ErikaSzabo
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Laura
Last week, Jennifer Lawrence woke up bright and early to help announce the nominations for the 84th Academy Awards. If you didn't catch the live stream, below is a full list of the nominations happening at this year's awards show. Of course, like every year, there have been some glaring omissions and some surprises – yes, despite the critical acclaim there’s no sign of Drive, 50/50, J. Edgar along with many others in the nominations list. Even so, this year's nominees are extremely promising and prove to be some of the best films of the year.
Best Picture
Thomas Langmann, Producer
Michel Hazanavicius, Director
As the era of silent films draws to a close, two actors find their careers and their relationship influenced by the coming of talking pictures. While popular screen star George Valentin resists the transition to sound, young Peppy Miller embodies a modern age that is leaving Valentin behind.
Jim Burke, Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor, Producers
Alexander Payne, Director
The complexities of life, death and family relations challenge a man faced with losing his wife. When Elizabeth King is left comatose following an accident, her husband Matt finds himself thrust into the unfamiliar role of caregiver to their two daughters, while at the same time facing a difficult financial decision that may put him at odds with other family members.
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
Scott Rudin, Producer
Stephen Daldry, Director
A young boy who may have Asperger’s syndrome must deal with the loss of his father on September 11. When eleven-year-old Oskar discovers a key among his father’s possessions, he becomes convinced that finding the lock it opens will help him understand the tragedy of his father’s death.
Brunson Green, Chris Columbus and Michael Barnathan, Producers
Tate Taylor, Director
In the racially charged climate of Jackson, Mississippi, in 1963, a young white Southerner convinces a group of African-American maids to relate their experiences working in white households. The stories they share reflect the devastating social inequality governing every aspect of life in Jackson, and place the women at risk of reprisals from their employers.
Graham King and Martin Scorsese, Producers
Martin Scorsese, Director
Hugo Cabret is a young Parisian orphan who lives hidden away in the vast Gare Montparnasse train station. When he is not eluding the station’s watchful inspector, secretly keeping its many clocks running, or tinkering with a mechanical figure that belonged to his father, Hugo observes the lives of the people who work in the station…including an irascible toy shop owner named Georges Méliès.
Letty Aronson and Stephen Tenenbaum, Producers
Woody Allen, Director
On a trip to Paris with his fiancée, a screenwriter is filled with nostalgia for the Paris of the 1920s, when artists and writers flocked to the City of Light in a celebrated period of creativity. For Gil, the romance of that bygone era exerts a pull that places him increasingly at odds with his impatient, unimaginative future wife.
Michael De Luca, Rachael Horovitz and Brad Pitt, Producers
Bennett Miller, Director
Following a devastating loss to the New York Yankees in the 2001 playoffs, Oakland Athletics general manager Billy Beane and his assistant, Peter Brand, devise a statistics-based formula for choosing potential players. Uncertain of his chances of success and following a plan that flouts conventional baseball wisdom, Beane sets out to rebuild his team.
Sarah Green, Bill Pohlad, Dede Gardner and Grant Hill, Producers
Terrence Malick, Director
A middle-aged man’s contemplation of the pattern and meaning of his life is interwoven with moments from his childhood in a small Texas town. As Jack O’Brien and his two younger brothers grow up, they are shaped by both the nurturing love of their mother and their demanding father’s strict discipline and unyielding expectations.
Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy, Producers
Steven Spielberg, Director
The horrors of war are seen through the eyes of a valiant horse whose young owner must relinquish him to the army at the start of World War I. Separated from the farmer’s son who has raised and trained him, Joey enters the war as a cavalry horse and is soon plunged into the nightmarish heart of the conflict.
