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.
is available on Amazon.com,
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