The nominations for the 84th Annual Academy Awards were announced on Tuesday, Jan. 24. It was expected that the nominations would be a repeat of the Golden Globe Awards and the Screen Actors Guild Awards. The 2011-2012 movie season featured a lot of newcomers and performers who broke out of years as supporting players. The list also included performers who, after years in the business, proved they still took pride in quality work.
Let’s start with the obvious. Everyone expected “The Artist” to rack up nominations in the major categories, including best actor, supporting actress, best picture and best director. The silent movie captivated critics and movie fans. The movie, which started in limited release, is one of the top 20 movies. We’ll see if it continues racking up awards at this year’s Oscars.
Surprisingly, “Hugo” surpassed “The Artist” by receiving 11 Academy Award nominations. The movie, which is a mixture of science fiction, fantasy and history, featured a mass array of visual eye candy. Besides being named one of the best pictures of the year, it received nominations for its visual spectacles, including cinematography, art direction, costume design, visual effects and sound. “Hugo” has done well at other award shows.
Lots of performers received their first Academy Award nominations. Everyone has been praising Octavia Spenser for her performance in “The Help.” For that work, she earned a nomination for best supporting actress. Jonah Hill, who’s played in comedies most of his career, got his first Oscar nomination for his role in “Moneyball.” “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” star Rooney Mara was nominated for the first time, as well.
The biggest surprise for newcomers was Melissa McCarthy’s nomination for her role in the comedy “Bridesmaids.” The Academy rarely recognizes comedic performances, and Oscar would be a nice partner for the Emmy she won for her role on the television comedy “Mike & Molly.” “Bridesmaids” shockingly earned an Oscar nomination for original screenplay.
There were a few other surprises at this year’s Academy Awards. Leonardo DiCaprio, who has been nominated three times, did not receive one for his portrayal of J. Edgar Hoover in the film “J. Edgar.” Only two songs were deemed worthy of a nomination in the original song category. “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy,” a movie barely recognized at other major award ceremonies, was nominated for best original score and writing, and Gary Oldman was nominated for best actor.
The biggest battle for Oscar will likely occur in the best actress category. “Doubt” costars Meryl Streep and Viola Davis are the top choices for taking home the trophy in this category. Meryl Streep, who has been nominated 17 and won two, hasn’t held Oscar in her hands since her 1983 win for “Sophie’s Choice.” This is Viola Davis’ second nomination; she received her first for a supporting role in “Doubt.” Glenn Close, a six-time Oscar nominee, could pull the upset for her work on “Albert Nobbs.”
We will see who brings home a trophy at the 84th Annual Academy Awards, when it airs on Sunday, February 26, 2012 on ABC. Billy Crystal returned as the host of the show after almost a decade.
Complete List of Nominations:
Actor in a Leading Role
Demian Bichir – “A Better Life”
George Clooney – “The Descendants”
Jean Dujardin – “The Artist”
Gary Oldman – “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”
Brad Pitt – “Moneyball”
Actor in a Supporting Role
Kenneth Branagh – “My Week with Marilyn”
Jonah Hill – “Moneyball”
Nick Nolte – “Warrior”
Christopher Plummer – “Beginners”
Max von Sydow – “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close”
Actress in a Leading Role
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”
Actress in a Supporting Role
Berenice Bejo – “The Artist”
Jessica Chastain – “The Help”
Melissa McCarthy – “Bridesmaids”
Janet McTeer – “Albert Nobbs”
Octavia Spencer – “The Help”
Animated Feature Film
“A Cat in Paris”
“Chico & Rita”
“Kung Fu Panda 2″
“Puss in Boots”
“Rango”
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: Helene Dubreuil
“War Horse” – Production Design: Rick Carter; Set Decoration: Lee Sandales
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
Costume Design
“Anonymous” – Lisy Christl
“The Artist” – Mark Bridges
“Hugo” – Sandy Powell
“Jane Eyre” – Michael O’Connor
“W.E.” – Arianne Phillips
Directing
Michel Hazanavicius – “The Artist”
Alexander Payne – “The Descendants”
Martin Scorsese – “Hugo”
Woody Allen – “Midnight in Paris”
Terrance Malick – “Tree of Life”
Documentary (Feature)
“Hell and Back Again”
“If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front”
“Paradise Lose 3: Purgatory”
“Pina”
“Undefeated”
Documentary (Short Subject)
“The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement”
“God is the Bigger Elvis”
“Incident in New Baghdad”
“Saving Face”
“The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom”
Film 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 Foreign Language Film
“Bullhead” (Belgium)
“Footnote” (Israel)
“In Darkness” (Poland)
“Monsieur Lazhar” (Canada)
“A Separation” (Iran)
Makeup
“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
Music (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
Music (Original Song)
“The Muppets” – “Man or Muppet” Music and Lyrics by Bret McKenzie
“Rio” – “Real in Rio” Music by Sergio Mendes and Carlinhos Brown; Lyrics by Siedah Garrett
Best Picture
“The Artist”
“The Descendants”
“Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close”
“The Help”
“Hugo”
“Midnight in Paris”
“Moneyball”
“The Tree of Life”
“War Horse”
Short Film (Animated)
“Dimanche/Sunday”
“The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore”
“La Luna”
“A Morning Stroll”
“Wild Life”
Short Film (Live Action)
“Pentecost”
“Raju”
“The Shore”
“Time Freak”
“Tuba Atlantic”
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 Ban der Ryn and Erik Aadahl
“War Horse” – Richard Hymns and Gary Rydstrom
Sound Mixing
“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” – David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren 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
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 Steal” – 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
Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
“The Descendants” – Screenplay by Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash
“Hugo” – Screenplay by John Logan
“The Ides of March” – Screenplay by George Clooney & Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon
“Moneyball” – Screenplay by Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin; Story by Stan Chervin
“Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” – Screenplay by Bridget O’Connor & Peter Straughan
Writing (Original Screenplay)
“The Artist” – Written by Michel Hazanavicius
“Bridesmaids” – Written by Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig
“Margin Call” – Written by J.C. Chandor
“Midnight in Paris” – Written by Woody Allen
“A Separation” – Written by Asghar Farhadi