Review: "Christine"

A number of years back, in college, I composed a paper on the history of safety regulations in the film industry. A key focus of mine was the horrific accident that occurred on the set of Twilight Zone: The Movie in the summer of 1982 - that is, the helicopter crash that ended the lives of veteran actor Vic Morrow and child actors Myca Dinh Le and Renee Shin-Yi Chen.

While researching that event, I came across the now-defunct shock site Ogrish, which specialized in uploading graphic, gory multimedia of accidents, executions and so on, that would never be allowed to grace a mainstream video-sharing website like YouTube. Besides video of the accident itself, there were countless threads on their message boards discussing the Twilight Zone incident. There was even more chatter, however, about another grisly death once captured on film.

That marked the first time I'd ever heard the name Christine Chubbuck, despite at that point having already put in a few years toward my Bachelor's degree in Journalism. To the Ogrish crowd, Chubbuck was something of a legend, her suicide having been broadcast live on-air over the Sarasota, Florida airwaves in the summer of 1974. That video of this tragedy has never surfaced since its live airing made Chubbuck's death all the more intriguing to these online chatters.

At the time, I did a bit more digging - beyond the Ogrish crowd, of course - on her life and career but otherwise, in the years since, had not given a thought to Chubbuck.

Now, however, comes Christine, a motion picture focused on the final days of Chubbuck's life.

With the mesmerizing Rebecca Hall (who was so terrific in last year's The Gift too) in the title role, the film portrays Chubbuck as an immensely talented and committed journalist. Craving to report on serious issues of substance, even if it's dry material like zoning laws, she is constantly at odds with her boss (Tracy Letts), who wants juicier, more sensational stories to boost the flailing network's ratings. She's a standoffish presence at work but at least has the respect of her other colleagues (Michael C. Hall and Maria Dizzia among them).

Chubbuck, however, does not have much of a life outside the office. She has struggled with depression for years, having attempted suicide several times in the past. After graduating from Boston University's journalism school, she moved back down to Sarasota to reside with her mother (J. Smith-Cameron) and their relationship is often contentious, especially when her mom brings home a new boyfriend. Chubbuck dreams of moving up in the reporting ranks and starting a family with a wonderful man but several events - over what will prove the final days of her life - make those desires look all the more implausible.

Christine does not break a ton of new ground on the much-explored scene of 1970s journalism and we've seen the "serious vs. sensational journalism" debate tackled more compellingly before. The picture also goes on 10 minutes too long, ending on a note that just isn't very convincing. The look and feel of the time is, however, captured quite nicely, and the film sports a marvelous soundtrack. Beyond the warm and affecting Smith-Cameron, none of the supporting cast leaves much of an impression.

The picture is, however, well-worth a look for one reason, that of course being its leading lady. Hall gives a truly pitch-perfect, lived-in performance as Chubbuck. While Letts grandstands in a hammy turn as the network boss, Hall is brilliantly subtle here and not only heartbreaking but, given Chubbuck's self-deprecating nature, often very funny too. She particularly amazes during a roller coaster-of-emotions sequence in which Chubbuck is invited out to dinner by the network's lead anchor.

While pundits these days seem focused almost exclusively on the likes of Emma Stone and Natalie Portman, we should not this awards season overlook the sublime work here from one of Hollywood's most underappreciated actresses.

B

HORROR at the Oscars! Chapter III (1980-1998)

On the heels of their lukewarm reception to Alien (1979, Scott), the Academy continued, for the most part, to neglect horror cinema at the start of the new decade.

Stanley Kubrick's divisive The Shining, adored by countless horror buffs and notably loathed by author Stephen King, was not the Academy's cup of tea (though it did inexplicably garner Razzie nominations in Worst Director and Worst Actress, for the amazing Shelley Duvall). Brian De Palma also struck out with his comparably divisive Dressed to Kill, also nominated for several Razzies in spite of a number of critical raves, including from the legendary Pauline Kael. Peter Medak's eerie and underrated The Changeling? Also M.I.A.

The one 1980 horror flick the Academy could bring itself to embrace was the collaboration of two Academy favorites, filmmaker Ken Russell and screenwriter Paddy Cheyefsky, the trippy and visually compelling Altered States. It garnered Oscar nods in Best Original Score and Best Sound, losing to Fame and The Empire Strikes Back, respectively.

The following year, 1981, marked the establishment of a new Oscar category - Best Makeup. Twice before, to 7 Faces of Dr. Lao and Planet of the Apes, the Academy had awarded special honorary Oscars for achievement in makeup. Never before, however, had their been a competitive race. That changed here as two makeup legends in cinema - Rick Baker and Stan Winston - faced off for their work on An American Werewolf in London and Heartbeeps, respectively. John Landis' American Werewolf is an intense, gory horror-comedy, hardly traditional Oscar-calibur fare. Heartbeeps, however, was even more unacceptable - an ambitious, yet completely dreadful romcom with Andy Kaufman (in his final film role) and Bernadette Peters as robots who fall in love. Baker, thankfully, prevailed.

The Spielberg-written/produced Poltergeist (1982, Hooper) lost all three of its Oscar nominations to the Spielberg-directed E.T.

