The Collective Mind of the "Birdbath" Predicts the Oscars
Each year since 2000, I've hosted what I jokingly call "Mark's Oscar Birdbath"... it's just not right to call it an Oscar Pool when there's no money involved. I invite folks from throughout my life (past & present churches, high school friends, family, gamer buddies, etc.) to participate. (Don't be miffed if you weren't asked to join - what with the compiling of the Five & Dime reports and the continuing wackiness that is The Apples Project, I don't want to get too big a crowd playing.)
So far, 44 folks are participating in this go-round (with 12 hours left until the deadline)... and here's what THEY think will be the winners this year. (This is based on their entries - when the voting is tight, I'm listing multiple entries.)
- BEST PICTURE: The Departed
- BEST DIRECTOR: Martin Scorcese, The Departed
- BEST ACTOR: Forest Whitaker, The Last King of Scotland
- BEST ACTRESS: Helen Mirren, The Queen
- BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Eddie Murphy, Dreamgirls
- BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Jennifer Hudson, Dreamgirls
- ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: Little Miss Sunshine
- ADAPATED SCREENPLAY: The Departed
- CINEMATOGRAPHY: Pan's Labyrinth
- FILM EDITING: The Departed/United 93
- ART DIRECTION: Dreamgirls/Pan's Labyrinth/Pirates of the Caribbean 2
- COSTUME DESIGN: Marie Antoinette
- ACHIEVEMENT IN ORIGINAL MUSIC: The Queen/Pan’s Labyrinth
- BEST ORIGINAL SONG: “Love You I Do” from Dreamgirls/“Our Town” from Cars
- ACHIEVEMENT IN MAKEUP: Pan’s Labyrinth
- ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND EDITING: Pirates of the Caribbean 2/Letters from Iwo Jima
- ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND MIXING: Dreamgirls
- ACHIEVEMENT IN VISUAL EFFECTS: Pirates of the Caribbean 2
- BEST ANIMNATED FEATURE: Cars
- BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM: Pan’s Labyrinth (Mexico)
- BEST DOCUMENTARY: An Inconvenient Truth
- BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT: Recycled Life/The Blood of Yingzhou District
- BEST LIVE-ACTION SHORT: “West Bank Story”
- BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM: “The Little Matchgirl” (Buena Vista)/“No Time for Nuts” (20th Century Fox)
Come back on Monday & see how the collective mind of "my friends" did... and find out who won the Birdbath!
A couple of "I'd like to thank the Academy"-ish kind of things to close this post out:
- Thanks to Steve Stigler & his buddies from high school, who first introduced me to Oscar Pools and the musical stylings of Stephen Sondheim when we were students together at Baylor University
- Thanks to Matt Baldwin, whose website Defective Yeti (www.defectiveyeti.com) is the one who makes it so darn easy for me to maintain the Birdbath
Some official corrections and clarifications:
ReplyDelete"# Original Song: we picked "Our Town" (rather than "I Need To Wake Up" - serves us right for forgetting that these folks who drove to the Oscars in multiple gas-guzzling limos want to vote for stuff that's enviromentally friendly)"
Not true. They were all *driven* to the Oscars in Priuses. Rented Priuses. So that we could see what good guys they are. Then the other 364 days of the year they are driven in their Hummers.
But Randy Newman has won enough best song Oscars, and this one was a real snoozer. Dreamgirls had two terrific songs (of three nominated), but had its vote split. The Melissa Ethridge song was pretty good, but it would not have stacked up against "Love You I Do".
"# Animated Feature: we picked Cars (rather than Happy Feet - see gripey enviromental comment above)"
Because "Cars" is about cars? Gimme a break! George Miller is a terrific director (of films ranging from Mad Max to Babe) and even my nine year old daughter greatly preferred Happy Feet.
You guys just own too much Pixar stock.