2012 Awards Season: Hugo and The Artist Compete for Oscar Glory

January 24, 2012

Yesterday was one of the biggest days during Awards Season as The Oscar nominations were announced in the morning. It was a two horse race for top spot as far as the big winners are concerned. Hugo earned the most nominations with eleven, while The Artist was right behind with ten. However, one could argue The Artist is the bigger winner, as more of its nominations were in the more prestigious categories.

The categories and nominations are...

BEST PICTURE

DIRECTING

BEST ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE

BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE

BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

BEST WRITING - ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

BEST WRITING - ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

BEST DOCUMENTARY - FEATURE LENGTH

BEST DOCUMENTARY - SHORT FILM

  • The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement
  • God Is the Bigger Elvis
  • Incident in New Baghdad
  • Saving Face
  • The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom
SHORT FILM - LIVE ACTION

  • Pentecost
  • Raju
  • The Shore
  • Time Freak
  • Tuba Atlantic
SHORT FILM - ANIMATED

  • Dimanche
  • The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore
  • La Luna
  • A Morning Stroll
  • Wild Life
BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN ART DIRECTING

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN COSTUME DESIGN

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN MAKEUP

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN VISUAL EFFECTS

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN EDITING

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND EDITING

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND MIXING

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC - ORIGINAL SCORE

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC - ORIGINAL SONG

Notes and Reactions...

  • Like I said, it's a two horse race between The Artist and Hugo for the biggest winner in terms of nominations. Hugo leads in raw numbers eleven to ten, but The Artist leads with five of the eight prestigious awards (Best Picture, Director, Lead Actor, Supporting Actress, and Original Screenplay) compared to three for Hugo (Best Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay).
  • Up next was Moneyball and War Horse, both with six nods.
  • The Descendants underperformed, but with five nominations, it is still a great result.
  • The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo also earned five nominations, which is a little better than it has done in the past.
  • Likewise, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy finally started getting the recognition its reviews suggested it should, although three nods is still low.
  • 50/50 was shut out. I'm shocked that happened, as it could have easily picked up nods in three categories (Best Picture, Original Screenplay, and Lead Actor).
Going category by category, my initial reactions were.
    Best Picture:
  • It's The Artist vs. Hugo
    • and while I would prefer it if the latter won, I think The Artist is the favorite.
  • I can't believe Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close got the nod over Bridesmaids, A Seperation, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2, The Muppets, Drive, The Guard, Win Win, etc.

    • Directing:

  • Normally the film that wins Best Picture also earned Best Director, but this year I think Martin Scorsese will win for Hugo, even though The Artist will win for Best Picture.
  • Don't worry about Michel Hazanavicius. I don't think he will go home empty handed.

    • Best Actress in a Lead Role:

  • Rooney Mara's nomination for The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo is the closest thing we have to a surprise in this category, but even that isn't really a shock.
  • Meryl Streep hasn't won an Oscar since Sophie's Choice, but I think she will break that streak by winning Iron Lady
  • Viola Davis's performance in The Help is her biggest competition.

    • Best Actor in a Lead Role:

  • I think George Clooney has a slight advantage over Jean Dujardin, but it could be a coin toss.
  • This is Gary Oldman's first Oscar nomination. He's a long shot to win for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, but there's a chance he gets a Lifetime Achievement Award.

    • Best Actor in a Supporting Role:

  • Christopher Plummer should win for Beginners. I don't think this will be a close race.
  • While Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close didn't deserve a nomination for Best Picture, I am happy that Max von Sydow earned one here.
  • On the other hand, Albert Brooks deserved it more for Drive

    • Best Actress in a Supporting Role:

  • Octavia Spencer better have her acceptance speech written. It might be The Help's only win of the night, on the other hand.
  • Thank god Melissa McCarthy earned a nomination for Bridesmaids. After that film's snub for Best Picture, I was ready to slap someone.
  • When I first saw Jessica Chastain in Jolene, she was the best part of a bad movie. I knew she would rebound and find better projects. I didn't think she'd earn an Oscar nomination so soon. She'll have to wait for her first win, but glad she's be recognized for The Help. Although I think she was better in The Tree of Life.

    • Original Screenplay:

  • I want Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo to win for Bridesmaids, but I don't think it will happen.
  • I think Michel Hazanavicius will win for The Artist, even though Woody Allen won the Golden Globe for Midnight in Paris.
  • Both J.C. Chandor for Margin Call and Asghar Farhadi for A Seperation can be seen as surprise nominations.

