2020 Oscars Preview

[sycasey 2.0 2301]

Paul & Amy get ready for the Academy Awards by sharing their thoughts on this year’s nominees, and some of their other favorite films from 2019 that didn’t get nominated. They ask if this was a good year for movies overall, wonder if Joaquin Phoenix will get a chance to reprise his BAFTAs speech, and praise the careful balancing act of Marriage Story. Plus: The winners of The 2019 Spoolies, as voted on by the Unspooled listeners!

For The Sound Of Music week, call in and sing us a bit of “Do-Re-Mi”! Use the Unspooled voicemail line at 747-666-5824. Follow us on Twitter @Unspooled, get more info at unspooledpod.com and don’t forget to rate, review & subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts. Photo credit: Kim Troxall

[sycasey 2.0 2301]

Here's a list of the full "Spoolies" nominations and results, voted on by the Unspooled listeners. Winners in bold and runners-up in italics.

(Many of these categories had more than 5 nominees because of ties during the nomination phase.)

FOR BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:

THE FAREWELL - Lulu Wang
KNIVES OUT - Rian Johnson
MARRIAGE STORY - Noah Baumbach
ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD - Quentin Tarantino
PARASITE - Bong Joon-ho & Han Jin-won
UNCUT GEMS - Ronald Bronstein, Bennie Safdie, Josh Safdie

FOR BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:

HUSTLERS - Lorene Scafaria (based on the magazine article "The Hustlers at Scores" by Jessica Pressler)
THE IRISHMAN - Steven Zaillian (based on "I Heard You Paint Houses" by Charles Brandt)
JOJO RABBIT - Taika Waititi (based on "Caging Skies" by Christine Leunens)
JOKER - Todd Phillips & Scott Silver (based on DC Comics characters created by Bob Kane, Bill Finger, and Jerry Robinson)
LITTLE WOMEN - Greta Gerwig (based on the novel by Louisa May Alcott)

FOR BEST YOUTH PERFORMER:

Kaitlyn Dever - BOOKSMART
Jacob Tremblay - GOOD BOYS
Noah Jupe - HONEY BOY
Roman Griffin Davis - JOJO RABBIT
Thomasin McKenzie - JOJO RABBIT
Archie Yates - JOJO RABBIT
Julia Butters - ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD
Shahadi Wright Joseph - US

FOR BEST VOICEOVER PERFORMANCE:

Jonathan Groff - FROZEN 2
Billy Eichner - THE LION KING
Tony Hale - TOY STORY 4
Tom Hanks - TOY STORY 4
Annie Potts - TOY STORY 4
Keanu Reeves - TOY STORY 4

FOR BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN:

1917 - Dennis Gassner
KNIVES OUT - David Crank
LITTLE WOMEN - Jess Gonchor
ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD - Barbara Ling
PARASITE - Lee Ha-jun

FOR BEST COSTUME DESIGN:

DOLEMITE IS MY NAME - Ruth E. Carter
HUSTLERS - Mitchell Travers
LITTLE WOMEN - Jacqueline Durran
ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD - Arianne Phillips
ROCKETMAN - Julian Day

FOR BEST ORIGINAL SCORE:

1917 - Thomas Newman
LITTLE WOMEN - Alexandre Desplat
MARRIAGE STORY - Randy Newman
STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER - John Williams
UNCUT GEMS - Daniel Lopatin
US - Michael Abels

FOR BEST ORIGINAL SONG:

"Into the Unknown" Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Robert Lopez - FROZEN 2
"Show Yourself" Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Robert Lopez - FROZEN 2
"Catchy Song" Jon Lajoie - THE LEGO MOVIE 2: THE SECOND PART
"(I'm Gonna) Love Me Again" Elton John, Bernie Taupin - ROCKETMAN
"Glasgow (No Place Like Home)" Mary Steenburgen, Caitlyn Smith, Kate York - WILD ROSE

FOR BEST SOUND MIXING:

1917
AVENGERS: ENDGAME
FORD V. FERRARI
THE LIGHTHOUSE
ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD
UNCUT GEMS

FOR BEST SOUND EDITING:

AD ASTRA
AVENGERS: ENDGAME
FORD V. FERRARI
THE LIGHTHOUSE
PARASITE
UNCUT GEMS

FOR BEST MAKEUP & HAIRSTYLING:

