Thoughts on Oscar Nominations and Predictions

With just a day to go until the 89th Academy Awards, here are my thoughts on the nominations (and the snubs) as well as my personal picks to win and also my predictions. All-in-one post for efficiency!

BEST PICTURE

• Arrival (8 nominations)
• Fences (4 nominations)
• Hacksaw Ridge (6 nominations)
• Hell or High Water (4 nominations)
• Hidden Figures (3 nominations)
• La La Land (14 nominations)
• Lion (6 nominations)
• Manchester by the Sea (6 nominations)
• Moonlight (8 nominations)

It's La La Land's world and we just live in it. And I couldn't be happier. It's not often that the Oscar front-runner (with a record tying 14 Oscar nominations) is also my favorite film so I've been quite enjoying its dominant awards-season run even with the predictable backlash. If that backlash sticks though Moonlight should benefit and thankfully I really like that film too! Meanwhile don't ask me why Hacksaw Ridge or Hell or High Water were nominated.

SHOULD WIN: La La Land
WILL WIN: La La Land
COULD WIN: Moonlight

BEST DIRECTOR

• Denis Villeneuve, Arrival
• Mel Gibson, Hacksaw Ridge
• Damien Chazelle, La La Land
• Kenneth Lonergan, Manchester by the Sea
• Barry Jenkins, Moonlight

I wished this had matched up the DGA nomination with Garth Davis (Lion) replacing Gibson, but alas we can't have everything. I think the other nominees were pretty expected and quite deserving. I'm especially thrilled that Villeneuve made it in for a sci-fi film and that Jenkins could become the first black director to win. But I think no one is beating Chazelle. I think even La La Land detractors would agree that he directed that movie wonderfully.

SHOULD WIN: Damien Chazelle
WILL WIN: Damien Chazelle
COULD WIN: Barry Jenkins

BEST ACTRESS

• Emma Stone, La La Land
• Natalie Portman, Jackie
• Ruth Negga, Loving
• Meryl Streep, Florence Foster Jenkins
• Isabelle Huppert, Elle

This was a very competitive year for this category that such veterans like Annette Bening and Amy Adams were left out in the cold. The safe bet here is to pick Stone with her winnings the Globes, SAG, and BAFTA. But Portman and Huppert have their staunch fans and they've picked up their share of awards as well (i.e. Stone hasn't steamrolled). And let's give it up for Negga nabbing her first nomination... and of course Streep getting her 20th (!) Oscar nomination.

SHOULD WIN: Emma Stone
WILL WIN: Emma Stone
COULD WIN: Isabelle Huppert

BEST ACTOR

• Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea
• Andrew Garfield, Hacksaw Ridge
• Ryan Gosling, La La Land
• Viggo Mortensen, Captain Fantastic
• Denzel Washington, Fences

If there was an acting race, this would be the category to watch. Affleck is the slight frontrunner dominating the awards season, but there was always the hint of a scandal that never coalesced to anything concrete. And Washington is right there on Affleck's heels with his own powerhouse of a performance garnering him the SAG which feels like a shift in the race... or not. What I would give to have Gosling win in a shock (though as much as I love his film, he should've been nominated for The Nice Guys). Then again as happy as I am for Garfield's first nom (should've been for The Social Network), it really should be for Silence and not this film.

SHOULD WIN: Ryan Gosling
WILL WIN: Casey Affleck
COULD WIN: Denzel Washington

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

• Viola Davis, Fences
• Naomie Harris, Moonlight
• Nicole Kidman, Lion
• Octavia Spencer, Hidden Figures
• Michelle Williams, Manchester by the Sea

First and foremost I love Davis and I'm so happy she's going to win her first Oscar! And yeah, no one is going to beat her. With that said, it's so clearly a lead role and I'm just a little bit disappointed at the category fraud. She would've been VERY competitive in lead. With that said, I also can't fault her. She's a lock here. If she wasn't here I think Williams could've won her first or perhaps Harris in a "shock" win. Anyways, if Davis wasn't here, who could've snuck in? Greta Gerwig? Janelle Monae?

SHOULD WIN: Viola Davis
WILL WIN: Viola Davis
COULD WIN: Michelle Williams (but she won't)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

• Mahershala Ali, Moonlight
• Jeff Bridges, Hell or High Water
• Lucas Hedges, Manchester by the Sea
• Dev Patel, Lion
• Michael Shannon, Nocturnal Animals

Ali is the frontrunner here after dominating the awards season early on, but since then the race has gotten more interesting. He lost to Aaron-Taylor Johnson at the Globes and Patel at BAFTA. Thankfully Johnson wasn't nominated (instead his co-star Shannon deservedly snuck in without much precursor support), but with Lion surging, Patel is still a threat. Bridges' nod is so damn uninspiring. Could've made room instead for Hugh Grant or Ralph Fiennes.

