2011 Oscar Nominations: Mostly Good

The 2011 Oscar nominations were announced, and there are a couple surprises. Most of the nominations are great, and you can see the full list here.

A few key categories (these are not predictions)….

Best Picture

* “Black Swan” Mike Medavoy, Brian Oliver and Scott Franklin, Producers
* “The Fighter” David Hoberman, Todd Lieberman and Mark Wahlberg, Producers
* “Inception” Emma Thomas and Christopher Nolan, Producers
* “The Kids Are All Right” Gary Gilbert, Jeffrey Levy-Hinte and Celine Rattray, Producers
* “The King’s Speech” Iain Canning, Emile Sherman and Gareth Unwin, Producers
* “127 Hours” Christian Colson, Danny Boyle and John Smithson, Producers
* “The Social Network” Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca and Ceán Chaffin, Producers
* “Toy Story 3” Darla K. Anderson, Producer
* “True Grit” Scott Rudin, Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, Producers
* “Winter’s Bone” Anne Rosellini and Alix Madigan-Yorkin, Producers

I’m glad the truly deserving movies were nominated (‘127 Hours,’ ‘The Social Network,’ ‘True Grit,’ ‘Toy Story 3,’ ‘The Kids Are All Right,’ ‘Black Swan’), but surprised the mundane ‘The Fighter’ was nominated. ‘Inception’ doesn’t deserve to be on any list, but I’m not surprised it made the cut.

Directing

* “Black Swan” Darren Aronofsky
* “The Fighter” David O. Russell
* “The King’s Speech” Tom Hooper
* “The Social Network” David Fincher
* “True Grit” Joel Coen and Ethan Coen

Again, why the love for ‘The Fighter’? However, no Christopher Nolan, which thrills me. 4 out of 5 deserving directors isn’t bad.

Actor in a Leading Role

* Javier Bardem in “Biutiful”
* Jeff Bridges in “True Grit”
* Jesse Eisenberg in “The Social Network”
* Colin Firth in “The King’s Speech”
* James Franco in “127 Hours”

Actor in a Supporting Role

* Christian Bale in “The Fighter”
* John Hawkes in “Winter’s Bone”
* Jeremy Renner in “The Town”
* Mark Ruffalo in “The Kids Are All Right”
* Geoffrey Rush in “The King’s Speech”

Actress in a Leading Role

* Annette Bening in “The Kids Are All Right”
* Nicole Kidman in “Rabbit Hole”
* Jennifer Lawrence in “Winter’s Bone”
* Natalie Portman in “Black Swan”
* Michelle Williams in “Blue Valentine”

Actress in a Supporting Role

* Amy Adams in “The Fighter”
* Helena Bonham Carter in “The King’s Speech”
* Melissa Leo in “The Fighter”
* Hailee Steinfeld in “True Grit”
* Jacki Weaver in “Animal Kingdom”

All the Lead Actor nominees are great, and Colin Firth will win without question. Supporting Actor is tough at this point, but Geoffrey Rush gave the best performance. Natalie Portman is completely deserving of Lead Actress, and though I think it’s a long shot, Hailee Steinfeld deserves Supporting Actress.

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

* “127 Hours” Screenplay by Danny Boyle & Simon Beaufoy
* “The Social Network” Screenplay by Aaron Sorkin
* “Toy Story 3” Screenplay by Michael Arndt; Story by John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich
* “True Grit” Written for the screen by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
* “Winter’s Bone” Adapted for the screen by Debra Granik & Anne Rosellini

Writing (Original Screenplay)

* “Another Year” Written by Mike Leigh
* “The Fighter” Screenplay by Scott Silver and Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson;
Story by Keith Dorrington & Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson
* “Inception” Written by Christopher Nolan
* “The Kids Are All Right” Written by Lisa Cholodenko & Stuart Blumberg
* “The King’s Speech” Screenplay by David Seidler

‘The Social Network’ should clean up Adapted Screenplay without question (though actually, the other 4 nominees are quite good).

‘Inception’ does not deserve a writing nomination. We’ve been over this. The first hour of the movie has characters talking like an instruction manual and it is lethargic the first time, and unbearable once you know how things work. I don’t particularly have a favorite among the original screenplays, but it should either be ‘The Kids Are All Right’ or ‘The King’s Speech.’