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Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Oscar Winners Predictions & Buzz - Noisy Techs

     As always, the buzz comes first, with former rankings appearing in parenthesis (you'll note that Argo wasn't even ON either of the November charts).  My opinions and predictions follow on the second lists.

Best Sound Editing
  1.(4) Life of Pi - Eugene Gearty and Phillip Stockton
  2.(7) Skyfall - Per Hallberg and Karen M Baker
  3.(5) Django Unchained - Wylie Stateman
  4. Argo - Erik Aadaj and Ethan Van der Ryn
  5.(3) Zero Dark Thirty - Paul N.J. Ottosson
     My initial thoughts in this category were so far off the buzz that I had to adjust them a little to take it into consideration.
  1. Django Unchained - Wylie Stateman has been nominated six times over the course of 22 years.  It's a bit of a wild hunch, but I think the overdue factor may win the day on this one.
  2. Zero Dark Thirty - I know that it's buzz has waned since the nominations, but this COULD be the one award that this film wins.  It is Ottosson's third nomination. He won previously for The Hurt Locker.
  3. Skyfall - This seasoned team would be 2 and 4 (Hallberg) & 2 and 1 (Baker) if they DON'T win this year.  I think the film has a better shot in Mixing.
  4. Life of Pi - Only strong buzz keeps me from ranking this film last.  It has been praised for its sound design, but this duo just won last year for Hugo.  Unless the majority of the Academy is unaware that they are voting for the same two guys, it seems unlikely.
  5. Argo - This is only Aadaj's second nomination and his co-nominee has already won twice.  I think this nod was just a shout out.
  Should have been nominated:  The Dark Knight Rises


Best Sound Mixing
  1.(1) Les Miserables - Andy Neelson, Mark Paterson & Simon Hayes
  2.(7) Skyfall - Scott Millan, Greg P. Russell & Stuart Wilson
  3.(5) Life of Pi - Ron Bartlett, D.M. Hemphill & Drew Kunin
  4.(8) Lincoln - Andy Nelson, Gary Rydstrom & Ronald Judkins
  5. Argo - John Reitz, Gregg Rudloff & Jose Antonio Garcia
     Conversely, in this category I didn't alter my initial feelings to fit the buzz at all.  They matched up exactly to start with.
  1. Les Miserables - Andy Neelson may not have the strongest overdue factor on this list, but he received his seventeenth and eighteenth nominations this year and has only won once (for Saving Private Ryan).  When you couple this with the fact that no musical had ever blended its sound elements in quite this way before, and his team becomes the one most likely to take the prize.
  2. Skyfall - The MOST overdue nominee in this category is Greg P. Russell, who has been nominated 16 times in the last 22 years and NEVER WON.  It feels like the Academy wants to give Skyfall something, and these stats make this a tempting token offering.
  3. Life of Pi - D.M. Hemphill is rocking a pretty impressive overdue factor as well with 8 nominations and only one win (for Last of the Mohicans), and this film's sound work has been highly praised.  Both his co-nominees are basking in first nomination bliss.
  4. Lincoln - This is the most seasoned team on the list, but apart from Mr. Neelson (who is far more likely to win for Les Miz), nobody's really sporting the overdue thing, as Judkins has won twice and Rydstrom has four Oscars.
  5. Argo - A case could be made that Reitz, on his fifth nod with only one win, could be seen as overdue.  I'm not going to make it.
  Should have been nominated: The Impossible

Related Articles:  Oscar Winner Predictions & Buzz: Of Snubs and Triumphs (preview), Musical Techs (Score and Song); 23? You Don't Play Like a Sequel Over 2. (Skyfall review), Fantasy Life of Pi?I Think You "Argo"ing to!Love It!The Dark Knight Transcends

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