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Jmunney’s 2013 Oscar Prediction Contest

February 5, 2014

jmunney Cinema, Oscar Contest, Oscars Leave a comment

It’s time for another Oscar contest presented by me, a guy who hosts Oscar contests. The ceremony will air at 8:00 PM Eastern Standard Time on Sunday, March 2, on ABC. This particular contest is of the simple pick the winners variety. In the event of a tie in any category, anyone who picked any one of the winners in that category will receive full credit.

The winner will receive a video of me congratulating that winner on his or her win that will be sent to that person and posted on YouTube.

The list of nominees appears below. To enter the contest, predict the winner in each category and e-mail your predictions to me at jmunneyoscarcontest@gmail.com. (Note the new e-mail address this year.) All entries must be received by 7:59 (Eastern) on Sunday, March 2, 2014.

Best Picture
American Hustle
Captain Phillips
Dallas Buyers Club
Gravity
Her
Nebraska
Philomena
12 Years a Slave
The Wolf of Wall Street

Lead Actor
Christian Bale, American Hustle
Bruce Dern, Nebraska
Leonardo DiCaprio, The Wolf of Wall Street
Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years a Slave
Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club

Lead Actress
Amy Adams, American Hustle
Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
Sandra Bullock, Gravity
Judi Dench, Philomena
Meryl Streep, August: Osage County

Supporting Actor
Barkhad Abdi, Captain Phillips
Bradley Cooper, American Hustle
Michael Fassbender, 12 Years a Slave
Jonah Hill, The Wolf of Wall Street
Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club

Supporting Actress
Sally Hawkins, Blue Jasmine
Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle
Lupita Nyong’o, 12 Years a Slave
Julia Roberts, August: Osage County
June Squibb, Nebraska

Animated Feature
The Croods
Despicable Me 2
Ernest & Celestine
Frozen
The Wind Rises

Cinematography
The Grandmaster
Gravity
Inside Llewyn Davis
Nebraska
Prisoners

Costume Design
American Hustle
The Grandmaster
The Great Gatsby
The Invisible Woman
12 Years a Slave

Director
Alfonso Cuarón, Gravity
Steve McQueen, 12 Years a Slave
Alexander Payne, Nebraska
David O. Russell, American Hustle
Martin Scorcese, The Wolf of Wall Street

Documentary Feature
The Act of Killing
Cutie and the Boxer
Dirty Wars
The Square
20 Feet From Stardom

Documentary Short
CaveDigger
Facing Fear
Karama Has No Walls
The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life
Prison Terminal: The Last Days of Private Jack Hall

Film Editing
American Hustle
Captain Phillips
Dallas Buyers Club
Gravity
12 Years a Slave

Foreign Language Film
The Broken Circle Breakdown (Belgium)
The Great Beauty (Italy)
The Hunt (Denmark)
The Missing Picture (Cambodia)
Omar (Palestine)

Makeup and Hairstyling
Dallas Buyers Club
Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa
The Lone Ranger

Original Score
John Williams, The Book Thief
Steven Price, Gravity
William Bulter and Owen Pallett, Her
Alexandre Desplat, Philomena
Thomas Newman, Saving Mr. Banks

Original Song
“Happy,” by Pharrell Williams, Despicable Me 2
“Let It Go,” by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, Frozen
“The Moon Song,” by Karen O and Spike Jonze, Her
“Ordinary Love,” by Paul Hewson, Dave Evans, Adam Clayton, and Larry Mullen (that is, U2), Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom

Production Design
American Hustle
Gravity
The Great Gatsby
Her
12 Years a Slave

Animated Short Film
Feral
Get a Horse!
Mr. Hublot
Possessions
Room on the Broom

Live Action Short Film
Aquel No Era Yo (That Wasn’t Me)
Avant Que De Tout Perdre (Just Before Losing Everything)
Helium
Pitääkö Mun Kaikki Hoitaa? (Do I Have to Take Care of Everything?)
The Voorman Problem

