Revisiting the Academy Awards, 2013

 


As some of you know, I have been a frequent guest host on the Music City Drive In Movie podcast this summer. We've been looking at movies since 2000, re-nominating the Academy Awards. That got me thinking about the actual fields of the awards themselves. In a new weekly series, I'll be looking back at the last 40 years of Oscars and reviewing the choices at Best Picture, Best Director and the four acting categories.

2013:

Best Picture:
* 12 Years A Slave
* The Wolf of Wall Street
* Gravity
* American Hustle
* Captain Phillips
* Philomena
* Nebraska
* Dallas Buyers Club
* Her

About: This was the year 12 Years A Slave won, and it's a worthy winner. There were some fascinating films in this group. And as I've thought about this, eight years later, I would go with The Wolf of Wall Street.

Best Director:
* Alfonso Cuaron
* Steve McQueen
* Martin Scorsese
* David O. Russell
* Alexander Payne

About: This is a really good group. Cuaron won for his work on Gravity, and I would stick with that. I thought that was a visually stunning film.

Best Actor:
* Matthew McConaughey
* Christian Bale
* Leonardo DiCaprio
* Chiwetel Ejiofor
* Bruce Dern

About: McConaughey won here, and does a nice job. HOWEVER, I'm going with Ejiofor for his powerful work in 12 Years A Slave.

Best Actress:
* Cate Blanchett
* Amy Adams
* Sandra Bullock
* Meryl Streep
* Judi Dench

About: Blanchett got the win here, but I'm going with Bullock for Gravity.

Best Supporting Actor:
* Jared Leto
* Bradley Cooper
* Barkhad Abdi
* Jonah Hill
* Michael Fassbender

About: A good field and a tough group here. Leto won, but I'm going with Hill for The Wolf of Wall Street.

Best Supporting Actress:
* Lupita Nyong'o
* Sally Hawkins
* Jennifer Lawrence
* June Squibb
* Julia Roberts

About: Nyong'o was the winner here, and I'm sticking with that.

That's a wrap on 2013. Check back in two weeks for a look at 2014.

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