What will the Oscar Nominations be?

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 1/18/05 at 4:09am

We'll find out on January 25 at 8:30 a.m. Eastern. What are your guesses? Here are mine (for the moment):

Best Picture
The Aviator
Finding Neverland
Hotel Rwanda
Million Dollar Baby
Sideways

Best Director
Alexander Payne - Sideways
Michel Gondry - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Martin Scorsese - Aviator, The
Marc Forster - Finding Neverland
Clint Eastwood - Million Dollar Baby

Best Actor
Leonardo DiCaprio - Aviator, The
Jamie Foxx - Ray
Paul Giamatti - Sideways
Don Cheadle - Hotel Rwanda
Clint Eastwood - Million Dollar Baby

Best Actress
Annette Bening - Being Julia
Catalina Sandino Moreno - Maria Full of Grace
Hilary Swank - Million Dollar Baby
Imelda Staunton - Vera Drake
Kate Winslet - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Best Supporting Actor
Jamie Foxx - Collateral
Morgan Freeman - Million Dollar Baby
Thomas Haden Church - Sideways
Clive Owen - Closer
David Carradine - Kill Bill vol 2

Best Supporting Actress
Cate Blanchett - Aviator, The
Laura Linney - Kinsey
Natalie Portman - Closer
Virginia Madsen - Sideways
Sophie Okonedo - Hotel Rwanda

Best Screenplay - Adapted
Alexander Payne/Jim Taylor - Sideways
David Magee - Finding Neverland
Patrick Marber - Closer
Paul Haggis - Million Dollar Baby
Jose Rivera - Motorcycle Diaries, The

Best Screenplay - Original
Bill Condon - Kinsey
Brad Bird - Incredibles, The
Charlie Kaufman - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Keir Pierson/Terry George - Hotel Rwanda
John Logan - Aviator, The

Best Animated Feature
Incredibles, The
Shrek 2
Ghost in the Shell 2

Best Foreign Language Film
Chorus, The (France)
Five Obstructions, The (Denmark)
House of Flying Daggers (China)
Keys To the House, The (Italy)
Sea Inside, The (Spain)

Best Documentary Feature
Born into Brothels: Calcutta's Red Light Kids
Riding Giants
Super Size Me
Tell Them Who You Are
In the Realms of the Unreal

Best Art Direction
Aviator, The
Phantom of the Opera
House of Flying Daggers
Finding Neverland
Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events

Best Visual Effects
Aviator, The
Spider-Man 2
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow

Best Costume Design
Aviator, The
Finding Neverland
Phantom of the Opera
Vanity Fair
House of Flying Daggers

Best Make Up
Aviator, The
Passion of the Christ, The
Hellboy

Best Editing
Aviator, The
Million Dollar Baby
Sideways
Finding Neverland
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Best Cinematography
Aviator, The
Million Dollar Baby
Sideways
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Collateral

Best Sound Mixing
Aviator, The
Incredibles, The
Polar Express, The
Spider-Man 2
Million Dollar Baby

Best Sound Editing
Aviator, The
Incredibles, The
Spider-Man 2

Best Original Score
Clint Eastwood - Million Dollar Baby
Michael Giacchino - Incredibles, The
John Williams - Terminal, The
Jan A.P. Kaczmarek - Finding Neverland
Rolfe Kent - Sideways

Best Original Song
"Accidentally in Love" - Shrek 2
"Learn to be Lonely" - Phantom of the Opera
"Million Voices" - Hotel Rwanda
"Old Habits Die Hard" - Alfie
"Believe" - Polar Express, The

[paradox_error]

Posted: 1/18/05 at 4:38am

Farenheit 9/11?

[Auggie27]

Posted: 1/18/05 at 9:28am

Smart, comprehensive list, JRB. I bet you're about 95% on the money.

Moore did not want FAHRENHEIT in the documentary category, and (a la Oprah resisting more Emmys) did not allow it included apparently.