1917
BOMBSHELL
DOLEMITE IS MY NAME
JUDY
LITTLE WOMEN
ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD
US

FOR BEST VISUAL EFFECTS:

1917
AVENGERS: ENDGAME
THE IRISHMAN
JOJO RABBIT
THE LION KING
PARASITE
STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER

FOR BEST STUNT COORDINATION:

1917
AVENGERS: ENDGAME
FORD V. FERRARI
FAST & FURIOUS PRESENTS: HOBBS & SHAW
JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 3 - PARABELLUM
ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD
US

FOR BEST ENSEMBLE CAST:

AVENGERS: ENDGAME
THE FAREWELL
THE IRISHMAN
KNIVES OUT
LITTLE WOMEN
ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD
PARASITE

FOR BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY:

1917 - Roger Deakins
A HIDDEN LIFE - Jörg Widmer
THE LIGHTHOUSE - Jarin Blaschke
LITTLE WOMEN - Yorick Le Saux
ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD - Robert Richardson
PARASITE - Hong Kyung-pyo

FOR BEST FILM EDITING:

1917 - Lee Smith
KNIVES OUT - Bob Ducsay
LITTLE WOMEN - Nick Houy
PARASITE - Yang Jin-mo
UNCUT GEMS - Ronald Bronstein & Bennie Safdie

FOR BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM:

FROZEN 2 - Chris Buck & Jennifer Lee
I LOST MY BODY - Jérémy Clapin
KLAUS - Sergio Pablos & Carlos Martínez López
MISSING LINK - Chris Butler
TOY STORY 4 - Josh Cooley

FOR BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE FILM:

AMAZING GRACE - Alan Elliott & Sydney Pollack
AMERICAN FACTORY - Steven Bognar & Julia Reichert
APOLLO 11 - Todd Douglas Miller
FOR SAMA - Waad Al-Kateab & Edward Watts
KNOCK DOWN THE HOUSE - Rachel Lears

FOR BEST FEATURE IN A NON-ENGLISH LANGUAGE:

MONOS (Colombia) - Alejandro Landes
PAIN & GLORY (Spain) - Pedro Almodóvar
PARASITE (South Korea) - Bong Joon-ho
PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE (France) - Céline Sciamma
TRANSIT (Germany) - Christian Petzold

FOR BEST FIRST FEATURE FILM:

ATLANTICS - Mati Diop
BOOKSMART - Olivia Wilde (tie)
THE FAREWELL - Lulu Wang (tie)
THE LAST BLACK MAN IN SAN FRANCISCO - Joe Talbot
QUEEN & SLIM - Melina Matsoukas

(And yes, it's true that The Farewell is not really Lulu Wang's first feature, but it got so many votes that it was allowed in anyway.)

FOR BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:

Tom Hanks - A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD
Al Pacino - THE IRISHMAN
Joe Pesci - THE IRISHMAN
Sam Rockwell - JOJO RABBIT
Taika Waititi - JOJO RABBIT
Willem Dafoe - THE LIGHTHOUSE
Brad Pitt - ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD
Song Kang-ho - PARASITE

FOR BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:

Zhao Shuzhen - THE FAREWELL
Jennifer Lopez - HUSTLERS
Scarlett Johansson - JOJO RABBIT
Florence Pugh - LITTLE WOMEN
Laura Dern - MARRIAGE STORY

FOR BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE:

Joaquin Phoenix - JOKER
Adam Driver - MARRIAGE STORY
Antonio Banderas - PAIN & GLORY
Taron Edgerton - ROCKETMAN
Adam Sandler - UNCUT GEMS

FOR BEST ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE:

Awkwafina - THE FAREWELL
Elisabeth Moss - HER SMELL
Renee Zellweger - JUDY
Saorise Ronan - LITTLE WOMEN
Scarlett Johansson - MARRIAGE STORY
Florence Pugh - MIDSOMMAR
Lupita Nyong'o - US

FOR BEST DIRECTOR:

Sam Mendes - 1917
Lorene Scafaria - HUSTLERS
Rian Johnson - KNIVES OUT
Greta Gerwig - LITTLE WOMEN
Bong Joon-ho - PARASITE
Quentin Tarantino - ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD
Bennie & Josh Safdie - UNCUT GEMS
Jordan Peele - US

