2013 Awards Season: Lincoln Oversees a Divided Group of Nominees

January 10, 2013

The Oscar nominations were announced this morning, and there's certainly a lot to talk about. There are some nominations that should surprise no one. For instance, Lincoln led the way with twelve nominations, and it has been seen as the major contender for a long time. However, there were also a few surprise nominations and some major snubs. Here are the list of nominations, and some reactions.

The categories and nominations are...

BEST PICTURE

DIRECTING

BEST ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE

BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE

BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

BEST WRITING - ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

BEST WRITING - ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

BEST DOCUMENTARY - FEATURE LENGTH

BEST DOCUMENTARY - SHORT FILM

  • Inocente
  • Kings Point
  • Mondays at Racine
  • Open Heart
  • Redemption
SHORT FILM - LIVE ACTION

  • Asad
  • Buzkashi Boys
  • Curfew
  • Death of a Shadow (Dood van een Schaduw)
  • Henry
SHORT FILM - ANIMATED

  • Adam and Dog
  • Fresh Guacamole
  • Head Over Heels
  • Maggie Simpson in 'The Longest Daycare'
  • Paperman
BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN PRODUCTION DESIGN

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN COSTUME DESIGN

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN MAKEUP

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN VISUAL EFFECTS

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN EDITING

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND EDITING

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND MIXING

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC - ORIGINAL SCORE

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC - ORIGINAL SONG

Notes and Reactions...

  • There's no real surprise which film led the way with the most Oscar nominations, as Lincoln has everything going for it and its 12 nods are pretty much as expected. Meanwhile, Life of Pi was right behind with 11.
  • Silver Linings Playbook did better than expected with eight nominations. It was expected to do well, but not this well. I was expecting at least four nods, but anything above six was going to be a pleasant surprise.
  • Likewise, Amour did better than expected with five nominations. Foreign Language films rarely earn nominations outside of their category.
  • Skyfall also picked up five nominations, which is the best in the franchise's history.
  • On the other hand, Django Unchained didn't perform up to expectations with just five nominations. That's not bad, but not as many as expected.
  • Marvel's The Avengers earned 92% positive reviews and only one nomination. Les Miserables earned 70% positive reviews and eight nominations.
Going category by category, my initial reactions were.
    Best Picture:
  • There are no real surprises here, but Amour and Beasts of the Southern Wild are the closest.
  • One could argue Moonrise Kingdom was snubbed here.
  • On the other hand, I've seen Les Miserables in a lot of Worst of the Year lists and given its reviews, it didn't deserve this nomination. I would argue it was nominated based on its pedigree alone.
  • Directing:

  • This year, this category has more surprises than nominations.
  • Michael Haneke, David O. Russell, and Behn Zeitlin were all surprise nominations, while Ben Affleck, Quentin Tarantino, and especially Kathryn Bigelow were all snubbed.
  • I think Steven Spielberg is the heavy favorite here.
  • Best Actress in a Lead Role:

  • Two age-related records were broken this year, as Emmanuelle Riva became the oldest nominee for Best Actress, while Quenzhane Wallis became the youngest. Both are surprise nominations. Neither will win.
  • It's a close two-way race between Jessica Chastain and Jennifer Lawrence.

    Best Actor in a Lead Role:

  • Every actor here earned at least one previous major nomination for their performance, so none can be seen as surprises.
  • Daniel Day-Lewis is the heavy favorite, as Lincoln is likely going to be the big winner.
  • Best Actor in a Supporting Role:

  • Again, there are no surprises in this category. However, there are also no real favorites.
  • Best Actress in a Supporting Role:

  • Anne Hathaway is practically guaranteed to win for Les Miserables, which is good news for Warren Buffet.
  • Jacki Weaver is a bit of a surprise nomination. Then again, Silver Linings Playbook did better than expected overall.
  • Original Screenplay:

  • Amour continues to perform better than expected.
  • That said, Mark Boal should win for Zero Dark Thirty
  • Adapted Screenplay:

  • Lucy Alibar and Behn Zeitlin for Beasts of the Southern Wild replaces Stephen Chbosky for The Perks of Being a Wallflower, otherwise this matches the WGA nods.
  • Feature-Length Animated Film:

  • Some think The Pirates! Band of Misfits is a surprise nomination, but I disagree. I think the only surprise was its previous snubs.
  • Surprisingly, this is a close race this year.
  • Foreign Language Film:

