Final Oscar® Ballots Due Tuesday

Completed ballots to determine the 2009 winners of the Academy Awards®, mailed 10 February, must be returned to PricewaterhouseCoopers by 5 p.m. Tuesday, 2 March. Ballots received after the deadline will not be counted.

Following the tabulation of the votes, the winners’ names will be placed in sealed envelopes to be opened on Oscar Night®. Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2009 will be presented on Sunday, 7 March 2010, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network beginning at 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET. The Oscar presentation will be televised live in more than 200 countries worldwide.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is the world’s preeminent movie-related organization, with a membership of more than 6,000 of the most accomplished men and women working in cinema. In addition to the annual Academy Awards – in which the members vote to select the nominees and winners – the Academy presents a diverse year-round slate of public programs, exhibitions and events; provides financial support to a wide range of other movie-related organizations and endeavors; and acts as a neutral advocate in the advancement of motion picture technology. 

The Margaret Herrick Library and Academy Film Archive, collect, preserve, restore and provide access to movies and items related to movie history. Through these and other activities the Academy serves students, historians, the entertainment industry and people everywhere who love movies.

HURT LOCKER is BAFTA Orange Winner

SERIES: Hollywood Guild Awards and Oscars®

Kathryn Bigelow's THE HURT LOCKER received six BAFTA awards, including best motion picture, and one to Bigelow for directing.The distributor for the movie is the UK company, Lionsgate.

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA®), presented their BAFTA Orange Awards, honoring the best of 2009 in the UK film industry and others, 21 February 2010.

The Los Angeles branch, BAFTA/LA, hosted a buffet brunch which was followed by the live satellite broadcast from London of the BAFTA gala there. You may ask, "What does the British Film and Television Academy (BAFTA) have to do with the U.S. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) Academy Awards®?" Well, BAFTA is the equivalent of the U.S. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS®), and an Orange Award is equivalent to an Oscar®. For more about the BAFTA / Oscar relationship, see the previous post about the BAFTA nominations on this blog.

Actress Vanessa Redgrave received the Academy Fellowship for 2010 from actress Uma Thurman and HRH Prince William, the new President of the Academy, at the Film Awards Gala. The fellowship is the highest accolade bestowed upon an individual in recognition of an outstanding and exceptional contribution to film. Previously honored Fellows include Charlie Chaplin, Alfred Hitchcock, Steven Spielberg, Sean Connery, Elizabeth Taylor, Julie Christie, John Barry, Stanley Kubrick, Anthony Hopkins and Judi Dench. Last year’s recipient was Terry Gilliam.

These are the next to last industry awards before the Academy Awards, and here are the BAFTA ORANGE FILM Nominees with winners in red:

Best Film:
AVATAR
AN EDUCATION
THE HURT LOCKER
PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL PUSH BY SAPPHIRE
UP IN THE AIR

Outstanding British Film:
AN EDUCATION
FISH TANK
IN THE LOOP
MOON
NOWHERE BOY

Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer:

Lucy Bailey, Andrew Thompson, Elizabeth Morgan Hemlock, David Pearson, Directors/Producers – MUGABE and the WHITE AFRICAN
Eran Creevy, Writer/Director – SHIFTY
Stuart Hazeldine, Writer/Director – EXAM
Duncan Jones, Director – MOON
Sam Taylor-Wood, Director – NOWHERE BOY

Best Director:
AVATAR - James Cameron
DISTRICT 9 - Neill Blomkamp
AN EDUCATION - Lone Scherfig
THE HURT LOCKER - Kathryn Bigelow
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS - Quentin Tarantino

Best Original Screenplay:
THE HANGOVER - Jon Lucas, Scott Moore
THE HURT LOCKER - Mark Boal
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS - Quentin Tarantino
A SERIOUS MAN - Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
UP - Bob Peterson, Pete Docter

Best Adapted Screenplay:
DISTRICT 9 - Neill Blomkamp, Terri Tatchell
AN EDUCATION - Nick Hornby
IN THE LOOP - Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche
PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL PUSH BY SAPPHIRE - Geoffrey Fletcher
UP IN THE AIR - Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner

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

Leading 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

Leading Actress:
Carey Mulligan - AN EDUCATION
Saoirse Ronan - THE LOVELY BONES
Gabourey Sidibe - PRECIOUS: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
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: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
Kristin Scott Thomas - NOWHERE BOY

Music:
AVATAR - James Horner
CRAZY HEART - T-Bone Burnett, Stephen Bruton
FANTASTIC MR FOX - Alexandre Desplat
SEX & DRUGS & ROCK & ROLL - Chaz Jankel
UP - Michael Giacchino

Cinematography:
AVATAR - Mauro Fiore
DISTRICT 9 - Trent Opaloch
THE HURT LOCKER - Barry Ackroyd
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS - Robert Richardson
THE ROAD - Javier Aguirresarobe

Editing:
AVATAR - Stephen Rivkin, John Refoua, James Cameron
DISTRICT 9 - Julian Clarke
THE HURT LOCKER - Bob Murawski, Chris Innis
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS - Sally Menke
UP IN THE AIR - Dana E. Glauberman

Production Design:
AVATAR - Rick Carter, Robert Stromberg, Kim Sinclair
DISTRICT 9 - Philip Ivey, Guy Poltgieter
HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE - Stuart Craig, Stephenie McMillan
THE IMAGINARIUM OF DOCTOR PARNASSUS - Dave Warren, Anastasia Masaro, Caroline Smith
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS - David Wasco, Sandy Reynolds Wasco

Costume Design:
BRIGHT STAR - Janet Patterson
COCO BEFORE CHANEL - Catherine Leterrier
AN EDUCATION - Odile Dicks-Mireaux
A SINGLE MAN - Arianne Phillips
THE YOUNG VICTORIA - Sandy Powell

Sound:
AVATAR
DISTRICT 9
THE HURT LOCKER
STAR TREK
UP

Special Visual Effects:
AVATAR
DISTRICT 9
HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE
THE HURT LOCKER
STAR TREK

Make Up and Hair:
COCO BEFORE CHANEL
AN EDUCATION
THE IMAGINARIUM OF DOCTOR PARNASSUS
NINE
THE YOUNG VICTORIA

For more about BAFTA and/or the Orange Awards, click the title of this post.

