The Mad Mathematician

I was correct for 14 of 24 categories, matching my second best outcome.

Sound Editing

• Drive
• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
• Hugo
• Transformers: Dark of the Moon
• War Horse

Sound Mixing

• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
• Hugo
• Moneyball
• Transformers: Dark of the Moon
• War Horse

Visual Effects

• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
• Hugo
• Real Steel
• Rise of the Planet of the Apes
• Transformers: Dark of the Moon

Art Direction

• The Artist
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
• Hugo
• Midnight in Paris
• War Horse

Cinematography

• The Artist
• The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
• Hugo
• The Tree of Life
• War Horse

Costume Design

• Anonymous
• The Artist
• Hugo
• Jane Eyre
• W.E.

Film Editing

• The Artist
• The Descendants
• The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
• Hugo
• Moneyball

Makeup

• Albert Nobbs
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
• The Iron Lady

Original Score

• The Adventures of Tintin
• The Artist
• Hugo
• Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
• War Horse

Original Song

• “Man or Muppet” from The Muppets
• “Real in Rio” from Rio

Adapted Screenplay

• The Descendants
• Hugo
• The Ides of March
• Moneyball
• Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Original Screenplay

• The Artist
• Bridesmaids
• Margin Call
• Midnight in Paris
• A Separation

Animated Short

• Dimanche/Sunday
• The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore
• La Luna
• A Morning Stroll
  
• Wild Life

Documentary Short

• The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Solder of the Civil Rights Movement
• God Is the Bigger Elvis
• Incident in New Baghdad
• Saving Face
• The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom

Live Action Short

• Pentacost
• Raju
• The Shore
• Time Freak
• Tuba Atlantic

Animated Feature

• A Cat in Paris
• Chico & Rita
• Kung Fu Panda 2
• Puss in Boots
• Rango

Documentary Feature

• Hell and Back Again
• If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front
• Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory
• Pina
• Undefeated

Foreign Language Film

• Bullhead
• Footnote
• In Darkness
• Monsieur Lazhar
• A Separation

Leading Actor

• Demián Bichir in A Better Life
• George Clooney in The Descendants
• Jean Dujardin in The Artist
• Gary Oldman in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
• Brad Pitt in Moneyball

Leading Actress

• Glenn Close in Albert Nobbs
• Viola Davis in The Help
• Rooney Mara in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
• Meryl Streep in The Iron Lady
• Michelle Williams in My Week with Marilyn

Supporting Actor

• Kenneth Branagh in My Week with Marilyn
• Jonah Hill in Moneyball
• Nick Nolte in Warrior
• Christopher Plummer in Beginners
• Max von Sydow in Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

Supporting Actress

• Bérénice Bejo in The Artist
• Jessica Chastain in The Help
• Melissa McCarthy in Bridesmaids
• Janey McTeer in Albert Nobbs
• Octavia Spencer in The Help

Directing

• The Artist
• The Descendants
• Hugo
• Midnight in Paris
• The Tree of Life

Best Picture

• The Artist
• The Descendants
• Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
• The Help
• Hugo
• Midnight in Paris
• Moneyball
• The Tree of Life
• War Horse

Once again, it is time for me to step out on a limb and make public my predictions for The Academy Awards. This time, I will add some of my thoughts, not that anybody actually cares about my thoughts.  I have seen every nominee in 11 of the 24 categories, 13 if I don’t include anything from Harry Potter, as I may be the only person in the world not interested in reading the books or seeing the movie.

This year my analysis is based on seeing 37 of 61 nominated films (61%) and 89 of 119 nominations (75%), both personal bests.  That in no means will equate to better success, but it does bring me closer to a goal I will never reach…seeing all nominated films.

Technical Categories (Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, Visual Effects)

Sound Editing is the creation of sounds and sound effects for movies.  Sound Mixing is just that, the mixing of created sounds, actual sounds, music, and dialogue that brings it all together.  These categories had many strong entries.  Drive sickened with some gruesome noises when someone’s nose is smashed to pieces with someone else’s foot.  Transformers: Dark of the Moon has good effects, but most are recycled from previous films.  What won it over for me were the clocks, trains, hand-cranked movie cameras and the like found in Hugo.  So much created and so well mixed together.

The Visual Effects category has some previously nominated franchises in it with a couple of new entries.  While Hugo had some wonderful effects (crashing trains, created clocks, the automaton), the work with motion capture as evidenced in Rise of the Planet of the Apes takes center stage.  Since the Academy will not recognize the work of Andy Serkis as an actor, this is the next best thing.

