Nominations for the 84th Annual Academy Awards were announced this morning. The nods for the major categories are as follows:
Best Picture
The Artist
The Descendants
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
The Help
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
The Tree of Life
War Horse
No real surprises here. As academy members can nominate up to to ten films for Best Picture, I think The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo could have easily slipped into that last spot. Don't think Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life is really Best Picture quality.
Best Actor
Demián Bichir A Better Life
George Clooney The Descendants
Jean Dujardin The Artist
Gary Oldman Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Brad Pitt Moneyball
As expected, the nods mirror the SAG nominees, the only exception being Gary Oldman replacing Leonardo DiCaprio. I thought Leo was great in J. Edgar but Oldman's performance, which I have yet to see, has been gaining steam as of late.
Best Actress
Glenn Close Albert Nobbs
Viola Davis The Help
Rooney Mara The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Meryl Streep The Iron Lady
Michelle Williams My Week with Marilyn
Again, four of the five nods mirror the SAG nominations, with Rooney Mara deservedly getting the nod here over Tilda Swinton.
Best Supporting Actor
Kenneth Branagh My Week with Marilyn
Jonah Hill Moneyball
Nick Nolte Warrior
Christopher Plummer Beginners
Max von Sydow Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
Surprise, four of the five noms mirror the SAG nominations with the veteran Max Von Sydow getting the nod over J. Edgar's Armie Hammer. Frankly, Hammer should have taken Jonah Hill's spot.
Best Supporting Actress
Bérénice Bejo The Artist
Jessica Chastain The Help
Melissa McCarthy Bridesmaids
Janet McTeer Albert Nobbs
Octavia Spencer The Help
Here, all five actresses received SAG nominations. While Melissa McCarthy's performance was crudely amusing, is it really Oscar quality? No.
Best Director
Michel Hazanavicius The Artist
Alexander Payne The Descedants
Martin Scorsese Hugo
Woody Allen Midnight in Paris
Terrence Malick The Tree of Life
Four of the five DGA nominees are present, with Academy favorite Terrence Malick, not Steven Spielberg, getting the nod over The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo's David Fincher. Not a worthy substitute in my opinion.
The Oscars air Sunday, February 26th on ABC. Check back on Feb 24 for my picks.
