Academy Award Recap

In our January 28 issue, Arts & Entertainment editor Matthew Jussim made his predictions for some of the major awards on Oscar night. Let's see how his picks stacked up against the Academy:

Best Supporting Actor:
My Pick: Should/Will win: Heath Ledger
In my opinion this pick was easy. Ledger gave a fantastic performance as the evil, manipulative villain in "The Dark Knight," and no one else (except maybe Josh Brolin) had a shot at winning the award. I also thought the acceptance speech given by Ledgers family was done very tastefully and respecfully. They accepted the award an honest, emotional speech which didn't go on for too long, but they didn't rush off the stage either.

Best Supporting Actress:
My Picks: Should Win: Marissa Tomei, Will Win: Taraji P. Henson
The only category in which neither of my picks went on to win just also happened to be the category with most of the years strongest acting performances. Tomei or Henson in any other year could have easiyl won the award, but it was Penelope Cruz for her sexy, comedic role in Woody Allen's "Vicky Christina Barcelona" who took home the golden statuette. Cruz, who became the first Spanish actress to win an Oscar, was visibly shocked when she came on stage to receive her award. In her unmistakeable Spanish accent she asked, "has anyone ever fainted up her before?"

Best Actress:
My Picks: Should Win: Melissa Leo, Will Win: Kate Winslet.
I think I knew from the beginning that Melissa Leo never had a shot to win this award, but I was hoping that if she did, I would look like some sort of cinema genius for picking her. Kate Winslet beat out powerhouse actresses Meryl Streep and Angelina Jolie for her performance in "The Reader." It was her sixth nomination, which is the most for an actress as young as Winslet (33)

Best Actor
My Picks: Should Win: Mickey Rourke Will Win: Sean Penn
If I could have picked any award to hand out myself it would have been this one. I don't mean to take anything away from Sean Penn's winning performance as Harvey Milk, but Mickey Rourke was beyond amazing in "The Wrestler." It would have been fascinating to hear what Rourke would have said if he had won, but at least he recieved some praise from Sean Penn in his speech ("Mickey Rourke rises again and he is my brother."). This was Penn's second win for Best Actor, putting him on the level with elite company such as Jack Nicholson, Gary Cooper and Marlon Brando.

Best Picture:
My Picks: Should/Will: "Slumdog Millionaire"
This was another easy category to pick considering the amount of praise the film recieved leading up to the Oscars. Danny Boyle's sprawling love story centered in India was a masterpiece of filmmaking. The acting was superb, the writing top notch and the story was one in a million. For a movie that nearly got released on DVD, its win for Best Picture was definitely deserved.