The guild announcements continue as the CAS has dropped their five (*actually ten) best mixed films of the year. I had only recently removed The Hobbit from my own predictions, but its inclusion here forces me to re-reconsider. All three LOTR films got Best Sound Mixing nominations after all. Presumed nominees Les Mis and Skyfall (the former the likely winner) were also mentioned, while Best Picture heavyweights Lincoln and Zero Dark Thirty round out the top five.
The biggest surprise for me is the society's decision to inaugurate a separate category for animated films -- further suppression of this increasingly ghettoized medium. I'd have thought that if there's any field in which animated films could, and should, be judged on an equal playing field with live-action, it's sound!
Anyway, the nominees, and some final pontifications, after the cut.
Live-Action Sound Mixing
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Les Miserables
Lincoln
Skyfall
Zero Dark Thirty
Could Lincoln find room in the Academy's final five a la The King's Speech? I'm starting to think so, even though I haven't had it in my predictions since May! It also occurs to me that I've been underestimating Zero Dark Thirty in the sound races, probably because -- like the other 99.9% of the world -- I haven't had a chance to see it yet! Perhaps it is The Hobbit that gets snubbed after all, but what takes its place? Django perhaps?
Best Animated Sound Mixing
Brave
Frankenweenie
Dr. Seuss' The Lorax
Rise of the Guardians
Wreck-It Ralph
Both Brave and Wreck-It Ralph had terrific sound designs, but I'm not sure a win here will particularly help either of them win Best Animated Feature, which is a tighter race this year than it's ever been in the history of this category.