    • Adapted Screenplay:

  • I'm not sure who is going to win this one. I'm not even sure there is a favorite at this point.
  • The Descendants and Moneyball both earned WGA nods and Golden Globe nominations, but Hugo could be the big winner of the night, helping it earn a lot of wins down ticket.

    • Feature-Length Animated Film:

  • Winnie the Pooh earned 91% positive reviews, but it couldn't even get a Oscar nod? That's better reviews than three of the five nominees earned.
  • The Adventures of Tintin also didn't earn a nomination, despite winning the Golden Globe.
  • A Cat in Paris and Chico and Rita earned the best reviews, but they haven't even received theatrical releases, and since you can't vote for a movie you haven't seen, they have to be seen as underdogs.
  • Rango is probably the favorite here.

    • Foreign Language Film:

  • A Seperation is the favorite here.
  • I'm cheering for Monsieur Lazhar because of my well publicized Canadian bias.

    • Documentary: Feature Length:

  • The two films I thought had the best chance of winning, Bill Cunningham New York and Project Nim, didn't earn nominations.
  • Pina was the first 3D film to earn a nomination for Best Documentary. It could also be the first time a 3D film wins. I personally think it is the favorite.

    • Documentary: Short Film
    Short Film: Live Action
    Short Film: Animated

  • Take these predictions with a huge grain of salt. It will take a bit of research to even have the faintest clue who is a contender here and who isn't. I haven't seen any of them and before today I had only heard of La Luna.
  • The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom for Documentary: Short Film.
  • Toss up between Pentecost and Time Freak.
  • Dimanche for Short Film: Animated, although La Luna could be close.

    • Cinematography:

  • War Horse was obvious Oscar Bait, but it's not going to win the major categories, so it could earn a win for Cinematography as a consolation price.
  • On the other hand, The Artist or Hugo could get a lot of people voting straight tickets giving them wins in categories like this one. In this case, I think Hugo will be the favorite here.

    • Art Direction:

  • I might have to get back to you guys on this one. I can literally think of reasons each nominee could be the favorite.
  • Both The Artist and Midnight in Paris had to re-create the past. Hugo and War Horse had to do the same, but in a grander scale.
  • Perhaps this gives Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 the advantage, because it stands out thanks to its fantasy setting.

    • Costume Design:

  • Jane Eyre and Anonymous are both traditional costume dramas, and these films tend to have an advantage in this category. However, Jane Eyre is the better movie.
  • On the other hand, both The Artist and Hugo could sweep many of these awards. Here I think The Artist has the advantage.

    • Makeup:

  • Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 will win.

    • Visual Effects:

  • Either Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 or Rise of the Planet of the Apes should be favorite.
  • But there's always a chance Hugo runs the table.

    • Editing

  • I'm going with The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, but it's more gut reaction than detailed study and analysis.
  • Again, there is a chance either The Artist or Hugo will sweep the awards. In this case, Hugo has the advantage here.

    • Sound Editing:

  • Every single year, I have to research the difference between the two sound categories. It's like I have a hole in my brain where that information is supposed to be stored. If I'm correct, Sound Editing is for sound effects, while Sound Mixing is for placing those effects in the audio track to maximize the effect.
  • This is a category where a bad film like Transformers: Dark of the Moon could win, but I think War Horse will come out on top.

    • Sound Mixing:

  • See above. War Horse is likely the favorite.

    • Original Score:

  • Vote splitting will cost John Williams, but I don't think either The Adventures of Tintin or War Horse would be the favorite if only one of them were nominated.
  • Because it is a silent film and the music is so important, The Artist will likely win here.

    • Original Song:

  • Please let The Muppets win.

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Filed under: Awards Season, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Puss in Boots, Rio, Kung Fu Panda 2, Hugo, Rango, The Adventures of Tintin, Warrior, Bridesmaids, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Beginners, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Anonymous, The Descendants, Midnight in Paris, Drive, Win Win, My Week with Marilyn, War Horse, Jane Eyre, Real Steel, The Help, Albert Nobbs, The Guard, Moneyball, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Margin Call, , The Iron Lady, The Muppets, Winnie the Pooh, The Tree of Life, Pina, Bill Cunningham New York, 50/50, The Ides of March, Project Nim, A Better Life, If A Tree Falls: The Story of the Earth Liberation Front, W.E., Jodaeiye Nader az Simin, The Artist, Hell and Back Again, Undefeated, In Darkness, He'arat Shulayim, Chico & Rita, Monsieur Lazhar