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January 24, 2012
Producer with Austin ties gets Best Picture Oscar nomination for 'The Help'
Green said he, “The Help” actress Octavia Spencer, who received a best supporting actress nomination, and executive producer Tate Taylor had a slumber party Monday night and watched the nomination announcement together on Tuesday morning.
“Whatever happens, we started this trip together, whether it’s good or bad,” Green said by phone Tuesday. “We were hoping to get nominated, but it’s always a surprise because you just never know what the Academy is going to do; so we were thrilled at 5:30 a.m. to be up. Octavia was screaming her lungs out. It was great.”
(Photo: Emma Stone, Octavia Spencer and Viola Davis are shown in a scene from “The Help.” (DISNEY/Dale Robinette)
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Oscars 2012: An early summary with Austin perspective
Terrence Malick’s “The Tree of Life,” which was filmed in Smithville and Central Texas, earned three Oscar nominations on Tuesday for best picture, director and cinematography.
The impressionistic tale about family life became the first Texas film to win the prestigious Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival in May, but the movie divided audiences, and its nominations for best picture and director were considered longshots.
“Bullhead,” a Belgian tale that was a hit at Austin’s Fantastic Fest, was one of five nominees for best foreign language film. Austin’s Drafthouse Films acquired U.S. distribution rights to the movie after its local success.
But other Austin movies didn’t fare as well in the nominations Tuesday. “Take Shelter,” the critically acclaimed story written and directed by Austin’s Jeff Nichols and a leading contender in the Independent Spirit Awards, did not receive any nominations from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Nor did its star, Michael Shannon.
Overall, Martin Scorsese’s “Hugo” led the Oscars with 11 nominations, including best picture and best director. In second place was “The Artist,” a black-and-white silent homage to early Hollywood, with 10 nominations.
Because of a change in rules, the best picture race was narrowed to nine contenders rather than the 10 from last year. In addition to “The Tree of Life,” “The Artist” and “Hugo,” the other best picture nominees are: “The Descendants,” a family drama starring George Clooney; the Deep South feel-good drama “The Help”; the romantic fantasy from Woody Allen, “Midnight in Paris”; the World War I tale from Steven Spielberg, “War Horse”; the baseball story “Moneyball”; and the highly divisive Sept. 11 story, “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close.”
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Oscars 2012: Cinematography
“The Tree of Life” ended up with three nominations Tuesday. In addition to best picture and best director nods for Terrence Malick, Emmanuel Lubezki was nominated for best cinematography.
The other nominees for cinematography are: Guillaume Schiffman for “The Artist”; Jeff Chenoweth for “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”; Robert Richardson for “Hugo”; and Janusz Kaminski for “War Horse.”
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Drafthouse Films' 'Bullhead' nominated for Oscar
Fantastic Fest stand-out and subsequent acquisition by Tm League and Drafthouse Films, “Bullhead” was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film this morning. Director Michael Roskam’s psychological noir thriller, which League has called a “near-perfect” film will represent Belgium at the 84th annual Academy Awards on February 26.
“Michael Roskam is an incredibly exciting new director,” Drafhouse Films founder and CEO League said. “We are so happy that the Academy thinks as highly of him as we do.”
For some blow-by-blow on this morning’s action, check out this FantasticFest.com blog from Devin Faraci, who is in Sundance with League and the Drafthouse team.
Also nominated for Best Foreign Language Film are “Footnote” from Israel, “In Darkness” from Poland, “Monsieur Lazhar” from Canada and the early favorite, “A Separation” from Iran.
“Bulhead” plays at the Santa Barbara Film Festival next week and is slated to open theatrically in early 2012.
Related: Read our review of “Bullhead” from last year’s Fantastic Fest.
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Oscars 2012: The leaders
Martin Scorsese’s “Hugo” leads the Academy Awards with 11 nominations, including best picture and director. “The Artist,” a silent black-and-white homage to early Hollywood, was the second most-honored movie, with 10 nominations.
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Oscars 2012: The nominations
“The Tree of Life” was nominated for best picture and Terrence Malick was nominated for best director by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences this morning.
The movie, which was filmed in Texas by the Austin director, was a surprise nominee, in part because it was left out of most major awards leading up to the Oscars. But it won the prestigious Palme d’Or in Cannes in May.
