Oscar Blitz 2026 – Postmortem At the beginning of this year’s Oscar Blitz, I hinted that it might be the last time I’m able to do this annual excursion into cinematic excellence. Obviously, that still remains to be …

The final entry for this year's #OscarBlitz is the annual #Postmortem assessment of everything that went down at the 98th Academy Awards!

Oscar Blitz 2026 - Postmortem actuallypaid.com/2026/03/18/o...

Oscar Blitz 2026 – Live Diary Well, folks, we finally made it. It’s the big night at last, the 98th Academy Awards! Over the span of about four hours, we’ll see lifelong dreams realized, hearts broken, and Diane War…

The #OscarBlitz live diary is up on site! Refresh regularly for (near) instant reactions once the show starts!

Oscar Blitz 2026 - Live Diary actuallypaid.com/2026/03/15/o...

Oscar Blitz 2026 – Predictions We made it, everyone! The votes have been cast, the analysis doled out, the arguments begun, ended, and begun again. But finally, at long last, it’s time to just sit back and enjoy this year&…

Night 25 of the #OscarBlitz is all about who will win on Sunday! Read on for my official predictions and prognostications!

Oscar Blitz 2026 - Predictions actuallypaid.com/2026/03/13/o...

Red Crescent operators standing by in THE VOICE OF HIND RAJAB

It's hard to treat this like just any other film, but tonight's #FemaleFilmmakerFriday selection and the last film of my #OscarBlitz is THE VOICE OF HIND RAJAB (2025) by Kaouther Ben Hania. Powerful and necessary. #WomensHistoryMonth #DirectedByWomen #52FilmsByWomen #20 #Filmsky 📽️

Here's my video breakdown of this year's #BestPicture contest, as part of the #OscarBlitz!

youtu.be/2GC5XaFvmbY

Oscar Blitz 2026 – Best Picture (VIDEO) Every year, the Academy Awards serve two basic purposes. One is, ostensibly, to recognize the best and brightest achievements in film, celebrating talented artists who go that extra mile to enterta…

Night 24 of the #OscarBlitz means #BestPicture! Watch me analyze/rank #Bugonia, #F1, #Frankenstein, #Hamnet, #MartySupreme, #OneBattleAfterAnother, #TheSecretAgent, #SentimentalValue, #Sinners, and #TrainDreams!

Oscar Blitz 2026 - Best Picture (VIDEO) actuallypaid.com/2026/03/12/o...

Oscar Blitz 2026 – Documentary Feature When it comes to Blitz coverage, the final week is my favorite. It’s not because I’m particularly excited about any of the categories, more that I know I’m coming to the end, and …

Night 23 of the #OscarBlitz looks at #DocumentaryFeature! Read on for analysis of #TheAlabamaSolution, #ComeSeeMeInTheGoodLight, #CuttingThroughRocks, #MrNobodyAgainstPutin, and #ThePerfectNeighbor!

Oscar Blitz 2026 - Documentary Feature actuallypaid.com/2026/03/11/o...

Oscar Blitz 2026 – Live Action Short The Live Action Short category has come a long way since I first started watching the curated screenings in 2014. In that first interaction with any of the Short contests, the entries were prefaced…

Night 22 of the #OscarBlitz looks at #LiveActionShort! Read on for analysis of #ButchersStain, #AFriendOfDorothy, #JaneAustensPeriodDrama, #TheSingers, and #TwoPeopleExchangingSaliva!

Oscar Blitz 2026 - Live Action Short actuallypaid.com/2026/03/10/o...

Oscar Blitz 2026 – Best Supporting Actress We’re in the home stretch, folks! The Oscars are this Sunday, all the major undercard ceremonies have concluded, and we’re in our final four categories for this year’s Blitz. Toni…

Night 21 of the #OscarBlitz looks at #BestSupportingActress! Read on for performance analysis of #ElleFanning, #IngaIbsdotterLilleaas, #AmyMadigan, #WunmiMosaku, and #TeyanaTaylor!

Oscar Blitz 2026 - Best Supporting Actress actuallypaid.com/2026/03/09/o...

Here's my video breakdown of #FilmEditing as part of this year's #OscarBlitz!

youtu.be/is76gwweCz4

Oscar Blitz 2026 – Film Editing (VIDEO) Well folks, it’s all over but the crying. At 5pm PST yesterday, as I was writing the Makeup & Hairstyling blog, the official voting deadline for the Academy Awards came and went. The winn…

Night 20 of the #OscarBlitz means another video breakdown, this time for #FilmEditing! Read (and watch) for analysis of #F1, #MartySupreme, #OneBattleAfterAnother, #SentimentalValue, and #Sinners!

