ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Zero Dark Thirty, Written by Mark Boal; Columbia Pictures
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Argo, Screenplay by Chris Terrio; Based on a selection from The Master of Disguise by Antonio J. Mendez and the Wired Magazine article “The Great Escape” by Joshuah Bearman; Warner Bros. Pictures
DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY
Searching for Sugar Man, Written by Malik Bendjelloul; Sony Pictures Classics
TELEVISION WINNERS
DRAMA SERIES
Breaking Bad, Written by Sam Catlin, Vince Gilligan, Peter Gould, Gennifer Hutchison, George Mastras, Thomas Schnauz, Moira Walley-Beckett; AMC
COMEDY SERIES
Louie, Written by Pamela Adlon, Vernon Chatman, Louis C.K.; FX
NEW SERIES
Girls, Written by Judd Apatow, Lesley Arfin, Lena Dunham, Sarah Heyward, Bruce Eric Kaplan, Jenni Konner, Deborah Schoeneman, Dan Sterling; HBO
EPISODIC DRAMA
“The Other Woman” (Mad Men), Written by Semi Chellas and Matthew Weiner; AMC
EPISODIC COMEDY
“Virgin Territory” (Modern Family), Written by Elaine Ko; ABC
LONG FORM – ORIGINAL
Hatfields & McCoys, Nights Two and Three, Teleplay by Ted Mann and Ronald Parker, Story by Bill Kerby and Ted Mann; History Channel
LONG FORM – ADAPTED
Game Change, Written by Danny Strong, Based on the book by Mark Halperin and John Heilemann; HBO
ANIMATION
“Ned ’N’ Edna’s Blend Agenda” (The Simpsons), Written by Jeff Westbrook; Fox
COMEDY / VARIETY (INCLUDING TALK) – SERIES
Portlandia, Writers: Fred Armisen, Carrie Brownstein, Karey Dornetto, Jonathan Krisel, Bill Oakley; IFC
COMEDY / VARIETY – MUSIC, AWARDS, TRIBUTES – SPECIALS
66th Annual Tony Awards, Written by Dave Boone; Special Material by Paul Greenberg; Opening and Closing Songs by David Javerbaum, Adam Schlesinger; CBS
DAYTIME DRAMA
The Young and the Restless, Written by Amanda Beall, Jeff Beldner, Susan Dansby, Janice Ferri Esser, Jay Gibson, Scott Hamner, Marla Kanelos, Natalie Minardi Slater, Beth Milstein, Michael Montgomery, Anne Schoettle, Linda Schreiber, Sarah K. Smith, Christopher J. Whitesell, Teresa Zimmerman; CBS
CHILDREN’S – EPISODIC & SPECIALS
“The Good Sport” (Sesame Street); Written by Christine Ferraro; PBS
CHILDREN’S – LONG FORM OR SPECIAL
Girl vs. Monster, Teleplay by Annie DeYoung and Ron McGee, Story by Annie DeYoung; Disney Channel
DOCUMENTARY – CURRENT EVENTS
“Money, Power and Wall Street: Episode One” (Frontline), Written by Martin Smith and Marcela Gaviria; PBS
DOCUMENTARY – OTHER THAN CURRENT EVENTS
“The Fabric of the Cosmos: The Illusion of Time” (Nova), Telescript by Randall MacLowry, Story by Joseph McMaster and Randall MacLowry; PBS
NEWS – REGULARLY SCHEDULED, BULLETIN, OR BREAKING REPORT
“Tragedy In Colorado: The Movie Theatre Massacre,” Written by Lisa Ferri, Joel Siegel; ABC News
NEWS – ANALYSIS, FEATURE, OR COMMENTARY
“The Ghost of Joe McCarthy” (Moyers & Company), Written by Bill Moyers, Michael Winship; Thirteen/ WNET
RADIO WINNERS
NEWS – REGULARLY SCHEDULED OR BREAKING REPORT
“World News This Year 2011,” Written by Darren Reynolds; ABC News Radio
NEWS – ANALYSIS, FEATURE, OR COMMENTARY
“Dishin Digital,” Written by Robert Hawley; WCBS-AM
PROMOTIONAL WRITING AND GRAPHIC ANIMATION WINNERS
ON-AIR PROMOTION (RADIO OR TELEVISION)
“Partners,” Written by Dan A. Greenberger; CBS
TELEVISION GRAPHIC ANIMATION
“The Oscars” (Sunday Morning with Charles Osgood), Animation by Bob Pook; CBS
VIDEOGAME WRITING WINNER
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN VIDEOGAME WRITING
Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation, Scriptwriting by Richard Farrese, Jill Murray; Ubisoft
NEW MEDIA WRITING WINNERS
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN WRITING ORIGINAL NEW MEDIA
“The Compromises, Episode 1,” “The Pest, Episode 3,” The Snake, Episode 4,” “The Bonding, Episode 6,” “The Future, Episode 7/Series Finale” (Jack in a Box), Written by Michael Cyril Creighton; jackinaboxsite.com
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN WRITING DERIVATIVE NEW MEDIA
“Hide And Seek,” “Keys to the Kingdom,” “The Chosen Ones,” “Parting Shots” (The Walking Dead: Cold Storage), Written by John Esposito; amctv.com
The above comment was aimed at a properly removed comment that came before.
Geez, this troll really has some serious issues-far worse than I originally thought.
So this is just shocking Kushner overlooked for a screenplay that was tenfold at least more accomplished, smarter and far and away innovative to the shit that the supposed most undeserved inevitable Oscar winner in Argo which is to answer u earlier question sasha already determined Argo will b a also ran a fuked up wasted opportunity to embrace the best of the best that film is Lincoln not Argo. What a truckload of shithouse waste . Oscar season denegrates itself to. They should start calling themselves the mediocre arts and motion picture sciences. This year marks a all time lowest ebb for Oscar and the guilds. They are arrogant, selfish and ruthless. Stop at nothing to get their way at the expense of us the little pple who oncce were considered as to who should win best picture. Now Oscar cast us aside. U watch in yrs to come the only thing memorable bout this year is Oscarw elitism on the rise and it public support base in rapid decline. Everyone will tlk of Lincoln in yrs to come and that includes the discredited some not on this site who arrogantly press awards season agenda. There something rotten in Hollywood awards. And that is the rise and rise of mediocruty at the expense of the true deserving rightful best film of the year.
@Ryan Adams, you don’t have to be condescending. If you’re going to try to call me out on something (which could very well be my opinion) then at least read my post a bit more closely. I said, “With those 4 movies I’ve heard many criticisms about the endings.” So yes, some people have told me about how they feel the ending cheated them but that would be their opinion, maybe they don’t have the time to dwell on our choices the way some of us, or you, do (like you said before, are you expected to stubbornly stick with the way you feel about a movie?) I for one LOVED Life of Pi and I feel Ang Lee deserves the Oscar. The ending was a bit of a let down at first because I bought into the magic. Within a minute of leaving the theater I realized the audience was allowed to come up with their own ending and let the magic transform how they felt. Sorry, even if I wanted my “Calvin and Hobbes” it’s what I want and I don’t need a snide remark from someone trying to knock me a peg down. Luckily I love the ending the way it is. I never missed the point of the entire movie, maybe you just missed the point of my post.
I think the problem is that many video game writers aren’t part of the Writer’s Guild…or many members of the WGA aren’t necessarily avid gamers.
To me, two of the best written games of the past two years came from Japanese studios (Catherine and Deadly Premonition).
I mean why wasn’t Portal 2 or Bastion nominated? Unless the writers aren’t members of WGA.
Andre: I, too, did a bit of a double take when I saw Assassin’s Creed 3: Liberation win the Video Game Writing award. I mean, in a year with both The Walking Dead, Spec Ops: The Line, and Dishonored, I’m really surprised the best nominees they could come up with were AC:3 Liberation, AC:3, Uncharted: Golden Abyss, Epic Mickey 2 (???), 007 Legends (???), and Halo 4.
people talk about new. to my curiosity, what makes lincoln so different from any spielberg movie?
Well…. as long as Zero Dark Thirty won something it deserved, i don’t care about either Argo or Lincoln! So incredibly happy. I hope ZDT gets this at the Oscars too. I know it wont get editing or actress!!
Just out of curiosity, what’s your age Ryan Adams? Jason Travis?
Just feeling a generation gap here. (Hope you don’t mind me asking, I’m 32.)
then we’re near peers, Ben Fan. no generation gap.
I really don’t understand how Life of Pi’s ending felt like a cheat, other than…
*SPOILER WARNING*
If you felt the film made too strong of a case that none of it actually happened and was Pi’s way of coping with the horror of what actually happened rather than leaving it more ambiguous for the viewer.
However, I don’t think it was a cheat at all. I think it shows how one deals with the trauma and situation at hand. Pi could have let it defeat him and grow up to be extremely cynical and angry. Instead he embraces the mystery of life and how we all came to be. He lets his experience fuel his already existing curiosity for the metaphysical. Maybe some people don’t like the possible message that because of people’s preference to think of the world in a more “fantastical” way in order to make it easier to swallow the harshness of the reality, they turn to religion.
I personally thought if anything Life of Pi gave us a lot to think about on why we choose to view the world the way we do.
Sammy,
Haneke does not care about Hollywood or winning awards. He hates Hollywood and if you saw either version of Funny Games he resents viewers who want movies to fall back on Hollywood conventions. That aspect of his personality is one of the reasons why it took so long for the Academy to acknowledge his mastery. It’s also one of the reasons that fake twitter account of him is so genius.
And I agree with Jason Travis that Ben Affleck’s best role to date (well, at least since Hollywoodland) is him playing out the surprise and appreciation of the outpouring and goodwill he had for the awards he received that had no bearing or correlation of the Oscar non-nomination but thanks to his charm, suddenly did. I think I remember Mark Harris, who has tried his best to keep mum during this season even as his husband Kushner is the nominee (not to mention both are outspoken defenders of Zero Dark Thirty), tweeting how when he and Tony were at the Globes that he kept on overhearing how ‘brave’ Ben Affleck was and that was the first sign that he had to get back to New York as soon as he could. The industry fell for it hook, line, and sinker.
