Oscar Nominations ballot predictable with 'The King's Speech' leading the way ... - The Star-Ledger - NJ.com

Published: Wednesday, January 26, 2011, 8:00 AM     Updated: Wednesday, January 26, 2011, 12:27 PM

When it came time to say how they really felt about "The King's Speech," the voters of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences didn't stammer a bit.

"The King's Speech" starring Colin Firth and Helena Bonham Carter led the pack in Oscar nominations during yesterday's ceremony.

Other recognized films include, from top, "The Social Network," "True Grit," "The Kids Are All Right" and "The Fighter."

Jennifer Lawrence is a Best Actress nominee for "Winter's Bone," which received a Best Picture nod.

"Currently celebrating with my colleagues three feet above the ground," Firth emailed through a publicist. "Not used to this much joy, or this much champagne, at this hour."

You didn't have to go to British palaces to find great drama, though. The Coen brothers' "True Grit" found some in the old West — along with 10 nominations. "The Social Network," a modern tale of virtual friends and real-life enemies, got 8.

"This is a story we always knew was about the world we live in and what we value right now," said "Social Network" producer Michael De Luca. "Whether you're Copernicus or Mark Zuckerberg, there are certain things the heart needs – and Aaron Sorkin and David Fincher and this wonderful cast brought all that out."

Other multiple nominees included critical favorites "Black Swan," "The Kids Are All Right," "The Fighter," "Winter's Bone" and "Toy Story 3" (which was nominated for both best picture and best animated feature).

There were also a few — very few — surprises, mostly due to who wasn't mentioned.

Sentiment, apparently, only goes so far – despite a previous outpouring of affection, the recently ill Michael Douglas got nothing for either "Solitary Man" or "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps." And although "Inception" won a best-picture nod, Christopher Nolan's direction wasn't mentioned (nor was star Leonardo DiCaprio — also snubbed for "Shutter Island").

Shut out, too, were black actors. True, it was a year that lacked a breakthrough hit like "Precious," but none of the actresses in "For Colored Girls" was remembered; despite a personal push by Halle Berry, her multiple-personality melodrama — yet to open wide — "Frankie and Alice," was ignored. It will be the first Oscars in a decade without a single African-American honoree.

Other categories were far more diverse, with the best-picture list comprising "Black Swan," "The Fighter," "Inception," "The Kids Are All Right," "The King's Speech," "127 Hours," "The Social Network," "Toy Story 3," "True Grit," and "Winter's Bone." No real surprises there, though – even the double-nomination for "Toy Story 3" had a precedent in last year's love for "Up."

"Our films do really well not just at the box office but with critics, so it's disheartening to sometimes get overlooked at the end of the year," said "Toy Story 3" director Lee Unkrich. "These nominations are really thrilling."

In the best-actor race, famous friends counted for something – Julia Roberts' campaigning for Javier Bardem probably helped get him a long-shot nod for "Biutiful." But the other four men – Jeff Bridges for "True Grit," East Brunswick's Jesse Eisenberg for "The Social Network," Firth for "The King's Speech" and ceremony host James Franco, for "127 Hours" – had been on lots of short lists.

Best actress was another roundup of critical favorites – Annette Bening for "The Kids Are All Right," Nicole Kidman for "Rabbit Hole," Jennifer Lawrence for "Winter's Bone," Natalie Portman for "Black Swan" and Michelle Williams for "Blue Valentine." In a statement, Portman declared the recognition "a wonderful culmination of the ten-year journey with Darren (Aronofsky) to make this film," a movie she called "the most meaningful experience of my career."

The supporting categories, as usual, spotlighted scene-stealing performances.

Best supporting-actor contenders now include Christian Bale in "The Fighter," John Hawkes in "Winter's Bone," Jeremy Renner in "The Town" — a terrible trio of characters if there ever was one — filled out by the gentler Mark Ruffalo in "The Kids Are All Right" and Geoffrey Rush in "The King's Speech."

"Every once in a while you get struck by lightning and now it's twice for me," said Renner, who was nominated in the best-actor category last year for "The Hurt Locker." "It's great to be acknowledged, but acting is something, if I could do it for free, I would – and a couple of times I've come close!"

'I'm JUST STUNNED'

Meanwhile the official best supporting-actress hopefuls are Amy Adams for "The Fighter," Helena Bonham Carter for "The King's Speech," Melissa Leo for "The Fighter," Hailee Steinfeld for her debut in "True Grit" and Jacki Weaver for "Animal Kingdom" – formidable characters all.

"Cate Blanchett told me I'd get a nomination but I thought she was just being generous," said Weaver, who plays a sort of Aussie Ma Barker. "I'm just stunned, really — it's a formidable lineup, these actresses."

Bonham Carter was quick to thank her own formidable co-star, Firth, for her nomination ("It's easier if you've got someone who's brilliant opposite you") and described her work in the film as "being a bit like a perfumer — you're trying to capture an essence."

As for the directors, each one was behind one of the multi-nominated, best-picture contenders — Aronofsky for "Black Swan," David O. Russell for "The Fighter," Tom Hooper for "The Kings Speech," David Fincher for "The Social Network" and Joel and Ethan Coen for "True Grit." Aronofsky was playing Legos with his son when the news came, and later said through a publicist that he was "incredibly touched and humbled. I grew up watching the awards and never thought this would be my reality."

Of course, some recognition for Debra Granik, who directed the tiny "Winter's Bone" to a best-picture nod and two performing nominations, would have been well deserved. It also would have been a welcome surprise in what seemed like an almost pre-ordained list.

On Sunday, I handicapped the six top categories, with 35 possible nominees among them. Of those, 31 of my picks got a nomination (while I'd mentioned the other four names as possible upsets). This isn't to point out my ESP skills (although I may just buy a lottery ticket today) but how literally predictable the overstuffed movie-awards season has become.

Of course, various picture pundits and show biz bloggers will still try to whip up interest for another day or so looking for snubs and concocting various "reasons."

Did "Get Low" open too early to get notice for Robert Duvall and Bill Murray? Did overcrowded supporting-performance categories shut out the women of "Black Swan" and the men of "The Social Network"? Were the characters Paul Giamatti played in "Barney's Version" and Lesley Manville did in "Another Year" simply too unlikable for mainstream voters?

Hard to say — and ultimately beside the point.

Because, after the anticlimax of these nominations, the only real surprise left is how the Academy is going to keep us interested until — and tuning in on — February 27.