Oscar nominee list

Laer Carroll · Jan 23, 2018

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/oscar-nominations-2018-complete-list-nominees-1067893

My favorites are "Lady Bird" and "The Big Sick." I'd have liked to see "Wonder Woman" get some notice (I absolutely loved the movie) but the competition is very high quality, so I'm not surprised it was shut out.

Here are the trailers for the nine best picture noms.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/l...ame-oscars-2018-best-picture-trailers-1077373

Laer Carroll · Jan 26, 2018

There were two excellent articles about the Oscars snubs and surprises, from The New York Times and Rolling Stones.

The Snubs and Surprises of the 2018 Oscar Nominations

Oscars 2018: 10 Biggest Snubs and WTF Surprises

The biggest surprise for me was the cinematography nomination for Rachel Morrison, because I don't follow that field. (What I closely follow is directing, screenwriting, and acting.) Looking at her bio, though, it's clear that she's been steadily racking up experience in the profession since 1999 in TV, documentaries, and short films, and 2011 in feature films. Biggest jobs to date: Mudbound and Black Panther. She clearly did not get the nom because she's a woman but because she's a solid professional who did a good job on Mudbound.

The worst snub for me was Wonder Woman. WW didn't get even one tech credit, despite excellent work in several areas - though it's true that crafters on the other films nominated in those areas also did excellent work, so maybe I shouldn't be so concerned. But Patty Jenkins did an outstanding job as director of a movie with several hugely complex sets, difficult locations, large casts, and complex special effects. That was easily ten times as difficult as the jobs of the directors of Lady Bird and Get Out. She should have been nommed for directing, and the film for Best Picture - especially since they only nommed NINE pics when they could have picked ten.

My guess why? "Hey, it's only a comic-book movie." "Let's give it to some little guys; Jenkins and Gadot abso-f******-lutely cleaned up at the box office. They can just weep all the way to the bank."

Frankie007 · Jan 26, 2018

the only oscar nom i've seen was Last Jedi....LOL
all those other movies never interested me at all.......

Brightdreamer · Jan 26, 2018

Laer Carroll said:
The worst snub for me was Wonder Woman. WW didn't get even one tech credit, despite excellent work in several areas - though it's true that crafters on the other films nominated in those areas also did excellent work, so maybe I shouldn't be so concerned. But Patty Jenkins did an outstanding job as director of a movie with several hugely complex sets, difficult locations, large casts, and complex special effects. That was easily ten times as difficult as the jobs of the directors of Lady Bird and Get Out. She should have been nommed for directing, and the film for Best Picture - especially since they only nommed NINE pics when they could have picked ten.

My guess why? "Hey, it's only a comic-book movie." "Let's give it to some little guys; Jenkins and Gadot abso-f******-lutely cleaned up at the box office. They can just weep all the way to the bank."

I guarantee politics had a lot to do with it. It always does. To not even pick up one of the less-prominent technical nominations? It reeks of something, that's for sure... (SF/F often gets snubbed, too, but other comic book movies have made the nominee list in the past - none starring a woman. Unless you count the Razzie for that Catwoman movie some years back.)

And the fact that they made lots of money at the box office doesn't quite excuse snubbing it for a deserved shot at awards. That's like saying,"Okay, you run really fast, but we won't let you into our race, one of the most prestigious races in the country - you just go be happy knowing you're probably as fast as all the people we are letting in. Same thing, right?"

HarvesterOfSorrow · Jan 26, 2018

Pissed It didn't get any love. Would have loved to see it get nominated for Best Picture. Get Out was good, but it wasn't Earth-shattering. I prefered It, but, of course, I'm biased. I thought for sure that it would get nominated for Best Make-Up or Best Costume Design. Maybe even some technical awards like Best Sound or something. But nothing at all.

cornflake · Jan 26, 2018

Didn't see It, but I can't imagine it for best picture (I've read the book)?

I was surprised Jackman got no notice for Logan, and that they barely threw Showman a bone, not even cinematography or art direction. I wouldn't have put it up for anything major, but it looked good and was shot beautifully.

I'm on the Three Billboards train -- I want it to win every damn thing. I quite liked Shape of Water, and in another year I'd think del Toro should probably clean up, but Billboards is a fucking masterpiece (no surprise on McDormand's shoulders, but the whole damn thing). Metcalf was wonderful in Lady Bird, as she is in everything, but while I thought that was a good movie, I thought it was a good movie.

