If I Owned the Oscars

Here are my own nomination picks. :) I went ahead and put those that are actual Oscar nominees in blue.

Best Movie

50/50 - Why? Because it's an achievement in balance. All the things you could want from a comedy about cancer. Many of us use humor to help us process the darkest moments in our lives and this movie expertly captures that. Anyone who has had a friend or family member struggle with cancer (which is just about everyone these days) can testify to how true it all feels.

The Artist - Here's the thing about The Artist. Everyone's right. It's great. It's storytelling done excellently. It's all about timing, joy, desperation, pride, and hope. It allows us to rejoice in the details. Sound? Who needs sound? Not me.

Drive - Violent, divisive, and occasionally illogical. This film's strength is in its contrasts, its direction that floats between dreamy to startling and back again. There's a palpable sense of how high the stakes really are and brilliant performances by all involved. Plus, it's just cool.

The Future - Initially I wasn't certain how I felt about this movie. I wondered if it might be too quirky for its own good and if the childish adults populating it were real enough to make their plights seem convincing. But, the more I thought about it, the more it stayed with me. The cat, oh the cat. The pain of change, the desire to grasp for something more without knowing what or who it is you really want. The necessity of growing up, even when growing up means losing something basic and essential. All captured memorably by this devastating little film.

Hugo - I thought Hugo was going to be annoyingly childish, pandering to the audience in the worst way, but it wasn't. No, it was too busy telling a story.... a creative and imaginative story that spoke to the director's deep love of his subject matter. This film is beautiful to look at and a pleasure to experience.

Martha Marcy May Marlene - This movie is deeply unsettling and a brilliant portrayal of how one can be seduced into a bizarre and dangerous world. Rather than following a linear story-line, the plot takes us along on the lead character's emotional journey, with tense, enlightening and occasionally confusing results. Extremely memorable.

Pina - I promise I'm not biased. Yes, I'm a dancer and this is a dance movie. However, keep in mind that I have seen hundreds of dance movies and there aren't many I would consider worthy of an Oscar nomination. Why this one? Well, never have I seen a documentary where direction was so perfectly married with subject matter. The filming felt like an extension of the choreography, something Pina Bausch herself might have had a hand in. Sensitive, creative, crazy, and beautiful.

A Separation - This Iranian film has been getting a lot of buzz, and for good reason. The script is brilliant and sophisticated, every character well-defined. It's a film about everything: religion, marriage, gender, law, parenthood, truth, tradition, progress, society, class, and more, yet it never loses focus or feels cluttered. I felt as if I was watching life unfold before me instead of characters reciting scripted lines. Highly recommended.

The Tree of Life - Unlike most of the world, I didn't love it and I didn't hate it. I did, however, think it was a transcendent, unconventional glimpse into the possibilities of nonlinear storytelling. Terrence Malick is a genius at evoking emotion by combining images and sound. Here he is at the top of his game. It breathes hope with every frame.

Young Adult - It's sad that this one got passed over, because I think it's an interesting evolution of the Jason Reitman/Diablo Cody dynamic. It was also much, much better than I expected. The performances were strong, the writing restrained and even charmingly self-referential, and the whole movie pretty gutsy in a super-interesting way. Intelligent, funny and bleak, I thought it was deserving of a nod.

Runner-ups:

Shame

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

Possible contenders I haven't seen:

Certified Copy

Melancholia

Don't even talk to me about it:

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

The Help

War Horse

Best Actor in a Leading Role

George Clooney - The Descendants

Jean Dujardin - The Artist

Michael Fassbender - Shame

Ryan Gosling - Drive

Gary Oldman - Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

Runner-ups:

Joseph Gordon-Levitt - 50/50

Peyman Moaadi - A Separation

Michael Shannon - Take Shelter

Owen Wilson - Midnight in Paris

Possible contender I haven't seen:

Demian Bichir - A Better Life

Best Actress in a Leading Role

Jessica Chastain - The Tree of Life

Charlize Theron - Young Adult

Rooney Mara - Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Elizabeth Olsen - Martha Marcy May Marlene

Michelle Williams - My Week With Marilyn

Runner-ups:

Jessica Chastain - Take Shelter

Viola Davis - The Help

Jody Foster - Carnage

Possible contenders I haven't seen:

Kirsten Dunst - Melancholia

Tilda Swinton - We Need to Talk About Kevin

Don't even talk to me about it:

Meryl Streep - The Iron Lady (Okay, fine, we can talk about it. This isn't against Meryl. I think she's brilliant and that she did the best she could with a script that didn't support her. We didn't get to see her do much more than make speeches and wander around acting senile. Her skills were wasted.)

