The road to the 2009-2010 Oscars!!

[Heather19]

hmmm, I wonder how that will affect the outcome of the best picture winner.
You know I used to watch it all the time but the past few years I've only caught bits and pieces. It just hasn't interested me that much.

It seems like there's a lot more smaller films that get nominations that aren't even widely released, or are released right before the awards so most of the public doesn't get a chance to see them before the show. This has always bugged me. I wish they would release them earlier throughout the year. I think that may be what's playing a bigger part in the decline of the audience. Also I know I've said this in the past, but I really think that the academy has their favorites. And those always seem to get nominated regardless of the film their in. I'd like to see more variably in those nominated.

[turtlex]

I live for the Oscars. It's my Super Bowl, as I usually explain it. I love that night. I truly live for the real glamour of Hollywood ( yea, and I don't mean when some 18 year old from the WB shows up in clothes from the Gap ) ... I love the clothes and the Awards and the speeches and the gossip - you know, yes, it is a big deal who gets seated in the first three rows!!

I think the extra films in the Best Picture category will detract from the whole award. It will give all the films something to brag about where a nomination is concerned, but the award ... I just think it will take some of the BIG DEAL away from the win.

I am a huge Indie Film person, so I love that the Academy picks smaller and quieter films that will eventually get a wider release. That applies to tall categories for me. Just a nomination tends to push films into wider release, and sometimes - into a pre awards DVD release which is just as good.

Without a doubt the Academy has it's favorites - it is just a group of people, after all. People have their favorites, without question.

[Brice]

I think they should reduce the number of nominations. Three would be good, two would be better.

[fernandito]

Patrick Feev - Yes, the voting has changed and it's a point system, at least for Best Picture. Voters will rank the nominations and points will be applied.

Not too thrilled about that new system being implemented, but let's see how it works out.

I live for the Oscars. It's my Super Bowl, as I usually explain it. I love that night.

Same here. I love the Oscars , it's right up there with The World Cup and The Super Bowl for me . Me and my brother are huge movie buffs, so we always end up having a little get together that night which consists of pizza and Jack & Cokes, it's awesome

[Seymour_Glass]

Dude, I can't wait for the Oscars, even though I rarely agree with who wins Best Picture.

[turtlex]

We should try and maybe plan an online gathering for Oscar Night! Could be fun.

[Heather19]

We should try and maybe plan an online gathering for Oscar Night! Could be fun.

Oh we should, that'd be fun.

[Brice]

The only new movie I can think of highly enough for this is Inglourious Basterds.

[Seymour_Glass]

Prediction: Avatar will be nominated for Best Picture, but it won't win, partially because nobody wants to deal with what would happen to James Cameron's ego.

[ola]

Prediction: Avatar will be nominated for Best Picture, but it won't win, partially because nobody wants to deal with what would happen to James Cameron's ego.

Today I looked at the the cover for Titanic and recalled with horror that it won 11 OSCARS. Insanity.

[turtlex]

Prediction: Avatar will be nominated for Best Picture, but it won't win, partially because nobody wants to deal with what would happen to James Cameron's ego.

Today I looked at the the cover for Titanic and recalled with horror that it won 11 OSCARS. Insanity.

I predict that we will one day look back on that event much like we do Dances With Wolves.

[BROWNINGS CHILDE]

Wow, I loved Dances with Wolves.

[turtlex]

I liked it too... but it never should have won against Goodfellas !!

Titanic? The Best Picture? Honestly, don't get me started on that movie.

[Sam]

I actually have found Dances With Wolves to be a MUCH better film than Goodfellas. Personally, I dislike the story of Goodfellas, but I'm talking about the film. I felt, and still feel, that DWW had more to offer in the story, the filming, and the message than Goodfellas did. Then again, I haven't seen a Scorsese film besides Cape Fear that I enjoyed either, so maybe it has more to do with not liking his filming style than anything else. Even the movies I didn't KNOW were Scorsese, like Bringing Out The Dead and The Color of Money, were pretty much unwatchable for me.

[turtlex]

I think we could do a long, long discussion on Dances With Wolves versus Goodfellas, Sam. Without a doubt. In this thread though - I'll just leave it with, I disagree with you, but did enjoy the ( way overlong ) extended version of DDW better than the theatrical release.

And back on topic !! Another vote for Hurt Locker !!

Group in NYC picks 'Hurt Locker' as best 2009 film

NEW YORK – The National Society of Film Critics on Sunday selected "The Hurt Locker," a film about an elite Army bomb squad unit that works in Iraq to defuse improvised explosives while under the threat of insurgents, as the best picture of 2009.

The society, composed of film critics from some of the country's top publications, also bestowed honors on the movie's director, Kathryn Bigelow, and lead actor, Jeremy Renner.

The society picked Yolande Moreau as best actress for her performance in "Seraphine," a French film about the painter Seraphine de Senlis.

Joel and Ethan Coen won best screenplay for "A Serious Man," a dark comedy set in 1967, while "The Beaches of Agnes 40," an autobiographical documentary about the life of director Agnes Varda, was selected as the best nonfiction film.

