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Thursday, Jan 10, 2013 3:18 PM UTC

Oscars: Does Hollywood fear “Zero Dark Thirty” torture debate?

Kathryn Bigelow's best director snub suggests Hollywood wants no part of the political controversy over torture SLIDE SHOW

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Topics: slideshow, Movies, Academy Awards, Oscars, Movie Awards Season, Zero Dark Thirty, Lincoln, django unchained, amour, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Editor's Picks, Oscar snubs, Kathryn Bigelow,

Oscars: Does Hollywood fear (Credit: s_buckley via Shutterstock)

On one hand, it sure looks as if Hollywood is getting skittish about “Zero Dark Thirty” and the continuing political controversy around its portrayal of torture and links to the CIA. As expected, the film was among the nine best-picture nominees in Thursday morning’s Academy announcements. But Kathryn Bigelow was denied a best-director nomination in a category many (myself included) thought she might well win.

If Bigelow’s omission was the biggest surprise of this morning’s announcements, it wasn’t the only one. Ben Affleck was denied a directing nomination for his Iran-hostage drama “Argo,” and Tom Hooper, who won the directing prize two years ago for “The King’s Speech,” was similarly rejected for “Les Misérables.” Also missing from the directing category was Quentin Tarantino of the bloody slave-revenge western “Django Unchained,” but that’s arguably less of a surprise given the academy’s traditional allergy to any and all material tinged with racial controversy. (Consider the fate of “The Help” in last year’s Oscar season.) All three films were nominated within the promiscuous best-picture category, but are now far less likely to be regarded as serious contenders.

But we can also choose to view what happened this morning as an embrace rather than a set of rejections. Once again the academy has skewed in a more adventurous and indie-friendly direction than most observers expected. Both the riveting old-age drama “Amour” and the magical-realist bayou allegory “Beasts of the Southern Wild” were nominated for best picture, and their creators – severe Austrian genius Michael Haneke and first-time New Orleans filmmaker Benh Zeitlin – were both nominated for best director. If the first outcome is not an enormous surprise, the second one definitely is. Personally, I never imagined I’d see the Oscars honor Haneke, one of the most rigorous and demanding cinema artists of our time, and I’ll gladly trade Bigelow, Affleck and anybody else for that.

This year’s Oscar nominations also feature the oldest best-actress nominee in history (Emmanuelle Riva of “Amour,” who is 85) and the youngest (Quvenzhané Wallis of “Beasts,” who is now 9 – but was 6 when most of the film was shot). Neither is likely to win, in a category that’s expected to be a close race between Jennifer Lawrence of “Silver Linings Playbook” and Jessica Chastain of “Zero Dark Thirty.” Similarly, every man nominated in the best-actor category who isn’t named Daniel Day-Lewis – for the record, they were Bradley Cooper, Hugh Jackman, Joaquin Phoenix and Denzel Washington — is likely to remain an afterthought.

If we assume that neither “Beasts” nor “Amour” is a likely best-picture winner, and further assume that the directing category offers the best guide to what will actually win (as is usually the case), then this year’s Oscar race sets up as a three-way battle between “Lincoln,” Ang Lee’s 3-D CGI fantasy “Life of Pi” (which garnered 11 nominations overall), and David O. Russell’s realist rom-com “Silver Linings Playbook,” which was nominated in every major category. To put it mildly, “Lincoln” is the overwhelming favorite. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Day-Lewis, Steven Spielberg, writer Tony Kushner, supporting actor Tommy Lee Jones and the film itself sweep the big awards on Oscar night. (Sally Field is perhaps an underdog for supporting actress, given the consensus that Anne Hathaway’s rendition of “I Dreamed a Dream” in “Les Miz” has guaranteed her a statuette.)

If there were no other snubs as notable as those of Bigelow, Tarantino and Affleck, there were plenty of other big names and prominent films that went unmentioned. Wes Anderson’s gorgeous and charming “Moonrise Kingdom” was denied any major nominations, which is really too bad. Many people thought that John Hawkes would be nominated for his role as a severly disabled man seeking to lose his virginity in “The Sessions,” but the mild-mannered film underperformed at the box office. Previous best-actress winner Marion Cotillard probably deserved a nomination for her role in Jacques Audiard’s “Rust and Bone” – but perhaps “Amour” was enough French film for this year.

