Harry here with the Oscar Noms... Best actor:
Richard Jenkins - THE VISITOR Frank Langella - FROST/NIXON Sean Penn - MILK Brad Pitt - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Mickey Rourke - The Wrestler
This is an excellent selection. You should definitely seek out THE VISITOR, of the above nominated performances it is the most obscure for many of you, but in many ways the most subtly brilliant. I'm rooting for Mickey.
Best Actress
Anne Hathaway - Rachel Getting Married Angelina Jolie - Changeling Melissa Leo - Frozen River Meryl Streep - Doubt Kate Winslet - The Reader
Anne is great in RACHEL GETTING MARRIED, but frankly none of the performances above really struck me. This was a weak year for interesting roles for actresses. Writers - get your shit together, give these ladies better films, which goes doubly for Hollywood producers and studios!
Best Supporting Actor
Josh Brolin - Milk Robert Downey Jr. - Tropic Thunder Phillip Seymour Hoffman - Doubt Heath Ledger - The Dark Knight Michael Shannon - Revolutionary Road
Heath should get this, but this is one of the toughest categories in terms of performances. But none touch that Joker performance. Besides - The Academy fucked up not nominating DARK KNIGHT over that tepid forgettable READER flick.
Best Supporting Actress
Amy Adams - Doubt Penelope Cruz - Vicky Cristina Barcelona Viola Davis - Doubt Taraji P Henson - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Marisa Tomei - The Wrestler
I hope to God that Marisa Tomei wins, her role in THE WRESTLER was the best work by an Actress in film this year.
Best Animated Feature Film
BOLT KUNG FU PANDA WALL-E
And the winner is WALL-E
Best Art Direction
Changeling - James J. Murakami, Gary Fettis The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Donald Graham Burt, Victor J. Zolfo The Dark Knight - Nathan Crowley, Peter Lando The Duchess - Michael Carlin, Rebecca Alleway Revolutionary Road - Kristi Zea, Debra Schutt
I actually feel that BENJAMIN BUTTON should take this, the art direction was stunning.
Best Cinematography
Changeling - Tom Stern The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Claudio Miranda The Dark Knight - Wally Pfister The Reader - Chris Menges, Roger Deakins Slumdog Millionaire - Anthony Dod Mantle
I again side with Benjamin Button here.
Best Costume Design
Australia - Catherine Martin The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Jacqueline West The Duchess - Michael O'Connor Milk - Danny Glicker Revolutionary Road - Albert Wolsky
Bet this will go to THE DUCHESS, though the best costume of the year was everything on Heath in The Dark Knight.
Best Director
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - David Fincher Frost/Nixon - Ron Howard Milk - Gus Van Sant The Reader - Stephen Daldry Slumdog Millionaire - Danny Boyle
Slide Chris Nolan over Stephen Daldry's name and Dark Knight over The Reader and I'd be happy.
Best Feature Documentary
The Betrayal (Nerakhoon) - Ellen Kuras, Thavisouk Phrasavath Encounters at the End of the World - Werner Herzog, Henry Kaiser The Garden - Scott Hamilton Kennedy Man on Wire - James Marsh, Simon Chinn Trouble the Water - Tia Lessin, Carl Deal
I'm so happy with this line up. The best is MAN ON WIRE, but I have to say... I'd love to see Werner Herzog with a microphone to address the planet with.
Best Documentary Short Film
The Conscience of Nhem En - Steven Okazaki The Final Inch - Irene Taylor Brodsky, Tom Grant Smile Pinki - Megan Mylan The Witness - From the Balcony of Room 306 - Adam Pertofsky, Margaret Hyde
The Final Inch is not a film about my weight loss and lengthening penis.
Best Editing
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Kirk Baxter, Angus Wall The Dark Knight - Lee Smith Frost/Nixon - Mike Hill, Dan Hanley Milk - Elliot Graham Slumdog Millionaire - Chris Dickens
This should go to Slumdog of the 5, simply great editing.
Best Foreign Language Film
The Baader Meinhof Complex - Germany The Class - France Departures - Japan Austria - Revanche Waltz with Bashir - Israel
I feel WALTZ WITH BASHIR should and will win this one.
Best Makeup
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Greg Cannom The Dark Knight - John Caglione, Jr., Conor O'Sullivan Hellboy II: The Golden Army - Mike Elizalde, Thom Floutz
Well... This is THE hardest category this year. The work in Benjamin Button is exquisite. Heath's Joker make-up was brilliant and iconic above any other work for the year. Hellboy 2 was the best creature make-up of the year. It'll be interesting to see where the Academy votes. I'm not even sure how I'd vote.
Best Music (Score)
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Alexandre Desplat Defiance - James Newton Howard Milk - Danny Elfman Slumdog Millionaire - A.R. Rahman WALL-E - Thomas Newman
Hopefully they'll go with Slumdog here.
Best Original Song
WALL-E - "Down to Earth" Slumdog Millionaire - "Jai Ho" Slumdog Millionaire - "O Saya"
Hmmmm... so the biggest singing name on the Oscar stage this year is Peter Gabriel, then there's two truly great foreign language songs! Quality won out, but don't expect any of them to keep audiences at home in their seats sadly.
BEST PICTURE
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Frost/Nixon Milk The Reader Slumdog Millionaire
An absolute travesty. Of this group, I'd have to side with Slumdog or Benjamin Button
Best Animated Short Film
La Maison de Petits Cubes - Kunio Kato Lavatory - Lovestory - Konstantin Bronzit Oktapodi - Emud Mokhberi, Thierry Marchand Presto - Doug Sweetland This Way Up - Alan Smith, Adam Foulkes
PRESTO is my all time favorite Pixar short. I really hope it wins.
Best Live Action Short Film
Auf der Strecke (On the Line) - Reto Caffi Manon on the Asphalt - Elizabeth Marre, Olivier Pont New Boy - Steph Green, Tamara Anghie The Pig - Tivi Magnusson, Dorte Høgh Spielzeugland (Toyland) - Jochen Alexander Freydank
Haven't seen any of these yet.
Best Sound Editing
The Dark Knight - Richard King Iron Man - Frank Eulner, Christopher Boyes Slumdog Millionaire - Tom Sayers WALL-E - Ben Burtt, Matthew Wood Wanted - Wylie Stateman
Ben Burtt, go get your umpteenth Oscar
Best Sound Mixing
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce, Mark Weingarten The Dark Knight - Lora Hirschberg, Gary Rizzo, Ed Novick Slumdog Millionaire - Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke, Resul Pookutty WALL-E - Tom Myers, Michael Semanick, Ben Burtt Wanted - Chris Jenkins, Frank A. Montaño, Petr Forejt
Ben, get your umpteenth +1 oscar
Best Visual Effects
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton, Craig Barron The Dark Knight - Nick Davis, Chris Corbould, Tim Webber, Paul Franklin Iron Man - John Nelson, Ben Snow, Dan Sudick, Shane Mahan
I have to say... I go with BENJAMIN BUTTON here. The work that was done on Brad and Cate to age and to make them younger was nothing short of brilliant. Little old Benjamin is the most amazing effects job in the service to cinematic story telling that I've seen this year.
Best Adapted Screenplay
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Eric Roth, Robin Swicord Doubt - John Patrick Shanley Frost/Nixon - Peter Morgan The Reader - David Hare Slumdog Millionaire - Simon Beaufoy
I'd actually go with Peter Morgan and Frost/Nixon here.
Best Original Screenplay
Frozen River - Courtney Hunt Happy-Go-Lucky - Mike Leigh In Bruges - Martin McDonagh Milk - Dustin Lance Black WALL-E - Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon, Pete Docter
