Tuesday | February 2, 2010 | 1:13 pm
LOL Of The Week: The Oscar Nominations Once again, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences have given me even more reason to believe that each year the Academy Awards become more and more of a popularity contest. Rather than being judged on their overall merit, films are now being awarded and apparently even nominated based on the general consensus that a whole lot of people liked them. I’m not saying that all of the nominees for this year’s awards are bad, but to place films like The Hurt Locker, An Education, and A Serious Man in the same category as The Blind Side (I wrote a lengthy article on this one a while back) and James Cameron’s over-long and completely formulaic science fiction “epic” Avatar, a film whose ideas and generic script have been seen a hundred times before at the Oscars, is not only an insult to the filmmakers, but to the integrity of the awards themselves. Let’s have a look at the nominees. BEST PICTURE:An Education A Serious Man District 9 Up Up in the Air Avatar The Hurt Locker Inglourious Basterds Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire The Blind Side FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM The White Ribbon A Prophet The Milk of Sorrow Ajami The Secret of Her Eyes ANIMATED FEATURE Up Fantastic Mr. Fox Coraline The Secret of Kells The Princess and the Frog DIRECTOR: Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker) Quentin Tarantino (Inglourious Basterds) James Cameron (Avatar) Jason Reitman (Up in the Air) Lee Daniels (Precious) ACTOR Jeff Bridges Crazy Heart George Clooney Up in the Air Colin Firth A Single Man Morgan Freeman Invictus Jeremy Renner The Hurt Locker SUPPORTING ACTOR Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds) Stanley Tucci (The Lovely Bones) Woody Harrelson (The Messenger) Christopher Plummer (The Last Station) Matt Damon (Invictus) ACTRESS Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side) Meryl Streep (Julie & Julia) Carey Mulligan (An Education) Gabourey Sibide (Precious) Helen Mirren (The Last Station) SUPPORTING ACTRESS Mo’Nique (Precious) Anna Kendrick (Up in the Air) Vera Farmiga (Up in the Air) Penelope Cruz (Nine) Maggie Gyllenhaal (Crazy Heart) ART DIRECTION Avatar Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus The Young Victoria Nine Sherlock Holmes CINEMATOGRAPHY Avatar The Hurt Locker Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Inglourious Basterds The White Ribbon COSTUME DESIGN The Young Victoria Bright Star Coco avant Chanel Nine Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus DOCUMENTARY FEATURE The Cove Food Inc. The Most Dangerous Man in America Burma Vj Which Way Home DOCUMENTARY SHORT The Last Truck: The Closing of GM Plant The Last Campaign of Gvernor Booth GardnerSendak Rabbit a la Berlin Music by Prudence China’s Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province EDITING The Hurt Locker Avatar District 9 Precious Inglourious Basterds MAKEUP The Young Victoria Il Divo Star Trek ORIGINAL SCORE Michael Giacchino (Up) James Horner (Avatar) Marco Beltrami & Buck Sanders (The Hurt Locker) Hans Zimmer (Sherlock Holmes) Alexandre Desplat (Fantastic Mr. Fox) ORIGINAL SONG “Take it All” (Nine) “The Weary Kind” (Crazy Heart) “Almost There” (The Princess & the Frog) “Down in New Orleans” (The Princess & the Frog) “Loin de Paname” (Paris 36) SOUND EDITING The Hurt Locker Star Trek Avatar Up Inglourious Basterds SOUND MIXING The Hurt Locker Star Trek Avatar Transformers 2 Inglourious Basterds VISUAL EFFECTS Avatar Star Trek District 9 ADAPTED SCREENPLAY Up in the Air An Education Precious District 9 In the Loop ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY The Hurt Locker Inglourious Basterds A Serious Man Up The Messenger LIVE ACTION SHORT The Door Miracle Fish The New Tenants Kavi Instead of Abracadabra ANIMATED SHORT FILM Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty French Roast The Lady and the Reaper Logorama A Matter of Loaf and Death There are a few very pleasant surprises on here that I honestly wasn’t expecting, the most notable being a Best Picture nod for Neil Blomkamp’s District 9. While it’s pretty sweet that a film by a first time director was nominated, I can guarantee that it won’t take home the prize. I can’t help but feel that this is the Academy’s poor attempt at hopping on the band wagon and trying to please the geek crowd who are very rapidly taking over Hollywood. Beyond that, I’m really liking the Academy’s picks for Best Foreign Film. As I stated in an article I posted the other week, I’d love to see Un Prophete take it home, but the clear front runner here is Haneke’s excellent period piece The White Ribbon. The Best Animated category stands out too; here’s to hoping Fantastic Mr. Fox wins it by a landslide. Aside from some pleasant choices by the Academy members, that may have actually just been coincidences rather than conscious choices, the overall list of nominees is actually kind of comical. With the controversial decision to switch to ten Best Picture nominees this year instead of the typical five, I feel bad for films that are on there only by proxy and the pity of Academy members, who are desperately trying to be popular themselves amongst the mainstream. The Oscars will always be, however, the biggest awards of the year, and they know that, and they abuse it. Slapping that label onto a film’s DVD case will pretty much guarantee more sales to anyone who doesn’t know better, and so they’re not gonna hand the award to an arthouse title or independent feature that no one’s ever heard of, but rather to the most popular films of the year that will guarantee the Academy’s own success. It’s not entirely a bad thing, but for those of you who still think that our friends over at the AMPAS judge films fairly, based on their quality and craftsmanship; well, I think you’re unfortunately mistaken. -William Gutheil

LOL Of The Week: The Oscar Nominations

Once again, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences have given me even more reason to believe that each year the Academy Awards become more and more of a popularity contest. Rather than being judged on their overall merit, films are now being awarded and apparently even nominated based on the general consensus that a whole lot of people liked them. I’m not saying that all of the nominees for this year’s awards are bad, but to place films like The Hurt Locker, An Education, and A Serious Man in the same category as The Blind Side (I wrote a lengthy article on this one a while back) and James Cameron’s over-long and completely formulaic science fiction “epic” Avatar, a film whose ideas and generic script have been seen a hundred times before at the Oscars, is not only an insult to the filmmakers, but to the integrity of the awards themselves. Let’s have a look at the nominees.

