Tuesday, January 31, 2006

No Alarms, No Surprises

2006 Academy Award Nominations

The big headline on all the major news sites this morning, besides the sad passing of Coretta Scott King, is that Brokeback Mountain scored a leading eight nominations for the Oscars. Nothing shocking there; it got pretty much what I expected it to get, though I had hoped one of the original songs from the soundtrack would be nominated. I predict it will walk away with four awards, winning picture, director, adapted screenplay, and either cinematography or original score. Anything more would signal a landslide.

The announcement this morning did deliver one surprise of particular note for this site: Munich took the fifth Best Picture slot. This would appear to make premature my declaration of victory last week. I still think Brokeback will outgross Munich--it currently has an $11 million lead--but you never know what a Best Picture nomination will do for a Steven Spielberg movie.

What did you think of this morning's nominations?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Not too many surprises, though I thought Walk the Line would get a nod. I'm surprised you don't think Ledger is going to win Best Actor, I think that is the most sure bet out of all the Oscars. Though the Oscars themselves always leave a bit to be desired in their choices. I mean is it possible to win Best Actress unless at some point in the movie you cry?

Richard said...

There's nothing I would like to see more than a win for Ledger, except maybe an even more unlikely win for Gyllenhaal (who took on the more daring role as the person who dared to try to come to terms with his sexuality). But PSH has been winning these things left and right, from the Critics Choice awards to the Golden Globes to the Screen Actors Guild last weekend. Any other year, Ledger's a shoo-in; this year he's going to finish second unless there's some kind of Brokeback sweep.

As for Best Actress, I don't know that Kathy Bates did much crying in Misery, and I don't recall many tears from Jodie Foster in Silence of the Lambs despite the hell she undergoes. But as a rule, yes, crying helps. I don't think Witherspoon will win, though; I think she got the SAG award because the actors knew they could give Felicity Huffman a trophy for Desperate Housewives. Come Oscar time, they'll recognize her for Transamerica, completing Oscar's big gay year.