In 1982, the Academy sadly did not recognize John Carpenter's breathtaking remake of The Thing or George A. Romero and Stephen King's delightfully scary Creepshow - which, at the very least, would have been worthy of Original Score and Film Editing nods, respectively. They did, however, toss a few technical nominations to Tobe Hooper's (or Steven Spielberg's, for the conspiracy theorists out there) Poltergeist, which made appearances in Best Original Score, Best Sound Editing and Best Visual Effects, all of which went to Spielberg's E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial. Over at BAFTA, Poltergeist actually managed to edge out the Spielberg flick for their Visual Effects prize.

Two years later, Wes Craven's A Nightmare on Elm Street was, not surprisingly, not making a killing during Oscar season. The Academy could not, however, resist that year's second-highest-grossing picture, a little horror-comedy called Ghostbusters (1984, Reitman). The film, which garnered Best Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical and Best Lead Actor - Comedy/Musical (for Bill Murray, of course) nods at the Golden Globes, showed up in Best Visual Effects and Best Original Song on Oscar nominations morning.

It was not until 1986 that a horror flick really made a significant dent at the Oscars this decade.

Aliens (1986, Cameron) was more warmly embraced than Alien (1979, Scott) by the Academy, scoring seven Oscar nods, including two wins.

The first Alien picture (1979, Scott) did not much move members of the Academy. By 1986, however, voters were more receptive to this franchise. James Cameron's sequel, Aliens, was critically acclaimed and performed solidly at the box office that summer, holding the number one slot for four consecutive weeks. It was not, however, expected to be much more of an awards contender than its predecessor, though leading lady Sigourney Weaver was in the running for a Best Lead Actress nod.

On nominations morning, however, Aliens overperformed even the highest expectations by scoring seven nods, including for Weaver and the film's editing and original score (by James Horner). Still, Weaver was, unfortunately, not seen as a serious contender for the win. On Oscar night, the picture scored two victories, in Best Visual Effects and Best Sound Editing. Marlee Matlin, as generally expected, defeated Weaver for her work in Children of a Lesser God.

Also in the mix at the 1986 Oscars - David Cronenberg's horrifying retooling of The Fly won that year's prize in Best Makeup. Leading man Jeff Goldblum was a dark horse for a Best Lead Actor nom - he received notices from the National Society of Film Critics and New York Film Critics Circle - but ultimately did not surface on nominations morning. The uneven Poltergeist II: The Other Side (1986, Gibson) scored a Best Visual Effects nod, while the delightful horror-musical-comedy Little Shop of Horrors (1986, Oz) showed up in Best Visual Effects and Best Original Song. (My review of 1986 Best Original Song can be found here.)

1987 wasn't quite as hot a year for horror at the Oscars, though George Miller's amusing The Witches of Eastwick managed to sneak in for Best Original Score and Best Sound nominations, falling to Best Picture winner The Last Emperor in both. Another horror comedy - Tim Burton's Beetlejuice - scored the win in Best Makeup the year after. Headliner Michael Keaton, who also starred in Clean and Sober that year, was named Best Lead Actor by the National Society of Film Critics.

The genre got off to a strong start at the Oscars with the start of a new decade.

In 1990, Kathy Bates took home the Best Lead Actress prize for her unforgettable breakthrough turn as Annie Wilkes in the film adaptation of Misery (1990, Reiner). A shame James Caan didn't garner some recognition for his comparably terrific work.

The following year, however, marked the strongest performance for a horror film at the Oscars since The Exorcist in 1973.

The Silence of the Lambs (1991, Demme) marked the first - and, to date, only - horror film to score the Best Picture Oscar.

Initially, Jonathan Demme's The Silence of the Lambs, based on the eponymous 1988 Thomas Harris novel, was not expected to be something of an Oscar contender. For one, the piece focused on a cannibalistic serial killer - not exactly traditional Oscar bait. To boot, however, the Demme picture was released by Orion in February of 1991, nearly a full year out from the awards season. Films released in the spring are often forgotten by the following winter, let alone pictures from February.

Nonetheless, The Silence of the Lambs had real staying power in 1991. It remained in the box office top 10 through that May, eventually earning more than $130 million domestically and clocking in as the fourth-highest-grossing film of the year. At the start of the awards season, the film was also helped by the first Oscar precursor to vote - the National Board of Review, which gave the film Best Picture, Best Director and Best Supporting Actor (Anthony Hopkins) prizes.

Despite the NBR nod, Orion opted to campaign Hopkins for the Lead Actor prize, pitting him against early front-runners Warren Beatty in Bugsy and Nick Nolte in The Prince of Tides. At the 1991 Golden Globes, The Silence of the Lambs took home just one prize - Best Lead Actress for Jodie Foster - with Bugsy, Nolte and Oliver Stone (for JFK) beating Silence, Hopkins and Demme. The critics awards, however, were largely with the Demme film and the film swept the important guild awards.

By Oscar night, the awards were largely unsettled. Foster looked like a shoo-in, as did Ted Tally for his screenplay. But Demme was locked in a tough race with Stone and the picture was contending with the Beatty and Stone films and a complete wild card, Beauty and the Beast, the first animated film ever nominated in Best Picture. Hopkins and Nolte looked completely deadlocked.

Come Oscar night, however, The Silence of the Lambs made a killing, sweeping the big five - Best Picture, Best Director, Best Lead Actor, Best Lead Actress and Best Adapted Screenplay. The Nolte film went nowhere and Bugsy and JFK were left only technical scraps. It was, of course, the first (and to date, only) horror flick to ever win the Best Picture prize.

