The nominees have been announced and can be viewed here:

http://www.imdb.com/features/rto/2008/oscars

Anything a surprise?  Upset something didn't get nominated?

Discuss.

{Don's edit: btw, you can read the nominated scripts here }

Happy with:

- A nod for Sarah Polley's Away from Her as best adapted screenplay and Julie Christie as best leading actress.
- Juno getting nominated in all the right places (acting, direction). Although I would've given Ellen Page the Oscar for Hard Candy.
- Philip Seymore Hoffman as best supporting actor in Charlie Wilson's war.

Unhappy with:

- Juno getting nominated for best screenplay.
- Where's the Oscar for McLovin'?
- Would've liked to see more recognition for Gone baby gone too.

Quoted from Death Monkey Happy with: - Juno getting nominated in all the right places (acting, direction). Unhappy with: - Juno getting nominated for best screenplay.

I disagree.  I didn't find anything to spectacular about the direction of Juno, whereas I thought the screenplay was great.  An attention to subtlety and dialogue that is very unique.

Acting wise, I thought Allison Janney did just an amazing job.

I was surprised to see that Enchanted got 3 of the 5 noms for Best Original Song.  Was there that much of a shortage in original music this year?

I haven't seen Enchanted or August Rush, but I really liked a good portion of the songs in "Once", and it'd be cool to see a REALLY low budget Indie walk away with something.

Higgonaitor, Nice to see someone else thinks highly of Allison Janney, I loved her in the West Wing and thought she was brilliant in Juno - Hoping this leads to much bigger things for her.

I was pleased with Juno nominated for best screenplay, To be fair when you have nominations for best original screenplay and the best movies of the year were mostly adaptations I would have been shocked if Juno was not there.

The only movies that is seriously missing is The Assassanation of Jesse James, where is it? For some reasons the Americans have just not got this movie at all, I don't know why. It will be the new Shawshank Redemption, In a few years it will be regarded as a classic and everyone will be wondering why it never got any oscar nominations apart from Afflecks nom which surely is academic when up against Javier and Phillip Seymour Hoffman. Clearly of the best movies of last year and cannot get nominated over Atonement, which to honest I thought was nothing special at all.

Definitely some surprises here. I must be an idiot for not expecting Juno to get as many nominations as it has. Maybe the idea of a fun movie getting an Oscar nomination is just weird. I also didn't expect Eastern Promises to get nominated for anything whatsoever. Best Actor. Wow.

Anyway, happy to see Philip Seymour Hoffman nominated for Best Supporting Actor. He'll win it for sure. The only other standout candidate is Javier Bardem.

Most of all, I'm surprised the Oscars aren't horrible this year. Definitely some solid flicks up for them this year. 3/5 for Best Picture. 2007 was a good year for independent film. I expect Juno and the Coen bros. will clean out the awards this year. Juno is this year's Little Miss Sunshine (everyone likes it) and the Coen bros. are the best filmmakers (strictly technically speaking). They should take whatever nominations they have in craft-related catagories (Best Director, Cinematography, Sound, Editing, etc.)

Quoted from Higgonaitor I disagree.  I didn't find anything to spectacular about the direction of Juno, whereas I thought the screenplay was great.  An attention to subtlety and dialogue that is very unique. Acting wise, I thought Allison Janney did just an amazing job.

The screenplay was a classic case of trying too hard, I thought. But Jason Reitman's kaleidoscopic direction and Ellen Page made that film more than just another indie hipster-fest, where characters sit around and say really quirky and cool things about really quirky and cool stuff.

Allison Janney was really good too. So was Jason Bateman.

Hey,

Quoted from The Boy Who Could Fly I ditto that, where the hell is McLovin'.

Is there anybody in the academy under the age of sixty? That's why they keep nominating movies about Alzheimer's. They don't have enough healthy neurons to appreciate the genius that is McLovin'.

Quoted from Shelton I haven't seen Enchanted or August Rush, but I really liked a good portion of the songs in "Once", and it'd be cool to see a REALLY low budget Indie walk away with something.

I did see Enchanted (don't ask...) and while it does have have some good Disney songs (in particular, one about a first kiss) the Song Falling Slowly from "Once" I think has to win. The Boy and Girl playing that together in the music shop is the stand out moment in that movie for me.

sheepwalker

Quoted from Death Monkey The screenplay was a classic case of trying too hard, I thought. But Jason Reitman's kaleidoscopic direction and Ellen Page made that film more than just another indie hipster-fest, where characters sit around and say really quirky and cool things about really quirky and cool stuff. Allison Janney was really good too. So was Jason Bateman.

