Egads. The good – nice to see Drive and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy – especially Gary Oldman — recognized. And doubly nice to see that they finally acknowledged Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross for score (after shutting them out last year) and Lynne Ramsay nominated for Director. True, they always honor their own but this was an especially nice touch. And of course, Michael Fassbender in for Actor, always a good thing. Somehow, though, they put Bernice Bejo in lead (she is lead but we’re all pretending she’s supporting) and thereby shutting out arguably one of the best female performances of the year, Olivia Colman in Tyrannosaur – here was the best shot for the actress to be acknowledged for her fine work. Like our love-hate relationship with the 100 or so people who vote for the Golden Globes, at some point you have to just let it go. Not just the BAFTAS but all of it – not getting picked by them doesn’t speak to quality, but only timing, human nature and popularity — fleeting though it be. However, we should celebrate the good, and piss all over the bad. That, after all, is our right.
At any rate, the BAFTA could perhaps do more serious damage if these nominations were announced prior to Oscar nomination ballots closing. On the other hand, they appear to think not unlike Oscar voters, particularly since Oscar has a fierce and long standing worship of all things English – so much so that they even gave their Best Picture prize last year to a movie about a British King! Never feel sorry for a man who owns a plane.
But let’s look at some of the good things before ripping them a new one, which they righteously deserve.
The Good:
Lynne Ramsay for Best Director
The Artist firms up its frontrunner status — it can’t lose the BAFTAS and likely can’t lose the Oscar
Bernice Bejo in lead – would have preferred Coleman in lead but it’s nice to see someone acknowledge Bejo’s leading role status.
Strong showing for the overlooked Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and Drive. The former may get some Oscar love since there is some crossover voting. The jury is still out on how Drive will fit into the Oscar race, if anywhere.
The Bad:
Unfortunately the Artist firms up its frontrunner status. Both Hugo and The Descendants not coming into the BAFTAS so strongly. In a bit, we’ll look at whether that really matters, though. With the Artist leading here — we’re looking at a very dull race indeed.
NO Olivia Coleman, which is a damned shame.
NO Dragon Tattoo except in Score and Cinematography
The Ugly:
NO Hugo for Best Picture
NO Alexander Payne for Best Director
NO David Fincher for Best Director
NO Rooney Mara for Best Actress
NO Screenplay nod for Hugo
You have to go all the way back to Million Dollar Baby (which didn’t qualify, I don’t think) to find a year when the Best Picture winner was not a BAFTA Best Pic nominee. Still, this lineup seems to signal we either will be seeing some surprises when Oscar noms are announced (Drive and Tinker Tailor in there) or else the BAFTAS will have a year that hasn’t matched Oscar’s Best Pic for the first time since 2008, when they had The Lives of Others and American Gangster in their top five but Oscar didn’t match them, choosing Juno and Michael Clayton instead. Is this a 2008 year? Hard to say since Oscar branched out to ten nominees it became much easier for BAFTA to match them. What happens this year is a complete and total mystery, in terms of nominations.
In terms of winning Best Picture, if you go by the BAFTA rule, you have to now rule out Hugo for the win — UNFORTUNATELY. And instead, you have The Descendants and The Help now as the only viable challengers to The Artist. Going all the way back to the year BAFTA changed their date to occur BEFORE the Oscars, the Best Picture winner was at least a BAFTA nominee for Best Picture, except, as I’ve said, with Million Dollar Baby, which was not eligible.
But we’re only talking ten years of BAFTOSCAR history. I’d like to think that we can still shape the frosting before it sets. But it’s looking more and more like this year will simply play out as many have been predicting since the whole thing began.
The herding cats nature of the BAFTAS can sometimes be refreshing. But in terms of the Oscar race it loses its influence since nomination ballots have long since been turned in. Although most readers of this website will likely disagree with me, I don’t think two of the movies nominated for Best Picture can get anywhere near Hugo. Not even close. I understand that British people think differently about American directors using British people. Just as British people tend to like movies about Americans that Americans don’t like as much (like American Gangster, for instance), the BAFTAs have really lost some of their significance to me today, by shutting out Hugo, what I consider to be the best film of 2011.
But happy for the Drive fans — of which there are many.
I think you’re right, julien. This is a category where we are going to see at least one surprise.
Leo’s in trouble, I think, and, while Fox Searchlight claimed it would wear the NC17 as a “badge of honor”, it looks like they have since deferred their bect actor efforts to Clooney instead of Fassbender, who got too little promotion too late.
I also see Oldman and Shannon slipping in.
BrandStrategyGuru: I think you could be right about Leo. How many number 1 votes is he going to get compared to performances like Shannon and Oldman? I think we are in for a surprise here. I can even envision both Shannon and Oldman get in over Leo AND Fassbender. The NG 17 rating may prove too big an obstacle and I think the American voters will go for Shannon and the Brits for Oldman rather than the “controversial” Fassbender display of sex addiction and nudity.
BrandStrategyGuru
Good point, if the British-vote secures a nod for a supporting actress-contender, McTeer is the most likely choice, followed by Mulligan and Redgrave. Although I think Mulligan sneak in instead of McTeer, simply because Shame is considered a good/great film, meanwhile Albert Nobbs is considered mediocre, and latter type rarely snags TWO acting nominations.
finding it hard to feel sorry for a guy is not the same as disliking the guy
Come on, I was here last year. I bumped it down from “hate,” which was too generous, considering the things that were said.
The idea that sympathy should be restricted by the wealth of the target is dumb, and viewing the world through the prism of class limits your understanding, rather than expanding it. That’s all. And Sybil doesn’t live here anymore. She saw terrible things. Just awful, terrible things. She’s asleep now.
Never feel sorry for a man who owns a plane.
Never listen to a man who dislikes a man because he owns a plane.
^
If you’re going to mince words, can I play too?
finding it hard to feel sorry for a guy is not the same as disliking the guy
Where’s Gentle Benj? Can I speak to Sybil?
