80th Academy Awards Nominations

[cam]

http://www.boxofficeguru.com/oscarnods2008.htm

Box office totals of the nominees, to date.

[HarryGoldfarb]

So far nothing has been said about Falling Slowly so it seems we'll have 5 nominees...

On a side note, I saw American Gangster and 3:10 to Yuma... I liked both films. Don't know how American Gangster was a real competitor for Best Picture though. Ruby Dee's performance was great but nothing I would have nominated. Absolutely liked Denzel and Russell's performances. But then inmediately after, I saw 3:10 to Yuma and all I can say is that I LOVED the film. How entertaining was that! The performances were ALL great. The film took out the kid that lives inside me and I was like "wow". Don't know why it didn't score better. Art Direction and Costume Design should have been recognized (specially Art Direction over American Gangster). Now I understand (perfectly) the SAG nomination.

[ITALIANO]

It was discovered, after balloting, that the Speak Softly Love part of Nino Rota's score from the Godfather had previously appeared in an Italian film, so the film was disqualified

Yes. The Italian movie was Fortunella, a now-forgotten and not especially memorable vehicle for Giulietta Masina (in a role even too simliar to the one she had played in Nights of Cabiria), directed by Eduardo De Filippo. I've seen it, and the Godfather theme is there, undeniably very recognizable.

[HarryGoldfarb]

A more recent precedent can be found in the foreign language film category in 1992. When the nominations were announced Uruguay's A Place in the World qualified as one of the 5 nominees. Later, information came to light that showed the film was produced by Argentina or at least it was coproduced by it. Argentina started some sort of a campaign claiming it was their film or something like that and after the "minor" scandal the film was declared ineligible. It was just removed from the final ballot and no further decisions were done (the academy didn't look up for the next in line or something like that) and then there were only 4 nominated films.

[Mister Tee]

Kris Tapley says this "Falling Slowly might be disqualified" story is bullshit; he claims the issue was already dealt with pre-nominations. We'll see if he knows what he's talking about.

The not-quite-exact precedent for what happens when a nomination is deleted would be 1972's musical score category. It was discovered, after balloting, that the Speak Softly Love part of Nino Rota's score from the Godfather had previously appeared in an Italian film, so the film was disqualified (though now we think of the main-title Godfather Waltz as the film's musical signature, the Love Theme was more heavily promoted in '72, so it wasn't a completely crazy move). The music branch thus didn't release nominees along with everyone else; they re-balloted and put out their five nominees a week or two later (I can't recall how, but word leaked out Sleuth was the one that had been added to the original four). So, perhaps a new fifth nominee will be added (though, on the truncated schedule, you have to wonder how there'd be time).

On the other hand, the infamous High Society bungle of 1956 (read Inside Oscar for the hilarious details) was dealt with by simply reducing the nominees to 4, so they might go that way -- making the category cosmically uninteresting.

[Sabin]

There seems to be some question as to whether "Falling Slowly" should've been eligible for Best Song.

The only good that could come from this is that if Falling Slowly is ruled ineligible, maybe Guaranteed will receive a nomination and then probably win.

Would another song take its place? I'm not sure it works that way.

If "Come What May" is not eligible, then neither is "Falling Slowly" sadly. I'm not thrilled with the song (though it's miles better than anything else in that category) but a duet between Hansard and Irkova would be one of the best musical performances at the Oscars this decade.

Hands down my favorite performance of a nominated song is "A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow" with Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara in character. Second would have to be Bob Dylan.

[FilmFan720]

I just thought of a possible record. Isn't this the first year with two actors over 80 are nominated?

[Mike Kelly]

Cate Blanchett, who seems responsible for setting or tying a bunch of records this year, contributed to one more that I haven't seen mentioned. Queen Elizabeth I, now ties Henry VIII as the role resulting in the most acting nominations (three) - a record that has stood alone for 38 years.

[Big Magilla]

Just read it on Variety:

- As for performers nominated for portraying members of the opposite sex, Blanchett joins a short list that includes Felicity Huffman in “Transamerica,” John Lithgow in “The World According to Garp” and Linda Hunt in “The Year of Living Dangerously.”

Am I wrong or Lithgow doesn't belong on this list? I mean, while Huffman played a transexual man (I mean, originally she was man), Lithgow did the same, so technically, he didn't portrait a different sex character...

It depends on how you look at it. Lithgow was a woman for part of his film just as Huffman was a man for part of her film.

Well, Magilla, Lithgow's Roberta is a "woman" (a surgically manufactured woman, I guess you could say, but I typically argue on the side of a transsexual just having been born into the wrong body) the entire time he's on-screen in The World According to Garp. I'm not sure what you mean here.

