2009-2010 Awards Season Wrap-Up

I laughed, I cried, I got angry. That description could've worked for this year's Oscars or the 2009-2010 awards season as a whole.

Hosts, presenters and award-winners provided hilarious and heartfelt moments, from the Critics' Choice Awards in January to the Academy Awards last night (March 7). Seeing the first woman to win an Academy Award for Direction (Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker) provided a moment that brought me to tears. Avatar's overall presence provoked a good share of anger, climaxing when I yelled, "It's just visual effects!" at the screen after its Best Cinematography Oscar win.

Sadly, my initial dream at the start of the awards season of seeing Quentin Tarantino (Best Original Screenplay for Inglourious Basterds) and George Clooney (Best Actor for Up in the Air) win Oscars on the same night didn't come true. But I can abide The Dude (Jeff Bridges) winning Best Actor for Crazy Heart. I did get to see Pedro Almodovar and Tarantino, two of my favorite filmmakers, present an award together.

I don't even want to go there with Sandra Bullock again. (She won a Razzie the night before the Oscars!) I'm just happy that Carey Mulligan (An Education) and Colin Firth (A Single Man) won at the BAFTAs. It was also good to see Gabourey Sidibe (Precious) win at the Independent Spirit Awards just two days before the Oscars.

The tributes to John Hughes at the Critics' Choice Awards and the Oscars also won me over - his death was the one movie-related death that really got to me last year. I know I would not be the person I am today without his films.

Personally, I would've liked to see Away We Go, Bright Star, 500 Days of Summer, A Single Man and Fantastic Mr. Fox get more attention across the board. But that's just me, and this awards season is now finally over. Goodbye, Avatar.

My Final Fearless Oscar Predictions

If I were a betting person, these are the films I would put my money on tomorrow night (March 7) to win this year's Academy Awards. (Personally, I'm rooting for Bright Star, Inglourious Basterds, A Single Man, Fantastic Mr. Fox and An Education.)

Best Picture

It will still boil down to The Hurt Locker vs. Avatar, and I think that The Hurt Locker will prevail.

(Likely) Winner: The Hurt Locker

Runner-Up: Avatar

2nd Runner-Up (only for this category as there are 10 nominees): Inglourious Basterds

Best Director

Again, it's The Hurt Locker (Kathryn Bigelow) vs. Avatar (James Cameron), and I think that Bigelow will walk away with this one as well (making her the first woman to do so).

Winner: Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker)

Runner-Up: James Cameron (Avatar)

Best Original Screenplay

Quentin Tarantino (Inglourious Basterds) is the front-runner here, but he could face an upset from Oscar-winners Joel and Ethan Coen (A Serious Man) or from Mark Boal should The Hurt Locker build up a sweep.

Winner: Quentin Tarantino (Inglourious Basterds)

Runner-Up: Mark Boal (The Hurt Locker)

Best Adapted Screenplay

As it goes in a few categories, this one is Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner's (Up in the Air) to lose.

Winners: Jason Reitman & Sheldon Turner (Up in the Air)

Runner-Up: Geoffrey Fletcher (Precious)

Best Actor

Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart) pretty much has this one locked up, although Colin Firth (A Single Man) did give a very strong, award-winning performance as well.

Winner: Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart)

Runner-Up: Colin Firth (A Single Man)

Best Actress

I never thought I would be saying this, but it looks like Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side) is going to win. However, Carey Mulligan (An Education), Gabourey Sidibe (Precious) and Meryl Streep (Julie & Julia) are close behind, and I could see any of them walking away with the Oscar.

Winner: Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side)

Runner-Up: Carey Mulligan (An Education)

Best Supporting Actor

This one is Christoph Waltz's (Inglourious Basterds) to lose.

Winner: Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds)

Runner-Up: Woody Harrelson (The Messenger)

Best Supporting Actress

This one is Mo'Nique's (Precious) to lose.

Winner: Mo'Nique (Precious)

Runner-Up: Vera Farmiga (Up in the Air)

Best Foreign Film

The White Ribbon has been winning the majority in this category at other awards, but A Prophet has an outside chance.

Winner: The White Ribbon

Runner-Up: A Prophet

Best Documentary

The Cove has been winning the majority in this category at other awards, but Food, Inc. has been picking up a few awards here and there too.

Winner: The Cove

Runner-Up: Food, Inc.

Best Animated Film

Pixar will continue its dominance in this category.

Winner: Up

Runner-Up: Fantastic Mr. Fox

Best Animated, Live-Action and Documentary Shorts

I really am not sure what will win in these three categories (especially seeing as I've only seen one of them in each category), so I'm just going to pick one for each.

Random Picks: Logorama, Miracle Fish and China's Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province (respectively)

Best Cinematography, Editing, Sound Mixing and Sound Editing

As it goes a lot of the time with the Oscars, I'm going to predict that there will be a sweep. This year these four categories all fall into the epic The Hurt Locker vs. Avatar battle. If I'm correct and there is a sweep, all four of these awards will likely go to the people from The Hurt Locker. If there isn't a sweep, they'll likely be split between the two films, with the people from Inglourious Basterds also having a fair shot.

Winners: the nominees for The Hurt Locker

Runners-Up: the nominees for Avatar

Best Visual Effects

This is Avatar's to lose.

Winners: Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham & Andrew R. Jones (Avatar)

Runners-Up: Dan Kaufman, Peter Muyzers, Robert Habros & Matt Aitken (District 9)

Best Original Song

I will be very surprised if "The Weary Kind" (Crazy Heart) doesn't win.