Berlin Film Festival Winners 2010

SERIES: Major Film Festivals

60th Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale) awards their Bears at annual gala.

The second major international film festival of 2010, the 60th Anniversary edition of the Berlin International Film Festival (BIFF) closed last night with the presentation of their Gold and Silver Bears, and other awards. The Berlinale, as it is known in Europe, begins the annual official 2010 award season for Europe, as did last month's Sundance (SFF) in the U.S.

Berlin, held in what was known as West Germany, was originally known for screening films that otherwise would not have been shown anywhere outside of the former West and East Germany, the USSR, Yugoslavia, etc. They hold to their basic tradition today in the united Germany, primarily showing German film, but also showing films from Russia and other Eastern Europe countries.

Honorary Golden Bears for lifetime achievement in cinema went to actress Hanna Schygulla and the screenwriter and director Wolfgang Kohlhaase. Schygulla’s name is inseparably connected with the late West German director Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s films. Wolfgang Kohlhaase adopted a course that was new for DEFA (the publicly-owned film studio in the German Democratic Republic, the former East Germany). Motion pictures in which Schygulla or Kohlhaase had a part were shown in separate programs during the festival. For German cinema, finally a meeting of West and East.

I have had the privilege of seeing many of the films from DEFA and UFA made before unification. For anyone interested in German films made at DEFA, the DEFA Film Library is now at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. It is the only archive and study center outside Europe devoted to the study of a broad spectrum of films by East German filmmakers or related to East Germany from 1946 to the present. Here's the UMASS link.

But, you came here to see the winners. Roman Polanski won the Silver Bear for Best Director for his latest film, THE GHOST WRITER. He did not attend. The major movie winners are, HONEY; IF I WANT TO WHISTLE, I WHISTLE; HOW I ENDED THIS SUMMER; and APART TOGETHER. Here are the major winners by award, name of film, and director (where appropriate):

GOLDEN BEAR FOR THE BEST FILM - HONEY (Bal, Turkey) directed by Semih Kaplanoglu;

JURY GRAND PRIX SILVER BEAR - IF I WANT TO WHISTLE, I WHISTLE (Eu cand vreau sa fluier, fluier, Romania) by Florin Serban;

SILVER BEAR FOR BEST DIRECTOR - Roman Polanski for THE GHOST WRITER (France, Germany, UK), based on the novel The Ghost by Robert Harris, who adapted the screenplay;

SILVER BEAR FOR BEST ACTRESS Shinobu Terajima in CATEPILLAR (Kyatapirâ, Japan) by Koji Wakamatsu;

SILVER BEAR FOR BEST ACTOR - Sergei Puskepalis for HOW I ENDED THIS SUMMER (Kak ya provel etim letom, Russia) by Alexei Popogrebsky;

SILVER BEAR FOR AN OUTSTANDING ARTISTIC ACHIEVEMENT IN THE CATEGORY CAMERA - Pavel Kostomarov for the camera in HOW I ENDED THIS SUMMER by Alexei Popogrebsky;

SILVER BEAR FOR THE BEST SCRIPT - Wang Quan'an and Na Jin for APART TOGETHER (Tuan Yuan, China) by Wang Quan'an;

ALFRED BAUER PRIZE, awarded in memory of the Festival founder, for a work of particular innovation - IF I WANT TO WHISTLE, I WHISTLE by Florin Serban.

For all awards, download the .pdf file here. Click the title of this post to link to the Official Festival Site. To find out more about individual films at a glance, visit the IMDb.

Writers Guild Motion Picture Winners

SERIES: Hollywood Guild Awards and Oscars®

Writers Guild of America (WGA), East (WGAE) and West (WGAW) Mortion Picture Screen Awards

The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) and West (WGAW) announced the winners of the 2009 Writers Guild Awards for outstanding achievement in writing for screen, television, radio, news, promotional, and videogames, in simultaneous ceremonies at the Millennium Broadway Hotel in New York City and the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles last night, 20 February. Here are the motion picture screenwriting nominees with winners in red.

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:
(500) DAYS OF SUMMER, Written by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber;
AVATAR, Written by James Cameron;
THE HANGOVER, Written by Scott Moore;
THE HURT LOCKER, Written by Mark Boal;
A SERIOUS MAN, Written by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen.

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:
CRAZY HEART, screenplay by Scott Cooper. based on the novel by Thomas Cobb;
JULIE & JULIA, screenplay by Nora Ephron, based on the books Julie & Julia by Julie Powell and My Life in France by Julia Child with Alex Prud’homme;
PECIOUS: Based on the novel Push by Sapphire, screenplay by Geoffrey Fletcher, based on the novel Push by Sapphire;
STAR TREK, written by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, based upon TV show Star Trek, created by Gene Roddenberry;
UP in the AIR, screenplay by Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner, based on the novel by Walter Kirn.

DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY:
AGAINST the TIDE, screenplay by Richard Trank, based on original material written by Richard Trank and Rabbi Marvin Hier;
CAPITALISM: A Love Story, written by Michael Moore;
THE COVE, written by Mark Monroe;
EARTH DAYS, written by Robert Stone;
GOOD HAIR, written by Chris Rock, Jeff Stilson, Lance Crouther and Chuck Sklar;
SOUNDTRAK for a REVOLUTION, written by Bill Guttentag and Dan Sturman.

For all nominees and winners, in all the categories, click the title of this post.

ACE Eddie Awards' Nominees and Winners

SERIES: Hollywood Guild Awards and Oscars®.

American Cinema Editors' Awards

The 60th Annual American Cinema Editors Awards, known as the ACE Eddie Awards, were presented at a ceremony 14 February 2010. That night at The Beverly Hilton Hotel, Beverly Hills, CA, Rob Reiner was honored with an ACE Golden Eddie Award as filmmaker of the year. Paul LaMastra, A.C.E., and Neil Travis, A.C.E., received Career Achievement Awards.

The Film Nominees, with winners in red, for 60th Annual ACE Eddie Awards.

Best Edited Feature Film (Dramatic):
Avatar
District 9
The Hurt Locker
Star Trek
Up in the Air

Best Edited Feature Film (Comedy or Musical):
500 Days of Summer
The Hangover
Julie & Julia
A Serious Man
It's Complicated

Best Edited Animated Feature Film:
Coraline
Fantastic Mr. Fox
UP

Best Edited Documentary Film:
The Cove
Food, Inc.
This Is It

For all nominees and winners, including the editors honored, plus the television awards, click the title of this post. Official Website Home.