Apparently diablo cody had a popular blog and everyone really enjoyed it for the uniqye way she wrote things, and encouraged her to write a screenplay, and so she did.  It's not that she's trying to hard, thats just the way she writes.  In any case, I thought the script was fantastic and laid it all out for Reitman to just pick up and go with.

This is a copy from another website, but it looks to be true.

"This is the story:

Brooke, her real name, was working as a copywriter at an ad agency. She is a college graduate, I think in English. She has written stories and poetry throughout her life. Several teachers told her she was a very talented writer.

On a dare, she went to strip club. She was hired and spent a year there. Diablo wrote of her experiences on her blog, "The Pussy Ranch."

Mason Novick, formerly of Benderspink, (benderspink.com)came upon her blog. He tried for 7 months to contact her, she thought he was a cyber stalker. He finally got her to sign with him. Mason got her a book deal for her blog, "CandyGirl" was published. Then he suggested Diablo try to write a screenplay to enhance her marketable image to other publishers.

She wrote "Juno" in 2 months. Mason has since left Benderspink and he was a producer of "Juno." Granted she had never written a screenplay before, but she has written stories and poetry throughout her life. She knows how to structure a story.

Her next project is to write a screenplay about her stripper-to-riches saga. She has several other projects in the works, too.

The Diablo I saw on Oprah is the same Diablo I met, sweet and funny without trying too hard. You can also read her column in "Entertainment Weekly." It appears about once a month.

Thankfully and finally a woman screenwriter is making headlines in Hollywood. She didn't win the Golden Globe but the globes don't separate original from adapted screenplays like the Oscars. I'll eat my car if she doesn't win the Best Original Screenplay Oscar. "

Quoted from tomson Thankfully and finally a woman screenwriter is making headlines in Hollywood. She didn't win the Golden Globe but the globes don't separate original from adapted screenplays like the Oscars. I'll eat my car if she doesn't win the Best Original Screenplay Oscar.

Women are all over the screenplay nominations this year.  Four total.  I thought there was a 5th, but it turns out that the Jan that worked on Ratatouille is a guy.

I glanced through the first portion of the Juno script earlier since I've been reading some stuff on different boards here and there, and the funny thing is that if someone submitted that script here, it'd probably be crucified for having the teenage characters talk the way they do.  Just something to think about.

Quoted from Higgonaitor Apparently diablo cody had a popular blog and everyone really enjoyed it for the uniqye way she wrote things, and encouraged her to write a screenplay, and so she did.  It's not that she's trying to hard, thats just the way she writes.  In any case, I thought the script was fantastic and laid it all out for Reitman to just pick up and go with.

The two aren't mutually exclusive. I'm sure Diablo Cody genuinely believes in what she's writing but that doesn't NECESSARILY mean that it's any good. Her script for Juno was trying way too hard to be hip, and saying "that's just how she writes" doesn't negate that. If that's just how she writes then trying too hard is just how she writes...

And obviously Reitman's style isn't laid out by Cody. If you've seen Thank you for Smoking you can see a very distintive direction and tone that's also present in Juno.

Quoted from Death Monkey The two aren't mutually exclusive. I'm sure Diablo Cody genuinely believes in what she's writing but that doesn't NECESSARILY mean that it's any good. Her script for Juno was trying way too hard to be hip, and saying "that's just how she writes" doesn't negate that. If that's just how she writes then trying too hard is just how she writes... And obviously Reitman's style isn't laid out by Cody. If you've seen Thank you for Smoking you can see a very distintive direction and tone that's also present in Juno.

I guess I just disagree.  I thought the writing in Juno was great.  I don't think Diablo was "trying too hard" to be hip, but the dialogue is fresh and realistic.

I did see Thank you for smoking and was actually a little dissapointed with it--I was expecting a lot more

I think people are taking the dialogue in Juno way too seriously. This debate extends far beyond this messageboard. I haven't seen Juno but from the looks of it, I don't think it's meant to be taken all that seriously. It's a comedy after all. My roommate described it as something in between Little Miss Sunshine and Napolean Dynamite, albiet more serious subject matter. In any case, neither films struck me as trying to be true to life and what I've heard about Juno from people who've seen it, or even based on the ads alone, it seems to be in a similar vein. Let's face it. No one calls their friends "homeskillet" or uses the phrase "what the blog?", not even ironically. Period. I'm positive even Diablo Cody understands that.

Besides, if you want to bash someone for being a pretentious hipster who's trying too hard, Wes Anderson's a much bigger (and better) target.

