The 82nd Annual Academy Award Nominations
by Brian Eggert
02/02/2010
The 82nd Annual Academy Award nominations were announced yesterday, and there were a few surprises amid many disappointments. As expected, buzz about films such as Avatar, The Hurt Locker, Inglourious Basterds, Precious, and Up in the Air dominate the nominations, with some smaller films included in the mixture for good measure. Read below for my remarks about each group of nominees, including my picks for who should win versus my more realistic prediction for who will win. Of course, we’ll find out who the winners are on Oscar Night, which is coming Sunday, March 7th.
BEST PICTURE:
Avatar
The Blind Side
District 9
An Education
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Precious
A Serious Man
Up
Up in the Air
Thoughts: This year’s ceremony offers the first year since the 1940s that the Oscars have nominated more than five films for Best Picture. Though only two or three have a realistic chance of winning (Avatar, The Hurt Locker, Up), the advantage of the expanded category is obvious—paying recognition to the excellence of more than a mere five titles. Smaller but important films like An Education, District 9, and A Serious Man would not be included on the list in a typical year, and neither would Up for that matter. Still, the popular vote belongs to Avatar, whereas the popular critic vote belongs to The Hurt Locker. And what a shame that Moon and Star Trek were overlooked, or that The Blind Side was nominated at all…
My Pick(s): Inglourious Basterds, Up, or A Serious Man
Likely Winner: Avatar
BEST DIRECTOR:
Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker
James Cameron for Avatar
Lee Daniels for Precious
Jason Reitman for Up in the Air
Quentin Tarantino for Inglourious Basterds
Thoughts: If the recent DGA Awards were any indication, the Best Director Oscar will likely go to Kathryn Bigelow. There’s much talk of how she’s set to defeat her ex-husband, James Cameron, for the award, as if their failed offscreen relationship is pertinent. But the bigger scandal would be anyone other than Quentin Tarantino winning. He’s more than due for the award, and Inglourious Basterds is his masterpiece. So isn’t it time the Academy recognizes how Tarantino has helped shape our modern definition of pop-culture? Alas, there’s more hype surrounding Bigelow and Cameron, and the former is likely to go home with a little golden man.
My Pick: Quentin Tarantino
Likely Winner: Kathryn Bigelow
BEST ACTOR:
Jeff Bridges for Crazy Heart
George Clooney for Up in the Air
Colin Firth for A Single Man
Morgan Freeman for Invictus
Jeremy Renner for The Hurt Locker
Thoughts: When he won the Best Actor award at the Golden Globes last month, Jeff Bridges made a remark about his underrated status vanishing with the award recognition for his performance in Crazy Heart . Wouldn’t it be nice if he stayed that way, instead of becoming one of those properties that always has “Oscar Winner” before his name? Colin Firth displayed a much more expansive range in his performance than Bridges, and perhaps because he’s the underdog, my vote goes to him. Speaking of underrated, Sam Rockwell should’ve been nominated for his performance(s) in Moon, and it’s rather distressing that he wasn’t. That may be the biggest disappointment of this year’s entire nomination roster.
My Pick: Colin Firth
Likely Winner: Jeff Bridges
BEST ACTRESS:
Sandra Bullock for The Blind Side
Helen Mirren for The Last Station
Carey Mulligan for An Education
Gabourey Sidibe for Precious
Meryl Streep for Julie & Julia
Thoughts: Why Sandra Bullock is considered a shoe-in for this award remains baffling. But the Academy loves their sassy southerner performances, and Bullock gave hers in 2009. Bullock has also earned herself respect around Hollywood for making profitable films and sustaining a popular reputation, so if she wins, it’s not because her performance was the best, it’s because “she’s put in her time.” Unfortunately, popular does not always mean good, and Bullock is the living definition of that. Everyone else in this category deserves the award more, particularly Meryl Streep for her uncanny channeling of Julia Child. Streep could play a square foot of sod and make the performance award-worthy.
