Oscars 2008: Nominations and Predictions
by Brian Eggert
1/22/2007
The 80th Annual Academy Award nominations were announced this morning, ushering in the customary month of frenzied speculation to follow. Until the big night—airing on ABC come Sunday, February 24th—who can say what this year’s ceremony will include? In lieu of the Writers Guild strike, I think about how last year’s Oscar spectacular required no less than fourteen writers for Ellen Degeneres’ snappy observations and droll category introductions. This year, with John Stewart hosting once again, producers assure that the ceremony will be something more than Billy Bush giving his two cents at an Access Hollywood-esque press conference (see the ‘08 Golden Globes).
As for the nominees, we all know how silly and pointless these award shows are. But winners will carry Oscar prestige with them for years to come. The prefix “Academy Award Winner” means something, which is weird, since most of us know popularity and politics decide a number of winners. There’s an impressive selection of 2007’s best included in the nominations, with only a few injustices done by the Academy’s typical damnable omissions.
Pleasant enough is that critic-friendly titles There Will Be Blood and No Country for Old Men earned the most nominations, with eight each. Few mainstream box-office giants dominate this year’s Oscar noms, once again proving that 2007 was a fine year for great cinema. I’ve provided commentary for each category, all of them listed below, including my usual Should and Will win selections noted in Red.
Whether you agree with my personal choices or not, feel free to send me your thoughts on this year’s Oscar nominations…
BEST PICTURE
- Atonement
- Juno
- Michael Clayton
- No Country for Old Men Will
- There Will Be Blood Should
I would be more than satisfied with either No Country for Old Men or There Will Be Blood winning; both are exemplary films from directors redefining themselves. My hopes are that the commercial audience favorite, Atonement, won the Best Picture Golden Globe for a reason: to make way for better films on this list. And though they were two of the year’s best, Juno and Michael Clayton don’t have a prayer.
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BEST DIRECTOR
- Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood
- Ethan Coen & Joel Coen, No Country for Old Men Should and Will
- Jim Gilroy, Michael Clayton
- Jason Reitman, Juno
- Julian Schnabel, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Schnabel won the director Golden Globe, but after a career of original work, The Coens deserve their due in naked golden man form. Criminally snubbed in this category, David Cronenberg should have been nominated over both Gilroy and Reitman. I’m not sure why Reitman was included; writer Diablo Cody did most of the work with her pitch-perfect script. I wouldn’t argue if P.T. Anderson went home with the award either…
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BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
- Diablo Cody, Juno Will
- Nancy Oliver, Lars and the Real Girl
- Tony Gilroy, Michael Clayton
- Brad Bird, Ratatouille Should
- Tamara Jenkins, The Savages
We know there’s justice in the world when Ratatouille is nominated in the Best Original Screenplay category. Pixar is single-handedly elevating animation to high-art extremes, and I couldn’t be happier. Perhaps someday a Pixar film will earn itself the Best Picture award... More important is that this nomination acknowledges Brad Bird’s story construction and tangible characters, which bring to life his animated films like Iron Giant and The Incredibles.
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BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
- Christopher Hampton, Atonement
- Sarah Polley, Away from Her
- Ronald Harwood, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
- Joel and Ethan Coen, No Country for Old Men Should and Will
- Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood
Since Anderson only used the first 150-pages of Upton Sinclair’s novel Oil! to write his screenplay, even if his writing was superior, it wasn’t the best adaptation. The Coens deserve the award for bringing Cormac McCarthy’s barren Western horror to the screen with absolute clarity.
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BEST ACTOR
- George Clooney, Michael Clayton
- Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood Will
- Johnny Depp, Sweeny Todd
- Tommy Lee Jones, In the Valley of Elah
- Viggo Mortensen, Eastern Promises Should
While Daniel Day-Lewis gave the best performance of the year, if not decade, Eastern Promises should collect something for receiving cold-shoulders from the Academy in numerous categories. What better way to make up for it than giving Viggo an award for bearing all during bloody fisticuffs in a Cronenberg film. What an interesting, if not unexpected and somewhat unwelcomed inclusion of Tommy Lee Jones. And while Depp is clearly the audience favorite, don’t rule out Clooney, who might put those performance skills to use and help negotiate a settlement on the WGA strike. If he does in the next week or so, surely voters might give him a “Thank You” in the form of an Oscar.
