Today, on Good Morning America, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the nominations of the 81st Annual Academy Awards. And while Disney did not have any nominees for Best Picture, in fact I have seen none of the films nominated, Disney did score 14 nominations as listed below:
Performance by an actor in a supporting role – Philip Seymour Hoffman in Doubt (Miramax)
Performance by an actress in a leading role – Meryl Streep in Doubt (Miramax)
Performance by an actress in a supporting role – Amy Adams in Doubt (Miramax)
Performance by an actress in a supporting role – Viola Davis, in Doubt (Miramax)
Best animated feature film of the year – WALL·E (Walt Disney), Andrew Stanton
Best animated feature film of the year – Bolt (Walt Disney), Chris Williams and Byron Howard
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score) – WALL·E (Walt Disney), Thomas Newman
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song) – "Down to Earth" from WALL·E (Walt Disney), Music by Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman, Lyric by Peter Gabriel
Best animated short film – Presto (Walt Disney) A Pixar Animation Studios Production, Doug Sweetland
Achievement in sound editing – WALL·E (Walt Disney), Ben Burtt and Matthew Wood
Achievement in sound mixing – WALL·E (Walt Disney),Tom Myers, Michael Semanick and Ben Burtt
Adapted screenplay – Doubt (Miramax), Written by John Patrick Shanley
Original screenplay – WALL·E (Walt Disney), Screenplay by Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon, Original story by Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter
Original screenplay – Happy-Go-Lucky (Miramax), Written by Mike Leigh
Of course of equal importance is that Disney beat The Weinstein Company, which only garnered 6 nominations. Not that I am vindictive or anything. Best of luck to all of Disney’s nominees. I will be cheering you on while I watch the telecast on ABC.
Quick Takes:
Parks and Resorts: Hong Kong Disneyland is celebrating being named “The Most Influential Theme Park” in China by an association of Chinese media, branding, and technology groups. My only question is, did they have much competiton? Isn’t this kind of like being named “The Most Influential Theme Park in Anaheim”
Disney Interactive Media: Disney.com is showcasing clips of Disney’s Oscar nominated films, which of course are Wall-E and Bolt. Disney did limit themselves to their Disney-branded nominated films, which was probably a good idea. I don’t know how streaming clips of Miramax’s “Doubt” might go over. But then again, there is only one way to find out…
Consumer Products: ESPN and Mattel have announced a line of X Games toys. This might be the best X Games brand extension since the X Games Xperience at DCA. How could it fail?
Media Networks: ABC Media Group announced they will be coming ABC Studios and ABC Entertainment in to the new ABC Entertainment Group which is under the wing of ABC’s Steve McPherson. The idea is to “streamline the creative process” and is expected to not result in any immediate layoffs. Streamlining without layoffs just doesn’t sound like a good idea. Not that I want folks to lose their jobs, but since ABC is the most challenged of Disney’s businesses, it might not be a bad idea to trim a little pork.
Who is Celebrating: January 22 is Balthazar Getty’s, from ABC’s “Brothers & Sisters” 34 birthday.
Video of the Day: The Hannah Montana movie trailer is now online. I can’t wait. You get to see a TV character you love and have the fun of going to the movies. It’s like getting the best of both worlds.
News from Around the Web:
ABC News: Today Meryl Streep broke her own record with her 15th acting nomination for her performance in Miramax’s “Doubt”. Of course we all know the person who has won more Oscars than anyone else with 26 awards.
NY Times: The New York Times reports on Gustavo Dudamel’s first season as the leader of the Los Angeles Philharmonic which performs at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in L.A. Of course, when I look for news on the LA Philharmonic, I turn to the NY Times.
USA Today: USA Today reports on the deep freeze that is chilling Florida. Three nights of below freezing temperatures that result in the closure of Blizzard Beach and the cancelation of Spirit of Aloha shows are putting the chill on my Disney vacations. I wonder if they make a celebration button for frost bite.
LA Times: The LA Times, in an opinion piece, suggests that President Obama should be like President Reagan. Sadly, this will not be possible. As we all know, The Great Communicator began his path to the White House by hosting the opening of Disneyland. As far as I know, our new President hasn’t even appeared on Disney Inside Out. Of course, I guess he could always host a Disney Parks You Tube video on his instillation at the Hall of Presidents.
Orlando Sentinel: Universal Orlando laid off 70 employees as a response to the tough economic times. The weird thing is that 70 also happened to be the number of Guests that were in the park last time I went to Universal Studios. I guess I see the problem.
Variety: Apple reported record profit from record sales of iPods and of content on iTunes. Of course the big question is the health of Steve Jobs, who did not participate in the earnings conference call. Disney’s largest shareholder took a leave of absence from Apple through June. This brought questions about whether he should remain as a Director on Disney’s board. If Disney can have the success Apple had last quarter, I say yes.