Sound Editing
All is Lost
Captain Phillips
Gravity
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Lone Survivor

Sound Mixing
Captain Phillips
Gravity
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Inside Llewyn Davis
Lone Survivor

Visual Effects
Gravity
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Iron Man 3
The Lone Ranger
Star Trek Into Darkness

Adapted Screenplay
Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy, and Ethan Hawke, Before Midnight
Billy Ray, Captain Phillips
Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope, Philomena
John Ridley, 12 Years a Slave
Terence Winter, The Wolf of Wall Street

Original Screenplay
Eric Warren Singer and David O. Russell, American Hustle
Woody Allen, Blue Jasmine
Craig Borten and Melissa Wallack, Dallas Buyers Club
Spike Jonze, Her
Bob Nelson, Nebraska

2013 Oscar Nominations Reactions

January 16, 2014

jmunney Awards Shows, Cinema, Oscars Leave a comment

HAPPY SURPRISES:
-Christian Bale and Leo for Lead Actor. Tom Hanks being left out, though, is an unhappy surprise, but that is mitigated by his past Oscar recognition and this being such a stacked category.
-Jonah Hill for Supporting Actor, for a performance that was … something else.
-I was “happy” to see Pharrell up for Original Song.

UNHAPPY SURPRISES
-No “Please Mr. Kennedy”?!
-No American Hustle for Makeup? I guess too much of it was natural.

[EDITED TO INCLUDE:] NEUTRAL SURPRISES
-No Best Picture (or any major noms) for Inside Llewyn Davis. There could have been one more Best Picture nom, and I thought Llewyn would have filled it. The Coen Bros. seem to have a fanbase in the Academy – after all, the presumably more inaccessible A Serious Man snagged a Best Picture nom.
-No Monsters University for Animated Feature – only the second Pixar film (after Cars 2) not to be nominated since this category’s inception.
-No The Past for Foreign Language Film, despite great reviews and Asghar Farhadi winning here for A Separation two years ago. Apparently it didn’t even make the shortlist.

UNHAPPY NON-SURPRISES
-No Will Forte or James Franco for Supporting Actor.
-Nothing for You’re Next.
-Only 1 nomination for Prisoners.
-Nothing for The World’s End.
-Nothing for Blue is the Warmest Color.
-No sound nominations for Stoker.
-No editing nomination for Spring Breakers.

ALSO OF NOTE
-For the 2nd year in a row, a David O. Russell movie was nominated in all four acting categories. American Hustle is the 15th film to ever have such a distinction, and Russell is the only director to have directed more than one of them.

PREDICTIONS (Obviously these may change after the guild awards.)
–12 Years a Slave and American Hustle should take Screenplay (though there’s always the possibility of a quirky winner here).
-Cuarón might win Director even though Gravity probably won’t win Best Picture, but the Best Picture favorites look too strong, so Steve McQueen will probably take it (or Russell).
-Jared Leto is the biggest acting favorite.
-Cate Blanchett is close to a sure thing.
-Supporting Actress looks like a 2-woman race: J-Law vs. Lupita – slight edge to Jen for now.
-Lead Actor could legitimately go to anybody. I’m still thinking Chiwetel as the ever so slight favorite.
-And it all comes down to 12 Years a Slave vs. American Hustle, with 12 Years looking good (for now).

The 1st Annual Jeff Malone Academy Awards

February 25, 2013

jmunney Best in Film 2012, Best of 2012, Cinema, Oscars Leave a comment

A lot of people complain about the Oscars getting it wrong, but nobody ever does anything about it. So here I am, doing something about it. This is the 1st Annual Jeff Malone Academy Awards, honoring the best of the cinema of 2012.
My nominees are listed after the video. Winners are in bold and all caps.

