Mark Humphreys   Jan 23, 2012 41 Comments

84th Annual Academy Award Nominations
The nominations for the 84th Annual Academy Awards have been announced! Leading the way with eleven nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director, is Martin Scorsese's 3D Adventure film, Hugo. The black-and-white silent movie The Artist came in at a close second with a total of ten nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director (Michel Hazanavicius), and Best Actor (Jean Dujardin).

Moneyball and War Horse picked up six nominations each, while The Descendants and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo each had 5 (all four films except for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo were nominated for Best Picture). Rounding out the nine nominees for the top prize are Midnight in Paris (4 nominations), The Help (4 nominations), The Tree of Life (3 nominations), and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (2 nominations).

The Oscars will be held on Sunday, February 26th at 8:00PM EST/5:00PM PST. Here's the full list of nominees:

Best Picture 

The Artist
The Descendants
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
The Help
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
The Tree of Life
War Horse

Best Director

The Artist - Michel Hazanavicius
The Descendants - Alexander Payne
Hugo - Martin Scorsese
Midnight in Paris - Woody Allen
The Tree of Life - Terrence Malick

Best Actor

Demián Bichir - A Better Life
George Clooney - The Descendants
Jean Dujardin - The Artist
Gary Oldman - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Brad Pitt -Moneyball

Best Supporting Actor

Kenneth Branagh - My Week with Marilyn
Jonah Hill - Moneyball
Nick Nolte - Warrior
Christopher Plummer - Beginners
Max von Sydow - Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

Best Actress

Glenn Close - Albert Nobbs
Viola Davis - The Help
Rooney Mara - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Meryl Streep - The Iron Lady
Michelle Williams - My Week with Marilyn

Best Supporting Actress

Bérénice Bejo - The Artist
Jessica Chastain - The Help
Melissa McCarthy - Bridesmaids
Janet McTeer - Albert Nobbs
Octavia Spencer - The Help

Best Animated Film

A Cat in Paris
Chico & Rita
Kung Fu Panda 2 
Puss in Boots 
Rango

Best Adapted Screenplay

The Descendants - Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon &
Jim Rash
Hugo - John Logan
The Ides of March - George Clooney & Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon
Moneyball - Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin
Story by Stan Chervin
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - Bridget O’Connor & Peter Straughan

Best Original Screenplay

The Artist - Michel Hazanavicius
Bridesmaids - Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig
Margin Call - J.C. Chandor
Midnight in Paris - Woody Allen
A Separation - Asghar Farhadi

Best Art Direction

The Artist - Production Design: Laurence Bennett, Set Decoration: Robert Gould
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Part 2 – Production Design: Stuart Craig, Set Decoration: Stephenie McMillan
Hugo - Production Design: Dante Ferretti, Set Decoration: Francesca Lo Schiavo
Midnight in Paris - Production Design: Anne Seibel, Set Decoration: Hélène Dubreuil
War Horse - Production Design: Rick Carter, Set Decoration: Lee Sandales

Best Cinematography

The Artist - Guillaume Schiffman
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Jeff Cronenweth
Hugo - Robert Richardson
The Tree of Life - Emmanuel Lubezki
War Horse - Janusz Kaminski

Best Costume Design

Anonymous - Lisy Christl
The Artist - Mark Bridges
Hugo - Sandy Powell
Jane Eyre - Michael O’Connor
W.E. - Arianne Phillips

Best Documentary Feature

Hell and Back Again 
If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth
Liberation Front 
Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory 
Pina
Undefeated

Best Documentary Short

The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement 
God Is the Bigger Elvis 
Incident in New Baghdad 
Saving Face 
The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom

Best Film Editing

The Artist - Anne-Sophie Bion and Michel Hazanavicius
The Descendants - Kevin Tent
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall
Hugo - Thelma Schoonmaker
Moneyball - Christopher Tellefsen

Best Foreign Language Film

Bullhead - Belgium
Footnote - Israel
In Darkness - Poland
Monsieur Lazhar - Canada
A Separation - Iran

