Boomers hit it big in the Oscar nominations, released Tuesday, with nominations announced for Glenn Close, Meryl Streep, Brad Pitt, Gary Oldman, Nick Nolte and Kenneth Branagh.
Among the nine candidates for Best Picture, the focus was on adult family drama – “The Descendants,” “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close” – as well as chronicles of events familiar to Boomers – “War Horse,” “The Help,” “My Week With Marilyn” and “Moneyball.”
The two films that got the most nominations – Martin Scorsese’s “Hugo,” with 11 nominations, and “The Artist,” with 10, were nostalgic examinations of, respectively, childhood and Hollywood’s silent era.
In addition to its nomination for Best Picture, “The Help,” a maid’s-eye view of the civil rights era, received three other nominations: Best Actress (Viola Davis), Best Supporting Actress (Octavia Spencer and Jessica Chastain).
Close, in a repeat of her Golden Globes rivalry with Meryl Streep, was nominated for Best Actress for her role in the transgender drama “Albert Nobbs,” while Streep, in the least surprising nomination of all, was picked for her portrayal of Margaret Thatcher in “Iron Lady.”
