Blu-ray vs. HD DVD -- the Oscar Battle!
(This was copied from my post over at avsforum. I thought some PS3 owners might find the outcome interesting.)
I'm bored today, so I decided to look at all the major Oscar nominations and see which pictures were released by which studio, to pit potential Blu-ray titles against potential HD DVD titles. I am judging the releases based on the "camp" the release studio belongs to, so I make no guaruntee that all of these films will get a HD release in the near future, but it's interesting to speculate of course. For the most part, movies released by the really small studios that aren't likely to be released on either format I just listed as not likely for either format, although since Pan's Labyrinth's release company Picturehouse is a Time Warner Company, I credited that to both camps.
As a side note, I was looking at the domestic U.S. release studios for these films. Internationally, some of these films were released by other companies, which may mean Blu-ray or HD DVD releases may be different outside the U.S.
SPOILER ALERT: If you're reading this during or after the Oscar Telecast, I will be updating/have updated this with the winners, so if you were planning to watch the telecast later and don't want to read the winners, click back now.
Anyway, here's the breakdown (winners are underlined):
BEST PICTURE
"Babel" - Paramount Village - BOTH
"The Departed" - Warner Brothers - BOTH
"The Queen" - Miramax - Blu-ray
"Letters From Iwo Jima" - Warner Brothers - BOTH
"Little Miss Sunshine" - Fox Searchlight - Blu-ray
Nominees: Blu-ray - 5; HD DVD - 3
Winner: Both
BEST ACTRESS
Meryl Streep, "The Devil Wears Prada" - 20th Century Fox - Blu-ray
Helen Mirren, "The Queen" - Miramax - Blu-ray
Penelope Cruz, "Volver" - Sony Classics - Blu-ray
Kate Winslet, "Little Children" - New Line Cinema - BOTH
Judi Dench, "Notes on a Scandal" - Fox searchlight - Blu-ray
Nominees: Blu-ray - 5; HD DVD - 1
Winner: Blu-ray
BEST ACTOR
Leonardo DiCaprio, "Blood Diamond" - Warner Brothers - BOTH
Forest Whitaker, "The Last King of Scotland" - Fox Searchlight - Blu-ray
Will Smith, "The Pursuit of Happyness" - Sony Pictures - Blu-ray
Peter O'Toole, "Venus" - Miramax - Blu-ray
Ryan Gosling, "Half Nelson" - ThinkFilm - likely neither
Nominees: Blu-ray - 4; HD DVD - 1
Winner: Blu-ray
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Adriana Barraza, "Babel" - Paramount Village - BOTH
Cate Blanchett, "Notes on a Scandal" - Fox searchlight - Blu-ray
Abigail Breslin, "Little Miss Sunshine" - Fox Searchlight - Blu-ray
Jennifer Hudson, "Dreamgirls" - Dreamworks/Paramount - BOTH
Rinko Kikuchi, "Babel" - Paramount Village - BOTH
Nominees: Blu-ray - 5; HD DVD - 3
Winner: BOTH
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Alan Arkin, "Little Miss Sunshine" - Fox Searchlight - Blu-ray
Eddie Murphy, "Dreamgirls" - Dreamworks/Paramount - BOTH
Mark Wahlberg, "The Departed" - Warner Brothers - BOTH
Djimon Hounsou, "Blood Diamond" - Warner Brothers - BOTH
Jackie Earle Haley, "Little Children"- New Line Cinema - BOTH
Nominees: Blu-ray - 5; HD DVD - 4
Winner: Blu-ray
BEST DIRECTOR
Clint Eastwood, "Letters From Iwo Jima" - Warner Brothers - BOTH
Paul Greengrass, "United 93" - Universal Pictures - HD DVD
Martin Scorsese, "The Departed" - Warner Brothers - BOTH
Stephen Frears, "The Queen" - Miramax - Blu-ray
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, "Babel" - Paramount Village - BOTH
Nominees: Blu-ray - 4; HD DVD - 4
Winner: Both
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Guillermo Arriaga, "Babel" - Paramount Village - BOTH
Michael Arndt, "Little Miss Sunshine" - Fox Searchlight - Blu-ray
