Anonymous Oscar Ballot: The costume designer votes for Roma, Black Panther

As the Oscar vote draws to a close, here's another installment of our annual series of interviews with academy voters from different branches who shared their frank thoughts about what was chosen, overlooked, and overvalued this year.

Best movie of the year

"Black Panther" Kevin Feige, producer
BlacKkKlansman Sean McKittrick, Jason Blum, Raymond Mansfield, Jordan Peele and Spike Lee, Producers
"Bohemian Rhapsody" Graham King, producer
"The Favorite" This is Dempsey, Ed Guiney, Lee Magiday and Yorgos Lanthimos, producers
"Green Paper" Jim Burke, Charles B. Wessler, Brian Currie, Peter Farrelly and Nick Vallelonga, Producers
"Roma" Gabriela Rodríguez and Alfonso Cuarón, producers
"A star is born" Bill Gerber, Bradley Cooper and Lynette Howell Taylor, producers
"Vice" Dede Gardner, producers Jeremy Kleiner, Adam McKay and Kevin Messick

You must think of the preferential vote. otherwise you do not give the best potential to number one. I like "Roma". But I'm afraid it's attracting so much publicity and attention. It's a bit cheeky if Alfonso Cuarón is also nominated for the best foreign film, director, cinematography and screenplay. I love the movie and I want it to win the best movie award, but I will not vote for the best foreign film. Other foreign films should have a chance.

"BlacKkKlansman" is witty, fun and pretentious, but it was worth it. Of course Spike Lee. As important as he says, I enjoyed the madness of the premise and the fact that it is based on a true story.

"Black Panther" was great. It would be my next choice. And again, it was beautiful, amazing performance. It was full of spirit, it took something that could be an endless action and it invigorated – which I appreciate in those action movies that are not really my cup of tea.

"Green Paper" was sentimental. Well. The idea of ​​the Green Paper and these two unlikely characters really pleased me, but it was not to my liking. Good performances.

"The favorite" I really did not like. At first I got involved, but everyone became so uncomfortable, it was people walking down a hallway with a fish-eye lens. I immediately started looking at the real story rather than the one that was told. It's always a bit of a problem, when it's based on something real and you start to check it on Wikipedia. If I'm engaged in the movie, I will not do it.

Annapurna

"Vice": strange film. At the end of the day, I did not know Dick Cheney any more than I knew at first. How did he become what he was? What was the step between Lynne Cheney and the engine behind everything? And that moment when he turned to the camera did not work. I loved "The Big Short", it was so bright and smart. It has not been up to par, it's based on a real person who has done a lot of harm to this country. It's hard to have fun and find your funny peccadillos. The ramifications for the country have been so severe, sending us into wars in which we do not need to be. The performance of Christian Bale is incredible. His usurpation of DC's identity was the falling jaw. In fact, he is British and getting it so perfectly was fantastic. But it has lost me. As a character study, this failed.

"A star Is Born." Sigh. There is something in this story: I'm not sure, it has been redone two or three times, it's so familiar. I was just not interested, I did not really believe it. There were a lot of close-ups of Bradley Cooper, it was Bradley Cooper's story. I mean, Lady Gaga was great, but you know where it was happening so quickly that it did not come as a surprise to me.

"Bohemian Rhapsody" – it's fun. I felt that the teeth were annoying. It was so much about the prosthesis, it made it so grotesque, it was distracting. When I saw the real guy in the end, it was not so extreme, it bothered me. I thought that his transformation and his interpretation of songs and movement were fantastic. I've never owned a Queen CD in my life, yet the music is familiar, that's the soundtrack of that era. So, the Live Aid concert was one of the most entertaining aspects of this concert. Once again, when you start to investigate, it has been whitewashed. I was fine with that, I did not need to see every orgy of bad behavior. I loved the fact that cats each had their own room.

Two films that have not been included are "The Rider", an exceptional film. Amazing. Unique. It would have taken something. "Leave No Trace" was terribly good too; director Debra Granik has a way to discover these young actresses. Too bad they did not harvest anything.

Photo by Carlos Somonte

Realization in the direction

"BlacKkKlansman" Spike Lee
"Cold War" Paweł Pawlikowski
"The favorite" Yorgos Lanthimos
"Roma" Alfonso Cuarón
"Vice" Adam McKay

I will vote for "Roma". This film has moved and impressed me. I saw it before all the hubbub at a small projection and I was stunned by it. I was taken to a very personal place, even though it is in Mexico, in a different world, I have identified: I grew up with a nanny. I could see how important this woman and their relationship was. Details such as dog poop and the car that was scraped and the demonstration were really brilliant. And [Yalitza Aparicio]The performance is amazing, the kids were great. It was the real flow of life, the soundtrack was extraordinary too. You were in this environment with particular sounds from the area in which he grew up.

Performance of an actress in a leading role

Yalitza Aparicio in "Roma"
Glenn Close in "The Woman"
Olivia Colman in "The Favorite"
Lady Gaga in "A star is born"
Melissa McCarthy in "Can you forgive me forever?"

