OK, guys, so here we go. This is a list of the 2007 Academy Award nominations. I'm not going to get into my feelings on the choices just yet, because I'm saving that for a column on Friday. But I will say that I'm very sad about "Gone Baby Gone." I'm crying at my desk. Tears of sadness. What do you guys think?
Complete list of 80th annual Academy Award nominations announced Tuesday:
1. Best Picture: "Atonement," "Juno," "Michael Clayton," "No Country for Old Men," "There Will Be Blood."
2. Actor: George Clooney, "Michael Clayton"; Daniel Day-Lewis, "There Will Be Blood"; Johnny Depp, "Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet Street"; Tommy Lee Jones, "In the Valley of Elah"; Viggo Mortensen, "Eastern Promises."
3. Actress: Cate Blanchett, "Elizabeth: The Golden Age"; Julie Christie, "Away From Her"; Marion Cotillard, "La Vie en Rose"; Laura Linney, "The Savages"; Ellen Page, "Juno."
4. Supporting Actor: Casey Affleck, "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford"; Javier Bardem, "No Country for Old Men"; Hal Holbrook, "Into the Wild"; Philip Seymour Hoffman, "Charlie Wilson's War"; Tom Wilkinson, "Michael Clayton."
5. Supporting Actress: Cate Blanchett, "I'm Not There"; Ruby Dee, "American Gangster"; Saoirse Ronan, "Atonement"; Amy Ryan, "Gone Baby Gone"; Tilda Swinton, "Michael Clayton."
6. Director: Julian Schnabel, "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"; Jason Reitman, "Juno"; Tony Gilroy, "Michael Clayton"; Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, "No Country for Old Men"; Paul Thomas Anderson, "There Will Be Blood."
7. Foreign Film: "Beaufort," Israel; "The Counterfeiters," Austria; "Katyn," Poland; "Mongol," Kazakhstan; "12," Russia.
8. Adapted Screenplay: Christopher Hampton, "Atonement"; Sarah Polley, "Away from Her"; Ronald Harwood, "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"; Joel Coen & Ethan Coen, "No Country for Old Men"; Paul Thomas Anderson, "There Will Be Blood."
9. Original Screenplay: Diablo Cody, "Juno"; Nancy Oliver, "Lars and the Real Girl"; Tony Gilroy, "Michael Clayton"; Brad Bird, Jan Pinkava and Jim Capobianco, "Ratatouille"; Tamara Jenkins, "The Savages."
10. Animated Feature Film: "Persepolis"; "Ratatouille"; "Surf's Up."
11. Art Direction: "American Gangster," "Atonement," "The Golden Compass," "Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet Street," "There Will Be Blood."
12. Cinematography: "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford," "Atonement," "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly," "No Country for Old Men," "There Will Be Blood."
13. Sound Mixing: "The Bourne Ultimatum," "No Country for Old Men," "Ratatouille," "3:10 to Yuma," "Transformers."
14. Sound Editing: "The Bourne Ultimatum," "No Country for Old Men," "Ratatouille," "There Will Be Blood," "Transformers."
15. Original Score: "Atonement," Dario Marianelli; "The Kite Runner," Alberto Iglesias; "Michael Clayton," James Newton Howard; "Ratatouille," Michael Giacchino; "3:10 to Yuma," Marco Beltrami.
16. Original Song: "Falling Slowly" from "Once," Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova; "Happy Working Song" from "Enchanted," Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz; "Raise It Up" from "August Rush," Nominees to be determined; "So Close" from "Enchanted," Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz; "That's How You Know" from "Enchanted," Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz.
17. Costume: "Across the Universe," "Atonement," "Elizabeth: The Golden Age," "La Vie en Rose," "Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet Street."
18. Documentary Feature: "No End in Sight," "Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience," "Sicko," "Taxi to the Dark Side," "War/Dance."
