NOMINATIONS ANNOUNCEMENT AND MY PREDICTION SCORES
While predictions are fun, Oscar time would be boring if every category's group of nominees was a foregone conclusion. Thankfully, when Academy president Sid Ganis and his guest Kathy Bates announced the contenders for the Oscars this morning, a few unexpected names were called (and a few expected, noticeably, were not).
Tommy Lee Jones, an old pro who seemed to have been forgotten this awards season, was recognized for his leading work in In the Valley of Elah, beating out Into the Wild's Emile Hirsch. Laura Linney, who'd been shut out of nearly all of the precursor award line-ups, snuck in for Best Actress for The Savages. And Jason Reitman, the young director of Juno whose only major previous film was 2005's Thank You for Smoking, pulled a major upset by making the Best Director short list.
Into the Wild took the biggest hit, losing widely assumed positions in not only Best Actor, but also Best Director for Sean Penn and Best Picture. Its only two nominations were for Best Film Editing and Best Supporting Actor for Hal Holbrook. Much to my delight, Atonement made the top five for Best Picture, despite the fact that many prognosticators believed it had lost its steam. Much to my dismay, the hauntingly brilliant music from There Will be Blood by Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood was inexcusably left out.
Below are the nominees for the major categories, along with the tallied scores from my predictions. Just after is a link for more.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Cate Blanchett, I’m Not There
Ruby Dee, American Gangster
Saoirse Ronan, Atonement
Amy Ryan, Gone Baby Gone
Tilda Swinton, Michael Clayton
My score: 5/5
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Casey Affleck, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Javier Bardem, No Country for Old Men
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Charlie Wilson’s War
Hal Holbrook, Into the Wild
Tom Wilkinson, Michael Clayton
My Score: 5/5
BEST ACTRESS
Cate Blanchett, Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Julie Christie, Away From Her
Marion Cotillard, La Vie En Rose
Laura Linney, The Savages
Ellen Page, Juno
My score: 3/5
BEST ACTOR
George Clooney, Michael Clayton
Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood
Johnny Depp, Sweeney Todd
Tommy Lee Jones, In the Valley of Elah
Viggo Mortensen, Eastern Promises
My score: 4/5
BEST DIRECTOR
Julian Schnabel, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Jason Reitman, Juno
Tony Gilroy, Michael Clayton
Joel & Ethan Coen, No Country for Old Men
Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood
My Score: 4/5
BEST PICTURE
Atonement
Juno
Michael Clayton
No Country for Old Men
There Will Be Blood
My score: 4/5
OTHER NOMINEES:
For a full list of all the nominees in each category, CLICK HERE.
The awards will be given out at the end of February. Here's hoping it looks something like this:
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