A Bunch of Thoughts on Oscar Morning

This is my strange version of Christmas morning. For some reason, I slept through my alarm clock and missed the live annoucement on TV. Then I had to drop off my sister at school and was stuck in traffic. But while I was in the car, I came up with some thoughts about all of this. Here we go.

WET HOT AMERICAN SUMMER finally boasts an Oscar nominee, even if it's one who never shows up for the reunions.




And even though Daniel Day-Lewis is most likely going to win Best Actor (which would make him the most honored actor in the Academy, with 3 wins in that category), if Bradley Cooper wins, we are guaranteed some very emotional crying. The one-time Sexiest Man Alive is a cryer.



AMOUR now has to be a wide-screen release. It's not even playing in Chicago.



Michael Haneke, the man behind some of the most uncomfortable films in cinema, could possibly become the first Best Director winner for a foreign-language film.

Emmanuelle Riva is now the oldest Best Actress nominee, at age youthful age of 85. This is a clip from one of her most famous roles, in the 1959 drama Hiroshima Mon Amour.



And  Quvenzhané Wallis is now the youngest, at age 9.

SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK has acting nominations in all categories, the first time since REDS in 1982.

Host Seth MacFarland is nominated for Best Original Song.



And so is Adele, who is no stranger to winning trophies for her work.



With Norah Jones and Adele singing the songs, they have absolutely no excuse to NOT include some musical performances from both of them, both whom have won multiple Grammys (including Album of the Year).

Best Documentary Feature is going to be a very interesting category, with two of the most talked-about docs of the year going head to head.





No Kathryn Bigelow or Ben Affleck for Best Director. Which means political-military dramas may have reached its peak, even though ARGO and ZERO DARK THIRTY are up for Best Picture (and both are nominated as producers)

Benh Zeithlin (Beasts of the Southern Wild) is one of the youngest Best Director nominees and the first one born in the 1980s.

Jennifer Lawrence is now the youngest actor (22) with TWO nominations for Best Actress. If she wins for SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK, she would the second youngest winner, after Marlee Matlin (comic fodder for Seth MacFarlane), winning at age 21 for CHILDREN OF A LESSER GOD.



LINCOLN leads the pack with a dozen nominations all across the board, including acting, writing, directing, producing (Best Picture), technical, music, and cinematography.

And here is the announcement ceremony in full. This is the funniest announcement ceremony of all time.



I can't wait for the awards show. And I hope Emma Stone gets nominated for an Oscar someday. Or at least host one of the telecasts.

A full list of the nominees here, along with some more commentary from the awesome AV Club.