Oscar Nominations

[Geezer]

Except if it went just on popularity, Transformers 2, Twilight, The Hangover, Alvin and the Chipmunks and Harry Potter would get nominated. Like I have always said, they should strike a balance between the two. I think this list did a fantastic job of accomplishing that.

You may have hated the Blind Side, but you have also shown to be a person who searches out racism in every place they can. Maybe it is viewed so positively because most people don't watch films just to look for racism, and can actually see the heartwarming nature of the film. No one I know, other than you, has ever complained about the film being racist. In fact they all loved it.

[mateostarr]

Well I don't know who exactly wrote the scores for Crimson Tide, Lion King, Batman Begins, Dark Knight, Sherlock Holmes, The Rock etc... etc...

All I know is that a man named Hans Zimmer gets the credit. And since this man is getting the credit for most of my favorite film scores I give him legendary status. Now if it turns out that he is the Milli Vanilli of film composers that is another story.

Bottom line - whoever the hell composed those scores is a legend in my book.

[Buscemi]

I knew Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs would not be nominated simply because it was too lowbrow for the Academy. Same with The Hangover. Anyways, I expected the fifth nomination to go to Ponyo (due to Miyazaki's success with the Academy) but Disney didn't seem to be pushing it.

[BanksIsDaFuture]

Was really hoping The Hangover or Star Trek would slip into one of the open 3 spots in the BP race. Instead they go with The Blind Side (good but not a BP), District 9 (same), and A Serious Man (?!?!?). Nobody has talked about A Serious Man since October, what a waste of a spot.

And Up gets nodded in both the BP and the Best Animated catergories? What the hell....One or the fucking other. Why even have a Best Animated catergory then? Cloudy deserved to get Up's spot there.

I think this is Meryl Streep's year to win again. She's come out and said that she's tired of losing every year, and her performance as Julia Childs was fantastic. But Sandra could sneak in there, if the Academy wants to please the masses instead of rewarding the best performance of the year.

[BanksIsDaFuture]

Except if it went just on popularity, Transformers 2, Twilight, The Hangover, Alvin and the Chipmunks and Harry Potter would get nominated. Like I have always said, they should strike a balance between the two. I think this list did a fantastic job of accomplishing that.

You may have hated the Blind Side, but you have also shown to be a person who searches out racism in every place they can. Maybe it is viewed so positively because most people don't watch films just to look for racism, and can actually see the heartwarming nature of the film. No one I know, other than you, has ever complained about the film being racist. In fact they all loved it.

I've read many reviews that spotlighted the obvious racism in The Blind Side. It just happens to still be a good movie despite it.

[Buscemi]

I think that Up should be allowed to be in both categories. The Golden Globes refusal to allow animated films in the Best Picture category has created for some undeserving winners in the past few years (The Hangover over Up, Vicky Cristina Barcelona over Wall-E, Juno over Ratatouille).

[undeadmonkey]

I'm not saying it should be a documentary, but when it says based on a true story, it should at least kind of stick to the true story.

Have you read the book? Do you know what is true on the movie and what is not?

Well I don't know who exactly wrote the scores for Crimson Tide, Lion King, Batman Begins, Dark Knight, Sherlock Holmes, The Rock etc... etc...

All I know is that a man named Hans Zimmer gets the credit. And since this man is getting the credit for most of my favorite film scores I give him legendary status. Now if it turns out that he is the Milli Vanilli of film composers that is another story.

Bottom line - whoever the hell composed those scores is a legend in my book.

Those scores are amazing, i dont think your too far off in calling him a legend

Was really hoping The Hangover or Star Trek would slip into one of the open 3 spots in the BP race. Instead they go with The Blind Side (good but not a BP), District 9 (same), and A Serious Man (?!?!?). Nobody has talked about A Serious Man since October, what a waste of a spot.

And Up gets nodded in both the BP and the Best Animated catergories? What the hell....One or the fucking other. Why even have a Best Animated catergory then? Cloudy deserved to get Up's spot there.

I think this is Meryl Streep's year to win again. She's come out and said that she's tired of losing every year, and her performance as Julia Childs was fantastic. But Sandra could sneak in there, if the Academy wants to please the masses instead of rewarding the best performance of the year.

If an animated picture won best picture, would it not also make it best animated picture? or even if it's the only animated pic for best nom, wouldnt it also make it best animated picture? So i dont see why it should be only in one or the other

I loved Meryl Streep's performances as Julia, I just watched it yesterday, but i Still think Sandra Bullock's performance was better

plus, i also think the ten best pictures is great, and would also be disappointed if it would of just been those five that SS mentioned. Again I haven't seen all the films nominated but from those that I have, I hope Blind Side or Up wins, which are my favorite of the group. Personally though 500 Days of Summer is my favorite of the year so far. Im sorry it didnt get nominated.

