ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, March 11, 1996 TAG: 9603120053
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MIKE MAYO AND KATHERINE REED
Mike Mayo: Every year, filmgoers try to second-guess the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and pick winners for the Oscars. Naturally, Katherine and I are no exception. We've pondered the nominations, laughed at them - some would say even mocked them - and have made our choices. Even though this is an exceptionally difficult year with no clear favorites, we are so confident in our prognosticative abilities that we're challenging readers to a contest.
Katherine Reed: Speak for yourself. I'm not confident at all, simply owing to the fact that I keep expecting the Academy to wake up and smell the coffee. Or the pork. Well, okay; they've smelled the pork. But the Academy still is lamentably out of touch. How they could ignore movies like "Get Shorty," "To Die For" and "Persuasion" - which I admired much more than "Sense and Sensibility" - is beyond me. But the nominations have a heavier agenda this year than ever.
MM: Well, "Persuasion" was ignored because it was released first on British television; the Academy's rules are really outdated. And as for their agenda, I don't know whether they're responding to the attacks from the right or not. Could be. But they do tend to be conservative in their tastes and in the nominations.
KR: In terms of sheer delight, though, "Babe" and "The Postman" really do deserve recognition. For my money, though, "To Die For" was the best movie of the year. It was funny, smart and perfectly constructed. Nicole Kidman really deserves a nomination for her work as Suzanne Stone Maretto.
MM: I would have a hard time choosing between "Babe" - which I have now seen three times - and "Get Shorty," had it been nominated, because it was just so funny. Everyone was really expecting John Travolta to be nominated for his terrific Chili Palmer...and the scriptwriters.
KR: I would like to have seen Gene Hackman be recognized too, for that movie. He was great.
MM: Anyway you look at it, '95 was a weird year in movies. There wasn't much middle ground between the feel-good "Babe" and "Sense and Sensibility" and the bleak "Leaving Las Vegas" and "Dead Man Walking."
If those extremes are the only two choices, you know which way the Academy members are going to go.
In between are two big-budget "epics" of the old Hollywood school - "Apollo 13" and "Braveheart" - which took home a bucketful of nominations. They'll probably win several awards because they're safe "establishment" choices.
KR: Further complicating matters this year is the schism between the best-picture and best-director categories. Mike Figgis and Tim Robbins got individual recognition, but their films didn't.
MM: So, okay. We acknowledge it doesn't make much sense and that we're miffed, as usual, but here lie our predictions.
KR: Go ahead, outguess us. Make us look stupid and accept our congratulations for doing so. We're movie reviewers; we have no shame.
MM: And the envelope please...
Best Picture:
``Apollo 13''
``Babe''
``Braveheart''
``The Postman''
``Sense and Sensibility''
Should Win (Mayo): ``Babe''
Should Win (Reed): ``The Postman''
Will Win: ``Apollo 13''
Best Director:
Mike Figgis - ``Leaving Las Vegas''
Mel Gibson - ``Braveheart''
Chris Noonan - ``Babe''
Michael Radford - ``The Postman''
Tim Robbins - ``Dead Man Walking''
Should Win (MM): Mike Figgis
Should Win (KR): Mike Figgis
Will Win: Mel Gibson
Best Actress:
Susan Sarandon - ``Dead Man Walking''
Elisabeth Shue - ``Leaving Las Vegas''
Sharon Stone - ``Casino''
Meryl Streep - ``The Bridges of Madison County''
Emma Thompson - ``Sense and Sensibility''
Should Win (MM): Emma Thompson
Should Win (KR): Elisabeth Shue
Will Win: Elisabeth Shue
Best Actor:
Nicolas Cage - ``Leaving Las Vegas''
Richard Dreyfuss - ``Mr. Holland's Opus''
Anthony Hopkins - ``Nixon''
Sean Penn - ``Dead Man Walking''
Massimo Troisi - ``The Postman''
Should Win (MM): Nicolas Cage
Should Win (KR): Nicolas Cage
Will Win: Nicolas Cage
Best Supporting Actor:
James Cromwell - ``Babe''
Ed Harris - ``Apollo 13''
Brad Pitt - ``12 Monkeys''
Tim Roth - ``Rob Roy''
Kevin Spacey - ``Usual Suspects''
Should Win (MM): James Cromwell
Should Win (KR): James Cromwell
Will Win: Kevin Spacey
Best Supporting Actress:
Joan Allen - ``Nixon''
Kathleen Quinlan - ``Apollo 13''
Mira Sorvino - ``Mighty Aphrodite''
Mare Winningham - ``Georgia''
Kate Winslet - ``Sense and Sensibility''
Should Win (MM): Joan Allen
Should Win (KR): Mira Sorvino
Will Win: Mira Sorvino
Best Screenplay (original):
``Braveheart'' - Randall Wallace
``Mighty Aphrodite'' - Woody Allen
``Nixon'' - Steven Rivele, Christopher Wilkinson, Oliver Stone
``Toy Story'' - Joss Wheden, et al.
``Usual Suspects'' - Christopher McQuarrie
Should Win (MM): ``Usual Suspects'' - McQuarrie
Should Win (KR): ``Usual Suspects'' - McQuarrie
Will Win: ``Braveheart'' - Randall Wallace
Best Screenplay (adaptation):
``Apollo 13'' - Wm. Broyles, Al Reinert
``Babe'' - George Miller, Chris Noonan
``Leaving Las Vegas'' - Mike Figgis
``The Postman'' - Anna Pavigano, Michael Radford, Furio Scarpelli
``Sense and Sensibility'' - Emma Thompson
Should Win (MM): ``Babe'' - Miller and Noonan
Should Win (KR): ``Leaving Las Vegas'' - Figgis
Will Win: ``Apollo 13'' - Broyles and Reinert
Best Cinematography:
``Batman Forever'' - Stephen Goldblatt
``Braveheart'' - John Toll
``A Little Princess'' - Emmanuel Lubezki
``Sense and Sensibility'' - Michael Coulter
``Shanghai Triad'' - Lu Yue
Should Win (MM): ``Batman''
Should Win (KR): ``Little Princess''
Will Win: ``Litle Princess''
LENGTH: Long : 171 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: (headshots) Mayo, Reed. color. Graphic. color.by CNB