The 88th Annual Academy Awards Winners

Team Spotlight

Another year, another Oscars came and gone. The only difference being that I didn't watch them and only partially followed them on Twitter.

A night full of shocks as much as this entire awards season, the most unpredictable and weirdest in memory. SPOTLIGHT became the first film in decades to win best picture and only 1 other award, best original screenplay. The largely predicted THE REVENANT took cinematography (3rd in a row for Chivo), lead actor for Leonardo DiCaprio (who finally won the damn trophy) and Alejandro González Iñárritu became the third back to back director winner ever. Spotlight's two and The Revenant's three awards wins were only upped by MAD MAX: FURY ROAD which won 6 Oscars, the first film since the 70's to win that many without winning either picture or director. It was a great night for Miller's masterpiece to a point that it seemed that the sweeping momentum was probably going to be carried all the way till the end. So proud nonetheless.

Stats were shattered, preferential ballot favored the least divisive film, actors had already shown their love for the winner. Of the craziest wins though... Ex Machina was awarded visual effects over best picture nominees which rarely happens and also the predicted winner Star Wars: The Force Awakens. It is also the most left field and inspiring winner in a while. Sylvester Stallone widely favored for supporting actor lost to Mark Rylance. The mediocre song, awful Bond theme won best original song. The most hated winner of the night. My fellow Pakistani, the talented and brave Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy won her career 2nd Oscar for directing yet another important, timely short doc. Ennio Morricone finally won an Oscar, the oldest winner ever. One of the greatest films ever didn't win best animated short. The rest pretty much expected. Category fraud favored, Brooklyn didn't win anything, neither The Martian or Carol. It was a strange night, not all that bad. Could have been a lot worse. Can't review the ceremony itself, the jokes or monologues or speeches. But yes, another film year ends. Till the next one... (the film year, not the Oscars):

Best Picture:
Spotlight

MPSE Golden Reel Awards 2016

Vs

Motion Picture Sound Editors are the last major guild to announce their winners considering the Oscars are tomorrow which ends the awards season. If you think there can't be any more drama left then... The Revenant and Mad Max: Fury Road both won the main prize here in a tie. Compare this and the result of Sound Mixers guild and you'll call me a fool for still predicting Fury Road to win both at the Oscars but nobody's perfect, right? Check out the full list of interesting winners in various Film categories below:

Best Sound Editing (Feature English Language – FX/Foley):

MAD MAX: FURY ROAD
Supervising Sound Editors: Mark Mangini, MPSE, Scott Hecker, MPSE, Wayne Pashley, MPSE
Supervising Foley Editor: Stuart Morton
Sound DesignerS: David White, Julian Slater
Foley Artists: John Simpson, Blair Slater
Sound Effects Editors: Fabian Sanjurjo, Cate Cahill, Chris Aud, Chuck Michael, Rick Lisle, Andrew Miller, Emma Mitchell, Alicia Slusarski, Mario Gabrielli, Nigel Christensen, Phil Barrie, Michael Mitchell, Jared Dwyer

(tie)

THE REVENANT
Supervising Sound Editors: Martín Hernández, Randy Thom, MPSE, Lon Bender, MPSE
Sound Designer: Jon Title
Foley Supervisor: Geordy Sincavage
Additional Supervising Sound Editor: Todd Toon, MPSE
Sound Effects Editors: Mark Larry, Dino DiMuro, Adam Kopald, Pernell L. Salinas, Bill Dean, D. Chris Smith, MPSE, Hector Gika, David McMoyler, Stephen Robinson
Foley Editor: Nancy MacCleod, Ryan Wassil, Aran Tanchum
Foley Artists: Katy Rose, Gretchen Thomas, Rick Owens, Vincent Guisetti, Catherine Harper, Gregg Barbanell, Andrea Gard

Film Independent Spirit Awards 2016

Team Spotlight at Indie Spirits

It was a joy to follow along the anti-Oscars on Twitter between funny sketches of the hosts Kate McKinnon and Kumail Nanjiani, the joy and enthusiasm expressed and shared by both the attendees and fellow Awards freaks and the eventual winners. Not that the winners were... say... my picks for their respective categories but none of them were undeserving of the honors. You can't look for Awards to match your personal taste but to have a sense of recognising the best of talent. Artistic, integral, creative. Independent Spirits, I thank thee for your sanity. For all I know, this ended the awards season and the Oscars tomorrow... ended long ago.

Yes SPOTLIGHT swept with 5 awards. 3 actors of color and talent won. 1 of them made history as first transgender woman to win. Both first feature and first screenplay winners were women. Ed Lachman won. Check out the list below:

Best Feature:
Spotlight

Final Predictions for the Academy Awards 2016

The Revenant

They are what they are and they'll be what they refuse not to be. Recent years have made it worse when it should be the opposite and hence my interest, involvement and excitement for this big ceremony has gone down the drain. I couldn't imagine things ever being this way, always giving them a free pass for their refusal to accept, embrace or adapt art and craft but my soul has dried up.

The Revenant will win this year making it the worst best picture winner in decades. Leonardo DiCaprio will win for a good performance but hardly the one he deserves to be awarded for. With the exception of Daniel Day-Lewis (three times), when has a grear actor with continous excellence and acknowledgement won an Oscar for the right role at the right time? Category frauds, lazy obvious nods, reliance on being force fed movie screeners, biases, internal issues, external problems... here are my predictions for the Academy Awards 2016:

I am ready to be wrong on some of these. Who cares?

Best Picture:
The Revenant

Costume Designers Guild Awards 2016

The Danish Girl

Mighty Sandy Powell did not win either of her awards at the Costume Designers Guild and unfortunately it seems like she won't win at the Oscars either. Here are this year's winners:

Excellence in Fantasy Film:
Mad Max: Fury Road, Jenny Beavan

Excellence in Period Film:
The Danish Girl, Paco Delgado

Excellence in Contemporary Film:
Beasts of No Nation, Jenny Eagan

Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists Guild Awards 2016

Mad Max: Fury Road

Mad Max: Fury Road prevails. The film has won two Awards at the Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists Guild for its make up in a period Film while Cinderella won for its hair. Check out the winners below:

Best Period and/or Character Make-Up:
Nadine Prigge, Ailie Smith and Lesley Vanderwalt (Mad Max: Fury Road)

Cinema Audio Society Awards 2016

The Revenant

The Revenant and Inside Out are your winners of the CAS Awards for sound mixing this year. The former at least category wise, is an upset. It seemed like Mad Max: Fury Road and Star Wars: The Force Awakens were battling out to win. But hey, the hottest most talked about most IN movies are awarded so... it makes sense in that case?

Best Sound Mixing - Live Action:
Chris Duesterdiek, Conrad Hensel, Michael Miller, Frank A. Montano, Geordy Sincavage, Jon Taylor and Randy Thom (The Revenant)

Best Sound Mixing - Animated:
Joel Iwataki, Tom Johnson, Doc Kane, Mary Jo Lang and Michael Semanick (Inside Out)

USC Scripter Awards 2016

The Big Short

As expected, The Big Short is this year's winner of the Scripter for best adapted work which is given to the adapted screenplay as well as its source material.

Winner: The Big Short
Screenwriters - Adam McKay and Charles Randolph
Adapted from - Michael Lewis' "The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine"