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Oscar Predictions: Surprises

Oscar Predictions: Surprises

Christopher Campbell
By Christopher Campbell posted 9 months ago
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Two more days until we find out who wins this year’s Academy Awards! Okay, so the exclamation point is more than forced. It’s been quite awhile since we’ve had even an ounce of excitement about the Oscars. But we mustn’t let predictability get us down. Sure, even the still-uncertain races (Penn vs. Rourke; Winslet vs. Streep; Man on Wire vs. Trouble the Water) are anything but interesting, because the everyman of 2009 couldn’t care less about who gave the year’s better performance and would probably be fine shrugging his shoulders at the TV screen in the event of a tie (or, better yet, irresolution). However, there’s one thing people keep forgetting about the Academy: they’re full of surprises.

So, rather than just go with the easy, “predictable” predictions, we attempted to guess who and what will Crash the Oscars this year with a surprise victory — preferably the kind that adds an “ing” to “upset.” And once again, we’d like to extend the forecasting fun to you. What surprises do you expect and/or hope for? Or, if you’re down with the boring route, what “certain” winners do you truly believe in? And why? The most accurate comments will be reprinted in our final Oscar column on Monday.
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Judy Garland Bio optioned by Weinsteins

Karina Longworth
By Karina Longworth posted 9 months ago
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I can’t believe I missed this story yesterday (thank you, David Hudson, for pointing to it) but it looks like the Weinstein Company has optioned the film rights to one of my favorite star bios, Gerald Clarke’s Get Happy: The Life of Judy Garland.

I know Clarke’s book pretty much back-to-front; it was a key source for my undergraduate thesis film, which imagined the tragic fallout of a romance between Garland and Frank Sinatra (which I just might put online someday, if I’m ever feeling particularly thirsty for ridicule).

Of course, books get optioned all the time, and there’s no guarantee that this one will actually make it to the screen anytime soon (especially with the Weinsteins involved). But still: Casting! Let’s talk about it! Could there be a better fake Judy Garland than Judy Davis, who won an Emmy for her starring role in the TV movie Me and My Shadows? Is Jay Baruchel old enough to play Vincente Minnelli, because he sort of looks like him? And of course –– what about Liza?

Your thoughts, please.