Ryan McNeil
Today the Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced the Golden Globe nominations…and I don’t care who got nominated and who didn’t.
In case you don’t know who the Hollywood Foreign Press Association is, they are a collection of around ninety journalists from around the world. Many of them also have day jobs, so one could argue how seriously to take the word “press”. Through the years they have taken on a reputation for being stargazers; a brood more interested in meeting famous people, getting photos taken and scoring autographs than providing any sort of journalistic insight.
So when time comes for the awards they hand out, you might notice that the list is laced with the most famous of the famous…whether they deserve to be nominated or not. In recent years they have become less and less of an Oscar weathervane (if they ever were), so I’ve just started ignoring them. Join in, won’t you?
Now that that’s out-of-the-way, I’m pleased to report that this week did bring some other – more relevant – award bodies having their say.
- On Monday, the AFI announced it’s Best of 2012 Top 10. The group’s shortlist mimics what The National Board of Review does, and it makes sense that there’s a lot of overlap. One of the two films that AFI named that NBR didn’t is THE DARK KNIGHT RISES. Remember how I mentioned that the franchises had work to do? Batman just got going. Will it be enough?
- On Tuesday, the Broadcast Critics announced the nominees for its 2012 awards. For the Critics, LINCOLN was top dog, with LES MIS and SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK following close behind. When it comes to actually calling the winner for Best Picture, the critics have a pretty good track record (they’ve been wrong twice since the turn of the century). The thing you need to remember though, is that critics and academy voters don’t entirely have the same mindset…so expect more than a few differences where nominations and awards are concerned.
- Finally, on Wednesday The Screen Actors Guild announced nominees for its 2012 awards. In contrast to the critics, SAG does have a similar mindset to academy voters – since many members of its voting body are also academy members themselves. That said, things don’t always align where nominees and winners are concerned, so anticipate at least a few variances when we get to January. In addition, it’s important to remember that SAG is a union, and as such comes with its own set of rules…rules that prevent non-union members from being honoured…like everyone to do with BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD.
So where does this all leave us? Well, for starters ZERO DARK THIRTY did well enough with these precursors to still be considered the frontrunner at the moment. Right behind it is LINCOLN that has held on well after its premiere five weeks ago, everyone and everything involved with the latest Spielberg offering should be considered in-play. Behind those two pace-setters is LES MIS, SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK and ARGO making a case for the big five.
Lots still to be decided of course, especially with ZERO DARK THIRTY, LES MISERABLES, and DJANGO UNCHAINED due to hit theatres in the coming weeks.
Here’s a gathering of what’s gone down to this week – Feel free to argue about what’s happened so far in the comment section below.
AFI MOVIES OF THE YEAR
Argo
Beasts of the Southern Wild
The Dark Knight Rises
Django Unchained
Les Miserables
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Moonrise Kingdom
Silver Linings Playbook
Zero Dark Thirty
CRITIC’S CHOICE AWARD NOMINEES:
BEST PICTURE
Argo
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Django Unchained
Les Misérables
Life of Pi
Lincoln
The Master
Moonrise Kingdom
Silver Linings Playbook
Zero Dark Thirty
BEST ACTOR
Bradley Cooper – Silver Linings Playbook
Daniel Day-Lewis – Lincoln
John Hawkes – The Sessions
Hugh Jackman – Les Misérables
Joaquin Phoenix – The Master
Denzel Washington – Flight
BEST ACTRESS
Jessica Chastain – Zero Dark Thirty
Marion Cotillard – Rust and Bone
Jennifer Lawrence – Silver Linings Playbook
Emmanuelle Riva – Amour
Quvenzhané Wallis – Beasts of the Southern Wild
Naomi Watts – The Impossible
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Alan Arkin – Argo
Javier Bardem – Skyfall
Robert De Niro – Silver Linings Playbook
Philip Seymour Hoffman – The Master
Tommy Lee Jones – Lincoln
Matthew McConaughey – Magic Mike
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams – The Master
Judi Dench – Skyfall
Ann Dowd – Compliance
Sally Field – Lincoln
Anne Hathaway – Les Misérables
Helen Hunt – The Sessions
BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS
Elle Fanning – Ginger & Rosa
Kara Hayward – Moonrise Kingdom
Tom Holland – The Impossible
Logan Lerman – The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Suraj Sharma – Life of Pi
Quvenzhané Wallis – Beasts of the Southern Wild
BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE
Argo
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Les Misérables
Lincoln
Moonrise Kingdom
Silver Linings Playbook
BEST DIRECTOR
Ben Affleck – Argo
Kathryn Bigelow – Zero Dark Thirty
Tom Hooper – Les Misérables
Ang Lee – Life of Pi
David O. Russell – Silver Linings Playbook
Steven Spielberg – Lincoln
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Quentin Tarantino – Django Unchained
John Gatins – Flight
Rian Johnson – Looper
Paul Thomas Anderson – The Master
Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola – Moonrise Kingdom
Mark Boal – Zero Dark Thirty
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Chris Terrio – Argo
David Magee – Life of Pi
Tony Kushner – Lincoln
Stephen Chbosky – The Perks of Being a Wallflower
David O. Russell – Silver Linings Playbook
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Les Misérables – Danny Cohen
Life of Pi – Claudio Miranda
Lincoln – Janusz Kaminski
The Master – Mihai Malaimare Jr.
