Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Calendaaaaa!!!!

Of events!

TOMORROW:

My Top 25 Most Anticipated of the Approaching Year (b/c we all know the year doesn't really start until February, right AMPAS?)

THURSDAY & FRIDAY:

The Hollmann Awards, in two parts.

MONDAY - FRIDAY
Casting Coup Month is shortened to Casting Coup Week, with reimaginings of Becket, Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, My Fair Lady, Mary Poppins, and Chinatown.

SPORADICALLY

My own reviews/rankings of the Academy Award Nominees for Acting, Screenplay, Cinematography, Music, Director, Art Direction and Picture. You know, like in the Retros.

FRIDAY BEFORE OSCARS

My Oscar Predictions!

 I can't wait! Can you? You're gonna haveta!

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

FUCKING AHHHHH

Or, "The Academy Award Nominees of 2011"

Blue = correctly predicted
* = predicted bak in April
+ = Hollmann Award Nominee

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Berenice Bejo, The Artist
*Jessica Chastain, The Help
Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids
Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs
Octavia Spencer, The Help

SUPPORTING ACTOR
Kenneth Branagh, My Week with Marilyn
Jonah Hill, Moneyball
Nick Nolte, Warrior
*+Christopher Plummer, Beginners
Max von Sydow, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

ACTRESS
+Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs
Viola Davis, The Help
Rooney Mara, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
*+Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
+Michelle Williams, My Week with Marilyn

ACTOR
Demian Bichir, A Better Life
+George Clooney, The Descendants
Jean Dujardin, The Artist
*+Gary Oldman, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Brad Pitt, Moneyball

DIRECTOR
*Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
*Michel Hazanavicus, The Artist
+Terrence Malick, The Tree of Life
Alexander Payne, The Descendants
Martin Scorsese, Hugo

ORIGINAL
The Artist
Bridesmaids
Margin Call
*Midnight in Paris
A Separation

ADAPTED
Descendants
Hugo
*Ides of March
*Moneyball
*+Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

PICTURE
The Artist
The Descendants
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
The Help
Hugo
*Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
+The Tree of Life
+War Horse

More to be determined. Love those nods for Oldman and Von Sydow!

CINEMATOGRAPHY
The Artist
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
*The Tree of Life
War Horse

ART DIRECTION
The Artist
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
Hugo
*Midnight in Paris
War Horse

COSTUME DESIGN
*Anonymous
The Artist
*Hugo
Jane Eyre
W.E.

EDITING
*The Artist
The Descendants
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Moneyball

MAKEUP
*Albert Nobbs
*Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
*The Iron Lady

ORIGINAL SCORE
The Adventures of Tintin
The Artist
*Hugo
*Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
War Horse

ORIGINAL SONG
The Muppets - Man or Muppet
Rio - Real in Rio

SOUND EDITING
*Drive
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
*War Horse

SOUND MIXING
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Moneyball
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
*War Horse

VISUAL EFFECTS
*Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
Hugo
Real Steel
*Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Transformers: Dark of the Moon

Correction

Ladies and gentlemen, I reserve the right to change my mind...especially when I feel I have made a grievous error. When I listed X-Men: First Class as my nominee for Best Makeup, I could not help but feel....odd. Certainly, Azrael was stunning, but I always felt the Mystique makeup was bizarre and the Beast makeup, while better than what Kelsey Grammer was put through, camp. But I could not commit to any of the remaining longlisters, either, and I finally realized why:

I had accidentally deleted a contender.

You see, I have an Excel spreadsheet for every movie I see, with categories for consideration included. I try to do three categories a day, so I copy all those titles, paste it into another document, and delete them as I narrow the field. And I think I mixed up the makeup sign with the Adapted atserisk, so that the contender I saw between Albert Nobbs and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo was nixed....even though I've been rooting for its makeup nomination since I've seen the film.

So I'm changing a nominee, something I've never done before, because the nominees as they are do not reflect my 2011 experience. Instead of X-Men: First Class, the work done to age Jim Broadbent, de-age/transform Oliva Colman and make Meryl Streep into Margaret Thatcher will be honored. Here's the The Iron Lady's third Hollmann Award Nomination!

Full list of nominees.