Iris Yama****a & Paul Haggis, "Letters From Iwo Jima" - Warner Brothers - BOTH
Guillermo del Toro, "Pan's Labyrinth" - Picturehouse (a Time Warner Company) - BOTH
Peter Morgan, "The Queen" - Miramax - Blu-ray
Nominees: Blu-ray - 5; HD DVD - 3
Winner: Blu-ray
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Patrick Marber , "Notes on a Scandal" - Fox searchlight - Blu-ray
William Monahan, "The Departed" - Warner Brothers - BOTH
Sacha Baron Cohen & Anthony Hines & Peter Baynham & Dan Mazer Story by Sacha Baron Cohen & Peter Baynham & Anthony Hines & Todd Phillips, "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan" - 20th Century Fox - Blu-ray
Todd Field & Tom Perrotta, "Little Children" - New Line Cinema - BOTH
Alfonso Cuarón & Timothy J. Sexton and David Arata and Mark Fergus & Hawk Ostby, "Children of Men" - Universal Pictures - HD DVD
Nominees: Blu-ray - 4; HD DVD - 3
Winner: BOTH
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
"After the Wedding" (Denmark) - Zentropa Entertainment, Sigma Films, Sveriges Television Drama - likely neither
"Days of Glory (Indigènes)" (Algeria) - Films Distribution - likely neither
"Lives of Others" (Germany) - Sony Pictures Classics - Blu-ray
"Pan's Labyrinth" (Mexico) - Picturehouse (a Time Warner Company) - BOTH
"Water" (Canada) - Deepa Mehta Films - likely neither
Nominees: Blu-ray - 2; HD DVD - 1
Winner: Blu-ray
BEST ANIMATED FILM
"Cars" - Disney Pictures - Blu-ray
"Happy Feet" - Warner Brothers - BOTH
"Monster House" - Sony Pictures - Blu-ray
Nominees: Blu-ray - 3; HD DVD - 1
Winner: BOTH
BEST ART DIRECTION
"Dreamgirls," Art Direction: John Myhre; Set Decoration: Nancy Haigh - Dreamworks/Paramount - BOTH
"The Good Shepherd," Art Direction: Jeannine Oppewall; Set Decoration: Gretchen Rau and Leslie E. Rollins - Universal Pictures - HD DVD
"Pan's Labyrinth," Art Direction: Eugenio Caballero; Set Decoration: Pilar Revuelta - Picturehouse (a Time Warner Company) - BOTH
"Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest," Art Direction: Rick Heinrichs; Set Decoration: Cheryl A. Carasik - Disney Pictures - Blu-ray
"The Prestige," Art Direction: Nathan Crowley; Set Decoration: Julie Ochipinti - Touchstone/ Buena Vista - Blu-ray
Nominees: Blu-ray - 4; HD DVD - 3
Winner: BOTH
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
"The Black Dahlia," Vilmos Zsigmond - Millenium/Universal Pictures - HD DVD
"Children of Men," Emmanuel Lubezki - Universal Pictures - HD DVD
"The Illusionist," **** Pope - Yarri Film Group - likely neither
"Pan's Labyrinth," Guillermo Navarro - Picturehouse (a Time Warner Company) - BOTH
"The Prestige," Wally Pfister - Touchstone/ Buena Vista - Blu-ray
Nominees: Blu-ray - 2; HD DVD - 3
Winner: BOTH
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
"Curse of the Golden Flower," Yee Chung Man - Sony Pictures Classics - Blu-ray
"The Devil Wears Prada," Patricia Field - 20th Century Fox - Blu-ray
"Dreamgirls," Sharen Davis - Dreamworks/Paramount - BOTH
"Marie Antoinette," Milena Canonero - Sony Pictures - Blu-ray
"The Queen," Consolata Boyle - Miramax - Blu-ray
Nominees: Blu-ray - 5; HD DVD - 1
Winner: Blu-ray
BEST FILM EDITING
"Babel," Stephen Mirrione and Douglas Crise - Paramount Village - BOTH
"Blood Diamond," Steven Rosenblum - Warner Brothers - BOTH
"Children of Men," Alex Rodríguez and Alfonso Cuarón - Universal Pictures - HD DVD
"The Departed," Thelma Schoonmaker `- Warner Brothers - BOTH
"United 93," Clare Douglas, Christopher Rouse and Richard Pearson - Universal Pictures - HD DVD
Nominees: Blu-ray - 3; HD DVD - 5
Winner: BOTH
BEST MAKEUP
"Apocalypto," Aldo Signoretti and Vittorio Sodano - Touchstone/Buena Vista - Blu-ray
"Click," Kazuhiro Tsuji and Bill Corso - Sony Pictures - Blu-ray
