One thing about Oscar Season is that you have so many different groups of people tossing around so many different awards that occasionally, you’ll miss a few. The nominations for the Satellite Awards were announced last Friday but I missed them, largely because nobody really seems to care about the Satellite Awards. Well, almost nobody. I care about them because — even when they were known as the Golden Satellites — the Satellite Awards are consistently more interesting than the more mainstream awards. (For instance, last year, the Satellite Awards had the guts to honor the one and only true girl with the dragon tattoo, Noomi Rapace.)
Best Picture
The Artist
The Descendants
Drive
The Help
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
Shame
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
War Horse
What? No love for David Fincher’s rip-off of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo? The AwardsDaily folks must be throwing a fit. (They’ve been promoting Fincher’s rehash with the same enthusiasm that they attempted to promote Nine two years ago.)
Best Actor
George Clooney in The Descendants
Leonardo DiCaprio in J. Edgar
Michael Fassbender in Shame
Brendan Gleeson in The Guard
Ryan Gosling in Drive
Tom Hardy in The Warrior
Woody Harrelson in Rampart
Gary Oldman in Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
Brad Pitt in Moneyball
Michael Shannon in Take Shelter
It’s nice to see Brendan Gleeson get some love. It’s also interesting to note that Michael Shannon’s performance in Take Shelter has been getting a lot of recognition. Count me among those who hopes that Shannon gets, at the very least, a nomination for giving a great performance in a horror film.
Best Actress
Glenn Close for Albert Nobbs
Olivia Colman in Tryannasour
Viola Davis for The Help
Vera Farmiga in Higher Ground
Elizabeth Olsen in Martha Marcy May Marlene
Meryl Streep in The Iron Lady
Charlize Theron in Young Adult
Emily Watson in Oarnges and Sunshine
Michelle Williams in My Week With Marilyn
Michelle Yeoh in The Lady
Much as the Satellites recognized the work of Noomi Rapace last year, this year they continue to at least nominate some great performances that are being ignored by the mainstream. In a perfect world, both Verma Farmiga and Higher Ground would be major contenders.
Best Supporting Actor
Kenneth Branagh in My Week With Marilyn
Albert Brooks in Drive
Colin Farrell in Horrible Bosses
Jonah Hill in Moneyball
Viggo Mortensen in A Dangerous Method
Nick Nolte in Warrior
Christopher Plummer in Beginners
Andy Serkis for Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Christoph Waltz in Carnage
Hugo Weaving in Oranges and Sunshine
Wouldn’t it be cool if Andy Serkis actually got an Oscar nomination? It’s also nice to see Jonah Hill finally getting some recognition for Moneyball. Brad Pitt has been honored largely for playing Brad Pitt in that film. Hill actually gave a performance.
Best Supporting Actress
Jessica Chastain in The Tree of Life
Elle Fanning in Super 8
Lisa Feret in Mozart’s Sister
Judy Greer in The Descendants
Rachel McAdams in Midnight in Paris
Janet McTeer in Albert Nobbs
Carey Mulligan in Shame
Vanessa Redgrave in Coriolanus
Octavia Spencer in The Help
Kate Winslet in Carnage
I haven’t seen Shame yet but Carey Mulligan is one of my favorite actresses and she deserved an Oscar for her performance in An Education. It’s also nice to see Judy Greer getting some recognition for giving one of the few performances in The Descendants that’s actually going to pass the test of time.