BEST PICTURE:
An Education
A Serious Man
District 9
Up
Up in the Air
Avatar
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
The Blind Side

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
The White Ribbon
A Prophet
The Milk of Sorrow
Ajami
The Secret of Her Eyes

ANIMATED FEATURE

Up
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Coraline
The Secret of Kells
The Princess and the Frog

DIRECTOR:

Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker)
Quentin Tarantino (Inglourious Basterds)
James Cameron (Avatar)
Jason Reitman (Up in the Air)
Lee Daniels (Precious)

ACTOR
Jeff Bridges Crazy Heart
George Clooney Up in the Air
Colin Firth A Single Man
Morgan Freeman Invictus
Jeremy Renner The Hurt Locker

SUPPORTING ACTOR
Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds)
Stanley Tucci (The Lovely Bones)
Woody Harrelson (The Messenger)
Christopher Plummer (The Last Station)
Matt Damon (Invictus)

ACTRESS
Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side)
Meryl Streep (Julie & Julia)
Carey Mulligan (An Education)
Gabourey Sibide (Precious)
Helen Mirren (The Last Station)

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Mo’Nique (Precious)
Anna Kendrick (Up in the Air)
Vera Farmiga (Up in the Air)
Penelope Cruz (Nine)
Maggie Gyllenhaal (Crazy Heart)

ART DIRECTION
Avatar
Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus
The Young Victoria
Nine
Sherlock Holmes

CINEMATOGRAPHY
Avatar
The Hurt Locker
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Inglourious Basterds
The White Ribbon

COSTUME DESIGN
The Young Victoria
Bright Star
Coco avant Chanel
Nine
Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
The Cove
Food Inc.
The Most Dangerous Man in America
Burma Vj
Which Way Home

DOCUMENTARY SHORT
The Last Truck: The Closing of GM Plant
The Last Campaign of Gvernor Booth GardnerSendak
Rabbit a la Berlin
Music by Prudence
China’s Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province

EDITING
The Hurt Locker
Avatar
District 9
Precious
Inglourious Basterds

MAKEUP
The Young Victoria
Il Divo
Star Trek

ORIGINAL SCORE
Michael Giacchino (Up)
James Horner (Avatar)
Marco Beltrami & Buck Sanders (The Hurt Locker)
Hans Zimmer (Sherlock Holmes)
Alexandre Desplat (Fantastic Mr. Fox)

ORIGINAL SONG
“Take it All” (Nine)
“The Weary Kind” (Crazy Heart)
“Almost There” (The Princess & the Frog)
“Down in New Orleans” (The Princess & the Frog)
“Loin de Paname” (Paris 36)

SOUND EDITING
The Hurt Locker
Star Trek
Avatar
Up
Inglourious Basterds

SOUND MIXING
The Hurt Locker
Star Trek
Avatar
Transformers 2
Inglourious Basterds

VISUAL EFFECTS
Avatar
Star Trek
District 9

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Up in the Air
An Education
Precious
District 9
In the Loop

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
A Serious Man
Up
The Messenger

LIVE ACTION SHORT
The Door
Miracle Fish
The New Tenants
Kavi
Instead of Abracadabra

ANIMATED SHORT FILM
Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty
French Roast
The Lady and the Reaper
Logorama
A Matter of Loaf and Death

There are a few very pleasant surprises on here that I honestly wasn’t expecting, the most notable being a Best Picture nod for Neil Blomkamp’s District 9. While it’s pretty sweet that a film by a first time director was nominated, I can guarantee that it won’t take home the prize. I can’t help but feel that this is the Academy’s poor attempt at hopping on the band wagon and trying to please the geek crowd who are very rapidly taking over Hollywood. Beyond that, I’m really liking the Academy’s picks for Best Foreign Film. As I stated in an article I posted the other week, I’d love to see Un Prophete take it home, but the clear front runner here is Haneke’s excellent period piece The White Ribbon. The Best Animated category stands out too; here’s to hoping Fantastic Mr. Fox wins it by a landslide.

Aside from some pleasant choices by the Academy members, that may have actually just been coincidences rather than conscious choices, the overall list of nominees is actually kind of comical. With the controversial decision to switch to ten Best Picture nominees this year instead of the typical five, I feel bad for films that are on there only by proxy and the pity of Academy members, who are desperately trying to be popular themselves amongst the mainstream. The Oscars will always be, however, the biggest awards of the year, and they know that, and they abuse it. Slapping that label onto a film’s DVD case will pretty much guarantee more sales to anyone who doesn’t know better, and so they’re not gonna hand the award to an arthouse title or independent feature that no one’s ever heard of, but rather to the most popular films of the year that will guarantee the Academy’s own success. It’s not entirely a bad thing, but for those of you who still think that our friends over at the AMPAS judge films fairly, based on their quality and craftsmanship; well, I think you’re unfortunately mistaken.

-William Gutheil

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