My Academy Awards nominations & winner prediction for the 2018 Oscars, based on 2017 films

Oscar Noms prediction

By Omofolarin B. Osibodu

fosibodu@gmail.com

Hello people, I wrote this document 1 hour before the Academy Awards nominees were read. If you don't believe me, well as Naija's would say it, "That is your business". lol.

Disclaimer: This piece will be riddled with grammatical errors. Why? Because I want to pour it out of my head so quickly because the Oscar nominees will be announced live on youtube (Oscars channel) in less than 1 hour. Over time, I will make corrections.

I want to show that when you follow your ‘sport’ of choice literally all year long, you can make very accurate and well educated-guesses.

Best Picture

1. Dunkirk - Will probably Win
2. The Shape of Water - I want to Win
3. I, Tonya
4. Molly's Game
5. Planet of the Apes
6. The Post
7. 3 billboards outside ebbing Missouri
8. Battle of the Sexes
9. Get Out
10. Lady Bird
11. Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Best Director (normally only 5 but here are my 8 picks and why
To me, the Best DIrector is the one that made the best picture, however, the Academy, sometimes, likes to split it if it likes 2 best pictures.
1. Guillermo Del Toro - Winner & I want to Win
2. Christopher Nolan - could Win. He is due for his Oscar.
Guillermo too is due for his Oscar, he had been at the top of his craft for 25 years.
They both seriously deserve it the most. So if either wins, I'll be fine with it
3. Matt Reeves - This came out too early in 2017. Peeps have forgotten. However, still wonderful job, don't worry it will take best visual effects.
4. Aaron Sorkin - top writer in both films and especially TV, period. Well, him and David E. Kelly. Aaron writes the dialogue and writes the stage directions for actors to follow, in his script anyway. So, in that sense, he is directing. This time Aaron actually Directed, for real, for the first time, and he did great! Won't win though.
5.The Post - I mean if Spielberg makes a serious film about investigative journalism (like Spotlight), with Streep and Hanks as leads. That's just Oscar bait. The Man has already won like 2 Best Directors. He's a billionaire. He doesn't' need another Oscar. He knows he is still the greatest even as he still makes top marks as a well-aged grandpa. Actually, his work is not the best anymore. The younger ones have overtaken him.

Let's give it to someone else could use the encouragement and exposure, especially one who hasn't won, or one who actually deserves it for doing something very very difficult.

Which brings me to...
6. I, Tonya's Craig Gillespie
and
7. Greta Gerwig, long time actress, first time director, filmed a mother-daughter story about a mother that loves the daughter, but doesn't like her. Ooohhh. That would be tough for both Mom and Daughter...esp daughter.
Also, Can we give Greta the damn Oscar for being as fantastic as Aaron Sorkin as first timers, but Greta, even more so, cos she wasn't known as a writer (she has written though).

8. Get Out,
I mean where to begin. First-time film director. Did horror by avoiding cheap scares and instead, going to somewhere even more substantial: our subconscious. Using that as a metaphor and an allegory for the continued pervasiveness of racial injustice, and racial inequality. Doing all that, while being the highest grossing film of any first time director...ever. Thank you Blumhouse pictures.
Let's give it up for, Black Man and 2nd half of comedy-central's' Key & Peele, Jordan Peele!

I would be sooooo happy, if the stutuette goes to a director of African descent for the first time in Oscar history. I would be very satisfied indeed.


Best Actor
Daniel Kaluuya – Get Out
Daniel Day-Lewis – give him his 3rd, as he flies high into the miraculous pearly gates as he retires from being the greatest actor, ever, from a standpoint of the intensity of creating and literally turning and transforming himself into another character
Andy Serkis – Planet of the Apes just watch it and tell me this long time performance capture artist doesn't deserve this Oscar?
Idris Elba – Molly’s Game. He was in a positon of male lead. But he was secondary to the main story. However, Idris’ style, bravado and handsomeness, will trick us into wanting to give him.
Hugh Jackman – haven’t seen The Greatest Showman yet, but Hugh Jackman has never put out a half-hearted performance.
James Franco – this ‘stoner’ is an extremely hard worker, who has invested time and education (just read the education section of his Wikipedia entry), and efforts into being an artist, and painter and writer, director, etc. He hides behinds that great smile of his, but he is extremely hard working and takes his craft very seriously. That's why he won the Golden Globe. Lets give the Oscar to
Andy Serkis to prove that actors behind performance capture are just as legit as actors wearing makeup.
Let’s give it to Hugh Jackman who has long so deserved it.
Gary Oldman – didn't see the film. But the man deserves the Oscar just purely based on the actor with most range (range to pull of very very different characters), um, ever!!!!
He is the very definition of a character actor


Best Actress
Jessica Chastain
Margot Robbie…Done and Done…
Sally Hawkins ---oh wait…Done and Done and Done. The Oscar is hers. Period;. Why? She plays a mute who emots emotions through her carefully and wonderfully trained ASL hands, and her emotions. My God, I wept.
No body else is a contender. Not even the always ‘properly highly rated’  Meryl Streep.

