Courtesy of Paramount Vantage (2), Focus Features, Universal Pictures
Who's scurrying to fire their publicists right now due to a surprising snub from the Academy and its cadre of little gold men? The team behind Atonement can't be thrilled; though the film collected seven nominations, that's down from the twelve or thirteen many (including us) speculated the film could accumulate in early Oscar forecasting. Most crucially, despite a showy five-minute tracking shot and (mostly) rave reviews, Atonement's director Joe Wright was snubbed in favor of The Diving Bell and the Butterfly's Julian Schnabel, who gets the first Schnomination of his career. Also snubbed: The film's stars, Keira Knightley and James McAvoy, and two of its three Briony Tallises, Romola Garai and Vanessa Redgrave.
Despite many forecasters' hopes, Into the Wild couldn't make inroads in the major categories, only scoring a nom for supporting actor. (Snubbed: director Sean Penn, stars Emile Hirsch and Catherine Keener, and the film itself for Best Picture.) Despite being behind two of the biggest, best-written, and best-reviewed films of the year, Judd Apatow couldn't score a screenplay nomination for Knocked Up. Despite directing the movie he was born to direct, Tim Burton couldn't land a nomination for Sweeney Todd. Despite being one of the biggest stars in the universe — and actually turning in a pretty spectacular performance — Angelina Jolie couldn't overcome A Mighty Heart's general end-of-year awards whiff. (Unthinkable final Oscar nomination tally: Norbit 1, A Mighty Heart 0.)
And despite the undeniable influence of New York, American Gangster — a film that, no matter what Universal claims, was based on an article in this very magazine — came up short. Ruby Dee got the first nomination of her career, but longtime Oscar faves Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe were ignored, as was director Ridley Scott. Oh, and screenwriter Steven Zaillian, who failed to land a nomination in the category the Academy eventually declared him eligible for: Best Adapted Screenplay.
Also snubbed, of course: McLovin, Alan Tudyk, Dolores Umbridge, and all our other For Your Considerations. Bastards!
Earlier: Oscar Nominations Announced!
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