2017 Oscar Nominations: La La, or Blah Blah?

The Oscar nominations are usually a pretty big deal in our house, but for the first time in quite a few years, the field has just failed to ignite much excitement.

 

I think a lot of it is the overall lack of more sprawling, epic films this year. Last season we had pictures like The Revenant, The Martian, Mad Max: Fury Road and The Hateful Eight. This year, out of nine Best Picture nominees, only two have captured my attention so far – Arrival and Hell or High Water. I’m sure I’m going to love Fences, Hidden Figures, La La Land and Manchester by the Sea, et al – but none of them have so far captured my imagination enough to lure me out to the theater – a rare thing – and none of them are available on home video yet, with the exception of Hell or High Water. I have a feeling I’m not alone this year, and I think that Jimmy Kimmel and the gang might want to brace themselves for some lower-than-average ratings for the broadcast on Sunday, February 26th.

  

One thing for sure, it's going to be the longest, saddest "In Memorium" segment in broadcast history.

 

Of course, being a little less engaged than previous years isn’t keeping me from having opinions.

 

Arrival nabbed eight nominations, a really substantial number, and a bit of a rarity for science fiction films, including Denis Villeneuve for Best Director – but shockingly, Amy Adams did not receive recognition for her work and was overlooked for Best Actress. This is ludicrous, as Adams pretty much is Arrival. She’s in nearly every scene and is basically the heart and soul of the picture. A truly embarrassing omission.

 

It’s great to see Jeff Bridges get the Supporting Actor nod for Hell or High Water, but where’s Ben Foster’s nomination?! It’s some of his absolute best work. Likewise, Chris Pine still hasn’t received the recognition his craftsmanship deserves, especially here.

 

I’m thrilled to see Life Animated receive a nomination for Best Documentary Feature – it’s a tremendous, insightful and uplifting film about the human condition. It’s among some pretty tough competition this year, but wonderful to see it acknowledged. 

 

After last years’ #OscarSoWhite, it was a better year for African American actors, with a record seven nominations representing people of color being recognized across every acting category. Though several news outlets managed clumsily merge two of these films via “Hidden Fences,” a hasty amalgamation of Hidden Figures and Fences. Perhaps some stronger coffee and better editing?

                                

Cinematography is one of my personal favorite categories, as this is frankly, the very heart of cinema. Again, the field feels a little muted this year. While I still haven’t seen it, La La Land seems to be the favorite with 14 nominations, tying both Titanic and All About Eve, and it will likely take the category, with Arrival, Lion, Moonlight and Silence rounding out the category.

 

Interestingly, Nate Parker’s Birth of a Nation, once considered the unstoppable front-runner, could not escape the revelations shadowing its star and director, failing to capture a single nomination. Meanwhile, Mel Gibson is officially back in the fold, with Hacksaw Ridge garnering both Best Picture and Best Director nominations.

 

The gown-shilling and lobbying is now officially underway. Here’s hoping this inspires me to make time to seek out some of these films and discover their magic before the big night. It’s always good to explore new films and fresh voices, and there’s undoubtedly an immeasurable mountain of craft and vision in these films. I’m looking forward to getting to know them and to kicking myself for waiting so long to do so.

 

Here’s the complete list of the nominees for you:

 

 Best picture:

"Arrival"

“Fences”

“Hacksaw Ridge”

“Hell or High Water”

“Hidden Figures”

“La La Land”

“Lion”

“Manchester by the Sea”

“Moonlight”

 

Lead actor:
Casey Affleck, “Manchester by the Sea”
Andrew Garfield, "Hacksaw Ridge
Ryan Gosling, “La La Land,”
Viggo Mortensen, “Captain Fantastic”
Denzel Washington, “Fences”

Lead actress:

Isabelle Huppert, “Elle”
Ruth Negga, “Loving”
Natalie Portman, “Jackie”
Emma Stone, “La La Land”
Meryl Streep, "Florence Foster Jenkins"

Lead actor:
Casey Affleck, “Manchester by the Sea”
Andrew Garfield, "Hacksaw Ridge"
Ryan Gosling, “La La Land,”
Viggo Mortensen, “Captain Fantastic”
Denzel Washington, “Fences”
 

Lead actress:

Isabelle Huppert, “Elle”
Ruth Negga, “Loving”
Natalie Portman, “Jackie”
Emma Stone, “La La Land”
Meryl Streep, "Florence Foster Jenkins"
 

Supporting actor:
Mahershala Ali, “Moonlight”
Jeff Bridges, “Hell or High Water”
Lucas Hedges, “Manchester by the Sea”
Dev Patel, “Lion”
Michael Shannon, “Nocturnal Animals”

Supporting actress:
Viola Davis, “Fences”
Naomie Harris, “Moonlight”
Nicole Kidman, “Lion”
Octavia Spencer, “Hidden Figures”
Michelle Williams, “Manchester by the Sea”

Best director:

“La La Land,” Damien Chazelle

"Hacksaw Ridge," Mel Gibson
“Moonlight,” Barry Jenkins
“Manchester by the Sea,” Kenneth Lonergan
“Arrival,” Denis Villeneuve

 Animated feature:

"Kubo and the Two Strings," Travis Knight and Arianne Sutner

“Moana,” John Musker, Ron Clements and Osnat Shurer
“My Life as a Zucchini,” Claude Barras and Max Karli
“The Red Turtle,” Michael Dudok de Wit and Toshio Suzuki
"Zootopia," Byron Howard, Rich Moore and Clark Spencer

 Animated short:

“Blind Vaysha,” Theodore Ushev

“Borrowed Time,” Andrew Coats and Lou Hamou-Lhadj
“Pear Cider and Cigarettes,” Robert Valley and Cara Speller
“Pearl,” Patrick Osborne
“Piper,” Alan Barillaro and Marc Sondheimer

