(no subject)

[akashiver]

Best motion picture
“Atonement” (Focus Features) A Working Title Production: Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner and Paul Webster, Producers

Saw it. Not as good as the book (of course), but worse, not as good as a film adaptation could have been. The movie was decent and pretty-looking, but it failed to be either atmospheric or devastating.

“Juno” (Fox Searchlight) A Dancing Elk Pictures, LLC Production: Lianne Halfon, Mason Novick and Russell Smith, Producers

Sweet little movie - well worth paying full price to see. But Best Picture material? Not really.

“Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros.) A Clayton Productions, LLC Production: Sydney Pollack, Jennifer Fox and Kerry Orent, Producers

Haven't seen it. Fun fact: in Turkey this movie is called "AVOCAT," or "LAWYER!"

“No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount Vantage) A Scott Rudin/Mike Zoss Production: Scott Rudin, Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, Producers

Wonderful movie. This is my pic as the Best Picture of my year. It's upsetting, though - Oscar voters who like easily digestible blockbusters and happy endings won't vote for this movie.

“There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax) A JoAnne Sellar/Ghoulardi Film Company Production: JoAnne Sellar, Paul Thomas Anderson and Daniel Lupi, Producers

Haven't seen it yet.

Performance by an actress in a leading role

Cate Blanchett in “Elizabeth: The Golden Age” (Universal)

Good, but she was already nommed for playing Elizabeth in the much better first film. Plus, she's up for a "best supporting" Oscar. Sorry, Cate.

Julie Christie in “Away from Her” (Lionsgate)

Haven't seen it, but Julie Christie's performance looks great in the trailer.

Marion Cotillard in “La Vie en Rose” (Picturehouse)

Haven't seen it.

Laura Linney in “The Savages” (Fox Searchlight)

I love Laura Linney, and she's long overdue an Oscar. But "The Savages" sounds pretty dark - will Oscar voters really pop it into their DVD player? I think not.

Ellen Page in “Juno” (Fox Searchlight)

Love you, Ellen, but you'll lose to Julie Christie this year. Don't worry, though: you'll be back.

Performance by an 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., Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount)

Tommy Lee Jones in “In the Valley of Elah” (Warner Independent)

Viggo Mortensen in “Eastern Promises” (Focus Features)

My money's on Daniel Day-Lewis.

Performance by an 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)

The winner. Period.


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.)


Performance by an actress in a supporting role


It's between Cate, Tilda, and that Amy Ryan person.
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.)

Achievement in directing

“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” (Miramax/Pathé Renn), Julian Schnabel
“Juno” (Fox Searchlight), Jason Reitman
“Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros.), Tony Gilroy
“No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount Vantage), Joel Coen and Ethan Coen

I think the Coen Bros may win this race, even if they don't win best picture.

“There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax), Paul Thomas Anderson



Adapted screenplay

Um... How about "No Country for Old Men?
“Atonement” (Focus Features), Screenplay by Christopher Hampton
“Away from Her” (Lionsgate), Written by Sarah Polley
“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” (Miramax/Pathé Renn), Screenplay by Ronald Harwood
“No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount Vantage), Written for the screen by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
“There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax), Written for the screen by Paul Thomas Anderson


Original screenplay

Go directly to Juno. Do not pass GO. Do not collect 200.
“Juno” (Fox Searchlight), Written by Diablo Cody
“Lars and the Real Girl” (MGM), Written by Nancy Oliver
“Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros.), Written by Tony Gilroy
“Ratatouille” (Walt Disney), Screenplay by Brad Bird; Story by Jan Pinkava, Jim Capobianco, Brad Bird
“The Savages” (Fox Searchlight), Written by Tamara Jenkins


Best animated feature film of the year

The year of the penguin is over. Give it to Persepolis. (Sorry Pixar.)
“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


Best foreign language film


Ouch. I've seen NONE of these. Do we ever get foreign films in B-town?
“Beaufort” Israel
“The Counterfeiters” Austria
“Katyn” Poland
“Mongol” Kazakhstan
“12″ Russia

Achievement in art direction
Golden Compass? Sweeney Todd?
“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 in association with Ingenious Film Partners): Art Direction: Dennis Gassner; Set Decoration: Anna Pinnock
“Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” (DreamWorks and Warner Bros., Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount): 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

