Sunday Best: Oscars 2023 Tonight (and Last Chance for Oscar Game)

 

Tonight are the Oscars.  

This used to be my yearly Super Bowl.  And while the bloom is off the rose, I still watch every year.

The Academy was wise to nominate the two highest-grossing films of the year: Top Gun: Maverick and Avatar: The Way of Water.  But I still think this will be a very low-rated Oscars.  I think it will be up from last year.  People will be interested in if there is another outrageous incident like the Smith/Rock assault.

But, as has been the case for the past few years, most people haven't seen most of the movies nominated.  I've seen a good number of them, but not all.  As John Nolte pointed out as of last week, the independed Christian film Jesus Revolution has already grossed more than 4 of the Best Picture nominees combined.

The only movie in my Top 5 that made it onto the nominee list is Top Gun, which really doesn't have a chance of winning.  This movie also was locked out of most of the major awards, which once again shows how the nomination is more of a token.

The hopeful highlight for me tonight is if Key Hu Kwan wins an Oscar tonight.  I loved him as a child actor and I am so happy for his comeback.  Not only would be a heartfelt, feel-good story, but it would be well-deserved.  His performance was one of the best of the year and I hope he gets the recognition he deserves.

This is also the last chance to enter the Oscar Game.  Just fill out the chart below.  The winner will get bragging rights and a mention on this blog.  And just to keep everything above board, I am publishing my votes for tonight as well.

Link

Here are my choices so far:

Name
BEST PICTURE - MY CHOICE	Top Gun: Maverick — Tom Cruise, Christopher McQuarrie, David Ellison and Jerry Bruckheimer, Producers
BEST PICTURE - MY PREDICTION	Everything Everywhere All at Once — Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert and Jonathan Wang, Producers
BEST DIRECTOR - MY CHOICE	Everything Everywhere All at Once — Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert
BEST DIRECTOR - MY PREDICTION	Everything Everywhere All at Once — Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert
BEST ACTOR - MY CHOICE	Austin Butler in Elvis
BEST ACTOR - MY PREDICTION	Brendan Fraser in The Whale
BEST ACTRESS - MY CHOICE	Michelle Yeoh in Everything Everywhere All at Once
BEST ACTRESS - MY PREDICTION	Michelle Yeoh in Everything Everywhere All at Once
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR - MY CHOICE	Ke Huy Quan in Everything Everywhere All at Once
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR - MY PREDICTION	Ke Huy Quan in Everything Everywhere All at Once
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS - MY CHOICE	Jamie Lee Curtis in Everything Everywhere All at Once
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS - MY PREDICTION	Angela Bassett in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY - MY CHOICE	Top Gun: Maverick — Screenplay by Ehren Kruger and Eric Warren Singer and Christopher McQuarrie; Story by Peter Craig and Justin Marks
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY - MY PREDICTION	Women Talking — Screenplay by Sarah Polley
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY - MY CHOICE	Everything Everywhere All at Once — Written by Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY - MY PREDICTION	The Fabelmans — Written by Steven Spielberg & Tony Kushner
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE - MY CHOICE	The Fabelmans — John Williams
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE - MY PREDICTION	The Fabelmans — John Williams
BEST ORIGINAL SONG - MY CHOICE	“Naatu Naatu” from RRR; Music by M.M. Keeravaani; Lyric by Chandrabose
BEST ORIGINAL SONG - MY PREDICTION	“Naatu Naatu” from RRR; Music by M.M. Keeravaani; Lyric by Chandrabose
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM - MY CHOICE	Turning Red — Domee Shi and Lindsey Collins
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM - MY PREDICTION	Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio — Guillermo del Toro, Mark Gustafson, Gary Ungar and Alex Bulkley
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY - MY CHOICE	Elvis — Mandy Walker
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY - MY PREDICTION	All Quiet on the Western Front — James Friend
BEST COSTUME DESIGN - MY CHOICE	Everything Everywhere All at Once — Shirley Kurata
BEST COSTUME DESIGN - MY PREDICTION	Elvis — Catherine Martin
BEST FILM EDITING - MY CHOICE	Everything Everywhere All at Once — Paul Rogers
BEST FILM EDITING - MY PREDICTION	Everything Everywhere All at Once — Paul Rogers
BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING - MY CHOICE	The Batman — Naomi Donne, Mike Marino and Mike Fontaine
BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING - MY PREDICTION	The Whale — Adrien Morot, Judy Chin and Anne Marie Bradley
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN - MY CHOICE	Avatar: The Way of Water — Production Design: Dylan Cole and Ben Procter; Set Decoration: Vanessa Cole
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN - MY PREDICTION	Babylon — Production Design: Florencia Martin; Set Decoration: Anthony Carlino
BEST SOUND - MY CHOICE	Top Gun: Maverick — Mark Weingarten, James H. Mather, Al Nelson, Chris Burdon and Mark Taylor
BEST SOUND - MY PREDICTION	Top Gun: Maverick — Mark Weingarten, James H. Mather, Al Nelson, Chris Burdon and Mark Taylor
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS - MY CHOICE	Avatar: The Way of Water — Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon and Daniel Barrett
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS - MY PREDICTION	Avatar: The Way of Water — Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon and Daniel Barrett
BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM - MY PREDICTION	All Quiet on the Western Front — Germany
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE - MY PREDICTION	Fire of Love — Sara Dosa, Shane Boris and Ina Fichman
BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT - MY PREDICTION	“Stranger at the Gate” — Joshua Seftel and Conall Jones
BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM- MY PREDICTION	“The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse” — Charlie Mackesy and Matthew Freud
BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM- MY PREDICTION	“Le Pupille” — Alice Rohrwacher and Alfonso Cuarón