Adapted screenplay:

“Arrival,” Eric Heisserer

“Fences,” August Wilson
“Hidden Figures,” Allison Schroeder and Theodore Melfi
“Lion,” Luke Davies
“Moonlight,” Barry Jenkins; Story by Tarell Alvin McCraney

 Original screenplay:

“20th Century Women,” Mike Mills

“Hell or High Water,” Taylor Sheridan
“La La Land,” Damien Chazelle
“The Lobster,” Yorgos Lanthimos, Efthimis Filippou
“Manchester by the Sea,” Kenneth Lonergan 

Cinematography:

“Arrival,” Bradford Young
“La La Land,” Linus Sandgren
“Lion,” Greig Fraser
“Moonlight,” James Laxton
“Silence,” Rodrigo Prieto

Best documentary feature:

“13th,” Ava DuVernay, Spencer Averick and Howard Barish

"Fire at Sea," Gianfranco Rosi and Donatella Palermo
“I Am Not Your Negro,” Raoul Peck, Remi Grellety and Hebert Peck
“Life, Animated,” Roger Ross Williams and Julie Goldman
“O.J.: Made in America,” Ezra Edelman and Caroline Waterlow 
 

Best documentary short subject:
“4.1 Miles,” Daphne Matziaraki
“Extremis,” Dan Krauss
“Joe’s Violin,” Kahane Cooperman and Raphaela Neihausen
“Watani: My Homeland,” Marcel Mettelsiefen and Stephen Ellis
“The White Helmets,” Orlando von Einsiedel and Joanna Natasegara

Best live action short film:

“Ennemis Interieurs,” Selim Azzazi

“La Femme et le TGV,” Timo von Gunten and Giacun Caduff
“Silent Nights,” Aske Bang and Kim Magnusson
“Sing,” Kristof Deak and Anna Udvardy
“Timecode,” Juanjo Gimenez

Best foreign language film:

"A Man Called Ove," Sweden

"Land of Mine," Denmark
“Tanna,” Australia
“The Salesman," Iran  
“Toni Erdmann,” Germany

Film editing:

“Arrival,” Joe Walker
"Hacksaw Ridge," John Gilbert
“Hell or High Water,” Jake Roberts
“La La Land,” Tom Cross
“Moonlight,” Nat Sanders and Joi McMillon

Sound editing:

“Arrival,” Sylvain Bellemare

“Deep Water Horizon,” Wylie Stateman and Renee Tondelli
"Hacksaw Ridge," Robert Mackenzie and Andy Wright
“La La Land,” Ai-Ling Lee and Mildred Iatrou Morgan
“Sully,” Alan Robert Murray and Bub Asman

Sound editing:

“Arrival,” Sylvain Bellemare

“Deep Water Horizon,” Wylie Stateman and Renee Tondelli
"Hacksaw Ridge," Robert Mackenzie and Andy Wright
“La La Land,” Ai-Ling Lee and Mildred Iatrou Morgan
“Sully,” Alan Robert Murray and Bub Asman

Sound mixing:

“Arrival,” Bernard Gariepy Strobl and Claude La Haye                                                     

"Hacksaw Ridge," Kevin O’Connell, Andy Wright, Robert Mackenzie and Peter Grace           

“La La Land,” Andy Nelson, Ai-Ling Lee and Steve A. Morrow                                         

“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” David Parker, Christopher Scarabosio and Stuart Wilson     

“13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi,” Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers, Jeffrey J. Haboush and Mac Ruth

Production design:

“Arrival,” Patrice Vermette, Paul Hotte

"Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them," Stuart Craig, Anna Pinnock
“Hail, Caesar!,” Jess Gonchor, Nancy Haigh
“La La Land,” David Wasco, Sandy Reynolds-Wasco
“Passengers,” Guy Hendrix Dyas, Gene Serdena

Original score:

“Jackie,” Mica Levi

“La La Land,” Justin Hurwitz
“Lion,” Dustin O’Halloran and Hauschka
“Moonlight,” Nicholas Britell
“Passengers," Thomas Newman
 

Original song:

“Audition (The Fools Who Dream),” “La La Land” — Music by Justin Hurwitz; Lyric by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul

“Can’t Stop the Feeling,” “Trolls” — Music and Lyric by Justin Timberlake, Max Martin and Karl Johan Schuster
“City of Stars,” “La La Land” — Music by Justin Hurwitz; Lyric by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul
“The Empty Chair,” “Jim: The James Foley Story” — Music and Lyric by J. Ralph and Sting
“How Far I’ll Go,” “Moana” — Music and Lyric by Lin-Manuel Miranda

Makeup and hair:

“A Man Called Ove,” Eva von Bahr and Love Larson
"Star Trek Beyond," Joel Harlow and Richard Alonzo
“Suicide Squad,” Alessandro Bertolazzi, Giorgio Gregorini and Christopher Nelson

Costume design:
“Allied,” Joanna Johnston
"Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them," Colleen Atwood
"Florence Foster Jenkins," Consolata Boyle
“Jackie,” Madeline Fontaine
“La La Land,” Mary Zophres

Visual effects:

“Deepwater Horizon,” Craig Hammack, Jason Snell, Jason Billington and Burt Dalton     
“Doctor Strange,” Stephane Ceretti, Richard Bluff, Vincent Cirelli and Paul Corbould           
“The Jungle Book,” Robert Legato, Adam Valdez, Andrew R. Jones and Dan Lemmon

"Kubo and the Two Strings," Steve Emerson, Oliver Jones, Brian McLean and Brad Schiff
“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” John Knoll, Mohen Leo, Hal Hickel and Neil Corbould