My Pick: Meryl Streep
Likely Winner: Sandra Bullock
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:
Matt Damon for Invictus
Woody Harrelson for The Messenger
Christopher Plummer for The Last Station
Stanley Tucci for The Lovely Bones
Christoph Waltz for Inglourious Basterds
Thoughts: The most satisfying aspect of this category is that, undeniably, Christoph Waltz is a lock for this award. They should just give it to him now and save him the trouble of showing up to the ceremony. Having won the same award at the Golden Globes, he’s the popular and statistical favorite and he deserves it wholeheartedly. Waltz constructed the most memorable of any performance in 2009. Every scene in Inglourious Basterdsthat featured his notorious “Jew Hunter” contained levels of suspense and comedy because of his delightfully macable portrayal. In this case, you can expect the expected and be happy about it.
My Pick: Christoph Waltz
Likely Winner: Christoph Waltz
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:
Penélope Cruz for Nine
Vera Farmiga for Up in the Air
Maggie Gyllenhaal for Crazy Heart
Anna Kendrick for Up in the Air
Mo'Nique for Precious
Thoughts: While there’s no doubt that Mo'Nique will deservedly walk away with the statue for her shocking, Golden Globe-winning performance in Precious, part of me hopes Vera Farmiga will win for Up in the Air. Farmiga is an under-the-radar actress, in that she’s not exactly a household name, though she deserves to be. After performances in The Departed and Nothing But the Truth, she’s more than earned this nomination and should be recognized. That said, there’s no competing against Mo'Nique, who simply set the screen afire with her portrayal of an abusive, derelict urban mother.
My Pick: Vera Farmiga
Likely Winner: Mo'Nique
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE:
Coraline
Fantastic Mr. Fox
The Princess and the Frog
The Secret of Kells
Up
Thoughts: Wouldn’t it be wonderful if Up won for Best Picture and Best Animated Picture? It probably won’t happen, and the Best Picture nom was more just out of recognition for the illimitable range of Pixar’s film, but we can dream. There’s no point discussing the chance of anything but Up winning in this category. But in the off chance that Up does win Best Picture, that would make a win for Fantastic Mr. Fox more than welcomed in this category. What’s sad is that Hayao Miyazaki’s touching animated picture Ponyo wasn’t nominated—neither in this category nor Best Foreign Film. Then again, the Academy has a long history of snubbing geniuses.
My Pick: Up or Fantastic Mr. Fox
Likely Winner: Up
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM:
Ajami (Israel)
The White Ribbon (Germany)
The Secret in Their Eyes (Argentina)
A Prophet (France)
The Milk of Sorrow (Peru)
Thoughts: German director Michael Haneke (Funny Games) took home the award for this category at the Golden Globes, and he’s likely to do the same at the Oscars. His picture has been distributed to more markets than the other films, and because it’s the latest addition to the director’s ever-impressive oeuvre, a career that with every film is further recognized for its greatness, his efforts will certainly be acknowledged. Indeed, The White Ribbon is the only film in this category nominated for another award (Best Cinematography); that usually indicates a preference on the Academy’s part.
My Pick: The White Ribbon
Likely Winner: The White Ribbon
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:
Neill Blomkamp, Terri Tatchell for District 9
Nick Hornby for An Education
Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche for In the Loop
Geoffrey Fletcher for Precious
Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner for Up in the Air
Thoughts:
There won’t be any surprises in this category come Oscar Night. The favorite for Adapted Screenplay is unquestionably Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner for Up in the Air, as they’ve won nearly every award they’ve been nominated for in the last few months. And yet, it would be lovely if the witty group of Brits behind In the Loop, last year’s best comedy, took home the statue. They’ve forever infused “Difficult, difficult, lemon, difficult” into my rhetoric, along with an entire cavalcade of quotable, scathingly sarcastic lines.
My Pick: Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche for In the Loop
Likely Winner: Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner for Up in the Air
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:
Mark Boal for The Hurt Locker
Quentin Tarantino for Inglourious Basterds
Oren Moverman, Alessandro Camon for The Messenger
Joel Coen, Ethan Coen for A Serious Man
Bob Peterson, Pete Docter for Up
Thoughts: Tarantino was ineligible for the WGA award for his screenplay for Inglourious Basterds because he refuses to join the guild, however he’s a definite winner at the Oscars this year. His writing has never felt so entertaining yet cerebral, combining knife-turning suspense with unbelievable humor inside a cinematic commentary. He deserves this. But you’ll hear no complaints from me if the Coen Brothers won for A Serious Man; their material was an intense, intellectual, morbidly funny, and thought-provoking piece of filmmaking, and only their signature writing style could make it so.