Winner: "The Weary Kind" (Crazy Heart)

Runner-Up: "Take It All" (Nine)

Best Score

This is Michael Giacchino's (Up) to lose.

Winner: Michael Giacchino (Up)

Runners-Up: Marco Beltrami & Buck Sanders (The Hurt Locker)

Best Art Direction

I don't exactly agree with it (as I think this particular film's art direction falls into the visual effects category), but the team from Avatar has been winning the awards leading up to this, and will likely continue.

Winners: Rick Carter, Kim Sinclair & Robert Stromberg (Avatar)

Runners-Up: Maggie Gray & Patrice Vermette (The Young Victoria)

Best Costume Design

Sandy Powell (The Young Victoria) has been winning a lot of awards leading up to this, so there's no reason to believe she won't win the Oscar.

Winner: Sandy Powell (The Young Victoria)

Runner-Up: Janet Patterson (Bright Star)

Best Makeup

Out of the three films nominated, Star Trek seems like the winner to me.

Winners: Barney Burman, Mindy Hall & Joel Harlow (Star Trek)

Runners-Up: Jon Henry Gordon & Jenny Shircore (The Young Victoria)

The complete list of nominees can be found here.

Speaking of Cinema's Oscar Picks

If we picked the Oscar winners, we would choose the following people and films to bring home the trophies at the 82nd Annual Academy Awards on Sunday night (March 7).

Best Picture - Inglourious Basterds is a clear favorite at Speaking of Cinema.

Best Director - Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker) and Quentin Tarantino (Inglourious Basterds) would have to be involved in some kind of tiebreaker if we picked the Oscar-winner in this category.

Best Original Screenplay - Tarantino (again for Inglourious Basterds) has found himself in another tie, this time with Joel and Ethan Coen (A Serious Man).

Best Adapted Screenplay - Nick Hornby's script for An Education barely edged out Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner's for Up in the Air.

Best Actor - Colin Firth is our unanimous choice for his terrific performance in A Single Man.

Best Actress - Newcomer Carey Mulligan is our choice for An Education. Fellow newcomer Gabourey Sidibe was close behind for her titular performance in Precious.

Best Supporting Actor - Christoph Waltz is another unanimous choice for his portrayal of Col. Hans Landa in Inglourious Basterds.

Best Supporting Actress - Mo'Nique is a front-runner on Sunday night and our choice to win for her performance in Precious.

The full listing of nominees can be found here.

Weekly News & Awards Round-Ups - Feb. 22-28, 2010

Due to a trip out of town, there will not be round-ups this week.

Additionally, there will not be News and Awards Round-Ups March 1-7 due to Oscar overload. News Round-Ups will be back March 8-14; Awards Round-Ups, due to the end of awards season, won't return until sometime in late fall or early winter.

Weekly Awards Round-Up - Feb. 15-21, 2010

The Writers Guild of America announced the winners of their awards on Feb. 20. Mark Boal won Best Original Screenplay for The Hurt Locker, while Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner won Best Adapted Screenplay for Up in the Air. Best Documentary Screenplay went to Mark Monrow for The Cove. More information can be found here.

The winners of the BAFTAs (the British equivalent of the Academy Awards) were announced on Feb. 21. The Hurt Locker won six awards - Best Picture, Best Director (Kathryn Bigelow), Best Original Screenplay (Mark Boal), Best Cinematography (Barry Ackroyd), Best Film Editing (Bob Murawski and Chris Innis) and Best Sound. Avatar won two awards - Best Visual Effects and Best Production Design. The Young Victoria won both Best Costume Design and Best Makeup and Hair. Up also walked away with two trophies - Best Animated Film and Best Score (Michael Giacchino). Duncan Jones was given the award for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer for Moon. Fish Tank won Outstanding British Film, while A Prophet won Best Foreign Film. Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner picked up yet another Best Adapted Screenplay award for Up in the Air. I Do Air won the award for Best Live-Action Short Film, and Mother of Many won Best Short Animated Film. Colin Firth won Best Actor for A Single Man, Carey Mulligan won Best Actress for An Education, Christoph Waltz won Best Supporting Actor for Inglourious Basterds, and Mo'Nique won Best Supporting Actress for Precious. Kristen Stewart was given the Orange Rising Star Award. More information can be found here.

The winners of the London Critics Circle Awards were announced on Feb. 18, and they include A Prophet for Best Film and Fish Tank for Best British Film. [The Guardian]

A Serious Man was named Best Film of 2009 by the International Cinephile Society on Feb. 17. Indiewire has the complete list of winners.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences held its Scientific and Technical Awards on Feb. 20. [Yahoo]

At the Academy Award nominees luncheon on Feb. 15, Oscar telecast producers Adam Shankman and Bill Mechanic suggested that the nominees have two acceptance speeches prepared for March 7 - the first being something fun and/or inspirational, about what winning the award means personally and leaves out the "boring" laundry list of thank-yous; the second being said laundry list, which the nominees can read off into a "Thank You Cam" as they exit the stage at the Kodak Theater.

At the luncheon, Shankman and Mechanic also announced that the five nominees for the Best Original Song Academy Award will not be performed at this year's ceremony. [Deadline Hollywood]

Oscars 2010 - A Movie-Themed Menu

For this year's Oscar night (March 7), I have decided to come up with menu items based on the Best Picture nominees and other films that received multiple nominations. And like Julie in Julie & Julia (nominated for Best Actress for Meryl Streep as the one and only Julia Child), I have taken to my blog to share my ideas.

