The Oscar Quest: Me vs. The Academy

This will be the final Oscar Quest article. What more is there to say after this? I’ve written up all the articles, talked about all the categories, and made my opinions known on all of them.

So, what this will be, is an analysis of that. Like the Observations panel on your Science Fair poster board. All the data is in — now it’s time to analyze it. I’m going to go through every category and see this how similar my opinions are with the Academy’s. I’ll see how many times I agreed with them, disagreed with them, could understand their decision, vehemently disagreed, and said, “No… fuck you” — all of that.

Starting with Best Picture.

Best Picture
Year	Winner	My Vote
1927-1928	Outstanding Production: Wings Unique or Artistic Production: Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans	Outstanding Production: Seventh Heaven Unique or Artistic Production: Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans
1928-1929	The Broadway Melody	The Broadway Melody
1929-1930	All Quiet on the Western Front	All Quiet on the Western Front
1930-1931	Cimarron	Skippy
1931-1932	Grand Hotel	Bad Girl
1932-1933	Cavalcade	I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang
1934	It Happened One Night	The Thin Man
1935	Mutiny on the Bounty	Top Hat
1936	The Great Ziegfeld	The Great Ziegfeld
1937	The Life of Emile Zola	A Star Is Born
1938	You Can’t Take It With You	Grand Illusion
1939	Gone With the Wind	Gone With the Wind
1940	Rebecca	The Grapes of Wrath
1941	How Green Was My Valley	Citizen Kane
1942	Mrs. Miniver	The Pride of the Yankees
1943	Casablanca	Casablanca
1944	Going My Way	Double Indemnity
1945	The Lost Weekend	The Lost Weekend
1946	The Best Years of Our Lives	The Best Years of Our Lives
1947	Gentleman’s Agreement	Gentleman’s Agreement
1948	Hamlet	The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
1949	All the King’s Men	Battleground
1950	All About Eve	Sunset Boulevard
1951	An American in Paris	A Streetcar Named Desire
1952	The Greatest Show on Earth	High Noon
1953	From Here to Eternity	Roman Holiday
1954	On the Waterfront	On the Waterfront
1955	Marty	Marty
1956	Around the World in 80 Days	Giant
1957	The Bridge on the River Kwai	The Bridge on the River Kwai
1958	Gigi	The Defiant Ones
1959	Ben-Hur	Anatomy of a Murder
1960	The Apartment	The Apartment
1961	West Side Story	The Hustler
1962	Lawrence of Arabia	To Kill a Mockingbird
1963	Tom Jones	Cleopatra
1964	My Fair Lady	Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
1965	The Sound of Music	Darling
1966	A Man for All Seasons	Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
1967	In the Heat of the Night	Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner
1968	Oliver!	Oliver!
1969	Midnight Cowboy	Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
1970	Patton	Love Story
1971	The French Connection	The French Connection
1972	The Godfather	The Godfather
1973	The Sting	The Sting
1974	The Godfather Part II	The Godfather Part II
1975	One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest	One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
1976	Rocky	Rocky
1977	Annie Hall	Star Wars
1978	The Deer Hunter	The Deer Hunter
1979	Kramer vs. Kramer	Apocalypse Now
1980	Ordinary People	Raging Bull
1981	Chariots of Fire	Raiders of the Lost Ark
1982	Gandhi	The Verdict
1983	Terms of Endearment	The Right Stuff
1984	Amadeus	Amadeus
1985	Out of Africa	The Color Purple
1986	Platoon	Platoon
1987	The Last Emperor	Hope and Glory
1988	Rain Man	Rain Man
1989	Driving Miss Daisy	Field of Dreams
1990	Dances with Wolves	Goodfellas
1991	The Silence of the Lambs	The Silence of the Lambs
1992	Unforgiven	Unforgiven
1993	Schindler’s List	Schindler’s List
1994	Forrest Gump	Pulp Fiction
1995	Braveheart	Apollo 13
1996	The English Patient	Fargo
1997	Titanic	L.A. Confidential
1998	Shakespeare in Love	Saving Private Ryan
1999	American Beauty	American Beauty
2000	Gladiator	Gladiator
2001	A Beautiful Mind	The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
2002	Chicago	The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
2003	The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King	The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
2004	Million Dollar Baby	The Aviator
2005	Crash	Good Night, and Good Luck
2006	The Departed	The Departed
2007	No Country for Old Men	There Will Be Blood
2008	Slumdog Millionaire	Slumdog Millionaire
2009	The Hurt Locker	Inglourious Basterds
2010	The King’s Speech	The Social Network
2011	The Artist	The Artist

Out of 84 Best Pictures, I voted the same as the Academy 33 out of 84 times. (I’m not counting the second 1927-1928 category, since the Academy doesn’t.) That’s only about 39% of the time.

I know that seems like a small amount, but each of those 52 differences has its own set of circumstances. In quite a few of those years, I wholeheartedly agree with the decision, but simply voted for a film I liked better, even though I knew the films that won were going to win (and probably should have won). So I guess the thing to do is to go down the 53 I didn’t vote for and explain the circumstances. That way we can come up with a more accurate number in how well or poorly my opinions coincide with the Academy’s.

I’m also ignoring the ones I voted the same on, since, if we’re in agreement, there’s no problem.

Okay, to keep the length short, I’m just gonna tell you right now that I went through all of the years I voted differently, and to spare you having to read me essentially saying the same thing, here is a list of years where I agree with the winner, despite having voted differently:

1927-1928, 1930-1931, 1931-1932, 1934, 1935, 1949, 1953, 1959, 1962, 1969, 1982, 1987, 1997

So right there, I’m adding 13 to the number I had, which puts us at 46/84.

I can tell you right now that there are certain years I disagree with. I’ll tell you them right now:

• 1932-1933. I don’t mind the decision of Cavalcade, but I think I can lodge a fair complaint against it. I think I can call this a definite disagreement, since I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang is a legitimate alternative.
• 1937. The Life of Emile Zola is a weak choice. Definitely a disagreement. Give me A Star Is Born any day.
• 1938. You Can’t Take It With You is nice and all, but I can definitely call this a disagreement. It’s a weak choice, and Grand Illusion is so much better. I can find at least two alternatives in the year, so I can definitely put an inquiry in for this one.
• 1940. Grapes of Wrath should have won.
• 1941. Citizen Kane should have won.
• 1944. Double Indemnity (probably) should have won. (Even so, the inquiry is legitimate.)
• 1948. Pretty much anything else should have won, specifically Treasure of the Sierra Madre.
• 1951. Streetcar should have won.
• 1952. High Noon should have won. (Or even The Quiet Man.)
• 1958. I think The Defiant Ones should have won, but Gigi is a weak enough choice to where, even if we’re okay with it, a disagreement is valid.
• 1979. Apocalypse Now or All That Jazz. Pick one. They were better choices.
• 1980. Raging Bull. I rest my case.
• 1981. Chariots of Fire — just having won, it’s worth a disagreement.
• 1985. The Color Purple should have won.
• 1990. Goodfellas. Right?
• 1996. Fargo was so much better.
• 1998. Saving Private Ryan probably should have won. I don’t mind the decision that much, but a disagreement is totally valid.
• 2001. Beautiful Mind was a terrible choice. Though in context, it makes sense. (But even in context, that category blows.) A disagreement is valid regardless.
• 2004. The Aviator probably should have won. Either way, disagreement valid.
• 2005. Crash. Just having won, it’s worth the disagreement.

So, right there, there are 20 I’ll never agree with. Though that does leave us with 18 that I’ve deemed questionable. So I’m gonna have to make a ruling on them right now. You don’t fuckin’ hit him.

The questionable years are:

1942: Mrs. Miniver. I understand the decision, and while I would have gone with Pride of the Yankees or maybe even Yankee Doodle Dandy – would they have held up better? Does Mrs. Miniver hold up? You know what? I’m gonna say this is a disagreement. Because I respectfully disagree. It’s not like I’m saying, “Fuck that movie.” I just think it’s a product of the war, and while I can be okay with it having won, I can also disagree as a gentleman.

1950: All About Eve. I respectfully disagree, yet — do I agree with the decision? I think I might. And yet, I also don’t. Part of me feels like it’s not better than Sunset Boulevard. Yet another part of me feels like it’s okay having won. So, I’ll just put it as agree. I disagree, but not as much as I disagree with some of these other questionable ones. So I’ll mark it positive. At least it’s a great film. But a minor quibble.

