BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
And the nominees are...
Bolt – Chris Williams and Byron Howard
Kung Fu Panda – Mark Osborne and John Stevenson
Wall-E – Andrew Stanton
Paul Clark Predicts: Wall-E
The Panda may have swept the Annies, but this award’s voted on by everyone, not just the animators. And it’s foolish to bet against Pixar.
Andrew Osborne Predicts: Wall-E
Leonard Pierce Predicts: Wall-E
This one is as sure thing as there is at the Oscars this year; the 3D gimcrackery of Bolt and the overrated Kung Fu Panda don’t stand a chance against Wall-E, which really ought to have been nominated for Best Picture.
Should Win: Wall-E
Will Win: Wall-E
Nick Schager Predicts: Wall-E
Wall-E wins, or I throw something at the television. Or, at least, say something nasty under my breath.
Sarah Clyne Sundberg Predicts: Wall-E
Clearly Wall-E will win. It is this year's answer to An Inconvenient Truth. Only with animated robots instead of Al Gore.
Scott Von Doviak Predicts: Wall-E
SCREENGRAB CONSENSUS: KUNG FU PANDA! (No, just kidding...WALL-E)
BEST ANIMATED SHORT
And the nominees are...
La Maison En Petits Cubes - Kunio Kato
Lavatory - Lovestory - Konstantin Bronzit
Oktapodi - Emud Mokhberi and Thierry Marchand
Presto - Doug Sweetland
This Way Up - Alan Smith and Adam Foulkes
Paul Clark Predicts: Presto
It’s Pixar. Good enough for me.
Andrew Osborne Predicts: Oktapodi
My time-honored rule in this category is always to pick the one with the funniest title. (And yes, I think Oktapodi is funnier than Lavatory – Lovestory, which may come back to bite me right in the ass...that or the fact I forgot Presto was from Pixar.)
Nick Schager Predicts: La Maison en Petits Cubes
Scott Von Doviak Predicts: Presto
SCREENGRAB CONSENSUS: PRESTO
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
And the nominees are...
Nerakhoon (The Betrayal)
Encounters at the End of the World
The Garden
Man on Wire
Trouble the Water
Paul Clark Predicts: Encounters at the End of the World
Man on Wire is the best movie, but I think that sentiment for Herzog -- a newly-enshrined Academy member whose stock in Hollywood is higher than ever -- will take this. Besides, wouldn’t a Werner Herzog Oscar speech be awesome?
Andrew Osborne Predicts: Man On Wire
I can’t remember a stronger year for the Documentary Feature category...by which I mean I’ve actually heard of most of the films and the two I saw were great. I haven’t seen Trouble the Water (which by all accounts is fantastic and which I’m adding to my Netflix queue...right...NOW), and I’m rooting for Werner Herzog (if only for the peculiar, deadpan acceptance speech), but I’ve seen that little French tightrope elf on a dozen talk shows, so it seems Man On Wire has the most exposure...and, in the absence of a Holocaust documentary this time around, that may be enough to secure a win.
Leonard Pierce Predicts: Encounters at the End of the World
It’s a terrific year for documentaries, and the trick will be predicting which one appeals to the Academy voters. Man On Wire has charm, Encounters at the End of the World is stunning, and Trouble the Water is one of the best of the Katrina documentaries; my guess is that AMPAS will go for the Herzog to compensate for his not getting any dap for his fiction films.
Should Win: Trouble the Water
Will Win: Encounters at the End of the World
Nick Schager Predicts: Man On Wire
Sarah Clyne Sundberg Predicts: Man On Wire
In these post-Bush times we can look back on the Twin Towers and reminisce in a French way. N'est-ce pas?
Scott Von Doviak Predicts: Man On Wire
I guess I'm the only one who thinks this is overrated. It's the sort of thing I probably would have enjoyed if I'd stumbled upon it on the Discovery channel or something, but the twinkly Frenchman got on my Hooksexups after a while and all that build-up to, what, two still photographs? I dunno, give me Encounters at the End of the World – compelling characters, brilliant cinematography and that poor goofy penguin.
SCREENGRAB CONSENSUS: MAN ON WIRE
BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT
And the nominees are...
The Conscience of Nhem En
The Final Inch
Smile Pinki
The Witness - From the Balcony of Room 306
Paul Clark Predicts: The Witness - From the Balcony of Room 306
I haven’t seen any of these, but this sounds like the sort of title that wins this category.
Andrew Osborne Predicts: The Final Inch
Again, I go with the funny name in this category. The Final Inch. Heh-heh-heh-heh...
Nick Schager Predicts: The Final Inch
Scott Von Doviak Predicts: The Conscience of Nhem En
I don't know anything about it, but it sounds very important.
SCREENGRAB CONSENSUS: THE FINAL INCH
BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT
And the nominees are...
On the Line (Auf der Strecke)
Manon On the Asphalt
New Boy
The Pig (Grisen)
Toyland (Spielzeugland)
Paul Clark Predicts: On the Line (Auf der Strecke)
Sure, why not?
Andrew Osborne Predicts: Toyland (Spielzeugland)
Ordinarily, I’d go with the “funny name” strategy again, but this one’s about Nazis: ka-ching!!!
Nick Schager Predicts: Toyland (Spielzeugland)
Scott Von Doviak Predicts: Auf der Strecke (On the Line)
SCREENGRAB CONSENSUS: NO CONSENSUS!
Stay tuned for appearances by Viola Davis, Marisa Tomei, Philip Seymour Hoffman and the vengeful ghost of Heath Ledger as the 2009 Screengrab Oscar Special continues!
Contributors: Paul Clark, Andrew Osborne, Leonard Pierce, Nick Schager, Sarah Clyne Sundberg, Scott Von Doviak