It’s a morning of simultaneous joy and of rage as the 84th annual Oscar nominees are announced, with The Artist, Hugo, War Horse, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, The Descendants, Midnight In Paris, The Tree Of Life and Moneyball taking the cake so far.
As for Best Actor Oscar nominees, Demian Bichir (A Better Life), George Clooney (The Descendants), Jean Dujardin (The Artist), Gary Oldman (Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy) and Brad Pitt (Moneyball) earned Academy nods, while Glenn Glose (Albert Nobbs), Viola Davis (The Help), Rooney Mara (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo), Meryl Streep (The Iron Lady) and Michelle Williams (My Week With Marilyn) are Best Actress Oscar nominees.
However, the only thing that trumps the actual Oscar nominees are those who didn’t get nominated, and countless are up in arms over Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close and War Horse being chosen over Drive, Shame and even Bridesmaids (an Oscar nominee for Best Original Screenplay).
As for actors? Where are Ryan Gosling, Michael Fassbender or Tilda Swinton? True, Meryl Streep and Michelle Williams are guaranteed Oscar nominees, but watching Tilda play a heartbroken mother has got to count for something.
The good news is that Melissa McCarthy secured a nomination. A Best Supporting Actress Oscar nominee, she joins Octavia Spencer and Jessica Chastain for The Help, Bernice Bejo for The Artist and Janet McTeer for Albert Nobbs. As for Best Supporting Actor, there’s no love for Joseph Gordon-Levitt, but Kenneth Branagh (My Week With Marilyn), Christopher Plummer (Beginners), and Max von Sydow (Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close) earned Oscar nominations, in addition to – wait for it – Jonah Hill for Moneyball.
Let the debating begin.