And nobody seems to remember how Argo felt a little too small in terms of story (the hostage crisis was still ongoing and to have Carter talk in the epilogue while not acknowledging the many other bad things that happened and were botched by the US felt disingenuous), that the Goodman-Arkin scenes felt like a different movie, a little too proud of itself with its script and its side-by-side photographs at the end, how un-dynamic Affleck was as a leading character (and that a Mendez-Affleck side-by-side was omitted and that seemed like an acknowledgment that Affleck was the hot leading actor who was cast to get ticket sales), and that it had a Rockwell ending that felt way too congratulatory of itself that even people I know who liked it felt the same way. But it always stayed an industry-friendly pick, that is true as it was always a fabric of the film, but let’s not ignore there were reasons it faded for a bit when Lincoln and Zero Dark Thirty hit.
I’m a huge fan of Argo, but even I’m getting over the hype. It should not have won the SAG for ensemble. That win was a joke. It should not have won the WGA. I don’t know if it will win the Oscar, but at this point, I would be happy with if Life of Pi pulled off an upset for best picture. It seems to be one movie that everyone agrees is pretty fantastic. I also really want Ang Lee to win director. That whole movie was basically in front of a green screen, and he got an amazing lead performance from a new actor to was acting next to nothing.
@Jason, I apologize. After rereading my post I realized that I didn’t so much give away endings but more or less described the tone which I guess can be a spoiler. Thanks for pointing it all out.
Argo partisans have fallen far when they argue “snobbery” must be at play for pretty much the most mainstream director ever.
And I don’t fault Argo partisans. They found an exciting movie and latched onto it. Good for them. But I can’t stand ones that dismiss Lincoln as simply boring. Or ones that say that Hollywood is showing that Argo is far above the rest (“who are you to criticize Hollywood?”). I’ll criticize who I want for reasons that are mine.
Poor Kushner. More than any other part of that film, he deserved something. I am now torn on Lee and Spielberg, ho to root for. My heart was set on Lincoln for BP and Lee for director, but Lincoln being shut out besides Day-Lewis hurts. I’ll be happy with either I guess. But the way things are going, I’m expecting Russell to win.
in regards to Kane’s comment about the “meandering” ending of LINCOLN. the hallway scene would have been a common, cliche fade out. but extending to that effective image of Abe on his deathbed and then with that AWESOME scene at the 2nd inauguration…well, i just thought it was brilliant. something about that last image of him giving that speech. the lighting, the crowd, the words, the feel–i was simply awed.
speaking of endings,however, LES MIZ handily wins that one this year. tears, goosebumps, great music, catharsis…the whole package. argue if you will about the movie, but Hooper wrapped it up with amazing flourish.
Sasha: Argo didn’t start the race as a mere also-ran. Kris Tapley, for one, thought it would emerge as a winner back in october and november (that he chose to go with the very short-lived Les Mis hype for a while in december is akin to you, Sasha, switching to War Horse for a week or two last season…;)) Roger Ebert thought it a winner even earlier…
Personally, I have been expecting Argo to win all along and I can’t be the only one. I think it has all the components of a bp winner (maybe except for one thing: a cast with more stars…but then again, that didn’t hurt Slumdog or The Artist). It’s really the obvious consensus pick, if you think about it. This much was obvious even in november or early december (ZD30 too controversial and narratively fragmented, Lincoln too “boring” and not biopic-y enough, Les Mis too…well…bad, Life of Pi too hard a sell with the actors’ branch etc.).
I would just, for once, like to see some consistency in the way certain films are addressed on AD. You loved Argo three months ago, now it’s unworthy and won’t stand the test of time (it’s even inferior to Affleck’s previous efforts, apparently). There is a credibility problem when you keep switching allegiances according to what’s “strategically” appropriate.
(that he chose to go with the very short-lived Les Mis hype for a while in december is akin to you, Sasha, switching to War Horse for a week or two last season…;))
Just to be clear — because it’s not at all clear from that sentence — the biggest difference between Kris falling head over heels for Les Mis and Sasha ‘switching to War Horse’ is that the first thing actually happened and the second thing never did.
Argo didn’t start the race as a mere also-ran. Kris Tapley, for one, thought it would emerge as a winner back in october and november
You have it kind of wrong. I’m talking about after the Telluride bump. He most certainly did not think of it as a winner any more than I did – we both had it predicted early on then switched when it seemed to lose steam. No, sorry, can’t back out of that one – you either give us both credit for that or neither.
I would just, for once, like to see some consistency in the way certain films are addressed on AD.
In other words, you want us stick stubbornly to whatever feeling we have about a movie on the night we first see it. Don’t ever EVER reevaluate the way we feel about a movie as time passes and repeat lines of blow fail to deliver that first kick of cocaine — never stop grinning blissfully! especially when we begin to realize that the initial thrill is wearing off and we’re left with a hollow sensation.
That’s why we admire the GOP, right? Cheney and Co. are still gung ho about the War in Iraq being a brilliant idea.
@Fabinho Flapp:
By the way, ARGO is going to win, Terrio too and Lincoln must feel very luck for a Daniel Day Lewis winner. A winner who he doesn’t deserve
Funny, most of us also agree Argo is winning best picture and Terrio best adapted screenplay. Why feel the need to angrily write this to us again? Are you trying to make yourself feel better? Do you need a validated response that sparks your ego? Grow up. We’re allowed to root for other films, like Lincoln, without you trumpeting your pointless jibberish. You’re a troll that belongs back under his bridge for the duration of the awards season.
Let’s be frank. Argo is not a masterpiece but it is still better than Lincoln, SLP. In terms of artistry it is clearly behind Amour. So if Academy decides to award Amour BP, BD and BA I would have no problem with that result. Otherwise it is Argo’s game.
@Kane: Please mention SPOILER before you go and give away all the endings to the movies- some of us haven’t seen all the best picture nominees.
It’s blatantly obvious people are voting for Argo because of the snub. You’re blind if you can’t see it. Affleck himself knew it when he won the BFCA: “I’d like to thank the academy…” – he knew that would trigger the reaction he wanted to get the tides to sway towards him. This is not rocket science- it’s pure fact right on your television screen! Nobody’s saying Argo is a bad film. We are saying it’s winning because of reasons that are not for it’s merit- and that’s dirty dealing.
Again, WHAT would have happened if Affleck WAS a director nominee, and Argo was NOT a Best Picture nominee? I truly wonder.
Haneke should have made the movie “Amour” in the English language with the name “Love” and starring Helen Mirren and Anthony Hopkins in the leading roles. What do you think? Would it have a better chance for BP.
Many of us have a hard time accepting that Argo could come out among the best. It is believable that people think it is among the best or in the conversation of the best but as a #1 film of the year it feels safe. When there were riskier, aim higher movies that even if you had problems with it you admire the ambition does not get rewarded while a film that aims strictly for the middle is considered the best it is disappointing. I did not see Lincoln until really late and I was a Zero Dark Thirty partisan since December so Argo was distant memory for me and I didn’t love it when I saw it. Those two are among the top (followed by The Master, Moonrise Kingdom, A Royal Affair, Skyfall, and Amour among the nominated films) but I saw a lot of other films, some of which were outright ignored by the Academy, that have stuck with me longer than Argo. It’s not snobbery, Lincoln, Skyfall, and ZD30 are all incredibly mainstream, accessible pieces of entertainment aimed for an adult audiences, it is that in a year where the top contenders felt like it rivaled 2007/2008 in strength of overall Best Picture and Best Director nominees. That the film with the least amount of risk and vision is ultimately rewarded leaves a bad aftertaste. Argo may have a high score on Rotten Tomatoes and MetaCritic but look at the amount of top ten lists, its appearances in the top 5 or #1 slot, and critic’s polls it occupies compared to the other nominees. It is the definition of a 3-star film that really took advantage of those online review compiling systems that have always been flawed and in my opinion kill film criticism every time it is taken seriously (and I hate that Zero Dark Thirty has used its Metacritic score of 95 in its campaigns).
Wow I just realized how many times I typed “Argo”. Proofreading is everything!
@Terri Woods, thank you! That’s exactly what I’ve been feeling for the past two weeks. Argo was fine and dandy before the morning of the nominations. Argo has been secured for a long, long time. It was the first movie that was predicted to win best picture before the others were seen, then it fell off the charts and it looped back to Argo. If Affleck had his director nomination there wouldn’t be this kind of backlash. This is the blame game, Argo wins and it’s because of the snub. That’s not fair at all, maybe many critics, guild members and academy members just felt Argo was put together better than any other film. Like Sasha and Ryan have been saying all along, Argo is the movie nobody has a problem with…and I think there’s your answer. Maybe they found nothing wrong with it when they found something wrong with Lincoln, Life of Pi, Django Unchained, Silver Linings Playbook ect. With those 4 movies I’ve heard many criticisms about the endings. Lincoln meandered and could’ve ended on the hallway scene, Life of Pi’s ending felt like a cheat (and I know it’s in the book), Django should’ve ended after the big house shootout and SLP geared toward a formulaic ending after all that momentum built. I haven’t really heard any criticisms about Argo…not until Affleck’s snub and that’s where things are getting tricky, snobby and outright acidic at times. Everybody has an opinion and an insult and I can tell you which one gets thrown around twice as much.
@Spacey, I’d almost consider Lincoln as an HBO product instead of Argo, and that’s in no way a knock on the former. Lincoln has a certain prestige (rivaling Masterpiece Theater) that would ALMOST make you think HBO did it. John Adams anyone?
Life of Pi’s ending felt like a cheat (and I know it’s in the book).
um, because it would’ve all felt more ‘honest’ to you if a boy and tiger became best friends forever? That’s all you wanted? A live action Calvin and Hobbes? You might have missed the point of the entire movie. Sorry, it wasn’t intended to be The Jungle Book.