19. Documentary (short subject): "Freeheld," "La Corona (The Crown)," "Salim Baba," "Sari's Mother."
20. Film Editing: "The Bourne Ultimatum," "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly," "Into the Wild," "No Country for Old Men," "There Will Be Blood."
21. Makeup: "La Vie en Rose," "Norbit," "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End."
22. Animated Short Film: "I Met the Walrus," "Madame Tutli-Putli," "Meme Les Pigeons Vont au Paradis (Even Pigeons Go to Heaven)," "My Love (Moya Lyubov)," "Peter & the Wolf."
23. Live Action Short Film: "At Night," "Il Supplente (The Substitute)," "Le Mozart des Pickpockets (The Mozart of Pickpockets)," "Tanghi Argentini," "The Tonto Woman."
24. Visual Effects: "The Golden Compass," "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End," "Transformers."
5 comments:
[A quick word before I start about Heath Ledger...I wasn't a huge fan, but I think he was a good young actor, whose real talent was just beginning to emerge. His yet-to-be seen Joker looks truly chilling. It's a shame he's gone, and what a circus the media is turning his death into.]
On to the Oscars....
M’eh….
We weren’t too far off the mark.
First, a word about your favorite, “Gone Baby, Gone”: I thought for sure it’d pick up an adapted screenplay nod, and Ben might steal in for best director. Neither happened. But Amy Ryan did get a supporting actress nom (which, incidentally, she’s almost certain to win), and Casey Affleck (so good in this) has to settle for a supporting nom for the Jesse James film. Nailed those. And as much as I admired this movie and “Mystic River,” you may wish to cordially invite Dennis Lehane to adopt a new town to write about. I doubt he’s on the Beantown tourism board…
Anyway – that said….
Adapted Screenplay – GBG gets robbed, and the “toss up” spots go to “Away from Her” and “Diving Bell and the Butterfly” (which I haven’t seen yet). I think this one’s a toss up between the Coens and Anderson. Having read both source novels, as well as “Atonement,” the one that best captured the spirit of the book is – in my opinion – “No Country for Old Men.” I think it deserves to win, and will win.
Original Screenplay – Diablo Cody (ow..it even hurts to type that) picks up an expected nom, as to the authors of “Michael Clayton,” “Savages,” “Ratatouille,” and “Lars and the Real Girl” (Really? Huh?). Anyway, I’d give it to Gilroy for “Clayton,” but I think the Academy will want to up its hip quotient, and give it to…well, you know…THAT woman for “Juno.”
Supporting Actress – Well, Amy Ryan deservedly gets the nom and – if there’s any justice – picks up the award. Tilda Swinton, Ruby Dee, and that creepy girl from Atonement are also-rans. That just leaves Cate Blanchett for “I’m Not There.” Personally, I disliked the movie – too much of a gimmick. I would rather have sat home and listened to Dylan disks. Was I bowled over by Blanchett in this? No. But she’s already won a Golden Globe for it, so…….. Still, I think the voters will award it to Ryan. An amazing acting job.
Supporting Actor – Probably the best category in terms of talent and deservedness. I wouldn’t have a problem with any of the nominees taking home the statue. Still, I think Tom Wilkinson, Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Casey Affleck will go home empty-handed. That leaves the most deserving nominee (Javier Bardem), and the sentimental favorite (Hal Holbrook). It’s always risky to bet against sentiment – and the supporting category is usually where the Academy likes to award an upset – but I’ll go with Bardem. He was the black, creepy heart of the Coen’s opus (bowl cut or no bowl cut).
Director – As we talked about yesterday, how does the Academy split the best picture and best director nominees? Well, that’s the question for “Atonement,” I guess. All of the other best picture noms also picked up best director noms – Reitman for “Juno,” Gilroy for “Clayton,” the Coens for “No Country” and Anderson for “Blood.” The other nominee, Julian Schnabel, picked up a Globe for “Diving Bell.” This gets tough – I don’t think Reitman or Gilroy get it. The real question is – will the Academy “split” the votes between “No Country” and “Blood” allowing for an upset? It could happen. In that case, Schnabel could sneak in. Somehow, I doubt it. A close call between the Coens and Anderson…I’m guessing the Coens. But I won’t be glum if Anderson gets it.
