With a Tony Award and more than 100 stage productions under his belt, who better to give us his thoughts on Sunday night's Academy Awards than Alley Theatre artistic director Gregory Boyd.
When presented the various categories, Boyd picked his favorites in some categories, picked his least favorite in one and passed on some of the lesser categories. Keep in mind that these are his faves, and in some cases not necessarily the films, actors and directors that he thinks will actually win. When we asked Boyd if he is a movie nut, he replied, "Yes. I confess I am and always have been."
It's got to be tough finding the time to take in all these movies, but Boyd has a method. "Screeners/streaming and DVDs are marvelous inventions. You can watch film all night long," he emailed, "though I prefer watching in theaters."
Best Picture: "What should not win: American Hustle," he emailed. "What a let down after huge hype. It looked like an explosion in a 1970s wig factory. Robert De Niro shows up for one scene and shows everyone what's wrong with the movie."
"What will win? 12 Years a Slave, tough, very well done."
Best Actor in a Leading Role: Boyd votes for Matthew McConaughey in Dallas Buyers Club. "It's his year given this film and his turn in Wolf of Wall Street and the HBO series True Detective.
Best Actress in a Leading Role: "I'm sticking with Cate Blanchett in Blue Jasmine in spite of Woody worries. It's the best work of any of the nominees and maybe Cate's best."
Best Actor in a Supporting Role: "I'd love see Barkhad Abdi (Captain Phillips) take this. He was sensational. But I fear it's Bradley Cooper, which would cause a real hangover."
Best Actress in a Supporting Role: "I think it's a contest between June Squibb (Nebraska) and Lupita Nyong (12 Years a Slave). But my vote goes to Sally Hawkins in Blue Jasmine.
Best Animated Feature: "Frozen, no question."
Best Cinematography: "Gravity — astounding. The technical advancement of Gravity is really the only thing for it, besides George Clooney as the Ghost of Spacewalks Past."
Best Costume Design: "I'm going with The Grandmaster. And I know I'm the only one. 'Explosions in 1970s Wig Factory' (aka American Hustle) will win."
Best Directing: "12 Years a Slave, unless it's one of those years where the Best Director didn't direct the Best Picture (what?!). In which case, it's Alfonso Cuaron for Gravity, a film literally made in post-production."
Best Film Editing: "Gravity, huge accomplishment."
Best Foreign Language Film: "I'm voting for Blue Is the Warmest Color even though it's not on the list."
Best Makeup and Hairstyling: "Jackass Presents: Bad Granpa — just because it would be fun to see it win anything."
Best Original Score: Her "Nice."
Best Original Song: Happy "I vote for it more for the 24-hour music video version than the use in the film."
Best Production Design: "Again, Gravity gets this. No contest."
Best Visual Effects: "Gravity. Not only for special effects because they also made one forget about the screenplay."
Best Screenplay: "I'm going with Woody Allen for Blue Jasmine."
Best Adapted Screenplay: 12 Years a Slave.
Boyd concludes his Oscar analysis with this, "Wolf of Wall Street gets shut out, except for the special award for lousiest Scorsese picture ever. Sorry Bringing Out the Dead. And usually I'm a Scorsese fan."
Boy'ds nominee for Best Supporting Actor: Barkhad Abdi, center in Captain Phillips.
