:00:23. > :00:29.Hello and welcome to this BBC News Special. In the next few minutes
:00:29. > :00:37.we'll be live in Hollywood, to hear the Oscar nominations for 2012.
:00:37. > :00:45.With me for the next half an hour, our film critic, Jason Solomons. A
:00:45. > :00:49.film critic of the of server and much more. -- the Observer. He'll
:00:49. > :00:52.be giving us his views on what should and shouldn't be making it
:00:52. > :00:55.onto the list. Well let's take you live to Los Angeles where it's only
:00:55. > :00:58.5.30am. This is the scene at the Samuel Goldwyn Theatre, where in
:00:58. > :01:02.the next few minutes we'll be hearing those all important
:01:02. > :01:12.nominations. Also awake very early is our correspondent in Los Angeles,
:01:12. > :01:14.
:01:14. > :01:20.Peter Bowes. Peter what can we expect? We will find out how many
:01:20. > :01:24.films are nominated in the best picture category? Yes will it be
:01:24. > :01:29.the artist or The Descendants, or another film that gets the most
:01:29. > :01:35.nominations under the category for best picture. There will be a
:01:35. > :01:43.minimum of five Norman -- nominees, and the maximum of 10. It will be
:01:43. > :01:49.up to the academy to decide which movies are worthy of the accolade.
:01:49. > :01:53.Let's talk to Jason. Building up to another exciting year and who would
:01:53. > :01:59.have thought a black and white film with no speaking would be storming
:01:59. > :02:05.ahead. That seems to be the rumour- mill? We are back to 1927 were a
:02:05. > :02:10.silent movie could get nominated, the last one to do so was wings. We
:02:10. > :02:17.don't know how many films will be nominated, is extraordinary. It
:02:17. > :02:21.used to be fired, then it was 10, they are tinkering with this. One
:02:21. > :02:25.thing we can be certain about is the artist will feature. I think it
:02:25. > :02:29.is the favourite and one of the most delightful Best Picture
:02:29. > :02:35.nominees we have had in years. It goes back to the old Hollywood. It
:02:35. > :02:41.is about all Hollywood, but also about a man and a woman crossing
:02:41. > :02:46.time. He is a man stuck in the silence era, and the woman in the
:02:46. > :02:56.talking era. The creator of the film, Jean Dujardin, have never
:02:56. > :02:58.
:02:58. > :03:04.heard have him. It was picked out by the Cannes Film Festival. Yes,
:03:04. > :03:09.this is a slow process, it is not an instant hit but I think people
:03:10. > :03:15.will be charmed when they see it. Another conventional choice,
:03:15. > :03:21.possibly with The Descendants? Everybody talking about a cracking
:03:21. > :03:27.performance by George Clooney. Alexander Payne has been nominated
:03:27. > :03:31.before for his film, sideways. He does these great crisis movies.
:03:31. > :03:35.George Clooney trying to become the man he should be because his wife
:03:35. > :03:40.is in a coma. He is not very good at it. Hollywood loves George
:03:40. > :03:44.Clooney and they have a nominated him a few times and I think he will
:03:44. > :03:50.be nominated today and go on to win for his performance in The
:03:50. > :03:55.Descendants, which is out in the UK. Best actress category. Does anyone
:03:55. > :04:00.need to turn up this year unless their name is Meryl Streep? If you
:04:00. > :04:06.are turning up, you will be just turning up for the party. No one
:04:06. > :04:11.will beat Meryl Streep in her performance as Margaret Thatcher.
:04:11. > :04:21.In America, she is not quite as popular as perhaps you would be
:04:21. > :04:25.
:04:25. > :04:30.here. Nevertheless, anyone can see it is a storming performance. She
:04:30. > :04:34.plays her old, she plays her young and in her mid- life pomp. It blows
:04:34. > :04:39.everything I have seen on the screen away. She thoroughly
:04:39. > :04:46.deserves the best actress recognition. We might see some
:04:46. > :04:53.British interest in till the Swinton? She has won supporting
:04:53. > :04:58.actress in Michael Clayton, with George Clooney. She is brilliant as
:04:58. > :05:01.among coming to terms with her child turning bad. I would like to
:05:01. > :05:08.see her nominated because she is brilliant on the red carpet. She is
:05:08. > :05:14.a real artist, it is about her look and legality. The British element,
:05:14. > :05:19.you always like to support the Brits on Oscar night. I am not so
:05:20. > :05:26.sure how successful we will be this year. The British film in the back
:05:26. > :05:34.does here is Tinker Tailor Solider Spy, a very stylish film. I love it.
:05:34. > :05:38.Gary Goldman is fantastic. A role played by Alec is -- Alec Guinness.