Beverages

"Blue Tolstoy" (Avatar & The Last Station) - Blue Mixer or Food Coloring plus Vodka

Mini/Airplane Alcohol Bottles (Up in the Air)

Appetizers/Snacks

Hurt Latkes (The Hurt Locker & A Serious Man)

Crazy Artichoke Heart Dip (Crazy Heart)

Trail Mix (Up)

Main Course

Fried Chicken (Precious)

Taco Bell (The Blind Side)

Sides

Nine-Cheese Baguette (District 9/Nine/celebrating the best of 2009 + An Education) - This can be any nine cheeses, but for me it will likely be cream cheese, cheddar, mozzarella, parmesan, romano, pepper jack, colby, monterey jack and feta; runners-up include gruyere, brie and gorgonzola. To explain why An Education is part of this, especially for those who haven't seen it - the baguette was chosen for the bread because it is French, and in the movie, the lead character is obsessed with French culture.

Nine-Veggie Salad (District 9/Nine/celebrating the best of 2009) - Again, this can be any nine veggies, but for me it will likely be spinach, lettuce, mushrooms, carrots, cucumber, green peppers, cauliflower, broccoli and onions. Topping it off with Italian dressing would be an appropriate tribute to Nine as well.

Dessert

Strudel with Cream (Inglourious Basterds)

As this is the year of Best Documentary nominee Food, Inc., you get bonus points for using all organic, local and/or seasonal ingredients for these film-inspired creations.

Weekly Awards Round-Up - Feb. 8-14, 2010

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will broadcast a live stream of its Oscar nominees luncheon on Feb. 15 on its Facebook page, Oscars.org and Livestream.com. The stream will start at 11:30 a.m. Pacific time. More information can be found here.

Actress Elizabeth Banks (Zack and Miri Make a Porno, Definitely Maybe) will host the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Scientific and Technical Awards on Feb. 20. More information can be found here.

Penelope Cruz, Sean Penn and Kate Winslet, who all won acting Oscars last year, will be presenters at the Academy Awards on March 7. More information can be found here.

To increase its Best Adapted Oscar chances and generally promote the film, IFC has released the full screenplay for In the Loop on its website, along with a note from co-writer/director Armando Iannucci.

British actress Vanessa Redgrave will receive an Academy Fellowship from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts on Feb. 21, as part of the annual BAFTA Awards. [Yahoo]

The drama Fish Tank won Best Film, Anne-Marie Duff (Nowhere Boy) won Best Actress and Andy Serkis (Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll) won Best Actor at the Evening Standard Film Awards on Feb. 8. The Guardian has the complete list of winners.

The thriller Cell 211 won eight trophies - including Best Film - at the Goya Awards, Spain's equivalent of the Oscars, on Feb. 14. The historical drama Agora won seven awards, including Best Original Screenplay. [Yahoo]

The Art Directors Guild announced the winners of its annual awards on Feb. 13. Best Period Film Art Direction went to Sarah Greenwood for Sherlock Holmes; Best Fantasy Film Art Direction went to Rick Carter and Robert Stromberg for Avatar; and Best Contemporary Film Art Direction went to Karl Juliusson for The Hurt Locker. More information can be found here.

The American Cinema Editors announced the winners of their annual Eddie Awards on Feb. 14. Best Drama Film Editing went to Bob Murawski and Chris Innis for The Hurt Locker; Best Comedy Film Editing went to Debra Neil-Fisher for The Hangover; Best Animated Film Editing went to Kevin Nolting for Up; and Best Documentary Editing went to Geoffrey Richman for The Cove. More information and the complete list of nominees can be found here.

Weekly Awards Round-Up - Feb. 1-7, 2010

The nominees for the 82nd Annual Academy Awards were announced on Feb. 2. View the complete list here.

The nominations for this year's Razzies, which honor the worst in film, have also been announced. All About Steve, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, Land of the Lost, Old Dogs and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen were nominated for Worst Picture.

Worst Director: Michael Bay (Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen), Walt Becker (Old Dogs), Brad Silberling (Land of the Lost), Stephen Sommers (G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra), Phil Traill (All About Steve)

Worst Screenplay: Kim Barker (All About Steve); Stuart Beattie, David Elliot & Paul Lovett (G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra); Chris Henchy & Dennis McNicholas (Land of the Lost); Ehren Kruger, Alex Kurtzman & Roberto Orci (Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen); Melissa Rosenberg (Twilight Saga: New Moon)

Worst Actor: Will Ferrell (Land of the Lost), The Jonas Brothers (Jonas Brothers: The 3-D Concert Experience), Steve Martin (Pink Panther 2), Eddie Murphy (Imagine That), John Travolta (Old Dogs)

Worst Actress: Sandra Bullock (All About Steve), Miley Cyrus (Hannah Montana: The Movie), Megan Fox (Jennifer's Body and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen), Beyonce Knowles (Obsessed), Sarah Jessica Parker (Did You Hear About the Morgans?)

