2012 Oscar Discussion
I planned on having a post about the Dark Knight Rises and the Avengers go up today, but with the recent announcement of the 2012 Oscar nominations, I figured I’d give my thoughts on the nominations.
I’ll precede my discussion by noting that while I haven’t seen every film on the list, I’ve seen enough reviews and discussions regarding those I haven’t seen that I feel I can give a somewhat reasonable reaction.
After a quick glance at the best picture category, it’s clear a return to a strict five picture slate is needed.
The 2009 disappointment of the Dark Knight not being nominated for anything other than technical achievements is what many believe to be the reason the Academy increased the amount of films from five. This move was a weak attempt at making up for the mistakes regarding the Dark Knight.
2012 certainly had some great films, but not enough to warrant a best picture category of nine category. Everything I’ve read and everybody I’ve spoken to says films like Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, The Help, Moneyball, and War Horse were solid movies, but not Oscar material.
So why does the Academy feel the need to include more than five films in it’s best picture category?
Simply put, the potency of the best picture competition is significantly watered down from it’s true potential.
I think I speak for many when I say the aforementioned films are automatically out of the race simply because of the competition they face. Moneyball may be a solid flick, but compared to the likes of the Tree of Life or Hugo? There’s no contest.
I’d like to see a best picture category similar to the 2012 best director category. Every director nominated is outstanding, and the fact that the competition is so stiff creates an incredibly interesting category. I have absolutely no idea who’ll win, and my prediction could easily be any of the other four nominees. The same cannot be said for the best picture category.
In the area of snubs, I was completely surprised to see Ryan Gosling omitted for both The Ideas of March and Drive, as well as Michael Fassbender for Shame and X-Men: First Class.
Bridesmaids is a selection I feel was made more as a mainstream move than one of actual sincerity. Really, best original screenplay and supporting actress? The movie was funny sure, but in a very raunchy, immature, and almost tasteless sense.
Other than those few complaints, I find the list of nominees to be fairly reasonable.
Below is the list of 2012 Oscar nominees for each category. My prediction for the winner of each category will be underlined and italicized.
Note: These are the films I think will win, not the ones that should.
Best Picture
The Artist
The Descendants
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
The Help
Moneyball
War Horse
The Tree of Life
Best Actor
Demian Bichir, “A Better Life”
George Clooney, “The Descendants”
Jean Dujardin, “The Artist”
Gary Oldman, “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”
Brad Pitt, “Moneyball”
Best 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”
Best Supporting Actor
Kenneth Branagh, “My Week With Marilyn”
Jonah Hill, “Moneyball”
Nick Nolte, “Warrior”
Christopher Plummer, “Beginners”
Max Von Sydow, “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close”
Best Supporting Actress
Berenice Bejo, “The Artist”
Jessica Chastain, “The Help”
Melissa McCarthy, “Bridesmaids”
Janet McTeer, “Albert Nobbs”
Octavia Spencer, “The Help”
Best Director
Woody Allen, “Midnight in Paris”
Michel Hazanavicius, “The Artist”
Terrence Malick, “The Tree of Life”
Alexander Payne, “The Descendants”
Martin Scorsese, “Hugo”
Best Original Screenplay
Woody Allen, “Midnight in Paris”
JC Chandor, “Margin Call”
Asghar Farhadi, “A Separation”
Michel Hazanavicius, “The Artist”
Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo, “Bridesmaids”
Best Adapted Screenplay
Alexander Payne, Nat Faxton, Jim Rash, “The Descendants”
John Logan, “Hugo”
George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Beau Willimon, “The Ides of March”
Aaron Sorkin, Steven Zaillian, “Moneyball”
Bridget O’Connor, Peter Straughn, “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy”
Original Score
“The Adventures of Tintin,” John Williams
“The Artist,” Ludovic Bource
“Hugo,” Howard Shore
“Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy,” Alberto Iglesias
“War Horse,” John Williams
Best Achievement in Art Direction
The Artist
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
War Horse
Best Achievement in Cinematography
The Artist
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
The Tree of Life
War Horse
Best Achievement in Costume Design
Anonymous
The Artist
Hugo
Jane Eyre
W.E.
Best Achievement in Film Editing
The Artist
The Descendants
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Moneyball
Best Achievement in Makeup
Albert Nobbs
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
The Iron Lady
Best Achievement in Sound Editing
Drive
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
War Horse
Best Achievement in Sound Mixing
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Moneyball
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
War Horse
Best Achievement in 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
– KZ
Kenneth Zink | Composer 
I agree with Bridesmaids. My wife and I both hated it. We didn’t think it was very funny. We found it rather sad. I think nine is too many as well and should be dropped to six. There are movies, like The Dark Knight that will be snubbed if it drops to five again.
This is more evidence that the Academy is out of touch with the rest of the public.
Well I’m hoping they’ll make up for the Dark Knight by giving the Dark Knight Rises the credit it deserves this year, even if there are only five nominees for best picture.
Yeah, I mean, Bridesmaids was ok as a raunchy tasteless Judd Apatow-esque comedy, but it wasn’t anymore than that.
Agreed with all said here. I wouldn’t be surprised if Close took the Oscar for Albert Nobbs, though.
❤