We cannot, of course, forget The Addams Family (1991, Sonnenfeld), which mustered a nomination in Best Costume Design.

The following two years were halfway decent for the genre too, at least for the technical prizes. The zany horror-comedy Death Becomes Her (1992, Zemeckis) and ravishingly designed Dracula (1992, Coppola) garnered nods in Best Visual Effects and Best Costume Design/Best Sound Editing/Best Makeup/Best Art Direction, respectively. Sans the Art Direction prize, the films took home trophies for them all. The next year, Addams Family Values (1993, Sonnenfeld) and The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993, Selick) showed up in Best Art Direction and Best Visual Effects, respectively. No wins, I'm afraid.

Martin Landau won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his brilliant turn as horror legend Bela Lugosi in Ed Wood (1994, Burton).

Horror-comedy continued to resonate with the Academy in 1994, with the release of Tim Burton's flat-out brilliant Ed Wood, arguably the greatest movie ever made about making movies. Though deserving of a whole plethora of nominations and wins, the film struggled at the box office and had seemingly lukewarm support from its studio, Touchstone Pictures. Only Martin Landau, portraying horror legend Bela Lugosi, really broke through that awards season, taking home the Best Supporting Actor prize nearly everywhere, including the Oscars. The pic also took home the Best Makeup prize.

Also nominated in 1994 - the beautifully designed, if miscast and rather hollow Interview with the Vampire (1994, Jordan). The film garnered nods in Best Art Direction, Best Original Score and Best Makeup. Kirsten Dunst, the best part of the film by far, was a contender in that year's messy Best Supporting Actress race but ultimately failed to land the Oscar nom.

After four consecutive years of horror flickers mustering multiple nominations at the Oscars, only one nod was received in 1995 - for Richard Francis Bruce's exemplary editing on Se7en (1995, Fincher).

Sir Ian McKellen's portrayal of Frankenstein filmmaker James Whale in Gods and Monsters (1998, Condon) netted him a Best Lead Actor Oscar nomination.

As the genre underwent a so-called "revival" with the popular likes of Scream (1996, Craven) and I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997, Gillespie), its presence completely dried up at the Oscars. Only in 1998 did it kinda-sorta resurface, with Bill Condon's brilliant Gods and Monsters, a look at the final, tragic days in the life of Frankenstein director James Whale. Nominated for three Oscars - Best Lead Actor (Ian McKellen, who should have prevailed), Best Supporting Actress (Lynn Redgrave) and Best Adapted Screenplay - Condon took home the film's sole prize, for his screenwriting.

Next up, the final (for now) chapter - how horror has fared from the close of the 1990s, through present day, from The Sixth Sense to Black Swan and beyond.

2016 Oscar Nomination Predictions (October)

Over the past month, since my last/first set of Oscar predictions, the following events have gone down in this dizzying roller coaster of an awards season:

• Trailers for three Oscar contenders, all playing in the category of Best Lead Actress - Fences, Jackie and 20th Century Women - were (at last!) released.
   
• Two pictures - Martin Scorsese's Silence and Ben Affleck's Live By Night - were given late December release dates, making them eligible for Oscar consideration this year.
   
• Nate Parker's polarizing The Birth of a Nation, made all the more controversial on the heels of coverage surrounding Parker's past college rape trial, landed with a whimper at the box office, debuting in sixth place with about $7 million in domestic receipts. Fox Searchlight acquired the picture for more than $17 million.
   
• The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced 85 countries have officially submitted films for consideration in Best Foreign Language Film.
   
• In category placement news, Warren Beatty will be campaigned in Lead Actor for his upcoming Rules Don't Apply. To date, most had presumed, given the ensemble-y nature of the picture, Beatty would opt for a Supporting campaign.

Odds are, I'm overlooking something of significance - and no, I do not consider Patriots Day, which had its teaser recently drop, an Oscar contender at this point - but those are a few biggies for sure.

Please see below my latest Oscar predictions, for the month of October. In parentheses you will find how many slots a contender has moved up or down since my September rankings. In some cases, I have dropped a film or performer entirely.

Enjoy and, as always, feel free to comment with your own thoughts as well!

Best Picture

1. La La Land (-)
2. Jackie (+3)
3. Manchester by the Sea (-1)
4. Fences (-1)
5. Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (-1)
6. Arrival (+2)
7. Silence (-)
8. Loving (-2)
9. Hidden Figures (-)
   ---
10. Moonlight (+5)
11. Lion (-)
12. 20th Century Women (NEW)
13. Nocturnal Animals (-1)
14. Allied (-4)
15. Rules Don't Apply (-2)

DROPPED
The Birth of a Nation (-2)

Best Director

1. Damien Chazelle, La La Land (-)
2. Denis Villanueve, Arrival (+3)
3. Ang Lee, Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (-1)
4. Martin Scorsese, Silence (-)
5. Denzel Washington, Fences (-2)
   ---
6. Pablo Larrain, Jackie (+4)
7. Kenneth Lonergan, Manchester by the Sea (-1)
8. Jeff Nichols, Loving (-1)
9. Warren Beatty, Rules Don't Apply (-)
10. Barry Jenkins, Moonlight (NEW)

DROPPED
Tom Ford, Nocturnal Animals (-2)