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

Kenneth Branagh - My Week With Marilyn

Albert Brooks - Drive

John Hawkes - Martha Marcy May Marlene

Viggo Mortenson - A Dangerous Method

Christopher Plummer - Beginners

Runner-ups:

Ralph Fiennes in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

Colin Firth - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

John C. Reilly - Cedar Rapids or Terri

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

Keira Knightly - A Dangerous Method

Janet McTeer - Albert Nobbs

Carey Mulligan - Shame

Octavia Spencer - The Help

Shailene Woodley - The Descendants

Runner-ups:

Berenice Bejo - The Artist

Melissa McCarthy - Bridesmaids

That's about all I can handle right now, but if I've got the time I'll share opinions on other categories later this week. (No shortage of opinions here!)

You probably noticed that I didn't pick any winners. I'm not so hot at that. I can usually narrow my favorite films from any year down to about three, but picking a top movie? A top performance? Not so comfortable committing to that. So, I leave it to you. Which would you like to win? Who is your favorite? Did I leave anything important out?

Reader's log:

20. The Knife of Never Letting Go - Patrick Ness

21. Twenty-Eight and a Half Wishes - Denise Grover Swank

22. All about Emily - Connie Willis

23. Lady of Devices - Shelley Adina

24. Her Own Devices - Shelley Adina

How to come up with an idea.

Sometimes it feels as if ideas are beautiful, tropical fish that can only be caught in the most rare of locations or with the most expensive of bait. Only the special people get to catch them. Everybody else has to make due with trout or carp.

When I'm feeling blocked or uninspired, I like to turn to a man with no shortage of awesome, mind-blowing, crazy ideas.

"Love is the answer to everything. It's the only reason to do anything. If you don't write stories you love, you'll never make it." - Ray Bradbury

It's true. There's a lot of pressure out there to conform to trends, but the wise people, the smart people, know that the only way to ultimately succeed is to follow your own interests and your own passions. (Of course this depends on your definition of success). Don't read that an agent is looking for middle grade mysteries and whip up a middle grade mystery if you have no interest in doing so. Write the book that is on your heart. Look to the things in your life that you are passionate about. Write about those things. Maybe it's aliens. Maybe it's love affairs. Maybe it's questions of fate vs. free will. Maybe it's cheese. Doesn't matter. Write about those things. Think about what you love and why you love it, then share.

"We are cups, constantly and quietly being filled. The trick is knowing how to tip ourselves over and let the beautiful stuff out." - Ray Bradbury

Very true, though I would add to this that sometimes we need to let the nasty stuff out as well. As a child Charlotte Bronte went to a school very much like the Lowood School described in her novel. She lost two of her sisters to tuberculosis there. Obviously it was an experience that haunted and enraged her, as she chose to include it in her book. I remember reading those chapters and feeling indignation and horror for the children there, due the vividness of the description. What are the moments in your life, the emotions, that won't let go of you? The good and the bad, the ugly and the beautiful. Write about those things! Find the truth in them. Even if you have to twist them beyond recognition, at least it's a place to start.

"You've got to jump off cliffs and build your wings on the way down." - Ray Bradbury

Don't write safe books. Don't write books that already exist. Don't coddle your characters or shy away from dangerous ground. Don't be afraid of your own ideas or feeling like a fool. Just jump.

"Quantity produces quality. If you only write a few things, you're doomed." - Ray Bradbury

I think this might be the most valid advice of all. The best way to get ideas? Write. Don't wait for the ideas to land on your shoulder or swim into your net. Chase those buggers. Chase them down! The more you write, the faster the ideas will come. Could take years. Could take hours. Just start.

Thanks, Ray. :)