It's All Over!
Academy Awards 2000 is history - How close were our predictions?

By R. Scott Bolton

  The last award has been passed out and the winners and losers are on their way to the most posh parties they can find. (All except Annette Bening, of course, who's probably on her way to give birth). So - how did our Oscar predictions come out? And how did the readers of Video Verdicts do in their prediction of Best Picture?

    Let's go to your votes first. 63% of you said that "American Beauty" would take home the Best Picture trophy - and you were right! "American Beauty" did take the Best Picture award as well as many others. And deservedly so - it's a near perfect film in every way, from acting and writing to direction and cinematography.

    But now let's look at my predictions:

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
I predicted that Chloe Sevigny would win the award for "Boys Don't Cry" based on her performance and that of Hilary Swank opposite her. I was wrong. Angelina Jolie took the award for "Girl, Interrupted." One down already.

SUPPORTING ACTOR
I predicted that Haley Joel Osment would win the Award for his performance as the boy who sees dead people in "The Sixth Sense." But I also mentioned that Michael Caine was a strong second. He wound up being a strong first for his performance in "The Cider House Rules." Two down and four to go.

ACTRESS
Victory! I predicted that Hilary Swank would win for her performance in "Boys Don't Cry" and Swank pulled it off. She had some strong competition from Annette Bening in "American Beauty" but Swank took home the statue. It's one out of three now!

ACTOR
I thought that Denzel Washington would win this award for his performance as Hurricane Carter in "The Hurricane." But I also mentioned that Kevin Spacey might win based on the performance of "American Beauty" on the Oscar show. Spacey went home with the bald gold guy and - without taking away anything from Washington - deservedly so. Spacey's performance in "American Beauty" is intense, consistent and powerful. Still, that makes my count one out of four (only 25%!).

DIRECTOR
My choice for Best Director was Sam Mendes who gave "American Beauty" its pace, its style and its power. And Mendes took home the gold! My score goes back to two out of five!

PICTURE
Thankfully, Academy Members didn't fall prey to studio marketing like they did last year when "Shakespeare in Love," an admittedly great film, won out over "Saving Private Ryan," a film that rocked the world with its power and its glory. "American Beauty" the film that deserved to win the Best Picture statue - was chosen as the best film of 1999. I was afraid that "The Sixth Sense," another admittedly great film (but not Oscar caliber) would take home the award. So my score goes from two out of five to three out of six; 50%! Hey, it could be worse.

Anyway, that's how I did. What about you? What did you think about this year's Academy Award show? Let me know by writing me at rsb@videoverdicts.com. 

The complete list of Oscar Winners:

BEST PICTURE
AMERICAN BEAUTY

DIRECTING
AMERICAN BEAUTY

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Kevin Spacey

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Hilary Swank

SCREENPLAY - ORIGINAL
AMERICAN BEAUTY

SCREENPLAY - ADAPTATION
THE CIDER HOUSE RULES

CINEMATOGRAPHY
AMERICAN BEAUTY

FILM EDITING
THE MATRIX

ART DIRECTION
SLEEPY HOLLOW

ORIGINAL SCORE
THE RED VIOLIN

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
ALL ABOUT MY MOTHER

VISUAL EFFECTS
THE MATRIX

SOUND EFFECTS EDITING
THE MATRIX

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Michael Caine

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
ONE DAY IN SEPTEMBER

DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
KING GIMP

ORIGINAL SONG
TARZAN

SHORT FILM - ANIMATED
THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA

SHORT FILM - LIVE ACTION
MY MOTHER DREAMS THE SATAN'S DISCIPLES IN NEW YORK

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Angelina Jolie

MAKEUP
TOPSY-TURVY

SOUND
THE MATRIX

COSTUME DESIGN
TOPSY-TURVY