For Your Consideration: James Franco

It is tradition in Hollywood to take out glossy, half-page ads in Variety and other trade papers to garner awards buzz. Actors and actresses are asked to be gracious and humble during that process, James Franco has other ideas.

To promote Franco's performances as Alien in Harmony Korine's Spring Breakers, A24 has put out a banner emblazoned with "CONSIDER THIS SH*T" in bold neon pink as Mr. Franco holds Oscar statues in eachhand. An A24 spokesperson said of the ad, "James Franco has created a character so indelible it deserves recognition. We are excited to be able to support it with a campaign and know the impact of Allen will last far past this awards season."

When prompted about the colorful language, the spokesperson responded, "We plan to create an awards campaign that is thematically consistent with the film itself."

Bold move, Franco. We'll see how the awards blogosphere responds.

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2013 Oscar Season Preview

The summer season is over and along with the changing of the leaves comes films where the third act isn't resolved by characters punching each other or a city being demolished. Studios shift from superhero origins to character studies, or message pieces that hit the sweet spot between pure entertainment and awards-bait.

This winter's offerings may not blow out your speakers or induce epilepsy, but they are thrilling in their own right.

All of these films feature A-list casts, acclaimed directors and choice scripts ranging from astronauts lost in space, a lawyer in over his head in the drug game, a corrupt Wall Street broker, a FBI sting of a New Jersey mayor, a runaway slave, and a man who chose to combat the pharamceutical system.

So with the awards in mind, here are a handful of winter's best bets for a shot at Oscar gold.

Read more at GotchaMovies!

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Keeping Their Fingers Crossed for Oscar

Sunday night is rapidly approaching and the favorites for the 85th Academy Awards have mostly set themselves apart from the field. Still, favorites have a way of managing to be surprised when the winner's name is announced. These nominees may just benefit from playing the dark horse.

Emmanuelle Riva
For a majority of the season, Jennifer Lawrence and Jessica Chastain had the inside track for Best Actress, but along the way 86 year old Riva upset both actresses at the BAFTAs. Her strong performance may connect with a majority of the voting body that thinks Lawrence hasn't paid her dues and Chastain has many nominations in front of her.

Frankenweenie
Wreck-It Ralph is the hip choice right now, it has swept its respective category for the last several awards, but these two animated features have their own passionate fanbases. Tim Burton has never won an Oscar over his long career and maybe that changes Sunday evening. Either way, Disney will win its first Animated Feature Oscar for the first time since the category's inception.

Silver Linings Playbook
Chris Terrio (Argo) and Tony Kushner (Lincoln) are the front-runners for the Oscar, but Academy voters have a history of giving awards to films as compensation for losing bigger contests. David O. Russell has a lot of competition for Best Director, but conceivably he could come home with the adapted screenplay award.

Ang Lee
Ben Affleck's snub opened the field up for a while and if Steven Spielberg doesn't capitalize on the moment, Lee seems most suited to take home the trophy. Life of Pi has no acting nominees, but nearly all voters acknowledge the technical prowess Lee exercised while making the film.

Joaquin Phoenix
Mr. Phoenix may not personally be keeping his fingers crossed, but current guarantee Daniel Day-Lewis name-checked the actor for his work in The Master when accepting one of his awards. Is a groundswell starting for the recently retired Phoenix? Day-Lewis has won Lead Actor twice previously so his win is a lock, yet a surprise here would be almost unprecedented.

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Oscar Happenings: Too Soon?

Regardless of what the Academy eventually chooses for Best Picture, Director, and Actor over the coming months, some will be shouting "again?!" when the winner's name is announced.

Out of all the nominees, nearly none of the leaders in major categories are new to the Oscar derby. Previous winners like Robert DeNiro, Sally Field, Denzel Washington, Joaquin Phoenix, Helen Hunt and Philip Seymour Hoffman could all add to their totals on Oscar night. And those are only a few names; the entire Supporting Actor category is made up of former winners!

With the exception of Amour and Beasts of the Southern Wild, the majority of the nominated films also have winners behind them. Kathryn Bigelow (Zero Dark Thirty) won Best Director three years ago for Hurt Locker, Steven Spielberg (Lincoln) is a two-time winner for Saving Private Ryan and Schindler's List and Ang Lee (Life of Pi) also won a Best Director Oscar previously for Brokeback Mountain.

Read the rest over at Film Annex

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2012 Nevada Film Critics Society Awards

The Nevada Film Critics Society announced their selections for best in film of 2012. A nice mix of films are all represented as are a few of my own favorites from the year.