Quoted from James McClung Besides, if you want to bash someone for being a pretentious hipster who's trying too hard, Wes Anderson's a much bigger (and better) target.

Just when I though you were making sense you come up with that. We could really fall out over that statement James!

Quoted from Murphy Just when I though you were making sense you come up with that. We could really fall out over that statement James!

Didn't mean to offend, homeskillet  . I hope my Juno rant still makes sense... and yes, I was being ironic.

Quoted from James McClung Besides, if you want to bash someone for being a pretentious hipster who's trying too hard, Wes Anderson's a much bigger (and better) target.

I've got time and energy to take on both.

Wes Anderson post-The Royal Tenembaums, that is.


Here's how the pitch The Life Aquatic went down:

WES ANDERSON: Hi Steve! I got this great idea for a movie! Basically nothing happens but we'll get a lot of celebrities to stand around in funny clothes and then we just let the camera stay on them for 2 minutes during which no one does or says anything!

PRODUCER: So nothing happens?

WES ANDERSON. Hillarious, right?

PRODUCER: I don't know. Sounds like you've lost it, Wes.

WES ANDERSON: Bill Murray's on board and he's got this great idea for a character that has a sardonic wit and a deadpan expression all the time. It's like nothing anyone has ever seen before!

PRODUCER: SOLD!

Death Monkey while that was funny I have to dsagree though, The life Aquatic is up there with my favourite movies of all time, easily my fave Wes Anderson movie, I think it is hillarious - I love the french guy on the guitar singing all the David Bowie songs and I thought it was directed so well, the way the camera pans along the ship, the colors he used througout the movie, everything just looks so good.

I have not heard great things about the Darjeeling Ltd but I am looking forward to watching in the hope I will be pleasantly surprised. I introduced my wife to Wes Anderson last year and she loves the Royal T's and Rushmore but did not like Bottle Rocket and it must be said that the Life Aquatic bores her to tears! I think it is one of those films you either love or hate.

I'm glad the Academy had the sense not to nominate The Darjeeling Ltd. for anything. It's bad enough that the majority of Anderson's characters are rich, snobby brats who act like they know what real problems are but to drop them into a country where the general population is fucking starving... no, just no. So kudos to those old farts. Plenty of more room for No Country For Old Men and There Will Be Blood.

Oh and well played, DM. I can always count on you for a healthy debate.

Quoted from Murphy Death Monkey while that was funny I have to dsagree though, The life Aquatic is up there with my favourite movies of all time, easily my fave Wes Anderson movie, I think it is hillarious - I love the french guy on the guitar singing all the David Bowie songs and I thought it was directed so well, the way the camera pans along the ship, the colors he used througout the movie, everything just looks so good. I have not heard great things about the Darjeeling Ltd but I am looking forward to watching in the hope I will be pleasantly surprised. I introduced my wife to Wes Anderson last year and she loves the Royal T's and Rushmore but did not like Bottle Rocket and it must be said that the Life Aquatic bores her to tears! I think it is one of those films you either love or hate.

Yeah. I'm more of a Bottle Rocket - Rushmore - Royal Tenembaums guy, I guess.

It's not that I think Wes Anderson is a bad director in any way, on the contrary, but I just think he needs to be poked with a stick every now and then. Until he does something new.

James, I've heard "homeskillet" but never "what the blog".

I remember when I used "How goes it?" in Entrances and Exits and everyone freaked out and said it didn't work at all, that it was the least believable part of a script about a guy stepping out of a 7-11 and into the old west, but I hear people say that all the time.  I dunno, Dialogue is pretty up in the air when it comes to slang.

I think the actual phrase is "honest to blog". That line made me lose faith in humanity.

Quoted from Death Monkey I think the actual phrase is "honest to blog".

That's the one. I stand corrected.

Quoted from The boy who could fly Best supporting Actor: Javier Bardem, this is %100

I'd say the long shot would be Philip Seymour Hoffman. Bardem will probably win but Hoffman's definitely competition, I'd say. Charlie Wilson's War has been getting rave reviews.

Anyway, those guesses are basically the same as mine except I wouldn't be surprised if There Will Be Blood won Best Picture or P.T. Anderson won Best Director. I also think the Coen bros. will win Best Adapted Screenplay and basically every nomination on the technical side of things.

I would not say that Bardem is as nailed on for this as people first suspected. James is right,  Hoffman is truly wonderful and was great in 'Charlie Wilson's War' and I would have no problem him winning, he is my favorite actor alive and richly deserves any acclaim his talent brings him.