SHOULD WIN: Michael Shannon
WILL WIN: Mahershala Ali
COULD WIN: Dev Patel

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

• Arrival
• Fences
• Hidden Figures
• Lion
• Moonlight

At the WGA Awards, Arrival won, but it wasn't up against Moonlight which interestingly enough was in the Original Screenplay category and won that award. I think Moonlight will make history and double-dip by winning here. If anything its closest competition is probably the surging Lion or the beloved Fences (to posthumously honor August Wilson) and not Arrival.

SHOULD WIN: Lion
WILL WIN: Moonlight
COULD WIN: Fences

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

• Hell or High Water
• La La Land
• The Lobster
• Manchester by the Sea
• 20th Century Women

With Moonlight in Adapted, this should be a cakewalk for Kenneth Lonergan's Manchester by the Sea UNLESS the Oscars want to give La La Land all the awards which it could very well do. I don't think they will, but you never know. I *am* thrilled to see The Lobster and 20th Century Women nominated here. By far the two best scripts in film this year.

SHOULD WIN: The Lobster
WILL WIN: Manchester by the Sea
COULD WIN: La La Land

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

• Land of Mine (Denmark)
• A Man Called Ove (Sweden)
• The Salesman (Iran)
• Tanna (Australia)
• Toni Erdmann (Germany)

I'm a bit sad I haven't seen any of these films yet, but I know I'll eventually see at least Toni Erdmann (the favorite to win) and The Salesman (the very strong possible spoiler). With early favorites Elle and Neruda not making it in, Toni Erdmann is the only other film to receive precursor love, but if the Academy wants to make a political statement look for Asghar Farhadi's The Salesman. Also if you haven't read the joint statement of these filmmakers, you must.

SHOULD WIN: The Salesman
WILL WIN: Toni Erdmann
COULD WIN: The Salesman

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

• Kubo and the Two Strings
• Moana
• My Life as a Zucchini
• The Red Turtle
• Zootopia

I think you know it's a great year in animation when a Finding Nemo sequel is just my fourth favorite animated film of the year and I'm not even sad it's not nominated. Zootopia is the favorite to win and it's also MY favorite animated film of the year, but I did love Moana and Kubo as well and the latter, with its recent BAFTA win, is nipping at the Zootopia's heels. I've also only heard good things about the other two which I haven't seen.

SHOULD WIN: Zootopia
WILL WIN: Zootopia
COULD WIN: Kubo and the Two Strings

BEST FILM EDITING

• Arrival
• Hacksaw Ridge
• Hell or High Water
• La La Land
• Moonlight

All of these are Best Picture nominees and convention says La La Land will take this (and it will deserve it!). But if they want MOST editing, they could possibly go with Hacksaw Ridge or even Hell or High Water. Arrival or Moonlight would be inspired.

SHOULD WIN: La La Land
WILL WIN: La La Land
COULD WIN: Hacksaw Ridge

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

• Arrival
• Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
• Hail, Caesar!
• La La Land
• Passengers

Here's the thing, if it was up to me I'd give La La Land most of the categories it's nominated for. And the Academy could very well think the same thing and give it a win here. With that said, I think Fantastic Beasts and Arrival and maybe even Passengers had some precursor support. The big miss here was The Handmaiden.

SHOULD WIN: La La Land
WILL WIN: Arrival
COULD WIN: Fantastic Beast

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

• Arrival
• La La Land
• Silence
• Lion
• Moonlight

Probably one of my favorite list of nominees this year. I just think every single nomination here is truly well-deserved as I thought these were five of the most beautiful films I saw this past year. Again convention says La La Land if they want to sweep, but I wouldn't be surprised AT ALL if Moonlight or even Lion took the trophy.

SHOULD WIN: Lion
WILL WIN: Moonlight
COULD WIN: La La Land

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

• "Audition (The Fools Who Dream)," La La Land
• "Can’t Stop the Feeling," Trolls
• "City of Stars," La La Land
• "The Empty Chair," Jim: The James Foley Story
• "How Far I’ll Go," Moana

Last year's winner was deplorable so the Academy can only do better this year! And it's a good list with the exception of the totally random "The Empty Chair." It probably took the spot of "Do Anything" from Zootopia or the totally awesome "Drive It Like You Stole It" from Sing Street. That said, this is La La Land versus Lin-Manuel Miranda's quest to EGOT for his Moana song. He has more than a good possibility I think especially if the two La La Land songs split votes.