Film - Argo
Actor - John Hawkes (The Sessions)
Actress - TIE - Helen Hunt (The Sessions) and Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook)
Supporting Actor - Tommy Lee Jones (Lincoln)
Supporting Actress - Sally Field (Lincoln)
Youth Performance - Tom Holland (The Impossible)
Director - TIE - Ben Affleck (Argo) and Kathryn Bigelow (Zero Dark Thirty)
Ensemble Cast - Lincoln
Animated Movie - Frankenweenie
Production Design - Les Miserables
Cinematography - Life Of Pi
Visual Effects - Life Of Pi

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Globes Nominations Tread Worn Path

While the Golden Globes traditionally have been known for nominating odd performances in mismatched categories, this year the Hollywood Foreign Press have played it conservatively. The only surprises of these nominees are the mentions for Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (McGregor and Blunt), which hasn't received much consideration elsewhere, and Django Unchained's two supporting actors (DiCaprio and Waltz) are nominated. Lincoln, Les Mis, and Zero Dark Thirty lead the pack, but Django didn't do too poorly either with five nods.

Quentin Tarantino had this to say about the Globes announcements: "It's very gratifying to get this many nominations from the HFPA for a film I worked so hard on and am so passionate about. I look forward to having fun at the Golden Globes with my cast mates and fellow nominees."

Leonardo DiCaprio: “I’m truly honored to be nominated by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association today. Django Unchained was a remarkable experience and I consider myself lucky to work with Quentin and the entire cast on the film. I’m particularly proud to be named alongside my fellow Django nominees.”

BEST PICTURE, DRAMA

"Zero Dark Thirty"

"Argo"

"Lincoln"

"Life of Pi"

"Django Unchained"

BEST PICTURE, COMEDY OR MUSICAL

"Silver Linings Playbook"

"Les Miserables"

"Best Exotic Marigold Hotel"

"Moonrise Kingdom"

"Salmon Fishing in the Yemen"

BEST ACTOR, DRAMA

Daniel Day-Lewis for "Lincoln"

Richard Gere for "Arbitrage"

John Hawkes for "The Sessions"

Denzel Washington for "Flight"

Joaquin Phoenix for "The Master"

BEST ACTRESS, DRAMA

Marion Cotillard for "Rust and Bone"

Jessica Chastain for "Zero Dark Thirty"

Naomi Watts for "The Impossible"

Rachel Weisz for "The Deep Blue Sea"

Helen Mirren for "Hitchcock"

BEST ACTOR, COMEDY OR MUSICAL

Hugh Jackman for "Les Miserables"

Bradley Cooper for "Silver Linings Playbook"

Jack Black for "Bernie"

Ewan McGregor for "Salmon Fishing in the Yemen"

Bill Murray for "Hyde Park On Hudson"

BEST ACTRESS, COMEDY OR MUSICAL

Jennifer Lawrence for "Silver Linings Playbook"

Meryl Streep for "Hope Springs"

Judi Dench for "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel"

Maggie Smith for "Quartet"

Emily Blunt for "Salmon Fishing in the Yemen"

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Tommy Lee Jones for "Lincoln"

Leonardo DiCaprio for "Django Unchained"

Phillip Seymour Hoffman for "The Master"

Christoph Waltz for "Django Unchained"

Alan Arkin for "Argo"

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Anne Hathaway for "Les Miserables"

Sally Field for "Lincoln"

Helen Hunt for "The Sessions"

Nicole Kidman for "The Paperboy"

Amy Adams for "The Master"

BEST DIRECTOR

Ang Lee for "Life of Pi"

Kathryn Bigelow for "Zero Dark Thirty"

Quentin Tarantino for "Django Unchained"

Steven Spielberg for "Lincoln"

Ben Affleck for "Argo"

BEST SCREENPLAY

"Zero Dark Thirty"

"Argo"

"Lincoln"

"Django Unchained"

"Silver Linings Playbook"

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

"Rise of the Guardians"

"Brave"

"Frankenweenie"

"Hotel Transylvania"

"Wreck-It Ralph"

BEST FOREIGN FILM

"The Intouchables"

"Rust and Bone"

"Amour"

"A Royal Affair"

"Kon-Tiki"

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

Adele ("Skyfall" for "Skyfall")

Jon Bon Jovi ("Not Running Anymore" for "Stand Up Guys")

Hugh Jackman ("Suddenly" for "Les Miserables")

"For You" for "Act of Valor"

Taylor Swift ("Safe and Sound" for "Hunger Games")

BEST SCORE

Mychael Danna for "Life of Pi"

Alexandre Desplat for "Argo"

Dario Marianelli for "Anna Karenina"

John Williams for "Lincoln" 

Reinhold Helil & Johnny Kilmek for "Cloud Atlas"

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Critics Choice Awards Nominees

The Critics Choice Movie Awards air January 10, 2013. A fun aside, the BFCA is introducing several new categories including “Favorite Fan Franchise,” where all fans vote for the winner. You can vote over at Awards Circuit!

