The 85th Academy Awards: The Nominations

Ben Affleck stares into the distance, wondering just what he did to anger the Academy so.

On Thursday morning, did you hear the heavy sighs of film critics across the nation? When that happens, it can only mean one thing: Oscar season is upon us! The nominations were announced bright and early this morning for the 85^th Academy Awards, and like any year this ceremony looks to have its ups and downs. They will be hosted by Seth MacFarlane, who I admittedly have a love/hate relationship with. (Like the Oscars themselves!) The good news is that he brings something new to the table while also having a charm that older folk won’t actively despise. The bad news is that last time they decided to go relatively new-school, we got the great Franco/Hathaway debacle of 2011. So, you know, fingers crossed.

As far as the actual movies that may or may not get the hardware, this year is actually much more fascinating than most. We went into the nominations announcement with a wide open field; more so than we’ve seen in many, many years. (Remember last year, when The Artist was essentially handed the award in early autumn? *Shudder.*) Unfortunately, these nominations didn’t do a whole lot to keep the ultimate result all that suspenseful. The category to blame for this is the mob scene that is Best Director, which has some of the most genuinely weird nominees I can recall. In some respects it’s disappointing—I’ll get to that—but on the other hand I kind of love that this ceremony could be rather chaotic. Sure, the Academy will probably just go the predictable route and give everything to Lincoln. But if there was ever a year for the Oscars to just throw their hands up in the air and say “ah, screw it,” it was this one.

Now, let us move forth into the nominations. For all the major categories, I will list the nominees and provide my not-at-all expert opinions. Once more unto the breach, dear friends!

Best Picture
Amour
Argo
Beasts Of The Southern Wild
Django Unchained
Les Miserables
Life Of Pi
Lincoln
Silver Linings Playbook
Zero Dark Thirty

Super Duper In-Depth Analysis:

If there’s a surprise in this lot, it is probably Michael Haneke’s Amour, which snuck into the Best Picture race despite being a) foreign, and b) an allegedly soul-crushing piece of work. (It remains unseen by me. I’ll get to it.) It’s inclusion here would probably suggest that it’s a lock to win Best Foreign Language Film, but if not that’d be one of the Academy’s more amusing decisions. Everything outside of that is expected, with the only notable no-shows being The Master and Skyfall, though both had an outside chance at best anyway. Some were surprised by Beasts of the Southern Wild, but I actually smelled that coming a while ago. Going into the nominations, this race seemed like it could go in any number of directions: Zero Dark Thirty had all the momentum, Les Misérables had it’s fair share of champions, Lincoln actually turned out to be really good, and Silver Linings Playbook was distributed by the Weinsteins. It all seemed so uncertain! Of course, much of this drama was ruined by a very, very strange Best Director category that seemed to narrow this down to Lincoln and Silver Linings Playbook. However, I still think Zero Dark Thirty might have an outside chance at Picture. I’ll expand on that in the “Best Director” section. Oh, speak of the devil!

Best Director
Michael Haneke, Amour
Ang Lee, Life Of Pi
David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook
Steven Spielberg, Lincoln
Benh Zeitlin, Beasts Of The Southern Wild

Super Duper In-Depth Analysis:

Yeah, this category is freaking weird. Normally Best Director is simply a re-hashing of the five most popular Best Picture nominees, and for most people that list included Zero Dark Thirty and Les Mis. I am actually all for Hooper not getting in here for Les Mis, but the absolute lack of Kathryn Bigelow has much of the film community shaking its head. (No one was more surprised by Bigelow’s absence than Zero Dark Thirty’s producer Megan Ellison, who voiced her displeasure on Twitter. Language warning.) Other surprises: no Ben Affleck for Argo or Tarantino for Django Unchained. The former does surprise me, as just a few months ago everyone was pointing to that movie as a major Oscar player. It’s still up for Picture, of course, but no nomination for Affleck makes that seem unlikely. As for Tarantino, I’ve long ago accepted that he is just going to be the perpetual Oscar bridesmaid and never the bride.

