Here is a listing of the 2008 Academy Award winners, followed by some commentary. Tell me what you think of the winners and losers in the comments below.
Best Picture
No Country for Old Men
Atonement
Juno
Michael Clayton
There Will Be Blood
Best Director
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen for No Country for Old Men
Julian Schnabel for The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Jason Reitman for Juno
Tony Gilroy for Michael Clayton
Paul Thomas Anderson for There Will Be Blood
Best Actor
Daniel Day-Lewis in There Will Be Blood
George Clooney in Michael Clayton
Johnny Depp in Sweeney Todd
Tommy Lee Jones in In the Valley of Elah
Viggo Mortensen in Eastern Promises
Best Supporting Actor
Javier Bardem in No Country for Old Men
Casey Affleck in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Hal Holbrook in Into the Wild
Philip Seymour Hoffman in Charlie Wilson’s War
Tom Wilkinson in Michael Clayton
Best Actress
Marion Cotillard in La Vie en Rose
Cate Blanchett in Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Julie Christie in Away From Her
Laura Linney in The Savages
Ellen Page in Juno
Best Supporting Actress
Tilda Swinton in Michael Clayton
Cate Blanchett in I’m Not There
Ruby Dee in American Gangster
Saoirse Ronan in Atonement
Amy Ryan in Gone, Baby, Gone
Best Original Screenplay
Diablo Cody for Juno
Nancy Oliver for Lars and the Real Girl
Tony Gilroy for Michael Clayton
Jan Pinkava, Jim Capobianco, Brad Bird for Ratatouille
Tamara Jenkins for The Savages
Best Adapted Screenplay
Joel Coen & Ethan Coen for No Country for Old Men
Christopher Hampton for Atonement
Sarah Polley for Away From Her
Ronald Harwood for The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Paul Thomas Anderson for There Will Be Blood
Best Animated Feature
Ratatouille
Persepolis
Surf’s Up
.
.
Best Documentary Feature
Taxi to the Dark Side
No End in Sight
Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience
Sicko
War/Dance
Best Art Direction
Dante Ferretii and Francesa Lo Schiavo for Sweeney Todd
Arthur Max (Art Direction); Beth A. Rubino (Set Decoration) for American Gangster
Sarah Greenwood (Art Direction); Katie Spencer (Set Decoration) for Atonement
Dennis Gassner (Art Direction); Anna Pinnock (Set Decoration) for The Golden Compass
Jack Fisk (Art Direction); Jim Erickson (Set Decoration) for There Will Be Blood
Best Cinematography
Robert Elswit for There Will Be Blood
Roger Deakins for The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Seamus McGarvey for Atonement
Roger Deakins for No Country for Old Men
Janusz Kaminski for The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Best Costume Design
Alexandra Byrne for Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Albert Wolsky for Across The Universe
Jacqueline Durran for Atonement
Marit Allen for La Vie En Rose
Colleen Atwood for Sweeney Todd
Best Film Editing
Christopher Rouse for The Bourne Ultimatum
Juliette Welfling for The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Jay Cassidy for Into the Wild
Roderick Jaynes for No Country for Old Men
Dylan Tichenor for There Will Be Blood
Best Foreign Language Film
The Counterfeiters
Beaufort
Katyn
Mongol
12
Best Makeup Oscar Nominees 2008
Didier Lavergne, Jan Archibald for La Vie en Rose
Rick Baker, Kazuhiro Tsuji for Norbit
Ve Neill and Martin Samuel Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End
. .
