General Discussion

Well, the nominations for the 85th annual Academy Awards were announced this morning and while I know we all have some problems with this process, I still feel like a 10 year old little girl getting excited about the big awards show. Gathering around the television to watch the awards show with my family is one of the things that inspired me to move to LA and work in Film and TV, so no matter how commercial or controversial, they will always have a special place in my heart. It is also nice as this year, they did something right and there actually were some interesting nominations. Lincoln led the pack with 12 overall nominations. Surprisingly, Life of Pi is second with 11 nominations, which seems extra strange for a movie I have not heard anybody talking about…or liking. The they got most right is 8 nominations for my favorite film of the year - Silver Linings Playbook. (I have finally caught up on enough movies that I will be publishing my best of list soon, so you can read about why.)

The best picture category ended up with nine films nominated and I am mostly angry that Skyfall didn't find its way into the category. Yes, it was a Bond film, but if you took that name off it, it is just a damned fine film. The surprises in this category were the nomination of the foreign film Amour and still surprising but less so, the indie darling Beasts of the Southern Wild.

The biggest controversy so far this year is the snub of both Kathryn Bigelow and Ben Affleck in the best directing category. I still have yet to understand how a movie is nominated for best picture and not best director, as the director is the one that oversees all of the decisions that lead it to being one of the best films, but I will not digress into that rant. However, while I think Affleck definitely deserved a nom, I am very happy to see less obvious choices like Michael Haneke and Benh Zeitlin were made. Whatever your thoughts on Beasts, Zeitlin has incredible vision and it was an incredibly original film and I'm over the moon that it was recognized as such. More than anything, I hope it will encourage more chances in filmmaking over the next year? One can hope.

It also is interesting that going in to the nominations Zero Dark Thirty received many of the critics awards, but now that it was only nominated for 5 total Oscars and is definitely losing steam. I personally feel that it is very overrated and have many problems with the film. It was interesting to see the process of how the hunt unfolded in the CIA, but an audience member would have to know the history behind Osama bin Laden, to even understand what is happening. If Mr. Alien came down from planet outer space and watched it, he would simply have no clue what was happening in that movie. That indicates a huge problem in the storytelling for me and in ways, I am happy that it wasn't overly nominated.

While I think we all know Daniel Day Lewis will win for his portrayal of Lincoln in Lincoln, it's nice to see Bradley Cooper recognized for his Silver Linings work. The toughest acting category this year may have been Best Supporting Actor, which left out both Leonardo Di Caprio and Samuel L. Jackson's performances in Django Unchained. While they were both incredible, Christoph Waltz really did steal the show with his hilarious and strange portrayal of a German "dentist" and I am more than ecstatic about his nom.

More surprises came in the best actress category as Marion Cotillard was left out for her stunning performance in Rust &Bone. Oh sad. However, I can't get too mad at it, because it means that 9 year old Quvenzhane Wallis was nominated (making her the youngest nominee ever). I really did enjoy Beasts of the Southern Wild, but the most astonishing part about it is how they were able to get such an incredible performance from such a tiny. She should win awards forever.

Overall, it looks to be a more interesting race than it seemed about a week ago. While Lincoln has the most nominations, I wouldn't necessarily count out Silver Linings Playbook to take home the big award as it was the only one nominated for Best Picture, Best Director and for every major performance in the film. I'm not sure if that is just wishful thinking on my part, but hey, sue me for putting some good karma out into the ether for it.

The Academy Awards will be hosted by Seth MacFarlane and air on Sunday, February 25th at 5:00pm on ABC. Don't forget to tune into Screened as well for our LIVE CHAT!! I'll open up the room shortly before the show begins, so come join in the conversation.

