Oscars 2011 Update: Best Makeup Shortlist

Oh boy. A third one for today.

The Academy has announced that 7 films have been shortlisted for Best Makeup. They are:

• Albert Nobbs
• Anonymous
• The Artist
• Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
• Hugo
• The Iron Lady

And the world breathes a collective sigh of relief as J. Edgar is not included.

Albert Nobbs has the most high profile makeup job (she plays a man, for christ’s sake). The Iron Lady also makes sense, since they have to age (or de-age) Meryl. Haven’t seen Anonymous, so I can’t speak about that. I don’t even know what the Gainsbourg movie is. Potter also makes sense, given the nature of the film in general. I can’t, off the top of my head, think about why Hugo would be nominated past the fact that people love the film (and there’s the Méliès flashbacks with the old films, which is novel, but not really Best Makeup. It’s more like, “Hooray, another nomination for Hugo!”). I am, however, very happy about The Artist’s inclusion, since, while it’s not flashy, silent film is all about the makeup. Nice inclusion there.

If I had to guess, the three most likely nominees here would probably be Albert Nobbs, The Iron Lady and either Potter or The Artist. Iron Lady might be left off, but I don’t know. We’ll see as we get closer.