OSCAR Season Begins

The 84th Annual OSCAR spectacular countdown is underway as the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences announced the nominees in twenty-four categories of film achievement vying for the Academy Award.

The 84th Annual OSCAR spectacular countdown is underway as the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences announced the nominees in twenty four categories of film achievement vying for the Academy Award.

The Academy Awards are the Film Industry’s highest honor academy members can bestow on their colleagues. The nominees, chosen by the voting membership, were selected by the 5,783 voting membership of the Academy.

The month long lead up to the Academy Awards begins with the announcement of talent, directors, films and so many other essential categories integral to filmmaking from Special Effects Wizardry and animating genius to original Music and sound, the behind the scenes unsung heroes of the modern movie making process.

Over the next month events are planned on both coasts designed to reach out and share the night of a thousand stars with those who make the industry what it is: The movie going public! In New York City a Meet the OSCARS Ribbon Cutting Ceremony will be held at Grand Central terminal as well as an official OSCAR Party.

The Academy Awards produce a host of after parties sponsored by the biggest names in Motion Pictures and Media attended by the biggest names and catered by the biggest names and they all have a rehearsal event! The pre-Oscar week Festivities, in Los Angeles, include preview events showcasing every element of the grand evening including a Food and Beverage preview, the Governors Ball Preview, a make-up symposium and fashion event all counting down to the formal affair.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2011 will be presented on Sunday, February 26, 2012, from the Kodak Theater in Hollywood, California. The live telecast, seen on ABC should reach 42 million viewers in more than one hundred countries.

As of Press time Director Michel Hazanavicius “The Artist” (The Weinstein Company) received the Director's Guild Award and is favored, as only six times in sixty-three years has the DGA winner failed, to win the OSCAR.

The following Nominees for the 84th Academy Awards have been provided by the Academy Awards Publicity Department.

Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role

  • Demián Bichir in “A Better Life” (Summit Entertainment)
  • George Clooney in “The Descendants” (Fox Searchlight)
  • Jean Dujardin in “The Artist” (The Weinstein Company)
  • Gary Oldman in “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” (Focus Features)
  • Brad Pitt in “Moneyball” (Sony Pictures Releasing)

Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role

  • Kenneth Branagh in “My Week with Marilyn” (The Weinstein Company)
  • Jonah Hill in “Moneyball” (Sony Pictures Releasing)
  • Nick Nolte in “Warrior” (Lionsgate)
  • Christopher Plummer in “Beginners” (Focus Features)
  • Max von Sydow in “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close” (Warner Bros.)

Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role

  • Glenn Close in “Albert Nobbs” (Roadside Attractions)
  • Viola Davis in “The Help” (Touchstone)
  • Rooney Mara in “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” (Sony Pictures Releasing)
  • Meryl Streep in “The Iron Lady” (The Weinstein Company)
  • Michelle Williams in “My Week with Marilyn” (The Weinstein Company)

Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role

  • Bérénice Bejo in “The Artist” (The Weinstein Company)
  • Jessica Chastain in “The Help” (Touchstone)
  • Melissa McCarthy in “Bridesmaids” (Universal)
  • Janet McTeer in “Albert Nobbs” (Roadside Attractions)
  • Octavia Spencer in “The Help” (Touchstone)

Best Animated Feature Film of the Year

  • “A Cat in Paris” (GKIDS) Alain Gagnol and Jean-Loup Felicioli
  • “Chico & Rita” (GKIDS)  Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal
  • “Kung Fu Panda 2” (DreamWorks Animation, Distributed by Paramount) Jennifer Yuh Nelson
  • “Puss in Boots” (DreamWorks Animation, Distributed by Paramount) Chris Miller
  • “Rango” (Paramount) Gore Verbinski

Achievement in Art Direction

  • “The Artist” (The Weinstein Company) Production Design:  Laurence Bennett, Set Decoration:Robert Gould
  • “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2” (Warner Bros.) Production Design: Stuart Craig, Set Decoration:  Stephenie McMillan
  • “Hugo” (Paramount) Production Design:  Dante Ferretti, Set Decoration:  Francesca Lo Schiavo
  • “Midnight in Paris” (Sony Pictures Classics) Production Design:  Anne Seibel, Set Decoration:Hélène Dubreuil
  • “War Horse” (Touchstone) Production Design:  Rick Carter, Set Decoration: Lee Sandales

