Awards According To Me

So, since I always compain about how unjust the awards shows are, I thought I'd put my money where my mouth is and come up with my own awards ceremony honoring annual excellence in films. I have most of the serious awards, but I also have some fun ones of my own creation. I don't have many rules, which is very liberating, for me anyway. The main rule is that the major categories have to have at least 5 nominees, but they can have as many as I want beyond that. Also, I am separating American from Foreign films for Best Picture and for the two major acting races. When I say it's an "American" film, I mean it was made with mostly American money and/or distributed originallly by an American company primarily for an American audience. Makes sense, I think. My intention with this is also just to bring attention to great work that has been forgotten or overlooked.

So, without further ado, I, Lisa Draski, present to you the 1st Annual Preston Awards for achievement in films. I'm naming the awards after Preston Sturges, my idol and one of my favorite filmmakers and writers. There's no real reason other than that. :)

The 2008 Preston Awards

(honoring films released in 2007)

I want to start out light and work my way to the more serious awards, but that doesn't mean any of them are any less important than others.

Best Transvestism: John Travolta - Hairspray

Best Accent:

Javier Bardem - No Country for Old Men

Kelly MacDonald - No Country for Old Men

Daniel Day-Lewis - There Will Be Blood

Cate Blanchett - I'm Not There

Winner: Daniel Day-Lewis - There Will Be Blood

Best Hair:

The Cast of Hairspray
Javier Bardem - No Country for Old Men

Winner (by a landslide): Javier Bardem - No Country for Old Men

Best Newcomer/Best Breakthrough by a Virually Unknown Performer:

Christopher Mintze-Plasse - Superbad

Saoirse Ronan - Atonement

Dillon Freasier - There Will Be Blood

Marketa Irglova - Once

Glen Hansard - Once

Evanna Lynch - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Winners: Evanna Lynch - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Christopher Mintze-Plasse - Superbad, and Saoirse Ronan - Atonement (Yes, ties are allowed. Actually, all of the them are worthy of winning - these are just my special favorites.)

Best Weapon:

A Carrot - Shoot 'Em Up

Cattlegun - No Country for Old Men

Machine Gun Leg - Planet Terror

Winner: Machine Gun Leg - Planet Terror (Sorry, Javier, but Rose McGowan's Machine Gun Leg is just too bad-ass.)

Best Ending:

No Country for Old Men

There Will Be Blood

Juno

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

Winner: No Country for Old Men

Best Long Take:

The War Shot - Atonement

Marketa Irglova's Walk Home From The Store - Once

La Vie en Rose (several shots actually)

Winner: Atonement (not overrated at all!)

Best Use of the Penis:

Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story

2 Days in Paris

Superbad (in animation form)

Winner: Superbad (classic!)

Best Homage: Daniel Day-Lewis, doing an homage to John Huston in There Will Be Blood

Best Breakout Year: John Brolin (Planet Terror, American Gangster, In the Valley of Elah, No Country for Old Men)

Best First Film: Julie Delpy - 2 Days in Paris

Best Opening Credits Sequence: Planet Terror

Best Plug for the Dairy Council: Milkshakes in There Will Be Blood

Most Improved Actor: Rupert Grint - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (no more Ron Weasley faces!)

Cutest Couple:

Nathan Fillion and Keri Russell - Waitress

Amanda Bynes and Elijah Kelley - Hairspray

Ellen Page and Michael Cera - Juno

Michael Cera and Jonah Hill - Superbad

Christopher Walken and John Travolta - Hairspray

Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova - Once

Winner: Ellen Page and Michael Cera - Juno

Most Romantic Song:

"Falling Slowly" - Once (performed by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova)

"Anyone Else But You" - Juno (performed by Ellen Page and Michael Cera)

Winner: It's a tie. It's too close to call it.

Best Song: "Falling Slowly" - Once (There is no other competition.)

Best Musical Performance:

"Falling Slowly" - Once (performed by Hansard and Irglova)

"When Your Mind's Made Up" - Once (performed by Hansard and Irglova, but mainly Hansard)

"I Know Where I've Been" - Hairspray (performed by Queen Latifah)

"You Can't Stop the Beat" - Hairspray (performed by the ensemble)

"That's How You Know" - Enchanted (performed by Amy Adams)

"Anyone Else But You" - Juno (performed by Michael Cera and Ellen Page)

Winners: "Falling Slowly" - Once, "When Your Mind's Made Up" - Once, and "I Know Where I've Been" - Hairspray

Best Villain:

Imelda Staunton - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Javier Bardem - No Country for Old Men

Daniel Day-Lewis - There Will be Blood

The Wild - Into the Wild

Winner: Javier Bardem (Staunton makes a fierce Umbridge, but no one can touch Bardem.)

Best Instant Pop Culture Phenomenon: McLovin' - Superbad

Best Character Names: Hairspray (Alliteration has it - Link Larkin, Penny Pingleton, Seaweed J. Stubbs, Motormouth Maybelle, Tracy Turnblad)

The Chaplin-Keaton-Lloyd Award for Best Silent Comedy Revival: L'Iceberg

Lifetime Achievement Award: Olivia de Havilland (Will someone else do this? She's still alive and deserves it!)

