Award Season 2007!
 

Yes, it begins! Let's see what get's the big nomiations and find out what's BS or not!

First up: The Spirit Awards
http://www.filmindependent.org/spiritawards/

My God, I'm ashamed. I have not seen any of the listed films!

You left off the producer's award! (Tom's friend Anne is a recipient!)

Don't feel too bad, you probably haven't had much of an opportunity on a lot of them.

From Best Picture, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly opens limited this weekend and has only been seen at festivals. I'm Not There only opened last weekend on 130 screens. Juno hasn't opened yet (next month if you're lucky). Paranoid Park isn't even scheduled for a limited U.S. run until next spring and until then will just bounce around the festivals. So of the five, only A Mighty Heart has had any real opportunity to be seen yet.

Actually a nominee at this point, but hopefully a recipient soon.

http://annieawards.org/foryourconsideration.html

The nominations also include tv, but I'll just post the movies.

Ratatouille all the way, baby.
:)

Okay! I've seen Ratatouie!

It MUST win!

I dunno, I need to see Persepolis before I judge.

Brad Garrett should have been nominated for voice in Ratatouille.

I am interested in seeing "How to Hook Up Your Home Theater" based on the name alone.

According to IMDB, its release date is December 17.

It's a Goofy short. I'm looking forward to it, too.

Peter O'Toole should WIN, as well as be nominated - he stole the movie.

I think it's paired with "National Treasure: Book of Secrets"



I read an interesting interview here.

Somebody nominated me for Employee of the Year... Does that count for anything?

Was the somebody you? :D

Someone I know saw the Goofy short ... and loved it.

Any word if there is going to be another animated shorts screening? That was fun.

Surely, as I've gone three years in a row - though it'll be around the same time next year (in March, right before the Oscars.)

So a nice birthday gift for us Pisces?

Gracias lady! I couldn't remember when it was. Looking forward to it!

First award um... awarded...
http://www.nbrmp.org/awards/

Best Film -NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN


Top Ten Films(In alphabetical order) THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD, ATONEMENT, THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM, THE BUCKET LIST, INTO THE WILD, JUNO, THE KITE RUNNER, LARS AND THE REAL GIRL, MICHAEL CLAYTON, SWEENEY TODD


Best Foreign Film -THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY


Top Five Foreign Films - (In alphabetical order) 4 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS AND 2 DAYS, THE BAND'S VISIT, THE COUNTERFEITERS, LA VIE EN ROSE, LUST, CAUTION


Best Documentary - BODY OF WAR


Top Five Documentaries - (In alphabetical order) DARFUR NOW, IN THE SHADOW OF THE MOON, NANKING, TAXI TO THE DARKSIDE, TOOTS


Top Independent Films - (In alphabetical order) AWAY FROM HER, GREAT WORLD OF SOUND, HONEYDRIPPER, IN THE VALLEY OF ELAH, A MIGHTY HEART, THE NAMESAKE, ONCE, THE SAVAGES, STARTING OUT IN THE EVENING, WAITRESS


Best Actor
GEORGE CLOONEY, Michael Clayton


Best Actress
JULIE CHRISTIE, Away From Her


Best Supporting Actor
CASEY AFFLECK, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford


Best Supporting Actress
AMY RYAN, Gone Baby Gone


Best Ensemble Cast
NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN


Breakthrough Performance by an Actor
EMILE HIRSCH, Into The Wild


Breakthrough Performance by an Actress
ELLEN PAGE, Juno


Best Director
TIM BURTON, Sweeney Todd


Best Directorial Debut
BEN AFFLECK, Gone Baby Gone


Best Adapted Screenplay
JOEL COEN and ETHAN COEN, No Country For Old Men


Best Original Screenplay
DIABLO CODY, Juno and NANCY OLIVER, Lars and the Real Girl


Best Animated Feature
RATATOUILLE

Isn't Julian Schnabel from New York? Why is this a foreign film?

