The Academy Awards 2012 Nominations were announced and lo and behold: I obviously didn’t see any movies this year. That’s not actually true. As you know I saw Breaking Dawn Part One opening night and actually I also saw Midnight in Paris three times. I just really liked Hemingway. Maybe it’s just that movies I care about didn’t get nominated. Welp! Looks like I have some big catching up to do in the next 33 days.
NOMINEES FOR BEST ACTRESS
Below you’ll find some nominees I or someone else on Autostraddle had feelings about followed by the complete list at the bottom.
The Artist: So The Artist is apparently a silent movie that everyone loved. Can I be real here? I don’t think I have the attention span for a silent movie. I’m not trying to hate on innovative ideas or film as art or even reject something I have no experience with, but I honestly could not make it through the trailer.
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close: This came out in theaters literally four days ago and has a 48% on Rotten Tomatoes. How did it get in here? How is this nominated for Best Picture and not Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2?
The Help: I liked The Help. It was heartwarming. Please don’t flame me.
Excerpt from Riese Liveblog of the Golden Globes
I actually kinda liked The Help? It reminded me of a movie I would’ve been allowed to see in the 90s (because it was rated PG) and that if I had, my little heart would’ve been heartwarmed. But maybe also ignorant?
Midnight in Paris: As previously mentioned, I loved Midnight in Paris. This is why:
Moneyball: I really hope Moneyball doesn’t win. Not because I have anything against it as a movie, but because I live in Boston where anything remotely baseball related gets at least 5.2 times it’s appropriate news coverage on NPR.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo: Julie & Brandy have some feelings about this movie.
Beginners: This movie has a gay. I kept meaning to see it but kept repeatedly forgetting about it because I kept going to see Midnight in Paris. Obviously I hope Christopher Plummer wins anyways.
Bridesmaids: Excerpt from Riese Liveblog of the Golden Globes:
I think Bridesmaids is SO overrated. Y’all, women have been making fucking awesome comedies for years, do not act like women just got born this year ’cause you’ve not bothered to release any of their movies since like 2005.
My Week With Marilyn: I preferred my own week with pictures of faux Marilyn. Just kidding, I obvs did not see this movie.
The Muppet Movie:Riese had good feelings about The Muppet Movie I preferred Muppet Treasure Island. Check out the song that The Muppet Movie is nominated for:
The Animated Shorts: I absolutely love the animated short catagory. I always try to find ways to see the shorts before the Oscars air. I like having a team to cheer for. Although Pixar’s La Luna will be airing before their upcoming film Brave and A Morning Stroll is currently only on view in film festivals, The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore, Wild Life and Dimanche/Sunday are all currently available to watch at their production studios’ websites.
STILL FROM THE FANTASTIC FLYING BOOKS OF MR. MORRIS LESSMORE
If you really care about what’s important in the Oscars, you should check out the Oscar cute dog showdown.
*Indicates a Golden Globe winner in a similar catagory
Best Picture:
The Artist*
The Descendants*
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
The Help
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
The Tree of Life
War Horse
Actor:
Demian Bichir- A Better Life
George Clooney- The Descendants*
Jean Dujardin- The Artist*
Gary Oldman- Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Brad Pitt- Moneyball
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*
Supporting Actor:
Kenneth Branagh- My Week With Marilyn
Jonah Hill- Moneyball
Nick Nolte- Warrior
Christopher Plummer- Beginners*
Max von Sydow- Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close.
Supporting Actress:
Berenice Bejo- The Artist
Jessica Chastain- The Help
Melissa McCarthy- Bridesmaids
Janet McTeer- Albert Nobbs
Octavia Spencer- The Help*
Directing:
Michel Hazanavicius- The Artist
Alexander Payne- The Descendants
Martin Scorsese- Hugo*
Woody Allen- Midnight in Paris
Terrence Malick- The Tree of Life
Foreign Language Film:
Bullhead- Belgium
Footnote- Israel
In Darkness- Poland
Monsieur Lazhar- Canada
A Separation- Iran*
Adapted Screenplay:
Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash- The Descendants
John Logan-Hugo
George Clooney, Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon- The Ides of March
Steven Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin and Stan Chervin- Moneyball
Bridget O’Connor and Peter Straughan- Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Original Screenplay:
Michel Hazanavicius- The Artist
Annie Mumolo and Kristen Wiig- Bridesmaids
J.C. Chandor- Margin Call
Woody Allen- Midnight in Paris*
Asghar Farhadi- A Separation
Animated Feature Film:
A Cat in Paris
Chico & Rita
Kung Fu Panda 2
Puss in Boots
Rango
Art Direction:
The Artist
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
War Horse
Cinematography:
The Artist
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
The Tree of Life
War Horse
Sound Mixing:
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Moneyball
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
War Horse
Sound Editing:
Drive
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
War Horse
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
Original Song:
Man or Muppet from The Muppets- Bret McKenzie
Real in Rio from Rio-Sergio Mendes, Carlinhos Brown and Siedah Garrett.
