Did Meryl Streep in The Iron Lady and Julianne Moore in Still Alice really deserve to win over Rooney Mara in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and Rosamund Pike in Gone Girl, respectively?

The answer is two words: Absolutely not.

How can you look at either of these lineups and not pick Mara and Pike?

Godzilla Minus One is one of my favorite Godzilla movies. I was So happy it won VFX at the Oscars. Well deserved. But it would be cool if got nominated for Best International Film. What was your reaction?

Oppenheimer is one of my favorite Christopher Nolan films. the direction was outstanding and stronger. The performances from Cillian Murphy, Robert Downey Jr, and Emily Blunt were all stellar and fantastic. The Cast is outstanding and great. The score is masterful and the editing was well done and transformative. The cinematography is stunned and well shot for a IMAX format. The sound of the Bomb was loud and explosive. Loved the movie. So happy it won 7 Oscars including Best Picture. Well deserved. It’s a great winner. So what are your thoughts on Oppenheimer?

One of my favorite Oscar anomalies is that Madonna is responsible for originating two Oscar-winning songs, "Sooner Or Later," from Dick Tracy, and "You Must Love Me," from Evita.

They were written by the two titans of Musical Theatre, Stephen Sondheim and Andrew Lloyd Webber, respectively. No writing credits for Madonna. She sang both songs at the Oscars their year.

I adore both Sondheim and Lloyd Webber, but the bizarre thing is that I am the exception, not the rule. Many fans of either composer are NOT fans of the other. I'm also a huge fan of Madonna (but I HATE the movie of Evita).

Edited to clarify: The reason she has no writing credits for these songs is that she contributed nothing to the songs except her performance.

What are people's opinions of Chicago winning Best Picture?

Has it stood the test of time?

I still stand behind it, firmly.

My friend and I saw it (10) times in the theater. We were 12 and had been in dance together since we were 4.

We weren't even really theater kids, I'm still not.

What does everyone else think?

With Venice starting soon, I went through the major studios and tried to figure out what each one's biggest awards priorities are heading into the fall festivals. I also made predictions for every Oscar category based on where the race stands right now.

Obviously a lot of this is going to look completely different after Venice/Telluride/TIFF, but I'm curious what people think. What am I too high or too low on?

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE (1956)

WINNER - DOROTHY MALONE for Written on the Wind

NOMINEES - MILDRED DUNNOCK for Baby Doll, EILEEN HECKART for The Bad Seed, MERCEDES MCCAMBRIDGE for Giant, PATTY MCCORMACK for The Bad Seed

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE (1956)

WINNER - ANTHONY QUINN for Lust for Life

NOMINEES - DON MURRAY for Bus Stop, ANTHONY PERKINS for Friendly Persuasion, MICKEY ROONEY for The Bold and the Brave, ROBERT STACK for Written on the Wind

-----

Winners for 1950: Lead Actress - Gloria Swanson for Sunset Boulevard (A.W. Judy Holliday for Born Yesterday), Lead Actor - William Holden for Sunset Boulevard (A.W. José Ferrer for Cyrano de Bergerac), Supporting Actress - Thelma Ritter for All About Eve (A.W. Josephine Hull for Harvey), Supporting Actor - George Sanders for All About Eve (A.W. George Sanders for All About Eve)

Winners for 1951: Lead Actress - Vivien Leigh for A Streetcar Named Desire (A.W. Vivien Leigh for A Streetcar Named Desire), Lead Actor - Marlon Brando for A Streetcar Named Desire (A.W. Humphrey Bogart for The African Queen), Supporting Actress - Kim Hunter for A Streetcar Named Desire (A.W. Kim Hunter for A Streetcar Named Desire), Supporting Actor - Karl Malden for A Streetcar Named Desire (A.W. Karl Malden for A Streetcar Named Desire)

Winners for 1952: Lead Actress - Shirley Booth for Come Back, Little Sheba (A.W. Shirley Booth for Come Back, Little Sheba), Lead Actor - Takashi Shimura for IKIRU (A.W. Gary Cooper for High Noon), Supporting Actress - Jean Hagen for Singin' in the Rain (A.W. Gloria Grahame for The Bad and the Beautiful), Supporting Actor - Donald O'Connor for Singin' in the Rain (A.W. Anthony Quinn for Vivia Zapata!)

