Oscars 2007

Scott Hardie | January 24, 2007
Our annual contest has begun. Good luck!

Any comments on the nominations?

I'm bemused at the surprise over Dreamgirls getting 8 noms and no Best Pic or Director. That's hardly unprecedented, and 3 of its noms were for Song, a no-brainer for a musical. Rather than this being a sign that the academy likes Dreamgirls but is somehow holding it back from the top honors (because it's a black movie? please), this is pretty clearly a sign that the academy doesn't much like it but is still willing to acknowledge the limited areas in which it succeeds.

No makeup nom for X-Men: The Last Stand? Huh?

Jackie Mason | January 24, 2007
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Megan Baxter | January 24, 2007
No Children of Men for Best Picture?

I wasn't expecting it, but was wistfully hoping it would. It's the best movie I've seen in years.

Aaron Shurtleff | January 24, 2007
I went in for the first time, mostly because there was a little blurb at the top of the page asking me to while I was cursing about the newest GOO! I went from the purely unscientific basis of voting based on how much I'd heard about the movie in question (frankly, I don't think there were more than one or two movies I'd seen, but there were a few). I actually don't know what cinematography is exactly (and I could look it up if I really wanted to know, thanks!), really! :)

I was gratified to see that I picked the same as Scott on a couple of my choices! I could be wrong, but doesn't history show that copying Scott's answers is a good strategy (strategery?) for picking one's choices?

Jackie Mason | January 24, 2007
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Steve West | January 25, 2007
From othercrap.com:
Except for The Departed, the Best Picture nominees have been seen by about as many people as the Screech sex tape.
Look at the "best original screenplay" nominees - proof positive that the only way to be nominated is to write something nobody wants to see!

Megan Baxter | January 25, 2007
I want to see every one of the best original screenplay nominees - they've just not been released in my city, or been here for very short periods of time. But Pan's Labyrinth opens tomorrow and I am incredibly excited.

Aaron Shurtleff | January 26, 2007
I'd like to see "No Time For Nuts"! That title is awesome! Of course, I know nothing about it, but...

Of course, with my luck, it'll turn out to be about testicles. :(

Scott Hardie | February 1, 2007
Copying my predictions isn't a good strategy; I change half of them throughout the contest, most of them on the last afternoon.

SAG just gave Little Miss Sunshine the top prize, and since actors are the biggest voting bloc in the Academy, some people think that gives Sunshine an edge. But I'm holding back on that prediction for now. The Academy didn't nominate its director and that usually indicates which Best Pic nominee doesn't stand a chance.

And really, even if it wins, will anyone remember Little Miss Sunshine in a year? Will anyone remember Crash in five years? Chicago is all but forgotten as we speak. I get tired of the Academy voting with their hearts at the last minute instead of for what they know is best. Rocky's win should have settled this thirty years ago.

Joe Ball | February 25, 2007
that Screech sex tape comment made me laugh out loud!!!!

Scott Horowitz | February 26, 2007
How come there's no category for the honorary awards?

Scott Horowitz | February 26, 2007
Damn, I wanted Jennifer Hudson to say "Simon Cowell, you can shove my oscar up your British ass."

Scott Hardie | February 26, 2007
To the best of my research on the day the nominations were announced, I couldn't find who the honorary awards were going to, otherwise I'd have included them as freebies.

Kris Weberg | February 26, 2007
I recused myself this year because the film class I'm TAing for also did an Oscar prediction game, and I had an inside track via a connected professor teaching the thing. Most of his guesses were borne out.

Scott Hardie | February 26, 2007
You're a nobler man than I, Kris. I'd have taken the class for the inside track.

Final scores are in. Congrats to the winners!

Aaron Shurtleff | February 26, 2007
Yay! I got Best Foreign Langauge Feature!!! ;)

Congratulations to everyone who won (i.e. not me)!

Anna Gregoline | February 26, 2007
I'm...stunned. This win was totally unexpected for me, considering I saw "The Departed" win as best picture...I was expecting to do poorly (I never re-look at my predictions otherwise I change them endlessly).

And it couldn't have come on a better day! I got maybe 4 hours of sleep last night, and my commute took 1.5 hours, I got to work late, my feet were freezing because I left my boots here over the weekend, and one of my coworkers is already annoying me and I've only been sitting down at the computer for 12 minutes.

So hooray! The first spot of fun news today! I'm stunned that I won though, over all the rest! Thanks, Oscar game, and Scott for hosting!!!

In the words of Little Miss Sunshine:

"I won I won I won I won I won I won I won I won I won!" =)

Jackie Mason | February 26, 2007
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Kris Weberg | February 26, 2007
Way to go, Anna!

Anna Gregoline | February 26, 2007
Beyonce's permanant state seems to be jealousy so I'm not surprised! Thanks, guys.

Steve Dunn | February 26, 2007
Haha congrats Anna!

I knew I didn't fare well, but I was still a bit suprised to come in dead last. By a mile.

Truth be told, I entered my guesses late, and for the most part I tried to guess away from everyone else on the theory that I might pick up a few surprise winners. This seemed like a good strategy to me because I haven't seen ANY of the films that garnered the most nominations. (Well, I saw Little Miss Sunshine, but I don't think it lived up to the hype).

Anyway, you see how well that strategy worked.

Amy Austin | March 4, 2007
Congratulations, Anna.

Well, I always suck at this game, so I considered not entering at all... but like they say about Lotto -- "you can't win if you don't play", and "you never know". (Well, sometimes you do -- and I knew I wouldn't win.) I used the same strategy myself, Steve (picking astray when I didn't have any gut feeling about the win)... but congratulations to you, bro, for coming in "dead last" -- good job! There ought to be a prize for that, too. ;-D (Booby prize for popcorn at the movies that you obviously never watch???)