Achievement in Cinematography

  • “The Artist” (The Weinstein Company) Guillaume Schiffman
  • “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Jeff Cronenweth
  • “Hugo” (Paramount) Robert Richardson
  • “The Tree of Life” (Fox Searchlight) Emmanuel Lubezki
  • “War Horse” (Touchstone) Janusz Kaminski

Achievement in Costume Design

  • “Anonymous” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Lisy Christl
  • “The Artist” (The Weinstein Company) Mark Bridges
  • “Hugo” (Paramount) Sandy Powell
  • “Jane Eyre” (Focus Features) Michael O'Connor
  • “W.E.” (The Weinstein Company) Arianne Phillips

Achievement in Directing

  • “The Artist” (The Weinstein Company) Michel Hazanavicius
  • “The Descendants” (Fox Searchlight) Alexander Payne
  • “Hugo” (Paramount) Martin Scorsese
  • “Midnight in Paris” (Sony Pictures Classics) Woody Allen
  • “The Tree of Life” (Fox Searchlight) Terrence Malick

Best Documentary Feature

  • “Hell and Back Again” (Docurama Films) A Roast Beef Limited Production, Danfung Dennis and Mike Lerner
  • “If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front” (Oscilloscope Laboratories)  A Marshall Curry Production, Marshall Curry and Sam Cullman
  • “Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory” An @radical.media Production, Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky
  • “Pina” (Sundance Selects)   A Neue Road Movies Production, Wim Wenders and Gian-Piero Ringel
  • “Undefeated” (The Weinstein Company) A Spitfire Pictures Production, TJ Martin, Dan Lindsay and Richard Middlemas

Best Documentary Short Subject

  • “The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement” A Purposeful Production, Robin Fryday and Gail Dolgin
  • “God Is the Bigger Elvis” A Documentress Films Production, Rebecca Cammisa and Julie Anderson
  • “Incident in New Baghdad” A Morninglight Films Production, James Spione
  • “Saving Face” A Milkhaus/Jungefilm Production, Daniel Junge and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy
  • “The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom” A Supply & Demand Integrated Production, Lucy Walker and Kira Carstensen

Achievement in Film Editing

  • “The Artist” (The Weinstein Company) Anne-Sophie Bion and Michel Hazanavicius
  • “The Descendants” (Fox Searchlight) Kevin Tent
  • “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall
  • “Hugo” (Paramount) Thelma Schoonmaker
  • “Moneyball” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Christopher Tellefsen

Best Foreign Language Film of the Year

  • “Bullhead”  A Savage Film Production, Belgium
  • “Footnote” (Sony Pictures Classics) A Footnote Limited Partnership Production, Israel
  • “In Darkness” (Sony Pictures Classics)  A Studio Filmowe Zebra Production, Poland
  • “Monsieur Lazhar” (Music Box Films) A micro_scope Production, Canada
  • “A Separation” (Sony Pictures Classics) A Dreamlab Films Production, Iran

Achievement in Makeup

  • “Albert Nobbs” (Roadside Attractions) Martial Corneville, Lynn Johnston and Matthew W. Mungle
  • “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2” (Warner Bros.) Nick Dudman, Amanda Knight and Lisa Tomblin
  • “The Iron Lady” (The Weinstein Company) Mark Coulier and J. Roy Helland

Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original score)

  • “The Adventures of Tintin” (Paramount) John Williams
  • “The Artist” (The Weinstein Company) Ludovic Bource
  • “Hugo” (Paramount) Howard Shore
  • “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” (Focus Features) Alberto Iglesias
  • “War Horse” (Touchstone) John Williams

Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original song)

  • “Man or Muppet” from “The Muppets” (Walt Disney) Music and Lyric by Bret McKenzie
  • “Real in Rio” from “Rio” (20th Century Fox) Music by Sergio Mendes and Carlinhos Brown,Lyric by Siedah Garrett

