Now that we’ve all had the chance to let last week’s Oscar nominations sink in, the general consensus of complaint (and that’s always what they boil down to) appears to have settled on the acting nominations — specifically, the rather shocking number of brilliant performances that were snubbed outright, against expectations. Tilda Swinton, for example, was presumed a shoo-in; same goes for Albert Brooks and, to a lesser degree, Charlize Theron and Kirsten Dunst. We won’t rehash everyone who got shafted; the point is, it happened, as it seems to every year. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences has a long and storied history of shutting out great performances; after the jump, we’ve assembled ten iconic acting turns that we were stunned to discover weren’t even nominated for the Oscar.

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PARK CITY, UT: Disillusionment with the Oscars is one of the rites of passage for cinephile; we can tell you all about the great movies and filmmakers they didn’t nominate, and the swill that they did, we’ll tell you how it’s all politicized, bought, and sold, seldom having more than a passing acquaintance with actual cinematic quality. And yet here is your humble film editor, up early at Sundance to peruse the nominees announced this morning, and I must confess: it’s not just out of professional obligation. The Oscar derby is phony and petty and silly, and it’s also exciting and fun — the NCAA Sweet 16 for movie nerds. So fill out your brackets now; the major nominees are after the jump, along with some reactions.

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The Academy Award for Best Documentary has always been, let’s face it, problematic. For decades the Documentary branch was notorious for snubbing, on an almost yearly basis, any doc that’d had the good fortune of actually accomplishing box office success; some of the most acclaimed nonfiction feature films of recent years (including Grey Gardens, The Thin Blue Line, Roger & Me, and Sherman’s March) weren’t even nominated for the award. In 1994, amidst charges of unfair rules and cronyism, the critical outcry following the snubs of Hoop Dreams and Crumb prompted the Academy to change, at long last, the way it nominated and voted on documentary films. The new rules certainly improved matters, and well-regarded, deserving pics like The Fog of War, Man on Wire, and Inside Job won the award.

But it’s still an imperfect system, and this year’s 15-film “short list” had several puzzling exclusions: Werner Herzog’s masterful Cave of Forgotten Dreams and powerful Into the Abyss, Errol Morris’ Tabloid, and the sharp and moving The Interrupters (from Hoop Dreams director Steve James). It’s hard to say if the louder-than-normal response to those snubs caused the new round of just-announced changes to the documentary nominating and voting procedure; what we can say is that they are a decidedly mixed bag.

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Every Wednesday in December, Flavorwire will take a look back at the year in film — the stories, the performances, the movies that we were talking about in 2011. For this week, let’s revisit some of the year’s movie controversies, shall we?

We film folk can get worked up pretty easily, so while we found plenty of things to get all a-tizzy about in 2011, the assembled list of 2011′s film controversies doesn’t exactly read like end-of-the-world, stop-the-presses stuff. But these things are important to us! We’re easily excitable! Thus, ratings and posters and Oscars and Darth Vader’s scream were well worth talking about — then, and now. Join us after the jump to relive some of the year’s very big deals. Read More »

1. Exciting news for fans of opening musical medleys and movie spoofs: Billy Crystal is returning to host the Oscars for what will now be his ninth time. Not exactly the most interesting choice that the Academy could have made, but given the recent PR roller coaster they’ve been on, perhaps that’s for the best. [via EW]

2. Damon Albarn’s supergroup The Good, The Bad, & The Queen — which also features Paul Simonon of The Clash, as well as Simon Tong and Tony Allen of The Verve — reunited for the first time in three years last night to play two gigs, the first on board a new Greenpeace boat in the middle of the River Thames. [via NME]

3. Starz is developing a new six-hour series about the rise and fall of the Ottoman Empire called Harem that’s based on an idea by Gina Gershon; the story, written by Ann Peacock (The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe), will reportedly revolve around Roxelana, “a beautiful young slave girl whose ambitions knew no bounds and whose marriage to Suleyman kicked off what became known as the ‘Reign of Women.’” [via THR]

4. Brian Eno was the musical guest on last night’s Colbert Report; watch a clip of his entertaining interview with Colbert, as well as a performance of “Lean On Me” that included a cameo by Michael Stipe, here.

5. For the first time in 80 years, five murals that Diego Rivera created for the Museum of Modern Art back in 1931 will be displayed together as part of a new exhibition at the museum that opens on Sunday. [via NYT]

Bonus Buzz: 86-Year-Old’s Rage Comic

Tower Heist, perhaps the most unimaginatively titled movie of the year (and that’s no mean feat, following Bad Teacher and Horrible Bosses), is out this Friday, and whatever interest it might have rustled up with its stellar cast of character actors (including Alan Alda, Matthew Broderick, Casey Affleck, Téa Leoni, Judd Hirsch, and Gabby Sidibe) and impressive screenwriters (Ocean’s 11’s Ted Griffin and Catch Me if You Can’s Jeff Nathanson) are pretty much cancelled out by two participants: director Brett Ratner, who has managed to kill every potential franchise he’s touched (with the unfortunate exception of his own Rush Hour movies), and co-star Eddie Murphy.

