Oscars Preview: The Art Awards I Care About

Best Adapted Screenplay

• ·         The Big Short, Charles Randolph and Adam McKay
• ·         Brooklyn, Nick Hornby
• ·         Carol, Phyllis Nagy
• ·         The Martian, Drew Goddard
• ·         Room, Emma Donoghue

WILL WIN: The Big Short. I didn’t care for breaking the 4^th wall or condescending to us with Margot Robbie and Selena Gomez. But I got an MBA for fun.

SHOULD WIN: The Martian. Pitch perfect. Not a wasted word, and full of joy for science.

WORST NOMINATION: Room. From what I’m told, the book’s cleverness is to take this horrible situation and craft a world anyone could live in. The movie plays a 5 minute montage of that world at the beginning and then reels off 80 minutes of misery. It makes It's a Wonderful Life seem like it's a wonderful life. 

Best Original Screenplay

• ·         Bridge of Spies, Matt Charman and Ethan Coen & Joel Coen
• ·         Ex Machina, Alex Garland
• ·         Inside Out, Pete Docter, Meg LeFauve, Josh Cooley; Original story by Pete Docter, Ronnie del Carmen
• ·         Spotlight, Josh Singer and Tom McCarthy
• ·         Straight Outta Compton, Screenplay by Jonathan Herman and Andrea Berloff; Story by S. Leigh Savidge, Alan Wenkus and Andrea Berloff

WILL WIN: Spotlight. Taut, error-free script. All The Presidents Men for a new generation of journalists and a classic drama for any era.

SHOULD WIN: Inside Out. Underneath the hood of this high concept standout and its more obvious conceits there are potent, searing statements about our natures, about gender, and, of course youth, though not all the ones you pick up the first watching. Ex Machina barely scratched the surface of its subject matter. Compton was half a great movie but at times directionless. Bridge of Spies captures the Cold War masterfully but doesn’t leave much to the imagination. It’s Pixar that has once again buried in a child friendly film meaningful vignettes that most command re-examination and discussion.

WORST NOMINATION: Ex Machina

BIGGEST SNUB: Paul Feig, Spy. Comedy never gets the credit it deserves.

Best Visual Effects

• ·         Ex Machina, Andrew Whitehurst, Paul Norris, Mark Ardington and Sara Bennett
• ·         Mad Max: Fury Road, Andrew Jackson, Tom Wood, Dan Oliver and Andy Williams
• ·         The Martian, Richard Stammers, Anders Langlands, Chris Lawrence and Steven Warner
• ·         The Revenant, Rich McBride, Matthew Shumway, Jason Smith and Cameron Waldbauer
• ·         Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Roger Guyett, Patrick Tubach, Neal Scanlan and Chris Corbould

WILL WIN: The Revenant (A theme begins).

SHOULD WIN: Mad Max: Fury Road (Another theme begins).

WORST NOMINATION: Star Wars. I was tempted to cite Revenant’s ludicrous-looking floating angel wife. But instead I’ll double down – Star Wars looked dull.

Best Cinematography                     

• ·         Carol, Ed Lachman
• ·         The Hateful Eight, Robert Richardson
• ·         Mad Max: Fury Road, John Seale
• ·         The Revenant, Emmanuel Lubezki
• ·         Sicario, Roger Deakins

WILL WIN: The Revenant’s winter screen saver

SHOULD WIN: Mad Max’s new universe

Best Original Score

• ·         Thomas Newman, Bridge of Spies
• ·         Carter Burwell, Carol
• ·         Ennio Morricone, The Hateful Eight
• ·         Jóhann Jóhannsson, Sicario
• ·         John Williams, Star Wars: The Force Awakens

WILL WIN: Ennio Morricone – The Hateful Eight

SHOULD WIN: Carter Burwell – Carol

Burwell is the creator of some of the most memorable music, in movies or otherwise, of the past few decades. Inexplicably, this is his first nomination. Morricone had to get an honorary award a decade ago because Hollywood so foolishly ignored his main body of work. And it seems Burwell may have to keep writing for 40 years before he gets his.  

Best Original Song

• ·         "Earned It," Fifty Shades of Grey, Abel Tesfaye, Ahmad Balshe, Jason Daheala Quenneville and Stephan Moccio
• ·         "Manta Ray," Racing Extinction, J. Ralph and Antony Hegarty
• ·         "Simple Song #3," Youth, David Lang
• ·         "'Til It Happens to You," The Hunting Ground, Diane Warren and Lady Gaga
• ·         "Writings on the Wall," Spectre, Jimmy Napes and Sam Smith

WILL WIN: Lady Gaga.

SHOULD WIN: Sam Smith

WORST NOMINATION: Simple Song #3.

BIGGEST SNUB: En Las Calles (feat. Jose Cancela), Cartel Land. Don’t believe the whining for Nick Cannon’s Chi-raq song to be in this spot. En Las Calles raps Cannon off the stage.