Revisiting the Academy Awards, 2016

 


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.

2016:

Best Picture:
* Moonlight
* Arrival
* La La Land
* Fences
* Hacksaw Ridge
* Hell or High Water
* Hidden Figures
* Lion
* Manchester By the Sea

About: This was probably the most memorable Best Picture reveal in recent Oscar memory as La La Land, the favorite, was announced as the winner when it was really Moonlight. Brutal. I'm going with the film that should have won, La La Land.

Best Director:
* Damien Chazelle
* Barry Jenkins
* Dennis Villeneuve
* Mel Gibson
* Kenneth Lonergan

About: Chazelle won here and does a great job. I'm tempted by Villeneuve, who delivered a gem in Arrival. But I think I'll stick with the original winner.

Best Actor:
* Casey Affleck
* Andrew Garfield
* Ryan Gosling
* Denzel Washington
* Viggo Mortensen

About: Affleck won, and he was fine. I'm going with Gosling here.

Best Actress:
* Emma Stone
* Natalie Portman
* Ruth Negga
* Meryl Streep
* Isabelle Huppert

About: Stone won here and I'm sticking with here. This one isn't even close for me.

Best Supporting Actor:
* Mahershala Ali
* Jeff Bridges
* Lucas Hedges
* Dev Patel
* Michael Shannon

About: Some good options here, but Ali was the winner and I'm sticking with that selection.

Best Supporting Actress:
* Viola Davis
* Naomie Harris
* Nicole Kidman
* Octavia Spencer
* Michelle Williams

About: This was also a powerful group. I liked Williams work, she was my favorite part of Manchester By the Sea. But I'm sticking with Davis, who was the original winner.

That's a wrap on 2016. Check back next week for a look at 2017.

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