Skandies: #5

Picture: House of Pleasures (218/16)
Director: Asghar Farhadi, A Separation (178/17)
Actress: Tilda Swinton, We Need to Talk About Kevin (246/19)
Actor: Michael Fassbender, Shame (161/14)
S. Actor: John C. Reilly, Terri (178/13)
S. Actress: Sareh Bayat, A Separation (186/18)
Screenplay: Alexandru Baciu, Radu Muntean and Razvan Radulescu, Tuesday, After Christmas (102/13)
Scene: A dog, a truck, and a Good Friday procession, Le quattro volte (130/12)

HISTORY:

A Separation is Farhadi's first Skandie-eligible film.

Swinton, as Alex Fung correctly predicted on Twitter once it became clear that Winslet hadn't squeaked in for either Carnage or Contagion, becomes the solo most-honored actress in Skandie history, with 10 career appearances in the top 20. (Only Philip Seymour Hoffman, with a whopping 13, has more.) Here's the complete list:

1. Julia (2009)
4s. Michael Clayton (2007)
5. The Deep End (2001)
9s. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005)
11. I Am Love (2010)
12s. Burn After Reading (2008)
13s. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
18. Female Perversions (1997)
19s. Thumbsucker (2005)

Fassbender gets his fourth nod in the past three years; in addition to Hunger (see "nomination" post), he has two previous appearances in Supporting, at #14 (Inglourious Basterds, 2009) and #12 (Fish Tank, 2010). Reilly, in addition to his previous "nomination," has placed at #8s (Boogie Nights, 1997), #20s (Chicago, 2002), and #15s (Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, 2006). Bayat is new, as are the three Romanians.

Skandies: The "nominees"

Not all that much suspense about who/what remains, so let's answer potential questions about near-misses and no-chances here, as well as give the top picks a little additional airtime. (Sorry it's all text, incidentally—I have virtually no HTML skills and invariably mangle any attempt to combine words and images, except in the most basic just-one-image-up-at-the-top kind of way.)

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Best Picture

• Certified Copy
• House of Pleasures
• Margaret
• A Separation
• The Tree of Life

Overlap with Oscar nominees: The Tree of Life.
Just missed: The Sleeping Beauty (#21—this is the second consecutive year, following Bluebeard, that Breillat has finished in this spot), Weekend (#22), 13 Assassins (#23), War Horse (#24), The Future (#25)
Not so much: The Descendants (#26), The Artist (#30), Midnight in Paris (#57), Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (#73), The Help (no votes).

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Best Director

• Bertrand Bonello, House of Pleasures
• Asghar Farhadi, A Separation
• Abbas Kiarostami, Certified Copy
• Terrence Malick, The Tree of Life
• Nicolas Winding Refn, Drive

Previous "nominations": Only Malick, who is 3-for-3; he placed 4th for The Thin Red Line in 1998 and won for The New World in 2005.
Overlap with Oscar nominees: Malick.
Just missed: Julia Leigh, Sleeping Beauty (#21); Alexander Payne, The Descendants (#22); Catherine Breillat, The Sleeping Beauty (tie for #23); Bennett Miller, Moneyball (tie for #23); Steven Spielberg, War Horse (tie for #23).
Not so much: Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist (#36); Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris (no votes).

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Best Actress

• Juliette Binoche, Certified Copy
• Kirsten Dunst, Melancholia
• Elizabeth Olsen, Martha Marcy May Marlene
• Anna Paquin, Margaret
• Tilda Swinton, We Need to Talk About Kevin

Previous "nominations": Swinton ties the all-time record with four appearances in the top five (shared with Cate Blanchett, Nicolas Cage, Nicole Kidman, Meryl Streep, and Billy Bob Thornton). She previously placed 5th for The Deep End (2001) and 4th in Supporting for Michael Clayton (2007), and won Best Actress two years ago for Julia. Binoche has one previous "nom," for Flight of the Red Balloon (#5, 2008).
Overlap with Oscar nominees: None.
Just missed: Kseniya Rappoport, The Double Hour (#21); Joyce McKinney, Tabloid (#22); Kate Lyn Sheil, Silver Bullets (#23); Jessica Chastain, The Debt (#24); Felicity Jones, Like Crazy (#25).
Not so much: Viola Davis, The Help (#27); Michelle Williams, My Week With Marilyn (#36); Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs (no votes).