Best Actor
- Jean Dujardin (The Artist)
- George Clooney (The Descendants)
- Demián Bichir (A Better Life)
- Gary Oldman (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy)
- Brad Pitt (Moneyball)
Best Actress
- Meryl Streep (The Iron Lady)
- Glenn Close (Albert Nobbs)
- Michelle Williams (My Week With Marilyn)
- Viola Davis (The Help)
- Rooney Mara (The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo)
Best Supporting Actor
- Kenneth Branagh (My Week With Marilyn)
- Jonah Hill (Moneyball)
- Nick Nolte (Warrior)
- Christopher Plummer (Beginners)
- Max Von Sydow (Extremly Loud & Incredibly Close)
Best Supporting Actress
- Bérénice Bijou (The Artist)
- Jessica Chastain (The Help)
- Melissa McCarthy (Bridesmaids)
- Janet McTeer (Albert Nobbs)
- Octavia Spencer (The Help)
Best Director
- Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist)
- Alexander Payne (The Descendants)
- Martin Scorsese (Hugo)
- Woody Allen (Midnight In Paris)
- Terrence Malick (The Tree Of Life)
Animated Feature
A Cat In Paris
- Chico & Rita
- Kung Fu Panda 2
- Puss In Boots
- Rango
Art Direction
Cinematography
Costume Design
- Anonymous
- The Artist
- Hugo
- Jane Eyre
- W.E.
Documentary Feature
- Hell And Back Again
- If A Tree Falls Short: A Story Of The Earth Liberation Front
- Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory
- Pina
- Undefeated
Documentary Short
- The Barber Of Birmingham: Foot Soldier Of The Civil Rights Movement
- God Is The Bigger Elvis
- Incident In New Baghdad
- Saving Face
- The Tsunami And The Cherry Blossom
Editing
Foreign Language Film
- Bullhead
- Footnote
- In Darkness
- Monsieur Lazhar
- A Separation
Music (Score)
- The Adventures Of Tintin
- The Artist
- Hugo
- Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
- War Horse
Music (Song)
Short Film (Animated)
- Dimanche/Sunday
- The Fantastic Flying Books Of Mr Morris Lessmore
- La Luna
- A Morning Stroll
- Wild Life
Short Film (Live Action)
- Pentecost
- Raju
- The Shore
- Time Freak
- Tuba Atlantic
My 2012 Picks
Each of this year's nominees is incredibly promising making it that much harder to decide just who will be going home with an Oscar. Here, I will voice my opinions about this year's picks in a few of the top categories: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Actress.
For Best Picture, I'm tied between the touching whimsy of Hugo and the classically timeless The Artist. Hugo is an intricately designed story aimed at childhood fantasy, adult yearning and the intersection between the two. Suffice to say, this is where Scorsese's heart really is. The Artist harkons back to the 20s silent era, early talkies with gusto while possessing a clear awareness of its own identity. This film is smart and extremely passionate in its portrayal of early cinema and the deep relationship between both eras. Silence can speak volumes.
Now for Best Director... Well, for the very same reasons listed above I am tied between Michel Hazanavicius, Director of The Artist, and Martin Scorsese, Director of Hugo. Maybe I'm just a sucker for films about the past, but these two very talented directors have proven themselves worthy in portraying nostalgically emotional appeal unlike anything else I've seen this year.
For Best Actor, my choice is George Clooney in The Descendants. No one can deny Clooney's masculine class or talent, and both shine in his portrayal of a man who is ignorant of his children’s needs and unfamiliar with the conventions of raising them. His performance is raw, heartwarming and never too melodramatic.
Last but not least, Best Actress. This one was a little difficult to choose because of all the great performances, but I'm going to have to place my vote on Viola Davis in The Help. It should be no surprise that her sincere and brave performance has gotten so much attention already. Here's hoping that she will be the lucky winner of this prestigious award.
And that's everything! The 84th Academy Awards will be hosted by Billy Crystal and will air live from Hollywood on February 26. So what are your predictions for this year's awards show? Voice your opinions in the comment section below!
Editor's note: Check out the Oscar's page on futureshop.ca to purchase available Oscar nominated films.
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