SHOULD WIN: "How Far I'll Go"
WILL WIN: "City of Stars"
COULD WIN: "How Far I'll Go"

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

• Jackie
• La La Land
• Lion
• Moonlight
• Passengers

As if the Academy voters aren't going to give the score award to the musical film. I think that's a pretty safe bet. If they are feeling adventurous though this would be the best chance to honor Mica Levy's work in Jackie. Or even poor Thomas Newman (Passengers) with his 14 nominations and 0 wins.

SHOULD WIN: La La Land
WILL WIN: La La Land
COULD WIN: Jackie

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

• Allied
• Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
• Florence Foster Jenkins
• Jackie
• La La Land 

People are saying La La Land is a safe bet here, but I know more than a few people who wasn't too impressed (they're crazy). But if that's a more widespread feeling then I would think it'd be between Jackie or Florence Foster Jenkins. Unless they feel they must award Colleen Atwood (Fantastic Beasts) with her 4th win. Light a candle for The Dressmaker.

SHOULD WIN: La La Land
WILL WIN: Jackie
COULD WIN: La La Land

BEST SOUND EDITING

• Arrival
• Deepwater Horizon
• Hacksaw Ridge
• La La Land
• Sully

Hacksaw Ridge and Deepwater Horizon were really loud. But La La Land could sweep so...

SHOULD WIN: La La Land
WILL WIN: La La Land
COULD WIN: Hacksaw Ridge

BEST SOUND MIXING

• Arrival
• Hacksaw Ridge
• La La Land
• Rogue One
• 13 Hours

Someday I'll know the difference. Then again many Oscar voters don't. I'd probably just say La La Land again, but I think this will swing to another film. Arrival or Rogue One perhaps?

SHOULD WIN: Arrival
WILL WIN: Rogue One
COULD WIN: La La Land

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

• Rogue One
• The Jungle Book
• Doctor Strange
• Deepwater Horizon
• Kubo and the Two Strings

I think if I was making the ballot, these would've been my exact same five films. And yes, I'm thrilled that Kubo made it in since that film used VFX so well. Anyways, this is The Jungle Book's award to lose, but weirder things have happened.

SHOULD WIN: Kubo and the Two Strings
WILL WIN: The Jungle Book
COULD WIN: Doctor Strange

BEST MAKEUP & HAIRSTYLING

• A Man Called Ove
• Star Trek Beyond
• Suicide Squad

Suicide Squad? Really? I would've gladly switched that out with The Dressmaker, Deadpool, or Florence Foster Jenkins. The sad thing is it's probably the frontrunner here too.

SHOULD WIN: Star Trek Beyond
WILL WIN: A Man Called Ove
COULD WIN: Suicide Squad

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

• Fire at Sea
• I Am Not Your Negro
• Life, Animated
• 13th
• O.J.: Made in America

I've only seen the Ava DuVernay's 13th, which I implore everyone to watch. With that said I haven't heard anyone say anything bad about any of these films. Made in America is probably the slight favorite with all of its precursor support, but I still call foul on submitting a 6+ hour miniseries for Oscar consideration.

SHOULD WIN: 13th
WILL WIN: OJ: Made in America
COULD WIN: 13th

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT FILM

• Extremis
• 4.1 Miles
• Joe’s Violin
• Watani: My Homeland
• The White Helmets 

I've seen The White Helmets and Extremis since they're both available on Netflix and I meant to see 4.1 Miles and Joe's Violin since they're also available elsewhere online. Without knowing too much about the race, I think The White Helmets might have an edge especially with our current political climate. Or maybe Joe's Violin.

SHOULD WIN: The White Helmet
WILL WIN: The White Helmet
COULD WIN: Joe's Violin

BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM

• Blind Vaysha
• Borrowed Time
• Pear Cider and Cigarettes
• Pearl
• Piper

Having seen only Pearl and Piper which I thought were both good (though not amazing), I have no earthly idea which of these films is the favorite or even who should win. Your guess is as good as mine.

