Comments (137)

• So happy for Richard Jenkins and Melissa Leo.

  Comment by Sharon — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 5:58am PST  Reply to this post

• Hard to believe The Reader got in for Best Director and left poor Christopher Nolan out in the cold for The Dark Knight… and no offense but there really isn’t anything extraordinary about Gus Van Sant’s direction of Milk either…

  Ah well, at least I have SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE to cheer for in a few categories… overall disappointed with the lack of big films and surprises represented with this years batch of nominations.

  Congratulations Oscar… you just keep getting less and less interesting and out of touch with the majority of your viewers…

  Comment by Benjamin — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 6:00am PST  Reply to this post

• What no Darren Aronofsky? And Ben Button over the Wrestler? Truly saddening.

  Comment by Guudbuddy — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 6:06am PST  Reply to this post

• And no Springsteen for “The Wrestler?” I thought he had the WIN wrapped up, let alone the nomination…

  Comment by Tito — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 6:10am PST  Reply to this post

• Three words come to mind:

  RECORD LOW VIEWERSHIP

  Comment by Rahul — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 6:23am PST  Reply to this post

• I admit, this is a really dissapointing, almost Golden Globes type list. There are no real interesting picks beyond “Slumdog”. Best Picture category had chances to break some ground, and it didn’t.

  The CCoBB getting 13 noms .. argh. I may be one of the few people who thought that film had absolutely no heart. Oh wait, Box Office results tell me I’m not alone in that category. Further and further out of touch.

  Best Actor race is now two men (Penn & Rourke), and I expect Slumdog to dominate elsewhere.. but two song noms for Slumdog? No Springsteen for Wrester? No Eastwood for Torino? Terrible.

  Comment by Chris — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 6:24am PST  Reply to this post

• WOW…

  So only a screenplay nomination for In Bruges??

  Nolan shut out, Eastwood shut out and 13 nominations for Forrest Gump 2.0??

  Comment by Blackout — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 6:26am PST  Reply to this post

• BEST FILM:

  “The Reader” NOMINEES TO BE DETERMINED!!!!

  What the hell does that mean?

  A nasty touch of Harvey in the night?

  Comment by beezz — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 6:33am PST  Reply to this post

• The supporting actor category looks to be one of weakest in years. I mean, how else to explain Robert Downey, Jr. being nominated for Tropic Thunder?! First, this movies, while funny, isn’t Oscar worthy. Second, if they were going to pick an actor out of this movie, Tom Cruise was far more deserving than Downey, Jr. I thought Dark Knight was great and Heath Ledger was great in it, but in my opinion Josh Brolin should be the winner in this category. Interesting choices in Best Actress, as well. I hope Kate Winslet take home the Oscar. She’s an excellent and underrated actress, and she was great in The Reader.

  Best Supporting Actress looks to be the most interesting of the four acting categories. It’s interesting to see Taraji P. Henson and Marisa Tomei nominated in this category. Henson is probably the long-shot, much like Tomei was when she won for My Cousin Vinny (which I still believe was undeserved). All the actresses nominated here gave excellent performances this year.

  Comment by Jimmy — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 6:34am PST  Reply to this post

• Agree with Benjamin’s comment about ‘The Reader’ over ‘The Dark Knight.’ What a joke! Good to know Harvey Weinstein still owns Hollywood.

  In the long run, known of this matters, because ‘Slumdog’ will win Best Picture.

  Comment by mileshigh — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 6:41am PST  Reply to this post

• No Kate for REVOLUTIONARY ROAD???

  Comment by PJ — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 6:48am PST  Reply to this post

• I love Hollywood. “Hey, we’ll snub a comic book movie but let’s throw the dead guy a bone.”

  Comment by JB — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 7:06am PST  Reply to this post

• Damn you SAG block. I really thought the Academy would nominate ‘The Dark Knight’ for Best Picture. ‘The Dark Knight’ received just as many nominations as ‘Milk’, and more than ‘Frost/Nixon’ and ‘The Reader’.

  The omission of Christopher Nolan for Best Director baffles me. I’m gobsmacked. Gus Van Sant directed a SOP bio-pic and Ron Howard just showed up: Christopher Nolan directed a genre masterpiece.

  ‘The Dark Knight’ was the most important film of the year. It grossed a billion dollars. It proved that mature, political, and intelligent films can also ENTERTAIN. Ten years from now, no one will remember ‘The Reader’ or ‘Frost/Nixon’, but they still be watching and talking about ‘The Dark Knight’.

  Comment by Disappointed... — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 7:12am PST  Reply to this post

• Benjamin Button gets 13 nods, are you kidding me? I could see a few tech noms but major ones? Winslet gets shut out for that phenomenal performance in Revolutionary Road? and Haaz Sleiman was the best thing in The Visitor!

  Glad Melissa Leo got nominated, the noms aren’t a total loss. I think this is the first time I’ve gone with the audience and think Dark Knight was a much better film than Button turned out to be. The Academy really thinks Button and Frost/Nixon had more artistic merit than Dark Knight? Or is this a case of a summer film that’s been forgotten?

