AVATAR: 9 Oscar Nominations!

AVATAR grabbed nine Oscar nominations, including best picture (even odds on that one), best art direction, best sound editing, best sound mixing and, of course, best visual effects. James Cameron's up for best director (a 3-to-1 shot?) while James Horner got a nod for best original score and Mauro Fiore's up for a best-cinematography award (no surprise: his colleagues dig him too). James Cameron may also share best-film-editing honors with Stephen Rivkin and John Refoua.

Just one other movie garnered nine nominations: The Hurt Locker, directed by James Cameron's ex-wife Kathryn Bigelow. What are the odds a divorced couple would be competing for Hollywood's top prize? Does the Academy split the difference and give AVATAR best picture and Hurt Locker best director?

The big disappointment: In spite of extensive support from fans, none of the actors of Avatar were recognized for their contributions this year. Still, there's hope that the popularity of Avatar, its numerous awards, the avid support of its director, and the scrutiny of performance capture will lead to nominations for Avatar’s sequels.

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Are you disappointed that Zoe Saldana (Neytiri) and Sam Worthington (Jake) didn't get best actor recognition by the Oscars?

Comments

[Steven58 (Chok'ete)]

Yes...I'm dissapointed that none of the actors were recognized when particularly Sam and Zoe deserved big nods....Zoe especially.

[Na'viDelphia]

I had my doubts about most of the cast except Zoe. There were a lot of other projects that voters probably think about as more substantive, But along with Sam Worthington and Stephen Lang, Zoe had the most time on the screen, had a wide ranging character, and as a lot of posters pointed out, worked to, as far as we know, a practically empty set. She was in two of '09's blockbusters(don't spend it all in one place, find a reliable advisor and so on), but this was probably her strongest role to date.

I said on an earlier post that I thought a combination of voters from the technical and acting sections would buoy Avatar in the Best Picture category. Since Zoe was not nominated for her role by the Screen Actors Guild or the Academy, I'm not so sure. This was not animation, it was motion capture, and actors should be threatened the least, if that was the case. Certainly as you saw in pictures for the blog for Neytiri and CGI(must check to see if Andy Serkis got any nominations for his work as Gollum in LOTR).

Zoe's next project, The Losers, is about to come out, so we can expect to hear more from her and she's bound to get another chance down the line.

[Na'viDelphia]

No, just see Empire and MTV awards, so far for Serkis. Nothing regarded as major.

[Spirit]

So what time, date and channel is the Oscars on?

[Nawma Atan]

It's on March 7, Sunday 5PM PST. Probably will be on NBC as usual.
It's hard to see Zoe and Jake not getting any nominations but, I'm also extremely content at the 9 nominations for Avatar.. GO JC! woot! :P

[Call me Joe]

Can't say About Sam 'cause there are a few of great performances by other great actors out there in other films. To be honest Sam's performance was not outstanding if I have to say not as a hardcore fan of Avatar.
About best female actress category ... Zoe's performance is way greater than average. She can compete with other great actresses & deserves an Oscar.
Best Picture ? of course Avatar.
Best Director ? of course J.C.
Best Graphics ? of course Avatar

I see You.

[Account Deleted]

Real acting counts. I am no more surprised that the Avatar actors did not get their Oscars, than the voice actors of Final Fantasy: Spirit Within. If Mr Cameron had strung the performance itself together with the movie for the judges to view, the outcome may have been different.

[Ener-G]

James Cameron is shooting himself in the foot with his recent interview comments about he doubted that he would get the Oscars because of remarks that he made on stage about the Titanic. It sound like false humility. Or setting the stage to lose to his exwife. Regardless no one likes to pick a poor winner.

[Carlos David]

I'm dissapointed too because Sam and Zoe have done a great job, an excellent job! and they must be recognized about that.

[Eric Kyle]

Yeh Im dissapointed about that to Carlos. Everybody in the Avatar community knows that Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana should have been nominated at the awards. It wasn't animation at all. I guess people these days will get jealous at somebody elses success. Success to Impress is my motto. And I surely will give it to James Cameron, Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, James Horner, Leona Lewis and all of the cast in Avatar

[Spirit]

Thanks a lot Nawma Atan. Oh and to the question. Of course I'm disappointed. What else can I say or do? They went through a lot of physical training and they also had to learn a new language that was invented solely for the movie. Hopefully sequels will shine new light on Worthington and Saldana.

[Na'viDelphia]

Ener-G, it sounds like people got all over Cameron the way they got all over Sally Field for "you like me, you really, really like me." They were only getting their hard-earned piece and they knew it, and they were glad for that. They knew, in the words of a half-forgotten song, that they weren't the only flame in town. Nonetheless, those good-natured outbursts were misconstrued, as far as I can tell, as unbridled egotism and I think that's why Cameron is having his doubts.

[Peter Roos]

9 Academy Award nominations is magnificent and well deserved, but I agree with the others that for Zoe Soldana and Sam Worthington to be not even nominated is weird - it smells a bit politically motivated. For sure, Andy Serkis has received many nominations and award as supporting actor for his role as Gollum / Schmiegel in LOTR (see http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0785227/awards) which relied heavily on CGI as well.