SHOULD WIN: Piper
WILL WIN: Pearl
COULD WIN: Piper

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM

• Ennemis Intérieurs
• La Femme et le TGV
• Silent Nights
• Sing
• Timecode

Saw these last weekend and I think any of them could win for various reasons. My absolute favorite is Timecode which is probably the slightest of them all story-wise, but it's also the most delightful. Sing has a very satisfying arc and some great character work. La Femme et le TGV might attract older voters and it's the only film with a recognizable star (always a plus). The latter two were my least favorites, but they were also the most topical. Ennemis Intérieurs was the better of the two but also the most inert film of the five while Silent Nights is just not good in so many sense.

SHOULD WIN: Timecode
WILL WIN: La Femme et le TGV
COULD WIN: Sing

So where does that all leave me in terms of predictions? I predicted La La Land to walk away with a leading 7 wins including Picture/Director/Actress. With the rest of the wealth shared among a few films namely Moonlight, Manchester by the Sea, Fences, Arrival, etc. And I think Lion, Hell or Hell Water, and Hidden Figures will walk away with no wins. Let's all check back on Sunday and see how wrong I am!

Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield in London

With Spring definitely in the air today in NYC, I thought it was fitting to post this recent picture of Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield being ridiculously good-looking and totally in love during the world premiere of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 in London yesterday. They're such a breath of fresh air, aren't they? Please, don't ever break up.

Birthday Boy: Andrew Garfield

No offense meant to Toby Maguire or Reeve Carney when I say this but Andrew Garfield aka my favorite Spider-man celebrates his big 3-0 birthday today. Granted The Amazing Spider-Man wasn't a great movie or anything, but I could never truly discount the film mostly due to the effortless charm Garfield brings to the popular web-slinger. Plus the film was also responsible for bringing together Garfield with another one of my favorite actors recently, Emma Stone. And as a sidenote, I found out just yesterday that their couple name is apparently Stonefield which is one part adorable and another part a J.J. Abrams top secret movie or something.

But back to the birthday boy... he's currently working on the sequel to The Amazing Spider-Man and will continue to work on the franchise for the next few years as there's already two more films scheduled through 2018. At least that's not all he's doing. Just last year he had his Broadway debut as Biff Loman in Death of a Salesman which garnered him his first Tony Award nomination. Film-wise, he has been cast in 99 Homes from the director of Goodbye Solo and in Martin Scorsese's Silence.

Happy Birthday!

Tony Awards 2012 Winners

Once was the big winner of the night taking home 8 of its 11 Tony nominations including Best Musical and Best Actor. Peter and the Starcatcher had the next best tally with 5 wins despite losing Best Play to Clybourne Park (its only win). Death of a Salesman and Porgy and Bess also took top honors. The complete list of winners are below:

Best Play: Clybourne Park
Best Musical: Once
Best Revival of a Play: Death of a Salesman
Best Revival of a Musical: Porgy and Bess

Best Actor, Play: James Corden, One Man, Two Guvnors
Best Actress, Play: Nina Arianda, Venus in Fur
Best Actor, Musical: Steve Kazee, Once
Best Actress, Musical: Audra McDonald, Porgy and Bess
Best Feat. Actor, Play: Christian Borle, Peter and the Starcatcher
Best Feat. Actress, Play: Judith Light, Other Desert Cities
Best Feat. Actor, Musical: Michael McGrath, Nice Work If You Get It
Best Feat. Actress, Musical: Judy Kaye, Nice Work If You Can Get It

Best Direction of a Musical: John Tiffany, Once
Best Direction of a Play: Mike Nichols, Death of a Salesman
Best Book of a Musical: Once
Best Costume Design for a Play: Peter and the Starcatcher
Best Costume Design for a Musical: Follies
Best Scenic Design for a Play: Peter and the Starcatcher
Best Scenic Design for a Musical: Once
Best Lighting Design for a Play: Peter and the Starcatcher
Best Lighting Design of a Musical: Once
Best Choreography: Newsies
Best Original Score: Newsies
Best Orchestrations for a Musical: Once
Best Sound Design for a Musical: Once
Best Sound Design in a Play: Peter and the Starcatcher

Despite only seeing one Broadway show this season (Godspell) which wasn't even nominated for anything, I still thought the ceremony was thoroughly entertaining. Most of that is certainly due to Neil Patrick Harris, who called the Tony Awards "Fifty Shades of Gay" right up front, and his fun and easy way of hosting--a song and dance number about the theater to open the show, some witty jokes sprinkled throughout including another jab at Spider-Man Turn Off the Dark, and a recap song to close it all out. It also helped that the winners across the board delivered wonderful speeches from Steve Kazee's ode to his mother to Nina Arianda's glee at receiving an award from Christopher Plummer. Or how about the great reaction of underdog James Corden when he won or Audra McDonald's tearful message to her daughter? I also enjoyed the short and sweet presentation of Hugh Jackman's wife giving him a special Tony award.

