THE GUY MAY SEEM PLUSH AND HUGGABLE ON THE OUTSIDE, BUT INSIDE, HE'S A MONSTER: The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced the nominations for this year's Academy Awards and, yes, that funny stoner guy in Pineapple Express can hereafter be billed as Academy Award nominee James Franco. Here they are.
Overall nominations leaders: The King's Speech (12), True Grit (10), Inception and The Social Network (8 each). Oh, and Randy Newman now has his 19th nomination, with one win thus far.
It looks like Winter's Bone did slight better than expected, as did True Grit (acting nods for Bridges and Steinfeld), and there were no supporting acting nods for The Social Network ... but in terms of the merits I'm going to defer to the folks who saw more of these films than I did. Go to it.
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added: NYMag on this year's Oscar-seeking narratives. "It's this year's zeitgeist-capturing, generation-defining, conversation-dominating front-runner. Vote for another movie at the risk of your own relevancy!"
Another mild surprise is Williams but nothing else for Blue Valentine. A lot of folks thought that if Williams got in, Gosling and the picture might. Guess Winter's Bone took the "small film slot." Nary a nad for Scott Pilgrim in the tech categories, and Tron gets only sound editing (would have thought it would have gotten effects and score nods).
ReplyDeleteAnd while Black Swan did get picture/director/actress, I'm wondering if its lack of screenplay and supporting actress nominations do not bode well for its dark horse chances.
Well, I guess I can't avoid "The Fighter" any longer. "Winter's Bone", either. That being said, I am annoyed that "The Social Network" didn't get any supporting noms -- Timberlake and Garfield were both outstanding, and deserving. (I guess Timberlake's EGOT pursuit will have to wait a bit longer...) And I still don't get how Bening ended up overshadowing Moore in "The Kids Are All Right"... but I haven't loved a Bening performance since "The Grifters" and I'm convinced Julianne Moore can do no wrong, so I admit that I'm biased.
ReplyDeleteI loved Winter's Bone, so I was happy to see it recognized (Sol Star!). And there was a lot of speculation as to where Steinfeld would land, so I can't help but think she's a strong contender for her category.
ReplyDeleteI will confess that I was underwhelmed by The Social Network, so there's about half the Best Picture field I'd really prefer to see win. Is it possible Pixar gets its chance this year?
I've seen seven of the ten (no Black Swan, 127 Hours or Winter's Bone) and I have no complaints about the nominees. It was not a year with many great movies, but there were no obvious snubs. Maybe that will be the norm now with 10 nominees as the Academy can inculde everyone rather than being forced to make a decision. I'm kind of suprised that Steinfeld isn't up for Best Actress, she was definately the star of that film and I actually that that's a weaker catergory this year.
ReplyDeleteI actually can say that in general I like Moore over Bening because Moore usually melts into a part and Bening has a tendency to show how hard she was working however in TKAAR Bening was great. She was brittle and tough and yet human if in an ambitious, wiry way. Bening was the heart of the movie for me, and I wasn't a big fan of Moore. I got the feeling that Moore (the actress) was judging her character in TKAAR and holding herself back from really being present and melting into that character. Although, that was my opinion, and I have taken flack from friends who've seen the movie and think I just didn't like Moore's character's choices. And that is also true even if I don't think that is where my evaluation of her acting came from.
ReplyDeleteYup. There are a couple of movies that I probably really need to make myself see (Black Swan and 127 Hours) that I really don't feel like seeing.
ReplyDeleteIt is just wrong that The Social Network got no supporting nominations. And I know that I'm in the minority on this, but I really didn't think that How to Train Your Dragon should have gotten a nomination for animated film over Tangled.
I kind of raised my eyebrows over Toy Story 3 being an adapted screenplay, given that the story generated inside of Pixar and was not a previously published work. I mean, don't get me wrong---I thought that it should get a screenplay nomination, but I was not figuring on the adapted screenplay category.
Really happy to see Winter's Bone to get such attention - I thought it was fantastic.
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised that Christopher Nolan didn't get a Best Director nomination for Inception.