It's foreign produced, so that's prob. why. I would think, at least.

It's an American director but otherwise definitely a French film. French financing of an adaptation of a French book about a French person. In French, with a mostly French cast (at least one Swede and one African).

Were there any French Fries?

Probably not, but maybe. A fair portion of the movie involves a man who has had a stroke, is completely immobilized and can now communicate only by blinking the one eyelid that remains under this control.

Hows that for sounding like a French movie? (I assume there are flashbacks and stuff and it isn't just watching him blink at his interpreter).

Everything I have heard about this film so far is wonderful! i just didn't realize it was French.

Another award that I've never heard of The Critic's CHoice Award where everyone can vote.

I won't bother posting the nominees but here is the link if you wanna vote!

http://www.vh1.com/shows/events/crit..._awards/_2008/

More Critics choice:

I hope we do the Oscar Shorts thing again this year.

The LA Film Critics have awarded:

http://movies.yahoo.com/mv/news/iw/2...726046800.html

Well, I always go, so everyone is welcome to come with me!

On a side note, I feel proud to be connected to five of the critic's choice nominated films!

New York Film Critics have chosen:

Golden Globes noms are out. I left off the TV (because this is primarily a movie-awards thread.)

My heart is in the "Original Song" race this year - I've been drawn to it since Pop! went my heart (after watching Music and Lyrics.) Then there was the lovely and terrific Once, with so many wonderful songs that I thought it would fill the category. Then along came Enchanted, with a couple solid possibilities, and the Walk Hard songs I've heard so far have been terrific. (see the walkhardmovie.com EPK clip section for some samples.) (Side note, go Apatow productions! Only two noms, sadly - both for Walk Hard - but noms are noms!)

I was a bit worried when I saw the front-runners for the films were, in my opinion, not the songs that were used best, but which were the most typical. "Walk Hard" from Walk Hard, not "Let's Duet." "That's How You Know" from Enchanted, not "Happy Working Song." "Falling Slowly" from Once, not "When Your Mind's Made Up." In the context of the films, I really thought those songs were more clever, or had more emotional impact.

But, gah! Not a single nominee I wanted. The wrong songs from Enchanted and Walk Hard, and zippo, zero, zilch for Once. Ugh!

But I have a little more faith in the Academy's music taste. Of late, anyway. Some of their more recent choices have been bolder and more interesting. I cite the "Hard Out Here For a Pimp" win - instead of nominating the titular song ("Hustle and Flow") they chose the one that was had the most impact. And it won! So maybe there's still a good chance for the underdog songs. And if AMPAS knows what's good for them, they'll nominate a song from Once. (And if I hope really hard - or, rather, if I rally - maybe even for the right song.)

Alas, though, I think there isn't a snowball's chance in hell for "Pop! Goes My Heart" - which was a terrific parody of 80s pop.

Any best song category that does not at least include a nomination for Once is a fraud so far as I'm concerned.

I've heard though, that there is some controversy over whether the songs are Oscar eligible since they were released on a CD before the movie was released (the songs were written and performed for the movie but they didn't know if they'd get distribution so released the album). Was that resolved?

And if you're going to have a Comedy category I think you're pretty much obligated to include Knocked Up or Superbad (preferably the latter) in it. Lars and the Real Girl, while wryly amusing at times, is neither a musical nor a comedy. I haven't seen it yet but I'm guessing that I'd say the same about Charlie Wilson's War. The Golden Globes apparently define a "comedy" as "a dramatic film where you smile at least once."

And what is up with nominating Cate Blanchett for Elizabeth: The Golden Age, an all around disaster except for set design and costuming instead of I'm Not There?

On the assumption that list is copy & paste from some official source it is kind of embarrassing that they dropped half of Daniel Day-Lewis's last name.

They did resolve the issue - because a song can be nominated if written specifically for the movie but released after it is made bu before it is released (as was the case.) It's on the AMPAS shortlist.

