Oscar Ballot - 2020

It may come as some surprise to you, dear reader, that I do not have a real Oscar vote. As of yet, the Academy has not returned my notarized letters. Cowards. This is the internet, however, and there are no rules on the internet so if I want to make a fake Oscar ballot and pretend the Academy is taking my submission, I can. 2019 was an incredible year for movies, one of my favorites ever, and picking just five nominees in each category was extremely difficult. Here’s my ballot.

BEST ACTOR
Adam Driver, Marriage Story (Winner)
Adam Sandler, Uncut Gems
Christian Bale, Ford v Ferrari
Leonardo DiCaprio, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Matt Damon, Ford v Ferrari
FINAL CUTS: Michael B. Jordan (Just Mercy) and Taron Edgerton (Rocketman)
THOUGHTS: I would be happy with any of these actors coming away with the trophy but I think Driver had the performance I'm going to remember most even if I remember the other movies more. 

BEST ACTRESS
Ana De Armas, Knives Out
Awkwafina, The Farewell
Lupita Nyongo, Us
Saorise Ronan, Little Women (Winner)
Scarlett Johansson, Marriage Story
FINAL CUTS: Cynthia Erivo (Harriet) and Renee Zellweger (Judy)
THOUGHTS: Too often, the Best Actress field is comprised of middle-aged legends in movies very few people saw. This year's crop, however, feels fresh and vibrant and the movies represented (not just on my ballot but in consideration at large) are much more culturally visible, which is good! I loved all of these performances, but Ronan is an absolute FORCE. 

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Brad Pitt, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Daniel Craig, Knives Out
Kang-ho Song, Parasite
Timothee Chalamet, Little Women
Tom Hanks, Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (Winner)
FINAL CUTS: Robert Downey Jr. (Avengers Endgame) and Jamie Foxx (Just Mercy)
THOUGHTS: I don't know, y'all. As great as the leading actors were this year, these are some of my very favorite across all categories. I've got Hanks by the thinnest of thin margins over Pitt but I didn't feel good about not rewarding any of them. 

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Florence Pugh, Little Women
Kaitlyn Dever, Booksmart
Laura Dern, Little Women (Winner)
Shuzhen Zhao, The Farewell
Thomasin Mackenzie, Jojo Rabbit
FINAL CUTS: So-dam Park (Parasite) and Scarlett Johansson (Jojo Rabbit)
THOUGHTS: Cutting down to the best five was much more difficult for me than picking the winner, not because any of these women were anything less than great but because Dern was GREAT great. 

BEST DIRECTOR
Bong Joon Ho, Parasite
Greta Gerwig, Little Women
James Mangold, Ford v Ferrari (Winner)
Marielle Heller, Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
Sam Mendes (1917)
FINAL CUTS: Taika Watiti (Jojo Rabbit) and Lulu Wang (The Farewell)
THOUGHTS: This one was an exercise in self-hatred. I loved so many movies this year and found the directorial effort across the board to be extraordinary. There are probably a dozen filmmakers who I'd like to sneak on this list if I were allowed to do ties or tiers. As it is, I'll take Mangold over Gerwig and Ho by, again, the slimmest of margins. 

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
The Irishman
Jojo Rabbit
Just Mercy
Little Women (Winner)
Toy Story 4
FINAL CUTS: A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood and Two Popes
THOUGHTS: A weak year overall in this category still features a couple of great scripts. Greta Gerwig's radical approach to well-worn material gets the nod over Waitit's bold and ambitious work on Jojo. 

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
The Farewell
Knives Out
Marriage Story
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (Winner)
Parasite
FINAL CUTS: Ford v Ferrari and 1917
THOUGHTS: Genuinely, these are some of the best scripts I can ever remember in my time as a fake movie critic. I'm not always pro-Tarantino but he is one of the greatest screenwriters ever and OATIH might be his best script yet. 

BEST PICTURE
1917
Avengers Endgame
Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
The Farewell
Ford v Ferrari (Winner)
Jojo Rabbit
Knives Out
Little Women
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Parasite
FINAL CUTS: Toy Story 4 and Marriage Story
THOUGHTS: I've gone on and on about how great this year was so obviously the Best Picture conversation is a tough one to sort through. There's five, maybe six movies on this list that, if they'd come out in 2018, would be my top choice for the year. Ford v Ferrari is a much better, more ambitious movie than it is being given credit for (or has any need to be) and it is the movie I'm likely to rewatch the most so it gets my vote. But, gosh, Little Women and Parasite also deserve the top spot. I DON'T KNOW. STOP YELLING AT ME.