Tuesday, January 24, 2012

2012 Oscar Nominees: 'The Artist' and 'Hugo' Lead the Pack

Well, this isn't looking good. Way too much praise for "The Descendants" and "Midnight in Paris" -- two films I' didn't exactly dislike -- and are there nine best picture nominees instead of ten?Also wasn't expecting so much "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close." Had no idea Glenn Close was in an Oscar-caliber film this year, but wouldn't it be something if Viola Davis and Meryl Streep split the vote and Glenn finally took home the gold?!! (Michelle Williams is more likely to benefit in that scenario, however.) Although I think Charlize Theron deserved a nod for "Young Adult," I didn't expect her to get it. Costar Patton Oswalt, however, was completely robbed. I don't see a lot of excitement for any of these films -- there's not even a "Slumdog Millionaire" or "King's Speech" in the bunch -- and predict this will be one of the lowest-rated telecasts in recent years. Thoughts?

Here are the main categories:

Best Picture
  • The Artist
  • The Descendants
  • Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
  • The Help
  • Hugo
  • Midnight in Paris
  • Moneyball
  • The Tree of Life
  • War Horse

  • Best Supporting Actor
  • Kenneth Branagh, My Week with Marilyn
  • Jonah Hill, Moneyball
  • Nick Nolte, Warrior
  • Christopher Plummer, Beginners
  • Max Von Sydow, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

  • Best Supporting Actress
  • Berenice Bejo, The Artist
  • Jessica Chastain, The Help
  • Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids
  • Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs
  • Octavia Spencer, The Help

  • Best Actress
  • Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs
  • Viola Davis, The Help
  • Rooney Mara, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
  • Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
  • Michelle Williams, My Week with Marilyn

  • Best Actor
  • Demian Bichir, A Better Life
  • George Clooney, The Descendants
  • Jean Dujardin, The Artist
  • Gary Oldman, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
  • Brad Pitt, Moneyball

  • Best Director
  • Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
  • Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
  • Alexander Payne, The Descendants
  • Martin Scorsese, Hugo
  • Terrence Malick, The Tree of Life

  • Best Adapted Screenplay
  • The Descendants, Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash
  • Hugo, John Logan
  • The Ides of March, George Clooney, Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon
  • Moneyball, Steve Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin. Story by Stan Chervin.
  • Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Bridget O' Connor and Peter Straughan

  • Best Original Screenplay
  • The Artist, Michael Hazanavicius
  • Bridesmaids, Annie Mumolo and Kristen Wiig
  • Margin Call, J.C. Chandor
  • Midnight in Paris, Woody Allen
  • A Separation, Asghar Farhadi

  • Best Animated Feature
  • A Cat in Paris
  • Chico & Rita
  • Kung Fu Panda 2
  • Puss in Boots
  • Rango

    More HERE.
  • 6 comments:

    Chad said...

    Yeah, the rules changed AGAIN this year. In order to be a Best Picture nominee, the film had to get, like, 5% of total votes. So, if only 5 movies got 5%, then there'd only be 5 best pictures. I guess there were 9 pictures this year that got the required percentage.

    David said...

    EXPECT A BORING TELECAST. For one, only 2 songs worthy of praise? :/

    501bob said...

    My problem with Glenn Close in "Albert Nobbs" is she looks like Conan O'Brien.
    I loved "Margin Call".
    Why no Ryan Gosling in "Drive".
    Oh well there's always a disappointment.

    Mike said...

    Someone will always be snubbed, someone seemingly undeserving will get nominated and year after year we'll have this same discussion. I enjoy the give and take and debates among the movie-going public. Feel free to disagree but I was totally charmed by "The Artist" and "Midnight in Paris", blown away by Michael Fassbender in "Shame" (a very depressing film but fearlessly acted -- at the very least his jockstrap should have been nominated for "Best Support"), and impressed by Charlize and Patton in "Young Adult". I could extrapolate all day but you get the gist of it. Let the debate continue!

    Anonymous said...

    It's a sad day in Hollywood when only 2 songs get nominated. However, it beats having 5 crap songs nominated which has occurred in a few recent years.
    The telecast has also been as dull as dishwater in recent years - apart from the gorgeous Hugh Jackman a few years ago. However, I do enjoy Billy Crystal, too.

    Anonymous said...

    I am shocked that Michael Fassbender did not get a nod. Maybe the Acedemy is afraid of two many penis jokes
    (Ok this is funny, the cataphrase to submit this comment is "semin")