I agree it's a snub for Knocked Up or Superbad. I guess the HFP has a lame sense of humor (and preferred the musicals; they make up three of the five in the category.)

Blanchett was nominated for both films.

I cut and pasted from Awards Daily, so it's possible that the Day-Lewis error was Awards Daily's fault

I haven't even seen Once, and I'm shocked at the total omission of nominated songs. And yeah, the wrong song was picked for Enchanted. Best Musical Number, sure ... but Happy Working Song was the best song of the small bunch in that film. (Heheh, they distributed a free soundtrack CD in every copy of Daily Variety yesterday, so that was a minor score ... 'cause I love Happy Working Song.)


As usual, the nominated films are drastically weighted towards releases in the last month. While that's usually when the studios deign to release their serious, "Oscar-worthy" films ... surely there were some contenders released in the other 11 months.


Of course, I can't think of any offhand. Can anyone come up with any snubs of great films or performances that had the misfortune to be in theaters January through October??

Interesting. There were, I think, 3 songs written for the film "Hairspray" and not one of them were nominated. Yikes.

Yeah, the song category noms just plain suck (though maybe that's because I haven't seen/heard any but one of 'em).

If they expanded the Best Picture category from 5 noms to 7 because there were so many great films, they could do the same because there were so many great songs. How can you have a breakout hit musical like Hairspray and not nominate any of the songs written for the movie version? How can you not nominate a single song from Once? Jeebus!

Oooofph. I just realized that we've hardly seen anything this year, because I can't recognize a single film on those lists, except for Hairspray... which we haven't seen either.

Whoops, overlooked the I'm Not There nom in supporting actress.

Early worthy films
Ratatouille (but it isn't being overlooked)
Zodiak doesn't seem to be getting the respectit probably deserves (though I haven't seen it so I can't say for sure).
Gone Baby Gone deserves more respect than just for Amy Ryan.

Again - I'm amazed at how few films I've seen

I like the work Vedder did for Into the Wild. I didn't see Once though. It was not in theaters here long enough for me to catch it.

I was disappointed in Zodiak. It got great reviews, and it certainly wasn't bad. But I don't think it was by any means needlessly overlooked for nominations.

Animated films seem to the exception to the last quarter rule. Despite the explosion in quantity, there are usually only a handful of quality releases throughout an entire year that the good ones are rarely overlooked come awards time.

AFI announced their top 10

AFI AWARDS 2007

AFI MOVIES OF THE YEAR-OFFICIAL SELECTIONS
BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU'RE DEAd
THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY
INTO THE WILD
JUNO
KNOCKED UP
MICHAEL CLAYTON
NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN
RATATOUILLE
THE SAVAGES
THERE WILL BE BLOOD

What are the other four?

* KNOCKED UP
* MICHAEL CLAYTON
* NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN
* THERE WILL BE BLOOD

SAG awards announced...

Nice list of the "winners" of various Critic association.

http://www.imdb.com/features/rto/2008/critics

Seems like No Country for Old Men is pertty solid for Picture & Director(s)
Actor is all over the place with Clooney, Day-Lewis et al.
Actress seems to be split between the Juno kid and Julie Christie.

The DGA nominations

Wow, other than Ratatouille and Simpsons, I have not seen a single nominated film. That's pathetic, and I must remedy it. I wonder how many of these are available on Netflix?

Not enough in my opinion, but, there are enough of them to get you started.
Thats the same thing I'm doing currently.

Away From Her should be arriving today.

Golden Globe winners list this morning, I was happy to read of the win by Marion Cotilard for La Vie En Rose. That was a tour de force performace, of course, it did help to have Piaf doing the sound track. Nonetheless, I think she deserved a win for it.

I do want to see There Will Be Blood, looks like Daniel Day Lewis will be a solid winner this season, unless there is some incredible upset.