Costume:
Anonymous
The Artist
Hugo
Jane Eyre
W.E.
Documentary Feature
Hell and Back Again
If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front
Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory
Pina
Undefeated
Documentary (short subject):
The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement
God Is the Bigger Elvis
Incident in New Baghdad
Saving Face
The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom
Film Editing:
The Artist
The Descendants
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Moneyball
Makeup:
Albert Nobbs
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
The Iron Lady
Animated Short Film:
Dimanche/Sunday
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore
La Luna
A Morning Stroll
Wild Life
Live Action Short Film:
Pentecost
Raju
The Shore
Time Freak
Tuba Atlantic.
Visual Effects
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Hugo
Real Steel
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
I will have a serious problem if The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo wins for sound mixing. I realize that this is a weird thing to get up in arms about, but goddamnit I hated the sound design for that movie.
I already have a serious problem with Rooney Mara being nominated. Or anything from the Hollywood’s defanged version of GWTDT getting any awards. Fincher took the radical edge out of Steig Larsson’s book (who’s Swedish title was Men who Hate Women). Larsson would be turning in his grave. Agree with Julie & Brandy’s review of it.
Kirsten Dunst should have got the nomination for Best Actress for her role in Malancholia.
Ditto on Kirsten Dunst
Not to nitpick but… mixing has nothing to do with sound design. That would be the sound editing category. Please don’t blame the mixers for what they were handed. Therefore, hate on the nom in the sound editing category for appropriate reasons. ;-)
p.s. The director bears ultimate responsibility here. They are supposed to “direct” every aspect of the film including the sound design but even when they have no freakin’ idea what they want, which is sadly most of the time, they have ultimate approval, i.e. responsibility.
I have a serious problem with work … how am I supposed to work when I could be reading autostraddle instead?
I am so bummed Tilda Swinton did not get nominated for “We Need to Talk About Kevin”.
yes.
i feel you on the attention span, i mean i don’t even finish my
I feel you, I barely glanced at the still of the
…sandwiches?
where. is. pariah.
x2
I know it was kind of a long shot, but I was really hoping Pariah would get nominated for something, and that its nomination might push it over the line in to international distribution… What the fuck, how am I going to get to see this movie now?
I swear to god, I don’t know what I’ll do if it doesn’t come to the uk, I want to see it so much ahh
You guys… it only lasted in Hollywood for about a week. Srsly. Totally disappointed that that happened. It’s now only playing in LA in predominantly African-American neighborhoods and only one or two at that. Which just shows you how little support there is for films like this. I’m glad it’s somewhere, but in a place that other than New York, has the best theatrical support for independent films it’s a total insult. I can’t believe I missed it in the theater because the weekend it played I was sick. :-(
my mom went to see it in royal oak, michigan, and said there was a really good turnout, a lot of families and queers.
That’s great! I may treck out to Baldwin Hills in LA if I get the chance. I really wanted to support it in the theater which is what it needs more than any secondary market support. Everything helps of course, but box office unfortunately drives whether or not films like these get made.
It’s been playing in Cambridge for awhile (early January). Yes, our city is gay gay gay, but when I saw it the audience was mixed – lots of queer girls but families and straight couples too. Impressive considering it was a weekday and there was a really good turnout. My faith in humanity was (momentarily) restored.
this reads like a nominee list for the Hicksville Movie Awards…its just missing ‘Jack & Jill’ starring Adam Sandler for Best Original Story
war horse?bridesmaids?the girl with ink?…wtf
I guess Pariah is sadly too unknown. I feel like it’s always the same people that win year after year.
I am weird and love silent movies. So I really enjoyed The Artist.