@Sasha & the rest of you that don’t want BAFTA to consider US films: All films that are released in cinemas in the UK are eligible for BAFTA nominations. If you don’t want BAFTA to consider American films, don’t release them here. To be honest, you can keep most of them anyway. However, I believe the filmmakers might just disagree. They need the millions of $ box office income they get from the UK, which is the third largest film market in the world. Get real and stop complaining. Do you think all Bafta members agree with the nomination? No. But that’s how the cookie crumbles. Some might miss out by 1 vote. It’s called democracy. Bafta members agree to a strict code of conduct. If you haven’t seen a film, you don’t vote for it. That’s why Million Dollar Baby wasn’t considered, not enough people saw it, it was released too late and not screened. Why does the Golden Globes and other critics have such an influence on the Oscars? I suspect MANY members just vote for what they believe through the hype are the best films and performances without ever seeing it. Am is pissed off that Hugo, Ryan Gosling, Albert Brooks and many more have not been nominated for Baftas? Yes. Can I force all 6000 members to see every film? No. A Bafta member I know told me yesterday that there were 7 films on the list of nominees that she hasn’t seen yet (and obviously didn’t consider through the previous rounds) including Drive… Angry, yes. Can we do anything about it? No. Some people prefer to spend their Christmas holidays with family and not sit and watch 70 films on DVD. There were over 280 films eligible for Bafta last year. Around 80 screeners were sent out. How many did you see?
Revised after Andreas’ comment –
BEST BRITISH FILM:
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS – PART II
SHAME
SUBMARINE
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY
WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN
This would beat most countries’ Top 5.
There’s a reason why Dragon Tattoo wasn’t nominated. It’s not awards-worthy (barring technical nods) It’s well-made pulp. Sasha doing cartwheels over this thing is one of the strangest internet phenomenons i’ve come across. The absence of Tree of Life and Melancholia is something to shout at BAFTA about, but not TGWTDT.
The worst thing about the BAFTA this year was:
1. Judi Dench nominated for BSA. Seriously? She was playing Judi Dench with a costume on.
2. The Artist for Best Sound. Words fail me.
3. No Submarine. One of the best movies of 2011.
I’m blue in the face saying this, but Fassbender isn’t British. German born, Irish raised, and trained in Britain, but one need only listen to the man to realise he’s an Irish actor. I know it’s a minor point, but it kind of rankles.
Need to agree with Scott here.
BEST BRITISH FILM could’ve been better – like so:
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS – PART II
SENNA
SHAME
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY
WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN
Oh right, I forgot about the horse movie. The Turin Horse, that is, which was my favourite film of 2011.
@Phantom – thanks for the great recap. Don’t you think Janet McTeer has a better chance for supp actress over Carrey Mulligan? She did get a SAG nomination.
@Antoinette – it makes sense about Jonah Hill because for the life of me I don’t understand what people see about his performance. It’s like he could do it in his sleep. Sometimes when people like a film character, they may nominate it. And if they hate a character, it may be ignored. Look at Bryce Dallas Howard in The Help. Probably the best of her career, but she is such a meanie in the movie, no one would dream even mentioning her. Not in such a clear “good/bad” type of movie where you’re rooting for certain characters and it’s very black and white. But I am still hoping that like last year’s Mila Kunis snub, the academy will wisen up and leave him out in favor of let’s say Nick Nolte in Warrior.
@Sasha – what do you base your opinion of Albert Brooks getting in? Wouldn’t you agree that SAG and BAFTA are more likely to carry weight over GG and BFCA nominations? Do you think it’s just a weak category? Armie Hammer did get a SAG nom, and yet he seems to be number 6 or 7 or most people’s prediction lists…
Thoughts:
-If J. Edgar is so ignored, are Leonardo DiCaprio chances slipping too? Is his performance more of a ‘well respected’ one that’ll get number 4 and 5 votes and may be vulnerable? Or is he pretty solid? Can Fassbender and Oldman both get in instead of him?
-if War Horse seems to be out and Moneyball is not high on the list, we are left with 3 locks (Artist, Descendants, Help), 2 likely ones (MiP, Hugo), and from there it’s pretty open. Can TTSS get in, as the only Focus Features campaigned film, helped by British love?
-is Glenn Close really in, or might she be left out all together? Is Tilda Swinton’s space really that secure? With BAFTA and SAG it seems like it might be. And in that case, I would also go with the SAG nominees, which leaves Mara out…
BAFTA makes me mad! Those DB’s(dumb bitches)!
Need to add the Best British film snub of Harry Potter to the “Ugly” section. 😉
Wow. I’m relatively quiet this year because not many of the biggie, awardish type movies interest me this time around, including Drive which, when all is said and done, is all quality and little inspiration. I think I enjoyed Fast Five more, though it was forgettable. Hugo suffers from Scorcese’s greatest weakness – his tyrannical need to leave nothing at all – emotions, rationale, motivations, traumas in the past etc. etc. – nothing up to the imagination. That descriptive totalitarianism may be why Hugo is so pretty, but it is also why it is so limited. I didn’t really like Rango, though all the film references were cute enough. I liked there weirdness, but couldn’t stand the meandering pointlessness of it. Tin Tin was so underwhelming it disappeared as the images swept past like so many pat children’s television truisms. That film should NOT have been made. Perhaps this is the year when people did projects they really shouldn’t have. Super 8, for example, struck me as a Rob Reinerish film at core, where it succeeded, with blowing shit up thrown in, where it failed. The Artist is damn fun, so I won’t quarrel with it winning a few awards. I hated The Help because it seemed to miss the point of everything at all, while wasting no time in becoming an exercise in self-righteousness of the worst kind, addressed to an audience that likes to see itself as the most enlightened ever. Bridesmaids was idiotic and unfunny.
You know what I liked this year? Outside Satan, Elena, Corpo Celeste, and Take Shelter.
Super disappointed about Hugo not getting BP and no cinematography for Tree of Life, BAFTA what the hell is wrong with you?
I love Alexander Payne. Love. But I genuinely smirked at his omission here. I’m backlashing hard against The Descendants’ campaign because I just don’t think the film is anything special compared to his previous work (which is the same way I felt about Fincher/TSN last year). I’m glad BAFTA has dealt The Descendants’ overhype a swift kick to the nether regions.
“I’m all for separating them. The Brits can have the Brits. I’ll keep the Americans. XD”
Oscars are mostly American already, and they should be. Hollywood is in USA.
I know this was only a joke, but if Oscars ever became US-only (in the beginning they probably were like that almost), the interest for Academy overseas would practically drop to zero. I’m an Oscar fan and I wouldn’t care about AMPAS if they didn’t nominate some Brits at least.
