The 84th Academy Awards nominations were announced today. "Hugo" leads with 11 nominations followed by "The Artist" with 10. However, there has been a huge lack of disclaimer mentioning that "The Artist" is a SILENT FILM! Hence it wouldn't be nominated for the two sound categories like "Hugo" was! Take those out and suddenly "The Artist" has more nominations.
The Oscars are not without its snubs again. I wish "Drive" was nominated for Best Picture as it was my favorite movie of 2011, but it did get a sound editing nom, so that's good. No idea how "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" got nominated for Best Pic. I think the Best Animated Feature category is the most talked about right now as "Tintin" didn't seem to make it, but two other unknown animated films did. Really sad to see Ryan Gosling, Michael Shannon, and Brendan Gleeson not nominated for Best Actor, but it's nice to see Gary Oldman's name up there after decades of being left out. Also disappointed to not see Elizabeth Olsen, Felicity Jones, and Shailene Woodley get any actress nominations, but Jessica Chastain getting one is certainly to be celebrated.
"The Artist" is the heavy favorite to win because of all the other awards it has snatched up already, but "The Descendants" and "Hugo" might have good shots as well. Billy Crystal is coming back to host after 11 years of sitting it out. I for one am so glad he is back, but I understand that the Academy might be worried that the younger generations might not be that excited to see him if they even know who he is. I've been saying it for years now, but they should have Conan O'Brien host. He has the young and a lot of the older viewers.
Along with the list of nominees below are my opinions on who I think should win and who I think will win. I thought this year would be easy, but it actually looks like it's going to be a bit tough. I reserve the right to change any of my predictions before the Oscars begin. This is my sixth time doing this and my best score so far is 16 for 24 (67%), which I got last year and remain to be undefeated since starting our Oscar party that we hold. Here's to hoping I can beat the record again this year.
Performance by an actor in a leading role:
Demián Bichir in "A Better Life"
George Clooney in "The Descendants"
Jean Dujardin in "The Artist"
Gary Oldman in "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy"
Brad Pitt in "Moneyball"
Who I want to win:
Seeing Bichir get nominated is a big surprise as "A Better Life" was such a small film. Didn't see it, so I can't comment on his performance, but I'm sure it wasn't as good as Michael Shannon who was my favorite this year in "Take Shelter." Still, out of these actors, I would like to see Dujardin win for his brilliant performance in "The Artist."
Who I think will win:
Both Clooney and Dujardin won at the Golden Globes. I'd like to wait for the SAG Awards, but I'll go ahead and say Dujardin will win.
Performance by an actor in a supporting role:
Kenneth Branagh in "My Week with Marilyn"
Jonah Hill in "Moneyball"
Nick Nolte in "Warrior"
Christopher Plummer in "Beginners"
Max von Sydow in "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close"
Who I want to win:
Only saw "Beginners" and "Moneyball", so I would love to see Plummer take this one.
Who I think will win:
Plummer won at the Golden Globes and I think the competition here is not too tough. He also hasn't won an Academy Award before, so I expect him to win.
Performance by an actress in a leading role:
Glenn Close in "Albert Nobbs"
Viola Davis in "The Help"
Rooney Mara in "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"
Meryl Streep in "The Iron Lady"
Michelle Williams in "My Week with Marilyn"
Who I want to win:
Only seen one movie in this category, and since Viola Davis didn't get the win for "Doubt" a couple years ago, I wouldn't mind seeing her win here.
Who I think will win:
Meryl Streep seems to be the favorite in this category as her complete transformation to Margaret Thatcher.
Performance by an actress in a supporting role:
Bérénice Bejo in "The Artist"
Jessica Chastain in "The Help"
Melissa McCarthy in "Bridesmaids"
Janet McTeer in "Albert Nobbs"
Octavia Spencer in "The Help"
Who I want to win:
Tough category as I saw and liked four out of five of these ladies. I would vote for Jessica Chastain pretty much for the incredibly year she had overall.
Who I think will win:
Kind of tough to say. I'm going to go with Octavia Spencer for now, but might change this after SAG.