Supporting Actor
Robert De Niro, Silver Linings Playbook
Leonardo DiCaprio, Django Unchained
SAMUEL L. JACKSON, Django Unchained
Richard Jenkins, Cabin in the Woods
Matthew McConaughey, Magic Mike

Animated Feature
WRECK-IT RALPH

Cinematography
ROBERT RICHARDSON, Django Unchained
Claudio Miranda, Life of Pi
Steve Yedlin, Looper
Masanobu Takayanagi, Silver Linings Playbook
Roger Deakins, Skyfall

Visual Effects
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
LIFE OF PI
Marvel’s The Avengers
Prometheus
Snow White and the Hunstman

Costume Design
Kari Perkins, Bernie
SHAREN DAVIS, Django Unchained
Paco Delgado, Les Misérables
Sharen Davis, Looper
Karen Patch, Seven Psychopaths

Makeup & Hairstyling
Argo
CLOUD ATLAS
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Sound Mixing
David Husby, Cabin in the Woods
Mark Ulano, Django Unchained
SIMON HAYES, Les Misérables
Lee Orloff, Pitch Perfect
Kevin Bolen, Wreck-It Ralph

Sound Editing
Randle Akerson, The Dark Knight Rises
Larry Blake, Haywire
Robert Jackson, Killing Them Softly
JEREMY PEIRSON, Looper
Karen Baker Landers and Per Hallberg, Skyfall

Supporting Actress
AMY ADAMS, The Master
Emily Blunt, Looper
Anne Hathaway, Les Misérables
Jacki Weaver, Silver Linings Playbook
Rebel Wilson, Pitch Perfect

Film Editing
Lisa Lassek, Cabin in the Woods
Elliot Greenberg, Chronicle
Dody Dorn, End of Watch
BOB DUCSAY, Looper
Jay Cassidy and Crispin Struthers, Silver Linings Playbook

Production Design
Cabin in the WoodsDjango Unchained
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
The Hunger Games
LIFE OF PI

Original Score
Tom Tykwer, Reinhold Heil, and Johnny Klimek, Cloud Atlas
Heather McIntosh, Compliance
David Holmes, Haywire
JONNY GREENWOOD, The Master
Alexandre Desplat and Benjamin Britten, Moonrise Kingdom

Original Song
“Abraham’s Daughter,” written by Win Butler, Régine Chassagne, and T-Bone Burnett, The Hunger Games
“THE ANTIDOTE,” written by ANNIE CLARK (ST. VINCENT), The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2
“Bittersweet,” written by Sonny Moore and Ellie Goulding, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2
“Safe & Sound,” written by Taylor Swift, John Paul White, Joy Williams, Joy Williams, and T-Bone Burnett, The Hunger Games
“Skfyall,” written by Adele Adkins and Paul Epworth, Skyfall

Adapted Screenplay
Skip Hollandsworth and Richard Linklater, Bernie
Jonathan Nolan, Christopher Nolan, and David S. Goyer, The Dark Knight Rises
Gary Ross, Suzanne Collins, and Billy Ray, The Hunger Games
Stephen Chbosky, The Perks of Being a Wallflower
DAVID O. RUSSELL, Silver Linings Playbook

Original Screenplay
JOSS WHEDON and DREW GODDARD, Cabin in the Woods
Quentin Tarantino, Django Unchained
Rian Johnson, Looper
Zoe Kazan, Ruby Sparks
Mark Boal, Zero Dark Thirty

Director
Kathryn Bigelow, Zero Dark Thirty
Drew Goddard, Cabin in the Woods
RIAN JOHNSON, Looper
David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook
Robert Zemeckis, Flight

Lead Actress
Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty
Zoe Kazan, Ruby Sparks
Jennifer Lawrence, The Hunger Games
JENNIFER LAWRENCE, Silver Linings Playbook
Quvenzhané Wallis, Beasts of the Southern Wild

