Oscar Nominations

Curiosity….what a powerful and well known feeling. This is how I, and other millions of people, feel right now about the Oscars, curious. In 2 days from now, all this curious people around the globe will be sitting comfortably in front of the tv/pc watching one of the most important and expected event of the year: The Academy Awards.
So, this means that, in advance, we must have some preferences of our own and, because of that we will make a little list of which are most likely to be the winners of the Oscars (mostly my opinion).

Best Actor of the year: now it seems that everybody agrees for Daniel Day-Lewis in “There Will Be Blood” though we are not quite sure if the Academy wont turn its eye towards George Clooney, “Michael Clayton”, who has gained a bit of momentum lately, and has the advantage of playing a more likable, heroic character. Also, some say that Johny Deep, “Sweeny…”, might have a chance although I don’t really think so.
Best Actress of the year: it seems we have a front-runner and that’s Julie Christie, “Away from Her”, “watched” closely by the viable challenger Marion Cotillard, “La Vie en Rose”, and don’t count out emerging contender Ellen Page, “Juno”.
Best Supporting Actor of the year: Javier Bardem, “No Country for Old Men”, seems invincible in this category. The only one capable of shooting down his Oscar dreams?… Casey Affleck, “The Assassination of Jesse James …”
Best Supporting Actress of the year: we kind of realize how weak this category is this year; the longtime veteran Ruby Dee, “American Gangster”, has unexpectedly become the front-runner but not necessary the winner; Cate Blanchett, “I’m Not There”, and Amy Ryan, “Gone Baby Gone”, also have a chance.
Best Picture of the year: “No Country for Old Men” the favorite, followed by “There Will Be Blood”.
Best Director of the year: this is a tight one and I just can’t decide: Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, “No Country for Old Men”, Julian Schnabel, “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” and Paul Thomas Anderson, “There Will Be Blood” (you name it).
Best Original Screenplay of the year: Diablo Cody, “Juno” or Tony Gilroy, “Michael Clayton”.
Best Adapted Screenplay of the year: very tough category, I would like Christopher Hampton, “Atonement”, to win but also Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, “No Country for Old Men” or Paul Thomas Anderson, “There Will Be Blood” deserves it.
Best Film Editing of the year: “No Country for Old Men”, “The Bourne Ultimatum”.
Best Cinematography of the year: “No Country for Old Men”, “Atonement”.
Best Art Direction of the year: “There Will Be Blood”, “Sweeney Todd”.
Best Original Score of the year: “Atonement”, “Ratatouille”.
Best Costume Design of the year: everybody says that the “green” from “Atonement” blinds them but we can’t forget the costumes from “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” can we now?

Well…I guess the countdown started and, I see you all Sunday!

So the date is marked, February 24, the last Sunday of the month, 2008 in front of the Kodak Theater in Hollywood. Apparently, with or without the WGA strike, the Oscars will be on, one way or another. Despite fear of writers picketing the ceremony and actors boycotting the show, recent actions have fueled hope that the strike may not affect the ceremony. Because of the uncertainty created by the strike the Academy is planning two different shows — the usual ceremony and an alternative event if they are still out.
Jon Stewart has been set to host the 80th Academy Awards on Feb. 24, his second time after previously presiding over the 78th Academy Awards. As producer Gil Cates said “Jon was a terrific host for the 78th Awards,he is smart, quick, funny, loves movies and is a great guy. What else could one ask for?”; and so we can only agree.
About the after party…well, is seems that the Vanity Fair party is changing locations; the usual Oscar-night party, held at Mortons for the past 14 years, is changing its venue to Craft in Century City. “When Mortons announced it was closing, we thought it was time for a change,” said Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter. “Craft is the ideal place for the party: great food — which we will not be serving family-style, by the way — great location with a dramatic entrance and a big, sweeping space.” It seems that, on Oscar night, they will be building out beyond Craft’s terrace to make more space; anyway, a Vanity Fair spokesman said “the party’s guest list will “definitely” not be larger than it had been at Mortons” so the change of venue will also improve the traffic and parking, which frustrated guests in the past.

On Tuesday, January 22 the Nominations for the 80th Annual Academy Awards in 10 of the 24 categories were announced at 5:30 a.m. in Beverly Hills, CA by Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Sid Ganis and Oscar winner Kathy Bates.
The nominees have been selected by the Academy members with the exception of the Animated Feature Film and Foreign Language Film categories, in which nominations were selected by vote of multi-branch screening committees. Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2007 will be presented on Sunday, February 24, 2008, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center.
The stars of the nominations were “There Will Be Blood” and “No Country for Old Men” earning eight nominations for the 80th annual Academy Awards followed closely by “Michael Clayton” and “Atonement” with seven nominations apiece.

