And the Oscar goes to…

The Oscars are coming closer (February 28, Sunday) and this time it will be very special for me to watch the Oscars as I was actually there 9 months ago, seriously J During our road trip to US West coast we of course stopped at Los Angeles, the heart of the moving pictures. Dolby Theater was the first thing on my list. Frankly it is not as glorious as it is without the red carpet, decorations and of course without the stars. Still it felt so nice to walk up those stairs towards Dolby Theater (see the pic on the right :)) For a moment I imagined me and my husband there and greeting Robert De Niro, making jokes with Jennifer Lawrence and giving complements to my idol Meryl Streep. Then we came back to reality and got our admission tickets to the theater. Again it is a very regular theater hall and the seats OMG! they are old and very uncomfortable. I was thinking how the female actresses were able to sit with their very big gowns. Anyway I again started to dream where my name is announced as best actress in leading role in a Spielberg movie. With an emotional face I go to the stage, thank to Spielberg for giving me this chance and my co-star Leonardo DiCaprio and of course all the cast and crew and then I became more emotional while I am thanking to my mother and my husband. Lastly I dedicate the award to my lovely grandmother. By the voice of our guide I came back to reality again. The tour was short but it was worth it for me.

That’s why this year it will be special for me to watch the Oscars live at 2 am in the morning.

As always I have nearly seen all the films that are nominated. So it’s time to share my predictions. Here it comes,

Best Picture

Will Win: Spotlight

May Win: The Revenant

Should Win: Spotlight (If we look at the nominees it is the only film that stands for a very important issue: Child abuse in the catholic churches. The others are good but this film should get the Oscar. It is also a team work. Not only one person leads the film but the whole cast makes the film good.)

Best Director

Will Win: Alejandro González Iñárritu (The Revenant)

May Win: Tom McCarthy (Spotlight)

Should Win: Quentin Tarantino (I know he is not even nominated but he should have been nominated. The Oscar jury should stop ignoring Tarantino as a director and nominating him in the category of screenplay!)

Best Actor in Leading Role

Will Win: Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant)      

May Win: Leonardo DiCaprio (“There is no ‘may win’! He will win the Oscar, he deserves every inch of it and he already won every award so far.” These were the words that I used for Eddie Redmayne last year and now I am saying the exact same things for Leo. He has come so far from Jack Dawson.)

Should Win: Leonardo DiCaprio

Best Actress in Leading Role

Will Win: Brie Larson (Room)

May Win: Cate Blanchett (Carol)

Should Win: Brie Larson (Actually here is also no ‘may win’.)

Best Actor in Supporting Role

Will Win: Mark Rylance (Bridge of Spies)

May Win: Sylvester Stallone (Creed)

Should Win: Mark Rylance (My heart wants Stallone to win, he is my childhood hero, he is Rocky. But we should be fair Rylance was so good in the Bridge of Spies that you can’t just ignore that. Yes for all his efforts Stallone deserves an Oscar but Mark Rylance should win and will win!)

Best Actress in Supporting Role

Will Win: Kate Winslet (Steve Jobs)

May Win: Jennifer Jason Leigh (The Hateful Eight)

Should Win: Jennifer Jason Leigh (In this Oscar season maybe her performance was the best. It isn’t easy to work with Tarantino and it isn’t easy to shine in a man-oriented western movie with all those talented actors but she really shines. The only reason that the academy will give the Oscar to Kate Winslet is that they want to give at least one Oscar to the film “Steve Jobs” to honor him. The movie was bad. I am a fan of Fassbender, but he was not good either. You think it can not be possible to make Apple history boring but they did. Additionally Winslet’s performance was OK. )

Best Original Screenplay

Will Win: Spotlight

May Win: Bridge of Spies

Should Win: Ex Machina (This movie is so much underestimated that I can not believe. It seems like a regular robot film but it is not! There is philosophical background in this film and that makes you think. There are very good conversations, better than “Steve Jobs”! Moreover it is a very good thriller. It should be awarded at least with the screenplay award.)

Best Adapted Screenplay

Will Win: The Big Short

May Win: The Martian

Should Win: The Martian (I loved this film. It is inspiring and funny. But I strongly thinks that “The Big Short” will get the award as they think it is a more important issue, mortgage crisis.)

Best Foreign Language Film

Will Win: Son of Saul

May Win: Mustang

Should Win: I can’t say anything about this because I didn’t see the nominees this year.

