (12/14)

Josh: Period: End of Sentence (7/14)

This is a great win, especially given the subject matter and charity it represents. Good pick here.

Best Live Action Short Film

• “Detainment,” Vincent Lambe
• “Fauve,” Jeremy Comte
• “Marguerite,” Marianne Farley
• “Mother,” Rodrigo Sorogoyen
• “Skin,” Guy Nattiv* WINNER

AJ: Marguerite (11/16)

Aaron: Fauve (12/16)

Josh: Mother (7/16)

Not a big fan of the winner, but it has already been optioned for a feature-length remake. Hopefully, that version won’t be as problematic.

What do you think of the Oscar nominations? Who do you think are the worst snubs? Let us hear your thoughts below.

If I Had an Oscar Ballot Part 5: AJ’s Ballot For the 91st Academy Awards (With the Current Nominees)

With less than 48 hours until the actual 91st Academy Awards, the Oscars are set to take over the night in entertainment. With that in mind, I’ve talked about what I would do differently as a member of the Academy. However, if I had an actual ballot with this lineup, who would I be voting for? Well, let’s find out now. I’ll rank everything in each category, but other than Best Picture, those rankings would not matter. Don’t worry about too much analysis, this will just explain my winner quickly. Le’ts dive in!

91st Oscar Nominations

Best Picture:

1. BlacKkKlansman
2. Black Panther
3. The Favourite
4. Roma
5. A Star Is Born
6. Vice
7. Bohemian Rhapsody
8. Green Book

BlacKkKlansman speaks to a much larger cultural divide than any of the other films in the competition. I believe its a movie that captures this moment in America, and also rewards Spike Lee for his incredible career.

Director

1. Spike Lee, BlacKkKlansman
2. Yorgos Lanthimos, The Favourite
3. Alfonso Cuarón, Roma
4. Pawel Pawlikowski, Cold War
5. Adam McKay, Vice

Spike deserves this after a career of being ignored. I also happen to think this movie doesn’t work with his ability to manage the tone or bring in some great craftsman.

Lead Actor

1. Willem Dafoe, At Eternity’s Gate
2. Bradley Cooper, A Star Is Born
3. Christian Bale, Vice
4. Rami Malek, Bohemian Rhapsody
5. Viggo Mortensen, Green Book

I hate this lineup. But Dafoe is actually great. Cooper gets my 2, and I can’t stand the other three performances.

Lead Actress

1. Olivia Colman, The Favourite
2. Yalitza Aparicio, Roma
3. Glenn Close, The Wife
4. Melissa McCarthy, Can You Ever Forgive Me?
5. Lady Gaga, A Star Is Born

I think Olivia Colman gives the best beat by beat performance by far. It’s no contest in my eyes. I feel bad for Close, but I don’t think her work transcends career-defining work by Colman.

Supporting Actor

1. Richard E. Grant, Can You Ever Forgive Me?
2. Sam Elliott, A Star Is Born
3. Mahershala Ali, Green Book
4. Adam Driver, BlacKkKlansman
5. Sam Rockwell, Vice

I don’t think Mahershala is a supporting actor (the movie literally cannot happen without him). However, Richard E. Grant delivers in spades. He’s my winner, with Elliott also coming close.

Supporting Actress

1. Regina King, If Beale Street Could Talk
2. Rachel Weisz, The Favourite
3. Marina de Tavira, Roma
4. Emma Stone, The Favourite
5. Amy Adams, Vice

Weisz is the only Favourite woman I can buy in Supporting, and she’s a powerhouse performer. However, King is also great. Slight edge to King for not being a borderline lead.

Original Screenplay

1. The Favourite written by Deborah Davis, Tony McNamara
2. First Reformed written by Paul Schrader
3. Roma written by Alfonso Cuarón
4. Vice written by Adam McKay
5. Green Book written by Nick Vallelonga, Brian Currie, Peter Farrelly

The Favourite, a Marianas Trench, and then everything else.

Adapted Screenplay

1. BlacKkKlansman written by Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz, Kevin Willmott, Spike Lee
2. If Beale Street Could Talk written by Barry Jenkins
3. Can You Ever Forgive Me? written by Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty
4. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs written by Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
5. A Star Is Born written by Eric Roth, Bradley Cooper, Will Fetters

Spike serves as the biggest of the four writers on BlacKkKlansman, and the work is close enough to If Beale Street Could Talk, I would give him a slight edge. Jenkins will be back and already has an Oscar for this category.

