Mimi's Picks for the Oscars®

AVATAR and THE HURT LOCKER lead with the most nominations for tonight's Academy Awards® TV gala with nine each. UP received five, including Best Animated Film and Best Motion Picture. The surprise nominations were THE BLIND SIDE for best picture and Sandra Bullock for best actress.

By now you probably know what to expect, who the hosts are for tonight, and have your voting list in hand [CLICK HERE], etc. Perhaps, you are waiting for the limousine that will take you to the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood. If you are watching at home you will either be thoroughly engaged and rooting for your favorites, or you will watch without any expectations, simply enjoying the multi-million dollar spectacle unfolding on your television set, provided you have it tuned to ABC-TV.

Have you picked your favorites? I have picked mine, but not because I like the actor or actress better than anyone else, or I really liked a certain movie. Being raised in a movie theater, having about 55 college graduate hours in film history and criticism, and having seen hundreds of films of all types and from many countries, I'm analytical about my choices, but I am not going to write about that now.

First of all, I do not evaluate short films because they are not readily shown in theaters or issued on DVD. Here are my choices for the 82nd Academy Awards honoring the best Hollywood offered in 2009, minus short films:

BEST PICTURE:
THE HURT LOCKER

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE:
Jeff Bridges, CRAZY HEART

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:
Christoph Waltz, INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE:
Meryl Streep, JULIE & JULIA

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:
Mo'Nique, PRECIOUS: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM:
UP, Pete Docter

ART DIRECTION:
AVATAR

CINEMATOGRAPHY:
AVATAR

DIRECTING:
Kathryn Bigelow, THE HURT LOCKER

DOCUMENTARY (Feature):
THE COVE

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM:
THE WHITE RIBBON, Germany [Second choice, AJAMI, Israel]

MUSIC (Original Score):
UP, Michael Giacchino

MUSIC (Original Song):
"The Weary Kind" from 'Crazy Heart' - Music and Lyric by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett

COSTUME DESIGN: [Abstaining because I saw none of these, but my heart goes with THE YOUNG VICTORIA.]

MAKEUP:
STAR TREK [MY favorite in this category didn't get a nomination, DISTRICT 9.]

FILM EDITING:
THE HURT LOCKER

SOUND EDITING:
THE HURT LOCKER

SOUND MIXING:
THE HURT LOCKER

VISUAL EFFECTS:
AVATAR

WRITING (Adapted Screenplay):
UP IN THE AIR by Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner

WRITING (Original Screenplay):
THE HURT LOCKER by Mike Boal

Golden Razzie® "Winners" 2010

30th Annual Golden Raspberry "Winners"

Last night, Oscar® eve, the "Berry Bad Movies of 2009" were dis-honored during a gala at Hollywood's Barnsdall Gallery Theatre sponsored by The Golden Raspberry Award Foundation. The chosen ones received a gold-spray-painted "Razzie®" statuette designating them as being among last year's Worst Achievements in Film.

Sandra Bullock won two Razzie® awards. The first in the worst actress of 2009 category for her role in ALL ABOUT STEVE. The second with actor Bradley Cooper for the worst screen couple for ALL ABOUT STEVE, which also garnered a Worst Picture of 2009 nomination, but lost the Razzie to TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN. The TRANSFORMERS' screenplay was dis-honored as was its director Michael Bay.

Bullocks competition for worst actress were: Miley Cyrus (HANNAH MONTANNA: THE MOVIE), and Megan Fox (JENNIFER'S BODY, REVENGE OF THE FALLEN), Beyonce Knowles for OBSESSED and Sarah Jessica Parker for DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THE MORGANS?

The worst actor was a three-way tie of the Jonas brothers for JONAS BROTHERS: THE 3-D CONCERT EXPERIENCE. The worst supporting actress and actor statuettes went to Sienna Miller (G.I. JOE: THE RISE OF COBRA) and Billy Ray Cyrus (HANNAH MONTANA: THE MOVIE), respectively.

Because 2009 marked the turn of a decade, the Foundation awarded three special awards: The worst picture, actress and actor of the decade. They went to the following, in order: BATTLEFIELD EARTH (won by a landslide), Paris Hilton (THE HOTTIE & THE NOTTIE, HOUSE OF WAX and REPO: THE GENETIC OPERA) and Eddie Murphy (ADVENTURES of PLUTO NASH, I SPY, IMAGINE THAT, MEET DAVE, NORBIT and SHOWTIME).

To see all the nominees click the tag "Razzie" at the bottom of this post for a previous post. To access the Foundations' official Website, click title of this post.

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".

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.

16th Annual SAG Award Winners for 2009

                      

SERIES: Hollywood Guild Awards and Oscars®

The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) gave their acting awards last night. All knew that the big movie winner in drama at the Golden Globes® was AVATAR, but that movie was not nominated by SAG. Wonder why?

Easy. The Screen Actors Guild supports live actors in the flesh. Actors doing "performance capture," and then being computerized for the big screen, is not in SAG's mission statement. As has been mentioned before, keep in mind that SAG is the biggest voting block in Ampas®. So, as SAG votes, often that's the way the Academy members vote for the Academy Awards®.

The delightful Quentin Tarantino movie, INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS won the best performance by a cast in a motion picture, which for an acting guild is also saying, "Best Motion Picture." The other casts nominated were AN EDUCATION, NINE, PRECIOUS and THE HURT LOCKER.