My Pick(s): Quentin Tarantino for Inglourious Basterds or Joel Coen, Ethan Coen for A Serious Man
Likely Winner: Quentin Tarantino for Inglourious Basterds
BEST EDITING:
Avatar, Stephen E. Rivkin, John Refoua, James Cameron
District 9, Julian Clarke
The Hurt Locker, Bob Murawski, Chris Innis
Inglourious Basterds, Sally Menke
Precious, Joe Klotz
Thoughts: Sally Menke has been Quentin Tarantino’s editor since his first film, Reservoir Dogs, and in that time she’s complimented the director with long, impressive takes like those in Jackie Brown, as well as kinetic sequences of violence like those in Death Proof. Though nominated for Pulp Fiction, she’s never won an Oscar. For what she added to Inglourious Basterds, and all of Tarantino’s films, she deserves this. On the other hand, voters will likely tilt to the suspense scenes in The Hurt Locker for their editing vote, and they’d be justified in doing so, as that film had a feverish sense of suspense. But a great editor knows when not to cut, and Menke allowed Tarantino’s dialogue scenes to flower, and conversely his action scenes to detonate.
My Pick: Inglourious Basterds, Sally Menke or District 9, Julian Clarke
Likely Winner: The Hurt Locker, Bob Murawski, Chris Innis
BEST ART DIRECTION:
Avatar, Rick Carter, Robert Stromberg
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, Anastasia Masaro
Nine, John Myhre
Sherlock Holmes, Sarah Greenwood
The Young Victoria, Patrice Vermette
Thoughts: As much as selecting Anastasia Masaro’s creation of The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus’ unrelenting dreamworld makes sense to me, more restrained detail exists in the art direction for Avatar. Cameron’s film is simply a glorious spectacle, fully realized and so well thought-out in the formulation of Pandora and its entire ecosystem. To do this, it takes impeccable conceptualization, and no film nominated compares.
My Pick: Avatar, Rick Carter, Robert Stromberg
Likely Winner: Avatar, Rick Carter, Robert Stromberg
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY:
Avatar, Mauro Fiore
The White Ribbon, Christian Berger
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Bruno Delbonnel
The Hurt Locker, Barry Ackroyd
Inglourious Basterds, Robert Richardson
Thoughts: “Shooting” Avatar was primarily a process of filming on bluescreen sets, and computers filled in the rest. Otherwise, the best looking film in the lot belongs to Inglourious Basterds. Cinematographer Robert Richardson won Oscars for his work on The Aviator and JFK, and he’s due another one here. But as the Academy went out of their way to include a foreign film, The White Ribbon, in the category, it may lean that way—Haneke’s film is being hailed primarily for its beautiful black & white photography, so Christian Berger may earn himself the award.
My Pick: Inglourious Basterds, Robert Richardson
Likely Winner: The White Ribbon, Christian Berger
BEST COSTUME DESIGN :
Bright Star, Janet Patterson
Coco avant Chanel, Catherine Leterrier
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, Monique Prudhomme
Nine, Colleen Atwood
The Young Victoria, Sandy Powell
Thoughts: From the rag-ridden troupe of has-been performers in Dr. Parnassus’ sideshow, to the fantastical costumes inside the magic mirror, Monique Prudhomme’s work on The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus was the most diverse in this category. Although, little seen, the film is not likely on the radar of Academy voters, who historically tend to gravitate toward period pieces for this award. Accordingly, expect Sandy Powell to win this one for The Young Victoria.
My Pick: The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, Monique Prudhomme
Likely Winner: The Young Victoria, Sandy Powell
BEST SOUND EDITING:
Avatar
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Star Trek
Up
Thoughts: The entire audio world of an animated feature must be completely invented, from the roar of explosions to the most subtle sound FX. For that, Up should win. And yet, Avatar comes pretty darn close to being an animated feature, doesn’t it? Voters will probably recognize this and rally behind Cameron’s sci-fi epic.
My Pick: Up
Likely Winner: Avatar
BEST SOUND MIXING:
Avatar
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Star Trek
Up
Thoughts: Though Avatar used sounds derived from previous sources, most obviously Jurassic Park for the cry of a few Pandora beasties, Academy voters doubtlessly consider volume before quality and originality. But as with the category above, there’s something so craftsmanlike and understated about Pixar’s sound quality, beyond using a range of unique audio. They don’t try to blow your ears off, just communicate sounds clearly.