The clearest thing I’m taking away from the BAFTA noms is that I think Shailene Woodley is not getting an Oscar nom. Memories of Andrew Garfield last year. He actually got the BFCA-GG-BAFTA trifecta (he’s British, of course), but he was young, not doing much of a stretch, and not in their favorite movie. I think if Glenn Close gets in, Janet McTeer can still get in based on GG-SAG and her scene-stealing presence, but it’s uncertain since she didn’t have any big emotional scene.
I know I should be too smart to be predicting McCarthy, but I think she’s too much of a standout and other than crying underwater, Woodley is beatable. Then again, not sure what it says about Clooney’s chances when his costar can’t even get nominated, but Jonah Hill is probably getting nominated for Moneyball when Brad is the standout.
The Supporting Actor category is so weak that I think Albert Brooks HAS to be nominated. Plummer still definitely wins, even if by default. Then Branagh and probably Nolte and Hill even though Nolte is not popular anymore and, some would say, playing himself, and Hill is definitely like last year’s Andrew Garfield or Mila Kunis – the young star in his first serious role, in a high-profile movie, but not the standout.
Finally, Midnight in Paris: I’m not so convinced this would be in a 5-picture Best Picture category. War Horse is still up the Academy’s alley, but really, what else does MIP have but Woody Allen’s screenplay? Maybe Best Director still, but otherwise, it’s not exactly like it was snubbed anywhere else.
Who has to take Madonna?
Oh please. You all still love her. 😛
Alexander Payne snub is very curious as well but again, based on the BAFTA longlist we saw a few weeks ago, it was clear they were going to favor Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and My Week with Marilyn in more categories than perhaps they should be recognized in. That’s the drawback you get from this organization but then you see films like Drive and We Need to Talk About Kevin and Shame also getting recognition and it’s a nice little tradeoff.
IMO the two best films of the year are in the Foreign Language category- Incendies and A Separation
@ Daveylow
I don`t know if the people in charge of Hugo`s campaign are the same as The Departed`s. If they are, it`s the second time they make a lot of mistakes. Departed won in the end because the Academy decided it was time to honor Scorsese, but it had nothing to do with the campaign. They were not even able to make Leonardo DiCaprio get a lead actor nod for the film. Instead, they left him get nominated for Blood Diamond. And in the supporting category, Mark Wahlberg was still nominated, but Jack Nicholson failed to. I hope the end for Hugo is the same as The Departed`s.
“America gets to keep Hitchcock because he became a US citizen.”
Fine, Ryan. Guess who gets Kubrick, Losey and Gilliam.
and please don’t ship Madonna north.
“Who has to take Madonna?”
Albania.
The Artist is a brilliant drag performance. I just dont understand why people would award it over actual films, i.e. films with meaning about something other than film. Even Hugo is ‘about’ other things.
Huh Sasha? BAFTA should change their voting procedure because YOU dont like the nominees? You cant be serious?
Surely anyone who follows the awards circuit know that the voters get it wrong more than they get it right- its part of the fun of watching.
The awards are what they are. BAFTA can nominate whomever they like, as can AMPAS. Its not up to anyone to dictate to them.
Just a couple thoughts on the BAFTA nominations…
How on earth do you give Hugo 9 nominations but snub it for Best Film? I understand the British were gonna respond more favorably to Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy but really???????
Not surprised by the lack of love for Dragon Tattoo, although I was kinda hoping Mara would slip through in the Best Actress category.
A little shocked by the lack of love for War Horse by the group, slipping the film a few technical nods including one for…VISUAL EFFECTS???????
Original Screenplay nod for The Iron Lady? If anything, the writing hampers the film even though it’s full of ambitious ideas.
Strange to see how the British loved Drive at the expense of Hugo and yet chose not to nominate Albert Brooks. I can live with it though because Drive is an excellent film.
Nice to see Lynne Ramsay get recognized in the Directing category
My Week with Marilyn is a horrible film. The fact that Judi Dench received a Supporting Actress nomination, hell the fact that it achieved recognition for anything beyond Michelle Williams and Kenneth Branagh, is criminal.
Said this last night…Tree of Life is dead…not even a Cinematography nod? Are you kidding me?
At first glance, it looks like the British could march to the beat of their own drum in some of these categories. But at the end of the day, The Artist will triumph again.
It seems strange when some people dismiss the BAFTA for choosing ‘their own’ when a british film/actor is nominated. Surely that is the same when american awards groups vote for american films/actors – why does it follow that it is the british awards that are wrong and not the american awards?
It seems strange when some people dismiss the BAFTA for choosing ‘their own’ when a british film/actor is nominated. Surely that is the same when american awards groups vote for american films/actors – why does it follow that it is the british awards that are wrong and not the american awards?
I’m all for separating them. The Brits can have the Brits. I’ll keep the Americans. XD
I’m all for separating them. The Brits can have the Brits. I’ll keep the Americans. XD
America gets to keep Hitchcock because he became a US citizen.
Who has to take Madonna?
No matter how bad some of the omissions are (Tree of Life being the most surprising one in some key category), there is much to be happy about in my opinion: some love for Drive, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Shame, Tyranosaur, The Guard, We Need to Talk About Kevin, Attack The Block…
In the end, I’m convinced this list will be certainly more satisfying than the Oscar noms. They will probably omit the same films (Tree of Life especially), nominate the same average fare (Help, Artist, Descendants and Co) , but you can also be sure none of the above British films will get any nominations.
@JP — I agree with you. Whoever has handled the campaign for Hugo should be fired. Here is a movie destined to become a classic and they have failed to get across how special it is. And opening it in less theaters at Thanksgiving hurt its chances at the box office too. I keep thinking of Ben Kingsley’s haunting presence in the film and it’s a shame he hasn’t been nominated. Unfortunately the movie needed some bigger star like Johnny Depp to help it reach more people.
@Robert A–Perhaps “lightweight” isn’t the correct word to use about The Artist. It’s certainly enjoyable but unlike the Hollywood classics you mentioned such as Singin’ in the Rain and Bringing Up Baby and the works of Preston Sturges, it just didn’t send me into giddy ecstasy like those wonderful works.
