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Oscars 2012: An early summary with Austin perspective
Terrence Malick’s “The Tree of Life,” which was filmed in Smithville and Central Texas, earned three Oscar nominations on Tuesday for best picture, director and cinematography.
The impressionistic tale about family life became the first Texas film to win the prestigious Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival in May, but the movie divided audiences, and its nominations for best picture and director were considered longshots.
“Bullhead,” a Belgian tale that was a hit at Austin’s Fantastic Fest, was one of five nominees for best foreign language film. Austin’s Drafthouse Films acquired U.S. distribution rights to the movie after its local success.
But other Austin movies didn’t fare as well in the nominations Tuesday. “Take Shelter,” the critically acclaimed story written and directed by Austin’s Jeff Nichols and a leading contender in the Independent Spirit Awards, did not receive any nominations from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Nor did its star, Michael Shannon.
Overall, Martin Scorsese’s “Hugo” led the Oscars with 11 nominations, including best picture and best director. In second place was “The Artist,” a black-and-white silent homage to early Hollywood, with 10 nominations.
Because of a change in rules, the best picture race was narrowed to nine contenders rather than the 10 from last year. In addition to “The Tree of Life,” “The Artist” and “Hugo,” the other best picture nominees are: “The Descendants,” a family drama starring George Clooney; the Deep South feel-good drama “The Help”; the romantic fantasy from Woody Allen, “Midnight in Paris”; the World War I tale from Steven Spielberg, “War Horse”; the baseball story “Moneyball”; and the highly divisive Sept. 11 story, “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close.”
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