Awards Season 2012

[Andre Jurieu]

As for Ann Dowd though ... I find the supporting actress campaign a bit puzzling.

While it's usually determined by the studio and the actor's support staff (agent/manager) which category the actor/actress has the best chance to grab a nomination, I also get the sense that - within the industry - these decisions also seem to be influenced by their career prospects afterwards and future casting plans. In this case, whether she gets a nomination or even wins the award, I doubt anyone in the industry is ever going to build a project around Ann Dowd, no matter how dependable an actress she is or has been or how talented she actually is. She will likely always be a secondary player in major projects or will have to find leading roles in small projects. With her career trajectory already determined within the industry, sadly, I think they just kind of default to the "supporting actress" category, even if it's really absurd in terms of her actual contribution to the project.

[Matt]

That reminds of the strange spectacle of Melissa Leo's self-run Oscar campaign a couple of years ago which made it look like she was trying to get out of the character actress ghetto and launch herself as a credible mainstream-glamour leading actress. She insists it was tongue-in-cheek, but a lot of people thought it looked weirdly desperate.

[lacritfan]

Most WTF categorization IMO - 1981 Oscars - Ordinary People - Timothy Hutton wins for best supporting actor even though the whole movie revolved around his character. Meanwhile Mary Tyler Moore is nominated for best actress even though her character was clearly supporting compared to Hutton's.
I'm sure the thinking was hmmm, DeNiro in Raging Bull and Duvall Great Santini will probably get nominated not mention John Hurt in Elephant Man, Jack Lemmon and Peter O'Toole were in movies this year, yeah he's got no chance, put him in supporting. Also MTM is a (TV) star and Hutton's a nobody.

[Professor Wagstaff]

Most WTF categorization IMO - 1981 Oscars - Ordinary People - Timothy Hutton wins for best supporting actor even though the whole movie revolved around his character.

On that note, Tatum O'Neal winning best supporting actress in 1973 for Paper Moon even though she appears in every scene and is basically the main character.

Anthony Hopkins is also a strange case with The Silence of the Lambs, a best actor winner with 16 minutes of screen time in a two hour film.

[domino harvey]

David Niven was probably in Seperate Tables for ten minutes and still won Best Actor. It's all politics and maneuvering, folks

[Jeff]

ASC Noms

Anna Karenina, Seamus McGarvey, ASC, BSC
Les Miserables, Danny Cohen, BSC
Life of Pi, Claudio Miranda, ASC
Lincoln, Janusz Kaminski
Skyfall, Roger Deakins, ASC, BSC

I assume that Cohen is being recognized for finding away to successfully light the inside of Hugh Jackman's nose, since the camera was generally about three inches from it.

[knives]

Cinematography's always been one of the weirder categories. Though finding out that McGarvey shot it is just another reason why I have to see Anna Karenina

[lacritfan]

The Master didn't totally work for me but I really liked how Mihai Malaimare Jr. lit it, and in 65mm...
On a side note if the Oscars don't include Harris Savides in the In Memoriam I will be fuckin' pissed.

[knives]

Savides fortunately is pretty big name so we'll probably get a second of so with him.

[lacritfan]

Savides fortunately is pretty big name so we'll probably get a second of so with him.

Yeah...I would say the odds are 50-50 either way. He's a big name to us. To the Academy...the only film he worked on that they ever recognized was Milk (and not for cinematography). The other Van Sant films, nada. The Fincher films, nada. Somewhere, nada.

[domino harvey]

Wow, Affleck snubbed in favor of Beasts, all three the Master actors getting noms, Les Miz barely showing up, Moonrise Kingdom getting shut out of Best Pic-- so much good and yet so much bad

[LQ]

Shutting The Master out of Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay, yet nominating all three actors, is just bizarre.

[domino harvey]

Also, Silver Linings Playbook had way more support than anyone anticipated-- all four acting quadrants?!

And Seth MacFarlane and Emma Stone were actually funny-- After the Best Supporting Actor noms "Breath of fresh air in that category!"

[tavernier]

2 recent Best Director winners getting snubbed--obviously the torture complaints had an effect on both Bigelow and Hooper.

[tarpilot]

I remain completely baffled by the acclaim for Arkin's performance. I knew Willis was never gonna get in, but c'mon, this was the year of McConaughey

[Brad]

Re Oscar noms, so glad to see no Hobbit or Master in best pic, no Bigelow in director (even though I love her, Zero is way overrated), lots of Silver and Amour love.

Don't understand the Kon-Tiki nom as it's in English and was horrible.

[Forrest Taft]

I agree that Kon-Tiki was utterly mediocre, but they shot 2 versions: The original in Norwegian, and an alternate English language versin. Also, the Weinsteins are distributing it in the US. Surprised this is the Weinstein distributed pic that gets nominated, instead of Intouchables, which I thought was a shoe-in.

[vsski]

A lot more surprises than I expected, especially in the director's field. No Bigelow, Hooper, Affleck or Tarantino even though all their movies got nominated - not that I think they should have been nominated.
Very happy about the support for Silver Linings and Amour, but Beasts of the Southern Wild - really? I must have seen a different movie by the same title or maybe boring your audience to death with amateurish film school material is an achievement these days.

[Brad]

I figured Kon Tiki was filmed in 2 versions but still seems odd to be treated as a foreign language film in a US awards ceremony. Whatever, it won't win.

The Beasts noms are only there because Oscar likes an underdog.

[mfunk9786]

It's weird - I expected to be outraged by The Master being shut out of Original Screenplay - but those are five really strong nominees in that category - I can't pick out one (even Flight and Zero Dark Thirty which I liked significantly less than The Master) that doesn't deserve recognition for writing.

[Niale]

Amour is a french film. Why is that nominated for best film and best directing? Its french!
The Academy cant think outside of category. When I think of a "french" movie... "Amour" is EXACTLY the
kind of film I imagine. Thus, it is rewarded. But The Master, a challenging, stimulating, picture... Is shunned
because it can not be so easily categorized. As for Argo, jeez... What a bunch of bull! What is Argo? It is not
well acted, not well directed... It is not informative, it is not relevant, it is not interesting. It is a room where
prisoners drink wine. It is Hollywood in the 70's where some people walk around while Van Halen plays... It is a trite
father son set up and "pay off". It is history for people who do not care about history, it is a movie
for those who do not care for cinema. But its "BEN"... Its "POLITICAL"... It is easily classifiable, it is Hollywood, thus rewarded.
Remove the phone that is picked up at the last second, remove the movie star, remove the joke about Gatorade, remove the actor who turns
to another and says... Gee Im sure scared. And what is left? What is any element of that movie when isolated? What do Argo's trite motions even shape? What is the result? It is in its own way, more of an abstract nothing then The Master is thought to be.
How is Argo even in the sound categories? Why is the Hobbit not in the sound categories?

[mfunk9786]

You are a valuable member of our forum and your insights are always appreciated.

Last edited by Mr. Sausage on Thu Jan 10, 2013 11:23 am, edited 1 time in total.

[lacritfan]

-- so much good and yet so much bad

It's gotta be the new accelerated schedule and online voting.

If the announcements are any indication I'm gonna enjoy watching the Oscars this year. Just the fact that they did away with the usual static, head-on shot of the announcers while the nominees displayed behind them was refreshing.

And LOL at Seth getting a legitimate nomination!

[tavernier]

can't believe they found 5 songs worthy of a nom

[mfunk9786]

And not one of them was called 100 Black Coffins, which should have won