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Five things the Oscars got wrong, five things they got right and ...

Posted January 21, 2009 10:00 pm

Dann Gire

Kudos to the Academy for nominating Chicago actor Michael Shannon for his brief role in "Revolutionary Road."

Five things the voters of the 81st Academy Awards nominations got wrong:

5. Nominating Brad Pitt as best actor for "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button." Come on now. Half the role was special effects with Pitt emanating 2 watts of emotion.

4. Ignoring the emotionally devastating "Dear Zachary" as best documentary.

3. Overlooking composer Thomas Newman for his pulsating, under-your-skin score to "Revolutionary Road"

2. Failing to recognize Loveleen Tandan as co-director of "Slumdog Millionaire."

1. Snubbing "The Dark Knight" for best picture and bypassing its director Christopher "Memento" Nolan. (Please, no "hometown favoritism" charges. They demean the art form and really make me angry.)

Five things the Academy voters got right:

5. Giving Kate Winslet a best actress nod for "The Reader" when practically every other awards group (among them the Golden Globes and Chicago Film Critics) regarded hers as a supporting role

4. Nominating Chicago actor Michael Shannon for his brief but showcase role as a brain-fried mathematician in "Revolutionary Road"

3. Stiffing Clint Eastwood for best actor in "Gran Torino." Seriously, his racist Korean War vet was a distillation of his Harry Callahan character at 78. The last time Clint stretched himself as an actor was his dead-on John Huston impression in 1990s "White Hunter Black Heart."

2. Recognizing Melissa Leo's excellent lead performance as a desperate illegal immigrant trafficker in a drama ("Frozen River") that nobody saw.

1. Nominating "Iron Man" for visual effects and sound editing. At least the movie got technical kudos, even though Robert Downey Jr's wry, nuanced performance as the title character deserved Pitt's slot in the best actor category.

Five things the Academy Awards show needs to do on Feb. 22:

5. Lighten up on the 1.5 nanoseconds allowed for acceptance speeches.

4. Eliminate those life-wasting special montage moments, except for the memorials.

3. Let Trey Parker and Matt Stone, creators of "South Park," write the show's script.

2. Hire comedian Sarah Silverman to host the program.

1. Recognize Chicago's premiere film critic Roger Ebert for his decades of love and appreciation for Hollywood's products. Just because.

On the right side, the Academy gave a nod to Kate Winslet as best actress for "The Reader."

Clint Eastwood's racist Korean War vet in "Grand Torino" was a distillation of his Harry Callahan character at 78.

The Academy snubbed "The Dark Knight" for best picture.

Half the Brad Pitt's role in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" was special effects with Pitt emanating 2 watts of emotion.

<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=266367">'Benjamin Button' leads Oscar nominations</a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=266368">Complete list</a></li> </ul> <h2>Video</h2> <ul class="video"> <li><a href="http://video.ap.org/?t=By%20Section/Showbiz&g=US-OSC-NOMS-20090122EV&f=ilarl">Nominations announced</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>

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