Double Gobble Oscar Picks – 2015

We know its been a while since we posted anything but we couldn’t let the Oscars pass us by without putting up our picks for this year.  Once again, we have seen a very large chunk of the nominated films including all of the films and performances in every major category. Below you will find our Oscar picks. For the bigger categories, we decided to pick the films that we want to win (From the Heart) and also the films we think The Academy is likely to choose (From the Head). We only included the categories that we have seen or have extensive knowledge in. Feel free to leave your own picks below!

Kristy’s Picks

 

 

 

 

 

Best Picture

From the Heart: “Birdman” – This movie has great acting, a great script, a fantastic score, and an intriguing focus on the psychological struggles of the acting world.  The more I think about this film, the more I appreciate and enjoy it.

From the Head: “Boyhood” – I truly admire the dedication that Linklater and his actors gave to this film, however, the one area that I feel this film falls flat is in its story.  For that reason alone, I am hoping that “Birdman” wins, however, I would not be at all surprised if the Academy awards Linklater for his incredible efforts.

Best Actor

From the Heart: Michael Keaton in “Birdman” – While this is an incredibly strong category this year, Michael Keaton outperformed everyone.

From the Head: There’s a chance that Eddie Redmayne could be rewarded for his transformation in “The Theory of Everything” but I still think the Academy will give Michael Keaton his moment.

Best Actress

From the Heart: My two favorites in this category were the emotional performances by both Marion Cotillard in “Two Days One Night” and Julianne Moore in “Still Alice”.  I would be happy if either of these two women were given the award.

From the Head: Julianne Moore is the likely favorite which would be well deserved considering this is her most emotionally compelling performance to date.

Best Supporting Actor

From the Heart: The transformation that J. K. Simmons gives in Whiplash should absolutely be rewarded.  Despite the fact that little is known about the character’s background in the film, Simmons creates a depth of emotion with a character that could have been simply played as a manipulative jerk of a music teacher.  Instead Simmons was able to capture the many facets of the obsession for perfection.

From the Head: I think that J.K. Simmons will take this one.

Best Supporting Actress

From the Heart: First off, I love Meryl Streep but what the heck is she doing in this category this year?  The true star in this category is Patricia Arquette in “Boyhood”.  For me she was the most enjoyable part of the film.

From the Head: I think Patricia Arquette will be rewarded for her years of dedication to this character.

Best Director

From the Heart: While I chose “Birdman” as my favorite for Best Picture, I absolutely think that Linklater should be rewarded for his years of work on “Boyhood”.  He achieved a feat that many other directors would not even consider attempting.

From the Head: I think it comes down to Inarritu and Linklater and it’s honestly difficult for me to determine who’s going to take this one.

Other Category Choices:

Best Original Screenplay

“Birdman” for its fluid and artistic storyline.

Best Adapted Screenplay

“The Imitation Game” for bringing the story of Alan Turing to the public eye.

Best Original Score

“The Imitation Game” because of its traditional Oscar score.

Best Original Song

“Selma” largely because I would like to see Common and John Legend accept this award as I’m a fan of both of them.

Best Editing

“Boyhood” – I honestly cannot comprehend how much footage Sandra Adair had to sift through in order to weave together a cohesive storyline and she should be rewarded for her sheer dedication.

Best Cinematography

“Birdman” because it was a beautifully crafted visual film.

Best Production Design

“The Grand Budapest Hotel” – Probably the most intriguing visuals we’ve seen yet from Wes Anderson.

Best Costume Design

“The Grand Budapest Hotel” – Going hand in hand with the design, the costumes of this movie were stunning.

Best Makeup

“Guardians of the Galaxy”

Best Sound Editing

“Birdman”

Best Sound Mixing

“Whiplash”

Best Visual Effects

“Interstellar”

Best Live-Action Short

“Boogaloo and Graham”.  Those darn chickens!

Koob’s Picks

 

 

 

 

 

Best Picture

From the Heart: “Boyhood” – While this film was groundbreaking by the fact that it was filmed over the course of 12 years, I feel like it goes way beyond just being a gimmick.  Patricia Arquette and Ethan Hawke were both great and Ellar Coltrane more than held his own and was definitely a surprise.  I remember walking out of the theater and just being blown away by this movie so I’m sticking with that as no other film gave me that feeling this year.

