Oscar Crazy: Predictions for 2009 Academy Awards Best Picture

The year 2008 was great for the movies. We had the second highest grossing movie of the summer and some new movies come out that will now have sequels attached to them. This passed year big stars are the stars of today's movies and have a growing fan base. Now at the beginning of 2009, many movies are starting to get awards. The biggest of those awards that are given out is the famous Oscar. For the past few years the Oscars have not done so well. The movies that have been nominated have not been huge blockbusters. One nominated actress spoke a foreign language throughout the film and still beat out other actresses which spoke English throughout their films. This year could be the turn around year for the Oscars. For the first time movie trailers/commercials/advertisements are allowed to be shown during the commercial breaks of the Oscars. Also they have the sexiest man alive hosting the show. The awards could go extremely well if a certain film is nominated for best picture because the fans of the movie will all turn out to see if it is the winner. In the following article I discuss which five films I think will get nominated for the Best Picture Category and which one of those films will win. In following articles I will discuss the other categories.

1. Slumdog Millionaire - This film is the independent film of the year. This film has stood out as the movie Crash did a few years back. The Academy seems to nominate one independent film a year and this is the film for 2009. Slumdog Millionaire has a great story to it and has been nominated for many other awards including a Golden Globe and has won some awards as well. I recommend seeing this movie and if you like it then check out the director's sci-fi movie Sunshine.
2. Frost/Nixon - This film, directed by Ron Howard, is based off of a play of the same name. This film like Slumdog Millionaire has been nominated for many awards this year and is also nominated for a Golden Globe. The movie is about the interview that David Frost has with Richard Nixon. The film does not stand out with great shots like Slumdog Millionaire or other films that are going to get nominated but this film is great because of the acting. Frank Langella plays Richard Nixon and has been getting great reviews for his performance in the film. Overall the Academy will like the film and see that the acting is superb.
3. Milk - This is another film that has been nominated for many awards already and like Frost/Nixon is great because of the acting. It was not, however, nominated for a Golden Globe. Sean Penn plays Harvey Milk who is California's first openly gay elected official. Sean Penn has been getting great reviews for his performance as well as another one of the film's star, Josh Brolin. This film relies on the actors and the screenplay but it has great shots as well.
4. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - This film like the others has been getting nominated for multiple awards and was nominated for a Golden Globe. The story is about a man who ages backwards. This movie does not just rely on the actors to act well it has amazing shots in it and the entire movie looks fantastic. It may not have the same strong performances by its actors as Frost/Nixon and Milk have but throughout the movie it looks more amazing than the others.
5. The Dark Knight - This is a summer blockbuster film that could get nominated. I don't need to explain what this is about because I think most people have seen it. The reason this will get nominated, or at least should be nominated because it is an amazing film. It has redefined the summer blockbuster and does feature an amazing performance from one of the actors. The Academy also needs a boost in viewers this year as they have been declining in the past few years. This would be a movie to benefit that Oscars because many fans will watch the show because they would love to see this win. The Dark Knight and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button are the two most seen movies out of the five and the Academy needs to nominate films people see because that will get viewers to watch and actually care about who wins.

6. If another film is nominated instead of The Dark Knight it will be the movie Doubt. It is a movie that also relies on the strong acting performances.

   The Winner of the Best Picture Category at the Oscars for 2009 will be Slumdog Millionaire. The film overall is great and it does not rely just on the strong performances of its actors like Milk and Frost/Nixon does (Doubt would also be included if it is nominated). It also has better acting performances than The Curious Case of Benjamin Button which will give it the edge. The Dark Knight in no way should win the award because it should only be nominated to help the Oscars and to gain a bigger audience that will help get the Oscars back on track.

   Here is an idea on the side. To get more people seeing the movies that want to win awards make them have a deadline to when the movies must come out in theater or at least be on DVD when the nominations come out. That way people can rent the movies before the Oscars so they can care about who wins.