Best animated feature film of the year:
"A Cat in Paris" Alain Gagnol and Jean-Loup Felicioli
"Chico & Rita" Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal
"Kung Fu Panda 2" Jennifer Yuh Nelson
"Puss in Boots" Chris Miller
"Rango" Gore Verbinski
Who I want to win:
I haven't seen "A Cat in Paris" and "Chico & Rita," but I can honestly say that the other films are disappointing to see on here. Really wish "Tintin" had gotten nominated. I would pick that, but out of these, "Rango."
Who I think will win:
I'm going to have to check out the first two films sometime, but for now, I'll say that "Rango" will win.
Achievement in art direction:
"The Artist"
Production Design: Laurence Bennett; Set Decoration: Robert Gould
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2"
Production Design: Stuart Craig; Set Decoration: Stephenie McMillan
"Hugo"
Production Design: Dante Ferretti; Set Decoration: Francesca Lo Schiavo
"Midnight in Paris"
Production Design: Anne Seibel; Set Decoration: Hélène Dubreuil
"War Horse"
Production Design: Rick Carter; Set Decoration: Lee Sandales
Who I want to win:
Oh man, this is a tough category as there are so many great choices. I would like to see "Midnight in Paris" win here since it probably won't see many awards.
Who I think will win:
I think it's going to come down to "Hugo" and "The Artist," so I'm going to have to go with "The Artist."
Achievement in cinematography:
"The Artist" Guillaume Schiffman
"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" Jeff Cronenweth
"Hugo" Robert Richardson
"The Tree of Life" Emmanuel Lubezki
"War Horse" Janusz Kaminski
Who I want to win:
It comes down to "The Artist" and "The Tree of Life" for me. Since I favor "The Artist" on almost everything else, I'll choose "The Tree of Life." Schiffman has some time to impress us more.
Who I think will win:
You know, I'm going to say that the Academy will give it to Lubezki.
Achievement in costume design:
"Anonymous" Lisy Christl
"The Artist" Mark Bridges
"Hugo" Sandy Powell
"Jane Eyre" Michael O'Connor
"W.E." Arianne Phillips
Who I want to win:
Excellent work in both "The Artist" and "Hugo." Seeing as how this is Sandy Powell's tenth nomination and she's already got three wins, I would like to see Mark Bridges win.
Who I think will win:
The Academy loves the costumes in period piece films. Because of this, I think they're going to go with "Jane Eyre," but I've been surprised before.
Achievement in directing:
"The Artist" Michel Hazanavicius
"The Descendants" Alexander Payne
"Hugo" Martin Scorsese
"Midnight in Paris" Woody Allen
"The Tree of Life" Terrence Malick
Who I want to win:
Probably the category that I can agree with the most. What a talented group of filmmakers this year. All are deserving of the nomination. Since "The Artist" was my favorite film out of all of the movies listed, and much of that having to do with the creativity of Michel Hazanavicius, I would love to see him win.
Who I think will win:
Hazanavicius.
Best documentary feature:
"Hell and Back Again" Danfung Dennis and Mike Lerner
"If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front" Marshall Curry and Sam Cullman
"Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory" Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky
"Pina" Wim Wenders and Gian-Piero Ringel
"Undefeated" TJ Martin, Dan Lindsay and Richard Middlemas
Who I want to win:
The documentary category is a little mixed this year. Wish "Buck" was nominated. I have not seen any of these films, but have heard good things about "Pina." I guess I would go with that?
Who I think will win:
Shocked that there aren't any films about the economy on the list. That still seems to be a hot issue right now and helped "Inside Job" win last year. I think it's going to come down to "Hell and Back Again" or "Paradise Lost 3." For now, I'll go with "Paradise Lost 3."
Best documentary short subject:
"The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement" Robin Fryday and Gail Dolgin
"God Is the Bigger Elvis" Rebecca Cammisa and Julie Anderson
"Incident in New Baghdad" James Spione
"Saving Face" Daniel Junge and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy
"The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom" Lucy Walker and Kira Carstensen
Who I want to win:
Obviously have not seen these as well, but my love for Japan and its culture makes me want to pick "The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom."