Animated Feature

1. “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman
2. “Isle of Dogs,” Wes Anderson
3. “Mirai,” Mamoru Hosoda
4. “Incredibles 2,” Brad Bird
5. “Ralph Breaks the Internet,” Rich Moore, Phil Johnston

Spider-Man and nothing else really matters. However, I really believe the Disney films are the weakest films here.

Best Documentary Feature

1. “Free Solo,” Jimmy Chin, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi
2. “Minding the Gap,” Bing Liu
3. “Hale County This Morning, This Evening,” RaMell Ross
4. “Of Fathers and Sons,” Talal Derki
5. “RBG,” Betsy West, Julie Cohen

The physical of filming Free Solo makes this an easy call. But Minding the Gap and Hale County are really impressive.

Best Foreign Language Film:

1. “Shoplifters” (Japan)
2. “Cold War” (Poland)
3. “Roma” (Mexico)
4. “Capernaum” (Lebanon)
5. “Never Look Away” (Germany)

While none of these films made my Top 10, four were in my Top 30. Slight edge to Shoplifters, followed by Cold War and Roma.

Original Song

1. “All The Stars” from “Black Panther” by Kendrick Lamar, SZA
2. “When A Cowboy Trades His Spurs For Wings” from “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs” by Willie Watson, Tim Blake Nelson
3. “Shallow” from “A Star Is Born” by Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando, Andrew Wyatt and Benjamin Rice
4. “I’ll Fight” from “RBG” by Diane Warren, Jennifer Hudson
5. “The Place Where Lost Things Go” from “Mary Poppins Returns” by Marc Shaiman, Scott Wittman

Riding in on my principal’s horse, I’m sticking with “All the Stars,” and then going with Cowboy. I actually listen to two of these songs.

Original Score

1. “If Beale Street Could Talk,” Nicholas Britell
2. “Black Panther,” Ludwig Goransson
3. “BlacKkKlansman,” Terence Blanchard
4. “Isle of Dogs,” Alexandre Desplat
5. “Mary Poppins Returns,” Marc Shaiman, Scott Wittman

No feat in filmmaking during 2018 struck a chord with me like Nicholas Brittell‘s score. What a great piece of composition.

Production Design

1. “Black Panther,” Hannah Beachler
2. “First Man,” Nathan Crowley, Kathy Lucas
3. “The Favourite,” Fiona Crombie, Alice Felton
4. “Roma,” Eugenio Caballero, Bárbara Enrı́quez
5. “Mary Poppins Returns,” John Myhre, Gordon Sim

Wakanda Forever! Give me Black Panther.

Cinematography

1. “Roma,” Alfonso Cuarón
2. “Cold War,” Lukasz Zal
3. “The Favourite,” Robbie Ryan
4. “Never Look Away,” Caleb Deschanel
5. “A Star Is Born,” Matthew Libatique

Don’t worry, I’m not blanking Roma. It really deserves a win here.

Visual Effects

1. “Avengers: Infinity War”
2. “Solo: A Star Wars Story”
3. “First Man”
4. “Christopher Robin”
5. “Ready Player One”

I believe that Thanos and Infinity War work better than anything else here. Close second to First Man though.

Costume Design

1. “Black Panther,” Ruth E. Carter
2. “The Favourite,” Sandy Powell
3. “Ballad of Buster Scruggs,” Mary Zophres
4. “Mary Poppins Returns,” Sandy Powell
5. “Mary Queen of Scots,” Alexandra Byrne

One more time, with feeling, this has to go to Ruth E. Carter. What a fantastic use of color and African history. We’ve never seen anything like it.

Film Editing

1. “BlacKkKlansman,” Barry Alexander Brown
2. “The Favourite,” Yorgos Mavropsaridis
3. “Vice,” Hank Corwin
4. “Bohemian Rhapsody,” John Ottman
5. “Green Book,” Patrick J. Don Vito

BlacKkKlansman controls the pace well and has some really standout scenes I can’t ignore. The Favourite was close, because comedic timing is hard to edit in a period piece. It’s structure ultimately hurt my feelings towards the edit.

Makeup and Hair

1. “Border”
2. “Mary Queen of Scots”
3. “Vice”

Border is objectively the best work. Mary Queen of Scots gets the 2. Vice can’t get credit for transforming its characters AND give Bale credit for being a transformative actor.

Sound Mixing

• “First Man”
• “Roma”
• “Black Panther”
• “A Star Is Born”
• “Bohemian Rhapsody”

First Man uses the sound mix to completely disorient you, plus the use of the score is perfect.

