Oscar Nod Reactions

Earlier this morning The Academy Award nominations were announced and yes there were some surprises. I'm going to take a look at each category and see how I fared with my picks.

Best Picture:
Babel
The Departed
Letters From Iwo Jima
Little Miss Sunshine
The Queen

Analysis: I really blew it with this one, although in my defense I don't think anyone predicted Dreamgirls would be shut out here. I didn't see the film, but must admit I'm kind of glad it isn't nominated for Best Picture because I like surprises and this race was, up until now, too predictable. This shakes things up. I didn't think The Queen had enough weight behind it to get a nod but it did. I'm thrilled Little Miss Sunshine got nominated. Well deserved. No United 93 but I kind of expected that.
(3 for 5)


Best Directing:
Babel
The Departed
Letters From Iwo Jima
The Queen
United 93

Analysis: Well I was right that Paul Greengrass got his nomination. Again I underestimated The Queen as Stephen Frears got a nod. This is Scorsese's best chance this year. It always puzzled me that the Academy would deem the director worthy of a nomination, but not the picture or vice versa. After Dreamgirls didn't get the picture nod, Bill Condon's exclusion here isn't so shocking.
(4 for 5)


Best Actor:
Leonardo DiCaprio (Blood Diamond)
Ryan Gosling (Half Nelson)
Peter O' Toole (Venus)
Will Smith (The Pursuit of Happyness)
Forest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland)

Analysis: I thought about putting Gosling on my list but figured he was too much of a dark horse. Other than the Dreamgirls snub, this was the biggest surprise. Good for him. I haven't seen his performance, but can't wait to.
(4 for 5)


Best Actress:
Penelope Cruz (Volver)
Judi Dench (Notes on a Scandal)
Helen Mirren (The Queen)
Meryl Streep (The Devil Wears Prada)
Kate Winslet (Little Children)

Analysis: If you think about it there was really no one else who could slip in. Mirren is going to win this handily.
(5 for 5)


Best Supporting Actor:
Alan Arkin (Little Miss Sunshine)
Jackie Earle Haley (Little Children)
Djimon Hounsou (Blood Diamond)
Eddie Murphy (Dreamgirls)
Mark Wahlberg (The Departed)

Analysis: The big surprise was that Jack Nicholson wasn't nominated. Personally I thought Steve Carrel and Paul Dano were more deserving than Arkin for Little Miss Sunshine but I'm glad the film was recognized in this category. Brad Pitt was a longshot for Babel but I thought the support for the picture would carry him. My bad.
(3 for 5)


Best Supporting Actress
Adriana Barraza (Babel)
Cate Blanchett (Notes on a Scandal)
Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine)
Jennifer Hudson (Dreamgirls)
Rinko Kikuchi (Babel)

Analysis: No surprises here. This wasn't an incredible year for female performances. So happy that Breslin got nominated. She deserves it. A week ago I would have said Hudson's a lock to win this, but backlash looks to be starting for Dreamgirls and Blanchett's gaining steam.
(5 for 5)


Best Original Screenplay
Babel
Letters From Iwo Jima
Little Miss Sunshine
Pan's Labyrinth
The Queen

Analysis: Again, no surprises. The only dark horse that could have possibly snuck in here is Stranger Than Fiction but the hype sorrounding that died off months ago. It was a big year for adaptations, but not original screenplays.
(5 for 5)

Best Adapted Screenplay
Borat
Children of Men
The Departed
Little Children
Notes on a Scandal
Analysis: I stupidly thought Dreamgirls would get a screenplay nomination even though it's a musical. My reasoning was it would probably be nominated for everything else, so why not this? I was wrong and Borat got the nod. I should have seen that one coming.
(4 for 5)

Overall Score: 33 out of 40 nominations correct

Other Thoughts: Dreamgirls occupied 3 of the 5 slots for best original song, which makes that race pretty boring. Superman Returns and Poseidon got well-deserved nods for visual effects. I liked Poseidon, but hated Superman. Inexplicably Click is nominated for achievement in makeup alongside Pan's Labyrinth (which also earned a cinematography nomination). I've seen more believable makeup applied during Halloween than to Adam Sandler in that movie. I was pleased to see The Illusionist earn a cinematography nomination, as did the other magician film, The Prestige. I was very dissappointed V For Vendetta wasn't nominated for any technical awards as it definitely deserved an art direction nod in the very least.

And yes my wishes came true as Jessica Simpson (Employee of the Month), Lindsay Lohan (Just My Luck) and Kate Bosworth (Superman Returns) were all nominated for "Worst Actress" Razzie awards yesterday. Basic Instinct 2 led the pack with 7 nominations (including "Worst Screen Couple" for "Sharon Stone's lop-sided breasts"). The Wicker Man also racked up a lot of nominations, including "Worst Actor" for Nicolas Cage. To me, the funniest nomination was M. Night Shaymalan for "Worst Supporting Actor" in Lady in the Water, which was also unsurprisingly nominated for "Worst Picture." Shaymalan gave himself so much unnecessary screen time he probably could have qualified for the lead category. If you haven't seen any of these Razzie nominated films, I urge you to resist the temptation. If you have, my condolences.