The Oscar Nominees… stink.
Well, it’s that time of year again! The time when the so called “film experts” give awards to undeserving cretins in Hollywood for pushing their political banter in movies that no one ever sees. I speak, or course, of the Oscars.
For those who suffered along with me watching last years abomination, know what I’m talking about.
Originally, the Oscars were a celebration of exceptional talent and creativity, and overall, the art of film. But no longer! Hollywood has turned the once proud ceremony into a shockfest presentation of stupid environmental or social ideals …and once in awhile an award is given out. (Of course, that only happens after a pregnant teen lesbian mother (who is drunk AND high AND randomly Muslim) sings a touching song about how hard it was to grow up in her poor African village and in the Bronx at the same time and then, finally, to drive the point home, she is raped on stage to protest the war.)
Then, they hand Brad Pitt an award for Best Butthead of the Year…
Well, anyway, now that I got my rant out, here’s the complete list of nominees this year. I hope they don’t make you gag as much as they made me. In my humble opinion, “Iron Man” deserves a lot more attention then it recieved. And “Slumdog Millionaire” and “Milk” can simply go to heck… and then burn in it.
Complete list of 81st annual Academy Award nominations:
1. Best Picture: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “Frost/Nixon,” “Milk,” “The Reader,” “Slumdog Millionaire.”
2. Actor: Richard Jenkins, “The Visitor”; Frank Langella, “Frost/Nixon”; Sean Penn, “Milk”; Brad Pitt, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”; Mickey Rourke, “The Wrestler.”
3. Actress: Anne Hathaway, “Rachel Getting Married”; Angelina Jolie, “Changeling”; Melissa Leo, “Frozen River”; Meryl Streep, “Doubt”; Kate Winslet, “The Reader.”
4. Supporting Actor: Josh Brolin, “Milk”; Robert Downey Jr., “Tropic Thunder”; Philip Seymour Hoffman, “Doubt”; Heath Ledger, “The Dark Knight”; Michael Shannon, “Revolutionary Road.”
5. Supporting Actress: Amy Adams, “Doubt”; Penelope Cruz, “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”; Viola Davis, “Doubt”; Taraji P. Henson, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”; Marisa Tomei, “The Wrestler.”
6. Director: David Fincher, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”; Ron Howard, “Frost/Nixon”; Gus Van Sant, “Milk”; Stephen Daldry, “The Reader”; Danny Boyle, “Slumdog Millionaire.”
7. Foreign Film: “The Baader Meinhof Complex,” Germany; “The Class,” France; “Departures,” Japan; “Revanche,” Austria; “Waltz With Bashir,” Israel.
8. Adapted Screenplay: Eric Roth and Robin Swicord, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”; John Patrick Shanley, “Doubt”; Peter Morgan, “Frost/Nixon”; David Hare, “The Reader”; Simon Beaufoy, “Slumdog Millionaire.”
9. Original Screenplay: Courtney Hunt, “Frozen River”; Mike Leigh, “Happy-Go-Lucky”; Martin McDonagh, “In Bruges”; Dustin Lance Black, “Milk”; Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon and Pete Docter, “WALL-E.”
10. Animated Feature Film: “Bolt”; “Kung Fu Panda”; “WALL-E.”
11. Art Direction: “Changeling,” “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “The Dark Knight,” “The Duchess,” “Revolutionary Road.”
12. Cinematography: “Changeling,” “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “The Dark Knight,” “The Reader,” “Slumdog Millionaire.”
13. Sound Mixing: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “The Dark Knight,” “Slumdog Millionaire,” “WALL-E,” “Wanted.”
14. Sound Editing: “The Dark Knight,” “Iron Man,” “Slumdog Millionaire,” “WALL-E,” “Wanted.”
15. Original Score: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” Alexandre Desplat; “Defiance,” James Newton Howard; “Milk,” Danny Elfman; “Slumdog Millionaire,” A.R. Rahman; “WALL-E,” Thomas Newman.
16. Original Song: “Down to Earth” from “WALL-E,” Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman; “Jai Ho” from “Slumdog Millionaire,” A.R. Rahman and Gulzar; “O Saya” from “Slumdog Millionaire,” A.R. Rahman and Maya Arulpragasam.
17. Costume: “Australia,” “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “The Duchess,” “Milk,” “Revolutionary Road.”
18. Documentary Feature: “The Betrayal (Nerakhoon),” “Encounters at the End of the World,” “The Garden,” “Man on Wire,” “Trouble the Water.”