Sound Editing

• Drive
• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
• Hugo
• Transformers: Dark of the Moon
• War Horse

Sound Mixing

• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
• Hugo
• Moneyball
• Transformers: Dark of the Moon
• War Horse

Visual Effects

• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
• Hugo
• Real Steel
• Rise of the Planet of the Apes
• Transformers: Dark of the Moon

Occupational Categories (Art Direction, Cinematography, Costume Design, Film Editing, Makeup)

Art Direction includes set design and other “looks” of a movie related to objects.  The style of a fireplace in a party scene in Midnight in Paris or the design of hidden areas in Hugo highlight this category.  For recreating the period of transition between silent movies and the “talkies” that followed, my pick for this category is The Artist.

Cinematography is the creation of motion picture images.  Elements such as lighting and camera placement are the tools that a cinematographer would use.  Wide open vistas are common in this category, but a great cinematographer can work magic in any setting.  Working with daylight, night lighting, and shadow, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo showed what it is possible to accomplish.  In War Horse, the creation of outdoor battles in a sound stage is particularly good.  The Tree of Life, a polarizing film considered the best and worst by movie viewers, does quite well with cinematography and, in my opinion, is the only category this film has any chance of winning.

Costumes and Makeup help set a time period and create characters as well as any set design.  Period pieces tend to do well in costuming, while movies that take place over great periods of time are likely contenders for makeup, as most of the characters must visibly change from beginning to end.  All of the costuming nominees fit within period pieces, with standouts from Anonymous, The Artist, and Jane Eyre.  The believability of female actors attempting to pass as men in Albert Nobbs should garner that film a win in makeup.

Film editing is post-production work that puts together a scene from several cuts, sometimes done days or weeks apart, to create the whole.  The finished work can make for a polished film or one that suffers from problems on so many levels.  All movies in this category were strong and deserving.  However, Moneyball required its editor to put together footage from the camera crew, archive footage of actual games, and computer screenshots and did so in a seamless way.

Art Direction

• The Artist
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
• Hugo
• Midnight in Paris
• War Horse

Cinematography

• The Artist
• The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
• Hugo
• The Tree of Life
• War Horse

Costume Design

• Anonymous
• The Artist
• Hugo
• Jane Eyre
• W.E.

Film Editing

• The Artist
• The Descendants
• The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
• Hugo
• Moneyball

Makeup

• Albert Nobbs
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
• The Iron Lady

Music Categories (Original Score, Original Song)

A film score can help bring the audience on an amazing ride when done correctly.  It isn’t enough to have great music.  The music should help convey the story and should also be able to stand alone, outside of the film.  One movie had an advantage in that The Artist relied almost solely on its music throughout the movie.  The fact that the score told the story so well should lend itself to a win in this category.

This is a weak year for original songs, as evidenced by the fact that there are only two nominees (most years see five, although three nominees have been common lately).  One song in my opinion is good…the other is fair.  As with a film score, it must add to the film and stand alone.  To qualify, the song must appear during the film or be first during the end credits.  “Real in Rio” from Rio is rich and full.  “Man or Muppet” from The Muppets sounds like a 1970s sappy introspective song.

Original Score

• The Adventures of Tintin
• The Artist
• Hugo
• Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
• War Horse

Original Song

• “Man or Muppet” from The Muppets
• “Real in Rio” from Rio

Screenplay Categories (Adapted Screenplay, Original Screenplay)

The screenplay includes the dialogue and written directions for the production, including sound, scenery, mannerisms, and so much more.  At its most basic, the screenplay is the story of the film.  Great stories come from great screenplays.  Each film in the Adapted Screenplay category has a great story, with The Ides of March seeming the most seamless.  For Original Screenplay, some are not quite so good.  Bridesmaids is a story that has been told before, just from the male perspective.  Margin Call had thrilling moments, but the story wasn’t always on point.  For the same reason as Original Score above, the screenplay of The Artist had to do yeoman’s work in order to tell the story without dialog.  However, Midnight in Paris could help return Woody Allen to the podium as the film showed that the form he had been missing lately is back.

Adapted Screenplay

• The Descendants
• Hugo
• The Ides of March
• Moneyball
• Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Original Screenplay

• The Artist
• Bridesmaids
• Margin Call
• Midnight in Paris
• A Separation

Short Film Categories (Animated Short Film, Documentary Short Film, Live Action Short Film)

I have not seen any of the documentary shorts, so my choice is based purely on what I have read about the films themselves.

The live action shorts are a collection of five wonderful films, any of which could win.  Pentacost tells the story of a less-than-enthusiastic altar boy, with some funny moments in serious times.  Raju focuses on a family’s search for a lost child in India which becomes concerned with the larger picture of child abduction.  The Shore tells of the history of two long, lost friends and their chance to reconnect with one another.  The protagonist of Tuba Atlantic has been told that he will die in six days and spends those days doing his best to eradicate seagulls from the Norwegian coast, while also trying to apologize to his brother who lives thousands of miles away.   Finally, Time Freak gives a very likely scenario to the invention of the time machine, wasting 18 months trying to fix all the things that go wrong in a single day.

