Nine Movies Nominated for Oscar, Only Five Directors? With Criticism.

Actress Jennifer Lawrence

Nominations for the 84th Academy Awards were announced yesterday (Tuesday, January 24) by Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Tom Sherak and 2010 Oscar nominee Jennifer Lawrence.

Martin Scorsese's Hugo in 3-D received the most nominations, 11, and Scorsese received a director nod. The Artist, a black and white silent movie about movies, scored 10. However, Hugo received no best actor or actress nominations, and that could hamper it's chances for best picture because the Screen Actors Guild is the largest voting block in the Academy.


The Artist's Jean Dujardin was nominated for best actor, and Bérénice Bejo for best supporting actress. Director Michel Hazanavicius joined Scorsese with an achievement in directing nomination.

J. Edger did not receive a best motion picture nod, nor did Leonardo DiCaprio who portrayed the former FBI Director. Now, that qualifies as a snub.

On the other hand, actress Meryl Streep, who portrays former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady, received her 17th Oscar nomination, keeping her lead as the actress who has received the most Oscar nominations to date, but The Iron Lady received only one other nomination, achievement in makeup.

The closest rival for Streep is probably Glenn Close lead actress in Albert Nobbs, who is also nominated for best actress.
 
The award for best achievement in makeup also may come down to a dual between the makeup artists for The Iron Lady: Mark Coulier and J. Roy Helland, and the makeup artists for Albert Nobbs: Martial Corneville, Lynn Johnston and Matthew W. Mungle.

In the weeks between now and the Oscar telecast, I shall have more to say about each category nominations. But, for now, here are all the nominees:

  Best motion picture of the year with director, if nominated: ** 

    The Artist, Michel Hazanavicius
    The Descendants, Alexander Payne
     Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
     The Help
     Hugo, Martin Scorsese
     Midnight in Paris, Woody Allen
     Moneyball 
     The Tree of Life, Terrence Malick
     War Horse

     ** It seems unfair to me that nine motion pictures were nominated for best motion picture and only five directors were nominated for achievement in directing. I think they should have been even, because it has been my experience after tabulating this for many years, that if the director is not nominated the motion picture does not win the category. We shall see how it goes this year. I could be wrong, but I think that here is the list from which the winner will come: The Artist, The Descendants, Hugo, Midnight in Paris, The Tree of Life. It pains me that the other movies nominated in the category may not win because the directors could not be nominated.

Performance by an actor in a leading role:
    Demián Bichir,  A Better Life
        George Clooney,  The Descendants
    Jean Dujardin, The Artist
    Gary Oldman, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
    Brad Pitt, Moneyball
 
Performance by an actor in a supporting role:
    Kenneth Branagh, My Week with Marilyn
    Jonah Hill, Moneyball
    Nick Nolte, Warrior
    Christopher Plummer, Beginners
    Max von Sydow, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
 
Performance by an actress in a leading role:
    Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs
    Viola Davis, The Help
    Rooney Mara, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
    Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
    Michelle Williams, My Week with Marilyn
 
Performance by an actress in a supporting role:
    Bérénice Bejo, The Artist
    Jessica Chastain, The Help
    Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids
    Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs
    Octavia Spencer, The Help
 
Achievement in directing:
    The Artist, Michel Hazanavicius
    The Descendants, Alexander Payne
    Hugo, Martin Scorsese
    Midnight in Paris, Woody Allen
    The Tree of Life, Terrence Malick
 
Achievement in cinematography:
    The Artist,  Guillaume Schiffman
    The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Jeff Cronenweth
    Hugo,  Robert Richardson
    The Tree of Life, Emmanuel Lubezki
    War Horse, Janusz Kaminski
 
Achievement in film editing:
    The Artist,  Anne-Sophie Bion and Michel Hazanavicius;
    The Descendants, Kevin Tent;
    The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall;
    Hugo, Thelma Schoonmaker;
    Moneyball, Christopher Tellefsen.
 
Achievement in visual effects:
    Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
    Hugo
    Real Steel
    Rise of the Planet of the Apes
    Transformers: Dark of the Moon 
 
Adapted screenplay with credited writers:
    The Descendants, Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash;
    Hugo, John Logan;
    The Ides of March,  George Clooney, Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon;
    Moneyball, Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin, Story by Stan Chervin;
    Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Bridget O'Connor and Peter Straughan.
 
