At 5am on Tuesday morning, members of the Academy, the press, film critics and publicists all gathered at the Samuel Goldwyn Theatre in Beverly Hills to hear the most anticipated announcement of the entertainment year; the 2012 Academy Award nominations.
At 5am on Tuesday morning, members of the Academy, the press, film critics and publicists all gathered at the Samuel Goldwyn Theatre in Beverly Hills to hear the most anticipated announcement of the entertainment year; the 2012 Academy Award nominations.
As we’ve come to expect from the Academy, there were a few surprise inclusions, some surprise exclusions, and a nice mix of first time nominees and established artists and veterans.
Martin Scorsese’s Hugo received 11 nominations, closely followed by the silent black and white film The Artist, directed by Michel Hazanavicius, with 10 nominations. Both are films about filmmaking and pay tribute to the early days of cinema; both also look scrumptious and are technically very well made which the Academy, made up of members of the film industry, obviously appreciates. That said, I do wonder if the Academy is feeling just a little sentimental in 2012.
It would seem both these films have a very good chance of scooping the technical awards (Cinematography, Costume, Art Direction, Film Editing), but can they secure the award for Best Picture or Directing? I think it’s more than likely. The Artist is a foreign film with a little known cast, but that didn’t stop Slumdog Millionaire winning 8 Oscars in 2009. I’m not sure if a silent French film sounds appealing to the average movie-goer, but it’s already won a long list of awards so the odds are in its favour. Hugo and Alexander Payne’s The Descendants should though provide stiff competition.
George Clooney has not surprisingly been nominated for Best Actor, and he’s joined by first time nominees Demian Bichir (A Better Life), Jean Dujardin (The Artist) and Gary Oldman (Tinker Tailor Solider Spy), along with four time nominee and good mate Brad Pitt (Moneyball).
Mexican actor Bichir is the surprise inclusion; and Leonardo DiCaprio (J. Edgar), Ryan Gosling (The Ides of March) and Michael Fassenbender (Shame, A Dangerous Method) deserve to feel a little put out their names weren’t on the list.
The other noticeable snub is in the Animated Feature Film category, which sees Puss in Boots and Kung Fu Panda 2 receive nominations, but not The Adventures of Tintin. I mean…really?
Not too many surprises in the Actress in a Leading Role category with Meryl Streep picking up her 17th nomination (yes, that’s a record) for her performance as Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady. I’m not fond of The Iron Lady but Streep is remarkable and obviously the lady to beat. The only name missing you may have expected to see was Tilda Swinton for We Need to Talk About Kevin.
I was pleased to see Bridesmaids receive a nomination in the Writing (Original Screenplay) category - nice one ladies. Although I was surprised to see Bridesmaids’ actress Melissa McCarthy received a nomination for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. Her scene pooing in a sink was one of the most memorable last year, but wouldn’t it be embarrassing to win an Oscar for it?
It’s also worth noting the original music category isn’t strong this year - there are only two nominees. I know who I’m backing - Kiwi Bret McKenzie for Man or Muppet from The Muppets. We’re averaging six plays a day of The Muppets CD in my house, and watching my five year old son belt out Man or Muppet has made the song even funnier.
Has the Academy got it right? Who do you think should have been included in the acting categories? Let me know!
“and here are the nominees”…http://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/84/nominees.html