Best Makeup

Albert Nobbs - Martial Corneville, Lynn Johnston and
Matthew W. Mungle
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Part 2 - Nick Dudman, Amanda Knight and Lisa Tomblin
The Iron Lady - Mark Coulier and J. Roy Helland

Best Original Score

The Adventures of Tintin - John Williams
The Artist - Ludovic Bource
Hugo - Howard Shore
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - Alberto Iglesias
War Horse - John Williams

Best Original Song

Man or Muppet - The Muppets, Music and Lyric by Bret McKenzie
Real in Rio – Rio, Music by Sergio Mendes and Carlinhos Brown
Lyric by Siedah Garrett

Best Animated Short Film

Dimanche/Sunday - Patrick Doyon
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore - William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg
La Luna - Enrico Casarosa
A Morning Stroll - Grant Orchard and Sue Goffe
Wild Life - Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby

Best Live Action Short Film

Pentecost - Peter McDonald and Eimear O’Kane
Raju - Max Zähle and Stefan Gieren
The Shore - Terry George and Oorlagh George
Time Freak - Andrew Bowler and Gigi Causey
Tuba Atlantic - Hallvar Witzø

Best Sound Editing

Drive - Lon Bender and Victor Ray Ennis
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Ren Klyce
Hugo - Philip Stockton and Eugene Gearty
Transformers: Dark of the Moon - Ethan Van der Ryn and Erik Aadahl
War Horse - Richard Hymns and Gary Rydstrom

Best Sound Mixing

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce and Bo Persson
Hugo - Tom Fleischman and John Midgley
Moneyball - Deb Adair, Ron Bochar, Dave Giammarco and
Ed Novick
Transformers: Dark of the Moon - Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers, Jeffrey J. Haboush and Peter J. Devlin
War Horse - Gary Rydstrom, Andy Nelson, Tom Johnson and
Stuart Wilson

Best Visual Effects

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Part 2 - Tim Burke, David Vickery, Greg Butler and
John Richardson
Hugo - Rob Legato, Joss Williams, Ben Grossman and
Alex Henning
Real Steel - Erik Nash, John Rosengrant, Dan Taylor and Swen Gillberg
Rise of the Planet of the Apes - Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, R. Christopher White and Daniel Barrett
Transformers: Dark of the Moon - Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Matthew Butler and John Frazier

*Post-nomination analysis:

Let's take a look at what today's nominations mean for the biggest prize of them all: Best Picture of the Year. Heading into today's announcement, the two big favourites to win Oscar's most coveted prize were The Artist and The Descendants. Well, a lot has changed in just a matter of hours; it seems like we now have a three-way battle on our hands. No doubt, The Descendants lost a bit of momentum today, scoring only a total of five nominations. Out of those five, the film only stands a real chance of winning three - Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Adapted Screenplay. It'll be a tough and rare feat to pull off, but it's been done before (The Godfather in 1972/73), so we can't count it out for good until all's said and done on Monday, February 27th.

While many suspected that Hugo, what with its technical prowess and all, would stand a decent chance of coming out on top with the most nominations, it's the specific categories for which it's been nominated that tells the biggest story. In gist, that for which Hugo lacks in acting nominations is more than made up for in other key categories. Just like 2003's Best Picture winner The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the KingHugo is nominated in almost every major category outside of acting. Most telling, as far as the latter film is concerned, is its nominations for Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Editing, and Best Cinematography. Throw in Art Direction, Score, and a clean sweep of the Visual and Sound Effects categories, and Hugo is well represented as complete work of art.

The same thing, of course, can be said about The Artist, yet perhaps even more so. No other film came away with more nominations in the all-important decisive categories than this Producers Guild Award winner for Best Feature Film. And so, at only one nomination shy of a tie for the total lead, my prediction remains the same that The Artist will become the first silent movie to win Best Picture since Wings took flight in 1927 as the first Best Picture winner in Academy Award history.

When it comes to this year's batch of snubs and surprises, I have one thing to say: I am Extremely Disappointed and Incredibly Perplexed that both Michael Fassbender and The Adventures of Tintin were left off the final list of nominees for Best Actor and Best Animated Feature, respectively, while a certain Best Picture nominee knocked off far worthier competition in the likes of Drive and A Separation.       

