Nomination Talk

[Mister Tee]

Funny that the Best Original Song category is between the song from Selma and "Everything is Awesome."

Both of which will campaign as a place to atone for snubs elsewhere. (Also: as I said, I think "Glory" will win, but I wouldn't totally exclude "Lost Stars" from the race, for those who prefer more standard melodies)

[Sonic Youth]

I would love to know what Selma's producers are thinking right now. Whatever it was Paramount thought it was doing with the screeners, I hope no one believes that they succeeded because they received a Best Film nomination. It's a classic "Would you rather" question. Would you rather have your film a). recieve several nominations (Actor, screenplay, a few techs, maybe even director) but not Best Picture; or b). Best Picture and nothing else (other than song). Maybe I'm wrong, but doesn't choice a. seem like the more gratifying of the two?

Of course, Selma could have had choice a. and Best Picture. Who knows? If reports of the screener issues were accurate, then lesson learned, hopefully. Better to get more of them out earlier rather than limit them only to AMPAS members. A wider net catches more fish.

[Sabin]

Funny that the Best Original Song category is between the song from Selma and "Everything is Awesome."

[rolotomasi99]

Two other things:

For the second consecutive film, Vallee gets his actors a lead and supporting nomination. That's nothing: Bennett Miller's just done it for the third time.

Miller's also achieved the complete filmmaker's Oscar trifecta. He's had one film nominated for Best Picture and Director, one nominated for Best Picture only, and one nominated for Best Director only... and he's only made three films.

If Miller can get another Best Picture/Director nomination with his next film, he will match Stephen Daldry's record.

[Mister Tee]

Two other things:

For the second consecutive film, Vallee gets his actors a lead and supporting nomination. That's nothing: Bennett Miller's just done it for the third time.

Miller's also achieved the complete filmmaker's Oscar trifecta. He's had one film nominated for Best Picture and Director, one nominated for Best Picture only, and one nominated for Best Director only... and he's only made three films.

Excellent catch!

Further oddities:

Cotillard and Witherspoon confirm the idea that most people who win on their first nomination are likely to return at some point.

Both stars of Mad About You have now appeared in best picture nominees.

It's a Crazy Stupid Love reunion: Moore, Carell and Stone can shmooze together.

And Zombieland has to be one of the unlikeliest films ever to feature five Oscar nominees (Eisenberg, Stone, Harrelson, Murray and Breslin).

[rolotomasi99]

Selma's set of nominations is genuinely odd, but I have to say, even including it for director/actor in my predictions (and knowing both of those were highly competitive), I found it hard to locate a lot of categories where it could compete. Does the song now become the go-to category for its disappointed partisans?

Having just listened to all the song nominees, I am pretty sure SELMA has this win sewn up. Especially after Common's beautiful speech at the Golden Globes.

[Sonic Youth]

Two other things:

For the second consecutive film, Vallee gets his actors a lead and supporting nomination. That's nothing: Bennett Miller's just done it for the third time.

Miller's also achieved the complete filmmaker's Oscar trifecta. He's had one film nominated for Best Picture and Director, one nominated for Best Picture only, and one nominated for Best Director only... and he's only made three films.

[Mister Tee]

I'm sure someone will find another case, but my memory is telling me Bradley Cooper is the first three-years-running nominee since William Hurt '85-'87. He also kept the category from being all newbies (an Oyelowo nod instead would have made that happen), which hasn't happened in best actor since 1934.

Renee Zellwegger did that in 2001, 2002 and 2003 (film years)

And Russell Crowe right before that

Which is why memory should never be fully trusted.

[Mister Tee]

Two other things:

For the second consecutive film, Vallee gets his actors a lead and supporting nomination. That's nothing: Bennett Miller's just done it for the third time.

The weird kind of shit that occurs to you when you've marinated in the Oscars too long: the best actress slate has a profile similar to the 1987 best actor race. Three solo nominees (Mastroianni, Williams and eventual winner Douglas in '87, Cotillard, Pike and ?eventual winner Moore? here), one with only a fellow acting nominee (Nicholson '87, Witherspoon here), and just one connected to a best picture nominee (Hurt, Jones).

[FilmFan720]

I'm sure someone will find another case, but my memory is telling me Bradley Cooper is the first three-years-running nominee since William Hurt '85-'87. He also kept the category from being all newbies (an Oyelowo nod instead would have made that happen), which hasn't happened in best actor since 1934.

Renee Zellwegger did that in 2001, 2002 and 2003 (film years)

And Russell Crowe right before that

[flipp525]

Marion Cotillard already came up as the surprise winner (in another foreign language performance no less) for the Oscar that everyone thought would go to the Alzheimer's performance. I wonder if she can do it again.

Just throwing that out there. I'll be happy for Julianne Moore to get her career award. But she really should've won back in '97.

[mlrg]

I'm sure someone will find another case, but my memory is telling me Bradley Cooper is the first three-years-running nominee since William Hurt '85-'87. He also kept the category from being all newbies (an Oyelowo nod instead would have made that happen), which hasn't happened in best actor since 1934.

Renee Zellwegger did that in 2001, 2002 and 2003 (film years)

[MovieWes]

At the end of its l-o-o-o-n-g run, The Hobbit finally denies Middle Earth a visual effects mention -- but shows up in sound editing (where I believe only The Two Towers has scored prior?). At least Transformers was omitted completely.

