Five months flies when you're having fun, and that's precisely what I was doing following the long awards-season trail all the way to this weekend's Oscars ceremony. And I have 20+ weeks of Movieline's Oscar Index to prove it -- now comprehensively compiled in one central location and animated (crudely, but still) for your reflective pleasure.
Starting last September from the point of view that "Oscarology has never quite been what anyone would call an exact science," Movieline tracked awards commentary, festival acclaim, critics and guild prizes, box office, crazy campaign stunts, brilliant behind -the-scenes maneuvers and general word of mouth to "chart the progress of this week's projected nominees as their profiles rise, fall, and/or are overtaken around the zeitgeist."
The Index strove for something close to objective empiricism in a notoriously silly, subjective and hyperbolic field, and to the extent it achieved that, it had a tendency to move fast. New readers often wondered where past contenders disappeared to, and if/how they were really competitive in the first place. I eventually found myself wondering the same thing, so here you go: all 23 weeks of the inaugural Oscar Index organized by category, followed by the week-to-week archives from which the charts were drawn.
As far as I'm concerned, this is the story of the 2010-11 race. It looks like just one story, I guess, but everyone who's everyone in this beloved Oscar racket will hear their voice in there somewhere. I appreciate them all for their diligence and perspective, and I appreciate you for checking it out regularly. I hope we get to do it again next year!
BEST PICTURE
The Nominees: 127 Hours, Black Swan, The Fighter, Inception, The Kids Are All Right, The King's Speech, The Social Network, Toy Story 3, True Grit, Winter's Bone
The Also-Rans: For Colored Girls, The Town
BEST DIRECTOR
The Nominees: Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan; Joel and Ethan Coen, True Grit; David Fincher, The Social Network; Tom Hooper, The King's Speech; David O. Russell, The Fighter
The Also-Rans: Danny Boyle, 127 Hours; Christopher Nolan, Inception; Peter Weir, The Way Back
BEST ACTRESS
The Nominees: Annette Bening, The Kids Are All Right; Nicole Kidman, Rabbit Hole; Jennifer Lawrence, Winter's Bone; Natalie Portman, Black Swan; Michelle Williams, Blue Valentine
The Also-Rans: Anne Hathaway, Love and Other Drugs; Sally Hawkins, Made in Dagenham; Diane Lane, Secretariat; Lesley Manville, Another Year; Julianne Moore, The Kids Are All Right; Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit
BEST ACTOR
The Nominees: Javier Bardem, Biutiful; Jeff Bridges, True Grit; Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network; Colin Firth, The King's Speech; James Franco, 127 Hours
Also-Rans: Robert Duvall, Get Low; Ryan Gosling, Blue Valentine; Mark Wahlberg, The Fighter
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
The Nominees: Amy Adams, The Fighter; Helena Bonham Carter, The King's Speech; Melissa Leo, The Fighter; Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit; Jacki Weaver, Animal Kingdom
Also-Rans: Rebecca Hall, The Town; Barbara Hershey, Black Swan; Mila Kunis, Black Swan; Julianne Moore, The Kids Are All Right; Miranda Richardson, Made in Dagenham; Dianne Wiest, Rabbit Hole
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
The Nominees: Christian Bale, The Fighter; John Hawkes, Winter's Bone; Jeremy Renner, The Town; Geoffrey Rush, The King's Speech; Mark Ruffalo, The Kids Are All Right
Also-Rans: Matt Damon, True Grit; Michael Douglas, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps; Andrew Garfield, The Social Network; Armie Hammer, The Social Network; Ed Harris, The Way Back; Richard Jenkins, Eat Pray Love; Sam Rockwell, Conviction; Justin Timberlake, The Social Network
ARCHIVES
Sept. 22: Introducing Movieline's Oscar Index, Your Weekly Fool-Proof, Awards-Race Breakdown
Sept. 29: Social Network, True Grit Surge in Movieline's Oscar Index
Oct. 6: Coen Brothers, Tyler Perry (!) Make Early Strides in Awards Race
Oct. 13: Will Blue Valentine Ride Its NC-17 Back to Awards Contention?
Oct. 20: Fighter, Michael Douglas Punch Back in Latest Edition of Oscar Index
Oct. 27: Is This the Year of Christian Bale, 'Chowderhead Vérité'?
Nov. 3: Inception, Toy Story 3 Jump in Latest Oscar Index
Nov. 10: Watch Out, Here Comes The Fighter
Nov. 17: Black Swan Natalie Portman Breaks Away From the Flock
Nov. 24: King's Speech Will Be Heard; Jacki Weaver in Peril?
Dec. 1: Does True Grit Have the Horses For Oscar Season?
Dec. 8: Social Network, King's Speech Commence Steel Cage Death Match
Dec. 15: Now With 100% Less Burlesque!
Dec. 22: When SAG Things Happen to Good Actors
Dec. 29: Inception, 'Steak Eaters' on the Move
Jan. 5: Does America Want True Grit to Win Best Picture?
Jan. 12: Fighter, Toy Story 3 Among This Week's Best Picture Bruisers
Jan. 19: And the Nominees Are...*
Jan. 26: Social Network, King's Speech Resume Steel-Cage Death Match
Feb. 2: OK, Everyone, Just Freaking Calm Down About The King's Speech
Feb. 9: Get Ready For the Upset of the Century!
Feb. 16: Ladyfight!
Feb. 23: It's All Over But the Crying