FOR BEST MOTION PICTURE:

THE FAREWELL
JOJO RABBIT
KNIVES OUT
LITTLE WOMEN
MARRIAGE STORY
ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD
PARASITE

[JackLechner 14]

Paul asks why Once Upon a Time in Hollywood didn't get any traction at the WGA Awards.  The answer is that it was ineligible, because Tarantino isn't a member of the Writers Guild.  https://www.indiewire.com/2019/12/writers-guild-awards-nominate-quentin-tarantino-1202196655/

[sycasey 2.0 2301]

Parasite getting 100% of the vote here so far. It blew out the other competitors in the Spoolies awards too, with over 51% of the vote (the runner-up got 15.5%).

[bleary 333]

Just for fun, I thought I'd post my predictions for tonight's winners.

Best Picture: 1917
Best Directing: Sam Mendes
Best Lead Actress: Renee Zellweger
Best Lead Actor: Joaquin Phoenix
Best Supporting Actor: Brad Pitt
Best Supporting Actress: Laura Dern
Best Original Screenplay: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Best Adapted Screenplay: Jojo Rabbit
Best Cinematography: 1917
Best Film Editing: Parasite
Best Sound Mixing: 1917
Best Sound Editing: 1917
Best Production Design: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Best Visual Effects: The Lion King
Best Makeup/Hairstyling: Bombshell
Best Costume Design: Little Women
Best Original Score: Joker
Best Original Song: "I'm Gonna Love Me Again" from Rocketman
Best International Feature: Parasite
Best Animated Feature: Klaus
Best Documentary Feature: American Factory
Best Documentary Short: Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You're a Girl)
Best Animated Short: Hair Love
Best Live Action Short: A Sister

[GrahamS. 803]

I’m watching the Oscars now. So far, the most enjoyable/cringiest have come from musicians (definitely Janelle Monae but also Eminem) who give electric performances and show how uncomfortable some of the audience is and how just how stodgy the show is overall. Especially during the Eminem set, there were some pans over the elderly/balding/white-haired audience members who definitely weren’t enjoying themselves (even Martin Scorsese looked overwhelmed).

I’m glad Parasite and JoJo won the screenplay awards. Also happy Laura Dern won.

the show isn’t even done yet, but I just wanted to acknowledge some highlights.

[GrahamS. 803]

Holy shit, I’m SO happy Parasite CRUSHED it. Amazing!

[bleary 333]

Yeah, I'm really glad I was wrong on those top two!  I only got like 2/3 of them right, but I'm thrilled about most of the ones I got wrong!

[sycasey 2.0 2301]

When the actual best movie wins I think it must be some kind of mistake. Outstanding!

And like bleary, I picked 1917 to win Picture and Director, but very happy to be wrong. When Parasite took the screenplay award, I should have known something was up.

[grudlian. 4725]

I'm really happy that Parasite won. Partly because I think it's great and deserving. But, maybe more so, because I genuinely didn't expect it to win.

[GrahamS. 803]

I think it’s awesome that it’s a history-making film!

[taylor anne photo 11311]

I also had 1917 down for Best Picture/Director and also very happy to have been wrong!!!

I only got 3 wrong the entire night. Also missed Ford v Ferrari getting Best Sound Editing, but I'm terrible at figuring out what will win Editing vs Mixing so I usually just put the same movie for both - this year my pick was 1917 for sound so I at least got it half right lol.

[taylor anne photo 11311]

On 2/10/2020 at 12:32 AM, sycasey 2.0 said:

When the actual best movie wins I think it must be some kind of mistake. Outstanding!

And like bleary, I picked 1917 to win Picture and Director, but very happy to be wrong. When Parasite took the screenplay award, I should have known something was up.

See, I usually take them putting something for Best Screenplay as what was their actual top picks of the year. With the new system of voting someone in Hollywood mentioned to me once that the last few years the winners has been everyone's second picks and because of some kind of points system it pushes those over. I don't totally understand it all, but it definitely makes sense for why Green Book would win over literally anything else last year. And I heard Moshe Kasher say that if you want to watch the actual Best Pictures then you need to watch everything that won for Best Screenplay. All of this to say that I thought this was basically them saying that actually Jojo Rabbit and Parasite were their favorites but they wouldn't win anything else (beyond best International for Parasite of course). It's a pleasant surprise to see it get switched up!!!