The Desolation of Smaug was also nominated in this category last year, along with Sound Mixing and Visual Effects. Jackson's Middle-earth series ends its run with 37 nominations (38 if you count the Sci-Tech Award that An Unexpected Journey won 2 years ago).

It should also be noted that Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith was also omitted from Best Visual Effects back in 2005 and was only nominated for Best Makeup. Similar pattern here with The Hobbit trilogy.

[Mister Tee]

Once again, voters came up with a number of surprises: only two of the top 8 categories (supporting actor & original screenplay) matched the mighty consensus. It's not like there was massive deviation from the Guild choices -- SAG went 17 for 20 among actors, and all five of its ensemble nominees made the best picture ballot. But there was plenty enough to make it interesting. And to have fewer than 9 films AND a lone director is Oscar bliss.

Nightcrawler wins the Into the Wild memorial Precursor Mirage Award.

Foxcatcher getting five nods, including writing/acting/directing, and then missing best picture, speaks loudly to its divisiveness. I can't think of a recent film that evoked reactions along such unpredictable lines.

Sally Field two years ago wrecked her perfect 2-for-2 nominations/wins record by getting a losing nod. Similarly, Clint Eastwood today spoiled what had been a perfect record of always being nominated for film and director together. (He sorta-kinda shared that record with Francis Coppola, whose picture-not-director Conversation nomination was due to ineligibility, not omission) Any chance of American Sniper making a late run at best picture probably disappeared via the directors' branch.

Selma's set of nominations is genuinely odd, but I have to say, even including it for director/actor in my predictions (and knowing both of those were highly competitive), I found it hard to locate a lot of categories where it could compete. Does the song now become the go-to category for its disappointed partisans?

The Grand Budapest Hotel has 9 nominations. No comment -- I just wanted to type that.

Birdman missed editing. It's DOOMED!

I feel like Boyhood's had those six nods nailed down since about September.

I'm sure someone will find another case, but my memory is telling me Bradley Cooper is the first three-years-running nominee since William Hurt '85-'87. He also kept the category from being all newbies (an Oyelowo nod instead would have made that happen), which hasn't happened in best actor since 1934.

Looks like Keaton & Redmayne will fight to the end, and it may turn into steak eaters vs. quiche eaters. On GMA, Stephanopoulos suggested Keaton must be the favorite, and the women en masse jumped in for Redmayne, like he was their beloved puppy and George was being abusive.

Cotillard (my favorite choice of the day, if only because it meant Aniston was out and Adams wasn't burdened with a second-rate citation) joins Loren, Mastroianni and Adjani with multiple nominations for foreign language performances. (On EDIT: And I forgot my beloved Liv Ullmann. Also, some are saying Javier Bardem, but wasn't Before Night Falls at least partly in English?)

Duvall, having skipped the aughts, gets a nomination in his 4th different decade -- two in the 70s, 80s and 90s, for a grand total of 7, putting him into the higher reaches. (His first nod was 44 years ago, and his most recent 16 years in the past. A few others had long gaps, too: for Norton, it's also 16 years, and for Dern 23)

Of course, it seems silly to talk about 7 nominations when Meryl Streep is around. Don't bet against her, indeed. I'd have preferred the spot go to someone who'll probably not have the chance again (Russo), or to Chastain, for the sadly overlooked A Most Violent Year.

The directors continue their tradition of pretty much always having a previous nominee (Innaritu & Miller) and foreign-born contenders (Innaritu & Tyldum). Bennett Miller did turn out to be the Mama Bear, as I suggested in my thumbsucker.

Gone Girl just wasn't taken seriously in the end, and missed even the seemingly easy screenplay nod. PTA's fourth writing nomination (and yet another multiply-nominated film). Probably Imitation Game's category to lose, unless Whiplash comes on stronger than I imagine.

Lots and lots of interesting things in the other categories.

Force Majeure in foreign-language, LEGO in animated and Life Itself in documentary -- three potential winners eliminated in the first round. The Majeure omission would seem to clear the field for Ida, but I've heard a lot of people talking up Wild Tales. Animated feature is now a clusterfuck. I heard someone question if the live-action sequence near the end of LEGO cut into its support.

Grand Budapest is probably the favorite for production design, but the other two visual categories seem up in the air. Congratulations to "Dick Poop" for his nomination. I do wonder if Mr. Turner's four nods (including the unexpected score) might inspire voters to see it, and give it a shot at one of those two competitive areas.

Speaking of score: does it divide up Desplat vs. Desplat with Theory winning, or schmaltzy bio vs. schmaltzy bio, with Grand Budapest winning?

At the end of its l-o-o-o-n-g run, The Hobbit finally denies Middle Earth a visual effects mention -- but shows up in sound editing (where I believe only The Two Towers has scored prior?). At least Transformers was omitted completely.

And, with all we've said about Marvel the last few days, it dominates the FX field (and will likely lose for all three).

[MovieWes]

It's times like this that I miss Damien. I know he's somewhere smiling right now with Ethan Hawke nominated for his 2nd acting Oscar in the Best Picture frontrunner.