Oscar-nomics: Best Animated Feature Predictions

I have mentioned this before and I know I am not the first to say this, but it was a weak year for animated films. 2010 wasn't much better (though that's because I loved 2009's), but it at least had a Pixar gem that year. This year, Pixar didn't even make the cut, though I saw that coming anyway. So, without the biggest Animated name in the race, who gets the trophy. Easy, its The Adventures of Tin..... WHAT!!! I knew there was some distaste for motion-capture, but Tintin was a marvelous film nonetheless, seeing this snub is ridiculous. So, with that snub, and Pixar laying an egg this year, who shall win? Here are the nominees:

A Cat in Paris: Alain Gagnol and Jean-Loup Felicioli

A French animated film making the list is certainly a welcome considering many foreign films generally don't make it into this list (sadly). I think this was probably the biggest surprise of the year because while it has been respected by many overseas, it has barely seen the light of day here (I just heard about it at the nominations). While it is nice to see the Academy go for such a different nominee, I think the nomination is the reward here.

Chico and Rita: Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal

Another welcome surprise, but I was less surprised with this one since it had some love from the Annies and Goyas. This animated from the Isle of Mann (located near the UK), has gotten much love from international critics and has premiered to love by critics here in America. that being said, it has barely seen any time in theaters her, so much like A Cat in Paris, the nomination is the reward.

Kung Fu Panda 2: Jennifer Yuh Nelson

Good to see this film is doing well, considering it wasn't as respected as the first and didn't do as well financially. It was respected by critics, some of whom even considered it better, but not enough for me to get behind it. The Academy enacted a rule in which they would have 5 nominations if there were enough films, which was the case this year (Tintin made that cut for the record). I think had only three nominees had been picked, this film would just miss out. Still, nice to see it here.

Puss in Boots: Chris Miller

Again, good to see it make the cut, especially since it had a lot to prove as its first stand alone film outside the Shrek films. While it didn't do as well as the green Ogres films, it did respectable business to keep those hopes alive. Still, it didn't quite have as momentum as this last nominee.

Rango: Gore Verbinski

For a while it seemed like a Rango vs. Tintin match-up, and for good reasons. Both were well executed, told interesting stories and include wonderful voice talent, both deserve the prize. While this film may not hold up as well as the previous nominees, in a year with so-so competition, I see no reason why this film won't win. It also has been on a strong awards run, so with that and its biggest competition out of the mix, I am picking this to win.

Sorry for the rather rapid prediciton, my time is short. I will (or at least try to) be back tomorrow for more predictions, have fun at the movies otherwise...

Winner: Rango
Runner-up: Chico and Rita

Should Win: Rango
Should've been nominated: The Adventures of Tintin

Oscar-nomics: Best Original Score Prediction

This category is one I rarely get upset with, cause I am a sucker for a good musical score. Like the Social Network and Slumdog Millionaire or even the Bourne Ultimatum, Scores always work their ways and sometime can make or break a film for me. This years list of nominees are all strong, but I think that even though they won last year, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross' score for Dragon Tattoo I thought helped added to the level of intensity as well as creepiness Fincher tried to draw from both them and the cinematography. Also, I thought Alexandre Desplat's score for Tree of Life was amazing, but it was deemed ineligible. Oh well, lets take a look at the nominees shall we:

War Horse: John Williams

I find it a little astounding that this is his first nomination since Memoirs of a Geisha back in '06, but he makes up for it by being a double nominee. This nomination I saw coming from a mile away, it has everything the Academy looks for in a Score. It has a sense of grandeur, its powerful and it definitely adds to the scene at hand. Its a standout for sure, and probably would've won in another year. However the film, while a best picture contender, has not had the kind of momentum to really drive itself into winning many awards, and I see this film coming up short.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy: Alberto Iglesias

Now talk about a nominee out of left field. Granted, I am thrilled to see it here, thriller/espionage films don't often get this kind of recognition, which is a shame. The score is rather terrific, its subtle in every scene, it plays well into said scene and it never overstays its welcome. Personally, I am glad this was able to sneak in, even if some other more awards established films that I liked were knocked off. Still, as great as it is to see it here, I consider it the longest of long-shots here. It hardly gathered any awards momentum and it isn't a Best Picture contender, so this is where the nomination is the reward, still kudos for that.