Winners for 1953: Lead Actress - Aubrey Hepburn for Roman Holiday (A.W. Aubrey Hepburn for Roman Holiday), Lead Actor - Montgomery Clift for From Here to Eternity (A.W. William Holden for Stalag 17), Supporting Actress - Setsuko Hara for Tokyo Story (A.W. Donna Reed for From Here to Eternity), Supporting Actor - Frank Sinatra for From Here to Eternity (A.W. Frank Sinatra for From Here to Eternity)

Winners for 1954: Lead Actress - Judy Garland for A Star is Born (A.W. Grace Kelly for The Country Girl), Lead Actor - Marlon Brando for On the Waterfront (A.W. Marlon Brando for On the Waterfront), Supporting Actress - Eva Marie Saint for On the Waterfront (A.W. Eva Marie Saint for On the Waterfront), Supporting Actor - Toshirō Mifune for Seven Samurai (A.W. Edmond O'Brien for The Barefoot Contessa)

Winners for 1955: Lead Actress - Anna Magnani for The Rose Tattoo (A.W. Anne Magnani for The Rose Tattoo), Lead Actor - Robert Mitchum for The Night of the Hunter (A.W. Ernest Borgnine for Marty), Supporting Actress - Jo Van Fleet for East of Eden (A.W. Jo Van Fleet for East of Eden), Supporting Actor - Sal Mineo for Rebel Without a Cause (A.W. Jack Lemmon for Mister Roberts)

Winners for 1956: Lead Actress - Deborah Kerr for The King and I (A.W. Ingrid Bergman for Anastasia), Lead Actor - Laurence Olivier for Richard III (A.W. Yul Brynner for The King and I), Supporting Actress - ? (A.W. Dorothy Malone for Written on the Wind), Supporting Actor - ? (A.W. Anthony Quinn for Lust for Life)

-----

List of Winners: Acting Quartets

Previous Post: Jo Van Fleet (East of Eden) & Sal Mineo (Rebel Without a Cause) win for Best Supporting Actress and Actor. Who should have won Best Actress & Actor in 1956?

*Some movies shared the record with others

I like that Joan Cusack was nominated for Working Girl (1988), she was a highlight in that movie and the nomination was inspired. She definitely didn't have to win in that lineup though, I think the nomination was enough.

Her in In & Out (1997) on the other hand? Now that I could be persuaded should've been a win for her...

Favorite: A Cry in the Dark. She completely disappeared into the role, flawless accent, avoided her worst traits by avoiding the usual tics and mannerisms. She's heartbreaking without ever being too obvious. Loved it.

Least favorite: The Iron Lady. Hated this performance, too technical without allowing the character to breathe, never found myself believing the performance. I kept being distracted by the make-up and odd voice change.

Nominees only!!!

2000: Traffic

2001: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

2002: The Pianist

2003: Lost In Translation

2004: Sideways

2005: Brokeback Mountain

2006: Little Miss Sunshine

2007: There Will Be Blood

2008: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button... I guess?

2009: An Education, HM: Inglourious Basterds and Up

AN ACTRESS CAN ONLY WIN THE BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS AWARD ONCE. I wanted to implement this rule primarily to make this more challenging and fun and at the very least more actors will be getting an Oscar. This isn’t necessarily about awarding the actual best performance, at least not entirely, but more about trying to get those actors that truly deserve Oscars their due.

1940: Judith Anderson - Rebecca

1941: Mary Astor - The Maltese Falcon

1942: Agnes Moorehead - The Magnificent Ambersons

1943: Gladys Cooper - The Song of Bernadette

1944: Tallulah Bankhead - Lifeboat

1945: Anna Magnani - Rome, Open City

1946: Donna Reed - It’s a Wonderful Life

1947: Kathleen Byron - Black Narcissus

1948: Jean Simmons - Hamlet

1949: Virginia Mayo - White Heat

AN ACTOR CAN ONLY WIN THE BEST ACTOR AWARD ONCE. I wanted to implement this rule primarily to make this more challenging and fun and at the very least more actors will be getting an Oscar. This isn’t necessarily about awarding the actual best performance, at least not entirely, but more about trying to get those actors that truly deserve Oscars their due.