What Get Out is doing anyplace in the lists is beyond me save a response to controversy, honestly. It wasn't bad, but I don't think it was awards-worthy.

ElaineA · Jan 26, 2018

Three Billboards better clean up in its own nominated categories. I'm with Cornflake on Get out. I liked it a lot (and I'm not a horror fan usually) and it was innovative and uber-worthy from a socio-political perspective (also, it stuck with me, which I always count as good) But Best Pic? I don't see it. Then again, I liked The Lobster and Snowpiercer. :Shrug:

Kjbartolotta · Jan 26, 2018

ElaineA said:
Then again, I liked The Lobster and Snowpiercer.

The Lobster and Snowpiercer (and High Rise) were the best movies of the New Tens, but I still hope Get Out gets Best Picture. I guess it was just sort of an Outer Limits episode, but it was sharp and funny and all the performances were immaculate. Bradley Whitford just killed me. I dunno, I'm sure I'd like Three Billboards if I saw it, but Martin McDonaugh's extreme grimdark-with-a-smirk kind of annoys me at times. Lady Bird is a fine choice as well. All three are good choices, and I'd be happy for the director to win. The rest I can't get excited about.

HarvesterOfSorrow · Jan 27, 2018

Oh, I knew It wouldn't win if it was nominated for Best Picture. But I knew for certain that Warner Bros/New Line Cinema were starting a campaign for Best Picture nomination (as well as some other awards). I didn't see too many new movies this year. But I've seen both It and Get Out, and while Get Out was a good movie, like I said before, it wasn't anything worth going bananas about. But I'm sure lots of others feel the same way about It (even though it is currently the highest-grossing horror film of all-time, and I think one of the highest-grossing movies of the year). I know cash doesn't always mean that the material is better than others--or even good--but I do find it strange that it got cut out completely. But like I said, I'm a Stephen King nut and It is my favourite novel of all-time, so I was really looking forward to It getting some Oscar love.

Laer Carroll · Feb 5, 2018

One of the "snubs" which surprised me was Jennifer Lawrence for her performance in Mother. Apparently it was often emotionally hard for her. The character undergoing so much pain in the film leaked off camera and into her personal life, so much so that she had to retreat sometimes to her trailer to recover, and had to force herself back onto the set for the next run through.

Playing a victim also is a big departure from her more frequent roles as a hero, or at least ordinary person, and the Academy likes stars who stretch themselves.

I guess a lot of the Academy voters decided she's been honored enough already. And anyway she's the highest-paid star in Hollywood. So they gave other actresses a chance at the award.

cornflake · Feb 5, 2018

Laer Carroll said:
One of the "snubs" which surprised me was Jennifer Lawrence for her performance in Mother. Apparently it was often emotionally hard for her. The character undergoing so much pain in the film leaked off camera and into her personal life, so much so that she had to retreat sometimes to her trailer to recover, and had to force herself back onto the set for the next run through.

Playing a victim also is a big departure from her more frequent roles as a hero, or at least ordinary person, and the Academy likes stars who stretch themselves.

I guess a lot of the Academy voters decided she's been honored enough already. And anyway she's the highest-paid star in Hollywood. So they gave other actresses a chance at the award.

I haven't seen it, but that got slammed up down and sideways. Pretty much everything I read about it suggested it was a deeply-unpleasant trip into Aronofsky's psyche that no one wanted to go on. Also, I think the Lawrence thing is, hopefully, waning. She was ok, and then there was that godawful Joy Mangano thing and the '70s mess pic that were both terrible and both having her play like 40, for no damn reason and I get the sense people are way over her.

Helix · Feb 5, 2018

Mother! (don't forget the exclamation mark) has a mob of nominations in the Razzies, so it might come away with something.

PyriteFool · Feb 5, 2018

Helix said:
Mother! (don't forget the exclamation mark) has a mob of nominations in the Razzies, so it might come away with something.

I thought mother! was a great film, but it is very much an auteur piece. And it is not a fun film to watch, but I loved it's framing of the Biblical narrative, plus there is some real beauty in the setting and performances. But yeah, it is a love it or hate it movie and while I fall on the love side of that equation and will defend it's artistic merits, I will never demand anyone 'like' it. Or watch it unless you have a tough stomach.

Basically, it's proper place is on both the Oscar and Razzie lists. All is right with the world, balance has been brought to the Force.

