Kirk Douglas 1916-2020

One of the last surviving movie stars of Hollywood’s Golden Age passed away at the age of 103 today. Kirk Douglas was a legendary screen star who left his mark with many iconic performances from the 1940’s through the 1960’s. Beginning with his film debut in The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946) and then Out of the Past (1948) as one of the great film noir villains opposite Robert Mitchum, he went on to star in classics like A Letter to Three Wives (1949). Champion (1949), Young Man With a Horn (1950), Ace in the Hole (1951), The Bad and the Beautiful (1952), Lust for Life (1956), Paths of Glory (1957), Spartacus (1960), Lonely Are the Brave (1962), and Seven Days in May (1964), among many more of course. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor three times (Champion, The Bad and the Beautiful and Lust for Life) but never won, except for a lifetime achievement Oscar in 1996. He was listed #17 on the AFI’s list of the greatest male screen legends, and his son Michael carried on the Douglas legacy with an iconic acting career of his own.

If you want to experience some of Kirk Douglas’s filmography, I’d recommend Stanley Kubrick’s Paths of Glory, my personal favorite:

A close second is The Bad and the Beautiful though, a must-see for every film lover:

2020 Oscar Predictions, Part 4: Acting

Acting winners today, who are all so locked it’s barely worth talking about.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

• Kathy Bates, Richard Jewell

• Laura Dern, Marriage Story

• Scarlett Johansson, Jojo Rabbit

• Florence Pugh, Little Women

• Margot Robbie, Bombshell

So honestly, all of these acting races are so locked up and so boring that I don’t even know how to assess them except to day, yup, one person swept every single precursor award (Critics Choice, Golden Globe, SAG and BAFTA), and anyone else winning any of these races would be a shock. This category is the only one where I can even see a possible alternate, and that’s ScarJo, because she got nominated twice this year, and Jojo Rabbit appears to be very beloved in the industry. But it’s Laura Dern’s to lose.

Winner: Laura Dern

Alternate: Scarlett Johansson 

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

• Tom Hanks, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

• Anthony Hopkins, The Two Popes

• Al Pacino, The Irishman

• Joe Pesci, The Irishman

• Brad Pitt, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Again, Brad won all the precursors, so it’s his and he’s also the only person in this category who doesn’t have an acting Oscar, so there you go.

Winner: Brad Pitt

Alternate: Joe Pesci (he was the critics favorite)

BEST ACTRESS

• Cynthia Erivo, Harriet

• Scarlett Johansson, Marriage Story

• Saoirse Ronan, Little Women

• Charlize Theron, Bombshell

• Renee Zellweger, Judy

Same story again. Renee Zellweger benefited from the physical transformation performance and no clear alternative for who else should win this, I suppose. Her story was kind of a comeback one too, so she’ll now have her second Oscar and first for lead.

Winner: Renee Zellweger

BEST ACTOR

• Antonio Banderas, Pain and Glory

• Leonardo DiCaprio, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

• Adam Driver, Marriage Story

• Joaquin Phoenix, Joker

• Jonathan Pryce, Joker

And of course, four time nominee Phoenix will finally win and become the second actor in the last decade to win an Oscar for playing the Joker, which is kind of insane. Is this Batman villain the new Hamlet? Cesar Romero really missed out.

Winner: Joaquin Phoenix

Alternate: Adam Driver (not much of a chance now, but he was a critics favorite at one point)

2020 Oscar Predictions, Part 3: Writing, Editing, Doc, Foreign & Animated Films

Moving on to part three today, where we have the all important screenplay and editing awards, as well as the separate feature categories for documentary, international (previously foreign-language) and animated films.

BEST FILM EDITING

• Ford v. Ferrari

• The Irishman

• Jojo Rabbit

• Joker 

• Parasite

Oof. I’m really wary on this one. Jojo Rabbit and Parasite won the guild but in different categories, while Ford v. Ferrari took the BAFTA for editing that’s obviously showier. Sometimes those win this category, so could it be Ford’s? I’m leaning towards it. BUT- if Parasite takes editing, that’s probably a big sign that it will pull off Best Picture. Because I’m not predicting that, I’m going with Ford, but if you want to predict Parasite in Best Picture, I would probably choose it here too.

