Clint Morris, live on the red carpet….outside Taco Bill.
Um, so anyway, here are my Oscar predictions. I’m thinking George Clooney might snag Best supporting Actor (I know it’s a long shot, but I just feel he might), and I’m thinking Rachel Weisz has got her best supporting actress statue already in the bag. Oh, and Hoffman and Witherspoon are most definitely going to get the Best Actor and Actress nods, respectively. Best film? Brokeback Schmokeback. Nup, “Crash”. OK, so it’s a dark horse, and you’ll probably lose whatever you bet on it, but the cornfields spoke…and I listened.
What?! The Oscars are already over? When? Oh, so you think I just made all those up on the spot, do you? Since I had no time, I just went and checked out who the winners were and amusingly made it look like I had them all picked? How dare you – I’ll never make you a mixed tape of ‘Starship’ classics again!!
But yeah…. you’re right. I had no time to predict the winners this year, barely even time to register that the Oscars were on, but I did manage to check in with a live cross intermittingly to see who had won the skinny statues. Am I surprised as to who won? Yeah, to an extent. I mean, Philip Seymour Hoffman was always going to get it for “Capote”. As good as the other chaps were, especially Terrence Howard and Heath Ledger, Hoffman’s was a performance. He was much more immersing, and we all know that the codgers on the Academy voting bench love a good transformation. In some respects, Reese Witherspoon transformed herself for “Walk the Line” too – but it was more the legwork that she put into that role, the singing and so on, that garnered her the statue.
I think it was pretty obvious that Rachel Weisz was going to get the statue for best supporting actress for her role in the entertaining but overrated “The Constant Gardener” (can you believe she’s going to follow this up with “The Mummy 3”? Me thinks she should’ve waited before signing on the Uni dotted line), but still, well deserved. The big surprise – and this should give Adam Weeks the warm and fuzzies when he tunes in for the delayed telecast tonight – was George Clooney’s win for “Syriana”. Wow. He deserved it, and then some, but did anyone actually expect him to get it? I know I didn’t. But I tell you what, it made my Oscars day, and I can’t wait to hear his speech. Way to go Dr.Ross.
Speaking of surprises though. “Crash”. Best Film? Shoot me in the ankle and twist my tongue so the creamy layer drops off. Shit. Never saw that coming. It looked like “Brokeback Mountain” had it in the bag. Were the members of the Academy just not ‘open’ enough to the latter? – though Ang Lee did get a best director win – is that why it didn’t win? On the other hand, “Crash” was beloved by critics everywhere. I didn’t go ga-ga for it, but I will admit, it was quite an accomplishment. Still, love a good upset.
But the best moment? All together now “You know it’s hard out here for a pimp, when you’re trying…..” “Hustle and Flow” wins best song. Mix be up a 12-incher of that beast of a track, will ya?
Anyway, the full list of winners are below.
Reporting far-from-live from the Academy Awards,
This is Clint Morris.
WINNERS
Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
George Clooney
SYRIANA
Achievement in Visual Effects
KING KONG
Joe Letteri, Brian Van’t Hul, Christian Rivers and Richard Taylor
Best Animated Feature Film of the Year
WALLACE & GROMIT IN THE CURSE OF THE WERE-RABBIT
Nick Park and Steve Box
Best Live Action Short Film
SIX SHOOTER
Martin McDonagh
Best Animated Short Film
THE MOON AND THE SON: AN IMAGINED CONVERSATION
John Canemaker and Peggy Stern
Achievement in Costume Design
MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA
Colleen Atwood
Achievement in Makeup
THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE
Howard Berger and Tami Lane
Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
Rachel Weisz
THE CONSTANT GARDENER
Best Documentary Short Subject
A NOTE OF TRIUMPH: THE GOLDEN AGE OF NORMAN CORWIN
Corinne Marrinan and Eric Simonson
Best Documentary Feature
MARCH OF THE PENGUINS
Luc Jacquet and Yves Darondeau
Achievement in Art Direction
MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA
John Myhre (Art Direction); Gretchen Rau (Set Decoration)
Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Score)
BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
Gustavo Santaolalla
Achievement in Sound Mixing
KING KONG
Christopher Boyes, Michael Semanick, Michael Hedges and Hammond Peek
Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Song)
“IT’S HARD OUT HERE FOR A PIMP” FROM HUSTLE & FLOW
Music and Lyric by Jordan Houston, Cedric Coleman and Paul Beauregard
Achievement in Sound Editing
KING KONG
Mike Hopkins and Ethan Van der Ryn
Best Foreign Language Film of the Year
TSOTSI
South Africa
Achievement in Film Editing
CRASH
Hughes Winborne
Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
Philip Seymour Hoffman
CAPOTE
Achievement in Cinematography
MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA
Dion Beebe
Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
Reese Witherspoon
WALK THE LINE
Adapted Screenplay
BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
Screenplay by Larry McMurtry & Diana Ossana
Original Screenplay
CRASH
Screenplay by Paul Haggis & Bobby Moresco; Story by Paul Haggis
Achievement in Directing
BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
Ang Lee
Best Motion Picture of the Year
CRASH
Paul Haggis and Cathy Schulman