2011 Oscar Nominations

Early this morning, the 83rd Annual Academy Award nominations were announced. They were mostly predictable; unexpected nominees were more surprising because of who they forced off the list, not because they were nominated. For instance, Javier Bardém (Biutiful) took the space that was previously allotted to my personal favorite male performance of the year, Ryan Gosling in Blue Valentine. Given Biutiful‘s relative obscurity and Spanish language, the nom was likely snagged due to the aggressive campaigning conducted by Bardém’s Eat Pray Love co-star, Hollywood favorite Julia Roberts. Bloggers spewed venom all morning over the exclusion of Inception‘s Christopher Nolan in the Directing category. Not wanting to go after their beloved Coen Brothers (the ones who really took Nolan’s place), however, most chose to blame The King’s Speech director Tom Hooper for the snub, despite the fact that he had long been a shoe-in. Those two were the big stories; other surprises were barely noted (I Am Love for costume design or Barney’s Version for make-up, anyone?).

I’ll post my personal picks and predictions, just as I did for the Golden Globes, closer to the date. Meanwhile, if you’d like to make your own guesses, head on over to the official Oscar website to print your ballot.

And the nominees are…

Best Picture

• “Black Swan”
• “The Fighter”
• “Inception”
• “The Kids Are All Right”
• “The King’s Speech”
• “127 Hours”
• “The Social Network”
• “Toy Story 3”
• “True Grit”
• “Winter’s Bone”

Actor in a Leading Role

• Javier Bardém in “Biutiful”
• Jeff Bridges in “True Grit”
• Jesse Eisenberg in “The Social Network”
• Colin Firth in “The King’s Speech”
• James Franco in “127 Hours”

Actress in a Leading Role

• Annette Bening in “The Kids Are All Right”
• Nicole Kidman in “Rabbit Hole”
• Jennifer Lawrence in “Winter’s Bone”
• Natalie Portman in “Black Swan”
• Michelle Williams in “Blue Valentine”

Actor in a Supporting Role

• Christian Bale in “The Fighter”
• John Hawkes in “Winter’s Bone”
• Jeremy Renner in “The Town”
• Mark Ruffalo in “The Kids Are All Right”
• Geoffrey Rush in “The King’s Speech”

Actress in a Supporting Role

• Amy Adams in “The Fighter”
• Helena Bonham Carter in “The King’s Speech”
• Melissa Leo in “The Fighter”
• Hailee Steinfeld in “True Grit”
• Jacki Weaver in “Animal Kingdom”

Directing

• Darren Aronofsky for “Black Swan”
• Joel Coen and Ethan Coen for “True Grit”
• David Fincher for “The Social Network”
• Tom Hooper for “The King’s Speech”
• David O. Russell for “The Fighter”

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

• “127 Hours” (Danny Boyle & Simon Beaufoy)
• “The Social Network” (Aaron Sorkin)
• “Toy Story 3” (Michael Arndt)
• “True Grit” (Joel Coen & Ethan Coen)
• “Winter’s Bone” (Debra Granik & Anne Rosellini)

Writing (Original Screenplay)

• “Another Year” (Mike Leigh)
• “The Fighter” (Scott Silver and Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson)
• “Inception” (Christopher Nolan)
• “The Kids Are All Right” (Lisa Cholodenko & Stuart Blumberg)
• “The King’s Speech” (David Seidler)

Foreign Language Film

• “Biutiful” (Mexico)
• “Dogtooth” (Greece)
• “In a Better World” (Denmark)
• “Incendies” (Canada)
• “Outside the Law (Hors-la-loi)” (Algeria)

Documentary (Feature)

• “Exit through the Gift Shop”
• “Gasland”
• “Inside Job”
• “Restrepo”
• “Waste Land”

Animated Feature Film

• “How to Train Your Dragon”
• “The Illusionist”
• “Toy Story 3”

Art Direction

• “Alice in Wonderland”
• “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1”
• “Inception”
• “The King’s Speech”
• “True Grit”

Cinematography

• “Black Swan”
• “Inception”
• “The King’s Speech”
• “The Social Network”
• “True Grit”

Costume Design

• “Alice in Wonderland”
• “I Am Love”
• “The King’s Speech”
• “The Tempest”
• “True Grit”

Film Editing

• “Black Swan”
• “The Fighter”
• “The King’s Speech”
• “127 Hours”
• “The Social Network”

Makeup

• “Barney’s Version”
• “The Way Back”
• “The Wolfman”

Music (Original Score)

• “How to Train Your Dragon”
• “Inception”
• “The King’s Speech”
• “127 Hours”
• “The Social Network”

Music (Original Song)

• “Coming Home” from “Country Strong”
• “I See the Light” from “Tangled”
• “If I Rise” from “127 Hours”
• “We Belong Together” from “Toy Story 3″

Sound Editing

• “Inception”
• “Toy Story 3”
• “Tron: Legacy”
• “True Grit”
• “Unstoppable”

Sound Mixing

• “Inception”
• “The King’s Speech”
• “Salt”
• “The Social Network”
• “True Grit”

Visual Effects

• “Alice in Wonderland”
• “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1”
• “Hereafter”
• “Inception”
• “Iron Man 2”

Documentary (Short Subject)

• “Killing in the Name”
• “Poster Girl”
• “Strangers No More”
• “Sun Come Up”
• “The Warriors of Qiugang”

Short Film (Animated)

• “Day & Night”
• “The Gruffalo”
• “Let’s Pollute”
• “The Lost Thing”
• “Madagascar, carnet de voyage (Madagascar, a Journey Diary)”

Short Film (Live Action)

• “The Confession”
• “The Crush”
• “God of Love”
• “Na Wewe”
• “Wish 143”