ANNOUNCEMENT: the 2017 Oscar nominations! (and some thoughts)

 

Here we are again – finally! The Academy of Motion Picture Arts announced this year’s nominees for their 89th Oscar® awards this morning. The announcements were a little different this year, departing from the traditional live audience, this year’s nominations were announced via a global live stream on Oscar.com, Oscars.org, the Academy’s digital platforms, a satellite feed, and local broadcasters, including “Good Morning America. Whew. So many options. Of course, one tradition of announcing the nominees at 5:18am (so precise!) on a Tuesday, remains. Yawn, pass the coffee!

What kind of hashtag will social media come up with in response to this year’s Oscar nominations? Last year, the #oscarsowhite backlash was fast and furious, following the announcement of the nominees. We’ll soon see what the response is with worthy movies like “Moonlight,” “Hidden Figures”, “Fences” and “Lion” earning some Oscar love.

I’ll comment below with some quick thoughts on this year’s nominees, but here’s a full list of the 24 Oscar award categories and their nominees….

 

BEST PICTURE

• La La Land
• Manchester by the Sea
• Moonlight
• Hacksaw Ridge
• Arrival
• Lion
• Hidden Figures
• Hell or High Water
• Fences

  BEST DIRECTOR

• Damien Chazelle – La La Land
• Kenneth Lonergan – Manchester by the Sea
• Barry Jenkins – Moonlight
• Mel Gibson – Hacksaw Ridge
• Denis Villeneuve – Arrival

  BEST ACTRESS

• Natalie Portman – Jackie
• Emma Stone – La La Land
• Isabelle Huppert – Elle
• Meryl Streep – Florence Foster Jenkins
• Ruth Negga – Loving

  BEST ACTOR

• Denzel Washington – Fences
• Andrew Garfield – Hacksaw Ridge
• Ryan Gosling – La La Land
• Viggo Mortensen – Captain Fantastic
• Casey Affleck – Manchester by the Sea

  BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

• Viola Davis – Fences
• Michelle Williams – Manchester by the Sea
• Naomie Harris – Moonlight
• Nicole Kidman – Lion
• Octavia Spencer – Hidden Figures

  BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

• Mahershala Ali – Moonlight
• Jeff Bridges – Hell or High Water
• Dev Patel – Lion
• Lucas Hedges – Manchester by the Sea
• Michael Shannon – Nocturnal Animals

    BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

• Moonlight – Barry Jenkins, Tarell McCraney
• Arrival – Eric Heisserer
• Lion – Luke Davies
• Fences – August Wilson
• Hidden Figures – Allison Schroeder, Theodore Melfi

  BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

• La La Land – Damien Chazelle
• Manchester by the Sea – Kenneth Lonergan
• Hell or High Water – Taylor Sheridan
• The Lobster – Efthymis Filippou, Yorgos Lanthimos
• 20th Century Women – Mike Mills

  BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

• Linus Sandgren – La La Land
• Bradford Young – Arrival
• Greig Fraser – Lion
• James Laxton – Moonlight
• Rodrigo Prieto – Silence

  BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

• Zootopia
• Moana
• Kubo and the Two Strings
• The Red Turtle
• My Life as a Zucchini

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

• O.J.: Made in America
• 13th
• I Am Not Your Negro
• Fire at Sea
• Life, Animated

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FEATURE

• Tanna – Australia
• Land of Mine – Denmark
• Toni Erdmann – Germany
• The Salesman – Iran
• A Man Called Ove – Sweden

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

• “Audition (The Fools Who Dream)” – La La Land
• “City of Stars” – La La Land
• “How Far I’ll Go” – Moana
• “Can’t Stop the Feeling” – Trolls
• “The Empty Chair” – Jim: The James Foley Story

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE 

• La La Land – Justin Hurwitz
• Lion – Dustin O’Halloran and Hauschka
• Moonlight – Nicholas Britell
• Jackie – Mica Levi
• Passengers – Thomas Newman

BEST FILM EDITING

• La La Land – Tom Cross
• Moonlight – Joi McMillon, Nat Sanders
• Hacksaw Ridge – John Gilbert
• Arrival – Joe Walker
• Hell or High Water – Jake Roberts

