Over the last few years the announcement of the Academy Award nominations has been a mini event for me. As they are announced across the other side of the world (and I believe it was a ridiculous 5.30am there in L.A) it is usually about midnight here. So, there we were with drinks and snacks, eagerly awaiting the event. After months of speculation and consideration, and meticulous attention to the predictions (that’s what we film fans do) it all comes down to about ten minutes.
Seth MacFarlane (this year’s host) and Emma Stone (isn’t she just class?) took to the stage and announced the nominees for eleven categories…ending with Best Picture. It was a tumultuous few minutes, offering up some genuinely shocking selections. Lets just say, a few films exceeded expectations and have become very real threats to take out Best Picture. A few others, though receiving multiple nominations, all but ended their chances. Personally, I find the nominations even more exciting than the awards, because by the time the ceremony comes around most of the winners are fairly obvious. I am not so sure this year, however.
Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln led the way with 12 nominations (including Best Picture, Director, Actor, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress and Best Adapted Screenplay). Ang Lee’s Life of Pi received 11 nominations (including almost every technical award in addition to Best Picture, Director and Adapted Screenplay). David O. Russell’s Silver Linings Playbook shortened in the betting substantially picking up 8, including what can be deemed as the ‘Big 7’ – Best Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay and all four acting categories with a surprise nomination for Jackie Weaver. The last film to receive nominations in each of those acting categories was Reds, 31 years ago, and very few films have ever done it. Amazing.
The rest of the Best Picture nominees – Argo, Amour, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Django Unchained, Les Miserables and Zero Dark Thirty – also fared well, but it became clearer who was going to make the cut as the proceedings went on, especially following the surprise Best Director nominations for Michael Haneke (Amour) and Ben Zeitlin (Beasts of the Southern Wild). Another extraordinary story is in the Best Actress category where the Emmanuelle Riva (Amour) and Quvenzhane Wallis (Beasts) become the oldest and youngest (respectively) nominees ever for the award.
Following are the complete list of nominees, accompanied by some commentary:
Best Picture
“Amour”
“Argo”
“Beasts Of The Southern Wild”
“Django Unchained”
“Les Miserables”
“Life Of Pi”
“Lincoln”
“Silver Linings Playbook”
“Zero Dark Thirty”
There are nine nominees. Just like last year. There were seven expected to make the cut, but if the Academy decided to select 8-10 it was difficult to predict who would make it. Amour, Beasts of the Southern Wild and The Master had all featured earlier (but after Michael Haneke and not Paul Thomas Anderson secured a Best Original Screenplay nomination, The Master’s chances seemed unlikely) and it was ultimately the nominations of Riva and Wallis (Actress) and then Haneke and Zeitlin (Director) that secured their spots. How incredible is it that another foreign language film has been nominated for Best Picture? It has been a few years now. If there had have been a 10th nominee, it ‘might’ have gone to Skyfall, filling in five technical categories.
Best Director
Michael Haneke – “Amour”
Benh Zeitlin – “Beasts Of The Southern Wild”
Ang Lee – “Life Of Pi”
Steven Spielberg – “Lincoln”
David O. Russell – “Silver Linings Playbook”
Huge curveballs here, and the producers knew it. The first mention of David O. Russell produced an “ooooh” because he was more a dark horse than a certainty. Ang Lee and Steven Spielberg were named next (as expected), but then the announcements of Michael Haneke (“ooooooooh”) and Ben Zeitlin (“OOOOOOHHHHH”) changed the game. It wasn’t until after the whole ceremony that I realised Kathryn Bigelow (Zero Dark Thirty), who emerged as the one to beat over the last few months, and Ben Affleck (Argo), thought to be a lock for his first nomination, missed out. It was a powerful moment. I have not yet seen Zero Dark Thirty but with all of the rave reviews and the awards already picked up by Bigelow, her exclusion is a shock. Haneke becomes the first director of a foreign language film since 2007 (Julian Schnabel, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly) to be nominated for Best Director.
Best Actor In A Leading Role
Denzel Washington – “Flight”
Hugh Jackman – “Les Miserables”
Daniel Day-Lewis – “Lincoln”
Joaquin Phoenix – “The Master”
Bradley Cooper – “Silver Linings Playbook”
I am ecstatic to see Joaquin Phoenix nominated here for The Master. He deserves it. I didn’t think it would happen. I am sad that it had to be at the expense of John Hawkes, who is terrific in The Sessions, but it would have been a travesty if he (Phoenix) missed the cut. Who would have thought (even this time last year) that Bradley Cooper would be a Best Actor nominee?