Yep, the winners of the Golden Globes

Damn... I see I didn't win anything again. Hollywood just doesn't like me :(

I have some movies to see.

I just finished reading Atonement so I can see the film now.

I think you'll find you did that in the wrong order.



And I haven't even read the book .... but I can't believe that film won for Best Picture. Gak.

On the other hand, I only have two movies to see (of the movie winners last night.) Into the Wild and Away From Her.

By the way, Juno did not win for screenplay - only No Country For Old Men did.

Well, the book was really wonderful! I am very glad i didn't have any insight to the story ending before I read it. I think it probably would've been a completely different read for me.

That's true. And now you'll have that insight for the movie ... which may very well make it better.


Not by any means a bad film, imo ... but the hype is really too much. And Best Picture??? Pulease! ;)

BAFTA nominees
 

More about BAFTA here

FILM
AMERICAN GANGSTER – Brian Grazer/Ridley Scott
ATONEMENT – Tim Bevan/Eric Fellner/Paul Webster
THE LIVES OF OTHERS – Quirin Berg/Max Wiedemann
NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN – Scott Rudin/Joel Coen/Ethan Coen
THERE WILL BE BLOOD – JoAnne Sellar/Paul Thomas Anderson/Daniel Lupi


BEST BRITISH FILM
ATONEMENT – Tim Bevan/Eric Fellner/Paul Webster/Joe Wright/Christopher Hampton
THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM – Frank Marshall/Patrick Crowley/Paul L Sandberg/Paul Greengrass/Tony Gilroy/Scott Z Burns/George Nolfi
CONTROL – Orian Williams/ Todd Eckert/Anton Corbijn/Matt Greenhalgh
EASTERN PROMISES – Paul Webster/Robert Lantos/David Cronenberg/Steve Knight
THIS IS ENGLAND – Mark Herbert/Shane Meadows

THE CARL FOREMAN AWARDfor Special Achievement by a British Director, Writer or Producer in their First Feature Film

CHRIS ATKINS (Director/Writer) – Taking Liberties
MIA BAYS (Producer) – Scott Walker: 30 Century Man
SARAH GAVRON (Director) – Brick Lane
MATT GREENHALGH (Writer) – Control
ANDREW PIDDINGTON (Director/Writer) – The Killing of John Lennon


DIRECTOR
ATONEMENT – Joe Wright
THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM – Paul Greengrass
THE LIVES OF OTHERS – Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN – Joel Coen/Ethan Coen
THERE WILL BE BLOOD – Paul Thomas Anderson

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
AMERICAN GANGSTER – Steven Zaillian
JUNO – Diablo Cody
THE LIVES OF OTHERS – Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
MICHAEL CLAYTON – Tony Gilroy
THIS IS ENGLAND – Shane Meadows

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
ATONEMENT – Christopher Hampton
THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY – Ronald Harwood
THE KITE RUNNER – David Benioff
NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN – Joel Coen/Ethan Coen
THERE WILL BE BLOOD – Paul Thomas Anderson

FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY – Kathleen Kennedy/Jon Kilik/Julian Schnabel
THE KITE RUNNER – William Horberg/Walter Parkes/Rebecca Yeldham/Marc Foster
THE LIVES OF OTHERS – Quirin Berg/Max Wiedemann/Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
LUST, CAUTION – Bill Kong/James Schamus/Ang Lee
LA VIE EN ROSE – Alain Goldman/Olivier Dahan


ANIMATED FILM
RATATOUILLE – Brad Bird
SHREK THE THIRD – Chris Miller
THE SIMPSONS MOVIE – Matt Groening/James L Brooks

LEADING ACTOR
GEORGE CLOONEY – Michael Clayton
DANIEL DAY-LEWIS – There Will Be Blood
JAMES McAVOY – Atonement
VIGGO MORTENSEN – Eastern Promises
ULRICH MÜHE – The Lives of Others

