Hobbit oscar nominations

[martasfic]

Originally published at Faith Seeking Understanding. You can comment here or there.

I’m curious what people think about the Hobbit Oscar nominations. They were only nominated for three awards:

1. best production design
2. best visual effects
3. best makeup/hairstyle

Do you think they were snubbed in other categories? Are there actors or other people you think should have gotten a nomination but didn’t?

While I liked parts of it quite a bit and liked it even more on seeing it a second time, I don’t think it was a great story. I wasn’t swept away by it the same way I was by Lord of the Rings. A lot of it was that I simply had a hard time letting go of the book as I remembered it, but it also was an uneven story: too many gratuitous chase scenes, too much infodump and not enough character development. Still, I think Richard Armitage and Martin Freeman both did admirable jobs, and Andy Serkis deserves something gold and shiny that won’t eat away at his soul for his work as Gollum. He was simply magical in that role.

What say ye? Who would you have nominated for an Oscar, even if you weren’t viewing the movie as a fan but as someone trying to judge it objectively?

Comments

[dreamflower]

I agree that Andy Serkis should have had a Supporting Actor nom for Gollum. And I think "Misty Mountains" should have had a Best Song nomination.

I do agree with the technical nominations, definitely, though.

But this time round? I don't think it was as great an accomplishment as LotR. The story is not as epic, and PJ's attempts to make it seem more epic don't, really. Yes, Martin Freeman totally NAILS Bilbo, but so far Bilbo has yet to show his mettle. I think this is going to be another case of "Let's see how all three of them go..."

Which is a shame, because Andy Serkis won't get another chance.

[marta-bee.livejournal.com]

It's a shame about Gollum being over. He was one of my fave characters in the original trilogy and he was, if anything, even better in his scene here. I kind of hope PJ finds an excuse to bring him back, though of course that would be wrong canonically.

I think you're on to something about the story being incomplete. It's a bit unfair however you slice it - how does any two-hour flick compare to 8-9 hours of combined movies? I also suspect there may be a bias against fantasy movies at work here.

[dreamflower]

I also think there may be either a conscious or unconscious bias against PJ here at work as well: the idea that "he had his chance already, and swept the Oscars in 2004, and darned if we'll let him do that again". I mean he did something historic that year and it was obvious from some of the reactions at the time that many of the Hollywood old guard resented it.

But, really, aside from the Gollum and song snub, I do feel that AUJ at least would not be in line for most of the other main awards.

[lisa-marli.livejournal.com]

Wait for the last movie. This is a movie in Three Parts, not three separate movies. If the story holds up, then the awards at the top of the list will happen.
If the story goes flat, then they will just say, "Told you so" and sit smugly.
Only time will tell.

[marta-bee.livejournal.com]

You may be right about that, Lisa. Unlike with the LOTR trilogy, though, this first Hobbit movie seemed to have a pretty self-contained dramatic structure with its own conflict that was more or less resolved (did Bilbo belong on the quest and why did he want to go). But I can see why that might not be obvious to folks less familiar with the story line.

[engarian.livejournal.com]

Serkis certainly deserved the nod, and since this is probably his only appearance, it's a shame he didn't get it. The rest of the awards can wait - The Hobbit (#1) still has a long way to go and storywise and character-wise it's really not as strong as LOTR (nor was it written to be).

- Erulisse (one L)

[azalaisdep.livejournal.com]

I haven't seen enough of the other contenders to compare fairly; but I honestly don't think it's outstanding Oscar material - except, as you and others have said, for Andy Serkis. I wonder whether, in his case, the Oscar nominating panel somehow have difficulty getting their heads round the extent to which they really are watching (as well as hearing) Serkis on screen?...