:05:38. > :05:44.A real ensemble cast. Will the Americans take to it? It is about
:05:44. > :05:49.the Cold War, a frostiness at the heart of British society. It is not
:05:49. > :05:55.a warm film like the artist. It has an Oscar favourite in there, Colin
:05:55. > :06:00.Firth, the current holder of the best actor accolade. He plays an
:06:00. > :06:04.important part. The Academy Award recognise that and said we like
:06:04. > :06:10.Colin Firth, let's go should this film in. I hope it is not left in
:06:10. > :06:16.the cold. And the film everyone is going to see, which is warhorse?
:06:16. > :06:22.Steven Spielberg, always an Academy favourite. Is this his best film? I
:06:22. > :06:32.am not so sure. Let's cross to Los Angeles now and our correspondent
:06:32. > :06:34.Peter Bowes. Who is announcing the nominations? Academy President, Tom
:06:34. > :06:42.Sherak and actress, Jennifer Lawrence, are taking to the stage
:06:42. > :06:46.to announce the nominations. They will read through the list of the
:06:46. > :06:52.nominees in the top 10 categories. The rest of the nominees will be
:06:52. > :07:02.announced by the Academy's online. Here they come any second. The
:07:02. > :07:11.
:07:11. > :07:16.great and the good of Hollywood Hello everybody. Good morning.
:07:16. > :07:21.Welcome to the Academy of motion picture, arts and sciences. I am
:07:21. > :07:25.President of the Academy. This morning we would share the news we
:07:25. > :07:30.have all been waiting for. I am happy to be joined by one of last
:07:30. > :07:39.year's Best actress nominees, Jennifer Laurence.
:07:39. > :07:49.APPLAUSE. Good morning. The 2011 nominees for
:07:49. > :07:50.
:07:50. > :08:00.best performance by an actress in a supporting role are: Jessica
:08:00. > :08:01.
:08:01. > :08:04.Chastelain. Mellissa McCarthy in bridesmaid. Janan Mathiot. Jennifer.
:08:04. > :08:14.For best performance by an actor in a supporting role, the nominees
:08:14. > :08:19.are: Kenneth Branagh in my week with Marilyn. Jonah Hill. Nick
:08:19. > :08:26.Knowles in warrior. Christopher Plummer in beginners. And Max von
:08:26. > :08:36.see down. For best performance by an actress in a leading role, the
:08:36. > :08:37.
:08:37. > :08:42.nominees are: Glenn Close. Viola Davies. The goal with the dragon
:08:42. > :08:45.tattooed. Meryl Streep. And Michelle Williams in my week with
:08:45. > :08:55.Marilyn. The nominees for best performance by an actor in a
:08:55. > :08:58.
:08:58. > :09:08.leading role are: Damian bash here. George Clooney. Jean Dujardin. Gary
:09:08. > :09:16.Goldman. Brad Pitt. For best achievement in directing
:09:16. > :09:26.the artist. Alexander Payne for The Descendants. Martin Scorsese. Woody
:09:26. > :09:36.Allen. And Terence Malik. For best original screenplay, the nominees
:09:36. > :09:36.
:09:36. > :10:31.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 55 seconds
:10:31. > :10:41.For best foreign language film we For best animated feature film, the
:10:41. > :11:03.
:11:03. > :11:13.Finally I am pleased to announce the films selected as Best Picture
:11:13. > :11:13.
:11:13. > :11:58.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 55 seconds
:11:58. > :12:08.Please join us of 26th February when we celebrate the magic of the
:12:08. > :12:14.
:12:14. > :12:18.Up the artist not surprisingly nominated, we don't find out
:12:18. > :12:24.immediately before Quito tolls we always like to know. It takes a few
:12:24. > :12:29.minutes to calculate. The big announcement in LA but they are not
:12:29. > :12:33.announcing all of them. By the time we come off air at the top of the
:12:33. > :12:38.hour we will know more. The artist coming through in best picture
:12:39. > :12:44.categories like Best actor and I think best supporting actress?
:12:44. > :12:47.only actors in the artist. They know Meryl Streep is so dominant,
:12:47. > :12:54.they have put her in as a supporting actress. It seems
:12:54. > :12:59.bizarre, but very pleased. It has been nominated for director and
:12:59. > :13:04.screenplay. I wouldn't be surprised if there was nominated for sound as
:13:04. > :13:09.well. I think it is the dominant film. We always get one that their
:13:09. > :13:12.murders, we always get one against the other, I wonder what will be up
:13:12. > :13:18.against it. I don't know, it looks like it will be The Descendants
:13:18. > :13:22.with George Clooney. And the Director nomination for Alexander
:13:22. > :13:28.Payne. But the artist will sweep all before us, I think. I am
:13:28. > :13:33.delighted with the acting categories. Kenneth Branagh has
:13:33. > :13:42.been sq -- nominate for his turn as Laurence Olivier. And Gary Oldman
:13:42. > :13:52.and. We'll talk about it more about that. Let's see little clip of the
:13:52. > :13:52.
