[Ronin]

Thoughts? The Hurt Locker, Inglourious Basterds and Up in the Air were some of my favorite movies this year and one of those has to take Best Picture. Sort of don't care about the rest since I'm going to be bias toward those movies and haven't seen Invictus (did ANYONE!?), Crazy Heart or most of the others. An Education is a very good movie but I don't think it's strong enough to beat any of the others and I hear Precious has some fantastic acting it in.

The only other category I care about is probably Best Supporting Actor and if Christopher Waltz doesn't win, this whole fucking deal is a goddamn sham and would be the worst call since...well, since Shakespeare in Love won over Saving Private Ryan.


Actor in a Leading Role

* Jeff Bridges in “Crazy Heart”
* George Clooney in “Up in the Air”
* Colin Firth in “A Single Man”
* Morgan Freeman in “Invictus”
* Jeremy Renner in “The Hurt Locker”

Actor in a Supporting Role

* Matt Damon in “Invictus”
* Woody Harrelson in “The Messenger”
* Christopher Plummer in “The Last Station”
* Stanley Tucci in “The Lovely Bones”
* Christoph Waltz in “Inglourious Basterds”

Actress in a Leading Role

* Sandra Bullock in “The Blind Side”
* Helen Mirren in “The Last Station”
* Carey Mulligan in “An Education”
* Gabourey Sidibe in “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”
* Meryl Streep in “Julie & Julia”

Actress in a Supporting Role

* Penélope Cruz in “Nine”
* Vera Farmiga in “Up in the Air”
* Maggie Gyllenhaal in “Crazy Heart”
* Anna Kendrick in “Up in the Air”
* Mo’Nique in “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”

Animated Feature Film

* “Coraline” Henry Selick
* “Fantastic Mr. Fox” Wes Anderson
* “The Princess and the Frog” John Musker and Ron Clements
* “The Secret of Kells” Tomm Moore
* “Up” Pete Docter

Art Direction

* “Avatar” Art Direction: Rick Carter and Robert Stromberg; Set Decoration: Kim Sinclair
* “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” Art Direction: Dave Warren and Anastasia Masaro; Set Decoration: Caroline Smith
* “Nine” Art Direction: John Myhre; Set Decoration: Gordon Sim
* “Sherlock Holmes” Art Direction: Sarah Greenwood; Set Decoration: Katie Spencer
* “The Young Victoria” Art Direction: Patrice Vermette; Set Decoration: Maggie Gray

Cinematography

* “Avatar” Mauro Fiore
* “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” Bruno Delbonnel
* “The Hurt Locker” Barry Ackroyd
* “Inglourious Basterds” Robert Richardson
* “The White Ribbon” Christian Berger

Costume Design

* “Bright Star” Janet Patterson
* “Coco before Chanel” Catherine Leterrier
* “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” Monique Prudhomme
* “Nine” Colleen Atwood
* “The Young Victoria” Sandy Powell

Directing

* “Avatar” James Cameron
* “The Hurt Locker” Kathryn Bigelow
* “Inglourious Basterds” Quentin Tarantino
* “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” Lee Daniels
* “Up in the Air” Jason Reitman

Documentary (Feature)

* “Burma VJ” Anders Østergaard and Lise Lense-Møller
* “The Cove” Nominees to be determined
* “Food, Inc.” Robert Kenner and Elise Pearlstein
* “The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers” Judith Ehrlich and Rick Goldsmith
* “Which Way Home” Rebecca Cammisa

Documentary (Short Subject)

* “China’s Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province” Jon Alpert and Matthew O’Neill
* “The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner” Daniel Junge and Henry Ansbacher
* “The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant” Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert
* “Music by Prudence” Roger Ross Williams and Elinor Burkett
* “Rabbit à la Berlin” Bartek Konopka and Anna Wydra

Film Editing

* “Avatar” Stephen Rivkin, John Refoua and James Cameron
* “District 9” Julian Clarke
* “The Hurt Locker” Bob Murawski and Chris Innis
* “Inglourious Basterds” Sally Menke
* “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” Joe Klotz

Foreign Language Film

* “Ajami” Israel
* “El Secreto de Sus Ojos” Argentina
* “The Milk of Sorrow” Peru
* “Un Prophète” France
* “The White Ribbon” Germany

Makeup

* “Il Divo” Aldo Signoretti and Vittorio Sodano
* “Star Trek” Barney Burman, Mindy Hall and Joel Harlow
* “The Young Victoria” Jon Henry Gordon and Jenny Shircore

Music (Original Score)