Best Lead Actor

1. Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea (-)
2. Denzel Washington, Fences (-)
3. Ryan Gosling, La La Land (-)
4. Joel Edgerton, Loving (-)
5. Joe Alwyn, Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (-)
   ---
6. Andrew Garfield, Silence (+3)
7. Tom Hanks, Sully (-1)
8. Jake Gyllenhaal, Nocturnal Animals (-1)
9. Michael Keaton, The Founder (-1)
10. Dev Patel, Lion (-)

Best Lead Actress

1. Emma Stone, La La Land (-)
2. Natalie Portman, Jackie (-)
3. Viola Davis, Fences (-)
4. Annette Bening, 20th Century Women (+4)
5. Meryl Streep, Florence Foster Jenkins (-1)
   ---
6. Ruth Negga, Loving (-1)
7. Amy Adams, Arrival (-1)
8. Taraji P. Henson, Hidden Figures (-1)
9. Jessica Chastain, Miss Sloane (-)
10. Isabelle Huppert, Elle (-)

Best Supporting Actor

1. Liam Neeson, Silence (+4)
2. Michael Shannon, Nocturnal Animals (-1)
3. Peter Sarsgaard, Jackie (+4)
4. Lucas Hedges, Manchester by the Sea (-2)
5. Jeff Bridges, Hell or High Water (-1)
   ---
6. Mahershala Ali, Moonlight (-)
7. Adam Driver, Silence (NEW)
8. Steve Martin, Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (-)
9. Stephen Henderson, Fences (-)
10. Mykelti Williamson, Fences (-)

DROPPED
Warren Beatty, Rules Don't Apply (-8)

Best Supporting Actress

1. Michelle Williams, Manchester by the Sea (-)
2. Naomie Harris, Moonlight (-)
3. Greta Gerwig, 20th Century Women (+6)
4. Kristen Stewart, Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (-1)
5. Nicole Kidman, Lion (-1)
   ---
6. Octavia Spencer, Hidden Figures (-1)
7. Lupita Nyong'o, Queen of Katwe (NEW)
8. Annette Bening, Rules Don't Apply (-)
9. Felicity Jones, A Monster Calls (-2)
10. Molly Shannon, Other People (NEW)

DROPPED
Elle Fanning, 20th Century Women (-2)
Laura Linney, Nocturnal Animals (-1)

Best Original Screenplay

1. Kenneth Lonergan, Manchester by the Sea (-)
2. Noah Oppenheim, Jackie (+2)
3. Jeff Nichols, Loving (-1)
4. Barry Jenkins and Tarell McCraney, Moonlight (+3)
5. Damien Chazelle, La La Land (-2)
   ---
6. Mike Mills, 20th Century Women (NEW)
7. Jared Bush, Byron Howard, Phil Johnston, Jennifer Lee, Rich Moore, Jim Reardon and Josie Trinidad, Zootopia (-2)
8. Ron Clements and John Musker, Moana (-2)
9. Warren Beatty, Rules Don't Apply (-1)
10. Asghar Farhadi, The Salesman (-)

DROPPED
Steven Knight, Allied (-2)

Best Adapted Screenplay

1. August Wilson, Fences (-)
2. Jean-Christophe Castelli, Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk (-)
3. Jay Cocks, Silence (-)
4. Tom Ford, Nocturnal Animals (-)
5. Allison Schroeder, Hidden Figures (-)
   ---
6. Luke Davies, Lion (-)
7. Eric Heisserer, Arrival (-)
8. Ben Affleck, Live by Night (NEW)
9. Whit Stillman, Love & Friendship (-1)
10. David Birke, Elle (-1)

DROPPED
Justin Marks, The Jungle Book (-1)

Best Animated Feature

1. Zootopia (-)
2. Moana (-)
3. Sing (-)
4. The Red Turtle (-)
5. Finding Dory (-)
   ---
6. Kubo and the Two Strings (-)
7. April and the Extraordinary World (+2)
8. Miss Hokusai (+2)
9. Sausage Party (-2)
10. The Secret Life of Pets (-2)

Best Cinematography

1. Linus Sandgren, La La Land (-)
2. John Toll, Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk (-)
3. Bradford Young, Arrival (-)
4. Stephanie Fontaine, Jackie (NEW)
5. Rodrigo Prieto, Silence (-1)
   ---
6. Seamus McGarvey, Nocturnal Animals (-1)
7. Bill Pope, The Jungle Book (-1)
8. Robert Richardson, Live by Night (NEW)
9. James Laxton, Moonlight (NEW)
10. Charlotte Bruus Christiansen, Fences (-3)

DROPPED
Elliot Davis, The Birth of a Nation (-3)
Greig Fraser, Lion (-2)
Don Burgess, Allied (-1)

Best Costume Design

1. Mary Zophres, La La Land (-)
2. Madeline Fontaine, Jackie (+5)
3. Sandy Powell, Silence (+4)
4. Albert Wolsky, Rules Don't Apply (-1)
5. Eimer Ni Mhaoldomhnaigh, Love & Friendship (-1)
   ---
6. Consolata Boyle, Florence Foster Jenkins (-1)
7. Joanna Johnston, Allied (-5)
8. Sharen Davis, Fences (-1)
9. Colleen Atwood, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (+1)
10. Jacqueline West, Live by Night (NEW)

