SB Nation Bay Area - 'Moneyball' Goes 0-for-6 At The Oscarshttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/48817/bayrea-fave.png2012-02-27T04:30:03-08:00http://bayarea.sbnation.com/rss/stream/21144232012-02-27T04:30:03-08:002012-02-27T04:30:03-08:00Oscar Winners List 2012: 'Moneyball' Comes Up Empty, Much Like 2002 Oakland A's
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<p>The 2012 Academy Awards are in the bag and once again -- as it has at most of the other major awards shows this year -- "Moneyball" came up empty.</p>
<p>The film, based on the book of the same name about Billy Beane and the famous sabermetric-based rebuilding of the <a href="https://www.athleticsnation.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Oakland Athletics</a> franchise, was nominated for six Academy Awards but really only had a realistic shot at winning one. At the end of the night, it ended up in the "honor-just-to-be-nominated" category all around.</p>
<p>The first awards that "Moneyball" missed out on were a pair of technical awards, for Best Film Editing and Best Sound Mixing. "Moneyball" did have exemplary editing, but lost out to "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," which was admittedly head and shoulders above in the category. I would also have accepted a nod to "Hugo" or "The Descendants" for editing. The nomination for Best Sound Mixing was a bit odd, as that award is generally reserved for a very different sort of film, as fellow nominees "War Horse" and "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" suggested. "Hugo" ended up taking home the trophy.</p>
<p>Next up was Best Actor in a Supporting Role. Jonah Hill received a nomination for his turn as Peter Brand in "Moneyball" but this was a one-horse race and, true to form, Christopher Plummer won the Oscar for his role in "Beginners," to the surprise of no one, but the delight of all.</p>
<p>The best shot "Moneyball" had at winning an Oscar was in the category of Best Adapted Screenplay. The script for "Moneyball" was a real achievement in script adaptation, with Aaron Sorkin and Steven Zaillian crafting a spectacular film out of a stats-heavy baseball book. Sorkin winning the same award last year for "The Social Network" almost certainly hurt his chances this year, as "The Descendants" rode a wave of awards-show momentum to take home the trophy. "The Descendants" was a terrific screenplay adapted by Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash. Payne won an Oscar in 2005 for Best Screenplay for the film "Sideways." Jim Rash is perhaps best known as playing the amazing Dean Pelton on NBC's phenomenal sitcom "Community."</p>
<p>Brad Pitt was nominated for Best Actor for "Moneyball" and lost out to Jean Dujardin for his work in "The Artist." The deserving winner -- and I cannot stress this enough -- was George Clooney for his work in "The Descendants," but that is neither here nor there.</p>
<p>"Moneyball" completed its 0-for-6 night in the Best Picture category. This year's nine nominees were among the weakest crop of Best Picture nominees in recent memory. "The Artist" took home the top prize of the year.</p>
<p>"Moneyball" should be proud of its six nominations, especially for being the first baseball movie to be nominated for Best Picture since "Field of Dreams."</p>
<p>"Moneyball" was a great film featuring a fantastic script and top-notch performances. It experienced mass critical acclaim and doubled its budget at the box office. It was a success in every sense of the word and a film that baseball fans will likely revisit for some time.</p>
<p><i>To grouse about the awards ceremony with other Oakland A's fans, please visit <a href="http://www.athleticsnation.com/" target="_blank">Athletics Nation</a>. </i></p>
https://bayarea.sbnation.com/oakland-athletics/2012/2/27/2827424/oscar-winners-list-2012-moneyball-the-artist-best-picture-academy-awardsBill Hanstock2012-02-26T20:41:34-08:002012-02-26T20:41:34-08:00Oscar Winners 2012: The Artist Wins Best Picture
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<p><b><i>Editor's Note: Head to <a target="_blank" href="http://bayarea.sbnation.com/oakland-athletics/2011/8/7/2350382/moneyball-movie-trailer-box-office-oscars-news">our Moneyball stream</a> for winners in all six categories.</i></b></p>
