Thursday, January 22, 2009

2009 Oscar Nominations

The 2009 Oscar nominations are in! Not a ton of surprises across the board, but there are a few.

Performance by an actor in a leading role

Richard Jenkins in “The Visitor”
Frank Langella in “Frost/Nixon”
Sean Penn in “Milk”
Brad Pitt in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
Mickey Rourke in “The Wrestler”

+I would have preferred Leo for Revolutionary Road instead of Brad Pitt, but this will be an interesting category to watch.

Performance by an actor in a supporting role

Josh Brolin in “Milk”
Robert Downey Jr. in “Tropic Thunder”
Philip Seymour Hoffman in “Doubt”
Heath Ledger in “The Dark Knight”
Michael Shannon in “Revolutionary Road”

+The Robert Downey Jr. Tropic Thunder nomination is proof that he would have been a clinch for The Soloist had they not bumped it to this year. I'm glad Michael Shannon was recognized for his fantastic performance. And of course it's poingnant that Heath Ledger was nominated on the anniversary of his death.

Performance by an actress in a leading role

Anne Hathaway in “Rachel Getting Married”
Angelina Jolie in “Changeling”
Melissa Leo in “Frozen River”
Meryl Streep in “Doubt”
Kate Winslet in “The Reader”

+Interesting, the Academy voters apparently overrode Winslet's positioning for Supporting for The Reader and put her in for Leading, which knocked out a Revolutionary Road nom for her. This might improve her chances for a win, though, as voters won't have to split their votes for her between two categories.

Performance by an actress in a supporting role

Amy Adams in “Doubt”
Penélope Cruz in “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”
Viola Davis in “Doubt”
Taraji P. Henson in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
Marisa Tomei in “The Wrestler”

+I would love to see Viola Davis get this.

Best animated feature film of the year

“Bolt”
“Kung Fu Panda”
“WALL-E”

+Again, the dog and the panda don't have a prayer.

Achievement in art direction

“Changeling”
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“The Dark Knight”
“The Duchess”
“Revolutionary Road”

Achievement in cinematography

“Changeling”
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“The Dark Knight”
“The Reader”
“Slumdog Millionaire”

Achievement in costume design

“Australia”
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“The Duchess”
“Milk”
“Revolutionary Road”

Achievement in directing

“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“Frost/Nixon”
“Milk”
“The Reader”
“Slumdog Millionaire”

Best documentary feature

“The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)”
“Encounters at the End of the World”
“The Garden”
“Man on Wire”
“Trouble the Water”

Best documentary short subject

“The Conscience of Nhem En”
“The Final Inch”
“Smile Pinki”
“The Witness - From the Balcony of Room 306”

Achievement in film editing

“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“The Dark Knight”
“Frost/Nixon”
“Milk”
“Slumdog Millionaire”

Best foreign language film of the year

“The Baader Meinhof Complex”
“The Class”
“Departures”
“Revanche”
“Waltz with Bashir”

Achievement in makeup

“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“The Dark Knight”
“Hellboy II: The Golden Army”

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)

“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“Defiance”
“Milk”
“Slumdog Millionaire”
“WALL-E”

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)

“Down to Earth” from “WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Music by Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman, Lyric by Peter Gabriel
“Jai Ho” from “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Music by A.R. Rahman, Lyric by Gulzar
“O Saya” from “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Music and Lyric by A.R. Rahman andMaya Arulpragasam

Best motion picture of the year

“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“Frost/Nixon”
“Milk”
“The Reader”
“Slumdog Millionaire”

+After the Golden Globes sweep, Slumdog's sitting pretty, making Frost/Nixon the real underdog.

Best animated short film

“La Maison en Petits Cubes”
“Lavatory - Lovestory”
“Oktapodi”
“Presto”
“This Way Up”

Best live action short film

“Auf der Strecke (On the Line)”
“Manon on the Asphalt”
“New Boy”
“The Pig”
“Spielzeugland (Toyland)”

Achievement in sound editing

“The Dark Knight”
“Iron Man”
“Slumdog Millionaire”
“WALL-E”
“Wanted”

Achievement in sound mixing

“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“The Dark Knight”
“Slumdog Millionaire”
“WALL-E”
“Wanted”

Achievement in visual effects

“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“The Dark Knight”
“Iron Man”

Adapted screenplay

“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“Doubt”
“Frost/Nixon”
“The Reader”
“Slumdog Millionaire”

Original screenplay

“Frozen River”
“Happy-Go-Lucky”
“In Bruges”
“Milk”
“WALL-E”

The awards ceremony will air on Sunday, February 22, 2009, which gives you just about a month to try and see all the movies you missed in the end-of-the-year cinema glut.

2 comments:

richgoldstein13 said...

I don't think I saw any of those movies. I was too busy watching The Hottie and the Nottie. I'm a little sad to see that none of the films I didn't make last year were nominated.

smd said...

Well, the Academy changes the Oscar rules all the time. Maybe eventually they'll rethink the one about a movie needing to have been actually made to be nominated!