Original screenplay with credited writer(s):
    The Artist, Michel Hazanavicius;
    Bridesmaids, Annie Mumolo and Kristen Wiig;
    Margin Call,  J.C. Chandor;
    Midnight in Paris, Woody Allen;
    A Separation, Asghar Farhadi.
Best animated feature film of the year:
      A Cat in Paris (Une vie de chat), Alain Gagnol and Jean-Loup Felicioli, France;
     Chico and Rita, Fernando Trueba, Javier Mariscal and Tono Errando, Spain;
     Kung Fu Panda 2, Jennifer Yuh;
     Puss in Boots, Chris Miller;
    Rango, Gore Verbinski.
 
Best foreign language film of the year with (original title), country, director, W=writer, (also, known for):
 
    Bullhead (Rundskop), Belgium, Michael R. Roskam, W;
    Footnote (Hearat Shulayim), Israel, Joseph Cedar, W, (Beaufort, 07);

    In Darkness, Poland, Agnieszka Holland (Europa Europa, 90, and Three Colors: Blue, 93);

    Monsieur Lazhar, Canada, Philippe Falardeau, W;
    A Separation (Jodaeiye Nader az Simin ), Iran, Asghar Farhadi, W, (About Elly, 09). 

 
Best documentary feature with director(s):
    Hell and Back Again, Danfung Dennis;
    If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front, Marshall Curry, Sam Cullman;

    Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory, Joe Berlinger, Bruce Sinofsky;
    Pina (Sundance Selects), Wim Wenders, a "Sundance Select";
    Undefeated, Daniel Lindsay, T.J. Martin.

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score) with composer:
    The Adventures of Tintin, John Williams
    The Artist, Ludovic Bource
    Hugo, Howard Shore
    Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Alberto Iglesias
    War Horse, John Williams

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song): ****
    “Man or Muppet” from The Muppets, Music and Lyric by Bret McKenzie;
    “Real in Rio” from Rio, Music by Sergio Mendes and Carlinhos Brown, Lyric by Siedah Garrett.

     **** There were 39 original songs submitted to the Academy this year for Oscar consideration, and they only nominated two?

See the submissions and listen to some here. I shall soon have a link on the right sidebar for these Oscar-worthy submissions.

Achievement in art direction:
    The Artist, Production Design: Laurence Bennett; Set Decoration: Robert Gould;
    Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, Production Design: Stuart Craig; Set Decoration: Stephenie McMillan;
    Hugo, Production Design: Dante Ferretti; Set Decoration: Francesca Lo Schiavo;
    Midnight in Paris, Production Design: Anne Seibel; Set Decoration: Hélène Dubreuil;
    War Horse. Production Design: Rick Carter; Set Decoration: Lee Sandales

Achievement in costume design:
    Anonymous, Lisy Christl
    The Artist, Mark Bridges
    Hugo, Sandy Powell
    Jane Eyre, Michael O'Connor
    W.E., Arianne Phillips

Achievement in makeup:
    Albert Nobbs, Martial Corneville, Lynn Johnston and Matthew W. Mungle;
    Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, Nick Dudman, Amanda Knight and Lisa Tomblin;
    The Iron Lady, Mark Coulier and J. Roy Helland.

Achievement in sound editing:
    Drive, Lon Bender and Victor Ray Ennis
    The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Ren Klyce
    Hugo, Philip Stockton and Eugene Gearty
    Transformers: Dark of the Moon,  Ethan Van der Ryn and Erik Aadahl
    War Horse, Richard Hymns and Gary Rydstrom

Achievement in sound mixing:
    The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce and Bo Persson;
    Hugo, Tom Fleischman and John Midgley;
    Moneyball, Deb Adair, Ron Bochar, Dave Giammarco and Ed Novick;
    Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers, Jeffrey J. Haboush and Peter J. Devlin;
    War Horse, Gary Rydstrom, Andy Nelson, Tom Johnson and Stuart Wilson.

Best live action short film with director(s) and country, if known:
    Pentecost, Peter McDonald and Eimear O'Kane, Ireland;
    Raju, Max Zähle and Stefan Gieren, Germany;    The Shore, Terry George and Oorlagh George;
    Time Freak, Andrew Bowler and Gigi Causey, USA;
    Tuba Atlantic,  Hallvar Witzø, Norway.

Best animated short film:
    Dimanche/Sunday (National Film Board of Canada);
    The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore (Moonbot Studios);
    La Luna (Walt Disney / Pixar Animation);
    A Morning Stroll (Studio AKA);
    Wild Life (National Film Board of Canada).