Worst Supporting Actor: Billy Ray Cyrus (Hannah Montana: The Movie), Hugh Hefner (Miss March), Robert Pattinson (Twilight Saga: New Moon), Jorma Taccone (Land of the Lost), Marlon Wayans (G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra)

Worst Supporting Actress: Candice Bergen (Bride Wars), Ali Larter (Obsessed), Sienna Miller (G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra), Kelly Preston (Old Dogs), Julie White (Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen)

Worst Screen Couple: Sandra Bullock & Bradley Cooper (All About Steve); Will Ferrell & any co-star, creature or "comic riff" (Land of the Lost); any two (or more) Jonas Brothers (Jonas Brothers: The 3-D Concert Experience); Shia LaBeouf & either Megan Fox or any Transformer (Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen); Kristin Stewart & Robert Pattinson or Taylor Lautner (Twilight Saga: New Moon)

Worst Remake, Rip-Off or Sequel: G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, Land of the Lost, Pink Panther 2, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Twilight Saga: New Moon

They also announced the nominees for the Worst in Film for the 2000s. The Worst Picture of the Decade Razzie nominees are Battlefield Earth, Freddy Got Fingered, Gigli, I Know Who Killed Me and Swept Away.

Worst Actor of the Decade: Ben Affleck (Daredevil, Gigli, Jersey Girl, Paycheck, Pearl Harbor, Surviving Christmas), Eddie Murphy (Adventures of Pluto Nash, I Spy, Imagine That, Meet Dave, Norbit, Showtime), Mike Myers (Cat in the Hat, The Love Guru), Rob Schneider (The Animal, Benchwarmers, Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo, Grandma's Boy, The Hot Chick, I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry, Little Man, Little Nicky), John Travolta (Battlefield Earth, Domestic Disturbance, Lucky Numbers, Old Dogs, Swordfish)

Worst Actress of the Decade: Mariah Carey (Glitter), Paris Hilton (The Hottie & the Nottie, House of Wax, Repo: The Genetic Opera), Lindsay Lohan (Herbie Fully Loaded, I Know Who Killed Me, Just My Luck), Jennifer Lopez (Angel Eyes, Enough, Gigli, Jersey Girl, Maid in Manhattan, Monster-in-Law, The Wedding Planner), Madonna (Die Another Day, The Next Best Thing, Swept Away)

The "winners" will be announced in March, and more information can be found here.

The winners of this year's Annie Awards, which honor the best in animation, have been announced and include Up, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Coraline and The Princess and the Frog. The complete list of winners can be found here.

Justin Timberlake received his "Man of the Year" pudding pot from Harvard's Hasty Pudding theatrical troupe on Feb. 5. [Yahoo]

Nic Cage: National Treasure - "Snubbed" by Oscars AND Razzies

The nominations for the Razzies (which "honor" the worst movies every year) for films released in 2009 and the entire decade of the 2000s were announced yesterday (Feb. 1), and Knowing, which has continued Nicolas Cage's string of ridiculously bad movies this decade, didn't even get a nomination. Cage also failed to get a spot on the highly un-coveted list of nominees for Worst Actors of the Decade, which consists of Ben Affleck, Eddie Murphy, Mike Myers, Rob Schneider and John Travolta. All of those men are worthy contenders, but I honestly would have predicted Cage to be on that list, perhaps in place of Myers or Schneider (who only had a supporting role in about half of the films they mentioned). I mean, who else could claim the title of most ridiculous action-adventure star of the decade? He had a flaming skull (Ghost Rider), punched out a woman while wearing a bear costume (The Wicker Man) and kidnapped the president (National Treasure 2). The amount of ridiculous one-liners in most of his films this decade, especially The Wicker Man, could fill volumes. I was also saddened by the absence of that film amongst the Worst Movie of the Decade nominees, as it would definitely belong in my worst five films of the 2000s. (Warning: The following video does contain spoilers and bear-man vs. women action.)

The last part of 2009 brought a better Cage to the screen in director Werner Herzog's Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans. He even received a couple of nominations here and there for Best Actor with some of the critics' organizations. I don't think it was quite worthy of that praise; I personally think Cage is at his best when he's a little more low-key (Leaving Las Vegas, Bringing Out the Dead, The Weather Man). While it wasn't a huge shocker that his name was omitted from the Best Actor Oscar nominations this morning (Feb. 2), his name was circulating out there as a possible dark horse.

Considering a Break-Up with Oscar

I can, on occasion, be fairly elitist about films (although I also have appreciation for a good silly romantic comedy or action film now and then), and this awards season, I've found that this elitist side is emerging full force.

The Avatar-mania is one thing, as is the over-zealous Streepfest, and honoring Sandra Bullock for her best performance. (I'm doing my best not to get emotional and write the next sentence in all caps or with a million question and/or exclamation marks.) The Academy went and nominated The Blind Side for Best Picture?! It is a good film, but not a great one. Which also brings me to this - I wasn't exactly sure how the re-expansion of the Best Picture category to 10 nominees would go until this morning when I heard Anne Hathaway read the names of all 10 films. As I was writing them all out, I realized something - I've seen all of them already. Most years, I've only seen two or three (out of five) by the time the nominations are announced - this year, 10 for 10. While I'm happy about that for the sheer movie nerd that I am, I'm also rather disappointed by it. I'm disappointed that, out of 10 films, there were no really "unseen" or lesser-known films, or any (good) surprises to any degree. There aren't any films like last year's Frost/Nixon or The Wrestler for me to go see and be reassured that all of the films nominated for the Oscars deserve to be there. As the years have gone by, the Best Picture nominees have strayed further from my personal favorites each year, but I still found at least some merit in most (if not all) of the nominees. I would say that at least a third of the Best Picture nominees this year honestly do not deserve to be so honored. They are about spectacle and/or box office over storytelling. As one of the biggest fans of the Academy Awards that you ever might come across - and a writer - that is really quite disheartening for me to realize. I just want to go back to bed and pretend that this morning's nominations were all a dream. This all started really sinking in when I got to the last category on my list of nominees, Best Song - two songs from Randy Newman and The Princess and the Frog? Really? It isn't even close to being one of Disney's classics, and while it got two noms, Karen O's amazing tracks from Where the Wild Things Are were completely shut out (and so was Paul McCartney). I suppose I should be happy that the song from Avatar didn't get nominated though, and I know that a deserving song ("The Weary Kind" from Crazy Heart) will probably win.