Who I think will win:
I bet the Academy will choose "Incident in New Baghdad."
Achievement in film editing:
"The Artist" Anne-Sophie Bion and Michel Hazanavicius
"The Descendants" Kevin Tent
"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall
"Hugo" Thelma Schoonmaker
"Moneyball" Christopher Tellefsen
Who I want to win:
I wish "Submarine" or "Beginners" could get a nomination here. I think I would pick "Hugo" in this category due to the awesome silent film sequences.
Who I think will win:
Probably "The Artist."
Best foreign language film of the year:
"Bullhead" Belgium
"Footnote" Israel
"In Darkness" Poland
"Monsieur Lazhar" Canada
"A Separation" Iran
Who I want to win:
I have only seen "A Separation," which was good, so I would pick that.
Who I think will win:
"A Separation" is almost a sure winner.
Achievement in makeup:
"Albert Nobbs" Martial Corneville, Lynn Johnston and Matthew W. Mungle
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2" Nick Dudman, Amanda Knight and Lisa Tomblin
"The Iron Lady" Mark Coulier and J. Roy Helland
Who I want to win:
As much as I think "Harry Potter" deserves some recognition, the way they made Streep look in "The Iron Lady" is pretty amazing. It's what J. Edgar needed.
Who I think will win:
My guess is "The Iron Lady."
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score):
"The Adventures of Tintin" John Williams
"The Artist" Ludovic Bource
"Hugo" Howard Shore
"Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" Alberto Iglesias
"War Horse" John Williams
Who I want to win:
There were better scores this year, but this choice is easy for me. I would definitely go with "War Horse." Great, memorable score. "The Artist" is wonderful, too, but if I'm honest with myself, the "War Horse" theme stayed in my head longer.
Who I think will win:
Probably Ludovic Bource for "The Artist."
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song):
"Man or Muppet" from "The Muppets" Music and Lyric by Bret McKenzie
"Real in Rio" from "Rio" Music by Sergio Mendes and Carlinhos Brown Lyric by Siedah Garrett
Who I want to win:
Only two nominees this year!? Come on Academy! Funny that "The Muppets" can say that they are Oscar-nominated now. I would totally go with Bret McKenzie's fab song.
Who I think will win:
"The Muppets" song will probably win.
Best motion picture of the year:
"The Artist" Thomas Langmann, Producer
"The Descendants" Jim Burke, Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor, Producers
"Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close" Scott Rudin, Producer
"The Help" Brunson Green, Chris Columbus and Michael Barnathan, Producers
"Hugo" Graham King and Martin Scorsese, Producers
"Midnight in Paris" Letty Aronson and Stephen Tenenbaum, Producers
"Moneyball" Michael De Luca, Rachael Horovitz and Brad Pitt, Producers
"The Tree of Life" Nominees to be determined
"War Horse" Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy, Producers
Who I want to win:
So the new rules say that anywhere between five and ten movies can be nominated for Best Picture. So the Academy goes with nine. Hmmm. I think all are great choices, but I would have dropped "Extremely Loud" for "Drive." So, I will safely choose my third favorite film of the year: "The Artist."
Who I think will win:
I think this year will be all about "The Artist." Seeing as how it's a film about Hollywood, they will likely choose this.
Best animated short film:
"Dimanche/Sunday" Patrick Doyon
"The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore" William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg
"La Luna" Enrico Casarosa
"A Morning Stroll" Grant Orchard and Sue Goffe
"Wild Life" Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby
Who I want to win:
Haven't seen any of these. "La Luna" is from Pixar, but that is attached to "Brave", which doesn't come out until June. Still, I like Pixar, so I'll just say that for now.
Who I think will win:
Maybe since Pixar didn't have anything nominated in the feature-length animation film category, the Academy will pick them here.
Best live action short film:
"Pentecost" Peter McDonald and Eimear O'Kane
"Raju" Max Zähle and Stefan Gieren
"The Shore" Terry George and Oorlagh George
"Time Freak" Andrew Bowler and Gigi Causey
"Tuba Atlantic" Hallvar Witzø
Who I want to win:
Was "Portal: No Escape" by Dan Trachtenberg not eligible to be nominated? I thought that was really cool. I haven't heard of any of these. Since I like time travel, I will choose "Time Freak."
