One for the Money Review: I For One, Want My Money Back

Did anyone really expect this to be any good? I suppose not, but, when your source material is a New York Times bestselling series, one would expect a little more care be taken with the adaptation for the big screen. One for the Money, based on the novel of the same name by Janet Evanovich, follows  Stephanie Plum (Katherine Heigl). Recently divorced, unemployed, and in need of cash, Plum decides, for whatever ungodly reason, to become a bounty hunter for her cousins bail bonds business. Just like that, her first case is to apprehend a cop who is also a murderer, whom she slept with in high school, or something.

There's some car chases, several gunshots, a few explosions, dialogue that I guess is suppose to come off as sexual, and a few arrests here and there. Have Katherine Heigl run around in high heels and a tank top, and you've got yourself a movie.

The film begins with a paltry attempt at recreating, for a more recreational audience, James Bond-like title cards, with Cee-Lo Green's "Love Gun" blasting in the background. It's an abhorrent concept at introducing a popular character for her big screen debut. Money is narrated by Plum, whose dialogue is somewhere between a bad Tina Fey knock-off and a late Elmore Leonard novel.

I think the biggest problem this film has is the lack of any effort to be grounded in reality. The draw of the book, and film I suppose, is that it centers around a woman with no experience in this field being thrown into it because of a desperate need for the big paydays that can come from the profession. But the issue with it is that the film doesn't even bother to try and give a remotely plausible scenario for this to happen. If the film started with Plum already a bounty hunter, working on small time criminals, and she finally gets her big case, that I could at least think, in some odd way, would be possible. But to have her first case be a murder suspect...it just doesn't make sense, even in a film like this.

I at first was excited to hear Heigl had taken this role; when I first heard about the movie, I was intrigued that she would be playing a character unlike many of her previous "I'm just here to be a pretty blonde" roles. Instead, what we get is "I'm just here to be a pretty brunette, but I shoot a gun, too". The choices she's taken with her career are disheartening. She showed some terrific range in Knocked Up, and became wildly popular on the hit show Grey's Anatomy. Since then, however, her career has taken a turn for the worst, and if she continues to make decisions such as these films, her movie career may be over before it ever had a chance to be anything remotely interesting.

If this series is going to continue (there are 18 books, after all), there needs to be a major overhaul in order to make the franchise successful. Directors and screenwriters who have churned out previous solid material is a must, and perhaps even some new lead actors. For now though, author Janet Evanovich must be feeling fairly embarrassed that her book franchise has been translated to the big screen with such a poor effort. 

Also, what is with all the hate for New Jersey lately? Between Jersey Shore and One for the Money, New Jerseyans must be feeling pretty hateful towards the rest of the country right now, and with good reason. The characters in Money can barely hold the accent, and when they do, it is a poor and almost insulting imitation. None of the people in the world this film creates are at all interesting. The city is lifeless, and contains no zest whatsoever. If this is an indication of the real New Jersey, then count me out of a visit.

D

Oscar Noms 2012 - Surprises, Snubs, and Head Scratchers

Well, well, well, Oscar. You always seem to find a way to amaze us, don't you? Both in good and bad ways. Oscar nominations were announced this morning, and if you haven't heard, like always, there are quite a few surprises on the list. Here are 12 things we learned from the Academy this morning:

12) They must really hate songs.
The sound and music division of the Academy must have better things to do with their time. A few years ago, the Oscar telecast decided to do away with the performance of the original songs during the broadcast; after that, steps were taken to give the opportunity to lower the amount of nominees in the original song category. This morning, only two songs got nominated. The second best song from The Muppets, and some Latin number from Rio. Could we see this category gone forever by next year in favor of something like Best Ensemble? In any case, you've got a 50/50 shot on those Oscar pools for this category (Hint: go with The Muppets).

11) Speaking of 50/50...
The overlook of Will Reiser's terrific script of the somewhat biographical story of his fight against cancer was a terrible misstep by the Academy.  He made a comedy about cancer, and made it work, on a number of levels. That alone should have made it a contender, not to mention how deeply it affected the (few) people who saw it.

10) They REALLY want Woody Allen there. 
The Academy loves Woody Allen, even though he never shows to the awards ceremony. They gave him a lot of reasons to show this year this morning, however, with the likely scenario that he'll recieve his 4th Oscar for his Midnight in Paris screenplay.

