Sarah Polley

My 2012 Oscar Nomination Predictions


The Academy of Motion Picture Sciences will announce their nominations for the 2012 Academy Awards on Thursday, January 10, 2013.

Here are my 2012 Oscar nomination predictions (in order of probability) along with the actual nominations in blue:Argo

Best Picture

Predicted Nominations:

  • Argo
  • Zero Dark Thirty
  • Lincoln
  • Silver Linings Playbook
  • Les Misérables

If Six Nominations:

  • Life of Pi

If Seven Nominations:

  • Django Unchained

If Eight Nominations:lincoln-movie-poster

  • Moonrise Kingdom

If Nine Nominations:

  • Beasts of the Southern Wild

If Ten Nominations:

  • The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Other Possible Contenders:

  • The Master
  • Amour
  • The Dark Knight Rises
  • Skyfall

Other Note-Worthy Films:

  • The SessionsSilverLiningsPlaybook
  • Flight
  • The Impossible
  • The Perks of Being a Wallflower
  • Hitchcock
  • Promised Land
  • The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
  • Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
  • The Hunger Games

Best Director

Predicted Nominations:

  • Ben Affleck, Argo
  • Kathryn Bigelow, Zero Dark Thirty
  • Steven Spielberg, Lincoln
  • David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbookzero_dark_thirty_ver3_xlg
  • Ang Lee, Life of Pi

Other Possible Contenders:

  • Tom Hooper, Les Misérables
  • Michael Haneke, Amour
  • Quentin Tarantino, Django Unchained
  • Paul Thomas Anderson, The Master
  • Wes Anderson, Moonrise Kingdom

Other Note-Worthy Directors:

  • Benh Zeitlin, Beasts of the Southern Wild
  • Ben Lewin, The Sessions
  • Sam Mendes, Skyfall
  • Christopher Nolan, The Dark Knight Rises
  • Gus Vant Sant, Promised Land
  • Robert Zemeckis, Flight Les-Miserables-2012-Movie-Poster
  • Peter Jackson, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
  • John Madden, The Exotic Marigold Hotel
  • Lasse Hallström, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
  • Joe Wright, Anna Karenina
  • Juan Antonio Bavona, The Impossible
  • Sacha Gervasi, Hitchcock

Best Actor

Predicted Nominations:

  • Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
  • John Hawkes, The Sessions
  • Denzel Washington, Flight
  • Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook 
  • Hugh Jackman,  Les Misérables

Other Possible Contenders:life_of_pi_movie_poster_1

  • Joaquin Phoenix, The Master
  • Richard Gere, Arbitrage 
  • Denis Lavant, Holy Motors
  • Anthony Hopkins, Hitchcock

Other Note-Worthy Performances:

  • Jean-Louis Trintignant, Amour 
  • Jamie Foxx, Django Unchained
  • Ben Affleck, Argo
  • Daniel Craig, Skyfall
  • Matthew McConaughey, Killer Joe
  • Suraj Sharma, Life of Pi
  • Matt Damon, Promised Land
  • Bill Murray, Hyde Park on Hudson
  • Christian Bale, The Dark Knight Rises
  • Jack Black, Bernie
  • Ewan McGregor, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen & The Impossibledjango-unchained-poster
  • Jake Gyllenhaal, End of Watch

Best Actress

Predicted Nominations:

  • Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty
  • Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
  • Marion Cotillard, Rust and Bone
  • Naomi Watts, The Impossible
  • Helen Mirren, Hitchcock

Other Possible Contenders:

  • Emmanuelle Riva, Amour
  • Rachel Weisz, The Deep Blue Sea 
  • Quvenzhane Wallis, Beasts of the Southern Wild

Other Note-Worthy Performances:moonrise_kingdom_ver2

  • Keira Knightley, Anna Karenina
  • Laura Linney, Hyde Park on Hudson 
  • Deanie Yip, A Simple Life
  • Judi Dench, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
  • Maggie Smith, Quartet 
  • Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Smashed 
  • Meryl Streep, Hope Springs 
  • Emily Blunt, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
  • Emayatzy Corinealdi, Middle of Nowhere

Best Supporting Actor

Predicted Nominations:

  • Alan Arkin, Argo
  • Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Master
  • Tommy Lee Jones, Lincolnbeastssouthernwild
  • Javier Bardem, Skyfall
  • Robert DeNiro, Silver Linings Playbook

Other Possible Contenders:

  • Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained
  • Leonardo DiCaprio, Django Unchained
  • William H. Macy, The Sessions
  • Matthew McConaughey, Magic Mike 

Other Note-Worthy Performances:

  • Samuel L. Jackson, Django Unchained 
  • Jason Clarke, Zero Dark Thirty
  • Dwight Henry, Beasts of the Southern Wild
  • Ezra Miller, The Perks of Being a Wallflower
  • Eddie Redmayne, Les Misérables
  • John Goodman, Flight or ArgoBest Exotic Marigold Hotel
  • Hal Holbrook, Promised Land
  • Russell Crowe, Les Misérables