Best Original Song
Once for “Falling Slowly” Music and Lyrics by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova
Enchanted for “So Close” Music by Alan Menken; Lyric by Stephen Schwartz
Enchanted for “That’s How You Know” Music by Alan Menken; Lyric by Stephen Schwartz
Enchanted for “Happy Working Song” Music by Alan Menken; Lyric by Stephen Schwartz
August Rush for “Raise It Up” by Jamal Joseph, Charles Mack and Tevin Thomas
Best Original Score
Dario Marianelli for Atonement
Alberto Iglesias for The Kite Runner
James Newton Howard for Michael Clayton
Michael Giacchino for Ratatouille
Marco Beltrami for 3:10 To Yuma
Best Sound Mixing
Scott Millan, David Parker and Kirk Francis for The Bourne Ultimatum
Skip Lievsay, Craig Berkey, Greg Orloff and Peter Kurland for No Country for Old Men
Randy Thom, Michael Semanick and Doc Kane Ratatouille
Paul Massey, David Giammarco and Jim Stuebe for 3:10 To Yuma
Kevin O’Connell, Greg P. Russell and Peter J. Devlin for Transformers
Best Sound Editing
Karen Baker Landers, Per Hallberg for The Bourne Ultimatum
Skip Lievsay for No Country for Old Men
Randy Thom, Michael Silvers for Ratatouille
Matthew Wood for There Will Be Blood
Ethan Van der Ryn, Mike Hopkins for Transformers
Best Visual Effects
Michael Fink, Bill Westenhofer, Ben Morris and Trevor Wood for The Golden Compass
John Knoll, Hal Hickel, Charles Gibson and John Frazier for Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End
Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Russell Earl and John Frazier for Transformers
2008 Honorary Academy Award
Robert F. Boyle (For career in Art Direction)
Best Animated Short Film
Peter & the Wolf
I Met the Walrus
Madame Tutli-Putli
Même les Pigeons vont au Paradis (Even Pigeons Go To Heaven)
My Love (Moya Lyubov)
Best Live Action Short
Le Mozart des Pickpockets (The Mozart of Pickpockets)
At Night
Il Supplente (The Substitute)
Tanghi Argentini
The Tonto Woman
Best Documentary Short
Freeheld
La Corona (The Crown)
Salim Baba
Sari’s Mother
Good Quotes from Host host Jon Stewert:
“No Country For Old Men, Sweeney Todd, There Will Be Blood. All I can say is: thank God for teen pregnancy.”
“Even Norbit got a nomination, which is great. Too often, the Academy ignores movies that aren’t good.”
“Diablo Cody wrote Juno, such a great movie. Cody used to be an exotic dancer and now she’s an Oscar-nominated writer. I hope you’re enjoying the pay cut.”
“Film Editing, alright. Someone just took the lead in their office pool based on a guess!”
My Thoughts:
The opening which combined characters from some of the most memorable films of all time was EPIC.
Transformers got screwed for Best Visual Effects. Did any of the academy members who voted for The Golden Compass have 20/20 vision?
Of all the nominees in the best supporting actress category, Tilda Swinton was the least expected contender for Michael Clayton. But somehow Swinton beat out Cate Blanchett in I’m Not There, Saoirse Ronan in Atonement and Amy Ryan in Gone Baby Gone. How could this have happened? Amy Ryan deserved the win, even Tolda looked shocked when they read her name.
Enchanted had three of the five original song nominations, but the power of Once could not be stopped. I’m so glad that Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova took home a statue. They deserve it. And how fucking cool was it for Jon Stewert/The Academy to bring Marketa back on stage to speak after the music cut her off.
How cool is it to hear Greenwood’s There Will Be Blood theme being played as people walk to the stage?
I was so much looking forward to what Michael Moore was going to say once he got up on the Oscar stage once again. And besides, he deserved to be there, but it didn’t happen. And I’m still angry that The King of Kong wasn’t even nominated.
Diablo Cody wins best screenplay - Hell yeah. And how great was it to see the tough girl breakdown.
In true Oscar fashion, The Coen Brothers were rewarded by the Academy for their combined filmography, where Paul Thomas Anderson clearly deserved the Best Director and Best Picture awards.
The 2008 Academy Awards has come to a close. There Will Be Blood lost to No Country, The Bourne Ultimatium had three wins, Norbit and Transformers lost, and Diablo took home a gold statue.
What did you think?
Do you agree with the winners?
February 24th, 2008 at 9:50 pm
I feel bad for PTA but I’d say overall the awards were pretty spot on.
Diablo Cody though.. somewhere Billy Wilder is rolling over in his grave.
February 24th, 2008 at 9:55 pm
Diablo Cody though.. somewhere Billy Wilder is rolling over in his grave.
I couldn’t agree more.
Not only that but I was actually suprised at best editor and cinematography, I think Roger Deakins should of won for either of the films. And Dylan Tichenor should of gotten best editor.
February 24th, 2008 at 9:56 pm
Honestly, I watched both No Country and TWBB in the past week, and the Coens and their movie deserved it more.
