Among the big winners at last Sunday’s 84th Annual Academy Awards was Belfast-born director Terry George, whose short film ‘The Shore‘ won for Best Live Action Short Film.

George has previously been nominated twice at the Academy Awards, once in 1994 for Best Adapted Screenplay for ‘In The Name of the Father‘, and again in 2005 for Best Original Screenplay for ‘Hotel Rwanda‘. His win for The Shore, however, represents the culmination in a long labour of love which sought to depict Northern Ireland in a brand new light to the world.

The Shore stars Ciarán Hinds, Conleth Hill, Maggy Cronin and Kerry Condon, and centres around a man (played by Hinds) who returns to Northern Ireland after a long absence with his daughter (played by Condon) and forges a reconciliation with an old friend and an old lover (played by Hill and Cronin, respectively). The theme of reconciliation is an important one for George, who served as both writer and director on the project, with him stating in his acceptance speech:

Our little film was inspired by the people of Northern Ireland, Protestant and Catholic, who, after 30 years of war, sat down, negotiated a peace, and proved to the world that the Irish are great talkers. I want to dedicate this to them.

George accepted the award with his co-producer – and daughter – Oorlagh, showing how much this film was a family affair. George shot the majority of The Shore in Killough, a small town in County Down, Northern Ireland, where many of the George family still reside and where George will be making a triumphant return later this week.

The film’s Academy Award success could not have been predicted when it made its initial premiere last April at the Belfast Film Festival, however, since then it has gone on to secure both an international distribution deal and cinema run, a television airing in the UK, and has even been made available for purchase on iTunes for just £1.49.

The success of the film will potentially result in a boom in tourism, but the main hope is that it will lead to an increase in activity for Northern Ireland’s film and television industry. Already this year, American cable dramas Game of Thrones and Sons of Anarchy have shot on location in the country, while the BBC’s upcoming crime drama The Fall, starring Gillian Anderson, has been confirmed to be shooting a significant part of its five-episode order in Belfast in the coming weeks.

All of this would have deemed unimaginable just a decade or so ago, when Northern Ireland was still in the throes of The Troubles. Yet, political advancements in the peace process and George’s own admitted fatigue with the ‘Hollywood’ way of making films all led to The Shore being made possible, and to a potential revision to the outside view of 21st century life in Northern Ireland.

Image Courtesy of   http://theshorefilm.com/

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At last, one of the most respected contemporary actresses in Hollywood won the golden statue last night in what turned out to be one of the best Academy Award shows of the new millennium. Surprise was written all over the 62-year-old actress’ face as her name was announced by last year’s Leading Man, Colin Firth.

credit: Matt Petit / ©A.M.P.A.S.

Meryl Streep was awestruck but composed as she approached the stage and gracefully accepted the statue. In her speech, she reminisced about her long career which includes 17 Oscar nominations to date — making her the most nominated actor in the Award’s history. Her last win was almost 20 years ago so this year was a welcome release of appreciation for the revered actress.

Backstage, the eager Oscar press corps were ready to quiz the newly-made third-time winner.

Q. I wanted to ask you about what you said on stage because you said that it would probably be your last time there winning an Oscar?

A. Yes, I’m pushing the tolerance.

Q. Maybe you don’t want to give Katharine Hepburn a run for her money?

A. Did she have more?

Q. Four.

A. Oh, well, okay.

Q. No, but really, how did you feel winning this third award, and why did you think

A. Oh, I was thrilled. I thought I was so old and jaded, but they call your name, and you just go into sort of a, I don’t know, a white light. And it was just thrilling. It was like I was a kid again. I mean, it was I was a kid when I won this, like, 30 years ago. Two of the nominees were not even conceived. So, you know, it was great. And it was doubly wonderful because my long time collaborative colleague, Roy Helland, makeup man, hairdresser, he won too, and he won for not an outside he won with his colleague Mark Coulier, who is a great British prosthetics designer, but he won not for some, you know, monster making, but for making a human being, and it’s very unusual in that branch that they give it to somebody who’s just trying to transform people. And so I was really, really proud for him.