The performances were mostly good with a few or so exceptions which I'd rather not go into (ahem Ghost). I'd rather focus on the welcome performance from last year's winner Book of Mormon to open the show (though I was missing original stars Andrew Rannells and Josh Gad), the exuberant gymnastic skills of the Newsies cast, and the heartbreaking and beautiful show put on by Kazee and the Once ensemble. I also found the montage of Best Plays particularly well done if a bit odd to do so in musical style. I halfheartedly livetweeted the show last night, which I hadn't planned on, but I was plenty amused that my tweet about losing nominee Andrew Garfield going home with Emma Stone still making him a winner got a lot of attention.

Andrew Garfield Looking Adorkable

I was just fine missing out on last weekend's MTV Movie Awards, but I do somewhat regret not being able to immediately see the hotness that was Andrew Garfield walking the red carpet. For anyone else who missed it, here he is looking adorkable in Prada:

He was there with his current paramour Emma Stone to promote their film The Amazing Spider-Man which is set to be released in less than a month. Onwards and upwards though as tonight Garfield has a 1 in 5 chance to walk away with a Tony Award as he is nominated for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his work in Death of a Salesman alongside Phillip Seymour Hoffman. Pundits are calling him one of the favorites to win, locked it a two-way race with theater vet and Peter and the Starcatcher actor Christian Borle.

Looking Forward To... SUMMER

I'm slowly, but surely trying to get back to blogging after a much needed break. There was just too many things going on from moving to a new place to all of the series/season finales on TV I had to devour. During my break though I also took a bit of a movie-watching hiatus seeing only one film in theaters (twice) during that span. You know which one it is since you probably saw it too (and more than once also)... Joss Whedon's The Avengers. One of these days I'll put into words the ecstasy I felt seeing Joss Whedon's name on the big screen with a theater full of satisfied moviegoers applauding. For now onwards to what else I'm looking forward to this summer...

Perhaps fate dealt The Avengers a better hand than expected, because the rest of what May had very little to offer to anyone. The two films that looked remotely interesting was Fox Searchlight's The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and Focus Features' Moonrise Kingdom by Wes Anderson. Both have stupendous cast with the first a who's who of British acting royalty such as Maggie Smith, Bill Nighy, and Judi Dench while Anderson's film contained Bill Murray, Ed Norton, Tilda Swinton, and Frances McDormand. Other offerings such as the billionth Tim Burton-Johnny Depp collaboration in Dark Shadows, the Rihanna-starrer Battleship, and Sacha Baron Cohen's tired schtick in The Dictator left much to be desired. There's also MIB 3 which I admit I'm intrigued by. I was a big fan of the first film and liked the second film okay enough. The time traveling story is right in my wheelhouse and Josh Brolin channeling Tommy Lee Jones can potentially be brilliant. Finally, small films Where Do We Go Now? and Hysteria also make their debut.

June thankfully gives me a bit more options at least after I see The Avengers for a third time. There's the wonderfully marketed Snow White and the Huntsman starring Charlize Theron, Kristen Stewart, and Chris Hemsworth (Thor!). I'm so excited for this mostly to root for Theron who looks amazing in the trailers. She also stars in another June release Prometheus which is directed by none other than Ridley Scott and written by Lost helmer Damon Lindelof. This much-anticipated prequel to the Alien series also stars Michael Fassbender, Idris Elba, and Guy Pearce. The weekend of the 22nd has no less than four films I want to see. There's Pixar's latest Brave, Woody Allen's most recent film To Rome with Love (with Penelope Cruz), Focus Features' Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (with Keira Knightley and Steve Carrell), and the instant-cult-film Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. For those into music, dance, and shirtless men the month also has Rock of Ages starring Tom Cruise and Magic Mike starring Matt Bomer, Channing Tatum, Matthew McConaughey, and Alex Pettyfer. Seriously, based on the trailers, shirts and one's dignity are optional. Finally, can't not mention Michelle Williams' latest in Take This Waltz and Sundance favorite Beasts of the Southern Wild.