DROPPED
Francine Jamison-Tanchuck, The Birth of a Nation (-2)

Best Film Editing

1. Tom Cross, La La Land (-)
2. Sebastián Sepúlveda, Jackie (NEW)
3. Thelma Schoonmaker, Silence (-1)
4. Tim Squyre, Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk (-1)
5. Joe Walker, Arrival (-1)
   ---
6. Hughes Winborne, Fences (-1)
7. Joan Sobel, Nocturnal Animals (-1)
8. Joi McMillon and Nat Sanders, Moonlight (+1)
9. Jennifer Lame, Manchester by the Sea (-2)
10. Jeremiah O’Driscoll, Allied (-)

DROPPED
Steven Rosenblum, The Birth of a Nation (-3)

Best Makeup & Hairstyling

1. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (+2)
2. Florence Foster Jenkins (-1)
3. Rules Don't Apply (-1)
   ---
4. Love & Friendship (-)
5. Jackie (+3)
6. Hail, Caesar! (+3)
7. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (+3)
8. Live by Night (NEW)
9. Hidden Figures (-4)
10. Star Trek: Beyond (-3)

DROPPED
La La Land (-5)

Best Original Score

1. Opetaia Foa’i, Mark Mancina and Lin-Manuel Miranda, Moana (-)
2. Johann Johansson, Arrival (+2)
3. Howard Shore, Silence (+3)
4. Mica Levi, Jackie (+3)
5. Jeff and Mychael Danna, Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk (-1)
   ---
6. Michael Giacchino, Zootopia (-4)
7. Justin Hurwitz, La La Land (-2)
8. Michael Giacchino, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (NEW)
9. Thomas Newman, Finding Dory (-1)
10. Alexandre Desplat, Florence Foster Jenkins (-1)

DROPPED
Henry Jackman, The Birth of a Nation (-1)

Best Original Song

1. "City of Stars," La La Land (-)
2. "We Know the Way," Moana (-)
3. "Audition," La La Land (-)
4. "How Far I'll Go," Moana (-)
5. "Victory," Hidden Figures (+1)
   ---
6. "Go Now," Sing Street (-1)
7. "A Letter to the Free," 13th (NEW)
8. "The Great Beyond, Sausage Party (-1)
9. "Can't Stop the Feeling," Trolls (-1)
10. "Dancing in the Shadows," Po (NEW)

DROPPED
"Try Everything," Zootopia (-2)
"Drive It Like You Stole It," Sing Street (-1)

Best Production Design

1. David Wasco, La La Land (-)
2. Dante Ferretti, Silence (+1)
3. Jean Rabasse, Jackie (+6)
4. Jeannine Oppewall, Rules Don't Apply (-2)
5. Stuart Craig, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (+1)
   ---
6. Gary Freeman, Allied (-2)
7. David Gropman, Fences (-2)
8. Anna Rackard, Love & Friendship (-1)
9. Mark Friedberg, Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk (+1)
10. Jess Gonchor, Live by Night (NEW)

DROPPED
Geoffrey Kirkland, The Birth of a Nation (-3)

Best Sound Editing

1. La La Land (-)
2. Arrival (-)
3. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (+1)
4. Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (-1)
5. Silence (-)
   ---
6. Moana (-)
7. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (NEW)
8. Allied (-1)
9. Passengers (-1)
10. Captain America: Civil War (-)

DROPPED
Deepwater Horizon (-2)

Best Sound Mixing

1. La La Land (-)
2. Arrival (-)
3. Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (-)
4. Silence (-)
5. Moana (-)
   ---
6. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (+1)
7. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (NEW)
8. Allied (-2)
9. Passengers (-1)
10. Zootopia (-1)

DROPPED
Deepwater Horizon (-1)

Best Visual Effects

1. Arrival (-)
2. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (-)
3. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (+2)
4. Passengers (-1)
5. Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (-1)
   ---
6. The Jungle Book (-)
7. Captain America: Civil War (-)
8. A Monster Calls (-)
9. Star Trek: Beyond (-)
10. Deadpool (-)

Best Documentary Feature

1. 13th (-)
2. Gleason (-)
3. The Seasons in Quincy: Four Portraits of John Berger (-)
4. Equal Means Equal (-)
5. Newtown (-)
   ---
6. Three Days of Terror: The Charlie Hebdo Attacks (-)
7. Fire at Sea (-)
8. Miss Sharon Jones (-)
9. By Sidney Lumet (-)
10. Lo and Behold, Reveries of the Connected World (-)

Best Foreign Language Film

1. The Salesman (Iran) (-)
2. Death in Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina) (-)
3. Elle (France) (-)
4. Sand Storm (Israel) (-)
5. Ma'Rosa (Phillippines) (-)
   ---
6. Julieta (Spain) (+1)
7. From Afar (Venezuela) (+1)
8. The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki (Finland) (+1)
9. Barakah Meets Barakah (Saudi Arabia) (+1)
10. Train Driver's Diary (Serbia) (NEW)

DROPPED
United States of Love (Poland) (-5)

2016 Contenders in Best Foreign Language Film

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced 85 countries have officially submitted pictures for consideration in the category of Best Foreign Language Film. They are:

Albania, “Chromium,” Bujar Alimani, director;

Algeria, “The Well,” Lotfi Bouchouchi, director;