Oscar Blitz 2026 - Film Editing (VIDEO) actuallypaid.com/2026/03/06/o...

Oscar Blitz 2026 – Makeup & Hairstyling If you’ve kept up with the Blitz over the years, you know that a) this category is very much NOT my forte, and that alongside Costume Design and Production Design, it’s where I have the…

Night 19 of the #OscarBlitz looks at #MakeupAndHairstyling! Read on for analysis of #Frankenstein, #Kokuho, #Sinners, #TheSmashingMachine, and #TheUglyStepsister!

Oscar Blitz 2026 - Makeup & Hairstyling actuallypaid.com/2026/03/05/o...

Oscar Blitz 2026 – Best Supporting Actor In addition to all the various bits of history and significance to this year’s Oscars, the Supporting acting categories offer their own rarity. This year is but the sixth time in the long leg…

Night 18 of the #OscarBlitz takes a look at #BestSupportingActor! Read on for performance analysis of #BenicioDelToro, #JacobElordi, #DelroyLindo, #SeanPeann, and #StellanSkarsgård!

Oscar Blitz 2026 - Best Supporting Actor actuallypaid.com/2026/03/04/o...

Oscar Blitz 2026 – Animated Short There’s been an interesting shift in the dynamics of the Animated Short category over the last decade. For the longest time, this was a field dominated by Disney and Pixar (and Warner Bros. w…

Night 17 of the #OscarBlitz deals with #AnimatedShort! Read on for analysis of #Butterfly #Forevergreen, #TheGirlWhoCriedPearls, #RetirementPlan, and #TheThreeSisters!

Oscar Blitz 2026 - Animated Short actuallypaid.com/2026/03/03/o...

Oscar Blitz 2026 – Visual Effects Well, last night certainly was interesting. On Sunday evening, the Screen Actors Guild handed out their awards. It was the third of the major union awards ceremonies, and it definitely threw a wren…

Night 16 of this year's #OscarBlitz looks at #VisualEffects! Read on for analysis of #AvatarFireAndAsh, #F1, #JurassicWorldRebirth, #TheLostBus, and #Sinners!

Oscar Blitz 2026 - Visual Effects actuallypaid.com/2026/03/02/o...

Here's my video breakdown for #BestActor as part of this year's #OscarBlitz!

youtu.be/4Uf3EONrmfU

Oscar Blitz 2026 – Best Actor (VIDEO) It’s all but certain that Timothée Chalamet is going to win an Oscar in just over two weeks. He’s a tremendous actor who has rarely had a misfire in his film career, which has lasted ju…

Night 15 of the #OscarBlitz means another video breakdown, this time for #BestActor! Read (and watch) for performance analysis of #TimothéeChalamet, #LeonardoDiCaprio, #EthanHawke, #MichaelBJordan, and #WagnerMoura!

Oscar Blitz 2026 - Best Actor (VIDEO) actuallypaid.com/2026/02/27/o...

Oscar Blitz 2026 – Cinematography When I was a child, there were four things that fascinated me more than anything else: baseball, TV, video games, and camcorders. In my own little world, a bulky camera mounted on your shoulder wit…

Night 14 of this year's #OscarBlitz takes a look at #Cinematography! Read on for analysis of #Frankenstein, #MartySupreme, #OneBattleAfterAnother, #Sinners, and #TrainDreams!

Oscar Blitz 2026 - Cinematography actuallypaid.com/2026/02/26/o...

Oscar Blitz 2026 – Animated Feature Thirty-five. There were 35 movies up for consideration for the Animated Feature Oscar this year, the most there’s ever been. Every year, I endeavor to clear the lot, because unfortunately the…

Night 13 of the #OscarBlitz looks at #AnimatedFeature! Read on for analysis of #Arco, #Elio, #KPopDemonHunters, #LittleAmelieOrTheCharacterOfRain, and #Zootopia2!

Oscar Blitz 2026 - Animated Feature actuallypaid.com/2026/02/25/o...

Oscar Blitz 2026 – Original Screenplay Well friends, it seems that the Best Picture race is all but sewn up. Paul Thomas Anderson has just taken top honors at the Directors Guild Awards, and One Battle After Another cleaned up at the BA…

Night 12 of the #OscarBlitz tackles #OriginalScreenplay! Read on for analysis of #BlueMoon, #ItWasJustAnAccident, #MartySupreme, #SentimentalValue, and #Sinners!

