12/14/08

So, what have we learned since I last updated Wednesday?  We've learned that after years of sane people asking them to, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has ended their Billy Crystal-crazed streak of comedians as Oscar Hosts, going instead for the charming, urbane movie star Hugh Jackman.  Hard to think of a better choice:  best known as Wolverine, Jackman has shown a wide range in movies like Kate & Leopold and The Prestige and so took Broadway by storm as The Boy From Oz that he didn't just win the Tony, he hosted them (and won an Emmy in that capacity).  Time to stop begging their audience of celebrities for laughs and start actually celebrating the year in movies.  I haven't been this excited about the actual Oscar program in years.

And what about the Award Season that climaxes with those Oscars?  One of its' biggest events came Thursday with the announcement of the Golden Globe nominations.  Early favorites Milk and The Dark Knight came up with nothing but nominations for their most acclaimed performance, while the Globes kept Slumdog Millionaire's momentum rolling and gave love to a series of movies expected to be award contenders but so far mostly unrecognized.  The Curious Case of Banjamin Button, Frost/Nixon, The Reader, and Revolutionary Road joined Millionaire as Best Picture-Drama nominees.  Since the Globes have a whole separate set of Comedy or Musical nominees, films that would otherwise come up empty get their shot here too:  In Bruges, Last Chance Harvey, and even Burn After Reading found themselves up for multiple awards.  Perhaps the biggest surprise came with a Supporting Actor nomination for Tropic Thunder's excellent Tom Cruise, joining his co-star Robert Downey Jr.  Bet Ben Stiller never imagined himself directing a movie that netted multiple Supporting Actor nominations.  I count that as a slightly bigger surprise than a Kristin Scott Thomas Best Actress nod for the French film I've Loved You For So Long because, well, that's what the Globes do.

Here's the complete list:

BEST PICTURE – DRAMA
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
FROST/NIXON
THE READER
REVOLUTIONARY ROAD
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE

BEST ACTRESS – DRAMA
ANNE HATHAWAY, RACHEL GETTING MARRIED
ANGELINA JOLIE, CHANGELING
MERYL STREEP, DOUBT
KRISTIN SCOTT THOMAS, I'VE LOVED YOU SO LONG (IL Y A LONGTEMPS QUE JE T’AIME)
KATE WINSLET, REVOLUTIONARY ROAD

BEST ACTOR – DRAMA
LEONARDO DICAPRIO, REVOLUTIONARY ROAD
FRANK LANGELLA, FROST/NIXON
SEAN PENN, MILK
BRAD PITT, THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
MICKEY ROURKE, THE WRESTLER

BEST PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
BURN AFTER READING
HAPPY-GO-LUCKY
IN BRUGES
MAMMA MIA!
VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA

BEST ACTRESS – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
REBECCA HALL, VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA
SALLY HAWKINS, HAPPY-GO-LUCKY
FRANCES MCDORMAND, BURN AFTER READING
MERYL STREEP, MAMMA MIA!
EMMA THOMPSON, LAST CHANCE HARVEY

BEST ACTOR – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
JAVIER BARDEM, VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA
COLIN FARRELL, IN BRUGES
JAMES FRANCO, PINEAPPLE EXPRESS
BRENDAN GLEESON, IN BRUGES
DUSTIN HOFFMAN, LAST CHANCE HARVEY

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
BOLT
KUNG FU PANDA
WALL-E

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
THE BAADER MEINHOF COMPLEX (GERMANY) (DER BAADER MEINHOF KOMPLEX)
EVERLASTING MOMENTS (SWEDEN/DENMARK) (MARIA LARSSONS EVIGA ÖGONBLICK)
GOMORRAH (ITALY) (GOMORRA)
I'VE LOVED YOU SO LONG (FRANCE) (IL Y A LONGTEMPS QUE JE T’AIME)
WALTZ WITH BASHIR (ISRAEL)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
AMY ADAMS, DOUBT
PENELOPE CRUZ, VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA
VIOLA DAVIS, DOUBT
MARISA TOMEI, THE WRESTLER
KATE WINSLET, THE READER 

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
TOM CRUISE, TROPIC THUNDER
ROBERT DOWNEY JR., TROPIC THUNDER
RALPH FIENNES, THE DUCHESS
PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN, DOUBT
HEATH LEDGER, THE DARK KNIGHT

BEST DIRECTOR
DANNY BOYLE, SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
STEPHEN DALDRY, THE READER
DAVID FINCHER, THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
RON HOWARD, FROST/NIXON
SAM MENDES, REVOLUTIONARY ROAD

BEST SCREENPLAY
SIMON BEAUFOY, SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
DAVID HARE, THE READER
PETER MORGAN, FROST/NIXON
ERIC ROTH, THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN
JOHN PATRICK SHANLEY, DOUBT

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE – MOTION PICTURE
ALEXANDRE DESPLAT, THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
CLINT EASTWOOD, CHANGELING
JAMES NEWTON HOWARD, DEFIANCE
A. R. RAHMAN, SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
HANS ZIMMER, FROST/NIXON

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
“DOWN TO EARTH", WALL-E
Music by: Peter Gabriel, Thomas Newman
Lyrics by: Peter Gabriel
“GRAN TORINO”, GRAN TORINO
Music by: Clint Eastwood, Jamie Cullum, Kyle Eastwood, Michael Stevens
Lyrics by: Jamie Cullum
“I THOUGHT I LOST YOU”, BOLT
Music & Lyrics by: Miley Cyrus, Jeffrey Steele
“ONCE IN A LIFETIME”, CADILLAC RECORDS
Music & Lyrics by: Beyoncé Knowles, Amanda Ghost, Scott McFarnon, Ian Dench, James Dring, Jody Street
“THE WRESTLER”, THE WRESTLER
Music & Lyrics by: Bruce Springsteen

More developments today, when first the Boston Film Critics chimed in with a list heavy on ties (how many film critics could Boston possibly have, I guess) and familiar names:

Best Picture (tie): Slumdog Millionaire and WALL*E

Best Foreign-Language Film: Let the Right One In

Best Documentary: Man on Wire

Best Animated Film: WALL*E

Best Director: Gus Van Sant, Milk and Paranoid Park

Best Actor (tie): Sean Penn, Milk and Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler

Best Actress: Sally Hawkins, Happy-Go-Lucky

Best Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight

Best Supporting Actress: Penélope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Best Screenplay: Dustin Lance Black, Milk 

Best Cinematography: Christopher Doyle and Rain Kathy Li,  Paranoid Park

Best Film Editing: Chris Dickens, Slumdog Millionaire

Best New Filmmaker: Martin McDonagh, In Bruges 

Best Ensemble Cast: Tropic Thunder

As I mentioned, no real surprises here, except maybe for the decision to go with Tropic Thunder and its' several tremendous performances (but also a few mediocre ones in key roles) for Best Ensemble Cast.  Interesting to watch In Bruges keep showing up around the edges of these lists as well.

And finally, having wisely gotten out of the Oscar-cloning business, the American Film Institute has gotten back to doing what they've always done, releasing their list of the year's 10 best films.  And here it is:

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
 
The Dark Knight
 
Frost/Nixon
 
Frozen River
 
Gran Torino
 
Iron Man
 
Milk
 
WALL*E
 
Wendy and Lucy
 
The Wrestler

Very nice to see Iron Man make its' award season debut, while Frozen River and Wendy and Lucy get promoted from the National Board of Review's Independant Film List to the AFI's general top 10.  Also interesting to see the omission of Slumdog Millionaire, underscoring that this year's award season remains as wide-open as any in recent memory.  Lets keep it that way.