• Academy Awards Nominees: 2008

Best motion picture of the year:
“Atonement” (Focus Features) – a Working Title Production
Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner and Paul Webster, Producers
“Juno” (Fox Searchlight) - a Dancing Elk Pictures, LLC Production
Lianne Halfon, Mason Novick and Russell Smith, Producers
“Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros.) - a Clayton Productions, LLC Production
Sydney Pollack, Jennifer Fox and Kerry Orent, Producers
“No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount Vantage) - a Scott Rudin/Mike Zoss Production
Scott Rudin, Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, Producers
“There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax) - a JoAnne Sellar/Ghoulardi Film Company Production
JoAnne Sellar, Paul Thomas Anderson and Daniel Lupi, Producers

Achievement in directing:
Julian Schnabel - “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly”
Jason Reitman - “Juno”
Tony Gilroy - “Michael Clayton”
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen - “No Country for Old Men”
Paul Thomas Anderson - “There Will Be Blood”

Actor in a leading role:
George Clooney in “Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros)
Daniel Day-Lewis in “There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax)
Johnny Depp in “Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”(DreamWorks and Warner Bros)
Tommy Lee Jones in “In the Valley of Elah” (Warner Independent)
Viggo Mortensen in “Eastern Promises” (Focus Features)

Actress in a leading role:
Cate Blanchett in “Elizabeth: The Golden Age” (Universal)
Julie Christie in “Away from Her” (Lionsgate)
Marion Cotillard in “La Vie en Rose” (Picturehouse)
Laura Linney in “The Savages” (Fox Searchlight)
Ellen Page in “Juno” (Fox Searchlight)

Actor in a supporting role:
Casey Affleck in “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford” (Warner Bros.)
Javier Bardem in “No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount Vantage)
Philip Seymour Hoffman in “Charlie Wilson’s War” (Universal)
Hal Holbrook in “Into the Wild” (Paramount Vantage and River Road Entertainment)
Tom Wilkinson in “Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros.)

Actress in a supporting role:
Cate Blanchett in “I’m Not There” (The Weinstein Company)
Ruby Dee in “American Gangster” (Universal)
Saoirse Ronan in “Atonement” (Focus Features)
Amy Ryan in “Gone Baby Gone” (Miramax)
Tilda Swinton in “Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros.)

Best animated feature film:
“Persepolis” (Sony Pictures Classics) - Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud
“Ratatouille” (Walt Disney) - Brad Bird
“Surf’s Up” (Sony Pictures Releasing) - Ash Brannon and Chris Buck

Achievement in cinematography:
“The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford” - Roger Deakins
“Atonement” - Jacqueline Durran
“Elizabeth: The Golden Age” - Alexandra Byrne
“La Vie en Rose” - Marit Allen
“Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” - Colleen Atwood

Best Original Screenplay:
“Juno” - Diablo Cody
“Lars and the Real Girl” - Nancy Oliver
“Michael Clayton” - Tony Gilroy
“Ratatouille” - Jan Pinkava, Jim Capobianco, Brad Bird
“The Savages” - Tamara Jenkins

Achievement in art direction:
“American Gangster” (Universal) - Art Direction: Arthur Max; Set Decoration: Beth A. Rubino
“Atonement” (Focus Features) - Art Direction: Sarah Greenwood; Set Decoration: Katie Spencer
“The Golden Compass” (New Line & Ingenious Film Partners) - Art Direction: Dennis Gassner; Set Decoration: Anna Pinnock
“Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” (DreamWorks and Warner Bros) - Art Direction: Dante Ferretti; Set Decoration: Francesca Lo Schiavo
“There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax) - Art Direction: Jack Fisk; Set Decoration: Jim Erickson

Best Documentary Feature:
“No End in Sight” (Magnolia Pictures)
“Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience” (The Documentary Group)
“Sicko” (Lionsgate and The Weinstein Company)
“Taxi to the Dark Side” (Think Film)
“War/Dance” (Think Film)

Best foreign language film:
“Beaufort” a Metro Communications, Movie Plus Production - Israel
“The Counterfeiters” An Aichholzer Filmproduktion, Magnolia Filmproduktion Production - Austria
“Katy?” An Akson Studio Production - Poland
“Mongol” A Eurasia Film Production - Kazakhstan
“12” A Three T Production - Russia