Best documentary short subject with director(s):
    The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement, Robin Fryday and Gail Dolgin;
    God Is the Bigger Elvis, Rebecca Cammisa and Julie Anderson;
    Incident in New Baghdad, James Spione;
    Saving Face, Daniel Junge and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy; ***
    The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom, Lucy Walker and Kira Carstensen.

    *** Junge is Dutch. Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy is Pakisrani. She and I are members of the Facebook Group, "Pakistani Feminist Group."

Jennifer Lawrence, who was nominated last year for an Academy Award for her lead performance in Winter’s Bone, announced with Sherak the nominees in 10 of the 24 Award categories at a 5:38 a.m. PT, live news conference attended by more than 400 international media representatives. Lists of nominations in all categories were then distributed to the media in attendance and online via the official Academy Awards website, www.oscar.com.

Academy members from each of the guild branches vote to determine the nominees in their respective categories – actors nominate actors, film editors nominate film editors, etc. However, in the Animated Feature Film and Foreign Language Film categories, nominations are selected by vote of multi-branch screening committees. All voting members are eligible to select the Best Picture nominees.

Nominations ballots were mailed to the 5,783 voting members in late December and were returned directly to PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), the international accounting firm, for tabulation.

Official screenings of all motion pictures with one or more nominations will begin for members this weekend at the Academy's Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. Members may vote in all the nominated categories, although in five of them – Animated Short Film, Live Action Short Film, Documentary Feature, Documentary Short Subject and Foreign Language Film – members may vote only if they have seen all of the nominated films in those categories.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2011 will be presented on Sunday, February 26, 2012, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood and Highland Center, and televised live by the ABC Television Network beginning at 4 p.m. PT, and 7 p.m. ET. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries worldwide.

Coppola, 'The Help' Cast, Deauville Festival & Family History

Coppola Honored

Day two of the Labor Day Weekend, and the Deauville American Film Festival in Deauville, France (2-11 September) opened. It is called the Deauville American Film Festival because it is the only European film festival solely dedicated to showing American films, underscoring America's close ties with France.

The renowned director Francis Ford Coppola is the Guest of Honor at this year’s fest, and he declared this year's 37th annual event open Friday night. Renault, is the Official Partner of the 37th Deauville American Film Festival.

Deauville is located on the coast of Normandy, France. The exclusive coastal resort has been the playground of the rich and famous since it was founded by a cousin of Napoleon III in 1861. That was about 100 years after 1/2 of my French family migrated to the British colony now known as Canada. Their longest stop along the way was in Toronto, then they moved on to Detroit.

By the mid 1700s they were in a little French settlement called Vincenes, which would become Vincenes, Indiana. They were neither rich, nor famous, but they were not poor. I think the other French half may have entered through Louisiana, but there are some gaps. I like following the film festivals in Deauville  and in Toronto, because I relate to those places.

I digressed. The Deauville opened with the most popular American movie at the moment, grossing over $100 million, The Help, with the cast offering some Red Carpet pzazz. Surely, you know all about the movie based on the novel by  Katheryn Stockett by now, so I shall not go into detail here. If you don't, here's the Official Website, and you can order the book below.

From all reports, after the screening on the opening night of the festival, The Help received a rousing approval with many in the audience on their feet as they applauded. When asked about the difference between the reception in Hollywood and the reception at Deauville, actress Viola Davis said that it was different from the premiere in Los Angeles. She said people in Hollywood clapped, but not with as much enthusiasm or joy. She described the reception in Deauville as enormous with uninhibited joy.

To read about the films being screened and, who is attending, click the title of this post.
 

The 36th Toronto International Film Festival in Toronto, Canada, opens this week (8-18 September), one of my favorites for the reasons mentioned above, and because when I am trying to pick a Best Feature Motion Picture Oscar winner, I pay close attention to the TIFF. In 2008, I was touting Slumdog Millionaire when most of the American movie goers had never heard of it. It won in Toronto, and went on to win the Oscar for Best Feature Motion Picture of 2009.

The cast members of Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life, headed by Brad Pitt, are unpacking their bags, and not in Toronto. There was some talk that the movie would open Toronto. However, the information was false.

The Tree of Life is not even screening at Toronto. Davis Guggenheim's, From the Sky Down, will have it's USA World Premiere on opening Night. Twenty years after the release of U2’s Achtung Baby (1991), Davis Guggenheim (Waiting for Superman, An Inconvenient Truth, It Might Get Loud) charts this groundbreaking album with new interviews, stories and music.