Achievement in cinematography
I hear good things about Diving Bell. It's a tossup between the others.
“The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford” (Warner Bros.): Roger Deakins
“Atonement” (Focus Features): Seamus McGarvey
“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” (Miramax/Pathé Renn): Janusz Kaminski
“No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount Vantage): Roger Deakins
“There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax): Robert Elswit


Achievement in costume design

“Across the Universe” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Albert Wolsky
“Atonement” (Focus Features) Jacqueline Durran
I hated Atonement's costumes. Srsly. What was up with the Little Red Riding Hood nurse outfit?
“Elizabeth: The Golden Age” (Universal) Alexandra Byrne
“La Vie en Rose” (Picturehouse) Marit Allen
“Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” (DreamWorks and Warner Bros., Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount) Colleen Atwood
Give it to Todd!

Best documentary feature

“No End in Sight” (Magnolia Pictures) A Representational Pictures Production: Charles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs

I think "no end in sight" will win.
“Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience” (The Documentary Group) A Documentary Group Production: Richard E. Robbins
“Sicko” (Lionsgate and The Weinstein Company) A Dog Eat Dog Films Production: Michael Moore and Meghan O’Hara
“Taxi to the Dark Side” (THINKFilm) An X-Ray Production: Alex Gibney and Eva Orner
“War/Dance” (THINKFilm) A Shine Global and Fine Films Production: Andrea Nix Fine and Sean Fine


Best documentary short subject

“Freeheld” A Lieutenant Films Production: Cynthia Wade and Vanessa Roth
“La Corona (The Crown)” A Runaway Films and Vega Films Production: Amanda Micheli and Isabel Vega
“Salim Baba” A Ropa Vieja Films and Paradox Smoke Production: Tim Sternberg and Francisco Bello
“Sari’s Mother” (Cinema Guild) A Daylight Factory Production: James Longley


Achievement in film editing

Give it to Bourne.
“The Bourne Ultimatum” (Universal): Christopher Rouse
“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” (Miramax/Pathé Renn): Juliette Welfling
“Into the Wild” (Paramount Vantage and River Road Entertainment): Jay Cassidy
“No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount Vantage) Roderick Jaynes
“There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax): Dylan Tichenor

Achievement in makeup

Ugh! Seriously, Oscars - is this all you got?
“La Vie en Rose” (Picturehouse) Didier Lavergne and Jan Archibald
“Norbit” (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount): Rick Baker and Kazuhiro Tsuji
“Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” (Walt Disney): Ve Neill and Martin Samuel


Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)

“Atonement” (Focus Features) Dario Marianelli
“The Kite Runner” (DreamWorks, Sidney Kimmel Entertainment and Participant Productions, Distributed by Paramount Classics): Alberto Iglesias
“Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros.) James Newton Howard
“Ratatouille” (Walt Disney) Michael Giacchino
I kinda want Ratatouille to win, but it might go to Atonement for its irritating typewriter score
“3:10 to Yuma” (Lionsgate) Marco Beltrami


Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)

“Falling Slowly” from “Once” (Fox Searchlight) Music and Lyric by Glen Hansard and: Marketa Irglova
“Happy Working Song” from “Enchanted” (Walt Disney): Music by Alan Menken; Lyric by Stephen Schwartz
“Raise It Up” from “August Rush” (Warner Bros.): Nominees to be determined
“So Close” from “Enchanted” (Walt Disney): Music by Alan Menken; Lyric by Stephen Schwartz
“That’s How You Know” from “Enchanted” (Walt Disney): Music by Alan Menken; Lyric by Stephen Schwartz


Best animated short film

“I Met the Walrus” A Kids & Explosions Production: Josh Raskin
“Madame Tutli-Putli” (National Film Board of Canada) A National Film Board of Canada Production Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski “Même Les Pigeons Vont au Paradis (Even Pigeons Go to Heaven)” (Premium Films) A BUF Compagnie Production Samuel Tourneux and Simon Vanesse
“My Love (Moya Lyubov)” (Channel One Russia) A Dago-Film Studio, Channel One Russia and Dentsu Tec Production Alexander Petrov
“Peter & the Wolf” (BreakThru Films) A BreakThru Films/Se-ma-for Studios Production Suzie Templeton and Hugh Welchman


