“Hosting the Oscars is much like making love to a woman. It’s something I only get to do when Billy Crystal is out of town.” – Steve Martin
Okay, it’s here. You’ve waited and waited and waited – or should I say, TV networks have advertised and advertised and advertised – for this moment. And it’s D-Day now. In 9 hours, we will unleash the Academy Awards 2016.
But before we get to the good stuff, let’s really understand what’s going on here. Why is there so much hype only for the Oscars? How come very few people care about the Golden Globes? How come the BAFTAs and SAG Awards happen every year and yet, nobody even knows… or cares?
Well, if you were hoping for a huge, logical explanation, it’s a far cry from the truth. The Oscars are more prestigious and famous than other film awards because…. well, because. There are a variety of reasons that don’t completely give us the answer, but they are significant.
Firstly, the Oscars are older than the others. So it’s sort of an ‘old is gold’ theory here. The other awards came later, and hence were diminished in fame due to the existence of the Oscars, which were already famous.
Secondly, the Oscars are more… interesting. For starters, why the term ‘Oscar’? Why is it called that? The popularly acknowledged explanation is that when Academy Award librarian and future Director of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Margaret Herrick first saw the statue in 1931, she said that it looked like her Uncle Oscar. And let’s just say the name caught on.
I mean, I don’t see the Golden Globes having an affectionate nickname. So the score’s 2-0.
Finally, and this is quite a touchy point, the Oscars are of a better quality. Maybe it’s just me, but the Oscars always captures the spirit of the viewer. Many a time, it gets you invested in a film you’ve neither seen nor heard of. Other award shows don’t really have that charisma. Then there is the overall show itself. The Oscar hosts are more memorable, more celebrities turn up at the Oscars [well, not this year and you know why], and on a more intricate note, the speeches are better. Seriously, they are. And there is also the whole timing of the event. The Golden Globes of 2016 was greatly rushed and I didn’t quite feel it. But with the almost 4-hour long Oscars, I’m pretty sure I will.
But of course, this may be just because of the fame of the Oscars itself, which leads to it holding an image in our minds of a greater quality than other awards shows. But hey – who cares.
Now, the good stuff. The movies. The epitome of the Oscars. Come hell or high water, when all is said and done, it’s the movies that really matter. And 2015-16 was a great year for film. I urgently request you to binge-watch any Oscar-nominated movies you haven’t seen. Probably start with Spotlight or The Revenant. You won’t get any sleep, but it’ll be worth it.
So, without further ado, here are my predictions, or rather my opinions, for which movies will go big at the 2016 Academy Awards :-
- Best Production Design – Mad Max: Fury Road
- Best Documentary, Short Subject – Body Team 12
- Best Short Film, Animated – World of Tomorrow
- Best Short Film, Live Action – Ave Maria
- Best Sound Mixing – The Revenant
- Best Sound Editing – The Revenant
- Best Makeup and Hair-styling – Mad Max: Fury Road
- Best Costume Design – Mad Max: Fury Road
- Best Cinematography – The Revenant
- Best Visual Effects – Star Wars: The Force Awakens [Better believe it, Academy!]
- Best Original Score – The Hateful Eight
- Best Original Song – “Til It Happens To You” from The Hunting Ground
- Best Film Editing – Mad Max: Fury Road
- Best Documentary Feature – Amy
- Best Foreign Language Film – Son of Saul
- Best Animated Feature – Inside Out [Without a doubt]
- Best Original Screenplay – Spotlight
- Best Adapted Screenplay – The Big Short
- Best Supporting Actress – Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl. With her two breakthroughs in Ex Machina and The Danish Girl, Alicia Vikander is likely to win, although she faces stiff competition from Kate Winslet in Steve Jobs.
- Best Supporting Actor – Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies. Bridge of Spies was a great but underrated movie, and it deserves at least one Oscar, and this is the most likely category. Spielberg wasn’t even nominated for Best Director! Mark Rylance does have a rival in Sylvester Stallone for Creed.
- Best Actress – Brie Larson, Room. Brie Larson really deserves it for her emotional performance in Room. It would be a pity if JLaw snagged the Oscar again.
- Best Actor – Leonardo diCaprio, The Revenant. LEO! LEO! LEO! Leo all the way, baby. The Oscars would probably be hated worldwide if Leo didn’t get this much deserved award for his scintillating performance in The Revenant. And the guy has been waiting a looooong time.
- Best Director – Alejandro González Iñárritu, The Revenant. Alejandro Gonza- let’s just stick with Alex – won the Oscar last year for Birdman, and he can do it this time too for The Revenant. George Miller is another likely candidate for Mad Max: Fury Road.
- Best Picture – SPOTLIGHT. Yup. The Academy does love upsets, as it has proven last time with Birdman edging out over Boyhood. Only this time, the award is going to go against Iñárritu’s liking, with The Revenant finishing a close second. In my opinion, last year, Boyhood was better than Birdman. And this time, Spotlight is better than The Revenant. It will be a close battle, though. But of course, The Revenant has a whole lot of hype and more people think it deserves Best Picture, so…Well, we shall see.
So there you go – a huge sum-up of the Oscars 2016. One thing I hate about the film industry is that there’s always some looming ‘problem’. Last time it was equal pay for equal work, but this time it’s something way bigger – a White Oscars. Sure, it wouldn’t hurt to have a few black nominees in there [Idris Elba was amazing in Beasts of No Nation] but the outcry over the issue has been in excess.
Anyway folks, enjoy the Oscars. And to the nominees themselves, bonne chance.
Anyway, kudos to all the future winners. And Rock the stage! (Chris Rock reference :P)
Life is good. Adieu.
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