FULL LIST OF NOMINATIONS:

Best Picture

Beasts of the Southern Wild

Silver Linings Playbook

Zero Dark Thirty

Lincoln

Les Miserables

Life of Pi

Amour

Django Unchained

Argo

Best Actor

Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln

Denzel Washington, Flight

Hugh Jackman, Les Miserables

Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook

Joaquin Phoenix, The Master

Best Actress

Naomi Watts, The Impossible

Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty

Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook

Emmanuelle Riva, Amour

Quvenzhané Wallis, Beasts of the Southern Wild

Best Supporting Actor

Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained

Phillip Seymour Hoffman, The Master

Robert De Niro, Silver Linings Playbook

Alan Arkin, Argo

Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln

Best Supporting Actress

Sally Field, Lincoln

Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables

Jacki Weaver, Silver Linings Playbook

Helen Hunt, The Sessions

Amy Adams, The Master

Best Original Song

"Before My Time," Chasing Ice

"Pi’s Lullaby," Life of Pi

"Suddenly," Les Miserables

"Everybody Needs A Best Friend," Ted

"Skyfall," Skyfall

Best Animated Feature Film

Frankenweenie

Pirates! Band of Misfits

Wreck-It Ralph

Paranorman

Brave

Best Foreign Language Film

Austria: Amour

Chile: No

Canada: War Witch

Denmark: A Royal Affair

Norway: Kontiki

Best Director

David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook

Ang Lee, Life of Pi

Steven Spielberg, Lincoln

Michael Haneke, Amour

Benh Zeitlin, Beasts of the Southern Wild

Best Original Screenplay

John Gatins, Flight

Mark Boal, Zero Dark Thirty

Quentin Tarantino, Django Unchained

Michael Haneke, Amour

Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola, Moonrise Kingdom

Best Adapted Screenplay

Lucy Alibar and Benh Zeitlin, Beasts of the Southern Wild

Chris Terrio, Argo

Tony Kushner, Lincoln

David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook

David Magee, Life of Pi

Best Cinematography

Seamus McGarvey, Anna Karenina

Robert Richardson, Django Unchained

Claudio Miranda, Life of Pi

Janusz Kaminski, Lincoln

Roger Deakins, Skyfall

Best Costume Design

Jacqueline Durran, Anna Karenina

Paco Delgado, Les Misérables

Joanna Johnston, Lincoln

Eiko Ishioka, Mirror Mirror

Colleen Atwood, Snow White and the Huntsman

Documentary Feature

5 Broken Cameras

The Gatekeepers,

How to Survive a Plague

The Invisible War

Searching for Sugar Man

Documentary Short

"Inocente," Sean Fine and Andrea Nix Fine

"Kings Point," Sari Gilman and Jedd Wider

"Mondays at Racine," Cynthia Wade and Robin Honan

"Open Heart," Kief Davidson and Cori Shepherd Stern

"Redemption," Jon Alpert and Matthew O'Neill

Film Editing

William Goldenberg, Argo

Tim Squyres, Life of Pi

Michael Kahn, Lincoln

Jay Cassidy and Crispin Struthers, Silver Linings Playbook

Dylan Tichenor and William Goldenberg, Zero Dark Thirty

Makeup and Hairstyling

Howard Berger, Peter Montagna and Martin Samuel, Hitcock

Peter Swords King, Rick Findlater and Tami Lane, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Lisa Westcott and Julie Dartnell, Les Miserables

Best Original Score

Dario Marianelli, Anna Karenina

Alexandre Desplat, Argo

Mychael Danna, Life of Pi

John Williams, Lincoln

Thomas Newman, Skyfall

Best Production Design

Sarah Greenwood and Katie Spencer, Anna Karenina

Dan Hennah, Ra Vincent and Simon Bright, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Eve Stewart and Anna Lynch-Robinson, Les Miserables