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BEST ACTRESS
- Cate Blanchett, Elizabeth: The Golden Age
- Julie Christie, Away from Her
- Marion Cotillard, La vie en Rose Should
- Laura Linney, The Savages
- Ellen Page, Juno Will
Marion Cotillard won the Golden Globe for Best Actress; she deserves the Oscar too. ‘Nuff said. But since the Oscars are usually a buzz-friendly machine, Ellen Page’s snappy performance might just steal it from the deserving Cotillard.
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BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
- Casey Affleck, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford Should
- Javier Bardem, No Country for Old Men Will
- Philip Seymour Hoffman, Charlie Wilson's War
- Hal Holbrook, Into the Wild
- Tom Wilkinson, Michael Clayton
I would be shocked if Javier Bardem didn’t earn himself the Oscar in this category. That said, Casey Affleck’s sensitive and nuanced performance as Robert Ford was the second-best acting of 2007, only preceded by Day-Lewis in the above group. Affleck also wowed us last year with Gone Baby Gone (which didn’t earn worthy award recognition); perhaps he’ll win for his 2007 year in film. But if that’s how the Academy is voting, they might see Hoffman, who gave three brilliant performances in three wonderful 2007 movies, as the forerunner.
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BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
- Cate Blanchett, I'm Not There Should and Will
- Ruby Dee, American Gangster
- Saiorse Ronan, Atonement
- Amy Ryan, Gone Baby Gone
- Tilda Swinton, Michael Clayton
Cate Blanchett doesn’t deserve a Best Actress Oscar this year; her performance in The Golden Age lacks any of the complication involved in its original incarnation. Her role in I’m Not There, however, was inspired—possibly the best Bob Dylan imitation I’ve ever seen. She’s one of the best actresses working today and she needs another Oscar to prove it.
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BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
- Ratatouille Should and Will
- Persepolis
- Surf's Up
I enjoyed all three nominated films in this category. Each has their pros, and frustratingly, none of them really has any cons. Ratatouille should win as almost the universal favorite. Persepolis should be recognized as a joyous and innovative stroke on serious graphic novel animation. And I’m so glad the Academy recognized the imagination and humor behind the commercially maligned Surf’s Up.
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BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
- Roger Deakins, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford Should and Will
- Seamus McGarvey, Atonement
- Roger Deakins, No Country for Old Men Should and Will
- Robert Elswit, There Will Be Blood
- Janusz Kaminski, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
I’m predicting a double-win for Roger Deakins, who gave both his nominated films, both Westerns, pronounced segregation them from one another. His tone in one is meandering and solemn, in the other quietly active and frightening. He somehow makes emptiness full and beautiful, yet at times haunting and sad. That’s not to underscore Elswit, who made every scene of There Will Be Blood emotionally grandiose, but Deakins’ did it twofold.
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BEST ART DIRECTION
- Arthur Max and Beth Rubino, American Gangster
- Sarah Greenwood and Katie Spencer, Atonement
- Dennis Gassner and Anna Pinnock, The Golden Compass
- Dante Ferretti and Francesca Lo Schiavo, Sweeny Todd Should and Will
- Jack Fisk and Jim Erickson, There Will Be Blood
Surely there were more deserving titles for art direction. Alas, of these, Sweeny Todd deserves the award for its at once tragic and enchanted period detail. Painterly scenes highlighted this film, making it one of the most visually beautiful works of 2007.
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BEST COSTUME DESIGN
- Albert Wolsky, Across the Universe
- Jacqueline Durran, Atonement Should and Will
- Alexandra Byrne, Elizabeth: The Golden Age
- Marit Allen, La Vie en Rose
- Colleen Atwood, Sweeny Todd
Another curiously-nominated category. When There Will Be Blood brings about some of the most realistic-looking Western dress in film history, it shouldn’t be ignored. This will be another vote for Atonement, whose costumes managed to convey simultaneous majesty and despair.
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BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
- No End in Sight
- Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience
- Sicko Should and Will
- Taxi to the Dark Side
- War Dance
Where’s King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters!?! Such a colossal failure to acknowledge this film is one of the Academy’s biggest blunders in recent years. Of the present nominees, take notice as to how most of them seem to be criticizing America and the current administration. Hmmm. Few films have ever made me want to move out of this country more than Sicko, a disgustingly accurate portrayal of our shoddy healthcare system. So, give Michael Moore another Oscar and another chance to soapbox on national television.
