And so here we are, on State of the Union day, as – on America’s other coast – Oscar nominations are announced and a different media frenzy begins. Which might be more fatuous or less serious, we leave to you.
But both processes are similar, as early caucuses and primaries – in this case, other pre-Oscar award shows – help solidify favorites ahead of the “final vote,” which usually comes down to a frontrunner and a main alternate.
In this case, especially in key above-the-line categories, it still looks to be The Artist’s year, based on its strong showing in the picture/director/writing and “thesping” categories. But The Descendants remains a strong alternate, based on a similar showing.
Last year, while King’s Speech cleaned up for above-the-line considerations, the below-the-line categories were split among other films, including that year’s previous best pic frontrunner – The Social Network.
This year, Martin Scorcese’s Hugo was similarly nominated for best picture and director, showing up in a total of 11 categories, including art direction, cinematography, costume design, original score and visual effects.
In the visual effects category, perhaps the main surprise is that this is a super hero-less year, as Captain America, thought to be a likely nominee, didn’t make the cut, though two robot movies – Real Steel and the latest Transformers – did. This means that Joe Letteri’s work in Rise of the Planet of the Apes remains the likely favorite, (especially as compensation for the lack of nomination for Andy Serkis’ mo-capped work as rebellious ape Ceasar), though Rob Legato & team’s rendering on Hugo shouldn’t be counted out. And Harry Potter – nominated for the very last time – rounds out this category, also getting nods for makeup and art direction.
But if Hugo has the greatest tally, it should be noted that The Artist is, in fact, right behind, with a total of 10 nominations, with four in traditional BTL categories – costume, editing, cinematography and score.
In that category, Ludovic Bource’s music would seem to be the front-runner, Bernard Herrmann “Vertigo” riffs and all, since the score is that much more critical to a silent picture. And since John Williams is splitting his own vote – both for Tintin and War Horse. Howard Shore’s work on Hugo has been receiving plaudits, as well.
Previous cinematography nominee Robert Richardson is back competing for gold thanks to Hugo, as is the one returnee from last year in this category, Jeff Cronenweth, again working for director David Fincher, having moved from The Social Network to the American adaptation of Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. That film also brought back Fincher’s Network editors Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall, who grabbed the statue in the category last year. And for those tracking above-the-line considerations, Rooney Mara was a bit of a surprise getting a best actress slot for the same film.
Oscar also gave us the first-ever 3D documentary nominee, in Wim Wenders’ captivating dance elegy/eulogy Pina, for late choreographer Pina Bausch. In animated films, the Academy declined to replicate the Golden Globes’ rewarding of mo-cap when The Adventures of Tiintin won this category there, as the breaknecked Steven Spielberg adaptation of the beloved graphic novels was only nominated for its score.
This might leave Rango as the favorite for Oscar’s animation award, since Pixar didn’t make the category at all (though Kung Fu Panda 2, Puss in Boots, and two foreign entries – A Cat in Paris and Chico & Rita did).
Some films, of course, only show in below-the-line categories, and those included Drive, for sound editing, Jane Eyre for costume design, and The Muppets for original song – (one of only two nominees in this category).
We’ll be updating with comments and reactions throughout the day – and of course, throughout the season. Who needs primaries when you have awards? As a ritual they may have little to do with the issues of the day, but at least they have the virtue of not making things worse.
The nominees for the 84th Academy Awards are:
Actor in a Leading Role
Demián Bichir in A Better Life
George Clooney in The Descendants
Jean Dujardin in The Artist
Gary Oldman in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Brad Pitt in Moneyball
Actor in a Supporting Role
Kenneth Branagh in My Week with Marilyn
Jonah Hill in Moneyball
Nick Nolte in Warrior
Christopher Plummer in Beginners
Max von Sydow in Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
Actress in a Leading Role
Glenn Close in Albert Nobbs
Viola Davis in The Help
Rooney Mara in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Meryl Streep in The Iron Lady
Michelle Williams in My Week with Marilyn
Actress in a Supporting Role
Bérénice Bejo in The Artist
Jessica Chastain in The Help
Melissa McCarthy in Bridesmaids
Janet McTeer in Albert Nobbs
Octavia Spencer in The Help
A Cat in Paris, Alain Gagnol and Jean-Loup Felicioli
Chico & Rita, Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal
Kung Fu Panda 2, Jennifer Yuh Nelson
Puss in Boots, Chris Miller
Rango, Gore Verbinski
The Artist
Production Design: Laurence Bennett
Set Decoration: Robert Gould
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Production Design: Stuart Craig
Set Decoration: Stephenie McMillan
