TFC Journal at TheFilmChair.com

Best Picture
The Hurt Locker

Best Director
Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker

Best Actress
Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side

Best Actor
Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart

Best Supporting Actress
Mo’Nique, Precious

Best Supporting Actor
Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds

Best Screenplay, Original
The Hurt Locker

Best Screenplay, Adapted
Precious!!!!!!!!!!

Best Animated Feature
Up

Best Art Direction
Avatar

Best Cinematography
Avatar

Best Costume Design
The Young Victoria

Best Documentary Feature
The Cove

Best Documentary Short
Music by Prudence

Best Film Editing
The Hurt Locker

Best Foreign Language Film
The Secret in Their Eyes

Best Makeup
Star Trek

Best Music, Original Score
Up

Best Music, Original Song
“The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)”, Crazy Heart

Best Short, Animated
Logorama

Best Short, Live Action
The New Tenants

Best Sound Editing
The Hurt Locker!

Best Sound Mixing
The Hurt Locker

Best Visual Effects
Avatar

12 Hours of Oscar: 2010 Academy Awards trivia every hour until the show starts.

Sure it took expanding the category to 10 nominees to make it happen, but Pixar finally got a Best Picture nomination this year. Up is the first CG-animated feature to score a Best Picture nod and only the second animated movie to ever do so. (Beauty and the Beast was the first.) Just as important, Up is one of the most widely nominated animated films with five nominations in five categories, a tie with Ratatouille and just behind WALL-E, which scored six nominations in six categories.

Full list of Oscar Predictions HERE.

With 10 Best Picture nominees, four of which are already on DVD, that old reliable, the post-nomination box office bump, may not be as noticeable as it once was. The Hurt Locker is still moving up the DVD sales chart at Amazon.com. Up, Inglourious Basterds, and District 9 will likely move too.

For the film’s still in theaters, including Avatar (the newly crowned highest-grossing domestic release of all-time), things tend to look up, post-nomination. Avatar will likely win the weekend again this week, with Fandango reporting a 45 percent increase in ticket sales for Cameron’s epic after the nomination. What about the others? A Serious Man? An Education? Those are the types of movies that used to gain the most from a Best Picture nomination. Now that they have to compete with more pictures, who knows if that boost will be as big as it once was. If not, that’s even more bad news for specialty films.

Anyway, on to the numbers.

2009/2010 Best Picture Box Office
(totals as of Monday, Feb. 1)

• Avatar (Dec. 18) – $598 million
• The Blind Side (Nov. 2) – $238 million
• An Education (Oct. 9) – $8.7 million
• District 9 (Aug. 14) – $115 million
• The Hurt Locker (June 26) – $12.6 million
• Inglourious Basterds (Aug. 21) – $120 million
• Precious (Nov. 6) – $45.5 million
  
• A Serious Man (Oct. 2) – $9.2 million
• Up (May 29) – $290 million
  
• Up in the Air (Dec. 4) – $73.4 million
  

An here are last year’s nominees with pre- and post- nomination totals.

2008/2009 Best Picture Box Office
(with release dates)

• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Dec. 25)-$105 million/$127 million
• Slumdog Millionaire (Nov. 12)-$45 million/$141 million
• Frost/Nixon (Dec. 5)-$9 million/$18.6 million
• The Reader (Dec. 12)-$8.2 million/$34.2 million
• Milk (Nov. 26)-$21 million/$31.8 million

Best Picture

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

Best Director

• Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
• James Cameron, Avatar
• Lee Daniels, Precious
• Jason Reitman, Up in the Air
• Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds

Best Actress

• Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side
  
• Helen Mirren, The Last Station
• Carey Mulligan, An Education
  
• Gabourey Sidibe, Precious
• Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia

Best Actor

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

Best Supporting Actress

• Penelope Cruz, Nine
• Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air
• Maggie Gyllenhaal, Crazy Heart
• Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air
• Mo’Nique, Precious

Best Supporting Actor

• Matt Damon, Invictus
• Woody Harrelson, The Messenger
• Christopher Plummer, The Last Station
• Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones
• Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds

Best Screenplay, Original

• The Hurt Locker
• Inglourious Basterds
• The Messenger
• A Serious Man
• Up
  

Best Screenplay, Adapted

• District 9
• An Education
• In the Loop
  
• Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire
• Up in the Air

Best Animated Feature

• Coraline
• Fantastic Mr. Fox
• The Princess and the Frog
• The Secret of Kells
• Up

Best Art Direction

• Avatar
• The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus
• Nine
• Sherlock Holmes
• The Young Victoria

Best Cinematography

• Avatar
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
  
• The Hurt Locker
• Inglourious Basterds
  
• The White Ribbon
  

Best Costume Design

• Bright Star
• Coco before Chanel
  
• The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus
  
• Nine
  
• The Young Victoria

Best Documentary Feature

• Burma VJ
  
• The Cove
  
• Food, Inc.
  
• The Most Dangerous Man in America
  
• Which Way Home

Best Documentary Short

• China’s Unnatural Disaster
  
• The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner
  
• The Last Truck
  
• Music by Prudence
  
• Rabbit a la Berlin

Best Film Editing

• Avatar
• District 9
• The Hurt Locker
  
• Inglourious Basterds
  
• Precious

Best Foreign Language Film

• Ajami
• El Secreto de Sus Ojos
  
• The Milk of Sorrow
  
• Un Prophete
  
• The White Ribbon

Best Makeup

• Il Divo
• Star Trek
• The Young Victoria

Best Music, Original Score

• Avatar
• Fantastic Mr. Fox
  
• The Hurt Locker
• Sherlock Holmes
  
• Up

Best Music, Original Song

• “Almost There,” The Princess and the Frog
• “Down in New Orleans,” The Princess and the Frog
  
• “Paris 36,” Loin de Paname
  
• “Take it All,” Nine
  
• “The Weary Kind (Theme from ‘Crazy Heart’),” Crazy Heart

Best Short, Animated

• French Roast
  
• Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty
  
• The Lady and the Reaper
  
• Logorama
  
• A Matter of Loaf and Death

Best Short, Live Action

• The Door
  
• Instead of Abracadabra
  
• Kavi
• Miracle Fish
  
• The New Tenants

Best Sound Editing

• Avatar
• The Hurt Locker
• Inglourious Basterds
• Star Trek
  
• Up

Best Sound Mixing

• Avatar
• The Hurt Locker
• Inglourious Basterds
• Star Trek
• Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Best Visual Effects

• Avatar
• District 9
• Star Trek

And so D-Day arrives. That of course makes March 7, V-O Day (Victory in Oscarland), but tomorrow is where the fun begins. At 8:30 8:38 a.m. ET tomorrow, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will announce the nominees for the 82nd Academy Awards. It will be the first time in over 65 years that 10 movies will compete for the Best Picture statue.

At this point, its damn near impossible to pick all 10. We know The Hurt Locker, Avatar, Precious, Up in the Air, and Inglourious Basterds are locks.  But who else? One thing you can always count on is for the Academy to be uncool. Guessing The Hangover or Star Trek, no matter how well they did in the precursors, seems unlikely. Can Up and District 9 even make the list. I’m putting them out there because they seem like they are genuinely loved, despite their genre handicaps. An Education is likely because of the Anglo-centric nature of the Oscar voters.  Invictus is another solid production from an old stalwart. And then there’s A Serious Man, which I’m hanging on to because of its WGA and BFCA love, but wouldn’t be shocked to see replaced with anything from A Single Man to The Messenger to Julie & Julia to The Blind Side.

The male actors are locked in, as are the directors. Supporting actress is set as well, with the off chance of Penelope Cruz appearing for Nine. Supporting actor is tougher because it was a weak year. Your winner will be Christoph Waltz, undoubtedly, but who will join him? My only final chart change is putting Alfred Molina back on the list and finally, begrudgingly, removing Stanley Tucci. The Lovely Bones love just isn’t there. Can Tucci find love without it?