<p>The 2012 Academy Awards came to a close Sunday evening, and as many expected, "The Artist" took home Best Picture. It beat a solid field of contenders, which included longshot "Moneyball." "The Artist" had all the momentum heading into the awards and cleaned up to close out the evening. Along with Best Picture, it took home Best Director, Best Actor, Best Original Score and Best Costume Design. The other nominees for Best Picture included "The Descendants", "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close", "The Help", "Hugo", "Midnight in Paris", "The Tree of Life" and "War Horse."</p>
<p>"Moneyball" was nominated for six awards Sunday evening. It lost out on awards for Film Editing, Sound Mixing, Best Supporting Actor, Best Adapted Screen Play, Best Actor and Best Picture. It was the first baseball movie since "Field of Dreams" to be nominated for Best Picture and was the first sports movie in some time to achieve such critical acclaim. Although it has come up short in many of the award ceremonies, it really does fit the often cliched "it's an honor to just be nominated."</p>
https://bayarea.sbnation.com/oakland-athletics/2012/2/26/2827272/oscar-winners-2012-the-artist-best-picture-winner-academy-awardsDavid Fucillo2012-02-26T20:25:09-08:002012-02-26T20:25:09-08:00Oscar Winners 2012: Jean Dujardin Wins Best Actor
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<p><b><i>Editor's Note: Head to <a href="http://bayarea.sbnation.com/oakland-athletics/2011/8/7/2350382/moneyball-movie-trailer-box-office-oscars-news" target="_blank">our Moneyball stream</a> for winners in all six categories.</i></b></p>
<p>The 2012 Academy Awards are coming down the home stretch as the final three big awards for Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Picture are handed out. Natalie Portman presented the Best Actor Oscar to Jean Dujardin for his work in "The Artist." He beat out a field of heavyweights, which included Brad Pitt for "Moneyball," Demián Bichir for "A Better Life," George Clooney for "The Descendants" and Gary Oldman for "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy."</p>
<p>Brad Pitt put together a strong performance as Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane. He could have reasonably won the award just for how well he took over Beane's individual mannerisms. Instead, he had to battle with a strong field with "The Artist" cleaning up on the evening.</p>
<p>"Moneyball" is up for six awards Sunday evening. It lost out on awards for Film Editing, Sound Mixing, Best Supporting Actor and Best Adapted Screen Play. It is also nominated for Best Picture. It is the first baseball movie since "Field of Dreams" to be nominated for Best Picture. "Moneyball" is the first sports movie in some time to achieve such critical acclaim. Although it has come up short in many of the awards ceremonies, it really does fit the often cliched "it's an honor to just be nominated."</p>
https://bayarea.sbnation.com/oakland-athletics/2012/2/26/2827237/oscar-winners-2012-jean-dujardin-best-actor-winner-academy-awardsDavid Fucillo2012-02-26T19:31:25-08:002012-02-26T19:31:25-08:00Oscar Winners 2012: The Descendants Wins Best Adapted Screenplay
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<p><b><i>Editor's Note: Head to <a target="_blank" href="http://bayarea.sbnation.com/oakland-athletics/2011/8/7/2350382/moneyball-movie-trailer-box-office-oscars-news">our Moneyball stream</a> for winners in all six categories.</i></b></p>
<p>The Academy Awards continue rolling along as they have now handed out the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay. "The Descendants" took home the award as "Moneyball" lost out on arguably its best chance to win an Oscar. The other nominees included "Hugo" (screenplay by John Logan), "The Ides of March" (screenplay by George Clooney & Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon) and "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" (screenplay by Bridget O'Connor & Peter Straughan).</p>
<p>"Moneyball" was an adaptation of Michael Lewis' bestselling novel of the same name. Given that the movie delved into the statistical nature of baseball in considerable depth, the ability of Aaron Sorkin and Steven Zaillian to turn it into a witty and smooth film was quite impressive. It deserved a win, but faced tough odds in a crowded 2012 group of nominees.</p>