Argentina, “The Distinguished Citizen,” Mariano Cohn, Gastón Duprat, directors;

Australia, “Tanna,” Bentley Dean, Martin Butler, directors;

Austria, “Stefan Zweig: Farewell to Europe,” Maria Schrader, director;

Bangladesh, “The Unnamed,” Tauquir Ahmed, director;

Belgium, “The Ardennes,” Robin Pront, director;

Bolivia, “Sealed Cargo,” Julia Vargas Weise, director;

Bosnia and Herzegovina, “Death in Sarajevo,” Danis Tanovic, director;

Brazil, “Little Secret,” David Schurmann, director;

Bulgaria, “Losers,” Ivaylo Hristov, director;

Cambodia, “Before the Fall,” Ian White, director;

Canada, “It’s Only the End of the World,” Xavier Dolan, director;

Chile, “Neruda,” Pablo Larraín, director;

China, “Xuan Zang,” Huo Jianqi, director;

Colombia, “Alias Maria,” José Luis Rugeles, director;

Costa Rica, “About Us,” Hernán Jiménez, director;

Croatia, “On the Other Side,” Zrinko Ogresta, director;

Cuba, “The Companion,” Pavel Giroud, director;

Czech Republic, “Lost in Munich,” Petr Zelenka, director;

Denmark, “Land of Mine,” Martin Zandvliet, director;

Dominican Republic, “Sugar Fields,” Fernando Báez, director;

Ecuador, “Such Is Life in the Tropics,” Sebastián Cordero, director;

Egypt, “Clash,” Mohamed Diab, director;

Estonia, “Mother,” Kadri Kõusaar, director;

Finland, “The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki,” Juho Kuosmanen, director;

France, “Elle,” Paul Verhoeven, director;

Georgia, “House of Others,” Rusudan Glurjidze, director;

Germany, “Toni Erdmann,” Maren Ade, director;

Greece, “Chevalier,” Athina Rachel Tsangari, director;

Hong Kong, “Port of Call,” Philip Yung, director;

Hungary, “Kills on Wheels,” Attila Till, director;

Iceland, “Sparrows,” Rúnar Rúnarsson, director;

India, “Interrogation,” Vetri Maaran, director;

Indonesia, “Letters from Prague,” Angga Dwimas Sasongko, director;

Iran, “The Salesman,” Asghar Farhadi, director;

Iraq, “El Clásico,” Halkawt Mustafa, director;

Israel, “Sand Storm,” Elite Zexer, director;

Italy, “Fire at Sea,” Gianfranco Rosi, director;

Japan, “Nagasaki: Memories of My Son,” Yoji Yamada, director;

Jordan, “3000 Nights,” Mai Masri, director;

Kazakhstan, “Amanat,” Satybaldy Narymbetov, director;

Kosovo, “Home Sweet Home,” Faton Bajraktari, director;

Kyrgyzstan, “A Father’s Will,” Bakyt Mukul, Dastan Zhapar Uulu, directors;

Latvia, “Dawn,” Laila Pakalnina, director;

Lebanon, “Very Big Shot,” Mir-Jean Bou Chaaya, director;

Lithuania, “Seneca’s Day,” Kristijonas Vildziunas, director;

Luxembourg, “Voices from Chernobyl,” Pol Cruchten, director;

Macedonia, “The Liberation of Skopje,” Rade Šerbedžija, Danilo Šerbedžija, directors;

Malaysia, “Beautiful Pain,” Tunku Mona Riza, director;

Mexico, “Desierto,” Jonás Cuarón, director;

Montenegro, “The Black Pin,” Ivan Marinović, director;

Morocco, “A Mile in My Shoes,” Said Khallaf, director;

Nepal, “The Black Hen,” Min Bahadur Bham, director;

Netherlands, “Tonio,” Paula van der Oest, director;

New Zealand, “A Flickering Truth,” Pietra Brettkelly, director;

Norway, “The King’s Choice,” Erik Poppe, director;

Pakistan, “Mah-e-Mir,” Anjum Shahzad, director;

Palestine, “The Idol,” Hany Abu-Assad, director;

Panama, “Salsipuedes,” Ricardo Aguilar Navarro, Manolito Rodríguez, directors;

Peru, “Videophilia (and Other Viral Syndromes),” Juan Daniel F. Molero, director;

Philippines, “Ma’ Rosa,” Brillante Ma Mendoza, director;

Poland, “Afterimage,” Andrzej Wajda, director;

Portugal, “Letters from War,” Ivo M. Ferreira, director;

Romania, “Sieranevada,” Cristi Puiu, director;

Russia, “Paradise,” Andrei Konchalovsky, director;

Saudi Arabia, “Barakah Meets Barakah,” Mahmoud Sabbagh, director;

Serbia, “Train Driver’s Diary,” Milos Radovic, director;

Singapore, “Apprentice,” Boo Junfeng, director;

Slovakia, “Eva Nová,” Marko Skop, director;

Slovenia, “Houston, We Have a Problem!” Žiga Virc, director;

South Africa, “Call Me Thief,” Daryne Joshua, director;

South Korea, “The Age of Shadows,” Kim Jee-woon, director;

Spain, “Julieta,” Pedro Almodóvar, director;

Sweden, “A Man Called Ove,” Hannes Holm, director;

Switzerland, “My Life as a Zucchini,” Claude Barras, director;

Taiwan, “Hang in There, Kids!” Laha Mebow, director;

Thailand, “Karma,” Kanittha Kwunyoo, director;

Turkey, “Cold of Kalandar,” Mustafa Kara, director;

Ukraine, “Ukrainian Sheriffs,” Roman Bondarchuk, director;

United Kingdom, “Under the Shadow,” Babak Anvari, director;

Uruguay, “Breadcrumbs,” Manane Rodríguez, director;

Venezuela, “From Afar,” Lorenzo Vigas, director;

Vietnam, “Yellow Flowers on the Green Grass,” Victor Vu, director;

Yemen, “I Am Nojoom, Age 10 and Divorced,” Khadija Al-Salami, director.

