I want to thank the Academy first and foremost. A big thank you to God, through whom all things are possible. Of course my parents who... oh Gosh. Its such a shock.
This morning I woke up at the crack of dawn to watch the live announcement of the Oscar nominations. Announced annually at 5:30 AM Pacific time, 8:30 AM Eastern time it was the earliest I had been up to watch TV since Kate Middleton’s wedding last spring. I have been a fan of the Oscars ever since I can remember, while I do prefer the Golden Globes ceremony since its a little more fun, the Oscars are the tops for film achievement, A-list atmosphere and red carpet glam. My already hot Oscar fever was made even hotter this year as I have been watching all of previous Best Picture winners as part of my 25 for 25 Project. And, what a year it was for nominations! We had a few expected nominations, some snubs and some surprises, let’s get to them…
For Best Picture, we have War Horse, the Artist, Moneyball, the Descendents, the Tree of Life, Midnight in Paris, the Help, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, and Hugo. I have Moneyball on DVD from Redbox and of course I’ve seen the Help but I still have quite a few nominees to see before the big night, next month. Obviously, I’d love to see the Help win having watched it jump from page to screen. But, I do think the Artist has it on lock. I have heard its fun and light and also totally unique considering its a modern day silent film.
Viola Davis, my pick for Best Actress and I at the Director's Guld of America's Screening of the Help this summer.
For Best Actor we have Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Gary Oldman, Demian Bichir and Jean Dujardin. I have not seen any of the films the men are nominated for but would love to see Gary Oldman take it home. He’s a great actor and it would be lovely to see him be awarded by the Academy. I was disappointed to see Michael Fassbender not get a nod, but from what I’ve heard about Shame it sounds too sexual and too explicit for the Academy. In Best Actress we have Meryl Streep, Michelle Williams, Rooney Mara, Glenn Close and my pick Viola Davis. Michelle is amazing as Marilyn Monroe and Meryl is as great as ever as Margaret Thatcher but I think that Viola Davis is the most deserving. Her portrayal of Abileen is the best part of an amazing film and that’s an accomplishment given the amazing turn out of talent in the Help. I was disappointed to see Tilda Swinton not get recognized as I have heard so many terrific things about We Need to Talk About Kevin. But, the race is so tight already so it would be only harder to call with her thrown in.
In Best Supporting Actor we have Jonah Hill, Christopher Plumber, Kenneth Branagh, Max von Sydow and Nick Nolte. From the outcomes of all of the other award season contests so far, I feel we can all agree this is Christopher Plumber’s award to lose. I have heard so much about his turn in Beginners and cannot wait to see it. But, I am happy to see Jonah Hill recognized. He’s a young comedic actor, so its nice to see the Academy recognize his attempt to do something different. For Supporting Actress we have Octavia Spencer and Jessica Chastain from the Help, Melissa McCarthy, Janet McTeer and Berenice Bejo. I am torn in this category while Octavia seems to be the front runner, Jessica is amazing as Celia Foote and has just had the most incredible year. I am rooting for them both. And, this category has the most pleasant surprise with Melissa McCarthy getting recognized for her amazing, scene stealing turn in Bridesmaids. The Academy usually isn’t very generous to comedy roles but even they couldn’t deny how wonderful Melissa was in Bridesmaids.
I was excited to see the Academy recognize a young comedic actor like Jonah Hill this year.
Overall, I am pretty happy with this year’s list of contenders. But, I am sad about a few things. As mentioned before I think Tilda Swinton deserved it more so than Rooney Mara and would have loved to have seen Michael Fassbender in a tux on Oscar night. I was also shocked by the Academy’s lack of love for Ryan Gosling. He had an amazing year with three terrific performances in three diverse films. The fact that he is not nominated for his supporting work in Ides of March is the biggest snub this year in my opinion. I was also disappointed that Tin Tin did not get a best animated film nod as well. I have yet to see it, but considering this year’s crop of animated films it seemed like the best of the bunch. Plus the animation itself is so beautiful. Other than that I am excited to see what wins what next month. I gave you the big five, but to see all the nominations go to the official Oscar website at http://oscar.go.com/nominees.We are a short 33 days away from Oscar night. I will be hosting a small viewing party as is my tradition. While it won’t exactly be the Governor’s Ball or Vanity Fair party I am still super excited and have so much to do. Please tweet me or share your thoughts on all the nomination’s surprises and snubs below.