Best Original Score

Will Win: The Hateful Eight        

May Win: The Bridge of Spies

Should Win: The Hateful Eight (Actually I have no doubt, Ennio Morricone will be honored with this award. He is  one of the great composers of our generation. He did an excellent job and I am afraid this will be the only award “The Hateful Eight” will get.)

Best Original Song

Will Win: Writing’s On the Wall (Spectre)

May Win: Writing’s On the Wall (Spectre)

Should Win: Writing’s On the Wall (Spectre)

For the technical nominations I have some predictions but I can not say which film should win, cause I don’t have that knowledge to really question their judgement.

Achievement in Cinematography

Will Win: The Revenant

May Win: The Hateful Eight

Achievement in Costume Design

Will Win: Carol

May Win: The Danish Girl

Achievement in Film Editing

Will Win: The Revenant

May Win: Spotlight

Achievement in Makeup and Hairstyling

Will Win: Mad Max: Fury Road

May Win: The Revenant

Achievement in Production Design

Will Win: The Revenant

May Win: The Martian (maybe Bridge of Spies)

Achievement in Sound Editing

Will Win: Star Wars: The Force Awakens

May Win: The Revenant

Achievement in Sound Mixing

Will Win: Star Wars: The Force Awakens

May Win: The Revenant

Achievement in Visual Effects

Will Win: Star Wars: The Force Awakens

May Win: The Revenant

Lastly let’s come to the categories for which I have no idea who will win or who may win but for some of them I have some instincts about the winners: Best Documentary (Amy -  I have watched this, this was very realistic), Best Documentary Short Subject, Best Animated Film (Inside Out), Best Live Action Short Film and Best Animated Short Film.

On February 28, I will be watching the Oscars ‘live’ and I will keep scores so that I can share with you how many of my predictions become reality. Let the Oscars begin! 

Forever free, forever together

"Give the ones you love wings to fly, roots to come back and reasons to stay.” -Dalai Lama

When I first saw this quote I immediately thought about my husband. From the beginning of our relationship he really gives me wings to fly. He always encourages me to try new things, explore my capacities and makes me realize how much potential I have and push me to use it. (He thinks one day I can win a Nobel Prize in chemistry.) On the other hand as the quote says he gives me roots to come back. He has built a home, a family that I completely belong. I can be myself, I am free but at the same time I belong to him. These days these two concepts can not be put together. You're either free or you're with someone as if being in a relationship makes you a possession of the other one. However in a real relationship you belong to someone. Belonging is a sense of security. You feel so secured with him that you trust him like you trust yourself. Isn't that a great feeling? And with that feeling even if you fly far far away  you will come back and you will stay. I have every reason to stay with him. His love, his tenderness, his caring personality... He deals with me even if I am in my grumpiest mood. He makes me feel like I am the only one that matters.

Then I started to think deeper about this quote. I realized that yoga also gives me wings to fly. With yoga I am liberated from all my tags. I don't have to be punctual for example or I don't have to put everything under my control. I can be myself moreover I can be the unknown version of myself because yoga gives me the opportunity, the time to explore new things about myself and make me go deeper to see my inner self. It is an endless journey and that's why I always come back to my mat. There is a new journey ahead every time when I am on my mat. I see the changes in me. There is nobody to judge me, I have nothing to be afraid of. I don't need to hide myself. It is only me and my mat.

And I will stay. Once you started practicing yoga you realize that your state of mind becomes peaceful. You try to integrate many of the things you learn in your yoga practice. You become more aware how precious is the moments that we are living now and once you missed them, they would be gone forever. That's why I ,for example, in the past stayed angry and irritated for some time after a fight with my husband, ruined 30 minutes (or sometimes more) more of our lives just because I don't want to let go and I want to continue showing more irritation. However nowadays I am training myself first of all to solve the problem immediately (not waiting him to understand that I am angry) and after the fight I try to change my mood as soon as possible by thinking about good things about our relationship more importantly focusing on the solution of the problem not the reasons of the fight. That way of thinking came with yoga. Of course not after 2-3 practice but with regular practice and with going deeper into the practice. It will come to you maybe after 2 months or maybe after years of practice. It takes time for your body, mind and soul to absorb the wisdom of yogic teachings.

Now I think about the quote again I feel so blessed to have him as my life partner (and try to be the same for him) and to have yoga as my life guidance.

May you always be free like the birds,

"May you have a strong foundation

When the winds of changes shift."

May you stay forever free, forever together.

P.S. The line between the quotation marks is from the song "Forever Young" by Bob Dylan.