Lead Actor
Jack Black, Bernie
BRADLEY COOPER, Silver Linings Playbook
Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
Hugh Jackman, Les Misérables
Joaquin Phoenix, The Master
Denzel Washington, Flight

Picture
Bernie
CABIN IN THE WOODS
Django Unchained
Flight
The Hunger Games
Looper
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Ruby Sparks
Silver Linings Playbook
Zero Dark Thirty

Jmunney’s 2012 Oscar Prediction Contest Results

February 25, 2013

jmunney Cinema, Oscar Contest, Oscars Leave a comment

Congratulations to Jeff Smith and Zena (thats_ent), who for the second year in a row won my Oscar contest, correctly picking the correct winners in 19 out of 24 categories. Last year, they also correctly predicted 19 winners. Unlike last year, they are not sharing their win with four other entrants. Jeff missed only Supporting Actor, Director, Documentary Short, Production Design, and Makeup. Zena missed only Supporting Actor, Director, Documentary Short, Animated Feature, and Production Design. With the tie in Sound Editing, either of the winners – Skyfall and Zero Dark Thirty – was counted as a correct choice. My brother, Rob Malone, didn’t fare too well, probably because he mostly picked the movie he wanted to win – Lincoln – and ignored whatever the favorite was.

T1. Jeff Smith – 19

T1. Zena (thats_ent) – 19

3. Denexxel Domingo – 18

T4. Brenton Andreasik – 17

T4. “Not the Real Randy Jackson” – 17

6. Neil Lapinsky – 16

T7. Bob Malone – 15

T7. Sue Malone – 15

9. John Huerta – 9

10. Rob Malone – 6

The Oscar Winners:

Best Picture
Argo

Lead Actor
Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln

Lead Actress
Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook

Supporting Actor
Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained

Supporting Actress
Anne Hathaway, Les Misérables

Director
Ang Lee, Life of Pi

Adapted Screenplay
Chris Terrio, Argo

Original Screenplay
Quentin Tarantino, Django Unchained

Documentary Feature
Searching for Sugar Man

Documentary Short
Inocente

Animated Feature
Brave

Foreign Language Film
Amour (Austria)

Film Editing
Argo

Cinematography
Life of Pi

Production Design
Lincoln

Animated Short
Paperman

Live Action Short
Curfew

Visual Effects
Life of Pi

Sound Mixing
Les Misérables

Sound Editing
TIE: Skyfall and Zero Dark Thirty

Costume Desgin
Anna Karenina

Makeup & Hairstyling
Les Misérables

Original Score
Mychael Danna, Life of Pi

Original Song
“Skyfall,” by Adele Adkins and Paul Epworth, from Skyfall

Jmunney’s 2012 Alternative Oscar Contest Results

February 25, 2013

jmunney Cinema, Oscar Contest, Oscars Leave a comment

Here are the correct answers to the alternative questions:

1. What movie will win the most awards? Life of Pi – 4

2. What will be the first category presented? Supporting Actor

3. What will the first commercial be for? Samsung

4. How many of the acting winners will cry during their acceptance speeches? 0

5. How long will the show be? C. 3 ½ hours-just under 4 hours (approximately 3 hrs. 35 mins.)

6. Who will present the award for Best Picture? Jack Nicholson and Michelle Obama

7. How many acceptance speeches will include foreign words and phrases? 1 – Director

8. Will host Seth MacFarlane open with a montage of clips that he appears in or a stand-up routine? Stand-up

9. How many times will the orchestra start playing while a winner is still giving the acceptance speech? 4 – Visual Effects, Documentary Feature, Sound Editing, and Original Screenplay

10. How many winners will not be present to accept their awards? 0

With only 2 entrants in this year’s Alternative Contest, there was a two-way tie for first! Congratulations to the only two participants, Jeff Smith and Zena (who goes by the handle thats_ent) … who also tied for first in the regular contest. Also, the two of them tied for first last year in the normal contest (along with four others), and Zena won last year’s Alternative Contest.

