The 83rd Oscar Nominations and Impressions

‘The King’s Speech’ leads the pack with twelve nods which isn’t surprising.  This year there is a break from tradition and ten pictures, instead of five, are up for the running of Best Picture.  It is an odd choice considering that the rest of the major categories remain at five.  I do wish that they would have just upped the nominations to seven across the board.  At this point I think that the Best Picture contest is between ‘The King’s Speech’ and ‘The Social Network’, not necessarily because of the quality of the picture, both were great movies, but because of general buzz. 

 

                The Best Actor category includes Colin Firth for ‘The King’s Speech’ which I believe he is the favorite to win.  I was happy to see Jeff Bridges nominated for ‘True Grit’ out of the nominees his was the performance I enjoyed the most. 

 

                I think this is Natalie Portman’s year to take Best Actress for ‘Black Swan’ although I believe Michelle Williams for ‘Blue Valentine’ and Jennifer Lawrence for ‘Winter’s Bone’ (which was filmed in southern Missouri and was the film that opened the Kansas City FilmFest last year) might be the dark horses who may grab the trophy for themselves.

 

                For Best Supporting Actor I feel that it is any nominees’ award.  Jeffrey Rush already has a ‘Best Actor’ Oscar, but momentum is on the side of ‘The King’s Speech’.  Christian Bale did one of those actors’ complete body modification (in this case losing a ton of weight) for his role in ‘The Fighter’ and in the past that has proven to be Oscar gold.  I really enjoyed John Hawkes performance as the anti-social hillbilly Mafioso in ‘Winter’s Bone’.  I’m currently re-watching the first season of ‘Deadwood’ and am impressed that he was the mild mannered Sol Star (the business partner with Seth Bullock) in that show. 

 

                For Best Supporting Actress my money is on Helena Bonham Carter for ‘The King’s Speech’.  She has given so many impressive performances before that I think Hollywood will finally award her for her career.  Besides, don’t you want to see what sort of mess of a dress she will wear up to the Oscar stage?  Hailee Steinfeld ‘True Grit’ is also in this category which is a nice way to launch her career – watch out Dakota Fanning, I think there might be a new sheriff in town. 

 

                David Seidler will win for Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen for ‘The King’s Speech’.  If anything his movie has the before mentioned momentum as well as a nifty back story behind why he wrote the script in the first place (he as a child, like the king, was a stutter).  Plus how many writers communicate with Buckingham Palace over a project?  The late Queen Mum gave her blessing for the film, but only if it was made after her death because she considered the pain of her husband overcoming his speech impediment too raw. 

 

                For Best Writing for a Screenplay Previously Published or Produced I think the winner will be Aaron Sorkin for ‘The Social Network’ for several reasons including name recognition, movie momentum, and the topic covered. 

 

                The most shocking category for me was the results of the Best Animated Feature Film.  Only three films nominated in this field, really Hollywood?  ‘Toy Story 3’ will take the prize because I think the Best Picture nod is for the fact that Pixar was able to produce three films of one franchise that were equally excellent.  ‘Tangled’ and ‘Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga-Hoole’ both should have been in this category! 

 

                In the so-called lesser categories I believe ‘Alice in Wonderland’ will win, or at least deserves to win, for Costume Design, but ‘The King’s Speech’ will probably take home the prize because I don’t think anyone was overly enchanted with the latest ‘Alice’ incarnation. 

 

                I know ‘Burlesque’ was a fluff movie that most Hollywood comedians (I’m looking at you Ricky Gervais) love to make fun of the one thing it did have going for it was that the music was wonderful thus I was shocked when ‘I’m Still Here’, which was sung by Cher no less, was not nominated.  This sort of song is the reason this category even exists!  One, it ties into the movie.   Two, it is relatable to the audience.   Three, do I really have to mention again it was sung by Cher who is a Hollywood fixture?  That stupid ‘Coming Home’ song for that train wreck of a film ‘Country Strong’ was nominated and not ‘I’m Still Here’?  To make this crystal clear in terms of cinematic message; the song ‘Coming Home’ is used in its film of origin to emphasis a character who ends up killing herself while ‘I’m Still Here’ is about a character who simply will not give up no matter if the odds are against her.  On all levels ‘I’m Still Here’ is a better song that deserved a nomination!  With that said, Randy Newman ‘We Belong Together’ will win for ‘Toy Story 3’. 