Hugo
Production Design: Dante Ferretti
Set Decoration: Francesca Lo Schiavo
Midnight in Paris
Production Design: Anne Seibel
Set Decoration: Hélène Dubreuil
War Horse
Production Design: Rick Carter
Set Decoration: Lee Sandales
Cinematography
The Artist, Guillaume Schiffman
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Jeff Cronenweth
Hugo, Robert Richardson
The Tree of Life, Emmanuel Lubezki
War Horse, Janusz Kaminski
Anonymous, Lisy Christl
The Artist, Mark Bridges
Hugo, Sandy Powell
Jane Eyre, Michael O’Connor
W.E., Arianne Phillips
Directing
The Artist, Michel Hazanavicius
The Descendants, Alexander Payne
Hugo, Martin Scorsese
Midnight in Paris, Woody Allen
The Tree of Life, Terrence Malick
Documentary (Feature)
Hell and Back Again, Danfung Dennis and Mike Lerner
If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front, Marshall Curry and Sam Cullman
Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory, Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky
Pina, Wim Wenders and Gian-Piero Ringel
Undefeated, TJ Martin, Dan Lindsay and Richard Middlemas
Documentary (Short Subject)
The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement, Robin Fryday and Gail Dolgin
God Is the Bigger Elvis, Rebecca Cammisa and Julie Anderson
Incident in New Baghdad, James Spione
Saving Face, Daniel Junge and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy
The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom, Lucy Walker and Kira Carstensen
The Artist, Anne-Sophie Bion and Michel Hazanavicius
The Descendants, Kevin Tent
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall
Hugo, Thelma Schoonmaker
Moneyball, Christopher Tellefsen
Foreign Language Film
Bullhead, Belgium
Footnote, Israel
In Darkness, Poland
Monsieur Lazhar, Canada
A Separation, Iran
Albert Nobbs
Martial Corneville, Lynn Johnston and Matthew W. Mungle
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Nick Dudman, Amanda Knight and Lisa Tomblin
The Iron Lady
Mark Coulier and J. Roy Helland
Music (Original Score)
The Adventures of Tintin, John Williams
The Artist, Ludovic Bource
Hugo, Howard Shore
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Alberto Iglesias
War Horse, John Williams
Music (Original Song)
“Man or Muppet” from The Muppets
Music and Lyric by Bret McKenzie
“Real in Rio” from Rio
Music by Sergio Mendes and Carlinhos Brown Lyric by Siedah Garrett
Best Picture
The Artist
Thomas Langmann, Producer
The Descendants
Jim Burke, Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor, Producers
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
Scott Rudin, Producer
The Help
Brunson Green, Chris Columbus and Michael Barnathan, Producers
Hugo
Graham King and Martin Scorsese, Producers
Midnight in Paris
Letty Aronson and Stephen Tenenbaum, Producers
Moneyball
Michael De Luca, Rachael Horovitz and Brad Pitt, Producers
The Tree of Life
Nominees to be determined
War Horse
Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy, Producers
Short Film (Animated)
Dimanche/Sunday, Patrick Doyon
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore, William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg
La Luna, Enrico Casarosa
A Morning Stroll, Grant Orchard and Sue Goffe
Wild Life, Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby
Short Film (Live Action)
Pentecost, Peter McDonald and Eimear O’Kane
Raju, Max Zähle and Stefan Gieren
The Shore, Terry George and Oorlagh George
Time Freak, Andrew Bowler and Gigi Causey
Tuba Atlantic, Hallvar Witzø
Sound Editing
Drive, Lon Bender and Victor Ray Ennis
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Ren Klyce
Hugo, Philip Stockton and Eugene Gearty
Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Ethan Van der Ryn and Erik Aadahl
War Horse, Richard Hymns and Gary Rydstrom
Sound Mixing
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce and Bo Persson
Hugo
Tom Fleischman and John Midgley
Moneyball
Deb Adair, Ron Bochar, Dave Giammarco and Ed Novick
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers, Jeffrey J. Haboush and Peter J. Devlin
War Horse
Gary Rydstrom, Andy Nelson, Tom Johnson and Stuart Wilson
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Tim Burke, David Vickery, Greg Butler and John Richardson
Hugo
Rob Legato, Joss Williams, Ben Grossman and Alex Henning
Real Steel
Erik Nash, John Rosengrant, Dan Taylor and Swen Gillberg
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, R. Christopher White and Daniel Barrett
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Matthew Butler and John Frazier
Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
The Descendants
Screenplay by Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash
Hugo
Screenplay by John Logan
The Ides of March
Screenplay by George Clooney & Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon
Moneyball
Screenplay by Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin. Story by Stan Chervin
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Screenplay by Bridget O’Connor & Peter Straughan
Writing (Original Screenplay)
The Artist
Written by Michel Hazanavicius
Bridesmaids
Written by Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig
Margin Call
Written by J.C. Chandor
Midnight in Paris
Written by Woody Allen
A Separation
Written by Asghar Farhadi
