Dec 12, 2008 by Brian Gallagher

15 Visual Effects Oscar Candidates Revealed

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences today announced that 15 films were selected as semifinalists for Achievement in Visual Effects for the 81st Academy Awards.

The films are listed below in alphabetical order:

Australia

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

Cloverfield

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

The Dark Knight

The Day the Earth Stood Still

Hancock

Hellboy II: The Golden Army

The Incredible Hulk

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Iron Man

Journey to the Center of the Earth

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor

Quantum of Solace

The Spiderwick Chronicles

In early January, the members of the Academy's Visual Effects Branch Executive Committee, who voted the semifinalists, will narrow the list to seven.

On Thursday, January 15, all members of the Visual Effects Branch will be invited to view 15-minute excerpts from each of the seven shortlisted films. Following the screenings, the members will vote to nominate three films for final Oscar consideration.

The 81st Academy Awards nominations will be announced on Thursday, January 22, 2009, at 5:30 a.m. PT in the Academy's Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2008 will be presented on Sunday, February 22, 2009, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center, and televised live by the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 200 countries worldwide.


Sources: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

Do you like this story?

Comments (23)

  1. J.Crane

    1.Hellboy 2
    2.Iron Man
    3.Cloverfield
    4.TDTESS
    5.Narnia

    The Dark Knight was great (on Two Face & others) bt it's not a category for TDK... The Mummy is sh*t, but who knows ?? it was a WTF for me when the Oscar nod goes to The Golden Compass my ass last year...

    3 years agoby @aungmyoFlag

  2. Oli

    Iron Man and Curious Case should be nominees.

    3 years agoby @reviloleeFlag

  3. Diaigma

    Of course, this is the "Achievement in Visual Effects" award, meaning that something was done that has never been seen/done in film before. Cloverfield's home footage take with the added disaster and monsters wins my vote. I'm also rooting for Iron man and CCoBB. I think Iron Man should get costume also. That was a nice suit! (And yes, they did make a replica suit). Other than that, the others just look like "more" of what's been done before.

    J.J.Abram's Star Trek better be sweet, and I'm not even a Trekkie!

    3 years agoby @diaigmaFlag

  4. Yahzee

    I love The Dark Knight, but this is a category it wouldn't be nominated. The Incredible Hulk looks so cartoonish I don't know why it's in this list. Iron Man effects was superb. Indiana Jones suffers from a Lucas syndrome and the effects don't look as real as the other three Indy movies. Hanc*ck effects were also nicely done, not showy, but real. Some of the other movies I haven't seen yet, but my favs are Hellboy II, Iron Man and Hanc*ck.

    3 years agoby @yahzeeFlag

  5. The Dark Knight

    Its probably gonna be hellboy or benjamin button

    3 years agoby @thedarkknight23Flag

  6. vortep

    You are crazy or you just don't understand anything about visual effects. The curious case of Benjamin Button has one of the most revolutionary visual effects to date so I'm voting for him.

    3 years agoby @vortepFlag

  7. T.Clark

    TDK was great, but it is not an effects movie. Iron Man will prob. get it

    3 years agoby @insertusernamehereFlag

  8. Bink

    TDTEST had some very good special effects but it wasn't enough to get nominated i think.

    who saw that Wolverine trailer?!?!

    3 years agoby @justbink07Flag

  9. GK

    I can't wait to see who wins!

    3 years agoby @indianajonesFlag

  10. Lock and Stock

    Two face will win for makeup not for effects, either iron man,hulk or hellboy will win.

    3 years agoby @m-man360Flag

  11. Chad Vital

    Iron Man or Cloverfield will win. Most likely Iron Man.

    3 years agoby @chad-vitalFlag

  12. spideykea

    Iron Man, Hellboy II, and Cloverfield have great chances.The Dark Knight's were pretty good, to(Two-Face).

    3 years agoby @spideykeaFlag

  13. Tronticon

    To me .. I'd vote for Cloverfield.. I thought it was fantastic!

    3 years agoby @tronticonFlag

  14. ZanyZap

    Granted, I haven't seen TDTEST, but for now my assumptions stand...

    3 years agoby @zanyzapFlag

  15. ZanyZap

    Nominations:

    1. Iron Man
    2. Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
    3. Hanc*ck

    And the Oscar goes to...IRON MAN...

    The Dark Knight was a great film {and hopefully this will show on the ballods), but I doubt it will be nominated for Best Visual Effects.

    Either way, best of luck to all the contenders...

    3 years agoby @zanyzapFlag

  16. The Narrator: The Better Man

    Oh, I forgot Australia also.

    3 years agoby @narratorFlag

  17. The Narrator: The Better Man

    Clearly the main ones to me are:
    Hellboy 2
    Iron Man
    TDTESS
    or the Dark knight.

    Runner ups:
    Chronicles of Narnia
    QOS
    Indy 4
    or Hanc*ck.

    3 years agoby @narratorFlag

  18. Structure (ONSTRA)

    Iron man, the dark knight, cloverfield, the day the earth stood still or narnia 2.
    If any of those win I would most likely be satisfied.

    3 years agoby @gaj1992Flag

  19. coast2coast

    indiana jones isn't gonna be in the top 3 are you f*cking kidding. there are so many better ones like iron man hellboy 2 cloverfield.

    3 years agoby @coast2coastFlag

  20. moviegeek

    Movies that should not be on this list:
    Hanc*ck - The effects were nothing special.
    The Incredible Hulk - It looked like a video game.
    Journey to Center of Earth - Too corny and cartoony.
    The Mummy 3 - AWFUL Special Effects! They were horrible!
    Spiderwick - Not enough special effects to be nominated.

    Movies that will be the final 3:
    The Dark Knight
    The Day the Earth Stood Still
    Indiana Jones

    WINNER: Dark Knight

    3 years agoby @moviegeekFlag

  21. Tinman

    I agree with Shelley, in the mummy 3 the dragon loocked like a cartoon, what should be nominated are Hellboy 2 and Cloverfield.

    3 years agoby @tinmanFlag

  22. Shelley

    I would have a hard time choosing from this list except I do not think Journey to the Center of the Earth or The Mummy deserves a nomination.

    3 years agoby @shelleyFlag

  23. Diaigma

    Wow. What a list. I can't begin to think what ought to be nominated. My votes go for.

    Iron Man
    Colverfield
    ...So far.

    Haven't seen Australia or TDtESS yet, so can't say if they've made any achievement in the catagory. I think Cloverfield was the most impressive and original so far.

    3 years agoby @diaigmaFlag

(More)Latest News
Thor vs. Superman Returns Thor vs. Superman Returns
(More)Recent Activity
(More)Most Commented Stories
(More)Top Rated Stories