Spielberg, Day-Lewis, Washington … Quvenzhané?
The nominations for the 85th Academy Awards, which were announced Thursday morning in Hollywood, contained some longtime favorites, as well as some surprising newcomers. Director Steven Spielberg’s towering Lincoln nabbed the most nominations with 12, followed closely by Ang Lee’s adaptation of Life of Pi with 11. The rest of the Best Picture field includes expected titles like Argo, Les Miserables and Zero Dark Thirty, but also some shocking party crashers like the indie fantasy Beasts of the Southern Wild and director Michael Haneke’s punishing drama Amour.
The main snubs come in the directing category, with Ben Affleck and Kathryn Bigelow both missing out. But the fields still contain lots of delights. For the full list, visit the Academy’s nominations site.
BEST PICTURE
Amour
Argo
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Django Unchained
Les Miserables
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Silver Linings Playbook
Zero Dark Thirty
When The Hurt Locker toppled Avatar for Best Picture in 2009, it was considered a monumental upset — a low-budget, gritty war movie with a weird title coming out on top against a huge box-office hit by a legendary director. Zero Dark Thirty, from that same Hurt Locker team, appeared as though it might have a chance to pull a similar feat, beating out Lincoln, but the lack of any acting awards and not even a directing nod for Bigelow severely hurts its chances.
BEST ACTOR
Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook
Hugh Jackman, Les Miserables
Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
Joaquin Phoenix, The Master
Denzel Washington, Flight
Day-Lewis and Washington are Academy Awards mainstays, having each won twice, but oddly enough have never gone head-to-head. The Brit has the advantage with the more iconic role (Abraham Lincoln vs. Whip Whitaker) in a bigger movie. Jackman is probably the strongest contender outside the two, and who knows, maybe he earns some extra points for having hosted the ceremony before. Some had predicted John Hawkes would get consideration for his work in The Sessions (roles with disabilities are so often Oscar bait), but Phoenix made the cut despite his public disdain for the whole shebang.
BEST ACTRESS
Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty
Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
Emmanuelle Riva, Amour
Quvenzhané Wallis, Beasts of the Southern Wild
Naomi Watts, The Impossible
Nine-year-old Quvenzhané — I know journalistic form dictates I refer to her by her last name upon second reference, but that’s not going to happen — is the youngest nominee ever in this category, making Keisha Castle-Huges’ 2002 nomination for Whale Rider when she was 13 look like a lifetime achievement award. She’s definitely got some stiff competition, but don’t be surprised to see the little girl hoisting Oscar gold, followed by lots of cutaway shots of Anna Paquin. At the other end of the age spectrum, 85-year-old Riva is the oldest Best Actress nominee ever.
SUPPORTING ACTOR
Alan Arkin, Argo
Robert De Niro, Silver Linings Playbook
Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Master
Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln
Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained
A field for the ages, consisting entirely of previous Oscar winners. It’s particularly gratifying seeing De Niro back in the Academy’s good graces. He hasn’t been nominated since 1992’s Cape Fear, about the time he started making people wonder what the heck was going on with him. Will one gold statuette make people forget Little Fockers, Showtime, Hide and Seek, Godsend, or even (ugh) Rocky & Bullwinkle? Probably not. But at least it shows there’s a little bit of life left in the old dog. Or should I say, “a little bit, a little bit” while squinting and grinning? Yeah, I think I should.
SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams, The Master
Sally Field, Lincoln
Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables
Helen Hunt, The Sessions
Jacki Weaver, Silver Linings Playbook
Another solid field, with every candidate a previous winner. How great would it be to see Field back up there, milking every second while everyone waits for her to revisit her “You like me, you really like me” acceptance speech?
BEST DIRECTOR
Michael Haneke, Amour
Ang Lee, Life of Pi
David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook
Steven Spielberg, Lincoln
Benh Zeitlin, Beasts of the Southern Wild
Zeitlin told The Hollywood Reporter that “Steven Spielberg raised me.” How tremendous it must be then for the 30-year-old to be in the same category as his idol.
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola, Moonrise Kingdom
Mark Boal, Zero Dark Thirty
John Gatins, Flight
Michael Haneke, Amour
Quentin Tarantino, Django Unchained
Zero Dark Thirty would seem to have the edge, but the whole torture debate attached to the film might scare away some voters. Tarantino is also an Academy favorite, especially for writing, but who knows where the national mood in the slavery/n-word debate will be by voting time? I kind of like Anderson here, not just because of Moonrise‘s fawning reviews, but because he has yet to take home an Oscar.
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Lucy Alibar & Benh Zeitlin, Beasts of the Southern Wild
Tony Kushner, Lincoln
David Magee, Life of Pi
David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook
Chris Terrio, Argo
Silver Linings Playbook feels like one of those that Oscar wants to recognize, but not quite in the biggie categories. So David O. Russell has a pretty good shot here of taking home an award for writing, having adapted Matthew Quick’s novel. But Argo could have the same dynamic working in its favor.
Photos: (Lincoln) © 2012 DreamWorks II Distribution Co., LLC & Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. Credit: David James; SMPSP; (Beasts of the Southern Wild) © 2012 Fox Searchlight Pictures in Association with Cinereach & Court 13 Pictures in association with Journeyman Pictures.