Last Minute Oscar Predictions!!!

Everbody's doooin' the same ol' post noooow
(Come on, bloggers, let's predict the Oscars)
Come on, come on, let's predict the Oscars with meeee.....

PICTURE
The Artist
The Descendants
The Help
Hugo
The Ides of March - you say a bit of a stretch, I say...ok, probably, but shut up
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball

DIRECTOR
Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Alexander Payne, The Descendants
Nicolas Winding Refn, Drive
Martin Scorsese, Hugo

ACTOR - warning: I will definitely be wrong about at least one of the following acting noms. there's always one that comes out of nowhere, with absolutely no precursor support
George Clooney, The Descendants
Leonardo DiCaprio, J. Edgar
Jean Dujardin, The Artist
Michael Fassbender, Shame
Brad Pitt, Moneyball

ACTRESS
Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs
Viola Davis, The Help
Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
Tilda Swinton, We Need to Talk About Kevin
Michelle Williams, My Week with Marilyn

SUPPORTING ACTOR - no Albert Brooks? I may be crazy, but which precursors have left him off? the industry ones, right?
Kenneth Branagh,  My Week with Marilyn
Jonah Hill, Moneyball
Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Ides of March
Nick Nolte, Warrior
Christopher Plummer, Beginners

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Berenice Bejo, The Artist
Jessica Chastain, The Help
Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids
Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs
Octavia Spencer, The Help

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
50/50
The Artist
Bridesmaids
Midnight in Paris
Young Adult

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
The Descendants
The Help
Hugo
The Ides of March
Moneyball

SCORE
The Adventures of Tintin
The Artist
Hugo
The Ides of March
War Horse

CINEMATOGRAPHY
The Artist
Hugo
The Ides of March
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
War Horse

EDITING
The Artist
Drive
Hugo
Moneyball - making this my predicted fifth nom for Moneyball to Ides of March's...five
War Horse

ART DIRECTION
Anonymous
The Artist
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
Hugo
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

COSTUME DESIGN
Anonymous
The Artist
The Help
Hugo
Jane Eyre

MAKEUP
Anonymous
Hugo
The Iron Lady

SOUND MIXING
Hanna
Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
War Horse

SOUND EDITING
Captain America: The First Avenger
Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Super 8
War Horse

VISUAL EFFECTS
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
Hugo
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
The Tree of Life

SONG
Gnomeo & Juliet - Hello Hello
The Help - The Living Proof
Hugo - Coeur Volant - making Hugo my predicted leader with eleven nominations, followed by ten for The Artist
The Muppets - Life's a Happy Song
The Muppets - Pictures in My Head

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

All Smile(y)s

 Home from work, and ready to discuss the BAFTA nominees!

Creepy statue. It reminds me so much of:



Full list of them here, of course.

But first, let me say three things about the Golden Globes. One: I'm sorry my post was unreadable, but I've never posted using an iPod Touch before. God, it's hideous! Two: Ricky Gervais was tamer this year; ie, boring. It wasn't the most exciting show, but I guess it was all right. Eh. Three: Seven correct out of eleven. A passing grade, surely.

On to BAFTA. I watched the taped nominations just a moment ago (announced by Daniel Radcliffe and Holliday Grainger), and I have to admit that I was thrilled by a number of them! Many of the nominees are either shared by the Hollmann Awards, or just missed the mark. In order of their announcement:

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Jessica Chastain, The Help
Judi Dench, My Week with Marilyn 
Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids
Carey Mulligan, Drive 
Octavia Spencer, The Help 

Tip o' the Hat: Chastain and Mulligan were also nominated for me, though it was Shame for the latter. I'm down with the Dench nom, she was a warm presence.

But What About...?: Zoe Wanamaker, who was one of the six ladies tipped by the Longlist as the Branch Leaders (individual branches select the longlist finalists in their respective categories, from which the entire Academy votes for the nominees).  I was hoping she'd be included so that others could see I'm not crazy.

What does this mean?: McCarthy has a lot of support among her peers, doesn't she? The SAGs, the BAFTAs...it's looking more and more likely that the Academy may bite.


BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Kenneth Branagh, My Week with Marilyn 

Jim Broadbent, The Ides of March


Jonah Hill, Moneyball 

Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Ides of March 
Christopher Plummer, Beginners 

Tip o' the Hat: YES! Ides of March love! Go BAFTA! 

He values your loyalty.
 And even though he's become a fixture at this point, the more recognition Plummer receives for Beginners the better.

But What About...?: There was a slight chance that Longlister John Hurt might have made it for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, but I suppose that was always a longshot.

What does this mean?: We've known for some time now that Branagh, Hill and Plummer are safe. Albert Brooks has missed out now with SAG and BAFTA. Hoffman could sneak in, but I don't expect this Broadbent nom to go anywhere.


BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
The Descendants
The Help
The Ides of March
Moneyball
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

Tip o' the Hat: Those last three titles make me swoon. Definitely the best adapted screenplays of the year. The Help's inclusion raised my eyebrows, but not critically so.

But What About...?: Oh, BAFTA, BAFTA, BAFTA. Two of your own films left out in the cold in favor of that terribly superficial Hawaii flick? Submarine was one of the best screenplays of the year, adapted or original, witty and moving and realistic and whimsical and masterful. MASTERFUL.

What does this mean?: Descendants and Moneyball are safe. The British contingent just may get Tinker Tailor and Ides the nods they deserve.


BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
The Artist
Bridesmaids
The Guard
The Iron Lady
Midnight in Paris

Tip o' the Hat: My own longlists included all these titles, so kudos.

But What About...?: What the hell does Mike Mills have to do to get some recognition? Plummer gives a magnificent performance in Beginners, but you know who gave him that character?

What does this mean?: That Kristen Wiig's Oscar nomination for Original Screenplay is safe and secure.


BEST DIRECTOR
Tomas Alfredson, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist 
Lynne Ramsay, We Need to Talk About Kevin
Nicolas Winding Refn, Drive 
Martin Scorsese, Hugo

Tip o' the Hat: Solid list, this one. Ramsay was my sixth choice, just missing the cut. Glad someone recognized her.

But What About...?: You know, actually, this list is fine. Sure, I would nominate Woody Allen and Steven Soderbergh, but I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth. You done a good job, BAFTA.

What does this mean?: Hopefully, some momentum for Alfredson, though Refn is more likely the beneficiary. Drive is becoming a bit of a phenomenon, really, so there's a chance for it in categories outside of Supporting Actor. Like Broadbent and Mulligan, I expect Ramsay's nomination to be a BAFTA thing. Hopefully, I'll we pleasantly surprised.


BEST ACTRESS
Berenice Bejo, The Artist 
Viola Davis, The Help 
Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady 
Tilda Swinton, We Need to Talk About Kevin
Michelle Williams, My Week with Marilyn 

Tip o' the Hat: First, to my typing skills, which first had me reporting that Swinton was nominated for The Iron Lady and Williams for We Need to Talk About Kevin. I want to see those movies now! Second, to the inclusion of Bejo in Lead Actress. She was sixth on my own ballot, so she didn't make it, but my God! The woman is just DAZZLING as Peppy Miller! And she is the co-lead!

But What About...?: I still love you, Charlize Theron.

WE CAN BEAT THIS THING TOGETHER.
 What does this mean?: That the nay-sayers nay-saying Swinton's nom can nay-say no more.


BEST ACTOR
George Clooney, The Descendants 
Jean Dujardin, The Artist 
Michael Fassbender, Shame 
Brad Pitt, Moneyball 
Gary Oldman, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy 

Tip o' the Hat: Fassbender and Oldman. The right choice.

But What About...?: Gosling for Drive. Love for Mulligan, love for Refn, but no love for the Driver. Oy.

What does this mean?: Oh, God, I don't know. Conventional wisdom holds that Clooney, Dujardin and Pitt are safe for the Oscars, and God knows after that. Even if DiCaprio stays in play, there's still a fifth slot, and it would be between Fassbender and Oldman. Certainly it would be better to have both than neither, though, right?


BEST BRITISH FILM
My Week with Marilyn
Senna
Shame
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
We Need to Talk About Kevin 

Tip o' the Hat: We all knew that Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy was going to rule at the BAFTAs. Does that change my excitement for every nomination it receives? Not at all.