BEST PICTURE
Argo
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Django Unchained
Les Misérables
Life of Pi
Lincoln
The Master
Moonrise Kingdom
Silver Linings Playbook
Zero Dark Thirty

BEST ACTOR
Bradley Cooper – “Silver Linings Playbook”
Daniel Day-Lewis – “Lincoln”
John Hawkes – “The Sessions”
Hugh Jackman – “Les Misérables”
Joaquin Phoenix – “The Master”
Denzel Washington – “Flight”

BEST ACTRESS
Jessica Chastain – “Zero Dark Thirty”
Marion Cotillard – “Rust and Bone”
Jennifer Lawrence – “Silver Linings Playbook”
Emmanuelle Riva – “Amour”
Quvenzhané Wallis – “Beasts of the Southern Wild”
Naomi Watts – “The Impossible”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Alan Arkin – “Argo”
Javier Bardem – “Skyfall”
Robert De Niro – “Silver Linings Playbook”
Philip Seymour Hoffman – “The Master”
Tommy Lee Jones – “Lincoln”
Matthew McConaughey – “Magic Mike”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams – “The Master”
Judi Dench – “Skyfall”
Ann Dowd – “Compliance”
Sally Field – “Lincoln”
Anne Hathaway – “Les Misérables”
Helen Hunt – “The Sessions”

BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS
Elle Fanning – “Ginger & Rosa”
Kara Hayward – “Moonrise Kingdom”
Tom Holland – “The Impossible”
Logan Lerman – “The Perks of Being a Wallflower”
Suraj Sharma – “Life of Pi”
Quvenzhané Wallis – “Beasts of the Southern Wild”

BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE
Argo
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Les Misérables
Lincoln
Moonrise Kingdom
Silver Linings Playbook

BEST DIRECTOR
Ben Affleck – “Argo”
Kathryn Bigelow – “Zero Dark Thirty”
Tom Hooper – “Les Misérables”
Ang Lee – “Life of Pi”
David O. Russell – “Silver Linings Playbook”
Steven Spielberg – “Lincoln”

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Quentin Tarantino – “Django Unchained”
John Gatins – “Flight”
Rian Johnson – “Looper”
Paul Thomas Anderson – “The Master”
Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola – “Moonrise Kingdom”
Mark Boal – “Zero Dark Thirty”

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Chris Terrio – “Argo”
David Magee – “Life of Pi”
Tony Kushner – “Lincoln”
Stephen Chbosky – “The Perks of Being a Wallflower”
David O. Russell – “Silver Linings Playbook”

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
“Les Misérables” – Danny Cohen
“Life of Pi” – Claudio Miranda
“Lincoln” – Janusz Kaminski
“The Master” – Mihai Malaimare Jr.
“Skyfall” – Roger Deakins

BEST ART DIRECTION
“Anna Karenina” – Sarah Greenwood/Production Designer; Katie Spencer/Set Decorator
“The Hobbit” – Dan Hennah/Production Designer; Ra Vincent & Simon Bright/Set Decorators
“Les Misérables” – Eve Stewart/Production Designer; Anna Lynch-Robinson/Set Decorator
“Life of Pi” – David Gropman/Production Designer; Anna Pinnock/Set Decorator
“Lincoln” – Rick Carter/Production Designer; Jim Erickson/Set Decorator

BEST EDITING
“Argo” – William Goldenberg
“Les Misérables” – Melanie Ann Oliver and Chris Dickens
“Life of Pi” – Tim Squyres
“Lincoln” – Michael Kahn
“Zero Dark Thirty” – William Goldenberg and Dylan Tichenor

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
“Anna Karenina” – Jacqueline Durran
“Cloud Atlas” – Kym Barrett and Pierre-Yves Gayraud
“The Hobbit” – Bob Buck, Ann Maskrey and Richard Taylor
“Les Misérables” – Paco Delgado
“Lincoln” – Joanna Johnston