My Pick: Up
Likely Winner: Avatar
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS:
Avatar
District 9
Star Trek
Thoughts: It goes without saying that last year’s biggest blockbuster, the most successful film ever made, will win the Visual Effects award, since it’s largely because of those effects that people everywhere are seeing the film (and seeing it again, and again, and again…). But any of the films in this category could win and there’d be no complaint from me. Except that they won’t and Avatar will.
My Pick: Avatar
Likely Winner: Avatar
BEST FEATURE DOCUMENTARY:
Burma VJ: Reporter i et lukket land
The Cove
Food, Inc.
The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers
Which Way Home
Thoughts: In terms of their influence since their release, The Cove and Food, Inc. should be the definite winners in this category. There’s been so much talk about both films and how they’ve changed the lives of their audiences. Can the other docs in this category say as much? Food, Inc.should be the favorite of voters, though either of the two mentioned titles could win and my faith in the Academy would swell.
My Pick: The Cove & Food, Inc.
Likely Winner: Food, Inc.
BEST MAKEUP:
Il divo
Star Trek
The Young Victoria
Thoughts: Here’s a tough one. None of these stand out as films that achieved their success because of great makeup. The aliens of Star Trek were largely rendered with CGI, save for the Romulans. The Young Victoria’s makeup was more about making the makeup invisible, as was the makeup in Il divo. There’s no obvious choice, so these are throw-my-hands-up-in-the-air guesses…
My Pick: Star Trek
Likely Winner: The Young Victoria
BEST MUSIC SCORE:
Avatar, James Horner
Fantastic Mr. Fox, Alexandre Desplat
The Hurt Locker, Marco Beltrami, Buck Sanders
Sherlock Holmes, Hans Zimmer
Up, Michael Giacchino
Thoughts: Michael Giacchino wrote merry music that captured the highs and lows of Pixar’s brilliant adventure, and despite the perfection of his score, Alexandre Desplat ought to have this, if only for being the underdog in the bunch. While it’s surprising and rather disconcerting that the scores for Knowing and Where the Wild Things Are weren’t nominated, Wes Anderson’s stop-motion picture merits this award for sustaining the serious-yet-blithe tone of the film. Will Oscar voters recognize this? Probably not.
My Pick: Fantastic Mr. Fox, Alexandre Desplat
Likely Winner: Up, Michael Giacchino
BEST ORIGINAL SONG:
"The Weary Kind" from Crazy Heart, T-Bone Burnett, Ryan Bingham
"Loin de Paname" from Paris 36, Reinhardt Wagner, Frank Thomas
"Take It All" from Nine, Maury Yeston
"Down in New Orleans" from The Princess and the Frog, Randy Newman
"Almost There" from The Princess and the Frog, Randy Newman
Thoughts: The clear favorite for Best Song is the Golden Globe winner “The Weary Kind” from Crazy Heart, but Randy Newman did something amazing with his work on The Princess and the Frog—he wrote memorable songs for a Disney movie. It’s been well over a decade since The House of Mouse released a song in one of their movies that one could actually sing along too. Newman wrote several for their latest feature, the best of them being the ragtime jive “Down in New Orleans.”
My Pick: "Down in New Orleans" from The Princess and the Frog, Randy Newman
Likely Winner: "The Weary Kind" from Crazy Heart, T-Bone Burnett, Ryan Bingham
(NOTE: Check your theater listings, because there will be a Short Film roadshow coming to your town over the next several weeks, giving Oscar viewers a chance to form their own opinions about the nominated shorts. The titles in the below three categories haven’t yet made their rounds in my area, so I cannot hope to make predictions. Although, betting on Wallace and Gromit is always a good idea.)
BEST LIVE-ACTION SHORT:
The Door
Istället för abrakadabra
Kavi
Miracle Fish
The New Tenants
BEST ANIMATED SHORT:
French Roast
Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty
La dama y la muerte
Logorama
Wallace and Gromit in 'A Matter of Loaf and Death'
BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT:
China's Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province
The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner
The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant
Królik po berlinsku
Music by Prudence