In tracking all of the awards this year, I know that Bullock will probably win Best Actress, and I'm gradually coping with that. However, if Avatar or The Blind Side wins Best Picture, the Oscars and I might be done, or at least on a break for a little while.

A Big(elow) Year for Female Filmmakers

In the entire history of the Academy Awards, only three women had been nominated for the Best Director Oscar - Lina Wertmüller (Seven Beauties - 1976), Jane Campion (The Piano - 1993) and Sofia Coppola (Lost in Translation - 2003) - and none of them won. For 2009, Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker) has been a front-runner in the Best Director race throughout awards season, culminating in her DGA Best Feature Film Director Award win on Jan. 30, her nomination for the Best Director Oscar this morning (Feb. 2) and her likely win at the Oscars on March 7. Not only is she getting all of this attention, I actually feel she deserves it, as opposed to some of the other directors who wind up getting nominated as a pseudo-lifetime achievement award or because they're James Cameron (or some other Hollywood heavyweight). The Hurt Locker is a great film, and I would think that even if I found out it was directed by a man.

2009 was a banner year for female filmmakers - along with Bigelow, Campion has been getting a lot of positive attention for Bright Star, and so has Lone Scherfig for An Education. At one point, there was buzz that all three could have found themselves with Oscar nominations. Agnes Varda, the female filmmaking face of the French New Wave, has also been getting quite a bit of praise for her autobiographical documentary The Beaches of Agnes. French director Claire Denis' 35 Shots of Rum has also been well-received. While writer-director Anne Fontaine hasn't been getting quite as much buzz as the others, her film Coco Before Chanel is getting a few notices. Romantic comedy pros Nora Ephron (Julie & Julia) and Nancy Meyers (It's Complicated) have also been managing to hear their names and films mentioned here and there.

What disheartens me about this is that I have now listed the majority of the films directed by women that were released in 2009. Ephron and Meyers are the only two whose films were studio pictures, therefore getting opening weekend wide releases. (The Hurt Locker is an independent film, and the rest come from outside of the United States.) They were both also romantic comedies, which I feel have become the stereotypical go-to for (Hollywood) studios and producers when they feel pressured to employ more female directors.

I would like to briefly add in Drew Barrymore and her directorial debut, Whip It. It did not perform very well at the box office, but according to Metacritic, it got "Generally favorable reviews." (To me, the latter part of that is more important than the former, but that's another topic for another post.) While she isn't necessarily deserving of the awards buzz that Bigelow and the other ladies have been receiving, I feel Barrymore deserves to be recognized for making a female-driven film that is one of the better (American) coming-of-age stories to come along in a while. I hope she returns to the director's chair.

Actually, that brings me to my concluding point. I think it is fantastic that female directors are gradually getting more positive attention come awards season, and I hope that this means that studios and producers will be more open to putting the women I've mentioned and other female directors behind the camera, especially for films that are not romantic comedies.

82nd Annual Academy Award Nominations

Actress Anne Hathaway (Rachel Got Married, The Princess Diaries) and Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Tom Sherak announced the nominees for the 82nd Annual Academy Awards this morning (Feb. 2).

Here they are:

Best Picture: Avatar, The Blind Side, District 9, An Education, The Hurt Locker, Inglourious Basterds, Precious, A Serious Man, Up, Up in the Air

Best Director: Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker), James Cameron (Avatar), Lee Daniels (Precious), Jason Reitman (Up in the Air), Quentin Tarantino (Inglourious Basterds)

Best Original Screenplay: Mark Boal (The Hurt Locker), Alessandro Camon & Oren Moverman (The Messenger), Joel & Ethan Coen (A Serious Man), Pete Docter, Bob Peterson & Tom McCarthy (Up), Quentin Tarantino (Inglourious Basterds)

Best Adapted Screenplay: Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci & Tony Roche (In the Loop); Neill Blomkamp & Terri Tatchell (District 9); Geoffrey Fletcher (Precious); Nick Hornby (An Education); Jason Reitman & Sheldon Turner (Up in the Air)

Best Actor: Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart), George Clooney (Up in the Air), Colin Firth (A Single Man), Morgan Freeman (Invictus), Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker)

Best Actress: Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side), Helen Mirren (The Last Station), Carey Mulligan (An Education), Gabourey Sidibe (Precious), Meryl Streep (Julie & Julia)

Best Supporting Actor: Matt Damon (Invictus), Woody Harrelson (The Messenger), Christopher Plummer (The Last Station), Stanley Tucci (The Lovely Bones), Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds)

Best Supporting Actress: Penélope Cruz (Nine), Vera Farmiga (Up in the Air), Maggie Gyllenhaal (Crazy Heart), Anna Kendrick (Up in the Air), Mo'Nique (Precious)

Best Foreign Film: Ajami, The Milk of Sorrow, A Prophet, The Secret in Their Eyes, The White Ribbon