Q. In researching your role, did you have a chance to meet Margaret Thatcher?

A. No, I haven’t. Really, she has retired from public life almost entirely now in the last two years. So, no, I didn’t. But I studied her, and I studied, you know, there’s so much archival footage. And then the challenge was to imagine her present life, and that was completely an active imagination on Abi Morgan, the writer’s part, and my part, but there was a lot of freedom in that, but also responsibility to a real person and to history. So, it was it was really very, very satisfying as an actor, as an artist, to make a film that starts out about

Q. We love you there, and I’ve been following your career, too, but I am learning that you have very good relationship with a lot of staff member as well as your family. What is the trick of sustaining such a deep, good relationship in such a busy life?

A. You can ask every working woman that question and get a million different answers because it’s it’s the juggle and the challenge that we have, but honestly, in my life, because it’s in the arts, I don’t go to work every day. So my day has been more flexible than other working women. Even when I was young and broke, I could I was only working ever for four months at a time, and I was unemployed. So my children never knew when I was going to be home. It was very valuable. But, you know, I think it’s a struggle. And it’s an ongoing struggle. Women have to do it all, you know. And so, the more flexible work becomes, the more engaged the dads become, the better.

Q. And my question is, you won for ‘Kramer vs. Kramer’ for the very first time, and then ‘Sophie’s Choice’, and now for ‘Iron lady’. Which one of those was this is impossible question to answer, I guess, but talk about, you know, those different experiences in getting up there and accepting, you know, three times now, what was that you know, what was it like the first time around and the second time around and is this better in some way?

A. I read a poem yesterday, and it had nothing to do with this but it said, one of the lines jumped out and it said, “It is strange to be here once as it is to return.” So, that’s true. It is strange, the whole thing is strange. I mean, if you’re a human being, it’s weird. If you are not, I don’t know. Probably fun.

Q. You had mentioned that it has been a long time since the last time you won. Were you worried that it never was going to happen again?

A. No. I have I mean, I have everything I’ve ever dreamed of in my life. And no. I mean, I think there’s room for other people. Frankly, I understand Streep fatigue. And it shocks me, it shocked me that it didn’t override this tonight. So, I was really, really happy but I don’t take anything for granted, that’s for sure.

Credit: Matt Brown / ©A.M.P.A.S.

Q. Congratulations. In your very moving speech this evening, you mentioned jokingly we might all be sick of you in the future. I hope that doesn’t happen, but it seems like you have the beginning of a second project in life with The Women’s Museum. Would you talk a little bit about that?

A. Thank you for asking about that. There is no national women’s history museum, but there is a lot of history that is not written about the contributions of women in our country and around the world. And I think it would be really, really inspiring for people all around the world to have this fantastic center where you can learn the stuff that hasn’t been written about women, because for many, many centuries, history was not interested in us. And yet, and our history is invisible and I think it would be great for boys and girls to go to a place where they could learn about the contributions of their foremothers as well as their forefathers.

Q. Expounding on that idea, with young girls today, young women watching the Oscars, what advice would you give to them if they are thinking about going into filmmaking or acting?

A. Or anything.

Q. Or anything?

A. Or anything. Never give up. Don’t up, don’t give up. I mean, many girls around the world live in circumstances that are unimaginably difficult. And it’s not, you know, show business is a golf game compared to the way most kids grow up in the world. But I would say never give up. On March 8, 9, and 10, Tina Brown is hosting something called Women in the World in New York, a 3 day symposium bringing activists around the world on behalf of issues concerning women and girls, and it’s a great, great thing. Hope you will write about it and go see it. And thank you very much.

Q. Have you paid tribute to the great work of Roy and Mark on your makeup? Can you describe that moment when you first looked in the mirror and saw the face of Margaret Thatcher looking back at you?

A. Well, by the time we had achieved the right amount of less, and less, and less, I had become acclimated to not looking at Margaret Thatcher in the mirror and thought it was me, and that was important to me that I wasn’t looking at rubber, that I was looking at me. You know, I sort, of at that point in the process of creating a character, I’d already sort of morphed in a way, in my head, and in my heart, with her, and her concerns and her interests, her zeal, her mission, her sense of rightness, and all of that. But honestly, when we first had the old age makeup on, I saw my dad. You know. I looked so much like my dad. Maybe my dad looked like Margaret Thatcher, I don’t know. So, is that the end?

