Oscar Winners 2017
So, after
an almighty faux-pas in the final furlong, is there anything much to say about
the actual winners? Mostly, they illustrate the wrestling match between the
salve of political/social conscience and self-congratulation I was droning on
about in my predictions piece, something Harvey Scissorhands also recognised
when it came to discussing how Shakespeare
in Love trumped Saving Private Ryan
(besides the former being the better film, that is); Hollywood can – usually –
be relied upon to upvote their own artistic validation. But not this year.
La La Land had to make do with the most wins (six), in an
evening when the Academy was otherwise choosing to emphasise how alert and awake
to serious matters it was, such is its tumult over Trumpton. Never let it be
said they’re content to sit back and fiddle while their cosy idyll burns. Why,
they recognised African Americans several
times (Best Picture, Supporting Actress, Supporting Actor, Adapted Screenplay),
so they can forget about having been made to feel guilty again for at least a
couple more years (Phew!) They recognised crises abroad (Best Documentary
Short) and at home (Best Documentary Feature) and protested the Presidential travel ban (Best Foreign Language
Film). And, just to show they’re forgiving, in the Polanski/Allen move of the
evening, they gave Mel’s movie two technical statuettes. Boy, will they all have
slept soundly last night!
Jimmy
Kimmel? He seems to have gone down okay, coasting on his late-night talk show
routine. Since he bigged up Letterman’s berated Oscars turn a few days back, Im
reluctant to be too hard on him. As for my all-important track record: 14 out
of 24, so I’m maintaining my rigorously mediocre standards.
Best
Picture
Winner: Moonlight
(Dede Gardner, Adele Romanski, Jeremy
Keiner)
I guessed: La
La Land
Did the
best picture win? Does it ever? I’ll wisely reserve judgement until I’ve caught
the lot, but right now, Manchester by the
Sea leads out of the five I’ve seen, and that’s even with me not much
liking Casey Affleck. Moonlight’s
win, besides the gnawing feeling among voters that they should possibly, maybe,
be seen to stand for something, may also be a symptom of an increasingly
prevalent condition, as blanket coverage becomes ever more suffocating and fatigue
with the hot favourite sets in. The old backlash problem. One might see that in
Spotlight’s prize last year. Oscar,
being the last and most prestigious of the awards ceremonies, is also damned by
being the resultantly least surprising, oft times. That’s what they need
mix-ups to spice things up. Of course, Moonlight
could also simply just be the Best Picture.
Best
Director
Winner: Damien
Chazelle (La La Land)
I guessed: Damien
Chazelle (La La Land)
So
Chazelle, like his characters, got the big success he strived for. But at what
price, Damien?
Best Actor
Winner: Casey
Affleck (Manchester by the Sea)
I guessed: Denzel
Washington (Fences)
There’s no
doubt Affleck’s performance in Manchester
by the Sea is Oscar-worthy; I can say that as one who has never been particularly
won over by the guy. Although, I do greatly admire his beard. Not as top drawer
as Dev Patel’s but something to be proud of nonetheless. Affleck had been the
one to bet on, of course, before Denzel’s SAG win. Casey’s skeletons in the
closet failed to dent his chances, so he can probably look forward to them resurfacing
again in a few years, more resoundingly. Then he’ll fall from grace, then be
redeemed by voters once more.
Best
Actress
Winner: Emma
Stone (La La Land)
I guessed: Emma
Stone (La La Land)
She also
won Best Picture.
Best
Supporting Actor
Winner: Mahershala
Ali (Moonlight)
I guessed: Mahershala
Ali (Moonlight)
I suspect
Ali wouldn’t have bagged it if he’d been up against Sunny Pawar rather than Dev
Patel, but Moonlight’s trio of statuettes
puts in good company with last year’s victor (an even more modest two).
Best
Supporting Actress
Winner: Viola
Davis (Fences)
I guessed: Viola
Davis (Fences)
The most
predictable win of the evening? I don’t think anyone had even a glimmer of a
doubt on this one.
