Comments on: Oscars: 5 Things We Learned From The 2013 Nominations

By: Jake

Jake — Fri, 13 May 2016 10:47:54 +0000

JLaw has been the frontrunner for Best Actress for a long time, and SLP's much stronger showing vs ZDT, her already accomplished track record & impeccable performance in Winter's Bone, it being a huge year for her by helping to cement The Hunger Games franchise, and just the type of performance it is suggests she could take it in a cake walk. She's got the china-smashing Oscar clip for goodness' sake, Chastain's is an internalized performance, and those don't play for the win with AMPAS.

By: MAL

MAL — Fri, 13 May 2016 10:47:54 +0000

Great article and balanced perspective. Of course, my favourite — Moonrise Kingdom — should have been in the race. Silver Linings Playbook… not so much.

By: Terry

Terry — Fri, 13 May 2016 10:47:54 +0000

McConaughey gave two of the most electrifying performances of the year in what might be the two riskiest roles any actor took on. Really gutted to see him get snubbed. I realize one film was an ultra-voilent, NC-17 indie that no one saw, and the other was about male strippers, but still…

By: Ted

Ted — Fri, 13 May 2016 10:47:54 +0000

I'm pulling for Riva. Not just because she gave an astounding performance in Amour, but c'mon she's 85 years old and an icon of French cinema (her performances in Hiroshima mon amour and Leon Morin were incredible also). Plus, Jessica Chastain & Jennifer Lawrence are going to have plenty of opportunities to win again.

By: Melissa

Melissa — Fri, 13 May 2016 10:47:54 +0000

If Jennifer Lawrence is too young to have "paid her dues", what does that say about Quvenzhane Wallis?? Wallis' nomination was a total stunt.

By: Duddi

Duddi — Fri, 13 May 2016 10:47:54 +0000

Come on, dude !!! Moneyball was more than a crowd-pleaser for sure… That was one of the best sport movies ever made… too bad you think of it as a crowd-pleaser..

By: StephenM

StephenM — Fri, 13 May 2016 10:47:54 +0000

I kinda think nominating The Tree of Life last year was edgier than Moneyball . . .

By: DG

DG — Fri, 13 May 2016 10:47:54 +0000

Maybe the academy wasn't playing it safe with the nominations this year (and good on them) but I have a gut feeling they will with the wins. Icould be totally wrong but I think Lincoln will probably sweep. I hope Jenifer Lawerence wins she is amazing but Riva would be great too. So glad Django didn't get too much attention it was easily QTs worst movie in a decade. Also anyone else think The Master should have gotten a mom for editing? The editing and pacing in that was like no movie I've ever seen before.

By: cirkusfolk

cirkusfolk — Fri, 13 May 2016 10:47:54 +0000

I like your analysis of the Best Supporting Actor category. I'm fine with all those actors getting nomed, but it is definately a tough one to call. Arkin was good in Argo but much better in Little Miss Sunshine for which he won. Same for Waltz and Inglourious Basterds. You are also right about there may being a reluctance to honor Tommy Lee if Daniel Day takes the lead statue and Field possibly one as well. I can honestly say I think they might give it to Hoffman since the other two Master players don't really have a shot, but I'm personally hoping DeNiro will win. Like you said, it's his best performance in years that offered some very crappy ones, so it very well be his last shot at the gold in his lifetim, especially considering he hasn't been nomed in 20 years.

By: Edward

Edward — Fri, 13 May 2016 10:47:54 +0000

"You Really Have To Stop Saying That The Academy Are Safe And Boring" Well said. The opposite is a dumb knee jerk response.

By: rtyhghh

rtyhghh — Fri, 13 May 2016 10:47:54 +0000

$500,000 constitutes a "micro-budget" according to whose definition? And word is that Beasts may have cost closer to 1 million. That term is usually reserved for under $100K. Not that it isn't a shocking pick, but let's not exaggerate

By: Robert

Robert — Fri, 13 May 2016 10:47:54 +0000

It's Argo for Best Picture and Haneke for Best Director. You heard this here.

By: Jake

Jake — Fri, 13 May 2016 10:47:54 +0000

Oh, also, 1999's not a great year to say they were weak compared to just how good film was that year. Cider House Rules might be schmaltzy and not as strong as some other possibles, but The Green Mile is an excellent film, and far outside of the Academy's wheelhouse. I'd go with 2007, a year that featured movies like Zodiac, The Assassination of Jesse James, Eastern Promises, & The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, and we got Juno as a Best Picture nominee instead.

