The Oscar (Hut) 10: Worst Snubs

Taking a page out of Kris Tapley's book, here's a rundown of the ten snubs from this morning's announcement that disappoints me most for this year.

10. Inglourious Basterds' Art Direction & Costumes Snubbed.
Despite the excellent work here put in here by David Wasco and IB's costume designer, the two were painfully snubbed despite the excellent work on both ends. What replaced them? In the Art Direction category, Basterds most likely lost it's spot to The Young Victoria, which I have yet to see. On the costume side of things Basterds probably was bested by Coco Avant Chanel or The Imaginarium of Docter Parnassus.

9. District 9 for Best Makeup.
It is almost too ridiculous to even imagine that the excellent makeup work on District 9 ended up snubbed, and snubbed in favor of The Young Victoria or Il Divo no less. The last time I checked, powdering faces doesnt qualify as a great achievement in makeup. But then again why honor a film that shocked audiences with the most realistic human to alien metamorphosis I've seen on the screen in my lifetime. Oh well, at least District 9 got a Best Picture.

8. The Informant!'s score by Marvin Hamlisch
Because I to be honest, I have no recollection of The Hurt Locker having a musical score, because to be honest The Informant!'s score was one of the most fun and playful series of compositions I have ever heard.

7. Up in The Air for Best Film Editing
I might be alone on this one but I thought Up in The Air's editing was fantastic. The film's pacing was seriously awsome, and the editing contributed to the overall feeling of the film. Precious had great editing, but I feel like Up in The Air's was way better, just my opinion but whatever.

6. Star Trek for Best Picture
There was a point where I thought Star Trek was really going to make it in. When The Blind Side was called followed by Invictus' not, I thought there was something interesting afoot, but I was wrong. Star Trek may have been an entertaining popcorn flick, it also happened to be one of the best and most exciting films of the year. Directed with intensity and just the right dose of mythology, J.J. Abrams' best film to date was the film that re-invigorated the sci-fi genre, it's succsess at the box office leading to simmilar results for District 9 and Avatar.

5. (500) Days of Summer for Best Original Screenplay
Though it was replaced by a deserving nominee, Oren Moverman's The Messenger, (500) Days of Summer's screenplay was one of a few of the year's seemingly locked nominees along with Waltz, Mo'Nique and The Hurt Locker. It was original, fun, whimsically romantic and inventive, but it wasnt good enough to make the cut for some reason.

4. Melanie Laurent & Diane Kruger for Best Supporting Actress
They were both fantastic and both had a decent to good chance of making the cut due to weak competition other than Mo'nique, farmiga or Kendrick. Cruz shouldnt have gotten the nod for mumbling through the best song of the musical and Gyllenhaal's nomination, while a pleasent suprise, should have went to Laurent.

3. Where The Wild Things Are for Best Cinematography
Lance accord's lensing was inventive, dynamic and wild, too bad the movie didnt catch on at all with anyone, it featured awsome direction, costumes, art direction and a great supporting turn from James Gandolfini. Spike Jonze is 3 for 3, in case you havent been counting.

2. Adam Sandler for Best Actor
I named Sandler's lead performance in Judd Apatow's Funny People as the best of the year and his career in the site's awards, and I did it for a reason. You have never seen Sandler like this before. Putting a spin on his image, Sandler revives his career with one of the year's rawest, most intimate portrayals of an artist. I know this hasn't been a possibility since the summer, but if Tommy Lee Jones could pull one out for a movie nobody saw two years ago, then I felt like Sandler's chances were about the same. Oh well...

1. Anthony Mackie for Best Supporting Actor
Anthony Mackie's performance in The Hurt Locker was one that didn't truly resonate with me. I saw the film when it was released nearly 8 months ago at my local theatre and I enjoyed it thouroughly, but Mackie wasnt the source of that enjoyment. Over time I began to realize what an acomplishment the performance was. Renner may have been the star of the movie, but Mackie's cautious war ravaged worrier was the driving power behind the film's ensemble. Watching it again last week confirmed this and I nervously hoped that he would be remembered but he wasnt, and in favor of Matt Damon and or Christopher Plummer.

2009-2010 Oscar Nominations!

All in all I did pretty fair to decent in each category, only missing when it came to the true shockers like The Blind Side getting a best picture nomination and Maggi Gyllenhaal's surprise supporting actress nod. I'm fairly pleased with the nominees this year and I can see the race for an Oscar in each category getting heated over this month.