Sound Editing

• “A Quiet Place,” Ethan Van der Ryn, Erik Aadahl
• “First Man,” Ai-Ling Lee, Mildred Iatrou Morgan
• “Black Panther,” Benjamin A. Burtt, Steve Boeddeker
• “Roma,” Sergio Diaz, Skip Lievsay
• “Bohemian Rhapsody,” John Warhurst

A Quiet Place is about sound first and foremost. Recording silence is much more difficult than one might guess.

Animated Short

1. “Weekends,” Trevor Jimenez
2. “One Small Step,” Andrew Chesworth, Bobby Pontillas
3. “Bao,” Domee Shi
4. “Animal Behaviour,” Alison Snowden, David Fine
5. “Late Afternoon,” Louise Bagnall

Weekends is the artistic achievement and everything else goes straight for the feels. But Weekends has got feels too.

Best Documentary Short

1. “Period. End of Sentence.,” Rayka Zehtabchi
2. “Black Sheep,” Ed Perkins
3. “A Night at the Garden,” Marshall Curry
4. “End Game,” Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman
5. “Lifeboat,” Skye Fitzgerald

Period. End of Sentence is the story that makes the biggest difference in the real world. Black Sheep was close because it’s bonkers.

Best Live Action Short Film

1. “Marguerite,” Marianne Farley
2. “Fauve,” Jeremy Comte
3. “Mother,” Rodrigo Sorogoyen
4. “Detainment,” Vincent Lambe
5. “Skin,” Guy Nattiv

I’m gonna jump off a bridge. Marguerite is the only one I can stand.

Who do you think will at the Oscars this Sunday? Let us hear your thoughts below.

Check out Aaron and I discussing our Oscar picks on We Bought a Pod! Read AJ’s picks here! 

We Bought a Pod Episode 47- The Weebies! (oh and also the Oscars I guess)

Welcome to We Bought a Pod! This week we are talking Oscar Noms (or lack there of). We also give out our first annual Weebie Awards! Who won? Who lost? Who cares? We do! Thanks to everyone who participated in the voting and see you guys next week.

Peace – Aaron

Recap – 91st Oscars Nominations

The 91st Oscar nominations were announced today and they gave us some doozies. Below I’ve included all of the nominations in each of the 24 categories. Roma and The Favourite each got 10 nominations, even if they weren’t all for the categories I guessed it they would get. Meanwhile, A Star Is Born and Vice each got 8 nominations. However, Bradley Cooper surprisingly missed Best Director. Vice picked up 3 acting nominations, including Christian Bale, Amy Adams, and Sam Rockwell. Meanwhile, “Black Panther” became the first superhero film to receive a Best Picture nomination, despite Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan missing. Check out the nominees below!

91st Oscar Nominations

Best Picture:

• Black Panther
• BlacKkKlansman
• Bohemian Rhapsody
• The Favourite
• Green Book
• Roma
• A Star Is Born
• Vice

AJ went 7/9, missing Vice for First Man and If Beale Street Could Talk

Director

• Spike Lee, BlacKkKlansman
• Pawel Pawlikowski, Cold War
• Yorgos Lanthimos, The Favourite
• Alfonso Cuarón, Roma
• Adam McKay, Vice

AJ went 3/5, missing Pawel Pawlikowski and Adam McKay for Barry Jenkins & Bradley Cooper

Lead Actor

• Christian Bale, Vice
• Bradley Cooper, A Star Is Born
• Willem Dafoe, At Eternity’s Gate
• Rami Malek, Bohemian Rhapsody
• Viggo Mortensen, Green Book

AJ went 3/5, missing Willem Dafoe & Viggo Mortenson for John David Washington & Ethan Hawke

Lead Actress

• Yalitza Aparicio, Roma
• Glenn Close, The Wife
• Olivia Colman, The Favourite
• Lady Gaga, A Star Is Born
• Melissa McCarthy, Can You Ever Forgive Me?

AJ went 5/5!

Supporting Actor

• Mahershala Ali, Green Book
• Adam Driver, BlacKkKlansman
• Sam Elliott, A Star Is Born
• Richard E. Grant, Can You Ever Forgive Me?
• Sam Rockwell, Vice

AJ went 4/5, missing Sam Rockwell for Michael B. Jordan

Supporting Actress

• Amy Adams, Vice
• Marina de Tavira, Roma
• Regina King, If Beale Street Could Talk
• Emma Stone, The Favourite
• Rachel Weisz, The Favourite

AJ went 4/5 missing Marina de Tavira for Margot Robbie

Original Screenplay

• The Favourite written by Deborah Davis, Tony McNamara
• First Reformed written by Paul Schrader
• Green Book written by Nick Vallelonga, Brian Currie, Peter Farrelly
• Roma written by Alfonso Cuarón
• Vice written by Adam McKay