Winner: Ford v. Ferrari

Alternate: Parasite 

Dark Horse: Jojo Rabbit

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

• American Factory

• The Cave

• The Edge of Democracy

• For Sama

• Honeyland

For Sama is the most popular documentary winner overseas by far, and the Brits love it. But I’m leaning towards American Factory, because it was produced by Barack and Michelle Obama and the Academy knows it (I don’t know if they would accept in person, but I know everyone with a ballot will know what they’re voting for).

Winner: American Factory

Alternate: For Sama

Dark Horse: Honeyland (this movie is also nominated in International Film, which is a first)

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

• How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World

• I Lost My Body

• Klaus

• Missing Link

• Toy Story 4

Now this to me is one of the most interesting categories of the night. Toy Story 4 won a lot of guild awards, but it’s lost at places like the Golden Globes, the Annies and the BAFTAS. Klaus came in at the last minute and won these last two- could that be the spoiler? There’s real resistance to awarding a sequel in this category, but is it widespread enough to survive a consensus vote from thousands of people, who may have only seen Toy Story 4 of these nominees? This is a coin toss to me.

Winner: Toy Story 4

Alternate: Klaus

Dark Horse: Missing Link

BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE

• Corpus Christi (Poland)

• Honeyland (North Macedonia)

• Les Miserables (France)

• Pain and Glory (Spain)

• Parasite (South Korea)

This one’s easy. Parasite has a real chance to take Best Picture, so of course it’s winning this. Actually no movie ever nominated for this award AND in Best Picture has ever lost this, so…there ya go.

Winner: Parasite

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

• The Irishman

• Jojo Rabbit

• Joker

• Little Women

• The Two Popes

Well, Little Women won the USC Scripter, which had an eight year streak of matching the winner of this category until last year, but with Jojo Rabbit taking both industry awards, the WGA and the BAFTA, it would be unwise not to predict it. 

Winner: Jojo Rabbit

Alternate: Little Women

Dark Horse: The Irishman (once considered a strong bet for this until people actually started voting)

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

• Knives Out

• Marriage Story

• 1917

• Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

• Parasite

I thought Quentin Tarantino, who won the Golden Globe and Critics Choice award, would win his third screenplay Oscar, but with Parasite taking the WGA (where Tarantino wasn’t eligible), but also facing off against Once Upon a Time in Hollywood at BAFTA and beating it there, I feel it will win the Oscar too. Still…it’s a close one.

Winner: Parasite

Alternate: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Dark Horse: Marriage Story

2020 Oscar Predictions, Part 2: Cinematography, Costumes, Production Design, Makeup & Music

More techs today. There are some 50/50 ones in here, but I think most of them are pretty secure. The biggest question mark for me on this one is song, actually.

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

• 1917

• The Irishman

• Joker

• The Lighthouse

• Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

No suspense on this one. Roger Deakins won the guild (ASC) and the BAFTA, so it’s a lock for 1917, which could turn out to be quite the sweeper (rare in recent years).

Winner: 1917

BEST MAKEUP & HAIRSTYLING

• Bombshell

• Joker

• Judy

• 1917

• Maleficent: Mistress of Evil

Bombshell won both the guild and the BAFTA, so I don’t think this one is in doubt either. Transforming Charlize Theron’s face into Megyn Kelly’s was too impressive.

Winner: Bombshell

Alternate: Joker (this is a BP nominee with obvious showy makeup, so it could happen)

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

• Jojo Rabbit

• Joker

• Little Women

• Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

• The Irishman

Now this one’s harder. Jojo Rabbit won the guild, and Little Women wasn’t even nominated there, but it did take the BAFTA award for costumes. Little Women’s costumes are the more traditional winner in this category, and I do think they’re showier than Jojo’s, although that one is a period piece too. I think it’s close, but this will be Little Women’s only Oscar.

Winner: Little Women

Alternate: Jojo Rabbit

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

• 1917

• The Irishman

• Jojo Rabbit

• Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

• Parasite

Another slightly tough one- Once Upon a Time has the guild, 1917 got BAFTA. I think Once Upon a Time will prevail here though- 1917 won’t win everything and the 1960’s Hollywood recreation was so memorable. 

Winner: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Alternate: 1917

Dark Horse: Parasite (also a guild winner in contemporary art direction)

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

• Joker

• Little Women

• Marriage Story

• 1917

• Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

There’s no guild for music, but Joker seems to be the frontrunner. It won both the Golden Globe and the BAFTA. I don’t personally remember the score in it much and thought some of these were clearly better (like Marriage Story), but I guess it’s Joker’s. Coincidentally it will be the first time a female composer has won this category in over twenty years, so that’s cool.

