Here are the rules for this Oscar ballot. It is more difficult than most. (We used to do it this way when I worked for a film studio.)
You do NOT just pick who you think will win, you have to rank ALL of the nominees.
1 = the nominee you think has best chances of winning
2 = the nominee you think has the 2nd best chance of winning
etc etc
Then, once the winners are selected, add up the numbers you put in front of the nominees. The lowest score will win this contest. And you even have to rank the catagories you have no idea - for instance, I have not seen any of the animated shorts, or documentaries or foreign films…so ya just have to guess. This is often the make or break in winning this ballot.
To start this off, I will offer my ballot (and I will post a “blank ballot” afterwards for you to cut and paste.
One thing - unfortunately, I will be on vacation and will not return until March 6th, so if anyone is so inclined, feel free to tally the votes before I return and determine the winner. Remember, using this method, the LOWEST SCORE will win!
BEST PICTURE
1 Brokeback Mountain
3 Capote
2 Crash
5 Good Night, and Good Luck.
4 Munich
BEST DIRECTOR
5 George Clooney - Good Night, and Good Luck.
2 Paul Haggis - Crash
1 Ang Lee - Brokeback Mountain
3 Bennett Miller - Capote
4 Steven Spielberg - Munich
BEST ACTOR
1 Philip Seymour Hoffman - Capote
5 Terrence Howard - Hustle & Flow
2 Heath Ledger - Brokeback Mountain
3 Joaquin Phoenix - Walk the Line
4 David Strathairn - Good Night, and Good Luck.
BEST ACTRESS
3 Judi Dench - Mrs. Henderson Presents
2 Felicity Huffman - Transamerica
5 Keira Knightley - Pride & Prejudice
4 Charlize Theron - North Country
1 Reese Witherspoon - Walk the Line
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
3 Matt Dillon - Crash
2 George Clooney - Syriana
5 Paul Giamatti - Cinderella Man
1 Jake Gyllenhaal - Brokeback Mountain
4 William Hurt - A History of Violence
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
4 Amy Adams - Junebug
2 Catherine Keener - Capote
5 Frances McDormand - North Country
3 Rachel Weisz - The Constant Gardener
1 Michelle Williams - Brokeback Mountain
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
5 Match Point - Woody Allen
4 The Squid & the Whale - Noah Baumbach
3 Good Night, and Good Luck. - George Clooney & Grant Heslov
2 Syriana - Stephen Gaghan
1 Crash - Paul Haggis & Robert Moresco
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
3 The Constant Gardener - Jeffrey Caine
2 Capote - Dan Futterman
4 Munich - Tony Kushner & Eric Roth
1 Brokeback Mountain - Larry McMurtry & Diana Ossana
5 A History of Violence - Josh Olson
FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
2 Don’t Tell (La Bestia nel Cuore) - Italy
1 Joyeux Noel - France
4 Paradise Now - Palestine
3 Sophie Scholl - Germany
5 Tsotsi - South Africa
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
4 Darwin’s Nightmare
3 Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
1 March of the Penguins
2 Murderball
5 Street Fight
ANIMATED FILM
2 Corpse Bride
3 Howl’s Moving Casle
1 Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
ART DIRECTION
1 Good Night, and Good Luck.
5 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
2 King Kong
3 Memoirs of a Geisha
4 Pride & Prejudice
CINEMATOGRAPHY
5 Batman Begins
1 Brokeback Mountain
3 Good Night, and Good Luck.
4 Memoirs of a Geisha
2 The New World
COSTUME DESIGN
3 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
1 Memoirs of a Geisha
4 Mrs. Henderson Presents
2 Pride & Prejudice
5 Walk the Line
FILM EDITING
5 Cinderella Man
4 The Constant Gardener
1 Crash
2 Munich
3 Walk the Line
MAKEUP
1 The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
3 Cinderella Man
2 Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
SCORE
1 Brokeback Mountain
5 The Constant Gardener
4 Memoirs of a Geisha
3 Munich
2 Pride & Prejudice
SONG
1 “In The Deep” - Crash
3 “It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp” - Hustle & Flow
2 “Travelin’ Thru” - Transamerica
SOUND EDITING
1 King Kong
3 Memoirs of a Geisha
2 War of the Worlds
SOUND MIXING
3 The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
1 King Kong
4 Memoirs of a Geisha
2 Walk the Line