Who replaced Bigelow, Hooper, Affleck and Tarantino? Michael Haneke for Amour (the biggest surprise), David O. Russell for Silver Linings Playbook (less of a surprise, because Weinsteins), Ang Lee for Life of Pi (it surprises me, at least), Steven Spielberg for Lincoln (what a surpri-- haha, just kidding), and freaking Benh Zeitlin for freaking Beasts of the Freaking Southern Wild. I still don’t like Beasts very much, in case you couldn’t tell. Instead of nominating the directors of the apparent top five Best Picture contenders, the Academy went almost entirely the other direction. Or at least, what people thought was the other direction. It certainly looks to be down to Spielberg and Russell, and who wins that will (as usual) be a big tell as far as who wins Picture. For my money, one of the three following scenarios will play out: 1) Lincoln will win both Picture and Director, which is most likely. 2) Different films will win Best Picture and Director for the first time since 2005, and the awards will go to two of the following three films: Silver Linings Playbook, Lincoln and Zero Dark Thirty. 3) Silver Linings Playbook will win both Picture and Director, because Weinsteins. That last scenario seems to grow more likely by the second, and if that does occur I will once again be fed up with this whole charade. There’s still a lot of time for this picture to crystallize, but right now a lot of people are very, very confused.

Best Actor
Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook
Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
Hugh Jackman, Les Miserables
Joaquin Phoenix, The Master
Denzel Washington, Flight

Super Duper In-Depth Analysis:

This is much less of a surprise, and actually I can’t say I’d be angry at any of these guys winning. Right now Day-Lewis seems to be a lock, and he probably deserves it as well. But first, let us give a round of applause to the Academy for nominating Joaquin Phoenix, who gave perhaps my choice for performance of the year. I think Phoenix may actually have an outside shot, but I’m not sure anyone’s going to catch Day-Lewis. By the way, if Bradley Cooper comes up with a win here somehow, then you might as well go to bed because that means Silver Linings Playbook is going to clean house. I don’t think it will happen, but don’t say I didn’t warn you. Because Weinsteins.

Best Actress
Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty
Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
Emmanuelle Riva, Amour
Quvenzhane Wallis, Beasts Of The Southern Wild
Naomi Watts, The Impossible

Super Duper In-Depth Analysis:

As much as I didn’t love Beasts of the Southern Wild, it’s hard for me to get mad at the Academy for nominating nine-year-old Quvenzhané Wallis. I mean, come on. She’s nine years old, and she was awesome in that movie. Maybe it was a stunt nomination of sorts, but at least it went to someone that actually kind of deserves it. On the other end of the age spectrum, there is Emmanuelle Riva’s performance in Amour, which continues Michael Haneke’s unexpected reign of terror. Everyone else is pretty expected, with the clear frontrunner probably being Jessica Chastain in Zero Dark Thirty. But again, keep an eye out for the potential Silver Linings Playbook juggernaut. A win for Lawrence could potentially be part of that Weinstein-sized avalanche that many can feel coming down the mountain.

Best Supporting Actor
Alan Arkin, Argo
Robert De Niro, Silver Linings Playbook
Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Master
Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln
Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained

Super Duper In-Depth Analysis:

It is truly a great year to be an older, respected actor. Of these names, Waltz is the only actor that can be described as somewhat new, and he freaking won for his performance in Inglourious Basterds just a couple years ago. (Once again, however, he is placed under “Supporting” when in reality he’s in one of the film’s biggest roles. But such are the arbitrary rules of the game.) I’m a tad surprised that Waltz’s performance is the one getting recognition from Django Unchained, when Leonardo DiCaprio seemed to be shooting for the Best Supporting Actor stars in every frame of his performance. I’m honestly not sure where this award goes, but my gut feeling says Tommy Lee Jones may have the best shot at it. All I know is it probably won’t be Waltz.

