The predictions are plentiful. Everybody with a keyboard and a website seems to know the secret formula for which films the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences will announce Thursday morning as the nominations for the organization’s 2012 Oscars.
“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” will probably be heard as from either actress Emma Stone or Seth MacFarlane as they announce the nominations. The winners will be announced on a widely watched television broadcast most people call “The Oscars,” known also as the 85th Academy Awards®, on Sunday, February 24. Coincidentally, (or maybe not!) TheOneRing.net will be hosting a part that same night in Hollywood with food, music and entertainment. (In fact, you should come celebrate film with us!) MacFarlane will also host the show that night for the television audience.
But back to those predictions.
If the experts can be believed, “The Hobbit” has one of its best chances for a win with Best Visual Effects. There is already a short list of nominees to help narrow down the field. “The Hobbit,” is in the running with nine other films, five of which will receive nominations. The other films with the strongest chance for a nomination and win is believed to be “The Life of Pi.”
The other eight contenders, alphabetically, are:
The Amazing Spider-Man
The Avengers
Cloud Atlas
The Dark Knight Rises
John Carter
Prometheus
Skyfall
Snow White & the Huntsman
The other category “The Hobbit” looks especially strong in: Best Makeup and Hairstyling. The field has been narrowed here as well with seven films contending for three spots. Most agree that the likely leaders are:
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Les Miserables
Lincoln
The rest of the field
Hitchcock
Looper
Men in Black 3
Snow White and the Huntsman.
After those two awards, things get less sure for the folks who worked on “The Hobbit.” Lets go through the whole list and then present a tally at the end. Remember, these are not my predictions nor my report of what I think deserves nominations, only what I gather to be most likely from polling many of the internet websites. After each category listing a brief summary of projected chances for “The Hobbit.” All categories are listed for reader information.
BEST PICTURE – Only a very outside chance and if this happens, it would be the biggest story of the entertainment day.
BEST DIRECTOR – Virtually no chance.
BEST ACTOR – The reality is, despite excellent performances, Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage and Ian McKellen are not even in the nomination discussion.
BEST ACTRESS – NA
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR – Andy Serkis isn’t ever discussed, nor is anybody else from the film.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS – No serious discussion.
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY – NA
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY – Made some lists but would be a shocking nomination.
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM – NA
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE – NA
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE – NA
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY – It has mentions but this would be surprising.
BEST FILM EDITING – Discussed, but not a serious contender and would be a shocker.
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN – This is a possibility for Dan Hennah and Ra Vincent but it isn’t favored. Fantasy has a difficult time competing against period pieces.
BEST COSTUME DESIGN – Has a chance but is predicted to finish just outside the top five nominations. See fantasy vs. period pieces above.
BEST ORIGINAL SONG – This doesn’t look good but it isn’t impossible.
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE – This is a long shot but not a no shot.
BEST SOUND MIXING – In a banner year for sound, this might be a very near miss but is a real possibility.
BEST SOUND EDITING – In a banner year for sound, this might be a very near miss but is a real possibility. Is there an echo in here?
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS – See above.
BEST MAKEUP & HAIRSTYLING – See above.
So if things go well, “The Hobbit,” could hope for nominations for makeup, effects, one or two sound categories and production design and costumes. Six nominations would be a shocking, better-than-predicted showing. Any more than that would be monumental. Less than two nominations would be a disappointment but it is possible the film could be shut out. Effects and makeup at least appear to be near locks. Between two and four noms is most likely.
Stone and MacFarlane will reveal it all at 5:30 a.m. California time tomorrow.
Gandalf leaving the Company at the eaves of Mirkwood increases the story tension.“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” impressed the Cinema Audio Society enough to shoulder into one of the five live action nominations for sound mixing the group awards annually. The group’s noms reflect an Academy Award nomination about 75 percent of the time.
Films competing against TH:AUJ are “Les Miserables,” “Lincoln,” “Skyfall” and “Zero Dark Thirty.” For a full story and list of nominations that include animated films and television, you can click right here.
TH:AUJ was mixed with new technology Dolby Atmos which dramatically increases the number of sound spots film technicians can place in the film. Thursday marks the announcement of Oscar nominations and the film has a chance to nab a spot for sound mixing and sound editing.
TheOneRing.net will host a party in Hollywood on Oscar night to celebrate film. See details right here.
The complete award for the film follows:
“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey”
Production Mixer- Tony Johnson, CAS
Re-recording Mixer – Christopher Boyes
Re-recording Mixer – Michael Hedges, CAS
Re-recording Mixer – Michael Semanick, CAS
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) just announced its nominations for the best films of 2012, and “The Hobbit,” snagged 3 separate nominations. One each for Sound, Special Visual Effects and Hair & Makeup. “Lincoln” received the most nominations with 10, even though Director Steven Spielberg was not one of the directorial nominees. Following close behind were “Argo,” “Les Miserables,” “Life of Pi” and “Zero Dark Thirty,” all with multiple nominations and among the Best Film category, along with “Lincoln.”
