Opinion

2012 Oscar nominations pave the way for The Artist to win everything

January 24, 2012 by Simon Kinnear in Opinion with 0 Comments

The Oscar nominations are in and either the Academy voters are batshit mental, or they’ve helpfully removed the opposition (chiefly, by snubbing Michael Fassbender and shifting Berenice Bejo out of Meryl Streep’s firing line) to clear the decks for a clean sweep by The Artist.

Fair enough. I finally saw The Artist last night. It’s actually better than most folk are saying, as clever and thoughtful as it is breezily entertaining. With the possible exception of The Tree Of Life (nominated for Best Picture and Best Director; take note, BAFTA), it’s easily ahead of any American film of last year.

The only potential upset – unless you count the horse’s head section of The Godfather, no film about Hollywood has ever taken Best Picture. Sunset Boulevard, Singin’ In The Rain, Burn Hollywood Burn… nada.

That said: what else is going to win?