What does this mean?: Senna's winning their documentary prize.


BEST FILM
The Artist
The Descendants
Drive
The Help
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy 

Tip o' the Hat: DRIIIIIIIVE!!!!! TINKER TAILOOOOOOOOR!!! TOGETHER AGAIN!!!!!

I'll drink to that!
 But What About....?: Honestly, kind of thought the Brits would go more for Midnight in Paris. Also, those Director and British Film nominees gave me the slightest hope for We Need to Talk About Kevin...

What does this mean?: Everyone seems to have some love for The Descendants, with a few exceptions here and there. Hopefully, BAFTA members that overlap with AMPAS will help a film more in need of support, such as Drive or Tinker, Tailor.

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Sulking Tomorrow, Globes Tonight

Writing from a McDonald's during my lunch break, here are my quick and dirty predictions for tonight's Golden Globes. (film only, please) Picture - Drama: Hugo Picture - Comedy/musical: The Artist Director: Hazanavicius Actress - Drama: Glenn Close Actor - Drama: George Clooney Actress - Comedy: Michelle Williams Actor - Comedy: Jean Dujardin Supporting Actress: Octavia Spencer Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer Screenplay: Woody Allen Score: Hugo Song: life's a happy song

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

The 2011 Hollmann Awards Nominees!

Ladies and gentlemen, may I present the nominees for the 2011 HOLLMANN AWARDS!!!

The nominees are chosen from a field of 82 films, which were reduced to fifteen semi-finalists in each of the eighteen categories. From those fifteen, ten have been eliminated to bring about the nominees you now see here.

Traditionally, I post my nominations the day before Oscar announces theirs. Last year, I went for five days before the Academy, just because I figured I had seen everything I was going to see, and the next couple of days were not going to make a difference. This year, I know that I've seen all that I'm gonna see weeks in advance. That's fine. These awards are a representation of my personal film experience in 2011...and now that I live in a city where the 2011 releases come out in the calendar year, I don't have to wait until the end of January to judge that. I cut it off at the end of December, officially making The Iron Lady my 82nd and final film of the year (and nominated twice here...)

We've got a little over a hundred nominees this year, and I'm sure they're all anxious to hear their names called out. Let the games begin:


for BEST VISUAL EFFECTS, the nominees are:

Anonymous
 Volker Engel/Marc Weigert, visual effects supervisors
Engel and Weigert were previously nominated for 2012

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
Tim Burke, senior visual effects supervisor
Matt Jacobs/John Moffatt/Chris Shaw, visual effects supervisors

Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Joe Letteri, senior visual effects supervisor
Dan Lemmon/R. Christopher White, visual effects supervisors
Daniel Barrett, animation supervisor
Letteri previously won for Avatar

Sucker Punch 
John "DJ" DesJardin, visual effects supervisor
DesJardin was previously nominated for Watchmen

Super 8 
Russell Earl/Dennis Muren, visual effects supervisors
Paul Kavanagh, animation supervisor


for BEST SOUND, the nominees are:

Drive
Lon Bender/Victor Ray Ennis, supervising sound editors
Robert Fernandez/Dave Paterson, sound re-recording mixers

Hanna
Craig Berkey/Christopher Scarabosio, sound re-recording mixers/sound designers
Scarabosio, supervising sound editor
Craig Berkey was previously nominated for A Serious Man

Sucker Punch
Scott Hecker, supervising sound editor
Rick Hromadka, sound designer
Chris Jenkins, sound re-recording mixer
Michael McGee, production sound mixer
Frank Montano, sound re-recording mixer
Eric A. Norris, supervising sound effects designer
Michael McGee was previously nominated for TRON: Legacy

Super 8
Anna Behlmer, sound re-recording mixer
Ben Burtt, sound designer/supervising sound editor
Tom Johnson/Andy Nelson, sound re-recording mixer
Mark Ulano, production sound mixer
Matthew Wood, supervising sound editor
Anna Behlmer and Andy Nelson were previously nominated for Cloverfield and Star Trek 
Ben Burtt and Matthew Wood previously won for WALL-E
Mark Ulano was previously nominated for Iron Man and Inglourious Basterds