9) Best Director is a battle of the AARP cards (sort of).
The average age for the category this year is 61 years old. Michel Hazanavicius, the youngest of the group at 43, is the front-runner at this point for The Artist.

8) Honor the old; in with the new.
Movies like The Artist, Hugo, and Midnight in Paris all center on the same idea of living in the moment, yet honoring times gone by. The Academy also honored its favorites like Clooney, Allen, Scorsese, Streep, Close, and Spielberg, while giving honors to newcomers as well, such as Rooney Mara, Jean Dujardin, Melissa McCarthy, and Jessica Chastain. I'm also ecstatic to finally say Gary Oldman is an Oscar nominee. It was long overdue.

7) Ryan Gosling and Michael Fassbender need to be in even more movies to get nominated.
Apparently, eight great roles between the two of them isn't enough for either to be nominated in either acting category. Both are going to be around for a long time, and may even go against one another a few years for Oscars, but people will look back on their performances this year and be shocked by the lack of support from the Academy.

6) A Separation is a lock for Best Foreign Language Film.
Not that the film was the favorite already for the award before this morning, it's nomination in the Original Screenplay category all but sealed the deal. The film has been widely praised as the best of the year, and I almost thought, just for a second, it had a shot at a Best Picture nomination.

5) Pixar needs to get its act together.
This is the first time a Pixar film has not been nominated for Best Animated Feature. When Toy Story was released, the Academy didn't have an animated feature category. The snub this morning proves that Pixar needs to stop recycling old material (that wasn't very good to begin with), and bring back it's terrific filmmaking prowess. Brave should (hopefully) change that in 2012.

4) Box office doesn't matter much.
Like The Hurt Locker's Best Picture win two years ago, the Academy is out to prove it's not kind on simply awarding the most profitable film of the year. That's certainly the case again, with The Help being the only Best Picture nominee (so far) to gross over $100 million at the box office.

3) Clint Eastwood is losing his touch.
I don't think Eastwood has made a really good film since Letters from Iwo Jima, but man has he tried to convince the Academy otherwise. This year, they wised up to his old tricks, completely shutting out his paltry attempt with J. Edgar. The film is a mess, and the Academy didn't even bother honoring Leonardo DiCaprio for his take on the figure.

2) The Academy wants to feel good at the movies.
With snubs all around for movies like Melancholia, Shame, Drive, Take Shelter, and We Need to Talk About Kevin, and the inclusion of movies like Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, it's clear the Academy wants their hearts stirred, not shaken. That is going to be an important idea to remember when filling out those Oscar ballots, and watching the broadcast, because...

1) It's The Artist's award to lose.
With 10 nominations, including Best Picture, Director, Actor, Supporting Actress, and Editing, it seems like nothing will be able to stop the silent film come February 26. The Help, the film I thought had the best shot at upsetting The Artist, didn't get any of the all important Director, Editing, or Screenplay nominations. That all but took it out of the race. The film most likely now? Martin Scorsese's Hugo, which leads the field with 11 nominations.

Stay tuned here for more analysis, my best films of the year, and other musings leading up to the big night next month.

Oscar Nominations 2012

Oscar nominations are here, and they're...shocking. The thing that sticks out most to me is the Academy's sheer overlook by the work of Ryan Gosling this year, and terrific films such as Shame and Drive. However, I am pleased that The Tree of Life is nominated for both Best Picture and Director.

I wont go into too many details here, that will be coming in the next few weeks, here now are the full nominations. Martin Scorsese's "Hugo" leads the field with 11 nominations.

