9^th Annual Predict The Oscars! Contest Wrap-Up

I'm not sure why the awards started 30 minutes later this year but it was certainly worth the wait.  It was a very different look and feel.  The stage was a fantastic vehicle for the special effects that acted as the backdrop of the show.  James Franco and Anne Hathaway brought a fresh young look to the venerable awards show and who knew Anne could sing?

There were memorable moments.   Jeff Bridger, The Dude, was back as was Sandra Bullock to pass the batons on to Colin Firth and Natalie Portman.  The format for presenting the Best Picture category was completely different this year focusing much less on the films individually as on them as the best of 2011 as a whole.  The closing, including all the award winners, the school kids singing and Oz in the background was a great way to wrap the show.  And I will ever forget Melissa Leo's awards speech.  Or what we heard of it anyway!

Turning to our contest, the nominees are... well there are far too many to name so we'll get straight to the winners.  We had the second highest scores in our 9 year history so people are clearly getting better at this or it's just getting easier to pick the winners.  I suspect the former.  Anyway, without any further ado or gilding the lily, the winners are...

And with that, the 2010 film year comes to a close.  Congratulations to this year's Oscar and contest winners.  Thanks to everyone at the Kodak Theatre and ABC for hosting and televising the awards and to all the performers, producers, directors, musicians and technical specialists who put together a great show.  And, of course, a special thank you to all of you for playing.

Next year will be a big one for us so please tell your friends about our little game.  We want to make our 10^th anniversary our biggest year ever.  Until then, see you at the movies!

Bob Stanza - Editor - Predict The Oscars!

5^th Annual Predict The Golden Globes! Contest

It was an exciting evening and even though I'm sure few people are really bummed to see Angelina and Brad I'm glad the Hollywood Foreign Press didn't hand them an award.  It was great to see Michael Douglas looking so good and the tribute to Al Pacino was wonderful.  Although, what's up with him getting denied back into the party!  I read he finally got in but I'm sure the former security guards who kept him out will rethink that next time.

As to the game, Jorge, are you getting tired of seeing your name listed as the winner?  In case others don't remember, scroll down and you'll see that Jorge also won the Predict the Oscars! contest last year and won the Predict the Golden Globes! contest two years ago.  I feel honored to have you participating in this contest because with your insight I figure you could walk away with some real winnings in Las Vegas.  And, Brian and Brian, thank you for joining us again for this contest too and well done on your 2^nd and 3^rd place finishes!.

I'm sorry I got things going so late and promise to have the Oscars contest ready shortly after the nominees are announced.  Thank you to those that played again and please check back in with us later this month to play the 9^th Annual Predict the Oscars! contest.

Bob Stanza - Editor - Predict The Oscars!

8^th Annual Predict The Oscars! Contest

The 82^nd Academy Awards opened with a rather grand spectacle to usher in co-hosts, Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin.  They did a fine job tying together the show although I didn't find this year's awards as exciting or funny as I expected.  Most of the acceptance speeches were pretty good with just a few rambling on until the hook pulled the recipient off the stage.  And I was greatly relieved to hear after the presentation of the animated short subject award that no logos were harmed during the making of Logorama.

The  Vote Summary and final Leader Board are still available if you didn't get a chance to see how people voted or where you finished the night.   In general people scored pretty well this year and predictions were certainly focused onto the winners except in a few instances where there was a fair split between The Hurt Locker and Avatar.  Awards were spread throughout a number of films this year but The Hurt Locker was clearly the big winner and Up In The Air was shut out.

Congratulations to our contest winners:

Well, as they say, that's a wrap, and in keeping with the situation, I'd like to thank all the contestants who played our game again this year.  I hope it made your evening more enjoyable.  It certainly does for me.  Thanks to ABC for televising the presentations.  Congratulations to all the Oscar winners and nominees.  Your awards were very well deserved.  And finally, special thanks to the often under recognized members of the film industry (those names you see roll by in the credits long after the directors, producers and stars) without whom we wouldn't have such a large number of high quality films again this year.

Bob Stanza - Editor - Predict The Oscars!