T1. Jeff Smith – 3

T1. Zena (thats_ent) – 3

Jmunney’s Oscar Predictions

February 24, 2013

jmunney Cinema, Oscars Leave a comment

Okay, here are my guesses. I went against the favorites in a few categories. There’s a bit of wishful thinking this year.

Picture – Silver Linings Playbook

Director – Steven Spielberg, Lincoln

Lead Actor – Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln

Lead Actress – Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook

Supporting Actor – Robert De Niro, Silver Linings Playbook

Supporting Actress – Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables

Adapted Screenplay – Tony Kushner, Lincoln

Original Screenplay – Michael Haneke, Amour

Animated Feature – Wreck-It Ralph

Foreign Film – Amour

Costume – Les Miserables

Song – “Skyfall,” by Adele, from Skyfall

Score – Mychael Danna, Life of Pi

Documentary – How to Survive a Plague

Documentary Short – Inocente

Makeup – Les Miserables

Production Design – Life of Pi

Film Editing – Argo

Cinematography – Life of Pi

Sound Editing – Skyfall

Sound Mixing – Les Miserables

Visual Effects – Life of Pi

Animated Short – Adam and Dog

Live Action Short – Asad

2 DAYS LEFT TO ENTER JMUNNEY’S 2013 OSCAR CONTESTS!!!

February 22, 2013

jmunney Cinema, Oscar Contest, Oscars Leave a comment

There’s still time to enter the Oscar prediction contests. Here’s a reprint of the details:

It’s time for another Oscar contest presented by Jmunney. The ceremony will air at 8:00 PM Eastern Standard Time on Sunday, February 24, on ABC. This particular contest is of the simple pick the winners variety. In the event of a tie in any category, anyone who picked any one of the winners in that category will receive full credit.

The winner will receive a video of me congratulating that winner on his or her win that will be sent to that person and posted on YouTube.

Best Picture
Amour
Argo
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Django Unchained
Les Misérables
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Silver Linings Playbook
Zero Dark Thirty

Lead Actor
Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook
Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
Hugh Jackman, Les Misérables
Joaquin Phoenix, The Master
Denzel Washington, Flight

Lead Actress
Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty
Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
Emmanuelle Riva, Amour
Quvenzhané Wallis, Beasts of the Southern Wild
Naomi Watts, The Impossible

Supporting Actor
Alan Arkin, Argo
Robert De Niro, Silver Linings Playbook
Phillip Seymour Hoffman, The Master
Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln
Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained

Supporting Actress
Amy Adams, The Master
Sally Field, Lincoln
Anne Hathaway, Les Misérables
Helen Hunt, The Sessions
Jacki Weaver, Silver Linings Playbook

Director
Michael Haneke, Amour
Ang Lee, Life of Pi
David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook
Steven Spielberg, Lincoln
Benh Zeitlin, Beasts of the Southern Wild

Adapted Screenplay
Chris Terrio, Argo
Lucy Alibar and Benh Zeitlin, Beasts of the Southern Wild
Tony Kushner, Lincoln
David Magee, Life of Pi
David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook

Original Screenplay
Michael Haneke, Amour
Quentin Tarantino, Django Unchained
Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola, Moonrise Kingdom
John Gatins, Flight
Mark Boal, Zero Dark Thirty

Documentary Feature
5 Broken Cameras
The Gatekeepers
How to Survive a Plague
The Invisible War
Searching for Sugar Man

Documentary Short
Inocente
Kings Point
Mondays at Racine
Open Heart
Redemption

Animated Feature
Brave
Frankenweenie
ParaNorman
The Pirates! Band of Misfits
Wreck-It Ralph

Foreign Language Film
Amour (Austria)
Kon-Tiki, (Norway)
No (Chile)
A Royal Affair (Denmark)
War Witch (Canada)

Film Editing
Argo
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Silver Linings Playbook
Zero Dark Thirty