From the Head: “Boyhood” – It seems like it is neck and neck between “Boyhood” and “Birdman” this year and they were both great but I think the Academy will give the slight edge to “Boyhood”.

Best Actor

From the Heart: Michael Keaton in “Birdman” – This was a great performance by a very well liked actor in a very original film.  It’s not just rewarding him for a long career. I think he deserves it.

From the Head: Michael Keaton – Eddie Redmayne was great as Stephen Hawking and this should be another close one but the Academy loves to reward people who have been around for a while and never got their due so I think Keaton will come out on top.

Best Actress

From the Heart: Reese Witherspoon in “Wild” – Julianne Moore was great in “Still Alice” and she’s had a great career so it’s probably her time, but of the five performances Reese’s was the one that moved me the most.

From the Head: Julianne Moore in “Still Alice” – this is a virtual lock.  A well-deserved win for a phenomenal actress who has been a bridesmaid several times before and should now get her due.

Best Supporting Actor

From the Heart: J.K. Simmons in “Whiplash” – Always a tough category as Hawke, Norton, and Ruffalo were all great (not sure why Duvall is even here) but Simmons’ performance was pitch perfect and will be remembered for a long time.

From the Head: This is the year of J.K. Simmons.  He has pretty much won every award and I don’t think the Oscars will be any different.

Best Supporting Actress

From the Heart:  I really liked Laura Dern in “Wild” but I will give the slight edge to Patricia Arquette as a mother who went through some tough relationships but was always there for her kids.

From the Head: Once again, my pick matches up with what I think the Academy will do; Patricia Arquette for the win!

Best Director

From the Heart: This one is probably the toughest for me as “Birdman” was really cool and innovative and “Boyhood” was groundbreaking.  I have to give the edge to Linklater for carrying the project through for twelve years and never losing sight of his ultimate vision.

From the Head: Another very close race but I think Linklater edges out Inarritu.

Other Category Choices

Best Original Screenplay

I think “Birdman” will win here and deservedly so as it was very original.

Best Adapted Screenplay

Not really sure how this one will go down.  I thought Inherent Vice was pretty cool but I think maybe this will be one of the few wins for “The Imitation Game”.

Best Original Score

I didn’t see “Interstellar” or “Mr. Turner”, but I think “The Theory of Everything” will take this one.

Best Original Song

Seems to be a battle between “The Lego Movie” and “Selma”.  I’m going with John Legend and Common from “Selma” in this one.

Best Editing

I would be shocked if “Boyhood” didn’t win this as they put together footage filmed over the course of twelve years and blended it seamlessly together.

Best Cinematography

I’ve only seen “Birdman” and “The Grand Budapest Hotel” in this category but I think they would have to be the two frontrunners.  I’ll give the slight edge to “Birdman”.

Best Production Design

I’ll go with “The Grand Budapest Hotel” with this one.  Another awesome world created by Wes Anderson.

Best Costume Design

“Grand Budapest” again for this one.

Best Makeup

Steve Carell’s transformation in “Foxcatcher” was pretty amazing, but I’ll go with “Grand Budapest” for this one as well.

Best Sound Editing

I’m going with “Birdman” for this one…

Best Sound Mixing

…and this one.  “Birdman”.

Best Visual Effects

I’ve only seen “Guardians of the Galaxy” and “X-Men” in this category, but from the trailers, I think “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” could take this one.

Best Live-Action Short

I loved the Ireland film “Boogaloo and Graham” about two brothers and their chickens.

Coffee and Donuts for “It Happened One Night”

For our food pairing for “It Happened One Night” we chose good old-fashioned donuts and a cup of coffee.  One of the classic scenes from “It Happened One Night” is the scene in the room at the Auto Park when Clark Gable is making Claudette Colbert a “rationed” breakfast; one scrambled egg, a donut, and a cup of black coffee.  Then Gable explains the art of dunking to Colbert.  Here is the transcript from that scene:

Peter: Say, where did you learn to dunk, in finishing school?
Ellie: [indignantly] Aw, now, don’t you start telling me I shouldn’t dunk.
Peter: Of course you shouldn’t. You don’t know how to do it. Dunking’s an art. Don’t let it soak so long. A dip and—plop, into your mouth. If you let it soak so long, it’ll get soft and fall off. It’s all a matter of timing. I ought to write a book about it.

