RIP Oscar Hopeful (Dec 2nd, 2010 - Jan 25th, 2011)
Tuesday, January 25, 2011 at 2:49PM For the next month everyone including everyone here at The Film Experience will be fawning all over the twenty thespians lucky enough to be Oscar nominated as well as another few handfuls of people in various races that people will be honoring/discussing/interviewing. But snubs are what has to happen when Oscar goes gaga for the films they go gaga for in multiple categories each year. Quoth the Coen Bros this morning...
“Ten seems like an awful lot. We don't want to take anyone else's."
-Joel & Ethan Coen responding to the True Grit nominations.
So our condolescences to all the industry professionals whose hard work went unrewarded this morning. Not everyone can be nominated.
THE MAJOR SNUBS
And we mean "snub" in the sense of films or performances many thought would place. Qualitative snubbing is a different discussion with some overlap depending on one's own opinion.
Mila Kunis (Black Swan) joins Cameron Diaz in that rare list of beauties who've been Globe and SAG nominated but have not gone on to an Oscar nomination. Was it going down on that sweet girl Natalie Portman? Was it merely that the Academy just wasn't as into Black Swan as precursor voting bodies were? Was fellow Swan snubee Barbara Hershey also pulling a significant amount of votes away? Was it Black Swan fatigue? It has been omnipresent for over a month now.
How she could console herself: Her electric but relaxed life force in the movie -- as Nick recently observed how often does someone seem "casual" yet still impresses in an Aronofsky movie? -- will undoubtedly endear her to auteurs. She doesn't seem at all fearless, does she? And she's 27, the idealish age for actressy job offers.
Next up: Friends With Benefits (2011) another showdown of sorts with Natalie Portman given that Portman is in theaters right now with similarly themed movie.
Robert Duvall (Get Low) was, for some time, looking at his 7th nomination for playing an eccentric hermit who stages his own funeral party. Perhaps the mellow film t'was what undid him; eccentric hermits should possibly come with more eccentric films? Perhaps it was the release date though I'm always loathe to suggest that every film should wait until late in the year too appear and the early release date sure didn't hurt Jacki Weaver or Toy Story 3 or The Kids Are All Right team. Maybe it was just too many men in the running and Jeff Bridges's blocking the Great American Actor establishment vote?
How he could console himself: nomination or no, he's still one of the most rewarded and legendary actors of American cinema.
Next up: Seven Days in Utopia (2011), a sports drama with Melissa Leo and his Get Low co-star Lucas Black
Christopher Nolan (Inception) is beloved by his peers in the Director's Guild but not beloved by the tiny percentage of his peers in the Director's Branch of AMPAS. He's now won 3 DGA nominations (Memento, The Dark Knight, Inception) none of which were converted to Oscar nominations. This is a very uncommon situation though Rob Reiner must know how he feels after three similar golden cliff dives for Stand By Me, When Harry Met Sally and A Few Good Men.
How he could console himself: He's still an Oscar nominee (Screenplay, though he's a better director than a writer so that's a bit...odd) and with his vast fortunes, he could probably buy the Academy and reshape it in his own image. Plus: If his populist appeal continues he's easily looking at a Steven Spielberg like trajectory with Oscar wherein as soon as he makes a film in a genre they love (World War II? Dramatic Story Without Genre Elements?) they will shower him with gold.
Next up: The Dark Knight Rises (2012) the casting for which we just discussed.
Andrew Garfield (The Social Network) provided his zeitgeisty movie with a beating everyman heart. But today it was life imitating art.
You're going to get left behind!
How he could console himself: Every little boy dreams of being a superhero but he gets to do it; nobody else gets to be the new Peter Parker/ Spider-Man. There's that plus the multiple offers that will be coming his way after a meteoric rise these past two years with four films that greatly benefitted from his gifts (The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, Red Riding Hood, Never Let Me Go, and The Social Network)
Next up: Spider-Man (2012) though we suspect that he'll film something else right after it and see that released before the webslinger arrives.
Ryan Gosling (Blue Valentine) he may be the best actor of his generation but Oscar likes their Best Actor nominees to be closer to middle age. This year the field was already pushing the limits of their invisible age barriers with Jesse Eisenberg and James Franco both in the mix.
How he could console himself: Hey Girl, whenever he plays the romantic lead, his co-star gets tons of attention and great reviews (Kirsten Dunst, Rachel McAdams and Michelle Williams) which means that every actress in his age range wants him. I mean wants to co-star with him.