Best Motion Picture of the Year

  • “The Artist” (The Weinstein Company)   A La Petite Reine/Studio 37/La Classe Américaine/JD Prod/France3 Cinéma/Jouror Productions/uFilm Production, Thomas Langmann, Producer
  • “The Descendants” (Fox Searchlight)  An Ad Hominem Enterprises Production, Jim Burke, Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor, Producers
  • “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close” (Warner Bros.)  A Warner Bros. Pictures Production, Scott Rudin, Producer
  • “The Help” (Touchstone) A DreamWorks Pictures Production, Brunson Green, Chris Columbus and    Michael Barnathan, Producers
  • “Hugo” (Paramount)    A Paramount Pictures and GK Films Production, Graham King and Martin Scorsese, Producers
  • “Midnight in Paris” (Sony Pictures Classics) A Pontchartrain Production, Letty Aronson and Stephen Tenenbaum, Producers
  • “Moneyball” (Sony Pictures Releasing)   A Columbia Pictures Production, Michael De Luca, Rachael Horovitz and Brad Pitt, Producers
  • “The Tree of Life” (Fox Searchlight) A River Road Entertainment Production, Nominees to be determined
  • “War Horse” (Touchstone)  A DreamWorks Pictures Production, Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy, Producers

  • Best Animated Short Film
  • “Dimanche/Sunday” (National Film Board of Canada)  A National Film Board of Canada Production, Patrick Doyon
  • “The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore” A Moonbot Studios LA Production, William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg
  • “La Luna” (Walt Disney)   A Pixar Animation Studios Production, Enrico Casarosa
  • “A Morning Stroll” (Studio AKA)   A Studio AKA Production, Grant Orchard and Sue Goffe
  • “Wild Life” (National Film Board of Canada) A National Film Board of Canada Production, Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby

Best Live Action Short Film

  • “Pentecost” (Network Ireland Television)   An EMU Production, Peter McDonald and Eimear O'Kane
  • “Raju” A Hamburg Media School/Filmwerkstatt Production, Max Zähle and Stefan Gieren
  • “The Shore”  An All Ashore Production, Terry George and Oorlagh George
  • “Time Freak”  A Team Toad Production, Andrew Bowler and Gigi Causey
  • “Tuba Atlantic” (Norsk Filminstitutt) A Norwegian Film School/Den Norske Filmskolen Production, Hallvar Witzø

Achievement in Sound Editing

  • “Drive” (FilmDistrict) Lon Bender and Victor Ray Ennis
  • “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Ren Klyce
  • “Hugo” (Paramount) Philip Stockton and Eugene Gearty
  • “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” (Paramount) Ethan Van der Ryn and Erik Aadahl
  • “War Horse” (Touchstone) Richard Hymns and Gary Rydstrom

Achievement in Sound Mixing

  • “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” (Sony Pictures Releasing) David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce and Bo Persson
  • “Hugo” (Paramount) Tom Fleischman and John Midgley
  • “Moneyball” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Deb Adair, Ron Bochar, Dave Giammarco and Ed Novick
  • “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” (Paramount) Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers, Jeffrey J. Haboush and Peter J. Devlin
  • “War Horse” (Touchstone) Gary Rydstrom, Andy Nelson, Tom Johnson and Stuart Wilson

Achievement in Visual Effects

  • “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2” (Warner Bros.) Tim Burke, David Vickery, Greg Butler and John Richardson
  • “Hugo” (Paramount) Rob Legato, Joss Williams, Ben Grossman and  Alex Henning
  • “Real Steel” (Touchstone) Erik Nash, John Rosengrant, Dan Taylor and Swen Gillberg
  • “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” (20th Century Fox) Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, R. Christopher White and Daniel Barrett
  • “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” (Paramount) Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Matthew Butler and John Frazier

Adapted Screenplay

  • “The Descendants” (Fox Searchlight) Screenplay by Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash
  • “Hugo” (Paramount) Screenplay by John Logan
  • “The Ides of March” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Screenplay by George Clooney & Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon
  • “Moneyball” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Screenplay by Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin Story by Stan Chervin
  • “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” (Focus Features) Screenplay by Bridget O'Connor & Peter Straughan

Original Screenplay

  • “The Artist” (The Weinstein Company) Written by Michel Hazanavicius
  • “Bridesmaids” (Universal) Written by Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig
  • “Margin Call” (Roadside Attractions) Written by J.C. Chandor
  • “Midnight in Paris” (Sony Pictures Classics) Written by Woody Allen
  • “A Separation” (Sony Pictures Classics) Written by Asghar Farhadi

Haute Tease