AFI: The Winners

Winners is bold, My predictions in italics.


FILM

BEST FILM
Candy
Jindabyne
Kenny
Ten Canoes

YAY! If Jindabyne had to lose (and it lost everything, unfortunately) I'm glad it lost to Ten Canoes. A truly once-in-a-lifetime movie. I predicted the win too.

BEST DIRECTION
Ray Lawrence, Jindabyne
Clayton Jacobson, Kenny
Paul Goldman, Suburban Mayhem
Rolf de Heer & Peter Djigirr, Ten Canoes

*beams* This was one award that I desperately wanted to be right on. I so wanted de Heer and Djigirr to win this because they deserved it.

BEST LEAD ACTOR
Heath Ledger, Candy
Gabriel Byrne, Jindabyne
Shane Jacobson, Kenny
Steve Le Marquand, Last Train to Freo

Yeah, this makes sense. I'm glad Kenny won something, and if it had to win then I'm happy it was here. I ever so slightly prefered Ledger, but Jacobson was gold as Kenny. He was probably the most popular winner in the studio.

BEST LEAD ACTRESS
Teresa Palmer, 2:37
Abbie Cornish, Candy
Laura Linney, Jindabyne
Emily Barclay, Suburban Mayhem

I have unfortunately not seen this one yet, but I'm stoked she won. I've been mightily impressed with her before. She was obviously nervous during her speech. She said "um" so many times it was getting sorta ridiculous.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Geoffrey Rush, Candy
Ronald Jacobson, Kenny
Tom Budge, Last Train to Freo
Anthony Hayes, Suburban Hayes

Hayes won his second AFI Award in a row for Best Supporting Actor. Even other AFI predictions that I'd read in the newspaper said he was a non-factor in the race. Oh well, good on him. For someone who I had no knowledge of before last year, he's doing a good job of getting himself noticed.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Noni Hazlehurst, Candy
Susie Porter, The Caterpillar Wish
Deborra-Lee Furness, Jindabyne
Genevieve Lemon, Suburban Mayhem

Quotes from Moi:
"Deborra-Lee Furness. If she doesn't take this award then I'll scratch my noggin in disbelief."

"Give her the prize or be shamed, AFI acting voters."

Well, I did scratch my noggin in disbelief and I do think the AFI made a big big mistake. Just... unbelievable. I really liked Porter, but compared to Furness, she was a lightweight. When they were announcing the nomination there was a big big cheer for her and then... she lost. Strange.

BEST SCREENPLAY - ORIGINAL
Murali K Thaluri, 2:37
Shane Jacobson & Clayton Jacobson, Kenny
Alice Bell, Suburban Mayhem
Rolf de Heer, Ten Canoes

I don't care that I predicted this wrong. I was just happy the Ten Canoes train was sailing steady as it had every right to.

BEST SCREENPLAY - ADAPTED
Ana Kokkinos & Andrew Bovell, The Book of Revelation
Luke Davies & Neil Armfield, Candy
Beatrix Christian, Jindabyne
Reg Cribb, Last Train to Freo

Another one that I can't quite fathom how it happened, but how did Beatrix Christian lose? Candy was obviously the next best, so at least Christian didn't lose to Revelation or Freo, but still... huh?

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
David Williamson, Jindayne
Will Gibson, Macbeth
Robert Humphreys, Suburban Mayhem
Ian Jones, Ten Canoes

Yup, good work.

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Anna Borghesi, The Book of Revelation
Phil Eagles, Kokoda
Jane Johnson, Macbeth
Melinda Doring, Suburban Mayhem

YES!! Excellent.

BEST SOUND
Andrew Plain, Peter Grace, Nada Mikas, Peter Miller, Linda Murdoch & Robert Sullivan, Jindabyne
Frank Lipton & John Wilkinson, Macbeth
Liam Eagan, Phil Judd & Stephen Vaughan, Suburban Mayhem
James Currie, Tom Heuzenroeder, Michael Bakaloff & Rory McGregor, Ten Canoes

Of course.

BEST EDITING
Dany Cooper, Candy
Clayton Jacobson & Sean Lander, Kenny
Stephen Evans, Suburban Mayhem
Tania Nehme, Ten Canoes

Yeah, great work there by Nehme.

BEST ORIGINAL MUSIC SCORE
Cezary Skubiszewski, The Book of Revelation
Paul Kelly & Dan Luscombe, Jindabyne
John Clifford White, Macbeth
Mick Harvey, Suburban Mayhem

...okay? I haven't seen Mayhem, but I predicted Skubiszewski cause they like him and the score for Revelation was probably the best part.

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Robert Cousins, Candy
David McKay, Macbeth
Nell Hanson, Suburban Mayhem
Beverly Freeman, Ten Canoes

So glad that these branches saw fit to reward Macbeth where it deserves.

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Hunt Angels
Raul the Terrible
Vietnam Nurses
Welcome 2 My Deaf World

This category was difficult. I didn't think Hunt Angels would win because it really stretched the boundaries of what can be considered a documentary and as drama (in the exceptance speech, they thanked all the actors, you wouldn't know they had made an doco). So i went for Vietnam Nurses cause everyone seemed to like that one. But I still prefered Welcome 2 My Deaf World, and the clip they showed just reinforced how good it was.

BEST DIRECTION IN A DOCUMENTARY
Alec Morgan, Hunt Angels
David Bradbury, Raul the Terrible
Gillian Armstrong, Unfolding Florence: The Many Lives of Florence Broadhurst
Polly Watkins, Vietnam Nurses

Whoa, Raul the Terrible was awful. So ugly and uninteresting. Strange that Hunt Angels lost here when it's directed like a bull in a china shop.