Winner: Joker

Alternate: 1917 (Composer Thomas Newman is overdue here)

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

• “I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away,” Toy Story 4 (Randy Newman)

• “I’m Gonna Love Me Again,” Rocketman (Elton John & Bernie Taupin)

• “I’m Standing With You,” Breakthrough (Diane Warren)

• “Into the Unknown,” Frozen 2 (Robert Lopez & Kristen Anderson-Lopez)

• “Stand Up,” Harriet (Joshuah Brian Campbell & Cynthia Erivo)

I thought Elton John would take this walking away, but since the Academy seems to have barely seen Rocketman, now I wonder. Could it go to the song from Harriet, making Cynthia Erivo an EGOT winner? Maybe, but I still think John is likelier. There’s no big hit this year, so it’s uncertain.

Winner: “I’m Gonna Love Me Again”

Alternate: “Stand Up”

2020 Oscar Predictions, Part 1: Shorts, VFX and Sound

It’s that time of year again, even if this time it’s a few weeks earlier than usual. As always, we start with the technical awards, combining the precursor winners with Academy overlap, which are the industry guild and BAFTA winners, to make the best guess (although the shorts are a crapshoot because this year I haven’t seen any of them). 

BEST SOUND EDITING

• Ford v. Ferrari

• Joker

• 1917

• Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

• Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

So. We start with sound, where Ford v. Ferrari won the guild, and 1917 won the BAFTA. I think war movies win this category, so I will go with 1917 for both.

Winner: 1917

Alternate: Ford v. Ferrari

BEST SOUND MIXING

• Ad Astra

• Ford v. Ferrari

• Joker

• 1917

• Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Same rationale as editing. The guild went to Ford, BAFTA was 1917- and really for these it’s just safe to predict one movie for both (if you want to pick Ford, I would also suggest choosing it for both)

Winner: 1917

Alternate: Ford v. Ferrari

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

• Avengers: Endgame

• The Irishman

• The Lion King

• 1917

• Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

This one I’m really unsure. The truth is it usually goes to Best Picture nominees if there is one. The Lion King won the guild award, and 1917 won the BAFTA. So…I think I’m going to go ahead and trust that BP stat.

Winner: 1917

Alternate: The Lion King

Dark Horse: The Irishman

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT

• In the Absence

• Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You’re a Girl)

• Life Overtakes Me

• St. Louis Superman

• Walk Run Cha-Cha

I confess, this year I have seen none of the shorts. From what I’ve heard though, the buzz in this category is with Learning to Skateboard (which also won the BAFTA). So I’m choosing that one. (I half think its title alone will attract votes)

Winner: Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If Your’e a Girl)

Alternate: St. Louis Superman

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT

• Brotherhood

• Nefta Football Club

• The Neighbor’s Widow

• Sariahs

• A Sister

This is the one I’ve heard the least about. It’s gonna have to be a wild guess- leaning towards Brotherhood.

Winner: Brotherhood

Alternate: The Neighbor’s Widow

BEST ANIMATED SHORT

• Dcera (Daughter)

• Hair Love

• Kitbull

• Memorable

• Sister

I’ve heard everyone loves Hair Love and will be disappointed if it loses. I think it will win.

Winner: Hair Love

Alternate: Kitbull

'1917' Sweeps the BAFTAS

Unsurprisingly, 1917 dominated the BAFTAS today, even winning Best Film AND Best British Film, which is usually split. The winners of the tech categories at BAFTA can often signal upsets to come at the Oscars though- so due to winning this and the WGA last night, I think both Jojo Rabbit and Parasite are nearly locked for the screenplay awards. This puts Parasite in a strong position to upset 1917 on the preferential ballot if it goes to a recount, but with that powerful DGA/PGA combination, 1917 is the heavy favorite to come out on top, perhaps even in the first round. Klaus also won animated film here, after the Annie last week, so that’s a real possible upset too. We’ve got some differing winners in the guilds in places like costumes, visual effects, production design, editing and sound, so I’m gonna have to make some guesses for my official predictions this week.

