The Oscars 2020

My Top 12:
1. The Farewell
2. Amazing Grace
3. Parasite
4. Pain and Glory
5. Little Women
6. Booksmart
7. High Flying Bird
8. Ad Astra
9. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
10. Jojo Rabbit
11. Uncut Gems
12. Marriage Story

This year, Lulu Wang's The Farewell got snubbed across the board. Adam Sandler should have been nominated for Best Actor. And Booksmart should have gotten a writing nomination. But alas these are the nominees we got...


Best Picture Personal Ballot:
1. Parasite
2. Little Women
3. Jojo Rabbit
4. Marriage Story
5. Joker
6. 1917
7. The Irishman
8. Ford v. Ferrari
9. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood


Best Picture Prediction:
1. 1917 (can it win without a Film Editing nom?)
2. Parasite
3. The Irishman
4. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
5. Marriage Story
6. Joker
7. Little Women
8. Jojo Rabbit
9. Ford v. Ferrari


Best Director:
Will Win/Should Win: Bong Joon Ho, Parasite

Best Actress:
Will Win: Renee Zellweger, Judy
Should Win: Scarlett Johansson, Marriage Story

Best Actor:
Will Win: Joaquin Phoenix, Joker
Should Win: Antonio Banderas, Pain and Glory but they're all really great

Best Supporting Actress:
Will Win/Should Win: Laura Dern, Marriage Story but Florence Pugh, Little Women is delightful

Best Supporting Actor:
Will Win/Should Win: Brad Pitt, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (he is the epitome of cool, but this is actually not as good as his lead performance in Ad Astra this year)

Best Adapted Screenplay:
Will Win: Jojo Rabibt
Should Win: Little Women

Best Original Screenplay:
Will Win/Should Win: Parasite, but I wouldn't mind if Marriage Story won

Best Cinematography:
Will Win/Should Win: 1917, probably the biggest lock of the night

Best Costume Design:
Will Win: Little Women
Should Win: Jojo Rabbit

Best Film Editing:
Will Win/Should Win: Parasite

Best Makeup and Hairstyling:
Will Win/Should Win: Bombshell

Best Production Design:
Will Win: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Should Win: Parasite

Best Score:
Will Win/Should Win: Joker, but they're all good

Best Song:
Will Win: I'm Gonna Love Me Again, Rocketman
Should Win: Stand Up, Harriet (that will give Cynthia Erivo an EGOT)

Best Sound Editing:
Will Win: 1917

Best Sound Mixing:
Will Win: 1917

Best VFX:
Will Win: 1917
Should Win: The Irishman

Best Animated Feature:
Will Win/Should Win: Toy Story 4, but it has been a weird year for animation awards

Best Documentary Feature:
Will Win: American Factory
Should Win: For Sama

Best International Film:
Will Win/Should Win: Parasite, but I also love Pain and Glory

Best Animated Short:
Will Win/Should Win: Hair Love

Best Documentary Short:
Will Win: Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone
Should Win: In the Absence

Best Live Action Short:
Will Win: Nefta Football Club (the least predictable category)

I did decently this year. I scored 20/24. I got Live Action Short wrong, which was a tossup, but having watched the winner and my choice after the fact, I think Nefta Football Club was better. Who could've predicted that the sound categories would split? Parasite winning the night's top prize was a pleasant surprise. It's a big deal for the Academy to award a foreign language film, especially an Asian one. It's a bigger deal for the Academy than it is for the movie itself which would have passed into legend even without a win. Honestly, Bong Joon Ho's charm (4 times on stage!) and Hollywood's love for Parasite saved a pretty terrible show. It had a presenter present a presenter present a clip present Eminem--inexplicable. And Parasite lost film editing, but it won enough so I'm satisfied.