Also glad that out of the 10 Best Picture noms, I only have two to catch up on. True Grit, and 127 Hours (which I've been avoiding for the Ick Factor.)
randy, agreed on Moore/Bening. I feel like when the movie first came out, all the attention was on Moore's fantastic performance. Somewhere in the last few months, it shifted to Bening. I don't understand how or why that happened. I thought both were great, but Moore really shone as she struggled with being the less steady, less strict parent who doesn't quite know what she wants.
ReplyDeleteThe interesting thing is that with the exception of King's Speech, TS3, Winter's Bone, every one of the Best Picture nominees failed to get a nomination that they pushed for--Swan didn't get Kunis or Hershey, Inception and 127 Hours didn't get a direction nod (nor did Winter's Bone, but it was an actor-picture push), TSN didn't get any of Timberlake/Garfield/Mara, Fighter didn't get Wahlberg, True Grit didn't get Damon, Kids didn't get director or Moore, King's Speech got a nod in pretty much every category where it had something (only one where it was eligible and didn't get it was sound editing).
ReplyDeleteAgree with Randy that's it a shame both Timberlake and Garfield got snubbed, but I'm not sure who I jettison from that group (Maybe Renner? I haven't seen "The Kids Are All Right," but people love their Ruffalo, so I won't say anything bad about him). I also thought Matt Damon was really good in "True Grit," but this category is just very stacked. I didn't love "Winter's Bone" nearly as much as others, but John Hawkes - along with Jennifer Lawrence - were the best parts, and I will not be crossing Sol Star at any point.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of "True Grit," and Linda Holmes has addressed this, but there is no way Hailee Stanfield is a supporting actress. She deserved a nomination and I'm glad they got her one, but that was some creative bookkeeping.
Toy Story 3 is an Adapted Screenplay?
ReplyDeleteVia Sepinwall, Franco's the first Oscar host to be up for an award since Paul Hogan was up for screenplay for Crocodile Dundee.
ReplyDeleteI am delighted about the recognition for Winter's Bone, which is small, slow-moving noir (paced no faster than Ree can walk from place to place, seeking information) and does no hand-holding. I thought it was riveting. I'm particularly happy about John Hawkes's nomination. He's just terrific: charismatic, menacing, and fascinating. I'd happily watch an entire movie -- or better yet, read a book -- all about Teardrop.
ReplyDeleteIf inside-Hollywood politics didn't come into it, Moore would've been nominated as a lead and Bening as lead or supporting. I saw the movie months ago, but IIRC, Moore had more screen time. AND one of the major plot threads hinges on her action; Bening's role is reaction (which she does beautifully, I have no quibbles with her performance). But if Moore isn't believable, and to a degree understandable, in the decision she makes, then the movie makes no sense.
ReplyDeleteOf course, I would've nominated Moore for Safe, The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio, Children of Men, and even Short Curts. I realize her screen time wasn't huge in Children of Men or Short Cuts, but she's in arguably the most memorable scenes from each movie.
We saw Winter's Bone on DVD this weekend, and it was quite good -- the nominated performances (Jennifer Lawrence in the lead and Deadwood's John Hawkes in support) are excellent, but I haven't seen enough of the other nominated films (2/10 on Best Pic - Winter's Bone and Toy Story 3) to compare.
ReplyDeleteReally quite surprised by the lack of anything for Scott Pilgrim.
ReplyDeleteI've no real complaints beside the snubbing of Scott Pilgrim (sorry, but The Kids Are Alright was good, but not in a best picture league). I'm quite happy to see a nomination for John Hawke for Winter's Bone, who I'll be rooting for.
ReplyDeleteI don't have much to say about snubs - I was surprised not to see Moore in the best actress category and bummed that Ryan Gosling or Mark Wahlberg didn't rate for Best Actor. On a more exciting note - a friend from college got nominated in the Best Live Short category...which means I'll actually pay attention to the middle of the telecast this year.
ReplyDeleteThat was me.
ReplyDeleteI agree on all points.
