The nominations for the 84th Academy Awards have just been released, and there are a lot of films with science fiction or fantasy content up for major awards. Traditionally, we’re all used to seeing our favorite genre films dominate the sound categories or visual effects. Sure, Star Wars was nominated for best picture in 1978, and Sigourney Weaver was nominated for best actress 1987 for Aliens, but it wasn’t until the Peter Jackson sweep of the Oscars in 2003 for Return of the King, that fantasy films really took over the Oscars.
Now, with the 2012 nominations released, it looks like genre films are here to stay permanently.
Famously, Woody Allen’s Annie Hall beat Star Wars in 1978 for best picture. And it’s been awhile since Woody was up for this many awards. This year, he’s up for a ton with his time-travel comedy Midnight in Paris. If you don’t think it’s science fiction, check out our review! (Time travel IS the plot) It is a shame however that Harry Potter didn’t squeeze out a best supporting actor nomination for Alan Rickman, nor best adpated screenplay. But the excellent Hugo and the mind-bending Tree of Life are both nominated in the big categories, which is great news.
Also we have a small quibble with WHICH Muppet song was nominated for best song. (We think it should have been “Life’s a Happy Song” and not “Man or Muppet.”)
Anyway, here’s the SFF Oscar list!
The Tree of Life
Best Director
Martin Scorsese (Hugo)
Woody Allen (Midnight in Paris)
Terrence Malick (The Tree of Life)
Art Direction
Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 2
Hugo
Midnight In Paris
Cinematography
Hugo
The Tree of Life
Costume Design
Hugo
Editing
Hugo
Music (score)
Hugo
Music (song)
The Muppets
Short Film (animated)
The Fantastic Flying Books Of Mr Morris Lessmore
Short Film (live action)
Time Freak
Sound Editing
Hugo
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
Sound Mixing
Hugo
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 2
Rise Of The Planet of The Apes
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
Writing (Adapted)
Hugo
Writing (Original)
Midnight In Paris
What got left out? Who will win each category? Who should win? Tell us below!
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