The release of this movie coincided with the popularity of donuts in America as they were billed as “The Hit Food of the Century of Progress” at the 1933/34 Chicago World’s Fair and lauded as “the perfect union of fresh ingredients and automated preparation”.  So get your self some “Old-Fashioneds” from Dunkin’ Donuts (they still sell these) and a good strong cup of black coffee and dunk away.  Just make sure you do it properly.

Double Gobble Oscar Picks

Here we go, Double Gobblers- we can’t believe that The Oscars are almost here! While we didn’t have the chance to see all of the shorts, we did see a good chunk of the films nominated this year. Below you will find our Oscar picks. For the bigger categories, we decided to pick the films that we want to win (From the Heart) and also the films we think The Academy is likely to choose (From the Head). We only included the categories that we have seen or have extensive knowledge in. Feel free to leave your own picks below!

Kristy’s Picks

Best Picture

From the Heart: 12 Years A Slave- I loved this film and I think that time will prove it to be one of the best films in American cinema. The acting is superb, the writing is fantastic, and if The Academy is going for true emotion and grit, they will pick this one.

From the Head: American Hustle – This film has it all; an all-star cast, great direction, a suspenseful storyline, and a steady momentum at the box office. While it’s not my personal favorite, I think The Academy will reward this film for it’s originality.

Best Actor

From the Heart: Chiwetel Ejiofor deserves this and I will honestly be upset if anyone else wins out over him.

From the Head: Public opinion can have a strong influence over any person or group, and The Academy is no exception. For this reason, I think that Leonardo DiCaprio might actually get that golden statue- not because he deserves it for this particular role, but because the internet has decided it is time for him to win.

Best Actress

From the Heart: I am unhappy with the situation that has come to light regarding Woody Allen, but I do believe that Cate Blanchett has the strongest performance out of this group.

From the Head: There are quite a few award show darlings in this category, and it is tough to decide where The Academy will go with this one. If American Hustle wins Best Picture, it might end up being Amy Adams’ time to shine.

Cavalcade- Best Picture Winner; 1933

The Basics – Cavalcade (1933) – Director, Frank Lloyd; starring Diana Wynyard, Clive Brook, Una O’Connor; Run Time – 112 mins. – Drama, Romance  “A cavalcade of English life from New Year’s Eve 1899 until 1933 seen through the eyes of well-to-do Londoners Jane and Robert Marryot.”

Prior Knowledge

Kristy – It’s about a British family, that’s all I know.

Koob – Once again, I saw this movie years ago but remember close to nothing about it except that it follows a British family through different events from turn of the century through World War I.

Fun Facts from IMDB

-Betty Grable, in one of her earliest film appearances played, with no screen credit, “Girl on couch.”

-The second most popular film of 1933.

 

-At present, this is the only Best Picture Oscar winner not to be available on DVD in the Region 1 territory. It can be bought as part of the 20th Century Fox 75th Anniversary Collection, but the studio has no plans to release it separately.

 

-The third war film within 6 years to win the Best Picture Academy Award, the others being Wings (1927) and All Quiet on the Western Front (1930).

 

-Has the fewest IMDb votes out of all Best Picture Oscar winners as of April 2013 (less than two thousand).

Grand Hotel- Best Picture WInner: 1932

The Basics – Grand Hotel (1932) – Director, Edmund Goulding; starring Greta Garbo, John Barrymore, Joan Crawford; Run Time – 112 mins. – Drama, Romance 

Prior Knowledge

Kristy – Once again, I know pretty much nothing about this classic flick. The lineup of stars is obviously stellar, though, so I am looking forward to the acting in this one.

Koob – Once again, I actually saw this movie around 15 or so years ago and don’t remember much about it other then that it’s about a bunch of lives and loves intersecting at a very glamorous hotel.  I think I also remember there being some comic relief even though it is listed as mainly a drama and a romance.  And of course it has the classic Greta Garbo line, “I vant to be alone.”