AJ went 3 for 5, missing First Reformed & Green Book for Eighth Grade and Cold War

Adapted Screenplay

• The Ballad of Buster Scruggs written by Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
• BlacKkKlansman written by Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz, Kevin Willmott, Spike Lee
• Can You Ever Forgive Me? written by Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty
• If Beale Street Could Talk written by Barry Jenkins
• A Star Is Born written by Eric Roth, Bradley Cooper, Will Fetters

Aj went 3/5, missed The Ballad of Buster Scruggs & A Star Is Born for Black Panther and The Death of Stalin

Animated Feature

• “Incredibles 2,” Brad Bird
• “Isle of Dogs,” Wes Anderson
• “Mirai,” Mamoru Hosoda
• “Ralph Breaks the Internet,” Rich Moore, Phil Johnston
• “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman

AJ went 5 for 5

Best Documentary Feature

• “Free Solo,” Jimmy Chin, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi
• “Hale County This Morning, This Evening,” RaMell Ross
• “Minding the Gap,” Bing Liu
• “Of Fathers and Sons,” Talal Derki
• “RBG,” Betsy West, Julie Cohen

AJ went 2 for 5 missing Hale County, Of Fathers and Sons, and RBG for Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, Three Identical Strangers, & Shirkers

Best Foreign Language Film:

• “Capernaum” (Lebanon)
• “Cold War” (Poland)
• “Never Look Away” (Germany)
• “Roma” (Mexico)
• “Shoplifters” (Japan)

AJ went 3 for 5, missing Never Look Away and Capernaum for The Guilty & Burning

Original Song

• “All The Stars” from “Black Panther” by Kendrick Lamar, SZA
• “I’ll Fight” from “RBG” by Diane Warren, Jennifer Hudson
• “The Place Where Lost Things Go” from “Mary Poppins Returns” by Marc Shaiman, Scott Wittman
• “Shallow” from “A Star Is Born” by Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando, Andrew Wyatt and Benjamin Rice
• “When A Cowboy Trades His Spurs For Wings” from “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs” by Willie Watson, Tim Blake Nelson

AJ went 2 for 5, missing “I’ll Fight,” “The Place Where Lost Things Go,” and “When a Cowboy Trades His Spurs For Wings” for “Revelation,” “Trip a Little Light Fantastic” and “Girl in the Movies”

Original Score

• “BlacKkKlansman,” Terence Blanchard
• “Black Panther,” Ludwig Goransson
• “If Beale Street Could Talk,” Nicholas Britell
• “Isle of Dogs,” Alexandre Desplat
• “Mary Poppins Returns,” Marc Shaiman, Scott Wittman

AJ went 4/5 missing BlacKkKlansman for First Man

Production Design

• “Black Panther,” Hannah Beachler
• “First Man,” Nathan Crowley, Kathy Lucas
• “The Favourite,” Fiona Crombie, Alice Felton
• “Mary Poppins Returns,” John Myhre, Gordon Sim
• “Roma,” Eugenio Caballero, Bárbara Enrı́quez

AJ went 5/5!

Cinematography

• “Cold War,” Lukasz Zal
• “The Favourite,” Robbie Ryan
• “Never Look Away,” Caleb Deschanel
• “Roma,” Alfonso Cuarón
• “A Star Is Born,” Matthew Libatique

AJ went 4/5 missing Never Look Away for First Man

Visual Effects

• “Avengers: Infinity War”
• “Christopher Robin”
• “First Man”
• “Ready Player One”
• “Solo: A Star Wars Story”

AJ went 4/5 missing Christopher Robin for Black Panther

Costume Design

• “Ballad of Buster Scruggs,” Mary Zophres
• “Black Panther,” Ruth E. Carter
• “The Favourite,” Sandy Powell
• “Mary Poppins Returns,” Sandy Powell
• “Mary Queen of Scots,” Alexandra Byrne

AJ went 4/5 missing Ballad of Buster Scruggs for Crazy Rich Asians

Film Editing

• “BlacKkKlansman,” Barry Alexander Brown
• “Bohemian Rhapsody,” John Ottman
• “Green Book,” Patrick J. Don Vito
• “The Favourite,” Yorgos Mavropsaridis
• “Vice,” Hank Corwin

AJ went 2/5 missing, Bohemian Rhapsody, Green Book & Vice for First Man, Roma, A Star Is Born

Makeup and Hair

• “Border”
• “Mary Queen of Scots”
• “Vice”

