Oscars and Another Hundred People
No love for Borat. That's not true -- some love for Borat. Sacha Baron Cohen was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay, but an Actor nom would've been pretty sweet. Although, Sacha's absence left room for the long-time underrated Ryan Gosling to pick up his first nod for Half Nelson. Monster House was announced for Best Animated Feature along with Cars and Happy Feet.
Mark Wahlberg was chosen to represent the incredible cast of The Departed, beating out Jack Nicholson and Leonardo DiCaprio, whose performance SAG recognized as a supporting role.
A little sad that Pan's Labyrinth was snubbed in the Picture and Director categories, but it picked up an Original Screenplay nod and a handful of technical awards. Which was definitely expected; it's fucking beautiful.
Lots of love for Little Miss Sunshine, nominated for Best Supporting Actress (Abigail Breslin), Best Supporting Actor (ALAN ARKIN!!!), Best Original Screenplay (Michael Arndt), and Best Picture (it's this year's underdog). As expected, Sunshine's duo directing team Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris missed the boat on a Best Director nomination. Statistically, this means LMS probably won't win the big one (though I always love an upset). A bigger surprise (to some more than others) was the absence of Dreamgirls in the Picture category. Its early buzz, box office numbers, and Golden Globes win made it a lock, but it was bumped for Letters from Iwo Jima, which is Clint Eastwood, and you just can't fuck around with Clint Eastwood. (Which reminds me, I forgot to bring Million Dollar Baby back from home.)
Dreamgirls, though, ended up still leading the tally with 8 nominations including recognition for all three original songs! Which means J.Hud is definitely performing "Love You I Do" at the Oscars this year!!!
Anywho, Gold Derby has got a fantastic article up entitled "Who Oscar Snubbed" listing hopefuls that didn't make it. It's pretty fantastic. In the meantime, here are the six big categories:
Best Supporting Actress
Adrianna Barraza, Babel
Cate Blanchett, Notes on a Scandal
Abigail Breslin, Little Miss Sunshine
Jennifer Hudson, Dreamgirls
Rinko Kikuchi, Babel
Best Supporting Actor
Alan Arkin, Little Miss Sunshine
Jackie Earle Haley, Little Children
Djimon Honsou, Blood Diamond
Eddie Murphy, Dreamgirls
Mark Wahlberg, The Departed
Best Leading Actress
Penelope Cruz, Volver
Judi Dench, Notes on a Scandal
Helen Mirren, The Queen
Meryl Streep, The Devil Wears Prada
Kate Winslet, Little Children
Best Leading Actor
Leonardo DiCaprio, Blood Diamond
Ryan Gosling, Half Nelson
Peter O'Toole, Venus
Will Smith, Pursuit of Happyness
Forest Whitaker, Last King of Scotland
Best Director
Alaejandro Gonzelez Inarritu, Babel
Martin Scorsese, The Departed
Clint Eastwood, Letters from Jima
Steven Frears, The Queen
Paul Greengrass, United 93
Best Picture
Babel
The Departed
Letters from Iwo Jima
Little Miss Sunshine
The Queen
And on a completely unrelated subject, I'd like to extend an invitation to PLU's one-acts festival We Collide. One of the three plays is Another Hundred People -- a musical revue I directed that features six actor-instrumentalists, a style theatre nerds may remember from the recent revivals of Sweeney Todd and/or Company. My actors are doing incredible work, and I'd love for you to try and come see it.
The dates are Thurs January 25 8pm, Fri January 26 8pm & midnight, and Sat January 27 8pm. It's free (donations accepted), so please try and make some time! Thanks!