And when I compare it to some of the other films I loved released in 2011 it’s not in the top. But it’s hard to begrudge its success because it is made with a lot of love.
Sasha, I agree Theron’s fuckability factor helps her a long way. It’s sad that we’re still stuck in this mindset, but at least Charlize actually gives consistently good performances, so I can still sleep at night. I think Reese Witherspoon is a good example of poor acting but strong likability and beauty factors (still bitter about Felicity Huffman).
I just can’t wrap my head around the fact that THIS is the movie Glenn Close might get nominated for, after twentysomething years. Is this seriously the best she could come up with. The performance is atrocious as well, bland and goddamn creepy. I would rather have Mara fill in the newbie spot instead (sadly to be missed by Elizabeth Olsen).
Mediocre list. Miracles don`t happen in weak years.
I don`t know who`s campaigning Hugo but I`m sure If it was Harvey Ben Kingsley would be nominated. Only a poor campaign can explain how one of the most respected actors alive playing one of the pioneers of film got ZERO nominations from the main awards. Instead, we see Jonah Hill, Armie Hammer, Viggo Mortensen…
@ Robert A.
I agree with you. The Artist is a comedy. it’s pure cinema loving entertainment. off course it’s light and joyful. Why should only ‘serious’ films win awards. That’s ridiculous.
Honestly, it really does surprise me that we see no love here for ‘Hugo’ and ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’. The BAFTAs were one of the few bodies of film voters that gave David Fincher the award he deserved last year, and c’mon, everyone has been loving ‘Hugo’ and it’s silly to argue that Scorsese hasn’t made something truly great.
It’s Fincher. It’s Scorsese. Their works this year are great.
As far as them preferring the Swedish version to Fincher’s take, I tend to agree with Owen Gleiberman’s view on this; that it all comes from this “indie-rock snob, I saw it first and I’m cool mystique…” If that really is the reason they don’t recognize Dragon Tattoo, well, don’t get mad at pretentious people for being pretentious.
As I stated on the long list article, I’m only in this for the Refn recognition. That’s something he won’t get in the States by his peers. Why argue with this list? Really? It is one of a very select few ceremonies that is celebrating last year’s excellent thrillers. Tinker, Guard, Drive amongst others.
I agree that the best part of The Artist is sound. (well next to Uggie)
“I do like The Artist, but the more I think about it, it will be the weakest Best Picture to win if it does. It wouldn’t be the worst but it will be the most lightweight.”
I don’t really agree with this. For one, I don’t buy into the offhand dismissal of The Artist as being too “lightweight.” It’s a movie that juggles both a joyful and a melancholy tone, which saves it (for me) from too easy categorization. I would describe the movie as witty and nimble more than lightweight. Plus there’s a real energy and exuberance to the film that I loved.
But for the sake of argument, let’s say it is lightweight. Why is this always bad? Many a great movie can be considered lightweight. Singin’ in the Rain. The Philadelphia Story. Bringing Up Baby. Preston Sturges comedies. I’d prefer “lightweight” movies like these (or The Artist) to win BP over more “heavyweight” films such as Gandhi, Chariots of Fire, Out of Africa, A Beautiful Mind, M$B, Crash etc. The list goes on and on.
Certainly I think The Artist would be a step up from a win for The King’s Speech.
Yeah lets bash BAFTA for not nominating Albert Brooks …… I mean how dare they right? Didn’t the same happen with AMERICA’S own SAG – no nom there for Albert too, so why should it be so shocking that he never showed here either?
http://criticstop10.com/
Some thoughts:
I also think Brooks will get the nod. Can’t say that I’m not worried.
The last best actress winner who wasn’t pretty in the conventional sense was Kathy Bates in MISERY more than 20 years ago!
Nice to see love for DRIVE, but Mulligan was nominated for the wrong role. There was nothing wrong with her role in DRIVE, but she owned it in SHAME.
I hope Hugo wins most of the categories it’s nominated in. Though I don’t see Scorsese winning director here without picture. In the year that BAFTA is giving Scorsese their highest award. Way to go BAFTA!
Antoinette’s comment about “liking” performers and their characters makes a lot of sense, although I think Hill and especially Pitt turned in excellent performances. Much of The Artist’s awards success owes itself to people smiling as they watch it. Same goes for The Descendants, because despite the tragedy that launches the story, Payne’s film maintains a mellow vibe that sort of radiates warmth. Clooney bonds with his daughter and her boyfriend, everyone has little cathartic moments, and no one really spins off the rails. Neither film is going to knock you on your ass, but plenty of voters are getting knocked on their ass by life and don’t want to vote for a movie with rape and a dead kitty.* I disagree with those motives, but I understand them.
“If they wanted to nominate Carey Mulligan they should have nominated her for Shame not Drive.”
Carey was put in the Best Actress category for Shame and there was too much competition.
I try not to get worked up about these nominations but the exclusion of Hugo in the best picture list is inexcusable. Not when you nominate it for 9 awards including best director. And not to include it in the best adapted screenplay category is pretty bad as well. And to include Jonah Hill for sitting and talking and not include any of the supporting cast of TTSS or Ben Kingsley is downright perverse.
I do like The Artist, but the more I think about it, it will be the weakest Best Picture to win if it does. It wouldn’t be the worst but it will be the most lightweight.
The wonderful Hugo was really hurt by The Artist’s presence this year.
John, I think he deserves to be in the conversation for sure. And he’s in the conversation in my head. ha! I just don’t know that I’d nominated him instead of Pitt, Shannon, Fassbender, Oldman, Harrelson. And I’m even a fan of Clooney and Dicaprio’s work this year in their respective films. I totally get what you’re saying. It’s the field that gives me pause.
Don’t think Entertainment Weekly.com visitors are too impressed with TTSS; it’s being called “Tinker Stinker” on their BAFTA story page.
The ugliest of them all is the absence of TREE OF LIFE in Cinematography. Embarrassing.
“rufussondheim says:
If you look at critics top 10 votes, Drive has more #1 votes, even though The Tree of Life has more mentions.”
Based on what source are you saying it? I wonder whom you meant by ‘critics.’
@Houstonrufus
You don’t think Drive is Gosling’s best performance yet? It’s not baity, no, but it’s probably the toughest role for him yet, and you see him pull out of his usual busy method acting style. I have a hard time picturing other actors pulling it off without falling into the cliche. I think he deserves to be right up there in the conversation.
