Thursday, February 27, 2014

Final Oscar Predictions! (86th Oscars: 2013-2014 Awards Season)

Because I’ve been working so hard on The Academy Members Project this year, I’ve admittedly spent less time writing about this year’s Oscar race. But I have been diligently watching a great many of the nominated films -- including all the contenders for the top 8 categories and all 15 Oscar nominated shorts -- and reading all the news, reviews, buzz and gossip that I can find. So that qualifies me to opine on which films will win, right?

Best Picture: 12 Years A Slave
Best Director: Alfonso Cuaron for Gravity
Lead Actress: Cate Blanchett for Blue Jasmine
Lead Actor: Matthew McConaughey for Dallas Buyers Club
Supporting Actress: Lupita Nyong’o for 12 Years A Slave
Supporting Actor: Jared Leto for Dallas Buyers Club
Original Screenplay: American Hustle
Adapted Screenplay: 12 Years A Slave
Animated Feature: Frozen
Animated Short: Get A Horse
Cinematography: Gravity
Costume Design: The Great Gatsby
Documentary Feature: 20 Feet From Stardom
Documentary Short: The Lady In Number 6: Music Saved My Life
Film Editing: Captain Phillips
Foreign Language Film: The Great Beauty
Live Action Short: Helium
Makeup And Hairstyling: Dallas Buyers Club
Production Design: The Great Gatsby
Score: Gravity
Song: “Let It Go” from Frozen
Sound Editing: Gravity
Sound Mixing: Gravity
Visual Effects: Gravity

Let me know where you think I’ve got it right -- or wrong -- in the comments!

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

As Oscar Voting Closes, The Academy Members Project Grows to 4064!

As Oscar voting closed today, I updated The Academy Members Project and found that our tally of identified current Academy members now stands at 4,064, plus several thousand past members.

Why not spend some time between now and Sunday getting to know these amazing folks? You can find the lists below:

(About) (Origins) (Branch Statistics) (Progress Updates) ( A ) ( B ) ( C ) ( D ) ( E ) ( F ) ( G ) ( H ) ( I ) ( J ) ( K ) ( L ) ( M ) ( N ) ( O ) ( P ) ( Q ) ( R ) ( S ) ( T ) ( U ) ( V ) ( W ) ( X ) ( Y ) ( Z ) (Non-Members)

Know of an Academy member that we have missed? Think we have included someone who shouldn’t be here? The Academy Members Project is a work in progress, and welcomes your input! Additions, suggestions, corrections and verifications may be submitted in the comments section, or by emailing nevertooearlymoviepredictions@gmail.com.

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Thursday, February 13, 2014

A Piece Of History: The Full Academy Membership List from 1948

As all my readers know, The Academy Members Project has been working hard to identify and celebrate as many Oscar voters as possible. It’s a research project that fascinates me endlessly -- and forever changed the way that I watch film credits -- even if the general public only tunes in to see the results once or twice a year.


But the Academy hasn’t always been as secretive as they are now. Early on, membership lists seem to have been regularly published, perhaps in an effort to establish it as the preeminent film organization that we all know today.


Recently, I was lucky enough to come across one of those lists from 1948. It’s a wonderful look back at old-school Hollywood, and a dream come true for all the historians out there.


I’ll be adding all of these names to the main pages over the next week or so, but for now I invite you to check out the original document below (you can right click each image for a larger version). And when you’re done, make sure to check out the rest of the Academy Members Project to see how today’s Oscar voters match up against those of yesteryear.















See the rest of The Academy Members Project:
(About) (Origins) (Branch Statistics) (Progress Updates) ( A ) ( B ) ( C ) ( D ) ( E ) ( F ) ( G ) ( H ) ( I ) ( J ) ( K ) ( L ) ( M ) ( N ) ( O ) ( P ) ( Q ) ( R ) ( S ) ( T ) ( U ) ( V ) ( W ) ( X ) ( Y ) ( Z ) (Non-Members)


Know of an Academy member that we have missed? Think we have included someone who shouldn’t be here? The Academy Members Project is a work in progress, and welcomes your input! Additions, suggestions, corrections and verifications may be submitted in the comments section, or by emailing nevertooearlymoviepredictions@gmail.com.

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