BEST EDITING IN A DOCUMENTARY
Uri Mizrahi, The Archive Project
Lawrie Silvestrin, The Black Road
Stewart Young, Raul the Terrible
Tony Stevens, Vietnam Nurses

...I didn't like that movie at all.

BEST SOUND IN A DOCUMENTARY
Martin Friedel, Andrew Plain, Keith Thomas & Emma Bortignon, The Archive Project
Nick Meyers, Rampage
Anne Breslin, Gethin Creagh, Paul Finlay & Paul Grabowski, Unfolding Florence: The Many Lives of Florence Broadhurst
Livia Ruzic, Mark Tarpey, Keith Thomas & John Willsteed, Vietnam Nurses

Glad it won something.

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY IN A DOCUMENTARY
Steve Williams, He's Coming South
Jackie Farkas, Hunt Angels
Jaems Grant, Penicillin: The Magic Bullet
Anthony Davison, Peregon

If nothing else (and I thought it was more, but for those who didn't) Hunt Angels sure did look stunning.

BEST SCREENPLAY IN A SHORT FILM (live action and animation)
Louise Fox, A Natural Talent
Matt Rubenstein & Ian Kennedy Williams, Paper and Sand
Lee Whitmore, The Safe House
Kathleen O'Brien, Stranded

Yup, O'Brien really deserved this. If Stranded were a feature (it's 30minutes long) I'd be all over it in the major categories.

BEST SHORT ANIMATION
The Astronomer
Carnivore Reflux
Gargoyle
The Safe House

The voters in this category are stupid. Really really stupid.

BEST SHORT FILM
The 9:13
The Desert
Small Boxes
Stranded

Uh-huh, this was awesome.

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN SHORT FILM SCREEN CRAFT
Adam Arkapaw (Cinematography), End of Town
JoAnne Bouzianis-Sellick & Greg Sweeney (Production Design), Gargoyle
Skye Wansey (Acting), A Natural Talent
Emma Lung (Acting), Stranded

The moment I saw Lung 2 years ago in Peaches I knew she was gonna be someone to watch, and here is further proof.

TELEVISION

BEST TELEFEATURE OR MINI-SERIES
Answered by Fire
RAN: Remote Area Nurse
The Surgeon
The Silence

Considering how the other awards panned out, it's not that surprising that RAN won in the end. I'll need to catch up on that though. I wonder if SBS will re-air it over Summer, perhaps?

BEST TELEVISION DRAMA SERIES
All Saints
Blue Heelers
Love My Way
McCleod's Daughters

Any show that was up against All Saints Blue Heelers and McCleod's Daughters was gonna win. The fact it was Love My Way just cemented it.

BEST LIGHT ENTERTAINMENT TELEVISION SERIES
Enough Rope with Andrew Denton
The Glass House
RocKwiz
Spicks and Specks

I figured they'd give The Glass House one last gong as a parting gift. Alas, they gave it to Denton. At least they didn't nominate Denton's God On My Side :/

BEST CHILDREN'S TELEVISION DRAMA
Blue Water High
Mortified
The Upside Down Show
Deadly

Duh. I don't even watch these shows and I knew Mortified was gonna win.

BEST TELEVISION COMEDY SERIES
Chaser's War on Everything
Comedy Inc.
Supernova

Nice try you guys, but you were never gonna win over The Chaser Team.

BEST DIRECTION IN TELEVISION
Jessica Hobbs, Answered by Fire
David McDonald, Comedy Inc. (for Ep.7)
Shirley Barrett, Love My Way (for Ep.11)
Pino Amenta, Mortified (for ep.1)

Considering RAN wasn't nominated... I still got it right though.

BEST LEAD ACTOR IN TELEVISION DRAMA
David Wenham, Answered by Fire
Daniel Wyllie, Love My Way
Charles Passi, RAN: Remote Area Nurse
Richard Roxburgh, The Silence

Of course.

BEST LEAD ACTRESS IN TELEVISION DRAMA
Claudia Karvan, Love My Way
Asher Keddie, Love My Way
Susie Porter, RAN: Remote Area Nurse
Justine Clarke, The Surgeon

"Predicted Winner: Susie Porter, RAN: Remote Area Nurse (in a big upset)"

Ummm, thank you! I totally predicted this one. But if they gave her this, why give her a second for The Caterpillar Wish and snubbing Deborra-Lee Furness. That's still bugging me!

BEST GUEST OR SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A TELEVISION DRAMA
John Waters, All Saints
Marcus Graham, Blue Heelers
Luke Carrol, RAN: Remote Area Nurse
Aaron Fa'aoso, RAN: Remote Area Nurse

LOL, what the...?

BEST GUEST OR SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION DRAMA
Saskia Burmeister, Blue Heelers
Margaret Harvey, RAN: Remote Area Nurse
Merwez Whaleboat, RAN: Remote Area Nurse
Emily Barclay, The Silence

Oh, cool. I like Saskia, so this is good.

BEST PERFORMANCE IN TELEVISION COMEDY
Andrew Hansen, Chaser's War on Everything
Paul McCarthy, Comedy Inc.
Genevieve Morris, Comedy Inc.
Kris McQuade, Supernova

Great speech too!