Best Supporting Actress

Predicted Nominations:

  • Sally Field, Lincoln
  • Anne Hathaway, Les Misérables
  • Helen Hunt, The Sessions
  • Amy Adams, The Master
  • Maggie Smith, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Other Possible Contenders:

  • Nicole Kidman, The Paperboy
  • Ann Dowd, Compliance
  • Samantha Barks, Les Misérablesbatman-dark-knight-rises-fire-regular-reprint-movie-poster
  • Judi Dench, Skyfall 

Other Note-Worthy Performances:

  • Jennifer Ehle, Zero Dark Thirty
  • Emma Watson, The Perks of Being a Wallflower
  • Pauline Collins, Quartet
  • Kelly Reilly, Flight
  • Kerry Washington, Django Unchained
  • Helena Bonham Carter, Les Misérables
  • Frances McDormand, Promised Land
  • Jacki Weaver, Silver Linings Playbook

Best Adapted Screenplay

Predicted Nominations:

  • Chris Terrio, Argo
  • Tony Kushner, Lincoln
  • David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbookamy-adams-new-the-master-poster
  • David Magee, Life of Pi
  • Stephen Chbosky, The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Other Possible Contenders:

  • Lucy Alibar & Ben Zeitlin, Beasts of the Southern Wild
  • Ben Lewin, The Sessions 
  • Ol Parker, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
  • William Nicholson, Les Miserables

Other Note-Worthy Adapted Screenplays:

  • Tom Stoppard, Anna Karenina
  • Jose Rivera, On The Road
  • Jacques Audiard & Thomas Bidegain, Rust and Bone
  • Christopher & Jonathan Nolan, The Dark Knight Rises 
  • Judd Apatow, This is 40
  • John Logan, Patrick Marber, Neal Purvis & Robert Wade, Skyfall amour_2_movie_poster
  • John J. McLaughlin, Hitchcock
  • Simon Beaufoy, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
  • Ronald Harwood, Quartet

Best Original Screenplay

Predicted Nominations:

  • Mark Boal, Zero Dark Thirty
  • Quentin Tarantino, Django Unchained
  • Paul Thomas Anderson, The Master
  • Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola, Moonrise Kingdom
  • Rian Johnson, Looper

Other Possible Contenders:

  • Michael Haneke, Amour
  • John Gatins, Flight 
  • Olivier Nakache & Eric Toledano, The Intouchablesskyfall
  • Ava DuVernay, Middle of Nowhere
  • Reid Carolin, Magic Mike

Other Note-Worthy Original Screenplays:

  • Martin McDonagh, Seven Psychopaths 
  • Matt Damon & John Krasinski, Promised Land 
  • Sergio G. Sanchez, The Impossible 
  • Dan Fogelman, The Guilt Trip
  • Sarah Polley, Take This Waltz 
  • Joss Whedon & Drew Goddard, The Cabin in the Woods

Best Animated Feature

Predicted Nominations:

  • Brave
  • Frankenweeniesessions_ver2
  • ParaNorman
  • Wreck-It Ralph
  • Rise of the Guardians

Other Possible Contenders:

  • Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted
  • The Painting (Le Tableau)
  • From Up on Poppy Hill
  • The Rabbi’s Cat
  • Hotel Transylvania
  • A Liar’s Autobiography – The Untrue Story of Monty Python’s Graham Chapman 

Other Note-Worthy Animated Films:

  • Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax
  • The Pirates! Band of Misfits
  • Zarafaflight-movie-poster1
  • Ice Age: Continental Drift

Best Foreign Language Film

Predicted Nominations:

  • Amour
  • The Intouchables
  • A Royal Affair
  • Kon-Tiki
  • No

Other Possible Contenders:

  • War Witch
  • Sister
  • The Deep
  • Beyond the Hills110237_glg

Other Note-Worthy Foreign Films:

  • Rust and Bone
  • I Wish
  • The Kid with a Bike
  • Once Upon A Time in Anatolia
  • Holy Motors
  • Tabu
  • The Loneliest Planet
  • The Turin Horse
  • Oslo, August 31st 
  • Lore
  • Our Children
  • Barbara

Best Documentary Feature

Predicted Nominations:the-perks-of-being-a-wallflower-poster

  • Searching for Sugar Man
  • The Gatekeepers
  • How to Survive a Plague
  • The Invisible War
  • This is Not a Film

Other Possible Contenders:

  • The Imposter
  • Detropia
  • The Waiting Room
  • Bully
  • Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God
  • Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry
  • The House I Live In
  • Chasing Ice
  • Ethelhitchcock-final-movie-poster
  • 5 Broken Cameras

Other Note-Worthy Documentaries:

  • The Queen of Versailles
  • The Central Park Five
  • Samsara
  • West of Memphis

Best Original Song

Predicted Nominations:

  • Skyfall, Skyfall
  • Suddenly,  Les Misérables
  • Learn Me Right, Brave
  • From Here to the Moon and Back, Joyful Noise
  • Abraham’s Daughter, The Hunger GamesPromised-Land-Movie-Poster-300x444