* “Avatar” James Horner
* “Fantastic Mr. Fox” Alexandre Desplat
* “The Hurt Locker” Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders
* “Sherlock Holmes” Hans Zimmer
* “Up” Michael Giacchino

Music (Original Song)

* “Almost There” from “The Princess and the Frog” Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
* “Down in New Orleans” from “The Princess and the Frog” Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
* “Loin de Paname” from “Paris 36” Music by Reinhardt Wagner Lyric by Frank Thomas
* “Take It All” from “Nine” Music and Lyric by Maury Yeston
* “The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)” from “Crazy Heart” Music and Lyric by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett

Best Picture

* “Avatar” James Cameron and Jon Landau, Producers
* “The Blind Side” Nominees to be determined
* “District 9” Peter Jackson and Carolynne Cunningham, Producers
* “An Education” Finola Dwyer and Amanda Posey, Producers
* “The Hurt Locker” Nominees to be determined
* “Inglourious Basterds” Lawrence Bender, Producer
* “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” Lee Daniels, Sarah Siegel-Magness and Gary Magness, Producers
* “A Serious Man” Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, Producers
* “Up” Jonas Rivera, Producer
* “Up in the Air” Daniel Dubiecki, Ivan Reitman and Jason Reitman, Producers

Short Film (Animated)

* “French Roast” Fabrice O. Joubert
* “Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty” Nicky Phelan and Darragh O’Connell
* “The Lady and the Reaper (La Dama y la Muerte)” Javier Recio Gracia
* “Logorama” Nicolas Schmerkin
* “A Matter of Loaf and Death” Nick Park

Short Film (Live Action)

* “The Door” Juanita Wilson and James Flynn
* “Instead of Abracadabra” Patrik Eklund and Mathias Fjellström
* “Kavi” Gregg Helvey
* “Miracle Fish” Luke Doolan and Drew Bailey
* “The New Tenants” Joachim Back and Tivi Magnusson

Sound Editing

* “Avatar” Christopher Boyes and Gwendolyn Yates Whittle
* “The Hurt Locker” Paul N.J. Ottosson
* “Inglourious Basterds” Wylie Stateman
* “Star Trek” Mark Stoeckinger and Alan Rankin
* “Up” Michael Silvers and Tom Myers

Sound Mixing

* “Avatar” Christopher Boyes, Gary Summers, Andy Nelson and Tony Johnson
* “The Hurt Locker” Paul N.J. Ottosson and Ray Beckett
* “Inglourious Basterds” Michael Minkler, Tony Lamberti and Mark Ulano
* “Star Trek” Anna Behlmer, Andy Nelson and Peter J. Devlin
* “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers and Geoffrey Patterson

Visual Effects

* “Avatar” Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham and Andrew R. Jones
* “District 9” Dan Kaufman, Peter Muyzers, Robert Habros and Matt Aitken
* “Star Trek” Roger Guyett, Russell Earl, Paul Kavanagh and Burt Dalton

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

* “District 9” Written by Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell
* “An Education” Screenplay by Nick Hornby
* “In the Loop” Screenplay by Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche
* “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” Screenplay by Geoffrey Fletcher
* “Up in the Air” Screenplay by Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner

Writing (Original Screenplay)

* “The Hurt Locker” Written by Mark Boal
* “Inglourious Basterds” Written by Quentin Tarantino
* “The Messenger” Written by Alessandro Camon & Oren Moverman
* “A Serious Man” Written by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
* “Up” Screenplay by Bob Peterson, Pete Docter, Story by Pete Docter, Bob Peterson, Tom McCarthy

[NimbeeTT]

i can see Avatar taking Best picture, Cinematography and directing for sure.
Meryl Streep or Sandra Bullock for leading actress
UP for Animated Feature
Sherlock Holmes for Original musical scores, i personally thought the music in Avatar wasn't that intriguing. Sherlock Holmes was much better and full of character!

As for the other ones I can't say since I haven't watched some of the films.

[Delish]

omgggg 10 Best Picture categories that's nuts

Meryl Streep is awesome and I enjoyed Julie and Julie but honestly I don't think her role in the film warrants a nomination in the LEAD actress category. Even though the film was split into 2 storylines I felt it focused more on Amy Adam's character than anything else. She was still really good in it though, she played Julia Childs spot-on.