[Jon]

Posted: 1/18/05 at 10:36am

Take Eastwood out of Best Actor and put Depp in.

[BlueWizard]

Posted: 1/18/05 at 11:33am

What? Did Kinsey just get bumped out of everything?

I'm hoping that ETERNAL SUNSHINE gets a slice of the cake.

[WOSQ]

Posted: 1/18/05 at 11:36am

There are always some surprises both in inclusions and exclusions.

As for Best Actor, after the Golden Globes it looks like a lock for Jamie Foxx. Why even bother with the other four nominees?

[popcultureboy]

Posted: 1/18/05 at 11:43am

The "not mainstream enough" argument may also damage Eternal Sunshine's chances.

[popcultureboy]

Posted: 1/18/05 at 11:51am

But do cult movies sit well with the Academy though? I don't think they do, not for the big awards anyway.

[robbiej]

Posted: 1/18/05 at 11:56am

Actually, they do, Cal! Check out the NY Times for an article a week or so ago about how the nominations are tallied. It's fascinating and arcane!

I'm willing to go out on a limb and say that one of the surprises for Best Actress may be Uma for Kill Bill, Vol. 2.

[popcultureboy]

Posted: 1/18/05 at 11:58am

Well I never did, robbie. I was basing that purely on films like Pulp Fiction and Crying Game getting a ton of nominations and then only winning one or two of the awards they were up for while films like Braveheart clean up.

[robbiej]

Posted: 1/18/05 at 11:59am

Oh, I don't think it will WIN...not even sure it will get nominated. I just know that it's very possible, due to the arcane voting methods used, that it can sneak in for a Best Pic nom.

[popcultureboy]

Posted: 1/18/05 at 12:03pm

Which explains why Miramax movies always do so well. Unless it's Cold Mountain.

[zippyjen]

Posted: 1/18/05 at 12:06pm

what about the motorcycle diaries? I heard it couldn't be nominated. Anyone know?

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 1/18/05 at 12:06pm

There's no point in saying who I THINK will be nominated, because the initial poster was pretty much correct. The only category that makes me angry is best picture. We know who the nominess will be, but some of them are hardly the BEST pictures. This is who I would nominate for Best Picture:

Farenheit 9/11
Kinsey
Maria Full of Grace
Million Dollar Baby
Sideways

I was so pissed that THE AVIATOR won best drama at the GG's. It really didn't deserve it - I really disliked that movie.

[popcultureboy]

Posted: 1/18/05 at 12:09pm

No, it's not over spectacle, but the Academy is fully aware of the golden rule of bad movies that are only spectacle and nothing more:

"you can put s**t in a hat and make it dance, but it's still s**t"

[kangaroo]

Posted: 1/18/05 at 12:31pm

My guesses:
Best Motion Picture
The Aviator
Finding Neverland
Hotel Rwanda
Million Dollar Baby
Ray
Sideways [yes... there is six, but I couldn't choose]

Best Actress
Hilary Swank, Million Dollar Baby
Annette Bening, Being Julia
Kate Winslet, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Imelda Staunton, Vera Drake
Catalina Sandino Moreno .... Maria Alvarez

Best Actor
Jim Carrey, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Don Cheadle, Hotel Rwanda
Johnny Depp, Finding Neverland
Leonardo DiCaprio, The Aviator
Jamie Foxx, Ray

Best Foreign-Language Film
The Chorus (France)
House of Flying Daggers (China)
The Motorcycle Diaries (Brazil)
The Sea Inside (Spain)
A Very Long Engagement (France) <--this looks good

Best Supporting Actress
Cate Blanchett, The Aviator
Laura Linney, Kinsey
Virginia Madsen, Sideways
Natalie Portman, Closer
Meryl Streep, The Manchurian Candidate

Best Supporting Actor
Thomas Haden Church, Sideways
Jamie Foxx, Collateral
Morgan Freeman, Million Dollar Baby
Clive Owen, Closer