Glenn Close will win, that's it. She went to the altar, but never the bride a million times. She deserves that her body of work wins. I did not like "The woman". It's hard for me to separate the film from the actress.

Aparicio has an extraordinary presence. She was amazing for someone who had never acted before. She was able to convince that everything in her was so real. She is not that person, she acted, she is a teacher. I heard her speak.

I loved the performance of Colman, she is fantastic. This is the actress "Roma". McCarthy is a close second, she did a great job creating this inimitable but fascinating character.

Annapurna

Performance of an actor in a lead role

Christian Bale in "Vice"
Bradley Cooper in "A star is born"
Willem Dafoe in "At Eternity's Gate"
Rami Malek in "Bohemian Rhapsody"
Viggo Mortensen in the "Green Book"

I have to go get Christian Bale. It was not just an identity theft, it was an interpretation. You can not stand impersonation all the way through a movie; his interpretation and the nuances of this perverse person we saw on TV so often were so extraordinary – the prosthetics, the whole thing.

Tatum Mangus / Annapurna Photo

Performance of an actress in a supporting role

Amy Adams in "Vice"
Marina of Tavira in "Roma"
Regina King in "If Beale Street Could Speak"
Emma Stone in "The Favorite"
Rachel Weisz in "The Favorite"

I really did not like "If Beale Street could talk," but I thought Regina King's performances were incredibly moving. That's who I would vote for. It's weird, there are not two movies that I do not like too much: Rachel Weisz was good [in “The Favourite”]Emma Stone too.

David Lee

Performance of an actor in a supporting role

Mahershala Ali in the "Green Book"
Adam Driver in "BlacKkKlansman"
Sam Elliott in "A star is born"
Richard E. Grant in "Can you forgive me forever?"
Sam Rockwell in "Vice"

Richard E. Grant was great, he was irresistible and witty – there was a nice exchange between him and Melissa McCarthy who was very nice to watch, it was still "Withnail and me". This is a bit the case with the actors that it is about a specific performance and the body of their work. But I have to go with Adam Driver, always be my heart. I'm going to watch him read a phone book, I'm mad. He was so good at "Patterson", also for other work that he did.

Adapted scenario

"The Buster Scruggs Ballad" Written by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
"BlacKkKlansman" Written by Charlie Wachtel & David Rabinowitz and Kevin Willmott & Spike Lee
"Can you forgive me?" Scenario by Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty
"If Beale Street could speak" Written for the screen by Barry Jenkins
"A star is born", screenplay by Eric Roth and Bradley Cooper & Will Fetters

"Buster Scruggs" was very clever and took you on this fun adventure, and the language was so beautiful, it seems historically appropriate but not wrong and archy. It looked like the scene where the guy asks to become Zoe Kazan's husband.

This and "BlacKkKlansman" are at the top of the list.

Original scenario

"The Favorite" Written by Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara
"First Reformed" Written by Paul Schrader
"Green Paper" Written by Nick Vallelonga, Brian Currie and Peter Farrelly
"Roma" Written by Alfonso Cuarón
"Vice" Written by Adam McKay

The woman who wrote "The Favorite" [Deborah Davis] was heavily weighted on a book, but the writer had neither credit nor payment – it was insolent, he called it original. "First Reformed" was fantastic, I would vote for it, a shocking but very moving film, very much inspired by Paul Schrader's themes of disappointment and despair. Ethan Hawke was great, this film fascinated me, it was surprising, even though it was always sinister, but there was a glimmer of hope in the end. It took me places I did not think of going. Extraordinary dialogue, he is a good writer.

Director in cinematography

«Cold War» Łukasz Żal
"The favorite" Robbie Ryan
"Never look far" Caleb Deschanel
"Roma" Alfonso Cuarón
"A star is born" Matthew Libatique

"Roma", but it is irritating that Cuarón is also the director-screenwriter, he should not deprive the filmmakers of their work. But at the same time, he was doing an amazing job. The look of this movie was so complete with what he said and the exquisite black and white.

Achievements in makeup and hairdressing

"Border" Göran Lundström and Pamela Goldammer
"Mary Queen of Scots" Jenny Shircore, Marc Pilcher and Jessica Brooks
"Vice" Greg Cannom, Kate Biscoe and Patricia DeHaney

"Vice" was amazing. With "Mary Queen of Scots", I found myself so distracted by the shock marks, even though it was authentic, I did not stop letting myself be taken to that and not to what was happening to l & # 39; screen. "How did they manage to achieve this effect?" I felt that it was distracting.

Realization in film editing

"BlacKkKlansman "Barry Alexander Brown
"Bohemian Rhapsody" John Ottman
"The favorite" Yorgos Mavropsaridis
"Green Paper" Patrick J. Don Vito
"Vice" Hank Corwin

All the musical sequences of "Bohemian Rhapsody" were well done, but I'm wondering about this film. Bryan Singer directed it in the last two weeks; he is a good director despite his bad behavior, it's weird. It's a second close to "BlacKkKlansman", which was very well done.