Best
Adapted Screenplay
Winner: Barry
Jenkins, Tarell Alvin McCraney (Moonlight)
I guessed: Barry
Jenkins, Tarell Alvin McCraney (Moonlight)
Another
that was mostly probable. The win highlights that Hidden Figures left the awards empty-handed, which like Lion, was looking not unlikely.
Best
Original Screenplay
Winner: Kenneth
Lonergan (Manchester by the Sea)
I guessed: La
La Land
Is this
that Titanic thing, slightly, of the
emotional ride disguising that the actual writing isn’t that amazing? Not that
I want to denigrate La La Land by
comparing it to Titanic, although I
just did. I rooted for Lonergan on this, and for someone who languished in
limbo for about a decade, it must be extra gratifying to have a comeback so
well received.
Best Animated
Feature
Winner: Zootopia
(Byron Howard, Rich Moore, Clark Spencer)
I guessed: Zootopia
(Byron Howard, Rich Moore, Clark Spencer)
A shame Kubo and the Two Strings didn’t get any
joy on the night, but Zootopia’s a
great movie.
Best Documentary
Feature
Winner: O.J.:
Made in America (Ezra Edelman, Caroline
Waterlow)
I guessed: O.J.:
Made in America (Ezra Edelman, Caroline
Waterlow)
100% on
Rotten Tomatoes can’t be wrong.
Best Foreign
Language Film
Winner: The
Salesman (Asghar Farhadi)
I guessed: The
Salesman (Asghar Farhadi)
A second
Best Foreign Language Film Oscar for Farhadi.
Best
Cinematography
Winner: Linus
Sandgren (La La Land)
I guessed: Linus
Sandgren (La La Land)
Yeah, it
looked jolly nice. I preferred Arrival,
mind.
Best Costume
Design
Winner: Colleen
Atwood (Fantastic Beasts and Where to
Find Them)
I guessed: La
La Land
Empire wuz
right. Always bet on Atwood.
Best Documentary
Short
Winner: The
White Helmets (Orlando von Einsiedel,
Joanna Natasegara)
I guessed: Joe’s
Violin
A deserved
win about neutral, unarmed volunteers, or a PR piece in support of a group with ties to terrorism?
Best Film
Editing
Winner: John
Gilbert (Hacksaw Ridge)
I guessed: La
La Land
Mel truly
comes in from the cold. Hopefully he didn’t have a drink to celebrate.
Best Make-up
and Hairstyling
Winner: Giorgio
Gregorini (Suicide Squad)
I guessed: Star
Trek Beyond
I mean,
what? I guess it takes a true artiste to design intentionally bad-looking hair
and make-up.
Best Original
Score
Winner: Justin
Hurwitz (La La Land)
I guessed: Justin
Hurwitz (La La Land)
A fait
accompli.
Best Original
Song
Winner: City
of Stars (La La Land)
I guessed: City
of Stars (La La Land)
Yeah, tis a
good wee ditty.
Production
Design
Winner: David
Wasco (La La Land)
I guessed: David
Wasco (La La Land)
Hail, Caesar! was robbed!
Best Animated
Short
Winner:
Piper (Alan Barillaro, Marco Sondheimer)
I guessed: Piper (Alan Barillaro, Marco
Sondheimer)
Well done,
Pixar! You were desperately short of Best Animated Short Oscars, after all.
Best Live
Action Short
Winner:
Sing (Kristof Deak, Anna Udvardy)
I guessed:
Silent Nights
No relation
to the animation.
Best Sound
Editing
Winner: Sylvian Bellemare (Arrival)
I guessed: La
La Land
Nice for Arrival to win something.
Best Sound
Mixing
Winner: Kevin O'Connell, Andy Wright, Robert Mackenzie and Peter Grace (Hacksaw Ridge)
I guessed: La
La Land
Mel! Even
more indirectly loved!
Visual
Effects
Winner: Robert
Legato, Dan Lemmon, Adam Valdez, Andrew R Jones (The Jungle Book)
I guessed: The
Jungle Book
Great
effects, so-so movie.
Agree? Disagree? Mildly or vehemently? Let me know in the comments below.
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