Best Supporting Actress
Amy Adams, The Master
Sally Field, Lincoln
Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables
Helen Hunt, The Sessions
Jacki Weaver, Silver Linings Playbook

Super Duper In-Depth Analysis:

Well, this is a surprisingly weak category. Most of these are good performances—great, in some instances—but when you’re nominating Jacki Weaver for a role that doesn’t give her a ton to do, I think that’s a fine indicator that female supporting roles stunk this year. (For my money, that’s on the writers and directors, not the actresses.) Sally Field is probably one of the frontrunners, and her role was undoubtedly one of the weakest parts of Lincoln. As far as the most likely winner, I’d say that will probably be Anne Hathaway, who set the bar so high in the first act of Les Misérables that the rest of the movie seemed inauthentic by comparison. Release her role on its own, and you have one of the greatest short films of all time.

Best Original Screenplay
Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola, Moonrise Kingdom
Mark Boal, Zero Dark Thirty
John Gatins, Flight
Michael Haneke, Amour
Quentin Tarantino, Django Unchained

Super Duper In-Depth Analysis:

The screenplay categories are normally where they throw the straight-up critical darlings a bone, so look for a potential win for Boal or Anderson/Coppola here. Tarantino may have an outside shot, but I’m not sure the Academy loved Django Unchained enough to really shower it with too much love. (My guess is all the nominations were the result of a small but vocal pro-Tarantino contingent.) At this point, who knows about this category? All I know is all these movies are good, so there’s that.

Best Adapted Screenplay
Lucy Alibar and Benh Zeitlin, Beasts Of The Southern Wild
Tony Kushner, Lincoln
David Magee, Life Of Pi
David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook
Chris Terrio, Argo

Super Duper In-Depth Analysis:

I’d say Kushner has the lead out of the gate on this one, considering he apparently went nuts writing Lincoln. (His first draft was allegedly over 500 pages. Yikes.) He would certainly get my vote, but who knows what these Academy people like these days? If you’re looking for a dark horse, Silver Linings Playbook or Argo may very well be in play. Also, I may be underestimating the Academy’s love affair with Beasts of the Southern Wild. Like many categories this year, it could go one of several ways.

Best Animated Feature
Brave
Frankenweenie
ParaNorman
The Pirates! Band Of Misfits
Wreck-It Ralph

Super Duper In-Depth Analysis:

This is a pretty strong category this time around, even though it’s the second straight year with a non-transcendent Pixar movie in Brave. My vote would go to either ParaNorman or Wreck-It Ralph, both of which I saw and very much enjoyed. Who will the Academy like? I dunno. I’d say Wreck-It Ralph, but that may not be their traditional cup of tea. In that case, ParaNorman or Frankenweenie may fit the bill. Worst case, they just go with the safe choice and give it to Brave.

Best Cinematography
Roger Deakins, Skyfall
Janusz Kaminski, Lincoln
Seamus McGarvey, Anna Karenina
Claudio Miranda, Life Of Pi
Robert Richardson, Django Unchained

Super Duper In-Depth Analysis:

Who would have thought that a James Bond movie would be the project that potentially won Roger Deakins his long overdue Academy Award? If so, it wouldn’t just be a make-up call; Skyfall is freaking gorgeous, and far more beautiful than an action movie has any right to be. Robert Richardson would be my rock-solid number two, though if anyone is going to take the award away from Deakins it’s probably going to be Janusz “The Polish Menace” Kaminski. KAMINSKIIIII!!!

Best Original Score
Alexandre Desplat, Argo
Mychael Danna, Life Of Pi
Dario Marianelli, Anna Karenina 
Thomas Newman, Skyfall
John Williams, Lincoln

Super Duper In-Depth Analysis:

Quick, hum a piece of music from any of these movies! I thought not. I anticipate Thomas Newman will win for Skyfall, just because he actually did a good job and people may accidently think he had something to do with Adele’s theme. I’m slightly disappointed by the inclusion of John Williams, who was as low-key as low-key gets in Lincoln. I guess they just nominated him because they saw he did another score this year, and they always like to throw him a bone.

