2012 Oscar Nominations: Surprises & Snubs

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science largely stuck by the rulebook when announcing the nominees for the 2012 ceremony. Many of the expected names and titles were included, and The Artist, which has seen its buzz skyrocket in recent weeks, continues to be the frontrunner for Best Picture of the Year.

But among the nominations, there were a few surprises and snubs. Here are some of the best (and worst)…

• The worst victim of the nominations is Albert Brooks for Drive. How this exquisite performance could not earn a nomination is mind-boggling. Not only did insiders think his nod was a definite, many thought he was the only candidate to give Christopher Plummer (Beginners) a run for his money. It looks like Max von Sydow, the veteran actor currently appearing in Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, kicked Brooks from the running. It was nice to see Nick Nolte receive a nomination for the underrated Warrior.

• The Best Picture race is fairly run of the mill. Top contenders include The Artist, Hugo and The Descendants. It’s good to see The Tree of Life among the nominees, and, again, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close is a bit of a surprise. Interestingly, the Academy chose only nine nominees this year. I wonder who would have received that coveted 10th spot? I’m sure it would have been The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo or Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.

• Tilda Swinton was left out of the Best Actress race for We Need to Talk About Kevin.

• Demián Bichir receives a much-deserved nomination for his touching performance in A Better Life. Gary Oldman also pulls somewhat of an upset with Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. Not so lucky: Leonardo DiCaprio for J.Edgar and Michael Fassbender for Shame.

• Shailene Woodley is snubbed for The Descendants, probably because of the inclusion of Melissa McCarthy for Bridesmaids.

• Steven Spielberg was both a winner and loser. He did not get nominated for either of his two movies, but War Horse was able to earn six nominations, including one for Best Picture. His largest snub is that The Adventures of Tintin failed to make the mark for Best Animated Feature.

• J.C. Chandor’s Margin Call received a Best Original Screenplay Award, which is appropriate. A Separation was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film and Best Original Screenplay.

• Finally, Werner Herzog’s two documentaries were both left out of the Best Documentary race, and Of Gods and Men was completely shut out.

By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com