Oscars 2017

Scott Hardie | November 8, 2016
Here's starting the annual conversation a few months early in order to make a prediction: La La Land will win Best Picture. It fits my theory that the Academy rewards movies that glorify showbiz. Then again, there are a lot of new members this year, so maybe voting will go differently this time. Regardless, the movie that I think will win this far out usually doesn't even wind up nominated, so who knows.

La La Land does have a fun trailer, with lots of gorgeous images. Even if musicals aren't your thing, you have to admit it doesn't look like most other movies look.

My favorite trailer of the prestige movie season has to be Moonlight, showing three periods in the life of a gay black man growing up in Miami. It looks stunning. I can't wait to see this movie.

Are there any awards-season movies that you're looking forward to? Do you have any early Oscar predictions?

Scott Hardie | January 25, 2017
Our annual contest has begun. This should be fun!

Few surprises among the nominees this year. I guess I expected a de rigueur nomination for Clint Eastwood for Sully, but at least Meryl Streep got her automatic nomination yet again. (Donald Trump recently called her overrated, and he would have been right if he meant it only as far as Oscar nominations were concerned; she's good but there are other working actresses in Hollywood.) Seeing Mel Gibson nominated for anything ever again, especially since Hacksaw Ridge didn't seem to build much buzz, was a shock.

Whither Deadpool? It campaigned against all odds for Oscar nominations but couldn't even score one in the minor categories. Jim: The James Foley Story: 1 nomination, Deadpool: 0 nominations. It would have been entertaining to see it in the mix, and probably would have boosted ratings a little, but the Academy is as serious as ever.

What do you think of the nominees this year?

Erik Bates | January 25, 2017
[hidden by request]

Scott Hardie | February 27, 2017
Sorry for the absence tonight, folks. Minor medical emergency here. We'll be fine, but I can't pay attention to the contest. I'll tabulate scores tomorrow. Thanks for understanding.

Scott Hardie | February 27, 2017
What a crazy ending to the Oscars broadcast. I didn't see it happen -- I was sick in bed with a fever -- but watching the recaps and video clips this morning, it was all kinds of emotional. I'm kind of lucky that I didn't tabulate the scores as the show happened, because it would have been a pain to go back and correct all of that data and all of those scores. It wouldn't have changed the winner -- only Ryan Dunn predicted Moonlight's best picture win, and he wasn't close enough to the top to win with it -- but it would have taken me at least twenty minutes to fix all of those numbers.

I'm tempted to make a joke about announcing the wrong winner, but no, it's Stefanie Schneider, who claims her second victory in the contest with 102 points. Congrats, Stefanie! Kevin Fiore and I had 98 points, newcomer Jennifer Mullowney had 97 points, and Steve West had 95 points. When I tabulated the scores this morning, I did so in broadcast order, and Steve West was in the lead for most of the show, right up until Casey Affleck beat Denzel Washington for best actor. It was Stefanie's pick for Affleck, and Hacksaw Ridge for film editing, that made the difference in a very close race. Well chosen, everyone.

I must eat crow over my theory that Hollywood's love of itself guaranteed La La Land a best picture win. Obviously everybody else (except Ryan Dunn) thought so too, but I'm delighted to have been wrong.