LEADING ACTRESS
CATE BLANCHETT – Elizabeth: The Golden Age
JULIE CHRISTIE – Away From Her
MARION COTILLARD – La Vie en Rose
KEIRA KNIGHTLEY – Atonement
ELLEN PAGE – Juno

SUPPORTING ACTOR
JAVIER BARDEM – No Country for Old Men
PAUL DANO – There Will Be Blood
TOMMY LEE JONES – No Country for Old Men
PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN – Charlie Wilson’s War
TOM WILKINSON – Michael Clayton


SUPPORTING ACTRESS
CATE BLANCHETT – I’m Not There
KELLY MACDONALD – No Country for Old Men
SAMANTHA MORTON – Control
SAOIRSE RONAN – Atonement
TILDA SWINTON – Michael Clayton

MUSIC
AMERICAN GANGSTER – Marc Streitenfeld
ATONEMENT – Dario Marianelli
THE KITE RUNNER – Alberto Iglesias
THERE WILL BE BLOOD – Jonny Greenwood
LA VIE EN ROSE – Christopher Gunning


CINEMATOGRAPHY
AMERICAN GANGSTER – Harris Savides
ATONEMENT – Seamus McGarvey
THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM – Oliver Wood
NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN – Roger Deakins
THERE WILL BE BLOOD – Robert Elswit


EDITING
AMERICAN GANGSTER – Pietro Scalia
ATONEMENT – Paul Tothill
THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM – Christopher Rouse
MICHAEL CLAYTON – John Gilroy
NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN – Roderick Jaynes

PRODUCTION DESIGN
ATONEMENT – Sarah Greenwood/Katie Spencer
ELIZABETH: THE GOLDEN AGE – Guy Hendrix Dyas/Richard Roberts
HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX – Stuart Craig/Stephenie McMillan
THERE WILL BE BLOOD – Jack Fisk/Jim Erickson
LA VIE EN ROSE – Olivier Raoux

COSTUME DESIGN
ATONEMENT – Jacqueline Durran
ELIZABETH: THE GOLDEN AGE – Alexandra Byrne
LUST, CAUTION – Pan Lai
SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET – Colleen Atwood
LA VIE EN ROSE – Marit Allen


SOUND
ATONEMENT – Danny Hambrook/Paul Hamblin/Catherine Hodgson
THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM – Kirk Francis/Scott Millan/Dave Parker/Karen Baker Landers/Per Hallberg
NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN – Peter Kurland/Skip Lievsay/Craig Berkey/Greg Orloff
THERE WILL BE BLOOD – Christopher Scarabosio/Matthew Wood/John Pritchett/Michael Semanick/Tom Johnson
LA VIE EN ROSE – Laurent Zeilig/Pascal Villard/Jean-Paul Hurier/Marc Doisne

SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS
THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM – Peter Chiang/Charlie Noble/Mattias Lindahl/Joss Williams
THE GOLDEN COMPASS – Michael Fink/Bill Westenhofer/Ben Morris/Trevor Woods
HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX – Tim Burke/John Richardson/Emma Norton/Chris Shaw
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD’S END – John Knoll/Charles Gibson/Hal Hickel/John Frazier
SPIDER-MAN 3 – Scott Stokdyk/Peter Nofz/Kee-Suk Ken Hahn/Spencer Cook

MAKE UP & HAIR
ATONEMENT – Ivana Primorac
ELIZABETH: THE GOLDEN AGE – Jenny Shircore
HAIRSPRAY – Nominees TBC
SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET – Ivana Primorac
LA VIE EN ROSE – Jan Archibald/Didier Lavergne

SHORT ANIMATIONTHE PEARCE SISTERS – Jo Allen/Luis Cook
HEAD OVER HEELS – Osbert Parker/Fiona Pitkin/Ian Gouldstone
THE CRUMBLEGIANT – Pearse Moore/John McCloskey