The next guild awards, before final Oscar® ballots must be at the tabulators 2 March, by 5 p.m., PT, will be awarded tomorrow, Saturday, 20 February, by the Writers Guild of America, East and West.

BAFTA Orange Nominees Announced

SERIES: Hollywood Guild Awards and Oscars®

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA®), announced the nominations for their BAFTA Orange Awards recently, honoring the best of 2009 in the UK film industry. Yes, BAFTA is their equivalent of the U.S. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS®), and an Orange Award is equivalent to an Oscar®.

The Los Angeles branch, BAFTA/LA, will host an annual Awards Brunch on Sunday, 21 February 2010. The Buffet Brunch will be followed by the live satellite broadcast from London of the BAFTA gala. You may ask, "What does the British Film and Television Academy (BAFTA) have to do with the U.S. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) Academy Awards®?"

The answer to the best of my ability is as follows: 1. Unless you have been living under a box for the last 70 years, or so, you know that the UK is the same as Britain or British, but it is more politically and geographically correct to refer to the area now as the United Kingdom of Great Britian, "UK" for short, combining all countries in the area, including Wales and Ireland. However, the Academy was named long before the area became known as the UK.

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA®), announced the nominations for their BAFTA Orange Awards recently, honoring the best of 2009 in the UK film industry. Yes, BAFTA is their equivalent of the U.S. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS®), and an Orange Award is equivalent to an Oscar®.

The Los Angeles branch, BAFTA/LA, will host an annual Awards Brunch on Sunday, 21 February 2010. The Buffet Brunch will be followed by the live satellite broadcast from London of the BAFTA gala. You may ask, "What does the British Film and Television Academy (BAFTA) have to do with the U.S. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) Academy Awards®?"

Answer to the best of my ability is as follows: 1. Unless you have been living under a box for the last 70 years, or so, you know that the UK is the same as Britain or British, but it is more politically and geographically correct to refer to the area now as the United Kingdom of Great Britian, "UK" for short, combining all countries in the area, including Wales and Ireland. However, the Academy was named long before the area became known as the UK.

2. Citizens in the UK countries working in the movie industry are most likely to be dual citizens in the USA, and working in the industry in the U.S. Not only that, they are probably voting members of AMPAS, or some Hollywood guild, as well as BAFTA.

3. There is now a Los Angeles Chapter of the BAFTA (BAFTA/LA), and they vote for the BAFTA Awards held in London. Therefore, the bestowal of a BAFTA award, as with a Hollywood guild award, gives us an indication of how the members of those guilds and academies will vote in the Oscar® race. I keep repeating the importance of these guild awards. Are you getting it yet?


BAFTA ORANGE FILM NOMINEES:

Feature Film:
AVATAR
AN EDUCATION
THE HURT LOCKER
PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL PUSH BY SAPPHIRE
UP IN THE AIR

Outstanding British Film:
AN EDUCATION
FISH TANK
IN THE LOOP
MOON
NOWHERE BOY

Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer:
Lucy Bailey, Andrew Thompson, Elizabeth Morgan Hemlock, David Pearson, Directors/Producers – MUGABE and the WHITE AFRICAN
Eran Creevy, Writer/Director – SHIFTY
Stuart Hazeldine, Writer/Director – EXAM
Duncan Jones, Director – Moon
Sam Taylor-Wood, Director – Nowhere Boy

Director:
AVATAR - James Cameron
DISTRICT 9 - Neill Blomkamp
AN EDUCATION - Lone Scherfig
THE HURT LOCKER - Kathryn Bigelow
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS - Quentin Tarantino

Original Screenplay:
THE HANGOVER - Jon Lucas, Scott Moore
THE HURT LOCKER - Mark Boal
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS - Quentin Tarantino
A SERIOUS MAN - Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
UP - Bob Peterson, Pete Docter

Adapted Screenplay:
DISTRICT 9 - Neill Blomkamp, Terri Tatchell
AN EDUCATION - Nick Hornby
IN THE LOOP - Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche
PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL PUSH BY SAPPHIRE - Geoffrey Fletcher
UP IN THE AIR - Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner

Film Not in the English Language:
BROKEN EMBRACES - Agust'n Almodóvar, Pedro Almodóvar
COCO BEFORE CHANEL - Carole Scotta, Caroline Benjo, Philippe Carcassonne, Anne Fontaine
LET THE RIGHT ONE IN - Carl Molinder, John Nordling, Tomas Alfredson
A PROPHET - Pascale Caucheteux, Marco Chergui, Alix Raynaud, Jacques Audiard
THE WHITE RIBBON - Stefan Arndt, Veit Heiduschka, Margaret Menegoz, Michael Haneke

Animated Film:
CORALINE - Henry Selick
FANTASTIC MR FOX - Wes Anderson
UP - Pete Docter

Leading 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

Leading Actress:
Carey Mulligan - AN EDUCATION
Saoirse Ronan - THE LOVELY BONES
Gabourey Sidibe - PRECIOUS: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
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: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
Kristin Scott Thomas - Nowhere Boy

Music:
AVATAR - James Horner
CRAZY HEART - T-Bone Burnett, Stephen Bruton
FANTASTIC MR FOX - Alexandre Desplat
SEX & DRUGS & ROCK & ROLL - Chaz Jankel
UP - Michael Giacchino

Cinematography:
AVATAR - Mauro Fiore
DISTRICT 9 - Trent Opaloch
THE HURT LOCKER - Barry Ackroyd
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS - Robert Richardson
THE ROAD - Javier Aguirresarobe

Editing:
AVATAR - Stephen Rivkin, John Refoua, James Cameron
DISTRICT 9 - Julian Clarke
THE HURT LOCKER - Bob Murawski, Chris Innis
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS - Sally Menke
UP IN THE AIR - Dana E. Glauberman

Production Design:
AVATAR - Rick Carter, Robert Stromberg, Kim Sinclair
DISTRICT 9 - Philip Ivey, Guy Poltgieter
HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE - Stuart Craig, Stephenie McMillan
THE IMAGINARIUM OF DOCTOR PARNASSUS - Nominees TBC
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS - David Wasco, Sandy Reynolds Wasco

Costume Design:
BRIGHT STAR - Janet Patterson
COCO BEFORE CHANEL - Catherine Leterrier
AN EDUCATION - Odile Dicks-Mireaux
A SINGLE MAN - Arianne Phillips
THE YOUNG VICTORIA - Sandy Powell

Sound:
AVATAR
DISTRICT 9
THE HURT LOCKER
STAR TREK
UP

Special Visual Effects:
AVATAR
DISTRICT 9
HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE
THE HURT LOCKER
STAR TREK

Make Up & Hair:
COCO BEFORE CHANEL
AN EDUCATION
THE IMAGINARIUM OF DOCTOR PARNASSUS
NINE
THE YOUNG VICTORIA

For more on BAFTA and/or the Orange Awards, click the title of this post.

