Let’s Talk About the Oscar Nominations
If you asked me yesterday, I thought Argo was going to take it all come February. If you asked me 2 months ago, I thought Les Miserables was going to “sweep” and that Matthew McConaughey was going to surprise with a nomination. From the beginning of the year to the time the nominations are announced, we’ve gone up and down with what and who we think will take home the gold, so when the nominations are announced, you can always count on some outrage. My favorite is when the Internet people scream “THEY DON’T EVEN MATTER ANYMORE”. Of course they do, or else you wouldn’t be yelling in caps.
The Oscar nominations are always a surprise, and if you talk to most of the people on the Internet, they aren’t full of good surprises anymore. But we aren’t the Academy. The Academy is filled with old white people which is why I’m kind of surprised that The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel didn’t sneak in a BP nomination, because for a second there…
I don’t hate the nominations. I never hate the nominations. I can only hate who wins (remember when Crash won an Oscar? #memories). The 2013 Oscar nominations are an interesting bunch. Interesting because, yes, there are a few, noticeable “snubs” (this word…). We’ll get to Affleck and the rest in a bit but let’s talk about the Best Picture race for a moment, shall we? Remember when the academy opened the race to 10 nominees the year after The Dark Knight was “snubbed” and everyone was yelling? This expansion was to allow for more common films that the general public has actually seen. In turn, films like District 9 were able to nab a nomination when, most likely, they wouldn’t have. So, why open the field to 10 nominations to then ONLY nominate 9 movies, and have one of those be a foreign film, WHICH is ALREADY up for Best Foreign Film? Does this make sense to anyone? Can someone explain this to me? I’ll stop while I’m ahead because I was very close to going full caps like Kanye.
Now onto who and what was snubbed. Two of my favorite films of the year (Moonrise Kingdom, Perks of Being A Wallflower) were left out of their respective fields (Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay) but I had never fully invested in them getting nominated. The snubs that seem to have a lot of people up in arms are Affleck and Bigelow not being included for Best Director. Unless you loved Les Miserables, you’re not surprised that Tom Hooper didn’t get nominated and you’re fine with that because, you know, you didn’t like the close ups in the movie. Ben Affleck and Kathyrn Bigelow not getting nominated is most concerning but not that surprising. At least for me. I saw someone tweet this morning that if they expanded the Best Picture race to 10, they should expand Best Director to 10. If your film was nominated for Picture doesn’t that mean you achieved excellent directing? Yes and no, though I do agree the field should be expanded, but if anything, Best Picture should go back to 5 nominees. Bigelow’s snub I have a bigger problem with than Affleck. I loved Argo, it’s in my Top 10, and I thought he did a wonderful job, but it felt like Affleck also knew he did a wonderful job. He campaigned a bit too hard (accepting Entertainment Weekly’s “honor” of being Entertainer Of The Year probably didn’t help) and probably shot himself in the foot. He has a very long career ahead of him and I’m sure he’ll receive another nomination for whatever he directs next. He’s like the Justin Bieber of the Oscars; his time will come.
What else? Can everyone stop acting so surprised that Skyfall didn’t get a nomination? Look, I loved it like the rest of you but that doesn’t mean it deserved anything but Best Song and Cinematography, which it received. Let’s all relax. The same goes for Cloud Atlas, Looper, and any other movie that only people with a blog loved.
Let’s talk about the nominations I love. While I didn’t love Beasts I love that Quvenzhane Wallis was nominated. I love that Hugh Jackman, my choice for Best Actor, was nominated. He won’t win, they loved Lincoln/DDL too much (and I hated it so…) and I know that, but I’m holding out for our Jean Valjean. We now live in a world where Bradley Cooper is an Oscar Nominated Actor. Will they use that to promote The Hangover Part III? I love that the Academy nominated Joaquin’s crazy ass even after he said he didn’t want one and it looked like everyone was going to forget about how good the performances were in The Master (congrats to Amy Adams as well). The Academy loved Silver Linings, didn’t they? If there’s anything that’s up in the air it’s Best Actress. It could go to anyone. Christoph Waltz’s nomination is inspired. Leo is never getting that Oscar is he?
So, it’s pretty much Lincoln VS Silver Linings Playbook, correct? Though I don’t think either deserves it (who cares what I think?), my money is on Lincoln, obviously. But maybe Life Of Pi can surprise?