{"id":14,"date":"2012-02-16T18:08:16","date_gmt":"2012-02-16T18:08:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.moxieq.com\/?p=24971"},"modified":"2018-07-29T04:25:56","modified_gmt":"2018-07-29T04:25:56","slug":"oscar-predictions-2012-who-do-you-think-deserves-to-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theduanewells.com\/staging3\/oscar-predictions-2012-who-do-you-think-deserves-to-win\/","title":{"rendered":"Oscar Predictions 2012: Who Do You Think Deserves To Win?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.moxieq.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/oscar-predictions-2012.png\" rel=\"lightbox[14]\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-24972\" title=\"Oscar Predictions 2012\" src=\"http:\/\/www.moxieq.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/oscar-predictions-2012.png\" alt=\"Oscar Predictions 2012\" width=\"600\" height=\"391\" \/><\/a>In general, I look forward to the Super Bowl for two reasons: (1) The entertainment \u2013I am all about the commercials, the halftime show and the national anthem \u2014 and (2) because I know that when the Super Bowl is over, <strong>the Oscars are just around the corner<\/strong>. What can I say? The Academy Awards are my Super Bowl and without question one of my favorite nights of the year. As far as I\u2019m concerned, New Year\u2019s Eve ain\u2019t got nuthin\u2019 on <strong>Oscar Night<\/strong> especially for those of us who happen to live in Hollywood.<\/p>\n<p>This year, I am taking my love for the Oscars to another level by hosting the First Annual MoxieQ Oscar Party at an undisclosed location in Los Angeles (stay tuned for more details). In honor of this auspicious and long overdue event, I will be painting the town Oscar for the next week and a half, starting with my predictions for this year\u2019s big winners.<\/p>\n<p>Check back on MoxieQ for more updates and random thoughts about this year\u2019s Academy Awards celebration in the lead up to Hollywood\u2019s biggest night.<\/p>\n<p><strong>My 2012 Oscar Picks Are:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Best Supporting Actress: Octavia Spencer<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>At this year\u2019s Oscar ceremony there is perhaps no surer thing than <strong>Octavia Spencer<\/strong> whose supporting role as the saucy, strong-willed Minnie in the hit film <strong><em>The Help<\/em><\/strong> has left an indelible impression upon moviegoers and critics alike. With a Golden Globe, a BAFTA, a SAG\u00a0 Award and a Critics Choice Award, among the many nods she\u2019s already received in this category, it seems almost inevitable that Miss Spencer has a lock on this one Oscar night\u00a0 and, truth be told, she deserves it. In recent years, this category has been one of the more predictable ones and there is little reason to think this year will be any different.<\/p>\n<p><div class=\"embed\"><iframe src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/DD9Ua7FuzyA?fs=1&amp;feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"618\" height=\"464\"><\/iframe><\/div><\/p>\n<p><strong>Runner-up<\/strong>: My choice would be <strong>Berenice Bejo<\/strong> whose performance in <strong><em>The Artist<\/em><\/strong> is pure joy. (Oh and for the record Bryce Dallas Howard was robbed of a nomination in this category for her no-holds-barred performance in <em>The Help<\/em>. Better luck next go round Bryce\u2026for what it\u2019s worth, I loved to hate you in <em>The Help<\/em>.)<\/p>\n<p><strong>Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Like Octavia Spencer, <strong>Christopher Plummer<\/strong> seems to have a lock on the this year\u2019s Oscar for Best Supporting Actor thanks to his poignant portrayal of a man who decides to come out at the tender age of 75 in the film <strong><em>Beginners<\/em><\/strong>. The power of his performance aside, at\u00a0 82 years-old, Plummer has been at his craft for six decades and has never come quite this close to Oscar before, so me thinks this time around the Academy will acknowledge him with the gold.<\/p>\n<p><div class=\"embed\"><iframe src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/UjuvuB7fuV0?fs=1&amp;feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"618\" height=\"348\"><\/iframe><\/div><\/p>\n<p><strong>Runner-up<\/strong>:\u00a0 <strong>Kenneth Branagh<\/strong> turns in a brilliant performance as Sir Laurence Olivier in <strong>My Week With Marilyn<\/strong>. In another year, he might certainly be the shoo-in for this award.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Best Actress:\u00a0 Meryl Streep<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Conventional wisdom says this award will go to Viola Davis for <em>The Help<\/em>, particularly after she took home the SAG Award for best actress in this category, but I\u2019m going to go out on a limb and call it for 17-time Oscar nominee, <strong>Meryl Streep<\/strong>. <strong><em>The Iron Lady <\/em><\/strong>may not be one of the year\u2019s best pictures, but Streep\u2019s portrayal of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher is drop dead phenomenal. Another tour de force performance from the best actress of our time. Add to that the fact that she has already scored the Golden Globe and the BAFTA for her performance in <em>The Iron Lady<\/em> and I\u2019d say the odds are pretty good that Madame Streep will likely take home her third Academy Award this year.