hopelessly devoted to deconstructing popular culture and conventional wisdom, one blog at a time

Published Tuesday, January 25, 2005 by seanlmccarthy | E-mail this post

OSCAR NOMINATIONS PROMPT EARLY QUESTIONS: Well, the initial media spin on the Academy Award nominations will be all about The Aviator leading with 11 nods, Jamie Foxx getting named in both the lead and supporting acting categories, and Hilary Swank facing Annette Bening in a rematch over the lead actress category. But what about my questions, such as...

How did Alan Alda outpoint Alec Baldwin for supporting actor in The Aviator?
How did Clint Eastwood edge out Paul Giamatti for lead actor?
It was heartwarming to see Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind get actress and screenplay nominations, but how could these same voters not see the film's brilliant direction, cinematography, other acting and whatnot?
Am I the only person wondering how true story films such as The Aviator and Hotel Rwanda can be filed under original screenplay instead of adapted screenplay? Aren't they adapted from real life or media clippings?
I thought the Academy loved Meryl Streep, so what up with that?
Is there now a quota in the lead actress category for best teen newcomer, since Catalina Sandino Moreno (Maria Full of Grace) takes over where last year's nominee, Keisha Castle-Hughes, left off?
So A Very Long Engagement and House of Flying Daggers are honored for their cinematography but not as foreign language films? What are the rules on that, anyhow?
The Passion of the Christ gets three nods, but then again, even Troy and I, Robot managed to find a place at the Oscar ceremony this year, so what does this say about the Academy's unwillingness to touch Michael Moore with a 10-foot-roll-of-film? Maybe it's the Cannes curse?
Who is happier about Super Size Me getting a documentary nod, Morgan Spurlock or Subway's Jared?