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Best Actor

• Michael Fassbender, Shame
• Ryan Gosling, Drive
• Peyman Moadi, A Separation
• Brad Pitt, Moneyball
• Michael Shannon, Take Shelter

Previous "nominations": Everyone but Moadi has been here before. Pitt also ties the all-time record (see below)— he was one of the Oscar-style Supporting Actor nominees in 1995 (the survey's inaugural year, featuring different rules), for Twelve Monkeys, and placed 2nd in Supporting for Burn After Reading (2008). Gosling won Best Actor in 2006 for Half Nelson. Fassbender placed 5th for Hunger two years ago. And Shannon placed 4th in Supporting for Revolutionary Road (2008).
Overlap with Oscar nominees: Pitt.
Just missed: Yvan Attal, Rapt (#21); John Boyega, Attack the Block (#22); Grigory Dobrygin, How I Ended This Summer (tie for #23); Jacob Wysocki, Terri (tie for #23); William Shimell, Certified Copy (#25).
Not so much: Demián Bichir, A Better Life (no votes).

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Best Supporting Actor

• Albert Brooks, Drive
• Shahab Hosseini, A Separation
• Brad Pitt, The Tree of Life
• Christopher Plummer, Beginners
• John C. Reilly, Terri

Previous "nominations": As mentioned above, Pitt, with two "nominations" this year, ties the all-time record of four; see Best Actor for details. The only other repeat is Reilly, who placed 2nd in Supporting in 1999 for Magnolia (exactly tied with Tom Cruise for the same film).
Overlap with Oscar nominees: Plummer.
Just missed: Sacha Baron Cohen, Hugo (tie for #21); Ben Kingsley, Hugo (tie for #21); Kieran Culkin, Margaret (#23); Jeremy Irons, Margin Call (#24); Gorô Inagaki, 13 Assassins (#25).
Not so much: Max von Sydow, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (#108); Kenneth Branagh, My Week With Marilyn (no votes).

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Best Supporting Actress

• Sareh Bayat, A Separation
• Jeannie Berlin, Margaret
• Elle Fanning, Super 8
• Mirela Oprisor, Tuesday, After Christmas
• J. Smith-Cameron, Margaret

Previous "nominations": Nobody
Overlap with Oscar nominees: None.
Just missed: Juno Temple, Kaboom (#21); Christine Bottomley, The Arbor (#22); Olivia Crocicchia, Terri (tie for #23); Sarah Paulson, Martha Marcy May Marlene (tie for #23); Jessica Chastain, The Help (#25).
Not so much: Octavia Spencer, The Help (#28); Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs (no votes).

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Best Screenplay

• Alexandru Baciu, Radu Muntean and Razvan Radulescu, Tuesday, After Christmas
• Asghar Farhadi, A Separation
• Abbas Kiarostami, Certified Copy
• Kenneth Lonergan, Margaret
• Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin, Moneyball

Previous "nominations": Two former winners in this category: Lonergan (You Can Count on Me, 2000) and Sorkin (last year for The Social Network).
Overlap with Oscar nominees: Farhadi, Zaillian + Sorkin.
Just missed: Xavier Beauvois and Etienne Comar, Of Gods & Men (#21); Scott Z. Burns, Contagion (#22); Diablo Cody, Young Adult (#23); Joe Cornish, Attack the Block (#24); John Michael McDonagh, The Guard (#25).
Not so much: Bridget O'Connor & Peter Straughan, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (#26); Kristen Wiig & Annie Mumolo, Bridesmaids (#31); Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris (tie for #35); John Logan, Hugo (tie for #35); George Clooney & Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon, The Ides of March (#75); Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist (no votes).

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Best Scene

Nah, I gotta save something as a surprise.

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Skandies: #6

Picture: Drive (196/18)
Director: Lars von Trier, Melancholia (173/16)
Actress: Yun Jeong-hie, Poetry (144/15)
Actor: Hunter McCracken, The Tree of Life (131/12)
S. Actor: Andy Serkis, Rise of the Planet of the Apes (141/13)
S. Actress: Charlotte Gainsbourg, Melancholia (175/19)
Screenplay: Hossein Amini, Drive (92/11)
Scene: The accident, Margaret (122/12)

Same deal as before: Password is the name of Monica's daughter. Absence of sound editing (and a special effect, I believe) is much more glaring here.

HISTORY:

Von Trier is the only two-time Skandie winner in Director in the running this year (OR IS HE...?), for Breaking the Waves (1997) and Dogville (2004). He also previously placed 16th in 2000 for Dancer in the Dark and 12th two years ago for Antichrist.

Serkis just missed his second mo-cap "nomination," having placed 5th in 2002 for The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. Gainsbourg gets her fourth nod in the past six years, following appearances at #14s (The Science of Sleep, 2006), #9s (I'm Not There, 2007), and #2 (Antichrist, 2009). Yun and McCracken are new.

