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Oh, Paul Giamatti... Hollywood may like good acting, but Oscars loves pretty faces better. Gothamist thought that when you didn't get nominated for your role as Pig Vomit in Private Parts, it was because of the whole movie-about-Howard-Stern thing. When you didn't get nominated for American Splendor, we guessed "Maybe Oscar voters don't get indie cartoons." But, now, as your peers in the Actors' Branch of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences have opted not to nominate you for your performance in Sideways, even after you've put in your dues being dyed blue in Big Fat Liar, not to mention working with Maaahh-tin AND Todd Solondz, Gothamist begs you not to consider plastic surgery. Not that you had a chance, since it's the year of Jamie.
And The Aviator crew: What is it they say about the sum of the parts? You bore us with your "prestige picture with ensemble cast" glow. All the nominations bore us. Sure, there are interesting bits (the strong showing for Hotel Rwanda and Vera Drake; a screenplay nomination for Brad Bird and the Incredibles, Michel Gondry and Charlie Kaufman for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and the Before Sunset team, though who knew that Ethan Hawke would ever get two, let alone one, nominations; nominations for Born Into Brothels and Super Size Me in the documentary category), but overall, meh. Where's Peter Sarsgaard for Kinsey?
Here are the Oscar nominations. Gothamist will be watching on February 27, but we'll be on a caffeine IV. Oh, and Adrien Brody: Your little stunt was cute, but if you're still doing that when you 70, we'll be shaking our heads. Plus, more thoughts from out of focus and greencine, not mention Gawker's liveblogging of the E! telecast (poor souls...watching Giuliani/a so early in the morning).
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HA! Pretty faces? Two words: Peter Jackson. Okay maybe three since I can't say that name without immediately following it by 'schlump.'
Okay, pretty faces in the acting categories.
Sideways was completely overrated...Zzzz. Though it's no surprise that white, middle-aged male critics couldn't stop fawning over a movie about white, middle-age men having a mid-life crisis.
Dirk,
I consider Sideways a makeup nod for Election, just as Aviator is a makeup for decades of snubs. 25 years from now, I will be saying the same thing about whatever film Linklater gets an overdue nomination for.
And they need to change the rules on the foreign language category. Motorcycle Diaries getting snubbed is pure traveshamockery.
I haven't seen anyone mention Michael Moore's snub for feature documentary.
Well, Michael Moore didn't submit his film for the documentary slot, hence the snub. He was hoping he'd get nominated for Best Picture.
Also, The Motorcycle Diaries wasn't eligible for Best Foreign Film, because of its complex production/financing, it wasn't from a single country (instead, a consortium of different ones).
Michael Moore took himself out of eligibility for Best Documentary in an effort to get his movie on television prior to the election. The rules for Best Documentary nominations are notoriously byzantine, and I don't know why exactly that would exclude it from consideration.
As far as the pretty faces, it appears that Giamatti was snubbed for Clint Eastwood. Now at his age now, can you really say that Clint's still that attractive of a guy? Geoffrey Rush is also a guy who has often been nominated in the past, and he's definitely not a pretty face.
My theory: Giamatti was snubbed because people at this point don't think him being neurotic is acting anymore. Note how Woody Allen was only nominated Best Actor once for Annie Hall.
Thanks for the clarification, Jen.
I knew that a country had to submit a film to be considered for Foreign Language, and I was wondering which country was going to nominate The Motorcycle Diaries. As it turns out, none of the above.
I want to give a brick to Richard Linklater so he can throw it in the general direction of the Academy. I simply don't get the continual snubbing of semi-indie films.
hollywood fears the indie, simple as that. making more appealing movies in cheaper, more creative ways threatens their paradigm. thing is, there are great hollywood-style movies to be made, if the whole mediocrity by committee thing can be overcome. it's a huge market, there's room for everyone. but corporate thuggery is de rigeur these days, and the studios have thus done all they can to squash the indie uprising of the 90s. they've done a pretty good job--sundance is as boring as the oscars this year. the fact that this was a record year for ticket sales makes me think bad thoughts about creeping cultural zombieism.
also: did anybody else hate that doofy adult contemporary jazz music and the gallo-wine-commercial soft-focus cinematography in Sideways? argh!
whoa he didn't get an oscar nomination?? If i wasn't busy with this other protest movement I'd be up in arms! :)
And I'm actually in the "Sideways is overrated" camp, but his performance was surely worthy of a nod.
The thing is, the Academy's all about giving the make-up Oscar usually (see: Russel Crow, Denzel Washington). I thought Giammati would get the nod since if only because he got dissed for American Splendor.
Maybe next year, he can win the prize when he plays a black civil rights leader ("Ooh, he's going against type!") or does what Natalie Portman did and put on a thong.