84th Academy Awards® Poster Photo Credit: ©A.M.P.A.S.®

“Hugo” Leads Oscar Race at 11, with “The Artist” Knockin’ at the Door with 10

The two front-runners in the Oscar derby are serendipitously a tribute to the early days of moviemaking. Earning eleven nominations, Martin Scorsese's "Hugo," is about a young boy who befriends the inventor of the cinema. A close second with ten nominations, "The Artist," is a silent black and white film set in the late 1920s when Hollywood was making the change from silent pictures to the talkies.

"Moneyball," centers on baseball and a general manager who, with the help of a mathematical genius, uses statistics to outmaneuver coaches, managers and professional scouts. This film, directed by Bennett Miller, scored six nominations.

Steven Spielberg’s “Warhorse,” a WWI film with a setting in England, claimed 6 nods including best picture and cinematography but Spielberg was snubbed for direction.

"The Descendants," Alexander Payne’s follow-up to “Sideways,” exhibits a family’s attempt to bond together during a tragedy and received five nominations.

Woody Allen’s "Midnight in Paris," is a beautifully filmed love letter to the city of Paris, scored big with best picture, director, original screenplay and best art direction.

"The Help," based Kathryn Stockett’s best selling novel and directed by Tate Taylor, seized four nominations of which three were from acting categories.

Director Terrence Malick's "The Tree of Life,” an introspective, cinematic poetry in motion, garnered three nominations.

The Academy has adopted a new weighted voting system for the best picture category and it was interesting to see how many films there would actually be. Instead of ten, as last year, there are nine. "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close," was the obvious standout as it didn’t fair well with critics.

The best acting surprise was Demián Bichir from "A Better Life," for his moving performance as an illegal gardener struggling to provide for his son. Perhaps even more noticeable was the omission of Leonardo DiCaprio for his work in “J. Edgar.”

The best actress category shocker was Rooney Mara for "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo." And the no surprise contender was Meryl Streep for “The Iron Lady.” Streep has earned a record breaking 17 nominations to date.

Comedies are typically over looked during Oscar season but the hysterical wedding film “Bridesmaids” was too clever to be ignored. Plainfield’s Melissa McCarthy earned a best supporting nod, and Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo were nominated for best original screenplay.

Steven Spielberg's "The Adventures of Tintin," coming off the coattails of a Golden Globe win, was omitted from the best animated film category, as was the popular “Winnie the Pooh.”

The older generation scored big with Christopher Plummer’s best supporting nomination at age 82 for "Beginners," about an older man coming out as gay after his wife dies – and, is possibly the only hands down shoo-in to win. "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close" was given a nod with Max Von Sydow, also 82. His performance as a silent New York renter was awe-inspiring and led to a best supporting nomination.

Would you like to walk the Red Carpet? Do you enjoy Hollywood gossip and trivia? Join me Saturday, February 26, at Hollywood Palms Theater in Naperville as I host the live 84th telecast of the Academy Awards to benefit Children’s Variety Charities. Tickets can be purchased at:

http://www.hollywoodpalmscinema.com/events/2012/02/26/special-events/variety-oscar-night/

List of 2012 Oscar Nominations:

Best Picture: "The Artist,"
 "The Descendants,"
"Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close," 
"The Help,"
"Hugo"
"Midnight in Paris," 
"Moneyball,"
 "The Tree of Life,"
 "War Horse"

Best Actor:
 Demian Bichir, "A Better Life" 
George Clooney, "The Descendants"
 Jean Dujarin, "The Artist"
Gary Oldman, "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy"
 Brad Pitt, "Moneyball"

Best Actress: 
Glenn Close, "Albert Nobbs" 
Viola Davis, "The Help"
 Rooney Mara, "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"
 Meryl Streep, "The Iron Lady" 
Michelle Williams, "My Week with Marilyn"

Best Supporting Actor:
Kenneth Branagh, "My Week with Marilyn" 
Jonah Hill, "Moneyball"
 Nick Nolte, "Warrior"
Christopher Plummer, "Beginners" 
Max von Sydow, "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close"

Best Supporting Actress: 
Berenice Bejo, "The Artist"
Jessica Chastain, "The Help"
 Melissa McCarthy, "Bridesmaids"
 Janet McTeer, "Albert Nobbs"
Octavia Spencer, "The Help"

Best Directing:
 Michel Hazanavicius, "The Artist"
Alexander Payne, "The Descendants" 
Martin Scorsese, "Hugo" 
Woody Allen, "Midnight in Paris"
Terrence Malick, "The Tree of Life"

Best Foreign Language Film:
 "Bullhead" (Belgium)
"Footnote" (Israel)
 "In Darkness" (Poland)
 "Monsieur Lazhar" (Canada) 
"A Separation" (Iran)

Best Adapted Screenplay:
 Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, "The Descendants"
John Logan, "Hugo"
George Clooney, Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon, "The Ides of March"
 Steven Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin and Stan Chervin, "Moneyball" 
Bridget O'Connor and Peter Straughan 
"Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy"

Best Original Screenplay:
 Michel Hazanavicius, "The Artist"
 Annie Mumolo and Kristen Wiig, "Bridesmaids"
J.C. Chandor, "Margin Call"
 Woody Allen, "Midnight in Paris" 
Asghar Farhadi, "A Separation"

Best Animated Feature Film
: "A Cat in Paris" 
"Chico & Rita" 
"Kung Fu Panda 2" 
"Puss in Boots"
"Rango"

Best Art Direction: 
"The Artist" 
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2"
"Hugo"
 "Midnight in Paris"
 "War Horse"

Best Cinematography: 
"The Artist" 
"The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo"
 "Hugo"
 "The Tree of Life" 
"War Horse"

Best Sound Mixing: 
"The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo"
"Hugo" 
"Moneyball"
 "Transformers: Dark of the Moon"
"War Horse"

Best Sound Editing: 
"Drive"
"The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo"
"Hugo"
"Transformers: Dark of the Moon"
"War Horse"

Best Original Score: 
"The Adventures of Tintin," John Williams
"The Artist," Ludovic Bource 
"Hugo," Howard Shore
 "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy," Alberto Iglesias
 "War Horse," John Williams

Best Original Song: 
"Man or Muppet" from "The Muppets," Bret McKenzie
"Real in Rio" from "Rio," Sergio Mendes, Carlinhos Brown and Siedah Garrett.

Best Costume:
"Anonymous"
"The Artist" 
"Hugo" 
"Jane Eyre"
 "W.E"

Best Documentary Feature: 
"Hell and Back Again"
 "If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front"
"Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory" 
"Pina" 
"Undefeated"

Best Documentary (short subject): 
"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 Film Editing: 
"The Artist" 
"The Descendants" 
"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"
 "Hugo" 
"Moneyball"

Best Makeup: 
"Albert Nobbs"
 "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2" 
"The Iron Lady"

Best Animated Short Film: 
"Dimanche/Sunday"
 "The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore" 
"La Luna" 
"A Morning Stroll"
 "Wild Life"

Best Live Action Short Film:
"Pentecost"
 "Raju" 
"The Shore"
 "Time Freak" 
"Tuba Atlantic"

Best Visual Effects
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2"
 "Hugo"
"Real Steel" 
"Rise of the Planet of the Apes" 
"Transformers: Dark of the Moon"

Sarah Adamson© January 25, 2012