A day later than their own timeline dictated, the ASC has finally announced their nominations. The big news is that Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, a film no one exactly saw claiming a nomination here, especially for a frist-time nominee, managed to sneak its way into this list over the likes of Oscar winner Eduardo Serra for Harry Potter and four-time ASC nominee Janusz Kaminski for War Horse. Also surprisingly absent is Manuel Alberto Claro for Melancholia, a film which may have divided many, but which had amazing cinematography nonetheless. With these nominations, support for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is much stronger than previously expected and that The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is very likely to earn a Best Picture nomination while Tinker is now the biggest dark horse candidate out there. This is also the only prize that’s keeping Terrence Malick’s film in the running. Had it missed out, his chances would have all but evaporated.

In addition to the nominees and/or winners listed below, this year, we’re giving you a quick background on each individual precursor including founding year, first awards year and a glimpse at how many predictions the group has gotten right in the last five years. This data can be found below.

As promised, I have posted the history of this particular guild on my website. You can find it by following this link: American Society of Cinematographers.

The Awards

Best Cinematography

The Artist
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
The Tree of Life

American Society of Cinematographers Data

Year Founded: 1919
First Awards: 1986 (26)

Precursor Accuracy

KEY:

• Nominee was nominated for the corresponding Oscar
• Nominee was not nominated for a corresponding Oscar
• Total (2010-2009-2008-2007-2006)

Cinematography: 20 (4-4-5-3-4) N / 5 (1-1-0-2-1) I