My one WTF moment of the night goes to Marion Cotillard, because, despite a decent performance, La Vie was possibly the single worst film of 07 that I saw. (Tilda for supporting was the most unexpected, though)
February 24th, 2008 at 9:57 pm
I’m really satisfied with this year’s winners.
No Country was my favorite film, great to see it won for Picture, Director, Supporting Actor, and Adapted Screenplay.
There Will Be Blood was my second favorite, and I think that the one award it truly deserved was Daniel Day Lewis’ Best Actor award, which went to the most deserving person.
A bit disappointed that Ellen Page lost out in Best Actress, but so what, at least it got Original Screenplay, for what was truly the most well-written film of the year.
A final note, it made me happy to see Glen Hasgard and Marketa Irglova win Best Song, their acceptance speech was the most inspirational and memorable.
February 24th, 2008 at 9:57 pm
Daniel Day Lewis’s acceptance speech was poetic. I hope he wins two more.
TWWB deserved best picture, but this was clearly the Coen’s year.
February 24th, 2008 at 10:00 pm
I believe that DD-L definitely deserved the Best Actor award, however I feel the choice with NCFOM was correct. There Will Be Blood was for sure a great movie, if not a near masterpiece, however, I do not feel that the plot necessarily allowed it to win best picture.
I sat there watching Blood and it’s really the Daniel Day-Lewis show, as you’re so mesmerized by the acting that you seem to forget that there are not many ‘plot-moments’ that are unexpected or leave an impact on you.
The acting in There Will Be Blood is amazing, however the acting and thicker plot in No Country seems a bit more appealing.
February 24th, 2008 at 10:00 pm
Only snub was Ellen Page.
February 24th, 2008 at 10:01 pm
Nooooo in a basket. Scorsese + the Treasure of the Sierra Madre clip before the announcement: I thought it was meant to be.
PTA’s stare grows more intense by the day. Wow.
Scott Rudin: Did you really have to say to the Coens, “I really don’t think there’s anyone else I’d rather being standing beside up here.” Ouch!
Awesome for DDL. One of the all time great performances.
Good for Diablo Cody. I’d rather her win than lose and have to wonder how this would have played out for eternity. Very interesting for her career. (She should have brought a caveman club on stage with that outfit tho.)
Mongrel should have won Best Foreign Film. Damn.
All in all, a good awards show. Sort of low key and casual, but classy. In the end, TWBB will win out. I just have no idea in hell how PTA could ever top that flick though.
February 24th, 2008 at 10:02 pm
*TWBB
Oh yeah, I was really upset that The King of Kong wasn’t nominated. It was one of my favorite films of the year, not to mention my favorite documentary.
February 24th, 2008 at 10:02 pm
Once winning best song was, bar none, the best moment of the night for me.
The song is perfect, and I’m glad the Academy gave it the recognition it deserves.
This year was the best year in film ever (in my lifetime), and the strength of the nominees in almost every category really drives that point home.
(Of course, that’s just my humble opinion.)
February 24th, 2008 at 10:03 pm
there will be blood was robbed-in a few years hindsight will reveal the classic twbb really is im very upset
February 24th, 2008 at 10:05 pm
marion’s win was surprisingly refreshing, didn’t know that the academy could actually get it right. way to go marion.
diablo cody - predictable and undeserving. once again hype > talent, its hollywood so what can you do?
Paul Thomas Anderson got shafted, for best director and picture.
DDL - gracious and talented.
February 24th, 2008 at 10:10 pm
PTA deserved best director, not picture. Matter of opinion, though.
It’s also funny-ish that The Bourne Ultimatum won more awards than TWBB.
February 24th, 2008 at 10:11 pm
Oscar choices were bad this year
1. How did Transformers lose?
2. How did Ellen Page NOT win best actress?
3. Why did the Bourne film win three oscars? The sound was just punching for crying out loud!
4. How did TWBB NOT win best picture!?
5. Why wasn’t The Simpsons Movie nominated but Surf’s Up was?
6. Why was Norbit nominated? Of all films?
7. Plus, why didn’t Sweeney Todd get a nomination for any of its songs or Hairspray?
February 24th, 2008 at 10:11 pm
Well I wouldn’t say he got shafted. The awards are really only as good as the emphasis behind them and those giving it out.
