Movie Blog: 2012 Oscar Nominations
Here are the nominees for the 2012 Academy Awards. Lincoln leads the pack with 12 nominations, with Life of Pi somewhat surprisingly just behind it with 11. A few stray observations from my notes.
-- From Associated Press: "Lincoln was the ninth best-picture nominee Spielberg has directed, moving him into a tie for second-place with Ford. Only Wyler directed more best-picture nominees, with 13." Despite all those best picture nominations, only one has materialized into a win: Schindler's List. Weird as it seems to say, Spielberg enters this year's final heat as a career underdog.
-- Zero Dark Thirty, thought to be the soft frontrunner going into the nominations this morning, took a pretty sizeable hit thanks to its director Kathryn Bigelow getting snubbed. Actually, the biggest snubs of the morning came in that category, with Hollywood's golden boy Ben Affleck and fellow DGA nominee Tom Hooper (Les Miserables) also missing out on bids. Big shakeups there.
-- Most surprising showing in the major categories: Amour. Emmanuelle Riva was expected to probably show up in the best actress lineup as well as the best foreign film category, but it made major showings elsewhere, with appearances in best picture, best director and best screenplay. Somewhere Michael Haneke's frown just got turned upside down, if only ruefully/ironically. I am relishing the thought of him getting the obligatory Pedro Almodovar token win in the screenplay category.
-- Speaking of Emmanuelle Riva, at 85 years old, she is officially the oldest nominee in best actress ever. Conversely, Quvenzhane Wallis is the category's youngest contender ever at 9 years old (though she was actually 6 when the movie was shot). Pretty impressive spread.
-- Silver Linings Playbook becomes the first movie to get nominations in all four acting categories since Reds in 1981. Harvey Weinstein spent his money strategically. Two other movies, however, did get nods in three of the four acting categories this morning: Lincoln (as expected) and The Master (which was snubbed in every other category).
-- Whoever wins best supporting actor this year, it won't be their first time on the podium. Every single one of them has won an Oscar before. Currently pouring one out for snubee Matthew McConaughey's g-string.
-- Minnesota native John Hawkes got snubbed in best actor for his role in The Sessions. It was a baity part, but if I'm to be totally honest, it was no Teardrop. If it's Joaquin Phoenix that he made room for, I'm cool with that.
-- In below-the-line categories, the biggest shock of the morning was the dismissal of The Intouchables in best foreign film. Never has a movie seemed more tailor-made for the category.
-- Maggie Simpson is now an Oscar nominee. Good job, Maggie Simpson.
Photo Gallery: Oscar Nominations 2012
Best Picture
Amour
Argo
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Django Unchained
Les Misérables
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Silver Linings Playbook
Zero Dark Thirty
Director
Michael Haneke, Amour
Benh Zeitlin, Beasts of the Southern Wild
Ang Lee, Life of Pi
Steven Spielberg, Lincoln
David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook
Actor in a Leading Role
Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook
Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
Hugh Jackman, Les Misérables
Joaquin Phoenix, The Master
Denzel Washington, Flight
Actress in a Leading Role
Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty
Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
Emmanuelle Riva, Amour
Quvenzhané Wallis, Beasts of the Southern Wild
Naomi Watts, The Impossible
Actor in a Supporting Role
Alan Arkin, Argo
Robert De Niro, Silver Linings Playbook
Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Master
Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln
Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained
Actress in a Supporting Role
Amy Adams, The Master
Sally Field, Lincoln
Anne Hathaway, Les Misérables
Helen Hunt, The Sessions
Jacki Weaver, Silver Linings Playbook
Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
Argo, Chris Terrio
Beasts of the Southern Wild, Lucy Alibar & Benh Zeitlin
Life of Pi, David Magee
Lincoln, Tony Kushner
Silver Linings Playbook, David O. Russell
Writing (Original Screenplay)
Amour, Michael Haneke
Django Unchained, Quentin Tarantino
Flight, John Gatins
Moonrise Kingdom, Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola
Zero Dark Thirty, Mark Boal
Animated Feature Film
Brave
Frankenweenie
ParaNorman
The Pirates! Band of Misfits
Wreck-It Ralph
Cinematography
Anna Karenina
Django Unchained
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Skyfall
Costume Design
Anna Karenina
Les Misérables
Lincoln
Mirror Mirror
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 Subject
Inocente
Kings Point
Mondays at Racine
Open Heart
Redemption
Film Editing
Argo
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Silver Linings Playbook
Zero Dark Thirty
Foreign Language Film
Amour (Austria)
Kon-Tiki (Norway)
No (Chile)
A Royal Affair (Denmark)
War Witch (Canada)
Makeup & Hairstyling
Hitchcock
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Les Misérables
Music (Original Score)
Anna Karenina
Argo
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Skyfall
Music (Original Song)
"Before My Time," Chasing Ice
"Everybody Needs A Best Friend," Ted
"Pi's Lullaby," Life of Pi
"Skyfall," Skyfall
"Suddenly," Les Misérables
Production Design
Anna Karenina
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Les Misérables
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Short Film (Animated)
Adam and Dog
Fresh Guacamole
Head over Heels
Maggie Simpson in "The Longest Da ycare"
Paperman
Short Film (Live Action)
Asad
Buzkashi Boys
Curfew
Death of a Shadow
Henry
Sound Editing
Argo
Django Unchained
Life of Pi
Skyfall
Zero Dark Thirty
Sound Mixing
Argo
Les Misérables
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Skyfall
Visual Effects
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Life of Pi
Marvel's The Avengers
Prometheus
Snow White and the Huntsman
