Nominations for the 84th Academy Awards were handed out this morning, and many of those honored were already expected. Films like The Artist, The Descendants, Moneyball and The Help picked up multiple nominations, while previous awards favorites like The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo walked away with nods, but not in the categories we expected. Where was the love for David Fincher? Or for Best Supporting Actor, where's Albert Brooks for Drive? And while Woody Allen's work was great in Midnight in Paris, it's odd that Steven Spielberg wasn't nominated in the category as well, especially when War Horse was nominated for Best Picture. A few more omissions: lead actor Michael Fassbender's brilliant work in Shame; Shailene Woodley's supporting turn in The Descendants; Charlize Theron's lead performance in Young Adult; and Tilda Swinton's starring role in We Need to Talk About Kevin. It's also strange to see Pixar represented in the Best Animated Short category, but come away with zero nods for Best Animated Film.
But hey, The Muppets are on there for Original Song ("Man or Muppet"), so all is not lost! The Academy went with nine Best Picture nominees this year instead of ten (the final nod for Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is probably the category's biggest surprise), and folks should be happy to see films like Bridesmaids represented in the Best Supporting Actress category for Melissa McCarthy, as well as Best Original Screenplay.
Check out the full list of nominees below and let us know what you think. Plus, complete coverage in our Awards Watch. And look for The Oscars to air on Sunday, February 26th.
Also, it's a new week and that means MovieswithoutPity has new polls for you participate in.
Best Motion Picture of the Year
Nominees:
The Artist
The Descendants
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
The Help
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
The Tree of Life
War Horse
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
Nominees:
Demián Bichir for A Better Life
George Clooney for The Descendants
Jean Dujardin for The Artist
Gary Oldman for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Brad Pitt for Moneyball
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
Nominees:
Glenn Close for Albert Nobbs
Viola Davis for The Help
Rooney Mara for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Meryl Streep for The Iron Lady
Michelle Williams for My Week with Marilyn
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
Nominees:
Kenneth Branagh for My Week with Marilyn
Jonah Hill for Moneyball
Nick Nolte for Warrior
Christopher Plummer for Beginners
Max von Sydow for Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
Nominees:
Bérénice Bejo for The Artist
Jessica Chastain for The Help
Melissa McCarthy for Bridesmaids
Janet McTeer for Albert Nobbs
Octavia Spencer for The Help
Best Achievement in Directing
Nominees:
Woody Allen for Midnight in Paris
Michel Hazanavicius for The Artist
Terrence Malick for The Tree of Life
Alexander Payne for The Descendants
Martin Scorsese for Hugo
Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen
Nominees:
The Artist: Michel Hazanavicius
Bridesmaids: Kristen Wiig, Annie Mumolo
Margin Call: J.C. Chandor
Midnight in Paris: Woody Allen
A Separation: Asghar Farhadi
Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published
Nominees:
The Descendants: Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash
Hugo: John Logan
The Ides of March: George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Beau Willimon
Moneyball: Steven Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin, Stan Chervin
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy: Bridget O'Connor, Peter Straughan
Best Animated Feature Film of the Year
Nominees:
A Cat in Paris
Chico & Rita
Kung Fu Panda 2
Puss in Boots
Rango
Best Foreign Language Film of the Year
Nominees:
Bullhead: Michael R. Roskam(Belgium)
Footnote: Joseph Cedar(Israel)
In Darkness: Agnieszka Holland(Poland)
Monsieur Lazhar: Philippe Falardeau(Canada)
A Separation: Asghar Farhadi(Iran)
Best Achievement in Cinematography
Nominees:
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 Achievement in Editing
Nominees:
The Artist: Anne-Sophie Bion, Michel Hazanavicius
The Descendants: Kevin Tent
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo: Angus Wall, Kirk Baxter
Hugo: Thelma Schoonmaker
Moneyball: Christopher Tellefsen
Best Achievement in Art Direction
Nominees:
The Artist: Laurence Bennett, Gregory S. Hooper
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2: Stuart Craig, Stephenie McMillan
Hugo: Dante Ferretti, Francesca Lo Schiavo
Midnight in Paris: Anne Seibel, Hélène Dubreuil
War Horse: Rick Carter, Lee Sandales
Best Achievement in Costume Design
Nominees:
Anonymous: Lisy Christl
The Artist: Mark Bridges
Hugo: Sandy Powell
Jane Eyre: Michael O'Connor
W.E.: Arianne Phillips
Best Achievement in Makeup
Nominees:
Albert Nobbs
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
The Iron Lady
Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score
Nominees:
The Adventures of Tintin: John Williams
The Artist: Ludovic Bource
Hugo: Howard Shore
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy: Alberto Iglesias
War Horse (2011): John Williams
Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song
Nominees:
The Muppets: Bret McKenzie("Man or Muppet")
Rio: Sergio Mendes, Carlinhos Brown, Siedah Garrett("Real in Rio")
Best Achievement in Sound Mixing
Nominees:
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Moneyball
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
War Horse
Best Achievement in Sound Editing
Nominees:
Drive
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
War Horse
Best Achievement in Visual Effects
Nominees:
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
Hugo
Real Steel
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
Best Documentary, Features
Nominees:
Hell and Back Again
If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front
Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory
Pina
Undefeated
Best Documentary, Short Subjects
Nominees:
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 Short Film, Animated
Nominees:
Dimanche: Patrick Doyon
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore: William Joyce, Brandon Oldenburg
La Luna: Enrico Casarosa
A Morning Stroll: Grant Orchard, Sue Goffe
Wild Life: Amanda Forbis, Wendy Tilby
Best Short Film, Live Action
Nominees:
Pentecost: Peter McDonald
Raju: Max Zähle, Stefan Gieren
The Shore: Terry George
Time Freak: Andrew Bowler, Gigi Causey
Tuba Atlantic: Hallvar Witzø
