Oscar Nominations 2012: Still Out Of Touch – My Thoughts And Predictions

I think Matt Damon said it best when he said that the Academy Awards shouldn’t consider a film for a nomination until 10 years after it’s release.

On the evening of March 21st, 1999, I lost faith in the Academy Awards. I would pay money to see video footage of every person watching the Oscars that night. Wouldn’t it be awesome to see a montage of jaws dropping when “Shakespeare In Love” beat “Saving Private Ryan” for best picture? Is there anyone out there that truly thinks “Shakespeare In Love” is a better film? “Saving Private Ryan” could have been shut off after the first twenty minutes and still been a better film than “Shakespeare in Love.” Throughout the years, more crazy decisions like that began to occur. Do you remember when “The Reader” received a best picture nomination over “The Dark Knight”? Or when Christopher Nolan didn’t receive a Best Director nomination for the game-changing flick “Inception”? Or how about last year’s winner for Best Picture being “The King’s Speech”? No one talks about “The Kings Speech” anymore. It was a solid film that is forgotten and left to sit on DVD shelves. Who is going to wake up one a Saturday afternoon and say, “Man, I really feel like watching “The King’s Speech” today?” Audiences are still trying to wrap their minds around “Inception” and discussing Fincher’s “The Social Network”, which are signs of films that deserve more attention from the Academy.

Nolan, who has made an amazing effort to use less CGI and actual direct his action sequences in live action format, is one of the game changing directors of our time. Look at the truck flip in “The Dark Knight” or the 100 foot spinning hallway he built for the zero gravity fight sequence in “Inception.” Sure, it was an homage to Stanley Kubrick’s “2001″ but it kept the realism of the scene. How has the Academy not honored him yet? Well, it’s the same reason Martin Scorsese didn’t win an Academy Award for directing until “The Departed”. Wait, so he didn’t deserve one for “Goodfellas”, “Raging Bull” or “Taxi Driver”? This just furthers proves the point of how out of touch the Academy has always been.

Now, we move to this year. Does the Academy even know who Andy Serkis is? The man, through the brilliant aesthetic of performance-capture, has created some of the most memorable and emotionally driven characters in years, all while never physically being on screen for them. By saying so little, he still connects to the audience so well. You look at his performance as Gollum in “Lord of the Rings” or “King Kong” and now recently Caeser the Ape, and you see an emotionally driven character that engages the audience. It’s not just a CGI character. There is a deep connection there that you can not get through normal CGI animation. He should have been nominated years ago! I’m still trying to wrap my mind around the fact that Jonah Hill was nominated over Andy Serkis. The Academy is so out of touch when it comes to performance-capture that even “The Adventures of Tin Tin” didn’t get nominated! That was one of the best and most realistic looking animated films I’ve seen in years.

Going along with the Scorsese story about not winning until “The Departed”, is the nomination for Gary Oldman. The Academy is all about giving “career” awards and not awarding the individual for their current project. Why did the Academy wait until 2012 to give Gary Oldman his first Oscar nomination? He’s arguably one of the best actors of this generation because of his extreme range and ability to completely transform in to that character. He is one of the rare actors who actually loses himself completely in a character to the point where I don’t see Gary Oldman anymore. I see the character that he is playing. How did the Academy not recognize his brilliance in “Bram Stoker’s Dracula” or “The Professional” or “True Romance” or “The Fifth Element” or “Immortal Beloved”? Now, you finally decide to give him a nomination for one of his weaker films. Sure, his performance in “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” is fantastic but why give him a nomination now?

We all already know that the Academy is going to give Best Picture to “The Artist”. It’s the safe, typical Oscar type of film driven by a Weinstein campaign. Sure, it’s a black and white silent film in 2011 but it added nothing new to cinema. Everyone says, “but it’s a love letter to filmmaking!” I agree but a better love letter is Martin Scorsese’s “Hugo”, which actually adds a beautifully modern spin on that letter. Scorsese actually moved cinema forward by revolutionizing 3D and finally making it a necessary element in story-telling if used correctly. I enjoyed and admired “The Artist” but it adds nothing new to cinema.

I could go on and on with my disappointment in the Academy. I will say I’m excited that “Hugo” received eleven nominations, as it is my favorite film of 2011. If that film wins, part of my faith would be restored in the Academy. Though, I’m still having a hard time swallowing the fact that films like “Drive” and “Super 8″ received no love (except for Sound Editing for “Drive”); two of the best films of 2011. Ryan Gosling’s character in “Drive”, much like Caeser the Ape in “Rise of the Planet of the Apes”, said so little yet emotionally connected to the audience so deeply. That is the mark of an amazing performance and something that should be recognized.

Here’s more proof that the Academy has been out of touch for decades. Films like “Vertigo”, “North By Northwest”, “Some Like It Hot” and “Do The Right Thing” were NEVER nominated for Academy Awards! Those are some of the greatest movies of all time. Click here to see a list of 27 of the best films never nominated for Best Picture.

With all that being said, here are my Oscar predictions. (click here for the nominations)

UPDATED FEBRUARY 21st (Updated after the SAG Awards, Golden Globes and DGA Awards)
Best Picture: “The Artist” (Unfortunately – pulling for “Hugo”)
Best Actor: Jean Dujardin “The Artist”
Best Actress: Viola Davis “The Help”
Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer “Beginners”
Best Supporting Actress: Octavia Spencer “The Help”
Best Director: Martin Scorsese “Hugo” (hopefully!)
Best Foreign Language Film: “A Separation”
Adapted Screenplay: “The Descendants”
Original Screenplay: “Midnight in Paris”
Animated Feature Film: “Rango”
Art Direction: “War Horse”
Cinematography: “Hugo”
Sound Mixing: “War Horse”
Sound Editing: “Drive”
Original Score: Ludovic Bource “The Artist”
Original Song: “Man or Muppet” “The Muppets”
Costume: “jane Eyre”
Documentary Feature: “Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory”
Documentary Short Subject: “The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom”
Film Editing: “Hugo”
Makeup: “Albert Nobbs”
Animated Short Film (Guessing now): “The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore”
Live Action Short: “Tuba Atlantic”
Visual Effects: “Rise of the Planet of the Apes”

Thanks for stopping by the site! Please spread the word to all your friends,

Kevin McCarthy