85th Academy Awards – 'Best Sound Editing’

I am 2 for 3 in this category.

For detailed information on the role of the Sound Editor and voting procedures, check out my post from last year:  84^th Academy Awards – Best Sound Editing.

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Nominations:

·         Argo

o   Erik Aadahl – 2^nd nomination.  Previously nominated for Transformers: Dark of the Moon.

o   Ethan Van der Ryn – 5^th nomination, 2 wins for The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and King Kong.  Previously nominated for Transformers and Transformers: Dark of the Moon.

Also nominated for 2 Motion Picture Sound Editors Awards.

·         Django Unchained

o    Wylie Stateman – 6^th nomination.  Previously nominated for Born on the 4^th of July, Cliffhanger, Memoirs of a Geisha, Wanted, and Inglourious Basterds.

Also nominated for the BAFTA Award and a Motion Picture Sound Editors Award.

·         Life of Pi

o   Eugene Gearty – 3^rd nomination, 1 win for Hugo.  Previously nominated for Gangs of New York.

o    Philip Stockton – 2^nd nomination, 1 win for Hugo.

Also nominated for the BAFTA Award, 2 Motion picture Sound Editors Awards, and the Satellite Award.

·         Skyfall

o   Per Hallberg – 4^th nomination, 2 wins for Braveheart and The Bourne Ultimatum.  Previously nominated for Face/Off.

o   Karen Baker Landers – 2^nd nomination, 1 win for The Bourne Ultimatum.

Also nominated for the BAFTA Award and 2 Motion Picture Sound Editors Awards.

·         Zero Dark Thirty

o   Paul N. J. Ottosson – 3^rd nomination, 1 win for the Hurt Locker, for which he also won Best Sound Mixing.  Previously nominated in this category for Spider-Man 2.

Also nominated for 2 Cinema Audio Society Awards.

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Snubs:

Most award organizations honor sound mixers and editors together, so it is very tough to analyze possible snubs. 

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Oscar Trends:

Last year I reported in depth about trends in this category, so let’s explore the trends again with this year’s nomination.

First, in the last 31 years, only 3 films have won Best Sound Editing without also being nominated for Best Sound Mixing; which immediately gives the edge to Argo, Life of Pi, and Skyfall; the only films to be nominated in both categories.

Second, only 7 films in the last 27 years have won Best Sound Editing without also being nominated for the BAFTA Award.  And this year three films are nominated for both:  Django Unchained, Life of Pi, and Skyfall.

So, looking at the numbers, I have to give the edge to Life of Pi and Skyfall.

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Prediction: 

1.      Life of Pi

2.     Skyfall

3.     Argo

4.     Django Unchained

5.     Zero Dark Thirty