







The Academy Award or Oscar nominations were announced today and I thought I’d share my thoughts on them. First of all they were a bit of a let down for me, very predictable and tame.

Hugo was the front-runner with 11 nominations, it was a fun and magical movie and definitely deserves the technical accolades but I feel like there were some fantastic films of 2011 that were completely overlooked. Where was the love for Drive?! Easily my favorite film of the year and all it got was a sound editing nomination! Ryan Gosling and Nicolas Winding Refn were snubbed!

There were the expected nods, lots of love for The Descendants and The Artist, but the predictability takes the fun right out of it. How about Melissa McCarthy getting a nomination for Bridesmaids!!! It was funny but come on, there were plenty of other options for this category. These nominations feel like forced picks, these actors were campaigning like crazy for them and they feel pretty safe.

I would love to see Brad Pitt win this year, he has been doing some really great work lately and needs to be recognized for that. I would also really like to see Christopher Plummer take the supporting category. I thought that Beginners might get overlooked.

Overall it’s been pretty predictable and boring for the past few years. I just have to hope that there will be some surprises within the categories. I’ll make my predictions in my next post. Let me know if you disagree or if there is someone you think should have made the cut.

Here is the list:

Actor in a Leading Role

Demián Bichir in A Better Life

in A Better Life George Clooney in The Descendants

in The Descendants Jean Dujardin in The Artist

in The Artist Gary Oldman in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy Brad Pitt in Moneyball

Actor in a Supporting Role

Kenneth Branagh in My Week with Marilyn

in My Week with Marilyn Jonah Hill in Moneyball

in Moneyball Nick Nolte in Warrior

in Warrior Christopher Plummer in Beginners

in Beginners Max von Sydow in Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

Actress in a Leading Role

Glenn Close in Albert Nobbs

in Albert Nobbs Viola Davis in The Help

in The Help Rooney Mara in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Meryl Streep in The Iron Lady

in The Iron Lady Michelle Williams in My Week with Marilyn

Actress in a Supporting Role

Bérénice Bejo in The Artist

in The Artist Jessica Chastain in The Help

in The Help Melissa McCarthy in Bridesmaids

in Bridesmaids Janet McTeer in Albert Nobbs

in Albert Nobbs Octavia Spencer in The Help

Animated Feature Film

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 Guillaume Schiffman

Guillaume Schiffman The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Jeff Cronenweth

Jeff Cronenweth Hugo Robert Richardson

Robert Richardson The Tree of Life Emmanuel Lubezki

Emmanuel Lubezki War Horse Janusz Kaminski

Costume Design

Anonymous Lisy Christl

Lisy Christl The Artist Mark Bridges

Mark Bridges Hugo Sandy Powell

Sandy Powell Jane Eyre Michael O’Connor

Michael O’Connor W.E. Arianne Phillips

Directing

The Artist Michel Hazanavicius

Michel Hazanavicius The Descendants Alexander Payne

Alexander Payne Hugo Martin Scorsese

Martin Scorsese Midnight in Paris Woody Allen

Woody Allen The Tree of Life Terrence Malick

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

The Artist Anne-Sophie Bion and Michel Hazanavicius

Anne-Sophie Bion and Michel Hazanavicius The Descendants Kevin Tent

Kevin Tent The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall

Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall Hugo Thelma Schoonmaker

Thelma Schoonmaker Moneyball Christopher Tellefsen

Foreign Language Film

Bullhead Belgium

Belgium Footnote Israel

Israel In Darkness Poland

Poland Monsieur Lazhar Canada

Canada A Separation Iran

Makeup

Albert Nobbs

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

The Iron Lady

Music (Original Score)

The Adventures of Tintin John Williams

John Williams The Artist Ludovic Bource

Ludovic Bource Hugo Howard Shore

Howard Shore Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy Alberto Iglesias

Alberto Iglesias War Horse John Williams

Music (Original Song)

Man or Muppet from The Muppets

from The Muppets Real in Rio from Rio

Best Picture

The Artist

The Descendants

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

The Help

Hugo

Midnight in Paris

Moneyball

The Tree of Life

War Horse

Short Film (Animated)

Dimanche/Sunday Patrick Doyon

Patrick Doyon The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg

William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg La Luna Enrico Casarosa

Enrico Casarosa A Morning Stroll Grant Orchard and Sue Goffe

Grant Orchard and Sue Goffe Wild Life Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby

Short Film (Live Action)

Pentecost Peter McDonald and Eimear O’Kane

Peter McDonald and Eimear O’Kane Raju Max Zähle and Stefan Gieren

Max Zähle and Stefan Gieren The Shore Terry George and Oorlagh George

Terry George and Oorlagh George Time Freak Andrew Bowler and Gigi Causey

Andrew Bowler and Gigi Causey Tuba Atlantic Hallvar Witzø

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

Moneyball

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”

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

The Descendants Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon & Jim Rash

Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon & Jim Rash Hugo John Logan

John Logan The Ides of March George Clooney, Grant Heslov & Beau Willimon

George Clooney, Grant Heslov & Beau Willimon Moneyball Steven Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin; Story by Stan Chervin

Steven Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin; Story by Stan Chervin Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy Bridget O’Connor & Peter Straughan

Writing (Original Screenplay)

The Artist Michel Hazanavicius

Michel Hazanavicius Bridesmaids Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig

Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig Margin Call J.C. Chandor

J.C. Chandor Midnight in Paris Woody Allen

Woody Allen A Separation Asghar Farhadi