Actress is mostly set, with Meryl Streep and Sandra Bullock leading the charge. Expect Gabourey Sidebe and Carey Mulligan to join them. But who is the fifth? Helen Mirren is a safe choice, but there’s always the chance someone else, like Mélanie Laurent or, god-willing, Tilda Swinton will replace her.

And then there’s screenplay. It’s a category where, usually, movies that don’t get love in the Best Picture field get to shine a little. That actress race will be over if either Julie & Julia or The Blind Side is nominated. I can’t see either, because, let’s face it, those weren’t “writing” movies. That’s why Avatar is off of my list, as well. Don’t be shocked to see In the Loop on get a nod though. It’s gotta get some love somewhere, right?

When the announcement comes tomorrow morning, one thing is for sure: Avatar will be your most nominated picture. Until then…

FINAL: TFC Journal’s 2010 Oscar nomination predictions.

After the Critics’ Choice Awards and the Globes, it looks like the Best Picture race is down to Avatar and The Hurt Locker.

Here are tonight’s Golden Globe winners.

Motion Picture winners…

• Best Motion Picture, Drama – AVATAR
• Best Motion Picture, Comedy/Musical – The Hangover
• Best Director – James Cameron, Avatar
• Best Actress, Drama – Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side
• Best Actor, Drama – Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart
• Best Actress, Comedy/Musical — Meryl  Streep, Julie & Julia
• Best Actor, Comedy/Musical – Robert Downey, Jr., Sherlock Holmes
• Best Supporting Actress — Mo’Nique, Precious
• Best Supporting Actor – Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds
• Best Foreign Language Film – The White Ribbon
• Best Animated Feature — Up
• Best Screenplay – Up in the Air
• Best Original Score — Michael Giacchino, Up
• Best Original Song — “The Weary Kind,” Crazy Heart

Not Motion Picture winners…

• Best Television Series, Drama – Mad Men
• Best Television Series, Comedy – Glee!!!!!!!!!!!
• Best Miniseries or Made for TV Movie — Grey Gardens
• Best Actress, Miniseries or TV Movie — Drew Barrymore, Grey Gardens
• Best Actor, Miniseries or TV Movie — Kevin Bacon, Taking Chance
• Best Actress, Drama Series — Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife
• Best Actor, Drama Series— Michael C. Hall, Dexter
• Best Actress, Comedy Series — Toni Collette, United States of Tara
• Best Actor, Comedy Series – Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
• Best Supporting Actress – Chloe Sevigny, Big Love
• Best Supporting Actor — John Lithgow, Dexter

Thanks to Awards Daily for getting me caught up after I slept through hour one.

There was only one instance in the past 10 years when the BFCA’s Critics’ Choice Awards Best Picture winner didn’t go home with the Best Picture trophy at the Oscars. That was in 2004 when Sideways beat the eventual Best Picture Oscar winner Million Dollar Baby.

Now that The Hurt Locker has won the Critics’ Choice Movie Award for Best Picture, do we finally have a frontrunner for the Best Picture Oscar? Or is this another critics’ darling that won the award during a foggy season? We’re all pretty certain that Kathryn Bigelow is going to walk away with the Best Director Oscar already. Best Picture may not be that far out of reach.

Full list of winners after the jump…

Read the rest of this entry »

I saw fewer new movies this year than in any other since I started putting together my top ten lists. That’s not bad news. I just cut out a lot of… well… crap. No, I didn’t see Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, and no, I didn’t see Sherlock Holmes. I love movies, but what’s the point in watching all the bad when there’s so much good out there. (That doesn’t explain how I ended up seeing Nine, though. Ugh.)

The good, in fact, was so good that I could have chosen any one of the 11 pictures on my top 10 list to be the best movie of the year. That’s a testament to the quality of all the pictures listed below. All the films on my list, from Tarantino, Reitman, the Coen brothers, Bigelow and more, may very well be the best work these directors have ever done. But when I rewatched Ramin Bahrani’s Goodbye Solo and was more moved than I was the first time around, I knew that it was the best film of the year.

