Twelve nominations for The King’s Speech. There are 15 categories it could have conceivably had been nominated for, and the only ones it didn’t place in were Sound Editing, Makeup and Actress in a Leading Role. And actually, it didn’t have a horse in that race really, though a case could be made for Helena Bonham Carter as a lead instead of a supporting player. It blows away the 8 nominations Inglourious received last year, and is probably their best showing yet as a distributor.
The Coen’s True Grit got an amazing ten nominations and The Social Network and Inception both scored eight. But, the biggest surprises (for me, anyway) were Winter’s Bone garnering a Best Picture & Adapted Screenplay nod as well as a Lead Actress nod for Jennifer Lawrence Supporting Actor nod for John Hawkes. Let’s get to the list, shall we?
Best Picture: Black Swan, The Fighter, True Grit, Toy Story 3, Inception, The King’s Speech, The Kids Are All Right, 127 Hours, The Social Network, Winter’s Bone
The Social Network and The King’s Speech are the front runners, I think. It’s a pretty great list, and outside of Shutter Island, I really can’t think of a film that SHOULD have been included. I think The King’s Speech has the edge, it’s gotten a lot of praise the last month or so, and it’s hard to argue. True Grit could pull it out, but the Coens just had a film win out a few years ago, and the Academy doesn’t often reward continuing excellence. On the off chance the voters want a repeat of last year, having an indie take the prize, I could see The Kids Are All Right taking it. That’s doubtful though. Momentum is a powerful thing.
Best Director: Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan; David O. Russell, The Fighter; Tom Hooper, The King’s Speech; David Fincher, The Social Network; Joel and Ethan Coen, True Grit
If King’s Speech takes Best Pic, Fincher might nab Best Director, or vice versa. Again, the Coens could steal, but, not likely to happen. Honestly, except for Arronofsky, I’d be happy to see any of them win it. Still no love for Shutter Island.
Best Actor: Javier Bardem, Biutiful; Jeff Bridges, True Grit; Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network; Colin Firth, The King’s Speech; James Franco, 127 Hours
Nice to see Javier Bardem and James Franco on the list, but they don’t have a shot, this one’s down to Firth & Bridges, a repeat of last year’s race. Best Actor is one category where they will recognize continuing success, so Bridges has a chance, but, they also LOVE to reward for past performances that have been overlooked, and that’s all Firth. Not that he DOESN’T deserve it for this film alone, just that his body of work has gone grievously unrewarded by the Academy.
Best Actress: Annette Bening, The Kids Are All Right; Nicole Kidman, Rabbit Hole; Jennifer Lawrence, Winter’s Bone; Natalie Portman, Black Swan; Michelle Williams, Blue Valentine
I’m pleasantly surprised to see Michele Williams get a nod, and she absolutely deserves it. She’s consistently proven she’s one of the best working, but sadly, this won’t be her year. Lawrence has emerged as someone to watch out for and it’s nice to see Kidman back on top of her game, and despite Portman’s Golden Globe win, she’s down for the count as well. This is Annette Bening’s statue, all the way.
Best Supporting Actor: Christian Bale, The Fighter; John Hawks, Winter’s Bone; Jeremy Renner, The Town; Geoffrey Rush, The King’s Speech; Mark Ruffalo, The Kids Are All Right
Hawkes, Ruffalo and Renner alll getting much deserved love, and all delivered excellent performances this year. Too bad Geoffrey Rush and Christian Bale turned in supporting performances this year. And too bad for Rush that Bale outshines him. Supporting categories are usually the place they shower some love on the wildly over-the-top performances, especially in more or less villain roles. Rush is the only one that doesn’t fit in the latter, and Bale is the only one who embodies both.
Supporting Actress: Amy Adams, The Fighter; Helena Bonham Carter, The King’s Speech; Melissa Leo, The Fighter; Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit; Jackie Weaver, Animal Kingdom
Poor Hailee Steinfeld. The girl is in every scene of True Grit and gets pushed down to a supporting player at awards time. While I’d absolutely LOVE to see her win, I can’t see it happening. Why? See my remarks about Supporting Actor. It’s all about the baddies, and I don’t think anyone did that better than Melissa Leo. I’d give Jackie Weaver and outside shot at it, but I’m saying Leo all the way.