1956: Around the World in 80 Days. I do really feel like Giant should have won, but I understand it. Still, I disagree, so, yeah, gotta mark it disagree. Should have had it up there to begin with, I guess. I still say Giant holds up just as well if not better.

1963: Tom Jones. Weak choice, but, what do you vote for? But then again, that happened with Crash, so, yeah, this is a disagree on principle. Blame the category, blame whatever you want — I still disagree. (Honestly, give me any of the other choices except Lilies of the Field. And I won’t even mention how 8 1/2 should be there in place of Lilies of the Field.)

1964: My Fair Lady. Yeah, you know what, I want to say I disagree with this, but I don’t. So this is an agree.

1965: The Sound of Music. You know, I understand it, but I think I do respectfully disagree with this one. I don’t necessarily think Zhivago or Darling should have won, but I think I can disagree with it enough to mark it such. I’m still not entirely sold on this film as a Best Picture winner. (A real gray area here. I should really be okay with this, because I know that I am, yet I’m still marking it as a disagree. I’m a complicated man.)

1966: I want to say Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, but I can accept either. So I guess I’ll mark it agree. The way I’m differentiating these is if I cringe when I see what won. Like, Tom Jones, I really cringe, and shake my head like, “Oh, no.” But this, I went, “Yeah, I get it.” So that means I’m okay with it. I understand.

1967: In the Heat of the Night. Yeah, I disagree. Wholeheartedly.

1970: Patton. I think Love Story should have won, but my disagreement here is really just because I liked another film more. Does that mean I make it a disagree? I understand why Patton won and do think it was a fine decision. So I guess that makes it an okay. (I guess this is me balancing out 1965.)

1977: This is tough for me because I know this year in context. Star Wars should have won, but also, the film most people expected to win this year was The Turning Point, which would have been an awful choice. So, against that, I agree with this. Against Star Wars, I disagree, but not vehemently. I just think — yeah, you know what? I know too much context. I have to be okay with this.

1983: Terms of Endearment. This is tough for me. I think I can respectfully disagree in favor of The Right Stuff. I don’t hate the decision, but I feel I can disagree  a fair amount. So let’s disagree.

1989: Driving Miss Daisy. My instinct is to say I disagree on principle, but I also know there wasn’t much of a choice outside it. But yeah, I have to disagree on principle. Just because a film that wasn’t even nominated (Do the Right Thing) should have won.

1994: Forrest Gump. I want to say I’m not okay with this, but honestly, I am. I just had to put it here because it’s just something you have to do. I’m very okay with this.

1995: I think Apollo 13 should have won, but, I’m not that upset with it. But on the other hand, I think a disagreement can be had. So I’ll disagree.

2002: Chicago — I’ll disagree with it. Just because — yeah. Just because. I understand it (especially over The Hours), but I can disagree.

2007: I prefer There Will Be Blood, but I don’t dislike No Country for Old Men. It’s a preference thing. I guess I have to be okay with this. (Though I really feel There Will Be Blood is better. Then again, I’ll probably just be balancing it out in a second, since…)

2009: This is tough for me. I still haven’t made up my mind here. I don’t know whether that means I’m not okay with it or I’m okay with it. So, I’ll mark it not okay, for now, just because — well, I’ll explain in a second.

2010: I’m gonna surprise you here. I think I’m okay with this. I’m teetering on the edge, but I feel like the disagreement I put in 2009 was pushed a bit further toward disagree, which makes me pushing this a bit toward agree evens both out. It’s too soon to truly make up my mind on this one.

That’s 8 agrees and 10 disagrees.

So, my final numbers here are:

Times I’ve Agreed with the Academy on Best Picture: 54

Times I’ve Disagreed with the Academy on Best Picture: 30

That’s pretty good. About 64% of the time.

So I’ve voted with them 38% of the time but agree with them (more or less) 64% of the time. And when you factor in the ones where I’m like, “Ehh, I don’t know…”, I agree with them 55% of the time. So more than half of the time, I’m like, “Yeah, that was a good choice. Nice going,” even though I don’t vote with them all of those times. That’s not bad.

So I wholeheartedly agree with the Academy more than half the time on Best Picture, and agree after some deliberation almost 2/3 of the time. That’s a good ratio to have.

I should do Best Director next, but I’m gonna save that for the end. I’ll do the acting categories now. They’re tough, because there are a lot of factors to take into account there. Specifically — if you remember what I said about the acting categories before I went into this Quest, I said that I was going to take each year as if it happened. That is, when I voted for a year, I wasn’t expecting what I voted for to change what happened. So if I voted against what happened, whatever actually happened was what I used in the future (which is why I voted for certain people three or four times). So my votes are taking into account what actually happened and not what I voted for.

Oh, also, before I put the chart up, just know — in the instances of a tie (which only happened twice), I voted for one of the winners, so that does count as being correct, since you can’t vote for two people and nobody ever expects a tie when they vote.