Best Actress In A Leading Role
Emmanuelle Riva – “Amour”
Quvenzhane Wallis – “Beasts Of The Southern Wild”
Naomi Watts – “The Impossible”
Jennifer Lawrence – “Silver Linings PLaybook”
Jessica Chastain – “Zero Dark Thirty”
I was never in doubt that the 85-year-old Riva would make the cut here, and honestly, she could win. The support for Amour suggests that the film could win more than Foreign Language Film. Lawrence (the favourite, certainly), Chastain and Watts were expected, but it was the 8-year-old Wallis who pipped out Marion Cotillard for Rust and Bone. An exciting category.
Best Actor In A Supporting Role
Alan Arkin – “Argo”
Christoph Waltz – “Django Unchained”
Tommy Lee Jones – “Lincoln”
Philip Seymour Hoffman – “The Master”
Robert De Niro – “Silver Linings Playbook”
This category was wide open. Look who didn’t make it. Matthew McConaughey for Magic Mike, Leonard DiCaprio for Django Unchained and Javier Bardem for Skyfall. There has been some controversy surrounding Waltz’ nom, not because he isn’t great in Djano Unchained, but because his screen time is so extensive it is hard to consider him a ‘supporting actor’. Nevertheless, he joins four other previous winners (how bout that?), and any of them could win. I’m thinking either Hoffman or Jones.
Best Actress In A Supporting Role
Anne Hathaway – “Les Miserables”
Sally Field – “Lincoln”
Amy Adams “The Master”
Helen Hunt – “The Sessions”
Jacki Weaver – “Silver Linings Playbook”
Jackie Weaver was the only surprise here. Most of us expected Nicole Kidman for The Paperboy, or perhaps Judi Dench for Skyfall, but Weaver snuck in for her second nomination in three years. It is a weaker category than previous years, and I expect Hathaway to win.
Best Original Screenplay
Michael Haneke – “Amour”
Quentin Tarantino – “Django Unchained”
John Gatins – “Flight”
Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola – “Moonrise Kingdom”
Mark Boal – “Zero Dark Thirty”
John Gatins was announced first, and that meant that one of my predicted nominees would miss the cut. That was Paul Thomas Anderson (The Master). Great to see Moonrise Kingdom receive some recognition, but Boal, Haneke and Tarantino look to have the best chances, their films being nominated for Best Picture and all.
Best Adapted Screenplay
Chris Terrio – “Argo
Lucy Alibar, Benh Zeitlin – “Beasts of the Southern Wild”
David Magee – “Life Of Pi”
Tony Kushner – “Lincoln”
David O. Russell – “Silver Linings Playbook”
THIS is the category where I think Best Picture will be won. Each of these films were nominated for Best Picture, but Lincoln, Life of Pi and Silver Linings Playbook are now the favourites. The winner of this award could certainly win Best Picture later in the ceremony. Notable exclusion was The Perks of Being A Wallflower, but I didn’t have Beasts of the Southern Wild on my personal ballot, so these selections make sense in the scheme of things.
Best Foreign Language Film
“Amour”
“Kon-Tiki”
“No”
“A Royal Affair”
“War Witch”
No nomination for The Intouchables? That threw a lot of people. I was surprised it was so favoured in the lead up. I enjoyed the film immensely, but I was looking elsewhere here. Great to see No and A Royal Affair there and I think that is three years in a row a Canadian film has been nominated. How can Amour lose this though?
Best Animated Feature Film
“Brave”
“Frankenweenie”
“ParaNorman”
“The Pirates! Band Of Misfits”
“Wreck-It Ralph”
No nomination for From Up on Poppy Hill? Expected, but it still makes me sad. The surprise inclusion was The Pirates that’s for sure. After watching ParaNorman yesterday I am Team Frankenweenie/ParaNorman. Anything but Wreck-It Ralph.
