CAPTAIN AMERICA And X-MEN: FIRST CLASS Make Oscar VFX Short List; THOR Snubbed

The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences has reached a decision on the ten films they'll have to narrow down to five for the visual effects Oscar nomination, but shockingly THOR hasn't made the cut!

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By Josh Wilding - 1/4/2012

When the lengthy list of candidates for the visual effects Oscar was released last month, Green Lantern was noted for being the only 2011 comic book movie not on the list. Now that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has whittled that down to the following short list, it's Marvel Studios' THOR which has been snubbed - a somewhat peculiar decision after the amount of praise the movie received for its stunning portrayal of Asgard and the Rainbow Bridge.

Captain America: The First Avenger

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

Hugo

Mission: Impossible -- Ghost Protocol

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

Real Steel

Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Transformers: Dark of the Moon

The Tree of Life

X-Men: First Class

According to Variety, the members of the visual-effects branch will view 10-minute excerpts from each of the 10 films listed above and will then nominate five films for final Oscar consideration. Which do you think should make the cut?

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35 Comments

	WolvieCBM - 1/4/2012, 1:28 PM Login to report abuse Haven't seen Hugo yet, but I would say either Rise of the Planet of the Apes or The Tree of Life.
	MovieMann - 1/4/2012, 1:43 PM Login to report abuse I second both of your choices
	LucasMend - 1/4/2012, 1:44 PM Login to report abuse Rise of the Planet of the Apes deserves it, Captain America should be considered too because of skinny Steve. TF 3 deserves that too, great special effects despite the confusing story and annoying human characters
	TANKGIRL - 1/4/2012, 1:45 PM Login to report abuse Rise of the Planet of the Apes might win
	antonio - 1/4/2012, 2:01 PM Login to report abuse If Tree Of Life ends up getting nominated for Best Picture, that's my pick to win it. As for visual effects, I kinda agree with what Wolvie said.
	Fastestmanalive - 1/4/2012, 2:16 PM Login to report abuse I really would love for Cap to win since its one of my favorite movies, but if we're going purely for visual effects I would have to say Transformers hands down. It was a pretty lame movie but you cant deny it was stunning visually.
	JerBear - 1/4/2012, 2:20 PM Login to report abuse Skinny Steve... nuff said
	antonio - 1/4/2012, 2:22 PM Login to report abuse As for who I think will make the final cut: Tree Of Life Transformers: Dark Of The Moon Hugo Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows: Part 2 or Captain America: The First Avenger
	MaddMonkk - 1/4/2012, 5:59 PM Login to report abuse Tree of Life will get it & RotPotA deserves it.
	RyanLantern77 - 1/4/2012, 6:25 PM Login to report abuse Planet of the Apes and Tree of Life are the only two that have a shot anyway
	mstaley3000 - 1/4/2012, 6:26 PM Login to report abuse @Gaston is right about Transformers being the same old stuff. I don't think Thor was snubbed, I think they decided they couldn't have both Thor and Cap. Cap has the more understated effects which makes it stand out more against things like Transformers and Potter.
	beetheb - 1/4/2012, 6:34 PM Login to report abuse They didn't want comic book movies dominating the list, plain and simple, even though by their nature their effects work (on big-budget films) tends to be top notch. Thor had, hands down, some of the best effects work of 2011. It shouldn't have been snubbed at all, and if they were just looking to pare down the number of CBM's, both Cap and X-Men: FC should've been cut first.
	RidiculousFanBoyDemands - 1/4/2012, 6:58 PM Login to report abuse Rise of the Planet of the Apes will win. It will be the Academy's way of saying, "well we screwed Andy over again for best supporting actor, but we'll throw them a bone and give them best visual effects."
	Godzillafart - 1/4/2012, 6:59 PM Login to report abuse Skinny Steve was an amazing special effect.
	dyldawg3 - 1/4/2012, 7:15 PM Login to report abuse Thor has nothing we havent seen before giants and mythical and such have been before and better
	gambgel - 1/4/2012, 7:51 PM Login to report abuse what kind of "short" list is that? lol I was expecting 4 movies, not so many
	RidiculousFanBoyDemands - 1/4/2012, 8:14 PM Login to report abuse @no regrets. I agree, if Rise doesn't win then I would give it to Transformers. I know that is blasphemy and I will be the first to admit that the plot of that movie was HORRIBLE. The acting was cringe worthy, however the effects made it a lot of fun to watch, especially in 3D. Now, I HATE 3D movies, but I had probably the most fun this year at the movies at Transformers. The movie was awful, but I knew it was going to when I bought my ticket. However, the effects were much better than anything else released this year. However, Rise will win because it was a better film, and because of the Andy Serkis factor. If we were just looking at it from an effects standpoint Transformers will win, but then again, we all know the Oscar is all about politics and there is no way Transformers will win.