  Comment by nyguy — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 7:20am PST  Reply to this post

• WTF! Nolan — Eastwood — shut out! C’mon! Well its safe to say that Slumdog is taking best pic — best director and adapted screenplay. The actor race is a two man show. Supporting actor, have a funny feeling Heath is gonna get shut out, doesn’t feel like a lock anymore. Supporting actress — it’s Cruz to lose. The only certainty I see for TDK is an oscar for cinematography. Wow…I’m just not feeling this list.

  Comment by Alboone — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 7:22am PST  Reply to this post

• This is going to be one of the lowest rated Academy Award shows ever…not one crowd pleasure among the nominees (I liked SLUMDOG but it’s no E.T.) can’t believe they shut out DARK KNIGHT and gave the Best Picture nom to THE READER.

  I mean even THE TOWERING INFERNO got nominated for Best Picture in ‘74.

  Very dissapointing year – although I am happy for Heath Ledger, Frank Langella and Mickey Rourke.

  Comment by spacesheik — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 7:26am PST  Reply to this post

• I think they got it right. I don’t care how much money the Dark Knight made, it was not the best comic adaptation of the year. That went to Iron man, in my opinion; ess preachy, MUCH tighter script, the plot wasn’t riddled with leaps of faith and it ended where it should have.

  If Heath hadn’t died, I don’t know if the BO and reviews would have been as generous.

  I think the Oscars got it right.

  (Now ducking from the bricks.)

  Comment by Original Joe — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 7:27am PST  Reply to this post

• Yay for best original screenplay nod for In Bruges. That film should have been nominated way more.
  The rest – boring. Not a good year for cinema.

  And Baader Meinhof? Really? That was awful.

  Comment by IDM — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 7:31am PST  Reply to this post

• I’m part of the Internet Generation, and I’m a gigantic comic book nerd. I’m laughing. Those ‘Titanic’ rating numbers ABC and the Academy hoped for — not going to happen. They were so close. Wolverine’s hosting the show. Iron Man vs. The Joker for best supporting actor. Batman nominated for Best Picture (thus proving he is the ultimate superhero bad ass by succeeding were his colleagues Superman and Spider-man failed). I was definitely excited.

  Now, Meh. I will watch Christopher Nolan accept Heath Ledger’s post-humorous Oscar on YouTube the following Monday. Sorry, ABC. You are not getting my 18-45 demographic share…

  Unless Hugh Jackman performs the opening monologue, in character, with Robert Downey Jr and Christian Bale, in character. That I will watch.

  Comment by Kate — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 7:35am PST  Reply to this post

• Benjamin Button got 13 nominations, Gran Torino none, and Springsteen’s “The Wrestler” was beaten out by “none of the above.” When did the Oscars become more embarassing than the Golden Globes? Nice job, fools!

  Comment by JA — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 7:40am PST  Reply to this post

• I thought they changed the rules this year, so only one song from a movie could be nominated. What happened to Bruce?

  Comment by Song Category — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 7:42am PST  Reply to this post

• Nikki –

  You are missing the point COMPLETELY on the reader. This has nothing to do with Harvey or Scott Rudin.

  Did you notice that the movie was produced by Sydney Pollack and Anthony Minghella, two absolutely beloved and supremely talented men who have passed away in the past couple of years?

  This is the last chance for Syndey and Anthony, who left us too soon, to win and Oscar. I guarantee you that’s what was going through the minds of the Academy voters in regards to this movie.

  Maybe YOU are the one who’s out of touch.

  Comment by Jmay — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 7:45am PST  Reply to this post

• On the other hand, I completely agree with you regarding WALL-E getting robbed for Best Picture.

  Then again, Forrest Gump robbed Shawshank Redemption for best picture back in the day, so maybe Forrest Gump II (Brad Pitt Boogaloo) will win this time too.

  Comment by jmay — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 7:47am PST  Reply to this post

• Why is the Academy obsessed with films that drag? Benjamin Button…snoooooooooze. The Reader? The last half of the film felt like it lasted for days. It reminded me of The English Patient. Oh, wait…

  I’m very disappointed in the nominations. Benjamin Button is now officially one of the most overrated films of all time.

  Comment by Cure for Insomnia — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 7:47am PST  Reply to this post

• Ben Button is a blockbuster, has earned over $100 million (threshhold for blockbuster). It is the only film up for best that has done so. I enjoyed it greatly as did the many others who also have seen it. It deserved all the nominations it received.

  Comment by Anya — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 7:49am PST  Reply to this post

• Tuesday we innaugurate Obama and on Thursdsay this happens. Wow. But actually quite brilliant. Many folks will make the same observation. There will be articles written and TV segments cut. This to be controversy may actually drive up ratiings for a normally unwatchable show!

  Comment by Blackface is Back — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 7:54am PST  Reply to this post

• Please strike now SAG. As there are no films I care about you should strike and make the horrible Oscars go away and be a simple press conference to announce the winners.

  No Dark Night. Not watching again.

  Comment by Go Ahead and Strike — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 8:00am PST  Reply to this post

• Oh Nikki!

  So much conjecture, is it really necessary?

  Your theories about Oscar voters being too old to vote for Batman but too jealous to vote for old man Clint and about voters hating Harvey enough to award his film The Reader’s crew sympathy Oscars were particularly amusing.

  Not everything can be analyzed.
  Especially not the Oscars.

