86th Academy Awards Nominees



The 86th Academy Award nominations were announced today! Without any further ado, here are the nominees:

Best Picture
Since there are only nine nominees and not ten, I can say I've seen more than half the nominees. But since there are nine instead of ten, Inside Llewyn Davis is left off the list. Are the Academy nominators taking crazy pills? I'm glad to see the Her made it on but to leave off Inside Llewyn Davis? Anyway, this is the start of the showdown between American Hustle and 12 Years a Slave. The former has 10 nominations and the latter has nine; the only reason 12 Years a Slave has nine is because it did not have a contender in the lead actress category. If not for that, it'd be a dead heat between the two. I think 12 Years a Slave should win, and if Academy voters can get over their squeamishness and actually see the film, it will win. (Also: what, no love for Fruitvale Station?)

Actor in a Leading Role
Woohoo! Leonardo DiCaprio earned another nomination, and rightly so. This is the best performance of his career. It was a crowded field, though. Robert Redford (All is Lost), Joaquin Phoenix (Her), Oscar Isaac (Inside Llewyn Davis), Michael B. Jordan (Fruitvale Station) and Tom Hanks (Captain Phillips), all of whom had been in contention, were not nominated. Given the nominees, I'm always rooting for DiCaprio, though I think Ejiofor should win but McConaughey might upset.

Actress in a Leading Role
  • Amy Adams, American Hustle
  • Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
  • Sandra Bullock, Gravity
  • Judi Dench, Philomena
  • Meryl Streep, August: Osage County
This category shook out the way most prognosticators thought it would, although Emma Thompson (Saving Mr. Banks) did not receive a nod. Having only seen Adams (whom I love and who is great in everything!), I can't, in good conscience, choose a favorite, though the winds seem to be blowing Blanchett's way. Still, I'm rooting for Adams because this is her fifth nomination in just nine years and she's just spectacular.

Actor in a Supporting Role
Jonah Hill is a surprising though not totally unexpected nominee, but let's face it: This race comes down to Fassbender and Leto. Both gave incredible performances. (Leto's performance was my favorite thing about the otherwise underwhelming Dallas Buyers Club.) Leto's already picked up several awards and he's continuing to campaign hard, whereas Fassbender is working and therefore not campaigning. Look for Jordan Catalano to win an Oscar.

Actress in a Supporting Role
  • Sally Hawkins, Blue Jasmine
  • Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle
  • Lupita Nyong'o, 12 Years a Slave
  • Julia Roberts, August: Osage County
  • June Squibb, Nebraska
OK. I think Jennifer Lawrence is aces, and she was good in American Hustle, but this award should go to Lupita Nyong'o. She's in the better film and gives a more impressive performance. Do the right thing, Academy voters.

Directing
Well, there's no egregious snub like last year (when Ben Affleck was not nominated for eventual Best Picture winner, Argo), but I am disappointed to see the Coen Brothers (Inside Llewyn Davis) and Spike Jonze (Her) left off this list. McQueen and Scorsese are fully deserving of their nominations, though I'm guessing that Cuaron will pull out a win since everything I hear about Gravity is how it pushes the boundaries of filmmaking. That not withstanding, I'm rooting for McQueen.

Adapted Screenplay
  • Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke, Before Midnight
  • Billy Ray, Captain Phillips
  • Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope, Philomena
  • John Ridley, 12 Years a Slave
  • Terence Winter, The Wolf of Wall Street
Tracy Letts isn't nominated for August: Osage County? True, I haven't seen the film so I don't know if the script was a train wreck, but I saw the play and it was fantastic. I can't imagine that Letts did such a lousy job of adapting his Tony- and Pulitzer Prize-winning play that he should be without a nod. And no nomination for Inside Llewyn Davis? Are you kidding? Also, having read Jordan Belfort's memoir, I know what a good job Winter did in adapting The Wolf of Wall Street for the screen. But that doesn't mean I'd be unhappy if Ridley won.

Original Screenplay 
Seriously, Dallas Buyers Club? Whatever. My guess is this race comes down to Allen and Jonze, and I'm rooting, fervently, for Jonze. Her is totally original in its concept, and it says something about our time.