ReplyDeleteMy earlier comment didnt show up, so I'm posting again...
ReplyDeleteI feel like when the movie first came out, Moore was getting all the attention. Somehow as we got to awards season, it shifted to Bening. I thought Moore was wonderful in this movie - I didn't necessarily like her choices, but I saw where she was coming from, and I thought she created a lived-in, complex character. I wish she'd been recognized more from it.
Tangled was well-executed, but it really was exactly the same movie that Disney has been doing for a million years. Actually, it's exactly the same movie that Disney has been doing since The Little Mermaid, when Disney decided that its damsels in distress had to be spunky and rebellious and had to play at least a modest role in their own rescue. There's obviously some value in telling the same story again and again with slightly different characters and gags -- otherwise people wouldn't keep going to see it -- but if a movie completely gives up on any pretense of giving you something that surprises you in any way, I wouldn't be willing to reward it with an Academy Award. I've only seen the first 30 minutes of How to Train Your Dragon, so I'm not qualified to agree or disagree that it is better, but I view Tangled as a perfectly acceptable children's movie and not much more.
ReplyDeleteI'm really, really happy to see Winter's Bone getting so much attention. I thought it was fantastic, and Jennifer Lawrence and John Hawkes deserve it.
ReplyDeleteSurprised that Christopher Nolan didn't get a director nomination for Inception, but it was a tight field.
Out of the 10 Best Picture nominees, I just need to see True Grit and 127 Hours (which I skipped due to the Ick Factor, but might need to give it a go now.)
Toy Story 3 apparently is an Adapted Screenplay because all sequels are considered adaptations. I think that's a pretty artificial distrinction. Yes, the characters already exist, but the characters in the King's Speech preexist as well.
ReplyDeleteI avoided "127 Hours" until this past weekend. It's avisceral experience, but it's also an excellent movie. Boyle said he wanted to make an action movie about a guy who doesn't move, and I think he succeeds. If it helps, the amputation scene lasts less than five minutes. The nominations for score and editing are richly deserved, especially during that scene.
ReplyDeleteDon't know that I can add much to the discussion, as I've only seen Toy Story 3, The Social Network and Inception of the Best Picture noms. It's been a light year for going to the movies in my house, I guess.
ReplyDeleteHowever, we watched Restrepo and Exit Through the Gift Shop (both nominated in documentary feature category) about a month or so ago via Netflix Watch Instantly. I just checked, and they are still available for instant streaming, if anyone is trying to work in all the movies before the awards.
I would have nominated Tangled in part because it was an enjoyable movie---more enjoyable to me, personally, than How to Train Your Dragon or Despicable Me. But I also think that there some leaps forward with the animation that were both a real pleasure to see and an advancement. In particular, I'd point to the use of 3D in the movie. Often, I view 3D as a minor plus in a movie, and often just an excuse to show off or to charge additional money for movie tickets, but the 3D in Tangled was really well done, and added to the viewing experience.
ReplyDeleteBlack Swan was a mediocre script that was made in to a very good film, with much credit to the lead actress and director. It shows how collaborative filmmaking is as a medium, and how much the greatest films rely on the combination of writing, directing, acting, cinematography, editing, scoring, and serial commas. Black Swan is probably not a serious contender for Best Picture, but was a very good film.
ReplyDeleteOn that theory, does Nolan's exclusion from best director mean that Inception is an unlikely winner for Best Picture?
It is a shame that Scott Pilgrim didn't get any kind of recognition for visual effects, because it had one of the most seamlessly obvious use of effects, making an unique real life/video game hybrid.
Toy Story 3 is technically adapted because it's a threequel - the characters and world are adapted from two previous works. (I agree that it's sort of lame - it's not based on a book or whatever.)
ReplyDeleteMy favorite little-known-fact about Hailee Steinfeld - she apparently starred in a Nickelodeon pilot about kids at summer camp that Nick declined to pick up to series. They must be kicking themselves now - can you imagine them having a several year option (series contracts lock actors in for a certain amount of years) on an Oscar nominee? Genius.
