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andicap
02-23-2005, 11:37 AM
Got 2-1 online yesterday that Million Dollar Baby will win Best Picture and 9-5 that the Aviator will lose.

Aviator will NOT win. (likely to be thrown a bone in the Cinematography category and maybe for director). I might double my bet here. If they want to honor the picture, they will do it in the director category for Scorsese.

It is a two-horse race between Million and Sideways. The latter won all the critics awards, but Eastwood has all the momentum and is the type of film Hollywood really likes. Sideways might be a bit too quirky for some voters. Academy will likely give Sideways a screenplay award. Scorsese is odds to best Eastwood although I think Clint, a popular figure in Hollywood, will win at 6-5. Marginal value there since it's a two-man race.

It smells like a big sweep for Million this year with Eastwood as director, Freeman as supporting actor (although Haden Church might surprise here, but I think 3-1 is a bit too short for him) and Swank as actress (in a weak category). No value on Swank, 1-3 to win. Annette Benning is 2nd choice and she won Golden Globe. 3-1 on her. A false ovelay in my opinion.

Supporting actress is usually a surprise. Blanchet is chalk for Katherine Hepburn role in Aviator with Virginia Madsen at 3-1 as second choice in "Sideways." You get only 9-5 if you think Blanchett will be upset in that category at my site.
If you're looking for a real longshot to root for on Oscar night and your site provides it, try Sophie Okonedo for supporting actress for Hotel Rwanda. Be a way for Hollywood to support an excellent movie that few will see, but many will praise. I would demand at least 10 or even 15-1 odds tho. But there is an upset in this category more than in any other. Some people give Natalie Portman a shot for "Closer." Let the odds guide you.

Jamie Foxx is 1-15 to win Best Actor and I wouldn't bet against him for his Ray Charles portrayal.

The Incredibles is a lock to win Best animated film.

Sideways might win Adapted screenplay although Million could take it if it's a clean sweep type of night. If Million wins this award, it's a lock for best picture.

Original screenplay is tougher -- a three way race between Vera Drake, Hotel Rwanda and dark horse Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. (or is it Eternal Spotless of the Sunshine Mind). The latter has the disadvantage of being released mid-year and it's out of sight out of mind at the Oscars.

I have no clue on any of the other categories except that if you're in an office pool and "Million" is in there, use it. In clean sweep years, the big pictures take many if not most of the minor categories.

Disclaimer: I no longer work for The Hollywood Reporter so have no "expert" advice or insider knowledge. I do usually best my wife in the Oscar pool however.

Andicap in Hollywood

(not really, but it sounds good)

freeneasy
02-23-2005, 06:30 PM
i would think that if you got any kind of odds to speak of on "ray" you and everybody else and there brother would be load'n up, seems that ray would outshine million dollar baby anyday and by a landslide. hey where can you go to bet on the oscars anyway? oh btw great job on the reveiws. i'd like to look into this oscar betting deal here and if i make a bet iam definately going to be betting your picks, thats for show ah ah i meah sure. for sure. haha

freeneasy
02-23-2005, 06:31 PM
i like that "andi in hollywood" click. got a nice ring to it.

JustMissed
02-23-2005, 08:33 PM
Chris Rock said straight guys don't watch the Oscars.

Are you guys gay?

Not that anything would be wrong with that. :lol:

Hope you 'boys' enjoy watching the Academy Awards. :D

JM

Kreed
02-23-2005, 08:52 PM
I used to like U but now I need more reasons then that lame reply.
of course, they're probly some gays here, and why NOT? me & solange
are having an oscar party, maybe 50 peeps will show, and our neighbors are
2 gays who been a team for ~30 years ... it gives me the shivers but they always invite us out & 2 their parties so i said to Sol, invite them. (she was
like 6000 deg F happy that i okayed it) anyways, i luv how they dress, all
Very theatrical ... and they love my hair .. which i pride & keep UP UP on
weekends,,lol .... i apologize4 typing like BoxCar (U know On + ON Rambles),
but i always hope that he's as HoT as he posts ... at any rate, Million D Baby
is a fine movie, but Every year i say the same thing, "Does It Deserve an O?"
i'm very very fussy, LOL. (Xgov, McG, i think you're cute, call me)

Tom
02-23-2005, 08:55 PM
I'm renting the orignial Texas Chain Saw Masacre and watching that Sunday night. :D

freeneasy
02-24-2005, 02:20 AM
the old ones the best.

andicap
02-24-2005, 11:42 AM
Rock is a funny dude, but the Oscars are usually deadly dull. My wife loves it to see what everyone is wearing and the amount I tune in depends on who's hosting and it looks like one of the winners might be a loose cannon who would say something fun.

