ACE and Art Directors Nominations

EDITING:

Drama
The Bourne Ultimatum
Into the Wild
Michael Clayton
No Country for Old Men
There Will Be Blood

Comedy or Musical
Hairspray
Juno
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
Ratatouille
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Everyone pretty much knows the important relationship between Editing and Picture categories. That said, Atonement, once again, isn't looking too good. BUT Sweeney Todd pulled off a nomination, albeit in a "weaker" category. That said, it seems like Blood, No Country, Clayton, and Into the Wild are all ahead of Atonement in terms of acheiving that coveted spot for Best Picture. Or not? It's still in, in my opinion. I don't know. The ACE is the elite of all editors so with a larger number of voters in the Academy, Atonement still has a chance. hmmm...

ART DIRECTION!!!

Period
American Gangster
Atonement
Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
There Will Be Blood

Fantasy
The Golden Compass
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
Ratatouille
300

Contemporary
The Bourne Ultimatum
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
The Kite Runner
Michael Clayton
No Country for Old Men

So... Atonement finally popped up somewhere! It would be here though as it is a serious contender mostly due to the first act of the the film. The estate, those banisters and stairs! etc etc. Period pieces and fantasy films defintily have an edge over contemporary films in this category at the oscars for obvious reason. Contemporary sets and items are easy to achieve and find because they're... readily available. la-di-da. That's not what I think but it's probably the mindests of the art directors voting for the category for the Oscars. soo ya.

WGA Nominations 2007

Ya, I'm quite late on this, but I had a fairly busy day. My last day back at home, I was out and about saying my tearful goodbyes. I will be heading back to Austin tomorrow.

Here are the WGA Nominations for Original and Adapted Screenplays... of '07. uh huh.

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
JUNO - Diablo Cody
Michael Clayton - Tony Gilroy
The Savages - Tamara Jenkins
Knocked Up - Judd Apatow
Lars and the Real Girl - Nancy Oliver

Ok. So I was right in predicting that the three female screenwriters would each get a nomination. yay for me. But I failed to see Judd Apatow making an appearance on the list. I had always thought it would get some sort of recognition somewhere in this year's screenplay race but it wasn't appearing anywhere so I pretty much lost hope for it. Major resurgence here though. Instead, I guess Brad Bird for Ratatouille. I just found out though that Animated Film Screenwriters don't belong in the guild. Is that correct? How bizarre. I also heard that that is also one more reason why they're striking. To get the animation writers in. Yes? No?

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN - Joel & Ethan Coen
There Will Be Blood - Paul Thomas Anderson
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly - Ronald Harwood
Into the Wild - Sean Penn
Zodiac - James Vanderbilt

OUCH for Atonement. Seriously. Is this a game? It seems kinda cruel to me. Kind of like Monkey in the Middle where you pass the ball to each player... except for that one that gets left out. In this silly game of nominating films, the Monkey is Atonement. It has been ignored by the Screen Actors Guild, the Directors Guild, and now the Writers Guild. WOW. If it doesn't get a Producers Guild nomination, then it's out, out, out. It loses. It will probably only get the predicted technicals such as Costume Design, Art Direction, and Score. I'm still not counting it out yet, though. BUT Zodiac has gained a major boost in this race. Mmhmm.

Lastly, I want to point out that 6/10 nominees here are writer-directors.

WGA Nomination Predictions 2007

First of all, No Country for Old Men, wins the USC Scripter Awards! Yay!

But oh wait. Does that mean anything? Since honoring 84 Charing Cross Road as the first winner of the Scripter Awards back in 1989 (for the year 1988), their winners have only matched up with the Academy's in FOUR occasions:

2001 - A Beautiful Mind
1997 - L.A. Confidential
1995 - Sense and Sensibility
1993 - Schindler's List

They did pretty well in the 90's (3/10 years matched), but they haven't been on a winning streak now that it's the new century. Anyways... does this hurt No Country's chance to win the Adapted Screenplay category at the Oscars? I don't think so. First of all, USC can't get it wrong every time and it's about time they got another one right. Second of all, we'll just have to wait for the WGA Awards now don't we? They have a much, much, much better tracking record.

Here are my predictions (you can see it on the sidebar, too, but for convenience, I shall type it out!)


ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
JUNO - Diablo Cody
Michael Clayton - Tony Gilory
Ratatouille - Brad Bird
Lars and the Real Girl - Nancy Oliver
The Savages - Tamara Jenkins
alt. Eastern Promises - Steven Knight


So. Three potential female nominees, hm? That would be wonderful! But it may not happen. These are what I predict. Juno and Michael Clayton are locks, in my opinion (and in many others'). and Ratatouille is pretty much up there as well. The last two spots are basically open to Lars, Savages, Eastern Promises, and Before the Devil Knows You're Dead. Who knows... even American Gangster might sneak in. or... a suprise nominee? I haven't really got too much to say for this category because it's very much up in the year (save the former 3 that I mentioned).


ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN - Joel & Ethan Coen
There Will Be Blood - Paul Thomas Anderson
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly - Ronald Harwood
Atonement - Christopher Hampton
Into the Wild - Sean Penn
alt. Charlie Wilson's War - Alan Sorkin (dear god, please don't let this happen!)


So, I think it's pretty much a concensus with most predictions that these are the five that will go on to get nominated. The Writer's Guilds Nominations will either cement the nominees or derail them a given amount.

No Country is locked in and will NOT be snubbed. Why make such a bold statement? It's just too unbelievable for it not to happen. Everyone would flip out if it did, but it's gotten too much attention already and it is not being left out.

Some people are cautioning the embrace of PT Anderson's There Will Be Blood. But I feel like he should have no worries. The WGA and AMPAS both honored his screenplays for Boogie Nights and Magnolia with nominations so we all know he's a friendly face amongst the five lucky writers. That's why I feel so strongly about predicting him. Then there is Oscar-winning screenwriter Ronald Harwood (The Pianist) who seems like a potentially safe bet. And for some reason, I feel like if any two films were in danger, it is Atonement, this year's perennial snubee!! (hehe) and Sean Penn's Into the Wild. One of these could easily be replaced by Charlie Wilson's War... which, in my opinion, would be a disgrace. Ah well. Here's to finding out tomorrow!

My Top TEN Films of 2007

Missed: The Savages, There Will Be Blood, I'm Not There, Persepolis... 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days... Lake of Fire, Gone Baby Gone, etc.

Honorable Mentions: Hot Fuzz, In the Shadow of the Moon, Knocked Up, Once, Zodiac


Top 10 Movies of 2007

1. Juno - Jason Reitman
Fox Searchlight Pictures

2. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly - Julian Schnabel
Miramax Films

3. Ratatouille - Brad Bird
Buena Vista Pictures

4. The Lives of Others - Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
Sony Picture Classics

5. Into the Wild - Sean Penn
Paramount Vantage

6. Waitress - Adrienne Shelly
Fox Searchlight Pictures

7. No Country for Old Men - Joel & Ethan Coen
Miramax Films

8. The Darjeeling Limited - Wes Anderson
Fox Searchlight Pictures


9. Atonement - Joe Wright
Focus Features

10. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street - Tim Burton
Paramount Pictures