Oscar 2012: Cinematography and Film Editing
By Tom Houseman
January 22, 2012
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Of course, there are always films that have the ability to break such trends, and this year both The Descendants and The Help could be the first since Terms of Endearment to pull it off. But disregarding that unlikely scenario, we should focus largely on the Best Picture contenders to fill out these two categories. Last year - a year with twice as many Best Picture nominees as usual, of course - every nominee for Film Editing and Cinematography also showed up in Best Picture. Best Cinematography is more likely to go rogue than Best Film Editing (remember in 2006 when the cinematographers decided they were really into magicians, nominating both The Prestige and The Illusionist?), but with both categories it is important to remember that any Best Picture nominee could slip in.
So of course, as with pretty much every category this year, we are going to start with The Artist and Hugo. The cinematographers love beautiful, artistic movies, and I suspect that even if neither of these films were in the hunt for Best Picture they would both be serious contenders here. As for Best Film Editing, well, both films are grand in scope and scale, which always impresses the editors. I would be a shock if either of these films was missing from either category. Like with all guilds, the ASC and the ACE are very important indicators of what will show up at the Oscars, and both of them nominated Hugo and The Artist, making the sailing even smoother.
The Help and The Descendants will have a much harder time, however. While The Descendants does have all those picturesque shots of Hawaii, neither film is standing on the strength of its filmmaking. The Descendants is clearly the most popular film Payne has made, which means that it may have better luck than Sideways, which was ignored by both categories. Could it make into either category? Yes, especially with the help of an ACE Eddie nomination, but it's a long shot. As for The Help, unless the actors are suddenly allowed to vote on these nominees, its chances of getting into either category are very slim, especially since it was overlooked by both major guilds.
War Horse, on the other hand, will be very competitive in both categories, even without the help of one of the guilds. War films do very well here because, as we've already established, epic films are almost as popular here as films about magicians. Between the prestige of cinematographer Janusz Kaminski and editor Michel Kahn, the War Horse crew is used to getting Oscar nominations. War Horse has been overlooked by a number of guilds so far, including the ASC, but there are usually one or two films that get ignored by the ASC and still sneak into the Oscars. I wouldn't call War Horse a safe bet in either category, but it is certainly in the running.
Two much darker films with iffy Best Picture chances have very good shots at at least one and maybe even both categories. The Social Network hit both Cinematography and Editing last year, and with the same team on board, Fincher's Girl with the Dragon Tattoo might hit this duet. The film has been much more popular with the guilds than it was with the critics, but it's the people in the guilds who do the voting, so the critics can go jump in a lake. Similarly, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy has started to build momentum with the guilds, and of course the huge showing at the BAFTAs is proof that this film is going to have the support of every Brit in the Academy. They are a force to be reckoned with, as last year showed. Even if neither of these films make it in Best Picture, they could make a splash here.
Beyond the Best Picture contenders, there is a trio of films that could find their way into Best Cinematography, although one of them has been one of the favorites since the race began. Whatever you think of Terrence Malick's films, nobody can deny the beauty of the cinematography. Director of photography Emmanuel Lubezki has been nominated for four Oscars, including for Malick's last film, The New World. An ASC nomination has confirmed that The Tree of Life is a force to be reckoned with this year.
Another highly stylized film, Drive, could sneak in here, despite being overlooked by the ASC. Still, when you look at the films that get Oscar nominations without guild support, you notice films such as Changeling and The Prestige; dark, stylish films that didn't have enough support to get a Best Picture nomination but were recognized elsewhere. Drive fits that bill and could be a threat. Speaking of films that got Cinematography nominations without guild support, in 2009 that film was Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Prince is the only Potter film to be nominated in this category, but if the Academy is looking to nominated Deathly Hallows Part 2 as a way of rewarding the series, it could get a spot.
However, while there are a number of challengers that are fighting it out for spots, it is important to remember that the ASC matches up with the Oscar four out five most years. If you want to be safe, stick with The Artist, Dragon Tattoo, Hugo, Tinker Tailor, and Tree of Life. The one that is most likely to fall off is Tinker Tailor, because it is not likely to be a Best Picture nominee and DP Hoyte van Hoytema has never been nominated for an Oscar, but it wouldn't be surprising if all of these films showed up at the Oscars.
As far as Best Film Editing, there are a few wild cards that shouldn't be forgotten. As a Best Picture contender, Moneyball is a threat here. Of all of the ACE nominees in the drama category it is the weakest (and one of those five will have to fall to The Artist), but if there is enough support for the film to push it into Best Picture there's no reason to think it won't show up here. This category also favors films that jump around in time a lot, as Moneyball does. One other film that might get recognized for its editing, even if every other aspect of it is ignored, is Contagion. The editing of that film is notable even to the film's detractors, and editor Stephen Mirrione has been nominated for two other multi-protagonist films, Traffic and Babel.
Could something come out of nowhere to take either field by storm? Of course. Keep Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Super 8, and Martha Marcy May Marlene in the back of your head if you're looking for a wild upset. With all that said, here are my picks for Best Cinematography and Best Film Editing:
Best Cinematography:
1. Hugo
2. The Artist
3. The Tree of Life
4. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
5. War Horse
6. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
7. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
8. Drive
Best Film Editing:
1. The Artist
2. Hugo
3. War Horse
4. The Descendants
5. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
6. Moneyball
7. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
8. Contagion