2010 Oscar Nominations: Lists and Analysis

Published by Jeff Leins on February 2, 2010

In the early hours of this Tuesday morning, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the nominations for the 82nd annual Oscars.  There were a few small “snubs” and nice surprises among the field, but leading the pack with nine nods apiece are The Hurt Locker and Avatar.

(If you’re looking for just the lists and none of my jibber jabber, feel free to skip to the bottom.)

Both films were nominated for “Best Picture” as expected, but the expanded category to ten this year allowed for a few crowd pleasers to slip in among them.  In a sign that the extra slots captured the necessary populist flicks for boosted ratings — on top of Avatar’s $2 billion and counting — sci-fi sleeper hit District 9 and The Blind Side made the list after making a splash at the box office.  Though a bit more predictable, Pixar’s Up also picked up a “Best Pic” nomination as only the second animated feature to break into the category after 1991’s Beauty and the Beast.

As far as snubs go, Clint Eastwood’s Invictus was shut out of “Best Picture” and “Best Director,” but that was to be expected since it wasn’t particularly good and has been largely ignored by other award ceremonies.  It did, however, grab acting mentions for Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon.

Speaking of actors, the “Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role” shook out the same as the SAG nominees.  Jeremy Renner was correctly recognized, though he’ll watch from the seats as Jeff Bridges hoists the statue next month.  “Best Supporting Actor” was a mixed bag, but Stanley Tucci picked up his first career nomination as the creep in an otherwise failed adapted of The Lovely Bones.  Christoph Waltz has it in the bag though.

For the females, Sandra Bullock lead the women in the “Best Actress” category.  When told of her nomination Bullock seriously said, “Everyone is as blindsided — can I say that? — as I am.“  She won the SAG and Golden Globe awards.  I’m hoping for an upset, but I don’t think Carey Mulligan has enough support.  The Up in the Air ladies and Maggie Gyllenhaal received much-deserved honors, but Mo’Nique has the Mo’Mentum.  No Julianne Moore though?

The directors looked the same as the clairvoyant DGAs and I don’t see how it could go to anyone but Kathryn Bigelow.  She’ll be the first female director to win the Oscar.

In the screenplay categories, (500) Days of Summer is the biggest and worst snub this year.  It’s unbelievable that The Messenger was included over it.  Up heals my wound though. The Hangover was left off after scoring a WGA nom in favor of District 9 and underrated British comedy In the Loop.  It feels like Tarantino’s year and Reitman’s win.

Avatar received nine mentions, but was left off of “Best Song” for the awful Leona Lewis closing credits tune and “Best Original, But Not Really Because We’ve Really All Seen That Story Before Screenplay.”  Moon was completely shut out, which makes me sad.  A Single Man received only one nomination.  Randy Newman two song nominations?

Ok, enough babbling.  Here are the lists:

Best picture
“Avatar”
“The Blind Side”
“District 9″
“An Education”
“The Hurt Locker”
“Inglourious Basterds”
“Precious”
“A Serious Man”
“Up”
“Up in the Air”

Best actor
Jeff Bridges, “Crazy Heart”
George Clooney, “Up in the Air”
Colin Firth, “A Single Man”
Morgan Freeman, “Invictus”
Jeremy Renner, “The Hurt Locker”

Best actress
Sandra Bullock, “The Blind Side”
Helen Mirren, “The Last Station”
Carey Mulligan, “An Education”
Gabourey Sidibe, “Precious”
Meryl Streep, “Julie & Julia”

Best supporting actor
Matt Damon, “Invictus”
Woody Harrelson, “The Messenger”
Christopher Plummer, “The Last Station”
Stanley Tucci, “The Lovely Bones”
Christoph Waltz, “Inglourious Basterds”

Best supporting actress
Penelope Cruz, “Nine”
Vera Farmiga, “Up in the Air”
Maggie Gyllenhaal, “Crazy Heart”
Anna Kendrick, “Up in the Air”
Mo’Nique, “Precious ”

Best director
James Cameron, “Avatar”
Kathryn Bigelow, “The Hurt Locker”
Quentin Tarantino, “Inglourious Basterds”
Lee Daniels, “Precious”
Jason Reitman, “Up in the Air”

Best foreign-language film
“Ajami” Israel
“El Secreto de Sus Ojos” Argentina
“The Milk of Sorrow” Peru
“Un Prophete” France
“The White Ribbon” Germany

Best adapted screenplay
Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell, “District 9″
Nick Hornby, “An Education”
Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche, “In the Loop”
Geoffrey Fletcher, “Precious”
Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner, “Up in the Air”

Best original screenplay
Mark Boal, “The Hurt Locker”
Quentin Tarantino, “Inglourious Basterds”
Alessandro Camon and Oren Moverman, “The Messenger”
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, “A Serious Man”
Bob Peterson, Pete Docter, Tom McCarthy, “Up”

Best animated feature film
“Coraline”
“Fantastic Mr. Fox”
“The Princess and the Frog”
“The Secret of Kells”
“Up”

Best art direction
“Avatar”
“The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus”
“Nine”
“Sherlock Holmes”
“The Young Victoria”

Best cinematography
“Avatar”
“Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince”
“The Hurt Locker”
“Inglourious Basterds”
“The White Ribbon”

Best sound mixing
“Avatar”
“The Hurt Locker”
“Inglourious Basterds”
“Star Trek”
“Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen”

Best sound editing
“Avatar”
“The Hurt Locker”
“Inglourious Basterds”
“Star Trek”
“Up”

Best original score
“Avatar,” James Horner
“Fantastic Mr. Fox,” Alexandre Desplat
“The Hurt Locker,” Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders
“Sherlock Holmes,” Hans Zimmer
“Up,” Michael Giacchino

Best original song
“Almost There” from “The Princess and the Frog,” Randy Newman
“Down in New Orleans” from “The Princess and the Frog,” Randy Newman
“Loin de Paname” from “Paris 36,” Reinhardt Wagner and Frank Thomas
“Take It All” from “Nine,” Maury Yeston
“The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)” from “Crazy Heart,” Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett

Best costume design
“Bright Star”
“Coco Before Chanel”
“The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus”
“Nine”
“The Young Victoria”

Best documentary feature
“Burma VJ”
“The Cove”
“Food, Inc.”
“The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers”
“Which Way Home”

Best documentary short
“China’s Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province”
“The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner”
“The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant”
“Music by Prudence”
“Rabbit a la Berlin”

Best film editing
“Avatar”
“District 9″
“The Hurt Locker”
“Inglourious Basterds”
“Precious”

Best makeup
“Il Divo”
“Star Trek”
“The Young Victoria”

Best animated short film
“French Roast”
“Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty”
“The Lady and the Reaper (La Dama y la Muerte)”
“Logorama”
“A Matter of Loaf and Death”

Best live-action short film
“The Door”
“Instead of Abracadabra”
“Kavi”
“Miracle Fish”
“The New Tenants”

Best visual effects
“Avatar”
“District 9″
“Star Trek”