:13:52. > :14:45.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 55 seconds
:14:45. > :14:49.Plenty more of that and plenty more of the dog. Sadly, not nominated. A
:14:49. > :14:53.little biased but it is gorgeous. If we talk about the best actor
:14:53. > :14:57.category, are we seeing a battle between George Clooney and Brad
:14:57. > :15:02.Pitt which seems a little unimaginative, doesn't it? Two big
:15:02. > :15:07.stars. People have got to watch this Oscar show. They are going to
:15:07. > :15:13.watch, the French silent film winning everything, so they really
:15:13. > :15:16.need to get people to watch it. How are you going to do that? Get it
:15:16. > :15:26.George Clooney and Brad Pitt. Thankfully they are both terrific.
:15:26. > :15:26.
:15:26. > :15:32.I love both of them in, George Clooney in The Descendants, and
:15:32. > :15:37.also in that film opposite when Gosling. I think it is his year as
:15:37. > :15:47.for his role in The Descendants. Brad Pitt, its money Bull, a
:15:47. > :15:47.
:15:47. > :15:51.baseball movie. Very American. -- Moneyball. He is great. It is about
:15:51. > :15:56.his relationship with his daughter, this failed athlete turned manager,
:15:56. > :16:01.how he gets his team going using statistics and tricks rather than
:16:01. > :16:06.using money. I thought it was a terrific film. But I am an Arsenal
:16:06. > :16:09.fan and it is all about taking on the might of the dollar. We berthed
:16:09. > :16:14.-- we both loved Tinker Tailor Solider Spy, have fantastic in a
:16:14. > :16:19.best actor category, seeing Gary Oldman. He has talked himself about
:16:19. > :16:25.how this film has been a resurgence of his career. A different career.
:16:25. > :16:31.He has made a career of playing villains, outsiders, it never been
:16:31. > :16:37.Oscar-nominated. Does these great big performances. Periods, finally
:16:37. > :16:42.doing a downbeat performance -- here he is. He is terrific. He has
:16:42. > :16:46.finally got his Oscar nomination, he has been around for years. He is
:16:46. > :16:50.royalty of acting. Wonderful to see him nominated alongside those
:16:51. > :16:56.people. Can he be there? I do not know. There is a lot of love for
:16:56. > :16:58.George Clooney. But it is a terrific piece of acting. The
:16:58. > :17:02.restraint he put in there, that takes the key for the full.
:17:02. > :17:10.Delighted to see it filled -- nominated for adapted screenplay as
:17:10. > :17:13.well. I'm really pleased it has not been shut out. Not nominated for
:17:13. > :17:20.best picture but delighted for Gary Oldman. He will get his big night
:17:20. > :17:26.as well. It puts him up there with the great actors. Exciting times.
:17:26. > :17:29.Best actress, another quick word, I hardly dare mention Meryl Streep's
:17:29. > :17:36.name again but she is there up against Michelle Williams. You have
:17:36. > :17:40.got to feel sorry for Michelle Williams. She hasn't even lost yet.
:17:40. > :17:44.I think Meryl Streep nails Margaret Thatcher, I did think Michelle
:17:44. > :17:49.Williams nails Marilyn Monroe. I think it is an impossible task but
:17:49. > :17:53.Meryl Streep gives a real human person and Michelle Williams is
:17:53. > :17:59.sort of an impression. We have got Glenn Close in there, don't forget,
:17:59. > :18:03.I have not seen a film but she has nursed this project, played it 30
:18:03. > :18:13.years ago and wanted to make it into a film. And then the young
:18:13. > :18:16.
:18:16. > :18:22.have surprised in a The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Rooney Mara. She
:18:22. > :18:27.will be delighted to be there. And then viola Davies, in a film I
:18:27. > :18:31.don't like a tall, The Help, but her performance is brilliant.
:18:31. > :18:34.Streep has been very dignified about the fact American was allowed
:18:34. > :18:39.to play Margaret Thatcher and she does it brilliantly -- a fact an
:18:39. > :18:49.American. The Right Honourable Gentleman knows very well that we
:18:49. > :18:53.have no choice but to close the school. Because... Disgrace!
:18:53. > :18:59.Because his union paymasters have called a strike deliberately to
:18:59. > :19:05.creep around the corner. Teachers cannot teach when there is no
:19:05. > :19:15.heating. No lighting in their classrooms, and I ask the Right
:19:15. > :19:15.