"Pan's Labyrinth," David Marti and Montse Ribe - Picturehouse (a Time Warner Company) - BOTH
Nominees: Blu-ray - 3; HD DVD - 1
Winner: BOTH
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
"Babel," Gustavo Santaolalla - Paramount Village - BOTH
"The Good German," Thomas Newman -Warner Brothers -BOTH
"Notes on a Scandal," Philip Glass - Fox searchlight - Blu-ray
"Pan's Labyrinth," Javier Navarrete - Picturehouse (a Time Warner Company) - BOTH
"The Queen," Alexandre Desplat - Miramax - Blu-ray
Nominees: Blu-ray - 5; HD DVD - 3
Winner: BOTH
BEST ORIGINAL SONG
"I Need to Wake Up" from "An Inconvenient Truth," Music and lyric by Melissa Etheridge - Paramount - BOTH
"Listen" from "Dreamgirls," Music by Henry Krieger and Scott Cutler; lyric by Anne Preven - Dreamworks/Paramount - BOTH
"Love You I Do" from "Dreamgirls," Music by Henry Krieger; lyric by Siedah Garrett - Dreamworks/Paramount - BOTH
"Our Town" from "Cars," Music and Lyric by Randy Newman - Disney Pictures - Blu-ray
"Patience" from "Dreamgirls," Music by Henry Krieger; lyric by Willie Reale - Dreamworks/Paramount - BOTH
Nominees: Blu-ray - 5; HD DVD - 4
Winner: BOTH
BEST SOUND EDITING
"Apocalypto," Sean McCormack and Kami Asgar - Touchstone/Buena Vista - Blu-ray
"Blood Diamond," Lon Bender - Warner Brothers - BOTH
"Flags of Our Fathers," Alan Robert Murray and Bub Asman - Warner Brothers - BOTH
"Letters from Iwo Jima"," Alan Robert Murray and Bub Asman - Warner Brothers - BOTH
"Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest," Christopher Boyes and George Watters II - Disney Pictures - Blu-ray
Nominees: Blu-ray - 5; HD DVD - 3
Winner: BOTH
BEST SOUND MIXING
"Apocalypto," Kevin O'Connell, Greg P. Russell and Fernando Camara - Touchstone/Buena Vista - Blu-ray
"Blood Diamond," Andy Nelson, Anna Behlmer and Ivan Sharrock - Warner Brothers - BOTH
"Dreamgirls," Michael Minkler, Bob Beemer and Willie Burton - Dreamworks/Paramount - BOTH
"Flags of Our Fathers," John Reitz, Dave Campbell, Gregg Rudloff and Walt Martin - Warner Brothers - BOTH
"Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest," Paul Massey, Christopher Boyes and Lee Orloff - Disney Pictures - Blu-ray
Nominees: Blu-ray - 5; HD DVD - 3
Winner: BOTH
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
"Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest," John Knoll, Hal Hickel, Charles Gibson and Allen Hall - Disney Pictures - Blu-ray
"Poseidon," Boyd Shermis, Kim Libreri, Chaz Jarrett and John Frazier - Warner Brothers - BOTH
"Superman Returns," Mark Stetson, Neil Corbould, Richard R. Hoover and Jon Thum - Warner Brothers - BOTH
Nominees: Blu-ray - 3; HD DVD - 2
Winner: Blu-ray
Okay, I think that's all the major categories (and then some, really). Let me know if I screwed up any of the studios/releases.
Winners Tally:
Blu-ray: 20
HD DVD: 13
(Out of a possible 20)
Interesting Stats:
Of all 20 categories for American Motion pictures:
65% were won by HD neutral studios
35% were won by Blu-ray only studios
Of the best picture, director, acting, and screenplay categories (8 total):
50% were won by HD neutral studios
50% were won by Blu-ray only studios
Other winners (who deserve the credit but aren't likely to see a HD release):
Best Animated Short: The Danish Poet
Best Live-Action Short: West Bank Story
Best Documentary - Short Subject: The Blood of Yingzhou District
Best Documentary - Feature: An Inconvenient Truth (Paramount release so it could get a HD video release)
Special Awards:
Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award: Sherry Lansing (studio exec)
Honorary Oscar: Ennio Morricone (composer)
Let the bickering begin.
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