My Predictions: 2020 EE British Academy Film Awards

February 1, 2020January 31, 2020 Often Off Topic8 Comments

This Sunday is the BAFTAs! The only awards show I actually get to watch live, unless I can find a stream of the Oscars and stay up all night. In true blogger fashion I’m here with all the nominations for the night, along with my predictions. In true Often Off Topic fashion I’m here to do a terrible job and get most of it wrong.

In previous years I’ve stuck my critic hat on and ignored my heart, and in others I’ve gone with my heart, so I’m going to try and land somewhere in the middle this year. As always, I’ll be found on Sunday night in my slippers flicking through my print outs, trying to remember what I predicted when each award comes up.

Let’s kick this off, shall we…?

BEST FILM

1917
THE IRISHMAN
JOKER
ONCE UPON A TIME… IN HOLLYWOOD
PARASITE

I’m not decided on what will win the Oscar but I’m confident that BAFTA will give 1917 the Best Film.

OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM

1917
BAIT
FOR SAMA
ROCKETMAN
SORRY WE MISSED YOU
THE TWO POPES

Now this is a weird scenario. Surely if 1917 is the best film…it also has to be best British film? Or perhaps they’ll throw this award to Rocketman? I’m sticking with 1917.

OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER

BAIT Mark Jenkin (Writer/Director), Kate Byers, Linn Waite (Producers)
FOR SAMA Waad al-Kateab (Director/Producer), Edward Watts (Director)
MAIDEN Alex Holmes (Director)
ONLY YOU Harry Wootliff (Writer/Director)
RETABLO Álvaro Delgado-Aparicio (Writer/Director)

I’m entering guess-mode already. Sigh. I need to pay more attention to British works, what with you know, being a Brit and all. Let’s go with For Sama.

FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

THE FAREWELL
FOR SAMA
PAIN AND GLORY
PARASITE
PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE

I’m 100% confident this will go to Parasite.

DOCUMENTARY

AMERICAN FACTORY
APOLLO 11
DIEGO MARADONA
FOR SAMA
THE GREAT HACK

Of all of these, I definitely want to see For Sama and The Great Hack. My gut says For Sama.

ANIMATED FILM

FROZEN 2
KLAUS
A SHAUN THE SHEEP MOVIE: FARMAGEDDON
TOY STORY 4

A prestigious award should go to an animated film that does something extraordinary. I can’t comment on Farmageddon but Frozen did nothing new, and although I loved Toy Story 4, it didn’t do anything special, either. Do the right thing BAFTA. This should go to Klaus.

DIRECTOR

1917 Sam Mendes
THE IRISHMAN Martin Scorsese
JOKER Todd Phillips
ONCE UPON A TIME… IN HOLLYWOOD Quentin Tarantino
PARASITE Bong Joon Ho

With the exception of Todd Phillips, I could see this one going to any of the nominees. My head says Sam Mendes…my heart says Bong Joon Ho…!

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

BOOKSMART Susanna Fogel, Emily Halpern, Sarah Haskins, Katie Silberman
KNIVES OUT Rian Johnson
MARRIAGE STORY Noah Baumbach
ONCE UPON A TIME… IN HOLLYWOOD Quentin Tarantino
PARASITE Han Jin Won, Bong Joon Ho

I will do a little happy dance if Rian Johnson wins but even though I loved Knives Out, Parasite was just too good and original of a story to lose this.

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

THE IRISHMAN Steven Zaillian
JOJO RABBIT Taika Waititi
JOKER Todd Phillips, Scott Silver
LITTLE WOMEN Greta Gerwig
THE TWO POPES Anthony McCarten

Taika Waititi took a novel about a young German boy who’s Mother is hiding a Jewish girl in their house and transformed it into a hilarious, heartwarming movie. That’s what adaptation is all about, right?

LEADING ACTRESS

JESSIE BUCKLEY Wild Rose
SCARLETT JOHANSSON Marriage Story
SAOIRSE RONAN Little Women
CHARLIZE THERON Bombshell
RENÉE ZELLWEGER Judy

I’d like to see Saoirse Ronan win this but it feels like it’s Renée Zellweger’s to lose.

LEADING ACTOR

LEONARDO DICAPRIO Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood
ADAM DRIVER Marriage Story
TARON EGERTON Rocketman
JOAQUIN PHOENIX Joker
JONATHAN PRYCE The Two Popes

UGH. I’m going to have to watch Adam lose, live, aren’t I? BAFTA haven’t even tried to hide it, they’re sitting him about 5 rows behind Joaquin Phoenix. You know what, though? If there’s going to be any upset on Sunday night, I see it being this award. I can see them giving it to Taron Egerton. Still, can’t bring myself to chose anyone but Adam!

