For the past few days, several Oscar voters have wanted to share their thoughts on the top eight categories at the 2019 Academy Awards. Now that voting has concluded, we can start exposing these secret ballots. The comments below for Voter #3 in each category are part of the thought process in choosing these potential winners.
And click here to see our winner picks for Voter #1 and Voter #2. More articles will be published this week.
BEST PICTURE: “BlacKkKlansman”
I’m torn on this one, but “BlacKkKlansman” works better for me politically. “Green Book” is relevant today as well, and it was a very enjoyable film. But a Best Picture in my mind needs to leave me feeling like I got transported to another place. It resonated with me on a lot of issues where my head is at, so I connected more. Second place is “Green Book.” Third place is “The Favourite.”
BEST DIRECTOR: Spike Lee (“BlacKkKlansman”)
It’s Spike Lee for the best film he’s done. The source material was touchy and what kind of direction do you go in? What kinds of performances do you get out of the actors? And Spike has always been a message-guy movie maker. This one just seemed to have the right elements attached to it. He’s matured a lot as a filmmaker and is not as angry as he used to be.
BEST ACTRESS: Glenn Close (“The Wife”)
It’s Glenn Close who deserves to win, but if she wasn’t nominated I would have gone with Olivia Colman because she was magnificent. Lady Gaga was great but not like when Barbra Streisand did “Funny Girl” as her first movie and won. Glenn’s character was in an incredibly bad position with the husband taking advantage of her mind. It was the way she demonstrated her emotions even more than how she delivered her lines.
BEST ACTOR: Christian Bale (“Vice”)
My choice is Christian Bale because if you did not see the credits you wouldn’t know it was him as Dick Cheney. It was an incredibly convincing performance. Rami Malek was great as Freddie Mercury, but he didn’t blow me away as much.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Regina King (“If Beale Street Could Talk”)
I would definitely vote for Regina King because she was the heart and soul of that movie. She wholeheartedly deserves it for the big heart that her character has.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Richard E. Grant (“Can You Ever Forgive Me?”)
Mahershala Ali is probably the front-runner, and I think he is a brilliant actor. But my choice is Richard E. Grant… because of the enjoyment he had in playing this part came across in every scene. When you see an actor having so much fun, you can’t help but enjoy it. He really hasn’t had a showcase like this in a long time. He made the movie magical.
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: Spike Lee, David Rabinowitz, Charlie Wachtel, Kevin Willmott (“BlacKkKlansman”)
It’s well-written and has a great story that could have been stereotypical but didn’t do that. The base material was a luxury for an screenwriter; was this for real? When you start with that true premise and the topic, they really crafted it and injected the humor when necessary. It could have been a down-beat movie and made it convincing with the message being delivered without hitting you over the head with it.
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: Paul Schrader (“First Reformed”)
This is another tough one, but I’m going with “First Reformed.” This was a movie that’s gotten no recognition whatsoever and should have gotten more than it did. For Schrader, it’s a return to form with what he did with “Taxi Driver” and his early films. Ethan Hawke should have gotten nominated. The negative campaign against “Green Book” has nothing to do with me not choosing it. If I was going for anything else, it would be “The Favourite.”
PREDICT the Oscar winners now; change them until February 24
Be sure to check out how our experts rank this year’s Oscar contenders. Then take a look at the most up-to-date combined odds before you make your own Oscar predictions. Don’t be afraid to jump in now since you can keep changing your predictions until just before winners are announced on February 24.
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