Re: Stray Thoughts for Day-of
Posted: Sun Mar 10, 2024 2:45 pm
Rooting interests? There are a handful of categories that are truly up in the air, which is more than most years. I'd like them to go in a direction we're not expecting.
I'm surprised to find that most of my rooting interests revolve around Barbie. I'd like to see Ryan Gosling surprise everyone and win. I'd like to see "I'm Just Ken" win Best Original Song. And fuck it, I'd like to see Greta Gerwig win Best Adapted Screenplay. I think I'm a little more understanding of why Barbie is considered Adapted than most on the internet but that doesn't change the fact that Barbie would be a slam-dunk for Best Original Screenplay for a host of reasons, but one of them being the reason why Barbie is such a gargantuan hit is due almost entirely to its writing. I'm not the film's biggest fan but there's no reason why a Barbie film had to be *THAT*. It wasn't signed, sealed, and delivered that a Barbie movie had to involve Ken bringing patriarchy back to Barbieland at the midpoint. It could've been anything but it wasn't. She had a vision and people loved it. Poor Things would probably be my favorite screenplay candidate but I think it would be nice to see Greta Gerwig rewarded for her achievement.
I'd also really like to see Maestro given the Best Makeup award. I'm not much of a fan of the film but along with Bradley Cooper, this makeup has undeservingly become an Oscar villain this season. I've been put off by its controversy, much of which is very snarky and high school.
Other rooting interests include Jack Fisk winning Best Production Design and Martin Scorsese picking up Best Original Score on behalf of Robbie Robertson. Increasingly, I find appearances by Martin Scorsese to be very emotional. It's a shame that the only award Killers of the Flower Moon seems likely to win is Lily Gladstone whose performance I'm not the biggest fan of. I'm currently predicting Murphy and Gladstone (backing off of my Stone bullishness). I think Murphy deserves to win but it would be very nice to see Paul Giamatti take Best Actor. I also find his awards appearances to be emotional. Best Actress has been picked apart. I'm less bullish on Emma Stone winning now. Why? Maybe just the sheer force of so many predictions. I think a win for Gladstone isn't just a win for PR. Increasingly, I'm wondering if, hey, maybe voters don't feel the need to give Emma Stone two Oscars before the age of 40. And why not? Gladstone is good and her win is meaningful. But there is an undeniable narrative to her win. There is no narrative to Sandra Huller winning. She's just an internationally acclaimed actor in two Best Picture nominees this year getting her American moment right now. I'm a bigger fan of her work in other films (like Toni Erdmann) but she has at least two or three powerhouse scenes that constitute the best acting of the year. It reminds me of Imelda Staunton for Vera Drake. She had the year's strongest moments. And then there's Emma Stone, who had the best character of the year. I don't know how long we're going to be talking about Bella Baxter but we remember that name right now. Bella Baxter's journey means something. I think it's doubly impressive because as much as anyone nominated this year, Emma Stone is a movie star. From the moment she arrived in Superbad, she's had a clear, contemporary persona that she's applied to various roles. That's been the relative ceiling of her work. Occasionally, she comes across as more effectively cast than a great actor. That all changed IMO with Poor Things. It was all in service of Bella Baxter. All of those outcomes are fine with me (save for Annette Bening winning for Nyad). I think Stone would be the most deserving but Sandra Huller might feel the most unifying. When asked why she won, I think across the board the response would be "Because she's just that good."
Have fun everyone!
I'm surprised to find that most of my rooting interests revolve around Barbie. I'd like to see Ryan Gosling surprise everyone and win. I'd like to see "I'm Just Ken" win Best Original Song. And fuck it, I'd like to see Greta Gerwig win Best Adapted Screenplay. I think I'm a little more understanding of why Barbie is considered Adapted than most on the internet but that doesn't change the fact that Barbie would be a slam-dunk for Best Original Screenplay for a host of reasons, but one of them being the reason why Barbie is such a gargantuan hit is due almost entirely to its writing. I'm not the film's biggest fan but there's no reason why a Barbie film had to be *THAT*. It wasn't signed, sealed, and delivered that a Barbie movie had to involve Ken bringing patriarchy back to Barbieland at the midpoint. It could've been anything but it wasn't. She had a vision and people loved it. Poor Things would probably be my favorite screenplay candidate but I think it would be nice to see Greta Gerwig rewarded for her achievement.
I'd also really like to see Maestro given the Best Makeup award. I'm not much of a fan of the film but along with Bradley Cooper, this makeup has undeservingly become an Oscar villain this season. I've been put off by its controversy, much of which is very snarky and high school.
Other rooting interests include Jack Fisk winning Best Production Design and Martin Scorsese picking up Best Original Score on behalf of Robbie Robertson. Increasingly, I find appearances by Martin Scorsese to be very emotional. It's a shame that the only award Killers of the Flower Moon seems likely to win is Lily Gladstone whose performance I'm not the biggest fan of. I'm currently predicting Murphy and Gladstone (backing off of my Stone bullishness). I think Murphy deserves to win but it would be very nice to see Paul Giamatti take Best Actor. I also find his awards appearances to be emotional. Best Actress has been picked apart. I'm less bullish on Emma Stone winning now. Why? Maybe just the sheer force of so many predictions. I think a win for Gladstone isn't just a win for PR. Increasingly, I'm wondering if, hey, maybe voters don't feel the need to give Emma Stone two Oscars before the age of 40. And why not? Gladstone is good and her win is meaningful. But there is an undeniable narrative to her win. There is no narrative to Sandra Huller winning. She's just an internationally acclaimed actor in two Best Picture nominees this year getting her American moment right now. I'm a bigger fan of her work in other films (like Toni Erdmann) but she has at least two or three powerhouse scenes that constitute the best acting of the year. It reminds me of Imelda Staunton for Vera Drake. She had the year's strongest moments. And then there's Emma Stone, who had the best character of the year. I don't know how long we're going to be talking about Bella Baxter but we remember that name right now. Bella Baxter's journey means something. I think it's doubly impressive because as much as anyone nominated this year, Emma Stone is a movie star. From the moment she arrived in Superbad, she's had a clear, contemporary persona that she's applied to various roles. That's been the relative ceiling of her work. Occasionally, she comes across as more effectively cast than a great actor. That all changed IMO with Poor Things. It was all in service of Bella Baxter. All of those outcomes are fine with me (save for Annette Bening winning for Nyad). I think Stone would be the most deserving but Sandra Huller might feel the most unifying. When asked why she won, I think across the board the response would be "Because she's just that good."
Have fun everyone!