Next up: Crazy Stupid Love a romantic comedy with an all star cast, Drive a dramatic action flick with Carey Mulligan and the stage adaptation The Ides of March with an all star cast of Oscar nominees plus Evan Rachel Wood
Finally...
Though the following films were not really expected to place in a major way they came up with ZERO nominations despite a hefty presence involving one specific category or another in the discussions this year. The zero tally films:
- Conviction - had an outside shot at two acting races. Nothing materialized.
- Made in Dagenham -seemed like a supporting actress & costume option early on.
- Never Let Me Go -seemed like it had a shot at Original Score.
- Scott Pilgrim vs. The World -was never going to place but that's not for lack of worthiness, particular in the visual effects department where the artists had so much fun with the vidgame stylizations.
- Shutter Island -seemed like it could get anywhere from zero to 5 nominations what with its busy much lauded below the line talent. Zero was the correct answer.
Apart from these former hopefuls, who were you most sad for this morning?
Reader Comments (66)
You know, it could have been worse! I agree that Gosling, Nolan, and Hershey were shafted for sure. I especially think that leaving Scott Pilgrim out of editing and VFX is a crime (so sick of the same ol' CGI being rewarded yaer after year), and Shutter Island should probably have netted noms for art direction and score, at least!
But Exit Through the Gift Shop's nomination almost makes up for everything. Let's face it. Oscar is a lot hipper than it used to be. I say this, of course, knowing in the back of my heart that The King's Speech will probably win Best Picture. Ha!
You know, some of the snubs (like Gosling and Kunis) seemed like they were going to happen. Personally, I had a gut feeling Nolan would get snubbed again so that wasn't a huge shock. But I am so pissed off that Garfield indeed got left behind. Yes, I'd been reading in the past few days that he was looking vulnerable, with no SAG nod, but I was sure he was a shoo in due to the film's success and popularity. Silly me. I am glad Hawkes got in though. The supporting actor I would have left out? Ruffalo. As likeable as he is, he has been better in other films. In KAAR, I felt he was just being... Mark Ruffalo. Not that that's a bad thing, but Garfield's work (for me) is clearly superior.
-Julianne Moore (second year in a row...these bast*%$)
-Barbara Hersey (the only thing I REALLY enjoy in Black Swan)
-And even if she NEVER stand a real chance I still say that:
DALE DICKEY in WINTER'S BONE GAVE THE BEST PERFORMANCE
(All Categories or Gender) PERIODE!
I mentioned it in the other thread but I felt like it was worth mentioning again, Ryan Gosling, for me, gave the best acting performace of the year, male or female. He was in a word, electric. What's more he, raised Michelle Williams' performance. That's the mark of truly gifted and generous actor.
Oh God! I've just realized I'm old enough to remember there was a time when the Coen Bros, seemed doomed at the Oscars... I mean the Miller's Crossing/Barton Fink years. Look at them now!
I'm really sorry for Gosling. I also think he's the best of his generation... but Bardem final scenes in Biutiful are simply memorable.
Would it have killed Julia Roberts to tell everyone to go see I Am Love?
Michael C -YOU ROCK. comment of the day ;) Maybe she told the costuming branch and forgot about it bringing it up at her biutiful party?
Rick -- he is freaking amazing in Blue Valentine. agreed. -- to me he's better than Michelle Williams for sure (though she was great, too)
In any discussion of snubs, I think people need to indicate who should've been snubbed instead. We don't have an infinite number of slots here, after all. Not everyone can be invited to the party.
Not sure if it was a snub, but I was most disappointed by the exclusion of Nolan. I'd take his work in "Inception" over either Hooper in "TKS" or Russell in "TF."
Most pleasant surprise? "Restrepo," which I think is the best American movie of the year.
Lesley Manville. Lesley Manville.
How all that early buzz and a National Board of Review win out of the gates didn't translate to any expectation of a nomination by today defies logic.
Reading this article, I can't help but think of "For Your Consideration." You gotta wonder how many of these actors are having their own Marilyn Hack moments this morning.
As far as movies I'm missing here-where is Scott Pilgrim? Just one random nomination was all I was asking for Academy. Oh well, it will have to comfort itself by playing at midnight movies from now until the end of time.
I'm sad for so many actresses... Lesley Manville, Patricia Clarkson, Sally Hawkins, Kirsten Dunst, Dale Dickey, Julianne Moore, Rosamund Pike, Kristin Scott Thomas, Dianne Wiest, Ellen Wong and especially Naomi Watts who gave two of her best performances last year.