Leonardo DiCaprio got no supporting nod for his role as a nefarious slaveowner in “Django Unchained,” and Matthew McConaughey – recently honored by the New York Film Critics Circle for his winning role as captain to a team of male strippers in “Magic Mike” – also found no love from Oscar. There was a last-minute push to get a best-picture slot for “Skyfall,” which is the highest-grossing James Bond film of all time, in a year when the academy plans a special presentation to honor the long-running franchise. But even with only nine of the potential 10 nominations filled, it didn’t happen.

Oscar nominations: Actors

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  • Best Actor: Bradley Cooper, "Silver Linings Playbook" (The Weinstein Company)

  • Best Actor: Denzel Washington, “Flight" (ImageMovers, Paramount Pictures)

  • Best Actor: Hugh Jackman, "Les Miserables" (Working Title Films)

  • Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis, “Lincoln” (DreamWorks Pictures, Twentieth Century Fox)

  • Best Actor: Joaquin Phoenix, “The Master” (The Weinstein Company)

  • Best Supporting Actor: Robert DeNiro, "Silver Linings Playbook" (The Weinstein Company)

  • Best Supporting Actor: Alan Arkin, "Argo" (Warner Bros. Pictures)

  • Best Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz, "Django Unchained" (The Weinstein Company)

  • Best Supporting Actor: Philip Seymour Hoffman, “The Master” (The Weinstein Company)

  • Best Supporting Actor: Tommy Lee Jones, “Lincoln” (DreamWorks Pictures, Twentieth Century Fox)

  • Best Actress: Jessica Chastain, “Zero Dark Thirty" (Columbia Pictures)

  • Best Actress: Naomi Watts, “The Impossible” (Summit Entertainment, Telecinco Cinema)

  • Best Actress: Jennifer Lawrence, "Silver Linings Playbook" (The Weinstein Company)

  • Best Actress: Emmanuelle Riva, "Amour" (Canal+)

  • Best Actress: Quvenzhané Wallis, "Beasts of the Southern Wild" (Fox Searchlight Pictures)

  • Best Supporting Actress: Amy Adams, "The Master" (The Weinstein Company)

  • Best Supporting Actress: Helen Hunt, "The Sessions" (Fox Searchlight Pictures)

  • Best Supporting Actress: Sally Field, "Lincoln" (DreamWorks)

  • Best Supporting Actress: Jacki Weaver, "Silver Linings Playbook" (The Weinstein Company)

  • Best Supporting Actress: Anne Hathaway, "Les Miserables" (Working Title Films, Universal Pictures)

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Oscar nominations: Best Picture

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  • "Argo" (AP Photo/Warner Bros., Claire Folger)

  • "Silver Linings Playbook" (The Weinstein Company)

  • "Lincoln" (AP Photo/DreamWorks and Twentieth Century Fox, David James)

  • "Django Unchained" (The Weinstein Company)

  • "Les Miserables" (AP Photo/Universal Pictures, Laurie Sparham)

  • "Amour" (AP Photo/Sony Pictures Classics, File)

  • "Beasts of the Southern Wild" (AP Photo/Fox Searchlight Pictures, Jess Pinkham)

  • "Life of Pi" (AP Photo/20th Century Fox)

  • "Zero Dark Thirty" (AP Photo/Sony - Columbia Pictures, Jonathan Olley)

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  • Proof That Film is Forever — Shankweilers, Orefield, Pa.
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  • And really, what better way is there to cruise the nostalgia highway of old Hollywood than in a MINI Roadster? Allowing all the headroom one needs to see the stars on the screen and those directly above, the 2013 convertible goes the distance where it counts — on the road (obviously), not to mention the discerning driver’s wallet. Never mind that its fun-size frame also makes motoring in and out of tight traffic all the more enjoyable (or parking in even tighter spots for cozy romantics all the more convenient).

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