BEST MAKEUP
Cloud Atlas
The Hobbit
Les Misérables
Lincoln

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
The Avengers
Cloud Atlas
The Dark Knight Rises
The Hobbit
Life of Pi

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Brave
Frankenweenie
Madagascar 3
ParaNorman
Rise of the Guardians
Wreck-It Ralph

BEST ACTION MOVIE
The Avengers
The Dark Knight Rises
Looper
Skyfall

BEST ACTOR IN AN ACTION MOVIE
Christian Bale – “The Dark Knight Rises”
Daniel Craig – “Skyfall”
Robert Downey Jr. – “The Avengers”
Joseph Gordon-Levitt – “Looper”
Jake Gyllenhaal – “End of Watch”

BEST ACTRESS IN AN ACTION MOVIE
Emily Blunt – “Looper”
Gina Carano – “Haywire”
Judi Dench – “Skyfall”
Anne Hathaway – “The Dark Knight Rises”
Jennifer Lawrence – “The Hunger Games”

BEST COMEDY
Bernie
Silver Linings Playbook
Ted
This Is 40
21 Jump Street

BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY
Jack Black – “Bernie”
Bradley Cooper – “Silver Linings Playbook”
Paul Rudd – “This Is 40”
Channing Tatum – “21 Jump Street”
Mark Wahlberg – “Ted”

BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
Mila Kunis – “Ted”
Jennifer Lawrence – “Silver Linings Playbook”
Shirley MacLaine – “Bernie”
Leslie Mann – “This Is 40”
Rebel Wilson – “Pitch Perfect”

BEST SCI-FI/HORROR MOVIE
The Cabin in the Woods
Looper
Prometheus

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Amour
The Intouchables
A Royal Affair
Rust and Bone

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Bully
The Central Park Five
The Imposter
The Queen of Versailles
Searching for Sugar Man
West of Memphis

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Moonrise Kingdom, Silver Linings Playbook Lead Spirit Nods

That time is upon us once again, the time where the high caliber films start making waves during awards ceremonies. Silver Linings Playbook and Moonrise Kingdom have landed the first blow with the most nominations for this year's Independent Spirit Awards. The momentum may not carry for Moonrise, but given that SLP is backed by The Weinstein Company, expect a big push for that film.

Keeping my fingers crossed for Jack Black for Bernie, very much deserving of the praise and unlikely to receive its due with Daniel Day-Lewis, Denzel Washington and John Hawkes in the fold.

Best Feature

Beasts of the Southern Wild

Bernie

Keep the Lights On

Moonrise Kingdom

Silver Linings Playbook

Best Director

Wes Anderson, Moonrise Kingdom

Julia Loktev, The Loneliest Planet

David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook

Ira Sachs, Keep the Lights On

Benh Zeitlin, Beasts of the Southern Wild

Best Female Lead

Linda Cardellini, Return

Emayatzy Corinealdi, Middle of Nowhere

Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook

Quvenzhané Wallis, Beasts of the Southern Wild

Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Smashed

Best Male Lead

Jack Black, Bernie

Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook

John Hawkes, The Sessions

Thure Lindhardt, Keep the Lights On

Matthew McConaughey, Killer Joe

Wendell Pierce, Four

Best Supporting Female

Rosemarie DeWitt, Your Sister’s Sister

Ann Dowd, Compliance

Helen Hunt, The Sessions

Brit Marling, Sound of My Voice

Lorraine Toussaint, Middle of Nowhere

Best Supporting Male

Matthew McConaughey, Magic Mike

David Oyelowo, Middle of Nowhere

Michael Péna, End of Watch

Sam Rockwell, Seven Psychopaths

Bruce Willis, Moonrise Kingdom

Best Screenplay

Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola, Moonrise Kingdom

Zoe Kazan, Ruby Sparks

Martin McDonagh, Seven Psychopaths

David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook

Ira Sachs, Keep the Lights On

Best First Feature (Award given to the director and producer)

Fill the Void

Gimme the Loot

Safety Not Guaranteed

Sound of My Voice

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Best First Screenplay

Rama Burshtein, Fill the Void

Derek Connolly, Safety Not Guaranteed

Christopher Ford, Robot & Frank

Rashida Jones & Will McCormack, Celeste and Jesse Forever

Jonathan Lisecki, Gayby

Best Cinematography

Yoni Brook, Valley of Saints

Lol Crawley, Here

Ben Richardson, Beasts of the Southern Wild

Roman Vasyanov, End of Watch

Robert Yeoman, Moonrise Kingdom

Best International Film

Amour

Once Upon A Time in Anatolia

Rust And Bone

Sister

War Witch

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The 2012 Lammys

Another year, another LAMMYs hosted by the Large Association of Movie Blogs. For your consideration in the above categories: best blog, best design, most prolific, and best running feature (10 words or less).

