DGA Winner
I think at this point, Slumdog Millionaire has to be considered one of the two or three strongest front-runners of the decade. There is not a film that has the slightest chance of upsetting it this year. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King was an obnoxious front-runner. At least there were rumblings that The Pianist or The Hours could usurp SOME of Chicago's lead.
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And I think that could very well be the case this year, too--surprises in the Actress categories.flipp525 wrote:Eric wrote:FilmFan720 wrote:Back in Decemer, when everything looked fuzzy and there were no powerhouses coming around, it looked like things were going to go down to the wire. With no favorites, maybe this would be the rare year where a different film, and different performances, are being cited by different groups and we could really get an Oscar night where little is set in stone. Now, Picture, Director, Supporting Actor and probably Actor are all looking pretty set, with Actress being made out to be more competitive than I think it really is.
Year in, year out this exact same sentiment is repeated without fail. When will everyone stop expressing amazement that in this, the era of 10,000 precursors, those who are even half paying attention will have a pretty good idea of what most of the winners will be come February.
Yet last year Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress both yielded fairly surprising winners (save me the "Oh, I knew Tilda was going to win after the BAFTAs" sentiment, please). I haven't slouched into complacency quite yet.
"...it is the weak who are cruel, and...gentleness is only to be expected from the strong." - Leo Reston
"Cruelty might be very human, and it might be cultural, but it's not acceptable." - Jodie Foster
"Cruelty might be very human, and it might be cultural, but it's not acceptable." - Jodie Foster
Yet last year Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress both yielded fairly surprising winners (save me the "Oh, I knew Tilda was going to win after the BAFTAs" sentiment, please). I haven't slouched into complacency quite yet.Eric wrote:FilmFan720 wrote:Back in Decemer, when everything looked fuzzy and there were no powerhouses coming around, it looked like things were going to go down to the wire. With no favorites, maybe this would be the rare year where a different film, and different performances, are being cited by different groups and we could really get an Oscar night where little is set in stone. Now, Picture, Director, Supporting Actor and probably Actor are all looking pretty set, with Actress being made out to be more competitive than I think it really is.
Year in, year out this exact same sentiment is repeated without fail. When will everyone stop expressing amazement that in this, the era of 10,000 precursors, those who are even half paying attention will have a pretty good idea of what most of the winners will be come February.
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Year in, year out this exact same sentiment is repeated without fail. When will everyone stop expressing amazement that in this, the era of 10,000 precursors, those who are even half paying attention will have a pretty good idea of what most of the winners will be come February.FilmFan720 wrote:Back in Decemer, when everything looked fuzzy and there were no powerhouses coming around, it looked like things were going to go down to the wire. With no favorites, maybe this would be the rare year where a different film, and different performances, are being cited by different groups and we could really get an Oscar night where little is set in stone. Now, Picture, Director, Supporting Actor and probably Actor are all looking pretty set, with Actress being made out to be more competitive than I think it really is.
I take solace from the fact that my favorite of the five nominees is the frontrunner and pretty much locked and loaded to win (in the past 10 years, I think it's happened once: Chicago). Nevertheless, I'm so underwhelmed by the other nominees, and even more underwhelmed by the titles constantly bandied about as alternatives, that I'm still disappointed with this year's Oscars.
Even the potential joy of The Goddess finally winning her Oscar is tempered by the fact that she shoulda won it in 2004.
Even the potential joy of The Goddess finally winning her Oscar is tempered by the fact that she shoulda won it in 2004.
"...it is the weak who are cruel, and...gentleness is only to be expected from the strong." - Leo Reston
"Cruelty might be very human, and it might be cultural, but it's not acceptable." - Jodie Foster
"Cruelty might be very human, and it might be cultural, but it's not acceptable." - Jodie Foster
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I still haven't seen Slumdog, so I can't chimein was to it's deservedness (it was sold out last night...going to try this week), but I think the frustration just comes from the lack of competition this year as to the Oscars. Back in Decemer, when everything looked fuzzy and there were no powerhouses coming around, it looked like things were going to go down to the wire. With no favorites, maybe this would be the rare year where a different film, and different performances, are being cited by different groups and we could really get an Oscar night where little is set in stone. Now, Picture, Director, Supporting Actor and probably Actor are all looking pretty set, with Actress being made out to be more competitive than I think it really is.
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My utter ennui at this year's Oscar contest has gotten so bad that I had entirely forgotten DGA would announce last night and leisurely strolled into this thread, read it, wasn't shocked and went on to other things.
This is almost as boring as last year's No Country for Old Men juggernaut.
This is almost as boring as last year's No Country for Old Men juggernaut.
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Yeah, this is probably going to be one of the blandest Oscar years in recent memory that I can remember, where the one movie I want to win is probably placed at the fourth best chance (Milk). I just can't work up enough excitement over Slumdog, Benjamin Button, Frost/Nixon or The Reader. The true movies that should have been nominated (The Dark Knight, Wall-E, The Wrestler and Milk) would have made a more interesting race, truly representing the best this year. For me, this may simply be the beginning of the end of the Academy's merit for me.
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