Cinematography
Anna Karenina
Django Unchained
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Skyfall

Production Design
Anna Karenina
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Les Misérables
Life of Pi
Lincoln

Animated Short
Adam and Dog
Fresh Guacamole
Head over Heels
Maggie Simpson in The Longest Daycare
Paperman

Live Action Short
Asad
Buzkashi Boys
Curfew
Death of a Shadow (Dood van een Schaduw)
Henry

Visual Effects
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Life of Pi
Marvel’s The Avengers
Prometheus
Snow White and the Huntsman

Sound Mixing
Argo
Les Misérables
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Skyfall

Sound Editing
Argo
Django Unchained
Life of Pi
Skyfall
Zero Dark Thirty

Costume Design
Anna Karenina
Les Misérables
Lincoln
Mirror Mirror
Snow White and the Huntsman

Makeup
Hitchcock
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Les Misérables

Original Score
Dario Marianelli, Anna Karenina
Alexandre Desplat, Argo
Mychael Danna, Life of Pi
John Williams, Lincoln
Thomas Newman, Skyfall

Original Song
“Before My Time,” by J. Ralph, Chasing Ice
“Everybody Needs A Best Friend,” by Walter Murphy and Seth MacFarlane, Ted
“Pi’s Lullaby,” by Mychael Danna and Bombay Jayashri, Life of Pi
“Skyfall,” by Adele Adkins and Paul Epworth, Skyfall
“Suddenly,” by Claude-Michel Schönberg, Herbert Kretzmer, and Alain Boublil, Les Misérables

In addition to the normal Oscar Contest, here is the second annual Alternative Oscar Contest. Answer each of the ten questions; some are multiple choice, some – not so much. The winner will receive a video of me congratulating that winner on his or her win that will be sent to that person and posted on YouTube. The Oscar ceremony will air at 8:00 PM Eastern Standard Time on Sunday, February 24, on ABC. To enter the contest, e-mail your predictions to me at jmunneyoscarcontest@gmail.com. (Note the new e-mail address this year.) All entries must be received by 7:59 on Sunday, February 24, 2012.

1. What movie will win the most awards? (If more than one movie ties for the most wins, then each or all of those movies will be considered a correct answer.)

2. What will be the first category presented?

3. What will the first commercial be for?

4. How many of the acting winners will cry during their acceptance speeches?

5. How long will the show be?
A. Under 3 hours
B. 3 hours-just under 3 ½ hours
C. 3 ½ hours-just under 4 hours
D. Over 4 hours

6. Who will present the award for Best Picture?

7. How many acceptance speeches will include foreign words and phrases?

8. Will host Seth MacFarlane open with a montage of clips that he appears in or a stand-up routine?

9. How many times will the orchestra start playing while a winner is still giving the acceptance speech?

10. How many winners will not be present to accept their awards? (Multiple winners honored for the same win count as one.)

Jmunney’s 2012 Alternative Oscar Contest

February 10, 2013

jmunney Cinema, Oscar Contest, Oscars Leave a comment

1. What movie will win the most awards? (If more than one movie ties for the most wins, then each or all of those movies will be considered a correct answer.)

2. What will be the first category presented?

3. What will the first commercial be for?

4. How many of the acting winners will cry during their acceptance speeches?

5. How long will the show be?
A. Under 3 hours
B. 3 hours-just under 3 ½ hours
C. 3 ½ hours-just under 4 hours
D. Over 4 hours

6. Who will present the award for Best Picture?

7. How many acceptance speeches will include foreign words and phrases?

8. Will host Seth MacFarlane open with a montage of clips that he appears in or a stand-up routine?

9. How many times will the orchestra start playing while a winner is still giving the acceptance speech?

10. How many winners will not be present to accept their awards? (Multiple winners honored for the same win count as one.)

Jmunney’s 2012 Oscar Prediction Contest

January 31, 2013