Actor in a Leading Role
Demián Bichir in “A Better Life”
George Clooney in “The Descendants”
Jean Dujardin in “The Artist”
Gary Oldman in “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”
Brad Pitt in “Moneyball”

Actor in a Supporting Role
Kenneth Branagh in “My Week with Marilyn”
Jonah Hill in “Moneyball”
Nick Nolte in “Warrior”
Christopher Plummer in “Beginners”
Max von Sydow in “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close”

Actress in a Leading Role
Glenn Close in “Albert Nobbs”
Viola Davis in “The Help”
Rooney Mara in “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”
Meryl Streep in “The Iron Lady”
Michelle Williams in “My Week with Marilyn”

Actress in a Supporting Role
Bérénice Bejo in “The Artist”
Jessica Chastain in “The Help”
Melissa McCarthy in “Bridesmaids”
Janet McTeer in “Albert Nobbs”
Octavia Spencer in “The Help”

Animated Feature Film
“A Cat in Paris” Alain Gagnol and Jean-Loup Felicioli
“Chico & Rita” Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal
“Kung Fu Panda 2″ Jennifer Yuh Nelson
“Puss in Boots” Chris Miller
“Rango” Gore Verbinski

Art Direction
“The Artist” Production Design: Laurence Bennett; Set Decoration: Robert Gould
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2″ Production Design: Stuart Craig; Set Decoration: Stephenie McMillan
“Hugo” Production Design: Dante Ferretti; Set Decoration: Francesca Lo Schiavo
“Midnight in Paris” Production Design: Anne Seibel; Set Decoration: Hélène Dubreuil
“War Horse” Production Design: Rick Carter; Set Decoration: Lee Sandales

Cinematography
“The Artist” Guillaume Schiffman
“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” Jeff Cronenweth
“Hugo” Robert Richardson
“The Tree of Life” Emmanuel Lubezki
“War Horse” Janusz Kaminski

Costume Design
“Anonymous” Lisy Christl
“The Artist” Mark Bridges
“Hugo” Sandy Powell
“Jane Eyre” Michael O’Connor
“W.E.” Arianne Phillips

Directing
“The Artist” Michel Hazanavicius
“The Descendants” Alexander Payne
“Hugo” Martin Scorsese
“Midnight in Paris” Woody Allen
“The Tree of Life” Terrence Malick

Documentary (Feature)
“Hell and Back Again” Danfung Dennis and Mike Lerner
“If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front” Marshall Curry and Sam Cullman
“Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory” Charles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs
“Pina” Wim Wenders and Gian-Piero Ringel
“Undefeated” TJ Martin, Dan Lindsay and Richard Middlemas

Documentary (Short Subject)
“The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement” Robin Fryday and Gail Dolgin
“God Is the Bigger Elvis” Rebecca Cammisa and Julie Anderson
“Incident in New Baghdad”James Spione
“Saving Face” Daniel Junge and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy
“The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom” Lucy Walker and Kira Carstensen

Film Editing
“The Artist” Anne-Sophie Bion and Michel Hazanavicius
“The Descendants” Kevin Tent
“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall
“Hugo” Thelma Schoonmaker
“Moneyball” Christopher Tellefsen

Foreign Language Film
“Bullhead” Belgium
“Footnote” Israel
“In Darkness” Poland
“Monsieur Lazhar” Canada
“A Separation” Iran

Makeup
“Albert Nobbs” Martial Corneville, Lynn Johnston and Matthew W. Mungle
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2″ Edouard F. Henriques, Gregory Funk and Yolanda Toussieng
“The Iron Lady” Mark Coulier and J. Roy Helland

Music (Original Score)
“The Adventures of Tintin” John Williams
“The Artist” Ludovic Bource
“Hugo” Howard Shore
“Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” Alberto Iglesias
“War Horse” John Williams

Music (Original Song)
“Man or Muppet” from “The Muppets” Music and Lyric by Bret McKenzie
“Real in Rio” from “Rio” Music by Sergio Mendes and Carlinhos Brown Lyric by Siedah Garrett

Best Picture
“The Artist” Thomas Langmann, Producer
“The Descendants” Jim Burke, Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor, Producers
“Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close” Scott Rudin, Producer
“The Help” Brunson Green, Chris Columbus and Michael Barnathan, Producers
“Hugo” Graham King and Martin Scorsese, Producers
“Midnight in Paris” Letty Aronson and Stephen Tenenbaum, Producers
“Moneyball” Michael De Luca, Rachael Horovitz and Brad Pitt, Producers
“The Tree of Life” Nominees to be determined
“War Horse” Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy, Producers

Short Film (Animated)
“Dimanche/Sunday” Patrick Doyon
“The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore” William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg
“La Luna” Enrico Casarosa
“A Morning Stroll” Grant Orchard and Sue Goffe
“Wild Life” Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby

Short Film (Live Action)
“Pentecost” Peter McDonald and Eimear O’Kane
“Raju” Max Zähle and Stefan Gieren
“The Shore” Terry George and Oorlagh George
“Time Freak” Andrew Bowler and Gigi Causey
“Tuba Atlantic” Hallvar Witzø

Sound Editing
“Drive” Lon Bender and Victor Ray Ennis
“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” Ren Klyce
“Hugo” Philip Stockton and Eugene Gearty
“Transformers: Dark of the Moon” Ethan Van der Ryn and Erik Aadahl
“War Horse” Richard Hymns and Gary Rydstrom

Sound Mixing
“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce and Bo Persson
“Hugo” Tom Fleischman and John Midgley
“Moneyball” Deb Adair, Ron Bochar, Dave Giammarco and Ed Novick
“Transformers: Dark of the Moon” Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers, Jeffrey J. Haboush and Peter J. Devlin
“War Horse” Gary Rydstrom, Andy Nelson, Tom Johnson and Stuart Wilson

Visual Effects
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2″ Tim Burke, David Vickery, Greg Butler and John Richardson
“Hugo” Rob Legato, Joss Williams, Ben Grossman and Alex Henning
“Real Steel” Erik Nash, John Rosengrant, Dan Taylor and Swen Gillberg
“Rise of the Planet of the Apes” Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, R. Christopher White and Daniel Barrett
“Transformers: Dark of the Moon” Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Matthew Butler and John Frazier

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
“The Descendants” Screenplay by Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash
“Hugo” Screenplay by John Logan
“The Ides of March” Screenplay by George Clooney & Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon
“Moneyball” Screenplay by Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin. Story by Stan Chervin
“Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” Screenplay by Bridget O’Connor & Peter Straughan

Writing (Original Screenplay)
“The Artist” Written by Michel Hazanavicius
“Bridesmaids” Written by Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig
“Margin Call” Written by J.C. Chandor
“Midnight in Paris” Written by Woody Allen
“A Separation” Written by Asghar Farhadi

2012 Oscar Nomination Predictions

Can it really be that time of year again already? It seems like it was just yesterday The King's Speech was cleaning up at the 2011 Oscars, and millions of fan-boys cried out in terror, and were suddenly silenced, as The Social Network lost.

Okay, I'm not trying to be harsh. The Social Network is a great film, and deserved to win Best Picture. But, that was last year, we've got a new year and new films to mull over. It seems like nothing can stop The Artist this year. Haven't heard of it? Don't worry, many haven't. It's only made $12 million dollars at the box office so far, despite terrific reviews, and several wins at awards ceremonies. If you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend it. It's a sweet film about the beginning of cinema's talking age. It's led by a terrific cast and a wonderful score. Oh, just one thing: it's silent. Yup, as in no talking; only facial expressions and reactions. But it's a terrific film, and one you ought to see.

Anyway, on to the Oscars. While The Artist is a major favorite, there are still a few films that could pull the upset next month. The Help is the most likely at this point, but in order for it to do that, it needs to gain some major nominations tomorrow. While it will have the acting categories covered, I think it will need a Best Director nomination in order to really have a chance.

There's also Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris, not only one of the best movies of the year, but also Allen's finest work in years. Martin Scorsese's first family film, Hugo, also has a shot, thanks to his Best Director win at the Golden Globes. Not to mention the wonderful Moneyball and Alexander Payne's The Descendants.

But, at this point, this is The Artist's Oscar to lose. The main question then becomes, what will be nominated along with it? The Oscars have changed their voting style this year. Instead of year's past when five films were nominated for Best Picture, or the past two years when ten films got nominated, this year, there can be anywhere from five to ten films nominated. I personally like this idea the most. It doesn't overwhelm the Academy to find ten films to nominated, or force them to narrow their list down to five. Instead, they can decide anywhere between the two, which makes the question of what films will be nominated almost as exciting as what film will win. The only issue for dark horse films is that the voting requires all the films to have a certain amount of #1 votes in order to be nominated.

