The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced today the seven films that have been shortlisted and still have a shot for the Oscar for best visual effects.

“Australia”
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“The Dark Knight”
“Hellboy II: The Golden Army”
“Iron Man”
“Journey to the Center of the Earth”
“The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor”

And of course, the one movie that every effects house in town worked on was left off the list, probably because it was too silly and its colors were too bright and it’s edits were too fast. I didn’t expect “Speed Racer” to get any other nods, but considering that the VFX artists basically became virtual cinematographers, this is soooooooo damned lame. To read more about why this is so wrong, read my SIGGRAPH 2008 blog from L.A., written after a panel featuring talented artists from BUF, Digital Domain, Sony Pictures Imageworks, and Industrial Light & Magic.

Also, “Mummy” and “Australia” over “Cloverfield”? Sad and wrong.

Tags: 2008, 2009, academy awards, oscar, snub, Speed Racer, visual effects

The 66th Annual Golden Globes Awards nominees were just announced this morning.

Thanks to the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, it looks like Sam Mendes’ “Revolutionary Road” is back in business, as is “Benjamin Button.” As much love as they gave to “Button,” though, they left out perennial Golden Globe favorite Cate Blanchett. “Milk,” which swept the NY Film Critics poll, only gets one nod, for Sean Penn? “The Dark Knight” gets only one nomination, and it’s for Heath Ledger? Tom Cruise gets one for his over-the-top studio boss in “Tropic Thunder”! Kate Winslet and Meryl Streep have two each, and James Franco gets one for “Pineapple Express” but not “Milk”? Brad Pitt’s nomination for Best Actor for “Button” has to be a surprise. He’s gotten no attention in that category before now, and that spot will surely go to someone else at the Oscars. (Perhaps Richard Jenkins in “The Visitor”?) I think they should have nominated Pitt instead for his comedic role in “Burn After Reading.” Ralph Fiennes snuck in the Best Supporting category for “The Duchess.” And it looks like the Lifetime Achievement Award will go to someone named Steven Spielberg. Here is a running tally of all the awards and nominations so far leading up to the Oscars in February.

Here’s the Golden Globes list:

MOTION PICTURE CATEGORIES

BEST MOTION PICTURE, DRAMA
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“Frost/Nixon”
“The Reader”
“Revolutionary Road”
“Slumdog Millionaire”

BEST MOTION PICTURE, MUSICAL OR COMEDY
“Burn After Reading”
“Happy-Go-Lucky”
“In Bruges”
“Mamma Mia!”
“Vicky Christina Barcelona”

BEST DIRECTOR
Danny Boyle, “Slumdog Millionaire”
Stephen Daldry, “The Reader”
David Fincher, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
Ron Howard, “Frost/Nixon”
Sam Mendes, “Revolutionary Road”

BEST DRAMATIC ACTOR
Leonardo DiCaprio, “Revolutionary Road”
Frank Langella, “Frost/Nixon”
Sean Penn, “Milk”
Brad Pitt, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
Mickey Rourke, “The Wrestler”

BEST DRAMATIC ACTRESS
Anne Hathaway, “Rachel Getting Married”
Angelina Jolie, “Changeling”
Meryl Streep, “Doubt”
Kristin Scott Thomas, “I’ve Loved You So Long”
Kate Winslet, “Revolutionary Road”

BEST ACTOR, COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Javier Bardem, “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”
Colin Farrell, “In Bruges”
James Franco, “Pineapple Express”
Brendan Gleeson, “In Bruges”
Dustin Hoffman, “Last Chance Harvey”

BEST ACTRESS, COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Rebecca Hall, “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”
Sally Hawkins, “Happy-Go-Lucky”
Frances McDormand, “Burn After Reading”
Meryl Streep, “Mamma Mia!”
Emma Thompson, “Last Chance Harvey”

SUPPORTING ACTOR
Tom Cruise, “Tropic Thunder”
Robert Downey, Jr., “Tropic Thunder”
Ralph Fiennes, “The Duchess”
Philip Seymour Hoffman, “Doubt”
Heath Ledger, “The Dark Knight”

