Page 10
Oscar night predictions:
And the winner is...
by Susan Kass
The Collegian
The Academy Awards have
been exciting and boring, loved
and hated, but they are always
watched. This year is no
exception. An Oscar can make or
break a career or profit margin.
Movies like Bugsy and Prince of
Tides, which have done poorly at
the box office, have already
profited by being nominated for
numerous awards, including the
coveted best picture trophy.
The most popular categories -
best picture, actor, actress,
supporting actor, supporting
actress, and director - are being
watched closely this year. Each
category contains hidden surprises
and disappointments, so
predicting the winner is quite
difficult this time around. As
Jodie Foster has said, "It’s a
lottery draw.”
Best Picture
The nominees for best picture
are JFK , Beauty and the Beast,
The Silence of the Lambs, Prince
of Tides, and Bugsy.
The Academy always tries to
stay away from controversy,
which JFK has had plenty of.
Despite director Oliver Stone's
remarkable work and
campaigning, the "docudrama"
traits which fictionalize
numerous incidents might have
been too radical for academy
stalwarts.
Beauty and the Beast is the
first full-length animated feature
to ever be nominated for best
picture. This is a very special
honor, but the Disney classic is
not the best of its kind. Two
things can explain its
nomination: it's a bad year for
Oscar-worthy movies, and Disney
debuted it at the New York film
festival this summer.
Even with the artful direction
of Jonathan Demme and
spectacular performances by
Anthony Hopkins and Jodie
Foster, The Silence of the Lambs
is a long shot; it's difficult to
imagine that the academy will
vote for a honor film as best
picture.
With the superb performances
of Kate Nelligan and Nick Nolte,
as well as an adapted screenplay
which will almost certainly win
an Oscar, Prince of Tides is a
quality movie.
Of all the nominees, Bugsy
stands to gain the most and,
judging from the ten nominations
it received (more than any other
this year) and the past history of
Oscar, it will probably win.
Predicted winner:
Bugsy
Preferred winner:
Silence of the Lambs
Best Actor
The best actor category is the
most saturated with talent. All
the nominees deserve the award;
in fact, I think votes will be so
evenly distributed that there
might even be a tie.
First up is Robert De Niro for
Cape Fear, whose performance
was fantastic. But De Niro has
always excelled; considering the
competition this year, I think he
could handle stepping aside once.
Anthony Hopkins was a
perfect Hannibal Lecter in Silence
of the Lambs, and Robin
Williams provided audiences with
a good performance in The Fisher
King. In another year, with less
brilliant competition, they would
have a better chances.
Warren Beatty was actually
believable and quite good in
Bugsy. Looking at his past
performances in Reds and Bonnie
and Clyde, I have to say that this
was his best role to date.
Nick Nolte stole The Prince
of Tides from Streisand with a
believable and honest style.
Many say this is his year,
judging from his recent surge in
popularity. But what will win
him the Oscar is that he is a
manly man who cries.
Predicted Winner:
Nick Nolte
Preferred Winner:
Anthony Hopkins
Best Actress
The best actress category is
less diverse than in other years,
but nonetheless interesting. The
nominees are Laura Dern for
Rambling Rose, Bette Midler in
For the Boys, Jodie Foster for
Silence of the Lambs, and Geena
Davis and Susan Sarandon for
Thelma and Louise.
Dern received much critical
acclaim, but since she is very
young she'll probably have to
wait to be nominated again. On
the other hand, this is Davis'
second nomination, but her
performance this time around was
not particularly outstanding.
Sarandon, who received
nothing for her performance in
Bull Durham, is due for
acceptance and recognition.
Bette Midler won the Golden
Globe for best actress two
months ago, for her role in For
the Boys, but that is not always a
good predictor.
That leaves Jodie Foster in
Silence of the Lambs, who gave
a spectacular performance. Foster
is popular enough to win a
second Oscar, and she very well
may do it this year.
