The Satellite Awards don’t get much respect on the precursor beat, and there’s a reason for that: no one really seems to know who votes for them, they appear to be supremely undiscriminating with their lengthy nominee list, and their choices are frequently as head-scratching as they are admittedly inspired. (Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Best Supporting Actor nominee Colin Farrell in “Horrible Bosses.”)
Still, as ridiculous as they are in many ways, I find it impossible to dislike an awards body that has so little regard for its own precursor status — you certainly can’t accuse a group who nominates John Michael McDonagh, debut helmer of “The Guard,” for Best Director of trying to anticipate the Oscar race. And it’s hard not to be a little tickled by a nominee list that is jointly led, with eight nods apiece, by two films at such opposite ends of the bait spectrum: “War Horse” and “Drive.”
So for every baffling mention here (Rachel McAdams for “Midnight in Paris,” anyone?), there’s another that’s refreshingly off-the-wall: props for recognizing Olivia Colman for “Tyrannosaur” and the fine craft work in foreign films like “Faust” and “Mysteries of Lisbon.” (I’m also glad somebody noticed how good Hugo Weaving is in “Oranges and Sunshine.” Glenn Close, at least, should be sending them a muffin basket: the “Albert Nobbs” star scored three bids for acting, writing and songwriting.
Anyway, take a look through the list and enjoy it for its curiosity value — they’ve streamlined things a little this year by removing the comedy categories, but still found a way to nominate just about everyone. Except Jean Dujardin, for some reason, though I doubt the potential Oscar frontrunner will have sleepless nights about missing this list.
Best Picture
The Artist
The Descendants
Drive
The Help
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
Shame
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
War Horse
Best Director
Tomas Alfredson, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
John Michael McDonagh, The Guard
Steve McQueen, Shame
Alexander Payne, The Descendants
Nicolas Winding Refn, Drive
Martin Scorsese, Hugo
Steven Spielberg, War Horse
Tate Taylor, The Help
Best Actor
George Clooney, The Descendants
Leonardo DiCaprio, J. Edgar
Michael Fassbender, Shame
Brendan Gleeson, The Guard
Ryan Gosling, Drive
Tom Hardy, Warrior
Woody Harrelson, Rampart
Gary Oldman, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
Brad Pitt, Moneyball
Michael Shannon, Take Shelter
Best Actress
Olivia Colman, Tyrannosaur
Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs
Viola Davis, The Help
Vera Farmiga, Higher Ground
Elizabeth Olsen, Martha Marcy May Marlene
Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
Charlize Theron, Young Adult
Emily Watson, Oranges and Sunshine
Michelle Williams, My Week with Marilyn
Michelle Yeoh, The Iron Lady
Best Supporting Actor
Kenneth Branagh, My Week with Marilyn
Albert Brooks, Drive
Colin Farrell, Horrible Bosses
Jonah Hill, Moneyball
Viggo Mortensen, A Dangerous Method
Nick Nolte, Warrior
Christopher Plummer, Beginners
Andy Serkis, Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Christoph Waltz, Carnage
Hugo Weaving, Oranges and Sunshine
Best Supporting Actress
Jessica Chastain, Tree of Life
Elle Fanning, Super 8
Lisa Feret, Mozart”s Sister
Judy Greer, The Descendants
Rachel McAdams, Midnight in Paris
Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs
Carey Mulligan, Shame
Octavia Spencer, The Help
Vanessa Redgrave, Coriolanus
Kate Winslet, Carnage
Best Foreign Language Film
Faust
The Kid with a Bike
Las Acacias
Le Havre
Miss Bala
Mozart”s Sister
Mysteries of Lisbon
A Separation
13 Assassins
The Turin Horse
Best Animated or Mixed Media Film
The Adventures of Tintin
Kung Fu Panda 2
The Muppets
Puss in Boots
Rango
Rio
Best Documentary Feature
American: The Bill Hicks Story
Cave of Forgotten Dreams
The Interrupters
My Perestroika
One Lucky Elephant
Pina
Project Nim
Tabloid
Senna
Under Fire: Journalists in Combat
Best Original Screenplay
Paddy Considine, Tyrannosaur
Rene Feret, Mozart”s Sister
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Terrence Malick, The Tree of Life
John Michael McDonagh, The Guard
Steve McQueen and Abi Morgan, Shame
Best Adapted Screenplay
Steven Moffat, Joe Cornish and Edgar Wright, The Adventures of Tintin
Glenn Close and John Banville, Albert Nobbs
Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, The Descendants
Tate Taylor, The Help,
Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin, Moneyball
Lee Hall and Richard Curtis, War Horse
Best Original Score
Marco Beltrami, Soul Surfer
Alexandre Desplat, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
Michael Giacchino, Super 8
Cliff Martinez, Drive
James Newton Howard, Water for Elephants
John Williams, War Horse
Best Original Song
“Bridge of Light” (Alecia Moore and Billy Mann), Happy Feet 2
“Gathering Stories” (Jonsi and Cameron Crowe), We Bought a Zoo
“Hello Hello” (Elton John and Bernie Taupin), Gnomeo & Juliet
“Lay Your Head Down” (Sinead O”Connor, Brian Byrne and Glenn Close), Albert Nobbs
“Life is a Happy Song” (Bret McKenzie), The Muppets
“Man or Muppet” (Bret McKenzie), The Muppets
Best Cinematography
Bruno Delbonnel, Faust
Janusz KaminskI, War Horse
Emmanuel Lubezki, Tree of Life
Robert Richardson, Hugo
Guillaume Schiffman, The Artist
Newton Thomas Sigel, Drive
Best Visual Effects
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
Hugo
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Super 8
Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon
War Horse
Best Film Editing
Chris Gill, The Guard
Mat Newman, Drive
Kevin Tent, The Descendants
Joe Walker, Shame
Michael Kahn, War Horse
John Gilroy, Sean Albertson, Matt Chesse, Aaron Marshall, Warrior
Best Sound
Drive
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
Super 8
The Tree of Life
Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon
War Horse
Best Art Direction
Stephan O. Gessler and Sebastian T. Krawinkel, Anonymous
Gregory S. Hooper and Laurence Bennett, The Artist
Yelena Zhukova and Jiri Trier, Faust
Dante Ferretti and Francesca lo Schiavo, Hugo
Isabel Branco, Mysteries of Lisbon
Jack Fisk, Water for Elephants
Best Costume Design
Isabel Branco, Mysteries of Lisbon
Mark Bridges, The Artist
Lisy Christl, Anonymous
Lidiya Kryukova, Faust
Michael O”Connor, Jane Eyre
Jacqueline West, Water for Elephants
Best Ensemble
The Help
Best First Feature
Tyrannosaur