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

David J. Fowlie

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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

  BEST DIRECTOR

  BEST ACTRESS

  BEST ACTOR

  BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

  BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

    BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

  BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

  BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

  BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FEATURE

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE 

BEST FILM EDITING

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

  BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

BEST SOUND EDITING

BEST SOUND MIXING

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT

BEST SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION)

BEST SHORT FILM (ANIMATED)

 

 

 

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).

 

 

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