Oscars 2012 Nominees

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences were announced in Los Angeles today. As expected Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Viola Davis and Michelle Williams were nominated. There were some few surprises that caught my attention though.

The Iron Lady which stars Hollywood veteran Meryl Streep, who now hold a records for 17 nominations for the award, was noticeably missing from the Best Picture list. As history has shown often it is not the performance or the talent that sees the deserving artists win but the politics of the industry that determine that fate.

I worry that this snub for The Iron Lady might cost Viola a chance to win as the Academy might want to reward The Iron Lady with a Meryl win to compensate. 

On the other hand, Michelle Willliams has been having quite a buzz over his performance of Hollywood darling Marilyn Monroe. Though her performance is Oscar deserving in its own right she might have a one up the other contenders because of the sentimental value her role holds for Hollywood. 

Another factor on Michelle's side is that she is going up against industry big guns. The ladies she is nominated with are a force to be reckoned with and she is just a relative new comer to the league. To reward her for this feet, the Academy voters may just give her a little gift -- called Oscar!

I would really love for Viola to win but the odds are really against her. The Help which she nabs the nomination for garnered one other nomination for performances with Recent Golden Globe winner, Octavia Spencer. 

Winners of the 84th annual Academy Awards will be revealed at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood on February 26 at a ceremony hosted by Billy Crystal. 

Best Motion Picture of the Year

War Horse
The Artist
Moneyball
The Descendants
The Tree of Life
Midnight in Paris
The Help
Hugo
Extremely loud & Incredibly Close

Best Actor

George Clooney, The Descendants
Gary Oldman, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Jean Dujardin, The Artist
Brad Pitt, Moneyball
Demian Bichir, A Better Life



Best Actress

Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs
Viola Davis, The Help
Rooney Mara, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
Michelle Williams, My Week with Marilyn


Best Supporting Actor

Kenneth Branagh, My Week with Marilyn
Jonah Hill, Moneyball
Christopher Plummer, Beginners
Nick Nolte, Warrior
Max von Sydow, Extremely loud and incredibly close

Best Supporting Actress

Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids
Berenice Bejo, The Artist
Jessica Chastain, The Help
Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs
Octavia Spencer, The Help


Best Director

Alexander Payne, The Descendants
Martin Scorsese, Hugo
Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
Terrence Malick, Tree of Life
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist

Best Original Screenplay

Bridesmaids
Margin Call
The Artist
Midnight in Paris
A Separation

Best Adapted Screenplay

The Descendants
Hugo
Ides of March
Moneyball
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Best Animated Film

A Cat in Paris
Chico & Rita
Kung Fu Panda 2
Puss in Boots
Rango

Best Foreign Language Film

Bullhead, Belgium
Monsieur Lazhar, Canada
A Separation, Iran
Footnote, Israel
In Darkness, Poland

Best Cinematography

The Artist, Guillaume Schiffman
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Jeff Cronenweth
Hugo, Robert Richardson
The Tree of Life, Emmanuel Lubezki
War Horse, Janusz Kaminski


Best Editing

The Artist, Anne-Sophie Bion and Michel Hazanavicius
The Descendants, Kevin Tent
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall
Hugo, Thelma Schoonmaker
Moneyball, Christopher Tellefsen

Best Art Direction

The Artist - Production Design: Laurence Bennett; Set Decoration: Robert Gould
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 - Production Design: Stuart Craig; Set Decoration: Stephenie McMillan
Hugo - Production Design: Dante Ferretti; Set Decoration: Francesca Lo Schiavo
Midnight in Paris - Production Design: Anne Seibel; Set Decoration: Hélène Dubreuil
War Horse - Production Design: Rick Carter; Set Decoration: Lee Sandales


Best Costume Design

Anonymous, Lisy Christl
The Artist, Mark Bridges
Hugo, Sandy Powell
Jane Eyre, Michael O'Connor
W.E., Arianne Phillips

Best Make-up

Albert Nobbs, Martial Corneville, Lynn Johnston and Matthew W. Mungle
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, Edouard F. Henriques, Gregory Funk and Yolanda Toussieng
The Iron Lady, Mark Coulier and J. Roy Helland


Best Original Score

The Adventures of Tintin, John Williams
The Artist, Ludovic Bource
Hugo, Howard Shore
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy,  Alberto Iglesias
War Horse, John Williams

Best Original Song

Man or Muppet from The Muppets - Music and Lyric by Bret McKenzie
Real in Rio from Rio - Music by Sergio Mendes and Carlinhos Brown Lyric by Siedah Garrett

Best Sound Mixing

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce and Bo Persson
Hugo - Tom Fleischman and John Midgley
Moneyball - Deb Adair, Ron Bochar, Dave Giammarco and Ed Novick
Transformers: Dark of the Moon - Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers, Jeffrey J. Haboush and Peter J. Devlin
War Horse - Gary Rydstrom, Andy Nelson, Tom Johnson and Stuart Wilson


Best Sound Editing

Drive - Lon Bender and Victor Ray Ennis
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Ren Klyce
Hugo - Philip Stockton and Eugene Gearty
Transformers: Dark of the Moon -   Ethan Van der Ryn and Erik Aadahl
War Horse - Richard Hymns and Gary Rydstrom


Best Visual Effects

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 - Tim Burke, David Vickery, Greg Butler and John Richardson
Hugo - Rob Legato, Joss Williams, Ben Grossman and Alex Henning
Real Steel - Erik Nash, John Rosengrant, Dan Taylor and Swen Gillberg
Rise of the Planet of the Apes - Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, R. Christopher White and Daniel Barrett
Transformers: Dark of the Moon - Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Matthew Butler and John Frazier

Best Documentary

Hell and Back Again -Danfung
If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front - Marshall Curry and Sam Cullman
Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory - Charles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs
Pina - Wim Wenders and Gian-Piero Ringel
Undefeated - TJ Martin, Dan Lindsay and Richard Middlemas

Best Documentary, Short Subjects

The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement - Robin Fryday and Gail Dolgin
God Is the Bigger Elvis - Rebecca Cammisa and Julie Anderson
Incident in New Baghdad - James Spione
Saving Face - Daniel Junge and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy
The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom - Lucy Walker and Kira Carstensen


Best Short Film, Animated

Dimanche/Sunday, Patrick Doyon
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore, William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg
La Luna,  Enrico Casarosa
A Morning Stroll, Grant Orchard and Sue Goffe
Wild Life, Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby


Best Short Film, Live Action

Pentecost, Peter McDonald and Eimear O'Kane
Raju, Max Zähle and Stefan Gieren
The Shore, Terry George and Oorlagh George
Time Freak, Andrew Bowler and Gigi Causey
Tuba Atlantic, Hallvar Witzø