Here are the nominees:

Best Picture
“Avatar”
“The Blind Side”
“District 9”
“An Education”
“The Hurt Locker”
“Inglourious Basterds”
“Precious”
“A Serious Man”
“Up”
“Up in the Air”

I went 9 out of 10 for this one, predicting Star Trek to reap a well deserved nomination, but alas the box office power and populace favor for The Blind Side prevailed over a film that was better received and more of a cinematic achievement.

Best Director
James Cameron, “Avatar”
Kathryn Bigelow, “The Hurt Locker”
“Quentin Tarantino, “Inglourious Basterds”
“Lee Daniels, “Precious”
Jason Reitman, “Up in the Air”

Foolishly, I predicted perennial nominee Lee Daniels to sit this one out in favor of District 9's helmer Neill Blomkamp, despite Daniels' DGA nod and the film's PGA, WGA, Globes and BAFTA's mentions. 4 out of 5 aint bad, but it's frustrating that I could have gotten perfect results on this one had I went with my gut rather than my heart.

Best Actor
Jeff Bridges, “Crazy Heart”
George Clooney, “Up in the Air”
Colin Firth, “A Single Man”
Morgan Freeman, “Invictus”
Jeremy Renner, “The Hurt Locker”

I scored a perfect 5/5 on this.

Best Actress
Sandra Bullock, “The Blind Side”
Helen Mirren, “The Last Station”
Carey Mulligan, “An Education”
Gabourey Sidibe, “Precious”
Meryl Streep, “Julie & Julia”

And this.

Best Supporting Actor
Matt Damon, “Invictus”
Woody Harrelon, “The Messenger”
Christopher Plummer, “The Last Station”
Stanley Tucci, “The Lovely Bones”
Christoph Waltz, “Inglourious Basterds”

While I'm disapointed I only scored 3/5 in this category, it is nice to see Matt Damon with a long time coming second nod, despite the fact that it comes for a minor performance in an underwhelming film. Anthony Mackie's snub stings, especially when the rather boring work from Christopher Plummer recieved a nod.

Best Supporting Actress
Penelope Cruz, “Nine”
Vera Farmiga, “Up in the Air”
Maggie Gyllenhaal, “Crazy Heart”
Anna Kendrick, “Up in the Air”
Mo’Nique, “Precious”

This was the real shocker for me. I never thought that Penelope Cruz could ride her goodwill to another nomination for her work in Nine, and I'm shocked that Maggie Gyllenhaal was able to break into the race displacing Julianne Moore, Samantha Morton and Diane Kruger. Good for her though as she scores her first nod for Crazy Heart. 3/5

Best Adapted Screenplay
“District 9”
“An Education”
“In the Loop”
“Precious”
“Up in the Air”

4/5

Best Original Screenplay
“The Hurt Locker”
“Inglourious Basterds”
“The Messenger”
“A Serious Man”
“Up”

4/5 Shocked that (500) Days of Summer was snubbed after making the rounds quite frequently throughout the season. The only reason that this isnt causing more of a fuss around the web is due to The Messenger being the screenplay to displace it, as Oren Moverman's work here truly shines.

Best Animated Feature Film
“Coraline”
“Fantastic Mr. Fox”
“The Princess and the Frog”
“The Secret of Kells”
“Up”

4/5 I never saw the secret of Kells coming, especially when it displaces Ponyo and Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs.

Best Foreign Language Film
“Ajami” (Israel)
“The Milk of Sorrow” (Peru)
“A Prophet” (France)
“The Secret in Their Eyes” (Argentina)
“The White Ribbon” (Germany)

3/5

Best Art Direction
“Avatar”
“The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus”
“Nine”
“Sherlock Holmes”
“The Young Victoria”

2/5 Ouch, but good for the Imaginarium for keeping itself in the game.

Best Cinematography
“Avatar”
“Inglourious Basterds”
“Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince”
“The Hurt Locker”
“The White Ribbon”

4/5 Sooo happy Half Blood Prince got a big nod like this, Delbono's work deserves it.

Best Costume Design
“Bright Star”
“Coco Before Chanel”
“The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus”
“Nine”
“The Young Victoria”

3/5

Best Film Editing
“Avatar”
“District 9”
“The Hurt Locker”
“Inglourious Basterds”
“Precious”

4/5

Best Makeup
“Il Divo”
“Star Trek”
“The Young Victoria”

1/3

Best Music (Original Score)
“Avatar”
“Fantastic Mr. Fox”
“The Hurt Locker”
“Sherlock Holmes”
“Up”

4/5 Im suprised by The Hurt Locker's nod here, the last thing I can remember about watching The Hurt Locker was its music, I dont know how anyone could have noticed that yet not nominate Marvin hamlisch's score from The Informant!