Jessica Chastain, who starred in “Tree,” was not nominated for her role but did garner a nomination for supporting actress for “The Help.” Octavia Spencer was also nominated in the same category for “The Help.”
Other best picture nominees were “War Horse,” “The Artist,” “Moneyball,” “The Descendants,” “Midnight in Paris,” “The Help,” “Hugo” and “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close.”
The nomination for “Extremely Loud” was one of the biggest surprises. The 9/11 tale has split critics, with some denouncing it as manipulative.
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February 28, 2011
Check out vids from the Oscars
Miss out on last night’s Oscars ceremony? Looking to relive all the fabulousness? Check out these videos …
Oscar Winner Drops F-Bomb
Oscar fashion winners and losers
Oscar-winning actresses
Men of the Oscars
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February 23, 2011
Seats still available for aGLIFF Oscars party
With the Oscars just around the corner, seats aplenty remain available for AGLIFF’s annual Red Carpet Gala at the Driskill.
Tickets to Sunday night’s Oscars viewing party are $150, and can be purchased online at agliff.org. Give $300 or more and you’ll get access to the party, plus a badge to this year’s film festival and a ticket to Bloom, the group’s annual artist showcase. Benefactor and Power Couple memberships are also available with even more perks.
In an email this week to AGLIFF members, board member John Livingston reported ticket sales this year are, thus far, below the group’s projections. He encouraged AGLIFF members who can’t attend to acquire tickets that can be given to to the 100-plus volunteers who have worked to make the party possible.
aGLIFF Red Carpet Gala
When: 6 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 27
Where: The Driskill, 604 Brazos St.
Tickets: $150 at agliff.org
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January 25, 2011
The Oscar nominations: A complete list
The list of Oscar nominees:
Best picture: “127 Hours,” “Black Swan,” “The Fighter,” “Inception,” “The Kid’s Are All Right,” “The King’s Speech,” “The Social Network.” “Toy Story 3,” “True Grit,” “Winter’s Bone.” Best actor: Javier Bardem, “Biutiful”; Jeff Bridges, “True Grit”; Jesse Eisenberg, “The Social Network”; Colin Firth, “The King’s Speech”; James Franco, “127 Hours.”
Best actress: Annette Bening, “The Kids Are All Right”; Nicole Kidman, “Rabbit Hole”; Jennifer Lawrence, “Winter’s Bone”; Natalie Portman, “Black Swan”; Michelle Williams, “Blue Valentine.”
Best supporting actor: Christian Bale, “The Fighter”; John Hawkes,”Winter’s Bone”; Jeremy Renner, “The Town”; Mark Ruffalo, “The Kids Are All Right”; Geoffrey Rush, “The King’s Speech.”
Best supporting actress: Amy Adams, “The Fighter”; Helena Bonham Carter, “The King’s Speech”; Melissa Leo, “The Fighter”; Hailee Steinfeld, “True Grit”; Jacki Weaver, “Animal Kingdom.”
Best director: Darren Aronofsky, “Black Swan”; David Fincher, “The Social Network”; Tom Hooper, “The King’s Speech”; David O. Russell, “The Fighter”; Joel and Ethan Coen, “True Grit.”
Best animated feature: “How to Train Your Dragon”; “The Illusionist”; “Toy Story 3.”
Best foreign language film: “Biutiful” (Mexico); “Dogtooth” (Greece); “In a Better World” (Denmark); “Incendies” (Canada); “Outside the Law” (Algeria).
Best screenplay (original): “Another Year,” written by Mike Leigh; “The Fighter,” written by Scott Silver, Paul Tamasy and Eric Johnson. Story by Keith Dorrington, Paul Tamasy and Eric Johnson; “Inception,” written by Christopher Nolan; “The Kids Are All Right,” written by Lisa Cholodenko and Stuart Blumberg; “The King’s Speech,” screenplay by David Seidler.
Best screenplay (adapted): “127 Hours,” screenplay by Danny Boyle and Simon Beaufoy; “The Social Network,” screenplay by Aaron Sorkin; “Toy Story 3,” screenplay by Michael Arndt. Story by John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich; “True Grit,” written for the screen by Joel and Ethan Coen; “Winter’s Bone,” adapted for the screen by Debra Granik and Anne Rosellini.
