Page 9
Oscar watchdogs take their shot
at picking the Academy Awards
By Gerry Beltz and Jeff Randall
Senior Reporter and Senior Editor
It’s that time of year again, and
thankfully, it’s not a year of “Forrest
Gump and the other four nominees.”
There arc several strong contenders in
all of the major categories this year,
and “Bravchcart” leads the pack with
10 nominations.
Sadly, many films were nearly ig
nored, i f not forgotten altogether. “The
Usual Suspects” garnered only one
major nomination, and fine films such
as “Clockers,” “Seven” and “The
American President” got the shall.
And on an even more important
note, the Academy dumped David
Lctterman as its master of ceremonies.
That’s right, the man who got Barry
White to say “Do you wanna buy a
monkey?” is out and Whoopi Goldberg
is in. Oh well...
Despite the ignorance of the Acad
emy in some regards, we at the Daily
Nebraskan still plan on watching
Monday’s ceremonies. And, of course,
we have our own opinions regarding
who will win what in the major catego
ries. This year’s self-appointed Oscar
watchdojgs are Gerry Beltz, film critic
extraordinaire,and Jeff Randall,apart
time critic who just really likes mov
ies.
So, without further ado, this year’s
picks.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Jeff: Don’t believe the hype; this
definitely was not the Year of the
Woman. The fact that Joan Allen and
Kathleen Quinlan were nominated for
two roles that basically consisted of
crying over their husbands1 is proof of
that. Nobody saw “Georgia” (well,
nobody in Lincoln did) and Mira
Sorvino’s role doesn’t have a univer
sal appeal. I’ll go with Kate Winslet in
“Sense and Sensibility,” just to play it
safe.
Gerry: Nobody saw Marc
Winningham, and Quinlan’s role
wasn’t that outstanding, so that’s two
down. The other three make it a very
tight race, but Sorvino takes third for
playing a prostitute and Allen loses
out for being in an Oliver Stone film.
Winslet takes home the statue.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Jeff: This one is tough. There’s a
whole bunch of talent, and that talent
happens to reside in some of the year’s
best films. Brad Pitt faltered at the end
of “ 12 Monkeys,” Tim Roth was good
in what amounted to an average film,
Ed Harris sat around most of the lime
and James Cromwell ... yeah, right.
Give it to Keyser—er, Kevin Spaccy
in “The Usual Suspects.”
Gerry: First, let’s kick out the pig
film guy to get this into a serious stand
ing category. Pitt hasn’t paid his dues,
and his role was too off-the-wall for
the Academy. I’ll also kick out Roth
for a great performance in an average
film (good call, Jeff!). Between Harris
and Spacey, I’ll go with Spaccy.
Granted, Harris has paid his dues, but
this will be the Academy’s token “sur
proE^ winner, for the-younger genera
tion (not to mention that he deserves
it).
BEST ACTRESS
JcfT: I’d really like to see Elisabeth
Shue win. But her role was a bit too
gritty to grab it. “Bridges” was a bit too
far back for anybody to remember.
Emma Thompson and Meryl Streep
both have won tot) much already, and
their respective performances weren’t
great when compared with their past
work. I’ll give it to Susan Sarandon,
although I’ve got this sick feeling that
Sharon Stone might actually sneak up
lor the steal. Go figure.
Gerry: Hey, Sharon, does the name
“Custer” ringa bell? Don’t worry about
having a speech ready. Thompson
hasn’t a chance, but she’ll get Best
Adapted Screenplay. I’ll agree with
my partner-in-crime on the Shue issue,
and Streep has already proved herself
in the past. Sarandon will finally take
home her little gold dude, after an
exorbitantly long speech.
BEST ACTOR
Jeff: Richard Drey fuss was a bit too
sappy, and Anthony Hopkins was a bit
too slimy. In a year when the Academy
is once again under fire for real or
imagined racist tendencies, Sean
Penn’s white supremacist character in
“Dead Man Walking” could be too hot
to handle. Massimo Troisi would have
had a good chance i f he didn ’ t have the
doubly bad fortune of dying AND be
ing in a foreign film. Give ittoNicolas,
who also happened to turn in the best
performance.
Gerry: Drey fuss would be nice, but
he won’t win it. Hopkins, possibly. He
had a good performance, but he also
had more make-up than Tammy Faye.
Massimo is dead, so his chances got
buried with him. Close race in the
scum roles for Cage and Penn, but
Cage has been paying his dues (and
didn’t marry Madonna), so I’ll give
the nod to him. (Oh yeah, he deserves
it, too.)
BEST DIRECTOR
Jeff: “Bravehciart” just wasn’t that
good, “Babe” faces the curse of being
a comedy and Michael Radford’s “The
Postman” doesn’t have that mysteri
ous Oscar quality about it. As far as
I’m concerned, this is a two-man race
between Mike Figgisand Tim Robbins.
Both films are incredibly dark and
don’t end too happily. But I’ll give the
edge to Figgis because he didn’t hire
his “life partner” to star in his film. Oh,
yeah, and “Leaving Las Vegas” was
just plain great.
Gerry: No, Jeff, this is a THREE
man race; you missed Mel Gibson! He
has a very good shot as a matter of fact,
because the Old Timers Academy still
has a problem with that free-minded
Robbins and perverse Mike Figgis.
Good calls on Noonan and Radford,
though. I’ll go with Gibson. Figgis’
film was just too dark for the Acad
emy, and Robbins would give a longer
speech than Sarandon will. Noonan
directed a pig, ‘nuff said.
See PICKS on 10
Photo courtesy of United Artists Inc.
Nicolas Cage’s performance in “Leaving Las Vegas” already has earned him an armload of awards,
and he’s the gamblers’ favorite for Best Actor in tonight’s Academy Awards presentation.
Oscar
Ncminees
Ceremony to be held Monday
8 p.m. on ABC
Best Supporting Actress
Joan Allen "Nixon"
Mira Sorvino "Mighty Aphrodite"
Kate Winslet "Sense and Sensibility"
Kathleen Quinlan "Apollo 13"
Mare Winningham "Georgia"
Best Supporting Actor
Brad Pitt "12 Monkeys"
Tim Roth "Rob Roy"
Kevin Spacey "The Usual Suspects"
Ed Harris "Apollo 13"
James Cromwell "Babe" J.
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Best Actress
Elisabeth Shue "Leavini
Susan Sarandon "Dead Man Waj
Meryl Streep "The Bridges of Madison County"
Sharon Stone "Casino11
Emma Thompson "Sense and Sensibility"
Best Actor 1
Nicolas Cage "Leaving Las
Richard Dreyfuss "Mr. Holland's Opus"
Anthony Hopkins "Nixon" *<
Sean Penn "Dead Man Walking"
Massimo Troisi "The Postman”
Best Director |
Chris Noonan "Babe"
Tim Robbins "Dead Man Walking"
Mel Gibson "Braveheart"
Mike Figgis "Leaving Las Vegas”
fail
Michael Radford "
Best Picture
"Babe"
"Apollo
"Braveheart"
"The Postman”
"Sense and Sensibility"
_:_ _