In the Sound category, “The Hobbit” is nominated with “Django Unchained,” “Les Miserables,” “Life of Pi” and “Skyfall.” In my opinion if the voters were able to see and hear a Dolby Atmos screening, this would be in the bag, but that is still a fresh and technology with limited availability. In the Special Visual Effects category, “The Hobbit,” is nominated with “The Dark Knight Rises,” “Life of Pi,” “Prometheus” and “Marvel’s Avengers Assemble.” In the Hair and Makeup category, all the nominees except “The Hobbit” are period pieces, while “The Hobbit,” definitely has some fantastical creations. Not sure which is the advantage here. The other nominees are “Anna Karenina,” “Hitchcock,” “Les Miserables” and “Lincoln.”
One notable nominee in the Documentary category is “West of Memphis,” produced by Fran Walsh and Peter Jackson. Jackson appears in the film that looks at the arrest, conviction and release of three then teens for a murder in West Memphis, Arkansas. Many felt it was a wrong conviction. The British Academy Film Awards will take place on February 10 at London’s Royal Opera House. For a full list of the nominations, please check the BAFTA website
What are all the young kids reading today? TOLKIEN! Legions of fans who followed the hit Disney Channel series “The Suite Life of Zack & Cody” may be surprised to learn star Dylan Sprouse has embraced his inner-geek, avidly loves Tolkien, and has already seen THE HOBBIT: AUJ four times. Join us on today’s *live* webcast as congenial host Cliff “Quickbeam” Broadway is joined by this special young talent: a Nickelodeon Kid’s Choice Award-winner and T.V. star who’s here to show how generational love of J.R.R. Tolkien is handed down to kids and inspires them to great things! If you’ve got a youngling in the house who’s a fan, they’ll definitely want to join the show *live* and bring their comments to the chat! TORn TUESDAY begins at 5:00PM Pacific Time right here on our Live Event Page, or you can turn on your camera and join in our Stickam hosted page here. You can even watch live from your smartphone using the Stickam App.
The Goblin King from “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” Image by Warner Bros. Pictures
“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” earned the top nomination for visual effects and six others nominations at the 11th annual Visual Effects Society Awards, set for Feb. 5 at the Beverly Hilton. “The Avengers,” and “The Life of Pi,” are close behind with six nominations each and are also in the top category.
The awards recognize special effect driven films such as those mentioned above in a different category from those features where effects play a secondary role. It recognizes work in animated films, broadcast, commercials, video games and student work. Weta Digital is represented with “The Hobbit” and a work on a few others films as well.
It also recognizes special effect characters pitting Gollum against the Goblin King, Hulk and the tiger from “Life of Pi,” named Richard Parker. There are currently 10 films on the Academy Award list for Best Visual Effects with the official nominations expected January 10. “The Hobbit,” is very likely to be on the final ballot. TheOneRing.net is hosting an awards-night celebration in Hollywood on the nights of the awards. Some tickets remain available.
Nominations for The Hobbit are as follows:
1. Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects-Driven Feature Motion Picture
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Joe Letteri
Eileen Moran
Eric Saindon
Kevin L. Sherwood
2 & 3. Outstanding Animated Character in a Live Action Feature Motion Picture
The Hobbit: Goblin King
Jung Min Chan
James Jacobs
David Clayton
Guillaume Francois
The Hobbit: Gollum
Gino Acevedo
Alessandro Bonora
Jeff Capogreco
Kevin Estey
4. Outstanding Created Environment in a Live Action Feature Motion Picture
The Hobbit: Goblin Caverns
Ryan Arcus
Simon Jung
Alastair Maher
Anthony M. Patti
5. Outstanding Virtual Cinematography in a Live Action Feature Motion Picture
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Matt Aitken
Victor Huang
R. Christopher White
6. Outstanding FX and Simulation Animation in a Live Action Feature Motion Picture
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Areito Echevarria
Garry Runke
Francois Sugny
7. Outstanding Compositing in a Feature Motion Picture
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Jean-Luc Azzis
Steven Mcgillen
Christoph Salzmann
Charles Tait
TheOneRing.net is excited to announce that among the over 30 artists contributing work to ‘An Unexpected Art Show’, award-winning fantasy artist Donato Giancolawill be in attendance! Celebrating The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth, ‘An Unexpected Art Show’ will feature inspired art pieces — from paintings, drawings, and illustrations to prints — from a variety of artists.
Donato creates truly stunning oil paintings blending Renaissance craftsmanship with the inspiring world of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth. As John Howe himself said in 2010,
“There’s more to Donato Giancola’s art than just a pretty face. Underneath the incredibly meticulous surface of his paintings is concealed a love of perspective and form, an intimate understanding of the human body, a historian’s knowledge of costume and armour, an infallible sense of implicit narrative, visual storytelling and mythical history. It’s just that you’re so rapt gazing at all the mind-blowingly pretty bits that you tend to miss it. Look again. There’s a lot more to see.”
Donato will be on hand with limited edition giclée prints available including his newest commission, an incredibly detailed portrait of J.R.R. Tolkien himself.
Join us for ‘An Unexpected Art Show’ in Los Angeles, California on Friday, February 22, from 7 PM to 1 AM. All ages are welcome to attend. A limited number of tickets are available for $15 online and $20 at the door. ‘An Unexpected Art Show’ will be held at Lot 613, a blank-canvas special events space in the Historic Arts District of Downtown Los Angeles, located at 613 Imperial Street. It’s all part of our Oscar Celebration weekend culminating with ‘The One Expected Party‘!
The predictions are plentiful. Everybody with a keyboard and a website seems to know the secret formula for which films the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences will announce Thursday morning as the nominations for the organization’s 2012 Oscars.