Best music (original score): “How to Train Your Dragon,” John Powell; “Inception,” Hans Zimmer; “The King’s Speech,” Alexandre Desplat; “127 Hours,” A.R. Rahman; “The Social Network,” Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross.
Best music (original song): “Coming Home” from “Country Strong,” music and lyrics by Tom Douglas, Troy Verges and Hillary Lindsey; “I See the Light” from “Tangled,” music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Glenn Slater; “If I Rise” from “127 Hours,” music by A.R. Rahman and lyrics by Dido and Rollo Armstrong; “We Belong Together” from “Toy Story 3,” music and lyrics by Randy Newman.
Best art direction: “Alice in Wonderland,” production design: Robert Stromberg; set decoration: Karen O’Hara; “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1,” production design: Stuart Craig; set decoration: Stephenie McMillan; “Inception” production design: Guy Hendrix Dyas; set decoration: Larry Dias and Doug Mowat; “The King’s Speech” production design: Eve Stewart; set decoration: Judy Farr; “True Grit” production design: Jess Gonchor; set decoration: Nancy Haigh.
Best cinematography: “Black Swan,” Matthew Libatique; “Inception,” Wally Pfister; “The King’s Speech,” Danny Cohen; “The Social Network,” Jeff Cronenweth; “True Grit,” Roger Deakins. Best costume design: “Alice in Wonderland,” Colleen Atwood; “I Am Love,” Antonella Cannarozzi; “The King’s Speech,” Jenny Beavan; “The Tempest,” Sandy Powell; “True Grit” Mary Zophres.
Best documentary (feature): “Exit Through the Gift Shop,” Banksy and Jaimie D’Cruz “Gasland,” Josh Fox and Trish Adlesic; “Inside Job,” Charles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs; “Restrepo,” Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger; “Waste Land,” Lucy Walker and Angus Aynsley.
Best documentary (short subject): “Killing the Name,” nominees to be determined; “Poster Girl,” nominees to be determined; “Strangers No More,” Karen Goodman and Kirk Simon; “Sun Come Up,” Jennifer Redfearn and Tim Metzger; “The Warriors of Qiugang,” Ruby Yang and Thomas Lennon.
Best film editing: “Black Swan,” Andrew Weisblum; “The Fighter,” Pamela Martin; “The King’s Speech,” Tariq Anwar; “127 Hours,” Jon Harris; “The Social Network,” Angus Wall and Kirk Baxter.
Best makeup: “Barney’s Version,” Adrien Morot; “The Way Back,” Edouard F. Henriques, Gregory Funk and Yolanda Toussieng; “The Wolfman,” Rick Baker and Dave Elsey. Best short film (animated): “Day & Night,” Teddy Newton; “The Gruffalo,” Jakob Schuh and Max Lang; “Let’s Pollute,” Geefwee Boedoe; “The Lost Thing,” Shaun Tan and Andrew Ruhemann; “Madagascar, carnet de voyage,” Bastien Dubois.
Best short film (live action): “The Confession,” Tanel Toom; “The Crush,” Michael Creagh; “God of Love,” Luke Matheny; “Na Wewe,” Ivan Goldschmidt; “Wish 143,” Ian Barnes and Samantha Waite.
Best sound editing: “Inception,” Richard King; “Toy Story 3,” Tom Myers and Michael Silvers; “Tron: Legacy,” Gwendolyn Yates Whittle and Addison Teague; “True Grit,” Skip Lievsay and Craig Berkey; “Unstoppable,” Mark P. Stoeckinger.
Best sound mixing: “Inception,” Lora Hirschberg, Gary A. Rizzo and Ed Novick; “The King’s Speech,” Paul Hamblin, Martin Jensen and John Midgley; “Salt,” Jeffrey J. Habousch, Greg P. Russell, Scott Millan and William Sarokin; “The Social Network,” Ren Klyce, David Parker, Michael Semanick and Mark Weingarten; “True Grit,” Skip Lievsay, Craig Berkey, Greg Orloff and Peter F. Kurland.
