We’re taking just a short break from our Eastwood-a-thon so that I can share my Oscar predictions for May.
As I say every month, don’t read too much into anything this early in the year. I do think Sinners has a decent chance of getting nominated, despite being released early in the year. And since Cannes has now emerged as a semi-reliable precursor, you’ll find a lot of this year’s winners mentioned below. That said, in all probability, the actual Oscar nominations will look completely different from what’s below. That’s part of the fun of doing monthly predictions!
I should note that Clint Eastwood is apparently working on another film. Given how quickly he directs, he might be directing this year’s next sudden contender.
Now that the 2024 Oscars are over with, it’s time to move on to the 2025 Oscars!
Needless to say, there’s probably nothing more pointless than trying to guess which films are going to be nominated a year from now. I can’t even guarantee that all of the films listed below are even going to be released this year. And, even if they are released this year, I can’t guarantee that they’ll actually be any good or that the Academy will show any interest in them. I mean, someone like Martin Scorsese always seems like a safe bet but we all remember what happened with Silence. For months, everyone said Silence would be the Oscar front runner. Then it was released to respectful but not ecstatic reviews. Audiences stayed away. The film ended up with one technical nomination. And let’s not forget that last year, at this time, the narrative was that it was going to be Ridley Scott’s year.
My point is that no one knows anything. As much as I hate quoting William Goldman (because, seriously, quoting Goldman on a film site is such a cliché at this point), Goldman was right.
(Add to that, 2025 is starting to look like it’s going to be a seriously underwhelming year as far as the movies are concerned.)
Anyway, here are my random guesses for April! A few months from now, we can look back at this list and have a good laugh.
Best Picture
After The Hunt
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Deliver Me From Nowhere
Eddington
F1
Frankenstein
The Lost Bus
One Battle After Another
Wicked For Good
The Young Mothers Home
Best Director
Paul Thomas Anderson for One Battle After Another
Jon M. Chu for Wicked For Good
Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne for The Young Mother’s Home
Someday, I want to have my own tv network. I’ll call it Lisa Marie Television (or LMTV for short) and it’ll be like Lifetime but with the Lisa Marie difference. What’s the Lisa Marie difference? Sweetheart, if you have to ask, you’ll never know. El. Oh. El.
Anyway, as I wait for that day to come, I’m going to continue my series of posts on my favorites of 2011 by telling you about some of the best things that I saw on television over the course of the previous year:
1) The Goodbye, Michael episode of The Office:
So, this year, I’ve been kind of depressed because my former favorite show of all time — The Office — has been just awful! Seriously, don’t even get me started on why it doesn’t make any sense whatsoever that Jim Halpert would have recommended that Andy Bernard be put in charge of the office. Don’t get me started on how the show is now wasting some of the brightest comic talents available. And certainly, don’t ask me what I think about this newest subplot where Darryl is somehow suddenly incapable of talking to the new girl in the Warehouse. Seriously, I want to cry every Thursday night because when I watch The Office, it’s like looking in the mirror and finding a new wrinkle. However, The Office did have one genuinely great episode this year and that was, fittingly enough, Steve Carell’s final episode. “Goodbye, Michael” was a reminder of what made people like me fall in love with The Office in the first place and, as much as I hate to say it, it would have made a perfect finale for the entire series.
2) Sophia Shows Up On The Walking Dead..
…and Rick does what he has to do.
3) Nedd Stark loses his head in Game of Thrones.
Much as Sophia had to ultimately be in that barn, Nedd had to lose his head.
4) The Pouting Little Princess at the Royal Wedding
All together now: “Awwwwwwwww!” Actually, that would have been me if I was a member of the Royal Family.
5) Joel McHale as host of The Soup.
Seriously, Chris Hardwicke is cute in a funny, nerdy sorta way and Daniel Tosh is like the frat boy that you turn to when you’re drunk and depressed but Joel McHale is still the best.
6) South Park goes there…
…again.
7) The broadview security commercial featuring A.J. the homicidal lunatic
Okay, so this is actually about 2 or 3 years old and I don’t think I actually saw this on TV during 2011 but I don’t care. I love this commercial and A.J. is freaking hot! Plus, I love how everyone’s all like, “Who’s that?” and she’s all like, “I don’t know, just some random guy who showed up in my house…heh heh heh.” All together now: “A.J? A.J?”
8 ) Homeland
With Dexter giving us a truly awful season this time around, Homeland was the best modern-day drama on television. Claire Danes deserves every award there is for her performance.
9) The Amazing Race
Hands down, the best reality show on television.
10) Community
Dear NBC, if you fail to bring back Community, we’re done. I will leave you, I will cut you out of my life, and I hope you’ll be very happy with Whitney Cummings.
Give this man his own show!
Coming tomorrow: Lisa Marie’s top ten books of 2011.
Through the Shattered Lens 