Santa Barbara Film Festival Winners

SERIES: Major Film Festivals

ENEMIES OF THE PEOPLE wins Best Documentary Film and another major award.

The winners of the 25th Annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) were announced yesterday. The festival, which celebrated its Silver Anniversary beginning 4 February, announced the winners of the 2010 festival competition at a Press Conference and Sunday morning brunch at the famed Fess Parker’s Doubletree Resort, Sunday, 14 February.

The winning films are as follows:


The Panavision Spirit Award for Independent Cinema, given to a unique independent feature that has been made outside mainstream Hollywood, went to EXAM (US Premiere), directed by Stuart Hazeldine, and starring Luke Mably, Nathalie Cox.

The Best International Film Award went to LETTERS to FATHER JACOB (Postia pappi Jaakobille) from Finland, and directed by Klaus Härö. [Submitted for Oscar® consideration for Best Foreign Language Film (BFLF), but not nominated. It is, however, receiving praises for cinematography such as, "If you want to see cinematographic art at its finest, see this movie."]

The Nueva [New] Vision Award for the best Spanish/Latin American film was awarded to THE WIND JOURNEYS (Los viajes del viento, Columbia, US Premiere), directed by Ciro Guerra and starring Marciano Martínez, Yull Núñez. [Submitted for Oscar consideration for BFLF, but not nominated.]

Best East Meets West Cinema Award went to South Korea’s MOTHER (Madeo), directed by Joon-ho Bong, about a mother who desperately searches for the killer that framed her son for a horrific murder. [Submitted for Oscar consideration for BFLF, but not nominated.]

Best Eastern Bloc Award went to KATALIN VARGA (Romania/UK, US Premiere), directed by Peter Strickland.

Best Documentary Film Award went to ENEMIES of the PEOPLE from UK/Cambodia and directed by Rob Lemkin and Thet Sambath. The film is about the Khmer Rouge slaughter of nearly two million people in the late 1970s, yet the killing fields of Cambodia remain unexplained.

Bruce Corwin Award for Best Live Action Short Film Under 30 Minutes went to ANA'S PLAYGROUND, directed by Eric D. Howell. Film depicts just another day for children surrounded by armed conflict.

Bruce Corwin Award for Best Animation Short Film went to UTS, directed by Moritz Mayerhofer.

The Fund for Santa Barbara Social Justice Award Sponsored by The Fund for Santa Barbara for a documentary film that addresses social justice issues also went to ENEMIES of the PEOPLE, the Best Documentary winner.

The festival closed tonight with the World Premiere of MIDDLE MEN,” directed by George Gallo. Starrin Giovanni Ribisi, Luke Wilson, James Caan, Kelsey Grammer and Kevin Pollack, the film chronicles Jack Harris, one of the pioneers of internet commerce, as he wrestles with his morals and struggles not to drown in a sea of conmen, mobsters, drug addicts, and pornstars.

Read more about the winners by clicking this title of this post. For honorary awards at the SBIFF, scroll down to previous post under the title, " Major Film Festivals in February 2010".

82nd Academy Awards Poster

82nd Academy Awards® co-hosts Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin have landed on the shoulders of the Oscar in the official poster for this year's telecast. The poster is now available for purchase. It celebrates the best films of 2009.

The 27x40-inch color poster is printed on premium quality, Forest Stewardship Certified paper. LA-based creative-shop Omelet is responsible for the concept and execution of the design, which features tuxedo-clad Martin and Baldwin on the shoulders of a giant Oscar statuette. “You’ve Never Seen Oscar Like This” is the year’s slogan.

The poster is $25, plus shipping and handling. This is the only 82nd Academy Awards commemorative item available for sale to the public. Thousands of posters also will be distributed to a variety of venues worldwide.







The Academy is offering a poster special this year. The "80 Years of Best Picture Winners" poster, a special-issue poster celebrating 80 years of Best Picture Oscar winners from 1928, was issued in conjunction with the 2007's 80th Academy Awards presentation, and is available as part of a set, provided you order this year's 82nd Annual Academy Awards poster.

This special 80th poster is the same fine quality as this year's poster. The set is available for $40, plus shipping and handling. These posters are available for purchase on the Academy’s Web site by clicking the title of this post, or by calling 1-877-335-8936.

The Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2009 will be presented on Sunday, 7 March, at 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET, and broadcast live on the ABC Television Network.

Major Film Festivals in February 2010

SERIES: Major Film Festivals

1. 60th Berlin IFF Opens Today - - 2. 25th Santa Barbara IFF Ready for Awards.

2. 60th BERLIN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (Berlinale), Berlin, Germany 11 - 21 February 2010.

APART TOGETHER (Tuan Yuan)

The Berlinale (BIFF) is the first major European film festival on the calendar each year, as Sundance is the first major U.S. Festival. The BIFF is considered second only to Cannes as a prestigious film showcase in world cinema along with Venice, the oldest film festival. The first BIFF I attended was in July, and many events were held outside under the stars or in tents. Now, it takes place in February. Brrrrr!

The International Jury, presided over by Werner Herzog, will decide who will take home the Golden Bear and the Silver Bears, as well as the Alfred Bauer Prize in the Competition Section of the Berlinale 2010. Texas-born Oscar-winning actress Renée Zellweger will join President Herzog and other members of the Jury.

The Jury for the Best First Feature Award will be headed by Michael Verhoeven, one of the formative personalities in what is known as New German Film. He presented his feature film debut, THE DANCE OF DEATH, at the 1967 Festival. Debut feature films from the sections Competition, Panorama, Generation Kplus and 14plus as well as debut films from the Forum will compete for the award. The winners will be announced at the official award ceremony in the Berlinale Palast on 30 February.