You Haven't Seen the Last of Me snub is the only one that actually surprised me... Altouhg some snubs hurt more (Gosling, Garfield, Rabbit Hole)
No Christopher Nolan in directing AGAIN is infuriating! Don't care if I sound like a Nolan fanboy or not, but when you constantly snub him for the level of work that he does, something very rotten is going on. He should have easily had the Coens slot in director. And I think it goes deeper than genre bias with Nolan, b/c it "seems" like the tide's turning on that a bit (but "LOTR" seems so long ago, doesn't it? maybe "Avatar" & "District 9" for more recent examples). THREE DGA nods, and nada Academy voters? That's bullshit and they know it. They should hand him the original screenplay Oscar as a consolation prize, but they won't, since they'll be too busy fellating "The King's Speech" at every possible opportunity they can get. You done wrong today, Academy voters.
Aaron Eckhart, Julianne Moore, Dianne Wiest, and Barbara Hershey. I was hoping to hear their names this morning.
1. Between Nolan's snub and the True Grit juggernaut, I'm thinking that if we still only had five BP nominees, Inception wouldn't be there. (It's the wrong movie, but I'm surprised you didn't say "buy the Academy and turn it into his ping-pong room.")
2. I really thought that when it came down to it at ballot-marking time, Academy members would realize that there was simply no call for nominating Bening but not Moore. But (hetero)sexism is alive and well, so it's okay to nominate the "husband" of the lesbian couple but not the "wife." Geez, even when Jake Gyllenhaal was the bottom to Heath Ledger's top, he still got nominated in Supporting.
3. I was surprised by Kunis's snub—although not so much after you booted her off your own prediction list. (I've put a lot of stock in your predictions ever since you sniffed out Alan Alda's nomination for The Aviator.) Hotness usually helps land a nomination in this category—Winona Ryder for The Age of Innocence, anyone?—but I never thought she did anything stand-out in this role, and certainly not more so than Barbara Hershey.
4. I should have known better than not to predict Mike Leigh, considering he'd been nominated for four of his last six pictures (and now 5 for 7). But I am surprised that The Ghost Writer came up short here, even if I did tell some people as far back as August that it was not going to be on Oscar's radar for major awards. (Also note that Another Year is the only non-BP nominee in the screenplay categories.)
5. At the least, The Ghost Writer should have gotten an Art Direction nomination. If someone hadn't told me beforehand, I would've sworn that that the interiors were from an actual house, and not a set. Add Ghost Writer to that post-ending ZERO list as well.
Sad Snubs (although not unexpected):
Kirsten Dunst - Best Supporting Actress ("All Good Things")
Jim Carrey - Best Actor ("I Love You Phillip Morris")
Ewan McGregor - Best Supporting Actor ("I Love You Phillip Morris") or Best Actor ("The Ghost Writer")
Sam Rockwell - Best Supporting Actor ("Conviction")
Stephen Dorff - Best Actor ("Somewhere")
Oh, and yes, Patricia Clarkson - Best Actress ("Cairo Time")!
Tron:Legacy snub for best score and visual effects.
I am over the moon for Williams however I going down for Gosling. We kinda know from the start that Ryan has no bit of chance. The blame is on the Weinstein Company for his snubs. They had a very late release, by the time the movie comes out. Franco and Esseinberg has already gain huge momentum.
I am not too worry about Gosling though. He's has a great deal of talent. He'll get there sometime a la Sean Penn.
I'm sad that Julianne Moore, despite giving the better performance IMO, didn't get nominated.
"and the stage adaptation The Ides of March with an all star cast of Oscar nominees plus Evan Rachel Wood"....Ouch. That still hurts. Gah. Evan Rachel Wood <3. Oscar nominee in my eyes.
Sad for Ryan Gosling, but kinda saw it coming and I know he'll be back sooner or later. Would've loved him in Jeff Bridges' place though.
Sad for Garfield because although I haven't seen the movie, I've heard amazing things.
The one that saddens me the most however, is Mila. :( I was really rooting for her. DAMN HAILEE GTFO~
When they said Hailee Steinfeld, I said "SHE DOESN'T EVEN GO HERE~"
Leslie Manville. :(
Oh, and Ryan Gosling, for sure. But my major grievance is that even though Annette Bening and Michelle Williams got nominated, Natalie Portman is going to win this one.