Best Original Song
“Before My Time” – “Chasing Ice”
“Pi’s Lullaby” – “Life Of Pi”
“Suddenly” – “Les Miserables”
“Skyfall” – “Skyfall”
“Everybody Needs A Best Friend” – “Ted”
Okay. Pretty funny to see Seth MacFarlane nominated here. Made for an amusing moment in the broadcast.
Best Cinematography
Seamus McGarvey – “Anna Karenina”
Robert Richardson – “Django Unchained”
Claudio Miranda – “Life Of Pi”
Janusz Kaminski – “Lincoln”
Roger Deakins – “Skyfall”
No nomination for The Master? That’s crazy. Great to see Deakins nominated for Skyfall and Robert Richardson (last year’s winner for Hugo) always creates handsome visuals, but I expect this is Miranda’s to lose.
Best Film Editing
William Goldenberg – “Argo”
Tim Squyres – “Life Of Pi”
Michael Kahn – “Lincoln”
Jay Cassidy and Crispin Struthers – “Silver Linings Playbook”
William Goldenberg, Dylan Tichenor – “Zero Dark Thirty”
I called this category exactly right. ZD30/Argo the favourite?
Best Costume Design
Jacqueline Durran – “Anna Karenina”
Paco Delgado – “Les Miserables”
Joanna Johnston – “Lincoln”
Eiko Ishioka – “Mirror Mirror”
Colleen Atwood – “Snow White and the Huntsman”
Posthumous nomination for Eiko Ishioka deserved in an otherwise terrible film.
Best Documentary Feature
“5 Broken Cameras”
“The Gatekeepers”
“How To Survive A Plague”
“The Invisible War”
“Searching For Sugar Man”
No nomination for The Imposter? That is a shame. My predictions included it over 5 Broken Cameras but I hear it is excellent. Great to see Searching For Sugar Man nominated and I expect this will come down to it and The Invisible War, touted as one of the year’s most important films.
Best Visual Effects
“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey”
“Life Of Pi”
“Marvel’s The Avengers”
“Prometheus”
“Snow White And The Huntsman”
Ugh. I am glad Prometheus got a look in here. Not impressed with either The Hobbit or Snow White. Please give it to Pi.
Best Production Design
Sarah Greenwood, Katie Spencer – “Anna Karenina”
Dan Hennah, Ra Vincent, Simon Bright – “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey”
Eve Stewart – “Les Miserables”
David Gropman, Anna Pinnock – “Life Of Pi”
Rick Carter, Jim Erickson, Peter T Frank – “Lincoln”
Fair enough.
Best Original Score
Dario Marianelli – “Anna Karenina”
Alexandre Desplat – “Argo”
Mychael Danna – “Life Of Pi”
John Williams – “Lincoln”
Thomas Newman – “Skyfall”
I honestly can’t remember Desplat’s score for Argo and I didn’t think that Danna’s work in Life of Pi was particularly memorable either. I have had Johnny Greenwood’s score for The Master playing almost every day. Shoulda been there.
Best Make Up
“Hitchcock”
“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey”
“Les Miserables”
We all know that Holy Motors should have been nominated here.
Best Sound Editing
“Argo”
“Django Unchained”
“Life Of Pi”
“Skyfall”
“Zero Dark Thirty”
Best Sound Mixing
“Argo”
“Les Miserables”
“Life Of Pi”
“Lincoln”
“Skyfall
Best Documentary Short Film
“Inocente”
“Kings Point”
“Mondays At Racine”
“Open Heart”
“Redemption”
Best Animated Short
“Adam And Dog”
“Fresh Guacamole”
“Head Over Heels”
“Maggie Simpson In The Longest Daycare”
“Paperman”
Best Live-Action Short Film
“Asad”
“Buzkashi Boys”
“Curfew”
“Death Of A Shadow”
“Henry”
So, receiving multiple nominations were: Lincoln (12, Life of Pi (11), Silver Linings Playbook (8), Les Miserables (8), Argo (7), Zero Dark Thirty (5), Django Unchained (5), Amour (5), Skyfall (5), Beasts of the Southern Wild (4), Anna Karenina (4), The Master (3), The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (3) and Flight (2).
What are your thoughts on this year’s nominees? It was an exciting announcement and there certainly were some curveballs, which was great to see. What are some of your favourite nominations? Who were you disappointed missed out?
Andrew Buckle - follow Andy on Twitter here: @buckle22