Adapted Screenplay: 127 Hours, The Social Network, Toy Story 3, True Grit, Winter’s Bone
Can’t imagine Social Network losing this one, but if it does, it’ll be to True Grit.
Original Screenplay: Another Year, The Fighter, Inception, The King’s Speech, The Kids Are All Right
It would be interesting to see Another Year take it, since it’s the only nomination the movie picked up, but the other four are such strong candidates, I doubt it. I’d bet on The King’s Speech.
Foreign Laguage Film: Biutiful, Dogtooth, In a Better World, Incendies, Outside the Law
The biggest travesty (outside of Shutter Island’s sunff) is that Mother didn’t get a nod here. That movie was amazing. The only two on the list I’ve heard of though is Dogtooth and Biutiful. Dogtooth’s getting some buzz, but I hear it’s twisted, so it might not win. I’ll go with Biutiful.
Animated Feature: How to Train Your Dragon, Toy Story 3,The Illusionist
Toy Story 3 is the obvious choice. How to Train Your Dragon is the better film. There’s a good chance The Illusionist could come out of the fight as a winner. But, I’m going safe and picking Pixar.
Documentary: Exit Through the Gift Shop, Restrepo, Gasland, Inside Job, Waste Land
I was in shock to see Exit Through the Gift Shop get any recognition. It’s authenticity has been questioned repeatedly, so for the Academy to nominate it was amazing. Of course, it won’t win. I’ll pick Restrepo to take it.
Original Score: How to Train Your Dragon, Inception, The King’s Speech, 127 Hours, The Social Network
Dragon is my favorite of the bunch, and Inception was pretty amazing. That the Social Network even got a nod is an accomplishment, and I’ve yet to see 127 Hours. Still, I’m saying King’s Speech wins.
Original Song: Coming Home, Country Strong; I See the Light, Tangled; If I Rise, 127 Hours; We Belong Together; Toy Story 3
I really don’t care. It’d be funny to see If I Rise take it, but We Belong Together is probably the safe bet.
Cinematography: Black Swan, Inception, The King’s Speech, The Social Network, True Grit
I’d love to see Inception win here, but I’d bet on True Grit. All good choices though.
Editing: 127 Hours, Black Swan, The Fighter, The King’s Speech, The Social Network
It’s gotta be The Social Network, though I suppose all of the choices are strong. But, I’d say it takes a great editor to make a movie about sitting around conference rooms exciting. It helps that the direction and script were pretty awesome as well.
Visual Effects: Alice in Wonderland, Iron Man 2, Inception, Hereafter, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1
Nice to see some Potter love, but Inception is the clear winner. I’m not even sure why the others got a nomination. Alice was mostly good I guess.
Art Direction: Alice in Wonderland, Inception, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, True Grit, The King’s Speech
I’m betting on The King’s Speech, but it’ another one I just can’t muster any care for.
Costume Design: Alice in Wonderland, True Grit, The King’s Speech, I Am Love, The Tempest
The only nods gotten by I Am Love and The Tempest, two films I want to see. I was surprised I Am Loved didn’t get a Foreign Language nomination. I suppose one of the two could take this, but I think The King’s Speech is, again, a good bet.
Makeup: The Wolfman, The Way Back, Barney’s Version
I’m baffled by this group of contenders, but I’m going with The Way Back, it’s getting a lot of buzz.
Sound Editing: Tron: Legacy, Inception, Toy Story 3, True Grit, Unstoppable
Unstoppable? Really? Okay. I’ll pick True Grit.
Sound Mixing: Inception, True Grit, Salt, The Social Network, The King’s Speech
So, Salt and Unstoppable get Oscar nods and Shutter Island gets shut out. Yeah, the universe is fair. I’ll say Inception.
Finally, there’s the matter of the short film: Documentary, Animated and Live Action. I’ll just pick one for each, since I know nothing about any of them (outside of Pixar’s Day & Night). So, in order: Poster Girl, Day & Night and Wish 143.
32 days and counting.