SUPPORTING ACTRESS

LAURA DERN Marriage Story
SCARLETT JOHANSSON Jojo Rabbit
FLORENCE PUGH Little Women
MARGOT ROBBIE Bombshell
MARGOT ROBBIE Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood

I would so love to see Florence Pugh win! She has been an absolute highlight of 2019 for me. This is going to Laura Dern for sure, though.

SUPPORTING ACTOR

TOM HANKS A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
ANTHONY HOPKINS The Two Popes
AL PACINO The Irishman
JOE PESCI The Irishman
BRAD PITT Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood

I slept through most of The Irishman and haven’t gotten around to The Two Popes yet. I’m seeing A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood this weekend, but regardless of all that, I think this is going to Brad Pitt.

ORIGINAL SCORE

1917 Thomas Newman
JOJO RABBIT Michael Giacchino
JOKER Hildur Guðnadóttir
LITTLE WOMEN Alexandre Desplat
STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER John Williams

I’m hopeless at all sound categories but…John Williams!

CASTING

JOKER Shayna Markowitz
MARRIAGE STORY Douglas Aibel, Francine Maisler
ONCE UPON A TIME… IN HOLLYWOOD Victoria Thomas
THE PERSONAL HISTORY OF DAVID COPPERFIELD Sarah Crowe
THE TWO POPES Javier Braier, Barbara Giordani, Nina Gold, Francesco Vedovati, Gabriel Villegas

Forgive my ignorance but…is this a new category? I don’t remember a Casting award in previous years. Insert shrug emoji here. Is this award an excuse to give Joker another award? Will it go to The Two Popes for their portrayal of two iconic men in real life? Do you get an award for casting your mates for a movie about Hollywood? I’m guessing here, big time.

CINEMATOGRAPHY

1917 Roger Deakins
THE IRISHMAN Rodrigo Prieto
JOKER Lawrence Sher
LE MANS ’66 Phedon Papamichael
THE LIGHTHOUSE Jarin Blaschke

I hate when BAFTA nominates movies that aren’t even out in the UK yet. How have you all seen The Lighthouse when it isn’t out until…today actually. But good luck finding a cinema actually bothering to screen it. Anyway, I digress. I hope Roger Deakins takes this, 1917 was stunning.

EDITING

THE IRISHMAN Thelma Schoonmaker
JOJO RABBIT Tom Eagles
JOKER Jeff Groth
LE MANS ’66 Andrew Buckland, Michael McCusker
ONCE UPON A TIME… IN HOLLYWOOD Fred Raskin

I’m sorry but the editing in Once Upon a Time was atrocious. I’m sure it was artistic but it looked dodgy to me. HOLD UP A MOMENT. Why isn’t 1917 here? Excuse me? Are you for real? Well. I guess Le Mans ’66 gets my vote, then. Which is weird because every poster I’ve seen calls it Ford v Ferarri.

PRODUCTION DESIGN

1917 Dennis Gassner, Lee Sandales
THE IRISHMAN Bob Shaw, Regina Graves
JOJO RABBIT Ra Vincent, Nora Sopková
JOKER Mark Friedberg, Kris Moran
ONCE UPON A TIME… IN HOLLYWOOD Barbara Ling, Nancy Haigh

I mean, in terms of actually designing a set and creating something stunning…oh what do I know. I’m torn between the grimness of 1917 and the retro-ness of Once Upon a Time…

COSTUME DESIGN

THE IRISHMAN Christopher Peterson, Sandy Powell
JOJO RABBIT Mayes C. Rubeo
JUDY Jany Temime
LITTLE WOMEN Jacqueline Durran
ONCE UPON A TIME… IN HOLLYWOOD Arianne Phillips

Not my speciality. I’ve worn the same outfits for the last 10 years at least. But BAFTA loves period drama, so I can see Little Women winning this.

MAKE UP & HAIR

1917 Naomi Donne, Tristan Versluis
BOMBSHELL Vivian Baker, Kazu Hiro, Anne Morgan
JOKER Kay Georgiou, Nicki Ledermann
JUDY Jeremy Woodhead
ROCKETMAN Lizzie Yianni Georgiou, Barrie Gower, Tapio Salmi

Yeeeeeaaaaah. Mine takes about 5 minutes each morning. I just realised Rocketman is here but not in Costume Design. BAFTA are you high? I’m giving Judy my vote.

SOUND

1917 Scott Millan, Oliver Tarney, Rachael Tate, Mark Taylor, Stuart Wilson
JOKER Tod Maitland, Alan Robert Murray, Tom Ozanich, Dean Zupancic
LE MANS ’66 David Giammarco, Paul Massey, Steven A. Morrow, Donald Sylvester
ROCKETMAN Matthew Collinge, John Hayes, Mike Prestwood Smith, Danny Sheehan
STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER David Acord, Andy Nelson, Christopher Scarabosio, Stuart Wilson, Matthew Wood

Star Wars. Because…lightsabers? But also Le Mans ’66…noisy cars. Argh. The sound in 1917 scared me witness, though. Helllllllp.

SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS

1917 Greg Butler, Guillaume Rocheron, Dominic Tuohy
AVENGERS: ENDGAME Matt Aitken, Dan Deleeuw, Russell Earl, Dan Sudick
THE IRISHMAN Leandro Estebecorena, Stephane Grabli, Pablo Helman
THE LION KING Andrew R. Jones, Robert Legato, Elliot Newman, Adam Valdez
STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER Roger Guyett, Paul Kavanagh, Neal Scanlan, Dominic Tuohy

I feel like The Irishman will win this for the de-ageing technology.

BRITISH SHORT ANIMATION

GRANDAD WAS A ROMANTIC
IN HER BOOTS
THE MAGIC BOAT

Sorry, this one is a complete guess.

BRITISH SHORT FILM

AZAAR
GOLDFISH
KAMALI
LEARNING TO SKATEBOARD IN A WARZONE (IF YOU’RE A GIRL)
THE TRAP

I want it to win for it’s awesome title!

EE RISING STAR AWARD

AWKWAFINA
KAITLYN DEVER
KELVIN HARRISON JR.
JACK LOWDEN
MICHEAL WARD

So this is the only award that is voted for by the public. I voted in haste for Kaitlyn Dever whilst still riding a Booksmart high but putting some thought into it, I think Awkwafina will win.

So that’s me. I’m confident in a few of my picks, and I’m hoping for lucky guesses in many, but either way, I’m looking forward to tomorrow night!

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BAFTAs 2019: Predictions & Wishes

February 9, 2019February 5, 2019 Often Off Topic8 Comments

It’s the BAFTAs tomorrow night! If you didn’t know, I’ve always loved BAFTA night. It’s the only awards show that’s easy to watch in the UK, and for some reason, I’ve watched them for years, even before I got into blogging. I remember in 2012 rooting for Argo to win everything it was nominated for simply because it was the only movie I’d actually watched.

Anyway, it’s always a bit of fun putting together some predictions for the night. I think my husband thinks I’m a bit nuts when each award starts and I’m frantically flicking through pieces of paper to remind myself what I predicted would win! I’ve never been very accurate in my guesses but I’m not hardcore enough to even understand half of the subjects – plus the BAFTAs can be random at the best of times.

So without further ado, here are the nominees in full for the 2019 EE BAFTA Awards, as well as my predictions and wishes for the winners:

BEST FILM
BlacKkKlansman
The Favourite
Green Book
Roma
A Star Is Born

My gut says Green Book is going to win, and I wouldn’t be mad either because I liked it much more than I thought I would. I’d still love to see A Star Is Born take it though.

OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM
Beast
Bohemian Rhapsody
The Favourite
McQueen
Stan & Ollie
You Were Never Really Here

I can’t see any scenario where Bohemian Rhapsody doesn’t win this unless they get scared of the backlash and give it to the dull Stan & Ollie instead. I want The Favourite to win.

LEADING ACTOR
Bradley Cooper – A Star Is Born
Christian Bale – Vice
Rami Malek – Bohemian Rhapsody
Steve Coogan – Stan & Ollie
Viggo Mortensen – Green Book

He’s winning it everywhere else so I can’t see Rami Malek losing the BAFTA. A girl can dream of Bradley Cooper winning though.

LEADING ACTRESS
Glenn Close – The Wife
Lady Gaga – A Star Is Born
Melissa McCarthy – Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Olivia Colman – The Favourite
Viola Davis – Widows

I’m so torn on this category. I think Olivia Colman will win but I don’t know who I would pick myself. I would honestly be over the moon for any of these ladies, with the exception of Glenn Close.

SUPPORTING ACTOR
Adam Driver – BlacKkKlansman
Mahershala Ali – Green Book
Richard E Grant – Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Sam Rockwell – Vice
Timothee Chalamet – Beautiful Boy

This is equally as tough for me! I think Mahershala Ali will take it, he deserves it too, but I would give my left arm to see Adam Driver win, and Richard E Grant was fantastic as well!

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams – Vice
Claire Foy – First Man
Emma Stone – The Favourite
Margot Robbie – Mary Queen of Scots
Rachel Weisz – The Favourite

It was a good run, but I’m entering clueless territory now. I haven’t the foggiest who will win this one but I love Emma Stone so she gets my vote!

DIRECTOR
Spike Lee – BlacKkKlansman
Pawel Pawlikowski – Cold War
Yorgos Lanthimos – The Favourite
Alfonso Cuaron – Roma
Bradley Cooper – A Star Is Born

This is the one where I’m hoping the BAFTAs will be random and let Bradley Cooper have the award he really deserves!