I was almost certain that if There will be blood won for best Director, No country would win best picture, or vise versa, I didn’t expect both.
It’s anyone’s call though, cause both films were amazing and equally brilliant. Never know how they decide such things on a technical level in the long run (the academy).
But christ, Michael FX Bay is in the Academy so I’m surprised the film with the most explosions didn’t take it. :P
The strangest moment, the shot of the Coen brothers with Scorsese behind them almost apprehensive, what the hell was that?
February 24th, 2008 at 10:13 pm
I think it’s rather snarky and illegitimate to say that the Coens were rewarded for their combined filmography. I’m fine with them getting best director and picture, even if I might have preferred TWBB for picture. That said, the one thing that I think really should have been switched was Best Adapted Screenplay. The NCFOM script was fantastic, but it’s basically just the book lifted right off the page. The incredible dialogue, pacing, characters, even scene- by - scene are from the book. I really think any decent screenwriter could have done a comparable job with that very cinematic novel as the source material. And as such, I think PTA really should have gotten Best Adapted Screenplay.
Swinton was fantastic in Michael Clayton, and while it was a surprise, I certainly felt like Ruby Dee and the girl from Atonement were definitely the bottom two choices…. and I began to have second thoughts on Blanchett’s status as the frontrunner. Ryan was also very very good. But Michael Clayton had to get an award and I felt like this was a way for it to get something and for Juno to get something, because the only other award I saw Clayton having a shot at was a different option for Original Screenplay, which was really Juno’s only chance.
February 24th, 2008 at 10:14 pm
thoughts:
didn’t love Once at all but that song is incredible, and that scene is incredibly moving. well done on jon stewart’s part letting her talk.
marion cotillard is a great winner and so is the obvious javier bardem.
i’ll repeat the sentiments of many above me: paul thomas anderson was absolutely shafted. imagine: technically, the bourne ultimatum has more oscars than there will be blood. ultimatum was a great movie for what it was - and deserved the awards it received - but PTA totally deserved both awards.
maybe the academy members didn’t bother to see it?
and it’s about time he gets recognized for his entire filmography - boogie nights? magnolia? the often under-appreciated punch-drunk love?
ugh.
February 24th, 2008 at 10:15 pm
Eric: the songs in Hairspray and Sweeney Todd weren’t original. At least to the movie.
February 24th, 2008 at 10:15 pm
i’m shocked at all of the people shocked that ellen page didn’t win? really? most of you probably haven’t seen marion’s performance as edith piaf which is simply breath taking or any of the other nominated performances, all of them more deserving than ellen page.
February 24th, 2008 at 10:15 pm
how in the hell did atonement beat 3:10 to yuma in best original score, transformers wtf! that should’ve at least gotten one win….. too bad i really wanted PSH to win BSA….
February 24th, 2008 at 10:16 pm
Sweeney Todd and Hairspray clearly had better songs than, say some of the Enchanted songs or the August Rush song, but they weren’t written specifically for those movies, but for Broadway musicals that were later turned into movies. It’s kind of like why Across The Unierse didn’t have any songs nominated. Ha.
It was nice to see Once take something.
February 24th, 2008 at 10:17 pm
Diablo Cody absolutely deserved to win. It’s funny how all the Juno haters just can’t accept it. The critics loved the movie. It’s one of the biggest grossing sub-$10 million budget movies of all time. The moviegoers love the film. And now the Academy has even awarded Diablo for her incredible work. Face it, you’re not in touch with 99.9% of the other people on this planet.
February 24th, 2008 at 10:19 pm
Nah that’s ridiculous.
If they were to do that, Scorsese and Spielberg would probably win every year.
Ill agree with the Bourne ultimatum only for the editing because I’ve yet to see it (not really interested in it), I figured if it was anything like the previous ones, there was tons of footage (primarily handheld) to sort through, so that alone should be worth something I suppose. Just hard to believe it would beat Dylan Tichenor’s work on There will be blood, I mean that film was flawless editing wise.
February 24th, 2008 at 10:19 pm
What is the deal with Transformers??!?!?! I thought
that was a definite winner! I mean the special effects
were far greater than those in The Golden Compass.