  • It is rare for a Foreign Language film to earn more than one nomination. Amour earned five. It will win this one.
  • On the other hand, I will be cheering for War Witch, because it is Canadian.
  • Documentary: Feature Length:

  • I think it is a race between How to Survive a Plague and The Invisible War, but this category has been notoriously difficult to predict this year.
  • Documentary: Short Film
    Short Film: Live Action
    Short Film: Animated

  • These three categories are notoriously difficult to predict. It will take a bit of research to come up with even an educated guess.
  • Cinematography:

  • This could be a close race. Lincoln might be the big winner of the night and perhaps a lot of voters will vote a straight ticket.
  • On the other hand, Life of Pi was thought to be one of the big winners during Awards Season, and that hasn't quite happened, so this could be a category it can win if Oscar voters pass it over time and time again.
  • Art Direction:

  • This is another category where Lincoln could win because of straight ticket voting, or one where a film with lots of nominations will win their only award, like Les Miserables or Life of Pi
  • .
  • You also can't disregard Anna Karenina and The Hobbit: The Unexpected Journey, films that didn't live up to expectations, but still look amazing.
  • Costume Design:

  • This is a category where a non-Oscar bait movie can win, so Mirror Mirror could take home an Oscar. That said, Anna Karenina or Les Miserables have a much better chance at winning.
  • Anyone else find it weird that the two Snow White adaptations, Mirror Mirror and Snow White and the Huntsman, both earned nominations?
  • Makeup:

  • A lot of people thought Les Miserables would win a bunch of awards, but that hasn't really happened so far. As a result, it could win this Oscar as a consolation award. I hope not, because The Hobbit: The Unexpected Journey deserves the win.
  • Visual Effects:

  • Life of Pi probably has this one wrapped up, but I want Marvel's The Avengers to win.
  • Editing:

  • If there's a favorite in this list, I don't know which one it is. The Silver Linings Playbook was the biggest surprise in this category, so it is the least likely to win, but that's as close as I'm going to come to a prediction.
  • Sound Editing:

  • Every single year, I have to research the difference between the two sound categories. It's like I have a hole in my brain where that information is supposed to be stored. If I'm correct, Sound Editing is for sound effects, while Sound Mixing is for placing those effects in the audio track to maximize the effect.
  • ... Yes, I cut and pasted that part from last year. It saves time.
  • This is a hard category to predict. Zero Dark Thirty could win because it has Oscar bait all over it, but it is also the kind of category a popular action film can win, like Marvel's The Avengers could win... oh right, that film wasn't even nominated.
  • Sound Mixing:

  • Les Miserables appears to be the favorite. It is a musical, so the sound mixing is really important. Marvel's The Avengers should have won, but whatever.
  • Original Score:

  • I feel like I'm out of my depth on this one, but Lincoln appears to be the favorite.
  • Original Song:

  • "Everybody Needs a Best Friend" from Ted was a surprise nomination, but I really want it to win.
  • More realistically, it is probably a race between "Skyfall" from Skyfall and "Suddenly" from Les Miserables.

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Filed under: Awards Season, Lincoln, The Avengers, Life of Pi, Brave, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Frankenweenie, Hitchcock, The Impossible, The Sessions, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, The Pirates! Band of Misfits, Moonrise Kingdom, Ted, Snow White and the Huntsman, Skyfall, Prometheus, Wreck-It Ralph, ParaNorman, Mirror Mirror, Zero Dark Thirty, Django Unchained, Argo, Anna Karenina, Les Misérables, Silver Linings Playbook, 5 Broken Cameras, Beasts of the Southern Wild, The Master, Searching for Sugar Man, Rebelle, The Invisible War, How to Survive a Plague, Flight, Amour, En kongelig affære, The Gatekeepers, Chasing Ice, James Bond, Robert De Niro, Sally Field, Denzel Washington, Amy Adams, Ben Affleck, Wes Anderson, Alan Arkin, Kathryn Bigelow, Jessica Chastain, Bradley Cooper, Daniel Day-Lewis, John Gatins, Anne Hathaway, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Helen Hunt, Hugh Jackman, Tommy Lee Jones, Jennifer Lawrence, Ang Lee, Joaquin Phoenix, David O. Russell, Steven Spielberg, Quentin Tarantino, Christoph Waltz, Naomi Watts, Jacki Weaver, , Tony Kushner, David Magee, Mark Boal, Chris Terrio, Quvenzhané Wallis, Lucy Alibar, Stephen Chbosky, Matthew Quick, Emmanuelle Riva, Michael Haneke