The Envelope, Please!

by Kara Thomas

Welcome to the middle of Award Season. The 85th annual Academy Awards is just a month away and the nominations came out on Thursday, January 10. Top contenders are Lincoln with 12 nominations, Life of Pi with 11 nominations, and Les Misérables and Silver Linings Playbook both with 8.

Nine titles were nominated for Best Picture: Amour, Argo, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Django Unchained, Les Misérables, Life of Pi, Lincoln, Silver Linings Playbook, and Zero Dark Thirty. For Actor in a Leading Role, Hugh Jackman for Les Misérables is the apparent underdog with no prior Oscar nominations. He is up against Bradley Cooper for Silver Linings Playbook, Daniel Day-Lewis for Lincoln, Joaquin Phoenix for The Master, and Denzel Washington for Flight.

Nominees for Actor in a Supporting Role are Alan Arkin for Argo, Robert De Niro for Silver Linings Playbook, Philip Seymour Hoffman for The Master, Tommy Lee Jones for Lincoln, and Christoph Waltz for Django Unchained.

The category of Actress in a Leading Role has the youngest nominee ever - nine year old Louisiana native Quvenzhané Wallis for her portrayal of Hushpuppy in Beasts of the Southern Wild. Also nominated were Jessica Chastain for Zero Dark Thirty, Jennifer Lawrence for Silver Linings Playbook (only her second Oscar nomination), Emmanuelle Riva for Amour, and Naomi Watts for The Impossible.

In Actress in a Supporting Role, Anne Hathaway is nominated for her tear-jerking performance in Les Misérables. She is against Amy Adams for The Master, Sally Field for Lincoln, Helen Hunt for The Sessions, Jacki Weaver for Silver Linings Playbook.

Nominees for the category Directing are Amour, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Life of Pi, Lincoln, and Silver Linings Playbook. Up for Best Visual Effects are The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Life of Pi, Marvel’s The Avengers, Prometheus,and Snow White and the Huntsman.

In the category of Writing (Adapted Screenplay) are Argo, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Life of Pi, Lincoln, and Silver Linings Playbook. For Writing (Original Screenplay) nominees include Amour, Django Unchained, Flight, Moonrise Kingdom, and Zero Dark Thirty. To see if your favorite movie wins, tune in to ABC February 24 at 6:00 pm central.