A decade has passed since the Academy bumped the Oscars ceremony up from March to February, but they still feel like they’re sneaking right up on us. And this year things got even more surprising, with the nominations being announced 5 days earlier than usual. According to the AMPAA, the move was to give Academy voters more time to see the films and vote, but we know that’s hogwash; it is simply a ploy to generate more revenue in advertising and ticket sales for the nominated films! Just like the move to arbitrarily include nine or ten Best Picture contenders instead of five.
But enough of that—let’s get down to business with the nominations themselves, since the big show is just around the corner (February 24th, to be exact). The slew of actors (and films) up for awards this year holds some real standouts and fresh new faces, including a bunch of real-life Young Adults themselves. A roundup:
Jennifer Lawrence: Ever since ‘JLaw’ burned onto the scene with Winter’s Bone in 2010, scoring her first Oscar nom, she has been hard to ignore…and that is mostly thanks to a small film known as The Hunger Games. But never one to remain expectable, this beautiful 22-year-old actress provides most of the heart, soul and spunk to Silver Linings Playbook, which has received considerable accolades this year.
Quvenzhané Wallis: Who? Beasts of the Southern Wild is probably the Oscar-nominated film that most people won’t have seen come awards time, and that’s a real shame. This was far and away the most innovative, heartfelt and raw film of 2012, and most of that shines through this androgynous little girl’s brilliant performance. We’re rooting for Hushpuppy!!
Benh Zeitlin: The innovation and freshness of Beasts is entirely thanks to this 30-year-old writer-director, who decided to work with a cast and crew made up of many inexperienced first-timers in film (including the two non-actor leads). But that is precisely what gives the film its improvisational, almost cobbled-together feel, making it unlike anything that’s come along before. It’s remarkable that this is Zeitlin’s feature debut, considering how it was handled so expertly. We can’t wait to see what he’ll do next…
Anne Hathaway: You heard it here—this is Anne’s year. Her almost-too-much performance as Fantine in the YA fave Les Miserables, now immortalized as part of Tina Fey and Amy Poehler’s opening skit at the Golden Globes, will probably be the one to beat on the big night. The young ingénue cried her eyes out in the role, making just as much of an impression as she did in Rachel Getting Married (her first Oscar-nominated role).
—Dan Heching
Happy Valentine’s Day! Click Here to return to our Newsletter