2013 Oscar Nominations: Reactions

The Oscar nominees this year were announced two weeks early, and it so happened I was on vacation. It was tough not to include my annual predictions, but considering how wild award season has been so far, it wouldn’t have been pretty. As such, I still have lots to say about this year’s nominees.

Usually the films with the higher number of nominations tends to win Best Picture, so in that case, “Lincoln” has to be considered the favorite, leading the way with an impressive 12 nominations. But the bigger surprise is Ang Lee’s “Life of Pi,” which earned 11 nominations despite not a single acting nod. It is the year’s technical marvel among all the films, 2013’s “Avatar.”

Not far behind is “Silver Linings Playbook” with nine nominations, including a nomination in each of the four acting categories, making it the first to do so since 1981. After the acting award success of “The Fighter,” if you’re an actor, boy do you want to work with David O. Russell.

Other decorated nominees include “Les Misérables” with eight nominations and “Argo” with seven. Here’s the full list with my reactions.

Best Motion Picture of the Year

• “Amour”
• “Argo”
• “Beasts of the Southern Wild”
• “Django Unchained”
• “Les Misérables”
• “Life of Pi”
• “Lincoln”
• “Silver Linings Playbook”
• “Zero Dark Thirty”

Reaction. In the second straight year of anywhere from 5-10 nominees we get nine yet again. It looks like this system will likely yield this amount each year. Based on the number of nominations in other categories for each film, it looks like every film with at least five nods got in — except “Skyfall.” Of course. A special mention to “Amour” for being just the ninth foreign language film to receive a Best Picture nomination.

Best Achievement in Directing

• Michael Haneke – “Amour”
• Ang Lee – ”Life of Pi”
• David O. Russell – “Silver Linings Playbook”
• Steven Spielberg – “Lincoln”
• Benh Zeitlin – “Beasts of the Southern Wild”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role

• Amy Adams – “The Master”
• Sally Field – “Lincoln”
• Anne Hathaway – “Les Misérables”
• Helen Hunt – “The Sessions”
• Jacki Weaver – “Silver Linings Playbook”

Reaction: This list has been one of the few surefire ones out there, with the one surprise being Jacki Weaver, who was good but clearly is riding the coattails of her co-stars. Still, the Academy likes her, having nominated her twice in the last three years. After her Golden Globe win, Anne Hathaway has to be the current favorite, but Sally Field should never be counted out. In my opinion, however, she should be. I’ve seen all these performances, and she gives what I would say is the third or fourth best.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role

• Alan Arkin – “Argo”
• Robert De Niro – “Silver Linings Playbook”
• Philip Seymour Hoffman – “The Master”
• Tommy Lee Jones – “Lincoln”
• Christoph Waltz – “Django Unchained”

Reaction: What a group of heavy hitters. I would argue for all these nominees to be on this list, with my only question mark lingering near Waltz. I won’t deny he’s a great actor and so good yet again in his second role for Tarantino, but I think it’s a matter of voters and audiences still loving his shtick. I personally don’t think he showed us anything new: he just proved his talent Tarantino’s writing are a perfect marriage. Still, better for him than co-star Leonardo DiCaprio. Javier Bardem in “Skyfall,” however? I’m not so sure. Waltz has moved up the leader board with his Globe win, but I still think it’s anyone’s game. My early guess would be Jones.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role

• Jessica Chastain – “Zero Dark Thirty”
• Jennifer Lawrence – “Silver Linings Playbook”
• Emmanuelle Riva – “Amour”
• Quvenzhané Wallis – ”Beasts of the Southern Wild”
• Naomi Watts – “The Impossible”

Reaction: If I had been predicting this year, I’d be furious because I would’ve definite left off Wallis, who gave my favorite performance of the year, thinking the Academy was bound to snub her after the Globes and the SAG awards did (though I don’t know their rules on age) even though we can all think of the many youngsters to get nominated over the years. I’m thrilled for her, and think it’s awesome that this category boasts the oldest and youngest nominees in the Best Actress category ever. Wallis is 9, and Riva is 85. Chastain and Lawrence are neck and neck for this award, but the former seems to have the edge, even if Lawrence would be the likeliest winner of all of “Silver Linings'” acting nods.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role

• Bradley Cooper – “Silver Linings Playbook”
• Daniel Day-Lewis – “Lincoln”
• Hugh Jackman – “Les Misérables”
• Joaquin Phoenix – “The Master”
• Denzel Washington – ”Flight”

Reaction: Another dependable list, though I really think John Hawkes should have been nominated. If any bigger-name actor had played that part, they would be a shoo-in, but having seen four of these five performances, I can’t make a case against any of them. (Need to see “Flight.”) The favorite is obviously Day-Lewis. As a voter, I’d be scared not to pick him — straight frightened.

Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen

• “Amour” – Michael Haneke
• “Django Unchained” – Quentin Tarantino
• “Flight” – John Gatins
• “Moonrise Kingdom” – Wes Anderson, Roman Coppola
• “Zero Dark Thirty” – Mark Boal

Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published

• “Argo” – Chris Terrio
• “Beasts of the Southern Wild” – Lucy Alibar, Benh Zeitlin
• “Life of Pi” – David Magee
• “Lincoln” – Tony Kushner
• “Silver Linings Playbook” – David O. Russell

Best Foreign Language Film of the Year

• “Amour” (Austria)
• “War Witch” (Canada)
• “No” (Chile)
• “A Royal Affair” (Denmark)
• “Kon-Tiki” (Norway)

Reaction: This category doesn’t matter because “Amour” will win.

Best Animated Feature Film of the Year

• “Brave”
• “Frankenweenie”
• “ParaNorman”
• “The Pirates! Band of Misfits”
• “Wreck-It Ralph”

Reaction: Yes, yes, yes! What a list. I have yet to see “Frankenweenie,” but this here is proof of yet another amazing year for animated films. I’m glad the Academy finally changed the rules so five films get nominated every year.

Best Achievement in Cinematography

• “Anna Karenina” – Seamus McGarvey
• “Django Unchained” – Robert Richardson
• “Life of Pi” – Claudio Miranda
• “Lincoln” – Janusz Kaminski
• “Skyfall” – Roger Deakins

Reaction: A much deserved nomination for “Skyfall,” which if you had to pick one blockbuster to be nominated for this award, deserves it over “The Dark Knight Rises” (sorry Wally Pfister). Miranda has to be the favorite with all the technical accolades for “Pi,” however. I also don’t doubt “Karenina” is gorgeous as Joe Wright’s films always are.

Best Achievement in Production Design

• “Anna Karenina” – Sarah Greenwood; Katie Spencer
• “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” – Dan Hennah; Ra Vincent; Simon Bright
• “Les Misérables” – Eve Stewart; Anna Lynch-Robinson
• “Life of Pi” – David Gropman, Anna Pinnock
• “Lincoln” – Rick Carter; Jim Erickson

Best Achievement in Film Editing

• “Argo” – William Goldenberg
• “Life of Pi” – Tim Squyres
• “Lincoln” – Michael Kahn
• “Silver Linings Playbook” – Jay Cassidy, Crispin Struthers
• “Zero Dark Thirty” – William Goldenberg, Dylan Tichenor

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score

• “Anna Karenina” – Dario Marianelli
• “Argo” – Alexandre Desplat
• “Life of Pi” – Mychael Danna
• “Lincoln” – John Williams
• “Skyfall” – Thomas Newman

Reaction: Danna just won the Globe, Williams is Williams who did a great job with “Lincoln,” and Marianelli has previously won for his work on a Joe Wright film.

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song

• “Before My Time” by J. Ralph from “Chasing Ice”
• “Everybody Needs a Best Friend” by Walter Murphy, Seth MacFarlane from “Ted”
• “Pi’s Lullaby” by Mychael Danna, Bombay Jayshree
• “Skyfall” by Adele, Paul Epworth from “Skyfall”
• “Suddenly” by Alain Boublil, Claude-Michel Schönberg, Herbert Kretzmer from “Les Misérables”

Best Documentary, Features

• “5 Broken Cameras”
• “The Gatekeepers”
• “How to Survive a Plague”
• “The Invisible War”
• “Searching for Sugar Man”

Best Documentary, Short

• “Inocente”
• “Kings Point”
• “Mondays at Racine”
• “Open Heart”
• “Redemption”

Best Short Film, Live Action

• “Asad”
• “Buzkashi Boys”
• “Curfew”
• “Death of a Shadow”
• “Henry”

Best Achievement in Sound Editing

• “Argo” – Erik Aadahi; Ethan Van der Ryn
• “Django Unchained” – Wylie Stateman
• “Life of Pi” – Eugene Gearty; Philip Stockton
• “Skyfall” – Per Hallberg; Karen M. Baker
• “Zero Dark Thirty” – Paul N.J. Ottosson