: 3:55 PM in Oscars
41 Comments

finally got to see The Descendants...it was okay, a tear jerker to some probably, Clooney was okay, but I'm one of those that doesn't think he is a great actor, just okay...

My favourites for best movie are either Iron Lady, with Meryl Streep winning for best actress, or The Help..both of these movies were exquisitely done and are worthy contenders. I have to admit to not seeing The Artist, so cannot comment on it( and like others have commented, I no of noone else who has seen this movie, go figure).

Great stuff Mark, and the Fassbender snub is truly head scratching.

That said, it's a little odd to see Melancholia nominated for...zilch. Really? Some tough love for Von Trier following his Cannes comments perhaps?

While I haven't seen all the nominees, it's difficult to fathom how one of the most artistic films of the year comes up blank in every possible category.

Alice, I agree, it's a darned shame there is nothing here for "Shame" or its star, Michael Fassbender. I highly recommend this film to those of you who can appreciate grittier subject matter.

Can't believe HUGO is leading the way with so many nominations! The film was just so-so, I had no real involvement while viewing it. Excellent use of 3-D technology and beautifully filmed with great sets but beyond that not much else! THE ARTIST should sweep the Oscars!

Absolutely loved HUGO. Not too many family movies work on as many levels as this movie was able to accomplish. Scorcese's 3D was the best I have ever seen. It likely wont win Best Pic but I'll be rooting for it. Congrats to all the Canadian content nominations!

I know it's all a matter of opinion, and I respect everyone's right to their own thoughts re the movies they see.
Having said that, it's awfully hard for me to imagine how anyone is not seeing the brilliance, and yes, sheer "artistry" that is The Artist.

Hey BA, why are you crapping all over MJ because of an opinion. Just because it is different than yours doesn't give you the right to go on some sanctimonious rant! MJ makes some good points about the silent/spoken aspects of the film. I hope all of your 'faves' lose just because of your ignorance and intolerance. Bully! GO RANGO!

BA,
It seems I struck a nerve. Speaking of voicing opinions "I agree it's the not the best of the year (I choose Drive for that)" that speaks volumes. BTW I have spoken to many peeps about the Artist and guess what, they didn't care for it either. So there ya go.

I agree with Pierre, Thomas Horn did an incredible job and deserved a nomination. And yes, what about Leonardo? Brad Pitt and George Clooney were both good in their respective roles, but not near as great as the two actors I have previously mentioned.

Aer you serious MJ? Why did you feel the need to post your opinion? Did you think anyone would listen to you? Definitely not. You're jsut being a troll who is ignorant to the beauty of the film. I agree it's the not the best of the year (I choose Drive for that) but if you couldn't stay awake through maybe that's your own damn problem, and it seems like it's a problem only you have since every other person on the planet seemed to be charmed to no end by it. It's a brilliant film and just because you didn't like it doesn't mean it's bad.

For those who have not seen it the Artist is a silent foreign film for a good portion of it but not all the way through. It gradually becomes a talkie. Only the lead actor stays silent until almost the end of the film. When he does it's with a strong French accent. It's a unique French film, hard to watch all the way through without falling to sleep and certainly not Oscar worthy material.

My prediction: George Clooney will win Best Actor, although I have to say I've seen him do better in other roles; he'll win this one because all the melodramatic content allowed him to "emote".
And The Artist will win Best Pic. It was a masterpiece.

And Carolyn..? I'm not sure what planet you're living on, but most people I know have seen The Artist. Follow the advice of Ken/Toronto: do yourself a huge favour and go see this movie--and while you're at it, take some of the people you are talking about, who haven't seen it.

They always snub Leonardo...every time. He is fabulous. Period.

Memo to poster Carolyn: What's preventing YOU from seeing "The Artist"? How can you slam a flick you or your friends haven't even bothered to check out? It happens to be a really wonderful and thoroughly unique film experience. Don't deprive yourself.

Given this is supposed to be a Canadian website, why have you not pointed out that two of the animation films are Canadian from the NFB?