American actor Ben Foster (X-MEN: The Last Stand, 3:10 TO YUMA and ALPHA DOG) will join Verhoeven and other Jury members. He was a guest at the 2009 Berlinale Competition with his lead role in the acclaimed drama THE MESSENGER.

The winner of the Golden Bear 2009, MILK OF SORROW (La Teta Asustada) by Claudia Llosa from Peru, and AJAMI by Yaron Shani and Scandar Copti (Israel) were both funded by the Berlinale’s World Cinema Fund, and they are both nominated for an Oscar in the Best Foreign Language Film category for 2009.

Opening Movie: The World Premiere of APART TOGETHER (Tuan Yuan, People's Republic of China, 2009) director, Wang Quan'an, in Shanghainese and Mandarin. Section: Competition. Cast: Lisa Lu, Ling Feng, Xu Caigen, Monica Mo, Ma Xiaoqing. Wang's TUYA'S MARRIAGE won the Golden Bear in 2007.

Closing Movie: The Festival's award winning feature film will be screened 20 February in the Zoo Palast 1, at 3:00 p.m., with the awards gala beginning at 7:00 p.m. in the CinemaxX 3.

The Festival is a sponsor of the second edition of the Talent Campus Guadalajara for up-and-coming filmmakers and professionals from Central America and the Caribbean, which will take place from 11-15 March 2010. New this year in Guadalajara: a brand new hands-on training program for film critics, the Talent Press. Sorry, the applications have closed./b>

Also, the full screening schedule for Berlin is available for download, but only in German. For more information, click the title of this post to access the Festival's Official Website

1. 25th SANTA BARBARA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, Santa Barbara, California. Thursday, 4 February - Sunday, 14 February 2010.

Santa Barbara's festival has all the glitz and glam of Palm Springs while, at the same time, offering a roster of films worthy of following Sundance. This year is SBIFF's silver anniversary, and they deserve hearty congratulations for offering an exhilarating festival year after year. I know because I have attended a number of them.

The 25th edition features 200 films including 18 World Premieres, 28 U.S. Premieres and a vast selection of films representing 45 countries. The motto this year is "11 Amazing Days, 10 Starry Nights".

The Festival opened with a gala screening at the downtown historic Arlington Theatre featuring the world premiere screening of FLYING LESSONS, directed by Derek Magyar, in his directorial debut. The movie stars Christine Lahti, Maggie Grace, Jonathan Tucker, Cary Elwes, Joanna Cassidy and Hal Holbrook. The gala evening concluded with a party at Paseo Nuevo in downtown Santa Barbara.

Closing Night will feature the world premiere screening of MIDDLE MEN, directed by George Gallo and starring Giovanni Ribisi, Luke Wilson, James Caan, Kelsey Grammar and Kevin Pollack. The director and cast will attend. Closing Night festivities also take place at the Arlington Theatre.

Actress Emily Blunt received the Chopin Virtuoso Award - in recognition of this years emerging film talent - Sunday, 7 February. Also, receiving the Chopin Virtuosos 2010 Award were Carey Mulligan (AN EDUCATION), Saoirse Ronan (THE LOVELY BONES) and Michael Stuhlbarg (A SERIOUS MAN).

Actress Sandra Bullok received The American Riviera Award, 5 February, and director James Cameron received the esteemed Lucky Brand™ Modern Master Award 6 February.

Continuing the annual tradition of highlighting a guest director, SBIFF selected Kathryn Bigelow as the Outstanding Director of the Year. Monday, 8 February the Festival began the day with a retrospective of Bigelow’s films: NEAR DARK, POINT BREAK, and STRANGE DAYS. Following a conversation with the director, there was a special screening of her latest movie, the Oscar nominated, THE HURT LOCKER, and Bigelow is nominated for an Oscar for directing the movie.

David Attenborough Award for Excellence in Nature Filmmaking will be awarded to THE COVE, Wednesday, 10 February, at the Lobero Theatre. The award-winning documentary is one of he favorites in the Oscar's Best Documentary Feature of 2009 category.

Actor Colin Firth will receive the Outstanding Performer of the Year Award for his role as 'George' in A SINGLE MAN, Thursday, 11 February at the Arlington Theatre. Also, Actress Julianne Moore will receive the Montecito Award. The evening will be moderated by SBIFF Executive Director Roger Durling.

Friday, 12 February, at the Lobero Theatre, Durling will moderate the evening when the Cinema Vanguard Awards will be presented to Vera Farmiga (UP IN THE AIR), Peter Sarsgaard (AN EDUCATION), Stanley Tucci (THE LOVELY BONES) and Christoph Waltz (INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS) in recognition of artists who have forged their own path by taking artistic risks.Also, actress Gabourey Sidibe, (PRECIOUS) will receive the Chopin Virtuoso Award.

Santa Barbara celebrates one of their own with Jeff Bridges Day. Sunday, 14 February, will start early with screenings of Bridges’ Oscar-nominated films: THE LAST PICTURE SHOW, THUNDERBOLT and LIGHTFOOT, STARMAN, and THE CONTENDER. Bridges will appear for a Conversation, followed by a screening of CRAZY HEART. Bridges is nominated for best actor in the leading role for his role in the movie as Bad Blake, a broken-down hard-living former country singer.

Link for the Festival's Official Website.

Coming up first in March is the Miami International Film Festival, presented by the Miami Film Society and Miami Dade College, followed by SXSW, and the 25th Guadalajara International Film Festival, 12 - 19 March. More on those and others later.

This week, I received information from the Venice IFF and the San Sebastián IFF. Neither will open until much later this year, but I will be adding newsflashes to the bottom of these posts to incorporate the latest from the best film festivals when I receive information that I think is "hot".

Final Oscar® Ballots Mailed to Academy Members

Final ballots for the 82nd Academy Awards® were mailed today, 10 February, to the 5,777 voting members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Completed ballots must be returned to PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) by 5 p.m. PT, Tuesday, 2 March. Ballots received after the deadline will not be counted.