ReplyDeleteI saw Winter's Bone over the weekend, and as a testament to how good John Hawkes was, I spent every second he was on screen debating whether that was the sidekick from Deadwood or not, and was not sure until I saw his name in the credits. That's acting. And just finished The Kids Are All Right this morning on the train. No problem with Bening getting nominated, but Moore was just as good.
ReplyDeleteI don't think Inception really has any chance at all for Best Picture - even if Nolan hadn't been snubbed, it not winning any of the awards leading up to the Oscars (Globes, etc) usually doesn't bode well.
ReplyDeleteQuite lame. Are all sequels treated thusly?
ReplyDeleteHawkes was fantastic in it, and I'm very happy for that nomination. The only serious snubs this year were for Tilda Swinton (the second year in a row she's been ignored, last year for Julia and this year for I Am Love, both wonderful performances) and the almost inexplicable lack of nominations for Scott Pilgrim.
ReplyDeleteThat is a great critique of Bening and Moore in the film and makes me like Bening even more in it.
ReplyDeleteOn another note, I am one of four people (that I know of) on this planet who found The King's Speech somewhat boring. That movie was tailor made for my interests, and I did not love it. All of the nominations weren't a surprise, but I think there were more deserving Best Directors and Best Screenplays out there.
I don't have much to add re: snubs, although I would have liked to see Mark Wahlberg or Ryan Gosling in the best actor category. (I thought Bale's performance wouldn't have been quite so effective without Wahlberg's). Much more exciting is that a friend from college was nominated for Best Short (Live Action) - now I have a reason to pay attention to the middle of the telecast.
ReplyDeleteThat was me.
ReplyDeleteWow. I just realized I did not see a first-run movie all year. Not even Toy Story 3.
ReplyDeleteThere are some big snubs in documentary ("Waiting For Superman," "Client 9"), song (nothing from "Burlesque," not even the big Cher 11 o'clock number), and for Tron in the tech categories, but yeah, the top categories were all pretty much as expected.
ReplyDeleteYou know, I learn something new every day from this blog. Thanks to bella wilfer and Dave for the explanation I do agree that it seems rather lame.
ReplyDeleteWhich short was that? I tend to be bad about seeing the shorts, but I could try to expend some extra effort.
ReplyDeleteIt's called God of Love - "a comedy about a lounge-singing darts champion who receives a package of love-inducing darts."
ReplyDeleteI've seen 7/10 BP nominees, and will pick up Inception and Winter's Bone within the next two weeks. I'm not likely to ever see 127 Hours - I won't manage to see it before the Oscars, and I'll never been in the mood to watch it after the Oscars.
ReplyDeleteThe whole slate seems very predictable this year. I'm strangely bored by the nominations despite loving many of the nominated movies and performances.
Posted earlier, but it seems to have been eaten...anyway, we saw Winter's Bone on DVD this weekend and it was terrific, and Hawkes and Lawrence both well deserving of their noms (though I haven't seen much else besides TS3 for comparison's sake).
ReplyDeleteJust heard from my wife - she was only able to get Exit Through the Gift Shop (doc) and The Wolfman (makeup) at the library, so Oscar rental season has apparently begun in earnest.
The two most interesting things about Tangled are:
ReplyDelete1. How well it preserves the hand-drawn/2d aesthetic while using the CG/3-D tools of the moment.
2. That it is an effective throwback to the last "golden age" of Disney animation (Little Mermaid/Beauty and the Beast), which Disney seemed to be running away from After Mulan, they avoided fairytale and princessy stuff like the plague for almost 10 years (till "Princess and the Frog").
I have the same 7/10 as you Martha, and will get 9/10, but I am really not watching 127 Hours. I have no desire, and I just loathe James Franco.
ReplyDeleteI would love to see The Fighter or King's Speech take Best PIcture over Social Network. I enjoyed Social Network, I understand why there is hype, but I just don't think it is the best picture of the year.
District 9 was also considered adapted in the same regard as TS3 -- it builds off a 6 minute short film by the director.
