Below are the nominations in the eight major categories (full list here). Nothing terribly surprising, except for a few glaring snubs.
Kathryn Bigelow’s “Zero Dark 30” earned noms for picture, screenplay, and actress, but not for her work as director. This could either be a backlash from Hollywood leftists angry over the fact she chose to credit Bush’s enhanced interrogation techniques for the information required to eventually track down and kill bin Laden, or the Academy chose to give other directors a shot since Bigelow won this Oscar a couple of years ago for “The Hurt Locker.”
Whatever the case may be (my guess is the torture issue), it IS hard to imagine a film winning Best Picture when the director is snubbed like this. Which means “Argo” is just as unlikely to win the top prize because Ben Affleck was snubbed for Director and Actor.
Finally, nothing for Christopher Nolan, the visionary responsible for “The Dark Knight Rises,” a crowning achievement in what many consider the greatest superhero trilogy ever filmed and, quite possibly, the greatest trilogy ever. Conservatives everywhere should be ashamed of themselves. By embracing these films (especially the last two) and calling them our own, we cost Mr. Nolan much of the recognition he deserved.
So what does it all mean? Well, these tea leaves pretty clearly spell out one thing: Lincoln’s going to have a very good night.
Best Picture: Beasts of the Southern Wild, Silver Linings, Zero Dark 30, Lincoln, Les Miserables, Life of Pi, Amour, Django, Argo
Best Director: David O. Russell, Ang Lee, Steven Spielberg, Michael Haneke, Benh Zeitlin
Best Actress: Naomi Watts, Jessica Chastain, Jennifer Lawrence, Emmanuelle Riva, Quevenzhane Wallis
Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis, Denzel Washington, Hugh Jackman, Bradley Cooper, Joaquin Phoenix
Best Supporting Actress: Sally Field, Anne Hathaway, Jacki Weaver, Helen Hunt, Amy Adams
Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Robert De Niro, Alan Arkin, Tommy Lee Jones
Original Screenplay: Flight, Zero Dark Thirty, Django Unchained, Amour, Moonrise Kingdom
Adapted Screenplay: Beasts of the Southern Wild, Argo, Lincoln, Silver Linings Playbook, Life of Pi
Follow John Nolte on Twitter @NolteNC
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