We’re under 7 days from knowing who took home the 2008 Academy Awards, so what better time then now to get in our predictions? Starting with the small and ending with the big six, here’s Film Threat’s predictions for the 2008 Academy Awards…
In the category of Documentary (short subject), the nominees are:
Freeheld
La Corona (The Crown)
Salim Baba
Sari’s Mother
And Film Threat predicts…
Sari’s Mother: Topically relevant, touching and politically damning, “Sari’s Mother” should offer up the perfect opportunity to honor a film deserving of the award, and give a big Hollywood “f**k you” to those that put us in Iraq in the first place.
In the category of Film Editing, the nominees are:
The Bourne Ultimatum
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Into the Wild
No Country for Old Men
There Will Be Blood
And Film Threat predicts…
The Bourne Ultimatum: If you can make frenetic action sequences make sense in editing, you’ve got a bit of a leg up on the more deliberately paced of the remaining nominees.
In the category of Makeup, the nominees are:
La Vie en Rose
Norbit
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End
And Film Threat predicts…
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End: This should be a no-brainer, just look at half the extras in “Pirates…” and the award is a given, but part of me really wants to see “Norbit” win just so we can find out of the Apocalypse is truly upon us (a box office success AND an Academy Award… who wants to live in a world where THAT happens).
In the category of Animated Short Film, the nominees are:
I Met the Walrus
Madame Tutli-Putli
Meme Les Pigeons Vont au Paradis (Even Pigeons Go to Heaven)
My Love (Moya Lyubov)
Peter & the Wolf
And Film Threat predicts…
Madame Tutli-Putli: I met one of the animators for this film on a shuttle during Sundance, and his spent the better part of twenty minutes praising the film up and down, including its revolutionary techniques. Oddly enough, he wasn’t full of s**t, so this prediction is more for a hopeful feather in his cap.
In the category of Live Action Short Film, the nominees are:
At Night
Il Supplente (The Substitute)
Le Mozart des Pickpockets (The Mozart of Pickpockets)
Tanghi Argentini
The Tonto Woman
And Film Threat predicts…
Tanghi Argentini: The rest of the films are too heavy for their own good, “Tanghi Argentini” at least comes to the group with a strong sense of humor (and the Oscars NEED for more comedy).
In the category of Best Foreign Language Film, the nominees are:
Beaufort, Israel
The Counterfeiters, Austria
Katyn, Poland
Mongol, Kazakhstan
12, Russia
And Film Threat predicts…
Katyn, Poland: Poland has been to the Oscar dance 7 times prior without a win, so there’s got to be a mercy rule invoked eventually, right? Is “Katyn” the one that puts Poland over the top? We sure as Hell hope so…
In the category of Best Adapted Screenplay, the nominees are:
Christopher Hampton, Atonement
Sarah Polley, Away from Her
Ronald Harwood, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Joel Coen & Ethan Coen, No Country for Old Men
Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood
And Film Threat predicts…
Ronald Harwood, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly: None are undeserving, and “No Country…” and “There Will Be Blood” may seem like frontrunners here, but the former had a confusing ending that left a poor taste in quite a few peoples’ mouths (true to adaptation or no), and the latter was more inspired by the original material then a real translation. “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly,” however, took an almost impossible story and translated it brilliantly across the board.
In the category of Best Original Screenplay, the nominees are:
Diablo Cody, Juno
Nancy Oliver, Lars and the Real Girl
Tony Gilroy, Michael Clayton
Brad Bird, Jan Pinkava and Jim Capobianco, Ratatouille
Tamara Jenkins, The Savages
And Film Threat predicts…
Diablo Cody, Juno: Silencio, naysayers! Let “Juno” have its day in the over-hyped sun so that we can all move on. The only thing worse than the slight problems with the dialogue in “Juno” are the people who think it’s charming to make constant fun of the slight problems with the dialogue.
There’s more nominees to come in Part Two of Film Threat’s 2008 Academy Awards Predictions>>>
