Oscar Nominations: My Wishes

A week from tomorrow, the Academy announces their nominees for this year's Oscars, and while some of the races are getting pretty comfortably settled, very few (if any) of the categories are set, meaning that I'm allowing myself to feel a small glimmer of hope that some of these wishes may become reality. Some are completely unlikely, even impossible, but it's a new year, so why not remain optimistic before the cold, ugly realities of the world come crashing back in?

1.  I wish that Matthew McConaughey would be nominated for Best Supporting Actor for Magic Mike.  I've spent a good part of the year telling friends who wouldn't go within a mile of a male stripper extravaganza that McConaughey's work is among the best of the year, and I was thrilled when he won from the NYFCC.  It's a performance full of energy and passion, and thus, it was one of the best, most watchable turns of the year.

2. I wish that Paul Thomas Anderson would be nominated for Best Director for The Master. At this point, I think I'm the only one who thinks this wish may actually come true.  The Best Director race is a really interesting one this year, especially since Oscar voters' ballots are due out before the DGA announces, meaning that group won't influence the voting body (they haven't been aligning perfectly in recent years, anyways).  PTA is one of the best filmmakers in the world, and The Master is a bold, wild work that deserves recognition.  Why do I think this nomination is possible?  It's important to remember that the nominations are determined by each branch of the Academy, meaning only the directors determine the Best Director nominees (then everyone votes for the winners).  Last year, the directors recognized Terrence Malick for The Tree of Life.  Hopefully this year, PTA is their surprise choice, if they have one.

3. I wish that Denis Lavant would be nominated for Best Actor for Holy Motors.  Hell, Lavant should've been nominated for the Best Ensemble SAG Award, he's so multi-faceted and incredible.  As a sort of actor-for-hire riding in a limo around the city, Lavant dons a dozen or so different personas, and embodies each so brilliantly that some have you wondering if this is the "real" Oscar, or just another strange appointment keeping the world turning round.  This is the sort of turn that never gets love from the Academy, which is a shame, because Lavant is such a revelation, over and over again.

4. I wish that Arbitrage would get nominated for something, anything.  I was incredibly impressed with Nicholas Jarecki's tale of greed, and it deserves recognition in multiple categories.  It's most likely to snag a spot for Jarecki in the Best Original Screenplay category, and rightfully so, but I'd love to see nominations for Richard Gere in Best Actor and Nate Parker in Best Supporting Actor.  Gere has somehow never been nominated for an Oscar, despite great turns in movies like Chicago and The Hoax.  This would be the year to right that wrong, but the Best Actor race is already whittled down to six names (Jackman, Day-Lewis, Phoenix, Hawkes, Washington, Cooper), so he'll likely be left out again.  Parker was one of the year's best breakthrough performances, showing incredible control opposite Gere, and delivering some of the film's most powerful, memorable work.

5. I wish that Andy Serkis would get nominated for Best Supporting Actor for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.  The Academy ignored Serkis's work in the Lord of the Rings movies and Rise of the Planet of the Apes, and they'll ignore him again this year, which is a shame, because with barely any screentime, he delivers an incredibly thoughtful, textured performance.  There's the humor and danger that are inherent to the scene (and the character), but Serkis also manages to make Gollum a sympathetic character, which is an impressive task given the nature and length of the scene.  Gollum is one of recent cinema's most iconic characters, and the actor behind the CGI deserves awards recognition.

6. I wish that Take This Waltz would not be forgotten.  Like Arbitrage, Take This Waltz deserves attention in multiple categories, but it's unlikely to register with Oscar voters at all.  Michelle Williams gives one of the best performances of her considerable career as a wife considering infidelity, and Sarah Polley does incredible work as writer and director.  The film would be a worthy contender for any of the above work, or even a nomination for Luke Kirby for Best Supporting Actor, as the tempter across the street.

7. I wish that Elizabeth Olsen would be nominated for Best Suporting Actress for Liberal Arts, but the movie isn't eligible for the Oscars (a friend on Twitter suggested perhaps because of a VOD release prior to its theatrical run), so this wish certainly will not come true.

8. I wish that The Cabin in the Woods' Drew Goddard and Joss Whedon would be nominated for Best Original Screenplay.  Horror fans got a treat in the smart, meta, funny, layered film, full of classic Whedon wit and more developed, interesting characters than their tropes typically manage.  Commenting on why the horror genre exists, why it matters, The Cabin in the Woods crams everything horror fans could want into one movie and then simultaneously criticizes and celebrates the smorgasbord.  It's bloody, brilliant, bloody brilliant writing.