BEST SCREENPLAY IN TELEVISION
Maryanne Carroll, All Saints
Gus Howard & David Clarke, Blue Heelers
John Edwards, Claudia Karvan & Jacqueline Perske, Love My Way
Karl Zwicky & Posie Graeme-Evans, McCleod's Daughters

Duh.

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN TELEVISION SCREEN CRAFT
Rob Meyer (Cinematography), Comedy Inc.
Ian Jones (Cinematography), RAN: Remote Area Nurse
Tim Millikan, Michael Letho & Stever Witherow (Sound), RocKwiz)
Joseph Pickerine (Cinematography), The Forest

I'd never even heard of The Forest before, so way to go!

MISCELLANEOUS

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS (tv and film)
Barry Lanfranchi, James Maclachlan & Vanessa Magyar, Wicked Science
Rose Draper & Mike Seymour, Hunt Angels
Phil Stuart-Jones, Kokoda
Simon Rippingale, Tim Richter & Nina Gibbs, Unfolding Florence: The Many Lives of Florence Broadhurst

And deservedly so.

YOUNG ACTOR'S AWARD
Marny Kennedy, Mortified
Frank Sweet, 2:37
Christian Byers, Opal Dream
Mia Wasikowska, Suburban Mayhem

Yup, that $20,000 check is gonna be useful to her! :/

INTERNATIONAL PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR
Heath Ledger, Brokeback Mountain
Eric Bana, Munich
Hugo Weaving, V for Vendetta (LOL)
Anthony LaPaglia, Winter Solstice

I had no idea who was nominated. I figured Ledger and Bana. LaPaglia... well, they like him. Weaving though? WTF? Anyway, I'm glad Ledger won. But how funny that he should win this AND the Viewers Choice award yet not the actual Best Lead Actor prize for the Australian movie he was up for.

INTERNATIONAL PERFORMANCWE BY AN ACTRESS
Toni Collette, In Her Shoes
Naomi Watts, King Kong
Radha Mitchell, Silent Hill
Rachel Griffiths, Six Feet Under

OMGYAY! Again, I didn't know who was gonna be nominated. I figured Collette (for Little Miss Sunshine, but anyway) and Watts. LOL @ Radha Mitchell. But I didn't think they'd nominate someone for TV, but I'm glad it was Griffiths. She's special.

INTERNATIONAL EXCELLENCE IN FILMMAKING
Donalf McAlpine (Cinematography), The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Roger Ford (Production Design), The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Dione Beebe (Cinematography), Memoirs of a Geisha
Roger Donaldson (Producing/Directing/Writing), The World's Fastest Indian

Beebe is still winning awards for this! Crikies.

...

All up I'm pretty happy about the winners, except for the snubbing of Jindabyne. I got a good deal of my predictions correct, too!

AFI Award Predictions

The AFI Awards are held tomorrow night! Here are my predictions for who will take home the awards (and who I would like to). I haven't seen enough of the Documentary/Short categories to say my votes for them, but I'll still do predictions like I would for any awards ceremony. The awards are broadcast on Channel 9 at 9.30 tomorrow (Thursday) night. They're hosted by previous winner and nominee Geoffrey Rush (tonight for Candy) and features such presenters as Heath Ledger, Cate Blanchett, Baz Luhrmann, Sam Neill, Catherine Martin, Deborra-Lee Furness, Claudia Karvan, Dannii Minogue and Daniel Radcliffe.

Tonight (Wednesday) is the Industry Awards, which is the night for the technical categories. Because the AFIs encompass both Film and Television, they had to split it up in order to remain under, ya know, four hours.

FILM

BEST FILM
Candy
Jindabyne
Kenny
Ten Canoes

Candy should just be forgotten about here. Kenny gets the popular vote, but I think it wouldn't have gotten as many Number 1 votes. Jindabybe was an exceptionally respected film, but perhaps (in some people's minds) wasn't as good as Ray Lawrence's prior AFI Best Film winner Lantana.

Predicted Winner: Ten Canoes. It was truly something that nobody had ever seen before and it has the advantage of being important, but also light-hearted. Although, I could totally see either Jindabyne or especially Kenny taking it.

My Vote: Jindabyne was a stunning drama for adults based around classic dialogue. But, having said that, It would be golden to see Rolf de Heer finally take home a Best Film award for Ten Canoes

BEST DIRECTION
Ray Lawrence, Jindabyne
Clayton Jacobson, Kenny
Paul Goldman, Suburban Mayhem
Rolf de Heer & Peter Djigirr, Ten Canoes

I don't think Goldman or Jacobson are in this race. As good as their films may have been (Kenny was great, Suburban Mayhem is the only film up for an award that I haven't seen unfortunately). Ray Lawrence continued to impress with the haunting Jindabyne that felt Aussie and also very international.

Predicted Winner: Rolf de Heer & Peter Djigirr for Ten Canoes. This team deserve this award and should certainly take it on the night. For making a film like no other ever made (true) and making it entertaining, powerful and extremely well-made and for overcoming the issues.

My Vote: Rolf de Heer and Peter Djigirr. They don't just deserve AFI awards - They deserve Oscars.

BEST LEAD ACTOR
Heath Ledger, Candy
Gabriel Byrne, Jindabyne
Shane Jacobson, Kenny
Steve Le Marquand, Last Train to Freo

This is a two horse race between Ledger and Jacobson, methinks. Le Marquant got in by virtue of a lack of contenders and Byrne while impressive (from me, a big non-fan of his, that's high praise) but Ledger is the Aussie-done-good and they could very well choose to recognise this.

