afi nominations announced!

Hot off the presses, this is: the AFI nominations were announced not 20 minutes ago (at time of writing this sentence. No doubt this has changed somewhat at time of reading), and it is a record-breaking year with thanks to a little film called ANIMAL KINGDOM.

The David Michôd-penned-and-directed crime drama has scooped the nominations pool, receiving a record 18 nominations across 14 categories.

Stars James Frecheville and Ben Mendelsohn were nominated for Best Lead Actor awards for their startling performances as J and Pope; the magnificent Jacki Weaver was (of course!) nominated for Best Lead Actress for her portrayal of Smurf Cody; Laura Wheelwright received a nod for Best Supporting Actress for playing Nicky (the girl caught in the wrong place at the wrong time); and Sullivan Stapleton, Guy Pearce and Joel Edgerton all received nominations for Best Supporting Actor.

Among the other awards for which ANIMAL KINGDOM is nominated include Best Costume Design, Best Production Design, Best Original Music Score, Best Sound, Best Editing, Best Cinematography, Best Original Screenplay, Best Direction, the AFI Members’ Choice Award and, naturally, Best Film.

With such a massive list of nominations, I sure hope the ANIMAL KINGDOM people are seated near the stage on the night  of the awards (that’s Saturday, 11th December for those who are unaware!) – methinks they’ll be up and down those stage stairs for much of the night!

But while ANIMAL KINGDOM is the subject of much excitement among the blogosphere and Twitter-waves, it’s not the only title we’ve been gabbing about today in the Madman office! Political doco LIBERAL RULE: THE POLITICS THAT CHANGED AUSTRALIA is up for an AFI for Best Documentary Series; Shaun Tan received a nomination for his innovative short THE LOST THING and Mad4Kids‘ adorable eco-awareness show dirtgirlworld received a nom for Best Children’s Animation.

WILFRED SERIES 2 is nominated in three categories: Best Television Comedy Series, Best Screenplay in Television and Best Performance in a Television Comedy (for Jason Gann’s nutty role).

Finally, the drama OFFSPRING (on DVD December 1st) received two nominations: Best Supporting Actor for John Waters and Best Supporting Actress for Deborah Mailman.

Now time to pop some champagne and celebrate!