Q. That is the end.

A. Okay. Thank you very much.

Image Courtesy of  Bryan Crowe / ©A.M.P.A.S. (Top Image)

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Last night was the dream night for the beautiful and unconventional film ‘The Artist’. The 2012 Academy Awards was truly a night for artists as solid craftsmanship was celebrated and history was made. One of the delightful results was the well deserved win by the French actor Jean Dujardin for his portrayal of the fading silent movie star George Valentin — an amazing performance that won the Academy’s hearts and votes. It also makes him the first French actor to ever receive the honor.

Credit: Greg Harbaugh / ©A.M.P.A.S.

Dujardin was tearful as Natalie Portman, last year’s winner in the Leading Actress category, as is tradition, introduced the performances all of the nominees. She noted the exquisite achievement of the French actor and he was visibly moved by the kind words. As his name was announced, the charming smile that moviegoers fell in love with in The Artist spread across his face as he approached the scene to accept the statue

Thank you. Oui! I love your country. Thank you to the Academy. It’s funny because in 1929 it wasn’t Billy Crystal, but Douglas Fairbanks who hosted the first Oscar ceremony. Tickets cost five dollars and it lasted 15 minutes. Times have changed. So thank you Douglas Fairbanks. Yes Melissa, your grandfather’s spirit and joie de vivre inspired me for this role. And so many of you here tonight have inspired me. Thank you Michel, thank you for this incredible gift. Thank you my wonderful partner Bérénice Bejo. Thank you the wonderful cast and crew. My wife, I love you. Kisses Simon, Jules, Chloe. And if George Valentin could speak, he’d say [French]. Merci beaucoup. I love you.

In his excitement, the 39-year-old actor, the youngest of the nominated, was almost unable to contain his joy and looked as if trying to return to the microphone to speak. Backstage, he got the chance.

Q. Sir, with your great success in this silent movie, are you concerned with the effort to make a transition into talkies?

A. (Jean Dujardin) In America? I’m not American actor. I’m a French actor, and I continue in France and but it’s possible. It’s

A. (Interpreter) If he can make another silent movie in America, he’d like to. He knows he’ll always be a French actor in America so he should find roles that, you know, those kinds of roles.

A. (Jean Dujardin) Thank you.

A. (Interpreter) But he has a few ideas that he wants to develop.

Q. At the end of your acceptance speech, did you perhaps drop the French equivalent of the F word?

A. I said it’s amazing. It’s incredible. It’s unbelievable. Thank you. Ah, yes. I’m sorry.

Q. And I’m wondering where your four legged friend is, Uggie, and how you’re going to celebrate with him?

A. (Jean Dujardin) Uggie? Tonight, Uggie is home in Miami, I think. So but, yes.

A. (Interpreter) He went to bed already.

Q. Hello, Jean. I would like to know what was the process of creating this character and was it any different from the way you created other talking characters?

A. It was not really intellectual, and I’m not an intellectual. No, I watch I watched a lot of movies. Douglas Fairbanks movies, Gene Kelly movies. I had fun pretending to be a movie star in 1920s.

Q. Congratulations.

A. Thank you very much. Thank you.

Credit: Greg Harbaugh / ©A.M.P.A.S.

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On Sunday, February 26, charities in 49 cities will host official Oscar viewing parties during the 84th Academy Awards ceremony as part of Oscar Night America (ONA), the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ grassroots outreach program.

The Academy sanctions charities across the country to host celebratory viewing parties on Oscar Night with proceeds directly benefiting the charities. All parties will feature the live broadcast of the Awards presentation; many will integrate Hollywood-style party elements, including red carpet arrivals, local celebrities, “paparazzi” photographers, predict-the-winner contests and live entertainment.

The 2012 Oscar Night America charities and cities are (alphabetical by city):