Best Blog: There are far better candidates out there, but a guy can hope...

Most Prolific: A post a day is difficult given school, interning, and some semblance of a social life.

Best Running Feature: 10 Words or Less. Come on, you know some of you have laughed at a few of these.

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Your Thoughts: Oscar Edition

With all of last night devoted to the Academy's proclivity to reward films that show itself in a positive light, The Artist took home a great deal of awards. But did it deserve them? The floor is open...

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Not For Your Consideration

Another year has passed and again we find ourselves pining for recognition for films that should have been in the race, yet found themselves on the outside looking in. This is certainly not a new development, but here is a look at a few of the most notable snubs in Oscar history.

The Searchers (1956) - Best Director
John Ford was the last candidate imagined to tell the dark tale of a Civil War Veteran who exorcises his demons in violent revenge, but The Searchers inevitably became one of the true treasures of its genre. John Wayne would never give a better performance, nor have a better director to pull it out of him.

Some Like It Hot (1959)
Two men in drag on the lamb from the mob may seem like a bad screenplay, but in the hands of Billy Wilder, this film became a classic. One of the most treasured comedies of all-time went home with an Oscar for only costume design. A shame that cannot even be measured in words. The AFI selected Best Comedy deserved better. Much better.

Jaws (1975) - Best Director 
Steven Spielberg has been known for years as a director of "popcorn movies", but if anything Jaws was his most impressive job. Turning a mechanical shark named Bruce into a reason to avoid the ocean for millions of beach going filmgoers. 

Fight Club (1999)
No film defined the time it came out more than David Fincher's piece on adult angst in a consumer world. When we have no purpose and infinite amounts of things to define ourselves with, it seems the only resort we have left is to beat the hell out of each other. It's hard to imagine what Hollywood saw in American Beauty that wasn't more recognizable and less watered down in Fight Club.

The Dark Knight (2008)
The Dark Knight rule anyone? 2008 was an admittedly bad year for nominees as Slumdog Millionaire, and The Reader topped the list for Best Picture, but what made the snub so much worse was all the great films they could have nominated instead: The Wrestler, In Bruges, Doubt, Hunger, Wall-E, and Man On Wire. Christopher Nolan's genre revolutionizing tale of one man's crusade against crime would have been nominated any other year if only Batman didn't wear a cape.

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Another Year, Another Race

(this post comes from Darren Mooney of The Movie Blog)

Oscar season is on us again. Although, to be fair, it's been going since at least November last year. It's something of a tradition that, the closer we get to the awards themselves, the more certain the outcome seems. To a large extent, that's still true this year. The vast majority of pundits seem to have settled on the belief that George Clooney will pick up the Best Actor award, Christopher Plummer will pick up the Best Supporting Actor award and Meryl Streep will take home her first Best Actress Oscar in quite some time. While there are those who would disagree with these assessments (for example, I think Viola Davis might pose a credible threat to Streep), those are the broadly-agreed major categories. However, the announcement of the nominees last week threw the Best Picture race into a bit of uncertainty, creating the impression that The Artist doesn't quite have the award locked down.

Again, I'm going to concede that I still think The Artist will take the award, if only based on the sheer logistics of the thing. I think that, despite being a black-and-white silent film, it has the broadest appeal of the nominees. Indeed, that may be precisely because of the same "simplicity" and "shallowness" that the inevitable backlash repeatedly brings up. If allegations of mistreatment of child actors couldn't keep Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire from the award, I can't see "it's too light" keeping The Artist off the podium at the awards itself. Indeed, it's been doing very well over the course of the awards season, with the Directors' Guild Award serving as the latest feather in its cap. Honestly, I still see it winning in the Best Picture and Best Director categories.

But I'm not certain.

And that's the joy of this year's race. Up until the nominations were announced, Alexander Payne's The Descendants had been the movie's primary contender for the award. It was essentially competing as "counter-programming", a movie more typical of the Academy's tastes in recent years. It's the respected and relatively niche indie contender, of the same pedigree of recent winners like No Country for Old Men, Million Dollar Baby and even The Hurt Locker. It's a film that the Academy can award if they don't want to seem either too populist (with The Artist very well-liked, even among those who don't love it) or too nostalgic (being the strongest contender that isn't about cinema itself). It provides a nice focal point for those members who tend to steer away from the crowd-pleasing fare. Even with only five nominations, I think it has enough clout to be considered as a potential contender.

