Travel Movies Go to the Oscars

Travel Blog  •  Eva Holland  •  01.22.09 | 10:39 AM ET

Photo by ginnerobot via Flickr (Creative Commons)

Yes, the Oscar nominations are in. And while this year’s crop of nominated travel flicks won’t exactly be waltzing down the red carpet with all eyes on them—as expected, the films that made noise at the Golden Globes got significantly less love from the Academy voters—a handful may yet manage to sneak in one of the side entrances and grab some hardware.

Penelope Cruz is our only acting nominee: she’s landed a Best Supporting Actress nod for her role as the wife of a painter who gets involved with a pair of American backpackers, in Vicky Cristina Barcelona. “In Bruges,” meanwhile, about a pair of hitmen-turned-tourists in, well, Bruges, has been nominated for Best Original Screenplay. Mamma Mia! was, unsurprisingly, left out of the fun—though the much-maligned “Australia” has been given a shot at the Oscar for Achievement in Costume Design.

For lovers of travel and movies this year, it seems our best shot at Oscar glory is “Slumdog Millionaire.” Though not really a travel movie, “Slumdog” is easily the most evocative film about place I’ve seen all year; it’s landed 10 nominations, including Best Original Score, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Director and Best Picture.

The Oscars air on February 22. I know who I’ll be rooting for.

Tags: Movies, Pop Culture Travel, Australia & Pacific, Australia, Asia, India, Mumbai, Europe, Belgium, Spain, Barcelona, News and Briefs

Eva Holland is co-editor of World Hum. She is a former associate editor at Up Here and Up Here Business magazines, and a contributor to Vela. She's based in Canada's Yukon territory.


1 Comment for Travel Movies Go to the Oscars

TambourineMan 01.23.09 | 4:36 PM ET

The Razzie Awards didn’t forget about Mamma Mia. Pierce Brosnan has been nominated for Worst Supporting Actor. Good luck, sir.

http://www.razzies.com/history/08NomsACTO.asp

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