The Adventures of Tintin: John Williams

This is my personal favorite of the dual nominations of Mr. Williams. It, along with a little help from the brilliant sound team (which they themselves were rudely ignored) aided in providing us with a sense of wonder and amazement with every scene unfolding before us. Whether it was watching the fights unfold, traveling to far and distant lands, or simply enjoying a day out shopping, the music always added that little extra something that I frequently enjoyed. Still, as much as I enjoyed this I am afraid this also is not helped by not having a Best Picture nomination, or an Animated nomination either. In fact, being the only nomination of the film itself, I consider this film to be in last place, sadly. If the academy are wanting to award Williams for his work, which I still doubt will happen, it will likely go to War Horse instead. Still, another great score to see in this list.

Hugo: Howard Shore

Personally, this might be my favorite of the list. Its playful, energetic, always plays to the scene, but becomes sort of its own entity when it comes to the scene at hand. For example, this song I picked helps us explores the mind of the legendary Georges Melies through his films. I would pick this to win, and honestly with all of the things going for it the score definitely stands a shot. Unfortunately I see it coming up short come Oscar night to a score that, well, carried the film in some respects.

The Artist: Ludovic Bource

Now, hear me out about what I said. In the silent era, music in the film was crucial cause it spoke for the characters. It helped move the movie along and not give away what the film truly is: a silent film. Without the score, many would not want to watch a film solely based on the motions being shown on the screen. So, with that being said, Scores in silent films are crucial, and without Ludovic Bource's wonderful score, it wouldn't be what it is today. I enjoyed this film because of the Score (also for Dujardin and Hazanavicius's direction, but that's for another time). The Score is playful, yet also powerful. It plays to the scene, as any silent film score would, and definitely adds its own two cents to the scene. While I want to see Hugo win this, I think the Artist not only should win this, but needs to. If it doesn't, then we might be in for a train wreck of an evening for the film. I mean, truth be told, its really the story teller here. It helps us understand what the actors are trying to portray in the scene without a single word of dialogue, and it works on all levels. This is your winner.

Winner: The Artist
Runner-up: Hugo

Should Win: The Artist (for what it is to the film, I think it should win, even though I enjoyed Hugo's more)
Should've Been Nominated: Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

Oscar-nomics: SAG Winners

Well, it certainly seems that the Help had a fun night. Not only did it take the Best Cast (and justifiably so), it also took the obvious Best Supporting Actress and less obvious Best Lead Actress, and I am thrilled about that. I liked the film ok, but Davis was my favorite part so to see her win was huge (a sign of things to come at the Oscars perhaps?). In the men's corner, one widely expected and one not so expected winners were chosen. Plummer has this, I am wary about Von Sydow, but this is really Plummer's to lose he has been set up to take this in every way possibly. Dujardin's win is a bit surprising, but I think it was just as much of a possibility as Pitt or Clooney, and I'm cool with it, a lot of the film works mainly because of him (Bejo also made the film great, but truth be told its Dujardin's film). I am glad this wasn't terribly predictable as the past awards have been, at least the Artist isn't completely steamrolling the competition. Still, I won't say this hurt the Artist or really aided the Help to being a contender, but still nice to see it get some love outside of Davis or Spencer. Here is the list of winners, now back to my Oscar predictions:

Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer Beginners
Best Supporting Actress: Octavia Spencer The Help
Best Female Lead: Viola Davis The Help
Best Male Lead: Jean Dujardin The Artist
Best Cast: The Help

Oscar-nomics: Directors Guild Winners

Man, trying to find a new picture for each new Artist win  is getting tough

Well, ladies and gentlemen we have our big Oscar winner, and it seems with little competition. Michel Hazanavicius won the Directors Guild Award for the Artist, which most often than not wins the Oscar. Having already won the Producer's Guild, with the Screen Actors to follow, it seems to be unbeatable at this point. I was pulling for Scorcese, who won the Globe a week or so ago, posed a threat to the Artist, but it seems that is a long-shot at this point. On the Documentary side, a bit of a frustrating night since Project Nim, one of a few Documentaries I picked as a frontrunner, was snubbed from the Oscar Competition. While deserved, it does little to help with the predicting (neither did the producers guild, so we'll see what happens). I have my thoughts on the Documentary category, but I will save it for my Oscar-nomics predictions at a later time. For now, here are the winners, tonight will be the Screen Actors Guild Award, lets see how that goes:

