The Nominees: Reactions

I was being pointedly ridiculous when I suggested the Academy might bring "excitement" to the nominations announcement by revealing them in reverse alphabetical order.  What did they actually do?  Reveal them in random order.  [Shaking head in disbelief.]

BEST PICTURE

Amour
Argo
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Django Unchained
Les Miserables
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Silver Linings Playbook
Zero Dark Thirty

How I Did: 9/9 (though I also predicted Moonrise Kingdom for a total of 10 nominees.)

It is particularly vexing that Moonrise Kingdom was snubbed in favor of...nothing.


BEST DIRECTOR

Amour: Michael Haneke
Beasts of the Southern Wild: Benh Zeitlin
Life of Pi: Ang Lee
Lincoln: Steven Spielberg
Silver Linings Playbook: David O. Russell

How I Did: 3/5 (Amour and Beasts... instead of Argo and Zero Dark Thirty)

Holy crap-balls!  The omissions of Ben Affleck and especially Kathryn Bigelow are flat-out insane.  They were actually the front-runners to win (or at least, to make Spielberg sweat the most.)  This reminds me of the 1995-96 race, when Apollo 13 and Sense and Sensibility were the favorites for the top prizes, and somehow Ron Howard and Ang Lee were shafted.  In other factoids, Benh Zeitlin is the first Best Director nominee to be born as recently as the 1980's.


BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Argo: Chris Terrio
Beasts of the Southern Wild: Lucy Alibar, Benh Zeitlin
Life of Pi: David Magee
Lincoln: Tony Kushner
Silver Linings Playbook: David O. Russell

How I Did: 4/5 (Beasts... instead of The Perks of Being a Wallflower)

This nomination for Beasts makes Lucy Alibar the only female nominated in the authorial categories.


BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Amour: Michael Haneke
Django Unchained: Quentin Tarantino
Flight: John Gatins
Moonrise Kingdom: Wes Anderson, Roman Coppola
Zero Dark Thirty: Mark Boal

How I Did: 4/5 (Flight instead of Looper)

A big congratulations to Roman Coppola, who is now inducted in the Oscar club alongside his father Francis, grandfather Carmine, little sister Sofia, aunt Talia Shire, and cousin Nicolas Cage.  You're next, Jason Schwartzman!


BEST ACTOR

Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook
Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
Hugh Jackman, Les Miserables
Joaquin Phoenix, The Master
Denzel Washington, Flight

How I Did: 4/5 (Phoenix instead of John Hawkes)

Poor John Hawkes!  I haven't even seen his movie yet, and this still bums me out.  I like me some John Hawkes.


BEST ACTRESS

Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty
Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
Emmanuelle Riva, Amour
Quvenzhane Wallis, Beasts of the Southern Wild
Naomi Watts, The Impossible

How I Did: 4/5 (Riva instead of Marion Cotillard)

Riva and Wallis were both included - I love it!  At age 85 and age 9, they have broken the records for the oldest and youngest Best Actress nominees ever.  Here's to hoping that when Jean Dujardin presents this category next month, he delivers his tribute to Ms. Riva in French.


BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Alan Arkin, Argo
Robert DeNiro, Silver Linings Playbook
Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Master
Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln
Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained

How I Did: 4/5 (Waltz instead of Matthew McConaughey)

All five of them have already won.  What a drag.


BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Amy Adams, The Master
Sally Field, Lincoln
Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables
Helen Hunt, The Sessions
Jacki Weaver, Silver Linings Playbook

How I Did: 4/5 (Weaver instead of Ann Dowd.)

The surprise mention for Jacki Weaver makes Silver Linings... the first film since Reds (1981) to be nominated in all four acting categories.


So that makes 14 films nominated in the top eight categories.  I have seen exactly two of them.  Let my crash course in 2012 cinema begin!