  Comment by Sid — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 8:01am PST  Reply to this post

• I’m with Anya. I found Benjamin to be a wonderful movie, old fashioned storytelling in the best way. I’m thrilled it received all of those noms. But the three actors in Doubt. And Anne Hathaway. Well, each to his own..

  Comment by kate — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 8:05am PST  Reply to this post

• Aronofsky getting robbed was a tragedy. Eastwood’s won before, for Million Dollar Baby and Unforgiven so his snub there wasn’t heartbreaking. He was amazing though in Gran Torino. That definately was a crusher! And what’s the deal with the reader?! Was it even that great?

  Comment by Charles Elmore — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 8:05am PST  Reply to this post

• Nikki indirectly supplies another reason why the Oscars are so irrelevant – movies get nominated not because of their quality but because of behind-the-scenes turmoil, sympathy, grudges, jealousy and crushes. Or worse, who’s won too many times or whose turn is it. Pathetic. How are the Oscars any more legit than figure skating?

  I can think of a dozen movies I enjoyed more than any of the 5 ‘best’ on this list.

  Comment by Joe Melnick — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 8:13am PST  Reply to this post

• Prostat & Balls…wonderful.

  “Get away from my dog”.

  Comment by unionguy — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 8:14am PST  Reply to this post

• It’s gotta be some sort of crime that ‘The Dark Knight’ didn’t get a nod for Best Picture. It’s one of the best crafted, fully satisfying blockbuster films ever. Christopher Nolan was snubbed, indeed.

  The rest of the nominations fall in my place with my expectations. I’m kinda-sorta glad that ‘Revolutionary Road’ didn’t get all the nods it was rumored to get. It’s one hell of a downer movie (although well acted by Leo and Kate). Though, it’s neat that the Michael Shannon got a Supporting Nod for his assholeish, mentally unbalanced mathematician.

  I’ve yet to see ‘Slumdog Millionaire’… and its awards train is now moving full steam ahead into the Academy Awards. I really got to make some time and see it.

  Comment by Armando — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 8:35am PST  Reply to this post

• I went to three showings of The Dark Knight. Contrary to the apparent opinion of the Oscar voter, there were people of all ages sitting in packed theatres. Old couples sat next to teenage lovers. They weren’t there to see Batman; they were there to see one of the best-reviewed movies of the year. They were there to see a great FILM.

  For The Dark Knight not to get even a nomination is a travesty. How can anyone take seriously the idea that the Best Picture winner is the year’s best movie when TDK isn’t even in the top five? The Oscars are voting themselves into irrelevancy, and I guarantee you it will be reflected in the ratings for this year’s show.

  Comment by SG — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 8:37am PST  Reply to this post

• Harvey must be stopped! Enough is enough!

  Comment by geha714 — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 8:38am PST  Reply to this post

• Agree with you about Dark Knight, disagree about Wall-E. As you probably know, each branch nominates for its own branch (or in the case of foreign films and animated features any member can vote if they attend the screenings). Every member gets to nominate for Best Picture and I included Dark Knight as one of my five selections. However, it’s really not that hard to believe that too few other members did as well since the majority if the Academy members are in the Actors branch and they tend to be a bunch of out-of-work blue hairs who tend to vote for ’serious’ films instead of great films. I suspect that very few of them even watched Dark Knight or if they bothered to turn it on probably didn’t make it through the end of the first ten minutes. Oh well…

  Comment by Acadmember2 — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 8:41am PST  Reply to this post

• Isn’t it amazing how closely the nominations (in applicable categories) match the SAG Awards nominations?

  Comment by LA VO — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 8:46am PST  Reply to this post

• What I love most about the Oscars is the way Hollywood celebrates Hollywood, but the producer accepting the Best Picture award invariably says, “Nobody wanted to make this movie…”

  Comment by Buddy Bing — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 8:47am PST  Reply to this post

• What a turdpile of a nominations list. No TDK in Picture, Director or Adapted Screenplay, no peace. And the five nominated films making about 40 million $ less than TDK made in its OPENING FRAKKIN’ WEEKEND. Academy to mainstream moviegoing public: F-U.

  Comment by Paul — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 8:47am PST  Reply to this post

• CCoBB was HORRIBLE Gump 2.0…look for the YouTube side/by/side comparison…Roth should be ashamed…Pitt cribbed everything from Hanks except heart…only good thing about it–and she was GREAT–is Taraji…believe it got all the noms and Angelina’s best actress so that they’ll add some glam to the awards…no Springsteen, wtf?! Agree that Dark Knight should have gotten a pic nom, and Gervais nailed it: go Holocaust or mental and get rewarded.

  Comment by jennab — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 8:47am PST  Reply to this post

• I do NOT understand the hoopla over THE WRESTLER. Except for being a decent inside look at a Wrestler’s life — the STORY was abysmal.

  Mickey’s good but not brilliant maybe cuz the script sucks.
  The script is a cliched ridden bowl of lukewarm soup.
  Cliche #1:Substitute Boxer for Wrestler and its Requiem for a Heavyweight. And every other boxing movie.
  Cliche #2: Marissa is the stripper — with a heart of gold!
  Cliche #3: Plot twist: she has a kid (which goes nowhere by the way). Guess what – EVERY stripper has a kid.
  Cliche #4: Mickey lives… in a trailer park!
  Cliche #5: he cant pay his rent – and has been locked out!
  Cliche #6: his daughter is mad at him because “he was never there!”
  Cliche #7: He screws up because he’s late to take her to dinner bec he was out partying! (sheesh – he was only 2 hrs late)
  Cliche #8: She’s a lesbian – another plot point that goes nowhere.
  Cliche #9: Mickey has a cute dog – oh wait, he doesnt have a dog but he plays with the neighborhood kids… Ahh, he must be a nice guy.
  Cliche #10: Mickey gets a real job but gets recognized.