[sycasey 2.0 2301]

2 hours ago, taylor anne photo said:

See, I usually take them putting something for Best Screenplay as what was their actual top picks of the year. With the new system of voting someone in Hollywood mentioned to me once that the last few years the winners has been everyone's second picks and because of some kind of points system it pushes those over. I don't totally understand it all, but it definitely makes sense for why Green Book would win over literally anything else last year. And I heard Moshe Kasher say that if you want to watch the actual Best Pictures then you need to watch everything that won for Best Screenplay. All of this to say that I thought this was basically them saying that actually Jojo Rabbit and Parasite were their favorites but they wouldn't win anything else (beyond best International for Parasite of course). It's a pleasant surprise to see it get switched up!!!

That's true, but Tarantino was also in that category and the Academy loves to award him there. So if Parasite was able to beat him and 1917 it was a very good sign.

[taylor anne photo 11311]

19 minutes ago, sycasey 2.0 said:

That's true, but Tarantino was also in that category and the Academy loves to award him there. So if Parasite was able to beat him and 1917 it was a very good sign.

I had heard, and it might have been on Unspooled or another one of the 500 movie related podcasts that I listen to, that Tarantino had to actually put together another version of the script to present for Awards consideration because what he wrote down was very vague this time and there was more improv. Do you think that is true and had something to do with why he wasn't awarded this year?

[sycasey 2.0 2301]

34 minutes ago, taylor anne photo said:

I had heard, and it might have been on Unspooled or another one of the 500 movie related podcasts that I listen to, that Tarantino had to actually put together another version of the script to present for Awards consideration because what he wrote down was very vague this time and there was more improv. Do you think that is true and had something to do with why he wasn't awarded this year?

I hadn't heard that, though anything's possible.

I think the real answer is that Parasite was just that popular. It's worth noting that it and JoJo did win the Writers Guild awards as well, but Tarantino is not eligible for those because he's not in the WGA. (I don't think that hurts him, because he's got two Oscars for screenplay writing already.) And of course Parasite also won the SAG award for Best Ensemble, so that shows a lot of support from both the writers' branch and the actors' branch (the largest branch). This wasn't entirely out of the blue.

[taylor anne photo 11311]

1 hour ago, sycasey 2.0 said:

I hadn't heard that, though anything's possible.

I think the real answer is that Parasite was just that popular. It's worth noting that it and JoJo did win the Writers Guild awards as well, but Tarantino is not eligible for those because he's not in the WGA. (I don't think that hurts him, because he's got two Oscars for screenplay writing already.) And of course Parasite also won the SAG award for Best Ensemble, so that shows a lot of support from both the writers' branch and the actors' branch (the largest branch). This wasn't entirely out of the blue.

I usually never take the SAG awards into account, Hidden Figures won Best Ensemble just a couple of years ago and was on no one's mind about Best Picture. Sometime's the Actor's Guild and the Writer's Guild just knows what's up.

[GrahamS. 803]

On 2/11/2020 at 10:06 AM, taylor anne photo said:

I had heard, and it might have been on Unspooled or another one of the 500 movie related podcasts that I listen to, that Tarantino had to actually put together another version of the script to present for Awards consideration because what he wrote down was very vague this time and there was more improv. Do you think that is true and had something to do with why he wasn't awarded this year?

I think you might have heard that on Unspooled, but it wasn’t based on fact, it was Paul theorizing why he hadn’t been given a copy of the script to read through the WGA. It might have had fact behind it, but it felt like Paul was winging it.

[taylor anne photo 11311]

On 2/13/2020 at 12:28 AM, GrahamS. said:

I think you might have heard that on Unspooled, but it wasn’t based on fact, it was Paul theorizing why he hadn’t been given a copy of the script to read through the WGA. It might have had fact behind it, but it felt like Paul was winging it.

Ah yes thank you! Which is now cleared up since Tarantino isn't even in the WGA. Okay, makes a whole lot of sense!