"Maybe Tuesday will be my good news day ..."
-- lyric from "The Man I Love"
by George & Ira Gershwin
Well, if you worked on the Miramax Films side of the Mouse House, Tuesday definitely was a "good news day." Disney's art house arm snagged Academy Award nominations for four of its most recent releases. With "No Country for Old Men" (Which Miramax co-produced with Paramount Vantage) earning eight nods:
- Best Motion Picture of the Year
- Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
- Achievement in Directing
- Achievement in Cinematography
- Achievement in Film Editing
- Achievement in Sound Editing
- Achievement in Sound Mixing
- Adapted Screenplay
While "There Will Be Blood" (Which -- just to further confuse the situation -- Paramount Vantage co-produced with Miramax) also received eight nominations:
- Best Motion Picture of the Year
- Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
- Achievement in Directing
- Achievement in Art Direction
- Achievement in Cinematography
- Achievement in Film Editing
- Achievement in Sound Editing
- Adapted Screenplay
While "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" (A Miramax Films / Pathé Renn co-production) scored four nominations:
While Ben Affleck's directorial debut -- "Gone Baby Gone" -- earned a single nomination for Amy Ryan's performance in a supporting role.
Which -- you have to admit -- is a pretty impressive performance by Miramax Films. Particularly when you take into consideration the meager number of nominations that the Walt Disney Pictures side of the studio received this year.
Copyright 2008 The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
& ABC, Inc. All Rights Reserved
In spite of what Mouse House officials had been hoping for, there was no Best Actress nod for Amy Adams' highly praised performance in "Enchanted." Nor was there a Best Picture nomination for the best reviewed film of the year, "Ratatouille."
Mind you, it's not like these two Mouse House productions totally got ignored. After all, "Enchanted" did receive three "Best Song" nominations for:
- "Happy Working Song"
- "So Close"
- "That's How You Know"
Which should make composer Alan Menken and lyricist Stephen Schwartz happy.
As for "Ratatouille," Pixar's latest did get a "Best Animated Feature" nod. And Brad Bird should take some consolation in the fact that his last minute overhaul of Jan Pinkava & Jim Capobianco's story did manage to snag a "Best Original Screenplay" nomination. And let's not forget about Michael Giacchino being nominated for his work on "Ratatouille" 's score.
But beyond that ... The Walt Disney Pictures side of the studio had to settle for a number of tech-related nominations. With "Ratatouille" potentially being recognized for its Achievements in Sound Mixing and Sound Editing. And "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" is in the running for both a Best Makeup and a Best Visual Effects Oscar.
But if I had to single out Disney's biggest disappointment today ... It would probably have to be the lack of "Best Animated Short Film" nomination for Walt Disney Animation Studios' "How to Hook Up Your Home Theater."
That "Home Theater" got no recognition whatsoever from the Academy has to be truly disappointing for the folks at WDAS. Given that this new Goofy short (along with -- of course -- "Enchanted") was supposed to signal that hand-drawn animation was making a comeback at the Mouse Factory. The fact that Academy voters didn't feel that this obviously significant development was worthy of acknowledgment is ... Well, to say the least, troubling for toon fans.
Of course, what's really troubling for Walt Disney Company officials about this year's Oscars isn't the number of nominations that the Walt Disney Pictures side of the studio received. But -- rather -- what's going to happen on February 24th. Which is when ABC's supposed to be broadcasting the 80th annual Academy Awards live from the Kodak Theatre. Should the Writer's Strike still be dragging on at that point, it's expected that the actors will still honor those picket lines. Which means that this year's Oscar broadcast could wind up be the same sort of stripped-down snoozefest that last week's Golden Globes show was. Which was something of a ratings disaster for NBC.
Copyright 2008 The Academy of Motion Picture
Arts and Sciences & ABC, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
So just to recap here ... If you work for the Miramax Films side of the Mouse House, Tuesday was a very "good news day" indeed.
If -- on the other hand -- you work for the Walt Disney Pictures side of the studio and/or ABC ... Well, let's just say that Blue Monday arrived one day late.
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