With the Golden Globes come and gone, it won’t be long before Oscar nominations are revealed. Next Tuesday in fact. By this time in Awards Season, all of the major players are set in stone, although an occasional spoiler or upset will occur (think “The Pianist” in 2002, or “Shakespeare in Love” in 1998), and this year is no different.
Right now, “The Social Network” has been the critical darling, with “The King’s Speech” nipping at it’s heels. But as always, potential spoilers are everywhere. Can “True Grit” become the first Western in almost 20 years to win Best Picture? Will the indie smash “Black Swan” find itself getting a standing ovation? And can Oscar co-host James Franco’s starring vehicle “127 Hours” get back in the race after disappointing box-office and reports of audience member fainting? I’m not going to answer those questions now. What you find below are my personal picks for nominations in all of the categories save for the Short Film categories. I hope you enjoy!
Viva La Resistance!
Brian Skutle
www.sonic-cinema.com
2010 Oscars: Brian’s Picks (in order of preference)
Best Picture
“Scott Pilgrim vs. the World”
“The King’s Speech”
“The ‘Millennium’ Trilogy”
“Inception”
“Black Swan”
“I’m Still Here”
“Leaves of Grass”
“How to Train Your Dragon”
“Exit Through the Gift Shop”
“Waiting for ‘Superman'”
Best Director
Edgar Wright, “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World”
Christopher Nolan, “Inception”
Darren Aronofsky, “Black Swan”
Neils Arden Oplev, “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”
Tom Hooper, “The King’s Speech”
Runners-Up: Casey Affleck, “I’m Still Here”; David Fincher, “The Social Network”; Danny Boyle, “127 Hours”; Tim Blake Nelson, “Leaves of Grass”; David Yates, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part I”; Martin Scorsese, “Shutter Island”; Clint Eastwood, “Hereafter”; Joel & Ethan Coen, “True Grit”; Banksy, “Exit Through the Gift Shop”; Edgar Muniz, “Someone Else in the Evening”; Matt Reeves, “Let Me In”; David O. Russell, “The Fighter”; Roman Polanski, “The Ghost Writer”; Ben Affleck, “The Town”; Davis Guggenheim, “Waiting for ‘Superman'”; Margarethe von Trotta, “Vision: From the Life of Hildegard von Bingen”; Atom Egoyan, “Chloe”; Lisa Cholodenko, “The Kids Are All Right”; Daniel Alfredson, “The Girl Who Played With Fire” & “The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest”; Mo Shirazi, “Doorways and Meander”; Charles Furgeson, “Inside Job”
Best Actor
Colin Firth, “The King’s Speech”
Joaquin Phoenix, “I’m Still Here”
Edward Norton, “Leaves of Grass”
James Franco, “127 Hours”
Leonardo DiCaprio, “Inception” & “Shutter Island”
Runners-Up: Michael Cera, “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World”; Jeff Bridges, “True Grit”; Michael Nyqvist, “The ‘Millennium’ Trilogy”; Jesse Eisenberg, “The Social Network”; Kodi Smit-McPhee, “Let Me In”; Michael Caine, “Harry Brown”; Daniel Radcliffe, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part I”; Michael Douglas, “Solitary Man”; Matt Damon, “Hereafter”; Edgar Muniz, “Doorways and Meander”; John C. Reilly, “Cyrus”; Mark Wahlberg, “The Fighter”; Ben Affleck, “The Town”; Liam Neeson, “Chloe”; Ewan McGregor, “The Ghost Writer”; Tom Cruise, “Knight and Day”; Paul Rudd, “How Do You Know”; Aaron Johnson, “Kick-Ass”; Sean Penn, “Fair Game”; Mike Reilly, “Road to Victory”; Bruce Willis, “RED”; John Cusack, “Hot Tub Time Machine”; Will Ferrell, “The Other Guys”; Michael Cera, “Youth in Revolt”
Best Actress
Natalie Portman, “Black Swan”
Noomi Rapace, “The ‘Millennium’ Trilogy”
Jennifer Lawrence, “Winter’s Bone”
Julianne Moore, “The Kids Are All Right” & “Chloe”
Laura Benson, “Someone Else in the Evening”