Predicted Winner: Shane Jacobson for Kenny. He essentially created an Aussie classic character that will live as long as Crocodile Dundee, Darryl Kerrigan and Mick Taylor. And everyone knows it.

My Vote: Probably would go to Heath Ledger, but Byrne and Jacobson would be nipping at his heels.

BEST LEAD ACTRESS
Teresa Palmer, 2:37
Abbie Cornish, Candy
Laura Linney, Jindabyne
Emily Barclay, Suburban Mayhem

Palmer proved to be a stunner on debut but her film wasn't as well-liked enough to win and it was very disturbing. Cornish returns after winning two years ago for Somersault and could very well repeat if voters wanna reward her for actually sticking to the promise. Linney was the Hollywood import that blew everyone away and may be liked well enough, and respected for taking a chance on a small Aussie movie, to win.

Predicted Winner: Emily Barclay for Suburban Mayhem. She was apparently the fiercest firecracker of the year and is the one aspect of the film that everyone seems to agree on. Is also nominated for The Silence (in the TV awards) so there's that too.

My Vote: Laura Linney. Understated, but forceful. Linney was supurb. But so too were Cornish and Palmer, but Linney still takes it.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Geoffrey Rush, Candy
Ronald Jacobson, Kenny
Tom Budge, Last Train to Freo
Anthony Hayes, Suburban Hayes

Hayes won last year (for Look Both Ways) and I haven't read anything about him here. Budge appeared in several films this year (including Candy and Kokoda) but I doubt he'll take it here. Jacobson wasn't my favourite part of Kenny but is probably well-liked enough to take the award alongside his two sons.

Predicted Winner: Geoffrey Rush for Candy. He's very popular and is in a Best Film nominee and his performance is very LOOK AT ME! It's him or Jacobson though I reckon and it'll be tight.

My Vote: Geoffrey. Having not seen Hayes, I can only judge alongside Jacobson and Budge and while Budge was fun, Jacobson's character annoyed me more than made me laugh (too real), so Rush would take it.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Noni Hazlehurst, Candy
Susie Porter, The Caterpillar Wish
Deborra-Lee Furness, Jindabyne
Genevieve Lemon, Suburban Mayhem

Noni already has more AFI awards than you can shake a stick at (okay, she has four, but still) and she'll have plenty of opportunities to win more now that she's working regularly again (recently had Stepfather of the Bride which could be nommed next year). She's like an Australian Judi Dench! Lemon is like Hayes in Supporting Actor. And Porter's downfall will be the fact that they didn't too much like her film (unfortunately, it's their loss)

Predicted Winner: Deborra-Lee Furness. If she doesn't take this award then I'll scratch my noggin in disbelief. Seems to be the only category that everybody is in unisen about. Deborra-Lee deserves this award and when it finally gets released in America, it deserves Oscar too. Give her the prize or be shamed, AFI acting voters.

My Vote: Deborra-Lee, duh! She literally tears through this role making everybody else in the scenes with her null and void. It's a shame Hugh won't be there!

BEST SCREENPLAY - ORIGINAL
Murali K Thaluri, 2:37
Shane Jacobson & Clayton Jacobson, Kenny
Alice Bell, Suburban Mayhem
Rolf de Heer, Ten Canoes

2:37 is too small and dogged in controversy to win, while Suburban Mayhem seems to have lots of praise, but not enough love. De Heer's Ten Canoes screenplay delightfully plays around with the Indiginous way of life and could take the prize if they're feeling overly generous towards de Heer.

Predicted Winner: The Jacobson brothers for Kenny. One liner's galore, and legitimately funny. Consider this and Best Lead Actor the consilation prize for being the highest grossing Aussie flick in four years.

My Vote: The Jacobson Brothers. It was funny. Learn to deal.

BEST SCREENPLAY - ADAPTED
Ana Kokkinos & Andrew Bovell, The Book of Revelation
Luke Davies & Neil Armfield, Candy
Beatrix Christian, Jindabyne
Reg Cribb, Last Train to Freo

Cribb's adaptation of his stage play was deeply flawed and can't win here. Kokkinos and Bovell (who last won for writing Ray Lawrence's Lantana in 2001) don't have a chance either. Their film is too hated, I think. Plus, the script was majorly problematic. Armfield and Davies have a shot for the adaptation of Davies' book for Candy as a sort of conselation prize for not winning any of the other major categories.

Predicted Winner: Beatrix Christian for Jindabyne. This is a film based around words, exchanges, retorts and arguments. Christian will almost certainly become the third writer of a Ray Lawrence film to take the Screenwriting prize (which, considering Lawrence has only ever made three films, that's might impressive)

My Vote: Beatrix Christian's work was some of the very very best of the year in general and was the best in Australia for 2006.

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
David Williamson, Jindayne
Will Gibson, Macbeth
Robert Humphreys, Suburban Mayhem
Ian Jones, Ten Canoes

Predicted Winner: Ian Jones for Ten Canoes
My Vote: David Williamson for Jindabyne

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Anna Borghesi, The Book of Revelation
Phil Eagles, Kokoda
Jane Johnson, Macbeth
Melinda Doring, Suburban Mayhem

Predicted Winner: Jane Johnson for Macbeth
My Vote: Jane Johnson for Macbeth

BEST SOUND
Andrew Plain, Peter Grace, Nada Mikas, Peter Miller, Linda Murdoch & Robert Sullivan, Jindabyne
Frank Lipton & John Wilkinson, Macbeth
Liam Eagan, Phil Judd & Stephen Vaughan, Suburban Mayhem
James Currie, Tom Heuzenroeder, Michael Bakaloff & Rory McGregor, Ten Canoes