Best Music (Original Song)
“Almost There” from “The Princess and the Frog”
“Down in New Orleans” from “The Princess and the Frog”
“Loin de Paname” from “Paris 36″
“Take it All” from “Nine”
“The Weary Kind” from “Crazy Heart”

2/5 The Academy's Music Branch is a rather strange group. I hate them, seriously that Bruce Springsteen snub has forever destroyed any respect I had for them.

Best Sound Editing
“Avatar”
“The Hurt Locker”
“Inglourious Basterds”
“Star Trek”
“Up”

4/5 I love that Basterds did so well with the techs despite missing a costumes and art direction notice. Strange.

Best Sound Mixing
“Avatar”
“The Hurt Locker”
“Inglourious Basterds”
“Star Trek”
“Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen”

4/5

Best Visual Effects
“Avatar”
“District 9”
“Star Trek”

3/3

Best Documentary Feature
“Burma VJ: Reporting from a Closed Country”
“The Cove”
“Food, Inc.”
“The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers”
“Which Way Home”

3/5

Best Documentary Short
“China’s Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province”
“The Last Campaign of Booth Gardener”
“The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant”
“Music by Prudence”
“Rabbit a la Berlin”

Best Short Film (Animated)
“French Roast”
“Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty”
“The Lady and the Reaper”
“Logorama”
“A Matter of Loaf and Death”

Best Short Film (Live Action)
“The Door”
“Instead of Abracadabra”
“Kavi”
“Miracle Fish”
“The New Tenants”

The Oscar Hut's Final Oscar Predictions 2/1/10

Were finally here, after a year of cinema, constant Oscar buzz and baseless chatter, we've made it to the home stretch of the 2009-2010 Oscar season. Looking back , it's funny how much things have changed over the course of the past 12 months. Shutter Island went from being a surefire contender set for an October release to being a mid February release. The Lovely Bones, Nine and Public Enemies fell from their once golden sure lock statuses. And Avatar was still a mystery to most of the film-going public let alone bloggers and critics.

But that's the exciting thing about an Oscar race that proves to be unpredictable. It's always exhilarating to be kept in the dark guessing until the last moment, principally because it gives people like myself, Nathaniel Rogers, Sasha Stone and Kris Tapley things to write about. It also keeps my passion for writing about film strong, which in of itself is all the payment I need to satisfy my love for movies and the Oscars.

Before I move on to my final predictions, I want to make it clear that even now, the night before we find out who will be nominated, nobody knows anything. For all I know, Avatar could end up snubbed like The Dark Knight in favor of a safer film like The Blind Side (though to be honest, that may be stretching it a bit). any actor or actress could come out of nowhere to steal a previously thought to be locked performers nod. Anything can, and possibly will happen tomorrow morning when Anne Hathaway reads off the nominees. Which is another reason why I love years like this and any other.

I have come to think of myself as a respectable prognosticator. Am I on the level of a Ryan Adams or Sasha Stone? No, but I am proud of what I believe to be a honed talent. I love calculating with hopefully strong precision box office numbers and predictions.

Flat out, I love the Oscars, and nights like these are the prime reason for it. I extend out a wish of good luck to the more experienced bloggers and prognosticators, an extensive amount more so than I, and the same goes for people who write down their predictions on pads of paper at home for their own enjoyment.

Moments like this are ours for the taking, and with that, here are my final Oscar nominees predictions, with each category provided one alternate (because, I need some leverage room.)

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Best Motion Picture

- Avatar

- District 9

- An Education

- The Hurt Locker

- Inglourious Basterds

- Precious: Based on the novel by Sapphire

- A Serious Man

- Star Trek

- Up

- Up in The Air

Alt: Invictus

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Best Director of a Motion Picture

- Katherine Bigelow for The Hurt locker

- Neill Blomkamp for District 9

- James Cameron for Avatar

- Quentin Tarantino for Inglourious Basterds

- Jason Reitman for Up in The Air

Alt: Lee Daniels for Precious: Based on the novel by Sapphire

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Best Actor in a Leading Role

- Jeff Bridges for Crazy Heart

- George Clooney for Up in The Air

- Colin Firth for A Single Man

- Morgan Freeman for Invictus

- Jeremy Renner for The Hurt Locker

Alt: Tobey Maguire for Brothers

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Best Actress in a Leading Role

-Sandra Bullock for The Blind side

- Helen Mirren for The last Station

- Carey Mulligan for An Education

- Gabourey Sidibe for Precious: Based on the novel by Sapphire

- Meryl Streep for Julie & Julia

Alt: Nope, this is the 5.