[silversurfer19]

Well, as more of a common filmgoer, and someone who only sees about 25 films a year (more than a lot, less than most on here) I love the expansion to 10, and I love the films that were included. Surfer, I would have been very disappointed if the 5 you posted were the BP nominees. I would have had one film to root for, one film I wouldn't mind winning, one I would have been upset by, and 2 I haven't seen. The way they did it, I'd be very happy with any one of 6 films winning!

Why nominate the Blind Side? Well because it was beloved by a nation of filmgoers, surprised everyone in the industry by how well it performed, did so well based on word of mouth, included a brilliant performance out of Sandra Bullock, was heartwarming and left audiences feeling good in a time where people so often feel like shit. I'd say that is worthy of recognition. And no one ever called it a documentary, at least no one I've heard, so I can't fault it for not being historically accurate.

Whats so wrong with recognizing films that the majority of people thought were pretty damn good? And you know, films they actually saw. Just because you didn't think these films were great doesn't make you right.

Its actually really fulfilling to see these nominees. For once I'm the one happy, and the film snobs are complaining

At no point in my post did I remember berating any of the movies. I'm not complaining about the quality of the movies selected, just the quantity. What is the point of honouring movies which are never going to win anyway, when they have already received plenty of media coverage and acclaim already in other categories. It's likely Precious won't win, but it's garnered enough praise from its acting nominations and directing one already. I think everyone can assume its probably pretty good. Same with The Blind Side. I haven't been able to see it yet, but I already know its supposed to be pretty good and has some great performances. So I will probably watch it when released. For what reason would you nominate a movie which doesn't have a chance in hell of winning? Yes, it's nice to see your favourites up there, but to me it feels like a sympathy vote, and that its just been included to beef up the Academy's own ego. I wouldn't mind if the list consisted of Avatar, Up, The Blind Side, Inglorious Basterds and Up In The Air, even though I haven't even watched a couple of them, because at least then I could safely assume that each has a decent chance of winning, just because the Academy would have selected only five. But the nominations just seem bloated for the sake of boosting up the Academy and the studios, as well as the run time of the show....

And if you seem to be disappointed with the movies I selected as the ones with the best chance of winning, expect to be disappointed.

[frendo]

Except if it went just on popularity, Transformers 2, Twilight, The Hangover, Alvin and the Chipmunks and Harry Potter would get nominated. Like I have always said, they should strike a balance between the two. I think this list did a fantastic job of accomplishing that.

You may have hated the Blind Side, but you have also shown to be a person who searches out racism in every place they can. Maybe it is viewed so positively because most people don't watch films just to look for racism, and can actually see the heartwarming nature of the film. No one I know, other than you, has ever complained about the film being racist. In fact they all loved it.

As Banks said, many reviewers noticed it. And I don't know who you hang out with, but most people I know who are not white noticed it pretty obviously. And it's not that I look for racism and the like (in fact, I was one who defended Avatar against those charges when brought up, because I didn't see any racism in that film), but I do believe in calling out what is going on, even if may make some people's likes come under fire. If you need to pretend it's not there, go ahead. But my problem with it in the category goes beyond even that, to the fact that's it's cookie-cutter filmmaking. It's a script written to a precise formula, that is overplayed. And formulaic films should not win awards. Awards should at least include originality as a precursor to nomination.

[frendo]

UDM - No, I have not. I heard part of an interview with the NFL player it is based on (who's name slips my memory), and he stated that it did not happen that way at all.

[W]

I'll go with...

Best Motion Picture of the Year: Avatar (2009)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role: Jeff Bridges for Crazy Heart (2009)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role: Carey Mulligan for An Education (2009) (maybe Streep when it gets closer)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role: Christoph Waltz for Inglourious Basterds (2009)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role: Mo'Nique for Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (2009)

Best Achievement in Directing: James Cameron for Avatar (2009) (obviously him or Bigelow)

Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen: Inglourious Basterds (2009): Quentin Tarantino

Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published: Up in the Air (2009/I): Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner

Best Achievement in Cinematography: Avatar (2009): Mauro Fiore

Best Achievement in Editing: Avatar (2009): Stephen E. Rivkin, John Refoua, James Cameron

Best Achievement in Art Direction: Avatar (2009): Rick Carter, Robert Stromber

Best Achievement in Costume Design: Nine (2009): Colleen Atwood (Don't know much about this category)