:19:15. > :19:23.Honourable gentleman whose fault is that? Methinks the Right Honourable
:19:23. > :19:33.Lady does screech too much. If she wants us to take her seriously she
:19:33. > :19:35.
:19:35. > :19:40.If he could attend more closely to what I'm saying, rather than how I
:19:40. > :19:48.am saying it, he may receive a valuable education in spite of
:19:48. > :19:54.himself. Meryl Streep. 12th nomination, I forget already.
:19:54. > :20:01.hasn't one that many. A long time since seat -- she actually won best
:20:01. > :20:04.actress. She doesn't win that often. She will this time. A thought about
:20:04. > :20:09.rather different films, a common complaint over the years anything a
:20:09. > :20:13.bit fluffier, may for Jordan, comedies, don't get taken seriously.
:20:13. > :20:18.-- made for children. Having waffles and the best picture is one
:20:18. > :20:27.way to try to deal with it. Interesting, bridesmaid has done
:20:27. > :20:35.relatively well. -- Bridesmaids. You also have to have popular films.
:20:35. > :20:39.No blockbusters in there. We are seeing films that are highbrow and
:20:39. > :20:49.then the Bob Alliss. One that has broken through his cat litter
:20:49. > :20:55.
:20:55. > :20:59.She is nominated and a couple of other nods. Screenplay. Great to
:20:59. > :21:05.see a comedy in there. Woody Allen's Midnight In Paris is in
:21:05. > :21:08.there, a gentle comedy. It does need brightening up. The Artist is
:21:09. > :21:13.lovely and a level that most of the time they have a stodgy, series
:21:13. > :21:21.films but not really properly series. Hollywood serious. --
:21:21. > :21:27.serious films. Felipe Vivancos has changed that and it makes the high
:21:27. > :21:33.jump. -- The Artist. A British entry with Kenneth Branagh.
:21:33. > :21:38.Christopher Plummer as well. Just fantastic in a lovely film.
:21:38. > :21:43.Beginners, a quirky film that really delightful. A striking
:21:43. > :21:49.performance and their one whisper it, he is establishment, has been
:21:49. > :21:52.around for a while -- and dare one whisper. He comes to terms with his
:21:52. > :21:56.sexuality in his eighties discovering he is gay and worked it
:21:56. > :22:01.out with the help of Ewan McGregor. A lovely performance. And he was in
:22:01. > :22:11.the sound of music. Ewan McGregor plays his son, that is the scene
:22:11. > :22:11.
:22:11. > :22:15.there. A really unusual for them. Will he get it? He is very popular,
:22:15. > :22:20.has been around a long time. Part of that generation of actors from
:22:20. > :22:30.Richard Harris and all that. He has been overlooked in that great
:22:30. > :22:34.
:22:34. > :22:43.barnstorming roles. McNulty, a grizzled, performance in warrior. -
:22:43. > :22:48.- Nick Nolte. Have you have got Kenneth Branagh, doing Laurence
:22:48. > :22:53.Olivier. It is a year for impressions. Kenneth Branagh is
:22:53. > :22:57.more than that, it is about cinema, what he does and it is good between
:22:57. > :23:01.theatre and cinema. Laurence Olivier being a bit snobbish about
:23:01. > :23:11.this new cinema thing. A brief thought about Gabor Gyepes, look at
:23:11. > :23:16.
:23:16. > :23:19.the British box office, it is storming through -- War Horse.
:23:19. > :23:26.thought it would be one of the front runners but we need a popular
:23:26. > :23:30.film. I liked it, I don't love it. It has got a horse in it and people
:23:30. > :23:35.love animal films. They love the sweeping romance. It is an anti-war
:23:35. > :23:43.movie. Spielberg is so popular it is great to see him, I am surprised
:23:43. > :23:47.Tintin didn't get nominated. Don't forget, Spielberg, Scorsese, Woody
:23:47. > :23:52.Allen, the old school are returning to the top of the tree.
:23:52. > :24:02.Let's remind people what is in the running for best picture. Quite a
:24:02. > :24:18.
:24:18. > :24:23.There are more than five this year. One of the ways they have tried to
:24:23. > :24:30.enlarge the category. We are missing if you there. The Help,
:24:30. > :24:34.Tree of Life, Hugo. Workstreams, a film I haven't seen but directed by
:24:34. > :24:37.the man who made Billy Elliott. -- Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.
:24:37. > :24:42.He has only ever made five films and they have all been nominated
:24:42. > :24:52.for best picture. He is called in to the Oscars. Let's see if we can
:24:52. > :25:03.