Ah yes, I know this feeling.
I’m cutting it close this year because I’m swamped. I’m so swamped that my relationships are beginning to feel like the one pictured above. I don’t even think I’ll have the time to watch the Oscars because I’ll be up to my eyeballs in rewrites. One of which is so complex and tightly-knit that it requires absolutely all the concentration I can muster. I’ve even got a bristol board on the wall of my office adorned (read: overwhelmed) with colour-coded post-its and colour-coded Sharpie markings.
But my prediction is this: The Artist will sweep this year, and the red carpet will be in contrast with the black and white reigning film. Dresses will be in bold and bright; emerald, canary yellow, or crisp winter whites. Also, based on New York and London Fashion Week trends (nevermind Montreal — ouf!), expect lots of Gatsby-reminiscent 20s fringe.
I’ll wake up the next morning and check the style pages on my iPad hoping to catch a glimpse of some new Reem Acra. I love Reem Acra. I’ve never loved any designer more than I love Reem Acra. If I ever marry, my dress will be Reem Acra. I will get married JUST so I can wear something Reem Acra. Erm, maybe not. But I will make point of working my way to the Oscars for it. Or I’ll certainly try to.
This is a dress you sadly will not see at this years Oscars. But I love it so let's pause and admire it for a moment.
Ok, so my full predictions are as follows. I haven’t seen all of the films so there’s some additional guesswork on that front, but I kept an eye on how these films fared with other awards. And off we go:
Best Picture: The Artist
Best Director: Michel Hazanavicius for The Artist
Best Actor: Jean Dujardin in The Artist
Best Actress: Viola Davis in The Help (or a possible upset by Rooney Mara for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo)
Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer in Beginners
Best Supporting Actress: Octavia Spencer in The Help
Best Adapted Screenplay: Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash for The Descendants
Best Original Screenplay: Woody Allen for Midnight in Paris
Best Animated Feature: Rango
Best Documentary Feature: If a Tree Falls
Best Foreign Language Film: Sadly, I expect our Monsieur Lazhar to lose out to Iran’s A Separation
Best Art Direction: Dante Ferretti, Francesca Lo Schiavo for Hugo
Best Cinematography: Guillaume Schiffman for The Artist
Best Costume Design: Sandy Powell for Hugo
Best Film Editing: Thelam Schoonmaker for Hugo
Best Makeup: Marese Langan, Mark Coulier, J. Roy Helland for The Iron Lady
Best Original Score: Ludovic Bource for The Artist
Best Original Song: Sergio Mendes, Carlinhos Brown, Siedah Garrett for Real in Rio from the film Rio
Best Sound Editing: Eugene Gearty, Philip Stockton for Hugo
Best Sound Mixing: Tom Fleischman, John Midgley for Hugo
Best Visual Effects: Robert Legato, Edson Williams, Ben Grossman, Alex Henning for Hugo
Best Animated Short: The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore
Best Documentary Short: God is Bigger than Elvis
Best Live-Action Short: Raju
Ok, now I know that the count here has The Artist at 5 wins and Hugo at 6, but I also think that The Artist will win one category in which I don’t expect them to. Which will either tie them with Hugo, or snag a win in a category that I expect will go to Hugo. In any case, I expect 2012 to at least feel like it was the year for The Artist.
And there you have it! Put on your nicest threads, sit back, and enjoy! And if Monsieur Lazhar wins, someone call me so I can pause to celebrate!
