A trio of film fanatics convened at Carbon Arc Cinema in Halifax to share their views on who deserves the golden statue.
The panel included:
Chris Campbell, NSCC instructor screen arts
Kendra Barnes, local film buff
Jacob Boon, The Coast film critic and freelancer
What was the biggest surprise?
Campbell - “The absence of Kathryn Bigelow in the directing category, there are various reasons why someone might or might not get nominated, but with her being nominated before with ‘The Hurt Locker’ and winning, it surprises me to not see her nominated again for ‘Zero Dark Thirty.’”
Barnes – “It’s also surprising that Affleck is not there because he’s really well liked for the movies he’s done so far in Hollywood, the other big surprise to me is that we have nine Best Picture nominees and ‘Moonrise Kingdom’ is not there, horrible. A travesty to me.”
Boon – “I guess that there’s nine nominees this year when there was quite a few good movies, they could have just thrown something in there like ‘The Master,’ I think the acting nominations it got were well deserved, but to not be getting a nomination for Best Picture seems strange.”
What was the biggest snub?
Barnes – “I think Wes Anderson (director) got shafted, because ‘Moonrise Kingdom’ only got one major nomination for screenplay. It was my number two pick of the whole year and I just think it’s practically a perfect film in every way.”
Campbell – “I’d say Marion Cotillard for ‘Rust and Bone,’ it was an amazing performance and an amazing film, probably one of the best of the year and I thought it should have gotten recognized in several categories, including Best Picture.”
Boon – “Russell Crowe, supporting actor for ‘Les Misérables,’ should get like a special participation ribbon or something, just for trying, maybe best effort.”
Barnes – “You shouldn’t get an Oscar for trying.”
What were you most excited to see get nominated?
Barnes – Quvenzhané Wallis getting a (Best Actress) nomination for ‘Beasts of the Southern Wild, I was so happy to see that.”
Boon – “Denzel Washington for ‘Flight,’ because I thought he was fantastic in that and I didn’t expect him to get a nomination, so that was pretty cool.”
Campbell – “It wasn’t a surprise, but for Cinematography, seeing Roger Deakins recognized for ‘Skyfall,’ which traditionally you wouldn’t think a James Bond film would get that sort of recognition, but it’s well deserved.”
What is the most solid lock for this year’s Oscars?
Boon – “No question, Anne Hathaway for Best Supporting Actress.”
Barnes – “Yep, absolutely.”
Campbell – “Agreed.”
Boon – “That role had everything the Academy is looking for, she’s singing, she shaves her head and she did great. She’s sort of already pre-won that award.”
colin.andrew.chisholm@gmail.com
VIDEO: Chris Campbell, Kendra Barnes and Jacob Boon discuss some of the worst movies they've seen this year.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsqIXRacPss
Best Picture, Should Win
Boon – ‘Amour’
Barnes – ‘Beasts of the Southern Wild’
Campbell – ‘Bests of the Southern Wild’
Best Picture, Will Win
Boon – ‘Lincoln’
Barnes – ‘Lincoln’
Campbell – ‘Lincoln’
Best Director, Should Win
Boon – Michael Haneke
Barnes – Behn Zeitlin
Campbell – Behn Zeitlin
Best Director, Will Win
Boon – Steven Spielberg
Barnes – Ang Lee
Campbell – Steven Spielberg
Best Actor, Should Win
Boon – Joaquin Phoenix
Barnes – Joaquin Phoenix
Campbell – Joaquin Phoenix
Best Actor, Will Win
Boon – Daniel Day-Lewis
Barnes – Daniel Day-Lewis
Campbell – Daniel Day-Lewis
Best Actress, Should Win
Boon – Emmanuelle Riva
Barnes – Quvenzhané Wallis
Campbell – Quvenzhané Wallis
Best Actress, Will Win
Boon – Jessica Chastain
Barnes – Jessica Chastain
Campbell – Jennifer Lawrence
Complete list of The 85th Annual Academy Award nominations:
1. Best Picture: Amour, Argo, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Django Unchained, Les Miserables, Life of Pi, Lincoln, Silver Linings Playbook, Zero Dark Thirty.