I at least thought they would make up for it by giving
Transformers some sort of sound, but instead it went
to The Bourne Ulitimatum? WTF is that? I’m not saying
it was bad or anything but I mean give Transformers
some credit. Michael Bay will just have to up it for
Transformers 2, and maybe someone will open their
eyes and see how awsome the FX were!
February 24th, 2008 at 10:20 pm
I wanted Ellen Page to win, but knew she didn’t deserve it next to some of the other nominees. She definitely deserved to be nominated though. I am also kind of glad that Jason Reitman didn’t win, because if he had, it could have directed hatred from all the No Country/Blood fans, and that could have potentially tainted the rest of his promising career.
February 24th, 2008 at 10:21 pm
Crispy;
A better editor than myself once told me, Hollywood execs are like flies, they swarm around honey and shit with the same amount of enthusiasm.
Knowing a movie doesn’t deserve a nod doesn’t automatically make you hater, especially just because you might not adore it as much as the die hard fans, that’s biased. This goes for directors too.
February 24th, 2008 at 10:23 pm
Since when the definition of a documentary change? A documentary is supposed to be a film that does not reveal the filmmakers personal bias.
February 24th, 2008 at 10:25 pm
Eric is completely right about his 7 Oscar snubs. I’m so glad that they let Markéta Irglová from Once come back on to give her thanks. Jon Stewart blew, except for a few exceptional jokes.
Okay, now I don’t know if I’m the only one that feels this way, but the whole Bourne series sucked. Honestly, I thought the storyline was completely weak, overdone, an unoriginal. For the first movie the storyline was just an excuse to have Matt Damon kick ass. The only redeeming factor in any of the series were the scenery shots from all parts of Europe. It did not deserve any awards.
There Will Be Blood got royally shafted this year. PTA was completely due for best director. It wasn’t even nominated for best original score, and Jonny Greenwood did an amazing job. I would have felt better if they had just completely ignored the movie. Giving it the nod for best actor and cinematography but nothing else makes me feel terrible.
February 24th, 2008 at 10:27 pm
I’m not shocked Ellen Page didn’t win, though I felt she was the best in the bunch (not having seen Linney in The Savages, though). However, I was expecting and would have been OK with Christie winning. Marion gave an decently good performance, that would have been nothing without makeup, in what was one of the most painfully bad films I’ve had the misfortune to watch. I watched it based on the avalanche of advertising about how great her performance was, and an hour and a half in, was all but yelling at the screen “SING THE DAMNED SONG AND FUCKING DIE ALREADY!”
Also, what was with the cut-off date for the Memorium that effectively kept Roy Scheider out of the montage????
February 24th, 2008 at 10:31 pm
whatever, tina fey pretty much summed up ellen page’s performance in that awful snl skit a couple of posts down, i guess now she should be nominated for an emmy.
February 24th, 2008 at 10:32 pm
Ellen Page delivered a flawless performance in a movie in which she had to carry every scene (something she had done previously in a very different role in the movie Hard Candy). In a film that topped the box office of any nominated film for best movie. Did she deserve the Oscar YES but is that Academy going to give that big of an award to an indie film that people enjoyed watching… NO.
February 24th, 2008 at 10:50 pm
it was alot of fun, with some great oscar moments. only a few disapointments for me:
- we can all agree that transformers got shafted. they made it look like ROBOT HUMANOID VEHICLES WERE REAL!!! how does that not win?
- lars and the real girl is a far superior ORIGINAL screenplay that juno. it is the ORIGINAL category, right? plus it made you cry over a blow up doll…
- supproting actress shoulda been Blanchett. Swinton is in the movie for about 7 minutes, and does nothing that stretches the imagination.
- PTA shoulda got director. nuff said.
February 24th, 2008 at 10:52 pm
I kinda felt like Michael Clayton was the Bourne movies without action sequences. Intense office talks, confrontations, surveillance, technological wizardry, double crosses, smug villains being surprised by the hero delivering just the right line, etc. And I really liked Michael Clayton a lot. I liked Swinton’s award and would have been okay with a few other wins (namely original screenplay or maybe even Wilkinson, though I’m fine with Bardem winning).
I think that people who are raging against Page are confusing Page’s performance with Cody’s screenplay. The screenplay had a lot of flaws, but Page really was pretty special and may not have deserved the Award, like Peter, I think she definitely deserved to be nominated. She really fleshed something human out of her character.