By: ^_^

^_^ — Fri, 13 May 2016 10:47:54 +0000

im just thinking why SKYFALL was not nominated for the BES PICTURE even it has A 5 NOMINATIONS?????? and why MAGGIE SMITH was not nominated for the BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS for THE BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL and LEONARDO DI CAPRIO for BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR for DJANGO UNCHAINED….. this is the second time where LEONARDO was SNOB BY THE ACADEMY …and WHY RISE OF THE GUARDIANS was NOT NOMINATED FOR THE BEST ANIMATED FILM..??? IT IS MUCH BETTER THAN BRAVE AND PIRATES!!!! ???

By: Rafael

Rafael — Fri, 13 May 2016 10:47:54 +0000

Robert De Niro WAS nominated for the SAG's.

By: AE

AE — Fri, 13 May 2016 10:47:54 +0000

Yeah, I've been bitching about the end of the movies all year but the Best picture list is pretty great and there are still notable omissions. Overall I think the Academy have been discerning, and rewarded based on excellence of craft. At first glance the Best Director list may appear random, but if you consider that Ang Lee kept us interested in a boat, a tiger and a boy for an hour and a half, and Ben Zeitlin conjured the strange, mystical world of BOTSW with next to nothing, then the choices begin to make sense, and I'm not a big fan of either of those films overall. Now if Emmanuelle Riva and/or Haneke win one of the majors, that would be something.

By: Ryan

Ryan — Fri, 13 May 2016 10:47:54 +0000

You make a compelling case against those of us who complain and dismiss; that indeed this year is somehow different than in past years – more edgy and less safe. But ultimately history will prove the complainers are correct. Amour IS Haneke's safest film; it's almost irrelevant that it's directed by the guy that did Funny Games because it's a film that's right in the wheelhouse of Academy members. Ditto on movies like Life of Pi (big and beautiful) Les Miserables (epic and dramatic), and even Django Unchained (it seems like QT has entered his respected statesman faze where every one of his films, even before they're even shot, have Oscar buzz – see Scorsese and Eastwood ten years ago). Before I even saw films like Argo, Lincoln, and Silver Linings Playbook they felt like Oscar-y movies. So the complaints come when the Academy underlines what we thought six months ago. And I don't buy this nonsense that Beasts of the Southern Wild is somehow edgy or shocking – Oscar talk has been near fever pitch since before it came out last summer. Now if you want to go edgy and unpredictable, how about nominated the other Sundance hit, Middle of Nowhere. Now THAT would've been edgy.

Ultimately, it appears that Lincoln will sweep, something we all predicted over a year ago. This is exactly what happened last year when after all the hoopla surrounding Viola Davis and the supposed "race" for best actress, Meryl Streep ended up getting the award we all knew she would get. Ditto on the year before, when the front runner The King's Speech was supposedly losing ground to A Social Network only to be the ultimate winner come Oscar night. At the end of the day, what we initially think will happen usually ends up happening. I see no difference this year.

By: Tobi

Tobi — Fri, 13 May 2016 10:47:54 +0000

Thank you, thank you so much for that last paragraph. It's starting to become counter-productive with all the pissing and moaning; I was up for the nominations and of course that's all everyone did, including myself. But it's been two days now, let it go and let's see who is going to win with what we have now. The nominations are what they are. The Best Actress and Supporting Actor categories are going to be very interesting for sure, since you have a three-way and really, a five-way race, respectively in each category. Looking forward to seeing how that is going to be playing out.

By: Someperson

Someperson — Fri, 13 May 2016 10:47:54 +0000

Hey now, I really liked The Green Mile.

By: Alex

Alex — Fri, 13 May 2016 10:47:54 +0000

Great piece.

By: nightgoat72

nightgoat72 — Fri, 13 May 2016 10:47:54 +0000

I won't bitch and moan about another dull batch of Oscar nominees (which I definitely think this is, for the most part), but one thing I simply cannot wrap my head around: how on earth did The Master not get nominated for cinematography? I mean, I understand not nominating it for picture and director (no matter how much I disagree), but nothing for cinematography? That jaw-droppingly gorgeous, 70mm cinematography? That just seems objectively wrong.

By: F.P.

F.P. — Fri, 13 May 2016 10:47:54 +0000

And yet for as many praiseworthy films as there may be this year, it appears as though the safest choice of them all will win because their golden boy didn't get the Best Director nomination he was 'owed.' And before anyone says, the Golden Globes are just there to give awards to boldfaced names, presumed front-runner LINCOLN won nothing beyond Hollywood's regular tribute to D.Day-Lewis, and ARGO also won the Critics Choice Awards' Best Picture as well. And who would accept that Best Picture win for ARGO? George Clooney. Mark ARGO in your bracket now – Picture, Supporting Actor (Arkin, as the producer all in Hollywood think they are), Editing (Goldenberg), Score (Desplat), and if you want to be bold, Terrio over Kushner in Adapted Screenplay. I'd count 4 or 5 wins for ARGO.