social network Archives - Ashley F. Miller

Last year I listed who I thought was going to win, but this year I think I’m going to list who I want to win.

Let me start with something that you’ll find running through all this commentary, Lee Smith edited the most technically impressive film of the year, Inception. You’ll find that he did not even get nominated for it. This is a travesty. I will probably use all caps and exclamation points to extremes, my apologies.

Best Picture:
I know a lot of people are feeling Inception, but I didn’t actually like that movie, and I did love The King’s Speech, so I’m choosing that one. I think The Social Network is the other big contender, and I’d be happy for that to win as well. I don’t think that there’s a bad film on the list, which makes it a much more successful one than last year. I also like the 10 noms — I think I’m the only one.

Best Leading Actor:
I was torn on this, but I actually think that Jesse Eisenberg gave the most impressive performance here. I love Colin Firth, but I wasn’t terribly impressed by his acting in the movie, not nearly as much as I was with Guy Pearce and Geoffrey Rush. Again, though, they all gave great performances and there’s not a one that I’d be sad to walk away with the gold.

Supporting Actor:
I am biased, I will always choose Geoffrey Rush if he is named, and so he is. I want him to win. I’ve heard Christian Bale is really amazing, but as I haven’t seen it I can’t say.

Best Leading Actress:
I confess that I am not really drawn to any of these as a pick. I’m going to go with Natalie Portman, but you could sell me on any of them. Maybe Jennifer Lawrence?

Supporting Actress:
I almost want Helena Bonham Carter to win just because it would prove to her that she is allowed to be in movies where she doesn’t play a totally over the top crazy person. I think that Hailee Steinfeld is also quite deserving, although it’s kind of BS that she was nominated as a supporting actress despite being, you know, the main character of the whole damn movie.

Best animated feature:
Um… Where are Tangled and Despicable Me? Toy Story 3 is going to win, but I quite liked How to Train Your Dragon.

Art Direction:
This is really tough, and I know it tends to go to either the most period or most extravagant choice, but I think Inception was really impressive on the art direction side of things. In terms of craft, I’ve never seen a better executed film.

Cinematography:
Inception. I can’t even imagine the others would compete.

Costume Design:
I am actually fairly indifferent here. I know Ms. Atwood always wins, but I wasn’t that impressed with the costumes in Alice. They were fine, mind you. Same with The King’s Speech. I cannot pick a favorite.

Directing:
The Social Network. I am biased in this case by an article I read about David Fincher written by Aaron Sorkin. I have a writer’s crush on Aaron Sorkin and he loved working with Fincher, so I cannot help but vicariously love as well.

Documentary Feature:
We’re venturing into territory where I’m choosing based as much on hearsay as actual knowledge, but I’m going to choose Exit through the Gift Shop because I like Banksy.

Documentary Short:
No Idea.

Film Editing:
WHAAAAAAAAAT?!?!?!! How is Inception not on this list?!!??!! I didn’t even like the movie and I can say that it is some of the best editing I’ve ever seen. WHAT WHAT WHAT WHAT WHAT?! They all should lose. *deep breath* I guess The Social Network. Whatever, I don’t care, this is an offense against man and God.

Foreign Language:
Biutiful

Makeup:
Rick Baker

Original Score:
Inception, though I don’t feel strongly about this. Unlike the EDITING!

Original Song:
We Belong Together from Toy Story 3.

Animated Short:
No Idea, I love them though, so I can’t wait to get to see them.

Live Action Short:
No Idea

Sound Editing:
Inception. WHICH SHOULD ALSO HAVE WON EDITING

Sound Mixing:
Inception.

Visual Effects:
Inception

Adapted Screenplay:
The Social Network, no question. It should win twice.

Original Screenplay:
Not Inception. Anything but Inception. Maybe The King’s Speech.

I also applaud your sturdy good sense in not swilling INCEPTION’s pretty kool-aid. Superbly executed hustle, but pretty paper thin (as, come to think of it, was Leonardo’s performance). – Eddy Von Mueller

I just friended and got a message from a professor of mine from undergrad. He was probably the snarkiest professor I had throughout my entire education, which was quite a prolonged experience. I still tell people stories about him, so it’s sort of cool that someone who’d been flattened into some stories is now real again.

The first day of class, he walks in, he’s wearing a jaunty hat, has a cane and a goatee sort of thing. “Call me Eddy, because Professor Von Mueller sounds like some madman who keeps blondes locked in his basement.” Half evil/half nervous laugh. It was brilliant.

My other favorite line of his “If I have to watch Keanu Reeves try to put an emotion on that plastic face of his one more time, I’m going to kill myself.” It was a very early, gen ed fulfilling class on film he was teaching and he was absolutely brutal in his assessment of people’s taste. Which I enjoyed because I enjoy people being mocked mercilessly and his taste and mine tended to overlap. He also, as a Formon™ himself, made fun of Mormons a lot.

He also taught my favorite course that I took in all of undergrad “History of Television”, which is not a subject I even cared about, I literally took it because he was hilarious and teaching it. I hated TV at the time, but it gave me a very different perspective and of course now I think TV at its best is probably better than film at its best. (WHAT!)

Also, I googled him and found this hilarious “review” of him.

Even with this in mind, I still think the Social Network trailer was ham-fisted and melodramatic and made me giggle when I shouldn’t have.