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Best Actor in a Supporting Role

- Matt Damon for Invictus

- Woody Harrelson for The Messenger

- Christian McKay for Me and Orson Welles

- Stanley Tucci for The Lovely Bones

- Christoph Waltz for Inglourious Basterds

Alt: Anthony Mackie for The Hurt Locker

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Best Actress in a Supporting Role

- Vera Farmiga for Up in The Air

- Anna Kendrick for Up in The Air

- Diane Kruger for Inglourious Basterds

- Mo'Nique for Precious: Based on the novel by Sapphire

- Julianne Moore for A Single Man

Alt: Penelope Cruz for Nine

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Best Adapted Screenplay

- District 9 by Neill Blomkamp & Terri Tatchell

- An Education by Nick Hornby

- Fantastic Mr. Fox by Wes Anderson & Noah Baumbach

- Precious: Based on the novel by Sapphire by Geoffrey Fletcher

- Up in The Air by Jason Reitman & Sheldon Turner

Alt: Crazy Heart

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Best Original Screenplay

- (500) Days of Summer by Scott Neustatder & Michael H. Weber

- The Hurt Locker by Mark Boal

- Inglourious Basterds by Quentin Tarantino

- A Serious Man by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen

- Up by Pete Docter, Tom McCarthy and Bob Peterson

Alt: Avatar

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Best Film Editing

- Avatar

- District 9

- The Hurt Locker

- Inglourious Basterds

- Up in The Air

Alt: Star Trek

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Best Cinematography

-Avatar

- The Hurt Locker

- Inglourious Basterds

- Nine

- The White Ribbon

Alt: District 9

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Best Art Directon

- Avatar

- District 9

- Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

- Inglourious Basterds

- Sherlock Holmes

Alt: Public Enemies

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Best Costume Design

- Bright Star

- Inglourious Basterds

- Nine

- Sherlock Holmes

- The Young Victoria

Alt: Coco Avant Chanel

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Best Make-Up

- District 9

- The Imaginarium of Docter Parnassus

- Star Trek

Alt: Once again, nope, this is the 5.

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Best Visual F/X

- Avatar

- District 9

- Star Trek

Alt: And yet again, this is the 5.

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Best Original Score

- Avatar by James Horner

- Fantastic Mr. Fox by Alexandre Desplat

- The Informant! by Marvin Hamlisch

- Sherlock Holmes by Hans Zimmer

- Up by Michael Giacchino

Alt: Star Trek by Michael Giacchino

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Best Original Song

- "I See You" from Avatar

- "The Weary Kind" from Crazy Heart

- "(I Want To) Come Home" from Everybody's Fine

- "Cinema Italiano" from Nine

- "Almost There" from The Princess and the Frog

Alt: "Down in New Orleans" from The Princess and the Frog

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Best Sound Editing

- Avatar

- District 9

- The Hurt Locker

- Star Trek

- Up

Alt: Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

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Best Sound Mixing

- Avatar

- District 9

- The Hurt Locker

- Star Trek

- Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Alt: Up

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Best Animated Feature

- Coraline

- Fantastic Mr. Fox

- Ponyo

- The Princess and the Frog

- Up

Alt: Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs

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Best Foreign Language Film

- Ajami, Israel

- A Prophet, France

- Samson & Delilah, Australia

- The White Ribbon, Germany

- Winter in Wartime, Netherlands

Alt: The Secret in their Eyes, Argentina

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Best Documentary Feature

- The Beaches of Agnes

- The Cove

- Every Little Step

- Food Inc.

- Mugabe and the White African

Alt: Burma VJ: Reporting from a closed country

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And thats all folks. The Oscar's race for the nominations is over as of 5 AM tomorrow morning, or for those of us in Florida, 8 AM. It's been a great year, as I pointed out in my personal Oscar Hut Awards that happen to be available to read below! But now the ballots are in, the reviews have been read, precursors collected, and box office reciepts sent in. Theres nothing left to do but wait in eager anticipation for tomorrow morning;s announcement. Will I sleep soundly tonight? Probably not, the excitement already energinizes me. Yet I hope all of you can rest assured knowing that in the end, with luck, the right films will be acknowledged with nominations from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts ans Sciences. See you tomorrow Oscar, bright and early.

- Tyler j. Pratt

The Oscar Hut