  Oh, this is not a cliche – but Mickey’s speech at the end before he fights?? What was that? A clunky expositional summation of all his thoughts and feelings – it felt like Mickey’s thank you speech to the cast and crew at the end of the shoot that Darren decided to cut in, not something the character would say and do….

  

  Comment by max taylor — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 8:53am PST  Reply to this post

• The oversight of the Academy to have no best pic or director nomination for “Dark Knight” is not only insulting but stupefying. I don’t want to place the film in the same league as “Ben-Hur” or “Lawrence of Arabia” but it’s in that arena of epic, large, and powerful spectacles. I wouldn’t expect it to win but the neglect here is more shocking than a win would be.

  WB may have been well to re-release it on IMAX and have Academy voters see it as it was intended. I haven’t had my jaw drop for a movie since seeing the big boat in Titanic sink.

  Comment by Justin — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 8:55am PST  Reply to this post

• Really? ‘Curious’ gets 13 nominations? It’s nothing more than a Hallmark movie of the week so long it literally has a scene where you watch paint dry.

  Comment by DWriter1 — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 8:58am PST  Reply to this post

• Why such a hater, Nikke? Wouldn’t a sympathy vote for Rudin and Winslet be to, oh I don’t know, nominate REV ROAD instead?

  Comment by Why Such a Hater? — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 8:58am PST  Reply to this post

• I couldn’t agree more Nikki Wall-e deserved best picture. That movie almost made me cry

  Comment by Fish — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 9:10am PST  Reply to this post

• Gran Torino was a bad tv movie starring Clint Eastwood. It deserved what it got.
  Original Joe – Iron Man had no leaps of faith? Just the whole building an Iron Man suit while stuck in a cave. Good thing those guards never went in the cave! TDK and IM were movies and both required a leap of faith.
  Best Pic – TDK, The Wrestler, Slumdog, WallE, & Benji Button – with winner going to either Wrestler or Slumdog. Everything else is just awards filler that no one cares about.

  Comment by tranquilo — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 9:22am PST  Reply to this post

• As a member of the visual effects branch, I think we got our three movies exactly right.

  I agree that Wall-E should have been a best picture nominee, and even the best picture. I felt that way, even more strongly, about Pixar’s previous The Incredibles.

  Well, we’ll see how it goes. I don’t see Button taking very many of those 13 categories — but we’ll just have to wait and see.

  Comment by Thad Beier — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 9:23am PST  Reply to this post

• You may have known too much of what happened behind the scenes to enjoy it but I thought “The Reader” was a terrific film.

  Comment by Karen TenEyck — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 9:35am PST  Reply to this post

• Go CCBB, Finch & Claudio!

  Comment by Sterling Wolfe — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 9:35am PST  Reply to this post

• What’s with the song category?

  Last year, 3 from Enchanted.

  This year, two from Slumdog. And only one other?

  As if there weren’t a slew of good songs to choose from?

  How about the song from Gran torino? Bruce’s song from The Wrestler?

  RIDICULOUS.

  Clint was robbed a best actor nod–I just saw gran torino and thought it was an incredible performance. He was much more interesting than Pitt who was the beneficiary of several actor’s performances to create the role of Button.

  Comment by DMS — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 9:46am PST  Reply to this post

• Amen Nikki.
  If Clint deserves a nod, why not give it to him? Just proves that after all these years, not only does he still have it, but he has it better than many.
  And I completely agree on the TDK stuff, why do all the Best Picture nods need their directors to be nominated too?

  Comment by nick — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 9:47am PST  Reply to this post

• It’s pretty sad when the Hollywood Foreign Press is more in touch with Hollywood than the Academy. Very sad indeed.

  Comment by JD — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 9:49am PST  Reply to this post

• Wow,,, This is pathetic. No Dark Knight? No Iron Man, No Torino? It’s sad. I’m glad for B Button, but I agree, it’s the most overated movie of the year,,,, I have but one thing to say:

  “Get off my Lawn”

  Chris

  Comment by Average Movie Guy — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 9:50am PST  Reply to this post

• This is UNREAL!! And I can’t believe this list. Dark Knight not even recognized?? WALL-e passed up for Best Picture? Why would anybody watch this telecast?? The Academy has cut out the entire movie going population. Yes, it’s true that movies can open in limited release in order to qualify for an Oscar, but if you fill the entire nomination list with limited release movies then you ultimately exclude the movie going audience from the process. Which is insane, that’s why movies are made — for an audience.

  This is a travesty in my mind. The Oscars would be better served airing on a specialized cable network. Broadcast TV has enough trouble reaching an audience without a niche cinema-oriented event like this.

  This is why awards shows like MTV’s Movie Awards rate the way they rate and why the Webby’s get the buzz they get. Because they’re relevant to what’s currently happening on our planet.

