HORROR at the Oscars! Chapter IV (1999-present)

Nearly a decade following The Silence of the Lambs' victory in Best Picture, another horror film at last surfaced in the top category.

M. Night Shyamalan may be a polarizing filmmaker now - and deservedly so, given some of the junk he's inflicted upon the masses in recent years - but in 1999, he really did take Hollywood by storm with The Sixth Sense, an unlikely juggernaut that hit theaters that August and stayed atop the box office for five consecutive weeks. By the end of its run, it garnered nearly $300 million in domestic receipts alone, with only Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace reaping in more dough that year.

The Bruce Willis starrer, which made overnight sensations out of both Shyamalan and child actor Haley Joel Osment, was not thought to be a significant awards player that season, beyond for Osment and perhaps Shyamalan's twisty, clever screenplay and indeed, those were the two nominations it garnered at the Golden Globes. Shyamalan was recognized by both the Writers Guild and Directors Guild but the film missed at the Producers Guild Awards.

Nonetheless, come Oscar morning, The Sixth Sense exceeded even the greatest expectations of Oscar pundits, scoring six nods, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor and even a jaw-dropping nod for the marvelous Toni Collette in Best Supporting Actress. The film capitalized on the lukewarm reception for Oscar bait The End of the Affair and The Hurricane and, let's face it, Being John Malkovich was probably a tad too quirky to grab a Best Picture nod.

On Oscar night, I'm afraid, the picture did not score any wins. American Beauty nearly swept the evening, with Michael Caine (for The Cider House Rules) and Angelina Jolie (for Girl, Interrupted) defeating Osment and Collette, as expected. There was, however, a smidge of good news for the genre that evening - Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow scored victory in Best Art Direction, and had been nominated in Best Cinematography and Best Costume Design. The bombastic retooling of The Mummy (1999, Sommers) also mustered a nod, in Best Sound.

The Blair Witch Project (1999, Sanchez/Myrick) was, no surprise, nowhere to be found at the Oscars.

At the start of the new millennium, in 2000, the Academy did not embrace Christian Bale's tour-de-force turn in American Psycho (2000, Harron). They did, however, on the heels of pictures like Ed Wood and Gods and Monsters, shower some love on another film about the men who made horror cinema.

Willem Dafoe's scenery-chewing portrayal of Nosferatu's Max Schreck in Shadow of the Vampire (2000, Merhige) scored him a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nod.

Shadow of the Vampire (2000, Merhige) is not quite as satisfying or memorable a picture as the aforementioned two. It does, however, sport a bravura turn from Willem Dafoe, here portraying the elusive Max Schreck, who gave life to Graf Orlok in F.W. Murnau's legendary Nosferatu. Carrying the film on his shoulders, alongside John Malkovich as Murnau, Dafoe's eerie and amusing turn proved a hit that awards season - Dafoe was nominated just about everywhere and scored a few critics' awards wins too, most notably from the Los Angels Film Critics Association. As expected, Dafoe was defeated on Oscar night by Benicio del Toro in Traffic. The picture garnered a second nomination, in Best Makeup, which went to the truly horrific How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

Also amusingly up for a nomination this year - Paul Verhoeven's raunchy Invisible Man clone Hollow Man, which picked up a nod for its memorable visual effects.

The rest of the decade to come and frankly, even beyond that, would not prove the best of times for horror at the Oscars.

There was hardly a shortage of terrific cinema. The Others (2001, Amenabar), for instance, garnered fabulous reviews and strong box office, and fared well at the precursor awards that season, but ultimately did not muster a single Oscar nod. Neither did Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later, a true triumph in film editing, the following year.

The Academy did, despite underwhelming reviews, throw a few nominations to the film adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera musical (2004, Schumacher) but I consider it a real stretch to label that one a true horror film. Its nods came in Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design and Best Original Song and yes, you can read my full review on that year's Original Song line-up here. The picture, thankfully, did not go home with any prizes.

The endearing Monster House (2007, Kenan) was one of several horror-comedies to recently grace the Best Animated Feature category at the Oscars.