Runners-Up: Barbara Sukowa, “Vision: From the Life of Hildegard von Bingen”; Anne Hathaway, “Love and Other Drugs”; Emma Stone, “Easy A”; Tilda Swinton, “I Am Love”; Reese Witherspoon, “How Do You Know”; Diane Lane, “Secretariat”; Annette Bening, “The Kids Are All Right”; Catherine Keener, “Please Give”; Hilary Swank, “Conviction”; Kristen Stewart, “The Runaways”; Dakota Fanning, “The Runaways”; Rachel Weisz, “Agora”; Angelina Jolie, “Salt”; Amanda Seyfried, “Letters to Juliet”; Sarah Polley, “Splice”; Naomi Watts, “Fair Game”; Mia Wasikowska, “Alice in Wonderland”; Rachel McAdams, “Morning Glory”
Best Supporting Actor
Christian Bale, “The Fighter”
Geoffrey Rush, “The King’s Speech”
Kieran Culkin, “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World”
Andrew Garfield, “The Social Network”
Steve Carell, “Dinner for Schmucks”
Runners-Up: Mark Ruffalo, “The Kids Are All Right” & “Shutter Island”; Michael Keaton, “The Other Guys” & “Toy Story 3”; Jeremy Renner, “The Town”; John Malkovich, “RED” & “Secretariat”; George McLaren, “Hereafter”; Vincent Cassel, “Black Swan”; Sam Rockwell, “Conviction”; Matt Damon, “True Grit”; Pierce Brosnan, “The Ghost Writer”; Tom Hardy, “Inception”; Josh Hutcherson, “The Kids Are All Right”; Jonah Hill, “Cyrus”; Rupert Grint, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part I”; Justin Timberlake, “The Social Network”; Zach Galafianakis, “It’s Kind of a Funny Story”; Guy Pearce, “The King’s Speech”; Rob Corddry, “Hot Tub Time Machine”; Mark Wahlberg, “The Other Guys”; Tim Blake Nelson, “Leaves of Grass”; Alexander Held, “Vision: From the Life of Hildegard von Bingen”; Michael Gambon, “The King’s Speech”; Jeff Bridges, “TRON: Legacy”; Michael Shannon, “The Runaways”; Richard Jenkins, “Let Me In”; Stanley Tucci, “Easy A”; Danny DeVito, “Solitary Man”; Harrison Ford, “Morning Glory”
Best Supporting Actress
Chloe Grace Moretz, “Let Me In” & “Kick-Ass”
Hailee Steinfeld, “True Grit”
Mila Kunis, “Black Swan”
Celice de France, “Hereafter”
Marion Cotillard, “Inception”
Runners-Up: Helena Bonham Carter, “The King’s Speech”; Amanda Seyfried, “Chloe”; Mary Elizabeth Winstead, “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World”; Hannah Herzsprung, “Vision: From the Life of Hildegard von Bingen”; Amy Adams, “The Fighter”; Patricia Clarkson, “Easy A”; Marisa Tomei, “Cyrus”; Emma Watson, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part I”; Melissa Leo, “The Fighter”; Barbara Hershey, “Black Swan”; Anna Kendrick, “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World”; Mary-Louise Parker, “RED”; Ellen Wong, “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World”; Mia Wasikowska, “The Kids Are All Right”; Helen Mirren, “RED”; Olivia Williams, “The Ghost Writer”; Susan Sarandon, “Solitary Man”; Rebecca Hall, “The Town”; Delphine Chaneac, “Splice”
Best Original Screenplay
“Inception” (Christopher Nolan)
“Black Swan” (Mark Heyman, Andrew Heinz, John McLaughlin)
“The King’s Speech” (Donald Seidler)
“I’m Still Here” (Casey Affleck & Joaquin Phoenix)
“Leaves of Grass” (Tim Blake Nelson)
Runners-Up: “Someone Else in the Evening” (Edgar Muniz); “Hereafter” (Peter Morgan); “The Kids Are All Right” (Lisa Cholodenko & Stuart Blumberg); “Vision: From the Life of Hildegard von Bingen” (Margarethe von Trotta); “Easy A” (Bert V. Royal); “Doorways and Meander” (Mo Shirazi); “Solitary Man” (Brian Koppleman); “Road to Victory” (Mike Reilly); “Hot Tub Time Machine” (Sean Anders, Josh Heald, John Morris)
Best Adapted Screenplay
“Scott Pilgrim vs. the World” (Edgar Wright & Michael Bacall)
“The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” (Nikolaj Arcel & Rasmus Heisterberg)
“The Social Network” (Aaron Sorkin)
“Toy Story 3” (Michael Arndt, John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton, Lee Unkrich)
“How to Train Your Dragon” (William Davies, Chris Sanders, Dean DeBlois)
