RKTBlog

Here are my Oscar predictions for this year. Mind you, I don’t think these are necessarily the best movies of the year. I haven’t seen many of the nominees this year, but I’m making a guess based on buzz and the past choices of the Academy in many cases.

BEST PICTURE:

The Hurt Locker

I haven’t seen The Hurt Locker, but I really want to. I’m guessing it probably deserves the win if it gets it. I have seen Avatar, on the other hand. I think it’s a close second for the award just based on the fact that the Oscars tend to smile on epics- you can’t get much more epic than Avatar. Still, it doesn’t deserve to win best picture. It was a fun roller coaster ride- definitely worth the money to see it in a 3D theater, but not the best movie by a long shot. If it wins the Oscar, which it could, I will be disappointed and District 9 should feel snubbed- it was the better sci fi movie of the two. Inglorious Basterds also has a shot, but I’m going to bet on The Hurt Locker.

BEST ACTOR: Jeff Bridges

I wouldn’t mind Colin Firth or Jeremy Renner winning this one.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Christopher Waltz

BEST ACTRESS:Sandra Bullock

Sandra Bullock bores me, as does The Blind Side, but I think she’s going to win.

SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Mo’Nique

ANIMATED FEATURE: UP

The “Married Life” sequence was the best piece of filmmaking to come from 2009 period.

ART DIRECTION: Avatar

Doctor Parnassus should probably win this one. Terry Gilliam may not be the most consistent filmmaker, but his movies are always visually brilliant. I also like the look of Nine (why isn’t it nominated for Cinematography, though??) But Avatar, in all it’s Lisa Frank-ness , still looked spectacular. It’s rare that a movie alien actually looks alien these days. The Na’vi themselves still looked too human for my tastes, but every other creature in the world looked plausible. And the world itself definitely inspired awe. So, I won’t be disappointed if Avatar wins this one, which I think it will.

CINEMATOGRAPHY: Avatar

COSTUME DESIGN:The Young Victoria

I’m rooting for Doctor Parnassus, and I like the sexy sleek black ditties in Nine. But the Oscars usually love a good period piece, so although I have nothing else to base this on but a hunch, I’m going to say The Young Victoria will win.

DIRECTING: James Cameron

I’m going to go out on a limb and say James Cameron should not win this award. I’d probably give it to Katheryn Bigelow. I’d even give it to Quentin Tarantino. But James Cameron will win because of the enormous technical undertaking that was Avatar. It was a huge movie to direct, and I think he’ll win it based on sheer volume. But he shouldn’t.

DOCUMENTARY: The Cove

DOCUMENTARY SHORT: No idea.

EDITING: Avatar

It was a darn exciting movie. And at three plus hours long, it didn’t feel it. So Avatar for editing works for me.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE: No idea.

MAKEUP: The Young Victoria (a total guess)

SCORE: UP, all the way.

A brilliant score. It will be remembered for years.

ORIGINAL SONG: No idea.

ANIMATED SHORT FILM: No idea, although I love me some Nick Park. So I’ll go with A Matter of Loaf or Death.

LIVE SHORT FIM: No idea.

SOUND EDITING: Avatar

SOUND MIXING: Avatar

VISUAL EFFECTS: Avatar, easily.

WRITING (Adapted Screenplay): Precious

WRITING (Original): The Hurt Locker

Those are my predicitions!

Since I listen to iTunes while I’m drawing and exercising every day, I have a tendency to listen to a song or album until I wear it out too quickly.  So I’m constantly on the lookout for new music.  The self-titled album of Norwegian singer, Annie, was one of these recent purchases.  It took me a little while to warm up to her, but slowly I’m finding the charm in her breezy, bubble gum pop.

Indeed, a song off her old album, Chewing Gum , describes her sound perfectly. Upon finding the video on Youtube today, I realized that I have heard this song before, and it just wafted through my mind without leaving much of an imprint. But now, I get it, and perhaps I like the video even more. It’s simple, but clever.

I probably should have posted these before yesterday’s color studies, as they came earlier the process, and the final Flash module matches the layout of the color studies.   Still, I  like these drawings, so I thought I’d post them as well.  They’re looser than most of my concept work, and a good study in mood, a good match for the serious subject matter.

Here is some concept art I made a while ago for my friend Eric, who owns his own multimedia company called Clearly Trained.  Clearly Trained (formerly known as Living Children) specializes in creating Flash modules for educational and training purposes.    We’ve worked together since we both graduated from the Columbus College of Art and Design in 2001.  Eric is one of my favorite people to collaborate with, and I’m very proud of the work we’ve done together over the years.

This particular piece was for a module based on a children’s book named “Freedom on the Menu”, which deals with the civil rights movement in the 1960’s.

Mike’s had the TV locked down on ESPN this whole week while the Australian Open has been going on, so  I started doing some quick sketches of tennis players.  Here’s one of the better ones.

Here’s a recent sketch I made while sipping coffee at Philz near the Castro.

A friend sent me and Mike a link to an article on the BBC website which used a picture of our Short North mural in Columbus. Kinda depressing subject matter- the housing crisis (and apparently they need a better editor.  They refer to the man and woman in American Gothic as a “couple”.  They’re actually father and daughter.)  Still, cool beans!  We’re international celebrities! ;D

Makes me a little sad to see the mural in its current state, though.  Unfortunately, its color has faded a bit since we originally painted it in 2002.  Worse yet, the folks who commissioned it glazed over the bottom half with an anti-graffiti coating which has degraded over time and covered it in a black haze.  Regardless, it’s amazing to know we left our mark behind us.

Click here to read the BBC article.

I haven’t shown off a robot in a while- except for the sexy lady robots (2)… they don’t count.  That’s a different series entirely.  For those of you who’ve followed me for a while, here’s a quick little sketch of one I did tonight in the old style of a guy named “Burnbot”.    Click to embiggen.

Another concept piece from Merchants of Brooklyn: This monstrous tangle of wires and monitors is the Jumbotron, which hangs above the fighting pit, waiting to come crashing down and let the fighters escape.

Here’s another piece of concept work for Merchants of Brooklyn.  It’s of the same building as my previous post, but from the opposite angle.  The fighting pit is on one end of the building, the casino on the other.