Australian short filmmaker Luke Doolan and costume designer Janet Patterson will be flying the Australian flag at the Oscar ceremony on March 7, with both having scored Academy Award nominations for their respective work.
Doolan, from the Blue Tongue Films stable, received a nomination in the live-action short film category for his dark short, Miracle Fish, about an eight year-old who dreams of escaping from schoolyard bullies. He shares the nomination with fellow Sydney-sider, producer Drew Bailey.
Costume designer Patterson is nominated for her work in Jane Campion's Bright Star. The four-time nominee is a regular collaborator with Campion, whose film was otherwise snubbed by the Academy.
In a blow for local director Warwick Thornton, his Camera d'Or winning work, Samson and Delilah was pipped at the final hurdle and missed out on a best foreign language film nomination. That honour went to Ajami (Israel), El Secreto de Sus Ojos (Argentina), The Milk of Sorrow (Peru), Jacques Audiard's A Prophet (France), and Michael Haneke's Palme d'Or and Golden Globe-winning The White Ribbon (Germany).
James Cameron's Avatar and Kathryn Bigelow's The Hurt Locker lead the list of nominees to the 2010 Academy Awards, with the former husband and wife's films tied with nine nominations apiece, including individual nods for best director.
Both are on the expanded ballot form for best-film; for the first time since 1943 (when Casablanca won), 10 films will vie for best film honours. The other eight are: The Blind Side, District 9, An Education, Inglourious Basterds, Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' By Sapphire, A Serious Man, Up and Up in the Air.
The Academy is slowly making strides towards expanding recognition beyond the ranks of white male filmmakers; Kathryn Bigelow is the fourth woman ever to be nominated for a best director gong (the others were Lena Wertmuller for Seven Beauties, Jane Campion for The Piano, and Sofia Coppola for Lost in Translation), and Precious director Lee Daniels is only the second African American (the first was John Singleton for Boyz in the Hood).
Oscar Pixar's CGI-weepie Up becomes the second animated film ever to be nominated for best film (the first was 1991's Beauty and the Beast), and is the first to bridge the animation/live-action divide and be nominated in both categories, since the Academy created a breakaway best animated film award in 2001.
Final ballots will be mailed out to Academy members next week and are due back at PricewaterhouseCoopers offices on Tuesday, March 2. Awards will be presented March 7 at the Kodak Theatre, in a ceremony to be hosted by Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin.
Complete list of Oscar nominations:
Actor in a Leading Role
Jeff Bridges in Crazy Heart
George Clooney in Up in the Air
Colin Firth in A Single Man
Morgan Freeman in Invictus
Jeremy Renner in The Hurt Locker
Actor in a Supporting Role
Matt Damon in Invictus
Woody Harrelson in The Messenger
Christopher Plummer in The Last Station
Stanley Tucci in The Lovely Bones
Christoph Waltz in Inglourious Basterds
Actress in a Leading Role
Sandra Bullock in The Blind Side
Helen Mirren in The Last Station
Carey Mulligan in An Education
Gabourey Sidibe in Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' By Sapphire
Meryl Streep in Julie & Julia
Actress in a Supporting Role
Penelope Cruz in Nine
Vera Farmiga in Up in the Air
Maggie Gyllenhaal in Crazy Heart
Anna Kendrick in Up in the Air
Mo'Nique in Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' By Sapphire
Animated Feature Film
Coraline Henry Selick
Fantastic Mr. Fox Wes Anderson
The Princess and the Frog John Musker and Ron Clements
The Secret of Kells Tomm Moore
Up Pete Docter
Art Direction
Avatar Art Direction: Rick Carter and Robert Stromberg; Set Decoration: Kim Sinclair
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus Art Direction: Dave Warren and Anastasia Masaro; Set Decoration: Caroline Smith
Nine Art Direction: John Myhre; Set Decoration: Gordon Sim
Sherlock Holmes Art Direction: Sarah Greenwood; Set Decoration: Katie Spencer
The Young Victoria Art Direction: Patrice Vermette; Set Decoration: Maggie Gray
Cinematography
Avatar Mauro Fiore
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Bruno Delbonnel
The Hurt Locker Barry Ackroyd
Inglourious Basterds Robert Richardson
The White Ribbon Christian Berger
Costume Design
Bright Star Janet Patterson
Coco before Chanel Catherine Leterrier
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus Monique Prudhomme
Nine Colleen Atwood
The Young Victoria Sandy Powell
Directing
Avatar James Cameron
The Hurt Locker Kathryn Bigelow
Inglourious Basterds Quentin Tarantino
Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' By Sapphire Lee Daniels