SHORT FILM
DOG ALTOGETHER – Diarmid Scrimshaw/Paddy Considine
HESITATION – Julien Berlan/Michelle Eastwood/Virginia Gilbert
THE ONE AND ONLY HERB MCGWYER PLAYS WALLIS ISLAND – Charlie Henderson/James Griffiths/Tim Key/Tom Basden
SOFT – Jane Hooks/Simon Ellis
THE STRONGER – Dan McCulloch/Lia Williams/Frank McGuinness

THE ORANGE RISING STAR AWARD
(voted for by the public) – nominees announced on Tuesday 8 January

SHIA LABEOUF
SIENNA MILLER
ELLEN PAGE
SAM RILEY
TANG WEI

It's time for the Razzies!!

Nominations:

Oscar Nominations Tomorrow! Tuesday January 22,2008!

Found a list of films released in 2008

http://www.razzies.com/forum/forum_p...717&PN=1&TPN=1

Anyone have predictions??

Hmmm.

Oscar Nom Predictions...

Best Picture:
Atonement
There Will Be Blood
No Country for Old Men
Juno
Diving Bell ??? (not sure about this one)

Best Actress:
Keira K
Julie Christie
Ellen Page
Marion Cotillard
Jodie Foster

Best Actor:
George Clooney
Daniel Day Lewis
Tommy Lee Jones
James McAvoy
Denzel

Best Sup Actress:
Cate Blanchett
Tilda Swinton
Julia Roberts
Amy Ryan
Helena Bonham Carter (not sure about that one either, could happen)

Best Sup Actor:
Javier Bardiem (is there a need to list the others?)
John Travolta
Casey Affleck
Phillip Seymour Hoffman
Tom Wilkinson

Best Director:
Ridley Scott
Cohen Bros
Jason Reitman
Joe Wright
Paul Thomas Anderson

To follow up on GC (Quick Draw McGraw you are)

Full list of Oscar Noms are here

I also like the official Oscar Poster for this year, too. For a change!:D

Yay, something meaty we can argue about.

I hate the Oscar poster. It looks like someone with just enough Photoshop skills to get in trouble was let loose on it.

Surprising love for Michael Clayton. Day-Lewis was so over the top in the final act of There Will Be Blood that I'm tempted to give my nod to Clooney in Michael Clayton but everything up to that point was phenomenal so I'll stick with Day-Lewis for now.

Bardem all the way for best Supporting (though I'd say he's really the lead).

I've only seen one of the lead actress performances.

Amy Ryan seems a lock for best supporting actress but I also liked Swinton in Michael Clayton.

Ratatouille is way better than Surf's Up but I haven't seen Persepolis which is reportedly phenomenal.

Haven't seen Diving Bell but among the other four the director nod goes handily to the Coen Brothers.

And No Country again for best picture (haven't seen Atonement yet).

No quick responses on the screenplay nods.

I dunno, I like it. I also like the 1976 poster. I keep haunting ebay for a few of the Cannes posters from a few years back, no luck at all on those and that surprises (and annoys) me. ymmv.

Yes, Bardem is one of those cheats by the studio. His IS the lead performance, but he has enough literal screen time for them to guarantee him a win in the supporting category. I hate those kind of shenanigans. (Frankly, i'd not vote for him the supporting category, because i think it's unfair to the other nominees)

Oh no. My post was me guessing what the noms were going to be.
:)

Interesting.

Casey Affleck for Jesse James and not Gone Baby Gone. Hmmm.
No Keira...
Ratatouille for Screenplay! Nice! :)
Cate twice.
Sicko nom. Interesting. Haven't seen it yet.
3 noms for Menken. No noms for the new Hairspray songs...
No makeup nod for Travolta's Edna...
Need to see Atonement...

Is no one but me concerned that Norbit was nominated? I don't care what category it was - I thought it was one of those movies that we all politely pretended didn't exist.