[SlySi]

Best Picture

* “Avatar” James Cameron and Jon Landau, Producers
* “The Blind Side” Nominees to be determined
* “District 9” Peter Jackson and Carolynne Cunningham, Producers
* “An Education” Finola Dwyer and Amanda Posey, Producers
* “The Hurt Locker” Nominees to be determined
* “Inglourious Basterds” Lawrence Bender, Producer
* “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” Lee Daniels, Sarah Siegel-Magness and Gary Magness, Producers
* “A Serious Man” Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, Producers
* “Up” Jonas Rivera, Producer
* “Up in the Air” Daniel Dubiecki, Ivan Reitman and Jason Reitman, Producers



Sad year for movies......
No clear front runner this year.
Im hoping Avatar doesnt win. Good 3D.. thats about it.. other than that.....Does not deserve Best Picture.
Of course with politics involved... and typical Oscars... Avatar wins....
So congrats..

[mc.]

I hope the hurt locker wins, man that movie was amazing.

[ajax]

Sad year for movies......
No clear front runner this year.
Im hoping Avatar doesnt win. Good 3D.. thats about it.. other than that.....Does not deserve Best Picture.
Of course with politics involved... and typical Oscars... Avatar wins....
So congrats..

Sad year? I think there's some great movies listed there.

[hal0g0dv2]

I hope the hurt locker wins, man that movie was amazing.

i dont get how that is the best movie of the year? there was nothing at all, like they defuse bombs and some ppl die and thats about it, there is no war or like sick death scenes or anything else

Inglourious Basterds / now this is movie of the year. were talking epic acting
come on the jew hunter actor of the fucking year

[6793026]

i dont get how that is the best movie of the year? there was nothing at all, like they defuse bombs and some ppl die and thats about it, there is no war or like sick death scenes or anything else

Inglourious Basterds / now this is movie of the year. were talking epic acting
come on the jew hunter actor of the fucking year

I do agree on hurt locker not being that great at all, no idea why there was so much hype.

* Christoph Waltz in “Inglourious Basterds” was the ONLY clear winner in my mind. he was extremely good.

Up in the air did have a great script but was it superb on acting and everything.. mehhhh

Julie and Julia was just a normal chick flick movie, Streep won't win it this year, she already did last year in Doubt right?

The blind side was actually great and Bullock did a great job in it, will she WIN....not sure..

[RayBot]

My vote for best picture will be District 9. No movie really like that,...lots of points of original cinematography. However, its a longshot to win.

However, you can't ignore the fact that Avatar has EVERYTHING. You can't say that about a lot of movies. Avatar has.....a good story, drama, action, romance, good editing, good special effects, good original score, good original music, good editing, good cast, good cinematography...etc. etc. etc....AND its in 3d.

You can't say that about a lot of movies...especially the previous winners of the Best Picture Oscar. The closest movie I can think that had everything was Star Wars.....IF episodes 4, 5 and 6 was combined together.

[twitchyzero]

i have only seen 4 out of the 10 movies in the best pictures category :(
yeah i thought hurt locker was pretty boring...if i wasn't watching it with someone else i would've stopped the movie half way..i think the acting was great but everything else was avg at best

[Ronin]

I've seen every movie in the Best Picture category other than Precious, Up and A Serious Man. Of all of them, The Hurt Locker or Up in the Air have the best chance of winning. Inglourious Basterds was a masterpiece but I can't see it being Best Picture.

And if you thought The Hurt Locker was boring...well...:IDL

[hal0g0dv2]

up in the air was really good also

[twitchyzero]

And if you thought The Hurt Locker was boring...well...:IDL
So what are some of the qualities of this film contending for Best Picture?

[mc.]

do you remember the sniper scene? or what happens to the kid that sells dvds? how were those boring?

[liu13]

no great movies this year, a few entertaining ones but pretty lackluster
i really think Avatar will win best picture

[twitchyzero]

do you remember the sniper scene? or what happens to the kid that sells dvds? how were those boring?
sniper scene reminds me of jarhead
kid that was selling dvd didn't die
meh?

[RayBot]

Theres actually an interesting article in this month's FAMOUS magazine; the magazine you can find for free at Silvercity.

Theres a prediction questionnaire that was provided to all the major film critic association: Los Angeles, New York, Boston, Vancouver, etc...


It seems that the one that takes the majority of the votes for best picture as predicted by the film critic associations is...


......the Hurt Locker.

[mc.]

kid that was selling dvd didn't die
meh?

lol, were you paying attention during the movie?

[hal0g0dv2]

nice chris waltz for supporting actor whoooooooo

[skyxx]

lol, were you paying attention during the movie?

The kid didn't die. It was another kid that looked like him. Looks like you didn't pay attention.

[Ronin]

FUCKING...CALLED IT. I told you The Hurt Locker would be the best picture.

