It is that time of year again: the time for Hollywood to engage in its annual orgy of self-congratulation. The Oscar nominations are set to be announced this coming Thursday, January 16, at a time early enough in the morning for all the nominated actors and actresses to insist –
“Oh, I was sound asleep when my agent called me to tell me the good news! I was so surprised! This is such an honor! Not that I think you can really compare art. I mean, there were so many amazing films this year. It’s an honor just to be mentioned among these other men/women. I suppose I’ll have to find something in the closet to wear…”
You can put me down for reasons one, two, and four, though if anyone manages to say something attention grabbing, that is usually a plus – it’s the kind of thing you remember several years later. However, I listed out these four reasons to make the point that you do not actually have to be interested in film or “who is wearing who” to be fascinated by this annual game. The campaigning process for Oscar nominations is every bit as complex (and even as expensive) as many campaigns for political office.
I have been paying attention to this rat race for about a decade (a mere blip in Oscar history), and in that amount of time I have become aware of certain observable patterns in Academy voting behavior. As any good political strategist would tell you, knowing your voters is key, and the voting bloc that decides the fate of Oscar contenders is somewhat unique.
Less snooty than movie critics and more easily swayed by emotion, the Academy voters are, according to a recent study by the Los Angeles Times, 94% white, 77% male, and have a median age of 62. They usually shy away from heavily controversial material (Note the somewhat disappointing outcomes for films like The Passion of the Christ, Brokeback Mountain, and Zero Dark Thirty).
They definitely play favorites and tend to award someone when they feel they are “due”. They act as if science fiction, fantasy, animation, and some forms of comedy are beneath them, with only occasional exceptions. And boy, oh boy, do they love über-producer Harvey Weinstein. (That could be the subject of an additional post, but I will spare my readers.)
Here we go…..
Best Picture
American Hustle
Captain Phillips
Dallas Buyers Club
Gravity
Her
Inside Llewyn Davis
Nebraska
Philomena
12 Years a Slave
The Wolf of Wall Street
This is one of the categories where the number of nominees is not absolutely set. There can be up to ten, but if a film does not receive a sufficient amount of top rankings, it can miss out on a nomination even if it was in the top ten overall. In both of the past two years, there were only nine nominees rather than ten. I am providing a list of ten fully aware that one or even two films could be left off due to this rule.
Best Director
Alfonso Cuarón, Gravity
Paul Greengrass, Captain Phillips
Steve McQueen, 12 Years a Slave
David O. Russell, American Hustle
Martin Scorsese, The Wolf of Wall Street
Best Actor
Christian Bale, American Hustle
Bruce Dern, Nebraska
Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years a Slave
Tom Hanks, Captain Phillips
Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club
Best Actress
Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
Sandra Bullock, Gravity
Judi Dench, Philomena
Meryl Streep, August: Osage County
Emma Thompson, Saving Mr. Banks
Best Supporting Actor
Barkhad Abdi, Captain Phillips
Daniel Brühl, Rush
Bradley Cooper, American Hustle
Michael Fassbender, 12 Years a Slave
Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club
Best Supporting Actress
Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle
Lupita Nyong’o, 12 Years a Slave
Julia Roberts, August: Osage County
June Squibb, Nebraska
Oprah Winfrey, The Butler
Best Original Screenplay
Woody Allen, Blue Jasmine
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, Inside Llewyn Davis
Spike Jonze, Her
Bob Nelson, Nebraska
Eric Singer and David O. Russell, American Hustle
Best Adapted Screenplay
Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope, Philomena
Tracy Letts, August: Osage County
Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy, and Ethan Hawke, Before Midnight
John Ridley, 12 Years a Slave
Terence Winter, The Wolf of Wall Street
NOTE: The film posters displayed on this page are used for commentary purposes only and are of a lower resolution than the original images. The following film distributors own these images: Columbia Pictures (American Hustle, Captain Phillips), Focus Features (Dallas Buyers Club), Warner Brothers Pictures (Gravity, Her), CBS Films/StudioCanal (Inside Llewyn Davis), Paramount Vantage (Nebraska), and Fox Searchlight Pictures (12 Years a Slave).
View Comments (1)
So happy with the nominations this year and for 12 Years A Slave. Great movie. I do think that The Butler was snubbed though. I personally thought it was a great film and Oprah’s performance was outstanding.