Natalia Kozenkova
The Oscars are an excuse for the celebrities to dress up and feel glamorous until that is they find out they haven’t won their category. Fortunately for the rest of us mere mortals, we can afford ourselves the luxury of picking and choosing our categories to win on.
View Betting Verdict
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2002-01-09
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BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS |
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS ODDS
Jennifer Connelly is in the wrong category of the best supporting actress. It is simply not fair to Helen Mirren, Maggie Smith, Marisa Tomei and Kate Winslet who are really so magnificent and memorable in small roles. But she is likely to win anyway for being the embodiment of virtue, loyalty and love. |
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2002-01-09
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BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR |
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR ODDS
As a best supporting actor nominee, Jim Broadbent is likely to win. His performance in Iris as a man who is coping with his wife’s disease can not leave indifferent. A powerful wizard Ian McKellen is a mile in front of Ben Kingsley from Sexy Beast. Others include John Vought playing a sports reporter and a devoted friend of Ali, and Ethan Hawke in his rather strange Day of Training. |
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2002-01-09
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BEST DIRECTOR |
BEST DIRECTOR ODDS
Lord of the Rings and A Beautiful Mind are competing in most categories except those for the best costumes, music (song), cinematography, art direction and sound. There can, however, be only one winner. It is hard to tell anything certain but when looking at these two films through the prism of directing it is obvious that Peter Jackson (13/8) is the better bet, as opposed to Ron Howard’s film. |
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2002-01-09
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BEST FOREIGN FILM |
BEST FOREIGN FILM ODDS
The best foreign film will be definitely romantic Amelie with its magnificent art direction, cinematography, sound and writing it has left Elling, Lagaan, No Man’s Land and Son of the Bride way behind. And Amelie’s Oscar debut will be nothing of surprise after its approval at the “French Oscars”. |
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2002-01-05
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BEST PICTURE |
BEST PICTURE ODDS
It has been a harder year than most others to predict the best picture. It appears to be a two-horse race: A Beautiful Mind and The Lord of the Rings. They are the only pictures whose directors also received nominations.
Lord of the Rings has the edge based purely on nominations; it grabbed 13 nominations compared to a Beautiful Mind’s 8 and historically the best Oscar goes to the film with the most nominations.
Lord of the Rings is the best fantasy film in decades. This three hours epic is one that is sweeping in both its visual and narrative scope. Everything production, design, costumes, cinematography are well formed in script
A Beautiful Mind is too sluggish, an over-hyped film, although blessed with a great performance from Russell Crow’s – who has his third straight nomination. The only great thing about A Beautiful Mind is that it is inspired by true events. But they are twisted so much that together with all melodrama, thrill and love sonata it remains underdeveloped.
Moulin Rouge is the third nomination, a first live-action musical to land a best-picture nomination since All That Jazz in 1979. Despite this accolade, there is little chance for the film to win.
You need to have an acquired taste for the films like Gosford Park. Agatha Christie’s type of mystery with humour, morality and wonderful ensemble of actors can’t be compared to the large scale of Lord of the Rings. The director of Gosford Park has never been a favourite with Hollywood establishment.
In the Bedroom touches the darker side of human nature and raises questions without giving any answers but hypothesis. This is a film you can never forget but cannot think of being number one. |
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2002-01-09
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BEST ACTOR |
BEST ACTOR ODDS
Russell Crowe is at the top of the betting list (8/11) and is likely to come home with a piece of gold in his hands. For the first time since 1972, two black actors were nominated in the same year. Mr Washington who crossed the dangerous limit between cop and criminal in Training day and Will Smith for living though 10 years of Ali’s life. Unlike Briton Tom Wilkinson from the Bedroom, Sean Penn was terribly savaged by critics but successfully laid his performance with as many physical tics as possible.
The main battle though is between Will Smith and Russell Crow. However, it is Russell who is likely to win, because playing mentally ill characters has always been a challenge well received in the higher realms of the Oscar world.
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2002-01-01
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BEST ACTRESS |
BEST ACTRESS ODDS
In the best actress nomination category, which is much more wide open and uncertain than the males. Watch for Nicole Kidman from the Others, Sissy Spacek, Judi Dench who is caught in the grip of Alzheimer disease, Thora Birch from Ghost World, Halle Berry for Monster’s Ball and Renee Zellweger for her research in the field of love. Among the most outstanding are Sissy Spacek (4/7), followed by the no less talented Nicole Kidman (7/2). |
| Betting Information |
FIXED ODDS
4pts Lord of the Rings to win Best Film at 7/4
2pts Lord of the Rings to win 9 or more Oscars at 13/8
With so many bets to choose from, it is important to stay focused and not just to lump on all the favourites just because the bookmakers think they will win.
The headlines that will follow the Oscars will surely be all about Lord of the Rings. As mentioned earlier, it is normally the film with the most nominations that walks away with the Best film award. The odds of 7/4 certainly look worthy of a bet.
The fact that the Lord of Rings has received so many nominations, there is every chance of the film winning a large majority of the categories. It may be purely a speculative effort, but Lord of the Rings to win 9 or more Oscars at 13/8, should keep us entertained throughout the Oscars ceremony. |
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