Of course, most Oscar races tend to be "two horse" races. Last year it was The Social Network against The King's Speech, while we all remember Avatar against The Hurt Locker. Personally, I never saw either race as especially close, if only because of the institution's pre-existing bias towards and against certain types of films. I think that The Descendants and The Artist is a much tighter race because they offer a fairly similar choice. Neither is especially "modern" (The Social Network as against The King's Speech) and neither is a picture in a genre the Academy dislike (Avatar was a blockbuster science-fantasy). However, even beyond that, I think the race is more interesting due to two of the other Best Picture nominees - one as a serious contender, and the other as a potential upset.

The announcement on Tuesday revealed that Martin Scorsese's Hugo had picked up twelve nominations, something which surprised me a bit. I had expected quite a few, but no more than eight, to be entirely honest. Although none of these were in the major acting categories, picking up the highest number of nominations at the ceremony does mark you out as a solid contender. Given that the highest number of nominations ever received at the awards was fourteen (for the Best Picture winners Titanic and All About Eve), that's no small accomplishment for Scorsese's film.

Statistically speaking, there's evidence to support a link between the Best Picture Award and the film with the most nominations. Looking at the last few years, The King's Speech had twelve nominations and won Best Picture. The Hurt Locker and Avatar both had the most nominations at their ceremony. Slumdog Millionaire upsets the trend, with The Curious Case of Benjamin Button having more nominations, but the previous year had There Will Be Blood and No Country For Old Men tied. I think that it's impossible to count Scorsese out. So, even with three front-runners, I think it's a tighter race than we've seen in quite some time - and I wouldn't be surprised if any of these three won. After all, we're used to a five-picture race, but with a frontrunner and somebody behind, and then the rest of the pack scatter. This is kind of exciting.

However, there's one more possible contender I refuse to count out of the race. Truth be told, I didn't even think it was in the race until the nominations were announced, and - even now - I think the chance of a Best Picture or Best Director win is small, but not outside the realm of possibility. I am talking about Tree of Life. It was a film that not only managed to surprise people with a Best Picture nomination, but surprised a lot of pundits with a Best Director nomination for Terrance Malick. It was at least as big a surprise as Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close getting a Best Picture nomination, one I can proudly say that I predicted. However, Tree of Life is a potential contender, and ELIC is not, for one simple reason.

Anybody with a grasp of the voting habits of the Academy knows that it is practically unheard of for a film to win the Best Picture award without at least a Best Director nomination. Driving Miss Daisy is the most recent example, and the other two are the very first winner (Wings) and the only film to win Best Picture without any other nominations (Grand Hotel). Incidentally, this is why I dislike the "more than five Best Picture nominees" thing, because it's the five that could win and a bunch of also rans, but I'll spare you that rant. The point is that we can, thankfully, count out ELIC at this point in the race.

On the other hand, Tree of Life came completely out of nowhere. Even the people who liked it didn't expect the Academy to like it. And the Best Director nomination indicates that they loved it. Malick is one of those directors who has been working in Hollywood for a very long time, but has never won an Oscar. The closest he came was a nomination for The Thin Red Line. While his history of being snubbed isn't nearly as controversial as the way Scorsese was treated or Christopher Nolan has been treated, it is possible that the Academy might take the opportunity to recognise him.

I admit the possibility is downright remote, but the love for the film is a big surprise. I'm happy for it, and I enjoyed it (even if I didn't love it), and I think there's no way to tell how interested or disinterested in the film the Academy actually is. It isn't as if the two leads were ever contenders for the acting awards, although both Jessica Chastain and Brad Pitt are nominated for their work elsewhere. Personally, I don't think it will happen, but I could see Malick and/or his film winning on second or third preferences if the three-way race between The Artist, Hugo and The Descendants doesn't give a clear winner on the first ballot.

All in all, I think this might be the most exciting Best Picture race in quite some time...

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84th Academy Awards Nominees

It should be no surprise that The Artist and Hugo lead all films with eleven and ten nominations respectively.  Nice surprises in Bichir and Oldman's Best Acting nods as well as The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo's technical nods and Mara for Best Actress. I would have liked to have seen one of the Michaels (Fassbender in Shame or Shannon in Take Shelter) nominated though.