Skyfall – Roger Deakins
BEST ART DIRECTION
Anna Karenina – Sarah Greenwood/Production Designer; Katie Spencer/Set Decorator
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey – Dan Hennah/Production Designer; Ra Vincent & Simon Bright/Set Decorators
Les Misérables – Eve Stewart/Production Designer; Anna Lynch-Robinson/Set Decorator
Life of Pi – David Gropman/Production Designer; Anna Pinnock/Set Decorator
Lincoln – Rick Carter/Production Designer; Jim Erickson/Set Decorator
BEST EDITING
Argo – William Goldenberg
Les Misérables – Melanie Ann Oliver and Chris Dickens
Life of Pi – Tim Squyres
Lincoln – Michael Kahn
Zero Dark Thirty – William Goldenberg and Dylan Tichenor
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Anna Karenina – Jacqueline Durran
Cloud Atlas – Kym Barrett and Pierre-Yves Gayraud
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey – Bob Buck, Ann Maskrey and Richard Taylor
Les Misérables – Paco Delgado
Lincoln – Joanna Johnston
BEST MAKEUP
Cloud Atlas
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Les Misérables
Lincoln
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
The Avengers
Cloud Atlas
The Dark Knight Rises
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Life of Pi
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Brave
Frankenweenie
Madagascar 3
ParaNorman
Rise of the Guardians
Wreck-It Ralph
BEST ACTION MOVIE
The Avengers
The Dark Knight Rises
Looper
Skyfall
BEST ACTOR IN AN ACTION MOVIE
Christian Bale – The Dark Knight Rises
Daniel Craig – Skyfall
Robert Downey Jr. – The Avengers
Joseph Gordon-Levitt – Looper
Jake Gyllenhaal – End of Watch
BEST ACTRESS IN AN ACTION MOVIE
Emily Blunt – Looper
Gina Carano – Haywire
Judi Dench – Skyfall
Anne Hathaway – The Dark Knight Rises
Jennifer Lawrence – The Hunger Games
BEST COMEDY
Bernie
Silver Linings Playbook
Ted
This Is 40
21 Jump Street
BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY
Jack Black – Bernie
Bradley Cooper – Silver Linings Playbook
Paul Rudd – This Is 40
Channing Tatum – 21 Jump Street
Mark Wahlberg – Ted
BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
Mila Kunis – Ted
Jennifer Lawrence – Silver Linings Playbook
Shirley MacLaine – Bernie
Leslie Mann – This Is 40
Rebel Wilson – Pitch Perfect
BEST SCI-FI/HORROR MOVIE
The Cabin in the Woods
Looper
Prometheus
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Amour
The Intouchables
A Royal Affair
Rust and Bone
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Bully
The Central Park Five
The Imposter
The Queen of Versailles
Searching for Sugar Man
West of Memphis
BEST SONG
For You – performed by Keith Urban/written by Monty Powell & Keith Urban – Act of Valor
Learn Me Right – performed by Birdy with Mumford & Sons/written by Mumford & Sons –Brave
Skyfall – performed by Adele/written by Adele Adkins & Paul Epworth – Skyfall
Still Alive – performed by Paul Williams/written by Paul Williams – Paul Williams Still Alive
Suddenly – performed by Hugh Jackman/written by Claude-Michel Schonberg & Alain Boublil & Herbert Kretzmer – Les Misérables
BEST SCORE
Argo – Alexandre Desplat
Life of Pi – Mychael Danna
Lincoln – John Williams
The Master – Jonny Greenwood
Moonrise Kingdom – Alexandre Desplat
SCREEN ACTORS GUILD AWARD NOMINATIONS
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
Bradley Cooper (“Pat”) – Silver Linings Playbook (The Weinstein Company)
Daniel Day-Lewis (“Abraham Lincoln”) – Lincoln (Touchstone Pictures)
John Hawkes (“Mark”) – The Sessions (Fox Searchlight)
Hugh Jackman (“Jean Valjean”) – Les Misérables (Universal Pictures)
Denzel Washington (“Whip Whitaker”) – Flight (Paramount Pictures)
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
Jessica Chastain (“Maya”) – Zero Dark Thirty (Columbia Pictures)
Marion Cotillard (“Stephanie”) – Rust and Bone (Sony Pictures Classics)
Jennifer Lawrence (“Tiffany”) – Silver Linings Playbook (The Weinstein Company)
Helen Mirren (“Alma Reville”) – Hitchcock (Fox Searchlight)