Thanks Sasha!
Shocked at some of the comments on here. People should really read them back. If someone thinks Argo is a masterpiece then they are entitled to do so just as others can wax lyrical over Lincoln being a masterpiece. It isnt a fact it is their own opinion. There seems to be a snobbery on here that is if you dont think Lincoln is a masteropiece then your comments are not worthy and you are simply wanting Argo to win because it gets ‘one over’ on Spielberg. Maybe some of us just like Argo better and happen to think it is one of the years best. All just a matter of opinion and I wont be ridiculed because of that opinion just because I may be in the minority on here.I personally dont feel any movie nominated is worthy of being called a masterpiece yet but I am hoping for an Argo win as I enjoyed it the most out of this years crop.
The script for “Argo” was excellent. Tightly written, beautifully conceived, multi-layers of emotions and actions occurring simultaneously, and Affleck interpreted these scenes amazingly well. I was so glad it won the Best Screenplay award. Totally deserved.
“Lincoln” is dull as dishwater. Uninvolving and most unforgivingly boring.
I predict it to sweep the Oscars – taking five awards: BP, BD, BA, BSA, Writing.
It is not the best film in a year of really really great movies.
This is it perfectly. Argo isn’t a bad film; it’s quite good, actually but wouldn’t be out of place as a HBO movie and Affleck makes some pretty bad camera movement choices.
“Lincoln” is so beautifully written with evocative photography, superb direction and a cast uniformally working at the top of their peak.
Don’t get me wrong, this is nowhere near as bad as Crash or The King’s Speech but it is baffling that they are going for one of the weakest pictures in contention
And if Spielberg loses Director I hope it’s to Ang Lee. What an artist he is.
But the Argo script winning over the work of one of the greatest living American writers will be a travesty the academy will never live down.
I know Django was not eligible for those reasons but was that also the case with Inglourious Basterds?
“DU is a similar film to IB, that lost the WGA…”
Per the Hollywood Reporter: “…some American filmmakers, such as Quentin Tarantino (Django Unchained), have opted not to join the guild or work under its terms out of a desire to maintain complete independence, even if they are supportive of unions….”
“Boal over Tarantino twice? Nope”
Why? DU is a similar film to IB, that lost the WGA and Oscar to Boal despite his script winning earlier indicators, and if anything DU will make AMPAS voters more uncomfortable because of who is getting picked on with this movie as opposed to Nazis in IB- or rather, who is getting shot to pieces in. Boal’s movie may have been more controversial at voting time but the fact that it survived under the scrutiny of the writer’s branch (who I believe actually were much more sympathetic to any dramatic license and do not care about the outside noise as much) and got its nomination was half the battle.
I still think the screenplay will go to either Haneke or Boal. Each are much more impressive scripts than Tarantino just doing a similar take on some alternative historical period piece.
I find it interesting the top 3 scripts in the original screnplay category all are under the Sony/Sony Pictures Classics/Columbia Pictures umbrella. That must have been fun politicking for Sony.
Phantom: Well, the directors’ branch failed to nominate Affleck, but all guilds across the board (mysteriously, including the DGA) seem to be in love with Argo. The fact that 6% of the Academy failed to nominate a specific director is obviously not indicative of Argo’s popularity within the Academy at large. The discrepancy between the guild awards and the Affleck snub for director is very puzzling indeed. But clearly the directors’ branch of the Academy are the anomaly here.
Argo will win in quite a landslide on feb 24th.
Sammy: excactly. Argo flows, Lincoln meanders about. That’s not something your average Academy member is going to appreciate. Argo’s script is working in the films’ favor, whereas Spielberg had to deal with a script that was difficult to translate to the screen. That shouldn’t take anything away from the mastery at play in Kushner’s achievement though. I just wonder if a movie was the right medium to honor his aspirations.
Tero H, it’s tough for me to call Lincoln’s screenplay the best in years because frankly I didn’t find the film as amazing as others, which is odd because I can normally separate the script from the movie. I acknowledge that the script was great but…I’d have to watch it again if I want to feel what everyone else is feeling. In terms of the best adapted scripts (IMO) from the last few years…Up in the Air, Social Network and Moneyball.
“Boal over Tarantino twice? Nope”
Can happen. Hilary Swank was rewarded twice over Annette Bening.
@Glenn UK
I don’t think we’re in the middle of oscar voting. It started 10 days ago and it’s over tomorrow.
I’m happy for ARGO but ZDT best original screenplay please NO! I hope the Oscar will go to Tarantino.
First I find it rather amusing that anyone would think Ben Affleck’s cardboard performance in Argo comes close to Daniel Day Lewis’ performance in Lincoln. If anyone would or could upset Lewis winning it will be Phoenix.
The one thing that should be clear to everyone now is that no one who was considered a front runner in any category should believe for a moment that they will walk away with an Oscar on the 24th. NO ONE.
As for Argo winning adapted Screenplay at the WGA that’s just a travesty. There were films not even considered that had better screenplays than Argo. Looper and Perks of Wallflower come to mind immediately. Even Promethus had a better screenplay. The one Oscar that Argo deserves in my opinion is the Editing because it’s the Editing that holds Argo together and that’s all.
I still like Argo. It will become part of my library. But I can guarantee you that I will probably watch the Hunger Games again for the fourth or fifth time before I watch Argo for a second time. But the DVD I’m waiting for is Lincoln.
Forgive them Spielberg for they know not what they do.
Well I’m not quite convinced that The Oscars are a done deal. I wonder whether the heat that Argo has picked up could now backfire with Oscar voters. They may think “OK, he’s had enough attention now for being supposedly snubbed by us”. We are now in the middle of Oscar voting and whilst the Guilds have made their decisions, I’m not quite certain just yet that the Academy has. There is practically always a surprise with Oscar …… in recent times its been in the techy/writing categories …. but clearly this year we are totally blind with Director and what if the Academy wants to tie up the Director with its film?
What if people don’t want to hear Hathaway giving another patronising “Sally” speech – Les Mis is my favourite film this year but quite frankly I’m sick of hearing a smug Hathaway. DDL accepts awards so beautifully and sensitively, she needs to take a leaf out of his book. At this moment in time I would love to see Sally win and watch Anne’s face.
And then we have no idea whether Mr Weinstein is having an impact anywhere with his direct campaigning.
I think we will have an interesting broadcast and I am really hoping for a few shocks along the way.
We are now in the middle of Oscar voting
Well, not really. We’re basically at the end. Tomorrow is the last day and most have already voted and most have already voted for Argo. It is over. So if you’re an Argo fan (over all other films) it’s time to crack open that champagne.
“Your comments never contribute anything respectful to the table or anything insightful- please know this.”
“Argo is winning because of who Ben Affleck is, Lincoln is LOSING because of who Steven Spielberg is. It’s not even about the movies. It’s about the people behind them.”
Much insight. Thanks.
…
“Now that Lincoln, the film, has been completely shut out of the pre-Oscar awards, I think it boosts Ang Lee’s chances of winning Director. Maybe even a semi surprise win for Russell. I’m starting to wonder if Lincoln will actually go 1/12 next Sunday with only DDL winning.”
I have been warning of Ang Lee’s BD win.
It’s going to be a war zone in here come Oscar night.
…
“Years from now, when film historians and movie mavens look back of 2012, they will marvel that the best films of the year did not win the Oscar for Best Film. Film masterpieces like Zero Dark Thirty, Lincoln, Life of Pi (an absolute technical marvel), Amour (although it will win Best Foreign Film), Moonlight Kingdom, etc., and excellent documentaries like Searching for Sugar Man (which will probably win the Best Documentary award), The Invisible War, How to Survive a Plague, The Central Park 5, etc., did not win the Best Picture Oscar — but Argo did.
I am not saying that Argo is a bad movie…”
Lol.
There will be a lot of this.
…
“…I really do hope Zero Dark Thirty repeats at the Oscars. Please!”
Boal over Tarantino twice? Nope.
Mediocrity rules.
Yawn. So Argo wins picture, editing, adapted screenplay and..? Fabinho Flopp wins biggest Ben Affleck worshipper. Ben Affleck wins nothing for directing : – )
First, let me apologize for misspelling Spielberg a million times. Goodness.
And Pierre…yes that logic certainly makes sense. And I guess it becomes kind of a consolation prize if Lincoln doesn’t end up taking picture. I just have to ultimately agree with Sasha that it becomes a crappy scenario and not a great precedent to set–winning best pic without director and vice versa. I’ve never really understood the logic that a best picture can be made without the best director for the year–shouldn’t they be one and the same? To me the only time they wouldn’t correspond is when it’s decided a director contributed to getting some of the best performances of the year out of his/her actors…which would possibly circle back to a Haneke or Zeitlin scenario. I know that probably won’t happen, but it would make more sense to me.
@Julian – I agree completely. The reason why Argo took the screenplay is that it is the better film. Lincoln is simply NOT FLOWING. This is the number one priority these days for a film’s success. Look at The Artist – it just flows – hard to find a blank scene. Argo is in the same league as well.
Just imagine – Spielberg wins the best director and minutes later DDL wins the best actor (the two biggest awards after BP) and suddenly Argo wins BP. This is just a ridiculous scenario. There should be something different if we are to see an Argo victory.
@Pierre – yes, if it is not Spielberg then it will be Haneke. Russell should not have been nominated at all.
It is hard to imagine an Argo/Spielberg split as well. It is of course possible but just ridiculous.
Surprising information from Deadline : And we can’t chalk this win up to simple Argo momentum. The WGA votes were all in by Friday January 25th , just before the PGA and SAG coronations of Argo were announced. That means there was no big ‘Mo factor at work here and the WGA simply voted what they thought was the best film withoug being influenced by other guilds and awards shows.
That means WGA voted Terrio the winner BEFORE Argo pulled off the PGA-DGA-SAG Ensemble trifecta AND the Bafta, the four organizations (WGA is fifth) that – unlike BFCA and HFPA – have A LOT of Academy voters as members. So I guess that indicates almost without a doubt, that there WILL be a BP/BD split after all, and until yesterday I honestly didn’t think that could be the case.