Sandra Bullock moved up a notch in the awards firmament by winning best actress for her performance in THE BLIND SIDE. She won a best supporting actress Globe for the same role.

Actress Betty White, whose career has mainly been in television, received the Life Achievement Award.

Click the title of this post to go to the Official SAG Website and view some great pictures from last night's event as well as all the nominees in their glitz and glam. Here's the full list, including the television awards, and not one in this list surprised me:

Cast: Inglourious Basterds.

Actor in a leading role: Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart. - He won a Globe.

Actress in a leading role: Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side. - She won a Globe.

Supporting actor: Christoph Waltz, Inglorious Basterds - He won a Globe.

Supporting actress: Mo'Nique, Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire - She won a Globe.

Stunt ensemble: Star Trek.

Television:

Drama series cast: Mad Men.

Comedy series cast: Glee.

Actor in a drama series: Michael C. Hall, Dexter.

Actress in a drama series: Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife.

Actor in a comedy series: Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock.

Actress in a comedy series: Tina Fey, 30 Rock.

Actor in a movie or miniseries: Kevin Bacon, Taking Chance.

Actress in a movie or miniseries: Drew Barrymore, Grey Gardens.

Stunt ensemble: 24.

Winners of the Motion Picture Golden Globes® for 2009

67th Golden Globe Awards, Sunday, 17 January 2010, Beverly Hilton Hotel, Beverly Hills, California.

There were surprises and, perhaps, some questions about the winners at this year's Golden Globe Awards. One thing is certain, the winners are all over the map. There is no discernable pattern, no way to say that the Globes are an indicator of how the Academy Awards will go this year.

However, if you read this blog even occasionally, you have already learned that the sponsors of the Globes, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, is composed of journalists, as opposed to the members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which is composed of those who belong to the industry's guilds. The members of the HFPA nominate for the Golden Globes the people they want to see, and meet. The members of AMPAS honestly nominate their peers they not only work with and usually like, but the ones they feel actually deserve an Oscar, and "like" is the operative word.

Tonight was a fun night. James Cameron won for Best Director of AVATAR, and the technology expanding movie won Best Motion Picture, Drama. He even tipped his hat to one of his ex wives, Kathryn Bigelow, saying he thought she would take the director's award for THE HURT LOCKER. That might happen at the Oscars®.

And glory be, my favorite animated movie, UP, topped its category, thanks to the voice acting skills of one my favorite people on this Earth, Edward Asner, who voiced to role of the old curmudgeon. It also won best score for Michael Giacchino.

I must confess, I really like that score, but I was cheering for James Horner for AVATAR. I not only love his music, there is a familial connection. The same was true for Best Song. Down deep, I have felt the vibes for the nominated song from CRAZY HEART by T-Bone Burnett and Ryan Bingham, "The Weary Kind," but there was the beautiful song in AVATAR, "I Will See You," by, yep, James Horner, Simon Franglen and Kuk Harrell.

THE WHITE RIBBON, directed by Michael Haneke, won the Best Film at Cannes last May and it won the Best Foreign Language Film tonight. I has been submitted for Oscar consideration in that category.

THE HANGOVER took home the statuette for Best Motion Picture, Musical Comedy or Drama. The Best Screenplay went to Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner for UP IN THE AIR.

I was delighted to see Jeff Bridges win Best Actor, Drama, for CRAZY HEART, and not really surprised when Sandra Bullock won in the Best Actress, Drama, for THE BLIND SIDE. With the exception of Helen Mirren and Bullock, the other nominees were panty weights in that category, and I expected Bullock would win. Mirren's chances suffered because THE LAST STATION's lack of promotion and from poor distribution.

I knew Meryl Streep, who was nominated for two roles in the Best Actress, Musical or Comedy category, almost had to win one. I hoped it would be for her role as Julia Chile in JULIE & JULIA. It was, although she is a hoot opposite Alec Baldwin in IT'S COMPLICATED.

I'm blowing big kisses to Robert Downey, Jr., for a magnificent comedic performance in SHERLOCK HOLMES and for winning a Best Actor, Musical or Comedy Globe for it. Cheers for Jeff Bridges for winning in the same category for Drama.

No surprise concerning the winners of Best Supporting Actor and Actress, for sure. I have never seen a year when these categories have produced such strong contenders. Christoph Waltz for INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS, and Mo'Nique for PRECIOUS: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire. Both "heavy" roles.

The absolutely best list on the Planet of all the Golden Globe winners can be found on the IMDb, but here's the short list of the winners in the Motion Picture categories:

• Best Motion Picture - Drama: AVATAR.
• Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy: THE HANGOVER.
• Best Animated Motion Picture - UP.
• Best Foreign Language Film - THE WHITE RIBBON (Das weisse Band - Eine deutsche Kindergeschichte, Germay), directed by Michael Haneke.
• Best Director - Motion Picture: James Cameron for AVATAR.
• Best Screenplay - Motion Picture: UP IN THE AIR by Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner.
• Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama: Jeff Bridges for CRAZY HEART.
• Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama: Sandra Bullock for THE BLIND SIDE.
• Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy: Robert Downey Jr., for SHERLOCK HOLMES.
• Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy: Meryl Streep for JULIE & JULIA.
• Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture - Drama: Christoph Waltz for INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS.
• Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture - Drama: Mo'Nique for PECIOIUS: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire.
• Best Original Song - Motion Picture: "The Weary Kind," by T-Bone Burnett and Ryan Bingham, CRAZY HEART.
• Best Original Score - Motion Picture: Michael Giacchino for UP.