February 24th, 2008 at 11:00 pm
@Orange Cinema…
While I would have supported TWBB and PTA to get Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay, I think Best Director really was spot on with the Coens. NCFOM is really an expertly crafted and directed movie.
I have to disagree about Swinton. I felt like she was a really chilling villain, perhaps even more disconcerting than Bardem’s. Yes, it wasn’t a loud role, but the scenes of her practicing her interview and board announcement alone in her hotel room really made you see what a horrible person she was, so calculating and willing to look at profits and ambition over other people’s lives, while trying to keep up appearances of legitimacy. I thought her performance was really powerful, small as it might be. Just the first shot of her in the bathroom stall with perspiration, waiting to hear back from the goons (though we don’t fully learn the context of her turmoil til the second time it is shown), just like we don’t fully understand what she is doing when she first realizes the extent of the memo and calls the number and gives the code. We get a sense of someone wavering and having to deal with really unpleasant stuff, but also being thoughtful and deliberate and so disgustingly superficial. Just look at how she mugs for the interview early on in the film.
February 24th, 2008 at 11:01 pm
Roy wasn’t added because he passed away in Feb. I think and it said right before it started that it went from feb. 2007 to end of jan, 2008.
Thanks for the support guys
February 24th, 2008 at 11:12 pm
Juno didn’t get as much Oscar love cause it wasn’t a true masterpiece. Even most original Screenplay seems silly 2 me. Just my honest opinion. Great independent film but in no way deserving of Best actress or Best picture praise.
GO AHEAD AND START THE FLAME WARS NOW!!! ROFL
February 24th, 2008 at 11:23 pm
@ Megan Murray; Johnny Greenwood’s score for TWBB got disqualified because some of it was existing material. Would have won hands down.
Loved the Once performances, win, and speech[es]. Those guys stole the show for me.
Also thought that PTA should have won the directorial award, but I totally agree with NCFOM as best picture.
February 24th, 2008 at 11:50 pm
Transformers got robbed of it’s VFX oscar pretty much (not to mention he sound design)…
but I guess Golden Compass won it because of the split of the votes on Transformers and Pirates 3.
Oh, and please don’t even mention why Surf’s Up was nominated for best animation. Aside, from the penguin factor, it was a really fresh take on animation.
February 24th, 2008 at 11:56 pm
Thank God writes: “Juno didn’t get as much Oscar love cause it wasn’t a true masterpiece.”
“How Green Was My Valley” won Best Picture and Best Director in 1942. Have you seen this film on any top 100 movie lists? Nope.
Yet Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane usually places on the top of most lists, and LOST to How Green Was My Valley… But I guess How Green Is My Valley was the “True Masterpiece” according to your logic…
February 25th, 2008 at 12:07 am
I am pretty much in complete agreement with your comments, Peter. PT Anderson should have won Best Director, Amy Ryan for best Supporting Actress. There Will Be Blood was the best movie of the year. But on the whole, I can’t complain about the results. For the second straight year, the Academy didn’t make any egregious errors, though I fail to understand the Bourne Infatuation. Granted, I haven’t seen that one.
I did a running diary thing which has further thoughts. Check it out if you’re not over-Oscared:
http://fightingtheyouth.blogspot.com/2008/02/first-blush-80th-academy-awards.html
February 25th, 2008 at 12:40 am
TWBB snubbed.
February 25th, 2008 at 12:54 am
For me The Awards for Best Actor is for George Colony I watch his movie the Michael Clayton its very nice…Nice to have this kind of actor to play with in other movie>…….
February 25th, 2008 at 12:58 am
Are you insane? George Colony or George Clooney in no way deserved to win.
Diablo Cody FTW!
February 25th, 2008 at 1:16 am
can i just add that tilda is a satisfactory winner, her performance in michael clayton was rather good. she is a fantastic actress and should have been rewarded a long time ago. this is not at all like marissa tomei’s “wtf” supporting actress win for my cousin vinny.
