Oscar Time!

Over on The Bureau Chiefs' site, I've written the first in my series of cult movie essays, this one on the 1966 film The Oscar, just in time for Sunday's Academy Awards Ceremony.

I love the hell out of this movie in all its glorious badness.

Also, you can find The Bureau Chiefs' Oscar Pool on the site as well. You can see how my picks match up with a few other Bureau Chiefs, along with a random dice roll from a d6. If the d6 wins, I'm going to be pissed.

Then, on Sunday night, some of the Bureau Chiefs are going to live chat the Oscars, so you can follow along with the ceremony. I'm looking forward to that, even though I may be totally embarrassed by my picks this year (last year, I went a respectable 18/24).

Here are my picks for this year.

Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role: Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart

Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role: Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds

Performance by and Actress in a Leading Role: Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side

Performance by and Actress in a Supporting Role: Mo’Nique, Precious

Best Animated Feature Film: Up

Art Direction: Avatar

Cinematography: The Hurt Locker

Costume Design: Nine

Best Documentary Feature: The Cove

Best Documentary Short Subject: The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant

Editing: The Hurt Locker

Best Foreign Language Film: The White Ribbon

Makeup: Star Trek

Original Score: Michael Giacchino, Up

Original Song: “The Weary Kind,” Crazy Heart

Best Animated Short: “Logorama”

Best Live Action Short: “Kavi”

Sound Editing: Avatar

Sound Mixing: The Hurt Locker

Visual Effects: Avatar

Adapted Screenplay: Up in the Air

Original Screenplay: Inglourious Basterds

Director: Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker

Best Picture: Avatar

I would like to be wrong about Avatar winning Best Picture, as I liked The Hurt Locker much better. However, my pick here is based on how I think the new Best Picture voting system is going to work out, as I feel that it will really mess with predictions.

In the Classroom with Doctor K!

Readers often try to imagine what it would be like to take a class with Doctor K (at least, I assume they do. I have no hard evidence to support this.) Some might think it's all "Look how racist this Blackhawk comic is!" and detailed punch analyses, but it is often much more than that. This short film by some of my students reveals my pedagogical strategies:



It was fun to help my students out for a few minutes on this project. I enjoy having students who get into cool stuff like this.

Also, over at the Bureau Chiefs site, I've got a piece up on how to win your Oscar pool. Last year, when I went 18/24 in Oscar picks, I was asked here and on Twitter to put together some advice for making picks. I had a lot of fun writing this one. Feel free to leave comments and any tips of your own.

Dr. K's Oscar Picks

Here, without comment, are my 2008 Oscar picks:

BEST MOTION PICTURE OF THE YEAR

Slumdog Millionaire

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE

Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE

Kate Winslet, The Reader

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Penelope Cruz, Vicky Christina Barcelona

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM OF THE YEAR

Wall-E

ACHIEVEMENT IN ART DIRECTION

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY

Slumdog Millionaire

ACHIEVEMENT IN COSTUME DISGUISE

The Duchess

ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTING

Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

Man on Wire

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT

The Witness - From the Balcony of Room 306

ACHIEVEMENT IN FILM EDITING

Slumdog Millionaire

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM OF THE YEAR

The Class

ACHIEVEMENT IN MAKEUP

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

ORIGINAL SCORE

Slumdog Millionaire

ORIGINAL SONG

"Down to Earth," Wall-E

BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM

Presto

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM

Spielzeugland

ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND EDITING

The Dark Knight

ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND MIXING

The Dark Knight

ACHIEVEMENT IN VISUAL EFFECTS

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Slumdog Millionaire

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Milk