2020 BAFTA WINNERS

Best Film
1917
Outstanding British Film
1917

Leading Actress
Renée Zellweger – Judy

Director
Sam Mendes – 1917

Film Not In The English Language
Parasite

Supporting Actor
Brad Pitt – Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood

Original Screenplay
Parasite – Han Jin Won, Bong Joon-Ho

Adapted Screenplay
Jojo Rabbit – Taika Waititi

Supporting Actress
Laura Dern – Marriage Story

Cinematography
1917

Editing
Le Mans ’66 (Ford v. Ferrari)

Production Design
1917

Original Score
Joker

Costume Design
Little Women

Sound
1917

Special Visual Effects
1917

Make Up & Hair
Bombshell

Casting
Joker

Animated Film
Klaus

Documentary
For Sama

Outstanding Debut By A British Writer, Director Or Producer
Bait

British Short Animation
Grandad Was A Romantic

British Short Film
Learning To Skateboard In A Warzone (If You’re A Girl)

Rising Star Award
Micheal Ward

Acting winners are virtually locked in all four categories- a clean sweep of the precursors for all of them

'Jojo Rabbit' and 'Parasite' Take Top WGA Awards

Hey! Take back what I said about Little Women being the frontrunner for the Adapted Screenplay Oscar. That now shifts most definitely to Jojo Rabbit, which is having quite a guild run, beating out Once Upon a Time in Hollywood at ACE and CDG, and now taking the last major guild award, the Writers Guild, for itself. The movie is clearly beloved in the industry and is not going home empty-handed on Oscar night. A screenplay award is the most above the line category it can take (unless it’s a stealth contender for a Best Picture upset on the preferential ballot, which it may well be- it does have that DGA nod, remember). And Parasite becomes the first foreign-language film to win original screenplay here, making its own guild run just as strong (SAG, ACE and WGA). But it has to go up against Once Upon a Time in Hollywood at the Oscars in this category, and that is going to be really close. I’m thinking 50/50 right now.

2020 WGA WINNERS

• Adapted Screenplay: Jojo Rabbit

• Original Screenplay: Parasite

Tonight was also the last guild award for art direction (or production design). Once Upon a Time in Hollywood took the major win there in the period category, where it is also expected to prevail on Oscar night. Tomorrow we see if the BAFTAS throw a wrench in any of the technical categories or signal a possible upset in acting races.

2020 ADG WINNERS

The recreation of 1960’s Hollywood in Tarantino’s movie is highly lauded

• Production Design in a Period Film: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

• Production Design in a Contemporary Film: Parasite

• Production Design in a Fantasy Film: Avengers: Endgame

• Production Design in an Animated Film: Toy Story 4

Visual Effects Society Anoints 'The Lion King'

The visual effects guild had its say tonight, giving The Lion King its top award. Usually this one goes to a Best Picture nominee at the Oscars, so maybe that favors The Irishman, but who knows? The Lion King was really an animated movie (frankly the VES should have considered it one) and all the movie is is its effects, so I suppose that could win out.

2020 VES WINNERS

• Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature: The Lion King

• Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature: The Irishman

• Outstanding Visual Effects in an Animated Feature: Missing Link

Lightning Round Reviews 2019: January, Part 2

So, I lied about this being my last batch of 2019 reviews. I had to split it in two, so my actual final group will be out in a couple of weeks, but my top ten list will probably be out before then, because now I have seen all the movies I wanted to see from last year- I just haven’t finished reviewing them. So look for my top ten next week, and for this week the movie I’d recommend is Uncut Gems, even though it’s probably not for everyone and I can well imagine some people hating it. Still, it’s worth seeing for sure.

KLAUS * * * (Dir. Sergio Pablos)

Always room for a good Christmas movie to emerge

It’s always nice to run into unexpected surprises, and Klaus is a charmingly pleasant little debut from Sergio Pablos, who worked at Disney during the 1990’s renaissance era and has now started his own animation studio run out of Madrid, Spain. Jason Schwartzman voices Jesper, a wealthy, overly privileged, ne’er do well son of a postmaster general, whose father sends him to Smeerensberg, practically the ends of the earth, and tells him he’s basically exiled until he can post 6000 letters from its inhabitants. So a miserable Jesper tries to figure out how he can con these people into using the postal service, runs into Klaus (J.K. Simmons) a mysterious woodsman/toymaker, and lo and behold, the various Santa myths begin to take root as children start writing letters to the toy man and he and Jesper team up to deliver them in the middle of the night so that the town’s feuding families don’t catch on to the joy being brought to their kids (who are raised to be lifelong enemies, ala Hatfields and McCoys). The movie is quite amusing, with a quirky sense of humor and moves along at a brisk pace, with a 2D digital animation style that’s highly refreshing in an age of constant CGI from most American animation studios. It’s easy to see it becoming a holiday staple actually, since the gold standard for “origin of Santa” movies is probably Rankin-Bass’ 1970 TV movie Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town, with Fred Astaire as the mailman/narrator. Which is to say, there’s definitely room for more here, and now we’ve got one.