Best Screenplay
Charlie Kaufman, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
John Logan, The Aviator
David Magee, Finding Neverland
Patrick Marber, Closer
Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor, Sideways

Best Original Score
Clint Eastwood, Million Dollar Baby
Jan A.P. Kaczmarek, Finding Neverland
Rolfe Kent, Sideways
Howard Shore, The Aviator
Hans Zimmer, Spanglish

Best Original Song
"Accidentally in Love" (Shrek 2)
"Believe" (The Polar Express)
"Learn to be Lonely" (The Phantom of the Opera)
"Million Voices" (Hotel Rwanda)
"Old Habits Die Hard" (Alfie )

Best Director
Clint Eastwood, Million Dollar Baby
Marc Forster, Finding Neverland
Mike Nichols, Closer
Alexander Payne, Sideways
Martin Scorsese, The Aviator

Best Art Direction
Aviator, The
Phantom of the Opera
House of Flying Daggers
Finding Neverland

Best Visual Effects
Aviator, The
? I dont' know who else

Best Costume Design
Aviator, The
Finding Neverland
Phantom of the Opera
Vanity Fair

Best Make Up
Aviator, The
Passion of the Christ, The

Best Editing
Aviator, The
Million Dollar Baby
Sideways
Finding Neverland
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Best Cinematography
Aviator, The
Million Dollar Baby
Sideways
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Collateral

Best Sound Mixing
Aviator, The
Incredibles, The
Polar Express, The
Million Dollar Baby

[EvelynNesbit1906]

Posted: 1/18/05 at 12:45pm

LOL, munk! Now The Aviator has moved from your top ten list to #13 to a film you "really dislike"? What gives? This sounds like me and Finding Neverland.

Anyway, re: Kinsey not being mainstream enough. Several people I know have argued that it's "too conventional." Other people just don't care for a film this "academic." I happen to think that says more about them than the quality of the film. I also think that calling the film "conventional" is bull. A woman has sex with her husband's research assistant while simultaneously holding conversation with her husband, who is listening to the sex at the bottom of the staircase. Another woman in her seventies takes it doggy style from a man in his twenties. A middle-aged man punctures his penis to experiment. Parents discuss sex at length during dinner with their children. What's conventional about all that? I spoil to give you all a sense of how at odds calling this film "conventional" is with what really happens in it. I think some people would've liked it to have been so offensive that it would've gotten an NC-17 rating, but that probably would have killed its awards potential altogether. Anyway, the reason why it's not doing well at the awards now is that it has been in relatively few theaters. I think 188 across the country was the last count.

Kinsey only getting a couple of Oscar nominations will be one of the biggest Oscar atrocities since Ian McKellen lost to Roberto Benigni. And of course, no one will know that better than Bill Condon.

[Jamie Hat]

Posted: 1/18/05 at 1:51pm

I didn't think Kinsey should win anything. Nor do I think Liam should be nominated, though I love him. It's really not that great of a film. And that ending sucked. Though, I realize the challenges of a true biography film, and how they are often hard to finish properly. (Pollock, to name another)

I think we are going to see a lot of "overdue" awards this year, not to the best people or movies, but to those who have histories of such greatness, and no oscar to show for it. See: Freeman, Scorcese...etc.

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 1/18/05 at 2:12pm

I know, Evelyn. The more I think about THE AVIATOR the more I dislike it. It is so messy and bland - nothing stuck with me and I didn't find it enjoyable.

I was just thinking about the BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS category. This is who I would like to see nominated:

Cate Blanchett, THE AVIATOR
Laura Linney, KINSEY
Virgina Madsen, SIDEWAYS
Natalie Portman, CLOSER
Sharon Warren, RAY

Sharon Warren gave the single best performance in the entire movie, and she really should be nominated. I would even vote for her over Madsen and Blanchett.

