Jonathan Berk from Berkreviews.com (@berkreviews) invited Matt Hudson (@wiwt_uk) from What I Watch Tonight and Sean Boelman (@bigtunaonfilm) from Popaxiom to come on the podcast for this year’s Oscar Draft. Sean made the rules last year (listen to that episode here) and with a little revision and a bit of a twist, they decided to do it again. This episode breaks down the rules of the game and each of their picks.
Berkreviews.com Oscar Draft
- Each participant will draft 1 movie per round.
- Round Order is randomized and the rotation of the draft switches each round.
- There are five rounds.
- STEAL: The person who picks last in the first round gets to steal a movie from any other participant. However, the participant being stolen from gets to choose which movie will be exchanged from the other player’s team AND gets to add a sixth movie to their team. (e.g. Jonathan picks last in the first round. Sean has Vice and Jonathan has If Beale Street Could Talk. Jonathan wants Vice, so Jonathan steals Vice and Sean gets If Beale Street Could Talk from him AND gets to add a sixth, unselected movie to his team.)
How points are earned:
- 1 point awarded for each Oscar nomination a movie receives (e.g. if an actor from a film is nominated, the movie is awarded one point)
- 2 points for each Oscar win (with the exception of Best Picture)
- 5 points for the Best Picture winner
- PERFECT ATTENDANCE: If a film wins all the awards for which it is nominated, that movie gets 2 extra points.
If you want to keep up with the scores here is a link to view the Google Sheet
The Stakes
The winner gets to force the losers to watch any movie of their choice within reason – simply meaning it has to be reasonably accessible. There will be a special episode of Movie Club to discuss their thoughts on the film. Sean won last year and made the players watch Boo 2! A Madea Halloween (listen to that episode here)
Jonathan’s Picks and breakdown
Round 1
The Favourite directed by Yorgos Lanthimos and starring Olivia Colman, Emma Stone, and Rachel Weisz.
I believe The Favourite is a solid first round pick. It is going to get a lot of nominations in almost every category with a strong possibility of winning costume, production design, and maybe an actress award.
Round 2
If Beale Street Could Talk directed by Barry Jenkins starring KiKi Layne, Stephan James, and Regina King.
This is one of the highest rated films of 2018, and one of the only ones I haven’t seen yet. However, I believe that Barry Jenkins name attached to this alone makes it Oscar worthy. I bet the screeners were among the first to be watched by the Academy members. Thus, I’m expecting some strong nominations and strong competition for some wins.
Round 3
Mary Poppins Returns directed by Rob Marshall starring Emily Blunt, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Ben Whishaw.
I really enjoyed this movie and I’m hoping that so did the Academy members. This movie should at least get a nomination for best song, production design, and a few other under the line categories. The big question is will this performance get Emily Blunt or Lin-Manuel Miranda the recognition from such a prestigious award. It’d be deserving, but only time will tell.
Round 4
Can You Ever Forgive Me? directed by Marielle Heller starring Melissa McCarthy, Richard E. Grant, and Dolly Wells.
This is my least confident pick in the entire draft. Not that I didn’t love it, because I did, but I’m not sure how many awards nominations it’s going to get. Both performances are deserving, but there are only so many spots available. There is a chance for best adapted screenplay here, but I’m not for sure how many points this film will give me. I may end up asking if I can ever forgive myself for this pick?
Round 5
Free Solo directed by Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi featuring Tommy Caldwell, Jimmy Chin, and Alex Honnold.
There is only one category that Free Solo may be in and that is Best Documentary. I believe it could easily win that category, but the other sites out there are saying that the Academy often snubs docs that do well in the boxoffice. However, if it gets the nom and the win then I get the bonus points for Perfect Attendance.
Berkreviews.com 