David Gropman and Anna Pinnock, Life of Pi

Rick Carter and Jim Erickson, Lincoln

Best Animated Short

"Adam and Dog," Minkyu Lee

"Fresh Guacamole," PES

"Head over Heels," Timothy Reckart and Fodhla Cronin O’Reilly

"Maggie Simpson in 'The Longest Daycare,'" David Silverman

"Paperman," John Kahrs

Best Live Action Short

"Asad," Bryan Buckley and Mino Jarjoura

"Buzkashi Boys," Sam French and Ariel Nasr

"Curfew," Shawn Christensen

"Death of a Shadow (Dood van een Schaduw)," Tom Van Avermaet and Ellen De Waele

"Henry," Yan England

Best Sound Editing

Erik Aadahl and Ethan Van der Ryn, Argo

Unchained Wylie Stateman, Django Unchained

Eugene Gearty and Philip Stockton, Life of Pi

Per Hallberg and Karen Baker Landers, Skyfall

Paul N.J. Ottosson, Zero Dark Thirty

Best Sound Mixing

John Reitz, Gregg Rudloff and Jose Antonio Garcia, Argo

Andy Nelson, Mark Paterson and Simon Hayes, Les Misérables

Ron Bartlett, D.M. Hemphill and Drew Kunin, Life of Pi

Andy Nelson, Gary Rydstrom and Ronald Judkins, Lincoln

Scott Millan, Greg P. Russell and Stuart Wilson, Skyfall

Best Visual Effects

Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton and R. Christopher White, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Bill Westenhofer, Guillaume Rocheron, Erik-Jan De Boer and Donald R. Elliott,Life of Pi

Janek Sirrs, Jeff White, Guy Williams and Dan Sudick, Marvel’s The Avengers

Richard Stammers, Trevor Wood, Charley Henley and Martin Hill, Prometheus

Cedric Nicolas-Troyan, Philip Brennan, Neil Corbould and Michael Dawson,Snow White and the Huntsman

Denzel nomination is a surprise but a good one. And the Tommy Lee Jones seems more like an acknowledgement of a life's work than his moments in Lincoln since he wasn't in it a lot. Overall though seems like a good list.

A bit annoyed that Dark Knight Rises and Skyfall aren't in best picture. Personally think both Rises and Skyfall are better than Silver Linings or Les Mis. Perhaps hoping for some Return of the King like love for TDKR is to much, it is the reason we have 10 nominations now. TDKR wouldn't have one but ya know nice to be nomianted and all, also I want Nolan to get his!

Not having 10 director slots when you have 10 best picture slots is weird, but I also don't think every best picture nom should get an automatic bid into the director category. Haven't seen Zero Dark (it's finally coming near me on friday) but wouldn't be surprised if it isn't good she did direct Point Break and Hurt Locker. Ben Affleck getting snubbed feels more like a young person problem.

Glad Skyfall got in the cinematography category that movie was just beautifully shot.

PREMIUM RUSH GOT ROBBED!

I kid, I kid...

It's a good list of nominees, probably better than last year's.

Man I wish the Oscars would be a bit more surprising. I mean, like or loath Silver Linings Playbook, for example, that is not a film that belongs in the "Best Editing" category. I don't like the trend of all the rewards being split between a small number of movies, simply because of the (in that case) Weinstein lobbying. Many many different genres are good at many many different things, yet it's mostly the same types of films that get nominated for all the things.

Which is a shame.

Lincoln, Lincoln, Lincoln...

Lots of disappointed people today in Hollywood. Here's an entertaining rant from a disgruntled movie mogul...

http://mankabros.com/blogs/chairman/2013/01/10/again-the-academy-of-motion-picture-arts-and-sciences-can-f-itself/

Reading over these nominees makes me think that the Academy believes Argo was great because of everyone involved in it other than Ben Affleck.

I would have nominated Samuel Jackson over Christoph Waltz. They were both fantastic, but I felt like Jackson really stole the show in a surprising way.

To be perfectly honest though, I really couldn't care less about these awards.

I'm delighted (though surprised) with these nominations. LINCOLN is a great movie and its prospects look better than ever. Also glad to see that makers of high quality indie work are getting the director's awards instead of Ben Affleck for the incredibly overrated ARGO.

I still have to see ZERO DARK THIRTY.

@ashogo said:

I would have nominated Samuel Jackson over Christoph Waltz. They were both fantastic, but I felt like Jackson really stole the show in a surprising way.

To be perfectly honest though, I really couldn't care less about these awards.

Jackson pretty much destroyed his Oscar prospects the last time he was nominated, way back in the 90s for PULP FICTION. When he lost to Martin Landau in ED WOOD Jackson was caught on camera swearing as Landau walked to the stand. While he was on the press circuit for DJANGO UNCHAINED they asked him about that and Jackson refused to apologize, saying that "no one remembers" ED WOOD but everyone remembers PULP FICTION.