Without further ado, here are my best films of 2009:

1. Goodbye Solo (dir. Ramin Bahrani)
   No other American director focuses his or her lens on the world that Barhrani does. In doing so, Bahrani tells a story about the human experience that can shift paradigms. Quiet and understated, but with more power in any given scene than any other film this year, Goodbye Solo is a genuine masterpiece.
2. A Serious Man (dirs. Ethan & Joel Coen)
   As brilliantly made as any other Coen film, but with added personal significance for the filmmakers. A Serious Man makes the Coens’ previous work seem so much clearer and, yes, more important.
3. Inglourious Basterds (dir. Quentin Tarantino)
   Tarantino defies history and in doing so shows the power of the medium. Who knew Tarantino had this, his best film since Pulp Fiction and maybe ever, in him?
4. Summer Hours (dir. Olivier Assayas)
   This French drama about our relationships with and through the objects around us is mesmerizing. Skillfully and delicately pieced together from script to screen.
5. The Hurt Locker (dir. Kathryn Bigelow)
   When it comes to pure, visceral filmmaking, no other film this year has anything on The Hurt Locker.
6. Up in the Air (dir. Jason Reitman)
   Reitman’s film about white-collar unemployment and personal isolation, isn’t at the top of my list, but I can’t think of any other film that defines the decade like Reitman’s third feature.
7. Up (dir. Pete Docter)
   Part three in Pixar’s trifecta of greatness, following Ratatouille (2007) and WALL-E (2008)
8. Sin Nombre (dir. Cary Joji Fukunaga)
   A riveting feature debut, Sin Nombre could have been a simple border-crossing drama, but instead evolves something grander. It’s a thriller, a gangster film, and a tragic love story all in one. It’s epic in just 96  minutes. Can’t wait to see what else Fukunaga has in store for us.
9. Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire (dir. Lee Daniels)
   If nothing else, Precious contains two of the most powerful performances you’ll see this or any other year courtesy of Gabourey Sidibe and Mo’Nique.
10. Alexander the Last (dir. Joe Swanberg) & Humpday (dir. Lynn Shelton)
    Mark it down: 2009 was the year mumblecore came of age. While I didn’t get a chance to see Andrew Bujalski’s Beeswax, the two films listed here turned a self-indulgent film movement into a pointed storytelling powerhouse. This is what all the earlier viewers were waiting for.

Honorable Mentions
Sugar (dirs. Anna Boden & Ryan Fleck) | Avatar (dir. James Cameron) | Star Trek (dir. J.J. Abrams)

Best Actor – George Clooney, Up in the Air
Best Actress – Gabourey Sidibe, Precious
Best Supporting Actor – Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds
Best Supporting Actress – Mo’Nique, Precious

Quote of the Year – “That’s right, things aren’t so bad. Look at the parking lot, Larry. Just look at that parking lot.”- Rabbi Scott, A Serious Man.

After yesterday’s ridiculous AFI list, it’s nice to see that the Broadcast Film Critics Association is in tune with both Oscar and the culture at large. The BFCA is still a critics group, of course. I wouldn’t bet on seeing all ten of their nominees in the Best Picture race. But any group that doesn’t honor The Hangover automatically carries more clout in the long run.

BEST PICTURE

Nominees:
• Avatar
• An Education
• The Hurt Locker
• Inglourious Basterds
• Invictus
• Nine
• Precious
• A Serious Man
• Up
• Up In The Air

Full list after the jump.

Read the rest of this entry »

AFI MOVIES OF THE YEAR-OFFICIAL SELECTIONS
CORALINE
THE HANGOVER
THE HURT LOCKER
THE MESSENGER
PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL ‘PUSH’ BY SAPPHIRE
A SERIOUS MAN
A SINGLE MAN
SUGAR
UP
UP IN THE AIR

AFI TV PROGRAMS OF THE YEAR-OFFICIAL SELECTIONS
THE BIG BANG THEORY
BIG LOVE
FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS
GLEE
MAD MEN
MODERN FAMILY
THE NO. 1 LADIES’ DETECTIVE AGENCY
NURSE JACKIE
PARTY DOWN
TRUE BLOOD