The official timetable for this years Oscars is : the Oscar nominations for 2008 will be announced on Tuesday, January 22, 2008, at 5:30 a.m. PST, in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater and The 80th Academy Awards will be presented on Sunday, February 24, 2008, at the Kodak Theater at Hollywood & Highland, and televised live by the ABC Television Network beginning at 5 p.m. PST, preceded by a half-hour arrival segment.
Being so close to the Oscar nominations event it is only normal and needed to take a last close look at peoples final Oscar nominees predictions. Following the debates about who will or won’t be nominated for an Academy Award this year we can allready see a few front-runners and and have a look at the 2008 contenders.
Not being at the actual nomination event, we have the freedom to mention here all of those chosen by you and to comment upon them as well.
So this is the predicted list:
Best film:
“No country for old men” (Paramount Vantage) - Action/Adventure/Crime/Drama/Suspense/Thriller with Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin;Won 2 Golden Globes. Another 37 wins & 33 nominations.
“There Will Be Blood” (Ghoulardi Film Company) - Drama with Daniel Day-Lewis, Martin Stringer, Kevin J. O’Connor; a story about family, greed, religion, and oil awarded with Golden Globe. Another 11 wins & 29 nominations.
“Into the Wild” (Paramount Vantage) - Drama/Action/Adventure/Biography directed by Sean Penn, with Emile Hirsch, Marcia Gay Harden, William Hurt;won Golden Globe. Another 5 wins & 19 nominations.
“Michael Clayton” (Samuels Media) - Drama/Thriller with Tom Wilkinson, Michael O’Keefe, Sydney Pollack and George Clooney; Nominated for 4 Golden Globes. Another 5 wins & 30 nominations.
“Atonement” (Working Title Films) - Drama/Romance/War directed by Joe Wright, with Saoirse Ronan, Ailidh Mackay, Brenda Blethyn and Keira Knightley; Won 2 Golden Globes. Another 5 wins & 41 nominations.
“Juno” (Dancing Elk Productions) - Comedy/Drama, directed by Jason Reitman, with Ellen Page, Michael Cera, Jennifer Garner; Nominated for 3 Golden Globes. Another 20 wins & 17 nominations.
Possibly:
“The Savages” (Fox Searchlight Pictures) - Comedy/Drama, directed by Tamara Jenkins, with Laura Linney, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Philip Bosco; Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 3 wins & 10 nominations.
“Lars and the Real Girl” (Sidney Kimmel Entertainment) - Comedy/Drama, directed by Craig Gillespie. with Ryan Gosling, Emily Mortimer, Paul Schneider; Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 2 wins & 9 nominations.
“Ratatouille” (Pixar Animation Studios) - Animation/Comedy/Family, directed by Brad Bird and co-director Jan Pinkava, with Patton Oswalt, Ian Holm, Lou Romano; won Golden Globe. Another 12 wins & 27 nominations.
“American Gangster” (Universal Pictures) - Crime/Drama, directed by Ridley Scott, with Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe, Chiwetel Ejiofor; nominated for 3 Golden Globes. Another 1 win & 15 nominations.
“The Kite Runner” (DreamWorks SKG) - Drama, directed by Marc Forster, with Khalid Abdalla, Atossa Leoni, Shaun Toub; nominated for 2 Golden Globes. Another 1 win & 7 nominations.
“Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” (DreamWorks SKG) - Musical/Suspense/Thriller/Drama/Crime, directed by Tim Burton, with Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman; won 2 Golden Globes. Another 4 wins & 12 nominations.

Best Director:
Joel and Ethan Coen - “No Country for Old Men”
Paul Thomas Anderson - “There Will Be Blood ”
Sean Penn - “Into the Wild”
Jason Reitman - “Juno”
Tony Gilroy - “Michael Clayton”
Ridley Scott - “American Gangster”
Possibly:
Joe Wright - “Atonement”
Tim Burton - “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”
Julian Schnabel - “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly”
Mike Nichols - “Charlie Wilson’s War”
Terry George - “Reservation Road”
Marc Forster - “The Kite Runner”
David Conenberg - “Eastern Promises”

Best Actor:
Daniel Day-Lewis - “There Will Be Blood”
George Clooney - “Michael Clayton”
Viggo Mortensen - “Eastern Promises”
Ryan Gosling - “Lars and the Real Girl”
Johnny Depp - “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”
Possibly:
Denzel Washington - “American Gangster”
Tommy Lee Jones - “In the Valley of Elah”
Khalid Abdalia - “The Kite Runner”
Joaquin Phoenix - “Reservation Road”
Tom Hanks - “Charlie Wilson’s War”
Emile Hirsch - “Into the Wild”

