Beaks here...
This is it: months of campaigning and millions of dollars are about to determine the pinnacle of artistic achievement in motion pictures for the year 2011. It's Oscar time, y'all! Once again, The Weinstein Company has the thoroughbred to beat (THE ARTIST), while frequent nominees like Martin Scorsese, Meryl Streep and Woody Allen are back for more peer-bestowed plaudits. And then there's Brad Pitt, expected to be nominated in both acting categories (lead for MONEYBALL, supporting for THE TREE OF LIFE). Is this his year, or will he be thwarted by Christopher Plummer and his best buddy in the whole world, George Clooney? We'll soon find out!!!
If you're looking for surprises, the film that might make a stronger showing than expected is TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY (the terrific spy thriller was ignored by the guilds, but has allegedly caught on with AMPAS members over the last few weeks). WAR HORSE could also sneak in for Picture and Director. And a fella can always hope for a surprise Elizabeth Olsen nomination in the Actress race.
I'll be updating throughout the morning with piercing analysis of each category. And now, the nominees (please bear with me if formatting is a little wonky at first)...
Best Picture
THE ARTIST
THE DESCENDANTS
THE HELP
HUGO
EXTREMELY LOUD & INCREDIBLY CLOSE
MIDNIGHT IN PARIS
WAR HORSE
THE TREE OF LIFE
MONEYBALL
Industry buzz indicated that this would be, at most, a seven-movie field. Somehow, nine titles made it, and the mush-headed branch of the Academy must've really fallen for the hateful grief porn that is EXTREMELY LOUD & INCREDIBLY CLOSE. This is easily the worst film ever nominated for Best Picture. Overproduced mediocrities have won before, but nothing this abhorrent has ever snuck into the race. It currently has a rotten rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Has a "rotten" movie been nominated before? I doubt it.
THE ARTIST is the clear frontrunner, and will probably win because it is slight and likable. Given its eleven nominations, HUGO would seem to be the only film capable of beating it out, but I think THE HELP could overtake it - though it'll probably split the emotional cripple/imbecile vote with EXTREMELY LOUD & INCREDIBLY CLOSE.
Best Director
Michel Hazanavicius, THE ARTIST
Alexander Payne, THE DESCENDANTS
Martin Scorsese, HUGO
Woody Allen, MIDNIGHT IN PARIS
Terrence Malick, THE TREE OF LIFE
No surprises here. David Fincher was thought to be a possibility, but the lack of a Picture nomination in a nine-movie field tells the tale. Hazanavicius is the favorite, but Scorsese is right there with him.
Best Actor
Demian Bichir, A BETTER LIFE
George Clooney, THE DESCENDANTS
Jean Dujardin, THE ARTIST
Gary Oldman, TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY
Brad Pitt, MONEYBALL
Kudos to Demian Bichir for a well-deserved nomination. He was heartbreaking in Chris Weitz's A BETTER LIFE. Also glad to see Oldman in this group; I'd love to see Pitt and Clooney cancel each other out, and clear the way for an Oldman win.
Best Actress
Glenn Close, ALBERT NOBBS
Viola Davis, THE HELP
Meryl Streep, THE IRON LADY
Rooney Mara, THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO
Michelle Williams, MY WEEK WITH MARILYN
It's presumed Mara took Tilda Swinton's spot, but, in terms of merit (irrelevant when discussing the Oscars), Mara and Swinton should be running neck-and-neck for the win. Close was godawful in the unwatchable ALBERT NOBBS; Streep showboated in the useless THE IRON LADY. David was good, but she's been better in much better movies. Go Rooney.
Best Supporting Actor
Kenneth Branagh, MY WEEK WITH MARILYN
Jonah Hill, MONEYBALL
Nick Nolte, WARRIOR
Cristopher Plummer, BEGINNERS
Max von Sydow, EXTREMELY LOUD & INCREDIBLY CLOSE
Albert Brooks is the obvious snub here, but he also failed to get a SAG nomination, so this isn't a huge surprise. Still disappointing. Not that it matters. Plummer is going to win.