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BEST FILM EDITING
- Christopher Rouse, The Bourne Ultimatum
- Juliette Welfling, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
- Jay Cassidy, Into the Wild
- Roderick Jaynes, No Country for Old Men
- Dylan Tichenor, There Will Be Blood Should and Will
Editing is about knowing when to cut and when not to cut. There Will Be Blood holds some awe-inspiring shots, keeping us in the same uncomfortable space as Day-Lewis’ megalomaniac oil tycoon. Its haunting pace is reinforced by the slow tempo of its cuts. Though, Jaynes and Welfling cut their own fair share of subtlety in their respective films, so I couldn’t argue should they win.
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BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
- Beaufort (Israel)
- The Counterfeiters (Austria)
- Katyn (Poland)
- Mongol (Kazakhstan)
- 12 (Russia)
Since Hollywood chose not to distribute these films to even a limited audience, I have no way to form an educated opinion. Perhaps Sacha Baron Cohen will bring Borat back to present the Best Foreign Language film to Mongol, being a fellow resident of Kazakhstan. If he does, get ready for them to declare war on us.
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BEST MAKEUP
- Didier Lavergne and Jan Archibald, La Vie en Rose Should and Will
- Rick Baker and Kazuhiro Tsuji, Norbit
- Ve Neill and Martin Samuel, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
Seriously, Norbit? Did Norbit need to be nominated for anything not a part of The Razzies? La Vie en Rose should take this one home, for making the beautiful Marion Cotillard a dead ringer of humble Edith Piaf, young and old.
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BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
- Alberto Iglesias, The Kite Runner
- James Newton Howard, Michael Clayton
- Dario Marianelli, Atonement Will
- Michael Giacchino, Ratatouille
- Marco Beltrami, 3:10 to Yuma Should
Atonement’s typewriter music was one of my only complaints about that otherwise superb romance. Revisiting 3:10 to Yuma recently on DVD, its music perfectly encompasses the classic Western score archetype—it was also one of 2007’s best movies, even if that’s not acknowledged by the Academy. Where is Jonny Greenwood’s brooding score from There Will Be Blood? Few compositions have gotten under my skin as much as his, and yet no nomination?
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BEST SONG
- Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, “Falling Slowly” from Once Should and Will
- Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz, “Happy Working Song” from Enchanted
- Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz , “So Close” from Enchanted
- Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz, “That's How You Know” from Enchanted
- Chris Trapper, “This Time” from August Rush
Gee, I wonder which movie is the Academy favorite? Despite Enchanted’s three nominations in the same category, Once offered the best original music of 2007 (it makes a wonderful soundtrack). What happened to Sweeny Todd’s Broadway numbers and Across the Universe’s clever innovations on The Beatles’ classic rock?
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BEST ANIMATED SHORT
- I Met the Walrus
- Madame Tutli-Putli
- Even Pigeons Go To Heaven
- My Love
- Peter and the Wolf
Since animated shorts are rarely shown in big theaters, I haven’t seen a single one of these titles. I am wondering where Pixar’s short Lifted went; it appeared before Ratatouille and was worth the price of admission.
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BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT
- At Night
- The Substitute
- The Mozart of Pickpockets
- Tanghi Argentini
- The Tonto Woman
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BEST SOUND MIXING
- Scott Millan, David Parker, and Kirk Francis, The Bourne Ultimatum
- Skip Lievsay, Craig Berkey, Greg Orloff, and Peter Kurland, No Country for Old Men
- Randy Thom, Michael Semanick, and Doc Kane, Ratatouille Should
- Paul Massey, David Giammarco, and Jim Steube, 3:10 to Yuma
- Kevin O'Connell, Greg P. Russell, and Peter J. Devlin, Transformers Will
Sound mixers on animated movies work entirely from scratch. Pixar’s mixers assemble succulent sounds for their edible animation, making its world a wholly realistic one. By the workload alone, Ratatouille deserves this one.
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BEST SOUND EDITING
- The Bourne Ultimatum
- No Country for Old Men Should
- Ratatouille Will
- There Will Be Blood
- Transformers
While Ratatouille could walk away with this one as well, No Country for Old Men employs a great deal of ambient sound. The ability to create an absence of sound without just pressing “mute” requires incredible control and artistry.
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BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
- The Golden Compass
- Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
- Transformers Should and Will
Who ever thought giant awkward robots could be somehow elegant and human? Transformers’ effects blew me away, particularly in their ability to make the robotic somehow delicate in one scene, and a hard-edged fighting machine in the next.
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Be sure to watch the 80th Annual Academy Awards on ABC, Sunday, February 24th at 8pm EST.