By Bobby Hankinson and Elyse Merlo
Thirteen movies. Five theaters. Staff writer Bobby Hankinson and News correspondent Elyse Merlo set out to see all the films nominated for this year’s top Oscar awards. After spending over $95 each over a 10-day span, they sat down to hash out their picks as to who will take home statuettes Sunday.
Best Supporting Actor Alan Alda, “The Aviator;” Thomas Haden Church, “Sideways;” Jamie Foxx, “Collateral;” Morgan Freeman, “Million Dollar Baby;” Clive Owen, “Closer.”
Bobby Hankinson: Morgan Freeman is my pick by far. He took that simple narrator and he did what he did in “Shawshank Redemption” — he carried you through that entire film. Elyse Merlo: I want Morgan Freeman to win, he is my favorite [in this category], but he is not [going to win]. I’m going with Thomas Haden Church because I actually don’t enjoy anyone else in this category. I have no strong feelings toward any of them, really. The academy is going to really want to give “Sideways” an award. It’s not going to get Best Picture. It’s not going to get it for Best Director. It’s not going to get it for Best Supporting Actress, and they snubbed the only really good person in the movie (Paul Giamatti), so I think they’re going to give it to Haden Church, because no one else really did much there anyway.
Best Supporting Actress Cate Blanchett, “The Aviator;” Laura Linney, “Kinsey;” Virginia Madsen, “Sideways;” Sophie Okonedo, “Hotel Rwanda;” Natalie Portman, “Closer.”
BH: Natalie Portman, Natalie Portman, Natalie Portman. She went above and beyond anything she’s done before. Her role was complex and she held the film together. She blew me away. I never liked her before, but I liked her a lot in this. EM: Again, Natalie Portman is the one I’d like to win, but she’s not one who is going to win. She won the Globe and she did beat Cate Blanchett in the Golden Globes, but I think “The Aviator” is pretty much going to sweep this thing. Contrary to Supporting Actor, I like everyone in the Supporting Actress category except for Sophie Okonedo — she really did nothing for me. [Blanchett] was a very good Katherine Hepburn. “Closer” was actually one of my favorites by far out of all of them, but she’s not going to win. BH: I feel that Katherine Hepburn is the kind of character you can sink your teeth into — there’s a lot of content. She’s a very well-documented character. If you got the voice down and the whole free-spirited, confident woman thing down, you’re set. Meanwhile, Natalie Portman’s character was out of nowhere. EM: But since when has the academy picked an artsy, figurative character in a movie over a gigantic character in a biopic that’s nine hours long?
Best Actor Don Cheadle, “Hotel Rwanda;” Johnny Depp, “Finding Neverland;” Leonardo DiCaprio, “The Aviator;” Clint Eastwood, “Million Dollar Baby;” Jamie Foxx, “Ray.”
EM: My pick is Leonardo DiCaprio because I feel the academy has snubbed him too many times in the past and this is probably his year for the fact they can’t ignore the role he had in “The Aviator.” It’s an epic movie, which they like anyway. And I say him over Jamie Foxx because while he won Best Comedy or Musical Actor at the [Golden] Globes, it really doesn’t matter that much to the academy; they usually look for the person who won the Golden Globe for drama. BH: I don’t know, I think Jamie Foxx really took that role and made something with it. He took the role of Ray Charles and gave it life. Leo didn’t put any extra life into his role. I think he just took it as it was and there wasn’t very much to it. EM: They were both very good, but I think it was just Jamie Foxx’s impersonation of Ray Charles from “In Living Color” the whole time. BH: I just think that Leo’s role was too easy and straightforward. EM: It was Howard Hughes! Best Actress Annette Bening, “Being Julia;” Catalina Sandrino Moreno, “Maria Full of Grace;” Imelda Staunton, “Vera Drake;” Hilary Swank, “Million Dollar Baby;” Kate Winslet, “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.” EM: I am saying Hilary Swank, “Million Dollar Baby.” It was her movie and the academy loves her anyway. She could stand on her head and spin around in a circle and she would still win the Academy Award. She was just really good in “Million Dollar Baby.” BH: I’m also going to go with Hilary Swank as well, but I feel it’s anybody’s game here. I thought that Annette Bening was really good in “Being Julia” because the movie wasn’t really that great but she single-handedly held it together. EM: [Bening] was really good, but not Hilary-Swank-good. It was Hilary’s movie.
Best Director Martin Scorsese, “The Aviator;” Clint Eastwood, “Million Dollar Baby;” Taylor Hackford, “Ray;” Alexander Payne, “Sideways;” Mike Leigh, “Vera Drake.”
EM: Clint Eastwood. It’s not Scorsese’s year again. Sorry Scorsese, eventually you will win, I swear. “Million Dollar Baby” was as good as it was because of the directing. BH: I agree. I think “The Aviator” is such a planned, contrived piece. It’s [as if they were] like, “We’re going to make an Oscar movie here. We’re going to get a lot of big name actors and special effects and … ” EM (interrupting): And “Million Dollar Baby” wasn’t? BH: No. I think that “Million Dollar Baby” had this kind of subtle, unassuming quality to it. EM: Anything Clint Eastwood directs is automatically an Oscar film. Anything Scorsese directs is automatically an Oscar film. That’s just the way it is. BH: “Aviator” has special effects during the plane chasing scenes. It had all big name actors like huge, huge actors. “Million Dollar Baby” had Morgan Freeman. Put that next to Leonardo Dicaprio — who’s the big box office draw there? EM: You can’t [compare] supporting to actor, look at Hilary Swank… BH (interrupting): Look at Hilary Swank, she’s the anomaly of Hollywood. “Million Dollar Baby” had a subtle quality to it. “Aviator” just seemed so big-budget with special effects everywhere and the glamour of classic hollywood, this epic film, I was like “enough already.”
Best Picture “The Aviator;” “Finding Neverland;” “Million Dollar Baby;” “Ray;” “Sideways.”
EM: I want “Million Dollar Baby” to win; it was easily my favorite. It’s really good, it should win, it’s going to win things, but I don’t think it’s going to win Best Picture. Again, it could, and if it did I would be really happy about it, but “Aviator,” I believe, is going to win. It’s the kind of thing that the academy likes. BH: I sat through “Aviator” and I thought, “That was good.” I knew it was going to be good. “Million Dollar Baby” took a risk and was like “we’re going to box here.” I was completely unexcited to see it and it turned out great.