Predicted Winner: Ten Canoes
My Vote: Ten Canoes

BEST EDITING
Dany Cooper, Candy
Clayton Jacobson & Sean Lander, Kenny
Stephen Evans, Suburban Mayhem
Tania Nehme, Ten Canoes

Predicted Winner: Tania Nehme, Ten Canoes
My Vote: Tania Nehme, Ten Canoes

BEST ORIGINAL MUSIC SCORE
Cezary Skubiszewski, The Book of Revelation
Paul Kelly & Dan Luscombe, Jindabyne
John Clifford White, Macbeth
Mick Harvey, Suburban Mayhem

Predicted Winner: Cezary Skubieszewski, The Book of Revelation
My Vote: Paul Kelly & Dan Luscombe, Jindabyne

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Robert Cousins, Candy
David McKay, Macbeth
Nell Hanson, Suburban Mayhem
Beverly Freeman, Ten Canoes

Predicted Winner: David McKay, Macbeth
My Vote: David McKay, Macbeth

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Hunt Angels
Raul the Terrible
Vietnam Nurses
Welcome 2 My Deaf World

Predicted Winner: Vietnam Nurses
My Vote: Welcome 2 My Deaf World

BEST DIRECTION IN A DOCUMENTARY
Alec Morgan, Hunt Angels
David Bradbury, Raul the Terrible
Gillian Armstrong, Unfolding Florence: The Many Lives of Florence Broadhurst
Polly Watkins, Vietnam Nurses

Predicted Winner: Alec Morgan, Hunt Angels
My Vote: Alec Morgan, Hunt Angels

BEST EDITING IN A DOCUMENTARY
Uri Mizrahi, The Archive Project
Lawrie Silvestrin, The Black Road
Stewart Young, Raul the Terrible
Tony Stevens, Vietnam Nurses

Predicted Winner: Uri Mizrahi, The Archive Projects

BEST SOUND IN A DOCUMENTARY
Martin Friedel, Andrew Plain, Keith Thomas & Emma Bortignon, The Archive Project
Nick Meyers, Rampage
Anne Breslin, Gethin Creagh, Paul Finlay & Paul Grabowski, Unfolding Florence: The Many Lives of Florence Broadhurst
Livia Ruzic, Mark Tarpey, Keith Thomas & John Willsteed, Vietnam Nurses

Predicted Winner: Unfolding Florence: The Many Loves of Florence Broadburst

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY IN A DOCUMENTARY
Steve Williams, He's Coming South
Jackie Farkas, Hunt Angels
Jaems Grant, Penicillin: The Magic Bullet
Anthony Davison, Peregon

Predicted Winner: Jackie Farkas, Hunt Angels

BEST SCREENPLAY IN A SHORT FILM (live action and animation)
Louise Fox, A Natural Talent
Matt Rubenstein & Ian Kennedy Williams, Paper and Sand
Lee Whitmore, The Safe House
Kathleen O'Brien, Stranded

Predicted Winner: Kathleen O'Brien, Stranded

BEST SHORT ANIMATION
The Astronomer
Carnivore Reflux
Gargoyle
The Safe House

Predicted Winner: The Safe House
My Vote: Carnivor Reflux

BEST SHORT FILM
The 9:13
The Desert
Small Boxes
Stranded

Predicted Winner: Stranded
My Vote: Stranded

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN SHORT FILM SCREEN CRAFT
Adam Arkapaw (Cinematography), End of Town
JoAnne Bouzianis-Sellick & Greg Sweeney (Production Design), Gargoyle
Skye Wansey (Acting), A Natural Talent
Emma Lung (Acting), Stranded

Predicted Winner: Emma Lung, Stranded
My Vote: Emma Lung, Stranded

TELEVISION

BEST TELEFEATURE OR MINI-SERIES
Answered by Fire
RAN: Remote Area Nurse
The Surgeon
The Silence

Predicted Winner: Answered by Fire
My Vote: Answered by Fire

BEST TELEVISION DRAMA SERIES
All Saints
Blue Heelers
Love My Way
McCleod's Daughters

Predicted Winner: Love My Way
My Vote: Love My Way

BEST LIGHT ENTERTAINMENT TELEVISION SERIES
Enough Rope with Andrew Denton
The Glass House
RocKwiz
Spicks and Specks

Predicted Winner: The Glass House
My Vote: The Glass House

BEST CHILDREN'S TELEVISION DRAMA
Blue Water High
Mortified
The Upside Down Show
Deadly

Predicted Winner: Mortified

BEST TELEVISION COMEDY SERIES
Chaser's War on Everything
Comedy Inc.
Supernova

Predicted Winner: Chaser's War on Everything
My Vote: Chaser's War on Everything

BEST DIRECTION IN TELEVISION
Jessica Hobbs, Answered by Fire
David McDonald, Comedy Inc. (for Ep.7)
Shirley Barrett, Love My Way (for Ep.11)
Pino Amenta, Mortified (for ep.1)

Predicted Winner: Jessica Hobbs, Answered by Fire

BEST LEAD ACTOR IN TELEVISION DRAMA
David Wenham, Answered by Fire
Daniel Wyllie, Love My Way
Charles Passi, RAN: Remote Area Nurse
Richard Roxburgh, The Silence

Predicted Winner: David Wenham, Answered by Fire

BEST LEAD ACTRESS IN TELEVISION DRAMA
Claudia Karvan, Love My Way
Asher Keddie, Love My Way
Susie Porter, RAN: Remote Area Nurse
Justine Clarke, The Surgeon

