Oscar Watch: Tech Categories-The Aural

Just a few more weeks and it will be time for Oscar nominations to officially be announced, but that doesn't stop me from trying to sift through the fields and come up with something a little bit more concrete in my mind of what to expect to hear called out on February 2nd.

Last week, I kicked off my look at the Tech Categories with detailing all of the Visual aspects entailed (Cinematography, Visual Effects, etc.). Today, it is all about the Aural side of the Tech Categories, or in simpler terms, what you hear, not what you see. We'll take a look at everything from Sound Mixing and Sound Editing, to Original Song and Original Score. We've got a lot of ground to cover, so let's get moving taking a look at Best Sound Mixing and Best Sound Editing all in one swoop.

There has always been a debate amongst Oscar analysts about the genuine differences between Sound Mixing and Sound Editing, some even wonder why it isn't just one category rather than two, because many times the sound mixer for a film also winds up being the film's sound editor as well. Anyways, it's two categories, so that's that.

Really, this is where big blockbusters tend to show up at the Oscars and usually nowhere else. I mean, when you think about it you're not gonna give an award all about the balances between explosions, dialogue, and epic music to a small Indie-film like An Education. Basing it off this criteria, I'd say the clear frontrunner at the moment is James Cameron's Avatar, even though I was personally more impressed with the work in J.J. Abrams Star Trek, which is also in play alongside Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and District 9. Though, I think if any film can spoil Avatar's claim in these categories, it'd be Kathryn Bigelow's The Hurt Locker, which I still haven't seen, but since it's now on DVD, I might have a shot. This film is the kind of Indie-film that tends to get Oscar recognition in these categories, I mean it's a film about explosions, so just do the math. Only two dark horses stand, Inglorious Ba***rds and Sherlock Holmes, but seriously, this category is pretty much already locked in my opinion.

Moving on to Best Original Song, this category is always one that intrigues me. The music branch of the Academy is odd, there is no other way to put it. They are known for just making some really crazy, bizarre choices in the past, not to mention they are the most popular branch with the Academy to say a song or a score is inelligeble to compete. Taking this to heart, let's dive in.

This year is pretty bland for Best Original Song. The frontrunners are, "Take It All," from Nine and, "Down in New Orleans," from The Princess and the Frog. This is all over some far more intriguing songs from this year, like, "Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea, " from Ponyo or, "Help Yourself," from Up in the Air which has been ruled inelligeble. Taking the Academy's weirdness in this area, I'd say another song from Nine will probably make the cut, most likely being, "Cinema Italiano." The few deserving spots might go to, "The Weary Kind," from Crazy Heart and, "All is Love," from Where the Wild Things Are, but I wouldn't put my money on either of those to be sure fire contenders. The ballad, "I See You," from Avatar has a legitimate shot, seeing as how big the film is, even though the song is nothing special, and the same goes for the other big song from The Princess and the Frog, "Almost There." O.K. Enough of this bitterness, let's move on to the final category today, Best Original Score.

This is a pretty scant year for Original Scores, but there are enough good ones to make this category one worth rooting for. Michael Giacchino is leading the pack with a potential for two nominations with both Star Trek and Up, but if I had to pick one over the other, I'd pick Up to get the nom, even though his work on Trek was more impressive. Following his footsteps is Alexandre Desplat for any of his three scores: Coco Before Chanel, Fantastic Mr. Fox, or Cheri, but I think Fantastic Mr. Fox is the only one that will get a nom out of his bunch. Moving on into the field, James Horner is Giacchino's biggest threat for Avatar, and Hans Zimmer has quietly snuck into the race for his marvelous score to Sherlock Holmes. The only potential dark horses are Brian Eno for The Lovely Bones, Karen O and the Kids for Where the Wild Things Are, and Randy Newman for The Princess and the Frog, but if any of these get in, it'd be Newman.

So what do I see these categories looking like at the moment? Well, here they are:

Best Sound Editing and Best Sound Mixing (I Think They Will Share the Same Nominees)
Avatar
Star Trek
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
The Hurt Locker
District 9

Best Original Song
"I See You" from Avatar
"The Weary Kind" from Crazy Heart
"Cinema Italiano" from Nine
"Down In New Orleans" from The Princess and the Frog
"Take It All" from Nine

Best Original Score
Avatar
Sherlock Holmes
Up
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Star Trek

And that does it for this week. Tune in next week for another exciting edition of Oscar Watch!

Beam Me Up with Arrested Development and Spidey

Okay, so if you happened to be a fan of Fox's cult-hit TV Show Arrested Development, then you'd be glad to know that the Arrested Development movie is expected to start filming before the end of the year, or so claims star Will Arnett, who plays the character, Gob. Really, if you're excited about the movie, then this is some really good news that this movie is most likely going to happen and isn't all just a bunch of talk and nothing else, and if you're like me and thought the three seasons of the show were enough, you're a touch skeptical.

I' m just not entirely convinced a movie continuation of the show will work, especially for a scripted sitcom, but Sex and the City found a way, so maybe the staff behind Arrested Development have as well. Still, the film is a long ways off, and much could change between now and then, so I still wouldn't take it as officially happening till cameras officially start rolling.

In other news, while Spider-man 4 is hitting some road blocks in terms of script development, actor Tobey Maguire is still positive the film is gonna make its May 2011 release. Similarly, it's recently been learned from an interview with actor John Malkovich, that he is indeed set to play the Vulture in Spider-man 4. I reported this rumor about a month ago, but now it seems to be true. For those not in the know, Vulture is a villain that looks like John Malkovich in a green feather suit with wings (of course it should look better in a film, I hope). I actually believe this to be terrific casting, and with an actor of Malkovich's caliber involved, it can only make me believe that director Sam Raimi still has a few tricks left up his sleeve involving Spidey.