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

• Deepwater Horizon
• The Jungle Book
• Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
• Doctor Strange
• Kubo and the Two Strings

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

• Allied – Joanna Johnston
• Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them – Colleen Atwood
• Florence Foster Jenkins – Consolata Boyle
• Jackie – Madeline Fontaine
• La La Land – Mary Zophres

  BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING

• Suicide Squad – Alessandro Bertolazzi
• A Man Called Ove – Love Larson and Eva Con Bahr
• Star Trek Beyond – S. Anne Carroll and Joel Harlow

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

• Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them – Stuart Craig, James Hambige, Anna Pinnock
• Hail, Caesar! – Jess Gonchor, Nancy Haigh
• La La Land – David Wasco, Sandy Reynolds-Wasco
• Arrival – Patrice Vermette
• Passengers – Guy Hendrix Dyas

BEST SOUND EDITING

• Arrival
• Deepwater Horizon
• Hacksaw Ridge
• La La Land
• Sully

BEST SOUND MIXING

• Arrival
• Hacksaw Ridge
• La La Land
• Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
• 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT

• Extremis
• 4.1 Miles
• The Mute’s House
• The White Helmets
• Watani: My Homeland

BEST SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION)

• Ennemis Interieurs
• Timecode
• Silent Nights
• La Femme et la TGV
• Sing

BEST SHORT FILM (ANIMATED)

• Pearl
• Pear and Cider Cigarettes
• Piper
• Blind Vaysha
• Borrowed Time

 

 

 

Just like every year, some will be disappointed, while others will be elated with these nominees. Without a doubt, there will definitely be surprises as well – some good, some bad.

Right away, my biggest disappointment is seeing Park Chan-wook’s luminous drama, “The Handmaiden” getting shut-out in Best Foreign Language Film and Cinematography (to name just a few categories it should’ve earned) and that’s a shame, since it is one of last year’s best films. It’s also a bummer not to see Lupita Nyong’o  get a nomination for her fine work in “Queen of Katwe”. “Pete’s Dragon” did not receive any technical awards – voters either didn’t see it or they must assume green dragons are real.

The biggest surprise to not see Amy Adams get a nomination for her great work in “Arrival”. Ruth Negga likely took her spot for “Loving”, a performance that was really good, but it wasn’t as central a role as Adams’ was.  One could say that seeing Streep in the Best Actress category seems like a default vote for voters. While her work in “Florence Foster Jenkins” is unsurprisingly great, it would’ve been nice to see Annette Benning here for “20th Century Women”.  It’s also a bummer not to see Taraji P. Henson for “Hidden Figures” nominated, but honestly this category is overflowing with performances that just didn’t make the cut for whatever reasons.

I was certainly surprised to see Viggo Mortensen get a Best Actor nomination for “Captain Fantastic”. Mortensen is always good, so him getting the nom isn’t necessarily a surprise. The film, which was divisive among some critics, but embraced by many moviegoers, is not an awful film, but I guess I didn’t realize it found an audience or would connect with voters.

Is it a surprise to see Pixar’s “Finding Nemo” left out? Not really, since it was a really solid year for animation. Blame the “Zucchini”. It’s more of a disappointment than it is a surprise to not see “Sing Street” receive any Oscar love whatsoever.

I’m very happy to see German film, “Toni Erdmann” get a nomination for Best Foreign Language Film, but it’s a shame Paul Verhoeven’s “Elle” isn’t nestled right next to it in that category. I’m also happy to see “Life, Animated” get a nomination for Best Documentary Feature.

However, it’s no surprise that “La La Land” earned a number of nominations. The acclaimed Hollywood musical is dancing to a merry tune, tying “All About Eve” and “Titanic” for the most nominations ever — 14 total — at the 89th Academy Awards.

 

Those are my thoughts for now. I’m sure I’ll have more as I still ruminate over the entire list. Talk show host/comedian Jimmy Kimmel, will host the 89th Oscars ceremony  on Feb. 26th, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, airing live on ABC beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST  (8:30 p.m. EST).