  Comment by Pissed — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 9:50am PST  Reply to this post

• slumdog is overrated! The only reasons why the stupid american critics like it is because they have not seen slums/dumpsite or poor people like that in America.

  Those scenes in the movies and the plot are so common in third world countries, there is nothing that great in the movie. It has a very shallow plot.

  Comment by annie — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 9:57am PST  Reply to this post

• Where’s Kristin Scott Thomas? Seriously?

  Comment by KM — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 9:58am PST  Reply to this post

• What was Iron Man supposed to be nominated for? Being a huge-business comic book movie? Let’s not kid ourselves, it wasn’t “good”, it was popular. Nolan probably should have gotten a Director nod for Dark Knight. I’m not crushed that he didn’t – doing a massive special effects movie is more a herculean test of organization and administration rather than of real directing skill. But then you don’t see Roland Emmerich getting nods. And the movie was 40 minutes too long (from an artistic sense – obviously it didn’t hurt the box office). And again not necessarily “good” (very entertaining, but every time it switched from action to dialogue/story it was clunky), but popular.

  What mainly bugs me about this year’s choices is that it panders to the people who make movies specifically as Oscar bait. The Reader, Revolutionary Road, Benjamin Button, etc … these are movies created specifically to try to win Oscars. Why encourage this sentiment? Maybe I’m naive, but in my mind an Oscar should be a reward for having created a great film (of whatever genre), not something you try to manipulate the achievement of by specifically picking a certain genre, tone, book to adapt, group of actors, etc. The tail is wagging the dog.

  Comment by Josh — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 10:12am PST  Reply to this post

• This is the most pathetic oscars ever. THE READER?????? are you old farts joking me??? lowest ratings ever. The oscars are dead.

  Comment by Michael — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 10:14am PST  Reply to this post

• Potential audience just dropped by about 15 million. It frees up another night for me anyway. Don’t get me wrong; I love Slumdog and hope it wins all its nominations, but even as someone who is usually supportive of the Academy’s picks, the oversight of Wall-E, Gran Torino, the Dark Knight, and Christopher Nolan is unbelievable. No way am I watching this travesty. I’ll catch what I want on youtube the day after.

  Comment by yankeedjw — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 10:31am PST  Reply to this post

• Lowest rated Oscars EVER this year…think they’ll go under 30 mil.

  If they think not announcing who is presenting is going to get people my age (26) in the 18-49 demo to tune in, they are WRONG.

  For shame Academy, in not recognizing Aronofsky and Nolan. FILM-making at its finest.

  Comment by SoCal Advertiser — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 10:33am PST  Reply to this post

• gran torino did not make the picture accessible to voters. only academy screeners went out. no screeners went out to the guilds. no free admission in the theatres and the screenings they held around town were porly organized and people got shut out (me included). companies that make the films available do better. simple fact.

  Comment by mambo chicken — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 10:35am PST  Reply to this post

• This is the last chance for Syndey and Anthony, who left us too soon, to win and Oscar.

  Aside from the fact that both of them ALREADY HAVE OSCARS, you fucking idiot.

  Comment by Del Coro — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 10:38am PST  Reply to this post

• Goodbye, Oscar show – it was nice knowing you.

  Comment by savvydude — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 10:40am PST  Reply to this post

• The five films nominated for Best Picture will barely be remembered five years from now while The Dark Knight will forever be mentioned as one of the groundbreaking films in history. I’m not even convinced the lazy voters even saw Benjamin Button. To them, it just seemed like an Oscar movie.

  Acting branch got it right for the most part – good on them for recognizing Richard Jenkins, Melissa Leo, Michael Shannon. Although those names minus The Dark Knight in Best Picture will ensure that around just 10 people will watch the Oscars. Good luck to ABC and the Academy in selling ads.

  Comment by brad — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 10:41am PST  Reply to this post

• I hated Slumdog, but I understand why it’s nominated. I don’t get The Reader at all: It’s a shallow, mediocre drama that trivializes a profound subject. Dark Knight, Frozen River, Wall-E . . . they could have gone mainstream or indie with nom for any one of a number of films better than The Reader.

  Comment by dr. giraud — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 10:44am PST  Reply to this post

• I’m so happy The Dark Knight wasn’t nominated. There was the fear among us liberals that too many people might identify it as a “conservative” movie, and likened Batman to George Bush (sometimes you have to go into dark places and do bad things to get the bad guys).

  As a closed-minded, intolerant liberal, I don’t want anybody thinking positive things about conservatives, EVER, even if it’s in the subtle form of identifying with a movie character.

  I support “Milk” all the way. It helps further our leftist agenda (even though Sean Penn’s performance could be called, “I am Sam, or Harvey Milk, take your pick.”)

  So what if nobody watches this lame, self-congratulatory home movie.

  Mission Accomplished comrades!

  Comment by Closed-Minded Liberal — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 11:03am PST  Reply to this post

• Really surprised that Revolutionary Road got snubbed. Thought Kate was amazing in it.

  Comment by penny — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 11:12am PST  Reply to this post

• While I’m not particularly surprised about Benjamin Button’s nominations, considering the pedigree of the people involved, I have to say that it’s sad to see a low-rent Forrest Gump getting such lavish praise heaped on it.