Predicted Winner: Susie Porter, RAN: Remote Area Nurse (in a big upset)

BEST GUEST OR SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A TELEVISION DRAMA
John Waters, All Saints
Marcus Graham, Blue Heelers
Luke Carrol, RAN: Remote Area Nurse
Aaron Fa'aoso, RAN: Remote Area Nurse

Predicted Winner: John Waters, All Saints

BEST GUEST OR SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION DRAMA
Saskia Burmeister, Blue Heelers
Margaret Harvey, RAN: Remote Area Nurse
Merwez Whaleboat, RAN: Remote Area Nurse
Emily Barclay, The Silence

Predicted Winner: Merwez Whaleboat, RAN: Remote Area Nurse

BEST PERFORMANCE IN TELEVISION COMEDY
Andrew Hansen, Chaser's War on Everything
Paul McCarthy, Comedy Inc.
Genevieve Morris, Comedy Inc.
Kris McQuade, Supernova

Predicted Winner: Andrew Hansen, Chaser's War on Everything

BEST SCREENPLAY IN TELEVISION
Maryanne Carroll, All Saints
Gus Howard & David Clarke, Blue Heelers
John Edwards, Claudia Karvan & Jacqueline Perske, Love My Way
Karl Zwicky & Posie Graeme-Evans, McCleod's Daughters

Predicted Winner: John Edwards, Claudia Karvan & Jacqueline Perske, Love My Way

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN TELEVISION SCREEN CRAFT
Rob Meyer (Cinematography), Comedy Inc.
Ian Jones (Cinematography), RAN: Remote Area Nurse
Tim Millikan, Michael Letho & Stever Witherow (Sound), RocKwiz)
Joseph Pickerine (Cinematography), The Forest

Predicted Winner: Ian Jones, RAN: Remote Area Nurse

MISCELLANEOUS

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS (tv and film)
Barry Lanfranchi, James Maclachlan & Vanessa Magyar, Wicked Science
Rose Draper & Mike Seymour, Hunt Angels
Phil Stuart-Jones, Kokoda
Simon Rippingale, Tim Richter & Nina Gibbs, Unfolding Florence: The Many Lives of Florence Broadhurst

Predicted Winner: Rose Draper & Mike Seymour, Hunt Angels
My Vote: Rose Draper & Mike Seymour, Hunt Angels

YOUNG ACTOR'S AWARD
Marny Kennedy, Mortified
Frank Sweet, 2:37
Christian Byers, Opal Dream
Mia Wasikowska, Suburban Mayhem

Predicted Winner: Marny Kennedy, Mortified
My Vote: Christian Byers, Opal Dream

There's also the internation performance award, given to the best male and female performances by an Australian in a foreign film. Last year Russell Crowe (Cinderella Man) and Emily Browning (Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events). They don't have actual nominations (they sprung this category up on everybody last year). This year I predict they'll give it to Heath Ledger for Brokeback Mountain maybe... Toni Collette for Little Miss Sunshine? Naomi Watts for King Kong? Or somebody crazy like Emilie de Raven for The Hills Have Eyes or Natalie Mendoza for The Descent (if it's elegable).

Oh well, I'll let you know it all went tomorrow night. eep. So excited.

This Week in Australian Cinemas

A whole everything-and-the-kitchen-sink week down here, yet... not alot


The Nativity Story, 2006, dir. Hardwicke
I find it amusing that the director of thirteen and Lords of Dogtown is directing this, but alas... it looks sorta blah. Well, I haven't really seen much advertising for it to be honest. It's got Keisha Castle Hughes who is hilariously pregnant (but due to the ol' fashioned way I'm afraid) as Mary. It also has two actors I quite like in the form of Shohreh Aghdashloo (who won my 2003 Gold Medal for House of Sand and Fog) and up-and-coming actor Alexander Siddig (who was a Best Supporting Actor honourary mention and a Best Breakthrough nominee last year). Maybe on DVD...? Surely it's better than The Passion of the Christ though, right? RIGHT?

A Scanner Darkly, 2006, dir. Linklater
I'm torn over whether to see this one. It seems like one of those movies that I could easily sweep under the radar, but it certainly looks interesting. The animation is... interesting. The cast is... interesting (how many pot heads can they fit in a cast list?). The whole thing just seems interesting. But, interesting enough to plant down $10? I do love the poster's tag line though: “Everything is not going to be ok.”

Manderlay, 2005, dir. Von Trier
So I'm torn. I still really wanna see this and have been waiting for over a year for it... but... it's apparently really really bad. Not even Margaret Pomeranz liked it and even asked for Von Trier to stop his trilogy after this one. And when Pomeranz doesn't like a Von Trier movie then you're in trouble. What to do... what to do...

The Guardian, 2006, dir. Davis
I suppose if we have to put up with this in order for Kevin Costner to make more Upside of Anger-type movies then I suppose I can deal. At least the commercials are pretty.


Hunt Angels, 2006, dir. Morgan
This is one of the best Australian films of the year. I reviewed it over here. It's a docu-drama. It is a documentary in that there are talking heads and such and it uses stills and archival footage, but it's a drama in that actors play roles (Ben Mendlesohn and Victoria Hill are the leads) who recreate scenes (in front of green screens) and it tells a tale with a fictional narrative. It's all very fun to watch with all the actors placed inside actual photographs from the period. It's nominated for a bunch of AFI awards including Best Documentary and won Best Documentary at the FCCAA awards last month.