Best Animated Film:

Ratatouille

Persepolis

Winner: Persepolis

Best Documentary:

The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters

No End in Sight

Sicko

Winner: This is a really tough one, but I have to give it to The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters.

Best Production Design:

Stuart Craig - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Sarah Greenwood - Atonement

Laura Couderc - L'Iceberg

Dante Ferretti - Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Olivier Raoux - La Vie en Rose

Winner: Stuart Craig - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Craig was the one who worked magic, yet again, in creating the Ministry of Magic, the Department of Mysteries, and Umbridge's office.)

Best Score:

Jonny Greenwood - There Will Be Blood

Robert Rodriguez - Planet Terror

Johan Soderqvist - After the Wedding

Nick Cave and Warren Ellis - The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

Dario Marianelli - Atonement

Eddie Vedder - Into the Wild

Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova - Once

Winner: It's a tie between Jonny Greenwood and Hansard and Irglova.

Best Adapted Screenplay:

Joel and Ethan Coen - No Country for Old Men

Paul Thomas Anderson - There Will Be Blood

Sean Penn - Into the Wild

Ronald Harwood - The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Andrew Dominik - The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

Christopher Hampton - Atonement

Winners: Joel and Ethan Coen (the great underrated screenwriters)

Best Original Screenplay:

Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg - Superbad

Susanne Bier and Anders Thomas Jensen - After the Wedding

Julie Delpy - 2 Days in Paris

Todd Haynes and Oren Moverman - I'm Not There

Adrienne Shelly - Waitress

Gerard Soeteman and Paul Verhoeven - Black Book

Robert Rodriguez - Planet Terror

Diablo Cody - Juno

John Carney - Once

Winner: Diablo Cody - Juno

Best Cinematography:

Robert Rodriguez - Planet Terror

Roger Deakins - No Country for Old Men

Roger Deakins - The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

Seamus McGarvey - Atonement

Edward Lachman - I'm Not There

Janusz Kaminski - The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Morten Soborg - After the Wedding

Robert Elswit - There Will Be Blood

Sebastien Koeppel - L'Iceberg

Winner: Janusz Kaminski - The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Best Director:

Julian Schnabel - The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

The Coens - No Country for Old Men

Susanne Bier - After the Wedding

Todd Haynes - I'm Not There

Paul Thomas Anderson - There Will Be Blood

Sean Penn - Into the Wild

Joe Wright - Atonement

Winner: The Coens - No Country for Old Men

Best Supporting Actor:

Michael Cera - Juno

Javier Bardem - No Country for Old Men

Hal Holbrook - Into the Wild

Steve Zahn - Rescue Dawn

Sebastian Koch - Black Book

Josh Brolin - No Country for Old Men

Paul Dano - There Will Be Blood

Tommy Lee Jones - No Country for Old Men

Andy Griffith - Waitress

Max von Sydow - The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Winner: Javier Bardem - No Country for Old Men

Best Supporting Actress:

Amber Tamblyn - Stephanie Daley

Jennifer Garner - Juno

Kelly MacDonald - No Country for Old Men

Cate Blanchett - I'm Not There

Saoirse Ronan - Atonement

Imelda Staunton - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Julie Christie - Away From Her

Winners: It's a tie between Jennifer Garner for Juno and Cate Blanchett for I'm Not There.

Best Foreign Actor:

Rolf Lassgard - After the Wedding

Mads Mikkelsen - After the Wedding

Glen Hansard - Once

Mathieu Amalric - The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Dominique Abel - L'Iceberg

Winner: Rolf Lassgard - After the Wedding

Best Foreign Actress:

Carice van Houten - Black Book

Marion Cotillard - La Vie en Rose

Stine Fischer Christensen - After the Wedding

Marketa Irglova - Once
Fiona Gordon - L'Iceberg

Sidse Babett Knudsen - After the Wedding

Winner: Marion Cotillard - La Vie en Rose

Best Foreign Film:

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Black Book

After the Wedding

Once

L'Iceberg

Winner: After the Wedding

Best Actor (in an American film):

Emile Hirsch - Into the Wild

Daniel Day-Lewis - There Will Be Blood

Gordon Pinsent - Away From Her

James McAvoy - Atonement

Brad Pitt - The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

Winner: Daniel Day-Lewis - There Will Be Blood

Best Actresss (in an American film):

Tilda Swinton - Stephanie Daley

Ellen Page - Juno

Keri Russell - Waitress

Rose McGowan - Planet Terror

Amy Adams - Enchanted

Winner: Ellen Page - Juno

Best Picture:

Juno

There Will Be Blood

No Country for Old Men

I'm Not There

Atonement

Into the Wild

Winners: It's a tie between No Country for Old Men and I'm Not There

There you have it, folks. I hope you enjoyed looking at my awards, because I had a blast coming up with them. Also, I invite comments. I'd be more than happy to defend any of my nominees or winners, and I've love to hear your opinions or choices.

Until next year...