War Horse
Richard Hymns, supervising sound editor
Tom Johnson/Andy Nelson, sound re-recording mixer
Gary Rydstrom, sound designer/sound re-recording mixer
Stuart Wilson, production sound mixer
Nelson was previously nominated for Cloverfield and Star Trek.


for BEST MAKEUP, the nominees are:

Albert Nobbs
Matthew W. Mungle, special makeup effects designer
Lorraine Glynn Whelan, key hair stylist

Anonymous
Heike Merker/Bjorn Rehbein, makeup department heads

Drive
Medusah, hair department head
Gerald Quist, makeup department head

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
Nick Dudman, makeup effects designer
Amanda Knight, makeup designer
Dudman and Knight were previously nominated for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince 

The Iron Lady 
Mark Coulier, prosthetics designer
Marese Langan, makeup and hair designer
(formerly X-Men: First Class; for more information, see this post)

Costume, Score, Actors and more after the jump!

Monday, January 9, 2012

Put Out to Pasture (Get It?)

You all probably know this already, but I don't dare give you SAG, PGA and WGA and leave the DGA out to dry! I know that when I wrote down my predictions at work, I thought: "Clooney! Hazanavicius! Payne! Scorsese! Spielberg!" And when I got home, I got:

Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
David Fincher, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Alexander Payne, The Descendants
Martin Scorsese, Hugo

Well, 3/5 ain't bad, right? Woody Allen's inclusion just delights me. I'm constantly hesitating to predict it because I keep thinking, "It can't be true. It's too slight, too light; it makes me too happy. It can't be real!" But it's real. The film's gotten the big nominations from SAG, PGA, WGA, DGA and the Golden Globes! High-five to us all!

Also, David Fincher was nominated for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, which is starting to surprise in the last legs of the race. SAG didn't bite...but then the Globes nominated it for Actress and Score...then right in a row: WGA, PGA, and WHAM! -- BAM! -- POW! -- the Directors throw it some love! Is this a case of last-minute, for-real gonna happen, or another Nolan/The Dark Knight sitch where the Academy thinks a tad differently? All we can do now is wait...

Meanwhile, the Hollmann Award Nominees announce Wednesday. Mark your calendars.

Thursday, January 5, 2012

The Third Guild Was Just Write

Keeping up with the Guild news, today we have the screenwriters chime in with their choices. The WGA nominations are always an occasion for annoyance. As Kris Tapley pointed out more than a month ago a great number of screenplays are disqualified every year, mostly due to some paperwork issues. I think I remember reading a couple of years ago that many are disqualified are not being written by Guild members. I don't think any other guild has this issue; certainly the DGA doesn't, for non-member Tarantino was recently nominated for Inglourious Basterds. Same screenplay was ineligible for the WGA Awards, and it had been seen as the front-runner up to that time.

This year, likely Oscar nominees left off the ballot included Albert Nobbs,  The Artist, Beginners, Rango and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. Mind, I still think a few of those left in the running have good shots at the Big One, and I'll get into that right about.....now.

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
50/50 - Will Reiser
Bridesmaids - Kristen Wiig/Annie Mumolo
Midnight in Paris - Woody Allen
Win Win - Tom McCarthy, story by McCarthy/Joe Tiboni
Young Adult - Diablo Cody

Tom McCarthy seems to be beloved by his fellow guild members, doesn't he? He's three-for-three with the WGA regarding his work, but the Academy usually fails to bite. Will Reiser's 50/50 is a warm, funny, touching film, and I'm quite pleased to see it getting some attention, both here and from the Globes. In my mind, it's between these two and Beginners for that fifth slot.

But let's get to the best choices here. Midnight in Paris and Young Adult represent high points in their writers' oeuvre; certainly this is the best thing Cody's offered us. And, of course, Bridesmaids' most promising shot was always going to be Screenplay, which is much kinder to comedy than the other categories. The evidence is right there: all five of the nominees belong in the genre...or are, at the very least, "light" dramas.

Looking forward to the DGAs to see where Bridesmaids and Midnight in Paris stand. So far, they are the only two to be name-checked by every Guild.

