Before we dive into today’s non-Oscar-related news, this is a forum to express your thoughts on the nominations for the 80th Academy Awards. I’m not sure why I expected to grimace when the bigger categories were announced. Good choices, all.
It’s hard to say, for me at least, that any notable pictures were snubbed, except for The King of Kong, one of the top three highest rated films of 2007, for Best Documentary Feature. But the early word predicted that, for whatever reason. I’m sure some will make the case for American Gangster, but not me. That was part of my anticipatory grimace, actually. I expected the sub-par Ridley Scott film to take at least one of the Best Actor, Best Director and/or Best Picture slots.
And what about Tim Burton? He’s still never scored a nomination for Best Director or Best Picture, and Sweeney Todd had the goods, no? In my opinion, Sweeney Todd should have replaced Michael Clayton for BP, leaving first-time director Tony Gilroy the Best Director catergory (again MC’s direction was beyond solid, the overall film was enjoyable but not revelatory for its genre). While the real heavyweight match will be between Paul Thomas Anderson’s There Will Be Blood and the Coen Brothers‘ No Country for Old Men (these films have 8 noms each, total death match), look at Jason Reitman sliding in with his sophomore effort, Juno, for Best Director and Best Picture. Of course, Diablo Cody is fretting over her punk ‘do in anticipation of a W. And might Ellen Page be an upsetter? I’m sure we’ll see the high school track team make at least one appearance on Sunday, February 24th.
Other “okay with me”s: Viggo Mortensen got a hat-tip for his brilliant Dracula-meets-The-Gipper depiction of a Russian mobster in Eastern Promises; the Academy making up for blocking Persepolis from Best Foreign Language Film by placing it next to Pixar’s epicurean rat; on the other hand, the incredibly scenic epic Mongol, one of my top 10 of 2007 gets a BFLF nod; Sicko and Taxi to the Dark Side for Best Doc; Roger Deakins running the Best Cinematography category for The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford and No Country for Old Men; and Casey Affleck for Best Supporting Actor for his classic performance in TAOJJBTCRF.
Update: As for David Fincher and Zodiac, yes they were snubbed. This was an oversight of the Academy’s oversight on my part. However, I never thought Zodiac would get a Best Pic nom simply because TWBB and NCFOM are such heavy films that similarly plow the mysterious, ancient evils and neurosis that pervades mankind. That said, it deserved to be there on sheer merit, especially more so than Michael Clayton and Atonement. Fincher not receiving a Best Director nod is more inexcusable, as Zodiac had a lot of blood and tears put into it, and will come to be seen as a new classic by the mainstream with time.
2007 was one of my favorite years for film ever and it’s great to see last year’s variety and stand-outs properly recognized. No whiffs of politics this year, in my opinion. What about yours?
January 22nd, 2008 at 3:14 pm
Juno is the “see, we in the stuffy old Academy are still hip and relevant,” choice and there will be one every year from here on out. Atonement is the movie Clarence decries in True Romance. Michael Clayton, so they can watch George walk across the stage. And then the two real contenders.
And if Diablo wins I want my fuckin’ Oscar because I got two scripts right here that are better than hers.
What? What?! You want some of this?!
Tee hee.
January 22nd, 2008 at 3:19 pm
i’m excited to see the success of paul thomas anderson this year…well done. I just saw “the savages” today and it’s a well deserved nom…blew my mind. i’m a little upset that kelley masterson didn’t get recognition for “before the devil…” also a little upset about paul dano being nowhere to be found. alas, pretty excited about everything.
January 22nd, 2008 at 3:20 pm
Here’s some more. I thought Sweeney was kind of weak. Tim hasn’t really impressed me since Ed Wood.
Zodaic. That’s all I’m sayin’.
January 22nd, 2008 at 4:14 pm
It is so painful seeing some.. thing.. like Norbit in the Oscar noms.
I hope Persepolis beat the crap out of the Rat (sighs.. yeah right)
January 22nd, 2008 at 4:15 pm
Norbit - 1
Zodiac - 0
This has to be a joke.
January 22nd, 2008 at 4:23 pm
God dammit!
January 22nd, 2008 at 4:27 pm
Juno was waaay too overhyped for me - but i think i’ll enjoy it on DVD. A great movie, but def. not a best screenplay winner. That said, I don’t know first-hand what it really takes to write a full screenplay and get it made, which is why I’m not the one calling the shots here.
January 22nd, 2008 at 4:29 pm
Where’s Zodiac?
January 22nd, 2008 at 4:53 pm
The Academy nominations are pretty good this year (of course they are better than the Golden Globe nominations). I’m really glad that they awarded “There Will Be Blood”, one of the best pictures of the year, with a stunning 8 nominations. I was positive surprised after the movie was so underrepresented at the Golden Globes.
