Rhodes-Krassner Oscar Picks, 2011

News
All press / news

Rhodes + Krassner open the Balcony for their (drumroll please) Oscar Picks of 2011!!!

Time prevented us from doing EVERY category (hey, there's a record to promote and a tour to rehearse for!), but we got to what we thought was the nitty gritty. And even though we didn't see EVERY movie (Nick missed "The Fighter," Katy opted out of "127 Hours" after it started to give her an anxiety attack), they've seen enough to be confident in this year's choices!

FILM EDITING - Nick thinks "The Social Network" will win - to have a movie about the online world is not easy to show visually, but feels that "Black Swan" should win. Katy thinks "The King's Speech" will win but feels, like Nick, that "The Social Network" had a lot of moving pieces, so that WILL win.

COSTUME DESIGN - Nick loved the movie "I am Love," so he was thrilled to even see it nominated for something. He thought it was one of the most beautiful movies he has seen in many years. However Nick thinks that "Alice in Wonderland" should win and will win. Katy, who wears blue jeans and tee shirts, and could care less about this category, agrees.

VISUAL EFFECTS - Nick believes it should be between "Inception" and "Alice in Wonderland" - and while he loved the effects of "Alice," "Inception" was the breakthrough for Visual Effects for the year, plus his friend worked on the film. Nick is always up for something new + unique, and to him "Inception" delivered, so he is giving it a WILL win and SHOULD win. Katy agrees about "Inception" - it was visually groundbreaking, and will be honored with an Oscar.

ART DIRECTION- Nick thinks "Inception" will win, thought he'd love to see "Alice in Wonderland" take the prize as Tim is always so inventive. Katy says "Alice in Wonderland" should win, and will win.

CINEMATOGRAPHY - This category is all about what a film looks like. Nick would like to see "Black Swan" win this - to him, it was the best looking film of the year, stylish, organized, and it displayed a drama that the other films didn't have. However, Nick thinks the "The Social Network"will win. Katy thinks "Black Swan" should win, it fills all the criteria of cinematography, however she is picking "True Grit" as her WILL win.

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY - The drama was good, you felt inside the story, "The Social Network" will win, should win, say both Rhodes and Krassner.

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY - Nick felt the "The King's Speech" was a good idea, and it was actually brave to try and get a screenplay out of that subject matter, so he feels that it will win, and should win. (He isn't sure how "Inception" got in there!). Katy wishes "The Fighter" would win but realizes "The King's Speech" will probably get it, even though she thinks it was a small story.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM - Katy hasn't seen any of the movies, and because she likes Stimorol gum from Denmark, she is choosing "In a Better World" as the winner. Nick thinks the dark and sad "Biutiful" should take the prize, and will take it as well.

ANIMATED FEATURE - Katy thinks there is no contest - it is a LOCK: "Toy Story 3" should win and will win. Nick agrees "TS 3" should and will win - the team that makes those films are as good as it gets - but Nick wouldn't mind if "How to Train Your Dragon" snuck in and won, as it was somewhat unusual. Katy said, "get outa town, it's TS3 or bust!"

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE - Nick feels a bit bad that he didn't see all of these films in this category, though he did see "Exit Through the Gift Shop," and thoroughly enjoyed it, as it was a maverick idea , not surprising from an artist like Banksy. However, Nick thinks the Academy will vote for "Inside Job" and Katy agrees. Katy is most upset that neither "Catfish" nor "A Piece of Work," the Joan Rivers documentary, was even nominated! d

SUPPORTING ACTRESS - Hailee Steinfeld will win says Nick, she is going to pull an upset for her work in "True Grit." However, he would love to see his girl HBC (Helena Bonham Carter) get the award, as he felt she kept "The King's Speech" together along with Geoffrey Rush and Colin Firth. Katy wants Amy Adams to win for "The Fighter," believing that her raw performance was a departure for her and really showcased her range as an actress. However, she agrees with Nick that the Academy loves to pull an upset with this category specifically, and honor young actors like Tatum O'Neal and Anna Paquin, so Hailee COULD have a chance, especially as Melissa Leo seems to be losing momentum as the Oscars get closer. However, given all the other Awards she has won, Katy still thinks Melissa Leo will win for "The Fighter." Maybe.

SUPPORTING ACTOR - Nick felt Geoffrey Rush was so animated and different in his role for "The King's Speech," that he would like to see him win, and, in fact, will stick out his neck and say it will be an upset, he WILL win as well! Katy feels Christian Bale should win for "The Fighter" and will win, as, to her, he disappeared in to the role and deserves the honor. Nick wouldn't be upset if Christian won, fyi.

BEST ACTRESS - Nick: She won the Globe, the BAFTA, she entirely deserves it, best performance, best ballet film since "The Red Shoes," Natalie Portman will win and should win. Katy: Natalie will and should win, the performance blew her away, and she was never a Nat Port fan... but Katy did think Michelle Williams was heartbreaking in "Blue Valentine," and Annette Bening was stunning in "The Kid's Are All Right." Oh well, it ain't their year!

BEST ACTOR- The best acting categories are a testament to the talent in Hollywood, Nick feels. In his opinion, Jesse Eisenberg was able to deliver the character in a way that worked on screen for "The Social Network," Javier Bardem is amazing in whatever he does, and that included his performance in "Biutiful," James Franco pulled off an amazing performance in a difficult role for "127 Hours," Jeff Bridges always fantastic, should've won earlier as The Dude in "The Big Lebowski," but certainly won't win again this year for "True Grit," so there isn't any question Colin Firth will win for his performance in "The King's Speech." He is a remarkable actor, has been working for years and is due the recognition, says Nick.

Katy is still so depressed that Ryan Gosling wasn't even nominated for "Blue Valentine" that she half-heartedly says that Colin Firth (her friend for 24 hours) will win for "The King's Speech" - and probably should win, even though she felt his performance last year in "A Single Man" was much stronger.

BEST DIRECTOR - All great choices this year (but hey Danny Boyle, where are you?). Nick would love to see Darren Aronofsky win, as he feels he should have won for both "Pi" and "Requiem for a Dream," and "Black Swan" is the most unique and exquisite movie of the year in his opinion. However, Nick feels David Fincher will win for "The Social Network," as it's a strong movie, the story telling worked and it was well acted.

Katy agrees completely, but wouldn't mind if David O. Russell got the nod for "The Fighter" ...but she realizes, in all liklihood, Fincher will be honored for his body of work. Poor Darren A, who Katy believes deserves it, even though when it first came out, she had no desire to even see "Black Swan"!

BEST PICTURE - Nick and Katy feel these are all the right choices in a somewhat lackluster year, if we're being honest.

Nick thinks "Black Swan" is an artistic statement, and that's what a Best Picture should be. However, it won't win. "The King's Speech" or "Social Network" will win... and in the end, Nick feels "The King's Speech" is going to take home the prize.

Surprisingly for Katy, who didn't want to see it, she feels "Black Swan" was all the things a Best Picture should be, but agrees with Nick that it is too esoteric (sorry, Academy) a film to win. Since she can't nominate "Blue Valentine" herself, and "Toy Story 3" has got no shot (oh! but what a movie!), Katy is going to go out on a small limb and say, that with an 11th hour surge, "The Social Network" may trump the frontrunner, "The King's Speech."

And so it goes, another Oscar Season for Rhodes + Krassner. And until next year friends, the balcony is now closed....(thanks Ebert!)