It’s a solid B, which isn’t bad considering the vagaries of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences. In our January 11 issue, Phoenix film editor Peter Keough, after protecting his critical credentials by writing who and what should be nominated for Oscars this 80th time around, offered his predictions as to who and what would make the final cut this year in the big-ticket categories.
Keough scored 24 out of 30 — that’s 80 percent — which he claims is “about par the for course with these things.” He is, however, proud to have nailed the nomination results for best supporting actor and actress — 10 for 10.
And now, so our readers can debate the relative wisdom of backing directors Sean Penn and Sidney Lumet over Juno’s 30-year-old Jason (Thank You for Smoking) Reitman and Michael Clayton first-time director Tony Gilroy (screenwriter for all three Bourne blockbusters), we present (without envelope) the results.
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And the nominees are . . .
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Peter’s predictions were . . .
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BEST PICTURE (4 for 5)
Atonement
Juno
Michael Clayton
No Country for Old Men
There Will Be Blood
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Sweeney Todd
Juno
Michael Clayton
No Country for Old Men
There Will Be Blood
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BEST DIRECTOR (3 for 5)
Paul Thomas Anderson (There Will Be Blood)
Joel and Ethan Coen (No Country for Old Men)
Tony Gilroy (Michael Clayton)
Jason Reitman (Juno)
Julian Schnabel (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly)
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Paul Thomas Anderson (There Will Be Blood)
Joel and Ethan Coen (No Country for Old Men)
Sean Penn (Into the Wild)
Sidney Lumet (Before the Devil Knows You're Dead)
Julian Schnabel (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly)
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BEST ACTOR (3 for 5)
George Clooney (Michael Clayton)
Daniel Day-Lewis (There Will Be Blood)
Johnny Depp (Sweeney Todd)
Tommy Lee Jones (In the Valley of Elah)
Viggo Mortensen (Eastern Promises)
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George Clooney (Michael Clayton)
Daniel Day-Lewis (There Will Be Blood)
Johnny Depp (Sweeney Todd)
Ryan Gosling (Lars and the Real Girl)
Denzel Washington (American Gangster)
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BEST ACTRESS (4 for 5)
Cate Blanchett (Elizabeth: The Golden Age)
Julie Christie (Away From Her)
Marion Cotillard (La Vie en Rose)
Laura Linney (The Savages)
Ellen Page (Juno)
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Angelina Jolie (A Mighty Heart)
Julie Christie (Away From Her)
Marion Cotillard (La Vie en Rose)
Laura Linney (The Savages)
Ellen Page (Juno)
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BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR (5 for 5 — Bingo!)
Casey Affleck (The Assassination of Jesse James . . .)
Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men)
Philip Seymour Hoffman (Charlie Wilson’s War)
Hal Holbrook (Into the Wild)
Tom Wilkinson (Michael Clayton)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS (modesty forbids)
Cate Blanchett (I’m Not There)
Ruby Dee (American Gangster)
Saoirse Ronan (Atonement)
Amy Ryan (Gone Baby Gone)
Tilda Swinton (Michael Clayton)