(Speaking of the Force, where the heck is Mark Hamill's Oscar??)

ETA: Get Out is pure brilliance and deserves all the awards. Shape of Water also does, but I think Get Out was more socially important and revolutionary so that's why it edges SoW out of Best Picture for me. It's so close between the two though, I'd be thrilled for either to win.

Laer Carroll · Feb 5, 2018

cornflake said:
I think the Lawrence thing is, hopefully, waning. She was ok, and then there was that godawful Joy Mangano thing and the '70s mess pic that were both terrible and both having her play like 40, for no damn reason and I get the sense people are way over her.

Why so down on JL? It sounds like she drowned your favorite kitten!

I hear something like this every once in a while, and I always get an image of some world-weary Frenchwoman smoking a cigarette and waving it as she pronounces on the silliness of the world.

She's certainly not over for me. Nor for most of the world. She's still the most bankable box office draw on the planet, except for Tom Cruise and only when he's in a Mission Impossible movie. It will be interesting what the response is for her upcoming Red Sparrow out in March 2nd. Here's the official trailer for it. (Cue the Black Widow movie comments!)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmUL6wMpMWw

One of the things I like about her is that she's always taken indie and experimental movies and never romcoms.

cornflake · Feb 5, 2018

Laer Carroll said:
Why so down on JL? It sounds like she drowned your favorite kitten!

I hear something like this every once in a while, and I always get an image of some world-weary Frenchwoman smoking a cigarette and waving it as she pronounces on the silliness of the world.

She's certainly not over for me. Nor for most of the world. She's still the most bankable box office draw on the planet, except for Tom Cruise and only when he's in a Mission Impossible movie. It will be interesting what the response is for her upcoming Red Sparrow out in March 2nd. Here's the official trailer for it. (Cue the Black Widow movie comments!)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmUL6wMpMWw

One of the things I like about her is that she's always taken indie and experimental movies and never romcoms.

Oh, I don't "hate" her or anything. She's not Natalie Portman, or Anne Hathaway (who went away so it's sort of faded a bit) -- or Tom Cruise. Heh.

I just think she's a mediocre actor who needs to go away for a while. The whole thing with her playing way older characters (with no makeup) was weird, and similar, and she kept making what felt like the same movie over and over again every 6 months. What was that Bradley Cooper thing if not a romcom? Regardless, like I said, I don't think she's terrible, just needs to lay off for a bit. Being bankable is meaningless -- see above Tom Cruise (and Marky Mark). It's hardly indicative of talent or quality, imo.

Kjbartolotta · Feb 6, 2018

YMMV, but Joy was the moment I was spectacularly over her. Had good feelings up to that point. mother! sounds hilarious, but I'm saving my squick tolerance for the new Hellraiser coming out later this month.

Laer Carroll · Feb 6, 2018

You are certainly have a right to your own opinion. Me, I think she's one of the premier actresses of our time. Maybe it was all those courses on acting in university and the plays we sweated blood putting on that makes me look beyond the surface, but I'm amazed at her range.

HD Simplicityy · Feb 6, 2018

I think Jennifer is a terrific actress. One of my favorites...though she's lost some of my admiration due to recent stuff she's done and said. I'd almost put her above my late teenage crush - Emma Watson - whom I still love. Daisy Ridley is almost up there, but not yet. Love all three. What I don't like about Jennifer is sometimes how she dresses...it's too revealing.

My uncle worked on Dunkirk as a set designer. He also worked on Interstellar. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2747798/ Holding out that Nathan Crowley, Christopher Nolan's Production Designer, finally gets his Oscar.
Doubt it though. Blade Runner 2049 as strong prospects too. Both are really great films.
If Nolan wins Director, of even Picture, I will be really happy.
Denis Villeneuve got snubbed for director. What he did with BR 2049 was impressive.
Gary OOOLDDMANNNNNN!!! Please win your Oscar!! Yet to see Darkest Hour, but I want to.
Will Star Wars win its first Oscar since 1984? Doubt it, but who knows. I liked The Last Jedi.

Laer Carroll · Feb 8, 2018

The JLaw dislike is part of a larger phenomenon I've seen in the film world. When a woman has great success a backlash arises, especially if she speaks out about an injustice. She's derided as a mere actress and unlike people with other jobs hasn't enough brains to have an opinion, discounted because she makes a lot of money and so shouldn't complain. I wonder sometimes how much it affects Oscar noms and votes.