We’ll see, I still think the fact that the Academy didn’t nominate Affleck means they obviously weren’t as fond of Argo as all these other organizations, and that could result a big divide between precursors and Oscars, but if that’s the case, that could also result an SLP-upset because that was a film considerably MORE beloved by the Academy than precursors…so I only hope that if Lincoln/Pi/Amour can’t win, at least they will lose to the notthebestbutstillworthy Argo and NOT to Silver Linings Playbook.
That means WGA voted Terrio the winner BEFORE Argo pulled off the PGA-DGA-SAG Ensemble trifecta AND the Bafta, the four organizations (WGA is fifth) that – unlike BFCA and HFPA – have A LOT of Academy voters as members. So I guess that indicates almost without a doubt, that there WILL be a BP/BD split after all, and until yesterday I honestly didn’t think that could be the case.
Sorry but I hate it when people get things wrong. Not you Phantom but Deadline. The reason it was easy to call Terrio for the WGA win was because the ballots went in at the same time as the PGA and SAG. Why does he think Argo won there? That was the moment Argo took hold – it was right after the Globes and the Affleck snub. Once Affleck was snubbed and then collected his wins at the BFCA and Globes that’s exactly when the surge (for real) started. I think if WGA ballots had been turned in later that the 25th the momentum might have shifted.
Yes, Lincoln is the “smarter” screenplay, but does that necessarily make it better within the context of the actual movie than Argo’s? I have to agree with Tero: Kushner’s script is a great achievement as a piece of writing, but Argo is a better film overall than Lincoln (though I enjoyed Lincoln more on a second viewing).
The AD-orchestrated backlash on Argo is somewhat pathetic. Three months ago everybody loved it, now it’s just a piece of popular thrash. Go figure.
The AD-orchestrated backlash on Argo is somewhat pathetic. Three months ago everybody loved it, now it’s just a piece of popular thrash. Go figure.
It isn’t just AD. This is what people will think eventually, as predicted. It is not the best film in a year of really really great movies. It started the race as an also-ran that surged ahead. Time will have to tell whether it can hold its place or not.
wesley, to me the most obvious choice – other than Spielberg – would be Haneke. But I don’t think he can win for a foreign film that may be viewed as “not complex enough.” I’m thinking that Lee’s efforts will be viewed as more “technical” (not enough actors in it), with Zeitlin seen as too green and Russell — well, I don’t think enough voters like him all that much and his work seems a bit overindulgent to me. That leaves Spielberg, who’ll get the “bone” (consolation prize for not winning best picture).
I know all of our predictions are being posted on various threads, so I guess this is as good a place as any to ask…is it just me, or does anyone else agree that the ONLY way Spieldberg takes best director is if Lincoln upsets and takes picture too? I know many people are predicting a split between director/picture, which is obvious given the circumstances. But I just don’t see Spieldberg winning director unless the academy as a whole ends up loving Lincoln more than it looks like they will at this point. I would say Ang Lee, Haneke or even Zeitlin are more likely should Argo win best pic. (for the record I am hoping for a Lincoln/Spieldberg win, just not thinking it will happen at this point)
ughhh just one more week of this “its my lincoln party and i’ll cry if i want to” schtick and it will be all over!
and dare i hope we can move on to a new batch of films to appreciate during 2013 before bickering over the hopeful few come year end!
its all happened before and it will happened again….the more things change the moree they stay the same!
goodnight and good luck everyone!
Free, I agree about the hyperbole. My view is that Argo is a solid if somewhat pedestrian piece of filmmaking — a compromise choice that benefited from its entertainment value, backlash over the director snub, and a rather vicious takedown and bandwagon effect against Tony Kushner’s screenplay. My view is that Argo’s total take could likely be limited to 3 awards: film, screenplay and editing. That’s an even weaker overall showing than The King’s Speech.
Original screenplay-wise, I’m going with Tarantino because the Academy seems to like “wordy” writing, which rules out Amour. Quentin has the support of BAFTA, and a win here can be seen as a touch of audaciousness – which AMPAS likes to do in this category – and something of a tip of the hat for his past accomplishment with Inglourious Basterds. I think his win would be well received by the audience. Amour has foreign film and quite possibly best actress to enjoy.
my wish for Oscar night is that whoever wins best Director does not spend half of their speech apologizing to Ben Affleck–as tho he is the one who REALLY deserves it, and thus putting down their own accomplishment. i hope Steven or Ang stands up and stands proud…they have every reason to. i write this because of the odd and powerful tsunami of ARGO that is swallowing everything in its path. snub or not, it was not the de facto best film of the year…only one of the very good ones of 2013.
Very nice to see “Zero Dark Thirty” win (“The Master” would have been even nicer, but ok…), but I believe it´s biggest challenge at the Oscars won´t be “Moonrise Kindgom”, but “Amour”.
Even though I´m kind of lukewarm towards Haneke, I´ll admit it would be totally great to see a foreign language film win best original screenplay!
The debate/fight between “Lincoln” and “Argo” is so damn tiring… 🙂
I’m still hoping that Lincoln can win best actor, best supporting actor and best Director. If Tony Kushner Wins best adapted screenplay it will be the highlight of my night along with Riva winning best actress.
“Years from now, when film historians and movie mavens look back of 2012, they will marvel that the best films of the year did not win the Oscar for Best Film. Film masterpieces like Zero Dark Thirty, Lincoln, Life of Pi (an absolute technical marvel), Amour (although it will win Best Foreign Film), Moonlight Kingdom, etc., and excellent documentaries like Searching for Sugar Man (which will probably win the Best Documentary award), The Invisible War, How to Survive a Plague, The Central Park 5, etc., did not win the Best Picture Oscar — but Argo did.”
– People are really getting carried away with the hyperbole these last couple of weeks. I know some want to keep drawing comparisons to how something as mediocre as Crash won over the others it was up against (not just Brokeback), but Argo isn’t that film. It just isn’t. And I doubt anyone will be surprised a documentary didn’t win Best Picture, considering they couldn’t buy themselves a ticket to that event if they tried.
…and now we finally have the MPSE results. Looks like we can officially predict Skyfall for Sound Editing now.
BEST SOUND EDITING: MUSIC IN A FEATURE FILM
LIFE OF PI (20TH CENTURY FOX)
Directed by: Ang Lee
Produced by: Gil Netter, Ang Lee, David Womark
Music Editor: Erich Stratmann
Additional Music Editor: Mitch Bederman
BEST SOUND EDITING: MUSIC IN A MUSICAL FEATURE FILM
LES MISÉRABLES (UNIVERSAL PICTURES)
Directed by: Tom Hooper
Produced by: Eric Fellner, Tim Bevan, Debra Hayward, Cameron Mackintosh
Supervising Music Editor: Gerard McCann
Co-Supervising/Vocals Editor: John Warhurst
Music Editors: Rob Houston, James Bellamy, Rael Jones
Vocals Editors: Tim Hands, Alastair Sirkett
BEST SOUND EDITING: DIALOGUE AND ADR IN A FEATURE FILM
LIFE OF PI (20TH CENTURY FOX)
Directed by: Ang Lee
Produced by: Gil Netter, Ang Lee, David Womark
Supervising Sound Editors: Eugene Gearty, Philip Stockton, M.P.S.E.
Supervising ADR Editor: Kenton Jakub
BEST SOUND EDITING: SOUND EFFECTS AND FOLEY IN A FEATURE FILM
SKYFALL (COLUMBIA PICTURES)
Directed by: Sam Mendes
Produced by: Barbara Broccoli, Michael G. Wilson
Supervising Sound Editors: Per Hallberg, M.P.S.E., Karen Baker Landers
Sound Designers: Peter Staubli, M.P.S.E.,
Christopher Assells, M.P.S.E.
Supervising Foley Editor: Craig S. Jaeger, M.P.S.E.
Foley Artists: Dan O’Connell, John Cucci
Sound Effects Editors: Dino R. DiMuro, M.P.S.E., Daniel Hegeman,
Bill R. Dean, M.P.S.E., Piero Mura
BEST SOUND EDITING: SOUND EFFECTS, FOLEY, DIALOGUE AND ADR IN AN ANIMATION FEATURE FILM
WRECK-IT RALPH (WALT DISNEY STUDIOS MOTION PICTURES)
Directed by: Richard Moore
Produced by: Clark Spencer, John Lasseter
Supervising Sound Editor: Frank Eulner
Sound Designer: Gary Rydstrom, M.P.S.E.
Supervising Foley Editor: Luke Dunn-Gielmuda
Foley Artists: Dennie Thorpe, Jana Vance
Supervising Dialogue Editor: Marshall Winn
Sound Effects Editors: J.R. Grubbs, E.J. Holowicki, David Chrastka
Foley Editor: Dee Selby
BEST SOUND EDITING: SOUND EFFECTS, FOLEY, DIALOGUE AND ADR IN A
FEATURE FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
RUST & BONE (UGC DISTRIBUTION)
Directed by: Jacques Audiard
Produced by: Pascal Caucheteux, Jacques Audiard
Sound Designer: Pascal Villard
Foley Artist: Phillipe Penot
Sound Effects Editors: David Vranken, Nikolas Javelle
Dialogue Editor: Caroline Reynaud
BEST SOUND EDITING: SOUND EFFECTS, FOLEY, DIALOGUE, ADR AND MUSIC IN A FEATURE DOCUMENTARY
LAST CALL AT THE OASIS (ATO PICTURES)
Directed by: Jessica Yu
Produced by: Elise Pearlstein
Supervising Sound Editor: Peter Brown
Sound Effects Editor: Paul Aulicino, M.P.S.E.
Dialogue Editor: Glynna Grimala
Music Editor: Kim Roberts
@ Sasha,
there is a mistake. BREAKING BAD won TV drama writing, not MAD MEN. MAD MEN won episodic writing. Among comedies LOUIE won TV comedy writing & MODERN FAMILY won episodic writing.
