Oscar Predictions 2014, part 4: Craft Categories

Back again--and this time, with the last major salvo before Christmas Morning (aka Oscar nomination morning, aka better than Christmas). Today we'll be having a look at the craft categories. Because there are 10 of them, because most people don't invest too much interest in them (even though those people are laaaaaaaaaaaammmme), because they're tough to predict and nigh impossible to analyze, and because I've got lesson plans to write tonight (still) (I really need to re-work my time management skills), we'll keep commentary pretty brief. So let's dive right in!

Oscar Predictions 2014, part 3: directing/screenplays

Ok kids, here's how it's going to be--I'm writing this later than I thought I would, after a long day of responsibilities and silly 80s slasher-pastiche watching (you guys, The Guest is the best movie anyone has ever seen in their lives. Not even exaggerating). So we're going to make this quick, dirty, and probably not that satisfying--just the way I like it. So let's jump right in--we'll do directing and screenplays today, aka the two categories I can't wait to not be nominated for someday.

Oscar Predictions 2014, part 2: Acting

Aaaaaaaaaannnnd we're back. I have yet to even get out of bed this morning, and am avoiding responsibilities like the proverbial plague. So here we are! Today we'll have a look at acting categories, if only so that we can allow ourselves to be hopelessly, giddily besotted by celebrities for a minute or two. And who doesn't want that? So here we go.

Best Actor
I've been hearing for months about how tough a category this is, and how deep the field runs, and how we all should basically be weeping with ecstasy over the displays of gorgeousness and gorgeousity made flesh that we've all been lucky enough to experience this year. Meh, I'm not so convinced. At any rate, this category isn't nearly as competitive as people are making it out to be. Here are four fine young lads who will most likely be in:

Oscar Predictions 2014, part 1: Picture

Hello again Internet! It's that brief slice of the year in which I crawl out of the proverbial cave to squeal into the also proverbial abyss. And you know what? I've almost been doing this a decade--next year will mark 10 years of Oscar prognostication. Which means that I am an ancient, inscrutable granny who should hardly even be able to look at a computer without her face melting off, Indiana Jones style. And yet here we are. Funny how these things work out. So despite my terribly advanced age, general technological ineptitude, and profoundly limited time (shocking how little free time teaching affords), I'm gonna hop into this thing like there's no tomorrow. ...Although there will be. Precisely four more, to be exact. Today I'll tackle Best Picture and a few categories that I know nothing about, tomorrow I'll look into the acting categories, Monday will be directing and screenplays, Tuesday will be craft categories, and Wednesday I'll sum everything up and put it in one pretty little box. So here we go!

Final Oscar Predictions: That Red Carpet is about to get Redder

It's on now. It's on now for real.

Long story short: tomorrow night's going to be a bloodbath. Fancy frocks and tuxes will snipe at each other across the aisles until the Dolby Theater runs red with the blood of discarded acceptance speeches that will never be used.

And it's going to be awesome.

In case you didn't get the gist of that, here it is: this Oscar season has been extremely competitive, it's going to continue to be so right down to the wire, and a whole lot of people are going to go home disappointed. We should all take a little time to be thankful for this--most years we already know most of the outcomes by now. A little suspense on the night is a rare thing indeed. So time to throw some darts at the wall and see what sticks!

Best of 2013, part 5: My Dream Oscar Ballot

Alright, here's the end of the list madness. This post is basically just a way of summing everything up and putting it into one neat little package. So I'll just list the nominees in alphabetical order, sans commentary, with the winners in bold. For added hours of fun, I'll put an asterisk next to the nominees which overlap with the Oscar nominations. Funny story: I think the Oscar noms were a pretty good crowd this year, and yet I don't think there's ever been so little overlap between their choices and mine as this year. Funny how these things shake out.

Best of 2013, part 4: craft categories

Commence with the weeping and lamentation, for today marks the last big list-dump before I go crawl back into my cave and blog-hibernate for another year. It's a tough blow, I'm sure, but we'll get through it together. Today, we're going to spend a little time showing some love for all the elements that go into making a movie great but never make anyone famous: the craft categories, aka where the cool kids are at.

Before we get going, here's handy guide to the categories, in case you want to know what I'm talking about:

Art Direction: Production design: creating, designing, and building the world in which the movie takes place. Generally associated with set-building, but also stretches to conceptual aspects
Costume Design: ...The design of the costumes.
Visual Effects: Special Effects. CGI, models, etc.
Makeup: ...makeup.
Film Editing: Editing the movie: cutting in some places, lengthening in others. Generally responsible for the rhythm of a film, as well as keeping continuity and making sense of the plot.
Cinematography: In layman's terms, how pretty the movie is. Screen composition, lighting, camera techniques, etc.
Original Score: Music composed for the film itself.
Sound Mixing: Blending the four film sound elements (dialogue, sound effects, ambient noise, music) to create a coherent overall mix.
Sound Effects Editing: creating the sound elements and sound effects heard in the film.
Original Song: Songs written specifically for the film.

Moving right along, then...