	Linta - 1/4/2012, 8:22 PM Login to report abuse Cap deserves to be on the top 5 lists.@ElgUaSon: The Visuals on Thor is grandeur.
	RidiculousFanBoyDemands - 1/4/2012, 8:49 PM Login to report abuse @Intruder I agree.
	herofreak15 - 1/4/2012, 10:44 PM Login to report abuse Cap FTW!! its a shame Thor is not on the list though :( Take out Pirates of the Caribbean (tired they keep making that shit) and Transformers then put Thor and some other movie on there. It is a must!
	Jolt17 - 1/4/2012, 10:54 PM Login to report abuse Captain America: The First Avenger makes it, no surprise to me. I don't think it will get the Oscar, though, seeing all the competitors. Sadly I haven't seen Rise of the Planet of the Apes yet, though from what I've seen from it, it looks like it deserves it. I feel quite guilty to say that Transformers: Dark of the Moon may make it, too...well, it got the effects right at least. And I'd love to see Real Steel being chosen as well though I don't think it is enough to get an Oscar. Then again, I haven't seen Rise of the Planet of the Apes and The Tree of Life, both look brilliant. So I can't say anything more.
	pepe - 1/4/2012, 11:12 PM Login to report abuse Yeah... rise of my monkey... spanking it.
	monstalova - 1/4/2012, 11:57 PM Login to report abuse Thank you for not nominating the trash that was THOR! Go Apes - great movie hopefully Serkis and the motion capture team will get a best supporting nom...
	SugarYumYum - 1/5/2012, 12:17 AM Login to report abuse Cap is an absolutely GORGEOUS film, I'm positive RotPotA, Hugo, or TToL will get the win but it definitely deserves the nom. Transformers... wouldn't be surprised if it made it but wouldn't be surprised if it didn't either. shrugs ...and yeah, I don't think Thor was snubbed. :x
	AvatarIII - 1/5/2012, 3:03 AM Login to report abuse as long as Thor gets nommed for Art Direction and/or costume design, I'm OK with it.
	marvel72 - 1/5/2012, 4:51 AM Login to report abuse it should go to rise of the planet of the apes or transformers dark of the moon.
	cherokeesam - 1/5/2012, 5:04 AM Login to report abuse If the Apes don't get this, something's very wrong with the Academy.
	Shaman - 1/5/2012, 5:16 AM Login to report abuse I thought First Class just had average effects. And by that i mean as good as all the other effects the previous x-films had, except for Wolverine Origins because that had some of the worst effects ever. How does anything in First Class top the frost giants, the destroyer, the asgardian landscapes, etc??? That's just bullshit. And skinny steve is fine and dandy but that's just one brilliant effect versus Thor's massive amount. Apes should win this hands down though.
	Shaman - 1/5/2012, 5:19 AM Login to report abuse cherokeesam- If the Apes don't win this, i predict the Academy's downfall. People will start snubbing the academy in mass, like a rotten cabbage.
	Godzillafart - 1/5/2012, 6:41 AM Login to report abuse @Shaman: The Academy has a long history of making bad choices...much worse than giving the special effects award to someone besides apes. Titanic beat L.A. Confidential for best picture, Paltrow in Shakespeare in Love beats Blanchet in Elizabeth. The list goes on and on.
	FriendlyNeighborhoodSpidey - 1/6/2012, 9:20 PM Login to report abuse I'm suprised. Thor had amazing visual effects and Asgard was beautiful.
	FriendlyNeighborhoodSpidey - 1/6/2012, 9:25 PM Login to report abuse Godzillafart I agree they do make some odd choices sometimes. Thor deserved to be on this list. I mean come on Real Steel and Pirates beat Thor to the list??? FAIL. Major fail by the Academy. Did they NOT see Thor? It had beautiful visuals.
	FriendlyNeighborhoodSpidey - 1/6/2012, 9:29 PM Login to report abuse Out of these, I think Captain America, Apes, or Transformers deserves the win. Although, Cap would be my first choice, because skinny Steve looked incredible. I could not even tell it was a visual effect. Brilliant work.
	OdinsEye - 2/7/2012, 6:05 AM Login to report abuse I saw Thor, Captain America, X-Men, and Rise Of The Plante Of The Apes. Quite frankly, I was not impressed with Captain America (skinny Steve, the CGI was not that good). ROTPOTA wasn't much better though the special effects were decent. X-Men First Class was better than Captain America, also had better special effects. Thor definitely was superior to his Marvel counter parts with regard to story, acting, and special effects. Asgard was majestic. Bifrost with the ocean and water falls beneath overlooking the nine worlds was breathtaking. How this could be overlooked doesn't say much for those who are on the selection committee.
	dnno1 - 2/27/2012, 5:20 AM Login to report abuse As it turns out Captain America, Thor, and X-men: First Class didn't make the cut. At least Green Lantern can claim that it won an award. Maybe not an Oscar, but it did win an award.