Oscar Predictions, 2006

Here's some uneducated guesses at the noms and the winners for the 2006 Academy Awards.  I'll post this right now and after having watched a couple more of the nominated flicks, there will be an update. 

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS - Rachel Weisz, "The Constant Gardener" or Michelle Williams, "Brokeback Mountain"  Rachel's the safe bet, but Michelle Williams gave one heck of a performance. She had me at "Jack Nasty."

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR - George Clooney, "Syriana"  Jake Gyllenhaal's too young to win just yet and it seems to be Clooney's year.  I wouldn't be surprised if Paul Giamatti pulled one out with Cinderella Man this year.  He's a fine, fine actor.

BEST ACTRESS - Felicity Huffman, "Transamerica" or Reese Witherspoon, "Walk the Line"  Felicity and Reese both won the award, but I pick Reese with her charming portrayal of a much-loved June Carter-Cash.

BEST ACTOR - Philip Seymour Hoffman, "Capote"  As much as I loved Heath Ledger's performance in "Brokeback," PHS will battle this one out with Joaquin Phoenix for best biographic portrayal of the year.  Capote, being the much larger-than-life character than the Man in Black takes it.

BEST DIRECTOR - Ang Lee, "Brokeback Mountain"  Spielberg is a perennial favorite, but the understated direction of "Brokeback" deserves this honor.  Anyone want to see "Munich" with me?

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY - Woody Allen, "Match Point"  I'm going to say the Academy gives Woody the award, even though he won't be there.

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY - Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana, "Brokeback Mountain"  There are moments in this film where you wonder how anyone could capture such intensity and tragedy from a fictional story.  "Syriana" is very complex, but along with "Munich," too controversial to get the nod.

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM - "Paradise Now" (Palestine)  I'm going to chump out and go with the Golden Globe winner.  Haven't seen any of them, so it's a safe bet.

BEST ANIMATED FILM - "Howl's Moving Castle," Hayao Miyazaki  As much as I love Aardman, Studio Ghibli is the best there is at the art form.

BEST PICTURE - I'm going to reserve this one for when I see more of these pictures.  "Munich" is still on my list of movies to see.

BEST ART DIRECTION - "Memoirs of a Geisha," Art Direction: John Myhre; Set Decoration: Gretchen Rau.  There wasn't a movie that was more theatrical than this one.  "Goblet of Fire" was almost as lush as Pride and Prejudice, but Memoirs achieved a classic feel to pre and post World War II Japan.

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY - "Brokeback Mountain," Rodrigo Prietort Elswit or "Memoirs of a Geisha," Dion Beebe.  Two of the prettiest movies of the last year.  "Memoirs" edges this one out since there are some scenes in "Brokeback" that I felt were too staged to appear natural.

BEST COSTUME DESIGN - "Memoirs of a Geisha," Colleen Atwood.  Again, I might change my answer if I ever catch Pride and Prejudice, but there's some stunning work done on this film.

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE - "March of the Penguins," Luc Jacquet and Yves Darondeau.  The most compelling and most talked about documentary of the last year.  I believe it's one of a new crop that's really rejuvenated the long form doc.

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT - "God Sleeps in Rwanda," Kimberlee Acquaro and Stacy Sherman.  Going with the international subject here.  I don't know much about the movie, but it's a safe bet.

BEST FILM EDITING - "The Constant Gardener," Claire Simpson.  I have yet to see it, but have great faith it will win more than one Academy Award.  People love the international epic.

BEST MAKEUP - "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," Howard Berger and Tami Lane.  Star Wars has already won a bunch, but what I've seen from this film looks astounding.

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE - "Memoirs of a Geisha," John Williams.  Mr. Williams wins again.

BEST ORIGINAL SONG - Having not heard any of these songs or seen any of the movies, there's no way I can form a decent opinion.

BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM - "9," Shane Acker.  Sounds Artsy, doesn't the Academy like artsy?

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM - Second verse, same as the first.

BEST SOUND EDITING - "King Kong," Mike Hopkins and Ethan Van der Ryn.  "Kong's" got to win something and my bet's on most of the technical awards.

BEST SOUND MIXING - "King Kong," Christopher Boyes, Michael Semanick, Michael Hedges and Hammond Peek.  Same as the last assumption, you really have to see this movie to appreciate the technicality of it all.

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS - "King Kong," Joe Letteri, Brian Van't Hul, Christian Rivers and Richard Taylor.  WETA does it again with their home film.  Although they worked on "Narnia" as well, this one's chock-full of the most seamless effects I've seen all year.

Once I get a few more Netflix or stop by the super saver, I'll have a much more thorough run-down.