As I do every year, I submit to you my grandfather's Oscar picks. He's 77 years old, retired from the film industry (a former projectionist and Union official), and sees almost as many films as I do. I've asked him to choose his personal choices, along with a runner-up (or in the case of Best Picture, to do preferential balloting), in order to see just how someone who resembles the average Academy member might cast his or her ballot. Here they are:
Best Picture
1. The Fighter
2. Black Swan
3. The Social Network
4. The King's Speech
5. True Grit
6. The Kids Are All Right
7. 127 Hours
8. Winter's Bone
9. Inception
10. Toy Story 3
The rest of his picks after the cut...
Best Director
Darren Aronofsky- Black Swan
Runner-up: David Fincher- The Social Network
Best Actor
Colin Firth- The King's Speech
Runner-up: Jesse Eisenberg- The Social Network
Best Actress
Natalie Portman- Black Swan
Runner-up: Annette Bening- The Kids Are All Right
Best Supporting Actor
Christian Bale- The Fighter
Runner-up: Geoffrey Rush- The King's Speech
Best Supporting Actress
Melissa Leo- The Fighter
Runner-up: Hailee Steinfeld- True Grit
Best Adapted Screenplay
Aaron Sorkin- The Social Network
Runner-up: Ethan and Joel Coen- True Grit
Best Original Screenplay
Eric Johnson, Scott Silver, and Paul Tamasy- The Fighter
Runner-up: David Seidler- The King's Speech
Best Animated Feature
Toy Story 3
Runner-up: How to Train Your Dragon
Best Art Direction
Inception
Runner-up: True Grit
Best Cinematography
True Grit
Runner-up: Black Swan
Best Costume Design
True Grit
Runner-up: The King's Speech
Best Film Editing
Black Swan
Runner-up: The Fighter
Best Makeup
The Wolfman
Runner-up: Barney's Version
Best Original Score
Inception
Runner-up: The Social Network
Best Original Song
127 Hours
Runner-up: Toy Story 3
Best Sound Editing
Inception
Runner-up: True Grit
Best Sound Mixing
The Social Network
Runner-up: Inception
Best Visual Effects
Inception
Runner-up: Iron Man 2
Best Foreign Language Film
Dogtooth
Runner-up: Biutiful
Best Documentary Feature
Exit Through the Gift Shop
Runner-up: Restrepo
The next categories he hasn't seen any of the nominees and is just guessing...much like all of us are.
Best Documentary Short
Poster Girl
Best Animated Short
Madagascar
Best Live Action Short
Na Wewe
-Thoughts?
Assuming he's not the only one in the camp of The Fighter, I wonder if that helps The King's Speech or The Social Network?
ReplyDeleteThere's something really cool about having your grandfather's picks published on this site. Similar to how Howard Stern's mother is frequently invited to his show, it's a fun peek into the family of this site's hosts.
ReplyDeleteThough if he were telling me these picks over dinner, I'd probably argue with him over not recognizing the direction of his favorite film of 2010 even though it accounts for most of what made The Fighter so great. Why is he so under-appreciated as a genuine auteur?
Much obliged.
ReplyDeleteGood question...
I will say this...it does mirror what a lot of people will do/did when they marked off The King's Speech for Picture but Fincher for Director.
Love that he loves Black Swan and The Social Network. Such a cool granddad.
ReplyDeleteHe's got unique taste for an older guy, indeed.
ReplyDeleteThanks!