Actress – Surprisingly, Keira Knightley was snubbed. Surprisingly, Laura Linney and Cate Blanchett make it in. Surprisingly, it won’t matter. The race – such as it is – is between Julie Christie and Marion Cotillard. Cotillard, she of drop dead gorgeous visage (think brunette Carrie Underwood, Pat), is amazing as Piaf. But Christie did as good a job, and has sentiment on her side. Surprisingly…oh, never mind…Christie wins.
Actor – The Atonement boycott continues with no James McAvoy. So, there’s the expected (Day-Lewis, Clooney and Depp) and the head scratchers (Tommy Lee Jones for something that ISN’T “Old Country” and Viggo Mortenson as [AVERT YOUR EYES!] fighting naked guy in “Eastern Promises"). I’ll admit, I did not see the film Jones is nominated for. I have seen the rest. And this contest is really between Lewis and Clooney. The Academy LOVES Clooney, but he just won a couple. So, Lewis gets it. And to celebrate, we all go bowling after the awards (hey, I crack ME up…)
Picture – I was surprised to see “Atonement” here over “Sweeny Todd.” But looking back on my latter comment last night, I thought the #5 spot might go to “Juno” or “Ratatouille” instead. And I was right. Apparently, wacky unwanted pregnancy is more PC than melodic throat slitting. Go figure. And as for you “Ratatouille” – don’t fret, little rat. You’ll be winning best animated film. Really. No lie. But back to the picture noms…I really wasn’t thrilled with “Atonement” or “Juno” (I saw “Juno” twice, and it bugged me more the second time than the first – it was just way too self consciously “indie”. I could just imagine the cast and crew sitting around between takes thinking, “I bet they’ll lap this up at Sundance!”). I thought “Clayton” was great, but there’s not enough momentum behind it to win. So, it’s down to “No Country” and “Blood” – both epics about some morally bad folks. My head says “Blood,” but my heart says “No Country.” So, I’ll flip a coin and – as Chigurr would say – “Call it...”
OK, so as much as I want to comment right now, I can't because I don't want to write the same stuff here that I write in my article Friday.
But, here's what I can't get over. Now, you know I thought Ben Affleck should have received a director's nod, but so should Joe Wright if you're going to nominate Jason Reitman. I liked "Juno," but I totally agree with you. It's way too pretensious, especially for the first 20 minutes. Here's my thing, though, I've seen a Wes Anderson movie. Apparently so has Jason Reitman. And he's getting a best director nod for what? For copying Wes Anderson, who, if I remember correctly, has never received a director nod?
Seriously, where during "Juno" did you think, "Hey, what a great decision by the director"? I mean, just the beach tracking shot during "Atonement" should have got Wright a nod.
Thoughts?
I absolutely concur, especially about Reitman. And all I can say is that it's the Academy's attempt to be hip and get some indie cred. Let's face it...there's no right or wrong, just opinions [it's just that ours happen to be righter than theirs! :)]. Though I didn't care for "Atonement" as much as you, you're right - the tracking shot alone puts it head and shoulders about anything Reitman did. Not to mention Wright's work with the period sets and costumes, and - oh yes - the actors. I would rather have seen Judd Apatow's name on here than Reitman's. That said, how can they nominate Julian Schnabel for "Diving Bell and the Butterly," then overlook the picture? If you figure out the answer to any of these, I'll buy you and Ben a Milky Way hot chocolate. In the meantime, look forward to your thoughts on Friday...
P.S. -
I also wouldn't have had a problem with "American Gangster" making the cut here for picture or director. Much as I find a lot of Denzel's work mannered and unnatural, I admired the film overall and found the direction and two lead performances to be very very good.
Simpatico, brother...simpatico.
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