AJ went 1/3, missing Mary Queen of Scots & Vice for Black Panther and Suspiria

Sound Mixing

• “Black Panther”
• “Bohemian Rhapsody”
• “First Man”
• “Roma”
• “A Star Is Born”

AJ went 4/5 missing Black Panther for A Quiet Place

Sound Editing

• “Black Panther,” Benjamin A. Burtt, Steve Boeddeker
• “Bohemian Rhapsody,” John Warhurst
• “First Man,” Ai-Ling Lee, Mildred Iatrou Morgan
• “A Quiet Place,” Ethan Van der Ryn, Erik Aadahl
• “Roma,” Sergio Diaz, Skip Lievsay

AJ went 4/5 missing Bohemian Rhapsody for Ready Player One

Animated Short

• “Animal Behaviour,” Alison Snowden, David Fine
• “Bao,” Domee Shi
• “Late Afternoon,” Louise Bagnall
• “One Small Step,” Andrew Chesworth, Bobby Pontillas
• “Weekends,” Trevor Jimenez

AJ went 4/5, missing Late Afternoon for Age of Sail

Best Documentary Short

• “Black Sheep,” Ed Perkins
• “End Game,” Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman
• “Lifeboat,” Skye Fitzgerald
• “A Night at the Garden,” Marshall Curry
• “Period. End of Sentence.,” Rayka Zehtabchi

AJ went 2/5, missing Lifeboat, Black Sheep, Period. End of Sentence. for Zion, Women of the Gulag, 63 Boycott. 

Best Live Action Short Film

• “Detainment,” Vincent Lambe
• “Fauve,” Jeremy Comte
• “Marguerite,” Marianne Farley
• “Mother,” Rodrigo Sorogoyen
• “Skin,” Guy Nattiv

Went 2/5 missing Fauve, Marguerite, Skin for Caroline, May Day, Wale

What do you think of the Oscar nominations? Who do you think are the worst snubs? Let us hear your thoughts below.

 

We Bought a Cabin in the Woods Episode 8: “An American Werewolf in London” (1981)

Beware the Moon David. It’s An American Werewolf in London, a beloved horror-comedy unlike any that came before it. It even made Oscar history! Let’s jump into the gory, silly, and sexy An American Werewolf in London.

 

00-6:15 – General Thoughts on the Movie

6:15- 9:30 – Recapping the Film

9:30 – 16:05 – John Landis, Animal House, and The Blues Brothers

16:05 – 19:45 – Rick Baker, Star Wars and The Howling

19:45 – 25:00 – Casting the Film with David Naughton, Jenny Agutter, Griffin Dunne, & Frank Oz (YODA/MRS. PIGGY!!!!)

25:00 – 38:45 – Production of the Film and the Picadilly Circus Bus Crash

38:45 – 41:40 – The MPAA Strikes Again and Music for the Film

41:40 – 44:00 – Critical Reception, The Oscars Create Best Makeup Category, An American Werewolf in Paris

44:00 – 49:40 After the Movie: John Landis and The Twilight Zone: The Movie, Rick Baker Becomes a Legend, Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” video

49:40 – End An American Werewolf in London HHN 23 & HHN 25

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Our music comes from Erik Starn, a friend of the podcast

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Updated Predictions for Best Documentary Feature at the Oscars (10/25/18)

Okay, we’ve had some time to see some results, see a few more films, and feel out the field a bit more. With that said, some movies went way up while others are struggling. Let’s dive in and see what’s going on.

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE FILM PREDICTIONS (10/25/18)

The Favorites

1. Free Solo (National Geographic) – Dir. Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi & Jimmy Chin (REVIEW HERE)

2. Won’t You Be My Neighbor (Focus Feature) – Dir. Morgan Neville (REVIEW HERE)

3. Minding the Gap (Hulu) Dir. Bing Liu (REVIEW HERE)

4. Three Identical Strangers (NEON) – Dir. Tim Wardle (REVIEW HERE)

The biggest surprise from the first bit of nominations, including the Critics Choice Awards and International Documentary Association Awards was the support for Minding the Gap is real.  It even won for Best Editing at the IDA Awards, an important piece in constructing any documentary. Free Solo and Won’t You Be My Neighbor continue to steamroll. Three Identical Strangers fell off a bit at the IDAs, but it’s early.

The Bubble Nominees

5. Shirkers (Netflix) Dir. Sandi Tan

6. RBG (Magnolia/CNN) – Dir. Julie Cohen & Betsy West

7. Dark Money (PBS) – Dir. Kimberly Reed (REVIEW HERE)

8. Crime + Punishment (HULU) – Dir. Stephen Maing

9. Hale County: This Morning, This Evening (The Cinema Guild) Dir. RaMell Ross

This section got much tighter and now any of this group has a chance to leapfrog into a nomination.