Weirdly, considering I haven't seen the movie, I feel saddest for Mila Kunis. It always warms my heart when someone you would have thought would never get within a light year of Oscar's orbit ends up with a nomination: Sharon Stone! Rosie Perez! Eddie Murphy! That girl from That Seventies Show and Family Guy and Forgetting Sarah Marshall! The only thing that gives me greater pleasure is Marisa Tomei making a career of it and stomping on all those nay-sayers from '92. So I was hoping Kunis would make it in.
And I was hoping for a Manville miracle in Supporting Actress.
Still, this all seems so much less head-exploding than the last couple of years, and some likely snubs got in - Hawkes, Williams and Kidman, I am Love's costumes and Another Year's screenplay. And both Best Animated Feature and Best Documentary Feature shook out much better than it seemed they would - The Illusionist in! Waiting for Superman out!
I wanted to see The Ghost Writer pop up in a number of categories.
I'm not sure this is at the required snub-level, but I was hoping for Blue Valentine to get a screenplay nod. I would have knocked Inception off the list. I'd cut Bridges for Gosling, and I'd cut Renner for Garfield.
I'm sure Gosling will be an early prediction for many for the Clooney venture. Also, sure Gosling AND Williams should have been nominated but I don't think Gosling is any more deserving than her, as the film works so well because of their chemistry - I'll take any Blue Valentine love, as it could easily have been a shut out.
I disagree that Ruffalo's work in TKAA wasn't that great Dominique - in my opinion, one of the best male performances of 2010...beautiful work - very pleased he made the list, although it's arguably a lead performance?!
Devin D -- i wanted that too.
Laika -- i totally get it about Kunis. But IF she understood what a leap BLACK SWAN was for her (you never know with celebrities) she'll seek out another auteur and wow everyone again and then massive movie stardom.
Philip -- SHE DOESN'T EVEN GO HERE. lmao
JP -- u sussed out the topic of a new post. coming soon!!!
Philip, I love you! We need more Mean Girls references in the world.
Based on the precursors, Mila Kunis was definitely snubbed; and yet, her nomination was always going to be a coattails-driven, we-really-loved-the-movie-where-can-we-reward-it-even-more kind of deal. So, considering that Black Swan was shut out of Original Screenplay, both Sound categories, and Costumes-- nominations that seemed quite probable-- it seems likely that a lack of adoration for the film sealed her fate.
And J.P.- I can't help but think that part of the reason awards groups think Bening > Moore is because of Bening's more masculine part. "Ooh, her hair's all spiky and butch! That voice is too low for a woman! She's acting so silly right now! <giggle>" I don't mean to diminish Bening's performance-- was was spectacular-- but maybe Moore would be getting all the attention if she had been given the more "subversive" role...
I am really sad for Ryan Gosling's snub. Especially considering Michelle Williams' nomination. She was great in the movie, and I was happy that she got nominated. Gosling is a fantastic actor. He rarely gives a bad performance. But I am beginning to afraid that his snubs will continue. While he is still young, he has given us some fantastic performances. He was only recognized in Half Nelson. Even then, when he gave one of the best performance of the year, he only managed to received a indie spirit award. He arguably gave the best performance this year and barely got nominated for some awards let alone win any.
While I don't think he aims to get any award attention when he makes his movies, I think it can be rewarding to verify one of the best actor of our generation. Unfortunately despite giving some of the best performances he is often overlooked. Even though one can say he barely missed a nomination today, who's to say that he won't miss again, and again. (remember Lars and the Real Girls? While not his best I think he gave more worthy performance there than some nominated) The only good side of the snub, to me, is that he won't be nominated knowing that he has no chance of winning.
i'm generally happy for Black Swan, King's Speech and most of the other nominations.
MY BIGGEST BIGGEST SNUB IS DIANE WARREN/CHER You haven't seen the last of me!
i don't get it!
Well i know it didn't get the votes, but i honestly thought it would get a nomination.
I guess they still don't take Cher seriously enough.
Shame she won't go to the oscars this year, i was hoping for Bob Mackie epicness
and obviously for her to sing the song live.
yeah so that's my biggest snub gripe
JAPAN's snub for "Confessions".....Tetsuya Nakashima directed my favorite foreign film of all time- "Memories of Matsuko"- and this was a rare chance for him to be recognized internationally and have his work get a distribution deal.
I suspect Japan came in sixth place in the race, and that hurts!
Oh well....the Hong Kong DVD with English subtitles comes out next week...I've got it on pre-order.
