Awards Season 2009

[perkizitore]

I think Invictus is trying to bank on Barack Obama's election as President plus South Africa's international spotlight due to hosting the World Cup next year. Will this help in winning any awards? I hope not [-o<

[xavier110]

I think Invictus is trying to bank on Barack Obama's election as President plus South Africa's international spotlight due to hosting the World Cup next year. Will this help in winning any awards? I hope not [-o<

Considering Clint couldn't even make the Directors Guild line-up, I sincerely doubt it ends up with any wins, but it'll probably manage three or four nominations.

[Highway 61]

With the Best Picture category expanded to ten films, Invictus is a lock. I can't imagine Freeman being ignored either.

Incidentally, the shadenfreude-happy bastard that I am, I'm relishing the fact that even with ten BP noms, Nine is almost certainly going to be excluded.

[lacritfan]

Writers Guild of America nominations

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
(500) Days of Summer
Avatar
The Hangover
The Hurt Locker
A Serious Man

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Crazy Heart
Julie & Julia
Precious: Based on the novel Push by Sapphire
Star Trek
Up in the Air

DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY
Against the Tide
Capitalism: A Love Story
The Cove
Earth Days
Good Hair
Soundtrack for a Revolution

[swo17]

That is pretty much the last thing Avatar deserves to be nominated for. Though I'm sure that Cameron right now, wherever he is, is lifting one arm and emoting, "Yeah! Now that's what I'm talking about, bitch!"

[Caged Horse]

Avatar deserves to be this year's Benjamin Button.

[tavernier]

Don't diss Button like that.

[Caged Horse]

Any chance of an Avatar 2-disc Criterion edition, you think?

[Matt]

Two discs for Avatar? We'll be lucky if any DVD/BD release of the film has fewer than 5 discs.

[NilbogSavant]

Two discs for Avatar? We'll be lucky if any DVD/BD release of the film has fewer than 5 discs.

The 3DBlu/Extras/2DBlu/DVD/DigitalDownload release will make up for all the waste by being 10% post-consumer.

[mfunk9786]

Hopefully the irony of an original screenplay nom for a wholly unoriginal script isn't lost on anyone. Hell, it qualifies for the Adapted Screenplay category more than Star Trek does.

[Jeff]

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
(500) Days of Summer
Avatar
The Hangover
The Hurt Locker
A Serious Man

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Crazy Heart
Julie & Julia
Precious: Based on the novel Push by Sapphire
Star Trek
Up in the Air

What the hell? I'm used to middlebrow claptrap being nominated for the lion's share of awards, but there are some true headscratchers in that bunch. I'd expect all the Best Picture favorites and the Coens to make the cut, but I'm very surprised to see 500 Days of Summer, The Hangover, Crazy Heart, Star Trek, and Julie & Julia there even though I found most of those films pretty enjoyable. I'd expect An Education, Up, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Duplicity, Bright Star, Adventureland, or In the Loop over any of those. Must have been some funky eligibility requirements.

[swo17]

I'm not sure why, but I read that Up and An Education, as well as Inglorious Basterds, were all ineligible for some reason.

[Jeff]

I'm not sure why, but I read that Up and An Education, as well as Inglorious Basterds, were all ineligible for some reason.

That's what I figured. I meant to include Basterds at the top of that list. Did you hear if those eligibility issues apply to the Oscars too?

[brendanjc]

A quick search suggests that the films had to be "officially submitted for consideration" this year, though for some of the films they might have had trouble with non-guild writers, and for the animated films they were ruled out by being produced by "non-signatory companies". It looks like Up, A Single Man, District 9, Fantastic Mr. Fox and In The Loop were also ineligible. When half the slate of worthy films aren't in the running it kinda makes your award a joke doesn't it?

[Grand Illusion]

There better have only been 10 films eligible for Avatar to get a nomination.

[swo17]

I'm not sure why, but I read that Up and An Education, as well as Inglorious Basterds, were all ineligible for some reason.

That's what I figured. I meant to include Basterds at the top of that list. Did you hear if those eligibility apply to the Oscars too?

I see no mention of this, but I'm inclined to think these eligiblity requirements are specific to the WGAs. The ineligibility has to do with membership status in the WGA. Here's an article with more information. Other ineligible films include:

In the Loop
District 9
The Road
A Single Man
Fantastic Mr. Fox

[Zumpano]

Basically the Writers Guild Nominees/Awards are "The Best Of Those Who Are Part Of Our Guild". I don't think the DGA has such strict guidelines, as they nominated Tarantino.

[Grand Illusion]

Basically the Writers Guild Nominees/Awards are "The Best Of Those Who Are Part Of Our Guild". I don't think the DGA has such strict guidelines, as they nominated Tarantino.

Although the DGA nominated Lee Daniels, who should only be a frontrunner for Most Ostentatious Attempt At Ruining Their Own Movie.

[xavier110]

The trashy Broadcast Film Critics Assocation, a group that celebrates how often its choices proceed to win Oscars, had its "Critics' Choice Awards" ceremony last night:

Best Picture: The Hurt Locker
Best Director: Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
Best Actor: Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart
Best Actress: (TIE) Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side & Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia
Best Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds
Best Supporting Actress: Mo'Nique, Precious
Best Adapted Screenplay: Up in the Air
Best Original Screenplay: Inglourious Basterds
Best Ensemble: Inglourious Basterds
Best Animated Film: Up
Best Documentary: The Cove
Best Foreign Film: Broken Embraces
Best Art Direction: Avatar
Best Cinematography: Avatar
Best Costume Design: The Young Victoria
Best Film Editing: Avatar
Best Makeup: District 9
Best Original Score: Up
Best Original Song: "The Weary Kind," Crazy Heart
Best Sound: Avatar
Best Visual Effects: Avatar

Have no idea how The Hurt Locker still managed to prevail with these faux-critics.

[Jeff]

Good for Martin Scorsese who gave a heartfelt and eloquent speech upon receiving the Cecil B. DeMille award at the Golden Globes. As one would expect it was as much a paean to film preservation as it was about him. He managed to namecheck Paths of Glory, A Face in the Crowd, The Red Shoes, Demille, Hitchcock, Ford, DeSica, Sembene, Kurosawa, Bergman, and Satyajit Ray on primetime network television. He thanked the HFPA for their contributions to his preservation efforts, and said, "as far as I'm concerned, making films and preserving them are the same thing."

[knives]

That one speech almost is worth sixty years of the Globes existence.

[domino harvey]

That one speech almost is worth sixty years of the Globes existence.

And the Hangover winning was worth it being disbanded

[flyonthewall2983]

That one speech almost is worth sixty years of the Globes existence.

As well as John Lithgow and Michael C. Hall winning for their work on Dexter. Especially Lithgow who was extremely creepy and engaging in the role at the same time. I know it's TV, but thought it worth mentioning here.

[Jeff]

Here, for the time being, is Scorsese's speech and DeNiro and DiCaprio's introduction.