The gruesome, truly terrifying The Descent (2006, Marshall) was sadly not recognized by the Academy for its suffocating production design or superb cinematography. At least the genre was kinda-sorta represented this year, by Tim Burton's visually impressive, albeit not terribly memorable The Corpse Bride. It mustered a nod in Best Animated Feature, as did the cute Monster House (2007, Kenan) the following year. The films were no match for winners Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit and Happy Feet, respectively.

Speaking of 2007, this was a year that could have marked a real comeback for horror at the Oscars but, ultimately, only left a modest dent.

Stephen Sondheim's marvelous Sweeney Todd: The Demon of Barber of Fleet Street was at last receiving a film treatment, and from none other than Tim Burton, who, while hardly an Oscar favorite, at least had a pretty solid track record of delivering the goods on the big screen. With Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter headlining, the picture garnered solid critical notices but fared only modestly at the box office. After flying out of the starting gates at the beginning of the awards season, winning Best Director from the National Board of Review and Best Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical at the Golden Globes, the film slowly petered out, just as it did among audiences. Ultimately, it garnered three Oscar nods - in Best Lead Actor, Best Costume Design and Best Art Direction, the last of which it won. What looked like a Best Picture contender in December was suddenly a complete also-ran by February.

A significant snub that year - no Best Foreign Language Film nod for Juan Antonio Bayona's exquisite The Orphanage, which garnered ample notices from overseas film awards. Tomas Alfredson's critically acclaimed Let the Right One In was also overlooked in this category, the following year, despite plenty of precursor attention.

At last, at the start of the new decade, another horror film - the fifth to date - graced the Best Picture category.

Following lukewarm reception to his Requiem for a Dream and The Wrestler, Darren Aronofsky at last won over the Academy with his horrifying Black Swan.

Up until 2010, visionary filmmaker Darren Aronofsky had not been whole-heartedly embraced by the Academy. Requiem for a Dream and The Wrestler were among the finest films of 2000 and 2008, respectively, but failed to leave a dent at the Oscars, beyond a few acting nominations.

The Academy could not, however, resist 2010's Black Swan, a truly terrifying, exquisitely staged vehicle for Natalie Portman that would mark the most incredible work of her career (to date, at least) and finally nab her an Oscar. An enormous critical and box office hit, ultimately amassing more than $100 million in domestic receipts, the picture mustered five nominations in total, for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Lead Actress, Best Film Editing and Best Cinematography. With The King's Speech and The Social Network in a tight dual for overall Oscar glory, Black Swan itself was somewhat overshadowed that season in terms of wins. That did not, thankfully, keep Portman from prevailing.

One more horror item from 2010 - Joe Johnston's silly, overstuffed The Wolfman showed up in Best Makeup and managed to score the win, securing Oscar #7 for the legendary Rick Baker. Universal's original (and, unlike the remake, awesome) The Wolf Man was of course the recipient of zero Oscar nominations.

Ever since Black Swan and The Wolfman claimed Oscar victory, the genre's presence has, unfortunately, dimmed quite a bit at the awards. Only two horror films have garnered recognition, both in 2012, in the Best Animated Feature category - Tim Burton's Frankenweenie and Chris Butler and Sam Fell's ParaNorman. Pitted against the latest from Disney-Pixar, Brave, the two flicks hardly stood a real prayer.

Critically acclaimed and financially successful horror films like The Cabin in the Woods (2012, Goddard), The Conjuring (2013, Wan) and The Babadook (2014, Kent) failed to make inroads in their respective awards seasons. This year's The Witch (2016, Eggers) appears exceedingly likely to also miss out.

Could The Witch (2016, Eggers) emerge a player this awards season?

Regardless of this ho-hum showing in recent years, it is of course inevitable this fantastic genre will again surface in a big way at the Oscars, and not just in Best Visual Effects and Best Makeup. One of these days, we will again be greeted by a critic-adored box office mammoth, in the mold of The Exorcist and Jaws, or perhaps another horror flick that rides the strength of a performance (ala Bette Davis and Natalie Portman) to a boatload of nominations. The Witch very much proved there's still plenty of juice and creativity - and genuine frights - in horror.

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.