Best visual effects: “Alice in Wonderland,” Ken Ralston, David Schaub, Carey Villegas and Sean Phillips; “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1,” Time Burke, John Richardson, Christian Manz and Nicolas Aithadi; “Hereafter,” Michael Owens, Bryan Grill, Stephan Trojanski and Joe Farrell; “Inception,” Paul Franklin, Chris Corbould, Andrew Lockley and Peter Bebb; “Iron Man 2,” Janek Sirrs, Ben Snow, Ged Wright and Daniel Sudick. — Los Angeles Times
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The Oscars: A wrapup of nominees
Staff and wire reports
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — The British monarchy saga “The King’s Speech” led the Academy Awards with 12 nominations Tuesday, including best picture and acting honors for Colin Firth, Helena Bonham Carter and Geoffrey Rush.
Also nominated for best picture were the psychosexual thriller “Black Swan”; the boxing drama “The Fighter”; the sci-fi blockbuster “Inception”; the lesbian-family tale “The Kids Are All Right”; the survival story “127 Hours”; the Facebook chronicle “The Social Network”; the animated smash “Toy Story 3”; the Western “True Grit”; and the Ozarks crime thriller “Winter’s Bone.” “True Grit,” which was filmed primarily in Central Texas, ran second with 10 nominations, including acting honors for Jeff Bridges and Hailee Steinfeld.
The Feb. 27 Oscars set up a best-picture showdown between two favorites, “The King’s Speech” and “The Social Network.” “The Social Network” won best drama at the Golden Globes and was picked as the year’s best by key critics groups, while “The King’s Speech” pulled an upset last weekend by winning the Producers Guild of America Awards top prize, whose recipient often goes to claim best picture at the Oscars.
The best-actress field shapes up as a two-woman race between Annette Bening for “The Kids Are All Right,” who won the Globe for actress in a musical or comedy, and Natalie Portman for “Black Swan,” who received the Globe for dramatic actress.
The supporting-actress Oscar could prove the most competitive among acting prizes. Melissa Leo won the Globe for “The Fighter,” but she faces strong challenges from that film’s co-star Amy Adams and 14-year-old newcomer Steinfeld.
The supporting-actor Oscar category includes a nomination for John Hawkes of “Winter’s Bone.” Hawkes, who was active in theater groups and movies while living in Austin from the late 1970s to the late ’80s, faces favorite Christian Bale for “The Fighter,” Jeremy Renner for “The Town,” Mark Ruffalo for “The Kids Are All Right” and Rush for “The King’s Speech.” (Hawkes was also in the Austin band Meat Joy in the ’80s.)
With its aristocrats, statesmen and perilous times, “The King’s Speech” is a throwback to the majestic, eye-filling costume pageants that dominated film awards in Hollywood’s earlier decades.
“The Social Network” is an immediate story, set not in palaces but college dorm rooms, cluttered start-up space and anonymous legal offices where Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) battles former associates over the proceeds of his invention.
David Fincher is the best-directing favorite for “The Social Network” after winning that prize at the Globes.
Joining Fincher among best-director picks are Darren Aronofsky for “Black Swan”; Joel and Ethan Coen for “True Grit”; Tom Hooper for “The King’s Speech”; and David O. Russell for “The Fighter.”
One notable snub was the omission of director Christopher Nolan for “Inception,” though he got a nod for original screenplay.
The top two contenders in the best actor category are Firth as King George VI, who’s trying to overcome his stuttering in “The King’s Speech,” and Eisenberg as the founder of Facebook in “The Social Network.”
Also nominated are Javier Bardem as a dying father in the Spanish-language drama “Biutiful,” which also is up for best foreign-language film; Bridges as boozy lawman Rooster Cogburn in “True Grit,” a role that earned John Wayne an Oscar for the 1969 adaptation of the Western novel; and James Franco in the real-life tale of a climber trapped in a crevasse after a boulder crushes his arm in “127 Hours.”
Bening was nominated for best actress as a lesbian mom whose family is thrown into turmoil after her teenage children seek out their sperm-donor father in “The Kids Are All Right.” Portman was nominated as a ballerina losing her grip on reality in “Black Swan.”
Other best-actress nominees are Nicole Kidman as a grieving mother in “Rabbit Hole”; Jennifer Lawrence as a teen trying to find her missing father amid the Ozark Mountains’ criminal underbelly in “Winter’s Bone”; and Michelle Williams as a wife in a failing marriage in “Blue Valentine.”