Best Actress:
Julie Christie - “Away from Her”
Marion Cotillard - “La Vie en rose”
Ellen Page - “Juno”
Angelina Jolie - “A Mighty Heart”
Cate Blanchett - “Elizabeth: The Golden Years”
Possibly:
Amy Adams - “Enchanted”
Keira Knightley - “Atonement”
Helena Bonham Carter - “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”
Laura Linney - “The Savages”
Jodie Foster - “The Brave One”

Best Supporting Actor:
Casey Affleck - “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford”
Javier Bardem - “No Country for Old Men”
Hal Holbrook - “Into the Wild”
Tom Wilkinson - “Michael Clayton”
Tommy Lee Jones - “No Country for Old Men”
Possibly:
Philip Seymour Hoffman - “Charlie Wilson’s War”
Paul Dano - “There Will Be Blood”
Mark Ruffalo - “Reservation Road”
John Travolta - “Hairspray”

Best Supporting Actress:
Cate Blanchett - “I’m Not There”
Amy Ryan - “Gone Baby Gone”
Tilda Swinton - “Michael Clayton”
Saoirse Ronan - “Atonement”
Catherine Keener - “Into the Wild”
Possibly:
Vanessa Redgrave - “Atonement”
Ruby Dee - “American Gangster”
Marisa Tomei - “Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead”
Julia Roberts - “Charlie Wilson’s War”
Amy Adams - “Charlie Wilson’s War”
Samantha Morton - “The Golden Age”
Natalie Portman - “My Blueberry Nights”
Helena Bonham Carter - “Sweeney Todd”

Best Original Screenplay:
Diablo Cody - “Juno ”
Tony Gilroy - “Michael Clayton”
Tamara Jenkins - “The Savages”
Brad Bird - “Ratatouille ”
Steven Zaillian - “American Gangster”

Best Adapted Screenplay:
Joel and Ethan Coen - “No Country for Old Men”
Paul Thomas Anderson - “There Will Be Blood”
Ronald Harwood - “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly”
Christopher Hampton - “Atonement”
Possibly:
Sarah Polley - “Away from Her”
Vincent Paronnaud and Marjane Satrapi - “Persepolis”
David Benioff - “The Kite Runner”

Best Cinematography:
Roger Deakins - “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford”
Janusz Kaminski - “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly”
Roger Deakins - “No Country for Old Men”
Seamus McGarvey - “Atonement”
Robert Elswit - “There Will Be Blood”

Best Animated Feature:
“Persepolis”
“Ratatouille”
“Beowulf”
“The Simpsons Movie”

Preceding each year the Academy Awards and Screen Actors Guild Awards, the Golden Globe Awards (American awards for motion pictures and television programs) are given out each year since 1944. Being a major part of the film industry’s “awards season”, which culminates each year with the Oscars, it is only normal to be awarded during a formal dinner, full of well dressed people and abounding with great and very touchy speeches. But, unlike any other year before, the 65th Annual Golden Globe Awards would not be telecast live and no fancy ceremony would take place. It seems that due to the Writers Guild of America strike, that started on November 5, 2007, “the ceremony was faced with a threat by actors to boycott the ceremony and by striking writers threatening to picket the event and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which hosts the Golden Globes, and NBC were forced to adopt another approach for the broadcast”. In other words, no fun for this years Golden Globes.
Anyway, the so expected awards had been given out, with or without the ceremony and speeches, and here is a “big picture” of what happened there and a quick view through the list of candidates and winners.
From “American Gangster“, “Eastern Promises“, “The Great Debaters“, “Michael Clayton“, “No Country For Old Men” and “There Will Be Blood“, Best Motion Picture - Drama goes to “Atonement“; Julie Christie (”Away From Her“) wins the “battle” with Angelina Jolie and Keira Knightley for Best Performance - Drama; Daniel Day-Lewis (”There Will Be Blood“) punched” Denzel Washington, Viggo Mortensen and George Clooney and grabed the Best Performance - Drama; “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” is Best Musical or Comedy; Best Performance - Musical or Comedy goes to Marion Cotillard (”La Vie en Rose“) and Johnny Depp (”Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street“); “Ratatouille” is Best Animated Feature Film, and, not to forget, the Best Foreign Language Film, from “4 Months, 3 Weeks And 2 Days” (Romania), “The Kite Runner” (United States), “Lust Caution“ (Taiwan), “Persepolis” (France) and “The Diving Bell And The Butterfly” (France, United States), the last one got the Globe.
As we all well know, post-Globes, there’s still an Oscar race to run and now is the time to look at who gathered steam — and who lost some — in the sprint to the Oscar nominations Jan. 22.