But, there are still those dark horses, that will just be a surprise if they are nominated. I think there could be quite a few surprises tomorrow morning, one of the biggest being Bridesmaids for Best Picture. Could it actually happen? I think it's not highly likely, but I still believe there's a chance for it to happen. I also think Kristen Wiig could get a nomination for Best Actress. Again, unlikely, but still a chance for it to happen. However, the biggest surprise would be Andy Serkis being nominated for Best Supporting Actor for Rise of the Planet of the Apes. This would not only be a surprise, but would be a cornerstone moment for the Academy. This would be the first time the Oscars have honored a performance centered around CGI. I think it's a very real possibility, but the Supporting Acting category is so strong he may be overlooked. And what about Ryan Gosling/Jessica Chastain? Both had terrific years, Gosling showing his skills in films like Drive, The Ides of March, and Crazy, Stupid, Love, and Chastain in films like Take Shelter, The Tree of Life, and The Help. I think Chastain is much more likely to get a nomination, but Gosling also deserves a nominee for his terrific year.

So, without rambling on anymore, here are my nomination predictions in each category, and two alternates. I am currently predicting seven films to be nominated for Best Picture; I will post my alternates in case there are 8, 9 or 10 nominations. Each category is ranked by the likelihood I believe that film/role will be nominated.

Best Picture

1. The Artist

2. Hugo

3. The Help

4. The Descendants

5. Moneyball

6. Midnight in Paris

7. War Horse

If 8. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

If 9. The Tree of Life

If 10. Bridesmaids

Alt. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

Best Director

1. Michel Hazanavicius - The Artist

2. Martin Scorsese - Hugo

3. Woody Allen - Midnight in Paris

4. Alexander Payne - The Descendants

5. Terrence Malik - The Tree of Life

Alt. Steven Spielberg - War Horse

Best Actor

1. Jean Dujardin - The Artist

2. George Clooney - The Descendants

3. Brad Pitt - Moneyball

4. Leonardo DiCaprio - J. Edgar

5. Michael Fassbender - Shame

Alt. Gary Oldman - Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

Best Actress

1. Meryl Streep - The Iron Lady

2. Viola Davis - The Help

3. Michelle Williams - My Week with Marilyn

4. Glenn Close - Albert Nobbs

5. Tilda Swinton - We Need to Talk About Kevin

Alt. Kristen Wiig - Bridesmaids

Best Supporting Actor

1. Christopher Plummer - Beginners

2. Kenneth Branagh - My Week With Marilyn

3. Albert Brooks - Drive

4. Jonah Hill - Moneyball

5. Ryan Gosling - The Ides of March

Alt. Nick Nolte - Warrior

Best Supporting Actress

1. Octavia Spencer - The Help

2. Jessica Chastain - The Help

3. Berenice Bejo - The Artist

4. Carey Mulligan - Shame

5. Melissa McCarthy - Bridesmaids

Alt. Janet McTeer - Albert Nobbs

Best Original Screenplay

1. Midnight in Paris

2. The Artist

3. Beginners

4. 50/50

5. Bridesmaids

Alt. Young Adult

Best Adapted Screenplay

1. The Descendants

2. Moneyball

3. Hugo

4. The Help

5. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Alt. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

Best Animated Feature

1. Rango

2. Puss in Boots

3. The Adventures of Tintin

4. Arthur Christmas

5. Kung Fu Panda 2

Alt. Cars 2

Best Documentary Film

1. Project Nim 

2. Bill Cunningham: New York

3. Paradise Lost 3

4. If a Tree Falls

5. Buck

Best Foreign Language Film

1. Iran - A Separation

2. Poland - In Darkness

3. Belgium - Bullhead

4. Germany - Pina

5. Israel - Footnote

Best Art Direction

1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2

2. The Artist 

3. Hugo

4. War Horse

5. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Alt. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Best Cinematography