"Summer Hours," a story of three siblings by French filmmaker Olivier Assayas, won for best foreign language film.

Mo'Nique, the Baltimore-born comedian best known for her roles in television sitcoms and as the host of her own talk show, was selected as best supporting actress for her portrayal of an abusive mother in "Precious."

Austrian Christoph Waltz won for best supporting actor for his work as the Jew Hunter in "Inglourious Basterds," a Quentin Tarantino war film starring Brad Pitt as the leader of a group of soldiers trying to kill Adolf Hitler.

Forty-six of the society's 64 members voted during Sunday's meeting at a midtown Manhattan restaurant.

The society, founded in 1966, has a reputation for picking foreign films or critics' darlings. Rarely do the group's selections mirror those given out during the Academy Awards, but its members are highly esteemed by filmmakers and film critics.

The Academy Awards are set for March 7.

[fernandito]

Austrian Christoph Waltz won for best supporting actor for his work as the Jew Hunter in "Inglourious Basterds," a Quentin Tarantino war film starring Brad Pitt as the leader of a group of soldiers trying to kill Adolf Hitler.

[ola]

I'm sad that Sony seems to not care about Moon getting nommed.

I don't think it should win Best Picture, but it should definitely get some mainstream recognition. Duncan Jones did a beautiful job and I want to see more films from him in the future, without having to hunt down the 1 tiny arthouse theater that's showing the movie!

[turtlex]

I'm sad that Sony seems to not care about Moon getting nommed.

I don't think it should win Best Picture, but it should definitely get some mainstream recognition. Duncan Jones did a beautiful job and I want to see more films from him in the future, without having to hunt down the 1 tiny arthouse theater that's showing the movie!

That's what they have the People's Choice Awards for.

[Seymour_Glass]

I actually have found Dances With Wolves to be a MUCH better film than Goodfellas. Personally, I dislike the story of Goodfellas, but I'm talking about the film. I felt, and still feel, that DWW had more to offer in the story, the filming, and the message than Goodfellas did. Then again, I haven't seen a Scorsese film besides Cape Fear that I enjoyed either, so maybe it has more to do with not liking his filming style than anything else. Even the movies I didn't KNOW were Scorsese, like Bringing Out The Dead and The Color of Money, were pretty much unwatchable for me.

I will never understand. I must accept that.


But Titanic is just inexcusable.

[ola]

I'm sad that Sony seems to not care about Moon getting nommed.

That's what they have the People's Choice Awards for.

Yeah, what movies like Twilight are for.

[ola]

Do the Producers Guild Nominations Foretell Oscar Bids for SciFi? Star Trek?? Interesting.

(Here is the complete list chosen by the Producers Guild of America, as nominations for Best Picture)

* Avatar
* District 9
* An Education
* The Hurt Locker
* Inglourious Basterds
* Invictus
* Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire
* Star Trek
* Up
* Up in the Air

[turtlex]

ola - Thanks for the list!

It's very interesting, I think, that the Guild decided to go with 10 nominations so as to mimic the Academy!

[turtlex]

Streep and Clooney win NY Film Critics Awards! Bigelow wins Best Director! Waltz Best Supporting !!

New York – It was a busy year for George Clooney, but one that is starting to pay off in the form of official accolades, as awards season for the films of 2009 gets underway.

Clooney took home best actor honors for "Up in the Air" and "Fantastic Mr. Fox" on Monday, Jan. 11, at the 2009 New York Film Critics Circle Awards.

Sporting a bushy salt-and-pepper beard, Clooney arrived with Italian TV host girlfriend Elisabetta Canalis.

"Up in the Air" stars Clooney as a man whose job it is to constantly fly around the country and fire people as he racks up the frequent flier miles, aiming to eventually collect one million.

Wes Anderson, Clooney's director in "Fantastic Mr. Fox," took home the award for best animated film.

Meryl Streep also had a busy year - she lent her voice to "Fantastic Mr. Fox" and starred in "It's Complicated" and "Julie & Julia" - won best actress for her role as legendary chef Julia Childs in "Julie & Julia." The film tells the parallel stories of Julia Childs' rise to fame in the sixties and Julie Powell, a contemporary blogger who achieves notoriety by cooking every recipe in Julia Childs' cookbook, "Mastering the Art of French Cooking."

Kathryn Bigelow, who directed Iraq war film "The Hurt Locker," which won best picture, also won the award for best director.

Best supporting actor honors went to Christoph Waltz for "Inglourious Basterds," and Mo'Nique won best supporting actress for her role as an abusive mother in "Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire."

The Film Critics Circle Awards, founded in 1935, have often signaled actors and films that will later go on to win Academy Awards. The group of film critics, which used to only include writers from New York's daily newspapers, now includes critics from national magazines, as well as a handful of West Coast journalists.

[fernandito]

No Golden Globes discussions ?

[Heather19]

I've been waiting for you to get in here
And you didn't answer my question about Best Picture?