EE RISING STAR AWARD (voted for by the public)
Jessie Buckley
Cynthia Erivo
Barry Keoghan
Lakeith Stanfield
Letitia Wright

This has been the easiest year for me to decide my vote. Lakeith Stanfield has been amazing in everything I’ve seen him in – he fully deserves it!

OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER
Apostasy – Daniel Kokotajlo (writer/director)
Beast – Michael Pearce (writer/director), Lauren Dark (producer)
A Cambodian Spring – Chris Kelly (writer/director/producer)
Pili – Leanne Welham (writer/director), Sophie Harman (producer)
Ray & Liz – Richard Billingham (writer/director), Jacqui Davies (producer)

Oh boy, here comes my first eeny meeny miney mo pick…Beast!

FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
Capernaum
Cold War
Dogman
Roma
Shoplifters

Being the uncultured swine that I am, I haven’t seen any of these. Surely with it’s Best Picture nomination, Roma will win it, although I’ve heard great things about Shoplifters.

DOCUMENTARY
Free Solo
McQueen
RBG
They Shall Not Grow Old
Three Identical Strangers

I think the only documentary I’ve seen recently was to do with Britain’s favourite biscuit…sorry. I’ve heard a lot about Free Solo though so let’s throw a prediction that way.

ANIMATED FILM
Incredibles 2
Isle of Dogs
Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse

Is it just me or is this category weirdly weak compared to recent years? I’m hedging my bets on Isle of Dogs for the technical element, but I’ll probably kick myself when Spider-Man wins.

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Cold War
The Favourite
Green Book
Roma
Vice

I can’t decide whether The Favourite or Green Book is going to win…I keep changing my mind. I think The Favourite has the most nominations though so I’m going with that.

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
BlacKkKlansman
Can You Ever Forgive Me?
First Man
If Beale Street Could Talk
A Star Is Born

You know what? Let’s throw caution to the wind. In my notes I’d scribbled down A Star Is Born for this one but I think BlacKkKlansman is more deserving.

ORIGINAL MUSIC
BlacKkKlansman
If Beale Street Could Talk
Isle of Dogs
Mary Poppins Returns
A Star Is Born

Mary Poppins feels like a good pick, but only a couple of pieces were really that memorable, so I’m going to go with A Star Is Born (and probably regret it).

CINEMATOGRAPHY
Bohemian Rhapsody
Cold War
The Favourite
First Man
Roma

I think The Favourite is the obvious choice here – but if First Man is going to pick up anything on the night it’ll be this one.

COSTUME DESIGN
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
Bohemian Rhapsody
The Favourite
Mary Poppins Returns
Mary Queen of Scots

Boo to big, poofy skirts – this is England, surely every studio wardrobe has an abundance of them. I want Mary Poppins to win, the costumes were gorgeous.

EDITING
Bohemian Rhapsody
The Favourite
First Man
Roma
Vice

I haven’t seen Vice yet but if it was edited in the same way as The Big Short I feel like it stands a good chance. Plus I haven’t chosen it for anything else yet – let’s do it!

PRODUCTION DESIGN
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald
The Favourite
First Man
Mary Poppins Returns
Roma

I’m sorry but the sets on Mary Poppins Returns were just magical – please let it win!

MAKE-UP AND HAIR
Bohemian Rhapsody
The Favourite
Mary Queen of Scots
Stan & Ollie
Vice

I haven’t seen it (and can’t summon the desire to) but the make-up and hair in the trailer for Mary Queen of Scots was so crazy that I think it could win.

SOUND
Bohemian Rhapsody
First Man
Mission: Impossible – Fallout
A Quiet Place
A Star Is Born

Please oh please let A Quiet Place win!

SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS
Avengers: Infinity War
Black Panther
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald
First Man
Ready Player One

I don’t care if everyone else feels pretty ‘meh’ about Ready Player One, I loved it and the CGI was brilliant, so it gets my vote.

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BAFTAs 2017: My Predictions & Wishes

February 10, 2017 Often Off Topic7 Comments

This Sunday brings the only awards show I get to watch at a decent time, the BAFTAs! Hosted by the legendary Stephen Fry, I’ve watched the BAFTAs for a few years now, before I even got into blogging. It’s just a jolly good bit of fun! They’re usually not quite as predictable as other awards either which can be fun.

I’ll try to do some live tweeting on Sunday night whilst watching, but I’m preparing myself for the cringe-fest of acceptance speeches that go on for so long that music starts playing, getting progressively louder until they wrap up and get off stage.

In true movie blogger style, this post is dedicated to my predictions and wishes for the award winners, but this comes with a disclaimer. I am in no way an awards expert, these predictions are a mix of how the other award shows have gone, with a mix of how random the BAFTAs can be sometimes. Still, it’ll be fun to see how many I get right!

