Snubs, pleasant surprises in Academy race

LOS ANGELES—Terrence Malick and his film “The Tree of Life” getting best director and best picture nods made waking up at 3 a.m. last Tuesday to cover the Academy Awards nominations announcement more than worth it.

With a blazing red stage curtain as backdrop, Jennifer Lawrence, star of “The Hunger Games,” one of the much-anticipated movies this year, and Tom Sherak, president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, announced the nominations for the 84th Oscars which will be held on Sunday, Feb. 26 at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood.

Profound, visually stunning

“The Tree of Life,” a profound, visually stunning film for those who liked it (and a head-scratcher for those who didn’t), is up against such films as “Hugo” and “The Artist,” which racked up 11 and 10 nods, respectively. The lone surprise in the field of nine contenders is Stephen Daldry’s “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close,” a film that came with a good pedigree but was generally panned by critics.

In the best actor race, Demian Bichir (“A Better Life”) edged out the terrific Michael Fassbender  (“Shame”). Others who didn’t make it were Leonardo DiCaprio (“J. Edgar”) and Ryan Gosling (“Drive,” “The Ides of March”). Tilda Swinton, excellent as the mother of a disturbed son in “We Need to Talk About Kevin,” was left out in the best actress contest and so was Charlize Theron (“Young Adult”).

Most nominated actor

As expected, Meryl Streep as “The Iron Lady” is in the running for a best actress trophy. The nod solidified Meryl’s stature as the most nominated actor in the Academy’s history.

For the record, the late Walt Disney holds the record number of Oscar nominations, 59.

With his double nominations for best original score (“The Adventures of Tintin” and “War Horse”), John Williams also increased his lead as the second most nominated individual (a total of 47 nominations). Coming in next is Woody Allen, whose nods for best director and original screenplay (“Midnight in Paris”) added to his total of 23 nominations.

Nick Nolte’s best supporting actor nod as a recovering alcoholic coping with two feuding sons in “Warrior” was another well-deserved recognition, although it forced the equally deserving Albert Brooks (“Drive”) and Viggo Mortensen (“A Dangerous Method”) out of the race. And no compromise was made for Uggie, the scene-stealer in “The Artist,” so the dog was also out of contention.

Melissa McCarthy, a standout in the comedy “Bridesmaids,” cinched a berth in the best supporting actress race. But Shailene Woodley, George Clooney’s moody daughter in “The Descendants,” did not make it to the magic five. Melissa and three rivals in the category—Berenice Bejo (“The Artist”), Jessica Chastain and Octavia Spencer, both of “The Help”—are all first-time Oscar nominees. The lone exception is Janet McTeer (“Albert Nobbs”), who was previously nominated for “Tumbleweeds.”

In the best director field, Steven Spielberg failed to make the cut but his “War Horse” did—as a best picture contender.

David Fincher was not as lucky—neither he nor his “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” placed in the best director and picture categories.

The excellent Iranian entry, “A Separation,” did not only earn a slot in the best foreign language film competition; it also snagged a best original screenplay nod for Asghar Farhadi (who is also the film’s director), the first time that a foreign language nominee landed in this category since “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.” It’s also the first film in Farsi (the Iranian language) to compete in the best original screenplay category.

First-time nominees

Spielberg’s “The Adventures of Tintin” likewise failed to earn a spot in the best animated feature film field. Instead, France’s “A Cat in Paris” and Spain’s “Chico & Rita” got in to vie

with “Kung Fu Panda 2” (congratulations to its director Jennifer Yuh Nelson, a top talent in the male-dominated world of animation), “Puss in Boots” and “Rango.” All filmmakers behind these features are first-time nominees.

Pixar, usually a front-runner in this field, did not make it with its entry, “Cars 2.” However, the renowned studio’s “La Luna,” by Enrico Casarosa, is nominated for best animated short film.

Curiously, there are only two best original song nominees: Bret McKenzie’s “Man or Muppet” from “The Muppets,” and Sergio Mendes, Carlinhos Brown and Siedah Garrett’s “Real in Rio” from “Rio.”

Madonna and Elton John (through his partner, David Furnish) will not be around to spice up their feud since the former’s Golden Globe win over the latter.

By midday, Albert Brooks’ tweets about being snubbed were all over the Internet. At first, he tweeted: “I got robbed. I don’t mean the Oscars, I mean literally. My pants and shoes have been stolen.” An hour later, he paraphrased Sally Field’s famous Oscar acceptance remarks: “And to the Academy: ‘You don’t like me. You really don’t like me.’ ”

We’re thinking that Albert just gave joke material to the brilliant Billy Crystal, who is returning as host of the Academy Awards.

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