Meg Weichman doesn’t get to vote in the Oscars. But the creative director for the Traverse City Film Fest still has plenty of hot takes on the 88th Academy Awards ceremony on Sunday.
This year, eight films were nominated for Best Picture. Out of those eight, Meg says three really separate themselves from he rest of the group: The Revenant, Spotlight and The Big Short.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoebZZ8K5N0
“I’m afraid it will be The Revenant,” Meg explains. “The movie is basically a bad B-Western plot with art house pretensions.
Leonardo DiCaprio stars in that film as a 19th century frontiersman. It’s a role that Meg says seems to have been made specifically in an attempt to get DiCaprio his first Oscar award.
“I want Leo to win because he deserves it for his body of work,” says Weichman. “But I do think Michael Fassbender in Steve Jobs gave the best performance of the year.”
In the Best Actress race, Meg Weichman sees Brie Larson taking home the golden statue for her performance in Room. She doesn’t think it’s really even close. But, the race for supporting actress is another story.
“I think Rooney Mara (Carol) Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl), and Kate Winslet (Steve Jobs) are all in the running.”
When it comes to animated films, Meg thinks Pixar's Inside Out is a cinch to win.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRUAzGQ3nSY
“It’s a new classic,” she says. “I think this will be a movie important for children for the ages.” Meg says it’s so good, it should have been nominated for best picture as well.
Meanwhile, Classical IPR’s Kate Botello has been running a listener poll on the best score. She says the race is neck and neck, between John Williams’ Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Carter Burwell’s Carol.
You can still vote, by clicking here.