Outstanding Directing in a Feature Film: Michel Hazanavicius The Artist

Outstanding Directing in a Documentary Feature: James Marsh Project Nim

Oscar-nomics: Screen Actors Guild Predictions

So tomorrow the Screen Actor's Guild will reveal their choices for best in acting, both individually and as an ensemble. They also have this for tv, but I think I will stick with the film side for now. Supporting Actor is pretty well set, Plummer should have no problem. However, I am not 100% on Spencer, and if she were to lose momentum it would be here. This award is pretty much the other nominee's last shot at an upset, as this award is the last major one before the Oscars, and it aligns pretty well most of the time. The lead categories are where most of the action will be, as the Clooney/Pitt and Davis/Streep competition will probably be settled. Clooney and Streep are the safe bets. However, I am pulling for Pitt and Davis because I think they are due and I think they deserve it (Fassbender deserves it more, honestly, but sadly was ignored). I would be happy with any of them winning, so we'll just have to wait and see. Ensemble is between the Help and the Artist. I think the Artist will take it cause it has the momentum, I just see the Help as a possible spoiler, so again we'll have to wait and see. Here is the list below:

Best Supporting Actress: Octavia Spencer The Help
Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer Beginners
Best Actress: Meryl Streep The Iron Lady
Best Actor: George Clooney The Descendants
Best Ensemble: The Artist

Oscar-nomics: Best Supporting Actor Predictions

Here comes, yet again, another category in which I am extremely upset about. There are less welcoming nominees than there are welcomed nominees. I overlooked SAG for snubbing Albert Brooks, I knew an actual Oscar win was a long shot. BUT TO NOT BE NOMINATED!!!! Argh. Oh well, I am going to contain my disdain for this category at that was my favorite category last year. This is also the category where while there maybe a race early on, we generally see one person take the "way out front" position and can't possibly lose (I thought Brooks had that for a little bit, but oh well). I like to take the stance that they are 90-95% probably going to win, mostly out of respect for the nominees. This one, however, I have no problem picking as the winner, but first the nominees:

Kenneth Brannagh- My Week with Marylin


He's only 1/2 people who have been consistently nominated on the awards circuit, so this was not all that surprising. Personally, I saw this coming the day I heard Brannagh would play Olivier (a match made in heaven). While I am glad to see him here, he has gained little to no momentum towards an actual win, so at least he got to enjoy the fun ride (unlike Brooks should've, sorry).




Jonah Hill-Moneyball
 

This nomination was a bit out of left field (sorry for the pun). My gut says this was a filler nominee, but I have nothing to back that up with (I am waiting to see it, one reason why I haven't released a top 10 yet). Its nice to see the film was liked so much that he got in, but he doesn't quite have the momentum to even come close, though its nice to see him here (even if Brooks is not).



Nick Nolte- Warrior



Here's a man that I have mixed feelings about. On the one side, his film did poor at the box office, so the prospects at a nomination was a long shot. He did get some awards nominations love, but it was still not certain. Now, here we are. While it is nice to see box office not being an issue here, the fact is he doesn't stand a chance. His film, while it got good reviews, the film never found an audience to gain further momentum for him. Another man where the nomination is the reward.







Christopher Plummer- Beginners

Here, ladies and gentlemen, is your winner, and I am completely happy with this. He has earned this beyond simply being an honorary award. He brings life to a character who, for 75 years, has contained his homosexuality and has chosen now to experience the life he never had but always wanted. Plummer is a seasoned vet who deserved this many years ago, but I am happy with him winning for this awesome film. He's been tearing up the awards circuit (save for Brooks of course), and come oscar night, its all his.


Max von Sydow- Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

Now this is a nominee I didn't see coming. I mean, I was thinking it was a possibility early on. The problem is the film was not liked by critics, its not doing well at the box, I thought this film was dead in the water. Seeing him here (over Brooks grrrr). While its a surprise to see him here, I would be even more surprised if he wins. The only plausible chance would be for honorary reasons, but Plummer debunks that. Oh well, I guess the nomination is, you guessed it, the reward.

