*** Official Oscar Nominations and Discussion Thread (1 Viewer)

[Chuck Mayer]

Gut reactions:

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Philip Seymour Hoffman - CAPOTE

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Paul Giamatti - CINDERELLA MAN
Jake Gyllenhaal - BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN (MAYBE)

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Reese Witherspoon - WALK THE LINE

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Catherine Keener - CAPOTE (MAYBE)
Rachel Weisz - THE CONSTANT GARDENER

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM OF THE YEAR
WALLACE & GROMIT IN THE CURSE OF THE WERE-RABBIT

ACHIEVEMENT IN ART DIRECTION
I was hoping for a Batman nod here. I liked Harry Potter, but...

ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY
The only full list I like. At least The New World got something. And it'll probably lose to BBM here.

ACHIEVEMENT IN COSTUME DESIGN
MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA

ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTING
BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN

Exact same list as picture. Both will go to BBM.

ACHIEVEMENT IN FILM EDITING
THE CONSTANT GARDENER
MUNICH (MAYBE)

ACHIEVEMENT IN MAKEUP
THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE

ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC WRITTEN FOR MOTION PICTURES
(ORIGINAL SCORE)
BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN

ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC WRITTEN FOR MOTION PICTURES
(ORIGINAL SONG)
"It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp" - HUSTLE & FLOW

BEST MOTION PICTURE OF THE YEAR
BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN

ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND EDITING
WAR OF THE WORLDS

ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND MIXING
WAR OF THE WORLDS

ACHIEVEMENT IN VISUAL EFFECTS
KING KONG

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK.
SYRIANA (MAYBE)

My gut reaction is probably my best. I am pretty disappointed by the lack of noms for Batman and The New World. I didn't expect acting or directing (or picture) for Batman, but a few more tech nods would have been nice. Still, cinematography is something, even if it has no chance (nor should it, in that list). But The New World deserved Director, Picture, and certainly Actress. C'est l'Oscars.

But the noms are about what was expected. No real surprises, good or bad. As I am certain of the big races already, I only need to tune in for Stewarts opening.

 

[Chuck Mayer]

Scott, I would bet a trillion dollars on BBM winning Best Picture. It's as big a lock as Titanic was, at this point.

 

[Steve Christou]

What no King Kong for Best Picture? But what a kick in the teeth for Star Wars fans eh, many had hoped Sith would finally clinch that elusive award for visual effects and it wasn't even nominated. Narnia? I saw Narnia, the effects were on the level of those Hallmark made for tv epics. They really are sticking it to Lucas. On the other hand the gobsmacking effects for Kong deserves recognition and I hope the big ape wins.

Great to see Wallace & Gromit get the nomination, but I also loved Howls Moving Castle.

I thought the sound editing and mixing on Batman Begins would get a nom, I thought wrong.

I'm rooting for Munich and Steven Spielberg to win, but I seriously doubt it.

 

[Haggai]

One unusual thing about this year's noms is that the five Best Picture slots are EXACTLY the same as the five Best Director slots, which is very rare. I'm pretty sure that I myself posted in one of the previous year's Oscar threads about which exact years that had happened in, and that it's a very short list, though I don't remember all the details. I'm still reasonably sure, without doing much double-checking, that the last time it happened was 1981, and the last time before that in 1964.

 

[ZacharyTait]

I can't wait to read Jeff Well's reactions to Keira Knightley's nomination. Hee hee.

 

[Chuck Mayer]

I did, too. Not that a film gets "robbed" in sound, but it was my favorite sonic experience this year. Like I said, a safe and "important" list of films this year.

And I agree with Tino below. Kong is as locked as Brokeback is for BP.

 

[Tino]

Kong's win is as assured as Brokebacks.

 

[Sean Laughter]

I dunno if this would affect the sound mixing and editing nomination chances of Batman Begins, but I'm not the only one of my friends that felt that it's bass was horrendously overcooked in the theatrical mixed - to the point of being physically painful.