Best Actor
Year	Winner	My Vote
1927-1928	Emil Jannings, The Last Command & The Way of All Flesh	Emil Jannings, The Last Command & The Way of All Flesh
1928-1929	Warner Baxter, In Old Arizona	Warner Baxter, In Old Arizona
1929-1930	George Arliss, Disraeli	George Arliss, Disraeli
1930-1931	Lionel Barrymore, A Free Soul	Jackie Cooper, Skippy
1931-1932	Wallace Beery, The Champ & Frederic March, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde	Wallace Beery, The Champ
1932-1933	Charles Laughton, The Private Life of Henry VIII	Paul Muni, I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang
1934	Clark Gable, It Happened One Night	William Powell, The Thin Man
1935	Victor McLaglen, The Informer	Victor McLaglen, The Informer
1936	Paul Muni, The Story of Louis Pasteur	William Powell, My Man Godfrey
1937	Spencer Tracy, Captains Courageous	Frederic March, A Star Is Born
1938	Spencer Tracy, Boys Town	Leslie Howard, Pygmalion
1939	Robert Donat, Goodbye, Mr. Chips	James Stewart, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
1940	Jimmy Stewart, The Philadelphia Story	Henry Fonda, The Grapes of Wrath
1941	Gary Cooper, Sergeant York	Orson Welles, Citizen Kane
1942	James Cagney, Yankee Doodle Dandy	James Cagney, Yankee Doodle Dandy
1943	Paul Lukas, Watch on the Rhine	Humphrey Bogart, Casablanca
1944	Bing Crosby, Going My Way	Bing Crosby, Going My Way
1945	Ray Milland, The Lost Weekend	Ray Milland, The Lost Weekend
1946	Frederic March, The Best Years of Our Lives	Frederic March, The Best Years of Our Lives
1947	Ronald Colman, A Double Life	Gregory Peck, Gentleman’s Agreement
1948	Laurence Olivier, Hamlet	Laurence Olivier, Hamlet
1949	Broderick Crawford, All the King’s Men	Broderick Crawford, All the King’s Men
1950	José Ferrer, Cyrano de Bergerac	William Holden, Sunset Boulevard
1951	Humphrey Bogart, The African Queen	Marlon Brando, A Streetcar Named Desire
1952	Gary Cooper, High Noon	Kirk Douglas, The Bad and the Beautiful
1953	William Holden, Stalag 17	Montgomery Clift, From Here to Eternity
1954	Marlon Brando, On the Waterfront	Marlon Brando, On the Waterfront
1955	Ernest Borgnine, Marty	Frank Sinatra, The Man with the Golden Arm
1956	Yul Brynner, The King and I	Rock Hudson, Giant
1957	Alec Guinness, The Bridge on the River Kwai	Alec Guinness, The Bridge on the River Kwai
1958	David Niven, Separate Tables	Paul Newman, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
1959	Charlton Heston, Ben-Hur	Jimmy Stewart, Anatomy of a Murder
1960	Burt Lancaster, Elmer Gantry	Burt Lancaster, Elmer Gantry
1961	Maximilian Schell, Judgment at Nuremberg	Paul Newman, The Hustler
1962	Gregory Peck, To Kill a Mockingbird	Gregory Peck, To Kill a Mockingbird
1963	Sidney Poitier, Lilies of the Field	Richard Harris, This Sporting Life
1964	Rex Harrison, My Fair Lady	Peter Sellers, Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
1965	Lee Marvin, Cat Ballou	Richard Burton, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold
1966	Paul Scofield, A Man for All Seasons	Paul Scofield, A Man for All Seasons
1967	Rod Steiger, In the Heat of the Night	Paul Newman, Cool Hand Luke
1968	Cliff Robertson, Charly	Peter O’Toole, The Lion in Winter
1969	John Wayne, True Grit	John Wayne, True Grit
1970	George C. Scott, Patton	George C. Scott, Patton
1971	Gene Hackman, The French Connection	Gene Hackman, The French Connection
1972	Marlon Brando, The Godfather	Marlon Brando, The Godfather
1973	Jack Lemmon, Save the Tiger	Jack Lemmon, Save the Tiger
1974	Art Carney, Harry and Tonto	Al Pacino, The Godfather Part II
1975	Jack Nicholson, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest	Jack Nicholson, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
1976	Peter Finch, Network	William Holden, Network
1977	Richard Dreyfuss, The Goodbye Girl	Richard Dreyfuss, The Goodbye Girl
1978	Jon Voight, Coming Home	Robert De Niro, The Deer Hunter
1979	Dustin Hoffman, Kramer vs. Kramer	Dustin Hoffman, Kramer vs. Kramer
1980	Robert De Niro, Raging Bull	Robert De Niro, Raging Bull
1981	Henry Fonda, On Golden Pond	Dudley Moore, Arthur
1982	Ben Kingsley, Gandhi	Paul Newman, The Verdict
1983	Robert Duvall, Tender Mercies	Robert Duvall, Tender Mercies
1984	F. Murray Abraham, Amadeus	F. Murray Abraham, Amadeus
1985	William Hurt, Kiss of the Spider Woman	William Hurt, Kiss of the Spider Woman
1986	Paul Newman, The Color of Money	Paul Newman, The Color of Money
1987	Michael Douglas, Wall Street	Michael Douglas, Wall Street
1988	Dustin Hoffman, Rain Man	Dustin Hoffman, Rain Man
1989	Daniel Day-Lewis, My Left Foot	Daniel Day-Lewis, My Left Foot
1990	Jeremy Irons, Reversal of Fortune	Richard Harris, The Field
1991	Anthony Hopkins, The Silence of the Lambs	Anthony Hopkins, The Silence of the Lambs
1992	Al Pacino, Scent of a Woman	Robert Downey Jr., Chaplin
1993	Tom Hanks, Philadelphia	Liam Neeson, Schindler’s List
1994	Tom Hanks, Forrest Gump	Tom Hanks, Forrest Gump
1995	Nicolas Cage, Leaving Las Vegas	Nicolas Cage, Leaving Las Vegas
1996	Geoffrey Rush, Shine	Billy Bob Thornton, Sling Blade
1997	Jack Nicholson, As Good as It Gets	Jack Nicholson, As Good as It Gets
1998	Roberto Benigni, Life is Beautiful	Ian McKellen, Gods and Monsters
1999	Kevin Spacey, American Beauty	Kevin Spacey, American Beauty
2000	Russell Crowe, Gladiator	Russell Crowe, Gladiator
2001	Denzel Washington, Training Day	Denzel Washington, Training Day
2002	Adrien Brody, The Pianist	Nicolas Cage, Adaptation.
2003	Sean Penn, Mystic River	Johnny Depp, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
2004	Jamie Foxx, Ray	Jamie Foxx, Ray
2005	Philip Seymour Hoffman, Capote	David Strathairn, Good Night, and Good Luck
2006	Forest Whitaker, The Last King of Scotland	Leonardo DiCaprio, Blood Diamond
2007	Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood	Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood
2008	Sean Penn, Milk	Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler
2009	Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart	George Clooney, Up in the Air
2010	Colin Firth, The King’s Speech	Colin Firth, The King’s Speech
2011	Jean Dujardin, The Artist	Gary Oldman, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

So of the 84 Best Actors (85 people having won), I voted the way they did 42/84 times, which is a cool 50%. Right there, I can tell this is going to end well.

Now, there’s a lot to take into account here, and I don’t want to get into explaining it all. But, essentially, here are the years where I agree with the eventual decisions, even though I voted differently (since my votes have all sorts of crazy reasoning behind them which will only be explained (maybe) when you read the categories themselves):

1930-1931, 1934, 1937, 1947, 1951, 1953, 1955, 1958, 1959, 1963, 1976, 1978, 1981, 1982, 1992, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2011

That’s 20 more. That means, right off the top, I agree with 62/84 categories. That’s pretty good.

Here are the ones I disagree with:

• 1938. I feel Spencer Tracy in Boys Town is the single worst Best Actor-winning performance of all time.
• 1939. Jimmy Stewart should have won.
• 1940. I couple this with the 1939 one as disagreements because even though I agree with Jimmy Stewart winning, I disagree that it had to happen. He beat Henry Fonda and Charlie Chaplin here. Had 1939 not been wrong, this could have been great.
• 1943. This is a close second behind Spencer Tracy in 1938. It’s so bad. Bogie got shafted here. (Which is why I’m very okay with 1951.)
• 1950. José Ferrer is just a weak winner. Plus, why not give Jimmy Stewart one for a real performance? (Or, why not William Holden?)
• 1961. Paul Newman, The Hustler. I rest my case.
• 1965. Lee Marvin is great, but that performance just shouldn’t have won. Not against Richard Burton. (Or Rod Steiger.)
• 1968. All due respect to Cliff Robertson, but Peter O’Toole never won an Oscar. That’s terrible. This should have been his year.
• 1974. Seriously? Art Carney?
• 1993. Liam Neeson all the way here.
• 1996. Have you seen Sling Blade? (Plus, Rush is totally Supporting.)
• 1998. Roberto Benigni. ‘Nuff said.
• 2002. Adrien Brody. I disagree on principle. Give me Day-Lewis, Cage or Nicholson here and I’m happy.
• 2003. Penn’s performance just wasn’t that good (outside of the Oscar clips scenes). Murray should have won.

So that’s 14 I will always disagree with. Which only leaves 8 categories that are questionable. That’s nice.

Of the questionable ones…

• 1932-1933. I like that Charles Laughton won an Oscar, but feel Paul Muni should have won here. This is really made questionable because…
• 1936. If Paul Muni wins in 1932-1933, maybe William Powell wins here, or Walter Huston, both of whom gave better performances than Muni. And there’s the fact that Muni winning in 1937 would have also made things much easier. So it’s questionable. However, knowing these were the only two wins for both men, I’m inclined to agree with the wins, all things considered. I just wanted to mention the stickiness there.
• 1941. I prefer Orson Welles over Gary Cooper, but to be honest, I’m very okay with this. I just wanted to mention it. I guess just to take up space.
• 1952. Gary Cooper again. I don’t know. High Noon is iconic, but did he need the second one? Especially over Kirk Douglas? I think I can lodge a disagreement here that’s valid. So I will. (Or, if you want to feel better, make it so I disagree with ’41 and agree here. Either way, I’m disagreeing with one of the Cooper wins.)
• 1956. I love Yul Brynner, but I really feel like Rock Hudson should have won. So I think a disagreement is valid.
• 1964. I love Rex Harrison, but was Peter Sellers just better? I don’t know if I’d disagree with this as much as I disagree with the others, but I think this is a healthy, respectful disagreement. Right? (Though I am very okay with Harrison winning. I just feel like I can successfully lodge a complaint here, which will make up for all the times I went along with ones even though I don’t really like the decisions.)
• 1967. This is an agree, but I wanted to explain why. To me, Paul Newman or Sidney Poitier should have won here. Poitier wasn’t nominated (yet had two iconic performances this year. Two!), and he had his Oscar. And Newman got his Oscar (eventually). (Not to mention that Spencer Tracy actually gave the best performance in the category, despite his two wins.) So this is okay, even though I don’t like the choice in-category.
• 1990. Yeah, I guess I’m okay with this. Irons is cool. But Richard Harris never won an Oscar. But I guess it’s not the category’s fault. So I’ll agree.

That puts final tally to:

Times I’ve Agreed with the Academy on Best Actor: 67

Times I’ve Disagreed with the Academy on Best Actor: 17

That’s really strong. That’s just under 80%. If I agree with next year’s Best Actor, that will be 80%. So I voted with them 50% of the time, and agreed with them without question (for the most part) almost 75% of the time. So in all, they know what they’re doing with Best Actor. That’s good to know.

