Yes, it's war at this year's Oscars, as the battle for Pandora pits itself against the war on terror. Avatar and The Hurt Locker have nine nominations each, including the big ones for picture and director, although I'd say The Hurt Locker has the edge since it also has screenwriting and acting nominations.Whatever happens, having 10 Best Picture nominations throws everything into a spin this year, although it's not quite as radical as it looks. Sure, this is proof that fantasy has officially made it into the mainstream (Avatar, District 9, Up and, erm, Inglourious Basterds), but there's still no room for comedies or rom-coms.
Note the shut-out for the acclaimed (500) Days of Summer and just one nomination for Julie & Julia (even though Stanley Tucci deserved his nod for this, not The Lovely Bones). And then there's the absence of the year's most winning doc, the comical Anvil! and the fact that acclaimed comedies (and Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs and Monsters vs Aliens) didn't make it into the animated feature shortlist, but The Secret of Kells, which no one has seen, did. OK, it's probably genius.
The one exception is the hugely deserving In the Loop, although under the laughter it's actually a political thriller, so maybe it doesn't actually count.
People we should feel sorry for: Julianne Moore, Christian McKay, Clint Eastwood, Abbie Cornish, Viggo Mortensen and Alfred Molina. Those who should thank their lucky stars: Maggie Gyllenhaal, Penelope Cruz, the producers of The Blind Side and anyone who did a technical job on Avatar. Bring on March 7th!
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