92nd Academy Awards SUPERBLOG
I'm not going to run through the technical/non-glamor categories, we'll take a deeper look at them on the podcast. But let's take a look at the big ones for this blog.
Taika is an international treasure. I don't think there was a TON of competition here, although I thought there was a decent chance that 'Little Women' would make a run. 'Jojo Rabbit' is one of the funnier movies of the year, and expertly scripted.
BEAT:
'The Irishman', Steven Zaillian
'Joker', Todd Phillips, Scott Silver
'Little Women', Greta Gerwig
'The Two Popes', Anthony McCarten
This was the first of 4 wins for 'Parasite' and this may have been it's hardest field. Every competitor was a bona fide stud worthy of the award, especially 'Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood' and 'Marriage Story'. If you've seen 'Parasite', you know it deserves the win.
BEAT:
'Knives Out', Rian Johnson
'Marriage Story', Noah Baumbach
'1917', Sam Mendes and Krysty Wilson-Cairns
'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood', Quentin Tarantino
This was more or less a mortal lock. Personally, I still don't feel like I was totally blown away by Pitt's performance. I think it added perfectly to the film, but I didn't feel like it was a particularly difficult performance. That said, I still love Pitt and I'm happy to see him get his first award.
BEAT:
Tom Hanks, 'A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood'
Anthony Hopkins, 'The Two Popes'
Al Pacino, 'The Irishman'
Joe Pesci, 'The Irishman'
Another mortal lock that I wasn't particularly impressed with, I still love Dern regardless. However, I think ScarJo added more to 'Jojo Rabbit' and both Jennifer Lopez and Zhao Shuzhen were really badly snubbed.
BEAT:
Kathy Bates, 'Richard Jewell'
Scarlett Johansson, 'Jojo Rabbit'
Florence Pugh, 'Little Women'
Margot Robbie, 'Bombshell'
This was the moment where we the room really started to realize that this shit had some legs. Sam Mendes winning at the DGA essentially made him a lock for the win here as well since the winner of the former almost ALWAYS wins the later. I have no problem with this whatsoever, though. '1917' is a fucking fantastic movie, but at the end of the day I would split the achievement of that movie between Mendes and cinematographer Richard "Freaky" Deakins. 'Parasite' belongs to Bong.
'Judy' is a movie that all of 10 people saw, and I am one of them. Zellweger is undoubtedly amazing in it, and had to really transform herself for the role, but I still favored ScarJo's performance. That said, this was a mortal lock for any better.
BEAT:
Cynthia Erivo, 'Harriet'
Scarlett Johansson, 'Marriage Story'
Saoirse Ronan, 'Little Women'
Charlize Theron, 'Bombshell'
It almost seems impossible that this was Phoenix's first win, right? This was a total lock from the start and I have no problems with it whatsoever. It was a pretty god damn strong field too when you consider what the other candidates were able to do in their movies. But what Phoenix did, manipulating his body, voice and performance was off the charts.
BEAT:
Antonio Banderas, 'Pain and Glory'
Leonardo DiCaprio, 'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood'
Adam Driver, 'Marriage Story'
Jonathan Pryce, 'The Two Popes'
I can't really emphasize this enough, this is a huuuuuuuuge moment for the Academy. Like I said before, they rarely get things right, and opt to play things safe. The safe pick here would have been '1917', which isn't to say that it would have been the wrong pick, but 'Parasite' was the right pick. I hope that this helps legitimize international films, foreign-language or otherwise to American audiences. There are so many incredible movies out there which people don't watch because they just "don't vibe" with subtitles or non-western storytelling. Just give it a shot, man. You might be really pleasantly surprised. Here is a list of some you can stream to get you started.
BEAT:
'Ford v Ferrari'
'The Irishman'
'Jojo Rabbit'
'Joker'
'Little Women'
'Marriage Story'
'1917'
'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood'
Oscars Live Show
In case anyone was wondering, our Oscars live-stream challenge was a fucking blast. You can watch the full replay below, but let's look at some highlights.