Pass the popcorn: Moneyball picks up four Oscar noms (Update)

The nominations for the Academy Awards were announced this morning and Moneyball came away with a “cycle” of sorts.

The unlikely cinematic version of Michael Lewis’ best-seller is up for Best Picture, Best Actor (Brad Pitt), Best Supporting Actor (Jonah Hill), and Best Adapted Screenplay (Steven Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin, and Stan Chervin).

UPDATE: Moneyball also earned nominations for film editing and sound mixing, bring the total to six.

The Best Picture category was expanded a few years ago to consider an additional five films. The cynic in me believes this was a way to throw a bone to studios who could now proudly proclaim such status in their advertising when they re-release their product. These are the nominations; I’ve taken the liberty of striking out those that IMHO would not have gotten a nomination under the old rules, based on the majority of reviews I’ve read coupled with my own thoughts on those I’ve seen: ~~War Horse~~, The Artist, ~~Moneyball~~, The Descendants, The Tree of Life, Midnight in Paris, ~~The Help~~, ~~Hugo~~, ~~Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close~~. As you see, I wouldn’t have put Moneyball in the same category as the remaining movies (although I did see Tree of Life and just don’t get the buzz. Yes, it was lovely cinematography, but what the hell was the story about?)

If I had to bet, I might say Jonah Hill has the best chance to come away with some hardware. Christopher Plummer (Beginners) might be a sentimental favorite, but does he really belong in this category?)

Filmspotting, one of my favorite podcasts, did this review of Moneyball back when it was first released.