19. Documentary (short subject): “The Conscience of Nhem En,” “The Final Inch,” “Smile Pinki,” “The Witness — From the Balcony of Room 306.”
20. Film Editing: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “The Dark Knight,” “Frost/Nixon,” “Milk,” “Slumdog Millionaire.”
21. Makeup: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “The Dark Knight,” “Hellboy II: The Golden Army.”
22. Animated Short Film: “La Maison en Petits Cubes,” “Lavatory — Lovestory,” “Oktapodi,” “Presto,” “This Way Up.”
23. Live Action Short Film: “Auf der Strecke (On the Line),” “Manon on the Asphalt,” “New Boy,” “The Pig,” “Spielzeugland (Toyland).”
24. Visual Effects: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “The Dark Knight,” “Iron Man.”
25. Best Crap in 2008: “Hollywood”
One last thought… “Wall-E” was awesome! Kick that stupid “Kung Fu Panda”‘s butt, Wall-E!
I have to agree with you. The nominations this year are a bunch of crap. Let’s forget about the great films of the year and nominate junk that no one has seen. Sure these films may be good, but worthy of the academy award? I think not. Especially in the case of Benjamin Button since it is pretty much a copy of Forrest Gump. Don’t believe me? Go on YouTube and look up the curious case of Forrest gump. You will be amazed at how many similarities there are.
Long opinion incoming! I think the Oscar nominations are a sad reflection of the state of present Hollywood thinking, one that does not bode well for future filmmakers in terms of what will get attention. As you mentioned, awards were previously given to those who embraced the art of filmmaking, but now? What gets attention is cynicism, movies that take slow, ponderous subject matter and stretch it out over equally languid screenplays, devoid of any real spark and borne more out of a desire to browbeat, than to challenge. Should filmmaking be used to communicate a message, absolutely, but not without forgetting the cardinal rule of filmmaking. It is creative. It is artistic expression, used as a catalyst to create discussion, not to crush the unpopular viewpoint beneath exploitative and overblown rhetoric. It is there also, to fire the imagination and entertain, not serve to remind us of the bitterness and hardships of the world that we are already too familiar with. Perhaps if the academy truly believed in the magic of cinema, it would inspire future filmmakers to do the same.
Oh and go Kung Fu Panda!
I agree, Lioncourt. The message of a film is VERY important. It’s what drives the story, but it shouldn’t be viewed as the whole picture, nor just be there for the sake of what is a hot-button issue right now in time. Also, the message should not be a deciding factor in the Oscars. The panel is there to review the movie as a whole, not just based on if its “controversial” enough or not.
The “new” Hollywood has become so cynical and completely void of originality …simply because originality doesn’t sell. It’s very sad.
lol and Kung Fu Panda is going dooown!
Don’t make me use the Wu-Xi Finger Hold on ya!
I would like to point out that after the whole controversy about the soundtrack for dark knight being allowed into the running for a nomination, it got shafted. So much drama and yet no nomination. Why go through all that crap to just snub it anyway. Why not just say sure you can be in the running, and then just not nominate it? So much useless drama could have been avoided.
Sorry about the horrid punctuation as I am typing this from my I-Touch.
And hey, if you want to talk about soundtracks, the picks this year are half horrible and half correct. I am a HUGE Danny Elfman fan, but honestly, the “Milk” soundtrack has nothing to it. “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” and “Slumdog Millionaire” soundtracks are pitiful and really just as shallow as they films there are attached to.
However, “Defiance” and “Wall-E” have excellent soundtracks and are very worthy of the nomination. James Newton Howard’s material is always amazing, and I have to say, Thomas Newman really came through on “Wall-E”. (Which really surprised me.)
In terms of the “Dark Knight”, though I understand the drama of the discussion, I’m not sure if I would nominate it for an Oscar. I mean, though it sounded good and really fit the movie, it was a sort-of re-hash of the first soundtrack in “Batman Begins” and didn’t bring anything really that new to the table.
Oh, and one last thing, I do honestly believe Heath Ledger deserves his nomination, and even maybe an Oscar. Not because he’s dead, and not because he was playing the Joker, but because he played a very good role with great enthusiasm and with amazing skill. That character was definitely a triumph for him and setting a new standard, not just for comic book genre villains, but for actors as a whole. (So you can just stuff it, Cate Blanchett. We’re sick of you.)
lol wow.. this comment was longer then my article…
start the tri anual spark box awards!
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