Thanks Zooey!
Reading the comments and thinking: How awesome would it be if the lady from The Blind Side adopted Precious instead?
Blegh. Okay, I’m finally convinced. “Lincoln” probably won’t win Screenplay at the Oscars–the DUH OF COURSE IT HAS TO WIN award. And Spielberg could easily not win Director. All the bad things. I’ve finally resigned my hope. This is not “Lincoln’s” year.
“Wow, when did this stop becoming about the awards season and start becoming the “Who Can Be More Insulting and Wittier” game? Seriously…Argo and Lincoln are both great screenplays. Just because a bunch of writers picked Argo doesn’t mean it’s better than Lincoln and just because people say Lincoln has the best written script doesn’t mean it’s better than Argo. Lets try to separate the script from the actual movie itself. But these insults are getting childish. It’s easier to demean people when you’re typing on a keyboard and leaving the room. We’re all grown ass men and women. Let’s follow the “Shall we stop this bleeding?” line and not the “Huh? You don’t think Affleck deserves this or Lincoln is better because I said so? Well Argo fuck yourself!”
@Kane….HEAR HEAR!
I haven’t seen so many cry babies since…well, ever. Really…these are just movies. The awards season, as fun as it can be sometimes, is pointless. What matters is not how many awards something wins, but if IT wins YOU over.
Finally some love for ZD30!
Sadly, I dont think it can repeat at the Oscars. The Academy went ape shit over Amour so I think thats gonna take it
Congrats Argo! A tight screenplay.
T.
I’m sorry. ARGO??? How dare they do this to Kushner. I guess Clooney must have given EVERYONE a reach around. Sad day. 🙁
You walk out of the theater and you can’t remember the movie the next day!
I was wondering if I remembered Argo or not. Thank you for clearing things up for me.
Alright Louie! Love it. Interesting. I still think it’s between Amour and Django Unchained.
@Ryan: Sorry for doubting you- I was completely “unravelling”, as Streep said in The Hours (lol).
There is a tiny part of me that still thinks Kushner will prevail Sunday- and this is because I think that Silver Linings Playbook is also very competitive in Adapted Screenplay, and will take some of the votes away from Terrio. This is a 3 way race, though honestly Beasts of the Southern Wild and Life of Pi are also excellent, so this seriously could go anywhere. We still have to remember Precious winning Adapted Screenplay in 2009 when everybody had Up in the Air pegged for a win. However, there was a lot of passion for Precious, and my question is will there be enough passion for Lincoln, or will voters sway towards SLP and Argo for the big races.
Which then leaves us with the big headscratcher of all, Best Director. To whom ever wins this award on the 24th, you better believe they will be thinking “this is a second place ribjob”- and I am curious as to what they will say to Ben (and Kathryn Bigelow and Tom Hooper for that matter) in the audience; they should really just acknowledge it was a strong year for Directors. Many are saying Ang Lee wins by default, or Spielberg. Could the passion votes give Haneke or Zehtlin a win? Are we underestimating them? Time will tell.
“…You’ve changed his life. No he’s changing mine…” Now that’s good writing.
Oh god, flashbacks to that year with Sandy Botox – i still recall those nightmares I had of Julia Childs force feeding fried chicken down Miss Congeniality’s gob while Precious held her down! NOOOOOOOOO!
I don’t like Argo, but maybe I should be thankful for being able to enjoy the race without really caring about who wins (the only thing that could piss me off is if Anna Karenina lose production design). I’m skipping the stress.
Terometer gets censored so often and I have seen it be called Tero. He/she is not me. I AM ME. Although, quite a prick, but a kind prick, ok?
WGA now (as expected) goes down to history with missing THE screenplay of 2012 which is Lincoln. Love or hate the film, you can’t be blind acknowledging that the screenplay is beyond anything written in years (for adaptations, I must add). Idiots.
IMO, Argo is was a slightly better overall film, but this didn’t go too well, now, did it?
The Oscars, a private organization, albeit much publicized, wants to reward a film that praises its movie industry. And it rewards people who will help their business, or have helped them. What’s wrong with that?
There are other film institutes and academies which will award educational films like Lincoln.
@Joshua: Can you please do your happy dance right out of your bedroom window on Oscar night? That would be a sight to see.
@Ryan: You know what I meant. Bullock didn’t deserve to win her Oscar over her competition, and frankly- had The Blind Side not made $200+ million, I doubt the film or Bullock would have been nominated. Her win had nothing to do with merit that year, and it’s one of the weakest wins ever for an acting category.
After your amazing piece you wrote on Lincoln, I’m surprised you don’t understand where we’re coming from in regards to Kushner losing to Terrio tonight. Re-read what you posted and come back to me and say Terrio was deserving.
I hope the Oscar voters give us some deserving surprises.
Jason, I agree with you that Bullock’s Oscar had nothing to do with her performance being the “*best*” of the year
I’m surprised you don’t understand where we’re coming from in regards to Kushner losing to Terrio tonight
I understood you perfectly. I agree completely.
(I just think Bullock’s win has more to do with the specific reasons Elton Almeida cited. She’s Everybody’s Best Friend isn’t the reason.)
Don’t ever doubt that I’m crushed as anybody about the shoddy treatment Kushner is getting this month from the Hollywood “elite” of prom queens and prom kings.
Well, i just want to wax lyrical about Lincoln’s writing. It is majestic – it is the acheivement on which the rest of the movie is ornately clothed. It was such a beautiful marriage of writer to a consumate film maker. I just loved the poetry of it as well as the quips and the pathos and the tragedy. The screenplay is remarkably muscular but taut, and as an Aussie, i may not have got all the constitutional detail, but the dialogue and interplay had me hooked from start to finish.
yay there’s a race left for ZD30
[I love Awards Daily and Lincoln is my favorite movie of the year! Go Lincoln!]
Bullock, in my opinion, had accidentally found a great timing on her part (to have fallen into THAT year’s Best Female Actor category, let’s say, instead of this very season).
I love her. Just saw SPEED last night on my local cable. She’s charming.
BUT it kept bugging me still to see the beautiful and talented Annette Bening eating ZERO/EGG/NIL whereas our Ms. Congeniality has already garnered what she wanted. I was not going to complain for her American Beauty and Being Julia losses to Hillary Swank though. One of these days, she’s going to win and laugh out loud in joy I am hoping. Kudos to her regardless.
then you two agree Bullock’s Oscar had very little to do with the quality of her actual performance.
we love it when readers find ways to agree
^^ I loved the Blind Side, I cried and cried, it had a lot of heart. Regardless of why or whether Bullock should have won, I think she gave a bang-up performance. Very memorable.
And that’s the problem I have with Argo. IT’S NOT MEMORABLE. You walk out of the theater and you can’t remember the movie the next day!
Argo won a handful more from other critics bodies. This isn’t like The King’s Speech, which didn’t win picture awards until the guilds. Argo has had it’s following for a long time now.
^^ Okay, I have to repeat myself. Haven’t we seen this type of movie before? The hostages and the escape? Midnight Express? Nothing against Argo, it’s just not the BEST movie imo. It’s a good movie, but I can’t remember one character or one actor (besides Afleck). I don’t even think Arkin was that good, he did the same-o same-o he’s done before.
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/gallery/oscars-dressing-quvenzhane-wallis-9-421695#1
Off topic, I thought this was precious. QWallis and her designer duds.
She’s still my choice to UPSET the doggone Oscars and win Best Actress — won’t happen, but I can dream can’t I?
Fabinho, you really have to give this lame as hell Argo flag waving a rest. No one, I repeat, no one but you thinks Argo is a masterpiece. We all conceded that it’ a solid movie, even better than that probably, but it is nowhere, nowhere near the best of the year. I really don’t give a shit what the guilds are choosing because we all know that, contrary to what Tapley or you say, this is the default choice and most shameless display of politicking since the loss of Brokeback Mountain. Oh, boo hoo, Ben Affleck didn’t get nominated for the Oscar, let’s correct that shall we, and then correct it again, and then correct it again, and then correct it again, and again, and again. That is the ONLY reason Argo is winning. When ZERO DARK THIRTY, a FAR, FAR better film was released, Argo became a footnote. It was only able to regain its standing when the asinine torture controversy torpedoed its Oscar chances — a sickening development which brought out ignorance in the Academy.
Long story short — stop making a fool of yourself by declaring that “Lord Ben” and Argo are the best of anything. It really calls your credibility into question and almost sounds like a joke. Each of the other adapted screenplays were better than Argo’s. Chris Terrio has no business winning over Tony Kushner. Lucy Alibar and Benh Zeitlin’s eloquent and beautiful evocation of lost innocence in Beasts of the Southern Wild is a bigger achievement than Argo. Perks of Being a Wallflower is a masterpiece and perhaps the most sensitive movie ever made about teenagers. Even Silver Linings Playbook has more depth than Argo, which is an action movie that is exciting, yes, but lacking in depth all the way through.
So give it a rest, please.
this is the same group that thought Sandra Bullock was worthier then all her competition in 2009, when we all knew they just gave it to her simply because she’s everyone’s best friend…
Actually I thought Bullock won because that year she made history as a hit box office woman and the “industry” recognizes that she is a mainstream cinema icon and a million dollar baby.
— this is the same group that thought Sandra Bullock was worthier then all her competition in 2009, when we all knew they just gave it to her simply because she’s everyone’s best friend…
— Actually I thought Bullock won because that year she made history as a hit box office woman and the “industry” recognizes that she is a mainstream cinema icon and a million dollar baby.
then you two agree Bullock’s Oscar had very little to do with the quality of her actual performance.
we love it when readers find ways to agree.
(I seriously doubt Bullock is everybody’s best friend. That would be exhausting. For all of us.)
Finally saw ZERO DARK THIRTY last night. Magnificent.
It definitely deserved to win Original Screenplay. And I hope it wins the Oscar next Sunday.