<p>"Moneyball" is up for six awards Sunday evening. It lost out on awards for film editing, sound mixing and Best Supporting Actor. It is also nominated for Best Picture and Best Actor. It is the first baseball movie since Field of Dreams to be nominated for Best Picture. "Moneyball" is the first sports movie in some time to achieve such critical acclaim. Although it has come up short in many of the award ceremonies, it really does fit the often cliched "it's an honor to just be nominated."</p>
https://bayarea.sbnation.com/oakland-athletics/2012/2/26/2827155/oscar-winners-2012-the-descendants-best-adapted-screenplay-academy-awardsDavid Fucillo2012-02-26T19:05:49-08:002012-02-26T19:05:49-08:00Oscar Winners 2012: Christopher Plummer Claims Best Supporting Actor And Oldest Winner Ever
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<p><b><i>Editor's Note: Head to <a target="_blank" href="http://bayarea.sbnation.com/oakland-athletics/2011/8/7/2350382/moneyball-movie-trailer-box-office-oscars-news">our Moneyball stream</a> for winners in all six categories.</i></b></p>
<p>The 2012 Academy Awards are getting to the big ticket awards and "Moneyball" has dropped to 0-for-3. Jonah Hill was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his role of Peter Brand in "Moneyball" but he lost out to <b>Christopher Plummer</b> for his work in "Beginners." With the win, Plummer became the oldest Academy Award winner in the 84-year history of the Oscars. The other nominees included Kenneth Branagh for "My Week with Marilyn", Nick Nolte for "Warrior" and Max von Sydow for "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close."</p>
<p>"Moneyball" is up for six awards Sunday evening. It lost out on awards for film editing and sound mixing. It is also nominated for Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Adapted Screen Play. It is the first baseball movie since Field of Dreams to be nominated for Best Picture. "Moneyball" is the first sports movie in some time to achieve such critical acclaim. Although it has come up short in many of the award ceremonies, it really does fit the often cliched "it's an honor to just be nominated."</p>
https://bayarea.sbnation.com/2012/2/26/2827100/oscar-winners-2012-christopher-plummers-best-supporting-actor-academy-awardDavid Fucillo2012-02-26T18:30:14-08:002012-02-26T18:30:14-08:00Oscar Winners 2012: The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Hugo Claim Film Editing, Sound Mixing Academy Awards
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<p><b><i>Editor's Note: Head to <a target="_blank" href="http://bayarea.sbnation.com/oakland-athletics/2011/8/7/2350382/moneyball-movie-trailer-box-office-oscars-news">our Moneyball stream</a> for winners in all six categories.</i></b></p>
<p>The 2012 Academy Awards are officially underway and "Moneyball" came up short in its first two categories. The movie was nominated for its Film Editing but came up short as "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" took home the Oscar. The other nominees were "The Artist", "The Descendants" and "Hugo." It was also nominated for Sound Mixing and came up short as "Hugo" took home that Oscar. The other nominees were "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo", "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" and "War Horse."</p>
<p>"Moneyball" is up for six awards Sunday evening. Aside from film editing and sound mixing, the move is nominated for Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Adapted Screen Play. It is the first baseball movie since Field of Dreams to be nominated for Best Picture. "Moneyball" is the first sports movie in some time to achieve such critical acclaim. Although it has come up short in many of the award ceremonies, it really does fit the often cliched "it's an honor to just be nominated."</p>
https://bayarea.sbnation.com/oakland-athletics/2012/2/26/2827021/oscar-winners-2012-the-girl-with-the-dragon-tattoo-hugo-film-editing-sound-mixing-academy-awardDavid Fucillo2012-02-26T06:00:29-08:002012-02-26T06:00:29-08:00Oscars 2012 TV Schedule: Academy Awards Start Time, Channel, Host, Red Carpet Show