 

[Nathan V]

I think Clooney HAS supporting. The only reason to watch this year is to see if Cinematography goes to something other than BBM, and see who wins editing. That said, I'll be watching the entire show as usual. Five noms for Munich, not bad at all. Cinderella Man for makeup, all right. I wonder when the last time was the BP winner did not have an editing nom.

Thought Narnia had excellent FX, though I did not think much of the film itself at all. I think KK will get that award. I have not seen SW3 yet.

 

[Chuck Mayer]

Other slights that bother me:

Maria Bello gave a FANTASTIC performance in A History of Violence. As did Ralph Fiennes in The Constant Gardener. He's expected to always be great, so he loses out. But Bello?

I was happy to see Munich get some love, but it has no chance at the biggies. Should get a technical "bone" thrown it's way, though.

 

[Craig S]

Well, I've been so busy the last few weeks that I had to totally drop out of the pre-nomination discussion. :frowning: But I thought I'd give some thoughts on the noms.

Overall - this year it really is about the movies. I can't gripe about any of the BP nominees - all will be in my Top Ten. I was happy to see Capote, Crash, & GN&GL survive their relatively early releases and emerge triumphant.

For the first time in many years, the BP noms match the Directing noms.

Happy with all the acting noms, except for Knightly (I'm sure Jeffrey Wells is apoplectic about this one). She wasn't bad by any means, but I think there were more deserving contenders. Personally, I would have liked to see Kilcher in that slot.

Best Actor is between Hoffman and Ledger. Actress between Huffman & Witherspoon. Supporting Actress is Weisz's to lose. Supporting Actor is a little harder to call. Was very glad to see Paul Giamatti FINALLY get a nomination, and I hope he wins.

I was convinced that Disney would find a way to get Chicken Little an Animated Feature nod, shutting out Howl's. Luckily the animators chose the three best films. Nick Park & gang should clear a spot on their mantle for another Oscar - W&G is as almost as close to a lock here as BbM is for BP.

I have been thinking this was a VERY bad year for original songs, and obviously the music branch agrees, with only three nominations. OTOH, there were a lot of good scores, and I am very happy with the 5 nominees here.

Rewatched Batman Begins a couple of nights ago, and was reminded what a stunning-looking film it is. So I'm very happy to see it break through to a Cinematography nod. I like all five in this category.

The closest thing to a snub I can find is RotS being shut out of Visual Effects. VFX have become so important in the past decade - I really think this category needs to be expanded to 5 nominees.

That's all for now.

 

[Cory S.]

I'm sorry, but Crash as a Best Picture? Not feeling that one. That should've been Walk the Line or The New World if anything.

Where's Ralph Fiennes? Where's Q'Orianka Kilcher? Where's Eric Bana?

 

[Nathan V]

Yeah, the score noms are great. John Williams must be happy right about now. I do think Knightley is more than deserving of a nom for that perf, her facial expressions were a delight to watch (no bias there , I am serious though), very full of vitality and in keeping with the 'fresh' approach of that film. That said, Kilcher deserves more than a win; her performance is among the best female performances of the new decade.

Fiennes deserves to be nominated even when he isn't in anything. Hell, they could've thrown him in supporting actor, after last year's hilarious categorization of Jamie Foxx's LEAD performance in Collateral.Glad to see Constant G with screenplay too.

Regards,
Nathan

 

[Nathan V]

I was on the verge of saying that Crash's nomination is a testament to how bad 2005 was, but it really isn't; there are so many other great films released this year that are somehow being mysteriously ignored (New World, Jarhead, AHOV, Munich to an extent, etc) and replaced with lesser films.

Regards,
Nathan

 

[Adam_S]

Vickie, I'm on the West Coast and can only get up so early, I'm missing the gym by posting here anyways.


It'll be edited in moments, it won't be formatted for an hour or two though.