HORROR at the Oscars! Chapter II (1960-1979)

Alfred Hitchcock's inimitable Psycho was met to both enormous critical acclaim and audience interest upon its release in 1960. The picture, which was the second-highest grossing film of the year, just behind Stanley Kubrick's Spartacus, would go to top the American Film Institute's list of "100 Years...100 Thrills," released in 2001.

Alas, the film, for all of its success, was greeted to a somewhat cool reception by the Academy. Psycho did muster four nominations - in Best Director (Hitchcock's fifth and final Oscar nomination), Best Supporting Actress (the unforgettable Janet Leigh), Best Art Direction and Best Cinematography. Leigh, who won the Golden Globe, was defeated by Shirley Jones' fine turn in Elmer Gantry. It failed to win in any of the other three categories to boot.

Notably snubbed was of course Anthony Perkins, flat-out brilliant as Norman Bates. There was other notable horror work overlooked here too - Georges Franju's chilling Eyes Without a Face would've been richly deserving of recognition in Best Foreign Language Film. Also, Michael Powell's inventive and unsettling Peeping Tom, while not whole-heartedly embraced upon its initial release, was surely worthy of attention.

The following year, a real bone-chiller did surface in Best Foreign Language Film - and manage to triumph too - Ingmar Bergman's The Virgin Spring, a picture which served as the inspiration to Wes Craven's 1972 cult classic The Last House on the Left.

Bette Davis' Best Lead Actress nomination was among five Oscar nods for What Ever Happened to Baby Jane (1962, Aldrich).

In 1962 and 1964, a horror sub-genre, the so-called "psycho-biddy" picture - that is, a film involving an older, once-glamorous woman who cracks and terrorizes those around her - garnered significant Oscar love. Two Bette Davis-headlined, Robert Aldrich-directed films - What Ever Happened to Baby Jane and Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte - received a combined 12 Oscar nominations, including three acting nods (for Davis and Victor Buono in the former and the dazzling Agnes Moorehead in the latter). The films only delivered a single win, however, for Norma Koch's costume design in Baby Jane.

Between those two camp classics, in 1963, Hitchcock's The Birds - which, while a box office success, did not reach the critical acclaim of Psycho - scored an Oscar nod in Best Special Effects, where it lost to the epically overblown Cleopatra. Notably missing this year was the brilliant The Haunting, which did at least manage a Golden Globe nomination for its director, Robert Wise.

The next three years were not gangbusters for the genre at the Oscars, or in general. Roman Polanski's startling Repulsion garnered runner-up mentions in Best Director and Best Lead Actress (for Catherine Denueve) at the 1965 New York Film Critics Circle Awards - and a Best Cinematography BAFTA nod to boot - but was a no-show on Oscar nominations morning. Beyond the Polanski film, there were few, if any Oscar-calibur horror films to speak of.

Audrey Hepburn received her fifth and final Best Lead Actress Oscar nomination for Wait Until Dark (1967, Young).

At last, in 1967, horror resurfaced at the Oscars, through a Best Lead Actress nomination for Audrey Hepburn in Terence Young's Wait Until Dark. The suspenseful and claustrophobic film, which features its leading lady as a blind woman terrorized by drug-scouring criminals, is among the boldest and most interesting efforts of Hepburn's career. (She ended up losing to another Hepburn, Katharine Hepburn, in Guess Who's Coming to Dinner.)

It's no surprise that, in 1968, the Academy was not ready to recognize a film like George A. Romero's terrifying Night of the Living Dead. At least they did have the courage to shower some affection on another sublime horror picture this year, Polanski's exquisite Rosemary's Baby. While the lack of nomination for Mia Farrow is truly unforgivable (and perhaps surprising - she garnered both Golden Globe and BAFTA nods), it is pretty sweet that the scene-stealing, equal-parts-hilarious-and-horrifying Ruth Gordon took home the prize for Best Supporting Actress. Polanski's screenplay was nominated too, losing to James Goldman's incomparable work on The Lion in Winter.

In 1972, horror cinema surfaced in the most unlikely of Oscar categories - Best Original Song, where Michael Jackson's "Ben," from the eponymous rat picture (1972, Carlson), garnered a nomination and ultimately lost to The Poseidon Adventure's dreadful "The Morning After." (If interested, feel free to check out my full analysis of '72 Best Original Song here.)

The Exorcist (1973, Friedkin) garnered 10 Oscar nominations, the most of any horror film to date.

