Alright, so, the safe bet wins the day. The nominees are:
James Cameron, “Avatar”
Kathryn Bigelow, “The Hurt Locker”
Quentin Tarantino, “Inglourious Basterds”
Lee Daniels, “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”
Jason Reitman, “Up in the Air”
None of my little hunches panned out at the end of the day, and really, this is classic DGA. Best Picture frontrunners right…down…the…line. It’s amazing to me that a membership this vast can so consistently have its finger on the pulse of the season (while, of course, consistently ignoring a great many outside-the-box contenders).
Onward to the WGA, I suppose. The needle stays frozen in place, for now.
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76 responses to “DGA nominees announced”
Change Lee Daniels to Lone Scherfig and I would’ve been pretty happy.
I think last year’s Best Director line-up was depressingly weak and expected so if that is anything to go by then we shouldn’t hold out for anything awesome or unexpected (like Blomkamp, Scherfig, or Haneke) to sneak into that lineup. As Kris said, this year it seems that the writing is on the wall already with the nominees for best director and it’s not likely anything else will sneak in – especially b/c there are 5 other slots for best picture which those movies that could possibly be in contention for best director category will get recognized in one of those extra vanity slots instead.
I can still see Blomkamp replacing Daniels at Oscar time. Or god forbid Eastwood.
You mean Stephen Daldry didn’t make it this year…what the hell is going on anyway??
Either Reitman or Daniels could be out, if voters get restless. I can see Coen Brothers sneaking in. The Academy likes their quirky “auteurs.”
These are your Oscar nominees. End of story. The weakest two links are Tarantino & Daniels, but they are both in. With one (blue) exception, I love this slate.
We all know the director’s branch of the Academy loves to play games. Atom Egoyan. Kieslowski. Daldry. Schnabel.
I hope this year it’s Campion or Scherfig or some obscure foreign director. Please Academy do your duty.
Burma: Why, exactly, can you see Blomkamp replacing Daniels? I think, if anyone, it would be Scherfig or Eastwood, but I have to say it. I think there is some wishful thinking running amok.
Obviously I’d love to see Blomkamp surprise, but unless he manages to get shortlisted by BAFTA, I just don’t see it happening at this point.
Interestingly, Blomkamp was one of the five top choices of the BAFTA directing chapter. So a nod there wouldn’t be a surprise.
That said, I’m not convinced he’s the first man waiting to step into the Oscar lineup.
Like Tom (#39) touches on, even if we’re snoozing now because we’re seeing the same names over and over, these are some pretty great nominees. Four of them are certainly extremely deserving in my own opinion, and generally in any one year I’m lucky if I think 2 or 3 are.
That’s the big problem in any Oscarwatcher’s life–eventually, because you’ve gotten so used to the way the season tends to go, it all becomes rather predictable. Every once in a while, you’ll get a nice surprise that reminds you how exciting and fun it can all be, but you will, at one point or another, hit a wall. Luckily, this year, I don’t think there’s a clear Best Picture winner the way there was the past two years. Best Actor is a two-man race, and Best Actress has two strong contenders and one major dark horse. Supporting Actor and Supporting Actress, however, are in the bag, and so is Director. Feel free to etch the names of Christoph Waltz, Mo’Nique, and Kathryn Bigelow into the record books, it’s a done deal.
Now, onto why Blomkamp can still make it.
1) Based on the BAFTA longlist and his current ranking, Blomkamp stands a very good shot of scoring a nomination there.
2) It’s a film that is popping up in unexpected places. First it was the GG Screenplay nod, then the PGA, then the Scripter. If it wasn’t in the conversation already, it’s definitely coming back. People in the industry will take notice.
3) It came out on DVD before the end of the year. If people are spending the holidays with their family, and they want to throw a movie in while spending time with them, something like District 9 (something children and grandchildren could get into, and something that is a lot more fun to watch than, say, a Precious or an Invictus) could fit the bill, so that will make it fresh in their minds.
4) Sometimes, you just have to go with your gut. Sometimes, something tiny is the signal that there’s a big change in the air. I felt it last year when Kate Winslet became unexpectedly sweeping Best Supporting Actress trophies for The Reader, when Penelope Cruz appeared to be a done deal early on. All of a sudden, I just had a feeling that The Reader was going to get into the Best Picture shortlist. It didn’t have the precursor strength of The Dark Knight or even Frost/Nixon, but somehow, it just felt like it was bound to happen. After that, I vowed to trust my gut first and foremost, sometimes even more than precursors. I have a greater chance of getting egg in my face when I do, but for me, there’s a pretty huge payoff in terms of pride if I’m right. So, more than anything, that’s why I’m calling it for Blomkamp–it just feels right.
BOOOOOOOOOO to Lee Daniels. WTF. The directing in that film was gaah.
And the rest was expected.
I’m guessing A Serious Man won’t make it in the end?
Man, this year’s Oscars will be very lame. No Bright Star, Where the Wild Things Are or A Serious Man. Oh and Micmacs although that one doesn’t really count.
Then again, the slate this year includes:
– potentially the first woman to ever win Best Director (and her ex-husband)
– potentially the youngest man to ever win Best Director
– only the second black man to be nominated for Best Director, helming the first film directed by an African-American to EVER get nominated for Best Picture
– a boy-genius, film-geek auteur, directing a twisted piece of revisionist history
And that’s predictable. Wow. Makes all my bitching seem odd when I read it all like that.
Four months ago I don’t think I would’ve bet on Inglourious Basterds becoming the Oscar contender that it has. As much as I loved it, it didn’t strike me at all as something that would be making the waves it has been making. Back then, at best was Best Supporting Actor, a few techs maybe and possibly screenplay but that was it.
And it could’ve been Rob Marshall with another musical, and Clint Eastwood with an average bio-pic so I’m certainly thankful that for the most part they’re doing mostly right this year. It might not make for much excitement, but at least it’s deserved.
Lee Daniels?? COME ON!!!
give me some Blomkamp and Campion!
im totally fine with one of them replacing Daniels
Jane Campion was robbed everywhere this year and so was Spike Jonze and so were the Coen Brothers. And Jeunet for the matter.
Daveylow, I wish the Academy would go with Campion but there is no way they will. I’d say Eastwood for Daniels is the most likely change
I hope Bright Star, Where the Wild Things Are and A Serious Man become unforgettable classics in the future and films like Up in the Air, Precious and District 9 will be forgotten. It would balance things.
The game-changer for Campion would have been globe or BAFTA recognition. She missed the globe and is on the long list for Best Director in BAFTA but not in top 5 after round 1 of voting.
For Bright Star lovers, the bafta long list is interesting reading. Bright Star on track for 5 nominations- Actress, Make Up, Production Design, Cinematography and Costume.
When I say “on track” I mean in the top 5 chapter selections in the list of 15 top nominations
Andrew, Bright Star may still be nominated by BAFTA for Best British film. As usual, I’m looking forward to the BAFTAs this year much more than the Oscars. I hope they will still be shown in the US.
Bigelow is going to win the Oscar. It will be a landslide in the voting (even though they won’t let anyone see it).
Best Picture is a real race. Director has been and is over.
Yes Daveylow I expect a nomination for Best British Film for Bright Star at the BAFTAs. If the BAFTAs were earlier, it may help the films Oscar hopes
Kenny Ortega for This Is It deserves that fifth spot.
Man, I hope that’s true, dan.
District 9 seems to me to be still “waiting in the wings.” Blomkamp getting a DGA nom would have clinched it, but that didn’t happen.
What was up with Copley not making the BAFTA long list, though? Did they have only room for one “sci fi performance” (Rockwell)? Bogus.