• KiMo Theatre, Albuquerque, NM
• The Center for Family Resources, Atlanta, GA
• AIDS Interfaith Residential Services (AIRS), Baltimore, MD
• The Ellie Fund, Boston, MA
• Shea’s Performing Arts Center, Buffalo, NY
• Virginia Film Festival, Charlottesville, VA
• Gene Siskel Film Center of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL
• People Working Cooperatively, Cincinnati, OH
• Ashtabula County Medical Center Foundation, Cleveland, OH
• USA Film Festival, Dallas, TX
• Denver Film Society, Denver, CO
• Southgate Community Players, Detroit, MI
• Waterfront Film Festival, Grand Rapids, MI
• Community Theatre of Greensboro, Greensboro/Winston-Salem, NC
• Junior League of Greenville, Greenville, SC
• Connecticut AIDS Resource Coalition, Hartford, CT
• Hawaii International Film Festival, Honolulu, HI
• American Cancer Society, High Plains Division, Houston, TX
• United Way of Central Indiana, Indianapolis, IN
• Variety – The Children’s Charity of Eastern Tennessee, Knoxville, TN
• Variety – The Children’s Charity of Southern Nevada, Las Vegas, NV
• Wolfe Street Foundation, Inc., Little Rock, AR
• MEND – Meet Each Need with Dignity, Los Angeles, CA
• WHAS Crusade for Children, Louisville, KY
• Ronald McDonald House of Memphis, Memphis, TN
• Miami Beach Film Society, Miami, FL
• COA Youth & Family Centers, Milwaukee, WI
• Aegis Foundation, Minneapolis, MN
• Belcourt Theatre, Nashville, TN
• American Red Cross, Southeast Louisiana Chapter, New Orleans, LA
• Ronald McDonald House of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma City, OK
• Alzheimer’s Association, Midlands Chapter, Omaha, NE
• Variety – The Children’s Charity of Florida, Orlando, FL
• Palm Beach International Film Festival, Palm Beach, FL
• Volunteers of America Delaware Valley, Philadelphia, PA
• Arthritis Foundation, Greater Southwest Chapter, Phoenix, AZ
• Rhode Island International Film Festival, Providence, RI
• Theatre In The Park, Raleigh, NC
• Central Virginia Film Institute, Richmond, VA
• Capital City AIDS Fund, Sacramento, CA
• Cinema St. Louis, St. Louis, MO
• Utah AIDS Foundation, Salt Lake City, UT
• Special Olympics Texas, San Antonio, TX
• Community Campership Council, Inc., San Diego, CA
• California Film Institute, San Francisco, CA
• Starlight Children’s Foundation Northwest, Seattle, WA
• Isabel’s House, Springfield, MO
• Tampa Theatre, Tampa, FL
• Fox Tucson Theatre Foundation, Tucson, AZ

To set these parties apart from the thousands of other events taking place on Oscar Night, each ONA party receives from the Academy copies of the official commemorative poster and the official Oscar show program among other items.

Only one charity party in a given media market may participate in ONA. Events are entirely produced by local nonprofit organizations, with the active participation of the local ABC-TV affiliate station.

Last year 51 charities hosted viewing parties for the 83rd Academy Awards with 17,332 guests in attendance nationwide. More than $3.5 million was raised, all of it remaining in local communities. Since its inception in 1994, the program has generated nearly $33.5 million in funding for a wide spectrum of charitable organizations – every cent staying within the community where it was raised.

For the 19th consecutive year, Concept Marketing Development of Santa Barbara, California, will assist the Academy in coordinating the program.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2011 will be presented on Sunday, February 26, 2010, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center, and televised live by the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 200 countries worldwide.

Image Courtesy of   Debby Wong / Shutterstock.com

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Eighteen of the 20 nominees in the acting categories were be among more than 150 Oscar nominees who gathered at noon on Monday, February 6, at the Beverly Hilton when the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences honored this year’s Oscar contenders at its annual Nominees Luncheon.

From the Best Actress and Actor categories all the nominees – Glenn Close, Viola Davis, Rooney Mara, Meryl Streep, Michelle Williams, Demián Bichir, George Clooney, Jean Dujardin, Gary Oldman and Brad Pitt – were expected to attend. Kenneth Branagh, Jonah Hill, Nick Nolte, Max von Sydow, Bérénice Bejo, Melissa McCarthy, Janet McTeer and Octavia Spencer were to represent the Supporting Actor and Actress categories.

Three of the five nominees in the Directing category – Michel Hazanavicius, Alexander Payne and Martin Scorsese – were also expected to attend. During the week leading up to the 84th Academy Awards ceremony, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will present five public events celebrating this year’s nominees.

Oscar Week events will feature screenings, film clips and discussions with filmmakers and artists whose work has garnered nominations in the Animated Feature Film, Documentary, Foreign Language Film, Makeup and Short Film categories. All events will take place at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills.

Oscar Week schedule

Tuesday, February 21, 7:30 p.m.
Shorts! The 2011 Animated and Live Action Short Film Nominees
Hosted by director, writer and animator Brad Bird who is a two-time Oscar winner in the Animated Feature Film category, for ‘The Incredibles’ (2004) and ‘Ratatouille’ (2007).