July actually seems to offer less choices even though we're smack dab in the middle of summer movie season. Of course two mega-blockbuster hopefuls are hoping to capture Avengers-sized successes with The Amazing Spider-Man opening during the Fourth of July holiday and The Dark Knight Rises closing out the super popular Batman trilogy helmed by Christopher Nolan. The latter will see some familiar faces of the series as well as some new faces such as Anne Hathaway, Marion Cotillard, Joseph Gordon Levitt, and Tom Hardy (basically half of Inception's cast). Spider-Man will team up the adorkable Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone hoping we all forget about those other Spider-Man films released less than a decade ago. Taylor Kitsch will hope the third time is the charm with Oliver Stones' Savages after a forgettable year with a couple of bombs while Family Guy's Seth MacFarlane branches out to film with Ted starring Mark Wahlberg and Mila Kunis. Finally, I'll probably catch this on Netflix, but the trailer for Step Up Revolution caught my eye. What can I say? I do like dancing in films.

Finally, August rounds out the summer movie season with some not too shabby films. Jeremy Renner, fresh from his stint on The Avengers, looks to fill Matt Damon's shoes in The Bourne Legacy. Colin Farrell looks to do something similar starring in the remake of Total Recall which I will definitely be seeing. The Weinstein Company has Lawless with Tom Hardy, Jessica Chastain, and Gary Oldman while Joseph Gordon Levitt stars in Premium Rush. Don't know much about that film except Levitt is wearing shorts and is sweaty a lot (he's a bike messenger). Fernando Meirelles has a new film called 360 with Jude Law and Rachel Weisz while Whitney Houston's film Sparkle comes out months after the singer's tragic death. But last and certainly not least... recent Oscar winner Meryl Streep graces us all with her presence in Hope Springs along with Steve Carrell and Tommy Lee Jones. Will it be good? Who cares? It's Meryl Streep. Hmm... do you think there's a part for her in The Avengers sequel?

Re-Discovering Psycho and Anthony Perkins

This weekend I saw Alfred Hitchcock's classic film Psycho for the first time in more than 15 years. Why it has taken me this long to re-watch it, I don't really know, though I often like to tell myself that it probably so scared the Beetlejuice out of me back then that I just never had the desire to see it again. Of course, upon seeing it again, I quickly realized my mistake of avoiding this for so long since it is a classic for a reason. Everything about the film is just so masterfully done--from the shot selections to the casting, from the dialogue to the lighting. It would make a welcome addition to my top 10 films to watch on Halloween which I posted last year.

In any case, what grabbed me more about the film this time around, apart from rediscovering everything about the film that made it so great, is just how attractive Norman Bates was. I guess back then I was just focused on trying not to get too scared to notice Anthony Perkins' pretty face. Granted, that was most definitely part of Hitchcock's thought process when casting Perkins. Attractive people aren't usually the bad guys! So Bates' boyish good looks enabled him to trick Marion and the audience into thinking he's just messed up, but not that messed up.

Lost long twins: Perkins and Garfield

As I focused in on Perkins' face and mannerisms while I watched, I noticed that he looked a bit like Andrew Garfield of Social Network and Amazing Spider-Man fame. A quick Google search confirmed that plenty of people have had the same thoughts. I'm not advocating for a remake with Garfield as Bates, especially since Gus Van Sant already made one back in 1998 which I never watched but now I feel like I should, but I'd settle for him to play a character very similar to him. I think he most definitely could pull it off.

With all of that said, Happy Halloween to you and yours!

Birthday Hotties: Amy Adams & Andrew Garfield

Redheaded hotties Amy Adams and Andrew Garfield celebrate their birthdays today and other than hair color and sharing the same birth date, do you know what else they have in common? If you said they are both starring in superhero film remakes, then you are right! Adams will play Lois Lane opposite Henry Cavill's Superman in 2013's Man of Steel while Garfield will don the Spidey suit for 2012's The Amazing Spider-Man.

Now both of them have also done some bit work on two of my all-time favorite genre TV shows. She appeared on Buffy the Vampire Slayer as one of the main character's white trash sister while he played a man from Tennessee named Frank in two episodes of Doctor Who. Another thing they have in common is that you probably can't guess where they were born. You'd probably be be shocked to learn that the all-American Adams was born in an Army base in Viscenze, Italy, while the Brit-accented Garfield was actually born in the good ol' US of A, more specifically in Los Angeles.

TV Roles: Frank and Beth

Finally, if you thought they were both Oscar-nominated then you would be wrong. While she has garnered three Oscar nominations (though she deserved another one for her work in Enchanted), he was inexplicably snubbed last year for his critically-acclaimed work in The Social Network. And with that note, happy birthday!