Oscars Pool Cheat Sheet 2014

Need help filling out your Oscars pool ballot? Tuesday Night Movies has you covered!

oscars statues

Supporting Actress: Lupita Nyong’o from 12 Years a Slave pulls a win over Jennifer Lawrence.

Supporting Actor: I feel like Jared Leto has a lock on this one.

jared-leto-dallas-buyers-club1

Actor: See what I wrote about Leto for Supporting Actor, but replace his name with Matthew McConoughey.

Actress: Oscars 101: Never bet against Meryl Streep. Except this year. Bet against Meryl Streep. August: Osage County has been panned, and everyone seems to adore Cate Blanchett in Blue Jasmine. Cate Blanchett with the win as the David to Streep’s Goliath.

Adapted Screenplay: 12 Years A Slave, though I’d personally like to see Philomena take it.

Original Screenplay: Her. This seems to be as much a lock as the male acting categories.

Director: Cross out all choices except for Cuaron and McQueen. Now flip a coin. Or go with Cuaron. I’m going with Cuaron.

Best Picture: Again, I think it’s Gravity vs 12 Years a Slave. While I think Cuaron will beat out McQueen in the directing category, I think 12 Years a Slave will take home Best Picture. As long as American Hustle doesn’t win, I’m happy.

12 years a slave poster

Cinematography: Emmanuel Lubezski – Gravity

Editing: This is another one that I think will come down to either 12 Years a Slave or Gravity. Like Director, I think this one will fall to Gravity’s side.

Score: Gravity

Song: I LOVE Pharrell’s Happy, but Let it Go from Frozen is a juggernaught that can’t be stopped. Let it Go – Frozen.

Foreign Language Film: The Great Beauty – Italy.

Documentary Feature: 20 Feet from Stardom

Animated Feature: Frozen with a lock.

Documentary Short: The Lady in Number 6

Live Action Short: Just Before Losing Everything

Animated Short: Get a Horse! – More like get a broom; Disney sweeps animation this year.

GET A HORSE!

Make-Up: Dallas Buyer’s Club, though I would love for Bad Grandpa to be able to call itself “Oscar Award Winning Movie Bad Grandpa!”

bad grandpa

Costume Design: The Great Gatsby

Production Design: The Great Gatsby

Sound Mixing: Gravity

Sound Editing: Gravity

Visual Effects: Gravity

GRAVITY

At The Theater #2: The Descendents

The Descendants is a fantastic movie. I definitely recommend seeing it. The acting was fantastic across the entire cast, but especially from George Clooney and Shailene Woodley, who plays Clooney’s eldest daughter Alex.

These two are tremendous.

Despite living in paradise, all of the characters in The Descendants are being weighed down by life. No matter how good they have it, no one has it good in this movie, not even perennially amused Sid.

I’ve now seen two of this year’s Best Picture nominees. While I liked The Descendants a lot, I liked Midnight in Paris more. I’m still rooting for Woody Allen’s time travel romantic comedy to take the top prize this year. But I do hope that Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash win for Writing (Adapted Screenplay), partially because I think they did a great job on this script and partially because I’m big fan of Community and want the man who gives us Dean Pelton to win.

I could also see The Descendants winning for Film Editing. I’m surprised to see it wasn’t nominated for Cinematography as well. I thought the camera work was superb.

Go see The Descendants.