4^th Annual Predict The Golden Globes! Contest

So the 2010 Golden Globes are in the books.  The Hollywood Foreign Press always seems to put together a good show and I appreciate their support of film.  They are a great leading indicator for what will happen during the Oscars later in the awards season.

Since I leave the country (again) tomorrow morning I'm going to make this pretty short for now.  I think the most interesting thing about these awards was that there was no film (or television show) that cleaned up.  Five films/shows received two awards (Avatar, Crazy Heart, Up, Grey Gardens and Up) so predicting other awards is going to take some thought this year.  Nine and Invictus were shut out, probably limiting their prospects for a turn around at the box office.  Both received a lot of early talk but that hasn't lead to box office or award success so far.

For our game, scores actually ran higher than any of our other Golden Globe contests.  Congratulations to our winners:

The Oscars are a little later this year.  Nominees are to be announces on Feb 2 so get out to the theatre and catch up on what you've missed and remember to come back and play the 8th Annual Predict The Oscars! contest.

7^th Annual Predict The Oscars! Contest Wrap-up

It was certainly a different awards show this year and that's exactly what was promised in order to pump up the numbers.  I haven't seen viewer ratings yet so can't say if it worked but I'm pretty sure a fair portion of the 20% drop in views last year had to do with the Writers Guild strike so would expect them to be back up some this year.  But as has been the trend in recent years, there is obviously an ever widening gap between what the Academy and what the viewing public think makes a film award worthy.

I've read a good bit on this subject and think it can be summed up by saying that the Academy has no problem awarding a singularly outstanding performance in an otherwise marginal film whereas the general public expects the film as a whole to meet certain minimum requirements to qualify for award consideration.  Those that side with the Academy contend that they are better trained to recognize these "diamond in the rough" performances and those that don't claim that times and tastes change and the Academy is out of touch with what should be considered a great film.  As is generally the case in an argument, the truth is probably somewhere in the middle.

Having been involved with performance arts most of my life as an avocation, I find myself closer to the Academy's side but think they  have to become more flexible and appreciative of the audiences' wants.  Let's face it, without an audience, there would be no Academy and box office revenues show that the theatre going audience is dwindling.  Now the reason for that is a whole topic in itself but if the trend continues, and more people wait to see movies on DVD, the Oscars viewing audience will continue to decline.  So yes, it's probably in the Academy's best interest to reward those that go to the theatre.

Unfortunately, I don't know exactly what changes need to be made.  If I did, I'd quit my day job and market my consulting services to AMPAS!  I certainly don't want the Oscars to become another People's Choice Awards but I would like to see people feel more involved in the process.  After all, that's why I've been hosting this little game for seven years.

So, end of rant and here are this year's winners:

I'll certainly throw out a special mention to Stephen Gasparich with 92 points who only came in 4^th by, literally, the luck of the draw as all three of the contestants with scores of 92 picked Slumdog Millionaire and 7 awards.

Finally, as is customary, I'd like to thank all of our contestants this year.  I hope you all had fun and playing our game made your Oscar season a little more enjoyable.  Thanks to the Academy for once again hosting a great show.  And, as always, thanks to all the men and women of the film industry who's dedication and hard work makes all this possible.

Bob Stanza - Editor - Predict The Oscars!

3^rd Annual Predict The Golden Globes! Contest

How great is was to see things back to normal.  While the Hollywood Foreign Press attempted to appease the viewing audience with last year's press conference announcing the award winners, seeing the pageantry and glamour of the show again was tremendous.  In particular, seeing the Cecil B. DeMille award presented to Steven Spielberg, and watching clips from the huge number of his award winning films, made the show even more memorable.

And now what you've all been waiting for, the winners of this year's contest are:

Honorable mention goes to Barb Carroll who also scored 66.  You can still look at the summary of predictions and final leader board including all contestants.

So, in keeping with the evening, I'd like to thank the Hollywood Foreign Press for a fine show and all the men and women who bring us these great films and television shows.  And finally, thank you all for playing our game this year.  It allowed us to work out a few of the kinks in the site and that will make things run smoother for our next contest.  That's right, the Academy Awards nominations are just around the corner so please plan to return and play the 7^th Annual Predict The Oscars! contest.