More on Toronto later, but here is the list of films from indieWire:

  

Close Proves Her Acting Chops

Some reviews are in from Telluride. One being the movie Albert Nobbs, a tale of a woman in the 19th Century passing herself off as a man in late Victorian–era Dublin, is praised for actress Glenn Close's performance. She co-wrote the script, helped produce it, and worked on the getting it made for about 20 years. Actress Janet McTeer also received some good press, but director Rodrigo Garcia came in for a couple of swipes, because the film reveals a plot part too early in the movie, and for some other things, but I don't want to be a spoiler.

Todd McCarthy, writing in The Hollywood Reporter, gives Garcia a salute. He writes that Garcia is often compared to the late director George Cukor for his consistent skill in eliciting superb performances from females.  Cukor was one of Katherine Hepburn's favorite directors. One of my favorite films of Cukor's is the made-for-TV movie, The Corn is Green, starring Hepburn.

Nobbs is based on 19th century short story by Irish writer George Moore called The Singular Life of Albert Nobbs. It became a stage play, and Close starred in a 1982 New York production.  McCarthy writes that the film ". . . cries out for a deeper exploration of this pinched, unrealized human being" who disguised herself as a man in order to support herself. Other critics have noted different flaws in the movie but, as before, I don't want to be a spoiler.

It Isn't Fall Yet, But Festivals Don't Know It

I tried to stretch my hiatus out a little longer, but when the Venice International Film Festival started Wednesday, I knew it was time to start paying attention to what was happening on the movie scene. Thus, a break from the cookout today for this post.

Venice IFF's Golden Lion Award

Two major Film Festivals are underway this weekend. For starters, the granddaddy of the film festivals, the 68th Venice International Film Festival - La Biennale di Venezia - opened Wednesday, 31 August, with the well-received world premiere screening of The Ides of March, the highly anticipated new film written, directed, and starring George Clooney, in the Palazzo del Cinema, following the opening ceremony.  Co-starring with Clooney are:  Paul Giamatti, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ryan Gosling, Evan Rachel Wood and Marisa Tomei.

The Ides of March is the only U.S. film screening in competition. However, David Cronenberg's A Dangerous Method, Germany/Canada, is worth noting. It stars Viggo Mortensen as Sigmund Freud, Michael Fassbender as Carl Jung, and Keira Knightley as a troubled young woman seeking treatment. There are no films of note from the USA screening out of competition.
The complete list of films in competition Here.

Telluride

George Clooney

The other festival is the 38th Telluride Film Festival (2-5 September), to which the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences awarded a $50,000 grant to underwrite this year's  Festival’s Guest Director program, featuring musician Caetano Veloso, who is described as ". . . a musician who loves movies." For more on the Academy's grant to Telluride, click the title of this post.

George Clooney’s The Ides Of March may have been well-received in Venice, but it did not make the Telluride roster.  None-the-less, Clooney headed from Venice to the Colorado San Juan mountain festival to support the other movie in which he stars this year, The Descendants. It is the new film from director Alexander Payne, his first since his Oscar-winner Sideways (2007). Telluride will host tributes for Clooney, and actress Tilda Swinton, who won a best supporting actress Oscar in 2008 as Clooney's co-star in Michael Clayton.

Besides Venice, Telluride is also a stop in the film festival circuit between Cannes and New York. There's The Artist, a black and white silent film directed by Michel Hazanavicius, and Martin Scorsese’s new documentary about the late member of The Beatles - George Harrison: Living in the Material World, plus the Irish drama Albert Nobbs, co-written by Glenn Close, which has the actress playing a shy butler who is hiding the fact that he/she is a woman.

At Telluride, there are the "to be announced" slots, which keep festival goers guessing. In the past, some films shown in these TBA slots, including last year's The King's Speech, received Oscars. Therefore, there is big buzz of speculation about this year's TBA films. One that has been revealed is Butter, a comedy starring Jennifer Garner, Olivia Wilde and Hugh Jackman. Telluride Festival.

Coming up, the San Sebastian Festival in Spain (16-24 September), has set it's jury members.  Serving as part of the official selection jury will be Babel screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga, director Álex de la Iglesia (The Last Circus) and actresses Bai Ling (The Crow), Sophie Okonedo (Hotel Rwanda) and Frances McDormand (Fargo). American writer and film critic Jonathan Rosenbaum will chair the New Directors competition at the festival. This from Nikki Fink's Deadline/Hollywood blog.