Up in the Air Jason Reitman
Documentary (Feature)
Burma VJ Anders Ostergaard and Lise Lense-Moller
The Cove Nominees to be determined
Food, Inc. Robert Kenner and Elise Pearlstein
The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers Judith Ehrlich and Rick Goldsmith
Which Way Home Rebecca Cammisa
Documentary (Short Subject)
China's Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province Jon Alpert and Matthew O'Neill
The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner Daniel Junge and Henry Ansbacher
The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert
Music by Prudence Roger Ross Williams and Elinor Burkett
Rabbit ïƒ la Berlin Bartek Konopka and Anna Wydra
Film Editing
Avatar Stephen Rivkin, John Refoua and James Cameron
District 9 Julian Clarke
The Hurt Locker Bob Murawski and Chris Innis
Inglourious Basterds Sally Menke
Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' By Sapphire Joe Klotz
Foreign Language Film
Ajami Israel
El Secreto de Sus Ojos Argentina
The Milk of Sorrow Peru
Un Prophete France
The White Ribbon Germany
Makeup
Il Divo Aldo Signoretti and Vittorio Sodano
Star Trek Barney Burman, Mindy Hall and Joel Harlow
The Young Victoria Jon Henry Gordon and Jenny Shircore
Music (Original Score)
Avatar James Horner
Fantastic Mr. Fox Alexandre Desplat
The Hurt Locker Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders
Sherlock Holmes Hans Zimmer
Up Michael Giacchino
Music (Original Song)
Almost There from The Princess and the Frog Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
Down in New Orleans from The Princess and the Frog Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
Loin de Paname from Paris 36 Music by Reinhardt Wagner Lyric by Frank Thomas
Take It All from Nine Music and Lyric by Maury Yeston
The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart) from Crazy Heart Music and Lyric by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett
Best Picture
Avatar James Cameron and Jon Landau, Producers
The Blind Side Nominees to be determined
District 9 Peter Jackson and Carolynne Cunningham, Producers
An Education Finola Dwyer and Amanda Posey, Producers
The Hurt Locker Nominees to be determined
Inglourious Basterds Lawrence Bender, Producer
Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' By Sapphire Lee Daniels, Sarah Siegel-Magness and Gary Magness, Producers
A Serious Man Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, Producers
Up Jonas Rivera, Producer
Up in the Air Daniel Dubiecki, Ivan Reitman and Jason Reitman, Producers
Short Film (Animated)
French Roast Fabrice O. Joubert
Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty Nicky Phelan and Darragh O'Connell
The Lady and the Reaper (La Dama y la Muerte) Javier Recio Gracia
Logorama Nicolas Schmerkin
A Matter of Loaf and Death Nick Park
Short Film (Live Action)
The Door Juanita Wilson and James Flynn
Instead of Abracadabra Patrik Eklund and Mathias Fjellstrm
Kavi Gregg Helvey
Miracle Fish Luke Doolan and Drew Bailey
The New Tenants Joachim Back and Tivi Magnusson
Sound Editing
Avatar Christopher Boyes and Gwendolyn Yates Whittle
The Hurt Locker Paul N.J. Ottosson
Inglourious Basterds Wylie Stateman
Star Trek Mark Stoeckinger and Alan Rankin
Up Michael Silvers and Tom Myers
Sound Mixing
Avatar Christopher Boyes, Gary Summers, Andy Nelson and Tony Johnson
The Hurt Locker Paul N.J. Ottosson and Ray Beckett
Inglourious Basterds Michael Minkler, Tony Lamberti and Mark Ulano
Star Trek Anna Behlmer, Andy Nelson and Peter J. Devlin
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers and Geoffrey Patterson
Visual Effects
Avatar Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham and Andrew R. Jones
District 9 Dan Kaufman, Peter Muyzers, Robert Habros and Matt Aitken
Star Trek Roger Guyett, Russell Earl, Paul Kavanagh and Burt Dalton
Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
District 9 Written by Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell
An Education Screenplay by Nick Hornby
In the Loop Screenplay by Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche
Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' By Sapphire Screenplay by Geoffrey Fletcher
Up in the Air Screenplay by Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner
Writing (Original Screenplay)
The Hurt Locker Written by Mark Boal
Inglourious Basterds Written by Quentin Tarantino
The Messenger Written by Alessandro Camon & Oren Moverman
A Serious Man Written by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
Up Screenplay by Bob Peterson, Pete Docter, Story by Pete Docter, Bob Peterson, Tom McCarthy
WINNER: The Hurt Locker Written by Mark Boal
Score one to Hurt Locker. This one was considered a good chance for Tarantino.
