The trio of New York Times critics (Manohla Dargis, A.O. Scott and Stephen Holden) have weighed in with their own nominations for the year’s best in movies with their selections for Best Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress and Original and Adapted Screenplays.
Quickly glancing through the list I see Manohla Dargis loved Charlie Kaufman’s Synecdoche, New York (at least the acting) and is the only one that gave The Dark Knight any love. Thankfully Slumdog Millionaire wasn’t “nominated” for anything other than a lone Adapted Screenplay notice from A.O. Scott. Happy-Go-Lucky saw plenty of attention and believe it or not, there isn’t one film all three could agree on for Best Picture with WALL•E and Happy-Go-Lucky being the front-runners as they were mentioned twice – Dargis was the main reason for this as her selections didn’t show up on either Stephen Holden or A.O. Scott’s lists.
I thought it was interesting Holden only chose four directors for Best Director (does he agree with me that 2008 was a bad year for directors?) and he also mentioned Cristian Mungiu, which I would have done also but I am still confused as to whether 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days is a 2007 or 2008 film even though I did put it on my 2008 Top Ten in the Honorable Mentions. Who knows?
Dargis also screwed up finding common ground in the Best Actor category by nominating Werner Herzog who served as the narrator and guide through his documentary Encounters at the End of the World. Do people actually perform in a documentary now or is she trying to say something?
Anne Hathaway, Sally Hawkins and Michelle Williams showed up on all three lists for Best Actress with Kristin Scott Thomas showing up on two. Eddie Marsan for Happy-Go-Lucky was the only common ground for Best Supporting Actor and Supporting Actress saw zilch in the form of an NYT three-way.
I have listed all the nominees below and trust me the coding for this took FOREVER… So I hope you enjoy! The 81st Academy Awards nominations will be announced on Thursday, January 22, 2009, at 5:30 a.m. PT in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.
A. O. Scott:
- WALL•E
- Milk
- Cadillac Records
- Rachel Getting Married
- Happy-Go-Lucky
Manohla Dargis:
- The Dark Knight
- Flight of the Red Balloon
- Paranoid Park
- Silent Light
- Synecdoche, New York
Stephen Holden:
- WALL•E
- The Class
- The Edge of Heaven
- 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days
- Happy-Go-Lucky
A. O. Scott:
- Gus Van Sant, Milk & Paranoid Park
- David Fincher, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
- Arnaud Desplechin, A Christmas Tale
- Kelly Reichardt, Wendy and Lucy
- Mike Leigh, Happy-Go-Lucky
Manohla Dargis:
- Gus Van Sant, Paranoid Park
- Hou Hsiao-Hsien, Flight of the Red Balloon
- Christopher Nolan, The Dark Knight
- Kelly Reichardt, Wendy and Lucy
Stephen Holden:
- Fatih Akin, The Edge of Heaven
- Laurent Cantet, The Class
- Cristian Mungiu, 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days
- Andrew Stanton, WALL•E
A. O. Scott:
- Sean Penn, Milk
- Richard Jenkins, The Visitor
- Habib Boufares, The Secret of the Grain
- Jeffrey Wright, Cadillac Records
- Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler
Manohla Dargis:
- Clint Eastwood, Gran Torino
- Werner Herzog, Encounters at the End of the World
- Philip Seymour Hoffman, Synecdoche, New York
- Anders Danielsen Lie, Reprise
- Espen Klouman-Hoiner, Reprise
Stephen Holden:
- Sean Penn, Milk
- Richard Jenkins, The Visitor
- Francois Begaudeau, The Class
- Javier Bardem, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
- Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler
A. O. Scott:
- Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married
- Michelle Williams, Wendy and Lucy
- Sally Hawkins, Happy-Go-Lucky
- Kristin Scott Thomas, I’ve Loved You So Long
- Abigail Breslin, Kit Kittredge: An American Girl
Manohla Dargis:
- Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married
- Michelle Williams, Wendy and Lucy
- Sally Hawkins, Happy-Go-Lucky
- Juliette Binoche, Flight of the Red Balloon
- Asia Argento, Boarding Gate & The Last Mistress
Stephen Holden:
- Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married
- Melissa Leo, Frozen River
- Sally Hawkins, Happy-Go-Lucky
- Kristin Scott Thomas, I’ve Loved You So Long
- Asia Argento, The Last Mistress
A. O. Scott:
- Tom Cruise, Tropic Thunder
- Jean-Paul Roussillon, A Christmas Tale
- Emile Hirsch, Milk
- Eddie Marsan, Happy-Go-Lucky
- Jeff Bridges, Iron Man
Manohla Dargis:
- Ken Jacobs, Momma’s Man
- Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
- Benoit Magimel, A Girl Cut in Two
- Eddie Marsan, Happy-Go-Lucky
- Brad Pitt, Burn After Reading
Stephen Holden:
- Mathieu Amalric, A Christmas Tale
- Josh Brolin, Milk
- Emile Hirsch, Milk
- Eddie Marsan, Happy-Go-Lucky
- Brad Pitt, Burn After Reading
A. O. Scott:
- Rosemarie DeWitt, Rachel Getting Married
- Hanna Schygulla, The Edge of Heaven
- Hafsia Herzi, The Secret of the Grain
- Catherine Deneuve, A Christmas Tale
- Jeanne Moreau, One Day You’ll Understand
Manohla Dargis:
- Flo Jacobs, Momma’s Man
- Catherine Keener, Synecdoche, New York
- Jennifer Jason Leigh, Synecdoche, New York
- Samantha Morton, Synecdoche, New York
- Michelle Williams, Synecdoche, New York
Stephen Holden:
- Rosemarie DeWitt, Rachel Getting Married
- Hanna Schygulla, The Edge of Heaven
- Hiam Abbass, The Visitor
- Penélope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
- Frances McDormand, Burn After Reading
A. O. Scott:
- Cadillac Records, Darnell Martin
- Synecdoche, New York, Charlie Kaufman
- WALL•E, Andrew Stanton & Jim Reardon
- Milk, Dustin Lance Black
- The Edge of Heaven, Fatih Akin
Manohla Dargis:
- Happy-Go-Lucky, Mike Leigh
- Synecdoche, New York, Charlie Kaufman
- A Christmas Tale, Arnaud Desplechin & Emmanuel Bourdieu
- Waltz with Bashir, Ari Folman
- Reprise, Joachim Trier & Eskil Vogt
Stephen Holden:
- Happy-Go-Lucky, Mike Leigh
- Frozen River, Courtney Hunt
- Rachel Getting Married, Jenny Lumet
- 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, Cristian Mungiu
- The Edge of Heaven, Fatih Akin
A. O. Scott:
- The Class, Francois Begaudeau, Robin Campillo & Laurent Cantet
- A Secret, Claude Miller & Natalie Carter
- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Eric Roth
- Slumdog Millionaire, Simon Beaufoy
- Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist, Lorene Scafaria
Manohla Dargis:
- The Class, Francois Begaudeau, Robin Campillo & Laurent Cantet
- The Duchess of Langeais, Pascal Bonitzer & Christine Laurent
- The Last Mistress, Catherine Breillat
- Tell No One, Guillaume Canet & Philippe Lefebvre
- Let the Right One In, John Ajvide Lindqvist
Stephen Holden:
- The Class, Francois Begaudeau, Robin Campillo & Laurent Cantet
- The Duchess of Langeais, Pascal Bonitzer & Christine Laurent
- The Last Mistress, Catherine Breillat
- Tell No One, Guillaume Canet & Philippe Lefebvre
- The Reader, David Hare