Shorts! features screenings of all of the 2011 Oscar-nominated films in the Animated and Live Action Short Film categories, plus an onstage discussion with the filmmakers (schedules permitting).

Wednesday, February 22, 7:30 p.m.
Docs! The 2011 Documentary Short Subject and Documentary Feature Nominees
Hosted by Michael Moore, Documentary Branch governor and 2002 Oscar winner for ‘Bowling for Columbine.’ He was also nominated in 2007 for “Sicko.”

Docs! will include film clips from each of the nominated documentary features and short subjects, and panel discussions with the nominees (schedules permitting).

Thursday, February 23, 7:30 p.m.  
Animated Feature Symposium
Hosted by actor Patton Oswalt, who voiced Remy in ‘Ratatouille’ (2007) and co-starred in ‘Young Adult’ (2011).

The Animated Feature Symposium celebrates the nominated achievements in the Animated Feature Film category. The nominees (schedules permitting) will discuss their creative processes and the development of their films, and present clips illustrating their techniques.

Saturday, February 25, 10 a.m.
Foreign Language Film Award Nominees Symposium
Hosted by Mark Johnson, Oscar-winning producer (‘Rain Man,’ 1988) and Foreign Language Film Award Committee chair.

The Foreign Language Film Award Nominees Symposium brings together the directors of the motion pictures nominated in the Foreign Language Film category to discuss their work as well as related topics such as art, politics and the challenges of their profession (schedules permitting).

Saturday, February 25, 2:30 p.m.
Makeup Artists and Hairstylists Symposium
Hosted by Leonard Engelman, Makeup Artists and Hairstylists Branch governor.

Oscar Week’s culminating public event celebrates the nominated achievements in the Makeup category with film clips, photographs, models and onstage discussions with the nominees (schedules permitting).

You can get tickets online at www.oscars.org and by mail. Tickets to Shorts!, Docs! and the Animated Feature Symposium are $5 for the general public and $3 for Academy members and students with a valid ID. Tickets to the Saturday events – the Foreign Language Film Award Nominees Symposium and the Makeup Artists and Hairstylists Symposium – are free. Doors open one hour prior to the event. All seating is unreserved.

Image Courtesy of Featureflash / Shutterstock.com

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Nominations for the 84th Academy Awards were announced today (Tuesday, January 24) by Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Tom Sherak and 2010 Oscar nominee Jennifer Lawrence.

Sherak and Lawrence, who was nominated for an Academy Award for her lead performance in “Winter’s Bone,” announced the nominees in 10 of the 24 Award categories at a 5:38 a.m. PT live news conference attended by more than 400 international media representatives. Lists of nominations in all categories were then distributed to the media in attendance and online via the official Academy Awards website, www.oscar.com.

Academy members from each of the branches vote to determine the nominees in their respective categories – actors nominate actors, film editors nominate film editors, etc. In the Animated Feature Film and Foreign Language Film categories, nominations are selected by vote of multi-branch screening committees. All voting members are eligible to select the Best Picture nominees.

Nominations ballots were mailed to the 5,783 voting members in late December and were returned directly to PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), the international accounting firm, for tabulation.

Official screenings of all motion pictures with one or more nominations will begin for members this weekend at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater. Screenings also will be held at the Academy’s Linwood Dunn Theater in Hollywood and in London, New York and the San Francisco Bay Area.

All active and life members of the Academy are eligible to select the winners in all categories, although in five of them – Animated Short Film, Live Action Short Film, Documentary Feature, Documentary Short Subject and Foreign Language Film – members can vote only if they have seen all of the nominated films in those categories.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2011 will be presented on Sunday, February 26, 2012, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center, and televised live by the ABC Television Network beginning at 4 p.m. PT/7 p.m. ET. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries worldwide.