Best Original Song
“Before My Time,” Chasing Ice (music and lyric by J. Ralph)
“Everybody Needs A Best Friend,”Ted (music by Walter Murphy; lyric by Seth MacFarlane)
“Pi’s Lullaby,” Life Of Pi (music by Mychael Danna; lyric by Bombay Jayashri)
“Skyfall,” Skyfall (music and lyric by Adele Adkins and Paul Epworth)
“Suddenly,” Les Misérables (music by Claude-Michel Schönberg; lyric by Herbert Kretzmer and Alain Boublil)

Super Duper In-Depth Analysis:

Thanks for playing, everyone! The award goes to Adele. Now, don’t let the door hit you on your way out.

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With that, we have exhausted all the categories I can pretend to know a thing about. I shall list the rest below for your reference. Read on!

Best Costume Design
Colleen Atwood, Snow White And The Huntsman
Paco Delgado, Les Misérables
Jacqueline Durran, Anna Karenina
Eiko Ishioka, Mirror Mirror
Joanna Johnston, Lincoln

Best Documentary Feature
5 Broken Cameras
The Gatekeepers
How To Survive A Plague
The Invisible War
Searching For Sugar Man

Best Documentary Short
Inocente
Kings Point
Mondays At Racine
Open Heart
Redemption

Best Film Editing
Jay Cassidy and Crispin Struthers, Silver Linings Playbook
William Goldenberg, Argo
Michael Kahn, Lincoln
Tim Squyres, Life Of Pi
Dylan Tichenor and William Goldenberg, Zero Dark Thirty

Best Foreign Language Film
Amour (Austria) 
Kon-Tiki (Norway)
No (Chile)
A Royal Affair (Denmark)
War Witch (Canada)

Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Howard Berger, Peter Montagna and Martin Samuel, Hitchcock
Peter Swords King, Rick Findlater and Tami Lane, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Lisa Westcott and Julie Dartnell, Les Miserables

Best Production Design
Rick Carter and Jim Erickson, Lincoln
Sarah Greenwood and Katie Spencer, Anna Karenina
David Gropman and Anna Pinnock, Life Of Pi
Dan Hennah, Ra Vincent and Simon Bright, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Eve Stewart and Anna Lynch-Robinson, Les Miserables

Best Animated Short
Adam And Dog
Fresh Guacamole
Head Over Heels
Maggie Simpson In “The Longest Daycare”
Paperman

Best Live Action Short
Asad
Buzkashi Boys
Curfew
Death of a Shadow 
Henry

Best Sound Editing
Erik Aadahl and Ethan Van der Ryn, Argo
Eugene Gearty and Philip Stockton, Life of Pi
Per Hallberg and Karen Baker Landers, Skyfall
Paul N.J. Ottosson, Zero Dark Thirty
Wylie Stateman, Django Unchained

Best Sound Mixing
Ron Bartlett, D.M. Hemphill and Drew Kunin, Life of Pi
Scott Millan, Greg P. Russell and Stuart Wilson, Skyfall
Andy Nelson, Mark Paterson and Simon Hayes, Les Misérables
Andy Nelson, Gary Rydstrom and Ronald Judkins, Lincoln
John Reitz, Gregg Rudloff and Jose Antonio Garcia, Argo

Best Visual Effects
Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton and R. Christopher White, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Cedric Nicolas-Troyan, Philip Brennan, Neil Corbould and Michael Dawson, Snow White And the Huntsman
Janek Sirrs, Jeff White, Guy Williams and Dan Sudick, Marvel’s The Avengers
Richard Stammers, Trevor Wood, Charley Henley and Martin Hill, Prometheus
Bill Westenhofer, Guillaume Rocheron, Erik-Jan De Boer and Donald R. Elliott, Life Of Pi

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That’s all, everyone! See you the week of the ceremony, at which point I’ll write the required “Will win/could win/should win” post. Until then, Happy Weinsteining!