 

                I can’t let this one go.  What the *(&%#)^@&^ with nominating ‘The Wolfman’ for Best Achievement in Makeup?  I know the majority of the nation did not see this film, but I did and I have to tell you that the makeup team for this film single handedly transformed Hannibal Lector (Anthony Hopkins) into a Muppet!  One of those cuddly wuddly ones, not the Count or even Oscar the Grouch, but more like an Emo with an ax to grind.  ‘Black Swan’ should have been nominated in this category, at least the makeup work in that film was interesting and not laughable.   

 

                The 83^rd Oscar ceremony takes place on February 27, 2011.

 

Actor in a Leading Role

• Javier Bardem in “Biutiful”
• Jeff Bridges in “True Grit”
• Jesse Eisenberg in “The Social Network”
• Colin Firth in “The King's Speech”
• James Franco in “127 Hours”

Actor in a Supporting Role

• Christian Bale in “The Fighter”
• John Hawkes in “Winter's Bone”
• Jeremy Renner in “The Town”
• Mark Ruffalo in “The Kids Are All Right”
• Geoffrey Rush in “The King's Speech”

Actress in a Leading Role

• Annette Bening in “The Kids Are All Right”
• Nicole Kidman in “Rabbit Hole”
• Jennifer Lawrence in “Winter's Bone”
• Natalie Portman in “Black Swan”
• Michelle Williams in “Blue Valentine”

Actress in a Supporting Role

• Amy Adams in “The Fighter”
• Helena Bonham Carter in “The King's Speech”
• Melissa Leo in “The Fighter”
• Hailee Steinfeld in “True Grit”
• Jacki Weaver in “Animal Kingdom”

Animated Feature Film

• “How to Train Your Dragon” Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois
• “The Illusionist” Sylvain Chomet
• “Toy Story 3” Lee Unkrich

Art Direction

• “Alice in Wonderland”
  Production Design: Robert Stromberg; Set Decoration: Karen O'Hara
• “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1”
  Production Design: Stuart Craig; Set Decoration: Stephenie McMillan
• “Inception”
  Production Design: Guy Hendrix Dyas; Set Decoration: Larry Dias and Doug Mowat
• “The King's Speech”
  Production Design: Eve Stewart; Set Decoration: Judy Farr
• “True Grit”
  Production Design: Jess Gonchor; Set Decoration: Nancy Haigh

Cinematography

• “Black Swan” Matthew Libatique
• “Inception” Wally Pfister
• “The King's Speech” Danny Cohen
• “The Social Network” Jeff Cronenweth
• “True Grit” Roger Deakins

Costume Design

• “Alice in Wonderland” Colleen Atwood
• “I Am Love” Antonella Cannarozzi
• “The King's Speech” Jenny Beavan
• “The Tempest” Sandy Powell
• “True Grit” Mary Zophres

Directing

• “Black Swan” Darren Aronofsky
• “The Fighter” David O. Russell
• “The King's Speech” Tom Hooper
• “The Social Network” David Fincher
• “True Grit” Joel Coen and Ethan Coen

Documentary (Feature)

• “Exit through the Gift Shop” Banksy and Jaimie D'Cruz
• “Gasland” Josh Fox and Trish Adlesic
• “Inside Job” Charles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs
• “Restrepo” Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger
• “Waste Land” Lucy Walker and Angus Aynsley

Documentary (Short Subject)

• “Killing in the Name” Nominees to be determined
• “Poster Girl” Nominees to be determined
• “Strangers No More” Karen Goodman and Kirk Simon
• “Sun Come Up” Jennifer Redfearn and Tim Metzger
• “The Warriors of Qiugang” Ruby Yang and Thomas Lennon

Film Editing

• “Black Swan” Andrew Weisblum
• “The Fighter” Pamela Martin
• “The King's Speech” Tariq Anwar
• “127 Hours” Jon Harris
• “The Social Network” Angus Wall and Kirk Baxter

Foreign Language Film

• “Biutiful” Mexico
• “Dogtooth” Greece
• “In a Better World” Denmark
• “Incendies” Canada
• “Outside the Law (Hors-la-loi)” Algeria

