Category Archives: Awards

Awards, Oscars

My Final Predictions for 90th Academy Awards

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Best Picture: Lady Bird
Actor: Gary Oldman, Darkest Hour 
Actress: Frances McDormand, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri 
Supporting Actor: Sam Rockwell, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri 
Supporting Actress: Allison Janney, I, Tonya 
Animated Feature Film: Coco
Cinematography: Roger Deakins, Blade Runner 2049 
Costume Design: Mark Bridges, Phantom Thread 
Directing: Guillermo del Toro, The Shape of Water 
Documentary (Feature): Icarus
Documentary (Short Subject): “Heroin(e)”
Film Editing: Lee Smith, Dunkirk
Foreign Language Film: The Insult 
Makeup and Hairstyling: Kazuhiro Tsuji, David Malinowski, and Lucy Sibbick, Darkest Hour 
Music (Original Score): Alexandre Desplat, The Shape of Water 
Music (Original Song): Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, “Remember Me” (Coco)
Production Design: Paul Denham Austerberry, Shane Vieau, and Jeffrey A. Melvin, The Shape of Water 
Animated Short Film: “Revolting Rhymes”
Live Action Short Film: “DeKalb Elementary”
Sound Editing: Richard King and Alex Gibson, Dunkirk 
Sound Mixing: Gregg Landaker, Gary A. Rizzo, and Mark Weingarten, Dunkirk 
Visual Effects: John Nelson, Gerd Nefzer, Paul Lambert, and Richard R. Hoover, Blade Runner 2049 
Writing (Adapted Screenplay): James Ivory, Call Me by Your Name 
Writing (Original Screenplay): Jordan Peele, Get Out 

Awards, Oscars

About That Preferential Ballot…

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Oscar Ballot
Image courtesy of TheGoldKnight.com.

We live in a democracy. Majority rules, right? Not always. Not at the Oscars, anyway (necessarily). You’d think that the process of deciding the year’s Best Picture would be as clear-cut as to award the movie with the most votes. But it’s not, and hasn’t been since 2008. (It doesn’t necessarily work that way to determine the US President, so why should determining the year’s top movie be any different?)

In 2009, when the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) expanded its Best Picture nominations from five to 10 (now the number of nominees can be anywhere between 5 and 10), it reintroduced its preferential voting system, one that was last used from 1934 – 1945. The system is pretty complex, and with over 7,000 ballots to sort, it takes about a week for those famed accountants at PricewaterhouseCoopers to determine the winners.

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Awards, Documentary, Independent Film, Oscars, Short Film, Trailer

How to Watch the Oscar-Nominated Documentary Shorts

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Doc Shorts
Image courtesy of IndieWire

A few of this year’s Oscar-nominated documentary short films are available free online (full versions below), while others are accessible on Netflix and HBO. Here’s how to watch all five.

Edith+Eddie

IMDb description: Edith and Eddie, ages 96 and 95, are America’s oldest interracial newlyweds. Their love story is disrupted by a family feud that threatens to tear the couple apart.
Director: Laura Checkoway
Runtime: 29 min.

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Actors, Awards, Comedy, Drama, Filmmakers, Horror, In Theatres, Independent Film, Narrative, Oscars, Sci-Fi, Thriller, War

2018 Memo to the Academy

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Dear Academy,

You have enough on your plate. Nominee luncheons. Press releases. Etc. I get it. You don’t have time to watch all the nominated films. No worries. I’m pleased to step up to the plate, watch the movies, and offer my (informed) opinions. I know you’ve looked forward to this memo for the last nine years, so how could I possibly disappoint you by skipping a year? So attend your lunches and write your press releases lauding improved diversity numbers among your ranks. Leave the Oscars to me. I’ll take it from here.

Your Friend,
Dan Quitério

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Awards, Documentary, Drama, News, Oscars, Preview, Short Film, Trailer, War

Syria-Themed Documentary Shorts Are of the Times

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“The White Helmets”

Two months ago, I encouraged several people to watch this year’s crop of Oscar-nominated documentary shorts. My only instruction: have tissues handy. Hard-hitting themes ranged from Syria, to end-of-life decisions in an ICU, to Syria, to the Holocaust, to Syria.