Nominations for the 84th Academy Awards:

Actor in a Leading Role

• Demián Bichir in “A Better Life”
• George Clooney in “The Descendants”
• Jean Dujardin in “The Artist”
• Gary Oldman in “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”
• Brad Pitt in “Moneyball”

Actor in a Supporting Role

• Kenneth Branagh in “My Week with Marilyn”
• Jonah Hill in “Moneyball”
• Nick Nolte in “Warrior”
• Christopher Plummer in “Beginners”
• Max von Sydow in “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close”

Actress in a Leading Role

• Glenn Close in “Albert Nobbs”
• Viola Davis in “The Help”
• Rooney Mara in “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”
• Meryl Streep in “The Iron Lady”
• Michelle Williams in “My Week with Marilyn”

Actress in a Supporting Role

• Bérénice Bejo in “The Artist”
• Jessica Chastain in “The Help”
• Melissa McCarthy in “Bridesmaids”
• Janet McTeer in “Albert Nobbs”
• Octavia Spencer in “The Help”

Animated Feature Film

• “A Cat in Paris” Alain Gagnol and Jean-Loup Felicioli
• “Chico & Rita” Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal
• “Kung Fu Panda 2″ Jennifer Yuh Nelson
• “Puss in Boots” Chris Miller
• “Rango” Gore Verbinski

Art Direction

• “The Artist” Production Design: Laurence Bennett; Set Decoration: Robert Gould
• “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2″ Production Design: Stuart Craig; Set Decoration: Stephenie McMillan
• “Hugo” Production Design: Dante Ferretti; Set Decoration: Francesca Lo Schiavo
• “Midnight in Paris” Production Design: Anne Seibel; Set Decoration: Hélène Dubreuil
• “War Horse” Production Design: Rick Carter; Set Decoration: Lee Sandales

Cinematography

• “The Artist” Guillaume Schiffman
• “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” Jeff Cronenweth
• “Hugo” Robert Richardson
• “The Tree of Life” Emmanuel Lubezki
• “War Horse” Janusz Kaminski

Costume Design

• “Anonymous” Lisy Christl
• “The Artist” Mark Bridges
• “Hugo” Sandy Powell
• “Jane Eyre” Michael O’Connor
• “W.E.” Arianne Phillips

Directing

• “The Artist” Michel Hazanavicius
• “The Descendants” Alexander Payne
• “Hugo” Martin Scorsese
• “Midnight in Paris” Woody Allen
• “The Tree of Life” Terrence Malick

Documentary (Feature)

• “Hell and Back Again” Danfung Dennis and Mike Lerner
• “If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front” Marshall Curry and Sam Cullman
• “Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory” Charles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs
• “Pina” Wim Wenders and Gian-Piero Ringel
• “Undefeated” TJ Martin, Dan Lindsay and Richard Middlemas

Documentary (Short Subject)

• “The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement” Robin Fryday and Gail Dolgin
• “God Is the Bigger Elvis” Rebecca Cammisa and Julie Anderson
• “Incident in New Baghdad”James Spione
• “Saving Face” Daniel Junge and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy
• “The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom” Lucy Walker and Kira Carstensen

Film Editing

• “The Artist” Anne-Sophie Bion and Michel Hazanavicius
• “The Descendants” Kevin Tent
• “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall
• “Hugo” Thelma Schoonmaker
• “Moneyball” Christopher Tellefsen

Foreign Language Film

• “Bullhead” Belgium
• “Footnote” Israel
• “In Darkness” Poland
• “Monsieur Lazhar” Canada
• “A Separation” Iran

Makeup

• “Albert Nobbs” Martial Corneville, Lynn Johnston and Matthew W. Mungle
• “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2″ Edouard F. Henriques, Gregory Funk and Yolanda Toussieng
• “The Iron Lady” Mark Coulier and J. Roy Helland

Music (Original Score)

• “The Adventures of Tintin” John Williams
• “The Artist” Ludovic Bource
• “Hugo” Howard Shore
• “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” Alberto Iglesias
• “War Horse” John Williams

Music (Original Song)

• “Man or Muppet” from “The Muppets” Music and Lyric by Bret McKenzie
• “Real in Rio” from “Rio” Music by Sergio Mendes and Carlinhos Brown Lyric by Siedah Garrett

Best Picture

• “The Artist” Thomas Langmann, Producer
• “The Descendants” Jim Burke, Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor, Producers
• “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close” Scott Rudin, Producer
• “The Help” Brunson Green, Chris Columbus and Michael Barnathan, Producers
• “Hugo” Graham King and Martin Scorsese, Producers
• “Midnight in Paris” Letty Aronson and Stephen Tenenbaum, Producers
• “Moneyball” Michael De Luca, Rachael Horovitz and Brad Pitt, Producers
• “The Tree of Life” Nominees to be determined
• “War Horse” Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy, Producers