Other Possible Contenders:

  • Still Alive, Paul Williams Still Alive
  • For You, Act of Valor
  • Not Running Anymore, Stand Up Guys
  • Touch the Sky, Brave
  • Ancora Qui, Django Unchained

Other Note-Worthy Songs: 

  • Safe & Sound, The Hunger Games
  • Dull Tool, This is 40
  • Breath of Life, Snow White and the Huntman
  • Strange Love, Frankenweenie
  • When Can I See You Again, Wreck-It Ralph
  • Still Dream, Rise of the Guardians

Countdown to the 100 Best Scary Movies of All-Time (90 to 86)


90.        

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a film I found extremely disturbing when I first saw a re-release of the movie, due to its graphic violence and horrific themes. Directed by Tobe Hopper (Poltergeist) and starring Marilyn Burns, the film claims to be based on a true story (to add to the terror) though it is a work of fiction. A group of friends are travelling by van in the countryside to visit a family grave and old homestead when they fall victim to a family of cannibals living in a creepy, dilapidated rural home. Upon release, the movie received mixed reviews and controversy, being banned in a number of countries and theatres due to its graphic violence. Made on a budget of $300,000, the movie became a successful cult classic, grossing about 30 million worldwide, and is credited for influencing many slasher horror films that followed it. I am not a fan of the 2003 remake that grossed over 100 million worldwide.

89.      

Burnt Offerings (1976)

Filmed at the famed Dunsmuir House in California, Burnt Offerings is a haunted house story directed by Dan Curtis (Dark Shadows) and featuring a strong cast including Karen Black (Trilogy of Terror), Oliver Reed (The Devils), Bette Davis (What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?), Burgess Meredith and Eileen Heckart. A family takes over the care taking of a large mansion for an elderly brother and sister only to experience strange supernatural going-ons. The house seems to be rejuvenating itself with each injury and death that occurs. The movie features strong performances from the cast and a suitably foreboding  atmosphere, as the suspense of the film builds towards its creepy climax. Though this movie received mostly negative reviews from the critics, it is worth a look for fans of scary movies. The film did go on to win three Saturn Awards in 1977: Best Horror Film, Best Director and Best Supporting Actress (Davis).

88.          

Dawn of the Dead (1978) & Dawn of the Dead (2004)

Written and directed by George A. Romero (Night of the Living Dead) is the second of Romero’s zombie apocalyptic movies.  A worldwide pandemic, where the dead are brought back to life as flesh eating zombie creatures, has spread to a town where survivors barricade themselves in the local shopping mall to survive. The movie skillfully combines humour with the horror, as the zombies are mindlessly drawn to the mall and the terror mounts. Most reviews for the film were positive. Made for around $600,000, the movie went on to gross 55 million worldwide, making if the most success of Romero’s zombie films. Equally good is the 2004 remake directed by Zack Synder (300) and featuring Sarah Polley (Splice), Ving Rhames (Mission Impossible III) and Jake Weber (Medium). With strong performances, great characters, heart pounding action and strong reviews, the movie went on to gross over 100 million at the box office.

87.    

Black Christmas (1974) 

Before Halloween, there was this low budget Canadian slasher movie directed by Bob Clark (A Christmas Story). The movie features Olivia Hussey (Death on the Nile), Keir Dullea (2001: A Space Odyssey), Margot Kidder (The Amityville Horror), Andrea Martin (SCTV) and John Saxon (A Nightmare on Elm Street). As Christmas approaches, a mostly vacated sorority house is threatened by creepy obscene phone calls culminating in the remaining young women being stalked and killed by a crazed killer.  The movie is both campy and frightening, containing strong performances, in particular by Hussey (as the terrified lead) and Kidder (who is hilarious as a foul mouthed drunk). The film has since gone on to become a cult classic and the inspiration for other slasher films that followed like Halloween and Friday the 13th. In the United States, it was released as Silent Night, Evil Night. Do not bother with the awful 2006 remake.

86.     

The Stepford Wives (1975) 

During the height of the feminist movement, Ira Levin (Rosemary’s Baby) wrote a best-selling novel which was adapted into a screenplay by William Goldman (Marathon Man) and made into this suspenseful thriller directed by Bryan Frobes and featuring Katharine Ross (The Legacy), Paul Prentiss (The Parallax View) and Tina Louise. A young mother (Ross) moves from New York with her husband and two children to a small, idyllic town where the women are all the epitome of the perfect wife, mother and homemaker. As Ross’ character slowly begins to uncover the mystery behind the town’s beautiful facade, she learns that something more sinister is at play here. The movie is effective due to the strong performances and building suspense with Ross’ character racing against time as her very existence is a stake. Though only a moderate success when it was released, the movie has gone on to become a cult classic. Note: The 2004 comedy remake directed by Frank Oz and featuring Nicole Kidman, Bette Midler and Glenn Close is terrible.