  Certainly feel like Slumdog Millionaire is deserving, but would have liked to have seen Dark Knight and Gran Torino at least in the mix. Marissa Tomei…I’m not saying her performance was bad, but…was it really one of the top 5 of the year? Really? Felt like she had about 15 minutes of screen time and that was it.

  Would have liked to have seen an outside-the-box nomination too. Maybe Ed Norton for actor for his performance in The Hulk (not saying the film was great – just his performance).

  I guess I’m in the minority about Wall-E. It was enjoyable, but as animated films go, felt like it was far inferior to The Incredibles and certainly Beauty and The Beast.

  Comment by gotmyjd2003 — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 11:23am PST  Reply to this post

• GRR The love for Benjamin Button pisses me off because the movie is soo overrated. Sorry, but Brad pitt is not a good enough actor to star in that type of Movie.

  his Oscar Nomination is a sham!

  Comment by Marie — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 11:30am PST  Reply to this post

• BEN BUTTON’S NOMS MAKE IT LEGIT.
  SLUMDOG IS A BONA FIDE HIT.
  CLINT EASTWOOD ESCHEWED,
  CHRIS NOLAN GETS SCREWED,
  AND THE READER PROVES IT’S ALL BULLSHIT.

  Comment by Poetknowit — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 11:35am PST  Reply to this post

• And they wonder why people have stopped watching the Oscars.

  Comment by Jason — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 11:46am PST  Reply to this post

• Has anyone considered that TDK wasn’t nominated for best pic simply because it’s not a good film? Nolan deserving best director is a joke! He’s responsible for Bale’s unintelligible delivery, Eckhart’s over-the-top performance to hide his inability to grasp the nonsensical motivation of his character, the epileptic editing to hide the messy, shoestring narrative, the pretentious/preachy dialogue, and the bombastic score. Granted the film is entertaining the first time around, it becomes a total bore from then on out. Ledger’s performance is the only reason the film succeeds as well as it has (and even his performance is one note and motivation iffy- for a guy without a plan he sure plans well).

  The film is so confident it what it’s presenting that most audiences are duped into believing it. Please take another look and then explain why it merits a best picture nod.

  Comment by enough already — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 11:47am PST  Reply to this post

• 10 for the most overrated SLUMDOG and none for GRAN TORINO?

  REVOLUTIONARY ROAD got what it deserved. Not b/c it’s a downer pic, but b/c it had nothing new to offer, no new insights, only showed what we already know and have seen many times over (and from a more interesting variety of viewpoints, thanks to Mad Men, for example). It felt dated. I wasn’t impressed. I prefer Kate Winslet’s other suburban nightmare, LITTLE CHILDREN.

  THE READER on the other hand – did you watch it with your eyes and mind open? – was both intellectually and emotionally engaging. In the very beginning it had a couple of scenes (with the young man) that felt forced and awkward, but it more than made up for them. It had a nice rhythm and good balance.

  Not to mention that THE READER had the most impressive sets, fabulous props. They seemed to get all the little details right, truly amazing. I loved it and I cried. There.

  Comment by AM — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 11:51am PST  Reply to this post

• Pic – Benjamin Button

  Actor – Frank Langella

  Actress – Kate Winslet

  Supporting – Heath Ledger

  Supporting – Penelope Cruz

  Director – David Fincher

  Adapted Screenplay – Slumdog

  Original Screenplay – Milk

  Song – Slumdog

  So it is written.

  Comment by Nostra-Dammit — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 11:53am PST  Reply to this post

• Shocking that GRAN TORINO got blanked. Here’s a serious film with mainstream success that deserves recognition, so of course it’s ignored. Nobody’s going to see THE READER. And they wonder why the Oscar telecasts suck more air every year.

  Comment by TomF — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 12:05pm PST  Reply to this post

• Random thoughts Larry King style…They were right not to include Batman in the best picture category. The story was choppy and convoluted. They were wrong to not include Wall-E though. That movie was brilliant in concept and execution. Marissa Tomei is a great actress and the academy loves it when great actresses get naked repeatedly. The Wrestler is a very conventional movie but was made well none the less. The unfortunate truth is that no matter how many awards you give Heath Ledger it’s not going to make him come back. Heath played The Joker well but it is a one dimensional comic book character and really can’t compare to what Philip Seymour Hoffman did.

  Comment by Anonymous — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 12:13pm PST  Reply to this post

• We [almost] all work in the film industry and we all know how hard it is to make a film, even a mediocre one. It amazes me then, how easily some of us are trashing films that have genuine merit. I have seen most of the films on the list, and found both compelling and poorly conceived components in most of them, and of course, there are some that I PERSONALLY enjoyed more than others. If you love a film, it doesn’t help your case to trash another one.

  Comment by MdotB — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 12:14pm PST  Reply to this post

• No nomination for Sally Hawkins in Happy-Go-Lucky? She actually won Best Actress at the Golden Globes and Berlinale but can’t even get nominated for the Oscar? What’s up with that?

