Dear Academy,
We thought you could use a little help. Take it from us – Limité‘s film writers – and pay attention to who we believe deserves to walk home with that little golden guy.
Sincerely,
Limité Staff
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Nominees:
Pen̩lope Cruz РNine
Vera Farmiga – Up in the Air
Maggie Gyllenhaal – Crazy Heart
Anna Kendrick – Up in the Air
Mo’Nique – Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
Dan Quitério – Mo’Nique. Every year, there’s at least one no-brainer in an acting category. This year, it’s Mo’Nique. The thing is, she actually deserves it based on this Oscar-made role.
Who Will Win: Mo’Nique
Stephanie Dawson – Mo’Nique. She delivers a tour de force performance that brought me to tears. And she took all the other awards, so this is a shoe in.
Who Will Win: Mo’Nique
Janice Perez – Mo’Nique. Final act monologue she does in the movie. Enough said.
Who Will Win: Mo’Nique
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Nominees:
Matt Damon – Invictus
Woody Harrelson – The Messenger
Christopher Plummer – The Last Station
Stanley Tucci – The Lovely Bones
Christoph Waltz – Inglourious Basterds
Dan – Christoph Waltz. Okay, so maybe there are two no-brainers in acting categories this year. Here’s the second. This little-known Austrian actor definitely commands the screen as a charmingly evil Nazi.
Who Will Win: Christoph Waltz
Stephanie – Christoph Waltz. The best part of Inglourious Basterds is this incredibly dynamic villain who is so good he’s bad. Waltz deserves all the recognition we can give him.
Who Will Win: Christoph Waltz
Janice – Christoph Waltz. For his performance in the film, I’d rename this category “Best Scene Stealer Award.”
Who Will Win: Christoph Waltz
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Nominees:
District 9
An Education
In the Loop
Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
Up in the Air
Dan – In the Loop. This fast-talking British comedy can be tough to follow at times, but it doesn’t even matter. The undeniable wit takes us to two continents with multiple perspectives – no easy feat for any writer.
Who Will Win: Up in the Air
Stephanie – In the Loop. This film was hilarious, and if this is the only award I can give it, I’m throwing in all my chips.
Who Will Win: Up in the Air
Janice – Up in the Air. In keeping with the times, the movie was relevant enough without being too preachy. And it had a lot of humorous lines that I really loved.
Who Will Win: Up in the Air
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Nominees:
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
The Messenger
A Serious Man
Up
Dan – Inglourious Basterds. Quentin Tarantino is known world-wide as the “ultimate” screenwriter, with a strong command of dialogue and plot structure. He does it again in this multi-lingual, genre-spanning masterpiece.
Who Will Win: The Hurt Locker
Stephanie – The Hurt Locker. I’m just pulling for the underdog on this one.
Who Will Win: The Hurt Locker
Janice – The Hurt Locker. I owe it to Mark Boal to make such a gripping and inspiring screenplay out of his own experiences roaming the war-ravaged streets of Iraq.
Who Will Win: The Hurt Locker
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Nominees:
Coraline
Fantastic Mr. Fox
The Princess and the Frog
The Secret of Kells
Up
Dan – Fantastic Mr. Fox. In a world where computer animation reigns supreme, Wes Anderson resisted the trend and fought back with this touching, simple tale.
Who Will Win: Up
Stephanie – Fantastic Mr. Fox. Wes Anderson expertly melded a classic children’s novel with his signature style. I also feel stop motion deserves some recognition.
Who Will Win: Up
Janice – Fantastic Mr. Fox. I want to give it the award for its technical merit – of not just merely relying on CGI, but to have the actors go to a locale and act out the story, then capture their voices and emotion on the spot, then send it over to the UK where the animation was being created. Anderson is brilliant!
Who Will Win: Up
BEST DIRECTOR
Nominees:
James Cameron – Avatar
Kathryn Bigelow – The Hurt Locker
Quentin Tarantino – Inglourious Basterds
Lee Daniels – Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
Jason Reitman – Up in the Air
Dan – Kathryn Bigelow. Once the film cut to black and the director’s name appeared. I said to myself, “A woman directed this?” And then I smiled and mentally congratulated Bigelow for her amazing portrayal of this intense, gritty war-time drama.
Who Will Win: Kathryn Bigelow
Stephanie – Kathryn Bigelow. It takes a brilliant director to make action films enjoyable for the action sequences and the personal drama, which Bigelow has done time and again.
Who Will Win: Kathryn Bigelow
Janice – Kathryn Bigelow. David vs. Goliath. Never fails to excite me.
Who Will Win: Kathryn Bigelow
BEST ACTRESS
Nominees:
Sandra Bullock – The Blind Side
Helen Mirren – The Last Station
Carey Mulligan – An Education
Gabourey Sidibe – Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
Meryl Streep – Julie & Julia
Gabourey Sidibe shot by Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin for Interview Magazine
Dan – Gabourey Sidibe. She nailed it. And she did it better than the other nominees. Period.
Who Will Win: Sandra Bullock
Stephanie – Gabourey Sidibe. When it’s really acting, the character is whole, complete, and separate from the actor. Gabby pulled this off more than any performance I’ve seen this year.
Who Will Win: Sandra Bullock
Janice – Meryl Streep. First of all, I wish that movie was just called Julia. Period. That film totally belonged to her with such a knockout performance of an icon that, if acted by someone else, would have totally been choppy or awkward.
Who Will Win: Meryl Streep
BEST ACTOR
Nominees:
Jeff Bridges – Crazy Heart
George Clooney – Up in the Air
Colin Firth – A Single Man
Morgan Freeman – Invictus
Jeremy Renner – The Hurt Locker
Dan – Jeff Bridges. After a long career of memorable performances, Bridges delivers the Oscar-worthy goods with this performance that spans all given emotions. And he sings, too.
Who Will Win: Jeff Bridges
Stephanie – Jeff Bridges. He’s overdue for his Oscar, and as the Academy goes, you get the award after (sometimes well after) the one you deserved it for. The Contender. The Big Lebowski. Arlington Road. The Fisher King. Give the man his award already!
Who Will Win: Jeff Bridges
Janice – Colin Firth. I once had a girlfriend tell me Colin Firth is the “thinking woman’s” ideal man. She’s right. Totally right. And for him to play a gay man, be really good with the role, and still be sexy to females, well that’s why he deserves that statue.
Who Will Win: Jeff Bridges
BEST PICTURE
Nominees:
Avatar
The Blind Side
District 9
An Education
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
A Serious Man
Up
Up in the Air
Dan – The Hurt Locker. Last year was a relatively terrible year for movies. Half of the Best Picture nominees don’t deserve that honor, but the pickings were slim. This year, it’s between The Hurt Locker and Avatar. (Note: Avatar falls within the half that doesn’t deserve the nomination.) Among those that do deserve to be recognized, The Hurt Locker stands tall on all accounts.
Who Will Win: The Hurt Locker
Stephanie – The Hurt Locker. It’s the only one nominated that I believe deserves to win.
Who Will Win: Avatar
Janice – The Hurt Locker. A movie that’s packed with testosterone and is directed by a woman speaks a lot. Plus, we can’t help but root for her in the battle of the exes, as she seems to be everything he’s not: reserved and humble. (Ouch!)
Who Will Win: The Hurt Locker