1. The Tree of Life

2. The Artist

3. Hugo

4. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

5. Drive

Alt. War Horse

Best Costume Design

1. The Artist

2. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

3. Drive

4. War Horse

5. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Alt. Captain America

Best Film Editing

1. Hugo

2. The Artist

3. Drive

4. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

5. Midnight in Paris

Alt. Shame

Best Makeup

1. Albert Nobbs

2. The Iron Lady

3. Hugo

Alt. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2

Best Original Score

1. The Artist

2. Hugo

3. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

4. War Horse

5. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Alt. Jane Eyre

Best Original Song

1. Star Spangled Man - Captain America

2. Life's a Happy Song - The Muppets

3. Hello Hello - Gnomeo & Juliet

4. Man or Muppet - The Muppets

5. The Living Proof - The Help

Alt. Lay Your Head Down - Albert Nobbs

Best Sound Editing

1. Hugo

2. Super 8

3. The Adventures of Tintin

4. Drive

5. War Horse

Alt. Transformers: Dark of the Moon

Best Sound Mixing

1. Super 8

2. Hugo

3. Moneyball

4. The Adventures of Tintin

5. Transformers: Dark of the Moon

Alt. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

Best Visual Effects

1. Rise of the Planet of the Apes

2. The Tree of Life

3. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2

4. Hugo

5. Transformers: Dark of the Moon

Alt. Captain America

Golden Globe Predictions - 2012 Edition

It's awards season again. I've been busy catching up on viewing a lot of the films nominated this year that I haven't had too much time to post reviews/thoughts, or anything of value. I'm hoping 2012 will be a better year for posting, but for now, it's time to concentrate on the Golden Globe Awards, which air tonight at 8:00 p.m. E.T. on NBC. Below are my predictions, along with alternates. Not much analysis here. I'm not a big fan of the HFPA or their awards show. It's always felt very fake to me, and more of a party rather than an actual awards ceremony, and not much of an indication of what will happen a month from now at the Oscars. Yet, we can't not watch them, right? Anyway, here are my predictions. Be sure to follow me on Twitter, @JamesMichael32, as I'll be tweeting throughout the broadcast.

Best Motion Picture - Drama
Winner - The Help
Alt. - The Descendants

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama
Winner - Viola Davis - The Help
Alt. - Meryl Streep - The Iron Lady

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama
Winner - George Clooney - The Descendants
Alt.- Brad Pitt - Moneyball

Best Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical
Winner - The Artist
Alt. - Midnight in Paris

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical
Winner - Michelle Williams - My Week with Marilyn
Alt. - Kristen Wiig - Bridesmaids

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical
Winner - Jean Dujardin - The Artist
Alt. - Ryan Gosling - Crazy, Stupid, Love

Best Animated Feature Film
Winner - Rango
Alt. - The Adventures of Tintin

Best Foreign Language Film
Winner - A Separation
Alt. - The Skin I Live In

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Winner - Octavia Spence - The Help
Alt. - Berenice Bejo -The Artist

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Winner - Christopher Plummer - Beginners
Alt. - Albert Brooks - Drive

Best Director - Motion Picture
Winner - Michel Hazanavicius - The Artist
Alt. - Martin Scorsese - Hugo

Best Screenplay - Motion Picture
Winner - Stan Chervin, Aaron Sorkin, Steven Zaillian - Moneyball
Alt. - Woody Allen - Midnight in Paris

Best Original Score - Motion Picture
Winner - Ludovic Bource - The Artist
Alt. - Howard Shore - Hugo

Best Original Song - Motion Picture
Winner - "The Living Proof" - The Help
Alt. - "Hello Hello" Gnomeo & Juliet

Best Television Series - Drama
Winner - Homeland
Alt. - Game of Thrones

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Drama
Winner - Claire Danes - Homeland
Alt. - Julianna Marguiles - The Good Wife

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Drama
Winner - Bryan Cranston - Breaking Bad
Alt. - Kelsey Grammer - Boss

Best Television Series - Comedy/Musical
Winner - New Girl
Alt. - Modern Family

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Comedy/Musical
Winner - Zooey Deschanel - New Girl
Alt. - Tina Fey - 30 Rock

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Comedy/Musical
Winner - Johnny Galecki - The Big Bang Theory
Alt. - Alec Baldwin - 30 Rock

Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Winner - Mildred Pierce
Alt. - Cinema Verite

Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Winner - Diane Lane - Cinema Verite
Alt. - Kate Winslet - Mildred Pierce

Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Winner - Idris Elba - Luther
Alt. - Bill Nighy - Page Eight

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series, or Motion Picture Made for Television
Winner - Jessica Lange - American Horror Story
Alt. Sofia Vergara - Modern Family


Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series, or Motion Picture Made for Television
Winner - Peter Dinklage - Game of Thrones
Alt. - Eric Stonestreet - Modern Family