Original Score
  • John Williams, The Book Thief
  • Steven Price, Gravity
  • William Butler and Owen Pallett,  Her
  • Alexandre Desplat, Philomena
  • Thomas Newman, Saving Mr. Banks
Original Song
  • "Alone Yes Not Alone," music by Bruce Broughton, lyrics by Dennis Spiegel, from Alone Yet Not Alone
  • "Happy," music and lyrics by Pharrell Williams, from Dispicable Me 2
  • "Let It Go," music and lyrics by Kristen Anderson Lopez and Robert Lopez, from Frozen
  • "The Moon Song," music by Karen O., lyrics by Karen O. and Spike Jonze, from Her
  • "Ordinary Love," music by u2, lyrics by Bono, from Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
"Please Mr. Kennedy" from Inside Llewyn Davis should have been eligible and should have been nominated.
Animated Feature Film
  • The Croods
  • Despicable Me 2
  • Ernest and Celestine
  • Frozen
  • The Wind Rises
Cinematography
  • Philippe Le Sourd, The Grandmaster
  • Emmanuel Lubezki, Gravity
  • Bruno Delbonnel, Inside Llewyn Davis
  • Phedon Papamichael, Nebraska
  • Roger A. Deakins, Prisoners
Um, what? No nomination for Sean Bobbitt for 12 Years a Slave? What, did that movie get filmed by a ghost? The cinematography was impeccable. It's ridiculous that it's not nominated. I am, however, quite pleased to see Inside Llewyn Davis nominated here. The filming was an important part of the storytelling.
Costume Design
No surprise that American Hustle and The Great Gatsby earned nominations. Perhaps just for the sheer volume I give Martin the edge.

Documentary (Feature)
  • The Act of Killings
  • Cutie and the Boxer
  • Dirty Wars
  • The Square
  • 20 Feet From Stardom
Documentary (Short Subject)
  • CaveDigger
  • Facing Fear
  • Karama Has No Walls
  • The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life
  • Prison Terminal: The Last Days of Private Jack Hall
Film Editing
It's surprising to see Thelma Schoonmaker, Martin Scorsese's longtime editor, left off after her work on The Wolf of Wall Street.
Foreign Language Film
  • The Broken Circle Breakdown (Belgium)
  • The Great Beauty (Italy)
  • The Hunt (Denmark)
  • The Missing Picture (Cambodia)
  • Omar (Palestine)
Makeup and Hairstyling
  • Adruitha Lee and Robin Matthews, Dallas Buyers Club
  • Stephen Prouty, Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa
  • Joel Harlow and Gloria Pasqua-Casny, The Lone Ranger
Hold on. American Hustle, a movie that is basically a hairdo on celluloid, was not nominated for its makeup and hairstyling? That's nuts.
Production Design
  • Judy Becker (production design) and Heather Loeffier (set decoration), American Hustle
  • Andy Nicholson (production design) and Rosie Goodwin and Joanne Woollard (set decoration), Gravity
  • Catherine Martin (production design) and Beverley Dunn (set decoration), The Great Gatsby
  • K.K. Barrett (production design) and Gene Serdena (set decoration), Her
  • Adam Stockhausenb (production design) and Alice Baker (set decoration), 12 Years a Slave 
Short Film (Animated)
  • Feral
  • Get a Horse!
  • Mr. Hublot
  • Possessions
  • Room on the Broom
Short Film (Live Action)
  • Aquel No Era Yo (That Wasn't Me)
  • Avant Que De Tout Perdre (Just Before Losing Everything)
  • Helium
  • Pitaako Mun Kaikki Hoitaa (Do I Have to Take Care of Everything?)
  • The Voorman Problem
Sound Editing
  • Steve Boeddeker and Richard Hymns, All is Lost
  • Oliver Tarney, Captain Phillips
  • Glenn Freemantle, Gravity
  • Brent Burge, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
  • Wylie Stateman, Lone Survivor
Sound Mixing
  • Chris Burdon, Mark Taylor, Mike Prestwood Smith and Chris Munro, Captain Phillips
  • Skip Lievsay, Niv Adiri, Christopher Benstead and Chris Munro, Gravity
  • Christopher Boyes, Michael Hedges, Michael Semanick and Tony Johnson, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
  • Skip Lievsay, Greg Orloff and Peter F. Kurland, Inside Llewyn Davis
  • Andy Koyama, Beau Borders and David Brownlow, Lone Survivor
Visual Effects
  • Tim Webber, Chris Lawrence, Dave Shirk and Neil Corbould, Gravity
  • Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton and Eric Reynolds, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
  • Christopher Townsend, Guy Williams, Erik Nash and Dan Sudick, Iron Man 3
  • Tim Alexander, Gary Brozenich, Edson Williams and John Frazier, The Lone Ranger
  • Roger Guyett, Patrick Tubach, Ben Grossman and Burt Dalton, Star Trek Into Darkness
And there they are: the nominees for the 86th Academy Awards. Tune into ABC on Sunday, March 2, to see who wins, what everyone's wearing and what the queen of daytime, Ellen DeGeneres, does as host of the soiree. (And head over to oscar.go.com/mypicks to fill out your Oscar ballot!)

Head over to my Academy Awards Pinterest board for photos of nominees. I'll continue adding to it throughout the season and have full red carpet coverage on Oscar night!



Comments

Post a Comment