ARGO is a well done entertaining movie. ZDT, PI and LINCOLN are the work of three great directors at the height of their powers. Each one is miles above Affleck’s movie.
When the nominations came out I was the first one to post a comment calling the DGA for Affleck. But I did it because I thought it would be a consolation prize.
That if Affleck had been nominated, ironically, ARGO wouldn’t have much of a
chance.
Now I think that him not getting nominated is just part of it. Kris Tapley has been saying for a while that ARGO is the front runner because no one seems to dislike it. Whereas ZDT, PI and LINCOLN have their passionate fans but also their equally passionate haters.
Another thing in ARGO’s favor is the preferential ballot. Even if ZDT, PI and LINCOLN get more first place votes than ARGO, I think more people will put ARGO in second and third place, giving it more points.
We need to go back to 5 nominees and just one vote for BP.
I hate to say this, kids, but tonight is the perfect set-up for one of the most exciting upsets in Oscar annals.
Even though virtually all the signs are pointing in one direction — um, actually they’re pointing in a whole lot of directions as more pictures will be winning Oscars than Sybil had personalities — I for one will be on the edge of my seat more times on Oscar night than I can remember. And I’ve been watching this dog and pony show since 1962. I mean, I lived through “Talk to the Animals” (Dr. Doolittle) winning best song, Oliver winning best pic, models dressed in Romeo & Juliet finery dancing the frug, Don Ameche . . . cut to Sandra Bullock and the screenplay from Precious. So I’m not gonna have an aneurysm to see Argo take best picture.
I’m beginning to think that Argo will take 4 at the most — it’s just that kind of year.
And my other consolation is that Fabinho I Rest My Case Flapp will wake up some day soon . . . even sooner than the Argo glaze fades from Academy voters’ eyes . . . and he’ll realize the only apparent thrill in his life will be a case so rested that it can’t be revived.
And ya know, I like Argo — totally enjoyable. What’s disconcerting is how it has come to pass.
There are plenty of races to be excited about, the Red Carpet, presenters, performers. This year’s Oscarcast will be no less disappointing than countless others — unless, of course, they bring back Mitzi Gaynor for a reprise of a full orchestral version of “Georgy Girl” with 10 male dancers thrusting her to the rafters.
Plus: if you take (just a little) Rotten Tomatoes into account: The Artist has one of the highest scores there… considering the 84 films that won Best Picture… 218 reviews… 4 negatives… 98%.
one last thing: I know this is not the place for this, but UGH for “Assassin’s Creed 3” winning for writing in a video-game!
gamers here (there must be SOMEONE other than me here who likes them on this site) know that, as it was for film, 2012 was a banner year for video-games as well. rewarding something generic like “AS3” is just showing you like the new and the different and the artis…
OOOOH I see what you did with all your awards this year, WGA! =P
@ Kane
In a handful of years? You use that arguments to support your view on Argo and why not The Artist or Slumdog Millionare? I feel there’s a lot of prejudice against those two films here. Let’s see what are FACTS.
Argo did not win one of the main critics awards. The Artist did…. It lost SAG/WGA (it was a silent film lead by two french and a dog) so… And if you want Metacritic… only 3 Oscar nominees in the past 5 years top its score – Zero Dark Thirty, The Social Network and Toy Story 3.
Slumdog Millionare… won one of the main critics awards (National Board). Swept the guilds including costumes, art directors, cinematographers, which Argo did not win. Same Metacritic score as Argo and only behind WALL-E that year.
Great to see Zero Dark Thirty – a tremendous film – honored at the WGA Awards. Mark Boal’s work was as close to cinema journalism as you’ll find and certainly deserving of the award.
I don’t believe Argo is the most deserving – but, I really do hope Zero Dark Thirty repeats at the Oscars. Please!
Ryan, as an english teacher, I MUST beg you to correct my awful “IT’S script” on my comment, please. it makes my eyes hurt. =P
and I’ll just stop being lazy and check the WGA’s website for the comedy winners, too!
“I can’t speak for all of the other pro-Argo supporters, but my support for it has nothing to do with shitting on Lincoln, or SLP, or anything else. I just plain liked the movie.”
It is a likable film. It is not a great film. Why it is sweeping is beyond me. Why it is sweeping OVER the films it is is even more irksome. Hollywood’s Argo affair has robbed me of any joy. I will take this harder than Crash (not that I think it is a worse film, because Argo isn’t). I need to step back.
I, and plenty of other folks, have every right to be baffled by all of Argo’s guild wins. Yes it deserved Editing, sure give it the PGA- whatever. But when you see a film like Argo winning the SAG and WGA, something ain’t right. It shows that a lot of these voters were simply going against Lincoln because of the jealousy factor with Spielberg and this stupid snub that has been taken way over hand. If Affleck had been a Director nominee, MARK MY WORDS Lincoln and Kushner would have won tonight! There wouldn’t be these guilt voters going on the Affleck bus because they wouldn’t have the “you snubbed him!” ringing in their ears.
Think about it- when the nominations came out, who was saying Terrio was going to win Adapted Screenplay??? NOBODY. The consensus lied with Kushner. That’s why tonight is such a disgrace. Because it wasn’t supposed to happen this way. For those saying Argo won’t be the worst adapted screenplay winner ever, get real! A Beautiful Mind, The Descendants, The Cider House Rules- were all expected to win in their respective categories. Not the case here. Kushner was expected. When you lose the Scripter award to Argo, you know it’s because people are just backlashing against you. It’s so sad to witness, but so true.
And yes, I should be less heated because after all, I got my wish last year when Meryl Streep FINALLY won her third Oscar and all was well. And yes, I should be less heated because you’re right, this is the same group that thought Sandra Bullock was worthier then all her competition in 2009, when we all knew they just gave it to her simply because she’s everyone’s best friend…similar to Ben Affleck, I would say.
Bottom line: If you want to win an Oscar, don’t work with Spielberg. Work with Affleck and Clooney, and get Weinstein to plug your stuff. For some reason, the most prestigious A team of the year – possibly the decade- is getting royally fucked over this year because of one little group of 369 people. I would never in a million years think the likes of Kushner, Spielberg, Kennedy, Lewis, Field, Jones, John Williams, and the subject of ABRAHAM freakin’ LINCOLN would be a no show during the guilds and precursors. Never ever. But I bet had this been a Stephen Daldry film, this wouldn’t be happening. It all boils down to who people like, and the movies are second fiddle.
“for once in a handful of years the critics, guilds and maybe academy members are, and have been, in unity over a film.”
Maybe “for twice” coz it just happened last year with The Artist. How short your memory is.
not too thrilled over these wins… granted, I’m not OUTRAGED, since it’s not like “All About Steve” won or something, but the greatest asset in the great film that is “Lincoln” was its script, which has, in my opinion, some of the best dialogue ever written in film. beautiful turns of phrase, poetic and literate language… a bit sad it didn’t get recognised tonight.
as for Original, though I have tons of respect for Boal’s “ZD30” script, I was (uselessly) hoping for a “Looper” win; I re-watched it last night and was really blown away by it. oh, well.
one more thing: what won TV Comedy? I don’t see it listed with the other winners…
Let us not forget that it’s not just guild members who have been picking Argo. While Lincoln won Dallas Fort-Worth for best picture, Argo won a handful more from other critics bodies. This isn’t like The King’s Speech, which didn’t win picture awards until the guilds. Argo has had it’s following for a long time now. Argo and Lincoln share the same Metacritic score. That does say something, for once in a handful of years the critics, guilds and maybe academy members are, and have been, in unity over a film.
It’s the industry saying this is the kind of script we like, the kind of movie we like, the kind of success we want more of. It’s really as simple as that. That’s why it is ultimately meaningless. It’s a reflecting pool, not an advancement.
Exactly. And aesthetically, it’s not only not-an-advancement, it’s regressive. There’s nothing Argo is doing that many 70s movies haven’t done. But that’s the George Clooney brand and it’s getting boring.
I never knew Kushner wrote Angels in America. I loved it. Just saying.
—
SLP is far from a normal mainstream flick in my opinion. I am not citing critics blindly but in case of SLP, even a relatively tough reviewer like EW’s Lisa Schwarzbaum (sp) has given it a solid A; not A- but solid A (not A+ though).
Excerpts taken from Schwarzbaum’s review: “Silver Linings Playbook is based on a best-selling 2008 novel by Matthew Quick. Still, Russell’s own flair for playing with characters who flirt with disaster is what gives the movie its peculiar verve and unique sense of controlled chaos.” “The movie is lit with a love that catches the viewer by surprise. We’re ready for the comedy of craziness, but the depth of compassion is the movie’s silver lining.”
Years from now, when film historians and movie mavens look back of 2012, they will marvel that the best films of the year did not win the Oscar for Best Film. Film masterpieces like Zero Dark Thirty, Lincoln, Life of Pi (an absolute technical marvel), Amour (although it will win Best Foreign Film), Moonlight Kingdom, etc., and excellent documentaries like Searching for Sugar Man (which will probably win the Best Documentary award), The Invisible War, How to Survive a Plague, The Central Park 5, etc., did not win the Best Picture Oscar — but Argo did.
I am not saying that Argo is a bad movie, I am not bashing Argo. It is, in fact, a very, very good film, exciting and intriguing in its own way, but it is not in the same league of some of its competitors — it is not a film masterpiece.
Let’s face it: Argo, like The Artist and several other predecessors (even including Crash, with its non-flattering yet otherwise “friendly” Los Angeles setting), is a film of Hollywood self-aggrandizement, of Hollywood seeing itself as a savior of the world by participating in international politics, of Hollywood once again kissing its own ass. I am not saying this is necessarily wrong. There are many Hollywood-influenced and even Hollywood-based films that are truly excellent. But when Hollywood gives itself a chance to pat itself on the back, to love itself, it rarely fails to do so. After all, isn’t that what the Oscars, in actuality, are all about anyway.
@Steve50–I will be kind of shocked if Desplat, a composer I adore, wins the score award for Argo. Say what you will, you don’t leave Argo thinking about the score.