ReplyDelete(Both Godfather II and LOTR II were adapted noms, but both were adaptations of existing books as well as sequels to films.)
How about this? Young Frankenstein was a best adapted screenplay nod for being adapted from the original Mary Shelley book.
Cecilia, I was also lukewarm on The King's Speech, which I found a series of fine scences, VERY beautifully and impressively performed, that didn't amount to much in the end. While I enjoyed the small story of a closed-off man finding friendship, the linking of Bertie's struggles with speech to his borderline abusive/emotionally witholding upbringing seemed heavy handed, and the stakes in the end seemed like worrying whether the bomb about to destroy the house next door would crack a teacup in my parlor. Just all a bit cozy and pat.
ReplyDeleteI have heard rumors of Hailee Steinfeld for Katniss Everdeen....
ReplyDeleteI'm another who is happiest about the recognition given to Winter's Bone, Jennifer Lawrence, and especially John Hawkes. I would happily watch an entire movie--or better yet, read an entire book--about Teardrop.
ReplyDelete<span>Cecilia, I was also lukewarm on The King's Speech, which I found a series of fine scenes, VERY beautifully and impressively performed, that didn't amount to much in the end. While I enjoyed the small story of a closed-off man finding friendship, the linking of Bertie's struggles with speech to his borderline abusive/emotionally witholding upbringing seemed heavy handed, and the stakes in the end seemed like worrying whether the bomb about to destroy the house next door would crack a teacup in my parlor. Just all a bit cozy and pat.</span>
ReplyDeleteThe rule can seem a little arbitrary in particular applications, but I kind of agree with it. Writing is not just plot and dialogue. There are countless things involved, but one very important one of those things is creating characters. Somebody who works with preexisting characters has had the hard work of developing those characters done for them. True, Abraham Lincoln and Mark Zuckerberg already exist, and maybe there are hard lines to be drawn, but TS3 is not one of the close cases. It's not slighting the writing achievement at all to recognize that the creation of TS3 involved creating a narrative from pieces that had already been created.
ReplyDeletePut another way, the plot of the film LA Confidential bears only a slight resemblance to the plot of the book LA Confidential. The plot of the film Wag the Dog bears barely any resemblance at all to the plot of the book Wag the Dog. In both cases, though, some or most of the main characters are drawn from the original work. Those works may be more adapted than most, but they're still adapted. TS3 doesn't seem out of line with that line of reasoning.
And when "Before Sunset" was nominated a few years back (Academy Award nominees Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy, folks!), it was likewise "adapted."
ReplyDeleteIMHO, the weird case this year is TSN, which is "adapted," because it was suggested by the Mezrich book. However, Sorkin started writing and doing his own research (separate from Mezrich's) based on a 6-page book proposal, and I think has said that he never even read the final manuscript.
Where it does feel weird, as Isaac suggests, is when a screenplay is adapted from real-life events and not any particular text based on such events, but still gets treated as Original -- the life of Harvey Milk or Erin Brockovich, say. Or Murrow v. McCarthy.
ReplyDeleteWow. That's as bad as 90210 dumping Hilary Swank before she won the first of her two Oscars.
ReplyDeleteI wish I had said "create" a few more times in that one sentence. I just feel like there might have been another place where I could have slipped it in.
ReplyDelete"<span>It's not slighting the writing creation at all to recognize that the creation of TS3 involved creating a narrative creatively from pieces that had already been created. "</span>
ReplyDeleteMilk bugged because so much of it was drawn directly from the documentary Times of Harvey Milk. In particular, the procession sequence following Milk's assassination is almost shot for shot.
ReplyDeleteHailee is my favorite Katniss idea - however, massively unlikely because she's under 18. Since Katniss is in virtually every scene of the movie it'd be extremely difficult (and way more expensive) to cast a minor (who has huge restrictions on how many hours a day they can work).
ReplyDeleteJennifer Lawrence, who is my other Katniss front-runner, is over 18 so hopefully she has a chance!