5 War of the Worlds
VISUAL EFFECTS
2 The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
1 King Kong
3 War of the Worlds
DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
2 The Death of Kevin Carter: Casualty of The Bang Bang Club
1 God Sleeps in Rwanda
3 The Mushroom Club
4 A Note of Triumph: The Golden Age of Norman Corwin
LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
5 Ausreisser (The Runaway)
3Cashback
4 The Last Farm
1 Our Time Is Up
2 Six Shooter
ANIMATED SHORT FILM
1 Badgered
2 The Moon and the Son: An Imagined Conversation
3 The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello
4 One Man Band
And here is your ballot to cut and paste:
BEST PICTURE
Brokeback Mountain
Capote
Crash
Good Night, and Good Luck.
Munich
BEST DIRECTOR
George Clooney - Good Night, and Good Luck.
Paul Haggis - Crash
Ang Lee - Brokeback Mountain
Bennett Miller - Capote
Steven Spielberg - Munich
BEST ACTOR
Philip Seymour Hoffman - Capote
Terrence Howard - Hustle & Flow
Heath Ledger - Brokeback Mountain
Joaquin Phoenix - Walk the Line
David Strathairn - Good Night, and Good Luck.
BEST ACTRESS
Judi Dench - Mrs. Henderson Presents
Felicity Huffman - Transamerica
Keira Knightley - Pride & Prejudice
Charlize Theron - North Country
Reese Witherspoon - Walk the Line
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Matt Dillon - Crash
George Clooney - Syriana
Paul Giamatti - Cinderella Man
Jake Gyllenhaal - Brokeback Mountain
William Hurt - A History of Violence
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams - Junebug
Catherine Keener - Capote
Frances McDormand - North Country
Rachel Weisz - The Constant Gardener
Michelle Williams - Brokeback Mountain
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Match Point - Woody Allen
The Squid & the Whale - Noah Baumbach
Good Night, and Good Luck. - George Clooney & Grant Heslov
Syriana - Stephen Gaghan
Crash - Paul Haggis & Robert Moresco
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
The Constant Gardener - Jeffrey Caine
Capote - Dan Futterman
Munich - Tony Kushner & Eric Roth
Brokeback Mountain - Larry McMurtry & Diana Ossana
A History of Violence - Josh Olson
FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Don’t Tell (La Bestia nel Cuore) - Italy
Joyeux Noel - France
Paradise Now - Palestine
Sophie Scholl - Germany
Tsotsi - South Africa
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Darwin’s Nightmare
Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
March of the Penguins
Murderball
Street Fight
ANIMATED FILM
Corpse Bride
Howl’s Moving Casle
Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
ART DIRECTION
Good Night, and Good Luck.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
King Kong
Memoirs of a Geisha
Pride & Prejudice
CINEMATOGRAPHY
Batman Begins
Brokeback Mountain
Good Night, and Good Luck.
Memoirs of a Geisha
The New World
COSTUME DESIGN
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Memoirs of a Geisha
Mrs. Henderson Presents
Pride & Prejudice
Walk the Line
FILM EDITING
Cinderella Man
The Constant Gardener
Crash
Munich
Walk the Line
MAKEUP
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Cinderella Man
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
SCORE
Brokeback Mountain
The Constant Gardener
Memoirs of a Geisha
Munich
Pride & Prejudice
SONG
“In The Deep” - Crash
“It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp” - Hustle & Flow
“Travelin’ Thru” - Transamerica
SOUND EDITING
King Kong
Memoirs of a Geisha
War of the Worlds
SOUND MIXING
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
King Kong
Memoirs of a Geisha
Walk the Line
War of the Worlds
VISUAL EFFECTS
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
King Kong
War of the Worlds
DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
The Death of Kevin Carter: Casualty of The Bang Bang Club
God Sleeps in Rwanda
The Mushroom Club
A Note of Triumph: The Golden Age of Norman Corwin
LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
Ausreisser (The Runaway)
Cashback
The Last Farm
Our Time Is Up
Six Shooter
ANIMATED SHORT FILM
Badgered
The Moon and the Son: An Imagined Conversation
The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello
One Man Band