Stepping Out for Oscar Night

Oscar Picks by Arnie and the ‘Mayor’

“I personally don’t think it’s a wonderful year for film; it’s actually a weak year,” said Arnie Wishnick, the Chamber of Commerce executive director who has been on hiatus as the Palisadian-Post’s longtime movie reviewer. “I completely disagree,” said Palisades Honorary Mayor Steve Guttenberg. “The films this year are very important because each is a social commentary and raises issues.” The movies nominated for best picture this year are “Capote,” “Brokeback Mountain,” “Crash,” “Good Night, and Good Luck,” and “Munich.” Wishnick even suggested that the Academy should skip this year’s nominated films and go back to 1951 when “An American in Paris” won for best picture over “A Place in the Sun,” or 1952 when “The Greatest Show on Earth” won over “High Noon” and “Moulin Rouge” and announce one of those three losing films as the best picture of 2005, giving them the due they deserved. Mayor Guttenberg, a veteran actor by trade, strongly disagreed with that thinking. “‘Brokeback Mountain’ will win hands down. The score was beautiful, the cinematography brilliant. The story was a metaphor for so many themes.” When pressed for which of the nominated films will win, Wishnick predicts “Brokeback Mountain.” “I didn’t care for this movie. I agree with Steve that it has beautiful scenery, beautiful music, but there wasn’t much of a story and no humor. It just didn’t interest me. Although I agree with the gay community in asking, ‘Why couldn’t it have a happy ending?'” “Of the five movies, I wouldn’t tell people to run and see any of them,” Wishnick continued. “I do like ‘Matchpoint,’ Woody Allen’s movie’it’s well-acted and a good thriller. I would’ve put that in the best movie category.” The two he would knock out are “Crash” and “Good Night, and Good Luck.” Guttenberg said he would keep all the nominated movies, although he agreed that “Matchpoint” was excellent. Asked what other movie should have been nominated, Wishnick said: “King Kong. It got shafted. Yes, the movie is a tad long, the scenes in the jungle should have been cut and Adrian Brody was miscast, but it was a good movie. Naomi Watts should be in the best actress category.” “King Kong got exactly what it deserved,” Guttenberg said. “It didn’t have the ‘meat”it was a commercial foray with no important theme.” “In ‘Good Night, and Good Luck,'” Wishnick said, “anyone under the age of 40 won’t know anything about the people in the movie’they don’t know who the people are and what their jobs are.” “I disagree,” said Guttenberg. “One doesn’t have to be a heroin addict or a hustler to understand ‘Midnight Cowboy.’ Movies are the greatest and most popular art forms. They can help make social changes.'” “David Strathairn’s portrayal of Murrow was terrific,” Wishnick said. “I agree with George Clooney when he said that Joe McCarthy should have been nominated in the best supporting actor category for his vicious portrayal of himself.” In the best actor category, Wishnick believes that Phillip Seymour Hoffman “has a lock because he WAS Capote.” “Not a chance,” said Guttenberg, who thinks the award will go to cowboy Heath Ledger. Wishnick does have a piece of advice for Hoffman: “Get rid of the three names! Nobody should go into business with three names. The only person who has had three names that anyone remembers is Mary Tyler Moore.” In the best actress category, our two local “experts” both think the award will go to Reese Witherspoon in “Walk the Line,” although Wishnick’s favorite was Felicity Huffman in “Transamerica.” He said he can’t understand why Dame Judi Dench is even nominated. “If you close your eyes and listen, it’s like Betti Davis doing a British accent.” Guttenberg shook his head sadly at Wishnick’s analysis. “Arnie wouldn’t know a Faberge Egg if I broke it over his head, scrambled it and served it to him for breakfast. Undeterred, Wishnick continued, “I think Joan Allen (“The Upside of Anger”) should have been in this category, but once again films which are released early in the year tend to be forgotten when it comes time for the Oscars. Naomi Watts should also be in this category.” In the supporting actor category, Wishnick said it’s a toss-up between George Clooney and Paul Giamatti (who won the SAG award), but his favorite was William Hurt in “A History of Violence.” “Although he was only on the screen for eight minutes he was terrific. He gave a new definition to creepy in the role of the evil brother.” Once again, Guttenberg goes for broke and backs Jake Gyllenhaal’s performance for the award. Supporting actress? Wishnick predicted it will go to Rachel Weisz in “The Constant Gardener.” If he had been able to vote, he would have selected Maria Bello from “Trans-america.” Her acting was superb, but if that wasn’t enough, in one scene she puts on a cheerleading costume to spice up the bedroom. “She looked good in that cheerleading outfit,” Wishnick said. “That alone deserves a nomination.” “I have to go with Michelle Williams,” Guttenberg said, once again banking on “Brokeback Mountain.” In the documentary feature category there are several strong contenders, including “Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room” and “Murderball.” But both men think “It’s the year of the penguin.” And as Wishnick observed, “If the penguins show up they won’t even have to rent a tux.” If you look back over past Oscar winners for best original song, the list includes “Thanks for the Memories” (1938), “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” (1939), “Wish Upon a Star” (1942), “White Christmas” (1943), “Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head” (1969), “The Way We Were” (1973) and “I Just Called to Say I Love You” (1984). This year, searching through the movies, the Academy could find only three original songs: “In the Deep” from “Crash,” “It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp” from “Hustle and Flow,” and “Travelin’ Thru” from “Transamerica.” Although, the “pimp” song melody doesn’t leave your head for 48 hours, Arnie thinks “Travelin’ Thru” will win. The Mayor is betting on the melody you can’t get out of your head. Wishnick admitted he didn’t see all of the nominated foreign films, but that he’s heard good things about the German film “Sophie Scholl: The Final Days” and the Palestinian film “Paradise Now.” Guttenberg thinks the winner will be “Paradise Now.” What were some of the movies and performances overlooked by Academy voters? “Shopgirl,” said Wishnick. “It was a good movie with a good story; at the very least it should have been nominated for adopted screenplay. Claire Danes and Jason Schwartzman should have been nominated in the best actress and best supporting actor category as well.” “‘Mrs. Henderson Presents,'” Guttenberg said. “It was really good and really well made. ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ was also overlooked; it should have been nominated for music and art direction, as well as for best director (Tim Burton).” Who do we listen to if we want to win the Oscar ballot contest (page 2) in this special supplement? “I’m extremely accurate on picks,” Mayor Guttenberg said modestly. And Wishnick? “I’ve never won, and never will because I stray and pick someone in a category because it’s my favorite,” he said. “You have to put yourself in the shoes of the voter and think how they’ll vote.”