STACK February 2016 Issue 136

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FEBRUARY

2016

EXTRAS

BEST PICTURE

The nominees:

The Revenant,

Mad Max: Fury Road, The Martian,

Room, The Big Short, Brooklyn,

Bridge of Spies, Spotlight

This could be tougher to pick this

year than it initially looks.

The

Revenant

is the favourite, and

The Academy love an epic, but

the fact that Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s

Birdman

won the award last year

could work against it. Genre films

rarely win Best Picture Oscars

(although

The Lord of the Rings:

The Return of the King

was an

exception in 2003), which reduces

Mad Max: Fury Road

’s chances,

even though it is undeniably the

best movie of 2015. The brilliant

Spotlight

illuminates important

and topical issues and could be

the dark horse.

The Martian

was

great popular entertainment, but

not Best Picture material;

Bridge

of Spies

is minor Spielberg;

The

Big Short

has more chance in the

Screenplay and Supporting Actor

categories; captivity drama

Room

is an indie film; and

Brooklyn

is the

one that nobody has seen.

BEST DIRECTOR

The nominees:

Alejandro G.

Iñárritu –

The Revenant

, George

Miller –

Mad Max: Fury Road

Lenny Abrahamson –

Room

Tom McCarthy –

Spotlight

, Adam

McKay –

The Big Short

Iñárritu won last year and already

has a Golden Globe, so in a perfect

world it will be a case of

The

Revenant

winning Best Picture

STACK

’ S

2016

OSCARS

FORM GUIDE

Cinematography

and

Sound

Editing

will be a dead heat between

Sicario, Mad Max: Fury Road

and

The

Revenant

and too difficult to pick.

Original Screenplay:

Alex

Garland’s ingenious insight into

creating AI,

Ex Machina

, will face

fierce competition from the equally

inventive and emotionally resonant

Inside Out

Adapted Screenplay:

Another dead

heat between

The Martian

Room

and

Carol

; a photo finish.

Foreign Language Film:

Son

of Saul

(Hungary), a harrowing

Holocaust drama. No contest.

Animated Feature:

Inside Out

–

Pixar’s best and most beloved film in

years. Apologies to

Shaun the Sheep

Editing:

Mad Max: Fury Road'

hyperkinetic assembly vs.

The

Revenant

’s long takes.

'Max

has

the edge.

Production Design:

Mad Max: Fury

Road

– every frame is a work of art.

Visual Effects:

Mad Max: Fury Road

– so shiny, so chrome. However,

The

Revenant

does boast the first truly

convincing CGI bear.

Makeup and Hairstyling:

High

noon in the salon, as

Mad Max: Fury

Road

's bizarre makeups and

The

Revenant

's flowing locks and hipster

beards face off.

Original Score:

Ennio Morricone’s

moody music for

The Hateful Eight

will beat Johann Johannsson’s

equally brooding score for

Sicario

Best Song:

How did Sam Smith’s

bland Bond ballad make the list? And

how did

Fifty Shades of Grey

score

an Oscar nom?! That leaves the three

unknowns, making it anyone’s guess.

Sound Mixing:

Mad Max: Fury

Road

and

The Revenant

duke it out

again. However, this could be the

one Oscar that

Star Wars: The Force

Awakens

wins.

Documentary Feature:

The Look

of Silence

. Indonesian genocide

survivors face their family’s killers.

Enough said.

Best Documentary Short,

Animated Short and Live Action

Short:

Can be the difference

between winning and losing an

Oscars’ sweep.

THE REST

and George Miller winning Best

Director.

Fury Road

is a masterclass

in filmmaking that deserves to win

more than a handful of technical

awards. Everyone else can remain

seated. Okay, we're not living in a

perfect world.

Iñárritu

will win.

BEST ACTOR

The nominees:

Leonardo DiCaprio

–

The Revenant

, Matt Damon –

The

Martian

, Michael Fassbender –

Steve

Jobs

, Eddie Redmayne –

The Danish

Girl

, Bryan Cranston -

Trumbo

Leo.

The fact that his throat’s been

torn out by a bear reduces his

performance to a series of vengeful

stares, grunts and gestures, but he is

good. And adored. But the fact that

The Revenant

was such an arduous

production for all involved, does

actually living the survival experience

whilst making the film really count

as acting? Matt Damon is as amiable

as ever as a stranded astronaut, but

he’s already won the Golden Globe.

Eddie Redmayne won last year as

Steven Hawking, and although the

Academy loves a transformation, he

won't make it two in a row. Michael

Fassbender is always Oscar-worthy,

but should have been nominated for

Macbeth

. And while we love Bryan

Cranston, he’s there to make up the

numbers.

BEST ACTRESS

The nominees:

Cate Blanchett –

Carol

, Brie Larson –

Room

, Jennifer

Lawrence –

Joy

, Charlotte Rampling

–

45 Years

, Saorise Ronan -

Brooklyn

Brie Larson

is heartbreaking as a

captive mum devoted to her

five-year-old boy – she already has

the Globe and will soon have an

Oscar to sit beside it; she will cry

during her acceptance speech.

However, the consistently

luminous Cate Blanchett is still

a chance to claim her second

Oscar in as many years. Jennifer

Lawrence being nominated for a

David O. Russell film is now as

predictable as Meryl Streep being

nominated for anything (although

not this year). Sorry Charlotte and

Saorise, maybe next time.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

The nominees:

Christian Bale

–

The Big Short

, Tom Hardy

–

The Revenant

, Mark Ruffalo –

Spotlight

, Mark Rylance –

Bridge

of Spies

, Sylvester Stallone -

Creed

Can Stallone finally win an Oscar

for playing Rocky Balboa? He

missed out in 1977, but could

get lucky this year after being

awarded a Globe. Tom Hardy will

win an Oscar, but it won’t be this

year. Of the two Marks, Ruffalo

and Rylance, the former is an

outside chance, but

Christian

Bale

is likely to claim it for simply

getting his head around the

dynamics of investment fund

management.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

The nominees:

Jennifer Jason

Leigh –

The Hateful Eight

, Rooney

Mara –

Carol

, Rachel McAdams

–

Spotlight

, Alicia Vikander –

The

Danish Girl

, Kate Winslet -

Steve

Jobs

Jennifer Jason Leigh makes a

fantastic comeback, spitting

blood and venomTarantino-

style, however Academy elders

could deem her performance

too grotesque. Alicia Vikander

should have been nominated for

Ex Machina

; Rachel McAdams’

investigative journo stands out

amongst a strong ensemble

cast but is a long shot; and Kate

Winslet already has the Globe for

putting up with Steve Jobs. The

Oscar goes to

Rooney Mara

, as

Cate Blanchett’s lesbian lover.

Squinting into our crystal ball in a chamber redolent of sandalwood incense,

we predict the winners of this year’s Academy Awards (and hedge our bets).

Leo hunts an Oscar