When Academy Award nominees for Best Picture were announced early this morning, it's unlikely too many avid film followers were surprised. The ten nominees vying for the Oscar are:
Black Swan
This erotic psychological thriller also earned nominations for Leading Actress (Natalie Portman), Best Cinematography, Directing, and Film Editing.
The Fighter
Christian Bale has already taken home a Golden Globe for his portrayal of the troubled Dickie Ecklund, brother to rising fighter Mickey Ward. He's nominated in the Best Supporting Actor category and is a front runner for an Oscar in the eyes of many critics. The film has also been nominated for awards in the following categories; Supporting Actress (Amy Adams, Melissa Leo), Directing, Film Editing, and Original Screenplay.
Inception
This action packed sci-fi focuses on theft through dream invasion and has many movie-goers going back to see the movie (or rent it now that it's on DVD) again and again. Although it was shut out of the acting categories, Inception is also nominated for Original Screenplay, Visual Effects, Sound MIxing, Sound Editing, Original Score, Cinematography and Art Direction.
The Kids Are All Right
This film follows two children of a lesbian couple as they search for and ultimately bring their birth father into their family. Annette Bening won a Golden Globe for her performance and is again nominated in the Leading Actress category, this time for an Academy Award. The film was also nominated in two other categories, Best Supporting Actor (Mark Ruffalo) and Originanl Screenplay.
The King's Speech
Another Golden Globe winner as Academy Award nominee is Colin Firth in the Leading Actor category for his performance of King George VI of Britain as he struggles to overcome his speech impediment and take his place on the throne. Geoffrey Rush is also nominated in the Supporting Actor category as is Helena Bonham Carter as Best Supporting Actress. The film also received nods for Art Direction, Cinematography, Costume Design, Directing, Film Editing, Original Score, Sound Mixing, and Orignial Screenplay.
127 Hours
James Franco's nail biting performance as real life mountain climber Aron Ralston who gets trapped beneath a boulder while rock climbing alone has earned him a Leading Actor nomination. The film is also up for awards in Film Editing, Original Score, Original Song, and Adapted Screenplay.
Toy Story 3
The third installment of the Pixar/Disney collaboration has earned a Oscar nomination in the Best Picture category. Although it's not the first animated film to earn a nomination in this category, it is part of a short list which includes Beauty and the Beast and Up. The film was nominated in four other categories: Animated Feature, Sound Editing, Adapted Screenplay and Original Song.
True Grit
Some say this remake is even better than the 1969 version and the ten Academy Awards it has been recognized with doesn't do much to dispute it. The nominations are: Leading Actor (Jeff Bridges), Supporting Actress (Hailee Steinfeld), Art Direction, Cinematography, Costume Design, Directing, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, and Adapted Screenplay.
The Social Network
Beating its Golden Globe nominations with eight Academy Award noms, (it was nominated for six Golden Globes and took home four), many are wondering if this fan favorite will have as much luck at the Oscars as it did at the Golden Globes last month when it won Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Score, and Best Screenplay. Maybe this time Jesse Eisenberg will pick up an award as well. He's nominated for Leading Actor. Nominations in Cinematography, Directing, Film Editing, Original Score, Sound Mixing, and Adapted Screenplay complete the list.
Winner of the 2010 Sundance Grand Jury Prize, this small film has been gaining slow recognition. Nominations in Best Supporting Actor (John Hawkes) and Leading Actress (Jennifer Lawrence) categories as well as Best Adapted Screenplay should pique interest whether they win or not.
Read on to see nominees in the Best Supporting Actress category
Meredith Laden - As a mom to two teenage daughters, a school counselor, and former behavior specialist for wraparound services, I've encountered just about ...
