Contenders React to OSCAR Nominations

Nominations for the 85th Academy Awards were announced this morning by the show's host, Seth MacFarlane, and actress Emma Stone.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2012 will be presented on Oscar Sunday, February 24, 2013, at the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center, and televised live on the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries worldwide.

Below, check out reactions from some of the nominees:

PARANORMAN
Best Animated Feature Film
Sam Fell and Chris Butler

"We are overjoyed that our movie has been Oscar-nominated! We made it with the unending support of brilliant producers and an amazing crew at LAIKA, a unique and cutting-edge studio. On behalf of all of them, we are so proud that the enduring craft of stop-motion has been acknowledged by the Academy -- and that the individuality of Norman himself is being celebrated."
- Sam Fell and Chris Butler, directors of the Best Animated Feature nominee ParaNorman

Anna KarenINA
Achievement in Costume Design
Jacqueline Durran

"I'm very excited! I'm also very pleased that other members of the Anna Karenina gang were nominated since this film was a collaboration."
-Jacqueline Durran

Anna KarenINA
Achievement in Cinematography
Seamus McGarvey

"The director of the film I'm currently working on just texted me. We had a $100 bet that I wouldn't get nominated, but he texted me that he's $100 richer! I'm over the moon!"
-Seamus McGarvey

Anna KarenINA
Achievement in Production Design
Sarah Greenwood; Set Decoration: Katie Spencer

"Realizing our director Joe Wright's bold and unique vision for Anna Karenina was a challenge, and ultimately a thrill. To have our work recognized by the AMPAS members is an honor, and a joy. We are proud to accept this nomination on behalf of what was a tremendous crew."
-Sarah Greenwood (production designer) and Katie Spencer (set decorator), nominees for Best Production Design (Anna KarenINA)

Anna KarenINA
Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original score) Dario Marianelli

"I am delighted to be nominated, and humbled by being in the company of composers whose work I have admired for so long. For the fourth time, director Joe Wright has inspired me and made sure that I would not miss any of the opportunities that his movie opened up for the music. I feel very grateful towards him."
- Dario Marianelli, nominee for Best Original Score (Anna KarenINA)

MOONRISE KINGDOM
Best Original Screenplay
Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola

"I was in the car with my family when we heard the news - everyone was so excited! It's a wonderful honor to be nominated among many great films and storytellers - Wes and I are thrilled."
-Roman Coppola

Picture
Django Unchained, Silver Linings Playbook
"I am blown away! I can't say thank you enough to the Academy for their support of our films. We have a tremendous group of actors and filmmakers who we had the pleasure of working with this year and I am so happy that their achievements are being recognized." - Harvey Weinstein

Les Miserables
"This was one of the hardest films we've done. It's a genre that's challenging by its very nature - people aren't used to going to see a musical in a movie theater. Also, no one has ever done a live musical from beginning to end with no prerecorded music. We also had to make sure that in adapting Les Miserables, we didn't alienate fans, and having the original team of Claude-Michel Schonberg, Herbie Kretzmer and Cameron Mackintosh, we were able to keep all the original DNA intact. Then, shooting a film with an appetite of 100 million for 60 million was an interesting challenge. I do feel sad for Ben Affleck, Kathryn Bigelow and Tom Hooper, they did a stunning job all three of them and it's a shame they weren't nominated. You have to respect the vote, but it is a shame." - Working Title's Eric Fellner

Director
Ang Lee, Life Of Pi
"I am deeply honored and frankly a little overwhelmed by all of the nominations that Life Of Pi has received this morning. So many talented people gave everything they had to this film, both in front of and behind the camera, and to see all of them receive this kind of recognition is something I am incredibly grateful for." - Lee

Supporting Actor
Robert De Niro, Silver Linings Playbook
"I am very pleased that the Academy has chosen to honor the many individuals who were a part of 'Silver Linings Playbook.' " - De Niro

Animated Feature
Brave
"With Brave, getting that story right and making the audience believe in the characters and their plight, and getting the parent/child relationship to sing and be meaningful and eloquent was the hardest challenge. Also, with getting it to look the way it looks, we didn't have the current technology in place when we started, so things had to be created along the way. Everyone had to be brave to make Brave. If the award does get into my hands, I'll be able to take it back to share with the crew. Directors can't do it alone, and everyone was excellent and passionate, and we were all in this together." - writer-director Mark Andrews

Frankenweenie
"Frankenweenie is a very personal film for me. The idea of telling a feature-length version was in the back of my mind for many years. Stop Motion was the perfect medium for this project, and one I've always loved for its expressiveness and dimensionality. I've worked with so many incredible artists: animators, cast members, set builders, and puppet makers, all who have helped bring this film to life one frame at a time. I'm so honored that the Academy has recognized this film as one of its nominees." - director Tim Burton

ParaNorman

"My heartfelt thanks to the Academy for honoring LAIKA and ParaNorman with this nomination. Working with our directors Chris Butler and Sam Fell and my fellow producer Arianne Sutner to bring ParaNorman to audiences worldwide has been the most rewarding experience of my professional life. We're indebted to Focus Features and Universal Pictures for their advocacy and resolve, to our exceptional cast members for their keenly felt performances, and above all to our unparalleled, extraordinarily talented crew for handcrafting a moving and beautiful work of art." - LAKIA president and CEO Travis Knight

Pirates! Band Of Misfits
"This is amazing! We tried to do something a little different with The Pirates, in terms of tone and comedy, and it's just brilliant that the Academy has responded to it in such a wonderful way." - director Peter Lord

Wreck-It Ralph
"Five in the morning has never looked so good! The Emmys [for Futurama and The Simpsons] have been wonderful to be a part of, but man, this really feels like something special. This is on such a level - to hear my name read, it really got me in a way that's indescribable. I'm so excited and proud of the work that we did at Disney. The biggest challenge to this film was dealing with so many different video game worlds and it was very important to me that the worlds feel unique to the genre of video games we were representing. Only, a movie wants to congeal into a homogenous look and style, which is normal for any production, so trying to protray these different styles was going against the force of nature, and it took a lot of persistance and a lot of trust in the fantastic crew that the vision was one that was going to work, that we could push against the natural way of things in animated film." - writer-director Rich Moore

Original Score
Dario Marianelli, Anna Karenina
"I am delighted to be nominated, and humbled by being in the company of composers whose work I have admired for so long. For the fourth time, director Joe Wright has inspired me and made sure that I would not miss any of the opportunities that his movie opened up for the music. I feel very grateful towards him." - Marianelli

Animated Short Film
Adam And Dog
"I am very thankful to be nominated! I couldn't wait to share it with my wonderful crew. I kept reading the list over and over to make sure that it's really there and I'm not imagining it!" - director Minkyu Lee

Paperman
"It's beyond an honor to have Paperman nominated for an Oscar. I can't thank everyone on the team enough for their passion and hard work in making this dream project a reality." - director John Kahrs

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