Oscar Blitz 2026 - Original Screenplay actuallypaid.com/2026/02/24/o...

Oscar Blitz 2026 – Documentary Short I’ve mentioned many a time that the Shorts are my favorite part of the Oscar Blitz. A little over a decade ago, ShortsTV began packaging the nominees together by category and screening them i…

Night 11 of the #OscarBlitz looks at #DocumentaryShort! Read on for analysis of #AllTheEmptyRooms, #ArmedOnlyWithACamera, #ChildrenNoMore, #TheDevilIsBusy, and #PerfectlyAStrangeness!

Oscar Blitz 2026 - Documentary Short actuallypaid.com/2026/02/23/o...

Here's my video breakdown for #CostumeDesign as part of this year's #OscarBlitz!

youtu.be/AnzgNuIxsMs

Oscar Blitz 2026 – Costume Design (VIDEO) The old adage is to dress for the job you want, not the job you have. Well, for me, that’s fairly obvious. I dress in jeans and dark t-shirts, which is literally my wardrobe when I’m on…

Night 10 of the #OscarBlitz means it's time for the 2nd video breakdown, this time for #CostumeDesign! Read (and watch) for analysis of #AvatarFireAndAsh, #Frankenstein, #Hamnet, #MartySupreme, and #Sinners!

Oscar Blitz 2026 - Costume Design (VIDEO) actuallypaid.com/2026/02/20/o...

Oscar Blitz 2026 – Original Score Late in January, I had to take my computer in for service. It was the second trip to the Geek Squad in as many months. The problem was that my C drive was constantly filling up, causing my web brow…

Night 9 of this year's #OscarBlitz concerns #OriginalScore! Read on for musical analysis of #Bugonia, #Frankenstein, #Hamnet, #OneBattleAfterAnother, and #Sinners!

Oscar Blitz 2026 - Original Score actuallypaid.com/2026/02/19/o...

Oscar Blitz 2026 – International Feature I am overjoyed at this year’s International Feature field. Not only is it one of the strongest we’ve seen in years, but for the first time since I’ve done the Blitz the result is …

Night 8 of the #OscarBlitz looks at a stellar field for #InternationalFeature! Read on for analysis for films from #France, #Brazil, #Norway, #Spain, and #Tunisia!

Oscar Blitz 2026 - International Feature actuallypaid.com/2026/02/18/o...

Oscar Blitz 2026 – Best Actress Over the years, when covering Best Actress, I’ve harped on a few major sticking points for me. There are too many Showcase entries that seem to exist solely to highlight the performance. Far …

Night 7 of this year's #OscarBlitz takes a look at #BestActress! Read on for performance analysis for #JessieBuckley, #RoseByrne, #KateHudson, #RenateReinsve, and #EmmaStone!

Oscar Blitz 2026 - Best Actress actuallypaid.com/2026/02/17/o...

Oscar Blitz 2026 – Sound Every year when I do the Blitz, I try to think of new and fun ways to break down each category. Sometimes it’s by doing some research and finding a few fun facts about the nominees themselves…

Night 6 of the #OscarBlitz deals with #Sound! Read on for analysis of #F1, #Frankenstein, #OneBattleAfterAnother, #Sinners, and #Sirat!

Oscar Blitz 2026 - Sound actuallypaid.com/2026/02/16/o...

Oscar Blitz 2026 – Casting (VIDEO) Ladies and gentlemen and everyone in between, we are about to venture where have never gone before. For the first time since the advent of Animated Feature a quarter-century ago, we have a brand ne…

Night 5 of the #OscarBlitz means the first video breakdown of the season, for the new category, #Casting! Read (and watch) for analysis of #Hamnet, #MartySupreme, #OneBattleAfterAnother, #TheSecretAgent, and #Sinners!

Oscar Blitz 2026 - Casting (VIDEO) actuallypaid.com/2026/02/13/o...

It's the first video breakdown of this year's #OscarBlitz! Watch now for my thoughts on #BestCasting!

youtu.be/2-xVmeq9XYY

Oscar Blitz 2026 – Adapted Screenplay Sometime around 2013, I wrote a short story as a form of creative expression in a time when I was feeling very empty inside. It was about a young man who meets a little girl in a Tokyo train statio…

Night 4 of the #OscarBlitz tackles #AdaptedScreenplay! Read on for analysis of #Bugonia, #Frankenstein, #Hamnet, #OneBattleAfterAnother, and #TrainDreams!

Oscar Blitz 2026 - Adapted Screenplay actuallypaid.com/2026/02/12/o...