<\/p>\n<p><div class=\"embed\"><iframe src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/t20WIDQcbXE?fs=1&amp;feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"618\" height=\"348\"><\/iframe><\/div><\/p>\n<p><strong>Runner-up<\/strong>: <strong>Viola Davis<\/strong>. Hands down! (However, I\u2019m secretly really rooting for Tilda \u201c<em>We Need To Talk About Kevin\u201d <\/em>Swinton simply because I secretly always want her to win everything because she\u2019s just so damn cool. However there\u2019s no real science to support that call so that\u2019s really just a blatant plug for Tilda Swinton and maybe a not so good reason for me mention her name in this category. C\u2019est la vie!)<\/p>\n<p><strong>Best Actor: Jean Dujardin<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Again, conventional wisdom says George Clooney will take home this year\u2019s Oscar for Best Actor, and again I\u2019m going to go against that wisdom and call this one for <strong>The <em>Artist\u2019s <\/em>Jean Dujardin<\/strong>. Not only does Dujardin deliver one of the most intoxicating and endearing performances in recent memory in <em>The Artist<\/em>, he\u2019s also taken home the SAG, the BAFTA, the Palme d\u2019Or and the Golden Globe for Best Actor. The Academy may love Clooney, but I suspect that this year they might just love the undeniably, irresistibly charming Monsieur Dujardin, just a little bit more. I mean, did you see his speech at the SAG Awards? Can you say \u2018swoon-a- thon\u2019? Anybody who wasn\u2019t already in love with Dujardin and his mega-watt smile before that speech, was surely in love after. Ah l\u2019amour!<\/p>\n<p><strong>Runner-up:<\/strong> <strong>George Clooney<\/strong> \u2014 Though a real (and unlikely) upset would be Brad Pitt for <em>Moneyball<\/em>.\u00a0 But then again, does a guy with Pitt\u2019s looks, career, significant other and gorgeous brood of children, really need any more rewards? I\u2019m asking\u2026does he?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Best Picture: The Artist<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>A film doesn\u2019t get more Hollywood than<strong><em> The Artist<\/em><\/strong>. Period. It\u2019s a film about Hollywood, that is set in Hollywood and hearkens back to the birth of Hollywood as we know it. And it\u2019s genius. Rarely do I watch a film and get the sense that it is a classic right away but with <em>The Artist <\/em>that is exactly what I felt 20 minutes in. Put simply, <em>The Artist<\/em> is a cinematic triumph that reminds us all how powerful the medium can be sans the bells and whistles that have become standard theatrical fare. The 59 Awards the film has already earned going into this year\u2019s Oscar ceremony, don\u2019t hurt it\u2019s chances in this category either.<\/p>\n<p><div class=\"embed\"><iframe src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/OK7pfLlsUQM?fs=1&amp;feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"618\" height=\"348\"><\/iframe><\/div><\/p>\n<p><strong>Runner up<\/strong>: <em>The Help<\/em>, which deserves an award for ensemble cast. Jessica Chastain, Emma Stone and Bryce Dallas Howard all gave bravura performances.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Best Director: Michel Hazanavicius, <em>The Artist<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>French director Michel Hazanavicius, made pure movie magic with <em>The Artist<\/em> and he\u2019s taken home this year\u2019s DGA award for Best Director, which is usually a big indicator of what will happen at the Oscars. Besides\u2026(see above).<\/p>\n<p>What do you think? Who are your picks? Let me hear from you on Twitter at MoxieQ or at TheDuaneWells. We\u2019ll be tweeting all week about the lead up to the Oscars and picks for other categories, so give us a shout and tell us your picks and why. And then join us on Oscar Sunday for the 84th Annual Academy Awards when me and some of my favorite tweeps will be tweeting live about all things Oscar from the Red Carpet to the actual awards ceremony. Get in on the conversation! It\u2019s gonna be uber fabulicious.<\/p>\n<p>See you on the Red Carpet!<\/p>\n<p>Cheers\u2026<\/p>\n<p>Duane<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In general, I look forward to the Super Bowl for two reasons: (1) The entertainment \u2013I am all about the commercials, the halftime show and the national anthem \u2014 and (2) because I know that when the Super Bowl is over, the Oscars are just around the corner. What can I say? The Academy Awards [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":88889,"featured_media":462,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1133,1164,1183],"class_list":["post-14","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-entertainment","tag-hollywood","tag-celebrity"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theduanewells.com\/staging3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theduanewells.com\/staging3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theduanewells.com\/staging3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theduanewells.com\/staging3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/88889"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theduanewells.com\/staging3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/theduanewells.com\/staging3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":460,"href":"https:\/\/theduanewells.com\/staging3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14\/revisions\/460"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theduanewells.com\/staging3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/462"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theduanewells.com\/staging3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theduanewells.com\/staging3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theduanewells.com\/staging3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}