Best Documentary: Burma VJ, The Cove, Food, Inc., The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers, Which Way Home

Best Animated Feature: Coraline, Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Princess and the Frog, The Secret of Kells, Up

Best Animated Short: French Roast, Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty, The Lady and the Reaper, Logorama, A Matter of Loaf and Death

Best Live-Action Short: The Door, Instead of Abracadabra, Kavi, Miracle Fish, The New Tenants

Best Documentary Short: China's Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province, The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner, The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant, Music by Prudence, Rabbit a la Berlin

Best Editing: James Cameron, John Refoua & Stephen Rivkin (Avatar); Julian Clarke (District 9); Chris Innis & Bob Murawski (The Hurt Locker); Joe Klotz (Precious); Sally Menke (Inglourious Basterds)

Best Cinematography: Barry Ackroyd (The Hurt Locker), Christian Berger (The White Ribbon), Bruno Delbonnel (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince), Mauro Fiore (Avatar), Robert Richardson (Inglourious Basterds)

Best Art Direction: Rick Carter, Kim Sinclair & Robert Stromberg (Avatar); Maggie Gray & Patrice Vermette (The Young Victoria); Sarah Greenwood & Katie Spencer (Sherlock Holmes); Anastasia Masaro, Caroline Smith & Dave Warren (The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus); John Myhre & Gordon Sim (Nine)

Best Costume Design: Colleen Atwood (Nine), Catherine Leterrier (Coco Before Chanel), Janet Patterson (Bright Star), Sandy Powell (The Young Victoria), Monique Prudhomme (The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus)

Best Makeup: Barney Burman, Mindy Hall & Joel Harlow (Star Trek); Jon Henry Gordon & Jenny Shircore (The Young Victoria); Aldo Signoretti & Vittorio Sodano (Il Divo)

Best Visual Effects: Roger Guyett, Russell Earl, Paul Kavanagh & Burt Dalton (Star Trek); Dan Kaufman, Peter Muyzers, Robert Habros & Matt Aitken (District 9); Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham & Andrew R. Jones (Avatar)

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

Best Sound Editing: Christopher Boyes & Gwendolyn Yates Whittle (Avatar), Tom Myers & Michael Silvers (Up), Paul N.J. Ottosson (The Hurt Locker), Alan Rankin & Mark Stoeckinger (Star Trek), Wylie Stateman (Inglourious Basterds)

Best Score: Marco Beltrami & Buck Sanders (The Hurt Locker), Alexandre Desplat (Fantastic Mr. Fox), Michael Giacchino (Up), James Horner (Avatar), Hans Zimmer (Sherlock Holmes)

Best Song: "Almost There" (The Princess and the Frog), "Down in New Orleans" (The Princess and the Frog), "Loin de Paname" (Paris 36), "Take It All" (Nine), "The Weary Kind" (Crazy Heart)

We will post our choices for the winners closer to March 7, when the Oscars will take place and air live on ABC. More information can be found here.

Weekly Awards Round-Up - Jan. 25-31, 2010

The Directors Guild of America held its awards ceremony on Jan. 30. Kathryn Bigelow won Best Feature Film Director (the first woman to do so) for The Hurt Locker. Louie Psihoyos won the award for Best Documentary Direction for The Cove. Norman Jewison was given the Lifetime Achievement Award. More information can be found here.

The Grammy winners were announced on Jan. 31. In the film-related categories, the winners are "Jai Ho" from Slumdog Millionaire for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Michael Giacchino for Best Score for Up, and Slumdog Millionaire again for Best Soundtrack. More information can be found here.

The Costume Designers Guild has announced the nominees for its annual awards. The films nominated for Excellence in Contemporary Film are 500 Days of Summer, Brüno, Crazy Heart, Precious and Up in the Air; Excellence in Period Film: Coco Before Chanel, Julie & Julia, Nine, Sherlock Holmes and The Young Victoria; Excellence in Fantasy Film: Avatar, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus and Star Trek. The winners will be announced at a ceremony on Feb. 25, and more information can be found here.

Anne Hathaway received her pudding pot and was honored with a parade on Jan. 28 for being named Woman of the Year by Hasty Pudding Theatricals, Harvard's undergraduate theatre troupe. Justin Timberlake has been named Man of the Year, and will receive his honor on Feb. 5. More information can be found here. Hathaway will also announce the nominees for this year's Academy Awards alongside Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Tom Sherak on Feb. 2. The winners will be announced at the 82nd annual ceremony on March 7, which will air live on ABC. More information can be found here.

Weekly Awards Round-Up - Jan. 18-24, 2010

The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards took place on Jan. 23. The cast of Inglourious Basterds won Best Ensemble, and Christoph Waltz won Best Supporting Actor for his work in the film. Jeff Bridges won Best Actor for Crazy Heart, and Mo'Nique won Best Supporting Actress for Precious. Best Actress winner Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side) presented Betty White with the SAG Lifetime Achievement Award. The stunt performers from Star Trek won Best Stunt Ensemble. Drew Barrymore won Best Actress in a Made-for-TV Movie for Grey Gardens, and Kevin Bacon won Best Actor in Made-for-TV Movie for Taking Chance. The full list of nominees can be found here.

The Producers Guild of America's Awards took place on Jan. 24. The Hurt Locker won Best Picture, Up won Best Animated Film and The Cove won Best Documentary. Precious was honored with the Stanley Kramer Award, while Pixar's John Lasseter was given a Career Achievement Award. Grey Gardens was named Best Made-for-TV Movie. More information can be found here.

