This Thursday, the nominations for the 81st Annual Academy Awards were announced, and for the most part, it’s as expected. Below are the nominations for the more major awards, and my thoughts, hopes and predictions on the candidates in each category.
BEST MOTION PICTURE
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“Frost/Nixon”
“Milk”
“The Reader”
“Slumdog Millionaire”
Sadly, neither WALL-E nor The Dark Knight were nominated this year as the Hollywood foreign press further proves themselves to be out of touch with viewing audiences. I have seen all of this years Best Picture nominations with the exception of The Reader, which is yet to be released in Australia. The addition of Frost/Nixon over either of the aforementioned films or Darren Aronofsky’s The Wrestler is a travesty. Of the remaining candidates, Slumdog Millionaire is definitely the most obvious choice, although it is possible that the Best Picture trophy might go to Milk in an attempt to make up for not awarding it to Brokeback Mountain in 2005. For the record, if Slumdog doesn’t get it, Milk would be my second choice
HOPE: Slumdog Millionaire
PREDICTION: Slumdog Millionaire
BEST DIRECTOR
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” Directed by David Fincher
“Frost/Nixon” Directed by Ron Howard
“Milk” Directed by Gus Van Sant
“The Reader” Directed by Stephen Daldry
“Slumdog Millionaire” Directed by Danny Boyle
Seem familiar? That’s because this list is identical to the Best Picture nominations, and again, the fact that both Darren Aronofsky and Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight) were left of the list is a very serious misstep. I was actually a little surprised that Danny Boyle won the Golden Globe, but with that in his back pocket it seems as though he’s got a good shot at this too. His main challengers will be David Fincher and Gus Van Sant
HOPE: Danny Boyle
PREDICTION: Danny Boyle
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
“Doubt” Written by John Patrick Shanley
“Frost/Nixon” Screenplay by Peter Morgan
“The Reader” Screenplay by David Hare
“Slumdog Millionaire” Screenplay by Simon Beaufoy
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” Screenplay by Eric Roth, Screen story by Eric Roth and Robin Swicord
As much as I love Slumdog Millionaire, I’m hoping that Doubt takes this one home, although as long as Benjamin Button (aka Forest Gump) doesn’t win, I don’t really mind.
HOPE: Doubt
PREDICTION: Slumdog Millionaire
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
“Frozen River” Written by Courtney Hunt
“Happy-Go-Lucky” Written by Mike Leigh
“In Bruges” Written by Martin McDonagh
“Milk” Written by Dustin Lance Black
“WALL-E” Screenplay by Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon, Original story by Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter
This is probably one of the closest categories. I have seen Bruges, Milk and WALL-E, and to be honest I would be psyched to see any one of them win, although if I had to choose it would go to critically acclaimed playwrite Martin McDonagh and his hilariously dark script for In Bruges. My bet is that this will go to Milk, or possible Happy-Go-Lucky. Then again, I had not even heard of Frozen River before these nominations, so I’m interested in seeing how that does.
HOPE: In Bruges
PREDICTION: Milk
BEST ACTOR
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”
Most critics are saying this is a fight between Penn and Rourke, and after seeing the respective films I would have to agree. Both performances were fantastic, but I think in the end this will go to Penn for his portrayal as Harvey Milk.
HOPE: Sean Penn
PREDICTION: Sean Penn
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
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”
I don’t think there's even any point in talking about this one…
HOPE: Heath Ledger
PREDICTION: Heath Ledger
BEST ACTRESS
Anne Hathaway in “Rachel Getting Married”
Angelina Jolie in “Changeling”
Melissa Leo in “Frozen River”
Meryl Streep in “Doubt”
Kate Winslet in “The Reader”
Sadly, of these performances the only one I have seen in Meryl Streep in Doubt. That being said, there are two names missing from this list that disappoint me a little: Cate Blanchett for Ben Button and Frances McDormand for Burn After Reading. I guess I can’t say much more on this category without seeing the films, but based on word of mouth, I’m think this is probably Kate Winslets year.
HOPE: Meryl Streep
PREDICTION: Kate Winslet
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
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”
Amy Adams is the absolute best choice for this award, although I was pleasantly surprised to see Taraji P. Henson get a nomination. Viola Davis and Marisa Tomei were both good, but I’m an Adams man all the way (it could be that I’ve just finished watching season 2 of the office). However, for some reason I’m predicting it’ll go to Penelope Cruz, even though it’s the only performance I havn’t seen. I don’t know why I think that she'll win…it’s just a feeling.
HOPE: Amy Adams
PREDICTION: Penelope Cruz
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
“Bolt”
“Kung Fu Panda”
“WALL-E”
I am absolutely outraged that Waltz With Bashir was left out…I mean, I enjoyed Bolt but come on! Even so, even if Bashir had been nominated, there is no doubt in my mind where this statue belongs.
HOPE: WALL-E
PREDICTION: WALL-E
BEST DOCUMENTARY
“The Betrayal”
“Encounters at the End of the World”
“The Garden”
“Man on Wire”
“Trouble the Water”
Nothing much to say. The only one I’ve seen is Man on Wire, which I think is a shoe in.
HOPE: Man on Wire
PREDICTION: Man on Wire
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
“The Baader Meinhof Complex” Germany
“The Class” France
“Departures” Japan
“Revanche” Austria
“Waltz with Bashir” Israel
I am writing this mere hours after seeing The Class, Frances nomination. It was good, but it doesn’t hold a candle to Waltz With Bashir, which was one of the most incredible films I have seen this award season. I havn’t seen any of the other nominations, but the general consensus among punters is that Bashir will take the gold. I was a little disappointed that Let The Right One In wasn’t nominated.
HOPE: Waltz with Bashir
PREDICTION: Waltz with Bashir
BEST ORIGINIAL SCORE
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” Music by Alexandre Desplat
“Defiance” Music by James Newton Howard
“Milk” Music by Danny Elfman
“Slumdog Millionaire” Music by A.R. Rahman
“WALL-E” Music by Thomas Newman
After seeing Slumdog Millionaire, I tried to download the soundtrack on itunes, only to find it wasn’t available. Desperate to own it, I purchased my first CD in over five years. Of course, once it one the golden globe the soundtrack instantly went onto the itunes store for half the price I paid for the CD. Still, it was totally worth it for one of the best movie soundtracks of the year. Again, the Dark Knight gets snubbed; the Hans Zimmer/John Newton Howard score to that film was truly epic.
HOPE: Slumdog Millionaire
PREDICTION: Slumdog Millionaire
BEST ORIGINAL SONG
“Down to Earth” from “WALL-E” Music by Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman, Lyric by Peter Gabriel
“Jai Ho” from “Slumdog Millionaire” Music by A.R. Rahman, Lyric by Gulzar
“O Saya” from “Slumdog Millionaire” Music and Lyric by A.R. Rahman and Maya Arulpragasam
Some people may think it’s a little unfair that Slumdog gets two bites of the apple, but if you ask me, they should’ve added “Mausam & Escape” (the song from the train chase) and made it a trifecta. Pixar will probably steal it though…oh well; at least that awful song from Gran Torino (click here) didn’t get nominated.
HOPE: O Saya
PREDICTION: Down to Earth
That about does it for the major awards. To get a list of all the nominations including the technical awards, click here. Hopefully we won’t be too disappointed come February 22nd. There are still some nominated films I need to see before then, most notably Frozen River, The Visitor and The Reader. Check back here later for reviews of some of the nominated films
