You can be forgiven for having ignored The Golden Satellites despite your best efforts to keep track of the staggering number of Oscar "precursors." The group, dubbing themselves the International Press Academy, tends to make even loonier choices than the Golden Globes, and if they weren't the first American-centric group to release their nominees, probably wouldn't get more attention anyway.
But it's November 30 and a major Oscar contender hasn't opened in weeks, so here we are, discussing the Golden Satellite nominees. Their choices are out there to say the least-- tiny indie The Stoning of Soraya M. earned a Best Drama nomination alongside bigger stuff like Precious and An Education, Katherine Heigl boasts a nomination for Best Actress in a Comedy/Musical thanks to Ugly Truth, Emily Blunt's performance in Sunshine Cleaning is right there next to Oscar frontrunner Mo'nique in Supporting Actress, and, whoah-- Neill Blomkamp scores a directing nod for District 9, beating out the likes of Clint Eastwood, James Cameron, Jason Reitman and the Coen Brothers, all of whom are infinitely more likely to show up in this category come Oscar time.
So yeah, anyone trying to tell you that these awards have any reflection upon the Academy Awards whatsoever is probably also trying to sell you a bridge in Brooklyn. But as a chance to take a very odd look over the past year in cinema, the Golden Satellite nominees are tough to beat. Check out the full list of nominees below (thanks, Movieline).
Motion Picture, Drama
The Hurt Locker
Bright Star
An Education
The Messenger
Precious
The Stoning of Soraya M.
Motion Picture, Comedy/Musical
Julie & Julia
The Informant!
A Serious Man
It’s Complicated
Up in the Air
Nine
Actress, Drama
Emily Blunt, The Young Victoria
Abbie Cornish, Bright Star
Carey Mulligan, An Education
Shohreh Aghdashloo, The Stoning of Soraya M.
Catalina Saavedra, The Maid
Penélope Cruz, Broken Embraces
Actor, Drama
Johnny Depp, Public Enemies
Hugh Dancy, Adam
Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker
Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart
Michael Sheen, The Damned United
Colin Firth, A Single Man
Actress, Comedy/Musical
Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia
Zooey Deschanel, (500) Days of Summer
Katherine Heigl, The Ugly Truth
Sandra Bullock, The Proposal
Marion Cotillard, Nine
Actor, Comedy/Musical
Daniel Day-Lewis, Nine
Bradley Cooper, The Hangover
Matt Damon, The Informant!
Michael Stuhlbarg, A Serious Man
George Clooney, Up in the Air
Supporting Actress
Emily Blunt, Sunshine Cleaning
Mozhan Marno, The Stoning of Soraya M.
Mo’Nique, Precious
Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air
Penélope Cruz, Nine
Supporting Actor
Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds
Alfred Molina, An Education
Woody Harrelson, The Messenger
James McAvoy, The Last Station
Timothy Spall, The Damned United
Director
Neill Blonkamp, District 9
Rob Marshall, Nine
Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
Lee Daniels, Precious
Jane Campion, Bright Star
Lone Scherfig, An Education
Original Screenplay
Jane Campion, Bright Star
Mark Boal, The Hurt Locker
Bob Peterson & Pete Docter, Up
Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber, (500) Days of Summer
Joel Coen & Ethan Coen, A Serious Man
Adapted Screenplay
Nora Ephron, Julie & Julia
Nick Hornby, An Education
Geoffrey Fletcher, Precious
Neill Blonkamp & Terri Tatchell, District 9
Jason Reitman & Sheldon Turner, Up in the Air
Foreign Language Film
Red Cliff
The Maid
The White Ribbon
Broken Embraces
I Killed My Mother
Winter in Wartime
Animated or Mixed Media Film
Up
Where the Wild Things Are
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
The Princess and the Frog
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs
Documentary
Every Little Step
The Cove
It Might Get Loud
The September Issue
The Beaches of Agnes
Valentino: The Last Emperor
Score
Elliot Goldenthal, Public Enemies
Rolfe Kent, Up in the Air
Michael Giacchino, Up
Carter Burwell & Karen O, Where the Wild Things Are
Marvin Hamlisch, The Informant!
Gabriel Yared, Amelia
Song
“Almost There,” Randy Newman, The Princess and the Frog
“I Can See In Color,” Mary J. Blige, Precious
“Down in New Orleans,” Randy Newman, The Princess and the Frog
“Cinema Italiano,” Maury Yeston, Nine
“The Weary Kind,” Ryan Bingham & T-Bone Burnett, Crazy Heart
“We Are the Children of the World,” Terry Gilliam, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Cinematography
Nine
Public Enemies
It Might Get Loud
Red Cliff
A Serious Man
Inglourious Basterds
Visual Effects
Transformers: Rise of the Fallen
Red Cliff
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Fantastic Mr. Fox
District 9
2012
Editing
It Might Get Loud
Red Cliff
District 9
2012
The Hurt Locker
Nine
Sound
Terminator: Salvation
Transformers: Rise of the Fallen
It Might Get Loud
Red Cliff
2012
Nine
Art Direction
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Public Enemies
Red Cliff
The Road
2012
A Single Man
Costume Design
Red Cliff
Cheri
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
The Young Victoria
Nine
