Academy Noms Are in and Race is on

By Jordan R. Young

Lee Daniels Oscar Hopeful

HOLLYWOOD,CA(Hollywood Today)2/2/2010–The scenario repeats itself every year: media types of every sort, from snoozing nooze reporters to bleary-eyed blogsters, report for dawn patrol. At 5:30 a.m. they dutifully gather at the Beverly Hills HQ of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences to sip dishwater coffee and eat stale donuts—while the Oscar nominations are anxiously announced—knowing full well that nobody in Baton Rouge or Bangkok gives a hoot exactly when they hear the news. And TV and radio stations in New York City laugh themselves silly; the timing is all for their benefit.

As usual, there are few surprises in this year’s nominations, with the Producers, Directors and Screen Actors Guilds awards telegraphing the likely nomees. Nobody in their right mind is wondering if “Avatar” or “The Hurt Locker” are going to be nommed for Best Picture; no one has to guess whether Jeff Bridges or Meryl Streep, George Clooney or Sandra Bullock, Kathryn Bigelow or James Cameron is going to appear on the list. They’re all present and accounted for.

The biggest question was perhaps whether Lee Daniels (“Precious”) would make the list of Best Director noms, after becoming the first African American to show up on the coveted DGA slate. The answer is YES, prompting a “wtf” reaction from Spike Lee fans. (John Singleton, the sole previous Oscar-nommed black director, hopes Daniels will break his record.)

“Invictus” and “Star Trek” didn’t make the Best Picture cut, but “The Blind Side” did—riding in on Bullock’s coat tails—along with Pixar’s frenetic “Up,” a rare honor for an animated flick… Maggie Gyllenhaal snatched a Supporting Actress nom for “Crazy Heart,” the only acting nod not telegraphed in advance by the SAG Awards. In another unexpected turn, 6 of the 10 noms for Original and Adapted Screenplay were not forecast by the WGA Awards.
Onward to March 7… Bigelow’s got a head start with the DGA trophy, of course, with “The Hurt Locker” having also picked off the PGA Award. Bridges and Bullock meanwhile have the SAG Awards and Golden Globes under their belts—as do Christoph Waltz (“Inglourious Basterds”) and Mo’nique (“Precious”) in the Best Supporting acting categories.

More by Jordan R. Young:

http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-4129-LAOC-Arts-Examiner

http://www.arkandtent.com/animal_artwork_24.html

And the Oscar nominations (partial list) are…

BEST PICTURE

“Avatar”
“The Hurt Locker”
“Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire”
“Inglourious Basterds”
“Up in the Air”
“District 9″
“An Education”
“The Blind Side”

“Up”

“A Serious Man”

BEST Director

Kathryn Bigelow, “The Hurt Locker”

James Cameron, “Avatar”

Lee Daniels, “Precious: Based On The Novel ‘Push’ By Sapphire”

Quentin Tarantino, “Inglourious Basterds”

Jason Reitman, “Up In The Air”

BEST ACTOR
Jeff Bridges, “Crazy Heart”
George Clooney, “Up in the Air”
Colin Firth, “A Single Man”
Morgan Freeman, “Invictus”
Jeremy Renner, “The Hurt Locker”

BEST ACTRESS

Sandra Bullock, “The Blind Side”
Helen Mirren, “The Last Station”
Carey Mulligan, “An Education”
Gabourey Sidibe, “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”
Meryl Streep, “Julie and Julia”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Matt Damon, “Invictus”
Woody Harrelson, “The Messenger”
Christopher Plummer, “The Last Station”
Stanley Tucci, “The Lovely Bones”
Christoph Waltz, “Inglourious Basterds”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Penelope Cruz, “Nine”
Vera Farmiga, “Up in the Air”
Anna Kendrick, “Up in the Air”
Maggie Gyllenhaal in “Crazy Heart”

Mo’nique, “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”

BEST Original Screenplay

“Inglourious Basterds” Written by Quentin Tarantino

“The Messenger” Written by Alessandro Camon & Oren Moverman

“A Serious Man” Written by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen

The Hurt Locker, Written by Mark Boal

A Serious Man, Written by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen

BEST Adapted Screenplay

“District 9,” Written by Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell

“An Education,” Screenplay by Nick Hornby

“In the Loop,” Screenplay by Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche

“Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push,’ by Sapphire” Screenplay by Geoffrey Fletcher

“Up in the Air,” Screenplay by Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner

BEST Cinematography

Barry Ackroyd, BSC; The Hurt Locker

Bruno Delbonnel; “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince”

Christian Berger, AAC; The White Ribbon

Mauro Fiore, ASC. Avatar

Robert Richardson, ASC; Inglorious Basterds