With “There Will Be Blood” and “No Country for Old Men” we have two really great movies as the top runners. What do you want more?
And I also think it’s right that they left “American Gangster” out. It’s still a very good movie, but it’s not as good as last years “The Departed” and , as usual, Ridley Scott has a problem with the final cut.
But the “Best Foreign Film” category is a bit strange this year. Where is the critically acclaimed “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days”, winner at Cannes and Best Picture at the European Film Awards? Then Ang Lee’s “Lust, Caution” was not permitted because of arbitrary formalities. The Austrian movie “The Counterfeiters” is good, but not good enough (another WW2). I would have preferred the German movie “The Edge of Heaven” instead.
All in all I agree with most of their choices in the major categories and I’m looking forward to the award ceremony press conference.
@Smoltz: “Norbit” got a Oscar nomination for “Best Makeup”. That’s just one of the pretty unimportant technical categorys. And, of course, that is absolutey NO statement about the quality of the movie or the acting. They just think that somebody put enough rouge on Eddie Murphy’s face. That’s all…nothing to worry about.
January 22nd, 2008 at 5:32 pm
Films left out or have less attention:
Reign Over Me
The Simpsons (come on. We DON’T need a nother penguin film)
Across the Universe
Grindhouse
January 22nd, 2008 at 5:35 pm
i’m confused… so ‘the diving bell and the butterfly’ wasn’t nominated for best foreign film?
January 22nd, 2008 at 5:49 pm
@reezy: Yeah it wasn’t. I know that “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” is a really great movie. But I can live with that, because they traded the “Best Foreign Film” nomination for the amazing number of four other, high-profile nominations.
In the same way they traded the “Best Foreign Film” nomination from “Persepolis” for a “Best Animated Film” nomination, but “Persepolis” would have deserved both.
But I already complained about the Foreign Film category a few posts above. Last year “The Lives of Others” was an amazing choice. One of the greatest movies I have ever seen, but this year the category is really strange.
January 22nd, 2008 at 5:59 pm
the academy is insane, snub zodiac and american gangster but give michael clayton and atomenet the nods. i want to punch the academy in the face.
January 22nd, 2008 at 6:08 pm
I loved DDL in There Will Be Blood, don’t get me wrong. But can someone tell me why TWBB is better than NCFOM? I mean, the directing, cinematography and acting were all absolutely top notch in TWBB, but I felt like there was some unnecessary sequences that didn’t add to the film (but didn’t subtract, either)… like, I get that Plainview was fucking crazy about oil, two-faced, etc… but it seemed like it was too long simply for the sake of being too long. Like I said, it’s not that there were any bad scenes… just not needed.
To contrast, I felt like every scene in NCFOM was needed, and important to the plot, etc. It didn’t feel like there was anything left out, or that there was too much fat around the edges. It was perfect. And I can’t see TWBB beating it out for best picture. Best director, sure. PTA was fucking great. But I don’t think that TWBB’s overall story arc, if you will, is better than NCFOM’s.
Also, Ellen Page and Juno FTW in actress and original screenplay.
January 22nd, 2008 at 6:44 pm
Tim Burton is overrated in my opinion.
January 23rd, 2008 at 12:59 am
Looks like this time i wont turn the tv on…Lowered expectations!
January 23rd, 2008 at 3:44 am
Viggo said he won’t cross the picket line.
He rules :)
January 23rd, 2008 at 11:59 am
Ellen Page did a pretty great job in a role like that, being nineteen and all. I thought the writing was pretty solid, but I’m not exactly sure about the strength of those nominations. writing and actress are a definate…if I worked for the academy, I might even mention those two. But picture/director may seem a little obsurd. it’s this years Little Miss Sunshine. imagine if Zodiac got a best pic nom…it would be the darkest oscars in years…they had to throw one “feel-gooder” in there somewhere.
worst snubs:
before the devil
zodiac
and ROBERT:
your script > juno? anychance I can read?! :)
January 23rd, 2008 at 2:37 pm
I can’t believe Robert Downey Jr. wasn’t nominated for supporting actor in Zodiac, he was perfect!
January 30th, 2008 at 2:31 am
Snubbing Into The Wild was inexcusable across the board. Typcial Hollywood Bs politics
January 30th, 2008 at 2:33 am
To respond to an early post Blood was an epic. No Country was not. Interesting, suspensful and weird. Blood had more wow factor, Country had more weird factor.
January 30th, 2008 at 2:34 am
Juno and Reitman dont belong.