But in my opinion Casey Affleck in 'The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford' was easily the best performance of any actor in any movie last year (not seen There Will Be Blood yet so cannot comment on DDL but imagine  that if any of the oscars are beyond doubt it is his) and I really think that it will be recognized as such. The movie coming out on DVD this week is certainly great timing too for the last minute decisions.  I am absolutely gobsmacked the movie was not nominated for the best film oscar.


Best picture: No Country for Old Men or There will be blood.

Best director: P.T. Anderson or Coen Brothers. (this result will be the opposite of the above in the interest of fairness!)

Best Cinematographer: Roger Deakins The only question is for which film, NCFOM or Jesse James, I think Jesse James.

Best Actor: Daniel Day Lewis - Nailed on I would think.

Best supporting Actor: Casey Affleck will spring the biggest surprise of the night, I am going to put money on it. What I would like to see is when he goes up for his award is for Javier Bardam to follow him up the stairs with his bottle of gas and put a hole in his head! when interviewed afterwards he would apologize saying that he was confused and though it was Ben Affleck who won. He would probably get let of with a caution for that.

Best Song: Once 'Falling Slowly' - One for the irish and would be great to see this wonderful film get an oscar.

Best Original Screenplay: Michael Clayton

Best Adapted Screenplay: The Acadamy is going to do the right thing and give this award to The Diving Bell and the Butterfly and not NCFOM or TWBB. They will feel stupid for their own rules stopping the best two foreign language movies of last year being eligible for the foreign language category and will want to make amends and ensure that this amazing achievement in film making does not walk away without anything. This must of been an incredibly difficult book to adapt and the resulting movie is breathtaking.

Daniel Day-Lewis for Best Actor.

Javier Bardem for Best Supporting Actor.

Those two I'm sure about. Lewis and Bardem might as well be buying up their Oscar polish right now as far as I'm concerned. Everything else is still pretty up in the air. It would be wonderful if There Will Be Blood took home the big prizes (screenplay, actor, cinematography, director, picture) but I wouldn't be disappointed at all if No Country for Old Men scooped them up.


Matt.

I'm yet to see it, but I'm surprised Into the Wild didn't get many nominations. I've heard a lot of positive stuff about it from friends who've seen it and most of the reviews I've read have been good too. Perhaps, a poor box office showing hurt its chances.  

So today I put money down on Ellen Page for best actress and PT Anderson for best director.

$50 on Page and $20 on Anderson.

If Page wins I get $500 and if Andseron wins I get $120. Anderson was 6:1 whilst the Cohens were just 1,5. I think that's a bet I'm willing to take. And 10 times your money back on Page? Not bad. I almost put money on Saoirse Ronan for Atonement just because if she wins I would get my money 17 times back and look like I'm a genius.

Also Tom Wilkinson for Michael Clayton gets you your money back 17 times. Him or Hal Holbrook would be good bets too, if not for Bardem.  

The Oscars just got exciting!

Alright. I've found something to be upset about. Where the hell is the nomination for the Simpsons Movie in the animated feature category?

They've nominated three films: Persepolis, Ratatouille and Surf's Up. Surely The Simpsons Movie deserved, if not the Oscar, a nomination. And what's the deal with having only three nominees, anyway? Having The Simpsons Movie up for the award would've generated a lot of interest in this category.        

Quoted from Takeshi Alright. I've found something to be upset about. Where the hell is the nomination for the Simpsons Movie in the animated feature category? They've nominated three films: Persepolis, Ratatouille and Surf's Up. Surely The Simpsons Movie deserved, if not the Oscar, a nomination. And what's the deal with having only three nominees, anyway? Having The Simpsons Movie up for the award would've generated a lot of interest in this category.

I don't think it's deserved. I don't every animated movie should automatically be nominated for the sake of meeting a quota or whatever. In fact only Ratatouille and Persepolis deserve to be there, IMO. You shouldn't nominate something for pragmatic or political reasons either.

I do. It carried a weight expectation that would've sunk most movies and managed to satisfy Simpson fans and critics alike because it was a quality film in its own right,IMO.

Well it didn't manage to satisfy the academy so there's your answer, I suppose.

The academy got it wrong.

The thing to keep in mind is that it's the animated movie category.  It's 80% animation technique and 20% movie.  There was nothing special about the look or technique of The Simpson's Movie.  

The voting & nominations usually bungle it somewhere.

Ennio Morricone - zero Oscars
Jerry Goldsmith - one Oscar

Gustavo Santaolalla - TWO - for Brokeback Mountain & Babel. Come on.

Friggin' Aladdin beat Goldmith's Basic Instinct for Best Score? That was a nightmare year.