Oscar Announces Nominees

Yesterday, really early in Hollywood, Seth Macfarlane and Emma Stone made a few jokes, smiled a lot, and breezed through the nominations for this year's Academy Awards. And, as always, the announcements left plenty to consider.

It all starts with Best Picture. In 2008, the world was in an uproar after "The Dark Knight" was snubbed by the Academy Awards. That led to a change in the process. It was expanded from five to 10 nominees the following year. That also led to an uproar, which led to the process changing again. For the past two years, the number of nominees has been up to the will of voters. There is a minimum of five and maximum of 10 allowed. What we got last year and this is nine.

The nine nominees this year — a particularly fine year for films — represents a lot of different styles and genres. But what it doesn't really have are the populist blockbusters that were supposedly the impetus for the change in the first place. Sure, "Lincoln," "Les Miserables," "Django Unchained," and "Argo" did well at the Box Office, but that's not what the target was. With films like "The Hunger Games" and, more likely, "Skyfall" failing to gain enough traction to make the cut, it's clear that the Academy Awards still favor a certain type of substance and style among nominees.

That was never more clear than in the directing category. Steven Spielberg, for "Lincoln," and Ang Lee, for "Life of Pi," were expected choices. Both delivered critically acclaimed films, both are popular, and both are past winners. The inclusion of David O. Russell was a welcome surprise — as his "Silver Linings Playbook" was an unmitigated delight.

Then came some shocks. Michael Heneke delivered with "Amour," but it's a small foreign language film that many in America probably haven't heard about. Then came Benh Zeitlin for the little indie film that could — "Beasts of the Southern Wild." Those two nominees — and the shocking nature of their inclusion — isn't so much about their work. It was a deep year, and their films have been critically hailed. What was more shocking was who didn't make the cut — Ben Affleck who helmed "Argo" and Kathryn Bigelow — the first female directing winner ever — who delivered "Zero Dark Thirty." Prior to Thursday morning, both seemed to be locks for nominations, and it seemed "Zero Dark Thirty" was poised to be a top contender for Best Picture. Now, not so much.

I think the exclusion of Affleck is particularly frustrating. It's hard to escape the feeling that he's getting passed over in a "Tom Cruise" type way, because he's been the star of big, commercial projects. But "Argo" was a brilliant film, showcasing Affleck's deft hand as a director.

But, as has long been the case with the snobish and exclusive club that is the Academy Awards, it's not just about the quality of your work... Ugh.