With additional material from The Associated Press
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The Oscars: Best picture
The best picture category was expanded this year to 10 nominees, partly because the Academy wants to attract more viewers to its telecast.
The “little movie that could” has to be the extremely low-budget “Winter’s Bone,” which played at last year’s South by Southwest.
The other nominees were expected. They are: “Black Swan,” “The Fighter,” “Inception,” “The Kids Are All Right,” “The King’s Speech,” “127 Hours,” “The Social Network,” “Toy Story 3” and “True Grit.”
“The Social Network” is one of the big favorites, since it has won many early critical awards. But “The King’s Speech” is also a leading contender. It led all movies in Oscar nominations, with 12.
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The Oscars: Animated film
There were only three nominees for animated film, and all were expected. They are “How to Train Your Dragon”, “The Illusionist” (from France) and “Toy Story 3.” “Toy Story” is the overwhelming favorite. (It also got a best picture nod).
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The Oscars: Foreign language film
France has gotta be fuming. Its well-regarded “Of Gods and Men” didn’t even make the finalists in this category, much less get a nomination. “Of Gods and Men” detailed the religious commitment of a group of monks in northern Africa, all of whom faced near-certain death if they didn’t flee political turmoil. It was a hit in Cannes.
Instead, Algeria’s incendiary “Outside the Law,” focusing on French colonialism and its horrid effects, was nominated. When the movie premiered in Cannes, it led to numerous demonstrations, and the riot police had to be called out to control the protesters.
Other nominees included the incredibly odd “Dogtooth” from Greece and the moving “Biutiful” from Mexico. More on these nominations later, including a couple of movies not mentioned here.
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The Oscars: Best director
There were few surprises in the best director category. But the nomination of Joel and Ethan Coen for “True Grit” was a bit of a surprise. “Grit” was completely shut out of Golden Globe nominations, but the Globes aren’t exactly credible, especially this year.
Other nominees were Darren Aronofsky for “Black Swan”; Tom Hooper for “The King’s Speech”; David Fincher for “The Social Network” and David O. Russell for “The Fighter.”
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Oscars: Best actor
The Academy went overboard in the best actor category, giving Jesse Eisenberg of “The Social Network” a nomination for his role as the founder of Facebook. The role was not as fully fleshed out as it could have been, but perhaps that’s the fault of the screenwriters rather than Eisenberg. Still….
The leading contender for the Oscar has to be Colin Firth for “The King’s Speech.” But others are just as worthy, especially Jeff Bridges for “True Grit” and Javier Bardem for “Biutiful” (The latter movie opens in Austin on Friday.)
The other deserving nominee is James Franco for “127 Hours” (who’ll be a co-host of the Oscar telecast).
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Oscars: Best actress
Michelle Williams got a much-deserved Oscar nomination for her role as a disillusioned wife in “Blue Valentine.” But another stellar performance, by Lesley Manville in “Another Year,” was overlooked.
Instead, Nicole Kidman eked in with her role in “Rabbit Hole” and Jennifer Lawrence was something of a surprise for the tough young woman in “Winter’s Bone.” Still, Lawrence’s nomination is a coup for the small movie about the Ozarks.
Other nominees include the brilliant Annette Bening for “The Kids Are All Right” and Natalie Portman for the deranged ballerina in “Black Swan.”
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Oscars: supporting actor
Christian Bale leads the nominees for supporting actor for his performance as a drugged-out former boxer in “The Fighter.” The big surprise: John Hawkes was nominated for his role in “Winter’s Bone.” At one time, Hawkes was active in Austin theater.
Other nominees include Jeremy Renner for “The Town,” Mark Ruffalo for “The Kids Are All Right” and Geoffrey Rush for “The King’s Speech.”
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The Oscars: Supporting actress
The Oscar nominations are out, and supporting actress was the first category to be announced.
There weren’t many surprises. Amy Adams and Melissa Leo looked like shoo-ins for the nods, and they got them for “The Fighter.” So did Helena Bonham Carter for “The King’s Speech.” Hailee Steinfeld, although playing what many considered a lead role, was also nominated for her performance as as young girl in “True Grit.” The underdog in the race is Jacki Weaver, an Australian who played a tough mom in the little-seen “Animal Kingdom.”
