Oscar Nominations: Who Got Dissed and Who Got Some Surprise Love

By John Mitchell Posted Jan 25th 2011 12:20PM

The Academy Award nominations were released this morning and were full of snubs and surprises. The biggest diss was an obvious one: 'Inception' director Christopher Nolan, whose film received eight nominations including best picture, failed to score a best director nomination. Mila Kunis, Ryan Gosling and Michael Douglas, all of whom were shortlisted by critics groups and the Golden Globes in the lead-up to the noms and were expected to be on the ballot, also all failed to land nominations.

With 12 nods, 'The King's Speech' leads all nominees with the Coen brothers' box office smash 'True Grit' hot on its tail with a surprise 10 nominations, and while the 'Social Network' scored an impressive eight nods (tied with 'Inception' for third best), supporting players Andrew Garfield and Justin Timberlake didn't feel any Oscar love. Nor did Ben Affleck's acclaimed hit 'The Town' -- its only nomination came for Jeremy Renner in the best supporting actor category.

So who came out of nowhere to take their place? After the jump, we break down who got left in the cold and who got invited to the big show instead.

►Best Actor: Javier Bardem ('Biutiful') in, Ryan Gosling ('Blue Valentine') out

While Gosling has been touch-and-go throughout awards season, having received a best actor nomination for 'Blue Valentine' at the Golden Globes but failing to receive any love from the Screen Actors Guild, he seemed to be gaining steam heading into the Oscar noms. His low-budget film is a small-scale hit, and critics love his performance as a young husband trying to resuscitate his failing marriage. Even in the moments before the best actor announcement, things were looking good for the handsome actor as his on-screen other half, Michelle Williams, landed on the best actress list. But it wasn't meant to be (at least this year) for Gosling, with Bardem (an Oscar winner for 'No Country for Old Men') sweeping in with his Spanish-language film to score a surprise best actor nod. Bardem's nom comes entirely out of left field -- while he's certainly received raves for his performance in 'Biutiful,' this is the first major American award nomination for his performance. He also edged out 'Get Low' legend Robert Duvall, whose SAG nod seemed to make him Gosling's truest competition for a best actor nomination.

►Best Supporting Actress: Hailee Steinfeld ('True Grit') in, Mila Kunis ('Black Swan') out

That Steinfeld received a nomination isn't really a surprise, but that she received it as best supporting actress might be. Her inclusion here instead of in the lead actress category almost certainly pushed Kunis, who up to this point had been nominated for every major award, out. 'True Grit's' studio, Paramount, campaigned hard for Steinfeld to be nominated for best supporting actress, though many -- including the British Academy, who nominated her 'Grit' turn for best actress -- believe (rightly) that she is the film's female lead. Conventional wisdom was that Steinfeld's performance straddled the line between supporting and lead and she stood a better shot at a nomination in the supporting category. (Conventional wisdom here appears to have been correct.) A reverse of this same situation occurred in 2009, when Miramax tried to push Kate Winslet's role in 'The Reader' as a supporting one, but the Academy wasn't having it and nominated her for lead actress (which she went on to win) instead. Either way, Kunis will have to content herself with 'Swan's' five other nominations, including best picture and best director (Darren Aronofsky).

►Best Supporting Actor: John Hawkes ('Winter's Bone') and Mark Ruffalo ('The Kids Are All Right') in, Michael Douglas ('Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps') and Andrew Garfield ('The Social Network') out

Hawkes' nomination might be the biggest surprise among the acting nominees, but you won't hear us complaining. ('Winter's Bone' deserves every bit of Oscar love it received.) Not hearing Mo'Nique call Andrew Garfield's name, however, was perhaps even more jarring, as he seemed as assured an acting nom for 'The Social Network' as co-star Jesse Eisenberg, who did earn a nod for his lead performance. And while Douglas always seemed like a bit of a long shot for 'Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps,' his Golden Globe nod and the general goodwill he's experiencing after recently announcing that his cancer is in complete remission made him a contender -- especially since many consider 'The Kids Are All Right' to be more of a showcase for Annette Bening and Julianne Moore, which has made Mark Ruffalo a take-him-or-leave-him inclusion throughout awards season.

►Best Director: Joel and Ethan Coen ('True Grit') in, Christopher Nolan ('Inception') out

Frankly, we could have subbed just about any of the very talented directors who made it into this category over Nolan in place of the Coen brothers. Simply put, the deft and assured hand Nolan brought to the challenging 'Inception' deserved a nomination, and all major pundits expected he would be included. How can a film be recognized for its music, screenplay (which Nolan wrote), sound, visual effects, cinematography, art direction and overall quality (best picture) but not earn a nod for the man who controlled all of those things? Its screenplay and best picture nods indicate Academy members viewed 'Inception' as more than a technical achievement, so leaving out the man who not only conceived the film as a writer but executed it (with apparent technical precision) as a director is a crime against cinema.