  Comment by kindalame — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 12:14pm PST  Reply to this post

• They got it neither right nor wrong. The Dark Knight had some good moments but it was overlong. Gran Torino was an immature mess of cliches, pat (itself on the back for its diversity) scenes, uninspired performances and Revolutionary Road was American Beauty Redux.
  But since when does “geriatric” become the wry little swipe at the voters. It seems to me a lot of the talented writing & performances & directing is coming from the over 40, over 50 and over 60 crowd these days. But thats the way it is with the West Coast – the faces we see are pulled zipped tucked and botoxed in a desperate attempt to look young and the people behind the scenes are ridiculed for being geriatric (all while an assisted living facility goes under) – Ageism=Bigotry – who didnt get the memo?

  Comment by Shar — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 12:21pm PST  Reply to this post

• Where is David Kross? He was terrific in ‘The Reader,’ and he and Kate Winslet had excellent chemistry, and both of them exposed their souls and bodies for that movie.

  I like Robert Downey, Jr., but I would have replaced his name with David Kross on this list.

  Comment by college student — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 12:22pm PST  Reply to this post

• I don’t understand the boohoo over Wall-E, this movie has been nominated in it’s proper category “Best Animated Feature”…um, because it’s animated.I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED IT.
  Stop turning Heath Ledger into the poster boy of sorrow, the lost creative soul, who left us to early. This is a full grown man who made the choice to do drugs and paid the horrible price. It was an accident and my proof is that he would NEVER have left his beautiful daughter, and his last breath was probably at the horror of what was happening. To everyone who’s worked with him, IT WAS A SHOCK…BUT NOT A SURPRISE. Where were the Studios, and close friends who saw this happening, and just stood by? Afraid good old Heath may not like you any longer? Guess it doesn’t matter now, you weak fools. But hey, Heath was more interesting as the “bad boy, the wild one”. My heart breaks for him, his wife, and his baby girl…BUT PLEASE DON’T MAKE THIS SOMETHING THAT IT’S NOT, IT’S UGLY, WHAT HAPPENED, AND GIVING HIM THE OSCAR DOES NOT CHANGE THE FACT THAT MANY IN THIS INDUSTRY JUST STOOD BY!

  Comment by btlteamster — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 12:26pm PST  Reply to this post

• I never thought I’d say this especially less then 48 hours after Obama’s inauguration.

  Hollywood just made this die-hard movie fan feel like a Republican. My conservative friends and family are on to something with this institution. I may consider boycotting the Oscars.

  Not only was this a horrible business decision, it shouldn’t have been THAT hard to nominate ‘The Dark Knight’ and Christopher Nolan for Picture and Director for the skillful, flawless film making.

  Nikki, I agree with everything you said in this article. You are a great writer and intuitive to the business. I am posting this article on my facebook profile. Expect more complaints to come.

  Comment by mileshigh — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 12:27pm PST  Reply to this post

• The love for The Reader has nothing to do with Harvey or Scott or Sydney or Anthony. It has everything to do with the Holocaust. The Academy loves Holocaust movies.

  Seriously, Kristin Scott-Thomas got shafted.

  I would love an upset like Sean and Mickey splitting the vote and Richard Jenkins pulling an Adrian Brody upset and winning. Sweeeet.

  Go Slumdog!

  Comment by McBitchy — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 12:40pm PST  Reply to this post

• Overall a pretty decent listing. The fanboys for The Dark Knight are getting annoying. Not everyone thinks it’s the second coming.

  I’m really happy that Melissa Leo and Richard Jenkins hooked up with films that got the right attention at this time in their careers.

  Comment by Kathleen M. — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 12:43pm PST  Reply to this post

• Nikki, your venom for Harvey really comes through in the column today. Take a deep breath, step back and be non-biased for a second. Agree that the movie isn’t going to win best pic but it had a better strategy than than Rev Road. The Paramount team was too busy focusing on Benny Buttons and let Rev Road fall through the cracks in terms of box office and awards season. How can you release an academy movie so late!

  Take it easy baby.

  Comment by stuytown hustler — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 12:45pm PST  Reply to this post

• I’m not surprised about The Dark Knight snubs. Saddened, but not shocked. There is still a stigma around comic book films, and that has more to do with it then old voters. Wall-E being snubbed is inexcusable and is another fine demonstration of why “Best Animated Film” is a horrible category. As long as it’s around no animated film will ever get another nod for Best Picture.

  I’m also gonna disagree with you Brokeback Mountain comment: it wasn’t homophobia, the film was underwhelming. It looked nice, acted nice but the writing was underwhelming.

  Comment by Partially Bigoted Zealots — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 12:55pm PST  Reply to this post

• I think we can debate the pros and cons of all the movies nominated — except “The Reader.” There are those who think “Milk” and “The Wrestler” are mediocre films that feature extraordinary performances, while others have been blown away by both movies; some think “Slumdog Billionaire” is a virtuoso piece of filmmaking that tells a classic story in a modern way that is moving and exciting and engaging, while others feel its effect evaporates the minute the movie ends. But “The Reader”? Maybe a handful of people I’ve encountered think it’s okay, while the rest of us see it going off the rails at about the half-way point, never to recover. It’s no wonder its nomination is redolent of the Golden Globes.
  Oh, yeah, and there’s another movie a lot of people felt strongly about, The Dark Knight. Most people loved it.

  Comment by Michael F. — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 12:57pm PST  Reply to this post

• Dark Knight as a Best Picture nod and Nolan as best Director? Are you serious? Its a good film, and I enjoyed it quite a bit, but sorry, its not on the same level as those nominated (although I do have an issue with Frost/Nixon).