WAVES * * * (Dir. Trey Edward Schults)

Family pressure leads to a boiling point

Waves is a tragedy, a universal story of loss that happens to one family and can happen to any of us. Kelvin Harrison, Jr. stars as Tyler, a high school senior and wrestler, who faces enormous pressure from his overly stern father (Sterling K. Brown) to accomplish high achievements in everything, from school to sports to after school work for his parents’ business. He says he’s hard on his son because he has to be, because he must be ten times better than everyone to be recognized as equal. But Ty feels nothing but the weight of criticism and pressure, not love or affection. It drives him to keep secrets when things go wrong, when his life, which was headed in one direction is suddenly upended and falls at full speed in another. Director Trey Edward Schults takes his visual storytelling cues from Barry Jenkins, whose films Moonlight and If Beale Street Could Talk are experienced through feeling and emotion over dialogue and plot conventions. Waves is done in a similar fashion, until the halfway point, when a sudden tragedy shakes the family and changes their lives forever. At that point the story changes, and is now told from a new perspective, that of Tyler’s little sister Emily (Taylor Russell), only glimpsed in the background in family scenes during the first half. This abrupt change is jarring and asks you to essentially start the movie over from a new point of view, thus losing quite a bit of momentum, which had built significantly through following Tyler’s life. It’s interesting as an experiment in storytelling, but not as involving as it when it began.

BOMBSHELL * * 1/2 (Dir. Jay Roach)

The women of Fox News take down predator boss Roger Ailes

Bombshell might be reasonably entertaining if it was airing on HBO, but even then it leaves a lot to be desired. Jay Roach (who in fact directed both Recount and Game Change for HBO), decides with this material that he wants to ape the style of Adam McKay, and goes back and forth from a kind of satiric tone where characters occasionally talk directly to the camera while random cameos from Fox News on-air personalities drop in every three minutes, to a more serious one, as the crimes of Fox CEO Roger Ailes were too horrific to gloss over with satire. The result is a muddled, uneven film that benefits from a couple of really strong performances from Charlize Theron as Megyn Kelly and John Lithgow as Roger Ailes. Theron in particular really disappears into character, dropping her voice an octave and changing her speech pattern, while also being given prosthetics that change her face shape to resemble Megyn Kelly’s, and Lithgow is is believable and funny as the old creep still preying on women at every chance. Nicole Kidman plays Gretchen Carlson, who initiates the takedown of Ailes when she’s fired and decides to sue him personally for sexual harassment, an act which caused dozens of other women to come forward against him, including Kelly. The movie keeps the focus on Ailes and doesn’t delve much into the culture of Fox News, which was created partially as a propaganda arm of the Republican party, but also (perhaps even 50%) as a feeding trough for predators like him and many other men to hire women who look a certain way, will say certain things and do certain things for the betterment of their careers. The movie could take a much deeper and harder look into the willingness of women who want to work at Fox in the first place, women who want to spew racist and sexist propaganda without being harassed at work while doing it. Of course, bringing up those hypocrisies will not allow for a completely heroic portrayal of the women who finally brought Ailes down after decades of this behavior. Theron comes closest to giving Megyn Kelly shades of villainy in her indifference to other women who’ve been harassed, as her sole interest seems to be in furthering her own ambitions, but the inclusion of Margot Robbie as a fictionalized composite of women who worked at Fox suffers from wildly varying characterization from scene to scene, first as a crazed evangelical, then as a supportive bisexual, then as a tearful scolder of Megyn Kelly for not protecting women. Who is this person? It distracts from the story of the actual public figures and makes no sense in the movie at all.

