January 23, 2007

Oscar nominations...

Did you watch the announcement live? I did. Poor Salma Hayek was devastated that "Volver" didn't get a Best Foreign Language Film nomination. I was glad Alan Arkin got nominated, even though I didn't think much of "Little Miss Sunshine." I do like him.

Lots of the usual suspects in the Best Actress Category. Meryl Streep and Kate Winslet are in some long contest for most nominations ever. Then there's Helen Mirren and Judi Dench. Makes you want to be for Penelope Cruz, doesn't it?

Here's the full list of nominees.

UPDATE: Drudge writes: "'DREAMGIRLS' LEADS PACK -- BUT SNUBBED IN FILM, DIRECTOR CATS..." Oh! The poor cats! What did those sweet little kitties ever do to deserve such treatment from the Academy?

11 comments:

Sloanasaurus said...

I can't wait for future Oscar winning Al Gore to take the stage....which is the main reason why I will not be watching the Oscars this year. It's sad that they nominate political propaganda as documentaries.

Who knows, maybe Dick Morris' upcoming "documentary" on Hillary will win!

Revenant said...

It is interesting that, aside from "The Departed" and "The Pursuit of Happyness", none of the nominees really went anywhere at the box office. It was much the same last year, if I recall correctly.

Anonymous said...

As far as the Best Foreign Language Film, each country can only submit one Best Foreign Film, so Pan's Labyrinth was chosen by whatever committee in Spain decides these things as Spain's official entry.

And Apocalypto was declared ineligible as it was primarily financed in the USA (Foreign films must have primary financing in the country of origin).

The rules for that category are more byzantine than would seem fair or necessary.

If anyone else but Scorcese had directed The Departed, it would have been considered a minor, overly long, slightly ridiculous crime drama. The HK original is a superior picture in every way (besides production values).

Scorcese has deserved an Oscar many times over, but not for this picture.

But, who cares about all that, what's really important is that my Oscar Prediction from back in July was correct!

Ann Althouse said...

XWL: "Pan's Labyrinth" was Mexico's movie. "Volver" was, I think, Spain's. And Hayek was definitely very upset. Not only did she seem upset announcing the Foreign Language films and not only did she cheer for Penelope Cruz, but she also gave an interview afterwards in which she said that she found out backstage before the announcements and cried a lot and had to have her makeup redone.

Anonymous said...

Doh!

Did not pay attention to which country submitted which film, if Spain chose Volver as their official film and it was snubbed, than that does suck indeed.

In my defense, the actors and setting for Pan's Labyrinth were Spanish (though I know the director is Mexican).

Pan's Labyrinth and Volver are easily the best two films I personally saw released in 2006.

And Helen Mirren most likely got so many votes, that the other 4 best actress nominees really didn't garner that many votes.

Still nice to see Penelope's name in the mix there, anyway.

Anonymous said...

I wonder if the studio execs are starting to worry that the Oscars are turning into the "Best Arty/Political Movie" awards. It's one thing to make an Oscar-bait flick like "Munich." It's another if most of the audience hasn't heard of, much less seen, most of the nominees.

vbspurs said...

All I care about, is that Ryan Gosling (so hideously ignored at the Globes), got his Best Actor nod today.

And don't look now, but the producers of "An Inconvenient Truth" are a lock for Best Documentary.

Golden Balls Oscar will look nicely, on Tipper and Al's mantlepiece.

Cheers,
Victoria

vbspurs said...

I wonder if the studio execs are starting to worry that the Oscars are turning into the "Best Arty/Political Movie" awards.

Curiously, I don't mind this too much.

The Oscars has traditionally already too much of a popularity contest, that sometimes snubbed really GOOD films, not just films who knocked the hide off of the box office.

Sure, many people didn't see Letters From Iwo Jima (I did this weekend, and liked it, though it's not the masterpiece critics were drooling over), or Volver, or Pan's Labyrinth.

But those are mainstream artsy-fartsy movies.

When films like Shortbus* get Oscar nods, John, then you'll have a bigger point.

* One of the best films of 2006, IMNSHO.

Cheers,
Victoria

Anonymous said...

I laughed when I saw that "Borat" was nominated for adapted screenplay. Adapted from what?

Also, I'm hoping very much that "Monster House" beats out its feeble competition in the Best Animated Feature competition.

Anonymous said...

"Borat" is a big screen adaptation of "Da Ali G Show". Books aren't the only thing that can be adapted for movies. Certainly, it can't be argued that the character originated in the movie.

While last year was an obvious arty/political year, I don't see that so much this year. O.k., Babel fits that criteria, but what's the politics of Letters from Iwo Jima? That war is hell? Little Miss Sunshine is just a smarter National Lampoon's Vacation. The Departed is just a highly entertaining thriller. And The Queen basically suggests that all the royals were guilty of in Diana's death were being out of touch with the people.

Really, I'm surprised that The Queen hasn't done better at the box office than it has, despite limited release until recently. Diana is still a regular feature in tabloids and magazines after all.

Anonymous said...

Really, I'm surprised that The Queen hasn't done better at the box office than it has, despite limited release until recently. Diana is still a regular feature in tabloids and magazines after all.

They should have called it "Lady Di's Step-Mum."

Good line, by the way, about Little Miss Sunshine, except I think National Lampoon's Vacation had more substance, and the plot had fewer holes.

My question about that movie is: How does a gay Proust professor know that you can't be an airline pilot if you're color-blind?

My second question about that movie is: How come the VW's broken horn that wouldn't stop honking, stopped honking when the angry teen boy has his meltdown?

My third question about that movie is: How is it possible that neither of the girl's parents had seen her dance routine? I realize they are self-involved, but if they cared enough to drive her to California, which took days, why wouldn't they sit down and watch the routine, which took minutes?

I could go on...

I don't pay enough attention to the Oscars to know this for a fact, but I suspect "Little Miss Sunshine" could be the most embarassingly regrettable Oscar nomination ever.