Predicting the Oscars

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER published a couple pieces recently about ’06 Oscar predictions for animated features and animated shorts. Jerry and I are both quoted liberally in the pieces and we offer our predictions as do others like the Animation Guild’s Kevin Koch and Acme Filmworks producer Ron Diamond. The interview was conducted a while back and at the time I didn’t know that Satoshi Kon’s PAPRIKA had also qualified for the animated feature Oscar. Not a whole lot of people are aware of Kon’s film at the moment, which really hurts its chances, but you have to assume that it stands a good shot of an Oscar nod if people actually have a chance to see it. Also, for the animated shorts, I recently found out that Don Hertzfeldt’s new short EVERYTHING WILL BE OK, Bruce Alcock’s AT THE QUINTE HOTEL and Jonas Odell’s NEVER LIKE THE FIRST TIME qualified. These are all superb animated shorts and I hope Academy voters don’t overlook them in favor of this year’s batch of typical (and in my opinion, much blander) mainstream studio shorts from Disney (THE LITTLE MATCHGIRL), Pixar (LIFTED), Blue Sky (NO TIME FOR NUTS) and DreamWorks (FIRST FLIGHT).