UNCUT GEMS * * * 1/2 (Dir. Josh and Benny Safdie)

A kinetic ride through NYC’s underbelly

The Safdie Brothers direct the pure, adrenaline fueled Uncut Gems as a shock to the system, one that never lets up or lets you out of your seat until it’s over. It’s a manic energy rush, with Adam Sandler delivering the kind of knockout performance you’d have never thought he was really capable of. This is a seedy, dirty movie, one about the underbelly of a certain criminal subsection of New York City- a jewelry store owner in debt up to his eyeballs from gambling and one who’s constantly conning everyone he talks to, from his customers to his family members and his colleagues. That’s Howard Ratner (Sandler), an obviously wealthy man whose life is in constant flux, who’s divorcing his wife and having trouble with his girlfriend, who wants to make a big sale to an NBA player (Kevin Garnett) and make millions betting on his game. He bought a rare black opal that was smuggled into the country from Ethiopia and passes it around from Garnett to a high priced auction, all while being targeted by bookies set on collecting from him what they’re owed. This high stress, anxiety riddled situation places him in a blender of conflicting clashes with all kinds of malcontented characters who come in and out of the screen, leaving no time or room for you to catch your breath. Sandler is fantastic as an amoral, self-destructive guy who you’re not exactly rooting for but can’t take your eyes off of, but the real star is the filmmaking, as if the Safdies directed a modern day version of Jules Dassin’s Night and the City on uppers. It’s a chest-pounding, immersive experience that leaves you feeling spent, but it’s also unshakeable. 

Costume Designers Guild Announces Winners

Oddly, only two Oscar nominees for costumes made it into the guild’s nominations this year, and that was Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and Jojo Rabbit in the period category. There, Jojo prevailed, but it’ll be up against Little Women at the Oscars, which is the more traditional costume winner (historically, anyway). I’ll have to see what BAFTA does before I predict this one.

2020 CDG WINNERS

Excellence in Contemporary Film: Knives Out
Excellence in Period Film: Jojo Rabbit
Excellence in Sci-Fi / Fantasy Film: Maleficent: Mistress of Evil

'Little Women' Wins the Scripter; 'Ford v. Ferrari' and '1917' Take CAS and ASC Awards

There were quite a few guild awards given out last night. One of them wasn’t a guild, but it was the highly predictive USC Scripter award, which pretty much always ends up going to the winner of the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar. That went to Greta Gerwig for Little Women, which puts her in a good spot to win her first Oscar for screenwriting.

CINEMA AUDIO SOCIETY

More sound awards for Ford v. Ferrari from the guilds

The CAS also gave its top prize for sound mixing to Ford v. Ferrari, which just got the sound editing prize last weekend. I know I said bet on 1917 for both sound awards, and the truth is I still think that. The sound people prefer Ford v. Ferrari obviously, but when it’s thousands of non-sound specialists voting at the Oscars, I still think the war movie wins out.

AMERICAN SOCIETY OF CINEMATOGRAPHERS

Roger Deakins’s cinematography is not to be denied

To no one’s surprise, the ASC gave its top honor to Roger Deakins for his work on 1917, which IS going to go on to win the Oscar too, I’m sure. The cinematography is eye-catching and undeniable.

'Klaus' Dominates the Annies With 7 Wins

Wow. This is a surprise. The Netflix origin-of-Santa movie Klaus, nearly swept the Annies last night with 7 wins, while presumed Oscar frontrunner Toy Story 4 was shut out. This is yet another sign of awards bodies not wanting to give awards to a sequel (remember, the Golden Globes didn’t, and I’m guessing neither will BAFTA). I still don’t know what this means for the Oscars in this category- it seems ripe for an upset, but don’t forget, the Annies are only animators voting. If only animators were voting for the Oscars, I have no doubt that Toy Story 4 wouldn’t win. But the Oscars are a consensus vote of thousands of people, most of whom have nothing to do with animation, so my question is- have enough of them even seen the other nominees besides Toy Story? In other words, what’s the alternative? Could Klaus pull off the win, because it’s Netflix and more people watched it at home over the holidays? Maybe. But I’m not sure yet. The Annies have occasionally deviated from the Oscar winner in the past as well.

2020 ANNIE AWARD WINNERS

• Animated Feature: Klaus

• Animated Independent Feature: I Lost My Body

• Animated Short Subject: Uncle Thomas: Accounting for the Days

• Animated Effects: Frozen 2

• Character Animation: Klaus

• Character Animation in Live-Action: Avengers: Endgame

• Character Design: Klaus

• Directing: Sergio Pablos, Klaus

• Music: I Lost My Body

• Production Design: Klaus

• Storyboarding: Klaus

• Voice Acting: Josh Gad (Olaf); Frozen 2

• Writing: I Lost My Body

• Editorial: Klaus