Oscars post mortem

It's the day after the show. Let's put this thing to bed, shall we?

Here are the winners:

Picture: The Shape of Water
Actor: Gary Oldman
Actress: Frances McDormand
Actor in a Supporting Role: Sam Rockwell
Actress in a Supporting Role: Allison Janney
Directing: Guillermo del Toro
Animated Feature: Coco
Animated Short: Dear Basketball
Adapted Screenplay: Call Me By Your Name
Original Screenplay: Get Out
Cinematography: Blade Runner 2049
Documentary Feature: Icarus
Documentary Short: Heaven is a Traffic Jam on the 405
Live Action Short: The Silent Child
Foreign Language Film: A Fantastic Woman
Film Editing: Dunkirk
Sound Editing: Dunkirk
Sound Mixing: Dunkirk
Production Design: The Shape of Water
Original Score: The Shape of Water
Original Song: Remember Me
Makeup and Hairstyling: Darkest Hour
Costume Design: Phantom Thread
Visual Effects: Blade Runner 2049

My predictions

I got 18/24. Other than Best Picture it wasn't the most difficult year to predict. But there were possibilities for upsets in Original Screenplay, Editing, Visual Effects, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing. I got all of those right. Thank goodness. Had I missed them I would have had an all time low instead of a respectable if not stellar 18.

Picture

For the third year in a row, I missed the Best Picture win. I will say this about choosing "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri." I had an opportunity to stand up for my belief that it is a very good film. I think the film actually stands a chance now that it didn't win, compared to the onslaught of hate it would've have received today and beyond.

I said that I wouldn't go against the SAG stat (something I did two years in a row), and I didn't. The SAG stat went down. This year, the PGA was more telling than any of the other stats. "Three Billboards" was the more divisive choice, and the PGA's preferential ballot gave us a warning. 

I have said for months that Best Picture was down to "Three Billboards" and "The Shape of Water," and I still believe I was right. My friend Amy and I were chatting about the fact that I was one of the first people to switch to "The Shape of Water" earlier in the race, but I switched back over to "Three Billboards" after the BAFTA. Maybe even before.  Passion wins with a plurality ballot, but divisive doesn't win with the preferential one. 

I wish I had seen "The Shape of Water" one more time. Next year, I won't make that mistake.

Screenplay 

The 90s are back! My two favorite films settled for Original Screenplay wins. Unlike the 90s, I wasn't terribly upset. I was so happy to see James Ivory win for "Call Me By Your Name" wearing Elio's face on his tux shirt. Jordan Peele winning for "Get Out" was the category many thought he would have to settle for in nominations alone. Not the case. Check out both speeches:

Acting categories

In an unpredictable race, the predictable won. Frances McDormand, Allison Janney, Sam Rockwell and Gary Oldman continued the streak that began with the Golden Globe Awards. I'm not sure the Academy sees the Chalamet loss as the great calamity that I do, but here's hoping they nominate him again, and soon. I wonder if his role in "Beautiful Boy" will be more of a supporting part. I think he would stand more of a chance in that category. Either way, let's push him for the win. 

What were they thinking

The Academy made two big blunders and one minor one. Awarding the subpar "Dear Basketball" the animated short prize is nothing short of absurd. Many people predicted it, but I could not, instead going with the brilliant "Garden Party." My thinking? This is the Academy that awarded "Moonlight" best picture. Yeah...but this is the same Academy that awarded "The King's Speech" Best Picture. Must always keep that in mind. 

And then there's "Original Song." For the 2nd year in a row, they honored a lesser song to the one that blew the roof off the show. People on Twitter seem to be quite moved by "Remember Me," but I am completely unimpressed. Lopez x 2 wrote a very lackluster song, and with the win gave Robert Lopez a double EGOT. The first ever.

I will spare you the terrible "Remember Me" performance and give you Sufjan Stevens and Keala Settle instead.

Keala Settle's Oscar performance

Back to taste...the minor blunder happened in Documentary Feature with "Icarus." I felt similarly as I did with animated short that the Academy would have to award the artistry of "Faces Places" over the timeliness of "Icarus." I was wrong.

The other shorts

In addition to missing Animated short, I was wrong about Live Action and Documentary Short. I predicted the very timely and fantastic "DeKalb Elementary" (Live Action) and the safe and sentimental "Eddie+Edith." The Academy chose well with "The Silent Child" and "Heaven is a Traffic Jam on the 405." No arguments there. I've been wrong about all 3 shorts two years in a row. Next year, I might think a bit outside of my initial thoughts.

The show itself

It was a good show. One thing I love about Jimmy Kimmel hosting is that he absolutely brings his voice/tone to the show. Everyone is talking about how Tiffany Haddish and Maya Rudolph should host thanks to their few minutes of delight.  This happens every year...sure it worked with Tina Fey/Amy Poehler with the Globes, but this is the Oscars, and a Haddish/Rudolph hosting would be a disaster. Luckily our memories are short with this sort of thing.

#metoo was front and center throughout the night. Having three of the women who were brave enough to come out on the record against Harvey in the NY Times present was great as was the video segment dedicated to inclusion. 

 Speaking of inclusion...check out the best speech of the night..."Inclusion rider?" Heck yeah!

Last words

It's hard to believe that it's over. But thank goodness it's over. Oscar is 90, and I feel 90. I'm so very happy to have covered this race, and I believe that the Academy did a very good job with both nominations and wins. They (and I!) can't get everything right. 

Thanks for staying with me on the journey. There will be a hiatus. 

I do plan to see "Black Panther," "Red Sparrow," and "Wrinkle in Time," over the next few weeks. And if I have the energy, you'll see my revisit of "The Godfather" at Awards Daily in the next week or so.

I wonder if 2018 will bring about two films as good as "Get Out" and "Call Me By Your Name." I don't believe it happened at Sundance, that's almost certain. That being said...I am hopeful. 

In the words of Daniela Vega, who made history as the first openly transgender presenter in Oscar history--

"Open your heart and your feelings to feel reality, to feel love.

Can you feel it?"

I feel it. Thanks again. #teamshouldwin