Open Season, 2006, dir. Allers, Culton & Stacchi
Oh, goodo! You can never get enough of the mix-matched animated talking animal subgenre, can you?! Oh, you can... never mind...

Rampage, 2006, dir. Gittoes
A sort of psuedo-sequel to Gittoes earier documentary Soundtrack to War. In that one Gittoes discovered how music played a part in the war on Iraq. In Rampage he goes into the "ghetto" of Miami and involves himself in the culture of one his Soundtrack subjects. Rap music ensues.

Unaccompanies Minors, 2006, dir. Feig
Wow. Never let me huff and puff about how we don't get enough movies at the same time as America. Because we're getting Paul Feig's (???) Unaccompanies Minors (starring Wilmer Vanderrama!) a whole week before the USA!! Wow! That totally makes up for getting Manderlay 8 months late, Marie Antoinette 3 months and so on and so on... Let it be known that after 17 votes on IMDb it has a rock-solid average score of 1.4/10. WAY TO GO!

Time to Leave [Le Temps qui Reste], 2005, dir. Ozon
Another year, Another Ozon.

Lower City [Cidade Baixa], 2005, dir. Machado
From IMDb: "Lifelong friends Deco and Naldinho, who own a small steaming boat in Bahia, meet strip-dancer Karinna. Both men fall for her and their friendship is deeply shattered." Okay then. So, it's sorta like Y Tu Mama Tambien on a boat.

BOX OFFICE
1. Borat! (1)
2. The Prestige (2)
3. The Santa Clause 3 (2)
4. Jackass Number 2 (3)
5. A Good Year (3)
6. Saw 3 (4)
7. Deck the Halls (1)
8. The Departed (7)
9. The Descent (1)
10. Catch a Fire (1)

What a stale box office. A Good Year, still in the Top 5, only made $312,000. That'd be like the #5 movie at the US box office making $3.12mil. Pathetic. Borat! however tops the charts with huge results in it's first week of release after one week of preview screenings (and considering the turnout last night when I saw it, it'll be #1 again next week too).

Everything else is stale until we get to #7 onwards. Deck the Halls debuts sorta pathetically, but these sort of movies never do that well in Australia (our Christmas is summer so nobody really cares for snow-themed movies). The Descent does alright at #9 and Catch a Fire at least manages a Top 10 spot here, unlike the US, but still quite pathetic results.

Debuting at #12 is Dhoom 2 with more solid results. Bollywood films continue to great in their opening week and then fizzle right away (except for the rare few). The Black Dahlia debuts at #13 with about $160,000. It's average of a little over $3000 beat the averages of the debuters, because it was only on 52 screens.

AFI Complete Nominations.

BEST FILM
Candy
Jindabyne
Kenny
Ten Canoes

I thought Kokoda would get in here and if it were to be beaten by anything I didn't think Candy, but at least it wasn't the other Australian drug movie this year Em4Jay. That was shit. Way to go to these films - three of y'all are definitely worthy

BEST DIRECTION
Ray Lawrence, Jindabyne
Clayton Jacobson, Kenny
Paul Goldman, Suburban Mayhem
Rolf de Heer & Peter Djigirr, Ten Canoes

I didn't have Goldman, instead I thought voters may go all mastabatory wankfest on us and choose Ana Kokkinos (thank god they didn't!), but the other three I picked.

BEST LEAD ACTOR
Heath Ledger, Candy
Gabriel Byrne, Jindabyne
Shane Jacobson, Kenny
Steve Le Marquand, Last Train to Freo

YAY!!! I thought the AFI voters would scrub Byrne off their list and replace him with Tom Long (for The Book of Revelation, which is thankfully absent from every major category except Screenplay) purely because he's internation. I'm so glad I was wrong. I have never been a fan of Byrne (in fact I've vehemently despised him in the past), but he was supurb in Jindabyne. Oh, and yay for Heath Ledger, Jacobson and Le Marquand who I correctly predicted. I would have prefered someone like Peter Mammone (The Caterpillar Wish) instead of Le Marquand, but I can deal with him.

BEST LEAD ACTRESS
Teresa Palmer, 2:37
Abbie Cornish, Candy
Laura Linney, Jindabyne
Emily Barclay, Suburban Mayhem

Whoa, I didn't see them nominating Teresa Palmer!! Good move, voters. She sure was impressive all things about the film considered. I had Victoria Hill from Macbeth in her spot. And the other three I all correctly predicted.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Geoffrey Rush, Candy
Ronald Jacobson, Kenny
Tom Budge, Last Train to Freo
Anthony Hayes, Suburban Mayhem

Well, I correctly guessed Rush and Budge (they were obvious), but the others I didn't. I hadn't seen Mayhem so I didn't know anyone else but Barclay and Ronald Jacobson? Well, I wasn't a big fan of his part (quite small, too)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Noni Hazlehurst, Candy
Susie Porter, The Caterpillar Wish
Deborra-Lee Furness, Jindabyne
Genevieve Lemon, Suburban Mayhem

I only got Porter and Furness (YESSSS!!!!!) correct. I have Porter's Wish co-star (and Aussie legend of sorts) Wendy Hughes and Deborah Mailman in The Book of Revelation (cause she made the last act better than it would have been). I'm glad Hazlehurst is back here after winning this category (deservedly so) last year for Little Fish - KEEP ACTING NONI! And Lemon? Well, I haven't seen the film in questions, so...

