The O-town Scene - Oneonta, NY
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OSCAR Picks by ADRIENNE WISE Actor in a Leading Role Colin Firth in “The King’s Speech.” What can I say? I’ve loved him since he left me swooning as Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy in the BBC miniseries of “Pride and Prejudice,” then as Mark Darcy in “Bridget Jones’ Diary.” He makes it look so easy. And it would be fitting after he came close to winning last year for “A Single Man.” Actor in a Supporting Role Christian Bale in “The Fighter.” Another longtime favorite who really goes all Method on everything he does on film (“The Mechanic,” “American Psycho”). The role of Dicky Eklund really showcases his talents and is worthy of the award. Actress in a Leading Role Natalie Portman in “Black Swan.” She’s come a long way since playing Queen Amidala in the new Star Wars movies. Sometimes a character is made for an actor or actress. Nina Sayers, the disturbed ballerina of “Black Swan,” is one of those roles. On a side, but related, note, Mila Kunis got robbed by not being nominated in the supporting category as Portman’s evil twin, Lily. Actress in a Supporting Role Hailee Steinfeld in “True Grit.” At 14, Steinfeld stands up and out from the big boys: Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, Josh Brolin. And she might pull it out if voters split over the two “Fighter” ladies, who both did a great job, too. Directing “The Social Network” David Fincher. Fincher’s a genius in of all things directing and quality filmmaking. For other examples, see “Fight Club,” “Seven,” “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” and a whole bunch of great music videos from the 1990s. He somehow made a movie about creat- ing a website intriguing and engaging. Best Picture “The King’s Speech,” Iain Canning, Emile Sher- man and Gareth Unwin, producers. I admit to not seeing or really knowing much about “Winter’s Bone.” I had trouble with this one because of the Academy’s decision to throw 10 movies into the mix. I don’t think it’s necessary or helpful. I really loved the general trippiness of “Inception” and how of-the-moment “The Social Network” is, but as a history buff, an Anglophile and lover of all things Colin Firth, I have to go with “The King’s Speech.” Long live the king, and all those other royal clichés. by PETER EKLUND Actor in a Leading Role Colin Firth in “The King’s Speech” gave an amazing performance. After missing out on last year’s win for “A Single Man,” we see Firth respond with the excellent portal as the King George V. Actor in a Supporting Role The moment I walked out of the movie theater after seeing “The Fighter,” I made the call that Christian Bale was going to win an Oscar for playing Dicky Eklund. It wasn’t soon after, I saw Bale on stage holding the Golden Globe for best supporting actor. He played the character not only with great conviction, but also captured the destructiveness that can come with drug use. Actress in a Leading Role For several years now I have been in love with Natalie Portman. After watching “Black Swan,” I finally saw her talent apart from her incredible beauty. She played the White Swan with such innocence, and unleashed her sensuality as Black Swan ferociously. Actress in a Supporting Role Everyone is predicting Melissa Leo to win playing the mother of two boxing sons in the Fighter. But after seeing the14-year-old Hailee Steinfeld act in the Coen Brother’s “True Grit,” she is my prediction for the win. Steinfeld plays Mattie Ross, a teenage girl who hires the marshal with true grit to find the man who killed her father. We get to see so many sides of this character, from the innocent naive child to the relentless confident woman. In my humble opinion, the Academy made a mistake placing her in this category. She is better suited in the category for best lead actress. But hope- fully it will not matter and she will still walk away a winner. Directing I was blown away by “Black Swan.” Regardless of the fact that I have loved Darren Aronofsky ever since “Requiem for a Dream,” I must say this is probably one of his best films. This is a tough call, but it’s my call. I stayed up for hours after seeing the movie, stirring it through my mind. It was beautiful, terrifying, compelling and disturbing. My jaw dropped to the floor several times while watching this movie. Bravo, Darren, bravo. Best Picture I have little doubt that “The Social Network” is going to win this year for best picture. Everything about this movie (other than Justin Timberlake) was remarkable. It absolutely captured the culture that we live in, and showed the world the untold story of how Facebook started. Many people are resisting the notion of this movie winning. But come on people, this is not “Avatar!” This movie deserves the Oscar. Great per- formances, great writing and great music. What else do you want? Facebook has taken over most of our lives, and now we get to see that on the screen. The 83rd Annual Academy Awards are at 8 p.m. Sunday on ABC. Scene film and culture writers Adrienne Wise, Peter Eklund and Chris Ryder give their picks for winners of the big categories. For a complete list of nominees, visit www.oscars.org. by CHRIS RYDER Actor in a Leading Role In a very challenging role for Colin Firth, he plays a king with a stammer. At first, I thought it was going to get tiresome listening to this stammer throughout the entire film, but Firth makes it an art form. He puts forth the best performance of the year, bringing us along the ups and downs and improvements of this King’s public speaking. Actor in a Supporting Role A close race between Christian Bale and Geoffrey Rush for supporting actor, but I think the edge will go to Bale. He gives the best performance of his career, and possibly the best performance of the year, playing Dickie Ecklund. He stands out in a cast full of great performances and transforms “The Fighter” from a sports movie to a drama and inspirational film. Actress in a Leading Role This category really only comes down to Nata- lie Portman and Annette Bening, with a possible sleeper in Michelle Williams. The Oscar will go to Natalie Portman for her work in “Black Swan” for being able to physically act through dance as well as show her character’s inner emotional struggles. Portman is definitely the favorite and deserves it, but I won’t be surprised if Bening steals the statue. Actress in a Supporting Role This category is wide open if you ask me _ and you are. With a wide variety of performances to choose from, my pick is Melissa Leo in “The Fighter” as a manager/mother. Hailee Steinfeld deserves a close look for her work in “True Grit,” but I believe that Leo gave the best performance. Directing This category is a specifically tough pick this year, which was full of strong performances by actors and actresses. Christopher Nolan should have gotten a nomination for “Inception,” and I also think Danny Boyle deserved one for “127 Hours.” With that being said, my vote is the Coen Brothers for ‘True Grit.” They remade an already great movie, but they kept the open lands of the film ex- citing and entertaining, which is hard to do with a Western in the Facebook age. Best Picture “The Social Network” and “The Kings Speech” have been getting all of the attention throughout awards season so far, and they deserve it. The timing seems right for “The Social Network” because of the relevance of the actual website, but from a film perspective, I think “Inception” should win. Feb. 24, 2011 O-Town Scene 19