Marvel / Disney / Kobal / REX / Shutterstock

Costume realization

"The Buster Scruggs Ballad" Mary Zophres
"Black Panther" Ruth Carter
"The favorite" Sandy Powell
"Mary Poppins is back" Sandy Powell
"Mary Queen of Scots" Alexandra Byrne

I loved the "The Favorite" costumes, which are not always accurate. That's good, Sandy Powell is incredibly inventive. She already has too many Oscars. I want this to go to someone who does not spread the love.

"The Buster Scruggs Ballad" is also a remarkable achievement, especially since Mary Zophres did not have much money. She had to do a lot of different looks.

I am a big fan of the "Black Panther" costume design; Ruth Carter deserves to win. It's amazing what she did: the depth of research, the creation of all tribes and the use of old and new things. The combination is simply beautiful, especially when working with a comic book, where a number of things are as they are. Within this structure, she added new layers to "Black Panther" costumes.

Realization in the conception of the production

"Black Panther" Production Design: Hannah Beachler; Scenery decor: Jay Hart
Production Design "The Favorite": Fiona Crombie; Decor: Alice Felton
"First Man" Production Design: Nathan Crowley; Set decorations: Kathy Lucas
"Mary Poppins Returns" Production Design: John Myhre; Scenery decor: Gordon Sim
Design of the production "Roma": Eugenio Caballero; Decor: Bárbara Enríquez

I have to give it to "Black Panther" again. It's funny. You're taking a ride in Wakanda, out of Wakanda, into the casino – a lot of the realities they created. It was beautiful, everything went together, the design of the production, the cinematography, the costumes: it was a total vision.

Realization in written music for films (Original score)

"Black Panther" Ludwig Goransson
"BlacKkKlansman" Terence Blanchard
"If Beale Street could speak" Nicholas Britell
"Isle of the Dogs" Alexandre Desplat
"Mary Poppins Returns" Marc Shaiman

"The Isle of Dogs" really corresponds to the fantasy of animation and history. "Black Panther" was terribly good too. The score improved the story and was convincing.

Realization in written music for films (original song)

"All Stars" from "Black Panther"
Music by Mark Spears, Kendrick LamarDuckworth and Anthony Tiffith; Lyric by Kendrick Lamar Duckworth, Anthony Tiffith and Solana Rowe
"I'm going to fight" from "RBG"
Diane Warren Music & Lyrics
"The place where lost things go" in "The Return of Mary Poppins"
Marc Shaiman Music; Lyric by Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman
"Shallow" from "A star is born"
Music and lyrics of Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando and Andrew Wyatt
"When a cowboy swaps his spurs for wings" in "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs"
Music and lyrics by David Rawlings and Gillian Welch

"When a cowboy treats his spurs against wings" of "Buster Scruggs" is Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, they still produce excellent music that was very appropriate to the period and to the story but which is also modern . Everything worked well together.

Sundance

Best documentary

"Solo free" Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin, Evan Hayes and Shannon Dill
"Hale County this morning, tonight" RaMell Ross, Joslyn Barnes and Su Kim
"Reduce the gap" Bing Liu and Diane Quon
"Fathers and Sons" Talal Derki, Ansgar Frerich, Eva Kemme and Tobias N. Siebert
"RBG" Betsy West and Julie Cohen

Given what we have, it will be a difficult choice for me. I was sad that the film Mr. Rogers [“Won’t You Be My Neighbor?”] not been nominated, it was a terrible forgetfulness. It was so moving and he was so far ahead of his time. What an incredible person of hope, especially in these times, inclusive and caring in a so sweet way. And "Three identical strangers" mired me – I could not understand that it was a Jewish adoption house doing experiments on children, whose parents were not able to know what had happened and how tragically they had put their lives in danger. I do not understand why they have not entered.

"RBG" is so great. A delight and another fantastic story. "Hale County" is slow and not sure where it is going, but it gives this incredible punch and takes you into this world with these kids and their families. That says a lot about black culture and people struggling to get ahead, that has touched me. It's a unique, poetic experience. This guy [RaMell Ross] was a photographer, the pictures were so divine.

But with "Free Solo", I gasped and closed my eyes, unable to look and totally caught.

Magnolia

Best Foreign Language Film of the Year

"Capernaum" Lebanon
«Cold War» Poland
"Never look far" Germany
"Roma" Mexico
"Robbers on display" Japan

The "shoplifters" took me to an area of ​​Japan that I have never known. I had a Sofia Coppola concept "Lost in translation" of Japan as a rich, organized and organized society. To see this belly, to see this creation of this strange family where you never know exactly who is related to whom and who discovers in the end that nobody is related to whoever and what they live in incredible conditions and by. It's a surprising world, based on a true story. The cruelty of humans towards each other is seen all around us; It's a microcosm of the way people treat each other. The family created was touching.

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