Oscar nominations

[coyotegoth]

So, Sacha Baron Cohen (as Best Screenplay Adapted From Another Medium) merits an Academy Award nomination, and Alfonso Cuaron (as Best Director, although he got two other nods) does not? Thank you ever so much for making that clear, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. (And yeah, I'm sure Children of Men will get a conciliatory Best Cinematography nod- which it deserves, to be sure.)



Original Screenplay
Nominees: Babel, Letters from Iwo Jima, Little Miss Sunshine, Pan's Labyrinth, The Queen
Will Win: Babel.

Adapted Screenplay
Nominees: Borat (gaah!), Children of Men, The Departed, Little Children, Notes on a Scandal
Will Win: The Departed (although I could well stand to see Children of Men take it; anything but Little Children, complete with a droning narrator who sounds as though he could pinch hit for David McCulloch in one of Ken Burns’s PBS series)

Foreign Language Film
Nominees: After the Wedding, Days of Glory, The Lives of Others, Pan's Labyrinth, Water (Letters From Iwo Jima deserved a nomination here, IMHO; Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, for one, got nominated in both categories)
Will Win: Pan's Labyrinth.

Supporting Actor
Nominees: Alan Arkin, Little Miss Sunshine; Jackie Earle Haley, Little Children; Djimon Hounsou, Blood Diamond; Eddie Murphy, Dreamgirls; Mark Wahlberg, The Departed
Will Win: Eddie Murphy. (He deserves it; he’s amazing in this, although the posters for Norbit make me queasy. I could handle seeing Jackie Earle Haley take it, too- this is the same guy from Bad News Bears and Breaking Away...?)

Supporting Actress
Nominees: Adriana Barraza, Babel; Cate Blanchett, Notes on a Scandal; Abigail Breslin, Little Miss Sunshine; Jennifer Hudson, Dreamgirls; Rinko Kikuchi, Babel
Will Win: Jennifer Hudson.

Best Actor
Nominees: Leonardo DiCaprio, Blood Diamond; Ryan Gosling, Half Nelson; Peter O'Toole, Venus; Will Smith, The Pursuit of Happyness; Forest Whitaker, The Last King of Scotland.
Will Win: Forest Whitaker. (Yeah, O’Toole has long since deserved one; that said, I think Scorsese is gonna reap the “long overdue” karma this year.)

Best Actress
Nominees: Penelope Cruz, Volver; Judi Dench, Notes on a Scandal; Helen Mirren, The Queen; Meryl Streep, The Devil Wears Prada; Kate Winslet, Little Children.
Will Win: Helen Mirren.

Best Director
Nominees: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Babel; Martin Scorsese, The Departed; Clint Eastwood, Letters From Iwo Jima; Stephen Frears, The Queen; Paul Greengrass, United 93.
Will Win: Martin Scorsese.

Best Picture
Nominees: Babel, The Departed, Letters from Iwo Jima, Little Miss Sunshine, The Queen
Will Win: Babel.

Comments

[rezendi.livejournal.com]

Heh. Our picks overlap perfectly until the very last announcement of the night. My guess is the Academy won't split Best Director and Best Picture two years running.

[coyotegoth.livejournal.com]

This really has been a gimme of a year; I could well see Children of Men taking best Original Screenplay, save that the Academy doesn't tend to like SF (although it's a shoo-in for the Best Cinematography Award); Jackie Earle Haley could come in out of left field; other than that, it wasn't even hard. (Also, I wonder if O'Toole- with eight unrewarded nominations- is making snarky remarks at his TV every time Scorsese says he'd like to win it this time.)

As for Best Picture- the Academy seems to be on a "Social relevance" kick (which is the *only* way I can explain Crash as Best Picture. That, and the Academy being scared of gay cowboy cooties, or something.)

[cutecoati.livejournal.com]

I've yet to see Babel, but I totally agree on Helen Mirren!

I haven't seen Borat (and I have no intention to) but from what I gathered it's somehow, well, let's say only enhancing the prejudices Cohen claims to unveil...

[coyotegoth.livejournal.com]

Yeah; I agree that she'd make a great McGongall, too (although Maggie's being older- she's actually only about ten years older than Helen Mirren- works for her big scene in Order of the Phoenix, with the Ministry folk.)

[queencallipygos.livejournal.com]

....Is it terrible of me to admit that I have little to no interest in seeing Dreamgirls?

(I'd like to see Eddie Murphy win, largely because it might finally get him to ease up on the Daddy Day Care and to let go the Nutty Professor/The Klumps/Norbit look-at-Eddie-Murphy-in-a-fat-suit schtick. But...I'm lukewarm on the film itself.)

[coyotegoth.livejournal.com]

No, it's not terrible- I think it's a brilliant cinematic adaptation of a brilliantly acted and directed show, but for my tastes, the writing in Dreamgirls never quite stopped feeling like a pastiche of Diana Ross/The Supremes/James Brown/Berry Gordy (and their various song styles), and took on a real life of its own.

[eleanor.livejournal.com]

I remain baffled that Paul Giamatti's excellent performance (In "The Illusionist") was totally overlooked.

[coyotegoth.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately, I didn't see it- although he's an excellent actor, overall.