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts has announced the nominees for its annual film awards, commonly known as the BAFTAs - the British equivalent of the Oscars. The Best Picture nominees are: Avatar, An Education, The Hurt Locker, Precious and Up in the Air. British Film: An Education, Fish Tank, In the Loop, Moon, Nowhere Boy

British Debut: Lucy Bailey, Andrew Thompson, Elizabeth Morgan Hemlock & David Pearson (Mugabe and the White African); Eran Creevy (Shifty); Stuart Hazeldine (Exam); Duncan Jones (Moon); Sam Taylor-Wood (Nowhere Boy)

Director: Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker), Neill Blomkamp (District 9), James Cameron (Avatar), Lone Scherfig (An Education), Quentin Tarantino (Inglourious Basterds)

Original Screenplay: Mark Boal (The Hurt Locker), Joel & Ethan Coen (A Serious Man), Pete Docter & Bob Peterson (Up), Jon Lucas & Scott Moore (The Hangover), Quentin Tarantino (Inglourious Basterds)

Adapted Screenplay: Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci & Tony Roche (In the Loop); Neill Blomkamp & Terri Tatchell (District 9); Geoffrey Fletcher (Precious); Nick Hornby (An Education); Jason Reitman & Sheldon Turner (Up in the Air)

Actor: Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart), George Clooney (Up in the Air), Colin Firth (A Single Man), Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker), Andy Serkis (Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll)

Actress: Carey Mulligan (An Education), Saoirse Ronan (The Lovely Bones), Gabourey Sidibe (Precious), Meryl Streep (Julie & Julia), Audrey Tautou (Coco Before Chanel)

Supporting Actor: Alec Baldwin (It's Complicated), Christian McKay (Me and Orson Welles), Alfred Molina (An Education), Stanley Tucci (The Lovely Bones), Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds)

Supporting Actress: Anne-Marie Duff (Nowhere Boy), Vera Farmiga (Up in the Air), Anna Kendrick (Up in the Air), Mo'Nique (Precious), Kristin Scott Thomas (Nowhere Boy)

Film Not in the English Language: Broken Embraces, Coco Before Chanel, Let the Right One In, A Prophet, The White Ribbon

Animated Film: Coraline, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Up

Animated Short: The Gruffalo, The Happy Duckling, Mother of Many

Short Film: 14, I Do Air, Jade, Mixtape, Off Season

Cinematography: Barry Ackroyd (The Hurt Locker), Javier Aguirresarobe (The Road), Mauro Fiore (Avatar), Trent Opaloch (District 9), Robert Richardson (Inglourious Basterds)

Editing: James Cameron, John Refoua & Stephen Rivkin (Avatar); Julian Clarke (District 9); Dana E. Glauberman (Up in the Air); Chris Innis & Bob Murawski (The Hurt Locker); Sally Menke (Inglourious Basterds)

Production Design: Rick Carter, Kim Sinclair & Robert Stromberg (Avatar); Stuart Craig & Stephenie McMillan (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince), Philip Ivey & Guy Poltgieter (District 9), Anastasia Masaro (The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus), David Wasco & Sandy Reynolds Wasco (Inglourious Basterds)

Costume Design: Odile Dicks-Mireaux (An Education), Catherine Leterrier (Coco Before Chanel), Janet Patterson (Bright Star), Arianne Phillips (A Single Man), Sandy Powell (The Young Victoria)

Make Up & Hair: Peter King (Nine), Sarah Monzani (The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus), Thi Thanh Tu Nguyen & Jane Milon (Coco Before Chanel), Jenny Shircore (The Young Victoria), Lizzie Yianni Georgiou (An Education)

Visual Effects: Roger Guyett, Russell Earl, Paul Kavanagh & Burt Dalton (Star Trek); Dan Kaufman, Peter Muyzers, Robert Habros & Matt Aitken (District 9); Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham & Andrew R. Jones (Avatar); John Richardson, Tim Burke, Tim Alexander & Nicolas Aithadi (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince); Richard Stutsman (The Hurt Locker)

Sound: Ray Beckett, Paul N.J. Ottosson & Craig Stauffer (The Hurt Locker); Christopher Boyes, Gary Summers, Andy Nelson, Tony Johnson and Addison Teague (Avatar); Brent Burge, Chris Ward, Dave Whitehead, Michael Hedges and Ken Saville (District 9); Peter J. Devlin, Andy Nelson, Anna Behlmer, Mark Stoeckinger & Ben Burtt (Star Trek); Tom Myers, Michael Silvers & Michael Semanick (Up)

The winners will be announced at a ceremony on Feb. 21. More information can be found here.

The nominees for the Cesar Awards, the French equivalent of the Oscars, have been announced. The prison drama A Prophet, which is in contention for the Best Foreign Film Oscar, received 13 nominations, and In the Beginning received 11. Coco Before Chanel received three nominations, including one for Best Actress Audrey Tautou. The Best Film nominees are The Concert, In the Beginning, A Prophet, Rapt, Welcome and Wild Grass. The Best Foreign Film nominees are Avatar, Gran Torino, I Killed My Mother, Milk, Slumdog Millionaire, A Town Called Panic and The White Ribbon. The complete list of nominees and more information can be found here; the winners will be announced on Feb. 27.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced the short list for the Oscar for Best Foreign Film: Ajami (Israel), Kelin (Kazakhstan), The Milk of Sorrow (Peru), A Prophet (France), Samson & Delilah (Australia), The Secret in Their Eyes (Argentina), The White Ribbon (Germany), Winter in Wartime (Netherlands) and The World Is Big and Salvation Lurks Around the Corner (Bulgaria). The final five nominees will be announced on Feb. 2, and the winner will be announced at the Academy Awards ceremony on March 7. More information can be found here.

PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) have named Avatar as their recipient of the 2010 Proggy Award for Outstanding Feature Film. More information can be found here.

The International Cinephile Society has named the nominees for its film awards for 2009. The Best Picture nominees are 35 Shots of Rum, Bright Star, District 9, Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Hurt Locker, Inglourious Basterds, A Serious Man, Tokyo Sonata, Up in the Air and The White Ribbon.

Film Not in the English Language: 35 Shots of Rum, The Beaches of Agnes, Broken Embraces, The Headless Woman, Lorna's Silence, O'Horten, Ponyo, Still Waking, Summer Hours, Tokyo Sonata, The White Ribbon

Director: Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker), Neill Blomkamp (District 9), Joel & Ethan Coen (A Serious Man), Michael Haneke (The White Ribbon), Quentin Tarantino (Inglourious Basterds)

Original Screenplay: Olivier Assayas (Summer Hours), Mark Boal (The Hurt Locker), Joel & Ethan Coen (A Serious Man), Claire Denis & Jean-Pol Fargeau (35 Shots of Rum), Michael Haneke (The White Ribbon), Quentin Tarantino (Inglourious Basterds)

Adapted Screenplay: Wes Anderson & Noah Baumbach (Fantastic Mr. Fox); Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci & Tony Roche (In the Loop); Neill Blomkamp & Terri Tatchell (District 9); Tom Ford & David Scearce (A Single Man); Spike Jonze & Dave Eggers (Where the Wild Things Are); Jason Reitman & Sheldon Turner (Up in the Air)

Actor: Sharlto Copley (District 9), Colin Firth (A Single Man), Joaquin Phoenix (Two Lovers), Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker), Michael Stuhlbarg (A Serious Man)

Actress: Abbie Cornish (Bright Star), Catalina Saavedra (The Maid), Gabourey Sidibe (Precious), Meryl Streep (Julie & Julia), Tilda Swinton (Julia)

Supporting Actor: Peter Capaldi (In the Loop), Anthony Mackie (The Hurt Locker), Christian McKay (Me and Orson Welles), Jérémie Renier (Lorna's Silence), Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds)

Supporting Actress: Penélope Cruz (Broken Embraces), Vera Farmiga (Up in the Air), Diane Kruger (Inglourious Basterds), Melanie Laurent (Inglourious Basterds), Mo'Nique (Precious)

Ensemble: In the Loop, Inglourious Basterds, A Serious Man, Summer Hours, The White Ribbon

Animated Film: Coraline, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Mary and Max, Ponyo, Up

Documentary: Anvil! The Story of Anvil, The Beaches of Agnes, The Cove, Of Time and the City, The September Issue

Cinematography: Christian Berger (The White Ribbon), Roger Deakins (A Serious Man), Anthony Dod Mantle (Antichrist), Greig Fraser (Bright Star), Robert Richardson (Inglourious Basterds)

Editing: Julian Clarke (District 9), Chris Innis & Bob Murawski (The Hurt Locker), Roderick Jaynes (A Serious Man), Sally Menke (Inglourious Basterds), José Salcedo (Broken Embraces)

Production Design: Dan Bishop (A Single Man), Rick Carter & Robert Stromberg (Avatar), Jess Gonchor (A Serious Man), Nelson Lowry (Fantastic Mr. Fox), David Wasco (Inglourious Basterds)

Original Score: Alexandre Desplat (Fantastic Mr. Fox), Michael Giacchino (Star Trek), Michael Giacchino (Up), Joe Hisaishi (Ponyo), Abel Korzeniowski (A Single Man)

The winners will be announced on Feb. 17, and more information can be found here.

The Visual Effects Society (VES) has announced the nominations for its annual awards.

Outstanding Visual Effects in an Effects-Driven Film: 2012, Avatar, District 9, Star Trek, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Supporting Visual Effects: Angels & Demons, The Box, Invictus, The Road, Sherlock Holmes

Animation: 9, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Coraline, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, Up

Animation Effects: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Coraline, Monsters vs. Aliens, Up

Single Visual Effect of the Year: 2012 (Escape from L.A.), Avatar (Neytiri Drinking), Avatar (Quarich's Escape), Knowing (Plane Crash), Terminator Salvation (VLA Escape)

Animated Character in a Live Action Film: Avatar (Neytiri), District 9 (Christopher Johnson), G-Force (Bucky), Watchmen (Doctor Manhattan)

Animated Character in an Animated Film: Coraline (Coraline), Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (Buck), Monsters vs. Aliens (B.O.B.), Up (Carl)

Matte Paintings: Avatar, Franklyn, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Star Trek

Models and Miniatures: Avatar, Coraline, Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, Terminator Salvation

Created Environment: 2012 (Los Angeles Destruction), Avatar (Floating Mountains), Avatar (Jungle/Biolume), Avatar (Willow Glade)

James Cameron will receive the VES Lifetime Achievement Award and Dr. Ed Catmull will receive the Georges Méliès Award at the ceremony on Feb. 28. More information can be found here.