Best Actress
Year	Winner	My Vote
1927-1928	Janet Gaynor, Seventh Heaven & Street Angel & Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans	Janet Gaynor, Seventh Heaven & Street Angel & Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans
1928-1929	Mary Pickford, Coquette	Mary Pickford, Coquette
1929-1930	Norma Shearer, The Divorcée	Norma Shearer, The Divorcée
1930-1931	Marie Dressler, Min and Bill	Irene Dunne, Cimmaron
1931-1932	Helen Hayes, The Sin of Madelon Claudet	Helen Hayes, The Sin of Madelon Claudet
1932-1933	Katharine Hepburn, Morning Glory	Katharine Hepburn, Morning Glory
1934	Claudette Colbert, It Happened One Night	Claudette Colbert, It Happened One Night
1935	Bette Davis, Dangerous	Katharine Hepburn, Alice Adams
1936	Luise Rainer, The Great Ziegfeld	Carole Lombard, My Man Godfrey
1937	Luise Rainer, The Good Earth	Irene Dunne, The Awful Truth
1938	Bette Davis, Jezebel	Wendy Hiller, Pygmalion
1939	Vivien Leigh, Gone With the Wind	Vivien Leigh, Gone With the Wind
1940	Ginger Rogers, Kitty Foyle	Ginger Rogers, Kitty Foyle
1941	Joan Fontaine, Suspicion	Greer Garson, Blossoms in the Dust
1942	Greer Garson, Mrs. Miniver	Teresa Wright, The Pride of the Yankees
1943	Jennifer Jones, The Song of Bernadette	Jean Arthur, The More the Merrier
1944	Ingrid Bergman, Gaslight	Barbara Stanwyck, Double Indemnity
1945	Joan Crawford, Mildred Pierce	Joan Crawford, Mildred Pierce
1946	Olivia de Havilland, To Each His Own	Olivia de Havilland, To Each His Own
1947	Loretta Young, The Farmer’s Daughter	Rosalind Russell, Mourning Becomes Electra
1948	Jane Wyman, Johnny Belinda	Jane Wyman, Johnny Belinda
1949	Olivia de Havilland, The Heiress	Olivia de Havilland, The Heiress
1950	Judy Holliday, Born Yesterday	Gloria Swanson, Sunset Boulevard
1951	Vivien Leigh, A Streetcar Named Desire	Vivien Leigh, A Streetcar Named Desire
1952	Shirley Booth, Come Back, Little Sheba	Julie Harris, The Member of the Wedding
1953	Audrey Hepburn, Roman Holiday	Audrey Hepburn, Roman Holiday
1954	Grace Kelly, The Country Girl	Grace Kelly, The Country Girl
1955	Anna Magnani, The Rose Tattoo	Susan Hayward, I’ll Cry Tomorrow
1956	Ingrid Bergman, Anastasia	Carroll Baker, Baby Doll
1957	Joanne Woodward, The Three Faces of Eve	Joanne Woodward, The Three Faces of Eve
1958	Susan Hayward, I Want to Live!	Susan Hayward, I Want to Live!
1959	Simone Signoret, Room at the Top	Audrey Hepburn, The Nun’s Story
1960	Elizabeth Taylor, BUtterfield 8	Shirley MacLaine, The Apartment
1961	Sophia Loren, Two Women	Natalie Wood, Splendor in the Grass
1962	Anne Bancroft, The Miracle Worker	Anne Bancroft, The Miracle Worker
1963	Patricia Neal, Hud	Leslie Caron, The L-Shaped Room
1964	Julia Andrews, Mary Poppins	Julia Andrews, Mary Poppins
1965	Julie Christie, Darling	Julie Christie, Darling
1966	Elizabeth Taylor, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?	Elizabeth Taylor, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
1967	Katharine Hepburn, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner	Faye Dunaway, Bonnie and Clyde
1968	Katharine Hepburn, The Lion in Winter & Barbra Streisand, Funny Girl	Barbra Streisand, Funny Girl
1969	Maggie Smith, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie	Genevieve Bujold, Anne of the Thousand Days
1970	Glenda Jackson, Women in Love	Ali MacGraw, Love Story
1971	Jane Fonda, Klute	Jane Fonda, Klute
1972	Liza Minnelli, Cabaret	Liza Minnelli, Cabaret
1973	Glenda Jackson, A Touch of Class	Ellen Burstyn, The Exorcist
1974	Ellen Burstyn, Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore	Gena Rowlands, A Woman Under the Influence
1975	Louise Fletcher, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest	Louise Fletcher, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
1976	Faye Dunaway, Network	Talia Shire, Rocky
1977	Diane Keaton, Annie Hall	Diane Keaton, Annie Hall
1978	Jane Fonda, Coming Home	Jill Clayburgh, An Unmarried Woman
1979	Sally Field, Norma Rae	Sally Field, Norma Rae
1980	Sissy Spacek, Coal Miner’s Daughter	Sissy Spacek, Coal Miner’s Daughter
1981	Katharine Hepburn, On Golden Pond	Marsha Mason, Only When I Laugh
1982	Meryl Streep, Sophie’s Choice	Meryl Streep, Sophie’s Choice
1983	Shirley MacLaine, Terms of Endearment	Shirley MacLaine, Terms of Endearment
1984	Sally Field, Places in the Heart	Sally Field, Places in the Heart
1985	Geraldine Page, Out of Africa	Whoopi Goldberg, The Color Purple
1986	Marlee Matlin, Children of a Lesser God	Marlee Matlin, Children of a Lesser God
1987	Cher, Moonstruck	Holly Hunter, Broadcast News
1988	Jodie Foster, The Accused	Jodie Foster, The Accused
1989	Jessica Tandy, Driving Miss Daisy	Jessica Tandy, Driving Miss Daisy
1990	Kathy Bates, Misery	Kathy Bates, Misery
1991	Jodie Foster, The Silence of the Lambs	Jodie Foster, The Silence of the Lambs
1992	Emma Thompson, Howards End	Mary McDonnell, Passion Fish
1993	Holly Hunter, The Piano	Holly Hunter, The Piano
1994	Jessica Lange, Blue Sky	Jodie Foster, Nell
1995	Susan Sarandon, Dead Man Walking	Elisabeth Shue, Leaving Las Vegas
1996	Frances McDormand, Fargo	Emily Watson, Breaking the Waves
1997	Helen Hunt, As Good as It Gets	Helen Hunt, As Good as It Gets
1998	Gwyneth Paltrow, Shakespeare in Love	Gwyneth Paltrow, Shakespeare in Love
1999	Hilary Swank, Boys Don’t Cry	Annette Bening, American Beauty
2000	Julia Roberts, Erin Brockovich	Ellen Burstyn, Requiem for a Dream
2001	Halle Berry, Monster’s Ball	Judi Dench, Iris
2002	Nicole Kidman, The Hours	Julianne Moore, Far from Heaven
2003	Charlize Theron, Monster	Charlize Theron, Monster
2004	Hilary Swank, Million Dollar Baby	Kate Winslet, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
2005	Reese Witherspoon, Walk the Line	Felicity Huffman, Transamerica
2006	Helen Mirren, The Queen	Kate Winslet, Little Children
2007	Marion Cotillard, La Vie en Rose	Marion Cotillard, La Vie en Rose
2008	Kate Winslet, The Reader	Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married
2009	Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side	Carey Mulligan, An Education
2010	Natalie Portman, Black Swan	Natalie Portman, Black Swan
2011	Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady	Rooney Mara, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Before I even start counting, I’m gonna wager a guess that I do not agree with the Academy most of the time here. Let’s count…

Wow. That was a lot closer than I expected. I picked as the Academy did 42/84 times. A cool 50%. Again. And I know me. A lot of times I went opposite just because people already had Oscars. So I’m figuring, once I factor in the ones I’m 100% okay with, it’ll be significantly higher. Was not expecting that.

The years I’m okay with, even though I didn’t vote exactly as they did (for whatever reason) are:

1930-1931, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1967, 1969, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1981, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2001, 2004, 2006, 2008

That’s 18, and puts me at 60/84 that I’m either in agreement with or totally okay with (even if I disagree with the winner, I’m very okay with the result).