Avatar for best picture, lol...silly noobs!

[91LS-VTak]

I can't believe that Avatar didn't win for best director or best movie.

[vapour_lock]

^ I CAN. woot. but sandra bullock for best actress. didnt see that one

[twitchyzero]

The kid didn't die. It was another kid that looked like him. Looks like you didn't pay attention.

lol for a sec i was doubting myself. i watched it on a horrible blu-ray rip.

good for it winning best picture, i guess for a low budget film great on them.

but it'll go down along with crash as best pictures i didn't enjoy.

[Laundry]

I kinda felt the awards were gonna turn into the Hurt Locker lovefest, it's well deserved though...

Almost all the major awards went to who they were suppose to... there wasn't really a surprise, which I was hoping for, for some categories...

[murd0c]

^ I CAN. woot. but sandra bullock for best actress. didnt see that one

sandra bullock was actually a heavy favorite to win. I would of been suprised if anyone else did

[NimbeeTT]

I'm just glad Avatar didn't "own the Oscars" with all the hype, it was amazing and all but it really doesnt deserve to win all the awards it was nominated for, there are better ones as we saw tonight.

Sandra Bullock wooooo

[Inaii]

Hurt Locker was a great movie, may not have been spot on for realism but it was great nonetheless. I've heard nothing but bad things about Avatar. People have told me it's like watching a Starcraft match get put into a movie. Snore. No thanks.

[liu13]

all the movies nodded for best picture are horribly mediocre movies except avatar

that is one movie we might even remember a year down the road

[twitchyzero]

i read that many iraq vets thought the hurt locker didn't represent them well
i rather watch HBO's generation kill

james cameron aquaman should've won :lol

[hal0g0dv2]

aww wtf
shitty, hurt locker god damm

[Expresso]

all the movies nodded for best picture are horribly mediocre movies except avatar

that is one movie we might even remember a year down the road

Are you serious!? I'm guessing you are still in High School?

Well deserved for Hurt Locker.

[RayBot]

Just because it made the most amount of money doesn't make it the best movie.....


Obviously, there isn't any credibility when a bunch of high school kids and morons watch Avatar over and over again.


Look where your money went guys.....A GOLDEN GLOBE! The only voting panel that would give BORAT a movie of the year award....:thumbsup:

[wuuhoo]

agreeing with most of you.

I still cant get over the fact the hurt lcoker won best pictures

[Ronin]

all the movies nodded for best picture are horribly mediocre movies except avatar

that is one movie we might even remember a year down the road

Yep. I sure hate character driven drama with stellar acting and a genuinely tense atmosphere carefully developed through camera work and sound. I'd much rather have a story we've heard at least six times before in movie that little more than a display for next generation technology.

[Ronin]

agreeing with most of you.

I still cant get over the fact the hurt lcoker won best pictures

That's because movies like The Hurt Locker aren't for retards.

If The Hurt Locker didn't win, it would've been Up in the Air. Avatar was only there because the movie is a technical achievement...not actually a good movie.

[Grandmaster TSE]

That's because movies like The Hurt Locker aren't for retards.

If The Hurt Locker didn't win, it would've been Up in the Air. Avatar was only there because the movie is a technical achievement...not actually a good movie.

i would have love to see up in the air win it
but i agree, hurt locker was awesome!!!

[Jsunu]

That's because movies like The Hurt Locker aren't for retards.

If The Hurt Locker didn't win, it would've been Up in the Air. Avatar was only there because the movie is a technical achievement...not actually a good movie.

Man i hate this attitude with awards comes around. Hurt locker was the better movie but for pure ENJOYMENT factor avatar wins hands down.

In here lies the problem, people will want what they found to be the most enjoyable movie to win. This in itself, does not indicate that they are somehow retarded because they have a "lowbrow" taste in movies.

[Expresso]

Man i hate this attitude with awards comes around. Hurt locker was the better movie but for pure ENJOYMENT factor avatar wins hands down.

In here lies the problem, people will want what they found to be the most enjoyable movie to win. This in itself, does not indicate that they are somehow retarded because they have a "lowbrow" taste in movies.

I think you have to keep in mind is that the Oscars doesn't award movies based on just pure ENJOYMENT factor. If that was the case, movies like StarTrek or Zombieland would be in contention.

Let's face it, most people's tastes are more align with the People's Choice Awards than say the Oscars anyway.

[Lomac]

Man i hate this attitude with awards comes around. Hurt locker was the better movie but for pure ENJOYMENT factor avatar wins hands down.