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams, “Doubt”
Penelope Cruz, “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”
Viola Davis, “Doubt”
Marisa Tomei, “The Wrestler”
Kate Winslet, “The Reader”

ANIMATED FILM
“Bolt”
“Kung Fu Panda”
“Wall-E”

FOREIGN LANGUAGE PICTURE
“Baader Meinhof Complex”
“Everlasting Moments”
“Gomorrah”
“I’ve Loved You So Long”
“Waltz With Bashir”

SCREENPLAY
Simon Beaufoy, “Slumdog Millionaire”
David Hare, “The Reader”
Peter Morgan, “Frost/Nixon”
Eric Roth, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
John Patrick Shanley, “Doubt”

ORIGINAL SCORE
Alexandre Desplat, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
Clint Eastwood, “Changeling”
James Newton Howard, “Defiance”
Hans Zimmer, “Frost/Nixon”
A.R. Rahman, “Slumdog Millionaire”

SONG
“Down to Earth” (performed by Peter Gabriel, written by Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman), “Wall-E”
“Gran Torino” (performed by Clint Eastwood), “Gran Torino”
“I Thought I Lost You” (performed Miley Cyrus and John Travolta, written by Miley Cyrus and Jeffrey Steele), “Bolt”
“Once in a Lifetime,” (performed by Beyonce), “Cadillac Records”
“The Wrestler” (performed by Bruce Springsteen, written by Bruce Springsteen), “The Wrestler”

CECIL B. DEMILLE LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Steven Spielberg

TELEVISION CATEGORIES

DRAMATIC TV SERIES
“Dexter”
“House M.D.”
“In Treatment”
“Mad Men”
“True Blood”

BEST ACTOR, TV DRAMA
Gabriel Byrne, “In Treatment”
Michael C. Hall, “Dexter”
Jon Hamm, “Mad Men”
Hugh Laurie, “House M.D.”
Jonathan Rhys Meyers, “The Tudors”

BEST ACTRESS, TV DRAMA
Sally Field, “Brothers & Sisters”
Mariska Hargitay, “Law & Order: SVU”
January Jones, “Mad Men”
Anna Paquin, “True Blood”
Kyra Sedgwick, “The Closer”

TV SERIES, MUSICAL OR COMEDY
“Californication”
“Entourage”
“The Office”
“30 Rock”
“Weeds”

BEST ACTOR, TV MUSICAL OR COMEDY
Alec Baldwin, “30 Rock”
Steve Carell, “The Office”
Kevin Connolly, “Entourage”
David Duchovny, “Californication”
Tony Shalhoub, “Monk”

BEST ACTRESS, TV MUSICAL OR COMEDY
Christina Applegate, “Samantha Who?”
America Ferrera, “Ugly Betty”
Tina Fey, “30 Rock”
Debra Messing, “The Starter Wife”
Mary-Louise Parker, “Weeds”

BEST MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
“Cranford”
“Bernard & Doris”
“John Adams”
“A Raisin in the Sun”
“Recount”

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MINISERIES OR A MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Judi Dench, “Cranford”
Laura Linney, “John Adams”
Catherine Keener, “An American Crime”
Shirley MacLaine, “Coco Chanel”
Susan Sarandon, “Bernard & Doris”

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MINISERIES OR A MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Ralph Fiennes, “Bernard and Doris”
Paul Giammatti, “John Adams”
Kevin Spacey, “Recount”
Keifer Sutherland, “24: Redemption”
Tom Wilkinson, “Recount”

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINISERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Eileen Atkins, “Cranford” Laura Dern, “Recount”
Melissa George, “In Treatment”
Rachel Griffiths, “Brothers & Sisters”
Dianne Wiest, “In Treatment”

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINISERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Neil Patrick Harris, “How I Met Your Mother”
Denis Leary, “Recount”
Jeremy Piven, “Entourage”
Blair Underwood, “In Treatment”
Tom Wilkinson, “John Adams”

Tags: 2008, 2009, 66th, announced, annual, Globe, Golden, nominees, poll, snub