Listed on the ballots are nominees in 19 Awards categories. Separate ballots for 5 categories (Documentary Feature, Documentary Short Subject, Foreign Language Film, Animated Short Film and Live Action Short Film) will be distributed after verification of mandatory member attendance at screenings. Following the tabulation of the votes, the winners’ names will be placed in sealed envelopes to be opened on Oscar Night®.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2009 will be presented Sunday, 7 March 2010, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network beginning at 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 200 countries worldwide.



ABOUT THE ACADEMY

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is the world’s preeminent movie-related organization, with a membership of more than 6,000 of the most accomplished men and women working in cinema. In addition to the annual Academy Awards – in which the members vote to select the nominees and winners – the Academy presents a diverse year-round slate of public programs, exhibitions and events; provides financial support to a wide range of other movie-related organizations and endeavors; acts as a neutral advocate in the advancement of motion picture technology; and, through its Margaret Herrick Library and Academy Film Archive, collects, preserves, restores and provides access to movies and items related to their history. Through these and other activities the Academy serves students, historians, the entertainment industry and people everywhere who love movies.

Click the title of this post for link to "All Things Oscar" Website.

FOLLOW THE ACADEMY

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Sundance Festival Winners

SERIES: Major Film Festivals





The 2010 Sundance Film Festival (SFF) awards were presented Saturday, 30 January, by actor David Hyde Pierce. Yes, I know that was a week ago, but so many awards are being given at one time it is very hard on my staff - - me, myself, and I.



WINTER'S BONE

Debra Granik's WINTER'S BONE was the big winner in Park City, as it won both the dramatic competition Grand Jury prize and the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award in Park City. Earlier in the day, the gritty drama secured North American distribution through Roadside Attractions for release later this year.

The movie, about an unflinching Ozark Mountain girl trudging through dangerous social terrain as she hunts down her missing father, was adapted from the Missouri-based author Daniel Woodrell's novel by Granik and Anne Rosellini. Rosellini and Alix Madigan, produced. Jonathan Scheuer and Shawn Simon executive produced. Granik's previous film, the 2004 Sundance entry DOWN TO THE BONE, won her a dramatic directing award

Here are the winners this year:



AUDIENCE AWARDS ~ ~

U.S. Dramatic – Josh Radnor, happythankyoumoreplease;
U.S. Documentary – Davis Guggenheim, WAITING FOR SUPERMAN;
World Cinema: Documentary – Lucy Walker, WASTE LAND;
World Cinema: Dramatic – Javier Fuentes-León (Peru), CONTRACORRIENTE.



JURY AWARDS ~ ~

Grand Jury Prize: U. S. Dramatic – Debra Granik, WINTER'S BONE;
Grand Jury Prize: U. S. Documentary - Sebastien Junger and Tim Hetherington, RESTREPO;

Jury Prize: World Cinema Dramatic – David Michôd, ANIMAL KINGDOM;
Jury Prize: World Cinema Documentary – Mads Brügger, THE RED CHAPEL.



SPECIAL JURY AWARDS ~ ~

U.S. Dramatic – Mark Ruffalo, SYMPATHY FOR DELICIOUS;
U.S. Documentary – Josh Fox, GASLAND;
World Cinema Documentary – Rob Lemkin and Thet Sambath, ENEMIES OF THE PEOPLE;
World Dramatic Breakout Performance – Tatiana Maslany in GROWN UP MOVIE STAR.



OTHER SPECIAL ~ ~

Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize – Diane Bell, OBSELIDIA;
Best of NEXT – Todd Barnes and Brad Barnes, HOMEWRECKER.



RECOGNITION AWARDS ~ ~

U.S. Directing: Dramatic – Eric Mendelsohn, 3 BACKYARDS;

U.S. Directing: Documentary – Leon Gast, SMASH HIS CAMERA;
U.S. Waldo Salt Screenwriting – Debra Granik and Anne Rosellini, WINTER'S BONE;
U.S. Documentary Editing– Penelope Falk, JOAN RIVERS: A PIECE OF WORK;
U.S. Excellence in Cinematography - Dramatic – Zak Mulligan, OBSELIDIA;
U.S. Excellence in Cinematography - Documentary – Kirsten Johnson, Laura Poitras, THE OATH;
World Cinema Directing: Dramatic – Juan Carlos Valdivia, SOUTHERN DISTRICT;
World Cinema Directing: Documentary – Christian Frei, SPACE TOURISTS;
World Cinema Screenwriting – Juan Carlos Valdivia, SOUTHERN DISTRICT;
World Cinema Documentary Editing– Joëlle Alexis, A FILM UNFINISHED;
World Cinema Cinematography - Dramatic – Mariano Cohn and Gastón Duprat, THE MAN NEXT DOOR;

World Cinema Cinematography - Documentary – Kate McCullough and Michael Lavelle, HIS & HERS.

SHORT FILMS (announced earlier) ~ ~

Jury Prize in U.S. – DRUNK HISTORY;
International Jury Prize – THE SIX DOLLAR FIFTY MAN;
Honorable Mention – QUADRANGLE; DOCK ELLIS & THE LSD NO - NO;
ROB and VALENTYNA in SCOTLAND; YOUNG LOVE; BORN SWEET, and CAN WE TALK?

Also announced earlier, Slamdance Festival Awards, where the Grand Jury awards went to, Charles-Olivier Michaud's narrative film SNOW and ASHES, and Mark Claywell's documentary AMERICAN JIHADIST, plus the Sundance / NHK International Filmmakers Awards.

Read more about the awards. To visit the Festival's Website and read more there, plus access videos, click the title of this post.

UP Wins Annie Award

Actor William Shatner hosted the 37th Annual Annie Awards on Saturday, 6 February 2010, at UCLA's Royce Hall in Los Angeles, CA. The awards are sponsored by the International Animated Film Society, ASIFA - Hollywood, and this year they honored the best in animation in 2009. With only two exceptions, the Annie winner for Best Animated Feature has also won the Best Animated Motion Picture Oscar® for the same year.

Last year and 2007 were exceptions. Last year, the Society went with a sweep for KUNG FU PANDA, but WALL-E was the member-favorite of AMPAS® and it took home the Oscar. In 2007, the Annie went to CARS, but AMPAS members preferred HAPPY FEET.