BEST FILM
ARRIVAL Dan Levine, Shawn Levy, David Linde, Aaron Ryder
I, DANIEL BLAKE Rebecca O’Brien
LA LA LAND Fred Berger, Jordan Horowitz, Marc Platt
MANCHESTER BY THE SEA Lauren Beck, Matt Damon, Chris Moore, Kimberly Steward,
Kevin J. Walsh
MOONLIGHT Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Adele Romanski

Thoughts: I still haven’t seen I, Daniel Blake. I think it’s about benefits, and us Brits just love having our opinions on benefits. Apparently. I think La La Land will win though, and that’s my personal preference too!

OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM
AMERICAN HONEY Andrea Arnold, Lars Knudsen, Pouya Shahbazian, Jay Van Hoy
DENIAL Mick Jackson, Gary Foster, Russ Krasnoff, David Hare
FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM David Yates, David Heyman, Steve Kloves, J.K. Rowling, Lionel Wigram
I, DANIEL BLAKE Ken Loach, Rebecca O’Brien, Paul Laverty
NOTES ON BLINDNESS Peter Middleton, James Spinney, Mike Brett, Jo-Jo Ellison, Steve Jamison
UNDER THE SHADOW Babak Anvari, Emily Leo, Oliver Roskill, Lucan Toh

Thoughts: Well, I haven’t managed to see any of these! With a repeat nomination however my bets are on I, Daniel Blake. Did we not make many great movies this year? I thought this category was much better last year, but I may be wrong.

OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER
The Girl With All the Gifts: MIKE CAREY (Writer), CAMILLE GATIN (Producer)
The Hard Stop: GEORGE AMPONSAH (Writer/Director/Producer), DIONNE WALKER (Writer/Producer)
Notes on Blindness: PETER MIDDLETON (Writer/Director/Producer), JAMES SPINNEY (Writer/Director/Producer), JO-JO ELLISON (Producer)
The Pass: JOHN DONNELLY (Writer), BEN A. WILLIAMS (Director)
Under the Shadow: BABAK ANVARI (Writer/Director), EMILY LEO, OLIVER ROSKILL, LUCAN TOH (Producers)

Thoughts: Crickey, I really focused too much on the Oscars this year. The Girl With All the Gifts is the only movie I’ve heard of in this list, so let’s go with that?

FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
DHEEPAN Jacques Audiard, Pascal Caucheteux
JULIETA Pedro Almodóvar, Agustín Almodóvar
MUSTANG Deniz Gamze Ergüven, Charles Gillibert
SON OF SAUL László Nemes, Gábor Sipos
TONI ERDMANN Maren Ade, Janine Jackowski

Thoughts: Son of Saul picked up an Oscar last year I think, but Toni Erdmann is picking up all sorts of buzz right now, so this is a difficult choice. I’ll hedge my bets with Toni Erdmann I think.

DOCUMENTARY
13th Ava DuVernay, Spencer Averick, Howard Barish
THE BEATLES: EIGHT DAYS A WEEK- THE TOURING YEARS Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, Scott Pascucci, Nigel Sinclair
THE EAGLE HUNTRESS Otto Bell, Stacey Reiss
NOTES ON BLINDNESS Peter Middleton, James Spinney
WEINER Josh Kriegman, Elyse Steinberg

Thoughts: I’m not big on music, but surely The Beatles: Eight Days a Week is going to win this one?!

ANIMATED FILM
FINDING DORY Andrew Stanton
KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS Travis Knight
MOANA Ron Clements, John Musker
ZOOTROPOLIS Byron Howard, Rich Moore

Thoughts: ARGH. This is such a difficult category, which could honestly go to any of these nominees. In terms of technicality, I would love it to go to Kubo and the Two Strings, but I think Zootopia will win. I still refuse to call it Zootropolis. It’s a stupid name.

DIRECTOR
ARRIVAL Denis Villeneuve
I, DANIEL BLAKE Ken Loach
LA LA LAND Damien Chazelle
MANCHESTER BY THE SEA Kenneth Lonergan
NOCTURNAL ANIMALS Tom Ford

Thoughts: I want Denis Villenueve to win, because gosh darn it I’ve loved every movie he’s directed, but I think Damien Chazelle will win. La La Land is going to be a big winner on Sunday, I can feel it.

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
HELL OR HIGH WATER Taylor Sheridan
I, DANIEL BLAKE Paul Laverty
LA LA LAND Damien Chazelle
MANCHESTER BY THE SEA Kenneth Lonergan
MOONLIGHT Barry Jenkins

Thoughts: Seriously, is I, Daniel Blake really that good? I think La La Land will get thus, and I’d like it too, but I feel a slight risk that Manchester by the Sea might snatch it.