Now, here are the ones I’m completely in disagreement with:

• 1947. Rosalind Russell should have won. That’s been established.
• 1950. Not vehemently, but it’s one I do disagree with, historically. Any one of three other performances could have won, and at least one of those three is iconic. I understand (sort of), but I disagree.
• 1952. I was gonna put this as a questionable one, but, while I understand it and can see the decision, I simply disagree. And even though I am sort of okay with it, I still disagree. It keeps nagging at me. So I’m putting it as a disagree.
• 1955. Don’t like it. Hayward should have won and then in ’58 someone who hadn’t won one (everyone else, at that point) could have won.
• 1956. Hate this decision. Nothing against Bergman, but, she shouldn’t have won.
• 1959. Don’t like the performance. The decision doesn’t disrupt much of anything, but — don’t like it.
• 1960. I disagree, but I’m very okay with it. But I have to put it at a disagree. I just do.
• 1970. I consider this the single worst Academy decision of all time. It explains itself.
• 1978. I understand this, but I still disagree. I think Clayburgh was better.
• 1985. Awful, awful snubbing of Whoopi.
• 1987. Don’t like it. Give me Holly Hunter over Cher any day.
• 1999. Annette Bening all the way here. Come on, now.
• 2002. Not Julianne Moore? Really?
• 2005. Felicity Huffman played a man! I love Walk the Line, but, no.
• 2009. Don’t even get me started on this one.

That’s 15, and leaves us with 9 questionables. Most of which are okay, I think. I just want to explain them.

• 1935 and 1938. Both Bette Davis wins. I don’t like either of them, to be honest, but she deserved an Oscar (at least). So I’m marking one okay and one not okay. You decide which.
• 1936 and 1937. Both of Luise Rainer’s wins. I’m not really okay with either. But when you look at them, she could have gotten one and it would be okay. So I’ll also mark these one okay and one not okay.
• 1944. Totally okay, I just wanted to mention that I don’t like that it deprived Barbara Stanwyck of an Oscar and that while Bergman deserved this, had she been nominated for the right film in 1943, this might not have happened.
• 1961. This is tough for me. I love Sophia Loren, but I also feel like Natalie Wood earned it this year (between the nominated performance and West Side Story). So I’m gonna mark this a disagree.
• 1963. Meh. I’ll accept it. Don’t like it, but it’s Patricia Neal, and it didn’t disrupt anything. So, sure, okay. (This balances out that 1964 Best Actor disagree even though I agreed, since I’m much more leaning toward disagree on this one.)
• 2000. Yeah, it’s okay, it’s just weak. But Burstyn had one. So, we’ll be okay with Julia. (I can’t believe I just said that.)
• 2011. It’s too soon to call, but — it’s Meryl. It has to be okay. Plus I know my vote had no shot anyway.

So that puts me at a total of:

Times I’ve Agreed with the Academy on Best Actress: 66

Times I’ve Disagreed with the Academy on Best Actor: 18

That’s about 79%. One less than Best Actor. That’s not bad, actually. I do disagree with this more than Best Actor (especially since many of the ones I’m okay with and didn’t vote for — I don’t like as decisions. I just accept them as being okay), but, on the whole (greater than 50%), they’re in line with me. So, that’s not as bad as I was expecting, actually. (Though I do only vote with them half the time. Though I guess that’s what Best Actor was too. So that’s pretty healthy.)

Best Supporting Actor
Year	Winner	My Vote
1936	Walter Brennan, Come and Get It	Walter Brennan, Come and Get It
1937	Joseph Schildkraut, The Life of Emile Zola	Ralph Bellamy, The Awful Truth
1938	Walter Brennan, Kentucky	Basil Rathbone, If I Were King
1939	Thomas Mitchell, Stagecoach	Thomas Mitchell, Stagecoach
1940	Walter Brennan, The Westerner	Walter Brennan, The Westerner
1941	Donald Crisp, How Green Was My Valley	Sydney Greenstreet, The Maltese Falcon
1942	Van Heflin, Mrs. Miniver	Frank Morgan, Tortilla Flat
1943	Charles Coburn, The More the Merrier	Claude Rains, Casablanca
1944	Barry Fitzgerald, Going My Way	Barry Fitzgerald, Going My Way
1945	James Dunn, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn	James Dunn, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
1946	Harold Russell, The Best Years of Our Lives	Claude Rains, Notorious
1947	Edmund Gwenn, Miracle on 34th Street	Richard Widmark, Kiss of Death
1948	Walter Huston, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre	Walter Huston, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
1949	Dean Jagger, Twelve O’Clock High	Ralph Richardson, The Heiress
1950	George Sanders, All About Eve	George Sanders, All About Eve
1951	Karl Malden, A Streetcar Named Desire	Karl Malden, A Streetcar Named Desire
1952	Anthony Quinn, Viva Zapata!	Victor McLaglen, The Quiet Man
1953	Frank Sinatra, From Here to Eternity	Robert Strauss, Stalag 17
1954	Edmond O’Brien, The Barefoot Contessa	Rod Steiger, On the Waterfront
1955	Jack Lemmon, Mister Roberts	Jack Lemmon, Mister Roberts
1956	Anthony Quinn, Lust for Life	Robert Stack, Written on the Wind
1957	Red Buttons, Sayonara	Sessue Hayakawa, The Bridge on the River Kwai
1958	Burl Ives, The Big Country	Burl Ives, The Big Country
1959	Hugh Griffith, Ben-Hur	Arthur O’Connell, Anatomy of a Murder
1960	Peter Ustinov, Spartacus	Peter Ustinov, Spartacus
1961	George Chakiris, West Side Story	Jackie Gleason, The Hustler
1962	Ed Begley, Sweet Bird of Youth	Omar Sharif, Lawrence of Arabia
1963	Melvyn Douglas, Hud	Melvyn Douglas, Hud
1964	Peter Ustinov, Topkapi	Peter Ustinov, Topkapi
1965	Martin Balsam, A Thousand Clowns	Martin Balsam, A Thousand Clowns
1966	Walter Matthau, The Fortune Cookie	Walter Matthau, The Fortune Cookie
1967	George Kennedy, Cool Hand Luke	George Kennedy, Cool Hand Luke
1968	Jack Albertson, The Subject Was Roses	Gene Wilder, The Producers
1969	Gig Young, They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?	Gig Young, They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?
1970	John Mills, Ryan’s Daughter	Chief Dan George, Little Big Man
1971	Ben Johnson, The Last Picture Show	Roy Scheider, The French Connection
1972	Joel Grey, Cabaret	James Caan, The Godfather
1973	John Houseman, The Paper Chase	Jason Miller, The Exorcist
1974	Robert De Niro, The Godfather Part II	Robert De Niro, The Godfather Part II
1975	George Burns, The Sunshine Boys	George Burns, The Sunshine Boys
1976	Jason Robards, All the President’s Men	Jason Robards, All the President’s Men
1977	Jason Robards, Julia	Jason Robards, Julia
1978	Christopher Walken, The Deer Hunter	Christopher Walken, The Deer Hunter
1979	Melvyn Douglas, Being There	Robert Duvall, Apocalypse Now
1980	Timothy Hutton, Ordinary People	Timothy Hutton, Ordinary People
1981	John Gielgud, Arthur	John Gielgud, Arthur
1982	Lou Gossett Jr., An Officer and a Gentleman	James Mason, The Verdict
1983	Jack Nicholson, Terms of Endearment	Sam Shepard, The Right Stuff
1984	Haing S. Ngor, The Killing Fields	Adolph Caesar, A Soldier’s Story
1985	Don Ameche, Cocoon	Eric Roberts, Runaway Train
1986	Michael Caine, Hannah and Her Sisters	Tom Berenger, Platoon
1987	Sean Connery, The Untouchables	Sean Connery, The Untouchables
1988	Kevin Kline, A Fish Called Wanda	Kevin Kline, A Fish Called Wanda
1989	Denzel Washington, Glory	Danny Aiello, Do the Right Thing
1990	Joe Pesci, Goodfellas	Joe Pesci, Goodfellas
1991	Jack Palance, City Slickers	Michael Lerner, Barton Fink
1992	Gene Hackman, Unforgiven	Gene Hackman, Unforgiven
1993	Tommy Lee Jones, The Fugitive	Ralph Fiennes, Schindler’s List
1994	Martin Landau, Ed Wood	Samuel L. Jackson, Pulp Fiction
1995	Kevin Spacey, The Usual Suspects	Kevin Spacey, The Usual Suspects
1996	Cuba Gooding Jr., Jerry Maguire	William H. Macy, Fargo
1997	Robin Williams, Good Will Hunting	Robert Forster, Jackie Brown
1998	James Coburn, Affliction	Billy Bob Thornton, A Simple Plan
1999	Michael Caine, The Cider House Rules	Tom Cruise, Magnolia
2000	Benicio del Toro, Traffic	Willem Dafoe, Shadow of the Vampire
2001	Jim Broadbent, Iris	Ben Kingsley, Sexy Beast
2002	Chris Cooper, Adaptation.	Chris Cooper, Adaptation.
2003	Tim Robbins, Mystic River	Alec Baldwin, The Cooler
2004	Morgan Freeman, Million Dollar Baby	Clive Owen, Closer
2005	George Clooney, Syriana	William Hurt, A History of Violence
2006	Alan Arkin, Little Miss Sunshine	Mark Wahlberg, The Departed
2007	Javier Bardem, No Country for Old Men	Javier Bardem, No Country for Old Men
2008	Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight	Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
2009	Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds	Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds
2010	Christian Bale, The Fighter	Christian Bale, The Fighter
2011	Christopher Plummer, Beginners	Max von Sydow, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