Best Achievement in Makeup: The Young Victoria (2009)

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score: Up (2009): Michael Giacchino

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song: Crazy Heart (2009): T-Bone Burnett, Ryan Bingham("The Weary Kind")

Best Achievement in Sound: Avatar (2009)

Best Achievement in Sound Editing: Avatar (2009)

Best Achievement in Visual Effects: Avatar (2009)

Best Animated Feature Film of the Year: Up (2009)

Best Foreign Language Film of the Year: Das weisse Band - Eine deutsche Kindergeschichte (2009): Michael Haneke(Germany)

Best Documentary, Features: The Cove (2009): Louie Psihoyos

Best Documentary, Short Subjects: Królik po berlinsku (2009)

Best Short Film, Animated: Logorama (2009)

Best Short Film, Live Action: The New Tenants (2009)

The last few are just guesses.

[Geezer]

Surfer- I guess I just don't see what is so wrong with praising more films. A lot of people feel that those films deserve praise. I'm much more satisfied with the expansion to 10, and knowing that these great films will at least be mentioned, rather than needing to come on here and talk about how my favorite films have been snubbed yet again. Only one can win, and of course there are front-runners, but just getting to see Up, Blind Side and District 9 in the category makes me feel like the award is headed in the right direction. I think its better to have this variety of films.

Frendo- I'm sorry that I don't see the racism involved in a white woman taking in a struggling black boy and setting him on a path that will turn his life around. I call this heroic. It would be exactly the same way if the boy was white and in the same situation as Michael Oher. Racism, to me, would be Sandra Bullock's character seeing Oher on the side of the road, and driving right on by, with a likely disgust, like many of her "friends" would have done. What she did, in my eyes, was the exact opposite of racist. She decided that race did not matter in her decision to take in this boy, a very courageous thing when surrounded by a very racist southern white community. How exactly is this racist? I thought this was the kind of thing that Dr. King was preaching about all those years ago. The unification of all races, helping one another, in peace. That's what I saw from the Blind SIde, and it was so moving and joyful it had me in tears by the end.

P.S. Reviewers suck. Their heads are too far up their own ass to see the light of anything.

[Buscemi]

Best Motion Picture of the Year: The Hurt Locker (2008)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role: Jeff Bridges for Crazy Heart (2009)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role: Gabourey Sidibe for Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (2009)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role: Christoph Waltz for Inglourious Basterds (2009)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role: Mo'Nique for Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (2009)

Best Achievement in Directing: Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker (2008)

Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen: The Hurt Locker (2008): Mark Boal

Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published: Up in the Air (2009/I): Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner

Best Achievement in Cinematography: Inglourious Basterds (2009): Robert Richardson (should Avatar even be eligible due to it being 60% motion capture?)

Best Achievement in Editing: The Hurt Locker (2008): Bob Murawski, Chris Innis

Best Achievement in Art Direction: The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009): Anastasia Masaro

Best Achievement in Costume Design: The Young Victoria (2009): Sandy Powell

Best Achievement in Makeup: The Young Victoria (2009)

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score: Up (2009): Michael Giacchino

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song: Crazy Heart (2009): T-Bone Burnett, Ryan Bingham("The Weary Kind")

Best Achievement in Sound: Avatar (2009)

Best Achievement in Sound Editing: Avatar (2009)

Best Achievement in Visual Effects: Avatar (2009)

Best Animated Feature Film of the Year: Up (2009)

Best Foreign Language Film of the Year: Un prophète (2009): Jacques Audiard(France)

Best Documentary, Features: The Cove (2009): Louie Psihoyos

Best Documentary, Short Subjects: Królik po berlinsku (2009)

Best Short Film, Animated: Wallace and Gromit in 'A Matter of Loaf and Death' (2008) (TV)

Best Short Film, Live Action: The New Tenants (2009)

[NSpan]

And Up gets nodded in both the BP and the Best Animated catergories? What the hell....One or the fucking other. Why even have a Best Animated catergory then? Cloudy deserved to get Up's spot there.

Agreed. As it stands, doesn't Up HAVE to win the animated category? I mean, by Up being included in the Best Picture category, isn't that implicitly saying that it's a better film than the animated movies that didn't get dual nominations?

[numbersix]

Agreed. As it stands, doesn't Up HAVE to win the animated category? I mean, by Up being included in the Best Picture category, isn't that implicitly saying that it's a better film than the animated movies that didn't get dual nominations?

Depends on who's voting. I presume it's different people voting for the animated category than it is people voting for best film? That said it's almost certain Up will win.