►Best Picture: '127 Hours' in, 'The Town' out

Since its early fall release, Ben Affleck's second film as a director, 'The Town,' seemed a likely Oscar nominee. The best picture field was opened to 10 films last year in an effort to include more highbrow studio fare (i.e. films that middle America actually saw), and 'The Town' is a perfect fit: a star-studded, critically acclaimed box office hit (it grossed $92 million in the U.S.) from a director well liked by the Hollywood establishment. Of all the disses this year, the chilly reception for 'The Town' (it received only one nomination) is high on the list, and it's even more surprising that it was brought down by Danny Boyle's '127 Hours,' a buzzed-about indie that got left in the dust, making just $11 million while other specialty releases -- like 'Black Swan' ($83 million), 'The King's Speech' ($57 million) and 'The Fighter' ($72 million) -- went on to find mainstream audiences (something their many Oscar nominations should continue to help them with) and box office glory.

Tags: andrew garfield, Christopher Nolan, mila kunis, oscars, ryan gosling

Comments

(22)

Tuesday 25 January

By Bonbon

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"The Town" was robbed, Winters Bone sucked big time!

By stu

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Remakes (True Grit) should not get nominated.

Wednesday 26 January

By Anne

It's okay since the money they were paid more than makes up for the snubs. Not like he has to look for his next meal.

Mila Kunis probably inconsolable.

By Sally

Timberlake is the one who is inconsolable. He _actually_ thinks he is the best everything EVAR. Just ask him. He'll be happy to tell you all about why he is.

By Andy

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If Hailee Steinfeld is the best supporting actress in True Grit, who the hell is the lead actress?

By joe

It is all configured on screen time, there is no lead actress. She is supporting the story, not another actress. It is all very carefully calculated by the SAG.

By BTDT

"Best Supporting Actress: Hailee Steinfeld ('True Grit') in"

She was really the lead actress. (Practically the only actress)
And oh by the way, she was great.

P.E. thinks Micheal Douglas should be nominated for the same role he already one for in the original? GET REAL!!! A pity nod cuz of his cancer?

By Hank

For me the biggest crimes are Bardem of Gosling, and the lack of Garfield.

Not nominating Gosling is just inexcusable. He gave arguably the best male performance of the year. He was certainly better than Bardem, Bridges, and Eisenberg in any case. Especially since Williams got in for best actress, and I'm glad she did, she was excellent, but in the movie Williams had a hard time keeping up with Gosling. If someone told me only one of the two would be nominated, I would have said it would be Gosling.

As far as Garfield, I would have put him in instead of Renner. Hawkes was a surprise, but he did an excellent job. I thought Garfield was going to be a lock.

I really wanted Kunis to be nominated because I loved Black Swan, but I'm not terribly surprised she got left out. I figured Bonham Carter, Leo, and Adams were locks, and it would be a close race between Steinfeld, Weaver, and Kunis for the last two. Kunis just didn't make the cut.

I also wanted Nolan to be nominated, but I'm not terribly surprised about him being left out either. I figured it would be between him and the Coens.

Also not surprised about The Town getting left out. It was a good movie definitely, but it just didn't have anything special going for it. If it had came out last year I would be upset if it hadn't gotten in since there were several weak sports, but even with 10 entries this year, everyone else was too good for The Town to make the cut. Besides, they already put their box office smashes in the top 10 with The Social Network, Inception, and Toy Story 3. They didn't need to add another to get middle America to watch.

Oh, and Michael Douglas? Really?

He didn't have a chance of getting nominated at anything other than the Globes who are usually more focused on popularity and bankability rather than excellent performances. I'm glad he's feeling better, but Ruffalo was better, and The Kids are All Right was the better movie.

By rudewaitress

Right on Hank, and Fiona below. A nomination for Michael Douglas would have been a sympathy nod. Besides, he didn't deserve the win for the original Wall Street. Timberlake was not deserving either, but at least his publicist tried. Christopher Nolan was HIGHWAY robbed and the Cohen creeps manage to slip in again.

By ~Sher~

Ryan Gosling was ROBBED...unbelievable!!!!!!!!!!!

And..how can you nominate a movie for Best Picture (Inception) and yet snub the Director (Christopher Nolan)????????

SHAME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

By fiona

Christopher Nolan was the biggest snub in ages. I don't think Inception was the best film of the year but that doesn't mean it wasn't directed with incredible finesse. The Best Picture doesn't necessarily mean an automatic win for Best Director and vice versa. And though it may have confused some audiences, it had so much more going for it than The Social Network or True Grit and their respective direction.

By lcm073

Allowing 10 movies in the best movie category is absurd. Why not 10 nominees in every category??? Does everyone in Hollywood need their egos stroked?

Having 10 Best Picture nominees is a stunt to try to get more people to watch because they think people will watch to root for 'their movie'. All it really means is that someone might win with a mere 10%+1 vote which makes the win pretty much meaningless.

By leslierichard17

Hey, talk about snubs...the Academy should have hired Ricky Gervais as emcee but went for bland nice-nice hosts instead. Would have loved to see Ricky, Part Two of his slamfest.

i think cutie pie james will be just as good as ricky.
& more easier on the eyes=yummmmy

By Kanye', and by da way...i wuz robbed!

I wuz robbed! i wuz robbed! i shudda got nomanated for my video! Me or Beyonce'! i wuz robbed!- Kanye'!!!

By Dallas

Burlesque should have been nominated for one or more songs from the amazing soundtrack which has won tons of awards already! BOO!

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