Amini placed 8th in the long-defunct Adapted Screenplay category for Jude (1996), as well as 14th for The Wings of the Dove (1997).

Check back around oh let's say 4pm Eastern for the lists of "nominees."

Skandies: #7

Picture: Melancholia (148/15)
Director: Kenneth Lonergan, Margaret (142/14)
Actress: Leila Hatami, A Separation (129/15)
Actor: Jean Dujardin, The Artist (114/10)
S. Actor: Viggo Mortensen, A Dangerous Method (124/13)
S. Actress: Jessica Chastain, Take Shelter (175/15)
Screenplay: Sean Durkin, Martha Marcy May Marlene (81/11)
Scene: "Vltava," The Tree of Life (99/7)

HISTORY:

Lonergan placed 11th in 2000 for You Can Count on Me.

Hatami makes her first appearance since placing 15th for Leila in 1999. Mortensen has two previous nods in the lead category, both in Cronenberg films, at #2 (A History of Violence, 2005) and #5 (Eastern Promises, 2007). Chastain made her Skandies debut yesterday. (I would have bet considerable money against her not being one of the "nominees" this year, and lost. But then, I voted for her performance in The Debt rather than either of those that placed.) Dujardin is new, and, again, so is Durkin, this being his feature debut.

Skandies: #8

Picture: Meek's Cutoff (137/14)
Director: Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (134/17)
Actress: Michelle Williams, Meek's Cutoff (129/15) [tie for #7]
Actor: Mimi Branescu, Tuesday, After Christmas (105/12)
S. Actor: Chris New, Weekend (121/10)
S. Actress: Jessica Chastain, The Tree of Life (133/12)
Screenplay: Lars von Trier, Melancholia (78/8)
Scene: Dueling Michael Caines, The Trip (88/10)

HISTORY:

Joe previously placed 14th for Blissfully Yours (2004), 5th for Tropical Malady (2005), and 8th again for Syndromes and a Century (2007).

Williams makes her fifth appearance; her previous nods in the lead category were for Wendy and Lucy (#4, 2008) and Blue Valentine (#9, 2010), while she also placed 2nd and 14th in Supporting for Brokeback Mountain (2005) and Shutter Island (2010), respectively. Branescu and Chastain are new, and New doubly so.

Von Trier's screenplays for Breaking the Waves (#6, 1996), Dogville (#3, 2004), Manderlay (#18, 2006), The Boss of It All (#19, 2007) were all well received. Not so much The Idiots, Dancer in the Dark (despite the film itself finishing 10th) or Antichrist.

Skandies: #9

Picture: Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (129/15)
Director: Kelly Reichardt, Meek's Cutoff (133/11)
Actress: Ellen Barkin, Shit Year (123/10)
Actor: George Clooney, The Descendants (92/9)
S. Actor: Bruce Greenwood, Meek's Cutoff (117/12)
S. Actress: Alice Barnole, House of Pleasures (124/11)
Screenplay: Bertrand Bonello, House of Pleasures (78/7)
Scene: Creation montage, The Tree of Life (85/8)

First half already on YouTube? Close enough.

HISTORY:

Reichardt finished 14th in 2006 for Old Joy.

Clooney makes his seventh appearance in the top 20, having previously placed 15th for Out of Sight (1998), 5th for O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000), 8th for Intolerable Cruelty (2003), 10th for Michael Clayton (2007), 18th (in Supporting) for Burn After Reading (2008), and 13th for Up in the Air (2009). (We didn't love his Oscar-winning performance in Syriana, however.) Greenwood has two prior Supporting nods, at #3 (The Sweet Hereafter, 1997) and #10 (Thirteen Days, 2000). The women are new.

House of Pleasures is Bonello's first Skandie-eligible film.

Skandies: #10

One-sheet changed by popular demand. Though I don't like this one either.

Picture: Martha Marcy May Marlene (104/12)
Director: Sean Durkin, Martha Marcy May Marlene (107/11)
Actress: Kristen Wiig, Bridesmaids (118/14)
Actor: Woody Harrelson, Rampart (89/8)
S. Actor: John Hawkes, Martha Marcy May Marlene (105/11)
S. Actress: Vanessa Redgrave, Coriolanus (110/8)
Screenplay: Mike Mills, Beginners (65/7)
Scene: Opening getaway, Drive (77/7)

(The sound kicks in after about 10 seconds.)

HISTORY:

Martha Marcy May Marlene is Durkin's first feature.

Harrelson makes his first appearance since placing 6th for The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996). Hawkes won Supporting Actor just last year for Winter's Bone. Wiig and the mighty Redgrave are new.

Mills' screenplay for Thumbsucker somehow placed 19th in 2005.