Nominations I'm happiest about
5x5 picture/director - sweet (and a munich nom! these are actually the five I predicted two weeks ago only to change a day ago) and the prequels finally get their makeup due! Only three songs, huzzah!

HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE

Art Direction
GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK.
HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE

ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY
BATMAN BEGINs
THE NEW WORLD

ACHIEVEMENT IN COSTUME DESIGN
MRS. HENDERSON PRESENT

ACHIEVEMENT IN MAKEUP
STAR WARS: EPISODE III REVENGE OF THE SITH

ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND MIXING
THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE


ACHIEVEMENT IN VISUAL EFFECTS
THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE


Things I'm most disapointed in is Star Wars and Batman both shut out of the three technical categories.

 

[JamieD]

That Jarhead is not even near this list simply validates why I don't watch Oscars/award season much. So many different spins.

 

[Kristian]

My reactions, by category:

Best Picture

I may be in the minority on this one, but I think this is the weakest Best Picture lineup in recent memory. While it wasn't one of my favorites, I would've preferred to see Walk the Line over Capote or Crash, as this year really needed a "feel good" movie slot.


Best Director

If ever there was a year where BP and BD should not match up, it was 2005. Instead, we get a lazy list identical to BP. I think the slots taken up by the two first-time directors should've been given to more impressive directorial efforts (like Peter Jackson for King Kong, among others).


Best Actor

The only surprise here is Terrence Howard's nomination. I think Heath deserves to win, but Hoffman is too much of a lock right now.


Best Actress

I would've loved to see Naomi Watts or even Q'Orianka Kilcher get nominated. But on the bright side, Zhang Ziyi's weakest performance of her career did not get a default nomination.


Best Supporting Actor

I haven't seen A History of Violence, but I've liked William Hurt in everything I've seen him in, so it's good to see him nominated.


Best Supporting Actress

The closest thing to a surprise here is McDormand. This is the most suspenseful of the acting categories, but Weisz's current streak will probably continue.


Best Animated Feature

Wow, not a single CG animated movie! I'm glad to see that traditional forms of animation are not dead, as some have said.


Best Art Direction

I'm glad to see Harry Potter and Kong get in here. One of the period pieces will probably win, though.


Best Cinematography

I would've picked Kong over Geisha, but otherwise a great list. Batman Begins's nom is the most pleasant surprise of the awards.


Best Costume Design

Trisha Biggar was robbed.


Best Editing

With no Brokeback, this is probably Munich's best shot at a win.


Best Makeup

The one branch in the academy that honored my favorite film of the year, Revenge of the Sith. It'll still lose to Narnia, though.


Best Original Score

I thought this year would finally be a lock for John Williams to win his first Oscar in over a decade. But I think he'll split the vote between his two scores, leaving the lovely but monotonous Brokeback score to win.


Best Original Song

Weak lineup. I'm hoping that Dolly Parton performs and wins.


Best Sound Editing / Best Sound Mixing

ROTS and Batman Begins should've gotten in there.


Best Visual Effects

It's an absolute travesty for Narnia to get nominated over ROTS. If ROTS had to get snubbed, I would've preferred that Harry Potter or Batman Begins had taken its place.

 

[Henry Gale]

nevermind

 

[Kirk Tsai]

Initial surprise reactions:

Capote geting nominated for the big categories, which seemd like it was always up in the air.

Happy for the two deserving nominations of Hustle & Flow.

As others are, I'm shocked that ROTS was not nominated for visual effects.

The three animated feature nominations include two foreign, no CGI, and three good pictures.

Editing for Constant Gardener, cinematography for New World.

 

[teapot2001]

I'm happiest with William Hurt's and Woody Allen's nominations. I think Woody has surpassed Billy Wilder for most Oscar nominations for a writing/directing.

Nice to see the best pic and director nominees match up.

I was afraid The New World wouldn't get best cinematography.

~T