So months before the White House fired its missiles in the direction of the Middle Eastern country this week, the Academy was providing us privileged folk sitting in soft recliners with varied perspectives on the crisis that’s happening halfway around the world—where instead of privilege there are regular shellings, and instead of soft recliners there are scared children. The nominated documentaries, “The White Helmets” (the eventual winner), “Watani: My Homeland,” and “4.1 Miles” each offer a completely different take on Syria’s civil war, and each gives us reason to care. This is essential viewing. Below I give a brief synopsis for each film, including the full version of “4.1 Miles.”

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Awards, Drama, Independent Film, Narrative, Oscars, Short Film

Short Film: “Stutterer”

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I have a bit of an attachment to this film. “Stutterer”, written and directed by Benjamin Cleary, was submitted to a film festival of which I was a member of the screening committee. I loved it. Of the 100 or so films I screened that year, it was one of the best I had seen. I championed it to the programmers in hopes that they’d agree and add it to the festival’s slate. Alas, the film didn’t make the cut—not because it wasn’t good or deserving. Great films are often rejected from festivals for any number of reasons. Months later, “Stutterer” was nominated for an Oscar, along with one other film I screened for the same festival (which I also championed and was also rejected). “Stutterer” won. (I should start my own damn festival.)

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Awards, Oscars, Uncategorized

MY FINAL PREDICTIONS FOR 89TH ACADEMY AWARDS

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Best Picture: La La Land 
Actor: Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea 
Actress: Emma Stone, La La Land 
Supporting Actor: Mahershala Ali, Moonlight 
Supporting Actress: Viola Davis, Fences 
Animated Feature Film: Zootopia 
Cinematography: Linus Sandgren, La La Land 
Costume Design: Mary Zophres, La La Land 
Directing: Damien Chazelle, La La Land 
Documentary (Feature): O.J.: Made in America 
Documentary (Short Subject): “The White Helmets”
Film Editing: Tom Cross, La La Land 
Foreign Language Film: The Salesman 
Makeup and Hairstyling: Joel Harlow and Richard Alonzo, Star Trek Beyond 
Music (Original Score): Justin Hurwitz, La La Land 
Music (Original Song): Justin Hurwitz and Benj Pasek & Justin Paul, “City of Stars,” La La Land 
Production Design: David Wasco and Sandy Reynolds-Wasco, La La Land 
Animated Short Film: “Piper”
Live Action Short Film: “La Femme et le TGV”
Sound Editing: Ai-Ling Lee and Mildred Iatrou Morgan, La La Land 
Sound Mixing: Andy Nelson, Ai-Ling Lee, and Steve A. Morrow, La La Land 
Visual Effects: Robert Legato, Adam Valdez, Andrew R. Jones, and Dan Lemmon, The Jungle Book 
Writing (Adapted Screenplay): Barry Jenkins and Tarell Alvin McCraney, Moonlight 
Writing (Original Screenplay): Kenneth Lonergan, Manchester by the Sea 

Actors, Awards, Comedy, Drama, Filmmakers, In Theatres, Independent Film, Narrative, Oscars

2017 Memo to the Academy

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Dear Academy,

Eight years later, I’m still waiting for that magical piece of mail, inviting me to join your fine organization. But that’s not keeping me from sounding off on a few Oscar categories. I’ve seen all the nominated films, and I have some thoughts that should be considered. So allow me to make your job easier. Here’s who should win. You’re welcome.

Your Friend,
Dan Quitério

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Awards, Comedy, In Theatres, Narrative, Oscars

“La La Land”: Overhyped?

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I’ve been having conversations lately with friends who aren’t quite buying into the frenzy. They may like or dislike La La Land, but either way they’re just not getting it. “Fourteen Oscar nominations? Tied for the most in history?” La La Land may be good, but it’s not a juggernaut, they might say. Its effect on our culture is hardly titanic in scale. So why all the hype?

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Animation, Awards, Comedy, Narrative, Oscars, Short Film

Short Film: “Geri’s Game”

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Winner of the 1998 Academy Award for Best Short Film, Animated, this Pixar classic was written and directed by Jan Pinkava. If nothing else, it’s proof that one isn’t necessarily the loneliest number.