Best Picture

War Horse
The Artist
Moneyball
The Descendants
The Tree of Life
Midnight in Paris
The Help
Hugo
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

Best Actress

Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs
Rooney Mara, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Viola Davis, The Help
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

Supporting Actress

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

Supporting Actor

Kenneth Branagh, My Week With Marilyn
Jonah Hill, Moneyball
Nick Nolte, Warrior
Christopher Plummer, Beginners
Max von Sydow, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

Best Director

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

Best Original Screenplay

Michel Hazanivicius, The Artist
Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumulo, Bridesmaids
Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
J.C. Chandor, Margin Call
Asghar Farhadi, A Separation

Best Adapted Screenplay

Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, The DescendantsJohn Logan, HugoGeorge Clooney, Beau Willimon and Grant Heslov, The Ides of MarchSteven Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin and Stan Chervin, MoneyballBridget O'Connor and Peter Straughan, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Best Foreign Feature

Bullhead
Footnote
In Darkness
Monsieur Lazhar
A Separation

Best Animated Feature

A Cat in Paris
Chico & Rita
Kung Fu Panda 2
Puss in Boots
Rango

Art Direction

The Artist
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
War Horse

Cinematography

The Artist
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
The Tree of Life
War Horse

Costume Design

Anonymous
The Artist
Hugo
Jane Eyre
W.E.

Documentary Feature

Hell and Back Again
If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front
Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory
Pina
Undefeated

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

Film Editing

Anne-Sophie Bion and Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Kevin Tent, The Descendants
Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Thelma Schoonmaker, Hugo
Christopher Tellefsen, Moneyball

Makeup

Martial Corneville, Lynn Johnston and Matthew W. Mungle, Albert Nobbs
Edouard F. Henriques, Gregory Funk and Yolanda Toussieng, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Mark Coulier and J. Roy Helland, The Iron Lady

Music (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

Music (Original Song)

"Man or Muppet" from The Muppets, Bret McKenzie
"Real in Rio" from Rio, Sergio Mendes, Carlinhos Brown and Siedah Garrett

Sound Editing

Drive
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
War Horse

Sound Mixing

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Monyeball
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
War Horse

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

Short Film (Animated)

Dimanche/Sunday
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore
La Luna
A Morning Stroll
Wild Life

Short Film (Live Action)

Pentecost
Raju
The Shore
Time Freak
Tuba Atlantic

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Oscar Senses Tingling, Part Three

The Descendants

What it's likely to get nominated for: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor

What I'd like it to be nominated for: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor

Alexander Payne has nailed the zeitgeist of the past decade and seemingly touched off again with this new one. The tale of one man's grief while pulling his family back together was the right amount of heart without reaching into the saccharin bag that too many films resort to.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
What it's likely to get nominated for: Best Actress, Editing, Score

What I'd like it to be nominated for: Best Actress, Best Director

We're in a reversal from last year where The King's Speech was almost the only feel good splendor in the field. This year Dragon Tattoo is the juxtaposed film against heart-warmers like The Artist, The Descendants, War Horse, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. Daring the Academy to come out of the closet regarding their genre fetishism may prove too strong to resist.

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

What it's likely to get nominated for: Best Picture, Adapted Screenplay, Editing, Sound Mixing

What I'd like it to be nominated for: Best Actor, Cinematography

Oldman's Smiley is not going to be brash enough to leap out at Academy voters, but his performance is no less impressive. He is glib in his answers, yet earnest in finding his own. The agency is a self-contained one, made up of huddled, tweeded masses who believe themselves to be the last line between England and the Soviet Union. A feeling of paranoia expertly captured by Hoyte Van Hoytema.

The Artist
What it's likely to get nominated for: Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress

What I'd like it to be nominated for: Cinematography, Supporting Actress, Score

The apparent shoe-in for the awards this year, The Artist has captured the attention of critics and fans alike.  Though the given favorite for the Academy's votes in most categories, the attention to detail in the cinematography in the construction of the 1920s and 1930s set design and camerawork, and the emotion portrayed in the score were undoubtedly exceptional.  A nod must be given to  Bérénice Bejo for her grounded and heartwarming performance as well.

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Golden Globes Nominations Announced

All right nominations for the criminally underrated Brendan Gleeson in The Guard and Kristen Wiig for Bridesmaids. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association may not always get it right, but surprises like that are always appreciated. That said still no love for Michael Shannon and his ground-shaking performance in Take Shelter.


