2011 Oscar Nominations: King’s Speech Leads With 12, But Gosling, Garfield Snubbed
The 2011 Oscar nominations are in, and “The King’s Speech” and “The Social Network” are the big winners.
The main snubs: Ryan Gosling, who was not nominated for his superb job in “Blue Valentine.” This is really surprising. And Andrew Garfield didn’t make it in for “The Social Network.” Each of those seemed like absolute choices.
Instead, Javier Bardem’s work in “Biuitiful” took Gosling’s spot. And John Hawkes’ turn in “Winter’s Bone” siphoned off votes for Garfield.
Indeed, “Winter’s Bone,” a movie so small it should have been just in the Indie Spirit Awards, picked up nods for Best Picture, Supporting Actor, and Actress (Jennifer Lawrence).
Another big snub: nothing for documentary “Waiting for Superman,” directed by Davis Guggenheim. The education doc is a hit, and won the Critics Choice Award and many critics’ prizes. Guggenheim won the Oscar previously for “An Inconvenient Truth.”
No nominations for Golden Globe nominees “The Tourist” or “Burlesque.” Not even Best Song for the latter. Diane Warren was robbed!
The 10 Best Picture nominees are King’s Speech, Social Network, The Fighter, Inception, The Kids Are All Right, True Grit, 127 Hours, Toy Story 3, Winter’s Bone, Black Swan.
Best Actor: Bardem, Jeff Bridges, Jesse Eisenberg, Colin Firth, James Franco.
Best Actress: Annette Bening, Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Lawrence, Natalie Portman, Michelle Williams.
Supporting Actor: Christian Bale, John Hawkes, Jeremy Renner, Mark Ruffalo, Geoffrey Rush
Supporting Actress: Amy Adams, Helena Bonham Carter, Melissa Leo, Hailee Steinfeld, Jacki Weaver.
Director: Darren Aronofsky “Black Swan,” David O. Russell “The Fighter,” Tom Hooper, “The King’s Speech,” David Fincher, “The Social Network, the Coens, “True Grit.”
Complete list at www.oscars.org
Unfortunately, I think that argument is undercut by the fact people make “Oscar movies.” The King’s Speech is one such creature. If the Oscars were really about discovering quality wherever it might be, it would be practically impossible to make Oscar bait films. Which are made with boring constancy.
Its a shame The Town wasn’t nominated for best picture. One of my favorites of the year.
I suppose Winter’s Bone replaced it. It seems this ruined the nominations of many films. I am now inclined to check it out.
I was disappointed Christopher Nolan wasn’t recognized with a directing nomination. He easily did the best directing job of the year. Nolan continues to prove he is the best writer- director in the business. He can go from Following to Memento to Insomia to Prestige to the Batman films to Inception- without missing a beat. This is a genius that has not made one bad movie.
I am a fan of Andrew Garfield’s work in TSN, but my most favorite performance ( and the most challenging performance) was given by Armie Hammer. Hammer is going to be a major superstar- the looks, the talent, the charisma, and the screen presence.
It was nice to see John Hawkes sneak in . He is always a joy to watch- it never feels like he is acting , but feels natural. I don’t understand the profound love for Winter’s Bone and Jennifer Lawrence’s performance- not awful, but just decent.
Also, too bad Barbara Hershey wasn’t recognized. Her performance was incredible and very heartfelt.
Hooray for John Hawkes! About time!