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Oscar Takeaways
12 thoughts from the big night

 

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ANIMATED FEATURE

Who Won: TOY STORY 3 which also has the Best Picture nod

Who Should've Won: HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON, doesn't have the advantage of 15 years of cumulative emotion. So we love its stand alone power and emotional heft. Plus "Toothless" is way adorbs. See also: Nathaniel's Top Ten List for 2010

 

   
 TOY STORY 3
(Disney / Pixar)
 HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON
(Dreamworks)
THE ILLUSIONIST
(Sony Pictures Classics)
 n/a n/a
THE FUTURE. is this the final AMPAS hurrah for Pixar? Eventually AMPAS tires of every "Oscar darling" (outside of Meryl Streep) and they've got sequels coming up when they used to be such champions of originality.
it looked like a challenger to Toy Story 3's Oscar, until Toy Story 3 became teh year's biggest box office phenomenon globally and started fighting for a Best Picture win. It'll have to make due with the gazillions heading its way as a new franchise.
In a way its delicate beauty and downer ending are only magnified in meaning now that its being largely ignored in theaters. At least it has this nomination as reward.
   
 

There were 15 ELIGIBLE FILMS
so there could only be 3 nominees. They were one short of the number required for a 5-nominee category.

Not Nominated but Eligible
TANGLED  (Disney)
DESPICABLE ME (Universal Pictures and Illumination)
MEGA MIND (Dreamworks)
LEGEND OF THE GUARDIANS (Warner Bros)
THE DREAMS OF JINSHA
IDIOTS AND ANGELS
MY DOG TULIP
SUMMER WARS
SHREK FOREVER AFTER (Paramount & Dreamworks)
TINKER BELL AND THE GREAT FAIRY RESCUE

 

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

Who Will Win: It could be EXIT (the buzz) INSIDE JOB (the topicality) or WASTELAND (a frequent audience favorite). Let's say EXIT (we may change our minds before Oscar night).
Who Should Win: Abstain. Haven't yet seen the whole field.

 EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP
GASLAND
INSIDE JOB
RESTREPO
WASTELAND




 
 

There were 15 Finalists
The following films were in the mix but not in the end game, nominated.
Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer
~ bio-doc on disgraced New York governor.
Enemies of the People ~ on Cambodia's killing fields.
Genius Within: The Inner Life of Glenn Gould ~bio-doc on the musician.
The Lottery ~ the other charter-schools documentary of 2010.
Precious Life ~a Palestinian boy needs Israeli medical care to survive.
Quest for Honor ~activist women and Kurdish journalists fight against "honor killings".
This Way of Life ~bio-doc on Maori family.
The Tillman Story ~bio-doc on sports hero turned soldier.
Waiting for Superman
~commercial for charter schools.
William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe ~bio-doc on famed civil rights activist lawyer.

 

DOCUMENTARY SHORT
will win: STRANGERS NO MORE
should win: Here's Michael's take on the merits of these films.

POSTER GIRL
Portrayal Films
KILLING IN THE NAME
d. Jed Rothstein
Moxie Firecracker Films
THE WARRIORS OF QIUJANG
d. Ruby Wang
Thomas Lennon Films
 STRANGERS NO MORE
d. Karen Goodman and Kirk Simon
Simon & Goodman Picture Company
 SUN COME UP
d.
Sun Come Up, LLC
 on women in the military and post traumatic stress disorder (minutes, English)
 on religious terrorism and gun control laws (39 minutes, English)
on environmental poisoning in China (39 minutes, Chinese)
 on education. features a multicultural school in Tel Aviv. ()
on climate change refugees  ()
 

The three finalists that weren't nominated

Born Sweet, Cynthia Wade Productions. Directed by Cynthia Wade. Topic: environmental poisoning.Details: 25 minutes (Central Khmer)
Living for 32, Cuomo Cole Productions [39 minutes]Topic: the gun massacre at Virginia Tech in 2007.Details: 39 minutes (English)
One Thousand Pictures: RFK’s Last Journey, Lichen Films Topic: Robert Kennedy's funeral train.Details: 38 minutes (English)

 

ANIMATED SHORT
WILL WIN I'm guessing it's between Day & Night and Madagascar. I'm predicting Day & Night as part of the YEAR OF PIXAR narrative. After this I think things will get tougher for Pixar oscar-wise.
SHOULD WIN Here's Michael's view on the merits of these films. (FWIW I love Let's Pollute even if he doesn't)

 DAY & NIGHT
Teddy Newton
Pixar Animation Studios
 THE GRUFFALO
Jakob Schuh & Max Lang
Magic Light Pictures
 LET'S POLLUTE
Geefwee Boedoe
Geefwee Boedoe
 THE LOST THING
Shaun Tan & Andrew Ruhemann
Passion Pictures Australia
 MADAGASCAR,  A JOURNEY DIARY
Bastien Dubois
Sacrebleu Productions


 


 
 

The finalists that weren't nominated

The Cow Who Wanted to Be a Hamburger Bill Plympton, director (Bill Plympton Studio)
Coyote Falls Matthew O’Callaghan, director and Sam Register, executive producer (Warner Bros. Animation Inc.)
Sensology Michel Gagne, director-producer (GAGNE International LLC)
The Silence beneath the Bark Joanna Lurie, director (Lardux Films)
Urs Moritz Mayerhofer, director (Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg)

 

LIVE ACTION SHORT

Will Win: God of Love (going out on a limb. The safer prediction is Na Wewe)
Should Win: Here's Michael's review of this category.

THE CONFESSION
Tanel Toom
National Film and Television School
25 minutes
THE CRUSH
Michael Creagh
Purdy Pictures
15 minutes
GOD OF LOVE
Luke Matheny
Luke Matheny
minutes
 NA WEWE
Ivan Goldschmidt
CUT!
minutes
 WISH 143
Ian Barnes
Swing and Shift Films / Union Pictures
22 minutes
 tba  An 8 year old boy challenges his second grade teacher's boyfriend to a duel. From Ireland.
a comedic film about a dart champion and lounge singer. From USA.
set during the civil war in Burundi near Rwanda
a dying 15 year old has a last wish: an hour with a naked girl.  view the whole film here.
 

The Finalists That Weren't Nominated

Ana's Playground d. Eric Howell (Story Forge, LLC) children playing in a war torn country
Seeds of the Fall d. Patrik Eklund (Direktorn & Fabrikorn) about a seachange in a passionless middleage marriage. From Sweden. running time: 18 minutes
Shoe d. Nick Kelly (Zanita Films)
The Six Dollar Fifty Man d. Mark Abiston & Louise Sutherland (Sticky Pictures, Ltd) an 8 year old boy with a superheroic imagination, has to learn to face reality. From New Zealand. running time: 15 min.
Sma Barn Stora Ord (Little Children, Big Words) d. Lisa James Larsson (Bob Film Sweden ab). A teacher asks her class what they want to be when they grow up. One answer is startling. From Sweden. running time: 12 min.

 

MORE ARTICLES ON SHORT FILMS