Snubs: Mila Kunis of “Black Swan,” Barbara Hershey of “Black Swan”
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November 18, 2010
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences names top 15 docs
Come Oscar time, there will be only five films nominated for Best Documentary. Today the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences edited the field down from 101 to 15.
They are listed below (those in bold are the ones we think may be in the final five):
- “Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer,” Alex Gibney, director (ES Productions LLC)
- “Enemies of the People,” Rob Lemkin and Thet Sambath, directors (Old Street Films)
- “Exit through the Gift Shop,” Banksy, director (Paranoid Pictures)
- “Gasland,” Josh Fox, director (Gasland Productions, LLC)
- “Genius Within: The Inner Life of Glenn Gould,” Michele Hozer and Peter Raymont, directors (White Pine Pictures)
- “Inside Job,” Charles Ferguson, director (Representational Pictures)
- “The Lottery,” Madeleine Sackler, director (Great Curve Films)
- “Precious Life,” Shlomi Eldar, director (Origami Productions)
- “Quest for Honor,” Mary Ann Smothers Bruni, director (Smothers Bruni Productions)
- “Restrepo,” Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger, directors (Outpost Films)
- “This Way of Life,” Thomas Burstyn, director (Cloud South Films)
- “The Tillman Story,” Amir Bar-Lev, director (Passion Pictures/Axis Films)
- “Waiting for ‘Superman’”, Davis Guggenheim, director (Electric Kinney Films)
- “Waste Land,” Lucy Walker, director (Almega Projects)
- “William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe,” Emily Kunstler and Sarah Kunstler, directors (Disturbing the Universe LLC)
The 83rd Academy Awards nominations will be announced on Tuesday, January 25, 2011 and the Oscars take place on Sunday, February 27.
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January 26, 2010
Oscar party at the Driskill
The Austin Gay and Lesbian International Film Festival is hosting its Oscar party, starting at 6 p.m. March 7. Seated dinner begins at 7 p.m., one hour before the Oscar telecast, at the Driskill Hotel, 604 Brazos St.
Proceeds will benefit the festival and the Paul Kirby Emergency Fund at AIDS Services of Austin. Rebecca Havemeyer and Mocha Jean Herrup will emcee the event.
For $100, partygoers will get a seated dinner, with a private viewing room. Tickets available online only. www.agliff.org
Other tickets are $30 online or $35 at the door and include concessions.
All guests will have access to the mezzanine level party and entrance into an Oscar Pool with a chance to win $500.
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June 24, 2009
Ten -- 10!! -- best picture nominations
Writing with the terseness of bad news we wish we never heard, Variety reports this:
There will be 10 best picture nominees starting with the 82nd Oscar ceremony, skedded for March 7, at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood. The announcement was made Wednesday morning at AMPAS headquarters in BevHills by Acad prez Sid Ganis. Oscar noms will be unveiled Feb. 2.
Of course, the tradition is five best picture nominees, but we think even that tidy figure is, in many years, too high. Ten nominees comically dilutes the value of a nomination by advancing a group-hug inclusiveness. Many of us at year’s end grapple with filling out our Top 10 lists, so expect some pretty iffy noms in the newly expanded pool. We smell the rank stink of marketing minds.
Thinking about this, what do you think are early contenders for best picture noms next year, especially with 10 titles allowed? Off the top of my itty-bitty head, I’m thinking “Up” (which I have yet to see), “The Hurt Locker” (the best film I’ve seen in ‘09), possibly “Star Trek” and surely “The Hangover” (we jest).
And the Oscar for Best Dumb Decision goes to …
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February 22, 2009
Oscar's best fashion moment, inarguably
An actual Norse Loki necklace:
Mickey Rourke’s Loki the dog necklace, worn at tonight’s Oscars:
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January 22, 2009
Austin's Oscar connection
One of the movies nominated this morning for the best documentary Oscar is “Trouble the Water,” a raw portrait of survival during Hurricane Katrina that was shot by Austin cinematographer and filmmaker PJ Raval. The movie took top honors at the Sundance Film Festival last year and is also nominated for an Independent Spirit Award.
So mighty congrats to our home boy.
More about PJ and the movie HERE.
Mr. Raval
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Director
Big surprises in the director nominees: No Clint Eastwood, no Nolan for “The Dark Knight.” Wow.
