erik lundegaard

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Thursday January 16, 2014

And the 2013 Oscar Nominees Are ...

Hey Chris Hemsworth, no one should look that good at 5:30 AM. I'm still in my PJs.

“American Hustle” is obviously the big early winner. It got 10 nominations in all, including picture, director, original screenplay and all four acting categories. When was the last time that happened? Oh, right. Hey, does this make David O. Russell the Oprah of acting directors? “You get a nomination, you get a nomination, you ALL get nominations!”

“Hustle”'s main competition seems to be “12 Years a Slave” (picture, director, actor, supporting actress) and “Wolf of Wall Street” (picture, director, actor, supporting actor). But “Wall Street” is the challenging version of “Hustle” and the Academy doesn't do challenging much.

Oh, and “Gravity.” Each got 10. But “Gravity” got no screenplay nom and the last film to win best pic without a screenplay nom was “Titanic.”

Snubs? “Inside Llewyn Davis” which got cinematography and sound mixing but nothing for the Brothers C or T-Bone. It's so Llewyn Davis to get bupkis. Also Emma Thompson, seen as a front-runner, now not even in the race. Plus Robert Redford, but best actor was stacked, and, as insiders said, he wasn't politicking. Good for him. Still a great performance.

OscarOK, here are the nominees:

Best Picture

WHAT'S MISSING: Inside Llewyn Davis. Bummer. Also Saving Mr. Banks and The Butler but I wasn't a fan of either so whatever. But for a time they had buzz. Also All is Lost, prefiguring this next category.

Best Actor

  • Christian Bale, American Hustle
  • Bruce Dern, Nebraska
  • Leonardo DiCaprio, Wolf of Wall Street
  • Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years a Slave
  • Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club

WHO'S MISSING: Robert Redford in “All is Lost” and Tom Hanks in whatever. Plus Oscar Isaac. But this was one of the toughest categories we've seen in years and the Academy did well with it.

Best Actress

  • Amy Adams, American Hustle
  • Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
  • Sandra Bullock, Gravity
  • Judi Dench, Philomena
  • Meryl Streep, August: Osage County

WHO'S MISSING: The real shocker: Emma Thompson in “Saving Mr. Banks.” She seemed a lock. Streep talked her up recently but not her film. BTW: All the best actor nominees are from best picture nominees but only three of the best actress nominees are. Again.

Supporting Actor

  • Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club
  • Barkhad Abdi, Captain Phillips
  • Michael Fassbender, 12 Years a Slave
  • Bradley Cooper, American Hustle
  • Jonah Hill, The Wolf of Wall Street

WHO'S MISSING: Some may say Daniel Bruhl but this was a less stacked category than in recent years. I'm just glad Fassbender made it.

Supporting Actress

  • Lupita Nyong’o, 12 Years a Slave
  • Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle
  • Sally Hawkins, Blue Jasmine
  • June Squibb, Nebraska
  • Julia Roberts, August: Osage County

WHO'S MISSING: Oprah Winfrey had some buzz earlier. I'm glad Sally Hawkins is getting props.

Best Director

  • Steve McQueen, 12 Years a Slave
  • Alfonso Cuaron, Gravity
  • David O. Russell, American Hustle
  • Alexander Payne, Nebraska
  • Martin Scorsese, The Wolf of Wall Street

WHO'S MISSING: Some thought Paul Greengrass for “Captain Phillips” would or should. I didn't think should and I don't know would. But the Coens? Did no one else like Llewyn Davis? Hang me, oh hang me. Fare thee well.

Original Screenplay

  • Eric Singer, David O. Russell, American Hustle
  • Spike Jonze, Her
  • Craig Borten, Dallas Buyers Club
  • Bob Nelson, Nebraska
  • Woody Allen, Blue Jasmine

WHO'S MISSING: The Coens. Maybe the Academy is full of dog people?

Adapted Screenplay

  • John Ridley, 12 Years a Slave
  • Terrence Winter, Wolf of Wall Street
  • Steve Coogan, Philomena
  • Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke, Richard Linklater, Before Midnight
  • Billy Ray, Captain Phillips

THOUGHTS: I am glad for the “Philomena” love. Could've done without “Before Midnight” of course.

Foreign Language Film

  • The Great Beauty (Italy)
  • The Hunt (Denmark)
  • The Grandmaster (Hong Kong)
  • Omar (Palestine)
  • The Broken Circle Breakdown (Belgium)

THOUGHTS: Sorrentino's film seems the frontrunner but not because it's the only one I've seen. Wish we could get more foreign films here sooner.

Documentary Feature

WHAT'S MISSING: Stories We Tell, Blackfish, We Steal Secrets ... The list goes on.

Animated Feature

  • Frozen
  • The Wind Rises
  • Despicable Me 2
  • Ernest & Celestine
  • The Croods

WHAT'S MISSING: Monsters University. The only animated movie I've seen all year. Unless CGI counts as animated. Then I've seen tons.

Song

  • Alone Yet Not Alone (Alone Yet Not Alone)
  • Happy (Despicable Me 2)
  • Let It Go (Frozen)
  • Ordinary Love (Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom)
  • The Moon Song (Her)

WHAT'S MISSING: Puh-Puh-Please Mr. Kennedy" from You Know What.

The full list and thoughts from my favorite Oscar blogger here.

See you March 2nd. Go braless.

American Hustle

Picture, director, actor, actress, supporting actor, supporting actress, screenplay.

Posted at 06:03 AM on Thursday January 16, 2014 in category Movies - The Oscars