The Hurt Locker is a good movie in its own right, by the way, but s completely different ballpark from Avatar. Between the two my vote would go to Avatar.

[MynikusNa'vi]

I definitely think at least Zoe should have been nominated. She did an outstanding job on this movie, but like others have said, hopefully the sequels will give her more opportunites to showcase her skill and she will get a nod out of them.

[Filosofee]

Feel AVATAR will scoop 8 of those 9 Oscars. Think Best Director will go to Cameron's 'extended family member' Hurt Locker's Kathryn Bigelow. Roll on Oscar ceremony early March!

[Account Deleted]

Real acting counts. I am no more surprised that the Avatar actors did not get their Oscars, than the voice actors of Final Fantasy: Spirit Within. If Mr Cameron had strung the performance itself together with the movie for the judges to view, the outcome may have been different.

[ESTEBAN POSADA DUQUE / Medellin]

....... CAPTURE PERFORMANCE .... is still a young device in movie productions ..... so yet these young and handsome actors ..... have to wait a bit to be nomminated .......

[Boondocks]

I can't imagine Avatar taking less than 6 of those 9. The Best Director trophy will be up for grabs, but if it doesn't go to Cameron, I feel like Avatar will snag the other 8. If he does get it, Avatar won't get an Oscar sweep.
It deserves all though. Definitely.

[Na'viDelphia]

On the Chartier mail campaign scandal: Wow! I thought it was enough to be concerned that Avatar may not win because of a possible sentiment that Canada got enough gold already. Now this? Can't give Canada(read: Cameron) too much of the glory donchaknow?

Signing oat for now from somewhere in Southeastern Penntario(that's how much snow we've been getting--sorry Vancouver, I'm so silly, sorry).

[PandorapediaProductions]

I hope they'e gone win all of this nine oscars but i don't think is gone happen but i hope it because AVATAR merit this nine oscars

[PandorapediaProductions]

I'm french so tell me if my english is bad...
I'm also disappointed because sam and zoe has'nt benn nominated for actress and actor oscar.

[Account Deleted]

Avatar as cinema phenomenon is bigger than Academy Awards and can afford to found its own Oscar.
Avatar is the best anyway!

[jals]

what happened in the Oscar disappointing kathryn bigelow did not deserve such dolls but let us not sad better comments of agencies urges James Cameron to not give his mood because this fall injustice may have some malice perhaps made it for James Cameron decepcionara and not continue with his trilogy of AVATAR 2 perhaps again to regain his throne and perhaps lost in the Academy but we continue to be the Kings of the lockers and that jajaja record created me just the same JAMES CAMERON can be overcome

[Account Deleted]

Might it be possible to remove this carcass from the site ? It's moot.......

Thanks

[Guy]

I haven't read other posts, so I may unintentionally duplicate.

What I find ironic about Avatar and the Oscars is that Avatar got defeated in the end by the very politics that James holds so near and dear. That of course is LIBERAL politics. Hollywood is 95% liberal, if not more. Naturally, the Academy is going to be likewise comprised. Given the chance, is the Academy going to award best picture to a form of filmmaking that no one has ever seen before and that they know little or nothing about, or are they going to award it to a movie that literally no one has gone to see, BUT it ridicules a Republican president?!? It's a no brainer. The Hurt Locker was of interest to no one. Was seen by no one. Cost almost nothing to make. Had no stars to speak of. Was about a subject that has been beat to death and that people were sick and tired of. But don't ever expect Hollywood to miss out on a chance to beat a dead horse, especially if the horse's name is either Bush or Conservative. The Hurt Locker is full of patented lies, misrepresentations, falsehoods, spin, exaggerations, etc., etc., etc. that liberals have been mouthing for so long that they have come to believe in them as truths. If The Hurt Locker had not been made the same year as Avatar, Avatar would have won in a landslide because it contains three very popular liberal symbols (that come right after Bush-bashing and all things anti-Republican or conservative): environmentalism, new age mother earth-worship, and military-bashing. In other words, if not for that juicy, yummy, delicious carrot (Bush-bashing) that The Hurt Locker dangled in front of the Academy, and which the Academy was completely and utterly helpless to ignore, Avatar would have easily won best picture. The makers of The Hurt Locker and Avatar knew exactly what they were doing as it relates to winning awards. When it came to the tie-breaker though, The Hurt Locker had one ace up its sleeve, and that ace was the director, who just happened to be the former wife of the director of Avatar. So much irony, so much coincidence. So many great headlines. Just what the awards program needed to boost its sagging ratings. The cherry on top was that the Academy had the opportunity to demonstrate that they weren't a bunch of male chauvinist pigs, AND in the process they would be making a big first in the history of the Academy Awards. What wasn't to like? What wasn't to make this a historical awards ceremony right when they needed it the most?!? Avatar was doomed. But poor Fox and Cameron would have to settle for a mere two billion dollars profit, and counting.

Oh the pain of finishing second.