January
22
Oscar Watch: Nominations Analysis
There were some welcome surprises this nominations morning. (Here's Variety's story.) Atonement made it to best picture. While Keira Knightley, James McAvoy and Joe Wright did not win noms, Saorise Ronin did. Christopher Hampton earned a screenplay nod. The Guilds don't always reflect the Academy, clearly; this means the battle for the fifth slot was fierce. But Atonement got seven noms altogether; Michael Clayton seven, Juno four, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, four, and Sweeney Todd got only three (Johnny Depp, art direction and costume); Juno's Jason Reitman, not Tim Burton, landed a director's slot. A surprise, but well-deserved. (I was talking to him here in Park City last night at the WMA party; he was nervous because he didn't get a writing nom last time for Thank You for Smoking.)
Atonement took the fifth best picture slot away from The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. Julian Schnabel got director, and Harwood screenplay, but Diving Bell, which is foreign language, didn't make it all the way.
Into the Wild must not have been that strong because Sean Penn and Emile Hirsch did not get nominated. It was shut out earned expected supporting actor nom for Hal Holbrook and editing. Eddie Vedder's music might have gotten in if it hadn't been disqualified. I never thought Into The Wild would score with the Academy, but Paramount Vantage gave it the full court push.
If Jonny Greenwood's score hadn't been disqualified, There Will be Blood might have nine noms to No Country for Old Men's eight. Vantage, Miramax and producer Scott Rudin, who partnered on those two films, are having a very good day.
The Academy loves Cate Blanchett, nominating her twice, for Elizabeth and I'm Not There, movies she dominated. She can do no wrong. Laura Linney beat Angelina Jolie, which is an upset but proves that the Golden Globes and SAG do not necessarily match up with the Academy. The Savages is well respected; so is Linney; so is screenwriter Tamara Jenkins. When in doubt, the Academy goes with the class act. Four solo women screenwriters got nominated, my USA Today pal Susan Wloszczyna pointed out on the phone this morning.
I had a flash that Tommy Lee Jones could be nominated for not only In the Valley of Elah, but also on some level No Country for Old Men. I wish I had listened to that instinct. And Viggo Mortensen got a deserved first Oscar nomination for David Cronenberg's Eastern Promises.
Casey Affleck took the fifth supporting actor slot. And Jennifer Garner didn't make it; Ruby Dee got the older vet slot, for American Gangster.
The full list of noms are on the jump.
-- Complete list of 80th annual Academy Award nominations announced Tuesday:
1. Best Picture: "Atonement," "Juno," "Michael Clayton," "No Country for Old Men," "There Will Be Blood."
2. Actor: George Clooney, "Michael Clayton"; Daniel Day-Lewis, "There Will Be Blood"; Johnny Depp, "Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet Street"; Tommy Lee Jones, "In the Valley of Elah"; Viggo Mortensen, "Eastern Promises."
3. Actress: Cate Blanchett, "Elizabeth: The Golden Age"; Julie Christie, "Away From Her"; Marion Cotillard, "La Vie en Rose"; Laura Linney, "The Savages"; Ellen Page, "Juno."
4. Supporting Actor: Casey Affleck, "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford"; Javier Bardem, "No Country for Old Men"; Hal Holbrook, "Into the Wild"; Philip Seymour Hoffman, "Charlie Wilson's War"; Tom Wilkinson, "Michael Clayton."
5. Supporting Actress: Cate Blanchett, "I'm Not There"; Ruby Dee, "American Gangster"; Saoirse Ronan, "Atonement"; Amy Ryan, "Gone Baby Gone"; Tilda Swinton, "Michael Clayton."
6. Director: Julian Schnabel, "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"; Jason Reitman, "Juno"; Tony Gilroy, "Michael Clayton"; Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, "No Country for Old Men"; Paul Thomas Anderson, "There Will Be Blood."
7. Foreign Film: "Beaufort," Israel; "The Counterfeiters," Austria; "Katyn," Poland; "Mongol," Kazakhstan; "12," Russia.
8. Adapted Screenplay: Christopher Hampton, "Atonement"; Sarah Polley, "Away from Her"; Ronald Harwood, "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"; Joel Coen & Ethan Coen, "No Country for Old Men"; Paul Thomas Anderson, "There Will Be Blood."
9. Original Screenplay: Diablo Cody, "Juno"; Nancy Oliver, "Lars and the Real Girl"; Tony Gilroy, "Michael Clayton"; Brad Bird, Jan Pinkava and Jim Capobianco, "Ratatouille"; Tamara Jenkins, "The Savages."
10. Animated Feature Film: "Persepolis"; "Ratatouille"; "Surf's Up."
11. Art Direction: "American Gangster," "Atonement," "The Golden Compass," "Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet Street," "There Will Be Blood."
12. Cinematography: "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford," "Atonement," "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly," "No Country for Old Men," "There Will Be Blood."
13. Sound Mixing: "The Bourne Ultimatum," "No Country for Old Men," "Ratatouille," "3:10 to Yuma," "Transformers."
14. Sound Editing: "The Bourne Ultimatum," "No Country for Old Men," "Ratatouille," "There Will Be Blood," "Transformers."
15. Original Score: "Atonement," Dario Marianelli; "The Kite Runner," Alberto Iglesias; "Michael Clayton," James Newton Howard; "Ratatouille," Michael Giacchino; "3:10 to Yuma," Marco Beltrami.