By the way, he should have absolutely won the Oscar that year over Louis Gossett, Jr. There's simply no question about it. "I mean I had mine removed under general anesthesia." HA! Someone needs to give me that category for the game so I can correct this misstep!

You've just made the argument for Felicity Huffman having played a woman throughout Transamerica.

And, no, Lithgow shouldn't have won - Robert Preston should have for Victor/Victoria.

[flipp525]

Just read it on Variety:

- As for performers nominated for portraying members of the opposite sex, Blanchett joins a short list that includes Felicity Huffman in “Transamerica,” John Lithgow in “The World According to Garp” and Linda Hunt in “The Year of Living Dangerously.”

Am I wrong or Lithgow doesn't belong on this list? I mean, while Huffman played a transexual man (I mean, originally she was man), Lithgow did the same, so technically, he didn't portrait a different sex character...

It depends on how you look at it. Lithgow was a woman for part of his film just as Huffman was a man for part of her film.

Well, Magilla, Lithgow's Roberta is a "woman" (a surgically manufactured woman, I guess you could say, but I typically argue on the side of a transsexual just having been born into the wrong body) the entire time he's on-screen in The World According to Garp. I'm not sure what you mean here.

By the way, he should have absolutely won the Oscar that year over Louis Gossett, Jr. There's simply no question about it. "I mean I had mine removed under general anesthesia." HA! Someone needs to give me that category for the game so I can correct this misstep!



Edited By flipp525 on 1201469679

[Big Magilla]

Just read it on Variety:

- As for performers nominated for portraying members of the opposite sex, Blanchett joins a short list that includes Felicity Huffman in “Transamerica,” John Lithgow in “The World According to Garp” and Linda Hunt in “The Year of Living Dangerously.”

Am I wrong or Lithgow doesn't belong on this list? I mean, while Huffman played a transexual man (I mean, originally she was man), Lithgow did the same, so technically, he didn't portrait a different sex character...

It depends on how you look at it. Lithgow was a woman for part of his film just as Huffman was a man for part of her film.

[The Original BJ]

There seems to be some question as to whether "Falling Slowly" should've been eligible for Best Song:

The original song category for the Oscars has already hit its share of clanky notes, what with none of Eddie Vedder’s breathtaking songs for “Into the Wild” making the cut. And now comes quiet word that “Falling Slowly,” the achingly pretty song from “Once” written by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, may be ruled ineligible. The Bagger has been making some calls and there are indications that that the song, which is up against three, count ‘em three, songs from “Enchanted” in addition to “Raise It Up” from “August Rush,” may have some problems with eligibility requirements. Post nominations, this tempest could set the teapot to boiling.

The only good that could come from this is that if Falling Slowly is ruled ineligible, maybe Guaranteed will receive a nomination and then probably win.

But what will more likely happen is that the clear standout here will be disqualified and replaced with another song from Enchanted.

[dws1982]

There seems to be some question as to whether "Falling Slowly" should've been eligible for Best Song:

The original song category for the Oscars has already hit its share of clanky notes, what with none of Eddie Vedder’s breathtaking songs for “Into the Wild” making the cut. And now comes quiet word that “Falling Slowly,” the achingly pretty song from “Once” written by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, may be ruled ineligible. The Bagger has been making some calls and there are indications that that the song, which is up against three, count ‘em three, songs from “Enchanted” in addition to “Raise It Up” from “August Rush,” may have some problems with eligibility requirements. Post nominations, this tempest could set the teapot to boiling.

[Penelope]

Just read it on Variety:

- As for performers nominated for portraying members of the opposite sex, Blanchett joins a short list that includes Felicity Huffman in “Transamerica,” John Lithgow in “The World According to Garp” and Linda Hunt in “The Year of Living Dangerously.”

Am I wrong or Lithgow doesn't belong on this list? I mean, while Huffman played a transexual man (I mean, originally she was man), Lithgow did the same, so technically, he didn't portrait a different sex character...

Well, technically, the inclusion of Lithgow is correct, since he is a man playing woman (formerly a man), whereas Huffman is a bit more tricky, since she's a woman playing a pre-operation transexual (ie, she's in that gray area between man and woman).

[HarryGoldfarb]

Just read it on Variety:

- As for performers nominated for portraying members of the opposite sex, Blanchett joins a short list that includes Felicity Huffman in “Transamerica,” John Lithgow in “The World According to Garp” and Linda Hunt in “The Year of Living Dangerously.”

Am I wrong or Lithgow doesn't belong on this list? I mean, while Huffman played a transexual man (I mean, originally she was man), Lithgow did the same, so technically, he didn't portrait a different sex character...