Will Win: Christopher Plummer

Runner-Up: Kenneth Brannagh

Should Win: Christopher Plummer

Should be here: Albert Brooks "Drive" 

Tune in next Monday for more exciting Oscar predictions...

Oscar-nomics: Best Costume Design Prediction

Now, I am the first to admit that I am horrible when it comes to fashion sense. My style is if its clean, its good. So I may not be one of the best voters when it comes to Costume design, but I do have an understanding of how the Academy works. First, here are the nominees:

Anonymous- Lisy Cristl

The Artist- Mark Bridges

Hugo-Sandy Powell

Jane Eyre- Michael O'Connor

W.E.- Arianne Phillips

Now, many will point to the Artist or Hugo as the frontrunners in this category based on there Best Picture nominations, but I am not so convinced. Many thought the same about the King's Speech, which ended up losing to Alice in Wonderland. This only proved that the Academy cared less about the film itself, and more about the costumes within it. There is a rule of thumb, and the same goes for makeup, that the most noticeable and most extravagant win this (not saying Alice was the the latter, but definitely the former). As much as the Artist deserves to be here for its spot on designs of the 1920's/30's wear, I don't see it taking this. I see Anonymous or Jane Eyre taking this one, although if Hugo does pull off a win, you won't hear me complaining. However, I think Jane Eyre is the kind of film made to win this award, Anonymous as well but I give an edge to Jane Eyre mostly because the film was more liked than Anonymous and I just thought the costumes looked better in Jane Eyre. Though Anonymous was a little more flashy with the costumes, I still think Jane Eyre's pristine period costumes are more deserving.  If the Artist or Hugo do win in this category (which I think the latter does in some way), than it'll definitely be a big night for either film (though I don't think the Artist will need it at this point). Well that's it for now. Which category will I predict next, time will tell...

Predicted Winner: Jane Eyre

Runner-Up: Anonymous

Who I think Should Win: Hugo


Should've been Nominated: Midnight in Paris

Oscar-Nomics: Best Song Prediction

Hey Guys, I know I have been bad about posting, my computer crashed and I have to borrow my parent's computer in order to catch up on things. I was going to post a blog on my predictions/thoughts on the oscar nominations, but alas time got away from me. What I decided to do instead is march on with my predictions as the wise AwardsNazi has and offer my predictions one category at a time. I thought I would start off with a ridiculously light category, best song, and the nominees are:

Man or Muppet (The Muppets): Music and Lyrics by Bret McKenzie

Real in Rio (Rio): Sérgio Mendes, Carlinhos Brown & Siedah Garret

The fact that there were only two nominees is really, really weird and the choices they made were almost as weird. I have no problem with these songs making the list, I'm just surprised they were the only ones making the list. Personally, I would've had The Living Proof from The Help or Life's a Happy Song (my personal choice for the win in my opinion) from the Muppets. I am pulling for Mckenzie in this category for multiple reasons. First off, I am a huge fan of his work, and he truly brought his all to this film. Again, I don't know if I would've picked Man or Muppet, but everything is pointing towards it winning.
Real in Rio is a possible spoiler, and I am not just saying this because its the only other nominee. It is a truly colorful song, and really gave the film its spirit. This movie's been relatively quiet on the Awards front, so seeing it making the list was a rather surprise, though I do welcome it. It definitely has the feel of an Oscar nominee, unfortunately I think it lacks the ability to be a true Oscar winner. Really, I don't see either as a true Oscar winner, but I have been pulling for the Muppets to win this category, if any. That is why I am picking the Muppets, but I am so disappointed with this category I won't be surprised if I am wrong. I promise you this won't be the last time I will express disappointment with my other categories as I continue my predictions in the coming days and weeks.