Actresses who recently drew this dislike include Anne Hathaway, even Meryl Streep. Wonder who will be the next affected? Emma Stone is getting a little too famous. Margot Robbie is showing up on the public radar a little too much.

cornflake · Feb 8, 2018

Laer Carroll said:
The JLaw dislike is part of a larger phenomenon I've seen in the film world. When a woman has great success a backlash arises, especially if she speaks out about an injustice. She's derided as a mere actress and unlike people with other jobs hasn't enough brains to have an opinion, discounted because she makes a lot of money and so shouldn't complain. I wonder sometimes how much it affects Oscar noms and votes.

Actresses who recently drew this dislike include Anne Hathaway, even Meryl Streep. Wonder who will be the next affected? Emma Stone is getting a little too famous. Margot Robbie is showing up on the public radar a little too much.

Dude. Please don't do that. Tom Cruise can't act his way out of a wet paper bag, and he's personally bananas. I'm not the only one with that opinion; do people think it because he's a guy? Are Matt Damon's current issues because he's a guy or because he was too successful -- or because he could not stop running his mouth when he really should have shut it (and taking really ill-advised roles)?

I've never thought Lawrence was anything but mediocre as an actor, and in interviews I find her hella offputting with the constant 'aren't I normal and cool and adorable falling down and talking about farting a lot?' schtick.

I don't remember ever not disliking Hathaway -- she is, as one of my friends put it long before she was nominated for anything, 'like the most annoying, self-consciously always on theatre geek mean kid ever.' However, yeah, I think there was an identifiable backlash against her, when she was nominated and went around acting like a loon for months. She went away, I'd wager in part because she was probably advised that keeping on about it wasn't helping, but shutting up might.

When was there a 'backlash' against Streep?

Emma Stone has been famous for a very long time now; I don't think she's widely hated -- she tends to act like a reasonable, normal person.

Kjbartolotta · Feb 8, 2018

Give me Alison Brie any day. Or Caitlin Olson. But I'm willing to respect Laer's point that the teardowns are not always be helpful.

Laer Carroll · Feb 9, 2018

Here are my guesses of the Oscar winners

Best Picture Shape of Water or Three Billboards.
Best Director del Toro or dark horses Jordan Peele or Greta Gerwig.

Best Actor Gary Oldman
Best Actress Frances McDormand or Sally Hawkins

Best Supporting Actor Willem Dafoe
Best Supporting Actress Allison Janney or Laurie Metcalf

Best Original Screenplay Three Billboards

Best Animated Feature Coco

I haven't a clue for the rest of the awards, except that I suspect that they will echo the Best Picture award most closely.

HarvesterOfSorrow · Feb 12, 2018

Yeah, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri would be my guess, too, since it's won everything else. I haven't seen it yet, but I'm assuming it's pretty amazing, based on that.

ElaineA · Mar 4, 2018

Maybe JL is a little tired of herself on screen? She's taking a year off to dedicate herself to Represent.Us, an anti-corruption cause. She's been in so many movies in quite a short span, many of them only so-so. I think it's a wise move. Personally, I think she's a terrific actor. I couldn't take my eyes off her in Winter's Bone. I loved her in both Silver Linings Playbook and American Hustle, liked her fine in the first Hunger Games, but I was really disappointed in her (and Pratt, too) for going along with Passengers. I haven't seen her more recent movies.

Tonight's Oscar winner (hopefully), Frances McDormand, sets a bar for brilliance that's hard to reach, in my estimation, but I sort of look at these things as more of a tree than a ladder. JLaw would never be the right kind of actor for most of the roles FM takes, and FM wouldn't do much of what JL does. So there's plenty of room in the pantheon for judging within an actor's natural role, I suppose. You don't judge Mercury by what Athena can do.

It's going to be an interesting night. There were some surprises at the GG's (different voting criteria, though) and I'd sure like to see some of the underdogs and Never Won Before's break through. After last year it would be a disappointment to go back to predictable outcomes. Sans the Best Picture fiasco, of course. Hopefully Faye and Warren won't get duped by the accountants again this year.

MaeZe · Mar 4, 2018

HarvesterOfSorrow said:
... Get Out was good, but it wasn't Earth-shattering. ...

I feel the same way.

Oscar nominee list

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practical experience, FTW

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