The nominations for the 78th annual Academy Awards came out within the past week. I fared better this year than last year, having seen four nomiated films prior to the nominations (as opposed to one last year!) So here are the nominees:
1. Best Picture: “Brokeback Mountain,” “Capote,” “Crash,” “Good Night, and Good Luck,” “Munich.”
2. Actor: Philip Seymour Hoffman, “Capote”; Terrence Howard, “Hustle & Flow”; Heath Ledger, “Brokeback Mountain”; Joaquin Phoenix, “Walk the Line”; David Strathairn, “Good Night, and Good Luck.”
3. Actress: Judi Dench, “Mrs. Henderson Presents”; Felicity Huffman, “Transamerica”; Keira Knightley, “Pride & Prejudice”; Charlize Theron, “North Country”; Reese Witherspoon, “Walk the Line.”
4. Supporting Actor: George Clooney, “Syriana”; Matt Dillon, “Crash”; Paul Giamatti, “Cinderella Man”; Jake Gyllenhaal, “Brokeback Mountain”; William Hurt, “A History of Violence.”
5. Supporting Actress: Amy Adams, “Junebug”; Catherine Keener, “Capote”; Frances McDormand, “North Country”; Rachel Weisz, “The Constant Gardener”; Michelle Williams, “Brokeback Mountain.”
6. Director: Ang Lee, “Brokeback Mountain”; Bennett Miller, “Capote”; Paul Haggis, “Crash”; George Clooney, “Good Night, and Good Luck”; Steven Spielberg, “Munich.”
7. Foreign Film: “Don’t Tell,” Italy; “Joyeux Noel,” France; “Paradise Now,” Palestine; “Sophie Scholl – The Final Days,” Germany; “Tsotsi,” South Africa.
8. Adapted Screenplay: Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana, “Brokeback Mountain”; Dan Futterman, “Capote”; Jeffrey Caine, “The Constant Gardener”; Josh Olson, “A History of Violence”; Tony Kushner and Eric Roth, “Munich.”
9. Original Screenplay: Paul Haggis and Bobby Moresco, “Crash”; George Clooney and Grant Heslov, “Good Night, and Good Luck”; Woody Allen, “Match Point”; Noah Baumbach, “The Squid and the Whale”; Stephen Gaghan, “Syriana.”
10. Animated Feature Film: “Howl’s Moving Castle”; “Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride”; “Wallace & Gromit in the Curse of the Were-Rabbit.”
11. Art Direction: “Good Night, and Good Luck,” “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,” “King Kong,” “Memoirs of a Geisha,” “Pride & Prejudice.”
12. Cinematography: “Batman Begins,” “Brokeback Mountain,” “Good Night, and Good Luck,” “Memoirs of a Geisha,” “The New World.”
13. Sound Mixing: “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,” “King Kong,” “Memoirs of a Geisha,” “Walk the Line,” “War of the Worlds.”
14. Sound Editing: “King Kong,” “Memoirs of a Geisha,” “War of the Worlds.”
15. Original Score: “Brokeback Mountain,” Gustavo Santaolalla; “The Constant Gardener,” Alberto Iglesias; “Memoirs of a Geisha,” John Williams; “Munich,” John Williams; “Pride & Prejudice,” Dario Marianelli.
16. Original Song: “In the Deep” from “Crash,” Kathleen “Bird” York and Michael Becker; “It’s Hard out Here for a Pimp” from “Hustle & Flow,” Jordan Houston, Cedric Coleman and Paul Beauregard; “Travelin’ Thru” from “Transamerica,” Dolly Parton.
17. Costume: “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” “Memoirs of a Geisha,” “Mrs. Henderson Presents,” “Pride & Prejudice,” “Walk the Line.”
18. Documentary Feature: “Darwin’s Nightmare,” “Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room,” “March of the Penguins,” “Murderball,” “Street Fight.”
19. Documentary (short subject): “The Death of Kevin Carter: Casualty of the Bang Bang Club,” “God Sleeps in Rwanda,” “The Mushroom Club,” “A Note of Triumph: The Golden Age of Norman Corwin.”
20. Film Editing: “Cinderella Man,” “The Constant Gardener,” “Crash,” “Munich,” “Walk the Line.”
21. Makeup: “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,” “Cinderella Man,” “Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith.”
22. Animated Short Film: “Badgered,” “The Moon and the Son: An Imagined Conversation,” “The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello,” “9,” “One Man Band.”
23. Live Action Short Film: “Ausreisser (The Runaway),” “Cashback,” “The Last Farm,” “Our Time Is Up,” “Six Shooter.”
24. Visual Effects: “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,” “King Kong,” “War of the Worlds.”
Prior to the announcement, I had only seen “Star Wars III”, “Harry Potter”, “King Kong” and “Batman Begins” – and those are all nominated for minor categories (so much for Naomi Watts as best actress in “King Kong”…)
I’ll have friends over on March 5th. We’ll fill out ballots, and guess what films we want to win and what we think will win. It’ll be fun. And, maybe, between now and then I’ll sneak in a couple more nominees…
Whitle you’re waiting for “Brokeback Mountain” to sweep the awards, have a look at this trailer for “Brokeback to the Future”. You’ll laugh…