Winner: Man or Muppet
Missing Nominee: Life's a Happy Song

Oscar-nomics: Best Foreign Film Shortlist

So, today we see yet another shortlist, this time from the foreign branch. They have narrowed it down from over 60 to 9, and my already presumed winner A Separation is still in it, so it's gotten past the hard part. I have no doubt it will be nominated, it was just a matter of making the shortlist. Am I 100% it will win, no, but that's mostly because I have started to question my thoughts on Cinematography, but thats for another discussion. Pina also made the list, but again I am not terribly surprised since it is also a favorite among the voters, and it may actually win since word is its been slowly gaining love amongst the voters, but I am still picking A Separation. Here is the list below:


Belgium: Bullhead 
Canada: Monsieur Lazhar 
Denmark:  Superclásico 
Germany: Pina 
Iran: A Separation 
Israel: Footnote 
Morocco: Omar Killed Me 
Poland: In Darkness 
Taiwan: Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale

Oscar-nomics: Bafta Nominations

So, the Golden Globes were announce and there were few surprises cause these were really obvious winners, with the surprises really just the alternate choices (ie Midnight in Paris for Screenplay over the Descendants or Meryl Streep over Viola Davis). Now, we have the BAFTA (British Oscars) nominations, and it is quite the list, both good and bad. The biggest omission that killed me a bit was Emmanuel Lubezki for cinematography is nowhere to be found. The list does show The Artist as the one to beat, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy is a well respected British film (though I doubt its chances here), and apparently The Iron Lady is respected beyond Streep's performance. Also, why just Carey Mulligan for Drive and no Albert Brooks? And for Jim Broadbent? I mean I respect the guy, but why not something like Nick Nolte or Stellan Skarsgaard. Now granted, Girl with the Dragon Tattoo got some love in technical categories and nowhere else, I think the film deserves a little more love especially since its major guild love. Finally, Hugo gets more nominations than the Help but the Help gets in for best picture over Hugo!?!?!? I can continue my ranting (not much love for Midnight in Paris?!?!?) but I will stop so this doesn't get terribly lengthy. We shall see what happens come Tuesday for the Oscar nominations, but don't count these as the best tell for things to come. Here are the nominations listed below:

Best Film
"The Artist"
"The Descendants"
"Drive"
"The Help"
"Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy"

Best British Film
"My Week With Marilyn"
"Senna"
"Shame"
"Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy"
"We Need to Talk About Kevin"

Best Director
Michel Hazanavicius, "The Artist"
Nicolas Winding Refn, "Drive"
Martin Scorsese, "Hugo"
Tomas Alfredson, "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier Spy"
Lynne Ramsay, "We Need to Talk About Kevin"

Best Actor
George Clooney, "The Descendants"
Jean Dujardin, "The Artist"
Michael Fassbender, "Shame"
Gary Oldman. "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy"
Brad Pitt, "Moneyball"

Best Actress
Bérénice Bejo, "The Artist"
Viola Davis, "The Help"
Meryl Streep, "The Iron Lady"
Tilda Swinton, "We Need to Talk About Kevin"
Michelle Williams, "My Week With Marilyn"

Best Supporting Actor
Kenneth Branagh, "My Week With Marilyn"
Jim Broadbent, "The Iron Lady"
Jonah Hill, "Moneyball"
Philip Seymour Hoffman, "The Ides of March"
Christopher Plummer, "Beginners"

Best Supporting Actress
Jessica Chastain, "The Help"
Judi Dench, "My Week With Marilyn"
Melissa McCarthy, "Bridesmaids"
Carey Mulligan, "Drive"
Octavia Spencer, "The Help"

Best Original Screenplay
"The Artist"
"Bridesmaids"
"The Guard"
"The Iron Lady"
"Midnight in Paris"

Best Adapted Screenplay
"The Descendants"
"The Help"
"The Ides of March"
"Moneyball"
"Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy"

Best Foreign Language Film
"Incendies"
"Pina"
"Potiche"
"A Separation"
"The Skin I Live In"

Best Documentary
"George Harrison: Living in the Material World"
"Project Nim"
"Senna"

Best Animated Feature
"The Adventures of Tintin"
"Arthur Christmas"
"Rango"

Best Art Direction
"The Artist"
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2"
"Hugo"
"Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy"
"War Horse"

Best Cinematography
"The Artist"
"The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo"
"Hugo"
"Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy"
"War Horse"
Best Costume Design
"The Artist"
"Hugo"
"Jane Eyre"
"My Week With Marilyn"
"Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy"

Best Film Editing
"The Artist"
"Drive"
"Hugo"
"Senna"
"Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy"

Best Makeup & Hair
"The Artist"
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2"
"Hugo"
"The Iron Lady"
"My Week With Marilyn"

Best Music
"The Artist"
"The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo"
"Hugo"
"Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy"
"War Horse"