Jazz -- yeah, i'm bitterly disappointed about that. It's such a rare opportunity for Oscar to have songs that people would actually want to see PERFORMED. I mean does anyone care if WE BELONG TOGETHER is performed?
Would it have killed them to at least nominate a song from Burlesque? I'm sure the only reason they didn't is because they are planning on having Taylor Swift and Justin Beiber perform all of the nominated songs instead of the original artists.
There are five specific snubs this morning I found most disappointing, which I will arrange by film:
1) INCEPTION - Christopher Nolan for Directing and Lee Smith for Editing
2) ANOTHER YEAR - Lesley Manville in Supporting Actress and Mike Leigh for Directing
3) THE SOCIAL NETWORK - Andrew Garfield in Supporting Actor
4) SHUTTER ISLAND - complete shut-out in Cinematography and Art Direction; an Actor nomination for Leo would have been nice too as I consider it his strongest work to date
5) IFC Films Releases - these never had a shot in Hell, but it would have been nice if more critics' awards and ceremonies had honored the following films and performances: CARLOS; Casey Affleck in THE KILLER INSIDE ME; Patricia Clarkson in CAIRO TIME; and Katie Jarvis and Michael Fassbender in FISH TANK.
Honorable mentions go to the complete shut out of SCOTT PILGRIM in Editing, the Sound categories and Visual Effects; TRON in Sound Mixing and Visual Effects; and THE GHOST WRITER in general (honestly Academy, Alexandre Desplat should have gotten that spot that AR Rahman got).
It can't be said enough- the Gosling snub is an egregious error. My favorite performance of the year, any category.
Despite the fact that I didn't love Shutter Island (I was zoned out through most of it), I have liked for it to be nominated in Best Art Direction, if only for the Fire/Ashes scene. It was my favorite scene of the year in any film and could totally take over for that hideous Alice in Wonderland.
I'm not all that disappointed with the Oscars this year, except no love for Christopher Nolan, or The Town for that matter. However, it doesn't matter all that much really since The Social Network is practically going to win everything it's nominated for. Which kind of blows, but hey it really was an amazing piece of work. Can't wait for the show!
Mila Kunis was the person I most wanted to be nominated..I was totally shocked by her precursor showings -SAG-GG-BFCA but I saw Black Swan again and she made me swoon - I really thought she had a shot. Ah well..hopefully she gets some more movie roles and maybe a nod will happen later. I thought it would be cool for Robert Duvall to make it in just because he just turned the big 80 and was in the original True Grit as well but Get Low has no heat at all. but I'm happy for Javier. Really didn't want to see Renner and Bridges make it back 2nd year in a row. I found it interesting that Andrew Garfield and Mila Kunis are the same age - 27. Jessie and Natalie lost their bff's lol. I think
Hailee will win in supporting now to reward True Grit, which I think for an 14 year old in her first role is a little much, I'm going to see True Grit soon and she better be AMAZING and I hope they announce she's been cast in something soon so we know she is at least going to keep working *humph* So Happy for Jacki! No Lesley Manville but after the critics..it was expected. I would prefer if Amy Adams won so in my dreams til Oscar night it can happen, her and Natalie Portman, Firth and Bale would be fine with me. I think The Kings Speech will win Best Picture in an upset but Fincher stil for Director? Michelle Williams in the 5th spot is not surprising, with Weinstiens backing the film, one of them was going to make it, and unlike Williams, who has been attached for years to this, Gosling has played these characters before (this year in All Good Things also) but I really hoped Julianne Moore would make it but at least she got BAFTA. It's kind of nice that Halle Berry got a GG nod and Hilary Swank got a SAG nod, so at least they got something for their projects that they worked on for so long, but
uh I feel bad for Swank - Zero for Conviction. and No Shutter Island - I know if they would have released it earlier it would have done better. I wish True Grit hadn't come out this year - the field was way to crowded as it is. I think it was a great year for film. Up Next : SAG Awards this Sunday! (:
All I've been hearing this season is what a remarkable year it is for women in film. 100% agreed, yet why does the Best Actress field ring so boring? Don't get me wrong they're all brilliant, and haven't been this good in some cases in a long time, in others ever. Yet there is no actual race happening here. Why is it assumed Portman has this under the bag? Don't her fellow nominees deserve some credit of potential threat? Or does it always fall back on Box Office, Mass Appeal, & a performance that shows a lot of effort?
I agree that I am satisfied more this year than any in recent years for the overall acting nominations...
I will reiterate for the 50th time that Gosling was totally shafted... he should have had Jeff Bridges's place...