Makeup

• “Barney's Version” Adrien Morot
• “The Way Back” Edouard F. Henriques, Gregory Funk and Yolanda Toussieng
• “The Wolfman” Rick Baker and Dave Elsey

Music (Original Score)

• “How to Train Your Dragon” John Powell
• “Inception” Hans Zimmer
• “The King's Speech” Alexandre Desplat
• “127 Hours” A.R. Rahman
• “The Social Network” Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross

Music (Original Song)

• “Coming Home” from “Country Strong” Music and Lyric by Tom Douglas, Troy Verges and Hillary Lindsey
• “I See the Light” from “Tangled” Music by Alan Menken Lyric by Glenn Slater
• “If I Rise” from “127 Hours” Music by A.R. Rahman Lyric by Dido and Rollo Armstrong
• “We Belong Together” from “Toy Story 3" Music and Lyric by Randy Newman

Best Picture

• “Black Swan” Mike Medavoy, Brian Oliver and Scott Franklin, Producers
• “The Fighter” David Hoberman, Todd Lieberman and Mark Wahlberg, Producers
• “Inception” Emma Thomas and Christopher Nolan, Producers
• “The Kids Are All Right” Gary Gilbert, Jeffrey Levy-Hinte and Celine Rattray, Producers
• “The King's Speech” Iain Canning, Emile Sherman and Gareth Unwin, Producers
• “127 Hours” Christian Colson, Danny Boyle and John Smithson, Producers
• “The Social Network” Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca and Ceán Chaffin, Producers
• “Toy Story 3” Darla K. Anderson, Producer
• “True Grit” Scott Rudin, Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, Producers
• “Winter's Bone" Anne Rosellini and Alix Madigan-Yorkin, Producers

Short Film (Animated)

• “Day & Night” Teddy Newton
• “The Gruffalo” Jakob Schuh and Max Lang
• “Let's Pollute” Geefwee Boedoe
• “The Lost Thing” Shaun Tan and Andrew Ruhemann
• “Madagascar, carnet de voyage (Madagascar, a Journey Diary)” Bastien Dubois

Short Film (Live Action)

• “The Confession” Tanel Toom
• “The Crush” Michael Creagh
• “God of Love” Luke Matheny
• “Na Wewe” Ivan Goldschmidt
• “Wish 143” Ian Barnes and Samantha Waite

Sound Editing

• “Inception” Richard King
• “Toy Story 3” Tom Myers and Michael Silvers
• “Tron: Legacy” Gwendolyn Yates Whittle and Addison Teague
• “True Grit” Skip Lievsay and Craig Berkey
• “Unstoppable” Mark P. Stoeckinger

Sound Mixing

• “Inception” Lora Hirschberg, Gary A. Rizzo and Ed Novick
• “The King's Speech” Paul Hamblin, Martin Jensen and John Midgley
• “Salt” Jeffrey J. Haboush, Greg P. Russell, Scott Millan and William Sarokin
• “The Social Network” Ren Klyce, David Parker, Michael Semanick and Mark Weingarten
• “True Grit” Skip Lievsay, Craig Berkey, Greg Orloff and Peter F. Kurland

Visual Effects

• “Alice in Wonderland” Ken Ralston, David Schaub, Carey Villegas and Sean Phillips
• “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1” Tim Burke, John Richardson, Christian Manz and Nicolas Aithadi
• “Hereafter” Michael Owens, Bryan Grill, Stephan Trojanski and Joe Farrell
• “Inception” Paul Franklin, Chris Corbould, Andrew Lockley and Peter Bebb
• “Iron Man 2” Janek Sirrs, Ben Snow, Ged Wright and Daniel Sudick

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

• “127 Hours” Screenplay by Danny Boyle & Simon Beaufoy
• “The Social Network” Screenplay by Aaron Sorkin
• “Toy Story 3” Screenplay by Michael Arndt; Story by John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich
• “True Grit” Written for the screen by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
• “Winter's Bone” Adapted for the screen by Debra Granik & Anne Rosellini

Writing (Original Screenplay)

• “Another Year” Written by Mike Leigh
• “The Fighter”Screenplay by Scott Silver and Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson;
  Story by Keith Dorrington & Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson
• “Inception” Written by Christopher Nolan
• “The Kids Are All Right” Written by Lisa Cholodenko & Stuart Blumberg
• “The King's Speech” Screenplay by David Seidler

 

 

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