Best Supporting Actress
Berenice Bejo, THE ARTIST
Jessica Chastain, THE HELP
Melissa McCarthy, BRIDESMAIDS
Janet McTeer, ALBERT NOBBS
Octavia Spencer, THE HELP
This is Octavia's to lose. Not crazy about her performance, but it's not like anyone else in this group was blindingly brilliant.
Best Adapted Screenplay
Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash, THE DESCENDANTS
John Logan, HUGO
George Clooney, Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon, THE IDES OF MARCH
Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin (story by Stan Chervin) MONEYBALL
Bridget O'Connor & Peter Straughan, TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY
I admired HUGO, but Scorsese's visual poetry elevated Logan's pat screenplay. MONEYBALL has grown on me (and I dug the cynicism of THE IDES OF MARCH, which will resonate heading into a presidential election year), but this belongs to TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY. THE DESCENDANTS will win.
Best Original Screenplay
Michel Hazanavicius, THE ARTIST
Kristen Wiig & Annie Mumolo, BRIDESMAIDS
J.C. Chandor, MARGIN CALL
Woody Allen, MIDNIGHT IN PARIS
Asghar Farhadi, A SEPARATION
Chandor was a surprise, but MARGIN CALL got a huge boost during screener season (shame Fox Searchlight was slow on the draw with the MARGARET screeners; Lonergan should be in this group). It'll be a travesty if anyone other than Farhadi wins, but this is the Oscars, so a travesty it'll be! I think Allen wins for one of his more modest pleasures.
Best Foreign Film
BULLHEAD (Belgium)
MONSIEUR LAZHAR (Canada)
A SEPARATION (Iran)
FOOTNOTE (Israel)
IN DARKNESS (Poland)
Congrats to the Drafthouse crew for their BULLHEAD nomination! I wish I could pull for it over A SEPARATION, but Farhadi's movie is a once-in-a-lifetime film. This is a goofy category (you have to see all five movies to vote), so I'm prepared for an idiotic upset. Watch out for FOOTNOTE. I won't even begin to ponder the misguided political reasons why this might occur.
Best Animated Feature
A CAT IN PARIS
CHICO AND RITA
KUNG FU PANDA 2
PUSS IN BOOTS
RANGO
No CARS 2, no TINTIN, no WINNIE THE POOH... just bizarre. I thought TINTIN would win this. Now that it's not nominated, RANGO is the clear favorite.
Best Art Direction
Laurence Bennett; Robert Gould, THE ARTIST
Stuart Craig; Stephenie McMillan, HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART 2
Dante Ferretti; Francesca Lo Schiavo, HUGO
Anne Seibel; Helene Dubreuil, MIDNIGHT IN PARIS
Rick Carter; Lee Sandales, WAR HORSE
No real qualms here. Probably a two-horse race between HUGO and THE ARTIST. If HUGO starts racking up victories early in the Oscar broadcast, it could portend a Best Picture upset.
Best Cinematography
Guillame Schiffman, THE ARTIST
Jeff Cronenweth, THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO
Robert Richardson, HUGO
Janusz Kaminski, WAR HORSE
Emmanuel Lubezki, THE TREE OF LIFE
All worthy nominees. Lubezki would be my choice, but Richardson feels like the favorite. They're both masters, which means they'll probably lose to Schiffman.
Best Costume Design
Lisy Christl, ANONYMOUS
Mark Bridges, THE ARTIST
Sandy Powell, HUGO
Michael O'Connor, JANE EYRE
Arianne Phillips, W.E.
A Madonna-directed film has been nominated for an Academy Award! No idea who wins this, but smart money is on Powell.
Best Editing
Anne Sophie-Bion and Michel Hazanavicius, THE ARTIST
Kevin Tent, THE DESCENDANTS
Kirk Baxter, Angus Wall, THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO
Thelma Schoonmaker, HUGO
Christopher Tellefsen, MONEYBALL
DRIVE wuz robbed. And what the hell is THE DESCENDANTS doing here (it received an ACE nomination, too)? Love Thelma, but, much as I disliked the film, Baxter and Wall did their job brilliantly on DRAGON TATTOO.