Predicted winner:
Jodie Foster
Preferred winner:
Jodie Foster
Best Supporting Actor
The best supporting actor
F eatures
category is quite bland this year.
All the nominees were good, but
none had a particularly significant
effect on the movies they were
in.
Harvey Keitel and Ben
Kingsley were nominated for
Bugsy, even though Elliot Gould
was the only one praised for his
performance in the same picture.
The other nominees were
Tommy Lee Jones for JFK,
Michael Lemer for Barton Fink
and Jack Palance for City
Slickers. I think Palance deserves
it the most and probably will get
it.
Predicted winner:
Jack Palance
Preferred winner:
Jack Palance
Best Supporting
Actress
This category contains quite a
few strong performances this
year, most notably Diane Ladd
for Rambling Rose, Jessica
Tandy for Fried Green Tomatoes,
and Mercedes Ruehl for The
Fisher King. Other nominees
include Kate Nelligan in The
Prince of Tides and Juliette Lewis
fat Cape Fear.
Ladd was good in Rambling
Rose, but this is her first
recognized part. I expect her to be
nominated again in the future.
The favorite seems to be
Lewis, however. She gave a
startling, affective performance,
but since her nomination she has
been somewhat lethargic about
getting an Oscar. Members might
vote for Nelligan simply because
they're scared what Lewis might
say in her acceptance speech.
Predicted winner:
Juliette Lewis
Preferred winner:
Kate Nelligan
Best Director
The best director category
normally reflects the best picture
category. This is true for
Jonathan Demme ( Silence of the
Lambs), Oliver Stone (JFK), and
Barry Levinson (Bugsy). But
many were surprised by the
nomination of John Singleton
(Boyz N the Hood) and Ridley
Scott (Thelma and Louise).
Singleton, who was also
nominated for best original
screenplay, is the youngest
nominee ever in this category. He
is also the first African American
to get a nomination as a director.
Although Demme and Stone
deserve credit for their respective
entries, Singleton should have no
problems winning here.
Predicted winner:
John Singleton
Preferred winner:
Johnathan Demme
You Pick the Oscars
And win free movie passes!!!
Best Picture
Beauty and the Beast
_ Bugsy
JFK
The Prince of Tides
The Silence of the Lambs
Best Actor
Warren Beatty - Bugsy
Robert De Niro - Cape Fear
Anthony Hopkins The Silence of the Lambs
Nick Nolte -- The Prince of Tides
Robin Williams - The Fisher King
Best Actress
Geena Davis - Thelma & Louise
Laura Dem -- Rambling Rose
Jodie Foster - The Silence of the Lambs
Bette Midler -- For the Boys
Susan Sarandon Thelma & Louise
Best Supporting Actor
Tommy Lee Jones JFK
Harvey Keitel -- Bugsy
Ben Kingsley - Bugsy
Michael Lemer - Barton Fink
Jack Palance -- City Slickers
Best Supporting Actress
Diane Ladd -- Rambling Rose
Juliette Lewis -- Cape Fear
Kate Nelligan - The Prince of Tides
Mercedes Ruehl - The Fisher King
Jessica Tandy -- Fried Green Tomatoes
Best Director
John Singleton - Boyz N the Hood
James Toback - Bugsy
Oliver Stone -- JFK
Jonathan Demme - The Silence of the Lambs
Ridley Scott - Thelma & Louise
H • All entries must be dropped off in The Collegian office
■ (Ist Floor Reed) by noon on Monday, March 30.
■ • Winners will be chosen according to the Oscar telecast
■ Monday night; the entries with the most correct answers
■ win.
■ • Five winners will receive two VIP passes to any film at
■ the Millcreek Mall Cinemas.
■ • In the event of a tie, a random drawing conducted by The
5 Collegian editors will determine contest winners.
■ • Winners will be announced in the April 2,1992, issue of
J The Collegian.
■ • This contest is open to all students, faculty and staff, with
the exception of The Collegian staff.
Name
Phone #
Cam
ius Box #
Thursday, March 26, 1992