The nominations for the 83rd annual Academy Awards are out, and the nominees are less surprising than finding out Paris Hilton had herpes (haha, good one, Jay). The King’s Speech led the pack with 12 nominations, so it seems looking like pure awards bait worked out exactly as planned. “P-p-please, s-s-s-ir. H-h-h-elp me fight the N-n-n-nazis.”
The only mild surprises were Waiting for Superman not picking up a documentary nomination, and Mark Ruffalo getting a Best Supporting Actor nod. Another interesting note is that James Franco, who’s co-hosting the awards with Anne Hathaway, also received a Best Actor nomination. Is that the first time that’s happened? Is it? Someone should look that up.
Best Picture
“Black Swan”
“The Fighter”
“Inception”
“The Kids Are All Right ” [bleh.]
“The King’s Speech”
“127 Hours”
“The Social Network”
“Toy Story 3″
“True Grit”
“Winter’s Bone”
Should win: Toy Story 3 (that scene where they’re holding hands on the way to the fire is so unbelievably good) or Winter’s Bone. Will win: The Social Network. Wild Card: Inception.
Best Direction
Darren Aronofsky for “Black Swan”
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen for “True Grit”
David Fincher for “The Social Network”
Tom Hooper for “The King’s Speech”
David O. Russell for “The Fighter”
Should win: David Fincher (Aronofsky was great, but it seemed like the main point of that movie was getting a Best Director Oscar). Will win: Probably David Fincher, but don’t discount the old lifetime-achievement award for the Coen Brothers (honestly, who could complain about that). SNUBBED: Chris Nolan.
Actor in a Leading Role
Javier Bardem in “Biutiful”
Jeff Bridges in “True Grit”
Jesse Eisenberg in “The Social Network”
James Franco in “127 Hours”
Colin Firth in “The King’s Speech”
Should win: Pick ’em. Will win: Firth is probably the favorite on account of being nominated last year, but don’t count out James Franco. I wasn’t a huge fan of 127 Hours, but Franco was the main reason it was even mildly tolerable. Though I’m pissed about his snub for Dicknose in Paris.
Actress in a Leading Role
Annette Bening in “The Kids Are All Right”
Nicole Kidman in “Rabbit Hole”
Jennifer Lawrence in “Winter’s Bone”
Natalie Portman in “Black Swan”
Michelle Williams in “Blue Valentine”
Should Win: Bening, Lawrence, or Portman. Will Win: Bening. Even I can’t deny she was great in The Kids Are All Right, and the Kids Are All Right sucked. I never saw Blue Valentine, but Michelle Williams always acts like a prissy teenager who just smelled a fart.
Actor in a Supporting Role
Christian Bale in “The Fighter”
John Hawkes in “Winter’s Bone”
Jeremy Renner in “The Town”
Mark Ruffalo in “The Kids Are All Right”
Geoffrey Rush in “The King’s Speech”
Should Win: Jesus, I would not want to have to choose between Bale, Hawkes, Renner, and Rush. I’d say Hawkes probably left the deepest impression on me. Will Win: Bale. GRRR, PHYSICAL TRANSFORMATION!
Actress in a Supporting Role
Amy Adams in “The Fighter”
Helena Bonham Carter in “The King’s Speech”
Melissa Leo in “The Fighter”
Hailee Steinfeld in “True Grit”
Jacki Weaver in “Animal Kingdom”
Should Win: Anyone but Hailee Steinfeld (not that she was bad, but she wasn’t particularly great, either). Will Win: Tough to pick. I’m saying either Melissa Leo or Jacki Weaver so the voters can feel good about picking at least one underdog. SNUBBED: Dale Dickey. Winter’s Bone was full of solid performances, but she was the standout.
Adapted Screenplay
Danny Boyle and Simon Beaufoy for “127 Hours”
Aaron Sorkin for “The Social Network”
Michael Arndt, story by John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich for “Toy Story 3″
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen for “True Grit”
Debra Granik & Anne Rosellini for “Winter’s Bone”Original Screenplay
Mike Leigh for “Another Year”
Screenplay by Scott Silver and Paul Tamasy and Eric Johnson. Story by Keith Dorrington and Paul Tamasy and Eric Johnson for “The Fighter”
Christopher Nolan for “Inception”
Lisa Cholodenko and Stuart Blumberg for “The Kids Are All Right”
David Seidler for “The King’s Speech”Animated Feature
“How to Train Your Dragon”
“The Illusionist”
“Toy Story 3″Art Direction
“Alice in Wonderland”: Robert Stromberg (Production Design), Karen O’Hara (Set Decoration)
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1″: Stuart Craig (Production Design), Stephenie McMillan (Set Decoration)
“Inception”: Guy Hendrix Dyas (Production Design), Larry Dias and Doug Mowat (Set Decoration)/span>
“The King’s Speech”: Eve Stewart (Production Design), Judy Farr (Set Decoration)
“True Grit”: Jess Gonchor (Production Design), Nancy Haigh (Set Decoration)Cinematography
“Black Swan”: Matthew Libatique
“Inception”: Wally Pfister
“The King’s Speech”: Danny Cohen
“The Social Network”: Jeff Cronenweth
“True Grit”: Roger DeakinsCostume Design
“Alice in Wonderland”: Colleen Atwood
“I Am Love”: Antonella Cannarozzi
“The King’s Speech”: Jenny Beavan
“The Tempest”: Sandy Powell
“True Grit”: Mary ZophresDocumentary (Feature)
“Exit through the Gift Shop”
“Gasland”
“Inside Job”
“Restrepo”
“Waste Land”Documentary (Short Subject)
“Killing in the Name”
“Poster Girl”
“Strangers No More”
“Sun Come Up”
“The Warriors of Qiugang”
Who does Banksy send to collect his award? Mr. Brain Wash? The elephant? I think he should send the elephant. That would be badass. Then Tony Jaa could do a backflip off it and kick the envelope out of James Franco’s hand. Man, I should be producing this thing.