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Mulari K Thalluri, 2:37
Shane Jacobson & Clayton Jacobson, Kenny
Alice Bell, Suburban Mayhem
Rolf de Heer, Ten Canoes

4/4. Go me. The directors didn't fancy Thalluri (I suppose we'll never know if the controversy about the lines between fact/fiction played a part in that) but they gave him a screenplay nod for his trouble. The rest? Pretty standard, but good anyway.

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Ana Kokkinos & Andrew Bovell, The Book of Revelation
Luke Davis & Neil Armfield, Candy
Beatrix Christian, Jindabyne
Reg Cribb, Last Train to Freo

4/4 again. Go me. But considering there were only 16 films in contention, the screenplay categories are always much easier to predict cause there's on average 8 films to choose from.

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
David Williamson, Jindabyne
Will Gibson, Macbeth
Robert Humphreys, Suburban Mayhem
Ian Jones, Ten Canoes

3/4 here. I got Jindabyne, Ten Canoes and Macbeth right (they do all deserve to be there) but had Candy instead of Suburban Mayhem, which despite not having seen the film, I did not expect to be so prominent in the technical categories.

BEST EDITING
Dany Cooper, Candy
Clayton Jacobson & Sean Lander, Kenny
Stephen Evans, Suburban Mayhem
Tania Nehme, Ten Canoes

Only got one out of the four here. Ouch. I had 2:37, Jindabyne and Macbeth over the first three. I did get Ten Canoes though. Shame Jindabyne isn't there, I thought the editing there really helped it. I don't understand the nod for Kenny. There wasn't anything special about that.

BEST SOUND
Jindabyne
Macbeth
Suburban Mayhem
Ten Canoes

LOL, only one from four again. And again, it was only Ten Canoes I got right. I had 2:37 (which really should've been nominated), The Book of Revelation and Kokoda. Oh well, can't complain really other than 2:37, it deserves to be there.

BEST ORIGINAL MUSIC SCORE
Cezary Skubiszewski, The Book of Revelation
Paul Kelly & Dan Luscombe, Jindabyne
John Clifford White, Macbeth
Mick Harvey, Suburban Mayhem

Colour me confused. I didn't even think Macbeth had a score. Lol. Oh well. I don't understand the nod for Skubiszewski either.

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Robert Cousins, Candy
David McKay, Macbeth
Nell Hanson, Suburban Mayhem
Beverley Freeman, Ten Canoes

Well, I got 3 here. Ten Canoes, Candy and Macbeth. Thank god Macbeth got in there. That was stunning stuff.

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Anna Borghesi, The Book of Revelation
Phill Eagles, Kokoda
Jane Johnston, Macbeth
Melinda Doring, Suburban Mayhem

3/4 here, I had Candy instead of Suburban Mayhem. Strangely, This was Kokoda's only nomination (well, it got another one outside of the feature section). I was sure it'd get a sound nomination or something because it was pretty good technically (I didn't think the film itself was that great).

That's it folks. Apart from a few categories there where it really is just pick-and-mix (and I happened to pick and mix the wrong ones) I did pretty good, averaging 3/4 for each category. It's sorta disappointing that The Caterpillar Wish and Opal Dream, two movies that really surprised me, didn't do better. But at the same time, I'm happy that movies like Footy Legends and Solo, which I hated, got nothing and The Book of Revelation and Em 4 Jay and Kokoda, which I was blah about, only got a few nominations between them.

Outside of the Feature Film categories, there are more awards though, so here's a few of them.

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS (this category can include feature films, documentaries and television)
Hunt Angels
Kokoda
Unfolding Florence: The Many Lives of Florence Broadhurst
Wicked Science

YOUNG ACTOR AWARD (film and tv)
Frank Sweet, 2:37
Marni Kennedy, Mortified
Christian Byers, Opal Dream
Mia Wasikowska, Suburban Mayhem

BEST TELEFEATURE OR MINISERIES
Answered by Fire
RAN
The Silence
The Surgeon

LOL, The Surgeon was a television show that got axed after, like, 7 episodes. So that makes it a miniseries. Heheh.

BEST LEAD ACTOR IN A TELEVISION DRAMA
David Wenham, Answered by Fire
Dan Wyllie, Love My Way
Charles Passi, RAN
Richard Roxburgh, The Silence

BEST LEAD ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION DRAMA
Claudia Karvan, Love My Way
Asher Keddie, Love My Way
Susie Porter, RAN
Justine Clarke, The Surgeon

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Hung Angels
Raul the Terrible
Vietnam Nurses
Welcome 2 My Deaf World

BEST DIRECTION IN A DOCUMENTARY
Alec Morgan, Hunt Angels
David Bradbury, Raul the Terrible
Gillian Armstrong, Unfolding Florence
Polly Watkins, Vietnam Nurses

(i love how they slotted Gillian Armstrong in there)

BEST SHORT ANIMATION
The Astronomer
Carnivor Reflux
Gargoyle
The Safe House

BEST SHORT FICTION
The 9:13
The Desert
Small Boxes
Stranded

BEST SCREENPLAY IN A SHORT FILM
Louise Fox, A Natural Talent
Matt Rubinstein & Ian Kennedy Williams, Paper and Sand
Lee Whitmore, The Safe House
Kathleen O'Brien, Stranded

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN A SHORT FILM SCREEN CRAFT
Adam Arkapaw (Cinematography), End of Town
JoAnne Bouzianis-Sellick & Greg Sweeney (Production Design), Gargoyle
Skye Wansey (Acting), A Natural Talent
Emma Lung (Acting), Stranded

GO EMMA!!!

THE END