Shirkers is the one to watch, as it can easily become a big hit once it arrives on Netflix. Directed by a woman, and representing Netflix’s best play, they should ride this one into the race. After all, Netflix consistently makes the shortlist. They’ve also grabbed a nomination the last four years to get six total documentary nominations. I doubt their luck is going to run out.

The recent political frustrations around the Supreme Court and the Midterms make RBG and Dark Money stand out. They’re both awesome films, but I question if Oscar will go for more than a couple biopics. At the moment, I’m leaving RBG out of the mix. Crime + Punishment and Hale County have their supporters and could find their way into the action as well. They’ve already got their ground game going, with nominations at both Critics Choice and IDA helping boost their case.

Still in the Hunt

10. Science Fair (National Geographic) – Dir. Christina Costantini & Darren Foster 

11. Quincy (Netflix) – Dir. Rashida Jones & Alan Hicks (REVIEW HERE)

12. Love, Gilda (Magnolia/CNN) – Dir. Lisa Dapolito

13. Maiden (Sony Pictures Classics) Dir. Alex Holmes

Science Fair still has time to develop its following as it is fairly recent to the party. Netflix should continue to push Quincy but it is not really a hard-hitting doc. That likely hurts it. Both Love, Gilda, and Maiden feature women in control of their destinies. Maiden could very easily slingshot to a top-tier position in the race, but right now its quiet at Sony Pictures Classics.

Next Out

14. They’ll Love Me When I’m Dead (Netflix) Dir. Morgan Neville

15. Monrovia, Indiana (Zipporah Films) Dir. Frederick Wiseman

16. Pope Francis: A Man of His Word (Focus Features) Dir. Wim Wenders

17. Generation Wealth (Amazon Studios) – Dir. Lauren Greenfield

18. Whitney (Roadside Attractions) Dir. Kevin Macdonald

19. Fahrenheit 11/9 (Briarcliff Entertainment) Dir. Michael Moore

20. The Price of Everything (HBO) Dir. Nathaniel Kahn

A lot more biographical documentaries make up the list. The problem for these film? Why are they essential now? It feels like Won’t You Be My Neighbor? could sweep the season, but They’ll Love Me When I’m Dead could steal some votes. After all, Neville directed both. Whitney and Pope Francis both had good box offices, so I’m holding onto them for now. I might be kidding myself to even have Fahrenheit 11/9 as high as I do, even as I disliked the film.

The Price of Everything could be the strongest of the HBO Docs, so it’s one to watch. Finally, Generation Wealth feels prescient but has not resonated with precursors to this point.

What do you think about our rankings in the documentary feature list so far? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below! 

Check out our first analysis of the documentaries contending for the 91st Oscars here! 

 

It’s Best Picture Time! Ahead of “A Star Is Born” Releasing This Weekend, Let’s Check In (10/4)

We’ve looked over a couple of the fun categories that we here at We Bought a Blog love to check in on. Documentary Feature is very deep. Animated Feature is not. However, this year has set itself up as a really strong year overall, even if it is a top-heavy one. This ranking is still early and doesn’t say which film is set to win the Oscar. However, it does rank the race as I currently see it

BEST PICTURE 

The Favorites

“A Star Is Born” Image Courtesy of Warner Bros.

1. A Star is Born (Warner Bros.) – Dir. Bradley Cooper 

2. Roma (Netflix) – Dir. Alfonso Cuarón 

3. First Man (Universal Pictures) – Dir. Damien Chazelle

4. BlacKkKlansman (Focus Features) – Dir. Spike Lee (REVIEW)

5. Vice (Annapurna Pictures) – Dir. Adam McKay  

6. If Beale Street Could Talk (Annapurna) – Dir. Barry Jenkins

“Roma” Image Courtesy of Netflix

With the way Best Picture movies are chosen, these 6 feel safe. I don’t believe a single film is a lock (still not enough evidence), but they are all strong contenders. Again, I also don’t see these films falling out in this order come years end, but let’s jump into it. My personal favorite film of the year, and honestly the one most likely to win Best Picture of this group is BlacKkKlansman. I don’t believe that this will be my number 1 by year’s end, but it’s got a lot going for it. It shines a light on our country at this moment (one might say zeitgeisty), and would reward an auteur who has yet to win Best Picture. Spike Lee is going to have to kiss some babies, but this feels like a more progressive Argo kind of win.

