- Selmamovie.com
- No justice in Selma, no justice at the Oscars
By the basic standards of the Oscars, Selma, a movie directed by a black woman, Ava DuVernay, and shot by a black man, Bradford Young, deserved these three nominations: best picture, best director, and, above all, best cinematography. It got best picture, and also best original song for an uninteresting number by soul singer John Legend and veteran rapper Common called âGlory.â Because we can dismiss the latter nomination, as it has little to no value as a work of art (it's nothing but a bone the Academy handed to the film), it's more than fair to say that Selma got only one nomination.
There's really no good reason for not nominating DuVernay for directing. And as for ignoring Young's cinematography, that borders on a crime against cinema. DuVernay would have been the first black woman in the history of that institution to be in the running for best director. This fact is better appreciated when seen in the light of two other facts: There are not, for one, many female directors in our world, and, two, we have not seen a black female director of DuVernay's
stature and mainstream mastery since 1997, the year Kasi Lemmons's Eve's Bayou made something of a splash. (Few, however, were surprised that the Academy saw nothing of any value in Eve's Bayou.)
DuVernay is surely a missed opportunity, and not recognizing Young is just plain madness. The best thing about Selma is not its musicians, actors, or director but its director of photography. You will find few indie or Hollywood films in 2014 that can match the brilliant image-thinking in Selma.
The list of this year's nominees can be seen after the jump. And yes, I'm happy about the attention Whiplash received. That film, about two white jazz musicians, really deserves all the recognition it can get. As for American Sniper, which received no less than six nominations, I can say nothing as I have not seen it. But I do know how Chris Kyle (the film's subject) met his end in real life.
THE COMPLETE LIST OF NOMINEES:
Best Picture
âAmerican Sniperâ Clint Eastwood, Robert Lorenz, Andrew Lazar, Bradley Cooper and Peter Morgan, Producers
âBirdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)â Alejandro G. Iñårritu, John Lesher and James W. Skotchdopole, Producers
âBoyhoodâ Richard Linklater and Cathleen Sutherland, Producers
âThe Grand Budapest Hotelâ Wes Anderson, Scott Rudin, Steven Rales and Jeremy Dawson, Producers
âThe Imitation Gameâ Nora Grossman, Ido Ostrowsky and Teddy Schwarzman, Producers
âSelmaâ Christian Colson, Oprah Winfrey, Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner, Producers
âThe Theory of Everythingâ Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Lisa Bruce and Anthony McCarten, Producers
âWhiplashâ Jason Blum, Helen Estabrook and David Lancaster, ProducersBest Actress
Marion Cotillard in âTwo Days, One Nightâ
Felicity Jones in âThe Theory of Everythingâ
Julianne Moore in âStill Aliceâ
Rosamund Pike in âGone Girlâ
Reese Witherspoon in âWildâBest Supporting Actress
Patricia Arquette in âBoyhoodâ
Laura Dern in âWildâ
Keira Knightley in âThe Imitation Gameâ
Emma Stone in âBirdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)â
Meryl Streep in âInto the WoodsâBest Actor
Steve Carell in âFoxcatcherâ
Bradley Cooper in âAmerican Sniperâ
Benedict Cumberbatch in âThe Imitation Gameâ
Michael Keaton in âBirdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)â
Eddie Redmayne in âThe Theory of EverythingâBest Supporting Actor
Robert Duvall in âThe Judgeâ
Ethan Hawke in âBoyhoodâ
Edward Norton in âBirdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)â
Mark Ruffalo in âFoxcatcherâ
J.K. Simmons in âWhiplashâBest Director
âBirdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)â Alejandro G. Iñårritu
âBoyhoodâ Richard Linklater
âFoxcatcherâ Bennett Miller
âThe Grand Budapest Hotelâ Wes Anderson
âThe Imitation Gameâ Morten TyldumAnimated Feature
âBig Hero 6â Don Hall, Chris Williams and Roy Conli
âThe Boxtrollsâ Anthony Stacchi, Graham Annable and Travis Knight
âHow to Train Your Dragon 2â Dean DeBlois and Bonnie Arnold
âSong of the Seaâ Tomm Moore and Paul Young
âThe Tale of the Princess Kaguyaâ Isao Takahata and Yoshiaki NishimuraOriginal Screenplay
âBirdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)â Written by Alejandro G. Iñårritu, NicolĂĄs Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Jr. & Armando Bo
âBoyhoodâ Written by Richard Linklater
âFoxcatcherâ Written by E. Max Frye and Dan Futterman
âThe Grand Budapest Hotelâ Screenplay by Wes Anderson; Story by Wes Anderson & Hugo Guinness