Best Makeup
THE ARTIST
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART 2
THE IRON LADY
Only HARRY POTTER is deserving. May the best wig-maker win.
Best Original Score
Ludovic Bource, THE ARTIST
John Williams, THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN
Howard Shore, HUGO
Alberto Iglesias, TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY
John Williams, WAR HORSE
Williams will cancel himself out, which means Bource probably eke out a win (though the cue most film-ignorant voters swooned over belongs to Bernard Herrmann).
Best Original Song
"Man or Muppet" from THE MUPPETS
"Real in Rio" from RIO
Let this be the death of this useless fucking award (though I hope "Man or Muppet" wins).
Best Sound Editing
DRIVE
HUGO
MONEYBALL
TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON
WAR HORSE
Best Sound Mixing
THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO
HUGO
MONEYBALL
TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON
WAR HORSE
Best Visual Effects
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART 2
HUGO
RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES
TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON
REAL STEEL
Hugely disappointed that THE TREE OF LIFE was shut out, but at least this isn't a HEREAFTER over SCOTT PILGRIM scenario. All of these films featured excellent f/x work. RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES should win, and hopefully the crew will bring Andy Serkis up to the stage with them.
Best Documentary Feature
HELL AND BACK AGAIN
PINA
IF A TREE FALLS: A STORY OF THE EARTH LIBERATION FRONT
PARADISE LOST 3: PURGATORY
UNDEFEATED
I've only seen three of these films, and my vote would go to PARADISE LOST 3. Bummed Werner Herzog's INTO THE ABYSS didn't even make the shortlist. Ditto Steve James's THE INTERRUPTERS.
Best Documentary Short Subject
THE BARBER OF BIRMINGHAM: FOOT SOLDIER OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT
GOD IS THE BIGGER ELVIS
INCIDENT IN NEW BAGHDAD
SAVING FACE
THE TSUNAMI AND THE CHERRY BLOSSOM
Best Animated Short Film
"Dimanche/Sunday"
"The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore"
"La Luna"
"A Morning Stroll"
"Wild Life"
Best Live-Action Short Film
"Pentecost"
"Raju"
"The Shore"
"Time Freak"
"Tuba Atlantic"
Want some reactions from the nominees? Well, screw you, you're gettin' 'em anyway!
Here's Wim Wenders, director of the 3D PINA (and one of my all-time favorite films, PARIS, TEXAS):
"It's fantastic to be nominated for Best Documentary for the second time after "Buena Vista Social Club", especially as it is the first time for a 3D film to be given that honor. All the dancers and collaborators of the Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch, together with the crew and the production company Neue Road Movies, are extremely honored. With our journey into the magical kingdom of the great German choreographer Pina Bausch we wanted to raise a monument to this pioneer of modern dance. The worldwide success of PINA and now this Oscar nomination are fantastic rewards and recognition of our common work."
Here's Martin Scorsese...
I am deeply honored to have been nominated by the Academy for my work on Hugo. Every picture is a challenge, and this one - where I was working with 3D, HD and Sacha Baron Cohen for the first time - was no exception. It's a wonderful feeling to know that you've been recognized by the people in your industry. I congratulate my fellow nominees. It's an impressive list, and I'm in excellent company.
Gore Verbinski...
It is an incredible honor to be nominated this morning. We set out to do something different with RANGO, and this distinction is a testament to everyone who tirelessly dedicated themselves to creating our neurotic lizard. Rango was looking for an audience who shared his love of cinema and I’m humbled that he found one. It has been a remarkable journey, and one that I am grateful to share with our entire creative team, Paramount, and all of the virtuosos at Industrial, Light and Magic.
And Philippe Falardeau, director of Best Foreign Film nominee MONSIEUR LAZHAR...
“What is happening to the film is galaxies away from what I had initially hoped for. I say this, of course, in a good way. I rejoice in the fact that such an intimate film can find its way alongside Hollywood productions, proof that there is not only one path to artistic and public recognition. I am thrilled and I want to share this moment with all the members of Monsieur Lazhar's team, wherever they are right now. This is also their nomination. I also have a special thought at this moment for my family.”