 Last night, UP won the top two awards, Best Animated Feature and Best Director for Pete Docter, another feather in the cap of Pixar Animation Studios and, perhaps, a portend of an Oscar win in both categories. Laika's CORALINE and Disney's THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG each won three awards. Disney also won three for its television series, PREP AND LANDING. The Annie Awards ceremony will also be Webcast on www.annieawards.org beginning Tuesday, 9 February.

The list of awards not only includes movies, but television and some specialized technical awards. I'm taking a shortcut here sticking with motion pictures. If you do not see the category that interests you, click the title of this post to go to their Official Website to see the entire list.

Here are the nominees for selected categories with winners in red:

Best Animated Feature Film
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs - Sony Pictures Animation
Coraline - Laika
Fantastic Mr. Fox - 20th Century Fox
The Princess and the Frog - Walt Disney Animation Studios
The Secret of Kells - Cartoon Saloon
Up - Pixar Animation Studios

Directing in a Feature Production
Wes Anderson "Fantastic Mr. Fox" - 20th Century Fox
Pete Docter "Up" - Pixar Animation Studios
Christopher Miller, Phil Lord "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs" - Sony Pictures Animation
Hayao Miyazaki "Ponyo" - Studio Ghibli
Henry Selick "Coraline" - Laika

Character Design in a Feature Production
Daniel Lopez Munoz "Up" - Pixar Animation Studios
Shane Prigmore "Coraline" - Laika
Shannon Tindle "Coraline" - Laika

Character Animation in a Feature Production
Andreas Deja "The Princess and the Frog" - Walt Disney Animation Studios
Eric Goldberg "The Princess and the Frog" - Walt Disney Animation Studios
Travis Knight "Coraline" - Laika
Daniel Nguyen "Up" - Pixar Animation Studios
Bruce Smith "The Princess and the Frog" - Walt Disney Animation Studios

Music in a Feature Production
Bruno Coulais "Coraline" - Laika
Michael Giacchino "Up" - Pixar Animation Studios
Joe Hisaishi "Ponyo" - Studio Ghibli
John Powell "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs" - Blue Sky Studios

Production Design in a Feature Production
Christopher Appelhans "Coraline" - Laika
Ian Gooding "The Princess and the Frog" - Walt Disney Animation Studios
Tadahiro Uesugi "Coraline" - Laika
Christophe Vacher "9" - 9 L.L.C.

Voice Acting in a Feature Production
Jen Cody - Voice of Charlotte - "The Princess and the Frog" - Walt Disney Animation Studios
Dawn French - Voice of Miss Forcible - "Coraline" - Laika
Hugh Laurie - Voice of Dr. Cockroach Ph.D. - "Monsters vs. Aliens" - DreamWorks Animation
John Leguizamo - Voice of Sid - "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs" - Blue Sky Studios
Jenifer Lewis - Voice of Mama Odie - "The Princess and the Frog" - Walt Disney Animation Studios

Writing in a Feature Production
Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach - "Fantastic Mr. Fox" - 20th Century Fox
Pete Docter, Bob Peterson, Tom McCarthy - "Up" - Pixar Animation Studios
Timothy Hyde Harris and David Bowers - "Astro Boy" - Imagi Studios
Christopher Miller and Phil Lord - "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs" - Sony Pictures Animation

Animated Effects
Scott Cegielski "Monsters vs. Aliens" - DreamWorks Animation
Alexander Feigin "9" - 9 L.L.C.
Eric Froemling "Up" - Pixar Animation Studios
Tom Kluyskens "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs" - Sony Pictures Animation
James Mansfield "The Princess and the Frog" - Walt Disney Animation Studios

ASIFA is a non-profit organization, founded by a group of animators in 1957, and chartered by UNESCO in 1960. ASIFA encourages the art of animation and furthers international understanding and goodwill through the medium. Today, there are about thirty chapters of ASIFA all over the globe. ASIFA is a French acronym,  "Association Internationale du Film D'Animation".

Sandra Bullock Nominated for Worst Actress

30th Annual Razzie Nominations

This is the 30th year in which the Razzies have been shinning a light on Hollywood's low point. Winners of the "Berry Worst" will be announced 6 March, the night before the Oscars®. A tradition.

In the nominations for worst actress, Sandra Bullock, Miley Cyrus (HANNAH MONTANNA: THE MOVIE ), and Megan Fox (JENNIFER'S BODY, REVENGE OF THE FALLEN) are up against Beyonce Knowles for OBSESSED and Sarah Jessica Parker for DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THE MORGANS?

Eddie Murphy (IMAGINE THAT), John Travolta (OLD DOGS), Steve Martin (PINK PANTHER 2), Will Farrell (LAND OF THE LOST), and all three Jonas Brothers (JONAS BROTHER: THE 3-D CONCERT EXPERIENCE), have a worst actor of 2009 nod. Voters also included "any two (or more)" Jonas brothers in the category for worst screen couple.

Robert Pattinson is nominated as worst supporting actor for THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON, and Billy Ray Cyrus also is tagged for worst supporting actor. Pattinson's co-star Kristen Stewart is in the running for worst screen couple paired with either Pattinson or "New Moon" player, Taylor Lautner.

This year, voters also are making worst-of-the-decade picks. The worst-picture of the decade nominees are John Travolta's BATTLEFIELD EARTH, Tom Green's FREDDY GOT FINGERED, Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez's GIGLI, Lindsay Lohan's I KNOW WHO KILLED ME and Madonna's SWEPT AWAY.

Ben Affleck and Travolta are up for worst actor of the decade, along with Murphy, Mike Myers and Rob Schneider. Lindsey Lohan, Jennifer Lopez and Madonna are nominated for the decade's worst actress, along with Mariah Carey and Paris Hilton.

Anyone can register and vote, but do so by Midnight, 26 February. To vote, and see all nominations, click the title of this post to link to the Golden Raspberry Website.

82nd Academy Awards® Nominations

AVATAR and THE HURT LOCKER lead the nominations with the most, nine each. UP received five, including Best Animated Film and Best Motion Picture.

Will it be Sandra Bullock vs. Meryl Streep for Best Actress and James Cameron vs. Kathryn Bigelow (former wife) for Best Director? Or, will INGLORIOUS BASTERDS rewrite this speculation history by being the big winner?

Nominations for the 82 Academy Awards® were announced a little after 5 a.m. this morning from the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Tom Sherak, accompanied by Oscar-nominated actress and Academy member Anne Hathaway, read the nominees for 10 out of the 24 categories.