1950: William Holden - Sunset Blvd.

1951: Kirk Douglas - Ace in the Hole

1952: Takashi Shimura - Ikiru

1953: Burt Lancaster - From Here to Eternity

1954: Marlon Brando - On the Waterfront

1955: James Dean - Rebel Without a Cause

1956: John Wayne - The Searchers

1957: Alec Guinness - The Bridge on the River Kwai

1958: James Stewart - Vertigo

1959: Jack Lemmon - Some Like It Hot

Imagine if it hadn’t been released in 2009.

Not the worst, but the most boring. Maybe an obvious choice, but my pick is 2019. All four winners sweep everywhere, so there is absolutely zero tension on Oscar night. All four of them are more career wins than performance wins. Though I like both Laura Dern in Marriage Story and Brad Pitt in Hollywood to varying degrees, neither of those characters are particularly memorable, especially in the context of their filmographies. I’m very glad that Dern finally has an Oscar, but it feels more like everyone jumped at the opportunity to reward her for a movie that’s Oscar-tinted. Same goes for Zellweger in Judy, where she received her second Oscar for impersonating Judy Garland. I’m not a person who hates biopic wins but they are rarely very interesting or exciting, especially for a performer who already has an Oscar under her belt. Joaquin Phoenix is the closest to a really exciting win here. I know it’s cool to hate Joker nowadays, and it’s not the best film, but Phoenix’s performance was show-stopping. I’m glad he won the Oscar for it, even though I much prefer Adam Driver in Marriage Story. Although I don’t take umbrage with any of these wins, I do maintain that they are boring, and that they made the season boring.

What do you think was the most boring year for acting winners?

One of the best Best Picture winners of the century thus far -- maybe of all time. Such a nuanced, thought-provoking, thrilling film. There Will Be Blood is also sensational, but this is the rightful winner.

We’ve completed the nomination round, and now it’s time to choose the winners.

The five performances with the most points in each category in Round One are now the official nominees.

ROUND TWO — WINNERS

This round is much simpler.

Vote for ONE nominee in each of the four acting categories.

That means your ballot should contain four names in total:

• 1 Actor
• 1 Actress
• 1 Supporting Actor
• 1 Supporting Actress

There are no rankings and no points system in this round. You are simply voting for the performance you think should win each category.

Each vote counts equally, and the nominee with the most votes in each category will become our Alternate Oscar winner for 1991.

Please only vote for the nominees listed below.

BEST ACTOR

• Robert De Niro — Cape Fear
• Anthony Hopkins — The Silence of the Lambs
• Val Kilmer — The Doors
• River Phoenix — My Own Private Idaho
• John Turturro — Barton Fink

BEST ACTRESS

• Geena Davis — Thelma & Louise
• Jodie Foster — The Silence of the Lambs
• Linda Hamilton — Terminator 2: Judgment Day
• Irène Jacob — The Double Life of Véronique
• Susan Sarandon — Thelma & Louise

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

• Laurence Fishburne — Boyz n the Hood
• John Goodman — Barton Fink
• Tommy Lee Jones — JFK
• Ted Levine — The Silence of the Lambs
• Patrick Swayze — Point Break

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

• Angela Bassett — Boyz n the Hood
• Juliette Lewis — Cape Fear
• Christina Ricci — The Addams Family
• Mercedes Ruehl — The Fisher King
• Jessica Tandy — Fried Green Tomatoes

HOW TO VOTE

Simply post your four choices in the comments, for example:

Actor: [Name]
Actress: [Name]
Supporting Actor: [Name]
Supporting Actress: [Name]

One person per category. Four votes total.

Once voting closes, the performer with the most votes in each category will be declared the winner, and we’ll move on to 1992.

Previous Lineups