Tributes, kisses, hits and misses fill the 77th Annual Academy Award nominations.
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Frank Pierson kicked off the 77th annual Academy Award nominations with a brief tribute to an Academy legend, Johnny Carson, who passed away Sunday: “On behalf of all of us at the Academy to the man who was our voice for so many years on the Academy Awards, Johnny Carson, good night and sleep well.” It was a touching note for many, including the nominees, who on this Jan. 25 morning, became legends themselves.
On a lighter note, even at 5:30 in the morning, when the Academy headquarters makes its nail-biting revelations each year, presenter and Oscar-winner himself Adrien Brody, in similar fashion to his 2002 acceptance speech, also made an unforgettable introduction.
A roar of laughter and applause filled the Academy theatre as Brody tried to innocently plant one on Pierson‘s smackers, a flashback to his big night three years ago when Brody actually took home two honors–the coveted golden statue and every man’s fantasy kissing Halle Berry. Surely flattered, Pierson is still no Halle Berry: “I knew he couldn’t resist, but I didn’t think he’d dare,” said Pierson of Brody‘s forward attempt, drawing more laughs from the crowd.
If the audience wasn’t awake yet, they definitely were now. As the small army of international TV crews, media reps, publicists and reporters huddled round–including KABC’s Jerry Penacoli touching up his make-up and Entertainment Tonight‘s Mark Steines, who was overheard commenting on how empty the streets were on the ride over (in L.A.? Go figure)–Brody and Pierson announced the top ten categories among the 24 different Oscar races.
And in a blink of an eye, the nominations were over, with almost every major movie that had any early Oscar buzz getting at least one nomination. Here’s a recap in slow motion.
Flying High
Soaring above all other Oscar contenders with the most nominations, 11 in all, was the Howard Hughes biopic The Aviator, with nods going to Leonardo DiCaprio (Best Actor), first-time nominee Alan Alda (Best Supporting Actor), Cate Blanchett (Best Supporting Actress) and Martin Scorsese for Best Director–his seventh nomination and fifth in this category, but who has yet taken home the gold.
In a tie for second, Finding Neverland and Million Dollar Baby each received seven nominations including Best Picture, and Best Actor nods to Johnny Depp and Clint Eastwood, respectively. Other Baby honorees included Morgan Freeman for Best Supporting Actor and Hilary Swank for Best Actress, who is the only nominated performer this year who has previously won an acting Oscar, for her performance in Boys Don’t Cry in 1999.
Ray made the top 10 hit list with six nominations, including one for Jamie Foxx, this year’s only true frontrunner after taking home the Golden Globe. The film also got a nod for Best Picture, Costume Design, Directing, Film Editing and Sound Mixing.
As the fifth Best Pic nominee, 2004’s ‘little movie that could’ and critics favorite, Sideways, came in strong with five nominations, including nods to former Wings TV star Thomas Haden Church (Best Supporting Actor) and former B-movie star Virginia Madsen (Best Supporting Actress) for stellar performances in a movie that saved both their careers. Director/co-writer Alexander Payne also got a nom for Direction and Adapted Screenplay. Yet, in one the bigger upsets, Sideways leading actor Paul Giamatti failed to receive a nomination, after being heralded by critics as well as nominated for a Golden Globe.
But other Best Picture hopefuls–Hotel Rwanda, Kinsey and Closer–were edged out of the race.
[PAGEBREAK]
Two of a Kind
Jamie Foxx and Clint Eastwood ended up with two nominations a piece this year. Foxx received two acting nominations for his uncanny portrayal as the legendary blues and gospel singer Ray Charles in Ray and as an L.A. cab driver with big dreams turned upside down in Collateral, making him the 10th person to be nominated in both acting categories in the same year. No person has yet won in both categories in the same year.
In the directing category, Eastwood received his third Academy Award nomination for Million Dollar Baby, having previously been nominated for last year’s Mystic River and winning the Oscar for the 1992 The Unforgiven, which also won Best Picture. His acting nod, however, is his second nomination in that category, this time for his portrayal as the grizzled boxing trainer in Baby. Besides edging out favorite Giamatti, Eastwood also stole the nomination from other serious contenders, including De-Lovely‘s Kevin Kline, Beyond the Sea‘s Kevin Spacey and The Sea Inside‘s Javier Bardem. Also shut out–again–was Jim Carrey for his work in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind as well as Kinsey‘s Liam Neeson.
But those two movies didn’t not go totally unnoticed. Carrey‘s co-star Kate Winslet made the Best Actress list, while Kinsey‘s Laura Linney got a Best Supporting Actress nod. Carrey‘s Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, however, did fairly well, getting four nominations.
As a side note, four out of the five Best Actor nominees–Don Cheadle for Hotel Rwanda, Johnny Depp for Finding Neverland, Leonardo DiCaprio for The Aviator and Foxx–all portrayed real-life characters.
Look Close-ly
The Academy voters virtually ignored the much-touted film Closer, giving it only two nominations, but those nods, for first-time nominees Natalie Portman and Clive Owen in the Best Supporting Acting categories, roused cheers from the audience. The two walked away with Globe statues this year for their work in the same movie. Director Mike Nichols and actors Jude Law and Julia Roberts, however, were overlooked.
Mel Gibson‘s The Passion of the Christ also didn’t make the impact some had thought it would, only getting nods in the Cinematography, Makeup and Original Score categories.
Being Julia‘s star Annette Bening got the only nod for the Sony Pictures Classics film in the Best Actress category. Bening took home the Golden Globe this year for her role and this is her second Oscar nomination (American Beauty in 1999) in the leading actress category.
Newcomers, New Trends and New Records
The somewhat unknown British film, Vera Drake, a quiet film about a 1950’s London abortionist, was anointed with three nominations, as did the intense Hotel Rwanda. Vera Drake director Mike Leigh, previously nominated for his screenplay for Topsy-Turvy in 1999, was nominated this year for Directing and Original Screenplay.
Vera Drake‘s lead character and relative newcomer Imelda Staunton became a first-time Best Actress nominee, along with fellow first-time nominee Catalina Sandino Moreno for her performance as a teenage drug mule in Maria Full of Grace. Moreno‘s performance is in Spanish, only four performers before her have won Academy Awards for roles using spoken languages other than English. Another first-time nominee is Sophie Okonedo, nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her work in Hotel Rwanda.
For trivia buffs, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban‘s composer John Williams got his 43rd nomination for musical score, tying with Alfred Newman‘s record in the music category. Finding Neverland, Lemony Snicket, The Passion and The Village are also ‘scored’ big in this category.
France received its 33rd nomination in the Foreign Language Film category for Les Choristes (The Chorus). A win for France would tie Italy’s record of ten wins in the Foreign Language category. Other countries in the running this year are Sweden’s As It Is In Heaven, Germany’s Downfall, Spain’s The Sea Inside and South Africa’s Yesterday.
We’ll have to wait and see what records are set and broken when the Oscars air Feb. 27 at 5 p.m. PST (8 p.m. EST).