The following year, 1973, marked arguably the most impressive year for horror at the Oscars. While Robin Hardy's eerie The Wicker Man did not show up, nor did Nicolas Roeg's haunting Don't Look Now (which nonetheless went on to score seven BAFTA nominations, including a Best Cinematography victory), William Friedkin's blood-curdling The Exorcist proved a huge player that awards season. The second-highest grossing film of '73, the film went into Oscar night with an eye-popping 10 nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay and nods in three acting categories (for Ellen Burstyn, Jason Miller and Linda Blair). It set a nominations record for horror at the Oscars, which remains unbroken to this day.

At that year's Golden Globes, The Exorcist scored victories in Best Picture - Drama, Best Director, Best Screenplay and Best Supporting Actress. Surprisingly, the film received no love at all from the critics' awards and would only go on to receive a Best Soundtrack nomination at BAFTA. The film was a sure bet to win Best Adapted Screenplay at the Oscars - it was the sole Best Picture nominee among the five - but, beyond that, its winning prospects were greatly uncertain. Blair began the race an overwhelming favorite but was dogged by press coverage on Oscar-winner Mercedes McCambridge's dubbing of the Regan character. This led to chatter that Blair's performance was more an effects-driven one than a real tour-de-force in acting. Many also suspected the picture was just too bold to make a real killing with the old-school Academy.

Those suspicions were right - The Exorcist indeed took home Best Adapted Screenplay on Oscar night, and just one other victory, in Best Sound. Blair lost to Tatum O'Neal in Paper Moon, Miller (as expected) lost to John Houseman in The Paper Chase and Burstyn lost to Glenda Jackson in A Touch of Class. Friedkin and the film were ultimately trampled over by George Roy Hill's even more financially successful (and more Academy-friendly) The Sting.

1974 did not, sadly, find Bob Clark's influential and truly terrifying slasher flick Black Christmas steamrolling the awards season. Instead, coming off the heels of dark and draining The Exorcist, the Academy catered to lighter horror fare, throwing a few nominations to Mel Brooks' ingenious Young Frankenstein (in Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Sound) and Brian De Palma's delightfully inventive Phantom of the Paradise (for Paul Williams, in Best Adapted Score). No surprise, there were no wins among the three nominations - as if Brooks' script had a prayer against The Godfather Part II - but kudos to the Academy for at least giving some recognition to these fantastic films.

Despite missing out on nominations in Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay, Jaws (1975, Spielberg) garnered four Oscar nods, including Best Picture.

In 1975, while Tobe Hooper's exhilarating The Texas Chainsaw Massacre was filling drive-ins across the nation but hardly winning support from the Hollywood establishment, newcomer Steven Spielberg's smash box office and critical sensation Jaws landed with a modest splash at the Oscars. The picture garnered four nominations - in Best Picture, Best Original Score, Best Film Editing and Best Sound - but was notably left out for Spielberg's direction. The Academy instead gave a surprise nomination to Frederico Fellini, whose Amarcord won Best Foreign Language Film. The Spielberg snub - coupled with no nod for screenwriting - all but ensured Jaws would not take home the top prize. It did, however, manage to take home the other three Oscars, one more than The Exorcist had mustered just a couple years back.

The following year found a Brian De Palma picture (at last!) receive major Oscar nominations. His film adaptation of Stephen King's Carrie was a decent-sized box office and critical hit - impressive for a De Palma horror flick but hardly on the level of a Jaws or Exorcist. Piper Laurie, who was previously Oscar-nominated for 1961's The Hustler, had not acted in a motion picture since the Paul Newman classic. Her presence in the 1976 awards season was not only a result of the dazzling notices for the De Palma film but also something of a "welcome back" after the 15-year hiatus. She was Oscar-nominated for the picture, as was leading lady Sissy Spacek. While Spacek likely didn't have a real prayer against front-runner Faye Dunaway (for Network), Best Supporting Actress was a real jump ball that year (and the Golden Globe winner, Katharine Ross in Voyage of the Damned, wasn't even Oscar-nominated). Beatrice Straight ultimately claimed victory for Network but it wouldn't surprise me if Laurie was a close runner-up in the final vote.

Also nominated in 1976? Richard Donner's The Omen, which scored nominations in Best Original Score and Best Original Song (both for composer Jerry Goldsmith), winning for the former. (My review of the nominated "Ave Santini" and the rest of '76 Best Original Song can be found here.)

1977 did not prove a prime year for horror at the Oscars - Dario Argento's Suspiria, which features some of the most gorgeous, eye-popping production design to have ever graced the big screen, was nowhere to be found. The following year was not much better, despite the releases of the legendary Dawn of the Dead (1978, Romero), Halloween (1978, Carpenter) and Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978, Kaufman). Of course, while snubbing those masterpieces, the Academy had the nerve to recognize Irwin Allen's horrendous bee disaster flick The Swarm in Best Costume Design.

Alien (1979, Scott) was a big, fat box office hit but only mustered two Oscar nominations.

The decade ultimately ended on a so-so note for the genre. Ridley Scott's brilliant Alien was a juggernaut at the 1979 box office and richly deserved a boatload of nominations. It only, however, mustered two - Best Art Direction and Best Visual Effects, prevailing in the latter. The even more financially successful The Amityville Horror also managed an Oscar nod, for Lalo Schifrin's gangbusters original score. It lost to A Little Romance.

Coming up in Chapter III - Aliens and Hannibal Lecter, among others, take their bite at the Oscars...