The rest of 2011-2012 Golden Globe Nominees are:

Motion Picture, Drama
The Descendants
The Help
Hugo
The Ides of March
Moneyball
War Horse

Best Director – Motion Picture
Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
George Clooney, The Ides of March 
Michel Hazanvicius, The Artist 
Alexander Payne, The Descendants
Martin Scorsese, Hugo 

Best Performance By An Actress In A Motion Picture  – Drama
Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs
Viola Davis, The Help
Rooney Mara, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
Tilda Swinton, We Need To Talk About Kevin

Best Performance By An Actor In A Motion Picture – Drama
George Clooney, The Descendants
Leonardo DiCaprio, J. Edgar
Michael Fassbender, Shame
Ryan Gosling, The Ides of March
Brad Pitt, Moneyball

Best Motion Picture – Comedy Or Musical
50/50
The Artist 
Bridesmaids
Midnight in Paris
My Week With Marilyn

Best Performance By An Actress in A Motion Picture – Comedy Or Musical
Jodie Foster, Carnage
Charlize Theron, Young Adult 
Kristen Wiig, Bridesmaids
Michelle Williams, My Week With Marilyn
Kate Winselt, Carnage

Best Performance By An Actor In A Motion Picture – Comedy Or Musical
Jean DuJardin, The Artist
Brendan Gleeson, The Guard
Joseph Gordon-Levitt, 50/50
Ryan Gosling, Crazy, Stupid, Love.
Owen Wilson, Midnight in Paris

Best Performance By An Actress In A Supporting Role In A Motion Picture
Berenice Bejo, The Artist
Jessica Chastain, The Help
Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs
Octavia Spencer, The Help 
Shailene Woodley, The Descendants 

Best Performance By An Actor In A Supporting Role In A Motion Picture 
Kenneth Branagh, My Week With Marilyn 
Albert Brooks, Drive
Jonah Hill, Moneyball
Viggo Mortensen, A Dangerous Method 
Christopher Plummer, Beginners 

Best Animated Feature Film
The Adventures of Tintin
Arthur Christmas
Cars 2
Puss in Boots
Rango

Best Foreign Language Film
The Flowers of War (China)
In the Land of Blood and Honey (USA)
The Kid With A Bike (Belgium)
A Separation (Iran)
The Skin I Live In (Spain) 

Best Screenplay – Motion Picture
Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Beau Willimon, The Ides of March
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist 
Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash, The Descendants
Steven Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin, Moneyball

Best Original Score – Motion Picture
Ludovic Bource, The Artist
Abel Korzeniowski, W.E.
Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Howard Shore, Hugo
John Williams, War Horse

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THR's Actor Roundtable

I hope this proves to be as interesting as the director's roundtable that was released recently.

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'The Artist' and 'Take Shelter' Lead Spirit Awards

The Artist and Take Shelter each received five nominations from the Indie Spirit Awards this morning. Drive, The Descendants, 50/50 and Beginners will fill out the competition for Best Feature. I was a little surprised that Win Win didn't make it into the crowd, but nominations for Michael Shannon and Ryan Gosling more than make up for it.

The rest of the nominees:

Best Director:
Mike Mills (Beginners)
Nicholas W Refn ( Drive)
Jeff Nichols (Take Shelter)
Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist)
Alexander Payne (The Descendants)

Robert Altman Award: Margin Call

Best Int’l Film:
A Separation
Melancholia
Shame
The Kid With a Bike
Tyrannosaur

Best Male Lead:
Demian Bichir (A Better Life)
Jean Dujardin (The Artist)
Ryan Gosling (Drive)
Woody Harrelson (Rampart)
Michael Shannon (Take Shelter)

Best Female Lead:
Lauren Ambrose (Think of Me)
Rachel Harris (Natural Selection)
Adepero Oduye (Pariah)
Elizabeth Olsen (Martha Marcy May Marlene)
Michelle Williams (My Week with Marilyn)

Best Supp Male:
Albert Brooks (Drive)
John Hawkes (Martha Marcy May Marlene)
Christopher Plummer (Beginners)
John C. Reilly (Cedar Rapids)
Corey Stoll (Midnight in Paris)

Best Supp. Female:
Jessica Chastain (Take Shelter)
Angelica Huston (50/50)
Janet McTeer (Albert Nobbs)
Harmony Santana (Gun Hll Road)
Shaileen Woodley (The Descendants)

Best Doc:
An African Selection
Bill Cunningham New York
The Interrupters
The Redemption of General Butt Naked,
We Were Here

Best Screenplay:
Joseph Cedar (FootNote)
Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist)
Tom McCarthy (Win Win)
Mike Mills (Beginners)
Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon & Jim Rash (The Descendants)

(Courtesy: THR)

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