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 1/18/05 at 2:19pm

The Motorcycle Diaries and Very Long Engagement are not eligible for Foreign Film--their countries submitted other films.

I don't know if this is official, but The Aviator is not going to be deemed eligible for Best Score because " The AMPAS Music Branch rules exclude scores "diluted by the use of tracked or pre-existing music" and/or "diminished in impact by the predominant use of songs," so Aviator was disqualified because, terrific as it is, the Shore score is only a minority of the prominent music in the film."

I certainly hope various films (like Kill Bill) can get noms--and I always love surprises. That list I made is my trying to incorporate surprises. I just don't want Hotel Rwanda to be kicked out for any other film's nomination in a given category.

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 1/18/05 at 2:30pm

I thought the score to THE AVIATOR was the least impressive of the others - it did nothing for me. I would like to see FINDING NEVERLAND win the Oscar for best score, the music truly moves me. I pay very much attention to the scores because I love original scores so much, and I haven't enjoyed a score like NEVERLAND's since Glass' BRILLIANT BRILLIANT score for THE HOURS.

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 1/18/05 at 2:38pm

Even though I wasn't crazy about Sideways, it would be fun for that score to win, too.

[EvelynNesbit1906]

Posted: 1/18/05 at 2:38pm

I thought that Kerry Washington gave a tour de force performance in Ray. Although I didn't care much for the film, the scene in which she's forced to make a choice between supporting Ray and not supporting him after he gets "the phone call" and goes with the latter option was just outstanding. Sharon Warren succumbed to histrionics (more than her character demanded) a bit too much for my tastes, but during her quieter moments, she was spectacular. The women in the film had their work cut out for them much more than Jamie Foxx. He had footage and interaction with the real Ray Charles on which to model his performance. They had to invent personas.

"Though, I realize the challenges of a true biography film, and how they are often hard to finish properly."

While you're obviously entitled to like or dislike whatever films you want, and I respect that, I disagree with the word choice here. What is the "proper" way to finish a biopic?

I thought the ending sent an appropriate message given the subject - no matter what society says, truth and solace can be found in nature.

The ending of Pollock has remained with me for over four years now. And I think I can offer you a brief defense for it: Pollock was an abstract expressionist. One of the most defining features of his paintings was their disorder, which - as we know from the film - was an apt word for describing Pollock's life and spirit. That he should die in a car accident and take a protesting, innocent, young woman with him was consistent with that disorder. Ending the film neatly would have done a disservice to the man's life.

And somehow I think Clint Eastwood's score for Million Dollar Baby will be the one to beat, especially if he's not expected to win any other awards that night. Updated On: 1/18/05 at 02:38 PM

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 1/18/05 at 2:55pm

Just want to clarify that my understanding is that Moore withheld F9/11 so that he could air it on TV before the election. Because of the Documentary category's rules, he would have been deemed ineligible for this (there is a time frame between film opening and TV airing).

Though, if I had been him, I would have submitted it. Because, I don't recall if his film was declared ineligible for the category. I think it played pay-per-view. And, that might have been enough to rule it out.

I don't think it is likely, but I would NOT be surprised to see the film up for Best Picture or another major award. That's the thing about a documentary--there aren't any precursor awards to give us any clue.

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 1/18/05 at 3:11pm

Although I do enjoy Eastwood's very simple score for MDB, I preffered his score for MYSTIC RIVER, but that is irrelevant. I know, Evelyn, that you look at NEVERLAND's music as being from a PBS special, but I find the music very moving. What beat THE HOURS for best score 2 years ago? Was it LOTR?

Evelyn: How do you feel about Julie Delpy sneaking in for a Best Actress nomination for BEFORE SUNSET? Her performance was hysterical and so brutally real that I would nominate her, perhaps over Moreno for MARIA FULL OF GRACE, which I also LOVED. Do you think the academy will give the award to Clive Owen for CLOSER, or will they go withthe Typical (less brilliant) Church? Do you think Portman will be left out? I kind of do.