I think it was a top grosser one weekend. Maybe that carries some weight? Dunno.

Persepolis looks interesting. The animation kinda depresses me.
:D

A Once song was nominated, and I'm tempted to say that's all I care about.

It's not; I guess I'm rooting for Bardem and for No Country for best pic under the circumstances. Not that they would have nominated my favorite - Persepolis - but at least it was on the best animated shortlist - and by shortlist, I mean two because who really thinks Surf's Up is competition?

Into the Wild's snubs are a bummer, we just saw it and it was pretty strong. No Ryan Gosling for Lars, but at least it got a screenplay nod.

I thought Michael Clayton was a solid picture I did not find it especially Oscar-worthy. I thought Atonement had a great first act but stumbled a bit afterward. I thought I'd hate Juno for the first ten minutes, but then I was really impressed with how much I connected with the characters and ended up quite enjoying it. I was really with No Country until the last scene, but I've warmed to that, too. I was never really with Blood, and the last scene sealed it for me.

And - what is up with the Blanchett Elizabeth nod? We haven't seen it, but from the clips I've seen and the reviews I've read, she's dreadful in it.

Other than that, the only films I still need to see if I want to see all of nominees: Assassination of Jesse James, Valley of Elah, Eastern Promises, Away From Her and American Gangster. We managed to catch all of the others. Except, obviously, some documentaries, all foreign noms [I was disappointed before the noms because of the Persepolis/Orphanage shortlist snub) and the shorts, etc. Oh, and I'm NEVER seeing Norbit. Who the hell nominated it?

I guess it's time to organize the shorts program swanking - I'll hop to it.

I haven't seen Norbit (and don't intend to) but did see an extended clip highlighting the craft and difficulties of the fat suit. Ignoring the offensiveness of it all, it really was an amazing piece of work.

Of course, I'm never been clear on where "make-up" ends and "visual effects" begins. Or has the latter come to mean specifically CGI as the nominated films would tend to suggest?

Yeah, the make-up is strictly make-up. Though - why Norbit, and not Hairspray? I thought the latter had better.

I'm glad a Once song was nominated. I don't know which one that was, but I liked all the songs ... and didnt' like much else about that movie.

I am appalled that Juno is nominated for Best Picture. A nice enough movie, but hardly in that realm. Sheesh. Although I'm all there with Ellen Page's actress nom.


Well, of the major nominees, I still have some pictures to see. I've not seen American Gangster, but I've no desire to. I would like to catch Persepolis, Away From Her, The Savages, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Into the Wild, and Gone Baby Gone. I'd also like to see Elizabeth II, but hardly doubt that Blanchette's nomation is an odd choice.

Hmmm, I've seen a fair amount of the Oscar nommed films. But it's not fair that I've yet to see that many more. There's too many on ^that list ... so I'm afraid most of them will have to wait for the post-Oscar Netflix queue.


Too bad they pidgeonholed Javier Bardem into Best Supporting Actor, because Casey Affleck was a truly fantastic actor in a supporting role in a crappy film. Maybe he stands out more as the one good thing about that movie (aside from a bit of subtle stunt casting that tickled me personally).

I am appalled that Johnny Depp was nominated for Best Actor. He was a weak sauce Sweeney Todd.

It's funny. I have very little interest in the Oscars this year. Last year was exciting seeing if Scorcese was going to get an Oscar finally. This year seems kinda blah.

I think this year's crop of films was FAR better than last years.




(or is that just my typically adled memory?)

I have not seen enough of the films this year to comment. I'm always excited by the Oscars, it's almost always a fun night, one way or the other and always inspires me to see more films.

OT, I'm trying to flesh out my netflix queue with some foreign films, there are so many classic and not that I've never seen.

I agree it was a good year for movies, but again the divide between critical success and popular success seems pretty wide.