I AM SO MAD ABOUT PARIAH
YEAH WHERE THE FUCK IS IT.
upvoting is gone, now I have to type actual words ugh
also THIS
RIESE CAN SOMEONE WRITE AN ARTICLE ABOUT THIS. GAH. GAH. AGH. HAG. . . .
sorry i was trying to see all the anger combinations of the letters G, A,and H i could make.
i think that article would consist of a graphic and that graphic would be an actual pariah eating a dragon tattoo and grace would make the graphic
that image could be my new screen saver, just saying.
I had the same reaction to this list, with the exception of The Help. Here’s my beef with The Help: (and this is in no way attacking who enjoyed it) The book and the film do nothing to show just how dangerous it would have been for black women to participate in a burn book about their employers. There’s no other way to put it. Both of my grandmothers were “the help”, in the south at one point in their lives and the one is still living was outraged by the plot.
The crappy part is, if The Help wasn’t in the running this year, no women of color (I’m including Asian, Hispanic women etc.) would be nominated. I hope Viola Davis wins, but I won’t be watching the show.
Films like Pariah which Meryl even mentioned in her GG’s speech, I mean come on people, this movie isn’t hiding somewhere, should have been nominated.
That’s exactly it. The Help rewrites history and detracts from Black women’s real stories that should otherwise be told. I’m sure that, being a typical white saviour movie, it’s very “heartwarming” for white people.
Are you saying Black people don´t need me to save them?
I couldn’t even read through the nominee list without losing interest and scrolling down. If we can be honest, I’m pretty sure the last time I watched an entire Academy Awards ceremony was the year Return of the King was nominated for/won all the awards and filled my geeky little heart with joy.
I’ve seen practically none of these movies, which is tragic, because even though I know the Oscars are bullshit, I love watching them.
About Beginners, one of the only nominated movies I have seen–if you haven’t seen it yet, you should. It does a really good job with the queer storyline, and Christopher Plummer is awesome, and I might have cried a little bit while watching it…highly recommended!
If you think The Artist is going to be long and slow and won’t hold your attention, don’t! The story actually moves along quickly and the film is charming, and you’ll probably like it so much that it’ll be over before you know it. Also, there’s an adorable dog that steals a lot of the scenes, and Bérénice Bejo is gorgeous and wears a lot of really cute flapper outfits.
I am really very sad that Senna isn’t in the documentary category, because I thought it would be something I’d not be even slightly interested in and then my dad forced us to watch it on christmas day and it was spectacular.
And sad about this list in general, I love watching the oscars, acceptance speeches are my favourite things but I haven’t seen any of these films and I don’t really feel any huge need to…
My thoughts:
The Artist: I got through 23 seconds of the trailer.
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close: People who didn’t read the book are saying they didn’t like it. People who read the (brilliant) book by Jonathan Safran Foer are saying otherwise I think. Personally, I thought it was really well done. But HP7.2 definitely deserved the nod.
Bridesmaids: I thought the movie was great, but not because “ZOMG WOMEN CAN BE FUNNY.” I just liked it because Kristin Wiig and Melissa McCarthy, you guys.
Harry Potter: Why wasn’t Alan Rickman nominated for everything?
I’m a little disappointed about HP7pt2 also. It was the top grossing film last year, it’s STILL in the top 3 highest grossing worldwide, and Alan Rickman’s performance was more than 10 years in the making. No, Harry Potter isn’t a work of fine art, nor did it carry an important social/political/environmental message, but gosh darnit, those guys worked their asses off! At least give them a nod! They deserve better than “Best Makeup.”
Albert Nobbs is so fantastic, I hope Glenn Close wins. That’s the only nomination I have feelings about.
Yess, I really want to see that movie! Glenn Close can do no wrong.
i didn’t love the movie (or Glenn Close in it to be honest) but i thought Janet McTeer’s nomination was pretty well deserved
how could you not love it? So much genderfuckery happening.
yeah but it is possible i have unreasonable standards of acting and interesting plot lines. Albert as a character I just found interminably boring and closed off, I much preferred Hubert
Jim Rash is a champion. Loved Midnight in Paris. Seething with anger at the director category as usual.
Lesbians for Hemingway!! He was by far the best character in that movie (and had great taste in women, MARION COTILLARD oh my good god). You should’ve posted the “Who wants to fight?!” clip as well. Absolute genius.