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<p>The Bay Area will be in the limelight on Sunday as the <i>Moneyball</i> looks to take some some hardware at the 2012 Academy Awards. The movie is nominated for six Oscars including Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Film Editing, Sound Mixing and Writing (Adapted Screenplay). Adapted Screenplay is likely its best shot at an award at this year's Oscars.</p>
<p>The Oscars will air live starting at 5:30pm PT on ABC, with <span>Billy Crystal</span> hosting. The show will be preceded by several hours of programming. It all starts at 12:30pm with "Road to the Gold" previewing the 84th annual Academy Awards. That will be followed by "On the Red Carpet at Oscars" featuring 2 1/2 more hours of preview content. The final pre-show is Oscars Red Carpet Live as the numerous stars arrive starting at 4:00pm. <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.athleticsnation.com/">Oakland Athletics</a> general manager Billy Beane is expected to attend the show and will make an appearance on the red carpet.</p>
<p>The show itself is scheduled to last three hours, although it usually ends up going over. The <i>Moneyball</i> nominations run the gamut of categories, so it will be showing up throughout the show with Best Picture to close the show.</p>
https://bayarea.sbnation.com/oakland-athletics/2012/2/26/2824783/oscars-2012-tv-schedule-academy-awards-start-time-channel-host-red-carpet-show-timeDavid Fucillo2012-02-24T15:56:41-08:002012-02-24T15:56:41-08:00Small School Women's College Hoops Coach And His Version of Moneyball
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<p>Jim Crowley, head basketball coach for the women's basketball team at St. Bonaventure in upstate New York was on the verge of losing his job. That's when he found, and read, the 2003 Michael Lewis book, <i>Moneyball. </i>That was in 2005. The Bonnies won nine games all year for the second season in a row. Crowley needed a new approach. He was struck with inspiration. </p>
<p>In a Time story on Crowley and the St. Bonaventure women's basketball team, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2107612,00.html">the Moneyball strategy is broken down:</a></p>
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<p>In Moneyball, many of the A's decisions came down to one key statistic - on-base-percentage, which is quite simply a measure of a player's ability to get on base. The more feet Oakland could put on the basepaths, the better chance they had to score. So players who could draw walks - even if they looked like bar-leaguers - were celebrated in the A's system.</p>
<p>In thinking along the same lines, Crowley began to focus on a stat that football coaches obsesses over, but basketball largely ignores: time-of-possession. The longer St. Bonaventure kept the ball in its hands - and, importantly, away from its opponents - the better their chances. Just as Oakland relished walks, St. Bonaventure would come to loathe turnovers.</p>
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<p>Crowley began to focus his recruiting strategies on finding players that held on to the ball, could beat double teams, and were tough enough to avoid turnovers. The result?</p>
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<p>St. Bonaventure has surrendered 11.7 turnovers per game this year, the lowest total in the nation. The result? Crowley's team owns a 26-2 overall record, and is a perfect 13-0 in the Atlantic 10. For the first time in school history, the St. Bonaventure women have both cracked the Top 25 national rankings - the Bonnies are 19th - and will make the NCAA Tournament. Before he read Moneyball in 2005, Crowley was 44-96 as head coach. In the first post- Moneyball season, St. Bonaventure finished 9-18, as Crowley gathered his first class of recruits tailored to his new philosophy. Since 2007, however, St. Bonaventure is an astonishing 127-62. The Bonnies have won more than 20-games in each of the last four seasons. Total 20-win seasons before this streak: zero.</p>
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<p>It's a pretty amazing story, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2107612,00.html">and make sure you head over to Time.com and read more</a>.</p>
https://bayarea.sbnation.com/2012/2/24/2822646/small-school-womens-college-hoops-coach-and-his-version-of-moneyballDanny Kelly