OSCAR Nominations Announced

OscarThe 78th Oscar nominations have been announced and Britain has a sizeable stake in the outcomes.

Dame Judi Dench  for Mrs Henderson Presents and Kiera Knightley for Pride and Prejudice go head to head for Best Actress. Rachel Wiesz is nominated as Best Supporting Actress for The Constant Gardener.

Match Point, the BBC co-production shot in London and one of the few Woody Allen films ever made outside of New York, is nominated for Best Original Screenplay. Steve Box and Nick Park have got Best Animated feature for Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit.

 There was another nice Brit surprise to come, missed by many of the usual news outlets which regularly fail to notice short films and short animations. Netribution does not follow their example.....

Sharon ColmanAnimation has scored again in the nominations. Scot Sharon Colman, from Balloch, close by Loch Lomond, has been nominated for best animated short film for Badgered,the story of the desperate measures a grumpy badger goes to when trying to get some sleep. Sharon Colman studied at Glasgow School of Art and the National Film and Television School.

 THE KEY TO SUCCESS

The Oscar-nominated animator attributes her success to an inspirational childhood in Scotland, but acknowledges the help of many people in developing her career, though success still seems to be a surprise.

"I grew up by Loch Lomond, with a love for nature, Chuck Jones cartoons and the Peanuts comic strip. After graduating from Glasgow School of Art with a BA Hons in Illustration, I worked as a Flash animator and freelance illustrator. I always wanted to approach animation from a traditional illustrative angle, she said.

"I’m amused by the peculiarity and absurdity of human nature, and developed an interest in characters and their physiological makeup. The National Film and Television School has nurtured me in my journey to become a strong animator and director and given me the opportunity to surprise myself."

"I was honoured to have Daniel Greaves as mentor and tutor from the early beginnings of my film Badgered, to the final mile. I also had the privilege of directing two professional animators and a voice actor."

 FURTHER POTENTIAL

Other potential Oscar winners include the UK co-production Tsotsi by Gavin Hood competing under the South African flag for Best Foreign language Film, Harry Potter And The Goblet of Fire which gives Art Director Stuart Craig its 8th nomination and Set decorator Stephanie McMillan her 3rd nomination. Finally the short films Cashback by Sean Ellis and Lene Bausager and Six Shooters by the Irish Martin McDonagh will try to repeat Andrea Arnold’s success last year with her film Wasp.

John Woodward, CEO of the UK Film Council that supported The Constant Gardener and Mrs Henderson Presents said about the Oscar nominations that they “demonstrate yet again the high level of creative skills and talent that we have in the British film industry”.

LIST OF MAIN NOMINATIONS

 Best Picture
Brokeback Mountain
Capote
Crash
Good Night, And Good Luck
Munich

 

Best Director
Ang Lee - Brokeback Mountain
Bennett Miller - Capote
Paul Haggis - Crash
George Clooney - Good Night, And Good Night
Steven Spielberg - Munich

 

Best Actor
Philip Seymour Hoffman - Capote
Terrence Howard - Hustle & Flow
Heath Ledger - Brokeback Mountain
Joaquin Phoenix - Walk The Line
David Strathairn - Good Night, And Good Luck

 

Best Actress
Judi Dench - Mrs Henderson Presents
Felicity Huffman - Transamerica
Keira Knightley - Pride & Prejudice
Charlize Theron - North Country
Reese Witherspoon - Walk The Line

 

Best Supporting Actor
George Clooney - Syriana
Matt Dillon - Crash
Paul Giamatti - Cinderella Man
Jake Gyllenhaal - Brokeback Mountain
William Hurt - A History Of Violence

 

Best Supporting Actress
Amy Adams - Junebug
Catherine Keener - Capote
Frances McDormand - North Country
Rachel Weisz - The Constant Gardener
Michelle Williams - Brokeback Mountain

 

Best Original Screenplay
Crash
Good Night, And Good Luck
Match Point
The Squid And The Whale
Syriana

 

Best Adapted Screenplay
Brokeback Mountain
Capote
The Constant Gardener
A History Of Violence
Munich

 

Best Animated Film
Howl's Moving Castle
Tim Burton's Corpse Bride
Wallace & Gromit: The Curse Of The Were-Rabbit

 

Best Foreign Film
Don't Tell (Italy)
Merry Christmas (France)
Paradise Now (Palestinian Authority)
Sophie Scholl (Germany)
Tsotsi (South Africa)