Bob Stanza - Editor - Predict The Oscars!

6^th Annual Predict The Oscars! Contest

As usual, it's late but it was a good show and everything seemed to go off smoothly.  I guess we got an idea of what we would have seen if the strike hadn't ended but I'm sure we're all are glad it did.  Even though No Country For Old Men came in with the most awards (four), it didn't clean up the way many of our contestants seemed to think it would.  La Vie En Rose and The Bourne Ultimatum did better then I expected, winning everything whey were nominated for except Best Costume Design (La Vie En Rose) whereas Michael Clayton and Atonement each won just one Oscar out of the seven nominations they each received.

Anyway, things must have gone pretty much as expected, at least for some of you, because the scores this year are in line with previous contests.  With that said {drum roll, please}...

Our 2008 Predict The Oscars! Winners

I'd also like to give mention to Brian Buchana who also scored 76 points and to Ron Parres who was in first place until the last award but took a chance on Juno for Best Picture.

Finally, since it seems the thing to do tonight, I would like to thank everyone who participated in our contest this year; The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for putting the Awards together during difficult times, The Writers Guild of America, motion picture studios and television networks for coming to an agreement to end the three month strike; all the industry professionals who work tirelessly on and off the screen to bring us these fine motion pictures; and my wife Kathy, who supports me during the many hours required to host this site.

2^nd Annual Predict The Golden Globes! Contest

Due to the strike by the Writers Guild the televised presentation was a bit lacking this year and I'm not sure why NBC couldn't have announced all the award winners on the show.  It made trying to provide up to date leaders a little difficult.  But we got through it!

Our winners in this year's Golden Globes Contest

Congratulations to the winners and to everyone who joined our contest.  Thanks to those who tried out our new site features.  It will make for a smoother Oscars contest in a few weeks.  Thank you to the Hollywood Foreign Press for seeing the Awards through during difficult times.  And finally, we would like to express our appreciation to all the members of the movie and television industry who enrich our lives through their work. 

Bob Stanza - Editor, Predict The Oscars!

5^th Annual Predict The Oscars! Contest

It was a late night Sunday, later than I remember the Oscars running for a number of years.  I'm not sure if that was due to the host, programming changes, honorary awards or what.  I've heard from several people that they didn't care for this year's show in general but liked some of the acts, the sound effects choir and the shape forming tumblers, very much.  Oh well, last year the buzz was all about what didn't win Best Picture and based on our player's predictions, there weren't any major upsets this year.  Closest ones were probably Happy Feet beating Cars and The Lives Of Others over Pan's Labyrinth.  Maybe the fact that the top six awards went so much as expected lead to some of the ho-hum feelings expressed.  There's nothing like a good controversy to excite people.

Thank you to everyone who played in our 5^th Annual Predict The Oscars! contest.  It continues to draw a larger audience each year which tells me we must be doing something right.  Thanks also to those of you who have made suggestions and comments to help us improve the site.  Later this week I'll be publishing a timeline of new features so you'll have an idea when and what changes can be expected.  Several of these are intended to make our site a better year round resource so please check back from time to time, try out the enhancements and let us know what you think.

Our winners this year are:

Congratulations to our winners and thanks again to all this year's contestants.

Bob Stanza - Editor, Predict The Oscars!

1^st Annual Predict The Golden Globes!

It was an exciting night and things couldn't have gone off much smoother.  Thanks to all of you who participated in this year's inaugural Predict The Golden Globes! contest.  We hope you enjoyed playing and want you to know how much it helped us to have you test the new site structure.  We found a few ways to improve the balloting method and are ready for the the Oscars contest next week.  Please return after the Academy nominees are announced to make your predictions.

The winner of our Golden Globes contest this year is José Saad with a score of 75!  Other top scores included:

Congratulations to our winners.  Thank you to the Hollywood Foreign Press.  And a special thank you to all the award winners and nominees as well as all those involved with bring us the finest motion pictures and television in the world.