Payne talks Oscar nods

Premium ContentMouse over Home then click on Premium Content for information.

See a full list of nominees here.

* * *

“It feels great. What else am I supposed to say?”

That was the short, sweet reaction Tuesday from Omaha director-screenwriter Alexander Payne, whose movie “The Descendants,” snagged five Academy Award nominations, including two for Payne.

With its nods for best picture, director, actor, adapted screenplay and editing, the drama about a Hawaiian family in crisis is a top-tier contender to win the best-picture trophy.

Payne was nominated for director and adapted screenplay (the latter shared with Nat Faxon and Jim Rash). George Clooney, who plays the beleaguered father in “The Descendants,” is a frontrunner to win best actor. Payne said he received a congratulatory e-mail from Clooney (one of about 130 messages) and returned it in kind early Tuesday.

But Payne said the nomination for his longtime film editor, Kevin Tent, meant the most. The director spoke by phone from Rome, where he was promoting “The Descendants.”

“I love Kevin so much, and he's indispensable to my filmmaking process,” Payne said. “Quietly I have always shared my success with him. I'm so glad to share it with him publicly this time.”

Tent's nomination may prove key to the movie's chances when Oscars are handed out Feb. 26. In recent decades, movies without editing nominations have almost never won best picture.

In addition to “The Descendants,” the strongest competitors for best picture appear to be “Hugo,” with 11 nominations, and “The Artist,” with 10. Both films deal with early movie history, “Hugo” in Paris and “The Artist” in Hollywood. Movies about moviemaking have often been a popular subject with Academy voters.

The fact that Tate Taylor was not among best-director or screenplay nominees diminishes the chances that “The Help” will score a best-picture win.

Payne isn't the only Omaha native nominated this year. Nick Nolte is a contender in the supporting-actor category for his turn as the father of competing martial-arts brothers in “Warrior.”

It's Nolte's third Oscar nomination, after “The Prince of Tides” in 1991 and “Affliction” in 1988. Payne now has five Academy Award nods, including two for “Sideways” in 2005 and one for “Election” in 2000.

Other best-picture candidates and their nomination totals: “Moneyball,” 6; “War Horse,” 6; “Midnight in Paris,” 4; “The Help,” 4; “The Tree of Life,” 3; and “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close,” 2.

Two surprises in the best-pic field: “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” made the cut. And nine nominees were a bigger total than most prognosticators expected this year. New rules required that at least 5 percent of Academy voters give a movie their top pick for it to earn a best-picture nomination.

« Metro/Region

Share