Naomi Watts (“Maria”) – The Impossible (Summit Entertainment)
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
Alan Arkin (“Lester Siegel”) – Argo (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Javier Bardem (“Silva”) – “SKYFALL” (Columbia Pictures)
Robert De Niro (“Pat, Sr.”) – Silver Linings Playbook (The Weinstein Company)
Philip Seymour Hoffman (“Lancaster Dodd”) – The Master (The Weinstein Company)
Tommy Lee Jones (“Thaddeus Stevens”) – Lincoln (Touchstone Pictures)
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
Sally Field (“Mary Todd Lincoln”) – Lincoln (Touchstone Pictures)
Anne Hathaway (“Fantine”) – Les Misérables (Universal Pictures)
Helen Hunt (“Cheryl”) – The Sessions (Fox Searchlight)
Nicole Kidman (“Charlotte Bless”) – The Paperboy (Millennium Entertainment)
Maggie Smith (“Muriel Donnelly”) – The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (Fox Searchlight)
Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
Argo
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Les Misérables
Lincoln
Silver Linings Playbook
Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture
The Amazing Spider-Man
The Bourne Legacy
The Dark Knight Rises
Les Misérables
Skyfall
Ugh Spiderman. All the hate.
I’m happy for Perks and Skyfall love though 🙂
Spidey’s a minor honour – one I didn’t even know about before they announced the nominees. I’m hoping that Perks can keep up its award momentum. Not holding my breath, but it’d be sweet to see it land a screenplay nomination for the big night.
Since when does the Critic’s Choice Awards do Action and Comedy categories? Have I been out of the loop for that long? That seems… cheap.
I will say this. If ANNA KARENINA doesn’t take Art Direction and CLOUD ATLAS doesn’t take Make-Up, then they are operating on very different levels from everyone else. Also, I must say I am very disappointed that THE INVISIBLE WAR didn’t make the cut in Documentary. Here’s hoping Oscar won’t be so timid when it comes to acknowledging that movie’s existence.
SKYFALL though… a player now? Well, at least Bardem or Dench? This could be fun!
Also, how do you feel about all THE IMPOSSIBLE love? You hated it, right?
Funny thing about THE INVISIBLE WAR…While I found the subject matter deeply compelling, I found the execution of the doc lacking. As I was watching an 11-year-old doc last night, it dawned on me how far the craft of documentary film has come in the last few years.
I’m not suggesting that a story like INVISIBLE needs a gimmick to help sell it…but I want something a bit more than “talking heads” nowadays.
I think Bardem is in play for an Oscar nomination, but supporting is a bit of a crowded field (especially with THE MASTER submitting Hoffman as a supporting player). The Academy loves Bardem, so it wouldn’t shock me all that much.
And yeah, I loathed THE IMPOSSIBLE. While Watts is deserving, I really hope the love for it cools off by Oscar night.
Eh. I think that anything except the talking heads that you refer to would have lessened the impact of the movie. As much as it pains me to say it, I want to movie to be nominated because that will increase its chances of getting seen, and I’m of the opinion that its a doc that needs to be seen. Importance over quality for me here.
And yeah, I didn’t know that Hoffman was being put in Supporting, but, now that I think of it, it makes sense. Phoenix is the lead of that movie. But, I somehow don’t think McConaughey will score one, nor Jones. I do think DiCaprio will score a nom though. Like I said, that category does love villains, and DiCaprio hasn’t really ever done anything like this before.
Who knows…
I’d be surprised if INVISIBLE WAR wasn’t nominated, so I’m with you there. However, ask yourself if the impact of THE COVE, FOOD INC, or SUPER SIZE ME was lessened with the mix of visual storytelling and talking heads.
As for Jones, he’s sorta the frontrunner at the moment. At this stage I’d be more surprised if he *didn’t* get nominated.