âNightcrawlerâ Written by Dan GilroyAdapted Screenplay
âAmerican Sniperâ Written by Jason Hall
âThe Imitation Gameâ Written by Graham Moore
âInherent Viceâ Written for the screen by Paul Thomas Anderson
âThe Theory of Everythingâ Screenplay by Anthony McCarten
âWhiplashâ Written by Damien ChazelleCinematography
âBirdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)â Emmanuel Lubezki
âThe Grand Budapest Hotelâ Robert Yeoman
âIdaâ Lukasz Zal and Ryszard Lenczewski
âMr. Turnerâ Dick Pope
âUnbrokenâ Roger DeakinsCostume Design
âThe Grand Budapest Hotelâ Milena Canonero
âInherent Viceâ Mark Bridges
âInto the Woodsâ Colleen Atwood
âMaleficentâ Anna B. Sheppard and Jane Clive
âMr. Turnerâ Jacqueline DurranDocumentary Feature
âCitizenFourâ Laura Poitras, Mathilde Bonnefoy and Dirk Wilutzky
âFinding Vivian Maierâ John Maloof and Charlie Siskel
âLast Days in Vietnamâ Rory Kennedy and Keven McAlester
âThe Salt of the Earthâ Wim Wenders, Juliano Ribeiro Salgado and David Rosier
âVirungaâ Orlando von Einsiedel and Joanna NatasegaraDocumentary Short Subject
âCrisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1â Ellen Goosenberg Kent and Dana Perry
âJoannaâ Aneta Kopacz
âOur Curseâ Tomasz Sliwinski and Maciej Slesicki
âThe Reaper (La Parka)â Gabriel Serra Arguello
âWhite Earthâ J. Christian JensenFilm Editing
âAmerican Sniperâ Joel Cox and Gary D. Roach
âBoyhoodâ Sandra Adair
âThe Grand Budapest Hotelâ Barney Pilling
âThe Imitation Gameâ William Goldenberg
âWhiplashâ Tom CrossForeign Language Film
âIdaâ Poland
âLeviathanâ Russia
âTangerinesâ Estonia
âTimbuktuâ Mauritania
âWild Talesâ ArgentinaMakeup and Hairstyling
âFoxcatcherâ Bill Corso and Dennis Liddiard
âThe Grand Budapest Hotelâ Frances Hannon and Mark Coulier
âGuardians of the Galaxyâ Elizabeth Yianni-Georgiou and David WhiteOriginal Score
âThe Grand Budapest Hotelâ Alexandre Desplat
âThe Imitation Gameâ Alexandre Desplat
âInterstellarâ Hans Zimmer
âMr. Turnerâ Gary Yershon
âThe Theory of Everythingâ JĂłhann JĂłhannssonOriginal Song
âEverything Is Awesomeâ from âThe Lego Movieâ
Music and Lyric by Shawn Patterson
âGloryâ from âSelmaâ
Music and Lyric by John Stephens and Lonnie Lynn
âGratefulâ from âBeyond the Lightsâ
Music and Lyric by Diane Warren
âIâm Not Gonna Miss Youâ from âGlen CampbellâŠIâll Be Meâ
Music and Lyric by Glen Campbell and Julian Raymond
âLost Starsâ from âBegin Againâ
Music and Lyric by Gregg Alexander and Danielle BriseboisProduction Design
âThe Grand Budapest Hotelâ Production Design: Adam Stockhausen; Set Decoration: Anna Pinnock
âThe Imitation Gameâ Production Design: Maria Djurkovic; Set Decoration: Tatiana Macdonald
âInterstellarâ Production Design: Nathan Crowley; Set Decoration: Gary Fettis
âInto the Woodsâ Production Design: Dennis Gassner; Set Decoration: Anna Pinnock
âMr. Turnerâ Production Design: Suzie Davies; Set Decoration: Charlotte WattsAnimated Short Film
âThe Bigger Pictureâ Daisy Jacobs and Christopher Hees
âThe Dam Keeperâ Robert Kondo and Dice Tsutsumi
âFeastâ Patrick Osborne and Kristina Reed
âMe and My Moultonâ Torill Kove
âA Single Lifeâ Joris OprinsLive Action Short Film
âAyaâ Oded Binnun and Mihal Brezis
âBoogaloo and Grahamâ Michael Lennox and Ronan Blaney
âButter Lamp (La Lampe Au Beurre De Yak)â Hu Wei and Julien FĂ©ret
âParvanehâ Talkhon Hamzavi and Stefan Eichenberger
âThe Phone Callâ Mat Kirkby and James LucasSound Editing
âAmerican Sniperâ Alan Robert Murray and Bub Asman
âBirdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)â MartĂn HernĂĄndez and Aaron Glascock
âThe Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armiesâ Brent Burge and Jason Canovas
âInterstellarâ Richard King
âUnbrokenâ Becky Sullivan and Andrew DeCristofaroSound Mixing
âAmerican Sniperâ John Reitz, Gregg Rudloff and Walt Martin
âBirdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)â Jon Taylor, Frank A. Montaño and Thomas Varga
âInterstellarâ Gary A. Rizzo, Gregg Landaker and Mark Weingarten
âUnbrokenâ Jon Taylor, Frank A. Montaño and David Lee
âWhiplashâ Craig Mann, Ben Wilkins and Thomas CurleyVisual Effects
âCaptain America: The Winter Soldierâ Dan DeLeeuw, Russell Earl, Bryan Grill and Dan Sudick
âDawn of the Planet of the Apesâ Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, Daniel Barrett and Erik Winquist
âGuardians of the Galaxyâ Stephane Ceretti, Nicolas Aithadi, Jonathan Fawkner and Paul Corbould
âInterstellarâ Paul Franklin, Andrew Lockley, Ian Hunter and Scott Fisher
âX-Men: Days of Future Pastâ Richard Stammers, Lou Pecora, Tim Crosbie and Cameron Waldbauer