Risë Birnbaum and "the buzz"

zcomm : The Oscars Edition

As the Academy is voting for those lucky actors, producers, directors, et al who get to pick up a golden statue, we decided that the zcomm staff should do the same and make a few predictions before they roll out the red carpet.  And, just to keep things on the up and up, we asked our accounting firm of RSMI McGladrey to oversee our balloting process.

And now for our results:

Best Picture

• Avatar
• The Blind Side
• District 9
• The Hurt Locker
• An Education
• Inglourious Basterds
• Precious
• A Serious Man
• Up
• Up in the Air

@risezcomm: Hurt Locker. Kept me on the edge of my seat!

@kimblelayne: I think Up in the Air should win. Avatar is new and exciting (which everyone loves; no other movie came out in IMAX 3D-it’s not just a movie, but an experience) but UITA tells such a real story. It’s one of the most relatable movies of the year.

@mindofmcn: Avatar seems like the safest pick, biggest movie ever and Academy loves Cameron

@robinhlane: They should just re-name the category cool and shiny movie of the year because Avatar is going to win.  I haven’t even seen it but the commercials alone… anything this flashy, and blue, will win. For the record, I really liked District 9, though I doubt anything will break through the shiny that is Avatar.

@P_C_M: I almost never get a chance to go to see “the moving picture show.”  I’ve heard “the talkies” are quite popular nowadays but.. Avatar - I actually saw this flick.  And, given James Cameron’s track record, I’m thinking he’s got a good shot at it.  Blue folks are always a winner…didn’t you love the Smurfs as a child?

@nicolesoufi: Avatar has won everything so far, so I expect it’ll win this as well. I’d love to see it go to Inglourious Basterds though!

Best Actor

• Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart
• George Clooney, Up In The Air
• Colin Firth, A Single Man
• Morgan Freeman, Invictus
• Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker

@mindofmcn: Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart – probably the best category, I think it comes down to Bridges and Clooney, but I think Bridges has gotten more Buzz lately

@risezcomm: Jeff Bridges. Who knew the guy could sing?

@nicolesoufi: Jeff Bridges. Again, he’s won everything else already so I think he’s a safe pick. George Clooney would be a close 2nd though.

@P_C_M: George Clooney, Up In The Air - Does it count if the role was written specifically for you?  I mean, he does a great job, but it’s not like it was a huge stretch

Best Actress

• Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side
• Helen Mirren, The Last Station
• Carey Mulligan, An Education
• Gabourey Sidibe, Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
• Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia

@mindofmcn: Gabourey Sidibe, Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire – Seems like it could be anyone from this category except Streep who is always nominated but never wins anymore, Sidibe seems like the best story

@robinhlane: I’d really like to see Sandra Bullock win. Oh come on, she’s come a long way since Speed. I can say I wasn’t a huge fan of Streep in Julie & Julia- could have been because I was on a plane for 8 hours and cranky. That said, I have no idea who will actually win maybe Helen Mirren

@risezcomm: Carey Mulligan. This Audrey Hepburn lookalike has star power.

@nicolesoufi: I think Gabourey has been overlooked! She was spectacular in this movie and really deserves to win!

@P_C_M: Gabourey Sidibe, Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire - Given that I saw none of these movies, I'd thought I'd go with the independent flick. Plus, a little bit of diversity never hurt anyone. And, for the record, "blue" doesn't count as diverse no matter what I said earlier.

Best Supporting Actor

• Matt Damon, Invictus
• Woody Harrelson, The Messenger
• Christopher Plummer, The Last Station
• Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones
• Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds

@mindofmcn: Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds – this award has been going to the best villain

(Ledger in Dark Knight, Bardem in No Country), and the Nazi’s are the best villains ever

@risezcomm: Christoph Waltz. Brilliant!!

@nicolesoufi: Christoph Waltz. No contest. He speaks about 5 languages in the movie, how can he NOT win?!

@kimblelayne: Waltz!

@P_C_M: Matt Damon, Invictus - he’s hot and apartheid sucks.  I got nothing else…

Best Supporting Actress

• Penélope Cruz, Nine
• Vera Farmiga, Up In The Air
• Maggie Gyllenhaal, Crazy Heart
• Anna Kendrick, Up In The Air
• Mo'Nique, Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire

@mindofmcn: Anna Kendrick, Up In The Air – No idea who to pick here, but I think they’ll want to honor Up In The Air so it will either be screen play or one of the actresses (if they don’t split the vote).

@robinhlane: Is it bad that I’m voting Maggie Gyllenhal to win, because I think she’s cool? Hope not, because she gets my vote! 

@risezcomm: Vera Farmiga.

@nicolesoufi: – Mo’Nique should win it. She made me gasp and cry more times than I remember with her performance.

@P_C_M: Vera Farmiga, Up In The Air - As an adulterous workaholic who gets “turned on by elite status” Vera rocks out.  She’s open, she’s out there, and she’s in the only movie I saw in the category.

I’d like to thank our panelists. And don’t forget to follow us @zcommunications and each of our esteemed panel of judges on Twitter for more thoughts on this year’s Oscars …and I guess we’ll throw in some PR thoughts too.

 

THE HANGOVER

I was really psyched to see this film.  My 23 yr. old daughter in Hollywood said she laughed so hard her jeans split and I really needed a good laugh.  Friends my age even said it was a kick.  Talk about word of mouth.

So, I bought tix online, went with friends and waited for the jokes to fly…and waited…and waited.

Do I like Brad Cooper?  You betcha.  Were the sight gags good?  Yup.  But when the credits ended and the flick was over I realized I never really laughed all that hard.  I tried to figure out why and realized that this newest comedy directed by an 18 yr. old was just a series of sight gags around a very thin plot.  And I def could have used more plot and less gagging.

My idea of a funny movie is Bachelor Party with Tom Hanks or one of the Vacation movies with Chevy Chase.  There’s more “there” there and those guys are really funny.

The four musketeers in Hangover are like four guys who shouldn’t be together in the first place and you don’t care much about.  Add a tiger in a bathroom and a few chickens, a naked Asian gay guy, a pissed off Mike Tyson and a saggy senior butt and I just gave away most of the story.

Do I like the new genre of comedies?  I really liked Forgetting Sarah Marshall, so the answer is yes.  But, that had a beginning, middle and an end.  The Hangover just gave me a slight headache and made me resolve not to do shots ever again.