The Academy Award nominations were announced at the ungodly hour of 5:30 am PST, and the most remarkable thing about the selections is that, at last, it looks as thought the tide is turning from the old guard to the new one. Scores of actors and actresses, directors and composers received their first nods this year, and thank heaven for that. You can only shut out Paul Giamatti for so long before it becomes clear that the fix is in.
Here are the nominees:
Best Actor
Philip Seymour Hoffman: Capote
Terrence Howard: Hustle & Flow
Heath Ledger: Brokeback Mountain
Joaquin Phoenix: Walk the Line
David Strathairn: Good Night, and Good Luck
Comment: This is a great list, each one of them a worthy nominee. Tyler Durden is no doubt pumped that his boy Terrence Howard got the nod, and while I was blown away by Joaquin Phoenix’s performance in “Walk the Line,” I’m secretly hoping that either Hoffman or Strathairn get the Oscar. After seeing “The Talented Mr. Ripley,” Buffybot and I joked that for the ones that hadn’t already won an Oscar (Damon, Paltrow), the rest of the cast soon would (Blanchett, Law, Hoffman). Cate’s now in the club. Maybe the jolly fat guy from “Twister” isn’t far behind.
Best Actress
Judi Dench: Mrs. Henderson Presents
Felicity Huffman: Transamerica
Keira Knightley: Pride & Prejudice
Charlize Theron: North Country
Reese Witherspoon: Walk the Line
Comment: This is clearly a two-horse race between Huffman (who won the Golden Globe for Drama) and Witherspoon (who won the Golden Globe for Musical/Comedy). Theron’s nom, if nothing else, allows her to say that “Monster” was no one-shot fluke. Knightley and Dench are just filling holes. Truthfully, I would have given Naomi Watts a long look for her performance in “King Kong.” Seriously. She was amazing.
Best Supporting Actor
George Clooney: Syriana
Matt Dillon: Crash
Paul Giamatti: Cinderella Man
Jake Gyllenhaal: Brokeback Mountain
William Hurt: A History of Violence
Comment: Holy schnikes. Clooney, Dillon, Giamatti and Gyllenhaal all get their first nods, while Hurt continues to torture me with his presence in the movie industry. While everyone was livid over Giamatti’s omission last year for his work in “Sideways,” look for Clooney to be the sentimental favorite here. Plus, (SPOILER ALERT) the dude lost two fingernails via torture for the part.
Best Supporting Actress
Amy Adams: Junebug
Catherine Keener: Capote
Frances McDormand: North Country
Rachel Weisz: The Constant Gardener
Michele Williams: Brokeback Mountain
Comment: Had to admit, I needed to look up Amy Adams on IMDb to find out who she was. This looks like another two-horse race between Keener, a longtime indie darling, and Williams, whose performance in “Brokeback” was the textbook definition of smoldering rage. As for Weisz, we expect her to be late for the show, as she will be too busy telling the screaming fans how dumb they are.
Best Director
Ang Lee: Brokeback Mountain
Bennett Miller: Capote
Paul Haggis: Crash
George Clooney: Good Night, and Good Luck
Steven Spielberg: Munich
Comment: The one time where we can safely say that Spielberg doesn’t have a prayer. Haggis has been riding a wave of good will (except from Defamer’s Mark Lisanti, who has been a one-man “Crash” wrecking crew since the movie’s release), but the clear favorites here are Lee and Clooney. It would be a mighty impressive feat if Clooney won Oscars for performing in one movie and directing another. That has to be a first.
Best Picture
Brokeback Mountain
Capote
Crash
Good Night, and Good Luck
Munich
Comment: Again, Spielberg doesn’t have a prayer. Was “Match Point” not eligible? Everyone’s raving about that, and I could swear that it was released in time to be considered. At this point, this is “Brokeback Mountain”’s Oscar to lose.