Best Sound
"The Artist"
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2"
"Hugo"
"Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy"
"War Horse"

Best Visual Effects
"The Adventures of Tintin"
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2"
"Hugo"
"Rise of the Planet of the Apes"
"War Horse"

Best Debut by a British Director, Writer or Producer
Joe Cornish, "Attack the Block"
Will Sharpe, Tom Kingsley and Sarah Brocklehurst, "Black Pond"
Ralph Fiennes, "Coriolanus"
Richard Ayoade, "Submarine"
Paddy Considine, "Tyrannosaur"

Oscar-nomics: Directors Guild Award Documentary Nominees

Well, the Directors Guild have released their list for Documentary Feature and its a good list. Oscar shortlist and my predicted front runners Project Nim and Bill Cunningham are pretty much a lock in my mind, if I don't see them making it I would be surprised. Paradise Lost 3 is also on the shortlist, so this gives it a  bump. The other two, while not on the shortlist, are strong choices. I am glad to see Scorcese recognized for his George Harrison documentary, as well as The Interrupters, which is a welcomed choice. Like I said, I see Nim and Cunningham locked in for nominations, Paradise Lost is on the bubble, but this helps greatly. We shall see come nomination day, here is the list of nominees below:

Joe Berlinger & Bruce Sinofsky: Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory
Steve James: The Interrupters
James Marsh: Project NimRichard Press: Bill Cunningham New York
Martin Scorsese: George Harrison: Living in the Material World. 

Oscar-Nomics: American Society of Cinematographers Nominations

Well, another set of awards nominations have come through, this time for the cinematographers. The nominations are listed below, and again I am thrilled with this list. I think if Emmanuel Lubezki gets snubbed in any awards show would be shocking, I still hold this to be his to lose. Not to be outdone, though, the brilliant work of Jeff Cronenweth for Dragon Tattoo and Richardson for Hugo also got in, and Hoyte van Hoytema for "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy." I thought the film was ok, but the cinematography really stood out in my mind, so to see it get this nomination is good to see. I still have yet to see The Artist, but considering its an Awards Contender and is a silent film, to see it not here would be disparaging, so good for it. Great list, each deserving, wouldn't be surprised if this is our Oscar list as well. Here is the full list below:


Guillaume Schiffman for "The Artist," 
Jeff Cronenweth for "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,"
 Robert Richardson for "Hugo," 
Hoyte van Hoytema for "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" 
Emmanuel Lubezki for "The Tree of Life" 

Oscar-nomics: Directors Guild Nominations

So, the Directors Guild nominations came out today and let me tell you, I am thrilled by these nominations. I knew Hazanavicius and Payne were locks, and seeing Scorcese and Allen is great. The big surprise is probably my favorite in this entire awards season, and that is Mr. Fincher. Many are calling this a fluke, but I think he is truly deserving to be hear, heck maybe even win. It would be ironic if he wins this the year after dominating the awards season then lose the Director's Guild and then the Oscar. Tattoo has been mostly quiet on the awards front, so many saw it as a contender in the technical categories, but I think not. I think this might be your list come Oscar nominations, Fincher likely being in the weak spot for some one like Spielberg (War Horse) or Miller (Moneyball), we shall see what the cards hold for these men come the nominations. I could go on a rant about Terrance Malick's snub for Tree of Life, but hey at least Fincher was nominated so I ok with this list. Here is the list below:


Woody Allen for Midnight in Paris
David Fincher for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Michel Hazanavicius for The Artist
Alexander Payne for The Descendants
Martin Scorsese for Hugo

Oscar-nomics: Visual Effects Shortlist

We also have the shortlist for the Academy's Visual Effects potential nominees, and its not a bad batch. Super 8 missed out, but my hope wasn't as high for that as it is for Hugo and Tree of Life. I am extremely happy X-men made the shortlist, I think Rise of the Planet of the Apes is a safe bet, not a guarantee, but I think it'll make it. The academy will watch them again and narrow it down to the final five, here's hoping for my picks (if Mission Impossible makes it, I will have a good chuckle since its more practical effects than Transformers or Pirates). Here is the list below:

Visual Effects shortlist
Captain America: The First Avenger
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
Hugo
Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
Real Steel
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
The Tree of Life
X-Men: First Class