The Works and Genius of David Fincher: TCCOBB Academy Awards Nominations!

I watched the live stream of the Academy Awards nominations, and was pleased to hear "The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button" receiving its due and long-expected nods -- a stunning 13 in total, and leading the field! --, and David Fincher finally being nominated for what he is:
the Best Director!

Here are all the nominations for "The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button":

Best Picture
Best Director
Best Actor
Best Supporting Actress
Best Adapted Screenplay
Best Art Direction
Best Cinematography
Best Sound Mixing
Best Original Score
Best Costume
Best Film Editing
Best Make Up
Best Visual Effects

And here is the complete list of nominations. No surprises, really.
Let's hear your thoughts!

BEST PICTURE
The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button
Frost / Nixon
Milk
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire

BEST DIRECTOR
David Fincher
Ron Howard
Gus Van Sant
Stephen Daldry
Danny Boyle

BEST ACTOR
Richard Jenkins, The Visitor
Frank Langella, Frost/Nixon
Sean Penn, Milk
Brad Pitt, The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button
Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Josh Brolin, Milk
Robert Downey Jr., Tropic Thunder
Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Doubt
Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
Michael Shannon, Revolutionary Road

BEST ACTRESS
Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married
Angelina Jolie, Changeling
Melissa Leo, Frozen River
Meryl Streep, Doubt
Kate Winslet, Revolutionary Road

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams, Doubt
Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Viola Davis, Doubt
Marisa Tomei, The Wrestler
Taraji P. Henson, The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Frozen River
Happy Go Lucky
In Bruges
Milk
Wall-e

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button
Doubt
Frost/Nixon
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Der Baader Meinhof Komplex
The Class
Departures
Revanche
Waltz with Bashir

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
Bolt
Kung Fu Panda
Wall-E

BEST ART DIRECTION
Changeling
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
The Duchess
Revolutionary Road

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Changeling
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire

BEST SOUND MIXING
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Slumdog Millionaire
WALL-E
Wanted

BEST SOUND EDITING
The Dark Knight
Iron Man
Slumdog Millionaire
WALL-E
Wanted

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Alexandre Desplat
Defiance, James Newton Howard
Milk, Danny Elfman
Slumdog Millionaire, A.R. Rahman
WALL-E, Thomas Newman

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
"Down to Earth" -- WALL-E, Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman
"Jai Ho" -- Slumdog Millionaire, A.R. Rahman and Gulzar
"O Saya" -- Slumdog Millionaire, A.R. Rahman and Maya Arulpragasam

BEST COSTUME
Australia
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Duchess
Milk
Revolutionary Road

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)
Encounters at the End of the World
The Garden
Man on Wire
Trouble the Water

BEST DOCUMENTARY (SHORT SUBJECT)
The Conscience of Nhem En
The Final Inch
Smile Pinki
The Witness — From the Balcony of Room 306

BEST FILM EDITING
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Frost/Nixon
Milk
Slumdog Millionaire

BEST MAKE-UP
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Hellboy II: The Golden Army

BEST ANIMATED SHORT-FILM
La Maison en Petits Cubes
Lavatory — Lovestory
Oktapodi
Presto
This Way Up

BEST LIVE-ACTION SHORT-FILM
Auf der Strecke (On the Line)
Manon on the Asphalt
New Boy
The Pig
Spielzeugland (Toyland)

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Iron Man

Here's an official link:
http://www.oscars.org/awards/81academyawards/nominees.html

14 comments:

AnonymousJanuary 22, 2009 at 6:39 AM
Yeah!! Go Fincher!! Go Button!!
AnonymousJanuary 22, 2009 at 6:43 AM
From the best picture list I've only seen Button and Slumdog. Considering that in my opinion TDK is superior to Slumdog I thought it should get a nomination. But since Slumdog is critic's fave is hard to argue. Not that it is a bad film, but Wall-E or even The Wrestler are better.

But it's just me, a non-Academy member. It would be nice to see Andrew Stanton, Darren Aronofsky or Christopher Nolan to get nominations as directors.
AnonymousJanuary 22, 2009 at 6:52 AM
David Fincher should have won an Oscar for best director for "Seven", for "Fight Club", for "Zodiac". Only fair if he wins one this time around, even if "Button" is not his best work.
AnonymousJanuary 22, 2009 at 7:09 AM
Fincher's biggest competitor so far seems to be Danny Boyle. Damn! They are both first time nominees. Slumdog is critic's favorite as Thiago said, but Button scored most nominations so... I'm a beliver :)

David Fincher - for me his name is synonymous with the phrase "Best Director" so come on Academy it's time to reward your finest!
AnonymousJanuary 22, 2009 at 11:45 AM
Wonderful to see this recognition for BUTTON and David Fincher, even if it is from a group that awarded Haggis' CRASH with best picture a couple of years ago.
AnonymousJanuary 22, 2009 at 2:51 PM
Fincher will win.

Fincher should win.

Fincher is (like many of you said before me) the best director.
AnonymousJanuary 22, 2009 at 10:02 PM
Interesting article: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-button23-2009jan23,0,2015419.story

Apparently Paramount spends $135 million on marketing and distribution of Ben Button.
AnonymousJanuary 22, 2009 at 11:34 PM
I remember back in its day many people were hating on "titanic" as many do now on "Benjamin Button". I think the film has some strong competition in the oscar race and I don't believe it will get near titanic's 11 oscars. but I guess if it did that would reignite the film's box office draw domestic and worldwide. With 130 million for advertising it sounds like they could like the money!
AnonymousJanuary 23, 2009 at 8:39 PM
1. Those numbers from the LA Times story are worldwide figures. People seem to forget that the film hasn't been given a wide release abroad yet (well actually it's released abroad this weekend). I have a feeling that once the numbers from abroad come in people will be painting another picture.

2. Paramount will not renew its rights to the graphic novel, "Torso." As of right now, no one owns the rights to the story. Paramount still holds the rights to the screenplay though. Meaning that, either way, the film will probably not get made anytime soon, since Fincher would have to get another studio to buy the rights and they'd have to get someone else to write the script. It's not looking good.
AnonymousJanuary 24, 2009 at 9:23 PM
It's a shame The Dark Knight wasn't nominated for Best Picture and Best Director, Chris Nolan deserves it just as much as Fincher. But that's the Academy. Several directors don't give a shit about it.

Anyway, your post is too big, it doesn't serve the readability. Maybe you should make it collapsable.
AnonymousJanuary 24, 2009 at 9:25 PM
Oh c'mon! Films about underdogs who climb up the social ladder with a happy ending and romance in it will always jerk away some tears from the Academy! It's the American Dream, a very flawed one, I might add. But here goes, who cares. I don't like Slumdog Millionaire.
AnonymousJanuary 25, 2009 at 12:31 PM
Somebody bust Michael Vick out of jail so he can put Slumdog down!
AlaneditJanuary 28, 2009 at 2:50 AM
There has been talk, let alone propaganda, that Fincher may lose out his well deserved Oscar for Button because of...personal issues.

The Los Angeles Times frequently champions a bias for Slumdog and bashes Benjamin, so has much sentiment labeled against the film.

Fincher had a tough job making us believe in the story, and he passed with flying colors. His sure technique of the story elements is evidenced in how tightly constructed the movie is. He had the hardest job out of all the nominees, and I want him to win.

However, the talk that he's a prick and all this nonsense has got nothing to do with his accomplishments, the Oscars are as much a popularity group as awards show. The one who always poises for the cameras with a good reputation wins, and that's a real shame.
GouldFebruary 1, 2009 at 9:15 AM
http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/filmblog/2009/jan/30/1