The fact that Murphy is playing an ex-con (like 48 HRS., remember? Back when he was funny?) in a movie not aimed at four-year-olds, and is actually bothering to do the slightest bit of publicity (in the form of a Rolling Stone interview — more on that later) seems to have folks feverishly talking “comeback” or “return to form” or whatever. This notion requires two giant leaps: 1) ignoring the Tower Heist trailer, which shows Murphy doing the same tired tough-guy schtick and exaggerated “street” patter as the execrable I Spy, and 2) overlooking the fact that he’s done exactly two good movies since 1999 (Bowfinger and Dreamgirls). We’re over Eddie Murphy, and after the jump, we’ll tell you why.

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1. Today would have been Freddie Mercury’s 65th birthday, and Google is honoring the Queen frontman with an animated Doodle tribute that took them nearly three months to create. [via Gawker]

2. It looks like The Help — which is sitting pretty at number one for the third week in a row now — will top this weekend’s holiday box office, with newcomer The Debt (that Helen Mirren thriller) trailing not too far behind. Less popular than predicted: Apollo 18 and Shark Night 3D. We’re proud of you, America. [via THR]

3. Sorry, Billy Crystal. According to Deadline, Eddie Murphy is producer Brett Ratner’s top choice to host this year’s Academy Awards. Given the fact that Murphy stars in Ratner’s fall release, Tower Heist, this news isn’t all that surprising, but it could result in a more interesting show than we’ve seen in recent years — especially if he channels ’80s Eddie.

4. Update: Steven Soderbergh’s much-discussed impending retirement (which is to coincide with his new career as a painter) has actually been blown way out of proportion. “It’s less dramatic that it sounds; it’s just a sabbatical,” he told the Observer. “I feel I need to recalibrate, so I can discover something new. I’m out of ways of telling art.” [via Vulture]

5. How old would you say is too old to be kicked off a plane for refusing to pull your pants up? Let’s ask Billie Joe Armstrong, shall we?

Bonus Buzz: 10 Great Things Courtesy of Labor Unions

That’s right kids, it’s Oscar night, when America’s most self-celebratory town gets together and just cold pats itself on the back for three or four or eight hours, and we all watch and make fun of the dresses. We’ll be liveblogging the whole damn thing tonight, right here (well, the whole ceremony, at least—not that endless red carpet crap, because really, what do you want from us?).

We’ll start the big liveblog around 8pm EST, when the ceremony kicks off, maybe a little earlier, if our party guests decide not to take forever straggling in like a bunch of hoboes. In the meantime, line up your bottles and shotglasses and check out Flavorpill’s Official 2011 Oscars Drinking Game ™, and come up with your own predictions for the night’s biggest surprises.
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1. Evidently craving some controversy, last night Kanye West tweeted the following: “an abortion can cost a ballin’ nigga up to 50gs maybe a 100. Gold diggin’ bitches be getting pregnant on purpose. #STRAPUP my niggas!… It ain’t happen to me but I know people.” [via Vulture]

2. Earlier today a British court ordered Wikileaks founder Julian Assange to be extradited to Sweden to face accusations of sexual abuse; his lawyers have seven days to appeal the ruling. [via NYT]

3. The dowdy old Oscar envelope is getting a much-needed makeover courtesy of Marc Friedland: “Taking cues from old Hollywood, it’s done up like a gilded picture frame, which features the award category in sleek charcoal ink. Images of the Oscar statuette in satin gold leaf adorn a red-lacquered lining. As for the winner’s name: It’ll appear on a heavyweight ecru card decorated with even more gold… then mounted on a red lacquer frame. The whole thing will be sealed with a ribbon featuring PwC’s logo.” [via Gawker]

4. In honor of his one-year anniversary on Twitter, Conan O’Brien is holding a contest to rewrite his bio on the site. The winner will receive an original painting of the Conan Pale Whale painted by Twitter fail whale artist Yiying Lu. [via Geek Sugar]

5. Paul McCartney has collaborated with the New York City Ballet to compose the score for their new production Ocean’s Kingdom, which is set to debut in September. [via NME]

Bonus link: The 50 Greatest Opening Title Sequences of All Time

1. Beastie Boy Adam Yauch, who is currently recovering from salivary gland cancer, says that’s he ready to get back to work, and that the group’s next album, Hot Sauce Committee, Part One, will drop this fall. [via MTV]
2. An insider says that George Clooney was in on the Oscars gag: “It was something George and Alec [Baldwin] agreed upon… It was a ‘follow-my-lead’ sort of thing.” [via NYDN]
3. How much was Sandra Bullock‘s Oscar win worth? Apparently lot less than Jeff Bridges’ was. [via Vulture]
4. An amended edition of James Joyce‘s Finnegans Wake is set to be published next week with 9,000 “minor corrections and alterations.” [via Irish Times]
5. Massive debtor/celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz has arranged a deal with a private equity firm that should preserve her archive. [via Reuters]

Coachella giveaway: We use Yahoo! Search to help find the top culture stories of the day. Now we’re giving you the chance to play editor, and you just might win a trip to Coachella.

Use Yahoo! Search to find an interesting link about Adam Yauch, and drop it below in the comments. Our favorite entry will receive Beastie Boys DVD Video Anthology – Criterion Collection and more importantly, be entered to win a VIP trip for two to Coachella. Topics will be changing throughout the week, so get your search on and keep playing to increase your chances of winning!