Who I think will win:
Sure, why not? "Time Freak."
Achievement in sound editing:
"Drive" Lon Bender and Victor Ray Ennis
"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" Ren Klyce
"Hugo" Philip Stockton and Eugene Gearty
"Transformers: Dark of the Moon" Ethan Van der Ryn and Erik Aadahl
"War Horse" Richard Hymns and Gary Rydstrom
Who I want to win:
I think "The Artist" should have been nominated as a joke. I would love to see "Drive" win something, but I think "Transformers" had the best sound this year. Always does.
Who I think will win:
The Academy typically picks the films that likely won't win many awards, so I wouldn't be shocked to see "War Horse" win here.
Achievement in sound mixing:
"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce and Bo Persson
"Hugo" Tom Fleischman and John Midgley
"Moneyball" Deb Adair, Ron Bochar, Dave Giammarco and Ed Novick
"Transformers: Dark of the Moon" Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers, Jeffrey J. Haboush and Peter J. Devlin
"War Horse" Gary Rydstrom, Andy Nelson, Tom Johnson and Stuart Wilson
Who I want to win:
Again, I would pick Transformers. As much as I dislike the films, the sound is fantastic in that series.
Who I think will win:
The Academy has a history of doubling down on the sound categories, so I'm going to guess "War Horse" again.
Achievement in visual effects:
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2" Tim Burke, David Vickery, Greg Butler and John Richardson
"Hugo" Rob Legato, Joss Williams, Ben Grossman and Alex Henning
"Real Steel" Erik Nash, John Rosengrant, Dan Taylor and Swen Gillberg
"Rise of the Planet of the Apes" Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, R. Christopher White and Daniel Barrett
"Transformers: Dark of the Moon" Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Matthew Butler and John Frazier
Who I want to win:
Both "The Tree of Life" and "Take Shelter" should have gotten some recognition here. Instead, we have all this mainstream crap. I would pick "Hugo," which I think has more natural effects.
Who I think will win:
I fear that they're going to choose "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" since it was so popular with the general audience. Awful effects though, IMO.
Adapted screenplay:
"The Descendants" Screenplay by Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash
"Hugo" Screenplay by John Logan
"The Ides of March" Screenplay by George Clooney & Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon
"Moneyball" Screenplay by Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin Story by Stan Chervin
"Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" Screenplay by Bridget O'Connor & Peter Straughan
Who I want to win:
I would actually like to see Alexander Payne win here.
Who I think will win:
And I think he will.
Original screenplay:
"The Artist" Written by Michel Hazanavicius
"Bridesmaids" Written by Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig
"Margin Call" Written by J.C. Chandor
"Midnight in Paris" Written by Woody Allen
"A Separation" Written by Asghar Farhadi
Who I want to win:
Other than "Margin Call," I love this list. Really hard to say, but I think I would choose "Midnight in Paris" because it was such a delight and "The Artist" probably didn't have much of a screenplay.
Who I think will win:
I'm going to trust my opinion and say that Woody Allen will win.
My reviews for movies that are nominated this year:
"The Descendants"
"The Artist"
"Moneyball"
"Beginners"
"The Help"
"Bridesmaids"
"Kung Fu Panda 2"
"Puss in Boots"
"Rango"
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2"
"Hugo"
"Midnight in Paris"
"War Horse"
"The Tree of Life"
"A Separation"
"The Adventures of Tintin"
"The Muppets"
"Rio"
"Drive"
"Transformers: Dark of the Moon"
"Real Steel"
"Rise of the Planet of the Apes"
"The Ides of March"
Once again, this list can change at any time between now and the big show, but once the show starts on February 26th, these predictions stick. Check back on my blog after the show to see the results and my final thoughts. While you wait, check out my predictions and results from the last five years:
2011 Predictions | Results
2010 Predictions | Results
2009 Predictions | Results
2008 Predictions | Results
2007 Predictions | Results
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