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
ARRIVAL Eric Heisserer
HACKSAW RIDGE Andrew Knight, Robert Schenkkan
HIDDEN FIGURES Theodore Melfi, Allison Schroeder
LION Luke Davies
NOCTURNAL ANIMALS Tom Ford

Thoughts: I’m happy for any of these to win. Legitimately happy! My heart wants to say Lion, my head wants to say Arrival. Then, another part of me is still marveling at how Hidden Figures was so entertaining for such a serious movie. I can’t call this one!

LEADING ACTOR
ANDREW GARFIELD Hacksaw Ridge
CASEY AFFLECK Manchester by the Sea
JAKE GYLLENHAAL Nocturnal Animals
RYAN GOSLING La La Land
VIGGO MORTENSEN Captain Fantastic

Thoughts: Hello Jake Gyllenhaal, how did you get here? I think it’s set that Casey Affleck will win this, but I’d like it to go to Andrew Garfield. I wouldn’t be made if Ryan Gosling won, though…

LEADING ACTRESS
AMY ADAMS Arrival
EMILY BLUNT The Girl on the Train
EMMA STONE La La Land
MERYL STREEP Florence Foster Jenkins
NATALIE PORTMAN Jackie

Thoughts: I still don’t know how Emily Blunt got here. No offense at all, but there are more deserving ladies this year. I think this will go to Emma Stone, but I want Amy Adams to get it as a big two-finger salute to the Academy!

SUPPORTING ACTOR
AARON TAYLOR-JOHNSON Nocturnal Animals
DEV PATEL Lion
HUGH GRANT Florence Foster Jenkins
JEFF BRIDGES Hell or High Water
MAHERSHALA ALI Moonlight

Thoughts: I’m feeling like Mahershala Ali will win this, and I wouldn’t mind, but I would love Dev Patel to win. He should be in the Lead Actor category to be honest, but I understand now why he’s been placed here. Plus, us Brits love Dev, ever since his very first role in Skins!

ORIGINAL MUSIC
ARRIVAL Jóhann Jóhannsson
JACKIE Mica Levi
LA LA LAND Justin Hurwitz
LION Dustin O’Halloran, Hauschka
NOCTURNAL ANIMALS Abel Korzeniowski

Thoughts: This is La La Land‘s award, surely?

CINEMATOGRAPHY
ARRIVAL Bradford Young
HELL OR HIGH WATER Giles Nuttgens
LA LA LAND Linus Sandgren
LION Greig Fraser
NOCTURNAL ANIMALS Seamus McGarvey

Thoughts: Practically every scene in La La Land was a work of art, that’s my winner for sure!

EDITING
ARRIVAL Joe Walker
HACKSAW RIDGE John Gilbert
LA LA LAND Tom Cross
MANCHESTER BY THE SEA Jennifer Lame
NOCTURNAL ANIMALS Joan Sobel

Thoughts: Now we’re entering the guess work area. I never know if more editing means best editing, but I loved how Hacksaw Ridge was produced. That said, I can’t go wrong with a La La Land guess.

PRODUCTION DESIGN
DOCTOR STRANGE Charles Wood, John Bush
FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM Stuart Craig, Anna Pinnock
HAIL, CAESAR! Jess Gonchor, Nancy Haigh
LA LA LAND David Wasco, Sandy Reynolds-Wasco
NOCTURNAL ANIMALS Shane Valentino, Meg Everist

Thoughts: I think Fantastic Beasts might take this one home, just because it’s the BAFTAs! Something’s going to stop the La La Land train eventually.

COSTUME DESIGN
ALLIED Joanna Johnston
FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM Colleen Atwood
FLORENCE FOSTER JENKINS Consolata Boyle
JACKIE Madeline Fontaine
LA LA LAND Mary Zophres

Thoughts: La La Land is my winner for Emma Stone’s entire wardrobe and Ryan Gosling’s shoes, but Fantastic Beasts is a contender, too. It’s a shame that “bag lady” Jenny Beavan isn’t here this year!

MAKE UP & HAIR
DOCTOR STRANGE Jeremy Woodhead
FLORENCE FOSTER JENKINS J. Roy Helland, Daniel Phillips
HACKSAW RIDGE Shane Thomas
NOCTURNAL ANIMALS Donald Mowat, Yolanda Toussieng
ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY Amanda Knight, Neal Scanlan, Lisa Tomblin

Thoughts: At least BAFTA had enough sense to not nominate Suicide Squad. This is anyone’s guess, really. I’d like to think Hacksaw Ridge has a chance, by my head says Florence Foster Jenkins has this in the bag.

SOUND
ARRIVAL Sylvain Bellemare, Claude La Haye, Bernard Gariépy Strobl
DEEPWATER HORIZON Dror Mohar, Mike Prestwood Smith, Wylie Stateman, Renee Tondelli, David Wyman
FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM Niv Adiri, Glenn Freemantle, Simon Hayes, Andy Nelson, Ian Tapp
HACKSAW RIDGE Peter Grace, Robert Mackenzie, Kevin O’Connell, Andy Wright
LA LA LAND Mildred Iatrou Morgan, Ai-Ling Lee, Steve A. Morrow, Andy Nelson

Thoughts: I’m just not technically-minded enough for this category! I’ve been sat for quite a while now trying to put a guess together…how about Arrival?

SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS
ARRIVAL Louis Morin
DOCTOR STRANGE Richard Bluff, Stephane Ceretti, Paul Corbould, Jonathan Fawkner
FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM Tim Burke, Pablo Grillo, Christian Manz, David Watkins
THE JUNGLE BOOK Robert Legato, Dan Lemmon, Andrew R. Jones, Adam Valdez
ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY Neil Corbould, Hal Hickel, Mohen Leo, John Knoll, Nigel Sumner

Thoughts: This is such a good category. I so badly want a Rogue One win, but some of the effects in Doctor Strange were mind-boggling, and who can forget how good The Jungle Book was, when little Neel Sethi was the only thing real?

EE RISING STAR AWARD (voted for by the public)
ANYA TAYLOR-JOY
LAIA COSTA
LUCAS HEDGES
RUTH NEGGA
TOM HOLLAND

Thoughts: Yaaaaaas I can’t wait for John Boyega to present this! I love him so much. I voted for Ruth Negga for this.

Come on then guys, tell me just how wrong I’ve got all of this. Is anyone else going to be watching on Sunday?

Random Posts

Move over La La Land, I have 3 Award Nominations!

February 5, 2017February 5, 2017 Often Off Topic27 Comments

Today is an exciting day, because I’ve been nominated for 2 different Blogger awards! This honestly means a lot to me, especially as Often Off Topic has only been running since December last year. A huge thanks to Drew at Drew’s Movie Reviews for nominating me for the Mystery Blogger Award, and to Keith at Keith Loves Movies and Ruth at FlixChatter for nominating me for the Sunshine Blogger Award! Plus, what great timing whilst we’re right in the heart of Awards Season!

I’ll start with the Mystery Blogger Award. Thanks again Drew! Here are the rules:
– Put the award logo/image on your blog
– List the rules.
– Thank whoever nominated you and provide a link to their blog.
– Mention the creator of the award and provide a link as well
– Tell your readers 3 things about yourself
– You have to nominate 10 – 20 people
– Notify your nominees by commenting on their blog
– Ask your nominees any 5 questions of your choice; with one weird or funny question (specify)
– Share a link to your best post(s)

The questions that Drew asked were:
1- What is your favorite place you have visited? I’ve loved all of my very few visits to the USA, but my favourite place is New York. It’s where I got engaged, and I went back for my honeymoon. As someone extremely nervous in new surroundings, I love how easy the city is to navigate, and I could sit at Turtle Pond in Central Park all day.
2- What would you do if you had a time machine and didn’t have to worry about the ill effects of time travel? I’d find out how the latest Star Wars trilogy ends!
3- What was your favorite film released last year? Hunt for the Wilderpeople. It has everything a movie could ask for, humour, drama, action, everything!
4- Why did you start blogging? I find writing to be therapeutic, and I love watching and talking about movies, so one day it just clicked that I could combine the two.
5- If you could live in any fictional universe, which would you choose? Harry Potter for sure. I was a huge nerd in school and so writing huge essays for Professor Snape would be an absolute doddle.

Now, for three things about me. Honestly, I ramble about my personal life far too much on this blog anyway but here’s some fun facts:
1 – I’m a fussy eater. I don’t like my food touching other food on my plate. I hate tomatoes, but I love ketchup. I don’t like raisins unless they’re hidden in cake. I like cheesecake, but only if I don’t think about it, because reminding myself it’s made of cheese puts me off.
2- I’m always cold. It doesn’t matter where I am, or what temperature it is, I’ll eventually get cold. On the last day of our honeymoon in California in June, I walked around Disneyland in a jumper.
3 – I have 8 tattoos! A meeple (look it up) on my finger, ‘all was well’ from Harry Potter on my wrist, Lilo & Stitch on my thigh, the hand-mirror from Beauty & the Beast also on my thigh, an origami X-Wing on my calf, a collection of honeymoon memories on my arm, and my two cats Sherlock and Loki on each of my feet. Sherlock has a deerstalker hat and a pipe, and Loki is wearing the iconic helmet.

For my nominees, I’ve picked bloggers that are reasonably new to me, and say may be new to you too. Check them out if you aren’t following them already:
Moviejoltz
Literary Weapon
CineMuseFilms
Surrender to the Void
Vinnieh

My questions to you are:
1 – How long did it take you to come up with your blog’s name?
2 – What was the last movie you gave up on and didn’t finish?
3 – What’s your favourite Disney song?
4 – Who’s your biggest movie crush right now?
5 – Do you have any tattoos? If not, what would you get?