It really sucks that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 2 wasn’t nominated for Outstanding British Film and Hugo for Best Picture.
Wow, great to see the “Tinker…”-love, but I´m not ready to invest hope for an Oscar nomination, at least not the Best Pic-category.
I don´t get how The Help could enter this… Seriously, it has a shot at the Oscars because it´s VERY US-american, a huge BO-hit, but how the hell could BAFTA get blinded by the Disney-saccharine?
No Rooney hurts, but I am still hopeful she´ll replace Close next Tuesday and join Streep, Davis, Williams and Swinton in the Best Actress-lineup.
i would hate to see close take fifth slot, god awful movie and thoroughly weak character, she kind of irritated me rather than impress me.
anyone would be better to take fifth slot, preferably olsen or mara.
if colman is kicked out so should charlize.
i wish mulligan enters the race at oscars and drive continues to take major nominations.
@ maxim
war horse was one of the worst movies by spielberg, except for the horse caught in barbed wire sequence the whole movie was shit, i wanted to forward the movie so bad but i watched it full forcing my ass for 2 n a 1/2 hours for it being a contender this awards season and being a spielberg film. didn’t expect this from spielberg, he disappointed me twice, tintin sucked ass nothing but animation.
told you all sasha had artist on her tracker for sound, means it has sound.
If they wanted to nominate Carey Mulligan they should have nominated her for Shame not Drive.
Sorry to see Midnight in Paris not in the best picture category.
Glad to see Alexander Payne not in the best director category.
Sorry to see Melancholia absent from every category.
Why is Jonah Hill getting nominated for everything.He didn’t do anything in Moneyball?
But I never respected BAFTAs much because they don’t respect British cinema much.They should promote British filmmakers but instead they prefer to predict Oscars.
Sorry for the past tense there. I need more coffee.
I am probably Gosling’s number one most psychotic fan, and even I wouldn’t nominated him instead of 5 or 6 others. That Best Actor category is just tough. But I WOULD nominated Drive for picture and director. So I’m happy.
Gosling has been filling a lot of the 6th spots so far, BFCA, GG, and I would guess BAFTA. Can he be the surprise nominee if there is one? Didn’t he just blew up last year in terms of arts and pop culture? And he did come close last year. Isn’t he the type of lazy nods the Oscars like to reward from time to time? I can see the possibility of a nod for Gosling the same way that the critics are rewarding Chastain.
Ryman
Strangely enough Mulligan was in the lead category for Shame, that has to be the only reason that she didn’t get the nod for her brilliant Sissy.
Sasha
“I could also see Charlize Theron getting in because she’s so pretty. ”
Isn’t it weird that being pretty actually COUNTS ? I mean just look at the last 10 BA-winners…even the only one who was over 50, is STILL a knockout. Having said that, I have been a big fan of Theron since Monster, so if she gets in, so be it…unless she knocks out Glenn Close!
Antoinette
I agree about Jonah Hill. He made some good/great comedies, he was perfectly acceptable in Moneyball, but now that I’ve seen it for a second time, I simply couldn’t find one second of his acting that seemed challenging or impressive at all. It’s not his fault, it just simply wasn’t a flashy role. But my problem isn’t that it isn’t in-your-face-obvious-great-acting – my fave this year (Close’s Nobbs) is a quiet turn, too – my problem is Hill’s performance is just not Oscar-worthy in my opinion and I REALLY don’t understand how he gets all these important nominations. If Moneyball was the bp-frontrunner or at least a top5-player, I could understand the logic, but considering it is NOT top5, I really don’t see what make people think ‘yeah, Jonah Hill, he was SO much better than Viggo Mortensen, Alan Rickman, Ben Kingsley, Brad Pitt (The Tree of Life), Tom Hardy, Corey Stoll, Tom Hollander, John Hawkes, Christoph Waltz, Max von Sydow…here, 10 actors who gave great supporting performances, and have less buzz – or none at all – than Jonah Hill. I just don’t get it. Especially because there WAS a newbie contender last year, he WAS in a supposed frontrunner and he did NOT get the SAG nod and then failed to receive the Oscar-nod, too…and Andrew Garfield’s turn was MUCH more impressive than the one Hill delivered in Moneyball. My two cents.
However, we should celebrate the good, and piss all over the bad. That, after all, is our right.
Our right? Hell, it’s own sworn duty!
Celebrate-the-good is the mindset.
Piss-on-the-Bad is part of the skillset.
“I swear to you guys, my posts never seem that long when I’m writing them. Sorry.”
Don’t apologize, Antoinette. I’ve done the same thing. I’ll type out a few thoughts, hit “submit,” and once it’s posted I realize I’ve written the War and Peace of AD comments.
I swear to you guys, my posts never seem that long when I’m writing them. Sorry.
Even if I am happy about Drive getting a Best Picture and Director nomination, I’m still pissed about them snubbing Albert Brooks because he was the best thing about that movie. What a shame. Speaking of Shame, why wasn’t Carey Mulligan nominated for that. I mean I love Drive, but Shame is where she shined and conquered on screen. Did they get mixed up with movies she was in and accidentally nominate Drive instead?
Also the love for The Artist has gotten out of control for sure if it got nominated for Best Sound. I mean really? You nominate a silent film for Best Sound over actual contenders like Super 8 and Rise of the Planet of the Apes?
What a travesty. No Hugo for BP. No Tree of Life for Best Cinematography. Ridiculous.
These nominations made no sense to me this morning. Now that I’ve slept on it I think I’ve come to a realization.
The way we reward the best in filmmaking doesn’t work.
You know by now if you’ve been here this season that I’ve been desperate for Tom Hardy to get something. Well I’ve known for a long time that that wasn’t going to happen. But my only best chance was for BAFTA to support it’s own. When I saw that the London Critics didn’t see fit to throw him a bone I pretty much gave up. I have been mainly rooting for him in WARRIOR because I saw TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY late. Well, once I did see it not only did I think he deserved a nomination for that, but so did the rest of the cast. So my hope was that someone else besides Gary Oldman would get in.