I wish the same could be said about the animated shorts.  Usually a strong and inventive category, this year there are two contenders and three others there to round out the field.  Pixar’s effort, La Luna, more than makes up for its dismal feature release, its first not to be nominated for Best Animated Feature since the category was created (largely due to the work of Pixar).  The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore is what usually makes this category so wonderful.  An inventive story not weakened by the short amount of time taken to tell it.  It is a wonderful metaphor to what books do for us all.

Animated Short

• Dimanche/Sunday
• The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore
• La Luna
• A Morning Stroll
  
• Wild Life

Documentary Short

• The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Solder of the Civil Rights Movement
• God Is the Bigger Elvis
• Incident in New Baghdad
• Saving Face
• The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom

Live Action Short

• Pentacost
• Raju
• The Shore
• Time Freak
• Tuba Atlantic

Specialized Feature Film Categories (Animated Feature, Documentary Feature, Foreign Language Film)

As noted above, Pixar is missing from the Animated Feature category.  This leaves the category wide open.  Some films in this category are not available to me, so this is a wild guess on my part.  The same can be said for Documentary Feature.  I have seen only two.  One thing I will say about If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front…this is one of the few documentaries of late that I have seen that does not give precedence to one side or the other.  The viewer is left in complete control.  I have not seen any of the foreign language films, but A Separation from Iran has received wonderful press, not only because the subject matter is not one normally spoken of in Iran.

Animated Feature

• A Cat in Paris
• Chico & Rita
• Kung Fu Panda 2
• Puss in Boots
• Rango

Documentary Feature

• Hell and Back Again
• If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front
• Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory
• Pina
• Undefeated

Foreign Language Film

• Bullhead
• Footnote
• In Darkness
• Monsieur Lazhar
• A Separation

Acting Categories (Leading Actor, Leading Actress, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress)

Demián Bichir gives a painful performace of a father wanting to do right by his son.  George Clooney goes against type as a family man coping to keep his family together after the death of his wife.  Jean Dujardin must tell the sad story of his character’s life without speaking.  Gary Oldman finally gets an Oscar nomination after a career of nomination-worthy performances.  Brad Pitt creates another character that cannot be separated from Brad Pitt.

Kenneth Branagh shines as Lawrence Oliver.  Jonah Hill shows that he can make a film without being silly.  Nick Nolte makes the audience feel pain that it didn’t know it could feel.  Christopher Plummer shows what versatility really is.  Max von Sydow creates a role without speaking and does it better than anyone else who performed in a (mostly) silent film this year.  Ties are extremely rare is Oscar history.  I would love for these two gentleman to each walk home with Oscar.

Glenn Close is able to convince audiences she is a man.  Viola Davis turns in the performance of a lifetime.  Rooney Mara plays a role that would scare off most actors.  Meryl Streep is Meryl Streep, which means she is anyone she damn well pleases to be.  Michelle Williams takes on an iconic role and it doesn’t seem like a caricature.

Jessica Chastain makes the audience want to reach out and help her.  Octavia Spencer’s character provides that help and does so much more.

Leading Actor

• Demián Bichir in A Better Life
• George Clooney in The Descendants
• Jean Dujardin in The Artist
• Gary Oldman in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
• Brad Pitt in Moneyball

Leading Actress

• Glenn Close in Albert Nobbs
• Viola Davis in The Help
• Rooney Mara in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
• Meryl Streep in The Iron Lady
• Michelle Williams in My Week with Marilyn

Supporting Actor

• Kenneth Branagh in My Week with Marilyn
• Jonah Hill in Moneyball
• Nick Nolte in Warrior
• Christopher Plummer in Beginners
• Max von Sydow in Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

Supporting Actress

• Bérénice Bejo in The Artist
• Jessica Chastain in The Help
• Melissa McCarthy in Bridesmaids
• Janey McTeer in Albert Nobbs
• Octavia Spencer in The Help

The Big Two Categories (Directing, Best Picture)

Many people get upset when the film that wins Best Director doesn’t also win Best Picture.  I don’t think that they go hand-in-hand.  Everything needs to come together for Best Picture. This is one year where these two categories split.

With the exception of Tree of Life, I think any of the films could win for directing.  The Artist and Hugo stand out for their stories, technical perfection, and the work of the actors.

For Best Picture, throw out Tree of Life again, Moneyball (good but not great), Midnight in Paris (ditto), War Horse (ditto).  Take the rest and roll the dice.