Here are the nominees:
David Fincher, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”; Ron Howard, “Frost/Nixon”; Gus Van Sant, “Milk”; Stephen Daldry, “The Reader”; Danny Boyle, “Slumdog Millionaire.”
Fincher, Van Sant and Boyle should be the leading contenders here. All are deserving, and a win by any one of these would be hunky-dory in my book.
I can’t say the same for Howard and Daldry. Both are good directors, but neither movie is an overall success in my book. “Frost/Nixon” has fine performances, but I can’t see any Oscar-worthy nomination for direction. And “The Reader” is not a fine movie. So I don’t get that one at all. Obviously, the Academy disagrees.
Charlie Kaufman should have been in this group for “Synecdoche.” Mike Leigh should also have been included for “Happy-Go-Lucky.”
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Supporting actress
And the nominess for supporting actress are:
Amy Adams, “Doubt”; Penelope Cruz, “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”; Viola Davis, “Doubt”; Taraji P. Henson, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”; Marisa Tomei, “The Wrestler.”
All of these women are deserving, and the Academy made good choices in this category.
Adams and Davis will probably split the voters who support “Doubt.” So both face an uphill battle in winning.
Henson was the heart of “Curious Case,” and I wouldn’t mind seeing her win the prize. Shortly before filming the movie, she lost her father. And her husband died earlier, so she knows about loss and brought a lot of emotion to the role. She gets the sympathy vote.
Cruz, however, is such a professional that a victory by her wouldn’t be unwarranted. In Cannes this year, she was a trooper for “Vicky Cristina,” staying out late to promote the film and getting up extremely early to chat about it with critics. And with only a few hours’ sleep, she still looked drop-dead gorgeous, sitting down in a perky white Chanel. Her conduct was in stark contrast with that of Scarlett Johansson, her co-star, who didn’t even show up for Cannes because the studio wouldn’t pay for her demands for accommodations for a huge entourage.
Then there’s Marisa Tomei for “The Wrestler.” She has won before, for “My Cousin Vinny,” and many critics thought she wasn’t deserving. But she proves them wrong with her performance in “The Wrestler.” She plays a stripper on her last legs, and the role requires a lot of nudity — a brave movie for a 40-year-old. She’s a gutsy gal, and a victory by her wouldn’t be surprising either.
This one is a good race.
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Supporting actor
This category is probably the most fun of all:
Here are the nominees: Josh Brolin, “Milk”; Robert Downey Jr., “Tropic Thunder”; Philip Seymour Hoffman, “Doubt”; Heath Ledger, “The Dark Knight”; Michael Shannon, “Revolutionary Road.”
It’s probably a sure bet that Ledger will win this category for his performance as the Joker. But the others are deserving.
Two surprises: Downey and Shannon. I was rooting for both, but didn’t think they’d make it. “Tropic Thunder” isn’t an Oscar-type movie, so I thought it would be a long shot for Downey to be nominated. But he really was hilarious. Then again, comic performances rarely get an Oscar nod.
And Shannon was stunning in “Revolutionary Road.” He had only a few minutes on screen, but he blew away DiCaprio and Winslet.
I’m happy to see Hoffman get a nomination for “Doubt,” especially since “Synecdoche,” his other big role of the year, was snubbed by the Academy.
And Brolin is one of the most underrated actors ever. He’s also one of the easiest to interview. And that’s a big plus in my book.
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Best actress
This nominees for best actress qualify as one of the biggest horrors in Oscar history.
The nominees: Anne Hathaway, “Rachel Getting Married”; Angelina Jolie, “Changeling”; Melissa Leo, “Frozen River”; Meryl Streep, “Doubt”; Kate Winslet, “The Reader.”
Why so horrible? Well, where on earth is Sally Hawkins in “Happy-Go-Lucky”? She embodied the role in one of the finest performances of the year, by man or woman. The movie would have been lost without her. It’s crazy to leave her out of the bunch. All I can think of is that the Oscar folks are so insular that they can’t bring themselves to nominate an unfamiliar Brit here. Good grief.
As for those who did get nominated: Kate Winslet in “The Reader”? Ugh, ugh, ugh. She won a supporting actress Golden Globe for this role, and now gets a best actress nomination in the Oscars? Plus, the movie was questionable.