2. Actor: Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook; Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln; Hugh Jackman, Les Miserables; Joaquin Phoenix, The Master; Denzel Washington,Flight.
3. Actress: Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty; Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook; Emmanuelle Riva, Amour; Quvenzhane Wallis, Beasts of the Southern Wild; Naomi Watts, The Impossible.
4. Supporting Actor: Alan Arkin, Argo; Robert De Niro, Silver Linings Playbook; Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Master; Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln; Christoph Waltz,Django Unchained.
5. Supporting Actress: Amy Adams, The Master; Sally Field, Lincoln; Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables; Helen Hunt, The Sessions; Jacki Weaver, Silver Linings Playbook.
6. Directing: Michael Haneke, Amour; Benh Zeitlin, Beasts of the Southern Wild; Ang Lee, Life of Pi; Steven Spielberg, Lincoln; David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook.
7. Foreign Language Film: Amour, Austria; Kon-Tiki, Norway; No, Chile; A Royal Affair, Denmark; War Witch, Canada.
8. Adapted Screenplay: Chris Terrio, Argo; Lucy Alibar and Benh Zeitlin, Beasts of the Southern Wild; David Magee, Life of Pi; Tony Kushner, Lincoln; David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook
9. Original Screenplay: Michael Haneke, Amour; Quentin Tarantino, Django Unchained; John Gatins, Flight; Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola, Moonrise Kingdom; Mark Boal, Zero Dark Thirty.
10. Animated Feature Film: Brave; Frankenweenie; ParaNorman; The Pirates! Band of Misfits; Wreck-It Ralph.
11. Production Design: Anna Karenina, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Les Miserables, Life of Pi, Lincoln.
12. Cinematography: Anna Karenina, Django Unchained, Life of Pi, Lincoln, Skyfall.
13. Sound Mixing: Argo, Les Miserables, Life of Pi, Lincoln, Skyfall.
14. Sound Editing: Argo, Django Unchained, Life of Pi, Skyfall, Zero Dark Thirty.
15. Original Score: Anna Karenina, Dario Marianelli; Argo, Alexandre Desplat; Life of Pi, Mychael Danna; Lincoln, John Williams; Skyfall, Thomas Newman.
16. Original Song: Before My Time from Chasing Ice, J. Ralph; Everybody Needs a Best Friend from Ted, Walter Murphy and Seth MacFarlane; Pi's Lullaby from Life of Pi, Mychael Danna and Bombay Jayashri; Skyfall from Skyfall, Adele Adkins and Paul Epworth; Suddenly from Les Miserables, Claude-Michel Schonberg, Herbert Kretzmer and Alain Boublil.
17. Costume: Anna Karenina, Les Miserables, Lincoln, Mirror Mirror, Snow White and the Huntsman.
18. Documentary Feature: 5 Broken Cameras, The Gatekeepers, How to Survive a Plague, The Invisible War, Searching for Sugar Man.
19. Documentary (short subject): Inocente, Kings Point, Mondays at Racine, Open Heart, Redemption.
20. Film Editing: Argo, Life of Pi, Lincoln, Silver Linings Playbook, Zero Dark Thirty.
21. Makeup and Hairstyling: Hitchcock, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Les Miserables.
22. Animated Short Film: Adam and Dog, Fresh Guacamole, Head over Heels, Maggie Simpson in The Longest Daycare, Paperman.
23. Live Action Short Film: Asad, Buzkashi Boys, Curfew, Death of a Shadow (Dood van een Schaduw), Henry.
24. Visual Effects: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Life of Pi, Marvel's The Avengers, Prometheus, Snow White and the Huntsman.