So I happened to be up when the announcement came and poor Daniel Radcliffe and some lady delivered the hammer of stupidity that were these nominations. So no one else in TTSS showed up in Supporting. Not Hurt, not Strong, not Cumberbatch, not even Firth. No. They all suck apparently and were the weak links in TTSS because every other person that worked on that film got nominated. And I’m sure when people enjoy that movie they don’t talk about anyone but Gary Oldman, since it was a one man show, and then they skip right on to talk about the production design. So when I say bullocks, I’m not talking about Sandra and Louis.
So I’m sitting here staring at the name “Jonah Hill” and I finally get it. I’ve been wondering all year about this kid’s buzz. Because I don’t think he did much acting. I like him. I loved SUPERBAD. I think he’s a hilarious comedian. But maybe some of you guys remember that I also was an early Pitt detractor for his work in MONEYBALL. I also thought that there was very little acting on his part, but if we’re comparing the two, forget it. Brad acted the pants off of Jonah.* And then finally, because I’m just not good at understanding other people’s motivations, it hits me. They voted for Jonah because they liked him in it. They’re not thinking of the quality of the acting. They’re thinking “Oh I liked him” and then they check his name off. That’s why Pitt’s in there. That’s why Clooney is in danger of winning a second acting Oscar. It’s not just that they like them as people. I’m not saying it’s that bad. We all know these are lovable guys. I’m saying these people saw these films and then look back fondly on a performance and then they want to reward it. But the quality of the performance or the amount of work or any kind of acting skills don’t mean that much. It’s just ‘who did I like?’ So maybe they didn’t “like” Pitt in ToL but they “liked” Pitt in MONEYBALL. Maybe they didn’t “like” Olivia Colman’s performance because it made them sad pandas. See what I’m getting at?
As long as I’ve known there were awards for acting and movies, I’ve always looked at films asking myself which was better, who was best, who did “the best job”? And that’s where I think I have a problem with the way we’re rewarding things. I’m looking at the work. Who did the most work? Who did the best work? Not who did I like? I know who I like before I show up to the theater. I don’t need to watch movies to vote for people I like. So now I think I’ve finally understood. Neither do they. A good number of the people who have ballots don’t care about the work. They just tick off their favorites. Or something they thought was cute. Or they nominate someone for a different movie because the movie they should get in for puts them in a category that’s already full. And there you have the real problem.
The problem is the structure of these awards. Having a set number of nominees forces people to vote in silly ways, commit category fraud, all kinds of nonsense. So the Academy moving toward a system with a random number of Best Picture nominees is actually a step in the right direction. It’s wreaked havoc on this season but if it was always done that way only movies that deserve it should get nominated. That is if people voted appropriately. Ultimately I think the best way to vote is the way some critics groups do. At a luncheon, in a group with everyone having seen the films. But only if they did that without a set number or nominees or winners, I think you’d really get the people who deserve it being recognized for outstanding work. Every year I have about 10 people I think should be nominated in best supporting actor and maybe five actresses I think had Oscar worthy performances across the lead and supporting categories. This is why I don’t think the way filmmakers are awarded truly awards the best work in any given year. But this year? Things are really out of hand.
*I don’t think that made sense but when I typed it it made me laugh so it stayed in.
Good use of sound? In this case music isnt sound. There is a separate category for Music.
My understanding is that Best Sound would be given to the combination of sounds in support of the story-telling. You must consider the hard work put in by the filmmaker/sound team of this year. Harry Potter, Hugo, War Horse. These are epic sound tracks with the full range of sound represented. To nominate a film with only music is to diminish the value and contribution of the other components. You can like the film and give it other recognition without insulting an entire community and there work.
Saul
Theron might have slightly better precursors (GG/BFCA), but her film is not a strong bp-contender…Mara’s IS…or at least that’s what voters thought hearing about the PGA/DGA/WGA nominations…and just look at the title : if they embrace a film titled ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’, they could EASILY embrace the actress who plays that girl with the dragon tattoo. I think if she gets in, it will be mostly because of the PERFECT timing…she started building buzz/receiving raves and her film started getting important nominations (PGA/DGA/WGA/ACE) around the time the voting went down, in those exact two weeks or so.
“Charlize Theron is WAY more likely to get that fifth spot than Rooney Mara. But I’m thinking it will go to Glenn (sadly).”
I disagree. I think Theron’s chances of a nomination are very bleak, at this point. People just don’t seem to have taken to the movie (I haven’t seen it yet). If anyone bumps Glenn, it’s going to be Mara, I think, on the strength of TGWTDT.
Robert A.
True, but she didn’t have BAFTA/BFCA nominations last year and her film had no shot in ANY category…now – though far from a sure thing – Shame might get a lead acting nod and Drive is picking up steam with crucial BAFTA/BFCA nominations, not to mention the love from critics groups. So, I admit predicting her last year was more wishful thinking than an actual prediction, her case is much stronger this time around. The one thing that will cancel her out IMO, is the fact she will probably face a serious case of split votes.
AND Best Music. Bernard Herrmann should get some of this credit.
Charlize Theron is WAY more likely to get that fifth spot than Rooney Mara. But I’m thinking it will go to Glenn (sadly).
What’s Tyranosaur? Are you serious? If you grant that the average movie ticket costs $10, then only 1,800 people in the world have seen this movie. Less than $18,000 boxoffice take so far. Horrific. Then again, better than the n/a besides Albert Nobbs on boxofficmojo. Good grief, this makes La Vie En Rose look like Transformers 3, popularity-wise:)
“I’m starting to feel a Mulligan-surprise (Shame).”
Phantom, no! Don’t do it! Your Mulligan hunches don’t pan out! Remember last year and NLMG? 🙂
Seriously, though, I think Mulligan has an outside chance of slipping into supporting actress this year (for Shame, most likely). I doubt I’ll be predicting her, but if enough people vote for Fassie (Fassy?) in actor, I could see her getting pulled into the fifth slot.
By the way, Sasha and Ryan, or anyone: could I get a ruling on the spelling of Fassbender’s nickname. Fassie or Fassy?
If it is a 2008 year, then expect Oscar to be different from even some of the guilds. If I remember correctly that was the year SAG nominated 3:10 to Yuma and Hairspray in the best ensemble catagory. Next tuesday will be very exciting!