Directing

• The Artist
• The Descendants
• Hugo
• Midnight in Paris
• The Tree of Life

Best Picture

• The Artist
• The Descendants
• Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
• The Help
• Hugo
• Midnight in Paris
• Moneyball
• The Tree of Life
• War Horse

There was a man, one of an unassuming nature.  He lived his life quietly.  He was not boastful.  He was a man of the earth, a gentleman farmer if ever there existed one.  He was my grandfather, a man who, had sickness had its way, would not have lived to see my birth 43 years ago.

He was born on Thanksgiving Day in 1918 near Toledo, Illinois, a place he would call home his whole life.  His four children would give him six grandchildren and a multitude of great-grandchildren.  Like most in his generation, he spent time away from home during World War II, assigned to the security of the Panama Canal.  In happier times later in life, he would travel through this canal twice while on a cruise ship.

In the late 1960s he was diagnosed with primary liver cancer, which in and of itself is an anomaly.  Nobody gets cancer in the liver.  The liver is the place where cancer goes when it decides to kill its host.  There was no hope, no cure.  His liver had been honeycombed so badly that even if the cancer had been stopped, the liver would not be strong enough to survive.  He was told that the end was inevitable, that he could be made comfortable in his final weeks.

He declined to be comfortable.

He insisted that doctors try whatever they wanted to, not for him.  He accepted his fate.  He wanted doctors to learn from him to help others in the future.  He was given a treatment that hadn’t worked on anyone before.

Then a miracle occurred.

He survived.

He thrived.

He recovered.

His liver regenerated itself.  (At the time, doctors had no idea that was even possible.)

The last 43 years of his life were a gift and he used it well.  The Clan Ross of Scotland, of which he is descended, has a motto: Spem successus alit.  Success nourishes hope.  This man led a remarkable successful life, in many different ways.  That success has nourished the hope of our family…and it is a hope that will not soon be forgotten.

NOTE: I wrote the following one year ago today. I found it and decided to share it.

We never truly understand the lives we touch until the touch in returned. When that happens, it inspires us to do even more in the service of others. Much is said about “the next generation,” regardless of which generation is speaking, that is often an exaggeration. We exaggerate our own strengths as well as the weaknesses of those younger than us. The truth is that we are very much like those we criticize. They are as strong as we are. We are as weak as they are.

I have the greatest job in the world, being able to work with younger generations. Early in my career I believed that I was having an impact on their future. Now I understand that they have a far greater impact on my present, and I am better for it.

Today’s teenagers are not as self-centered as we believe. When they see someone in need of comfort and support, they come through. I witnessed such an act today.

To the students who participated in that simple, yet incredible, act of kindness, I say, “Thank you!” You have brightened the day of someone I love, and I shall forever be grateful.

Once again, it is time for me to go public with my predictions for the Academy Awards.  I am fortunate this year to have seen most of the nominated films (31 of 56 movies, 88 of 120 individual nominations).  So here we go…

Best Actor: Colin Firth in The King’s Speech

Best Supporting Actor: Christian Bale in The Fighter

Best Actress: Natalie Portman in Black Swan

Best Supporting Actress: Hailee Steinfeld in True Grit

Best Animated Feature: Lee Unkrich, director, for Toy Story 3

Best Art Direction: Eve Stewart (Art Direction) & Judy Farr (Set Decoration) for The King’s Speech

Best Cinematography: Roger Deakins for True Grit

Best Costume Design: Sandy Powell for The Tempest

Best Director: Darren Aronofsky for Black Swan

Best Documentary Feature: Josh Fox and Trish Adlesic for Gasland

Best Documentary Short: Jed Rothstein for Killing in the Name

Best Film Editing: Angus Wall and Kirk Baxter for The Social Network

Best Foreign Language Film: Biutiful, Mexico, directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu

Best Makeup: Edouard F. Henriques, Gregory Funk and Yolanda Toussieng for The Way Back

Best Original Score: Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross for The Social Network

Best Original Song: “We Belong Together” by Randy Newman from Toy Story 3

Best Animated Short Film: Madagascar, carnet de voyage (Madagascar, a Journey Diary) by Bastien Dubois

Best Live Action Short Film: The Confession by Tanel Toom

Best Sound Editing: Richard King for Inception

Best Sound Mixing: Ren Klyce, David Parker, Michael Semanick and Mark Weingarten for The Social Network

Best Visual Effects: Paul Franklin, Chris Corbould, Andrew Lockley and Peter Bebb for Inception

Best Adapted Screenplay: Aaron Sorkin for The Social Network, based on the book The Accidental Billioinaires by Ben Mezrich

Best Original Screenplay: Christopher Nolan for Inception

Best Picture: Iain Canning, Emile Sherman, and Gareth Unwin, Producers, for The King’s Speech