Loved Steve Martin, liked Billy Crystal and hated Whoopi Goldberg. Whoever said she was funny probably liked Shemp more than Curly.
I'll definitely tune in for Chris Rock although I hope they'll let "Rock be Rock" and not try to censor him too much. Basically I watch it in bed while doing horsey stuff on my laptop and kibbitzing with my wife.

Free n easy, "Ray" has absolutely no shot at any major award except for Jamie Foxx as best actor and I wouldn't bet 1-15 with your money.

Kreed, I'm hurt that I wasn't invited to your metrosexual (note I didn't say homosexual -- do you rednecks out there even know what a metrosexual is?) Oscar party. Bet there won't be a single other horseplayer there.

andicap
02-27-2005, 11:47 PM
I really loaded up on this bet -- as big a lock as I have ever seen in my life.

No surprises in a really boring telecast. Rock's monologue at the start was -- as usual -- hysterical. And there was one very good bit where Rock went to the Magic Johnson Theatre in LA to ask moviegoes there what films they had seen.
suffice it to say no one had seen "Sideway," or "The Aviator." But almost everyone had seen "White Chicks" :D (Of course, it's all in the editing).

I stayed up only to catch my bet and my wife kept saying, "I wish I had a gay man to watch this with" because she wanted to dish about the clothes, hair, etc. and I kept looking at my laptop the whole time.

:sleeping: :sleeping:

PaceAdvantage
02-28-2005, 12:24 AM
Where did you bet this Andy?

andicap
02-28-2005, 11:31 AM
Pinnacle Sports (but alas, no rebate on the Oscars :D )

Ever make a bet where you absolutely positively know you're going to win? You make a very large wager relatively to your normal bet and you're not even nervous. That's how I felt about this bet. If I bet this much on a horse race I'd be shaking and couldn't concentrate all day.
Of course, this kind of thing comes along about twice a year.

SAL
02-28-2005, 11:46 AM
Wow, couldn't those folks at Price Waterhouse make a killing? They know the results beforehand. What's to stop them from betting?

Valuist
03-01-2005, 09:27 AM
So maybe that's what brought down Arthur Anderson. That and that little mishap with Enron.

Tom
03-01-2005, 10:17 PM
The lock is that there was not one single movie nominated for anything that I would pay money to see, or even watch on network TV. And Morgan Freeman is my favorite actor, but even that wouldn't make we watch that dog of a moive. The only thing real about it is the girl - looks like she leads wtih her face in real life! :eek:

Zaf
03-01-2005, 10:54 PM
The only thing real about it is the girl - looks like she leads wtih her face in real life! :eek:


:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

ZAFONIC

andicap
03-02-2005, 02:00 PM
Tom,
I disagree. Did you see the movie? It was great. Yeah, it's not a typical Hollywood happy ending, but it's got real emotions, a good storyline, great acting, and three-dimensional charactors (OK, Eastwood's trainer is out of central casting, but he pulls it off.)

"Million Dollar Baby" deserved the Oscar for sure.

I do agree with your overall point in that the quality of films last year was on the whole disappointing, but we probably like different types of movies.
:D

Its funny. All the newspaper stories about the medicore ratings for the Oscars telecast focused on Chris Rock. If anything he helped the ratings by bringing in more young people who have gotten bored by the event.
The reason the ratings were so sluggish relates to Tom's comments: None of the nominees were big blockbuster types that a lot of people saw, like "Lord of the Rings" last year.
Since fewer people had seen the films in most of the categories, the audience overall had less invested in the awards and just didn't watch.

Another "technical" reason why the ratings were lower. The telecast was 30 minutes shorter. The best ratings always come at the end between 11:30 and midnight. So they lost a half hour with their best ratings. (Eventually if the trend continues, the audience will adjust and that factor will not be a contributing one.)

Tom
03-02-2005, 06:26 PM
Andy,
If I want to see a girl in men's underwear punching people in the face, I will call up Vetscratch. :D

Zaf
03-02-2005, 09:58 PM
I saw the movie. I was forced to, when I arrived at the theater The Aviator was sold out. :p

ZAFONIC