“If Beale Street Could Talk” Image Courtesy of Annapurna

The most basic film to make the cut feels like the slog towards A Star Is Born as a Best Picture nominee. People need to chill out about this movie, but the reviews are strong. However, the nonstop discussion surrounding the film has become exhausting already. Still, it’s safe. Luckily, we have a lot of good films at the top. A rematch of the 2016 Oscars between Barry Jenkins and Damien Chazelle further showcases why they’re generational talents. Beale Street brings back Jenkins, and the film looks and sounds gorgeous so far. The same can be said for First Man, a grand epic about the Apollo missions to the Moon, specifically one Neil Armstrong.

“First Man” Image Courtesy of Universal Studios

On the flip side, we’ve got Roma from a director who already conquered the stars. Cuarón follows up Gravity with a quiet black and white film about growing up in Mexico City. The political commentary and classism existing in the film will shake things up but because the film is in Spanish, some won’t watch it. Still, if there was ever an auteur to win Best Picture with a foreign film, Cuarón might be the one.

“Vice” Image Courtesy of Annapurna

Vice feels like this year’s Wolf of Wall Street. There’s going to be a fight on the internet about whether we can view the Bush administration in a comedic light. It’s a fair question as our political system eats itself alive. It’s a film consumed by the search for power, and while our President attempts to grab more than any before him, the parable of Dick Cheney will wake some up about how a broken system could crumble under someone more competent.

The Bubble Nominees

“The Favourite” Image Courtesy of Fox Searchlight

7. The Favourite (Fox Searchlight) – Dir. Yorgos Lantimos

8. Green Book (Universal Studios) – Dir. Peter Farrelly

9. Black Panther (Walt Disney Studios) – Dir. Ryan Coogler (REVIEW)

10. Can You Ever Forgive Me? (Fox Searchlight Pictures) – Dir. Marielle Heller

11. Widows (20th Century Fox) – Dir. Steve McQueen

12. The Hate U Give (20th Century Fox) – Dir. George Tillman Jr. 

13. Stan & Ollie (Sony Pictures Classics) – Dir. Jon S. Baird

“Black Panther” Image Courtesy of Walt Disney Studios

This next group features the film that will likely define 2018. Black Panther feels like a must nominate film but here’s the problem. It has to receive number 1 votes. If it doesn’t, it misses out in Best Picture. I don’t know how 5% of the Academy will put a superhero film in 1st place on their ballots. That’s the entire problem with it, and while most voters are likely to have it in the top 10, that doesn’t matter. This worries me and scared the Academy so much they almost rolled out the popular film category this year.

“Green Book” Image Courtesy of Universal Studios

Green Book might be part of the problem. The Civil Rights story will be catnip for some voters. It’s a more progressive story than Driving Miss Daisy, but it’s a tough look to tell a story about Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali)  through the lens of a white character (Viggo Mortenson). The Toronto Film Festival rewarded Green Book the Audience Award, so it is a crowd pleaser. That might be enough to get it over the finish line.

“The Favourite” Image Courtesy of Fox Searchlight

The Favourite will be far less controversial, putting women at the heart of the film. The three-headed monster could bring Emma Stone, Rachel Weisz, and Olivia Colman all Oscar nominations. The most commercial of Yorgos Lanthimos’ career still features weird sex, period costumes, and Black Swan style performances. It gets artsy cred. A BP nom feels assured, but all those things will make some in the Academy hate this movie.

“Stan & Ollie” Image Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics

Now the rest of our list shows off strong reviewed features with weaknesses for one reason or another. Stan & Ollie has not been confirmed for this year yet, but one that could shatter the lineup. It’s about two of the great stars in Hollywood, and there are few things Oscars love more than cheerleading themselves. Widows will likely make my personal 10, as Crime features are my safe space. Widows looks like The Departed by featuring an all-star cast with an A+ director. With Viola Davis and Daniel Kaluuya leading the acting nomination chances, this one could quickly become a player.

“Widows” Image Courtesy of 20th Century Fox

Can You Ever Forgive Me? should draw some interesting responses. The film is well reviewed, and Melissa McCarthy in a serious role will keep eyes on the film. Plus, Richard E. Grant is apparently great. It’s the only women-directed film that could make the Best Picture lineup so it might draw more supporters for that reason as well. Finally, The Hate U Give features strong reviews, but I don’t think the numbers are on its side. It’s just like Black Panther, where I’m sure that it would have a strong chance in a straight 10 lineup. I just don’t know how many people will put it in first place.