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
The Descendants - Alexander Payne/Nat Faxon/Jim Rash
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Steven Zaillian
The Help - Tate Taylor
Hugo - John Logan
Moneyball - Steven Zaillian/Aaron Sorkin, story by Stan Chervin

No big surprises here, except maybe Dragon Tattoo, which is sitting where I would have expected Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. Seriously, what's the deal with that movie? Is it dead in the water, or is it going to The Reader us?

The Descendants, The Help and Moneyball now stand as the other three up for all the Big Guilds. Why The Descendants? Why why why? Such an unfocused, inconsistent, tone-deaf movie. The Help is flawed, certainly -- mostly because it more or less gives the Hollywood version of events instead of the complications of the book, in which Skeeter did have a reluctance to be near black men, her mom was unapologetically racist, and Celia Foote would never, ever be able to cook. But it does give more dimension, I feel, to the main villainess and gives her mother more to do. So...cool? Hugo has an all right script, and Moneyball's greatest strength is the contribution of Zaillian and Sorkin. Good stuff here.

We'll just have to wait and see what the DGA gives us Monday.

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

The Longlists: Narrowing the Field

It's long been a tradition to do a Longlist, the kind BAFTA does, with the semi-finalists in each category. Having yet to catch up with the other 2011 releases, I have decided -- not through impatience, but through honesty -- to keep the eligible films to those I saw during the year. I had ample time to see a lot of films, and not everything can be seen. Besides, these are the Hollmann Awards, which means two things. First, it means that they do not represent all of 2011 cinema, but my own cinematic year. Second, it means I can basically make up the rules as I go along.


With the notable exception of Best Picture (for I've already revealed the unranked Top Ten) and Best Original Song (for choices were few), the categories are narrowed down to fifteen contenders. Interestingly, the most difficult categories to pare down were Director and Supporting Actor. Doesn't Chris O'Dowd's contribution to Bridesmaids warrant recognition? How could I ignore the greatness of Steven Spielberg, especially since War Horse made it to my Top 25? Wasn't Wyatt McCallum fantastic in The Myth of the American Sleepover? I could always make up a new rule, but if you're not going to kill your darlings, you may as well not do your own awards. And for heaven's sake, who wants that?!?

You will also see actors who are currently being campaigned for supporting in the leading categories. This is because I feel that their roles are large enough to warrant a category change. Peppy Miller and Alice Dainard are more than just the love interests who help their guy make it through to the end. They have their own fully-developed arcs. The movie just couldn't exist without them.


Eighteen categories. It's a lot of text, but I always like the conversations these can spark. Shall we?


Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Guilding the Lily (Or a Similar Pun)

And now the Producer's Guild has weighed in, with only the WGA (Thursday) and DGA (Monday) left to announce their nominees, followed by Oscar nominations at the end of the month. And the ten are:

The Artist
Bridesmaids
The Descendants
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Help
Hugo
The Ides of March
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
War Horse

...six of which appeared on my own Best of the Year list, with two making it to the Top Ten!

I never gave up on The Ides of March. People are still saying that this PGA nomination, along with the Globes noms, is just a case of the flukes and the Clooney-worship. That at the end of the day, The Ides of March still won't make it in, and it'll be between The Artist, The Descendants, The Help, Hugo, Midnight in Paris, Moneyball, The Tree of Life and War Horse. Doesn't that all seem rather "light" for an Oscar lineup? What a relief that'd be, if we actually got mostly feel-good films in the running!

But friends, do not give up hope on the Political Clooney. I didn't bet someone an ice cream dinner that it would get more noms than Moneyball just for shits and giggles. The lack of attention in the SAG Nominations was disappointing, sure, but I still say it has a shot in Pic, Adapted Screenplay, Score, Editing, Cinematography, and maybe a surprise Supporting Actor nod for Philip Seymour Hoffman; Moneyball, meanwhile, I can see for Pic, Actor, Adapted Screenplay...maybe Editing and/or Supporting Actor for Jonah Hill. But otherwise, uh-uh. Forget about Director, forget about Score, forget about Cinematography.

Oh, and I know it didn't crack my Top 25 at all, but isn't it great to see Bridesmaids getting so much attention this year?