I tried to get through that trailer for the The Artist, didn’t even make it halfway. I’ve seen the shorter commercials on tv, but I don’t see the appeal of it. It’s just not my cup of tea.
The Oscars Pariah should have been nominated for, but wasn’t:
Best Picture
Actress in a Leading Role – Adepero Oduye
Actress in a Supporting Role – Kim Wayans
Cinematography – Bradford Young
Directing – Dee Rees
Writing (Original Screenplay) – Dee Rees
I found out pretty early because I was up at 6:15, maybe it’s an LA thing but when I get my coffee and remember I always look. I could not believe my eyes when I read “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close,” I thought I was still sleepy but wow…bullshit.
The list is dull and mediocre and even the NYT has a blog post calling it out as hopelessly white, old and male. It looks like The Help is the only film with a predominantly female cast which is why I wanted Bridesmaids to get on the list. The voting climate this year seemed back to the same crap, I think 2009 & 2010 were (mildly) unique because they were trying to attract a younger audience but they’ve given up on that, so back to Stephen Daldry films.
I was happy for The Tree of Life and Margin Call, but I feel no reason to watch the Oscars themselves.
Oh yeah and If a Tree Falls was so fucking good, I hope it wins best documentary feature..
Im so surprised War Horse was nominated, the last scene alone should have discounted it, when the characters are walking against the back drop of a Devon sunset (ha!) so bright and orange im pretty sure the sky was on fire and it was actually the beginning of the apocalypse. But aside from that it was definitely the most twee, ridiculous and anthropomorphic movie ive ever seen!
the last scene was Gone with the Wind redux. But I didn’t think the movie was that bad otherwise. It was touching in parts.
War Horse was nominated, but Pariah wasn’t? Is this opposite day?
tree of life should win everything. Drive and We need to talk about Kevin should have been nominated for best picture. And A seperation is shit.
I’m excited that “The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore” got nominated though, because the studio that made it is based in my hometown in Louisiana! (Also it involves books, which are clearly important to me.)
The Flying Books was amazing. <3 I agree !
I seriously think I fell in love with this short. but maybe that’s just the bibliophile in me talking…
Maybe I’m alone in this, but anybody else mildly pleased that of the five actresses to get nominated for best actress, only two of them are being nominated for their role as rich white straight lady? All other criticism of the Oscar’s stands, it’s just cool to see them trying to branch out, even if it’s still problematic in ways.
remember folks, RUSS HOWARD (literally) called that rooney nom like a fucking boss! there’s a reason he’s the Watchdog. he sees everything coming…
papa howard, the next time you’re at the arclight…the popcorn is on me ;-)
i saw albert nobbs recently. you didn’t see it? it’s a cute movie and besides, there’s lesbians in it ;)
Ok so I haven’t seen Pariah since I’m not in the states, though I thought it was sweet how Meryl Streep gave it a shout out in her Golden Globes acceptance speech. But WHAT THE FUCK WHERE IS TINTIN.
I know Tintin isn’t that well known in America but Jesus that movie was awesome. Saw it twice in the same week. It deserves at least a best animated film nomination. It’s the best thing Spielberg has done in years
Beginners was a great movie, and a lot of focus was placed on Oliver (Ewan McGregor) dealing with his life fail and that fact that he’s all upset because he thought his Awesomely Gay Dad (Christopher Plummer) came out after his wife died, then started being all “I’mma go to Gay Pride and wear mah colors and date a sexy young foreign-looking guy who has a thing for older men because of his daddy problems, and we’re going to cuddle on the floor and be all adorbletastic!”
I personally thought it was a nice touch that Oliver was straight and had a romance with a girl, because he was still pretty accepting of his father’s sexuality and was mostly upset because he thought his parents didn’t love each other and that his childhood was a lie.
In other news, I watched this film with my grandma.
As usual I have only seen a couple of these movies. I am always behind. I am curious about a lot of these films, especially Beginners. Midnight in Paris was good, better than I expected it to be.
Thanks for the links to the animated shorts. That’s probably the category I’m most interested in. Looking forward to seeing how the Animated Film category sorts out without a Pixar shoo in. Most of the “artsy” movies don’t show up here, The Artist is opening tomorrow and I’m hoping it does keep my attention, although I do tolerate Buster Keaton shorts better than Charlie Chaplin’s longer efforts. Pariah isn’t even in Baltimore, which is disappointing.