Documentary Film Entries Due September 4th for 2007 Oscars. The deadline for documentary filmmakers to submit their short subject and feature documentaries to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for consideration for the 80th Academy Awards is Tuesday, September 4th 2007. Read the rest of this entry »

Beverly Hills, CA, Tuesday night (August 15) — Sid Ganis was re-elected president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which hold the annual Oscar awards, by the organization’s Board of Governors. For the Hollywood veteran this will be his third consecutive term in the office. Read the rest of this entry »

115 artists and executives, who have distinguished themselves by their contributions to theatrical motion pictures, have been invited to join Hollywood’s most exclusive club - the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. There are currently 6,000 members, with only 150 newcomers allowed each year. Although the Academy rules would have Read the rest of this entry »

How many producers Oscar nominated for a best picture?
After “Crash” controversy, that lasted two years, on how many producers may be nominated for a best picture Oscar, the Academy decided to change rules. Read the rest of this entry »

The so well known Oscar Nominee and Academy Awards Winner “The Lord of the Rings”, is back in the spot lights and all because some of the actors of the trilogy are suing the studio claiming they have been cheated out of at least 5 million dollars. The 15 performers, who played small but crucial roles in the fantasy series, say that the contract that was signed Read the rest of this entry »

Most Oscar nominations, 5, received by an actor/actress for a leading or supporting role:

GARY COOPER – 5 Oscar Nominations, 2 Academy Awards
“Mr. Deeds Goes to Town” (1936) – leading role
“Sergeant York” (1941) –leading role Winner Read the rest of this entry »

Most Oscar nominations, 6, received by an actor/actress for a leading or supporting role:

ROBERT DUVALL – 6 Oscar Nominations, 1 Academy Award
“The Godfather” (1972) – supporting role
“Apocalypse Now” (1979) – supporting role Read the rest of this entry »

Most Oscar nominations, 6 to 7, received by an actor/actress for a leading or supporting role:

JANE FONDA – 7 Oscar Nominations, 2 Academy Awards
“They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?” (1969) – leading role
“Klute” (1971) – leading role Winner
“Julia” (1977) – leading role Read the rest of this entry »

Most Oscar nominations, 7 to 8, received by an actor/actress for a leading or supporting role:

MARLON BRANDO – 8 Oscar Nominations, 2 Academy Awards
“A Streetcar Named Desire” (1951) – leading role
“Viva Zapata!” (1952) – leading role
“Julius Caesar” (1953) – leading role Read the rest of this entry »

Most Oscar nominations,9 to 14, received by an actor/actress for a leading or supporting role:

MERYL STREEP - 14 Oscar Nominations, 2 Academy Awards
“The Deer Hunter” (1978) – supporting role
“Kramer vs. Kramer” (1979) – supporting role Winner Read the rest of this entry »

14 Oscar nominations by film:
And this is the last category for the most Oscar nominated movies because, until now, only 2 movies had14 Oscar nominations. It is true that between them there is a “gap” of almost half of century and sometimes I wonder how can that be? But anyway, that doesn’t mean anything, to be the most Oscar nominated movie of all time doesn’t mean to be the best of all times! Now let’s see the two, 14 times Oscar nominated films: Read the rest of this entry »

13 Oscar nominations by film:
In 1998, “Shakespeare in Love”, a well done comedy about the greatest love story of the greatest writer of all times; the young William Shakespeare meets the girl of his dreams and in her the inspiration to write one of his most famous plays. A movie rewarded with 7 Academy Awards out of 13 Oscar nominations for Read the rest of this entry »

13 Oscar nominations by film:
In 1939, “Gone with the Wind”, considered to be the most beloved, enduring and popular film of all time, shot in three-strip Technicolor, is cinema’s greatest historical epic film of the Old South during wartime. The landmark film received tremendous appreciations, more than any previous films to date: thirteen Oscar nominations and eight Read the rest of this entry »

12 Oscar nominations by film:
In 1964, “Becket”, a story of kings, friendship and the changes brought between them by the church and its beliefs. A classic historical drama with excellent performances and 12 Oscar nominations for Best Writing Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium, Best Actor in a Leading Role, Best Actor in a Leading Role, Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color, Best Cinematography, Color, Best Costume Design, Color, Best Director, Best Film Editing, Best Music, Score - Substantially Original, Best Picture and Best Sound. Read the rest of this entry »