In here lies the problem, people will want what they found to be the most enjoyable movie to win. This in itself, does not indicate that they are somehow retarded because they have a "lowbrow" taste in movies.

If people looked into who won the previous years, they'd likely have a better ideas as to who will win the current year. Yes, I realize many people enjoyed Avatar, but it was nothing more than a technical achievement. Those sort of popcorn movies never win a Best Picture award at the Academy's. The majority of movies that win are ones that make you sit back when the credits start rolling and think for a few minutes about what you just saw. American Beauty, No Country For Old Men, Schindler's List, Slumdog Millionaire, etc., etc. That's not to say "entertaining films haven't won before -- Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, Chicago, Gladiator, etc. -- but most of those movies won not because of the entertainment factor, but because of something more.

And I'm sorry, but Avatar just didn't have that.

[Jsunu]

If people looked into who won the previous years, they'd likely have a better ideas as to who will win the current year. Yes, I realize many people enjoyed Avatar, but it was nothing more than a technical achievement. Those sort of popcorn movies never win a Best Picture award at the Academy's. The majority of movies that win are ones that make you sit back when the credits start rolling and think for a few minutes about what you just saw. American Beauty, No Country For Old Men, Schindler's List, Slumdog Millionaire, etc., etc. That's not to say "entertaining films haven't won before -- Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, Chicago, Gladiator, etc. -- but most of those movies won not because of the entertainment factor, but because of something more.

And I'm sorry, but Avatar just didn't have that.

Bla should have been more clear. I actually believed that Hurt locker should've have won this year, hands down. I was just trying to argue against how often people say avatar = retard, hurt locker = intellectual enjoyment.

[twitchyzero]

james cameron's Aquaman should've won last year

[steve93SI]

all the movies nodded for best picture are horribly mediocre movies except avatar

that is one movie we might even remember a year down the road

seriously dude? "horribly mediocre"?

Inglourious Basterds
Hurt Locker
District 9
and UP!?!?

Give your head a shake.

[Ronin]

Wanting Avatar to win Best Picture is like saying you think The Fast and the Furious is Best Picture...or you think Zoolander should've been Best Picture.

[Ronin]

The majority of movies that win are ones that make you sit back when the credits start rolling and think for a few minutes about what you just saw.

That happened in Avatar...I saw the future of movies. Did I see a good movie? Not really.

[Yuffa]

Way to go for the first best female director....=)

[RayBot]

Way to go for the first best female director....=)

I should find the number of her attourney.

You gotta give credit to a lawyer that can take 4 Oscars aways from James Cameron in the divorce.

[6793026]

i was pretty happy supporting male lead won by Chris, he deserved it.
I was sort of disappointed Hurt Locker won, the movie almost went straight to DVD.
You guys are right, Avatar was a cool movie but it wasn't in with a lot of depth and it just wasn't worthy. Now, Up in the air was a great script but i still didn't think George was close to winning. I really didn't think Streep was going to win for Julie and Julia but damnnnnnn Sandra's speech was just sooo freaking amazinggggg.

[Culture_Vulture]

it's always the same every year,
the movie that gets the most prestigious awards happens to be the one I didn't watch before the awards. :(

[Culture_Vulture]

That aside, I don't think Inglorious Basterds deserved to be in the nominations for Best Picture. From a creativity perspective, I would agree it's more than adequate, but I just don't think it was that great.
Maybe I'm just dull and unable to see the light, but there's gotta be somebody else that agrees with me.

[Ronin]

Inglourious Basterds definitely was one of the best of the year. Actually, for Best Picture, my ranking was...

The Hurt Locker
Up in the Air
Inglourious Basterds
An Education
District 9
Avatar
The Blind Side
Up

And I haven't seen the other two.

[Ronin]

And The Hurt Locker did not go straight to DVD. It was limited release in 2008 and actually had the highest PER THEATER gross on opening weekend. Problem was, it was only released in four theaters on opening week. It's not a big budget film as it only cost $11m to make and it ran in a lot of film festivals in 2008.

Like most indie flicks, it didn't get distribution from a big media house and after awhile, it went to DVD...THIS YEAR (Jan 2010).

[Lomac]

Bla should have been more clear. I actually believed that Hurt locker should've have won this year, hands down. I was just trying to argue against how often people say avatar = retard, hurt locker = intellectual enjoyment.

Sorry, didn't really mean to quote you. Was going to write something else as a reply to your post and ended up going in a different direction. :lol

That happened in Avatar...I saw the future of movies. Did I see a good movie? Not really.

:lol Didn't make you think the same way you would have after watching No Country For Old Men, though. ;)