Spielberg’s in at Oscars; Bigelow, Affleck out

CEBU, Philippines - Steven Spielberg had a great day at the Academy Awards nominations, where his Civil War saga “Lincoln” led with 12 nominations.

It was not so great for Kathryn Bigelow, Tom Hooper and Ben Affleck, whose films did well but surprised Hollywood by failing to score directing nominations for the three filmmakers.

“I just think they made a mistake,” said Alan Arkin, a supporting-actor nominee for Affleck’s Iran hostage-crisis tale “Argo.”

“Lincoln,” “Argo,” Bigelow’s Osama bin Laden manhunt thriller and Hooper’s Victor Hugo musical “Les Miserables” landed among the nine best-picture contenders Thursday.

Also nominated for the top honor were the old-age love story “Amour”; the independent hit “Beasts of the Southern Wild”; the slave-revenge narrative “Django Unchained”; the shipwreck story “Life of Pi”; and the lost-souls romance “Silver Linings Playbook.”

A mostly predictable bunch. But it’s baffling how Bigelow — the first woman to earn the directing Oscar for her 2009 best-picture winner “The Hurt Locker” — missed out on a nomination for one of last year’s most-acclaimed films.

“Yes, it was a surprise,” Spielberg said of Bigelow. “But I’ve been surprised myself through the years, so I know what it feels like.”

Spielberg was snubbed for a directing slot on 1985’s “The Color Purple,” which earned 11 nominations, including best picture. He also was overlooked for director on 1975’s “Jaws,” another best-picture nominee.

Oscar directing contenders usually are identical or at least line up closely with those for the Directors Guild of America Awards. But only Spielberg and “Life of Pi” director Ang Lee made both lists this time.

The Directors Guild also nominated Affleck, Bigelow and Hooper, but the Oscars handed its other three slots to David O. Russell for “Silver Linings Playbook” and two real longshots: veteran Austrian filmmaker Michael Haneke for “Amour” and newcomer Benh Zeitlin, who made his feature debut with “Beasts of the Southern Wild.”

The academy’s directing snubs virtually take “Argo,” “Les Miserables” and “Zero Dark Thirty” out of the best-picture race, since a movie almost never wins the top prize if the filmmaker is not nominated. It can happen — 1989’s “Driving Miss Daisy” did it — but a directing nomination usually goes hand-in-hand with a best-picture win.

Spielberg matched his personal Oscar best as “Lincoln” tied the 12 nominations that “Schindler’s List” received. (FREEMAN)