February 25th, 2008 at 1:20 am
@ anonymous
you bring up great points. i think for me (and maybe alot of people) i get stumped with what i want to win, and what should win. i’ll totally give you that swinton was good as a person who is in way over her head, i just cant agree that she was stronger than blanchet’s bob d. also, no way was she more troubling than bardem, he was a shark, who created the tide the rest have to deal with - imo. i guess when i think of a supporting role, its someone who steals scenes and someone we are excited to see when the main players are gone. while swinton was able to do this for some, for me she just felt like a good plot mover, but nothing spectacular. also, i’m not mad that the coen’s won, they deserved it for making a classic. i just felt that PTA really carved out something special, hand-in-hand with lewis.
February 25th, 2008 at 2:37 am
Meh, it’s the Oscars, it means nothing.
Celebrities being rewarded for earning millions of dollars, great. Good for them
Now can you guys please turn off that motherfucking Army advertisment?
February 25th, 2008 at 5:46 am
I could not agree more with your assessments!!! Everything out of your mouth I totally agree with. PT Anderson deserved to win so much, but instead the Coen’s did, and they barely seemed to care that they won. It was awesome they brought the girl from Once back. That was a very classy move on their part. I would have loved to see Saoirse Ronan win, but oh well.
February 25th, 2008 at 6:12 am
Cohens or PTA, does it make a difference? They all 3 deserved it…
I’m happy with the results, a little sad for TLJones…
February 25th, 2008 at 6:17 am
I forgot about Juno! Yes, they deserved more than one Oscar, but please Mr. Sciretta, it is more than obvious that you are in love with Ellen Page and not with the film itself.
February 25th, 2008 at 7:32 am
I felt Transformers deserved to win Best Visual Effects, many parts looked incredibly realistic.
February 25th, 2008 at 8:06 am
@ anonymous and other people who feel the coen brothers were not being rewarded for their filmography.
just a few examples of the mis-placed Best director awards:
For 2006 Scorcese won for The Departed when The Aviator (2004) was a superior film.
For 2004 Clint Eastwood beat The Aviator with Million Dollar Baby when Mystic River (2003) was more deserving for Mr. Eastwood.
For 2003 Peter Jackson best Mystic River with Return of The King, obviously an award honoring the trilogy, not just the film.
February 25th, 2008 at 8:08 am
as to how I feel personally, TWBB deserved best adapted screenplay and best picture, the Coen’s deserved best director.
February 25th, 2008 at 8:13 am
TWBB lost its way about 2/3 through the movie….. it did not deserve to win compared to no country. DD-L was the best thing about TWBB. everyone else was just passable filler. ZODIAC was a much better film than TWBB and it was not even nominated…
February 25th, 2008 at 8:21 am
Kyle you just said that the Coen brothers were being rewarded for their filmography and then you said they deserved Best Director.
I’m not arguing that past efforts haven’t helped win certain Oscars. Russell Crowe winning for Gladiator a year after he lost The Insider comes to mind. But I think all of your examples are bogus.
Sure, you could argue that Scorsese won in 2006, but The Aviator was no way near his best work, not even close. Maybe you could say that they were finally paying Scorsese back for snubbing his work on Goodfellas in 1990 for Kevin Costner, but I think that The Departed was as well directed as any of the other nominees. Paul Greengrass for United 93 or Frears for The Queen?? C’mon.
The 2004 Director nominations were much weaker than the 2003 nods. Just look at the pool. Maybe you could argue that Mystic River was a better directing job than Million Dollar Baby, sure. But 2003 was a much harder year across the board, making it easier for Eastwood to win in 2004.
Jackson did a fantastic job with the trilogy and maybe you could argue that they were all sort of the same quality but the third really drew it all together. What are they going to do, give him three straight Oscars?
February 25th, 2008 at 8:52 am
Could the Coen brothers have spent one minute writing some kind of acceptance speech? I mean there is two of them! They came off as complete idiots. I was really disappointed in their whole mute routine. Same with Ms. Cotillard who I believe won the BAFTA. Write a gd speech idiots! That’s what makes the Oscars so tedious. Give me the day of Sacheen Littlefeather - now she could write a speech or at least read a speech.