Joe
That was my theory a week ago, too – Swinton snubbed, Mara and Close in – but now that she landed all 4 big nominations – SAG/BAFTA/GG/BFCA – AND received 5 (!) awards during the critics-group-phase (Streep won 4, Davis won 1 and not even in lead), I just don’t see how she could be ignored AGAIN after the infamous Julia /I am Love snubs. Not to mention, I REALLY want her in that top5, her film was one of my favourites in 2011…and the film is all about her performance.
Having said that, if there is one Best Actress contender I REALLY want in that top5, that contender is Glenn Close. Sure, snubbing Swinton’ close-to-year-best performance would be a shame, but at least the Academy was smart enough to give her at least an Oscar already…meanwhile Glenn ‘Acting Giant’ Close is not only Oscarless, but hasn’t been nominated since 1988…and that’s not even the reason why she should get the nod, in my opinion her performance is so brilliant – subtle, quiet, powerful – that she DESERVES to be there…and if she is back in the Oscar-game as a nominee this year, who knows, she might get better feature roles in the next few years…I’m still waiting for that Sunset Boulevard-adaptation, too…now, dear Hollywood, nominate Close for Albert Nobbs, then get Scorsese for Sunset Boulevard, and give Glenn Closebutnocigar her fucking Oscar already ! (By the way, I’m still sticking to my hunch and predict that she WILL take the SAG for Albert Nobbs).
I think any shortlist with Tinker Tailor, Kevin, The Guard, and Submarine is fine by me. I adore Olivia Colman — I haven’t seen Tyrannosaur but I’m sure she deserves a nod — but you can’t have everything. Instead of complaining, let’s seriously consider and embrace the good in these nominations.
Oh, poor Carey Mulligan, I just turned her into a ‘he’, sorry for that.
Sasha, two questions :
1. Gosling and Mulligan are both up for two roles, Gosling received a BFCA-nod for Drive and a GG-nod for The Ides of March, meanwhile her Drive co-star Mulligan got a BFCA-nod for Shame and a BAFTA-nod for Drive (she would have probably received the latter for Shame, had he not been put in the lead category). Are they splitting votes for sure, or do they still have viable shots at sneaking in ? I’m starting to feel a Mulligan-surprise (Shame). Thoughts ?
2. The Best Actress race has four locks (Davis-Williams-Streep-Swinton), the 5th slot is probably down to Close and Mara. I haven’t seen Dragon Tattoo (on Thursday, I hope), but I’ve seen Close and LOVED her quietly brilliant turn. If it were up to you, which one would be YOUR 5th ?
By the way, am I the only one who started seriously considering a potential Albert Brooks-snub ? Critics LOVED his turn – 14 (!) awards ( http://www.awardscorner.blogspot.com/2011/12/2011-awards-summary-chart.html ) -, he also landed Golden Globe and Critics Choice nominations (no wins, though), but HFPA/BFCA voters and critics don’t vote for the Oscars…SAG and BAFTA voters do…a lot of them…and they ignored him.
@Phantom, 1. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Mulligan show up at the Oscars. Not thinking Gosling will. BAFTA would have been more powerful had their ballots come out before Oscar ballots had to be turned in. Our guilds are still our best indicator. The BAFTA can sometimes signal a last minute surprise, like THe Reader. That might mean Drive could sneak in. I have a hard time thinking it since it’s shown up so little over here in any major awards…but you never know.
2. I’m going to stick with the best actress list from SAG – so I’m predicting Close still takes the fifth slot. But no one will be happier if Rooney gets in — I could also see Charlize Theron getting in because she’s so pretty.
3. I think Albert Brooks is definitely in and could give Plummer some heat for the win.
I should have known when I saw so many nominees I loved that there would be uproar over these nominations. 🙂
I have to say, I happened to think The Descendants was Alexander Payne’s weakest feature, so I wasn’t sad to see him miss Director. I find Hugo to be stunningly beautiful to look at and (ultimately) a film appreciation masquerading as a failed family film. In any case, while there’s a ton of support for those movies, I also don’t think it’s at all universal. Ditto Rooney Mara’s performance which I found rather thin.
BUT my real point is that in a year with so many divisive movies, yes, it seems like The Artist might have it locked up, but at the same time, the new weighted voting system could throw us all for a loop provided other films happen to have enough support at least in their little clusters. Because while everyone likes The Artist, does anyone LOVE it?
yeah, skip, that shows you just how much they are into this movie! If ever you needed definitive proof…
Million Dollar Baby was eligible for the BAFTA, but no screeners were sent across the pond. It’s ridiculous that that can result in a deserved nominee being shut out, but I guess that’s how things work.
And it’s happened this year too – The Tree of Life screeners weren’t sent to BAFTA members; as a result, it appeared only in their Best Cinematography longlist and nowhere else. And now it’s not nominated.
I agree, Sasha. The BAFTAs have rather lost their significance for me this year. I love the Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy recognition very much, and the nominations for Drive (curiously not including Albert Brooks, though), but omitting Emmanuel Lubezki, Olivia Colman and Vanessa Redgrave (who wasn’t even on the longlist) doesn’t impress me.
Excuse me but even tho THE ARTIST is a silent film it gets a Best Sound nomination?
Excuse me but even tho THE ARTIST is a silent film it gets a Best Sound nomination?
It has a pretty great use of sound, I thought. Sound does burst through momentarily – and it might be the most clever use of sound all year. I can’t hate on The Artist, try as I might. 🙂
[edited out because of an annoying person]
Canada’s Genie nominations were just announced
Fassbender, Mortensen, Weisz and Williams (for Sarah Polley’s Take This Waltz) are on the list.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/awards/the-complete-list-of-2012-genie-nominations/article2305156/?utm_medium=Feeds:%20RSS/Atom&utm_source=News&utm_content=2305156
War Horse is the best movie of the year.
Lack of love for Emily Watson is especially saddening, especially after she’s been shortlisted. She is so great.
Then I look at zero nominations for the Tree of Life and wonder if I should be happy War Horse got any attention at all. And I use War Horse as a stand in for other movies as well. It’s my favorite movie of the year but there are plenty of ommisions all around.
Actually, when I remember the fact that a lot of War Horse below-the-liners come from Harry Potter movies certain things become apparent. It is pretty clear that Tinker Tailor is Britain’s designated film at this year’s race. If any homegrown movie wins it would be it (so why deminish it’s chances of the big prize by throwing another big british film in the mix) and it should take the best Best British film prize easily. It’s just, again, a shame that both films couldn’t have received that kind of support. Can’t do without politics, I suppose.