Keeping up with the superhero vibe, it was learned over the weekend that the role of Green Lantern's love interest, in the upcoming film based upon the DC Comic, has been cast in Gossip Girl's Blake Lively. She looks the part of Carol Ferris, who later becomes GL's villain Star Sapphire, I just can't help wondering if she's too young for a role such as this; she'll be up against a thirty-something love interest (I mean, she's only 22). Not to mention, I've never really seen any of her work, so I don't really know how good she will be, but I guess I'll just have to wait a touch longer.

I'll round out this post by delivering some very exciting news indeed. Star Trek 2 has officially been announced and claimed a release date of June 29, 2012. While J.J. Abrams has been mentioned in the press release, it is unclear whether he'll just be a producer or will resume the director's chair (I am hoping for the latter). Hopefully, Abrams will find a way to keep the story fresh and original without traipsing back into territory that was explored in all of the other Trek series or movies, but I believe in Abrams and his crew; just no Khan and I should be happy.

Update: Why is it that after I post something about a film, Variety has to come along and make me have to re-do? Spider-man 4 is no more. Star Tobey Maguire and Sam Raimi have officially left the franchise. The word from Variety is that Sony Pictures is planning to reboot the franchise with an entirely new creative team behind it. The film will be based upon a script by James Vanderbilt (not the dude from Dawson's Creek, but the Pulitzer-winning playwright). It's believed that this reboot will take Spidey back to his high school days, whether or not the film will retread the origin is unknown, but I will try to keep you updated. If only John Malkovich can appear in this reboot as the Vulture, then we'd be in business.

Trailer Rush: The A-Team

And so it is, The A-Team are gearing up to hit the big screen this June. When you thought Hollywood had mined just about everything they could to make some money, they attempt to take classic television and transform it into a mega-budget blockbuster. I've gotta say, the film looks, at anything, to be a good time at the movies, as long as you're not going in there expecting to see this year's Star Trek or Avatar. Note I said, a good time at the movies, not necessarily a good movie. Seriously, this film looks as cheesy as anything I've seen in a long time. I mean, a tank with parachutes, and then their proceeding to do combat with the tank while floating down to the ground? Anyways, the film stars Liam Neeson alongside some, younger, more fresh talents. The film hits theaters June 11th, take a look at the trailer:

An Homage: Batman Forever

Batman and Robin, their two names are synonymous. Like peanut butter and jelly, Scooby Doo and Shaggy, or Peter Pan and his Lost Boys, it is almost impossible to imagine one without the other; their dichotomy, is in many cases, what makes their characters work. While there are a great many Batman fans that tend to prefer the stories involving a solo, Robin-less Batman, I've always elevated to the stories deeply involving the Dynamic Duo. For me, Robin was the reason I actually got into Batman as a child. The concept of a teen, not much older than myself, being a superhero, fighting crime alongside the World's Greatest Detective. That is entrancing to any young boy, and nothing helped strengthen that resolve like the film, Batman Forever.

Batman Forever was the third film in the Tim Burton/Joel Schumacher franchise of the late 80s and 90s. The film, directed by Joel Schumacher (who seems, for some odd reason, to be obsessed with statues of naked men and neon, lots of neon), is in actuality, to this day, my favorite in this series of Batman films, and the answer as to why is simple. No, it is not because of Val Kilmer and his lisp in Batman's costume, or Chris O'Donnell's over-the-top 'tude as Robin, it's not even got anything to do with Jim Carrey's hilarious performance as the Riddler, or the eye candy that is mid-90s Nicole Kidman.

I was four-years-old when the film came out. Batman: The Animated Series had already been a staple of the Saturday morning cartoon circuit for two years by that point, so I was no stranger to the character of Batman, but what really brought me into the character was when the show transitioned into The Adventures of Batman and Robin. It was at that time, that Batman Forever was gearing up to be released in theaters.

I fondly remember seeing the film in theaters. The night after I first saw it, I remember returning home and going to bed, dreaming about the movie. In my dreams, I prolonged the film, created new scenes in my mind. One in particular still sticks out of Dick discovering Bruce's awesome underground roller coaster ride that takes him into the Batcave's armory. I remember getting all the toys for Christmas of that year, the Batman and Robin action figure two-pack, the Batcave playset, it was all there, not to mention an awesome remote control car race set between the Batmobile and Two-Face's car.

This film just created so many great memories in-and-of itself, whenever I watched it, played with any of the toys, or just ran around the house pretending to be Robin, I just was overcome with that nostalgic sense of being home, which is how I feel watching this film to this very day. Whether the memories be of playing with my toys, or my older brother dressing up like Batman alongside my Robin to make my day, Batman Forever is a real treat for any fan of the Dynamic Duo. Faithful to the Duo's original adventures in the 1940s, this is one that comic book fans tend to give a bad wrap that it does not deserve. Regardless, come back home with me and watch Seal's music video for the film.

Trailer Rush: Kick-A**

It's always a lot of fun to see films from lesser known comic book franchises come to the big screen, one of the latest is comic book writer, Mark Millar's Kick-A** (the last word, just use your imagination). It's the comedic story of a bunch of ordinary humans, like ourselves, who decide to become superheros, even though they have no real heroic abilities. The second trailer for the film has hit the internet, take a look:



I can't really explain it other than I think this film looks hilarious, as a longtime fan of comic books, it's a lot of fun to see someone making fun of all the things I typically love about superheros. Not to mention the film has McLovin in it as a superhero, which is worth the price of admission itself, but it's also got Nic Cage as a superhero? This movie just couldn't look anymore like a good time at the movies than it already does.

This one hits theaters, this April.