74th Oscar Countdown: 13 Days
more days before I make my final predictions. In another surprise, the cast of Gosford Park won the Best Cast (Ensemble) SAG, which boosts Altman's chances the most, but not really for Best Picture.
And I can't resist another opportunity to relay the hard news to the Lord of the Rings fanatics ... Lord of the Rings has dropped even further off the radar of winning major Oscars after this weekend. Peter Jackson does not have a shot at Best Director (it's a two man race now), and the battle for Best Picture is no longer a battle for Rings to fight. Gosford Park even has better chances now at a Best Picture victory than does Rings. Sorry, I just can't resist ...
Okay, so with the precursors all behind us now, it's full steam ahead to the Academy Awards. So as I continue in my countdown, it's time to reveal my predictions in four more Oscar categories. I'll do the acting categories on Friday, but for now, I'll announce my predictions for Director, Foreign Film, Animated Feature, and Cinematography.
BEST DIRECTOR
And the nominees are:
Ron Howard for "A Beautiful Mind"
Ridley Scott for "Black Hawk Down"
Robert Altman for "Gosford Park"
Peter Jackson for "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring"
David Lynch for "Mulholland Drive"
Well, two of these directors don't have their films nominated for Best Picture, which always hurts a nominee's chances. So count out Ridley Scott and especially David Lynch from winning this Oscar. I was delighted to see the Academy select both of them however, I only wish Black Hawk Down could have taken Gosford Park's place in the Best Picture circle. But anyway, Peter Jackson doesn't really have a shot here, especially since Lord of the Rings has lost so much momentum and he failed a win at the DGA. Even though everyone agrees that he did a masterful job of bringing a massive epic to the screen, (and I can't wait to see how he did with the remaining two parts), he is really just now getting into respectful mode with his career, and with the other two in this race, he doesn't have a chance. And look who we are finally talking about in the Best Director race -- Ron Howard. Amazingly never nominated before, he finally gets his first nod for one of his best films, A Beautiful Mind. If Robert Altman had been left out of
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