There have only been 76 of these handed out. Very curious to see how these supporting ones turn out.

Of 76 Best Supporting Actor Oscars, I’ve voted the same as the Academy 34 times. That’s about 45%. That sounds about right.

The ones I agree with, despite having not voted for the winner, are:

1937, 1943, 1947, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1961, 1968, 1982, 1985, 1991, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2011

That’s a healthy amount. That brings me to 52/84. There are gonna be a lot of deliberated ones.

The ones I disagree with without any hesitation are:

• 1946. I understand he was a veteran and the film swept, but I just don’t like the decision. Give Claude Rains a damn Oscar already!
• 1949. Ralph Richardson should have won, hands down.
• 1957. Sessue Hayakawa and Arthur Kennedy were better choices.
• 1959. The film swept, but I disagree. He’s barely in the film. Give me Arthur O’Connell any day here.
• 1962. Omar Sharif. I rest my case.
• 1970. Just because he didn’t do anything, the film was boring, and Chief Dan George. (Or John Marley, if you want a “performance.”)
• 1971. I understand it and can accept it, but I still disagree. Give me Roy Scheider any day. Neither performance seems worth the award, but at least Roy Scheider has All That Jazz.
• 1972. I understand it, but again — Jimmy Caan or Al Pacino all day and Sunday.
• 1979. Worst of all time in the category.

Only 9. See? Fair amount of questionables left.

• 1938. Walter Brennan is great, but Basil Rathbone was incredible. Plus Brennan got two others. So you know what? I’m gonna mark this not okay. (Wow, that feels good.)
• 1941. I prefer Sydney Greenstreet, but honestly, this is okay. I just wanted to mention how awesome Sydney Greenstreet is.
• 1942. I disagree because of everything. The decision is fine because the category sucked. But honestly, I still disagree.
• 1956. It’s fine. I just don’t think the performance should have won. But it didn’t disturb that much. So I’m okay with it.
• 1973. I’m okay with it, but — yeah, I guess I’m okay with it.
• 1983. I’m actually not okay with this. Even though it is Nicholson. I think Sam Shepard deserved this. And I delayed saying it as long as possible, but that’s how I feel.
• 1984. I disagree. Adolph Caesar deserved this. I understand everything for Ngor, but I still say Caesar.
• 1986. Not okay. Berenger was so much better. (And Dennis Hopper as well, but being nominated for the wrong performance hurt.)
• 1989. Tough to call. I’m gonna say okay, because even though I felt Danny Aiello deserved it more for the performance, they really fucked over Denzel (even though they had to) for Malcolm X. So two Oscars — I can live with that.
• 1993. Yeah, this is tough. Tommy Lee Jones deserves an Oscar, but that performance was not good enough to win. Real tough. I guess — yes. Yeah, you know what? I’m actually very okay with this. I hate that I am, but I am. (At least I talked about it here. I had the same deliberation with 1996 and basically ended on the same note.)
• 1998. The fact that it’s James Coburn makes me okay with it, but the fact that Billy Bob got fucked over for Sling Blade and this makes me not okay with it. But, it is James Coburn, so… okay.
• 1999. Sorry Michael Caine. I love that he has two Oscars, but I’m actually not okay with either — actually, know what? I am okay with this one. Because Cruise — yeah, I’ll give this one to Caine. Cruise still has time to win one or not win one. I’ll take Caine. This is okay. (Hate that performance, though, as a winner.)
• 2001. This is not okay by me because Ben Kingsley was so fucking good. The fact that Broadbent was also great makes me think about it, but I still disagree.
• 2003. Yeah, I guess I’m okay with it. The category sucked, and it’s Tim Robbins. It’s just — yeah, I’m ultimately okay with this.

All right, so, final count:

Times I’ve Agreed with the Academy on Best Supporting Actor: 60

Times I’ve Disagreed with the Academy on Best Supporting Actor: 16

That’s about 79%. Damn. Though, again, I only vote with them about 45% of the time, and probably only really agree with them about 2/3 of the time. Still, that’s not bad.