Fun Facts from IMDB

-There are no scenes where Greta Garbo and Joan Crawford are in the same frame. This was done to eliminate the possibility that one of the two great stars might upstage the other.

–Joan Crawford was irked by Greta Garbo‘s insistence on top billing and decided to take her revenge. Knowing that Garbo loathed tardiness and Marlene Dietrich in equal measures, Crawford played Dietrich records between shots and made sure to arrive late on set.

-The only Best Picture Oscar winner not to be nominated for any other Academy Awards.

-The original MGM Grand in Las Vegas (where Bally’s now stands) was built to resemble the design of this film.

Why Leo Doesn’t Deserve the Oscar

Good Morning Double Gobblers. Kristy here, and today we are going to narrow our focus a bit to discuss something that has been bubbling up on the internet for quite some time.

On Wednesday, we wrote about some talented actors and actresses who earned more than one Academy Award for their portrayals on the big screen. Today, we are going to talk about one actor who many believe to have been snubbed time and again for Oscar-worthy performances: Leonardo Dicaprio.

Yes, it’s true that when I was in 6th or 7th grade I owned a book similar to this: Leonardo Tear-out Photo Book. While I can’t deny that my young adult self started off as a fan girl for Leo, I would like to believe that my film tastes have matured over the years to look beyond his boyish smirk to see a really talented young actor emerge.

I appreciate many of DiCaprio’s films and I think he is one of the finest American actors of my generation. That being said,  I do not believe that the campaign for Leo to win an Oscar in 2014 is warranted (see this article for some over the top fan tweets campaigning for Leo’s Oscar win).

List of the 2014 Oscar Nominations

Alright Double Gobblers, here we go! The 2014 Academy Award Nominations are:

Best Picture

“American Hustle”
“Captain Phillips”
“Dallas Buyers Club”
“Gravity”
“Her”
“Nebraska”
“Philomena”
“12 Years A Slave”
“The Wolf of Wall Street”

Best Actor

Christian Bale, “American Hustle”
Bruce Dern, “Nebraska”
Leonardo DiCaprio, “The Wolf of Wall Street”
Chiwetel Ejiofor, “12 Years A Slave”
Matthew McConaughey, “Dallas Buyers Club”

Best Actress

Amy Adams, “American Hustle”
Cate Blanchett, “Blue Jasmine”
Sandra Bullock, “Gravity”
Judi Dench, “Philomena”
Meryl Streep, “August: Osage County”

Best Supporting Actor

Barkhad Abdi, “Captain Phillips”
Bradley Cooper, “American Hustle”
Michael Fassbender, “12 Years A Slave”
Jonah Hill, “The Wolf of Wall Street”
Jared Leto, “Dallas Buyers Club”

Best Supporting Actress

Sally Hawkins, “Blue Jasmine”
Jennifer Lawrence, “American Hustle”
Lupita Nyong’o, “12 Years A Slave”
Julia Roberts, “August: Osage County”
June Squibb, “Nebraska”

Click Below for Full List of Major Nominations

When Lightning Strikes Twice…

Winning an Oscar is an undeniable milestone is an actor’s career. For newer actors, it can open doors to amazing roles and for more seasoned professionals, winning can validate a long and challenging career.

It is widely believed that many of the award granting organizations, such as the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, have  favorite actors and actresses that tend to win out over others. While this may be true about nominations, in fact, it is still quite rare to win multiple Oscars in acting categories.

In total, there have only been 39 actors and actresses with more than one Oscar win for acting. This list includes such megastars as; Marlon Brando, Robert Deniro, Tom Hanks, Dustin Hoffman, Elizabeth Taylor, and Jessica Lange. Even more illustrious than winning two Oscars, is the rare feat of winning 3 or more. This club holds only 6 members to date; Katharine Hepburn, Ingrid Bergman, Walter Brennan, Jack Nicholson, Meryl Streep, and Daniel Day-Lewis.

While it is always fun to root for the under dog, it is nice to see some of the world’s most talented actors and actresses consistently rewarded for all of their hard work.

This year, there are quite a few actors and actresses expected to be nominated, and possibly join the “Multiple Oscars Club”;