“The truth is that people like you are only getting pleasure out of Argo winning for the simple fact that you want bragging rights. A great script lost tonight on account of thinking like yours- that Argo should win simply so it can beat Lincoln, simply so that Ben Affleck’s snub can be made up for.”
– I can’t speak for all of the other pro-Argo supporters, but my support for it has nothing to do with shitting on Lincoln, or SLP, or anything else. I just plain liked the movie.
“The truth is that people like you are only getting pleasure out of Argo winning for the simple fact that you want bragging rights. A great script lost tonight on account of thinking like yours- that Argo should win simply so it can beat Lincoln, simply so that Ben Affleck’s snub can be made up for.”
yep. I saw some dumb muggle headline today that said “will Lincoln’s Oscar be stolen by Argo?” I mean really? How long does this stupid story have to go on?
Wow, when did this stop becoming about the awards season and start becoming the “Who Can Be More Insulting and Wittier” game? Seriously…Argo and Lincoln are both great screenplays. Just because a bunch of writers picked Argo doesn’t mean it’s better than Lincoln and just because people say Lincoln has the best written script doesn’t mean it’s better than Argo. Lets try to separate the script from the actual movie itself. But these insults are getting childish. It’s easier to demean people when you’re typing on a keyboard and leaving the room. We’re all grown ass men and women. Let’s follow the “Shall we stop this bleeding?” line and not the “Huh? You don’t think Affleck deserves this or Lincoln is better because I said so? Well Argo fuck yourself!”
Now that Lincoln, the film, has been completely shut out of the pre-Oscar awards, I think it boosts Ang Lee’s chances of winning Director. Maybe even a semi surprise win for Russell. I’m starting to wonder if Lincoln will actually go 1/12 next Sunday with only DDL winning.
Yes… and what relevant did Life of Pi win?
Don’t hold your breath for BOTSW and Amour because….they don’t belong to the unions. They’re outsiders.
Come on, when somebody writes that LINCOLN still has a shot at best picture, it feels silly.
ARGO has the Golden Globes, the BAFTA’s, the SAG, the DGA, the PGA, the WGA, the Cinema Editors Guild and the Critics’ Choice. It even has LAFCA for screenplay. It’s over. It probably is going to win four Oscars.
LINCOLN has no other guilds other than SAG wins for Day-Lewis and TLJ. And by the way, no film in recent history has won without two guilds, even CRASH had SAG, Cinema Editors Guild and WGA.
Anyway, I hope Zero Dark Thirty had a shot!!!
Wow. Argo is kind of paint-by-numbers, fill-in-the-blank, just-add-water, easy-to-digest type of screenplay. It does it fine, in a way of which Robert McKee would approve. Well, so we now know Argo will win more than just Best Picture. Oh well, Tony Kushner doesn’t need an Oscar. He’ll always have Angels in America, which will be read and performed for generations to come.
Wow. Argo is kind of paint-by-numbers, fill-in-the-blank, just-add-water, easy-to-digest type of screenplay. It does it fine, in a way of which Robert McKee would approve. Well, so we now know Argo will win more than just Best Picture. Oh well, Tony Kushner doesn’t need an Oscar. He’ll always have Angels in America, which will be read and performed for generations to come.
It’s the industry saying this is the kind of script we like, the kind of movie we like, the kind of success we want more of. It’s really as simple as that. That’s why it is ultimately meaningless. It’s a reflecting pool, not an advancement.
The Academy has done far worse – The Cider House Rules anybody? The Descendants? A Beautiful Mind? So no, Argo won’t be their worst winner. Of course it doesn’t deserve it. Jennifer Lawrence doesn’t deserve it either. In an ideal world we wouldn’t be hearing much of the lock Day-Lewis is. Phoenix would be there. Les Miserables wouldn’t be a best picture nominee and SLP would have a total of zero nominations. But that’s it. I gave up on caring what idiots the Academy has as voters the night Bullock became an actress winner. And nothing would surprise me anymore.
It’ll be Argo in adapted. It’s been clear for a few weeks.
Original is very competitive.
Now that Lincoln, the film, has been completely shut out of the pre-Oscar awards, I think it boosts Ang Lee’s chances of winning Director. Maybe even a semi surprise win for Russell. I’m starting to wonder if Lincoln will actually go 1/12 next Sunday with only DDL winning.
[Lincoln is the best film of the year. Screw the WGA!]
[not on my fucking website asshole]
By the way, ignore my remark about being too late for the live stream – it was still working for the time being. Just click on the link provided by the AD editors.
Terrio is apparently being nervous, sort of rambling about how he “couldn’t pay his rent” while living in NY in 2008, relatively staccato in process. If he wins Oscar, I am hoping he will be doing better re acceptance speech. Cheers.
Boal, relatively more articulate, has proved way better in the way he represents himself here. It won’t make much difference at the end of the day since both of them — Terrio and Boal — are very talented but at least Boal has been prepared for this major event. Kudos.
@ Fabinho Flapp:
[i]The truth is that ARGO haters has no more arguments. No longer has any rational excuse to try to reduce ARGO. And every day fall in more ridiculous.
I rest my case.[/i]
The truth is that people like you are only getting pleasure out of Argo winning for the simple fact that you want bragging rights. A great script lost tonight on account of thinking like yours- that Argo should win simply so it can beat Lincoln, simply so that Ben Affleck’s snub can be made up for. You are a being a dick for the sake of being one, and please stop. Your comments never contribute anything respectful to the table or anything insightful- please know this.
For the rest of everyone else, I still hold hope the academy will go for Kushner. If he loses, it will be arguably the worst adapted screenplay decision in their history, mark my words. Years from now this will look horrible. No one will remember that Ben Affleck got snubbed for Director. They’ll just look at the end result and say “Wait, how did Kushner lose?” If this was a Stephen Daldry film and Affleck hadn’t been snubbed, Kushner would be winning this in a cake walk. Because it is a Spielberg movie, once again the jealousy factor comes in and people vote against it just because of who he is. Argo is winning because of who Ben Affleck is, Lincoln is LOSING because of who Steven Spielberg is. It’s not even about the movies. It’s about the people behind them.
MPSE is just starting – any bets that they’ll change their minds at the last minute and take Ang Lee’s Filmmaker of the Year Award and give it to Affleck?
Yay for Zero Dark Thirty for winning WGA!! So now we have 2 front runners for Original Screenplay: Zero Dark Thirty and Django. I’ll be happy if any of this 2 win, but I think that this year the Oscar will be spread out. I have a feeling that Django will win Supporting Actor, so the academy can award Zero Dark Thirty for Original Screenplay, since Jessica Chastain’s chance for winning for Best Actress has declined, but I still believe she can win. Fingers crossed
@ryan..dont respect others opinion/ decision…thats the problem with uncivilised people like you
Too late for the live stream. [went to see doctor — broken nose — closed reduction — temp(?) deformity]
I know many people, understandably, believe the BP race is over. However, for me, we’ve only just begun…. Lincoln vs Argo vs Life of Pi vs SLP – one of these methinks. [Sorry for being seemingly redundant but the way I’d always seen before was *only* Lincoln was being on top; that said, now I am sort of ready to jump on the Argo bandwagon — with two potential upsets. Need a few more days to make a decision.]
Anyway, please show some love to The Invisible War (and Ai Wei Wei; not nominated for Oscar though).
@Free: You may be right. It’s anyone’s guess really this year, especially since the Academy announced their nominees before the guilds. The winners may just be a surprise as well.
Hobbit may take makeup (I hope, since it was really the best), but since (1) Hobbit wasn’t really well-received as Lord of the Rings(might as well label it the “prequel trilogy” if you know what I mean)and from last year’s outrageous final diss to the Harry Potter series by giving that award to Iron Lady, and that Les Miz is nominated for BP, that’s my reasoning with that prediction.
As for Sound, who really knows. I guessed correctly last year, but this year, since Skyfall was critically acclaimed and got more nominations than I thought it would, I’m just predicting it may win. Argo might take it, or ZDT, but it’s nice to sort of go against the grain and see what turns out.
Best of luck with your predictions come Oscar night!
Good point, Bob. I can see that happening.
Desplat has been missed a couple of times and it would be a good opportunity to make up for it, although he has done better work and his score for Zero Dark Thirty was more interesting. We can also throw in a similar previously shunned nominee, Deakins for cinematography.
Unfortunately, at this rate – to paraphrase Mark Twain – at the end of the evening, there won’t be an Oscar in possession of its rightful owner.
I’ve thrown in the towel. See you next year. I just can’t.
Sounds like there will be some well-rested cases by tomorrow morning.
Unless they have to get up to pee in the middle of the night.
I predicted Boal tonight, like most. Wish I could predict him a week from now. 🙁
Desplat is my NGNG.
Argo is gonna pick up one or more “just because” Oscars. winners do. why not score?
Daniel Day-Lewis lucked out this year thanks to the Actor’s branch for snubbing Ben Affleck for Best Actor. Should Day-Lewis’ third Oscar have an asterisk as well as this year’s Best Director award?
One thing is for sure: in years, I’ve never seen Harvey Weinstein so vulnerable to go home empty handed. This scenario is very possible…
PICTURE: Argo
DIRECTING: Spielberg
ACTOR: Day-Lewis
ACTRESS: Riva (Lawrence can win)
SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Hathaway
SUPPORTING ACTOR: Lee Jones (DeNiro or Waltz can win)
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: Argo (SLP can win)
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: Amour or Zero Dark Thirty (Django can win)
… but being shutout is becoming more and more likely… as it was becoming more and more likely that the TWC was going to have a poor showing at the nominations day with SLP only taking PIC-ACTRESS-ACTOR-SUP.ACTOR-SCREENPLAY… and then abracadabra… 8 nominations… Django in BP lineup. He’s an awards magician… but what charm is he going to pull out this year?