Then there’s Angelina Jolie in “Changeling.” The role was absolute Oscar bait, and Jolie is popular. But the movie itself was lacking, and Jolie’s performance sometimes veered on being overwrought.
Anne Hathaway and Meryl Streep should be the leading contenders here, and I’m rooting for Hathaway. She was great in “Rachel Getting Married,” and Streep has so many awards that she could retire in peace. But then again, Streep is always deserving. She’s probably the best overall movie actress alive today.
Then there was the big surprise, Melissa Leo for “Frozen River.” It’s nice to see the Academy honor this little movie, and it’s also nice to see Leo get recognition. Ever since the 1980s, she has been toiling away in small movies and small roles, starting with the ABC soap “All My Children.” She’s pulled down stints in lots of regular TV shows as a guest actress, and she has paid her dues. So this nomination mitigates the horror.
It’s surprising, however, that Cate Blanchett didn’t get nominated for “Curious Case.” She’s an Oscar favorite, and she’s the top rival to Streep when it comes to overall acting chops.
And I’m glad that Winslet was snubbed for “Revolutionary Road.” She’s a fine actress, so I have nothing against her. But I do have something against the movie. It’s a poor imitation of “Mad Men.”
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Best actor nominees
For best actor, the Oscar nominees are:
Richard Jenkins, “The Visitor”; Frank Langella, “Frost/Nixon”; Sean Penn, “Milk”; Brad Pitt, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”; Mickey Rourke, “The Wrestler.”
This category was a pleasant surprise, mainly because Richard Jenkins was wonderful in “The Visitor,” but the little movie got very little attention in the days leading up to the nominations.
Jenkins plays a lonely man who comes back to his New York apartment after a lengthy absence, only to find a young couple living there. He decides to let them stay, and a bond emerges than gives Jenkins new life. The performance was understated and beautiful.
He has no chance to win, of course. The two big contenders should be Sean Penn in “Milk” and Mickey Rourke in “The Wrestler.” Both were excellent and are deserving nominees.
Frank Langella also was eerily reminiscent of the creepiness of Richard Nixon. So he has a shot.
But a win by Brad Pitt in a “Curious Case” would be almost as big of a surprise as a victory by Jenkins. Pitt was fine, of course. But the role wasn’t nearly showy enough for Oscar tastes.
My pick: either Penn or Rourke. I’m secretly rooting for the incredibly messed-up Rourke, mainly because he gives messed-up people hope.
As for the snubs, many will be surprised that Clint Eastwood didn’t get a nom for “Gran Torino.” The Oscar folks love Clint. But we’ve seen his cranky old-man routine before, so it wasn’t a big stretch.
Others will bemoan the absence of Leonardo DiCaprio for “Revolutionary Road.” I’m not one of those people. Again, ugh.
And, of course, I’m irritated by the absence of Philip Seymour Hoffman for “Synecdoche, New York.” I know many people didn’t like the movie, but it would be nice if the Oscar folks could at least appreciate the performance. Sigh.
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Best pic nominees
The dubious honors known as Oscar nominations were announced this morning, and I’ll be blogging about the main categories to get the conversation going. As usual, the Academy tended to honor a questionable group of movies.
First up: the biggie: best picture:
The nominees: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “Frost/Nixon,” “Milk,” “The Reader,” “Slumdog Millionaire.”
I have no problem with “Milk,” “Curious Case” and “Slumdog.” All three are fine movies. Even “Frost/Nixon” is okay with me. But “The Reader”? Ugh.
Much better choices were available, including “Synecdoche, New York,” “The Dark Knight,” even “Gran Torino,” which was getting good buzz in Hollywood trade publications in advance of the nominations.
The Academy often snubs experimental movies, so the absence of “Synecdoche” shouldn’t be a big surprise. But it still irks.
Many critics also will be surprised to see the snub of “The Dark Night.” After all, it was one of the biggest moneymakers of 2008, and the Academy loves success. But it was a summer release, and the Academy tends to forget about such movies.
Then there was the Hollywood provincialism. The notion that “The Class,” which won the Palme d’Or in Cannes, isn’t one of the top movies is ridiculous. So is the oversight of the British production “Happy-Go-Lucky.” And the oversight of Sally Hawkins’ performance in that fine film is horrible. But more about that later.
On to best actor…
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