Runners-Up: “Winter’s Bone” (Debra Granik & Anne Rosellini); “True Grit” (Joel & Ethan Coen); “The Ghost Writer” (Robert Harris & Roman Polanski); “Shutter Island” (Laeta Kalogridis); “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part I” (Steve Kloves); “127 Hours” (Danny Boyle & Simon Beaufoy); “The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest” (Ulf Ryberg); “The Town” (Peter Craig & Aaron Stockard); “Let Me In” (Matt Reeves); “Chloe” (Erin Cressida Wilson); “RED” (Jon & Erich Hoeber); “The Girl Who Played With Fire” (Jonas Frykberg); “Tangled” (Dan Fogelman)
Best Original Score
“The Social Network” (Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross)
“Scott Pilgrim vs. the World” (Nigel Godrich)
“Black Swan” (Clint Mansell)
“Inception” (Hans Zimmer)
“Let Me In” (Michael Giacchino)
Runners-Up: “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part I” (Alexandre Desplat); “TRON: Legacy” (Daft Punk); “True Grit” (Carter Burwell); “Toy Story 3” (Randy Newman); “RED” (Christophe Beck); “Knight and Day” (John Powell); “The King’s Speech” (Alexandre Desplat); “The Ghost Writer” (Alexandre Desplat); “How to Train Your Dragon” (John Powell); “Hereafter” (Clint Eastwood); “127 Hours” (A.R. Rahman); “Vision: From the Life of Hildegard von Bingen” (Christian Heyne); “Waiting for ‘Superman'” (Christophe Beck); “Tangled” (Alan Menken); “Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole” (David Hirschfelder); “The Last Airbender” (James Newton Howard)
Best Original Song
“Ramona” from “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World” (Beck)
“Shine” from “Waiting for ‘Superman'” (John Legend)
“Mother Knows Best” from “Tangled” (Alan Menken & Glenn Slater)
“Threshold” from “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World” (Beck)
“When Will My Life Begin?” from “Tangled” (Alan Menken & Glenn Slater)
Runners-Up: “We Belong Together” from “Toy Story 3” (Randy Newman); “Despicable Me” from “Despicable Me” (Pharrell Williams); “If I Rise” from “127 Hours” (A.R. Rahman, Dido, Roland “Rolo” Armstrong); “Garbage Truck” from “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World” (Beck); “I’ve Got a Dream” from “Tangled” (Alan Menken & Glenn Slater); “Slick (Patel’s Song)” from “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World” (Dan Nakamura & Bryan Lee O’Malley); “I See the Light” from “Tangled” (Alan Menken & Glenn Slater)
Best Animated Feature
“How to Train Your Dragon”
“Toy Story 3”
“Tangled”
Best Foreign-Language Film
“The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”
“The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest”
“The Girl Who Played With Fire”
“Vision: From the Life of Hildegard von Bingen”
“I Am Love”
Best Documentary Feature
“Exit Through the Gift Shop”
“Waiting for ‘Superman'”
“The Art of the Steal”
“Inside Job”
“Best Worst Movie”
Best Visual Effects
“Scott Pilgrim vs. the World”
“Inception”
“TRON: Legacy”
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part I”
“Iron Man 2”
Best Sound
“Scott Pilgrim vs. the World”
“Black Swan”
“Inception”
“Shutter Island”
“TRON: Legacy”
Best Sound Editing
“Inception”
“Scott Pilgrim vs. the World”
“TRON: Legacy”
“How to Train Your Dragon”
“Toy Story 3”
Best Film Editing
“Inception”
“Black Swan”
“Shutter Island”
“The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”
“Scott Pilgrim vs. the World”
Best Cinematography
“Black Swan”
“Scott Pilgrim vs. the World”
“Inception”
“True Grit”
“The King’s Speech”
Best Art Direction
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part I”
“True Grit”
“The King’s Speech”
“Black Swan”
“Vision: From the Life of Hildegard von Bingen”
Best Makeup
“Let Me In”
“Black Swan”
“Vision: From the Life of Hildegard von Bingen”
Best Costume Design
“Black Swan”
“The King’s Speech”
“Vision: From the Life of Hildegard von Bingen”
“True Grit”
“Agora”