Coming back to Harry Potter for a second one can see a similar things happening. It would be uniquely fascinating if it manages and Oscar BP nod this year. Oh, Baftas.
The documenary field is representative of the weakness of this year’s list overall. And why only three nominations? Even assuming that not every film that plays in US gets to UK, it’s still a very strange field.
Posted less than a minute ago
Sasha Stone
It is a love/hate list for me : I LOVE the Lynne Ramsay-love, but I really don’t get the Payne-snub, I’ve seen The Descendants at the London Film Festival and I really loved it (loved the book, too, Ryan recommended it). I haven’t seen Hugo yet (in two weeks, I hope), but seeing how remarkably impressed you are with it, now I can’t wait ! Fortunately I’ll have my weekly awardscontender-fix (Dragon Tattoo on Thursday), so it will be easier, I hope. I also don’t understand BAFTA : why no HP-love ? It is THEIR film. I can ignore the seemingly inevitable Oscar-snub, but I really hoped at least BAFTA will recognize it, considering it IS one of the best-reviewed AND the highest grossing film of 2011, also the last chapter of an iconic, critically acclaimed franchise. Anyway, I thought it would have deserved some serious BAFTA-love, but clearly they had a different idea.
I love the Bridesmaids love! BAFTA Nominees Kristin Wiig & Melissa McCarthy! 😀 😀
I think Tilda Swinton will get snubbed at Oscar and replaced with Rooney Mara.
Close, Davis, Mara, Streep, Williams.
Kevin and Tinker Tailor are my favorite films of the year (I saw Kevin last night and it blew my mind.) I don’t care about the snubs; I’m overjoyed with this turnout. I’m especially pleased to see recognition for Submarine and The Guard, incidentally. I think this is the most on-target line-up this awards season by quite a long way.
If you look at critics top 10 votes, Drive has more #1 votes, even though The Tree of Life has more mentions.
I keep saying it over and over, but I wouldn’t rule out either of them for a Best Pic nod.
I really hope one of them does get a Best Pic nod, otherwise I’m not so sure there’s a point to the change in the nominating rules. We could be totally getting this wrong, I guess, maybe the two movies don’t have the passionate following we assume they do. But if only movies that have broad support get in, then, like I said, I don’t see the point.
Not giving up hope!
Post-BAFTA observations
– The Brits didn’t fall in love with ‘Paris’…maybe Woody should have titled it ‘Midnight in London’.
– Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy now has a viable shot at surprising at the Oscars in the main categories. Probably not Alfredson, but the picture, actor, script nods could happen.
– The Help now has a realistic shot at being a major Oscar-player ‘Driving Miss Daisy’ style (no strong bd-contender, but still a potential bp-winner), it will have probably 3 acting nominations, adapted screenplay a few technicals … and with all that love, who knows, maybe it could sneak into bd, too ?
– Shailene Woodley might be in trouble. No SAG and BAFTA is definitely not a good omen. Descendants probably won’t win bp, either, not if Payne is not seriously considered for bd…and seeing the BAFTA-snub and the lack of prominent wins, it might be the case.
– The Best Actress race has 4 locks now (Streep-Williams-Davis-Swinton) and it should be emphasized that Glenn Close was ineligible for BAFTA, so she still could be easily the 5th nominee…although the competition is stiff with the likes of Mara, Theron, Dunst, Olsen.
– Could both British men make the Best Actor top5 ? If Fassbender AND Oldman gets in, DiCaprio is out…I think only one Brit will get in + DiCaprio and of course the 3 locks (Clooney, Dujardin, Pitt).
– Drive seems to have the British-vote with the bp-bd love but no Brooks OR Gosling ? At least they nominated Mulligan…but even she should have gotten the recognition for her considerably stronger work in ‘Shame’.
– In the supporting actress race Bejo, Chastain and Spencer all have the quartet (SAG-BAFTA-BFCA-GG), and surprisingly enough McCarthy received a BAFTA-nod, too, so now I think she will get the Oscar-nod, too…if the British weren’t prude enough to snub her, the Academy won’t be, either. Fifth contender ? Probably Woodley, but the SAG-BAFTA snubs hurt her big time. I wouldn’t be surprised if the British-vote secured the 5th slot for Mulligan (for Shame) or Redgrave.
– The supporting actor race is a mess with only two locks (Plummer, Branagh have the quartet), and surprisingly enough, next in line is Jonah Hill who has BAFTA-SAG-HFPA nods. Strangely enough Brooks didn’t make the BAFTA-cut even though they clearly loved his film. Anyway, I think he will be 4th and the 5th slot will probably go to Nolte, unless J. Edgar (Hammer), Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (Hardy OR Firth OR Cumberbatch), Young Adult (Oswalt), Moneyball (Hoffman) surprise in a few main categories. THEN their supporting men might have enough support from the Academy to sneak in.
– Kristen Wiig will probably land her first Oscar nomination this year, her screenplay received BAFTA/WGA nominations and her film is considered seriously for a bp-nod.
– Hugo didn’t get best picture and best adapted screenplay nominations, neither any acting nods…not good, definitely doesn’t look ‘frontrunner-material’ on paper. Before you start, YES, if the film was eligible, BAFTA-nods in main categories ARE important.
– Clooney might get a nod for adapted screenplay, as well, Ides of March now has BAFTA and Golden Globe script-nominations.
– The fall of War Horse continues…after failing to land DGA, GG-bd, WGA, GG-script nominations, now it didn’t even get bp from BAFTA, let alone director/screenplay.
– BAFTA-voters weren’t into Dragon Tattoo (only score and cinematography, not even editing), although they did show some love to the original last year (lead actress, adapted screenplay nominations and won foreign language film)
Thanks Phantom. Good observations all the way around. They’ve greatly disappointed me this year, though they always do I suppose. But this year feels particularly irritating.
– BAFTA-voters weren’t into Dragon Tattoo (only score and cinematography, not even editing), although they did show some love to the original last year (lead actress, adapted screenplay nominations and won foreign language film)
They’re definitely of the camp that preferred the Swedish version. I can see that. The Swedish version barely made a ripple over here in the US…