Also, I know I will get heat for this ... Kunis's role was not that full of depth and many good actresses her age could have done that role... That is how I see nominations ( you cannot see another person in the role because it is so defining ) ... I think Weave in supporting should blast all other nominees out of the water.... unfortunately she will have to settle for the nomination and watch the other "Mean mom" get the Oscar... I love Leo, but at times she was too over the top for me.
I could trip the light depressing due to Duvall, Garfield and Black Swan's screenplay missing out. But...Michelle Williams, John Hawkes, and I Am Love's costumes kind of trump all bad feeling.
Samson: The Academy DOES NOT love Nolan's prime influences: a weird fusion of David Lynch and Michael Mann. He's at his best when he leans more toward Michael Mann (Memento, Batman Begins, The Dark Knight), but reconciling his two influences, as he tried in Inception, results in something...less than lovable. He has Vision, but doesn't understand the paradox of trying to fuse together the hard, Huston-esque realist Michael Mann and the dreamscape loving mindbleepery of David Lynch. He SHOULD have a nom by now, but I think Nat's right: It'll come for a Prestige project. (Mann has 1 nom for The Insider, the ORIGINAL 60 MINUTES MOVIE. It was beneath him.)
Great, different approach to the announcements. Excellent work. I really enjoyed this and felt it was unique.
I actually came up with five reasons why Annette Bening had Oscar buzz so early on and Julianne Moore didn't:
• Because she's the "husband" and Moore's the "wife"
• Because she's the wronged woman in the movie
• Because she gets to sing
• Because she really deserved a nomination for Mother and Child, but you knew that was never going to happen
• Because twice before, she came so close but lost (and oh look, the woman who beat her both times has an Oscar-baity role coming out soon, and wouldn't it be funny...)
Leo has a point. We shouldn't just assume that Portman has it in the bag. The four other nominees all gave worthy performances. There isn't a stinker in the bunch. Having seen Black Swan twice, I can honestly say that I do not love the film ... I like it ... but I do not see what all the fuss is about. Portman was good but others were better, IMO. Also, recently watched Newsweek's Oscar Roundtable and, truth be told, Portman makes me cringe. I hear Dianne Wiest saying, "Don't Speak!", every time Portman opens her mouth.
My love for Bening is blinding. And if that is wrong, I don't want to be right.
cheesy bits -- i feel a song coming on. :) SING IT.
jp -- it's funny how many tiny things and feelings can generate momentum as some of those are definitely true.
volvagia -- that's actually probably a good point about those conflicting impulses. and i absolutely agree that he's stronger on the realist front. it's odd that his work is so firmly in the genre fare because he lacks a certain surreal emotional creativity that's necessary for the most transcendent genre stuff. He'd probably make a killer cops or heist movie like The Town :)
Kim Hye-ja? I really can't complain on a day that sees that awful anti-public education/anti-teacher's union propaganda shot down before it has a chance to become ubiquitous cinema. Tomorrow, however, I will rant mightily about Ryan Gosling not being nominated for the single best performance of the year.
I just want to add to the lament for The Ghost Writer's big Zero. I was hoping for at least a screenplay nom and maybe even score.
On the bright side, I'm happy for Renner, who is fast becoming a favorite of mine.
And Christopher Nolan.... *sigh* Having the same DGA/Oscar nom ratio as Rob Reiner is not a good place to be in the pantheon of Oscar statistics. I hope you're right about the more Spielberg-like trajectory!
The best English-speaking movie I've seen this year garnered 0 nominations: "The Ghost Writer" SHOULD HAVE been nominated for Film, Director, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress, Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography, and Musical Score.
It really was out of sight, out of mind for both "The Ghost Writer" and "Shutter Island." But they would never forget about "Alice in Wonderland"! I would bet money that if "Shutter Island" came out the same time as "The Departed" did, it would be looking at at least four nominations today. I guess no one's crying spilt milk since the film made a bunch of money, but still. I've come to the conclusion that they're never going to nominate Christopher Nolan in director. Not until he does a biopic on Bono or something. No Mila Kunis, Lesley Manville, ANDREW GARFIELD (ughhhh! he should have won dammit!), Barbara Hershey, Robert Duvall, "Waiting for Superman" (really surprised over this), "You Haven't Seen the Last of Me" (guess the Globes win in song really is a curse), "Shine," "Tangled," etc. Hard to see the good with all that bad mucking everything up. But whatever. I'm more excited about the SAGs Sunday, and that's b/c of the television categories.