Still in the Hunt

“A Quiet Place” Image Courtesy of Paramount

14. Boy Erased (Focus Features) – Dir. Joel Edgerton

15. A Quiet Place (Paramount Pictures) – Dir. John Krasinski (REVIEW)

16. The Sisters Brothers (Annapurna) – Dir. Jacques Audiard

17. Wildlife (IFC Films) – Dir. Paul Dano

18. Hereditary (A24) – Dir. Ari Aster (PODCAST REVIEW)

“Hereditary” Image Courtesy of A24

This group feels like it could grab votes, but none will have enough support. Boy Erased feels like it has already dropped out of the conversation in lieu of stronger films. Maybe it’ll grab some acting nominations, but feels like it’s falling short. A Quiet Place and Herditary will have supporters, but horror films struggle to make Best Picture. I don’t believe that Get Out opened the door for horror,  I think it’s social relevance pulled it over the edge. Neither of these films has that key component.

“The Sisters Brothers” Image Courtesy of Annapurna Pictures

Wildlife will be a very interesting case, featuring a family drama gone wrong. If it can build some support, it could rocket up this list. However, at the moment the buzz is almost non-existent. Last, The Sisters Brothers is a dark comedy and western. An odd blend to say the least, but it’s going to attract some to its side. However, in the process, it’s going to push others away. It’s already won Best Director for Jacques Audiard at the Venice Film Festival over The Favourite, First Man, and others. Clearly, it has support.

Next Out

“Eighth Grade” Image Courtesy of A24

19. At Eternity’s Gate (CBS Films) – Dir. Julian Schnabel

20. Cold War (Amazon Studios) – Dir. Pawel Pawlikowski

21. Eighth Grade (A24) – Dir. Bo Burnham (REVIEW)

22. 22 July (Netflix) – Dir. Paul Greengrass

This group could rise quickly, but seem destined for other nominations. Cold War might be the strongest foreign film other than Roma and that’s a good thing. But again, will 2 foreign films find 5% of the 1st place votes, let alone 2 black and white ones? Eighth Grade is amazing, but teen stories have trouble getting into Best Picture races. Again, Lady Bird had other narratives to follow, namely Greta Gerwig and Saoirse Ronan. I don’t think Eighth Grade has those narratives. It should though.

At Eternity’s Gate follows Willem Dafoe as Vincent Van Gogh. That’s a good thing. Julian Schnabel directs, and his unique vision seems to be the film’s undoing. It’s got good reviews, but not great so far. This makes a traditional Oscar player a polarizing film. Last but not least, 22 July does not live up to Paul Greengrass’ very strong filmography. That said, it’s still got strong reviews, and Netflix is pushing it.

Other Contenders 

“Paddington 2” Image Courtesy of Warner Bros.

23. Shoplifters (Magnolia) – Dir.Hirokazu Koreeda

24. Mary Poppins Returns (Walt Disney Studios) – Dir. Rob Marshall

25. Paddington 2 (Warner Bros.) – Dir. Paul King 

26. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (Netflix) – Dir. Joel and Ethan Coen

27. Mary Queen of Scots (Focus Features) – Dir. Josie Rourke

28. Beautiful Boy (Amazon Studios) – Dir. Felix Van Groeningen

29. The Old Man and the Gun (Fox Searchlight Pictures) – Dir. David Lowery

30. The Incredibles 2 (Walt Disney Studios) – Dir. Brad Bird (REVIEW) 

“The Ballad of Buster Scruggs” Image Courtesy of Netflix

This group could find their way into the race, but it’s going to take a lot. Shoplifters won the Palme D’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. Still, it’s a foreign film already packed with 2 others. Maybe you can flip it with Cold War but it would be surprising if either gets in. Mary Poppins Returns could get a Globe nomination, but Disney’s going to push Black Panther instead. Paddington 2 has strong fans, but again, not 5% strong. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs might have done it if the Coen’s had expanded any of the anthologies into a full feature. Alas, that’s not the case.

“Mary Queen of Scots” Image Courtesy of Focus Features

Mary Queen of Scots and Beautiful Boy will both feel like flops, but each could get a nominee or two in the acting races. But the rest of the films will let down last year’s nominees Saoirse Ronan, Margot Robbie, and Timothee Chalamet. The Old Man and the Gun seems too sweet and nostalgic, and Robert Redford already walked back that this could be his last film. That was always its advantage. Last, The Incredibles 2 can boast that it is the highest grossing animated film of all time. Quite a title to hold, However, it did not help Finding Dory, Shrek 2, Lion King, or Frozen. So I’m not predicting it here either.

What do you think of the Best Picture race so far? Which other films do you think will contend? Let us know in the comments below!