Short Film (Animated)

• “Dimanche/Sunday” Patrick Doyon
• “The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore” William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg
• “La Luna” Enrico Casarosa
• “A Morning Stroll” Grant Orchard and Sue Goffe
• “Wild Life” Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby

Short Film (Live Action)

• “Pentecost” Peter McDonald and Eimear O’Kane
• “Raju” Max Zähle and Stefan Gieren
• “The Shore” Terry George and Oorlagh George
• “Time Freak” Andrew Bowler and Gigi Causey
• “Tuba Atlantic” Hallvar Witzø

Sound Editing

• “Drive” Lon Bender and Victor Ray Ennis
• “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” Ren Klyce
• “Hugo” Philip Stockton and Eugene Gearty
• “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” Ethan Van der Ryn and Erik Aadahl
• “War Horse” Richard Hymns and Gary Rydstrom

Sound Mixing

• “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce and Bo Persson
• “Hugo” Tom Fleischman and John Midgley
• “Moneyball” Deb Adair, Ron Bochar, Dave Giammarco and Ed Novick
• “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers, Jeffrey J. Haboush and Peter J. Devlin
• “War Horse” Gary Rydstrom, Andy Nelson, Tom Johnson and Stuart Wilson

Visual Effects

• “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2″ Tim Burke, David Vickery, Greg Butler and John Richardson
• “Hugo” Rob Legato, Joss Williams, Ben Grossman and Alex Henning
• “Real Steel” Erik Nash, John Rosengrant, Dan Taylor and Swen Gillberg
• “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, R. Christopher White and Daniel Barrett
• “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Matthew Butler and John Frazier

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

• “The Descendants” Screenplay by Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash
• “Hugo” Screenplay by John Logan
• “The Ides of March” Screenplay by George Clooney & Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon
• “Moneyball” Screenplay by Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin. Story by Stan Chervin
• “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” Screenplay by Bridget O’Connor & Peter Straughan

Writing (Original Screenplay)

• “The Artist” Written by Michel Hazanavicius
• “Bridesmaids” Written by Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig
• “Margin Call” Written by J.C. Chandor
• “Midnight in Paris” Written by Woody Allen
• “A Separation” Written by Asghar Farhadi

The article 2012 Oscar Nominations Are Out: Scorsese’s Hugo Leads with 11 appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

After many decades of using the paper ballot, its time to modernize. It seems that the Oscars have decided to join the rest of today’s technology by using an electronic ballot system. This is going to be a great thing for the Oscars to make their voting system much more efficient and speedier, but is still causing a few issues.

It appears that if they do in fact switch over to the electronic system, it “could result in a wholesale foreshortening of the entire US awards season, which traditionally extends from the Golden Globes in early January to the Academy Awards in late February or early March,” claimed BBC News. This could be a problem for the over all season because it would make the events farther apart, and less of a season, but rather more of completely separate events. However, the change fortunately will have to wait another year.

This years ceremony has already happened, and “next year’s Oscars ceremony has been confirmed for 26 February, so any significant date change would not happen until 2013 at the earliest.” This means that we will just have to wait and see what kind of changes will occur. Of course, in the mean time I’m sure that there will be further press releases and information available before a change is decided on. This does not mean that the Oscar’s voting members will change either.

The current system plans for all 6,000 members to have their nomination ballots send to them on December 27th so that they will have enough time to make their decisions and be able to make their final votes as of February 1st. If the electronic system does go into effect in 2013, the voting system should bring the awards ceremony up by a whole month. This is great considering the scale at which the ballots need to be sent out. The voting members are located in several countries all over the world. This new electronic way of voting is going to make the voting system much more proficient than it is right now.

With “nearly 250 UK-based voting members missing the deadline after their ballot papers were lost in the post” in 2004, it makes sense to come up with a new system that will reduce the risk of incidents like that from happening. Also since there is only about a three week span between receiving their final ballots and their deadline, it makes sense to have a system that encourages a speedy process.

The only news from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), is that they have asked for voting members to provide a personal email to ensure a direct delivery of the ballots with no third parties that may alter the vote, or simple loose it. This is an exciting time for the Oscars, that could cause a few bumps along the way as they figure out a good system to keep things as close to the other awards as possible, but one that is for the better.

Stacie Stauff Smith Photography / Shutterstock.com

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