What about Michael Fassbender? Very disappointing that he got nothing.

i don't know why they didn't have a nominations for dolphin tale. that was a awesome movie and a very good movie and it is a true story.they should make a catgory called movies that are real-life movies.

Has anyone even seen The Artist? Nominated for almost everything and I have yet to meet one person that has seen the film????

Yeah for Rooney Mara!!

The Artist was a silent movie but they were definitely pantomimimg in a distict French accent:)

Fully agree with Carl that Thomas Horn deserved a nomination and was robbed. On the other hand, thrilled to see Monsieur Lahzar make it to the final cut - what a wonderful film and it's Canadian too, eh!

>Why is the Artist not under best foreign film category instead of best picture?<

The category is Best Foreign LANGUAGE Film. Think about it.

I too am glad to see that Hollywood is finally giving up its grudge against Woody Allen.
As a director, Woody Allen is up there with the best of them.

Any Bridesmaids nomination is a bad nomination. What overrated pulp! I hope The Help does well...it was very well done.

I can NOT believe that Thomas Horn did not get nominated for Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close....George Clooney or Brad Pitt could never have pulled off that performance! He was robbed!

Reactions: Seriously glad that the lightweight and rather over-rated "Bridesmaids" failed to nab a Best Pic nod. Seriously sad that "Bridesmaids" ousted the very moving, very funny and very challenging "50/50" for a writing nod. The always awesome Gary Oldman has long been overdue for some recognition; nice to see him on the roster at last. "Harry Potter/Deathly Hallows 2" so greedily SWAMPED the trades with its "For Your Consideration" ads, AMPAS must've become really annoyed which may explain its exclusion from major award noms. I'm glad to see Woody Allen return to the Oscars in a big way.

Great nominations list.

I agree with Brit, I was hoping Harry Potter would get more nominations, it had such an impact and such a boom in the industry that I was a little surprised. Maybe for the next awards show (y)

Too bad Harry Potter didn't get nominated for anything big, I was hopinf we'd see some sort of legacy situation like we did with LOTR. Its had such a cultural impact. I'm kinda tired of all these indie award baits, to be honest.

Why is the Artist not under best foreign film category instead of best picture?
Why the snub of Leo DeCaprio in J. Edgar? It was a far better performance than some of the others nominated.
And Tree of Life was terrible. It was nothing more than a B rated art film, and that is even a stretch.

I hope Gary Oldman wins. This should be an acknowledgement for his body of work. He is the most underrated actor.

yeah for Monsieur Lazhar.....i hope it wins...another great Canadian film.

really? really? Melissa McCarthy? Nominated for an academy award for best poop in a sink?

I agree with Jimmy C: The Descendants probably will be nominated, but it does not deserve to win.
The Artist was a much better movie.
And yes, I think The Tree of Life was wonderful; I would love to see it acknowledged in some way.

As a "fellow Canadian" I pray that the Acadamy will finally honor Christopher Plummer for his magnificant performance this year. Also, finally award the wonderful Meryl Streep for her astonishing performance as "Maggie Thatcher" in The Iron Lady. Good luck to all. I have been watching the Acadamy Awards since I was 10 years old and am now 69. I'm a real movie fan.

The Descendants was NOT a good movie, and does not deserve to be nominated. It was nothing more than a third-rate Hallmark-Hall-of-Fame production.

Carey Mulligan should definitely be nominated for SHAME. She was so good in that film.

I really want Michael Fassbender to be nominated, as well, and to win.

Christopher Plummer was wonderful in BEGINNERS, and I hope he wins. Ewan McGregor should have been nominated, as well.

THE TREE OF LIFE was an amazing accomplishment, and I hope Terrence Malik is nominated.

Anybody else think Bridesmaids will have a shot a getting the best picture nomination. It obviously won't get the award, but I feel like the Academy will let it be the token comedy.

I really hope that Christopher Plummer is not only nominated but actually wins for a change. One our greatest actors never to win.

For best actor I'm hoping to see Brad Pitt out and Gary Oldman in (and win but I doubt he'll put over Jean).

Would love to see Nick Nolte nominated for his role in Warrior...he was so very good in that film and totally deserving on the nomination

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