It’s that time of year again….awards season!  Celebrities are running in high gear…and so are their plastic surgeons.  The glitz, the glamour, the red carpet, the jewelry, the leathery skin…but enough about Joan Rivers.  The time has come for talented men and women to receive recognition for achievements made to the entertainment business.  And there’s no bigger prize in motion picture than that adorable little gold guy Oscar.  With news of the nominations, Hollywood is abuzz with Oscar fever.  It’s such a shame the award comes so early in the year…by the time celebs send out their Christmas cards, they may forget they even have that old Oscar.  Especially if you’re Meryl Streep.

Yup, Meryl’s up for another award.  She may be portraying Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady, but the title is more apropos for Streep’s own career.  This marks her 17th career nomination for Oscar, the most of any actor.  She hasn’t won since 1983 for Sophie’s Choice, but this is quite an impressive feat nonetheless.  Given her win at the Golden Globes for Best Actress, Drama, it looks like Meryl may be making the trip to the podium for the third time (before Sophie’s Choice, there was her supporting actress win for Kramer vs. Kramer).

Sure, Meryl may be making history, but my favorite story to come out of these nominations has to be Melissa McCarthy.  Just a few short months ago, I had the pleasure of blogging Melissa’s Emmy win for Mike & Molly, and now the girl is an Oscar nominee!  It’s the Year of McCarthy, my friends, so jump on board this bandwagon!  McCarthy is up for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her breakout role in Bridesmaids.  Costar Kristen Wiig, herself a powerhouse comedic performer, is an Oscar nominee herself, snagging an Original Screenplay Oscar along with co-writer Annie Mumolo.  Oscar tends to shy away from comedies, so these nominations are a welcome change of pace.

My other favorite?  Jonah Hill for Best Supporting Actor in Moneyball.  Anyone who saw Hill in Superbad may not have thought that his career trajectory included “Oscar nominee”, but he proved those naysayers wrong.  My money has him losing to Christopher Plummer (whom you may know as Captain Von Trapp from The Sound of Music…sidebar: Plummer is about a million years old and has never won an Oscar.  This year, that will change.).  Either way, it’s a move in the right direction for this versatile young actor.

Winners will be announced on February 26.  Until then, I have lots of movies I need to see!