Best Supporting Actress
Year	Winner	My Vote
1936	Gale Sondergaard, Anthony Adverse	Alice Brady, My Man Godfrey
1937	Alice Brady, In Old Chicago	Andrea Leeds, Stage Door
1938	Fay Bainter, Jezebel	Beulah Bondi, Of Human Hearts
1939	Hattie McDaniel, Gone With the Wind	Hattie McDaniel, Gone With the Wind
1940	Jane Darwell, The Grapes of Wrath	Judith Anderson, Rebecca
1941	Mary Astor, The Great Lie	Mary Astor, The Great Lie
1942	Teresa Wright, Mrs. Miniver	Agnes Moorehead, The Magnificent Ambersons
1943	Katina Paxinou, For Whom the Bell Tolls	Paulette Goddard, So Proudly We Hail!
1944	Ethel Barrymore, None But the Lonely Heart	Agnes Moorehead, Mrs. Parkington
1945	Anne Revere, National Velvet	Anne Revere, National Velvet
1946	Anne Baxter, The Razor’s Edge	Anne Baxter, The Razor’s Edge
1947	Celeste Holm, Gentleman’s Agreement	Celeste Holm, Gentleman’s Agreement
1948	Claire Trevor, Key Largo	Agnes Moorehead, Johnny Belinda
1949	Mercedes McCambridge, All the King’s Men	Mercedes McCambridge, All the King’s Men
1950	Josephine Hull, Harvey	Josephine Hull, Harvey
1951	Kim Hunter, A Streetcar Named Desire	Kim Hunter, A Streetcar Named Desire
1952	Gloria Grahame, The Bad and the Beautiful	Jean Hagan, Singin’ in the Rain
1953	Donna Reed, From Here to Eternity	Donna Reed, From Here to Eternity
1954	Eva Marie Saint, On the Waterfront	Eva Marie Saint, On the Waterfront
1955	Jo Van Fleet, East of Eden	Betsy Blair, Marty
1956	Dorothy Malone, Written on the Wind	Dorothy Malone, Written on the Wind
1957	Miyoshi Umeki, Sayonara	Hope Lange, Peyton Place
1958	Wendy Hiller, Separate Tables	Wendy Hiller, Separate Tables
1959	Shelley Winters, The Diary of Anne Frank	Susan Kohner, Imitation of Life
1960	Shirley Jones, Elmer Gantry	Janet Leigh, Psycho
1961	Rita Moreno, West Side Story	Judy Garland, Judgment at Nuremberg
1962	Patty Duke, The Miracle Worker	Mary Badham, To Kill a Mockingbird
1963	Margaret Rutherford, The V.I.P.s	Margaret Rutherford, The V.I.P.s
1964	Lila Kedrova, Zorba the Greek	Agnes Moorehead, Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte
1965	Shelley Winters, A Patch of Blue	Shelley Winters, A Patch of Blue
1966	Sandy Dennis, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?	Sandy Dennis, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
1967	Estelle Parsons, Bonnie and Clyde	Estelle Parsons, Bonnie and Clyde
1968	Ruth Gordon, Rosemary’s Baby	Sondra Locke, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter
1969	Goldie Hawn, Cactus Flower	Goldie Hawn, Cactus Flower
1970	Helen Hayes, Airport	Helen Hayes, Airport
1971	Cloris Leachman, The Last Picture Show	Ann-Margret, Carnal Knowledge
1972	Eileen Heckart, Butterflies are Free	Jeannie Berlin, The Heartbreak Kid
1973	Tatum O’Neal, Paper Moon	Tatum O’Neal, Paper Moon
1974	Ingrid Bergman, Murder on the Orient Express	Talia Shire, The Godfather Part II
1975	Lee Grant, Shampoo	Lee Grant, Shampoo
1976	Beatrice Straight, Network	Jodie Foster, Taxi Driver
1977	Vanessa Redgrave, Julia	Quinn Cummings, The Goodbye Girl
1978	Maggie Smith, California Suite	Maggie Smith, California Suite
1979	Meryl Streep, Kramer vs. Kramer	Meryl Streep, Kramer vs. Kramer
1980	Mary Steenburgen, Melvin and Howard	Cathy Moriarty, Raging Bull
1981	Maureen Stapleton, Reds	Jane Fonda, On Golden Pond
1982	Jessica Lange, Tootsie	Glenn Close, The World According to Garp
1983	Linda Hunt, The Year of Living Dangerously	Linda Hunt, The Year of Living Dangerously
1984	Peggy Ashcroft, A Passage to India	Glenn Close, The Natural
1985	Anjelica Huston, Prizzi’s Honor	Meg Tilly, Agnes of God
1986	Dianne Wiest, Hannah and Her Sisters	Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, The Color of Money
1987	Olympia Dukakis, Moonstruck	Anne Ramsey, Throw Momma from the Train
1988	Geena Davis, The Accidental Tourist	Michelle Pfeiffer, Dangerous Liaisons
1989	Brenda Fricker, My Left Foot	Brenda Fricker, My Left Foot
1990	Whoopi Goldberg, Ghost	Lorraine Bracco, Goodfellas
1991	Mercedes Ruehl, The Fisher King	Mercedes Ruehl, The Fisher King
1992	Marisa Tomei, My Cousin Vinny	Marisa Tomei, My Cousin Vinny
1993	Anna Paquin, The Piano	Winona Ryder, The Age of Innocence
1994	Dianne Wiest, Bullets Over Broadway	Jennifer Tilly, Bullets Over Broadway
1995	Mira Sorvino, Mighty Aphrodite	Mira Sorvino, Mighty Aphrodite
1996	Juliette Binoche, The English Patient	Juliette Binoche, The English Patient
1997	Kim Basinger, L.A. Confidential	Joan Cusack, In & Out
1998	Judi Dench, Shakespeare in Love	Judi Dench, Shakespeare in Love
1999	Angelina Jolie, Girl, Interrupted	Samantha Morton, Sweet and Lowdown
2000	Marcia Gay Harden, Pollock	Kate Hudson, Almost Famous
2001	Jennifer Connelly, A Beautiful Mind	Jennifer Connelly, A Beautiful Mind
2002	Catherine Zeta-Jones, Chicago	Catherine Zeta-Jones, Chicago
2003	Renée Zellweger, Cold Mountain	Shohreh Aghdashloo, House of Sand and Fog
2004	Cate Blanchett, The Aviator	Cate Blanchett, The Aviator
2005	Rachel Weisz, The Constant Gardener	Amy Adams, Junebug
2006	Jennifer Hudson, Dreamgirls	Adriana Barraza, Babel
2007	Tilda Swinton, Michael Clayton	Saorise Ronan, Atonement
2008	Penélope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona	Amy Adams, Doubt
2009	Mo’Nique, Precious	Mo’Nique, Precious
2010	Melissa Leo, The Fighter	Melissa Leo, The Fighter
2011	Octavia Spencer, The Help	Jessica Chastain, The Help

I had a feeling from the start this would be the category I agreed with them least in. Let’s see if that prediction holds true…

I’ve voted the same as them 34 times. Wow. Same as Best Supporting Actor. Was not expecting that.

And then, of the remaining 52 categories, the ones I’m okay with (and just voted differently for whatever reason) are:

1937, 1938, 1940, 1942, 1948, 1952, 1955, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1976, 1977, 1984, 1987, 1999, 2005, 2008, 2011

22. Shit. That puts us at 56. This is not going as I expected it to at all.

The ones I’m steadfastly opposed to are:

• 1936. Why not Alice Brady is beyond me. I’m mostly indifferent, but I still disagree.
• 1944. She did nothing in the film. And beat Agnes Moorehead, character actress extraordinaire. I don’t care if she’s a Barrymore, she did nothing.
• 1957. Worst Best Supporting Actress winning performance of all time.
• 1974. Veteran Oscar. I disagree.
• 1993. Terrible decision.
• 2000. I really feel like Kate Hudson deserved this. (I can’t believe I spoke those words.)
• 2006. The category was terrible, I didn’t like the performance, she’s not an actor — I just disagree.

Only 6. Uh oh. So how many are left? 14. They are:

• 1943. Bad category. So I’m okay with it. It’s irrelevant.
• 1964. I think I disagree. Agnes Moorehead should have gotten it.
• 1980. Yeah, it’s fine. I’ll let it go.
• 1982. I wanna say I disagree. I know she was up twice that year, but — Glenn Close was too good not to win.
• 1985. I kind of want to disagree, and I think I can. I don’t hate it, but I disagree.
• 1986. Meh, it’s irrelevant. I’m cool with this.
• 1988. I guess I’m okay with it. It doesn’t really matter that much.
• 1990. They owed her one, so it’s okay. But I don’t love it.
• 1994. I guess it’s also okay. I disagree, but — actually, yeah, I’ll disagree.
• 1997. It’s fine. Not strong, performance-wise, but it’s fine.
• 2003. Yeah, it’s fine. I just look at it and go, “No way.” But in context, it’s all right.
• 2007. I disagree. The category is such that I can disagree and it’s okay. So I will.

So that’s…

Times I’ve Agreed with the Academy on Best Supporting Actress: 64

Times I’ve Disagreed with the Academy on Best Supporting Actress: 12

Wow. That…surprised me. 84% of the time. I guess it’s because the categories are always on the weaker side. I feel like I rarely really agree with them. But I guess that goes with me only voting with them less than half the time. But still, when it came down to it, I shrugged on the side of being okay with it than not. So that’s something I didn’t expect.