Merryl Streep
I have said it once, and I will say it again, let’s just create a separate “One Best Actress goes to Merryl Streep” while

"The Other Best Actress goes to...'insert name here'...hahahaha

Okay, fine. Emma Stone – great job but she won't win.

Frances McDormand – great but she won't win.

Oscars like Dramatic acting, not so much comedic acting. They are both difficult, in fact some have said its easier to make

Best Supporting Actor
Richard Jenkins – Shape of Water. This man’s true heart comes through in every performance. He makes me cry for joy and just pure heart.
Michael Stuhlbarg – This guy is always great, by the way. Theatre actors are just simply the best when they transition into film
Michael Shannon – Shape of Water. I mean ‘wow’
Sebastian Stan – I,Tonya. This Winter Soldier is unrecognizable in this role (that's a compliment)

Best Supporting Actress

Original Screenplay
Get Out
I, Tonya


Adapted Screenplay
Molly’s Game – Done.

Animated Feature
Coco – no other contenders. Obviously gonna win. It is Pixar, well now Disney-Pixar.
Despicable Me 3 – personally I preferred. However, I haven’t finished watching Coco.

Orginal Score
Alexandre Desplat – Shape of Water – Winner
Hans Zimmer – Dunkirk – first runner up

Apple's customer service keeps blowing my mind

@Apple @Applestore Anytime I go to an apple store to get something done, the customer service reps do something to go above and beyond to make me happy as a customer.

My first smartphone was an iPhone. I bought it 6 months after it was released in 2007 to take advantage of the $200 drop in price. Back then the earphones would wear out quickly. Whenever I would walk into an Apple retail store to complain about it, they would just take it and swap it out for a new one. Keep in mind that just a few feet away, they were selling that new earpiece for $50 on the shelf.

One time, some liquid dropped onto my black MacBook and my hard drive was destroyed. I took it to the apple store and while diagnosing, the genius said it seems some water poured inside of the keyboard, but, (he quietly whispered), "we'll take care of this for ya, don't worry". He replaced it with a new hard drive, no extra charge...at all.

Yesterday, I had plugged my MacBook Air into a socket that I found out later had a surge, and so the adapter was destroyed. I went over to the apple store, made an appointment in person (cos doing it online at home was gonna be a few days wait). I wondered about the mall for about 2-3 hours (kept busy in the mall). I got text messages letting me know when it was my turn. Came back. When the technician diagnosed it, he confirmed that it was indeed the adapter that was broken. They gave me two choices:
1. Buy the adapter with a 3-month warranty for $60
2. Buy the adapter with a 1-year warranty for $90

I went for the first option because I knew it would be brand new anyway and my previous new adapter had lasted for 4 years.

When he came back with the adapter and his iPad for me to sign, he told me that he did me a favor, NO EXTRA CHARGE!
He gave me the adapter FOR FREE!

I know you've heard that "there is no such thing as a free lunch."

But it seems as though Apple is giving away "free lunches?!"

Apple keeps buying my customer loyalty back each time I go to their store or engage with them on Twitter, via email or on the phone.

They understand that when I am wowed, I would take to social media and share my experience. They get that I'll tell my friends and family about it and convince them to buy a Mac...which I did...about 5 of them.

In fact, on a past job application to Apple, a question was, "Why do you want to work at the Apple Retail Store?
1. I love Apple products and am excited to sell them.
2. I already convert friends and family to Mac. It just makes sense to work for Apple.
3. I am an Apple fan and use them regularly.
4. I spend all of my time on my Mac

(Choose 1)

I couldn't decide between 1, 2, 3 or 4 and I could only select one!!!

Can you say that about any other company?

When Steve Jobs died, I cried. Why? I never met him. He's not a family member. Not even a friend of a friend.

Yet, through his products, I could feel the love, the care, and the obsession to make our lives a little bit better, a little bit more beautiful and a little bit happier through his technology. And that is something we don't always get, even from family or friends.

Thanks, Steve

Folarin

Tayo Oviosu speaking about Paga at Stanford SIEPR