@ashogo said:

I would have nominated Samuel Jackson over Christoph Waltz. They were both fantastic, but I felt like Jackson really stole the show in a surprising way.

To be perfectly honest though, I really couldn't care less about these awards.

I must be one of the few who felt like he was just acting like an old man Sam Jackson as opposed to normal Sam Jackson or eyepatch Sam Jackson. Christopher Waltz made Django for me, by far the most interesting character in the film.

@MrMazz said:

A bit annoyed that Dark Knight Rises and Skyfall aren't in best picture. Personally think both Rises and Skyfall are better than Silver Linings or Les Mis. Perhaps hoping for some Return of the King like love for TDKR is to much, it is the reason we have 10 nominations now. TDKR wouldn't have one but ya know nice to be nomianted and all, also I want Nolan to get his!

As much as I enjoyed TDKR, it's pretty silly to think that it should have been nominated. TDK was a far superior film and Nolan got no nominations for that. The fact that Inception was nominated for Best Original Screenplay and Best Picture was a miracle in and of itself.

It's an interesting list this year, that's for sure. I generally don't care about who wins, but the pool of Best Picture contenders is quite interesting. I'm also really excited that The Invisible War is nominated for Best Documentary and am really hoping it wins. It is a really powerful film that everyone needs to see.

I was holding out hope that Chronicle would be nominated for something. Oh well, I guess we don't always get what we want... or deserve...

So much to say! It's disappointing that Skyfall didn't make it into the best picture category. I'm pulling for Roger Deakins to finally be awarded for his brilliant cinematography. I didn't realize that he has been nominated 9 times(!) with no win. I agree with Stacey that if you changed the name James Bond to John Smith we would be looking at a best picture nomination. I see Skyfall as this years "Dark Knight". Some of the "olds" just can't get past the franchises.

I think The Dark Knight Rises had a couple obstacles. It would be tough to give it nods for sound considering all of the issues with Bane's voice and the final mix in general (lots of separation). There were some problems with the editing - too long and Bane vs Bruce was choppy - I'm aware these are not popular opinions, but do count as editing issues. Without the technical nominations I think it's path to best pic was an uphill climb.

Biggest snub for me was Affleck for directing. Love it or hate it, Argo was a director's film. He deserved the nomination.I think "movie star" Ben Affleck still has to overcome the haters. As soon as I started reading controversial articles about Bigelow working with the CIA and controversy over her depiction of torture, I knew she was in trouble.

On the subject of directors - can somebody please please explain how we have 9 movies nominated and 5 best directors? The directors oversee every decision made on the film. I personally don't even understand why these are separate categories. Would love to hear thoughts! If anyone wants to chime in, I'd also love to hear your thoughts on The Life of Pi. I haven't seen it because it doesn't appeal to me and nobody has recommended or raved. Is it that good???

I think I should wrap up. I'm a brand new poster and not sure how long comments usually run. My sincere apologies if this belongs somewhere else on the site.

P.S - Lincoln was a very good documentary!

Sam Jones was robbed once again!

Dwight Henry from Beasts of the Southern Wild should win by a mile, and yet he wasn't even nominated. Typical oscar noms...choosing fame and money over talent.

@scelerat said:

Would love to hear thoughts! If anyone wants to chime in, I'd also love to hear your thoughts on The Life of Pi. I haven't seen it because it doesn't appeal to me and nobody has recommended or raved. Is it that good???

Life of Pi isn't that great, although I did hear of some people really loving it. The most impressive part of the movie for me were the cg animals and 3D effects. I enjoyed it overall, but the plot and themes didn't feel as revelatory or weighty as they seemed to want to be.

@ashogo: Thanks! I have been curious about the cg animals. That actually is the only thing I've heard about the movie.

@somemum: Are you referring to Sam Jones fine work in Ted?

@scelerat: I agree. TDKR was a good movie--really good, actually--but it just wasn't best picture good.

then again, that could probably be said about some of the nominees.

I'm happy to see Beasts of the Southern Wild getting some love. I really enjoyed that movie.