In Hollywood, where it’s even earlier than it is here, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced the nominations for the 2011 Academy Awards, to be broadcast in a February 27 ceremony hosted by beautiful people Anne Hathaway and James Franco, and preceded by a special dinner which Jean-Luc Godard did not attend. The King’s Speech received 12 nominations, True Grit a surprising-only-to-disappointed-auteurists 10. (Cinematographer Roger Deakins, who’s incredibly never won, receives his 8th nomination.) The Social Network eight and Inception also eight (mostly in the technical categories, plus the designated “Chris Nolan fanboy blockbuster” spot in the recently expanded field of ten Best Picture nominees.
The full nominees are here.
Results are mostly unsurprising, though it’s nice to seem that some relatively beloved indiewood names (of recent and longstanding vintage), on both sides of the camera, have been recognized. (David O. Russell just got his first Best Director nomination, so that whole selling-out thing seems to’ve paid off.) And Dogtooth, incredibly, was nominated for Best Foreign Film.
Thoughts?
I was just thinking about how the Best Director field is rocking some New New Hollywood royalty: Aronofsky, Russell, Fincher. Nolan really would’ve fit into that field more comfortably than the King’s Speech guy, but whatevs, Oscar voters aren’t that into sci-fi-type stuff when there’s historical details a-dramatizin’.
I wish I liked Winter’s Bone more so I could be more excited about four nominations for that. But: John Hawkes! Awesome!