Oscars Noms announced today

No big surprises. Because they expanded the Best Picture category to 10 (which I think is silly), finally all the directors' pictures are included, though obviously not all the pictures' directors are included.

I agree with this commentary - expanding the Best Picture category just diminishes the brand, watering it down, and makes the nominees seem less worthy.

My attitude about the best picture is that it should be judged on artistic merit, not on audience appeal. There are plenty of awards that focus on that, like the People's Choice and the MTV Awards. Plus the box office receipts are the obvious, ultimate reward for popularity. The Academy should be assessing the artistry of a movie.

I also think that a movie shouldn't even be considered for Best Picture if it doesn't have any nominated performances. How can a film be the very best of the year if it didn't showcase an actor or actress. If it didn't, then what is it the best of? The best special effects?

I'm tickled that Meryl Streep broke her own previous record for nominations - now she has 16!! But she's only won twice - one for Lead Actress (Sophie's Choice), once for Supporting Actress (Kramer vs Kramer). It's been 27 years since she won!

Here's a fun fact:

Though Streep just broke Hepburn's record of an even dozen nods in the lead-actress race, she should take inspiration from Hepburn's Oscar history. Hepburn won her first Oscar bid, for "Morning Glory" in 1933, but she lost her next 8 Oscar races. It was only after Hepburn turned 60 in 1967 -- the age Streep is now -- that she prevailed again with nod No. 10 for "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner."

I'm rooting for her and for Kathryn Bigelow (as previously discussed) for the first ever female Best Director. I adore George Clooney and I loved him in Up in the Air, but I probably have to root for Colin Firth, being bold and playing a gay man, and, at the same time, for Morgan Freeman, just because he's awesome in everything. But I won't be upset if Jeff Bridges wins, which he probably will.

For Supporting Actress, I think I'm all in for Mo'Nique, who I assume is a long shot, but I don't really know. As for Supporting Actor, I've only seen Invictus, but right now I'm rooting for Woody Harrelson, just because it's a differnt role for him and I think he is extremely underrated, as are many performers who move effortlessly between comedic and dramatic performances. I probably need to see the rest of the movies before I really take a stand, though I'm sure they're all worthy.

I'm pleased to see a few less predictable choices, especially Babourey Sidibe and Lee Daniels for Precious.

Here's a summary of who got snubbed, and below are my comments:

Of course I wanted to see Joseph Gordon Levitt get a nod, but his time will come. I'm a little surprised that Viggo Mortenson wasn't nominated for The Road. I didn't see it, but I heard great things about his performance. Maybe it was a little too under the radar. And Tobey Maguire didn't get any consideration, though his performance in Brothers was widely lauded. Also, has Daniel Day Lewis given a performance in the last 2 decades that he wasn't nominated for? I haven't seen Nine, but I'm sure he's amazing, because he always is.

Emily Blunt was probably hoping for a nod, especially since playing a queen of England is usually good for a nomination. But like JGL, her time will undoubtably come - she is a massively talented lady and quite young. I've missed many of the other high profile female performances, so I can't kvetch (yet) about who was overlooked.

Multiple nominee Julianne Moore was noticably absent from the roster, though she received raves for her performance in A Single Man.

Clint Eastwood is noticably absent from the Best Director category, but I guess a South African rugby movie just isn't Oscar bait. He was no doubt on the short list, but didn't make the cut.

Can't wait for the telecast on March 7th!