Best live action short film


I haven't seen any of these, unfortunately.
“At Night” A Zentropa Entertainments 10 Production: Christian E. Christiansen and Louise Vesth
“Il Supplente (The Substitute)” (Sky Cinema Italia) A Frame by Frame Italia Production: Andrea Jublin
“Le Mozart des Pickpockets (The Mozart of Pickpockets)” (Premium Films) A Karé Production: Philippe Pollet-Villard
“Tanghi Argentini” (Premium Films) An Another Dimension of an Idea Production: Guido Thys and Anja Daelemans
“The Tonto Woman” A Knucklehead, Little Mo and Rose Hackney Barber Production: Daniel Barber and Matthew Brown


Achievement in sound editing

“The Bourne Ultimatum” (Universal): Karen Baker Landers and Per Hallberg
“No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount Vantage): Skip Lievsay
“Ratatouille” (Walt Disney): Randy Thom and Michael Silvers
“There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax): Matthew Wood
“Transformers” (DreamWorks and Paramount in association with Hasbro): Ethan Van der Ryn and Mike Hopkins


Achievement in sound mixing

May the loudest win!
“The Bourne Ultimatum” (Universal) Scott Millan, David Parker and Kirk Francis
“No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount Vantage): Skip Lievsay, Craig Berkey, Greg Orloff and Peter Kurland
“Ratatouille” (Walt Disney): Randy Thom, Michael Semanick and Doc Kane
“3:10 to Yuma” (Lionsgate): Paul Massey, David Giammarco and Jim Stuebe
“Transformers” (DreamWorks and Paramount in association with Hasbro): Kevin O’Connell, Greg P. Russell and Peter J. Devlin

Achievement in visual effects
“The Golden Compass” (New Line in association with Ingenious Film Partners): Michael Fink, Bill Westenhofer, Ben Morris and Trevor Wood
“Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” (Walt Disney): John Knoll, Hal Hickel, Charles Gibson and John Frazier
“Transformers” (DreamWorks and Paramount in association with Hasbro): Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Russell Earl and John Frazier

Comments

[swan-tower.livejournal.com]

Give it to Bourne.

Are you on crack? I wanted to beat the film editor's head in. Or maybe it was really the cinematographer, but I was cringing so much at the jumpy zoomy swoopy jittery shots I couldn't really tell. (Seriously, that movie bugged me more than Cloverfield, not because it was more shaky -- obviously it wasn't -- but because where was its excuse? At least Cloverfield had a reason for the epilepsy.)

I have seen so few of the nominated films, it isn't even funny.

[moonandserpent.livejournal.com]

I agree with Siobhan on this one. I really enjoy the visual feel of the Bourne movies, and I think the 3rd on was better at balancing clarity with jittery/dirty camera work.

I'm sad about how few of these I've seen, though. I need to rectify that. I'm not even sure There Will be Blood has shown here, yet. Although I can't imagine too many of them will have any chance of changing my feelings about No Country for Old Men.

[swan-tower.livejournal.com]

I like the visual feel of them, too, but I felt the exact opposite of the third one. It was as if the cinematographer decided, "hey, if a little of zooming in abruptly on people's faces or swinging around to them or otherwise having the camera bob up and down while filming them is edgy and cool, then a lot must be even better!"

Except that it wasn't.

I'm not prone to motion sickness, so it didn't make me ill, but man did I want them to hold the camera still once in a while.

[akashiver.livejournal.com]

In answer to your crack question? Yes. It helps me control the heroin addiction.

re: Bourne - shaky it might be, but that was cinematography, not editing. I thought the editors had a pretty confusing set of plots and action sequences to put together, and I thought they made the movie run smoothly.

[swan-tower.livejournal.com]

Yeah, truth be told, halfway through commenting I realized my complaint probably didn't really stem so much from the editing. But by then I wanted to rant, so up the comment went. :-)

[akashiver.livejournal.com]

Ranter. RANTER!

D'ya know what ALSO hates ranters?! CLOVERFIELD!

stompstompstompstomp-NUM-NUM-NUM-NUM!!!!

[mastergode.livejournal.com]

I'd just like to say that this comment thread made me laugh. ^^

[kendokamel.livejournal.com]

Do we ever get foreign films in B-town?
No, unless it's shown as a Ryder film. Kerasotes seems to find that sort of thing beneath them.