February 25th, 2008 at 9:38 am
@ Brian, Megan Murray —
Here’s a good take on Jonny Greenwood’s score and some explanation as to why he was “disqualified” (BS) from a nomination:
http://meetinthelobby.com/there-will-be-blood-the-brilliant-score-of-jonny-greenwood.html
February 25th, 2008 at 9:38 am
When it comes to Best Pictures being masterpieces, no, they never have been; when a good movie wins, it’s almost by luck. Don’t forget, Academy was originally formed as a union busting enterprise, with the awards being created as a kind of sop to the artists (seriously–the producers thought they could win over the guild-forming writers and directors by handing out pretty statues and holding a party). When the studio system was in full-force, the studios more or less told all their contract artists who to vote for. So that’s why even in the “Golden Age of Hollywood” days, you’ll see some really inexplicable winners. And now awards are more often than not won on the power of ad campaigns, voters’ personal relationships with nominees (”I worked with him! He was great!”), and of course, just the way the numbers break down. So oftentimes the winners come with an imaginary asterisk, as in this is who won, but we all know who the winner really is.
That said, while you can quibble over whether NCfOM was better than TWBB or Juno, I just think we’re lucky to have, for the first time in a while, a year in which there were enough good movies for people to argue about! (and for the record, my biggest disappointment was Ratatouille not winning Best Original Score.)
February 25th, 2008 at 4:12 pm
I was for the most part (and really for the first time, I think) really satisfied with the wins this year. As far as TWBB vs. NCFOM, I thought NCFOM deserved best picture (even though, I’ll admit it, I was a little melancholy when it won, perhaps because I’m still torn). For me, TWBB was, as far as the formal elements of film go, one of the most spectacular things I’ve ever seen. One of the best. But the bottom line was that I just didn’t care about the story that much, and I think that is a fundamental flaw in filmmaking. I do want to see it again, and maybe it will be different next time, but I’m pretty quick to engage emotionally with a film, so I don’t know. For that reason, I think NCFOM was the right choice. And because TWBB was so masterful formally, I think I would have gone with Paul Thomas Anderson as Best Director.
Also–I kind of get tired of really obvious things winning in categories. I don’t usually pay a lot of attention to Art Direction unless you’re supposed to (a la Sweeney Todd), but I have to admit that I noticed it and marveled at it in There Will Be Blood. So that win would have been nice to see vs. Sweeney Todd winning.
Really, there were only 2 things I was dead set on as winners–like seriously, heads would have rolled, there would have been blood, etc if they hadn’t won–and they both did win. They were Daniel Day-Lewis for Best Actor and Glen Hansard/Marketa Irglova for best song. I heard the music for Once and thought it was good. Then I saw the movie and thought the movie was good. Then I let it sink in and listened to the music again. It is really fantastic, and it works so well in the movie. If anyone else had won, I would have been really sad. The two of them are just so great. And huge kudos to Jon Stewart for bringing Marketa Irglova back out on stage. I get so mad when they cut the winners off. Come on now, it’s their moment in the sun!!
February 25th, 2008 at 8:54 pm
I think that Phillipe Seymore-Hoffman should have won best supporting actor for his role in Charlie Wilsons War.
He turned an amazing performance in that film
February 25th, 2008 at 10:32 pm
I think No Country for Old Men was the best film and won in its own right….. There Will be Blood could have clearly one with just as much credibility.
But to say No Country won only as a result of their collective work, is a gross downplaying of the movies chops. I agree maybe with your take on the director scenario, clearly this was a bigger leap for Paul Thomas Anderson, and no doubt his film was incredible, a sure winner in any year but this one. But there is something to be said for for the sheer tightness of No Country. There Will be Blood was sweeping, but at times, i felt myself bored, even lost. No Country was a one two punch, in a year that needed a one two punch.
Also, how can you even imagine a world in which Paul Thomas Anderson does not eventually get his career acheivement Oscar?
Swinton should not have gotten the Best Actress award. I do not even understand that decision.
February 26th, 2008 at 12:00 pm
But at least Diablo Cody looked great as Pebbles.
February 26th, 2008 at 12:23 pm
Ha. Nice work, Andy. Though it’s fundamentally flawed, because, of course, she didn’t look great. I’m really beginning to wonder about the whole “used to be a stripper” thing that’s brought up every time she comes up. I mean, how on earth did she make any money as a stripper?! I know it was Minnesota, but still. It’s not really believable.
Sidenote: Little Miss Sunshine pwn3d Juno at the Oscars with TWICE as many awards, and that includes the matching Original Screenplay award. Nicely done.