Oscar wild: who should win but won't

Nineteen ninety-nine is going to be a very different year. First, we'll have a whole new set of New Year's resolutions. Second, we're going to have a new bunch of guys running around the streets, telling us to repent before the apocalypse. Third, and perhaps most importantly, we're going to hear an awful lot of Prince. And finally, Titanic isn't going to clean up at the Academy Awards. That is, unless James Cameron purchases the awards ceremony, to be held Sun., Mar. 21 in Los Angeles, and puts the movie back up for nominations.

Assuming that Titanic will not be a candidate at this year's awards show, the Oscar race should prove to be interesting. Aside from Steven Spielberg's latest installment, there don't seem to be many movies that have awards locked up. The following is a list of who I think should bring home the gold, and who actually will.

Tom Hanks is probably going to win Best Actor for his performance in Saving Private Ryan. I mean, is the Academy allowed to give it to anyone else? The only movie he's been in over the past five years for which he didn't get an Award was That Thing You Do. And, let's face it, when it comes to "that thing," he just didn't do it. In any case, he was unquestionably good in Saving Private Ryan. Still, other actors did more interesting things with more interesting roles this past year. Did anyone see Edward Norton in American History X? What about Roberto Benigni in Life is Beautiful? And Jim Carrey surprised us all in The Truman Show.

The general consensus seems to be that Best Actress will go to either Susan Sarandon or Meryl Streep. Both are equally deserving of the award for their performances in Stepmom and One True Thing, respectively. If I had the opportunity, however, I would remind the Academy to consider Gwyneth Paltrow for her role in Shakespeare in Love. Her performance had everything I could have asked for: sincerity, charm, passion, and a little bit of frontal nudity. Give it to Gwyneth.

The front-runners for Best Supporting Actor seem to be Billy Bob Thornton from A Simple Plan and Geoffrey Rush from Shakespeare in Love. I have to say that I wasn't all that inspired by any supporting actor performances this year. The nominees this year will pale in comparison to last year's Greg Kinnear, Robin Williams, and Burt Reynolds. I could see Ed Harris winning the Oscar for his role as Christof, the weird father figure in The Truman Show. Also, even though he probably won't even be nominated, I have to mention Jeremy Davies, whose chilling performance in Saving Private Ryan should not be overlooked, but likely will be.

As far as Best Supporting Actress goes, the options are pretty limited. Judi Dench appears to be a shoo-in for her performance as Queen Elizabeth in Shakespeare in Love. If it were up to me, I would throw Lisa Kudrow a bone for her role as the undersexed educator in The Opposite of Sex. She does lose points for having sex with Lyle Lovett, though.

I can't imagine Spielberg not winning Best Director for Saving Private Ryan. On the other hand, I don't know of anyone who wasn't taken by Roberto Benigni's work in Life is Beautiful. He has put together a moving and original film. And besides, Spielberg has already won enough awards.

The Best Picture category features some intriguing candidates. I have yet to see Affliction and Terrence Malick's The Thin Red Line, which have amassed a good deal of critical acclaim and are poised to take a shot at the award. Saving Private Ryan is probably the favorite, but I would look elsewhere. While I'm sure we can all agree that the first half hour of the film was damn good, the rest was anticlimactic. Another movie that is on a bunch of prediction lists is Elizabeth. Although the movie was fun to look at, the plot was negligible, and I hate timepiece movies that have little to offer other than their timepieceness. Life is Beautiful should be a strong candidate for Best Picture, as should the clever and entertaining The Truman Show. If I had my way, however, the award would go to Waking Ned Devine, with
the perfect combination of interesting characters, a great script,
and sharp wit. Ned Devine is the best movie I've seen in
a long time.

I'm sure that the Academy wouldn't appreciate most of my predictons, but this brings us to an interesting question: who is "The Academy?" After they cheated Friday out of a Best Picture nod, they can't expect to command too much respect.

Graphic by Karen Rosenberg.

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