The mega-hit Avatar and the low-budget war drama scored nine Oscar nods apiece this morning, competing in practically every category they were nominated for, setting the stage for a David and Goliath showdown when the Academy Awards are handed out on Sunday. March 7th.
Quentin Tarantino's glorious Inglourious Basterds was no slouch either, racking up eight nominations.Up in the Air garnered the expected nods for writer/director Jason Reitman and actor George Clooney, but it was a pleasant surprise to see both of the film's female co-stars, Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick, snag Best Supporting Actress noms.
They'll both lose to the unstoppable Mo'Nique, whose film Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire, made an expected than stronger showing, with nominations for Best Picture, Best Actress (for first timer Gabourey Sibide), Best Director (for Lee Daniels) and Best Adapted Screenplay.
I am thrilled that Joel and Ethan Coen's A Serious Man got a Best Picture nom to go along with the expected Best Original Screenplay nod, and that the utterly hilarious script for the scathing British comedy In the Loop got its due recognition from Oscar voters. The expansion of the Best Picture category from the traditional five nominees to ten made room for movies like the little-seen charmer An Education, the Pixar smash Up (only the second animated feature film after Beauty and the Beast to make the race) and the sci-fi thriller District 9.
The Hurt Locker's Kathryn Bigelow became the fourth woman ever to be nominated for Best Director. She'll be competing for the award with her ex-husband, Avatar's James Cameron. Both The Hurt Locker and Avatar are nominated in practically all the same categories. The fact that both happen to be war pictures - one in Iraq, the other in a far-flung planet - is also an interesting coincidence.
Meryl Streep racked up her 16th Best Actress nomination for Julie & Julia, but she'll have to fend off the surging popularity of Sandra Bullock, whose surprise hit The Blind Side also made the Best Picture cut. Two of the Best Foreign Language nominees, The Secret in their Eyes and The Milk of Sorrow, will be screening at the Miami International Film Festival next month, although the front-runner for the award is Michael Haneke's The White Ribbon, which I have to run out to see right now.
Other surprises: Jeff Bridges landed the expected Best Actor nomination for his performance as a run-down country singer Crazy Heart, but his co-star Maggie Gyllenhaal also scored a Best Supporting Actress nod for her portrayal of a single mother who helps him right his life. The tiny drama The Messenger, about officers in the Army's Casualty Notification division, scored two major nominations, Best Original Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor (Woody Harrelson).
The dolphin-slaughter expose The Cove made the Best Documentary short list. Director Clint Eastwood's South African rugby drama Invictus put everyone to sleep except, apparently, for Academy voters, who rewarded actors Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon with acting nominations.
I'll be back later for more Oscar musings. Here's a mostly-complete list of all the nominees. Go to oscars.com for more
BEST PICTURE
Avatar
The Blind Side
District 9
An Education
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
A Serious Man
Up
Up in the Air
BEST ACTOR
Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart)
George Clooney (Up in the Air)
Colin Firth (A Single Man)
Morgan Freeman (Invictus)
Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker)
BEST ACTRESS
Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side)
Helen Mirren (The Last Station)
Carey Mulligan (An Education)
Gabourey Sibide (Precious)
Meryl Streep (Julie & Julia)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Matt Damon (Invictus)
Woody Harrelson (The Messenger)
Christopher Plummer (The Last Station)
Stanley Tucci (The Lovely Bones)
Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Penelope Cruz (Nine)
Vera Farmiga (Up in the Air)
Maggie Gyllenhaal (Crazy Heart)
Anna Kendrick (Up in the Air)
Mo'Nique (Precious)
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
District 9
An Education
In the Loop
Precious
Up in the Air
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
The Messenger
A Serious Man
Up
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Ajami (Israel)
The Secret in Their Eyes (Argentina)
The Milk of Sorrow (Peru)
A Prophet (France)
The White Ribbon (Germany)
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Burma VJ
The Cove
Food, Inc.
The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers
Which Way Home
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Coraline
Fantastic Mr. Fox
The Princess and the Frog
The Secret of Kells
Up
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Avatar
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
The Hurt Locker
Inglorious Basterds
The White Ribbon
ART DIRECTION
Avatar
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Nine
Sherlock Holmes
Young Victoria
COSTUME DESIGN
Bright Star
Coco Before Chanel
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Nine
Young Victoria
MAKEUP
Il Divo
Star Trek
The Young Victoria
EDITING
Avatar
District 9
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Precious
VISUAL EFFECTS
Avatar
District 9
Star Trek
SOUND EDITING
Avatar
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Star Trek
Up
SOUND MIXING
Avatar
The Hurt Locker
Inglorious Basterds
Star Trek
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Did they snub The Road all together?
I saw the film and liked it, even though I understand why some others did not.
But, I expected them to get some nominations.
Best supporting for Duval? The boy?
Art direction?
Anything?
Are you surprised, Rene?
Posted by: miaminative | February 02, 2010 at 11:38 AM
I'm glad Star Trek received four nominations, although I would have loved for it to have received one for Best Picture as well. Btw, it's absurd that dreck like Transformers 2 received a nomination.
Posted by: Capitan Justicia | February 02, 2010 at 12:58 PM
Lou, I'm not surprised about the lack of love for "The Road." The movie was good, but not great, and the Weinstein Co. did a piss-poor job of releasing that film (it never ever opened in a lot of cities).
I was more surprised by the total snubbing of (500) Days of Summer. I thought that would have gotten a screenplay nomination at least.
Posted by: Rene Rodriguez | February 02, 2010 at 03:46 PM
What's the reasoning behind extending the best pic list of nominees? Its usually a two-horse race and this year is no exception. Put me down for Hurt Locker by a nose!
Posted by: miguel | February 02, 2010 at 08:22 PM
I think Bigelow will win for Director and Avatar for best picture. Or vice versa. Either way, I think they will end up splitting it.
Posted by: Juan | February 03, 2010 at 01:41 AM
Whatever happened to Up in the Air and Carey Mulligan as front runners for this season? I don't understand how both won for the most part every critic awards and now they are being considered underdogs.
Posted by: Mike | February 03, 2010 at 09:31 AM