@Mike: Pretty much the exact same winners I have predicted, except I have THE HOBBIT taking Makeup and LIFE OF PI winning Sound Editing (and, as a result, taking home the most awards, with four).
In terms of that Awards Daily predict the winners contest for this week (ACE, WGA, CAS), I believe I got those all right! Never happened before.
Sounds like there will be some well-rested cases by tomorrow morning.
Bravo, Boal!
@ryan what have you achieved in movie field to criticise wga decision of awarding argo?? Consensus is different but respecting wga decision is important. Though academy did not nominate affleck..i respect and agree with their decision since the are best to judge. And if you have guts stop deleting my comments
Consensus is different but respecting wga decision is important.
Unless you’re a defendant in court or a prisoner in prison it’s not important to respect anybody else’s decision.
respect and agree with their decision since the are best to judge.
“their decision”? nixon, please be logical if you can. How about the THOUSANDS of WGA members who voted for Lincoln. Life of Pi, Perks of Being a Wallflower, and Sliver Linings? Literally 19,000 WGA members could have voted for screenplays OTHER than ARGO. Literally 19,000 writers. So are you asking all those 19,000 writers to now say: “Wow, I must have been wrong! Argo must be the best and I was too silly to know it!”
Just because 6,000 WGA members voted for ARGO that does not make 19,000 WGA members wrong — and NOBODY who didn’t vote for Argo is required to be satisfied that Argo won.
And if you have guts stop deleting my comments
have no idea what you’re talking about, but I’ll delete anything you write that I think is inappropriate.
At least the hypnotic spell will be over before the end of the month. I mean, I enjoyed the flick and all, but this was a year to spread the wealth I think. I saw eight very good movies–have decided to wait out the ninth on video. I can’t say my life is a bore, but this race has evolved into one.
Is ARGO better than Michael Mann’s HEAT? And how many nominations did HEAT get?
Count me in for resting my case too
Well, at least Boal won.
It’s starting to line up with several films taking three awards. Looks like Argo will take Picture, Adapted Screenplay, and Editing (despite not deserving any of them). Lincoln will probably take Director, Actor, and Supporting Actor. Les Mis will take Supporting Actress, Makeup, and Sound Mixing. Life of Pi will take Cinematography, Score, and Visual Effects. Anna Karenina looks to be taking two, while Django, Amour, and Silver Linings will probably take one. This is going to be a very spread-out Oscars. I can’t recall a year where the awards were spread out so much like this. Now we just need to wait for the MPSE to announce so we can have an idea of which film to put under Sound Editing (Skyfall? Life of Pi? Zero Dark Thirty? Could be any of them really).
Haha, sent before done.
I’ve had a tempestuous relationship with the Oscars. 1998 was not a great year for me and it (Benigni’s speech the lowlight). Other years were better by degrees, 2003 was a high point. It has been a mixed bag all around, my favorites in any number of categories not usually doing much of anything. And that was to be expected. Not my tastes, not my Academy.
But I felt something in the air after the Crash fiasco. I thought the Academy was growing and adapting. Small steps in 2006, but the nominations for 2007 were amazing to me. Cate’s nomination for a bizarre and uneven and easy-to-miss I’m Not There, Anderson’s arrival with Blood, the Coens’ resurgence, Ratatouille with 5 noms, Diving Bell’s director nod, it all seemed set. Excellent movies were being made around the world and the Academy was finding them. I’d still like a few tweaks here and there, but I could bide my time. But that was it. The Oscars, and Hollywood, have never quite been as good to me since (2009 came closest, with An Education and Serious Man and Up and Inglourious Basterds). This coronation of Argo is perhaps too much for me though. If it had won, that is one thing. Trite fluff wins all the time. But it is sweeping. And not sweeping a blah year, but a strong one at the top. I think the Oscar race is killing my joy in films, and making me resent movies I otherwise find acceptable. I think I mostly wish I could go back to that day of the nominations for 2007 and remember it and the possibilities I imagined could have been.
hahahahaha Reno!!! I did at that!
Now I’m a dead man!!!!
“@sam what else can be expected from an arm chair critic like you…dont have guts to face my question but happily would make personal nasty comments.”
As far as “arm chair” critics I suggest you look in the mirror. Your comment was the one that was nasty, acting liked a spoiled child because people had the temerity to express their opinion. At least I tried to inject a little comic levity. And what guts does it take to face that semi-illiterate comment you made? I’ll tell you flat out that ARGO may be the year’s most overrated film. Is that guts enough for you?
Lol Sam, you just gave away your email address.
I don’t know… but I have a really bad feeling that David O. Russell will win this Oscar for Adapted Screenplay.
AMPAS’ directors branch now seems all the more the enlightened bunch. Hail, cheers, and salutations to all ye 369 members who rightfully snubbed Ben Affleck!
So the industry created Oscar to award itself for portraying itself? Yup, years like this one and last are total wankfests
And idiots like me are still pissed because they didn’t nominate Michael Fassbender and Tilda Swinton last year. At least the year’s two best performances were nominated this time and at least one of them is actually winning.
Here’s hoping next year’s better 🙂
So you are a populist then, right? The same voters who awarded ARGO are the ones who gave BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD a Best Picture and Best Director nod.
They are good as long as they back YOU, right?
Otherwise, they are fools.
And for my money that anti and indifferent ARGO people have fared WAT better at this site than the backers.
I rest MY case.
Winners:
Best Picture: Argo
Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis
Best Actress: Jennifer Lawrence
Best Supporting Actor: Tommy Lee Jones
Best Supporting Actress: Anne Hathaway
Best Direction: Michael Haneke
Best Adapted Screenplay: Argo
Best Original Screenplay: Django Unchained
Best Production Design: Anna Karenina
Best Cinematography: Life of Pi
Best Film Editing: Argo
Best Costume Design: Anna Karenina
Best Hair and Makeup: Les Miserables
Best Sound Mixing: Les Miserables
Best Sound Editing: Skyfall
Best Visual Effects: Life of Pi
Best Original Score: Life of Pi
Best Original Song: “Skyfall”
Best Foreign Language Film: Amour
Best Animated Feature Film: Frankenweenie
Best Documentary Feature: Searching for Sugar Man
Best Documentary Short: Open Heart
Best Live Action Short: Buzkashi Boys
Best Animated Short: Paperman
@sam what else can be expected from an arm chair critic like you…dont have guts to face my question but happily would make personal nasty comments
The truth is that ARGO haters has no more arguments. No longer has any rational excuse to try to reduce ARGO. And every day fall in more ridiculous.
I rest my case.
I am sitting here laughing my ass off at Nixon’s comment.
This is not the first time I have laughed at Nixon mind you. August of 1974 was a real laughter!
“What does it matter is the “industry” liked ARGO I’d like to know?”
It doesn’t. It’s clear that they’re just celebrating themselves by choosing Argo over and over when it’s clearly not the best in several of the categories. The one that was plausible was Ben Affleck getting Best Director because the film IS really well directed, but Best Production? Adapted Screenplay? Editing? Cast? I already said we didn’t need more evidence of Hollywood patting itself on the back, and yet, here’s even more.
It’s true. They not only like it but genuinely love it. Why? Well the reasons they loved THE ARTIST. It’s first and foremost self-aggrandizing.
I didn’t even realize this was on. I’m a fan of Nathan Fillion so I intended to look for it. Whoops.
Anyway, he’s a better actor than that show “Castle” lets him be. Can people start hiring for actual movies. He’s got a fanbase and everything. Please? 😀
Those who guys say some movie is better than argo to win wga..let me ask you something..do you guys think all wga members are stupi? What have you achieved in movie field to criticise wga decision..??
let me ask you something..do you guys think all wga members are stupi?
Hope nobody thinks it sounds bitter for me to point out that winning a WGA award doesn’t require unanimous agreement from all the members.
So to answer your question, nixon: thousands and thousands and thousands of the smartest writers voted for the smartest screenplay and the smartest screenplay of the year was written by Tony Kushner.
What does it matter is the “industry” liked ARGO I’d like to know?
Shouldn’t that fact alone diminish it’s artistic worth?
Terrio < Kushner, regardless of what happened here.
Argo is not going to go 7 for 7 next Sunday.
[not on my fucking website asshole]
I’ve had a tempestuous relationship with the Oscars. 1998 was not a great year for me and it (Benigni’s speech the lowlight). Other years were better by degrees, 2003 was a high point. It has been a mixed bag all around, my favorites in any number of categories not usually doing much of anything. And that was
ARGO, WGA Winner.
Congratulations Terrio, Affleck and ARGO team. 🙂
I think Argo was gonna win anyway, but the Connecticut thing really sunk Lincoln.
Just gonna say one thing:
LINCOLN
Wow, so the WGA really did fail. That’s embarrassing. That’s even worse than when The Descendents beat Moneyball. I already had very little respect for them because of their dumb rules that exclude several nominees, but now it’s pretty much gone.
Well, the Connecticut congressman’s demolition job paid off.
Congrats Argo..well deserved. I think argo will sweep oscars. I am really happy but life of pi should win atleast 1 oscars
Well, the hope for something better was fun while it lasted.
See you all next week–or really the week after since I won’t be able to watch the Oscars live anyway and have to AVOID ALL MEDIA until I can. Though at this rate I’m not sure I care to watch the “surprises” or lack thereof unfold without having been spoiled.
How the F did Jean Dujardin beat Clooney last year?
Wait did this happen already? Are those at the top predictions or results?
I have a feeling Argo may go 7 for 7 next week. In any case, Lincoln’s chances are now officially dead. If Kushner can’t win for the screenplay, the movie certainly can’t win BP. And Ang Lee is probably winning BD.
Oh, Jacki Weaver is so cute!
Deeply silence here tonight?
allez allez allez ARGO goooOOOOOO ARGO !!! yes you can ! oh yeah good luck to other nominees
also….what….shhhhh …but i was only ….shhhhhhhhh, look down there’s a warning shhhh
arghhh nevermind here’s to hoping everyone reads it…
i wonder if i’m first to comment that’s never happened to me here lol