The nominees for the 84th annual Academy Awards were announced early this AM, as chosen by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Hugo and The Artist lead the way with the most nominations – 11 and 10 respectively.
Although those nominations are well deserved and come as no real shock, there were a couple of surprises this year and a few big snubs – one in particular will be hard to fathom for most New Zealanders. But it’s not all bad news for us Kiwis…
First up, the surprise noms. Melissa McCarthy gets a nod in the Best Supporting Actress category for Bridesmaids. Although she was great in the film, this is still an interesting choice given the type of character she played. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is also bit of shock in the Best Picture category, given the generally average reviews it’s received.
Now the snubs. Probably the biggest by far, at least for us Kiwis anyway, is The Adventures of Tintin not making the Best Animated Feature list – beaten out by the likes of Puss in Boots. Really? Really?!?! No nods for Michael Fassbender (Shame) or Albert Brooks (Drive) either – which is a bit weird given their nomination for other awards this season and the fact their movies are freakin’ awesome! Drive did make the Best Sound Editing list; but that’s like a slap in the face with a wet fish. The other film I thought deserved a nod or two was the fantastic Melancholia – but I’m not the Academy, so what do I know.
I’m not entirely sure why we have nine films competing for Best Picture this year. That seems a lot; and now we’ll have to sit through several more boring teleprompter-driven film introductions. Yawn! But it’s great to see that Tree of Life made the cut (and Terrence Malick for Best Director), although I have a feeling The Artist or The Descendants will go home with the gold. It’s also great to see Gary Oldman nominated for Best Actor – I’ve always been a huge fan.
Fantastic news for local boy Bret McKenzie, who got nominated for Best Original Song. Looking at the competition (only one other tune!), the Kiwi lad ‘should’ win yet another award for his incredible talent. Speaking of talent, Weta Digital get the thumbs up once again; this time for their work on Rise of the Planet of the Apes – and well deserved too. It’s a pity Andy Serkis didn’t get some recognition for his incredible work as Ceaser though.
The 84th Academy Awards are held on February 27th (NZT) and will be hosted by Oscars stalwart Billy Crystal. Admit One will be covering the awards live this year! So look out for our live post, including our pre-event picks. See you on the 27th!
Check out the list below and tell us what your surprise nominations and biggest snubs were?
Here’s the full list of nominations:
BEST PICTURE:
The Artist
Moneyball
The Descendants
The Tree of Life
Midnight in Paris
The Help
Hugo
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
War Horse
BEST DIRECTOR:
Alexander Payne – The Descendants
Michel Hazanavicius – The Artist
Martin Scorsese – Hugo
Woody Allen – Midnight in Paris
Terrence Malick – Tree of Life
BEST ACTOR:
Jean Dujardin – The Artist
Gary Oldman – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
George Clooney – The Descendants
Brad Pitt – Moneyball
Demian Bichir – A Better Life
BEST ACTRESS:
Meryl Streep – The Iron Lady
Viola Davis – The Help
Michelle Williams – My Week With Marilyn
Glenn Close – Albert Nobbs
Rooney Mara – The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:
Christopher Plummer – Beginners
Kenneth Branagh – My Week With Marilyn
Nick Nolte – Warrior
Jonah Hill – Moneyball
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 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
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:
Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon & Jim Rash – The Descendants
John Logan – Hugo
Aaron Sorkin & Steven Zaillian – Moneyball
George Clooney – The Ides of March
Peter Straughan & Bridget O’Connor – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE:
A Cat in Paris
Chico & Rita
Kung Fu Panda 2
Puss in Boots
Rango
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM:
Bullhead (Belgium)
Monsieur Lazhar (Canada)
A Separation (Iran)
Footnote (Israel)
In Darkness (Poland)
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY:
The Artist
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
The Tree of Life
War Horse
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE:
Pina
Hell and Back Again
If A Tree Falls: The Story of the Earth Liberation Front
Paradise Lost 3
Undefeated
BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT:
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:
Dimanche/Sunday
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore
La Luna
A Morning Stroll
Wild Life
BEST LIVE-ACTION SHORT:
Pentecost
Raju
The Shore
Time Freak
Tuba Atlantic
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE:
John Williams – The Adventures of Tintin
Ludovic Bource – The Artist
Howard Shore – Hugo
Alberto Iglesias – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
John Williams – War Horse
BEST ORIGINAL SONG:
“Man or Muppet” – The Muppets
“Real in Rio” – Rio
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS:
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
Hugo
Real Steel
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
BEST ART DIRECTION:
The Artist
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
War Horse
BEST COSTUME DESIGN:
Anonymous
The Artist
Hugo
Jane Eyre
W.E.
BEST MAKEUP:
Albert Nobbs
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
The Iron Lady
BEST FILM EDITING:
The Artist
The Descendants
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Moneyball
BEST SOUND MIXING:
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Moneyball
Hugo
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
War Horse
BEST SOUND EDITING:
Drive
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
War Horse