Don’t feel obliged to put a post together, if you want you could always leave your answers as a comment!

Moving on to the Sunshine Blogger Award. Thanks again Keith and Ruth! Here are the rules:
Post the award on your blog
– Thank the person who nominated you
– Answer the 11 questions they set you
– Pick another 11 bloggers (and let them know they are nominated!)
– Give them 11 questions

Simple enough! Here are the questions Keith asked:
1 – What do you like to do in your spare time? Aside from watching movies and blogging, I’m a gamer too! I play far too much World of Warcraft.
2 – What would like to do if you had more time? I’d like to take up a craft. I’m not sure what, but I’d like to be able to make…things.
3 – If you can only watch one movie or TV show the rest of your life, what would it be and why? Parks and Recreation, without a doubt. It’s my go-to DVD when nothing else is on, and it’s the only thing I could honestly never get bored of.
4 – What is your favorite TV show right now? Brooklyn Nine-Nine, although it’s currently on a break. It’s one of those rare gems of a show that actually gets better each season.
5 – What was your favorite movie of 2016? Hunt for the Wilderpeople. It has everything a movie could ask for, humour, drama, action, everything!
6 – What was your least favorite movie of 2016? Get a Job. It was just pants. It was boring, it wasn’t funny, it was a mess.
7 – What is your most anticipated movie of 2017? Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi. I need to know what happens next!
8 – What is your least anticipated movie of 2017? Wonder Woman. Maybe it’ll be the movie to save the DC Cinematic Universe, maybe it’ll be another ‘meh’ movie. Who knows!
9 – Any movie or TV guilty pleasures? I love rom coms, whether they’re actually good or terrible.
10 – What is your Best Picture winner at this year’s Oscars? La La Land! Lion and Hacksaw Ridge are very close runner ups though.
11 – Do you still watch trailers? I do! I deliberately get to the cinema early enough just to see them.

And here are the questions from Ruth:
1 – What’s your favorite movie quote that nobody else seems to notice? When a conversation around us turns tense, my brother and I often quote Liar, Liar. “Mrs. Cole…a goose!” We make hand gestures too, I don’t know why, but we’ve done it for years!
2 – If someone give you a $1 million dollar budget to do a film, what type of film or genre would you do? I’d love to make a thrilling mystery movie with a cracking twist, but I don’t have the brains for it. I bet I’d make a wonderfully cheesy romcom though!
3 – In relation to question 2. Which non A-lister would you cast? Argh, what qualifies someone as an A-lister? If he’s eligible, Adam Driver! I can totally cast myself in the other leading role, right?
4 – Weekend getaway: Paris, London or Rome? London is too close to home, I’m visiting Paris in May but I’ve never been to Rome, so that’s my pick.
5 – I was going to do a post on this but have no time to finish it. What’s the worst movie you saw in 2016? Get a Job. It had some potential, but it was just a mess. If a movie has been sat on a shelf for 4 years, there’s probably a good reason for it.
6- What’s one particular movie scene you recently saw that still sticks with you? In Hacksaw Ridge, when Doss is still up on the ridge repeating to himself ‘just one more’. I think that’ll stay with me a long time.
7 – Favorite cuisine? I am a simple lady with simple tastes. Just give me a good pizza!
8 – Chris Evans, Chris Pine or Chris Hemsworth? WHY WOULD YOU MAKE ME CHOOSE? Ugh. I love them all. Hemsworth!
9 – Name an actor/actress you’ve seen in more than 10 movies? Emma Stone and Ryan Reynolds. A couple of years ago I tracked down their entire filmography. I regret nothing!
10 – See above. Name the movies. Quite literally everything they’ve been in up until 2015! #noragerts
11 – Name a film you wish had a sequel. This one is going to require more thinking. Perhaps I’ll make a post on it soon!

Here are my nominees. I’m sorry if you’ve been picked already!
Drew’s Movie Reviews
Two Dollar Cinema
The Punk Theory
Cinematic Corner
Rambling Film
Dell on Movies
Life of This City Girl
Mettel Ray
Cinema Parrot Disco
A Film a Day
Dan the Man’s Movie Reviews

Here are my questions to you:
1 – If you could add an Award category to the Oscars, what would you add?
2 – Who is The Last Jedi?
3 – Which Director should take over from Ben Affleck for The Batman?
4 – I need a break from Oscar movies. What should I watch this weekend?
5 – What’s your all time favourite book?
6 – If you were a talk show host, who would be your first guest?
7 – What’s your least favourite movie genre?
8 – What movie are you embarrassed to admit you’ve never seen?
9 – Is Wonder Woman going to save the DC Cinematic Universe?
10 – Which actor/actress do you love enough to see them in anything and everything?
11 – Which movie would you like to experience for the first time again?

Again, please don’t feel obliged to put a post together. If you like you could answer the questions in a comment!