16. Original Song: "Falling Slowly" from "Once," Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova; "Happy Working Song" from "Enchanted," Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz; "Raise It Up" from "August Rush," Nominees to be determined; "So Close" from "Enchanted," Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz; "That's How You Know" from "Enchanted," Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz.
17. Costume: "Across the Universe," "Atonement," "Elizabeth: The Golden Age," "La Vie en Rose," "Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet Street."
18. Documentary Feature: "No End in Sight," "Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience," "Sicko," "Taxi to the Dark Side," "War/Dance."
19. Documentary (short subject): "Freeheld," "La Corona (The Crown)," "Salim Baba," "Sari's Mother."
20. Film Editing: "The Bourne Ultimatum," "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly," "Into the Wild," "No Country for Old Men," "There Will Be Blood."
21. Makeup: "La Vie en Rose," "Norbit," "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End."
22. Animated Short Film: "I Met the Walrus," "Madame Tutli-Putli," "Meme Les Pigeons Vont au Paradis (Even Pigeons Go to Heaven)," "My Love (Moya Lyubov)," "Peter & the Wolf."
23. Live Action Short Film: "At Night," "Il Supplente (The Substitute)," "Le Mozart des Pickpockets (The Mozart of Pickpockets)," "Tanghi Argentini," "The Tonto Woman."
24. Visual Effects: "The Golden Compass," "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End," "Transformers."
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Sweeney Todd got 3 nominations, not 2. Pay attention.
Posted by: Melissa Thompson | January 22, 2008 at 08:13 AM
Well,"Atonement" SEVEN nominations, BP, Supp. Actress, Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography, Score, Art Direction and Costumes, would show that it DID have great across the board support, guilds, included...
It's also, I think, the legendary Brit voting block(900 souls?)who voted together and got it in.
The Directors didn't vote for the brilliant Joe Wright because he's BRITISH...
And Keira Knightley and James McAvoy...I feel so sorry for them. But YAY! For Saoirse Ronan...She could win in that category. All the "Atonement" love could go there. To her.
It could also split the tied "NCFOM" and "TWBB" which will draw the "steak eaters" vote and maybe split it between the two, leaving lovely "Atonement" as the winner!
Posted by: Stephen Holt | January 22, 2008 at 09:49 AM
Oh, and a shout out to the wonderful Laura Linney, who must be VERY happy this morning! She's a two time previous nominee and this makes it three!!!! How wonderful that this great, intelligent, risk-taking American actress is being embraced once again!!!
Not having been included(like her BFF Marcia Gay Harden, when she WON for "Pollack" a few years back)in the ramp-up awards'derbys, she could really shake this race for Best Actress up! She's due! She's OVERdue! And how wonderful for the Academy to recognize how brilliant she was playing a majorly unsympathetic, even twistedly difficult role, this self-centered, devious,neurotic, Off-Off Broadway playwright and making us all love her in the end anyway!
CONGRATULATIONS LAURA LINNEY!
Posted by: Stephen Holt | January 22, 2008 at 09:56 AM
Johnny Depp got nominated for Sweeney.
Posted by: mickey | January 22, 2008 at 10:46 AM
Zodiac, Zodiac, wherefore art thou? Some analysis would help here, anyone? And like wow, Juno, Norbit and Transformers...!!
Posted by: PoD | January 22, 2008 at 12:28 PM
Once again the Academy snubs Nicole Kidman for another incredible performance after her performances in Dogville, Birth so we will add her performance in MATW to the growing list with those in EWS and TDF. One day, the Academy will realise the injustice. I guess she will need to do a role that falls into the Academy criteria - depression, long suffering, traditional biopic and any other female role that requires her to cry, scream and chew scenery!
Same thing for Jennifer Jason Leigh, she hasn't been nominated for anything.
If you want to see Elizabeth, go watch Helen Mirren, she makes Blanchett look like she is doing pantomime. What a waste for a nomination it is to give Blanchett a spot on the Best Actress, hopefully, she joins the ranks of double nominees who go home empty.
Posted by: IClavdivs | January 22, 2008 at 01:35 PM
of course he did; fixed
Posted by: anne thompson | January 22, 2008 at 04:04 PM
The surprise nom is Viggo Mortensen. It's not a bad choice, but in the lead up to the noms all the buzz was with other actors. Daniel Day-Lewis looks unstoppable.
The bottom fell out of the Sweeney Todd oscar push. Was it too stylistically extreme for the Academy? But, Atonement staged a major comeback. Just a few weeks ago, I'd swear it was dead.
Posted by: Maude | January 22, 2008 at 06:48 PM
Correction. The Blogosphere thought "Atonement" was dead. The Bloggers are not members of the Academy. To see two very real very committed members of AMPAS see REELGEEZERS on You Tube. Marcia and Lorenzo, both in their 80s and still mad, just MADLY in love with film. Most of their takes became the Academy's. Like their disdain for "Into the Wild" and their digging of "Juno" & "Atonement." They weren't CRA-ZEE about "No Country..." btw...but Lorenzo called it "the type of film that usually wins Oscars." Marcia said "It made no sense." They also weren't that CRA-ZEE about "Blood". Check out their reviews. They're a stitch. And right on the Oscar money! As Anne always is...
Posted by: Stephen Holt | January 22, 2008 at 09:28 PM
Why was Vedder & King's music disqualified for INTO THE WILD? I thought it would at least pick up a Best Song nomination....do all the songs contain 'non-original' music?
I suppose it doesn't matter, though. If ONCE doesn't grab that award, the Academy will simply continue it's lack of good musical taste.....
Posted by: Brandon | January 23, 2008 at 12:35 PM