<span>Hailee is my favorite Katniss idea - however, massively unlikely because she's under 18. Since Katniss is in virtually every scene of the movie it'd be extremely difficult (and way more expensive) to cast a minor (who has huge restrictions on how many hours a day they can work).
ReplyDeleteJennifer Lawrence, who is my other personal favorite for Katniss, is over 18 so hopefully she has a chance!</span>
I was really anti- the idea of seeing 127 Hours and it's honestly my favorite film of the year. Danny Boyle and James Franco do career-best work (Boyle was totally robbed this awards season, IMO) - they manage to turn the story of a guy who saves his own life by cutting off his own arm into a story of a guy who realizes live isn't worth living without other people. I thought it was emotional and amazing.
ReplyDeleteI would LOVE a thread here about Exit Through The Gift Shop (or "great docs this year" - Catfish, Joan Rivers, etc) once you've seen it. It's fun...
ReplyDeleteI think Gary Ross has made pretty clear that he doesn't intend to age Katniss, and Steinfeld is in almost every scene of True Grit--basically, just excluding the epilogue--heck, she's in more of the move than Jeff Bridges is--though he's unquestionably the lead male role in the film.
ReplyDeleteWhat Gary Ross wants to do and what the studio/financier want to do are different things, unfortunately. Hey - I'd be the first to be thrilled if I'm proven wrong, but...
ReplyDelete(and the Coens are known for not playing by the rules - they had Scott Rudin behind them giving them the okay for what was a very long and difficult shoot due to both Hailee's age and the weather).
ReplyDeleteI liked Black Swan more when it was called Center Stage. There, I said it.
ReplyDeleteOn a third reading, I am deeply, deeply embarrassed by the structure, composition, and grammar of that post above. Good lord.
ReplyDeleteI'm actually kinda psyched that Waiting for Superman was snubbed (hope that wasn't too far into the No Politics Rule...) and very excited for Exit through the Gift Shop's nom.
ReplyDelete*life, obviously.
ReplyDeleteI pumped my fist when I heard about John Hawkes and Jennifer Lawrence. (Although I've seen no performance as electric as Christian Bale in The Fighter.) I'm also happy about Jesse Eisenberg, even if he won't win, just because I love how awkward he looks at every single awards show. The Oscars could have Eisenberg-Awkward-Cam up all the time and I would be thrilled. (Also, he was pretty great in The Social Network.)
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry; would 90210 have been better with better acting?
ReplyDeleteIt's the choice of the production to put her up for Supporting; they do it because she has a better shot there. So if anyone is doing creative bookkeeping, it's the Coens.
ReplyDelete1. Wait--am I forgetting a gratituous lesbian sex plot in Center Stage?
ReplyDelete2. Amanda Schull (Jody Sawyer!) showed up on Hawaii Five-0 last week as the villainess of the week.
The beating-up-of-toe-shoes scene was almost exactly the same, and someone did say something in the movie (now can't remember it all that well) that made me almost shout out, "I am the best goddamn dancer in the American Ballet Academy. Who the hell are you?"
ReplyDeleteI second that. It's hugely entertaining and life-affirming. And while the big scene is certainly squirm-inducing, it's really beside the point. I feel like all the advance press made it seem like the movie is just 90 minutes of harrowing trauma, but it's actually full of energy, color and, ultimately, joy.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure there's room for improvement in "Center Stage," but if Jody Sawyer had had violent fantasies of killing Maureen and had stabbed herself at the end of Cooper Nielsen's ballet...
ReplyDeleteI was recently introduced to Amanda Schull at a party through a friend who is close with her boyfriend/husband (can't remember if they're married or not), which I was so excited about until the intro ended with "she's a HUGE fan of yours from Center Stage." I was like urgggh...I'm sure exactly what this poor girl wanted to hear was that I thought she was awesome in that thing she did over 10 years ago...
ReplyDeleteI think it was when Portman said something similar to her mom - "I'm the Swan Queen and you never made it out of the chorus" (or something to that effect, I can't remember the exact quote) Right?
ReplyDeleteYes, exactly.
ReplyDelete