I'm guessing that Juno made it into the five best picture nods because with Ratatouille relegated to the animation ghetto, it was one of the better instersections of the two. Juno is by far the best performing (financially) of the five -- though still only the 31st best grosser for the year -- and only American Gangster (18th) and Enchanted (20th).


One of the bloggers I was reading had a break down of how the divide has grown over the last decade. It used to be that that at least one top 10 movie would make it into the best picture nominations every year (and in the 60s seven of ten top grossers were nominated) to the point where that hasn't even happened in four years running.

Last year was "The Departed" "LIttle Miss Sunshine" "Dreamgirls" etc. etc.

I think this year I've seen less films then in previous years - mostly I don't work at a theatre anymore. :) But, there hasn't been much I've gone out of my way to see. Though they may be good films, there isn't much that really appeals to me initially.

I'm rooting for No Country. Any film that makes you think long after leaving the theatre and one that doesn't give the view what they expect/ want deserves the praise and the gold.

Hadn't noticed that three songs from Enchanted were nominated. Was it really that boring a year in film music?

No. But my choices didn't make the shortlist, and others I liked didn't make the noms list. (I don't begrudge Menken, but there were others that were good if not better.)

Now is the time of year I start cramming in movies simply because they are oscar nominated and I'd like to have an intelligent position on some of the awards. So I made a list of the status of all the nominated (feature length) movies. Thought somebody else might be interested.

12 - Unknown
3:10 to Yuma - On DVD
Across the Universe - DVD - February 5
American Gangster - DVD - February 19
Atonement - In Theaters
August Rush - DVD - March 13
Away from Her - On DVD
Beaufort - Unknown
Charlie Wilson's War - In Theaters
Eastern Promises - On DVD
Elizabeth: The Golden Age - DVD - February 5
Enchanted - In Theaters
Gone Baby Gone - DVD - February 12
I'm Not There. - In Theaters
In the Valley of Elah - DVD - February 19
Into the Wild - In Theaters - DVD - March 4
Juno - In Theaters
Katyn - Unknown
La Vie en Rose - On DVD
Lars and the Real Girl - In Theaters
Michael Clayton - In Theaters - DVD - February 19
Mongol - Unknown
No Country for Old Men - In Theaters
No End in Sight - On DVD
Norbit - On DVD
Once - On DVD
Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience - On DVD
Persepolis - In Theaters
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End - On DVD
Rataouille - On DVD
Sicko - On DVD
Surf's Up - On DVD
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street - In Theaters
Taxi to the Dark Side - Unknown
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford - DVD - February 5
The Bourne Ultimatum - On DVD
The Counterfeiters - Unknown
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly - In Theaters
The Golden Compass - In Theaters
The Kite Runner - In Theaters
The Savages - In Theaters
There Will Be Blood - In Theaters
Transformers - On DVD
War Dance - Unknown

There's also that slight, some feel snub, of the Original Song Nom for There Will be Blood.
Since it never plays in the mvoei, and only over the credits, it did not actually qualify.

(I hope I got the movie right. I was reading that in EW yesterday. Tell me if I am wrong)

Apparently there is some debate raised in the last few days again as to whether the Once song actually qualifies per rules and it may be disqualified.

Better not be true (I was reading that on Sunday, maybe it has been resolved by now).

I really don't think it could be disqualified. It was written for the movie, recorded after and released before. I don't see how that's a problem. (Unless it's another issue of which I'm not aware.)

Apparently the committee that decides such things met yesterday and decided to allow "Falling Slowly" to remain in contention.

Apparently the investigation was twofold: one, was the song written for the movie. It was.

But the second issue what that it was several years between the writing of the song and the making of the movie and in the intervening years it had been performed publicly several times. Apparently someone thought that might be enough to disqualify it and raised a red flag. The decision was that these performances were inconsequential.

Fuller details here. I'm surprised that this was re-raised so late because I thought it had all been settled after a similar review before nominating ballots were sent out.

I went to the awards blog Tom follows for more info, but what I found was more entertaining.