The gold statuettes will be presented to the winners at a gala on Sunday, 7 March, in the Kodak Theatre at the Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network beginning at 5 p.m. PT. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 200 countries worldwide.

The Official Website for the Academy Awards is now up and, this year, it has gone high tech and interactive. Visitors will be able to cast their votes for many things connected to the awards. Click the title of this post to link to it.

Here are all the 82nd Academy Award Nominations ~~

BEST PICTURE (with director):
AVATAR, James Cameron
THE BLIND SIDE, John Lee Hancock
DISTRICT 9, Peter Jackson
AN EDUCATION, Lone Scherfig
THE HURT LOCKER, Kathryn Bigelow
INGLOURIOS BASTERDS, Quinten Tarantino
PRECIOUS: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire, Lee Daniels
A SERIOUS MAN, Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
UP, Peter Docter
UP in the AIR, Jason Reitman

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE:
Jeff Bridges, CRAZY HEART
George Clooney, UP in the AIR
Colin Firth, A SINGLE MAN
Morgan Freeman, INVICTUS
Jeremy Renner, THE HURT LOCKER

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:
Matt Damon, INVICTUS
Woody Harrelson, THE MESSENGER
Christopher Plummer, THE LAST STATION
Stanley Tucci, THE LOVELY BONES
Christoph Waltz, INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE:
Sandra Bullock, THE BLIND SIDE
Helen Mirren, THE LAST STATION
Carey Mulligan, AN EDUCATION
Gabourey Sidibe, PRECIOUS: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire
Meryl Streep, JULIE & JULIA

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:
Penélope Cruz, NINE
Vera Farmiga, UP in the AIR
Maggie Gyllenhaal, CRAZY HEART
Anna Kendrick, UP in the AIR
Mo'Nique, 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, Tom Moore
UP, Pete Docter

ART DIRECTION:
AVATAR
THE IMAGINARIUM of DOCTOR PARNASSUS
NINE
SHERLOCK HOLMES
THE YOUNG VICTORIA
 
CINEMATOGRAPHY:
AVATAR
HARRY POTTER and the HALF-BLOOD PRINCE
THE HURT LOCKER
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
THE WHITE RIBBON

DIRECTING:
AVATAR, James Cameron
THE HURT LOCKER, Kathryn Bigelow
INGLOURIUOUS BASTERDS, Quentin Tarantino
PRECIOUS: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire, Lee Daniels
UP in the AIR, Jason Reitman

DOCUMENTARY (Feature):
BURMA VJ
THE COVE
FOOD, INC.
THE MOST DANGEROUS MAN IN AMERICA: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers
WHICH WAY HOME

DOCUMENTARY (Short Subject):
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 à la BERLIN

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM (with country and director/s):
AJAMI, Israel, Scandar Copti and Yaron Shani
EL SECRETO de SUS OJOS, Argentina (The Secret in Their Eyes), Juan José Campanella
THE MILK OF SOROW, Peru (La teta asustada), Claudia Llosa
UN PROPHÈTE, France (A PROPHET), Jacques Audiard
THE WHITE RIBBON, Germany (Das weisse Band - Eine deutsche Kindergeschichte), Michael Haneke

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" from 'Crazy Heart' - Music and Lyric by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett

SHORT FILM (Animated):
FRENCH ROAST
GRANNY O'GRIMM'S SLEEPING BEAUTY
THE LADY AND REAPER (La Dama y la Muerte)
LOGORAMA
A MATTER of LOAF and DEATH

SHORT FILM (Live Action):
THE DOOR
INSTEAD OF ABRACADABRA
KAVI
MIRACLE FISH
THE NEW TENANTS

COSTUME DESIGN:
BRIGHT STAR
COCO BEFORE CHANEL
THE IMAGINARIUM of DOCTOR PARNASSUS
NINE
THE YOUNG VICTORIA

MAKEUP:
IL DIVO
STAR TREK
THE YOUNG VICTORIA

FILM EDITING:
AVATAR
DISTRICT 9
THE HURT LOCKER
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
PRECIOUS: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire

SOUND EDITING:
AVATAR
THE HURT LOCKER
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
STAR TREK
UP

SOUND MIXING:
AVATAR
THE HURT LOCKER
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
STAR TREK
TRANSFORMERS: Revenge of the Fallen

VISUAL EFFECTS:
AVATAR
DISTRICT 9
STAR TREK

WRITING (Adapted Screenplay with writer/s):
DISTRICT 9, Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell
AN EDUCATION, Nick Hornby
IN the LOOP, Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche
PRECIOUS: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire Screenplay by Geoffrey Fletcher
UP in the AIR, Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner

WRITING (Original Screenplay with writer/s):
THE HURT LOCKER, Mark Boal
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS, Quentin Tarantino
THE MESSENGER, Alessandro Camon & Oren Moverman
A SERIOUS MAN, Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
UP, Bob Peterson, Pete Docter, Tom McCarthy

For the list of all with all the credits, CLICK HERE.

Oscar® Nominees Announced Tomorrow

Nominations for the 82nd Academy Awards® will be announced tomorrow, Tuesday, 2 February, by Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Tom Sherak, and Oscar-nominated actress and Academy member Anne Hathaway.

Sherak and Hathaway will unveil the AMPAS® Oscar® nominations in 10 of the 24 categories at a 5:30 a.m. news conference in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater, Beverly Hills. Hundreds of media representatives from around the world will be gathered there. Nominations information for all categories will be distributed simultaneously to news media in attendance and via the Internet on the official Academy Awards Web site. Click title of this post to link to the site.

Last year, Hathaway received her first Oscar nomination for her leading role in RACHEL GETTING MARRIED. She first came to national attention in the 2006 sleeper hit, THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA, opposite Meryl Streep. Her other film credits include BRIDE WARS, GET SMART, PASSENGERS, BECOMING JANE, BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN, and THE PRINCESS DIARIES. She can be seen now in VALENTINE'S DAY, and in the role of the White Queen in Tim Burton’s remake of ALICE in WONDERLAND and, soon in LOVE AND OTHER DRUGS opposite Jake Gyllenhaal.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2009 will be presented on Sunday, 7 March, in the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network beginning at 5 p.m. PT. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 200 countries worldwide.