  The biggest snub… By far… is The Wrestler. The film, the director and Bruce Springsteen’s song written for it.

  Comment by steve — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 12:59pm PST  Reply to this post

• Dark Knight was a masterpiece. Oh wait, no it wasn’t. It just wasn’t as awful as almost every cartoon event movie (and that awful list includes the overrated Iron Man). That said, I’d much rather watch Dark Knight than pompous Oscar bait like The Reader, Curious Case, Revolutionary Road, etc. But kudos to Harvey for pulling off a miracle for that garbage The Reader.

  Comment by objectlesson — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 1:21pm PST  Reply to this post

• Nobody has commented on the fact that Richard Jenkins got nominated for THE VISITOR, which really, really makes me happy. He was WONDERFUL in that movie as were all the cast. One of the greatest movies I have ever seen

  Comment by Anom But Happy — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 1:36pm PST  Reply to this post

• The Reader over WALL-E, Wrestler and Dark Knight? The Academy continues on its path towards complete irrelevance.

  Comment by D — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 1:44pm PST  Reply to this post

• “A comedian at the Oscars, is the loneliest, saddest alcoholic clown…”

  Congrats Robert Downey Jr., for reminding everyone our beloved genre exists!

  Comment by JP — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 1:57pm PST  Reply to this post

• GRAN TORINO was terrible and THE DARK KNIGHT was impossibly boring. They didn’t get overlooked, they sucked.

  Comment by Archie Berman — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 1:57pm PST  Reply to this post

• I have odds on favorite for Mickey Rourke to win Best Actor. People love a good comeback story and Hollywood is all about the story.

  Comment by bet — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 2:05pm PST  Reply to this post

• The Dark Knight is the most overrated movie of 2008: The story rambles on and on, has inexcusable lapses in plot logic, ends on a completely false note (Batman has to be the “dark knight” because there is no one else to take the heat… um… what about that Joker guy?–the guy actually responsible for the all the 2-plus hours of crime we’ve just witnessed?), and is super-pretentious to boot. I don’t know why so many people swallowed the kool-aid on this one.

  Comment by Sid — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 2:07pm PST  Reply to this post

• No idea why either The Reader or Benjamin Button are nominated for any award much less so many. Talk about a circle jerk! Rourke and Ledger will win the actor awards. The actress awards are way more open though Jolie deserves to win but probably won’t seeing as too many think of her as more tabloid fodder than actress anymore.

  Hopefully indie kids Jenkins and Leo can parlay this attention into some more good roles.

  Comment by Cathy Krasnianski — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 2:19pm PST  Reply to this post

• ANNIE, THANK YOU!

  I have been saying this. Travel and see what India is really like and the slum story won’t seem as “charming” and “novel”. Not that the boy and love don’t triumph, but part of this was a low rent travelogue that makes you feel like you’ve been exposed to an “exotic” world. You think people aren’t being beaten and killed and women and kids aren’t being abused for a few rupees? You think people aren’t actually using such shit holes as shit holes – believe me, I’ve used a few Indian shitholes in my day. In a country where someone with a decent job can make $20 a month, this “exotic” journey isn’t so heartwarming – it’s filled with horrors – TRUE TO LIFE HORRORS.

  Also, Anne Hathaway is not a great actress in any sense of the word. She lacks nuiance and telegraphs anxst in this performance. Rosemarie Dewitt was the best performance of Rachel Getting Married, an overlong movie filled with way too many wedding toasts and way too much music.

  Don’t even get me started with all that’s wrong with Benjamin Button.

  The oscars are devaluing themselves.
  At least Michael Shannon’s performance was recognized.

  Dark Knight was pretty great, but I preferred Iron Man – I thought it really as well made and well acted. When will people stop depressing us with a handful of limited release dramas at the end of every year and then congratulating each other on making these boring films to the exclusion of all the otehr films in the year from all genres?

  However, I’d like to remind everyone that low viewership doesn’t mean the oscars are “over”, it means the telecast, at least on primetime is stupid. People shouldn’t make oscar picks based on popularity with the general public just to get better ratings, but they also shouldn’t circle j**k the same 5 films that came out at the end of the year.

  Also, Gran Torino is a terrible script filled with bad acting except for Clint, so thank god some sanity won out.

  Comment by Must watch anyways - damn it! — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 2:27pm PST  Reply to this post

• Provocative analysis right on the money Nikki. Well done.

  VOTERS now just PRETEND to have seen all of the movies right?

  Comment by Gloria Wandrous — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 2:33pm PST  Reply to this post

• No Dark Knight or Wall-E for Best Picture. These nominations prove how irrelvant the Oscars are becoming to the movie public. I gues the elite in Hollywood are determined to have the lowest Oscar tv ratings on record.

  Comment by Zedman2 — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 2:35pm PST  Reply to this post

• “What mainly bugs me about this year’s choices is that it panders to the people who make movies specifically as Oscar bait.”
  —————————–

  This year? Every year. You can usually tell what’s going to be a contender just by reading the description of a movie. “Historical drama,” Oscar contender. “Mostly-happy stuff about a dog,” not gonna happen.

  Comment by Cat — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 2:45pm PST  Reply to this post