Best Director
Year	Winner	My Vote
1927-1928	Comedy: Lewis Milestone, Two Arabian Knights Dramatic: Frank Borzage, Seventh Heaven	Comedy: Lewis Milestone, Two Arabian Knights Dramatic: Frank Borzage, Seventh Heaven
1928-1929	Frank Lloyd, The Divine Lady	Frank Lloyd, Weary River
1929-1930	Lewis Milestone, All Quiet on the Western Front	Lewis Milestone, All Quiet on the Western Front
1930-1931	Norman Taurog, Skippy	Norman Taurog, Skippy
1931-1932	Frank Borzage, Bad Girl	Frank Borzage, Bad Girl
1932-1933	Frank Lloyd, Cavalcade	Frank Lloyd, Cavalcade
1934	Frank Capra, It Happened One Night	W.S. Van Dyke, The Thin Man
1935	John Ford, The Informer	John Ford, The Informer
1936	Frank Capra, Mr. Deeds Goes to Town	W.S. Van Dyke, San Francisco
1937	Leo McCarey, The Awful Truth	Leo McCarey, The Awful Truth
1938	Frank Capra, You Can’t Take It With You	Michael Curtiz, Angels with Dirty Faces
1939	Victor Fleming, Gone With the Wind	Victor Fleming, Gone With the Wind
1940	John Ford, The Grapes of Wrath	John Ford, The Grapes of Wrath
1941	John Ford, How Green Was My Valley	Orson Welles, Citizen Kane
1942	William Wyler, Mrs. Miniver	William Wyler, Mrs. Miniver
1943	Michael Curtiz, Casablanca	Michael Curtiz, Casablanca
1944	Leo McCarey, Going My Way	Billy Wilder, Double Indemnity
1945	Billy Wilder, The Lost Weekend	Billy Wilder, The Lost Weekend
1946	William Wyler, The Best Years of Our Lives	David Lean, Brief Encounter
1947	Elia Kazan, Gentleman’s Agreement	Elia Kazan, Gentleman’s Agreement
1948	John Huston, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre	John Huston, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
1949	Joseph L. Mankiewicz, A Letter to Three Wives	William A. Wellman, Battleground
1950	Joseph L. Mankewiciz, All About Eve	Carol Reed, The Third Man
1951	George Stevens, A Place in the Sun	John Huston, The African Queen
1952	John Ford, The Quiet Man	Fred Zinnemann, High Noon
1953	Fred Zinnemann, From Here to Eternity	Fred Zinnemann, From Here to Eternity
1954	Elia Kazan, On the Waterfront	Elia Kazan, On the Waterfront
1955	Delbert Mann, Marty	John Sturges, Bad Day at Black Rock
1956	George Stevens, Giant	George Stevens, Giant
1957	David Lean, The Bridge on the River Kwai	David Lean, The Bridge on the River Kwai
1958	Vincente Minnelli, Gigi	Vincente Minnelli, Gigi
1959	William Wyler, Ben-Hur	William Wyler, Ben-Hur
1960	Billy Wilder, The Apartment	Alfred Hitchcock, Psycho
1961	Robert Wise & Jerome Robbins, West Side Story	Robert Rossen, The Hustler
1962	David Lean, Lawrence of Arabia	David Lean, Lawrence of Arabia
1963	Tony Richardson, Tom Jones	Federico Fellini, 8½
1964	George Cukor, My Fair Lady	Stanley Kubrick, Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
1965	Robert Wise, The Sound of Music	John Schlesinger, Darling
1966	Fred Zinnemann, A Man for All Seasons	Mike Nichols, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
1967	Mike Nichols, The Graduate	Mike Nichols, The Graduate
1968	Carol Reed, Oliver!	Stanley Kubrick, 2001: A Space Odyssey
1969	John Schlesinger, Midnight Cowboy	George Roy Hill, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
1970	Franklin J. Schaffner, Patton	Franklin J. Schaffner, Patton
1971	William Friedkin, The French Connection	William Friedkin, The French Connection
1972	Bob Fosse, Cabaret	Francis Ford Coppola, The Godfather
1973	George Roy Hill, The Sting	George Roy Hill, The Sting
1974	Francis Ford Coppola, The Godfather	Francis Ford Coppola, The Godfather
1975	Milos Forman, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest	Sidney Lumet, Dog Day Afternoon
1976	John G. Avildsen, Rocky	Sidney Lumet, Network
1977	Woody Allen, Annie Hall	George Lucas, Star Wars
1978	Michael Cimino, The Deer Hunter	Michael Cimino, The Deer Hunter
1979	Robert Benton, Kramer vs. Kramer	Francis Ford Coppola, Apocalypse Now
1980	Robert Redford, Ordinary People	Martin Scorsese, Raging Bull
1981	Warren Beatty, Reds	Steven Spielberg, Raiders of the Lost Ark
1982	Richard Attenborough, Gandhi	Wolfgang Petersen, Das Boot
1983	James L. Brooks, Terms of Endearment	James L. Brooks, Terms of Endearment
1984	Milos Forman, Amadeus	Milos Forman, Amadeus
1985	Sydney Pollack, Out of Africa	Akira Kurosawa, Ran
1986	Oliver Stone, Platoon	Oliver Stone, Platoon
1987	Bernardo Bertolucci, The Last Emperor	John Boorman, Hope and Glory
1988	Barry Levinson, Rain Man	Martin Scorsese, The Last Temptation of Christ
1989	Oliver Stone, Born on the Fourth of July	Jim Sheridan, My Left Foot
1990	Kevin Costner, Dances with Wolves	Martin Scorsese, Goodfellas
1991	Jonathan Demme, The Silence of the Lambs	Jonathan Demme, The Silence of the Lambs
1992	Clint Eastwood, Unforgiven	Clint Eastwood, Unforgiven
1993	Steven Spielberg, Schindler’s List	Steven Spielberg, Schindler’s List
1994	Robert Zemeckis, Forres Gump	Quentin Tarantino, Pulp Fiction
1995	Mel Gibson, Braveheart	Mel Gibson, Braveheart
1996	Anthony Minghella, The English Patient	Joel & Ethan Coen, Fargo
1997	James Cameron, Titanic	James Cameron, Titanic
1998	Steven Spielberg, Saving Private Ryan	Steven Spielberg, Saving Private Ryan
1999	Sam Mendes, American Beauty	Sam Mendes, American Beauty
2000	Steven Soderbergh, Traffic	Ridley Scott, Gladiator
2001	Ron Howard, A Beautiful Mind	Peter Jackson, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
2002	Roman Polanski, The Pianist	Martin Scorsese, Gangs of New York
2003	Peter Jackson, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King	Peter Jackson, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
2004	Clint Eastwood, Million Dollar Baby	Martin Scorsese, The Aviator
2005	Ang Lee, Brokeback Mountain	Ang Lee, Brokeback Mountain
2006	Martin Scorsese, The Departed	Martin Scorsese, The Departed
2007	Joen & Ethan Coen, No Country for Old Men	Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood
2008	Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire	Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire
2009	Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker	Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds
2010	Tom Hooper, The King’s Speech	David Fincher, The Social Network
2011	Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist	Martin Scorsese, Hugo

I expected this to be the one I agreed with most. Let’s see how close I was…

Of the 85 Best Directors (they had 2 in the first year), I voted with the Academy 42 times. Exactly 50% again. Though, I know I’m a person who votes against the guaranteed winner, so that doesn’t tell me too much.

Also, 1928-1929 — Frank Lloyd won for one film, and I voted for him for another. I don’t know if that counts as being right or being not right. Well, either way, I guess he fits in the second set, so it’s irrelevant.

There are a bunch I’m very okay with and didn’t vote for, which include:

1928-1929, 1934, 1946, 1952, 1960, 1961, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1969, 1972, 1976, 1981, 1982, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1994, 2002, 2007, 2009

Which brings me to 63 that I’m quite okay with. Leaving 23 to deal with. They are:

• 1936 & 1938. Capra didn’t need 3. So I’m okay with one of these and not okay with the other. Pick whichever you want. (Probably more not okay with 1936.)
• 1941. Citizen Kane.
• 1944. Yeah, I’m okay with this. Wilder should have won, but, I’m okay with it. (He got two.)
• 1949 & 1950. I can abide 1949 if 1950 doesn’t happen. So I guess I’ll split them. One is okay. The Third Man should have won in 1950. And because of that…
• 1968. Reed getting his makeup Oscar fucked over Kubrick. That’s not okay.
• 1951. I guess I can be okay with this. Huston got one, Kazan got two, Minnelli got one. Wyler got three. So it’s fine.
• 1955. Yeah, I guess I can be okay with it, even if it’s a weak choice. It was the Best Picture winner, after all.
• 1963. No. I don’t care if it’s the winner. 8½ is 8½.
• 1975. I actually want to say I disagree. Just because — Lumet never won, Forman eventually won two. Yeah, I disagree. I know I shouldn’t, but I’m going to.
• 1977. Lucas should have won, but it’s Woody Allen. He earned one. So, it’s fine. I just wanted to mention it.
• 1979. No. This is awful.
• 1980. Even worse.
• 1985. Disagree.
• 1990. Oh no.
• 1996. Yeesh.
• 2000. Bad because Ridley should have one more than Soderbergh and lost for directing the Best Picture winner. Can’t be okay with this.
• 2001. Understandable, and I guess since Ron Howard should have won in 1995 — yeah, it’s fine. Terrible, but fine.
• 2004. Scorsese won, so I could call this okay. But Clint had one. So no, on principle, it’s not okay.
• 2010. Unacceptable. This will get even worse over time.
• 2011. Yes, acceptable. For now. We’ll see what happens there.

So, what’s that leave us with?

Times I’ve Agreed with the Academy on Best Supporting Actress: 71

Times I’ve Disagreed with the Academy on Best Supporting Actress: 14

84%, ish. I think that makes this the highest one. Which I expected. Because normally they do choose the best effort, or whoever directs the Best Picture is acceptable in some way. So it makes sense I’d agree with this most of the time. Interesting that I voted with them more times here than I did with Best Picture.

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So that’ll conclude our Oscar Quest. That’s everything. On the whole, I can agree with the Academy. Which means that, by and large, they are accomplishing what they set out to accomplish, which is to reward excellence in film. So even though we might quibble on the details, on the whole, I agree with what they’re doing. So that’s nice to know.

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