Lammastide said:

Ace said:

I was exaggerating. I haven't seen any of the short docs (I never see those) and I've only seen three of the full length documentaries and two of the foreign language nominees. Everything else I've seen except for Harry Potter and Transformers.

I saw The Secret of Kells last night. That was great! Trippy Celtic animation. Still no chance of beating Up for best animated feature though.

And anyone can watch Logorama which I think is easily the best animated short film nominated: http://prince.org/msg/100/331568

Vendetta1 said:

You really liked The Blind Side but The Hurt Locker bored you to tears? I'm very surprised by that. I loved the latter so much I started my own thread on it. I thought the suspense was insane. At any moment any one of the local onlookers could detonate the bomb while the squad was trying to defuse it.
[Edited 3/6/10 11:20am]

CarrieMpls said:

It's a very manly movie.

NDRU said:

And I've heard it's totally wrong in regards to the source material. The football player relied on many different people to get through school and took some sort of internet course to graduate: http://www.ew.com/ew/arti...25,00.html

Efan said:

I was falling asleep watching it.

sextonseven said:

Yeah and those parts were intense. When there wasn't danger, i was yawning.

I did love that Ralph Fiennes and Guy Pierce were in it.

Vendetta1 said:

I'm so glad sextonseven called it a very manly movie. That made me feel really butch for loving it.

My predictions for this year's Oscars (followed by who I think deserves to win in parentheses; if there is no parentheses, the people I expect to win deserve it):

Best Picture: Avatar (Precious)

Best Director: Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker (Lee Daniels, Precious)

Best Actor: Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart

Best Actress: Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side (Gabourey Sidibe, Precious)

Best Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds

Best Supporting Actress: Mo'Nique, Precious

Best Original Screenplay: The Hurt Locker

Best Adapted Screenplay: Up In The Air (Precious)

Best Animated Feature: Up

Predictability out of the picture at Oscars as 'Hurt Locker,' 'Avatar' duel for top honours


at 21:17 on March 6, 2010, EDT.
By David Germain, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS


In this film publicity image released by 20th Century Fox, the character Neytiri, voiced by Zoe Saldana, left, and the character Jake, voiced by Sam Worthington are shown in a scene from, "Avatar." THE ASSOCIATED PRESS/20th Century Fox


LOS ANGELES - Too predictable. That's the persistent complaint about the Academy Awards, whose drama generally is sapped by a glut of earlier award shows that spell out what films will win at the Oscars before the show starts.

Not this time - at least for Sunday's top prize, and maybe the weekend's threatening weather.

With the best-picture lineup expanded to 10 films instead of the usual five, the science-fiction spectacle and box-office behemoth "Avatar" is head-to-head with the low-budgeted, low-grossing Iraq War story "The Hurt Locker." Each has nine nominations.

Adding to the suspense is how this year's use of preferential voting for best picture - where voters rank the 10 nominees in order of preference - may affect the category's outcome.

The acting prizes look as predictable as ever, with Oscars expected to go to Sandra Bullock as best actress for "The Blind Side," Jeff Bridges as best actor for "Crazy Heart," Mo'Nique as supporting actress for "Precious" and Christoph Waltz as supporting actor for "Inglourious Basterds."

"Avatar" won best drama at the Golden Globes, traditionally a good gauge for how the Oscars might play out. But the Globes were nearly two months ago, the first major ceremony in the long buildup to the Oscars. A lot has happened since.

"The Hurt Locker" dominated honours from Hollywood trade groups, including guilds representing directors, writers and producers. It also won best-picture and five other prizes at the British Academy Film Awards.

The films bring some behind-the-scenes drama. "Avatar" director James Cameron and "The Hurt Locker" director Kathryn Bigelow were married from 1989-91, making this the first time ex-spouses have competed for the directing Oscar.

Bigelow would be the first woman ever to win best director, a prize Cameron earned with 1997's "Titanic."

And one of Bigelow's fellow producers on "The Hurt Locker," Nicolas Chartier, has been barred from attending the Oscars after he ran afoul of the awards rules by sending emails to academy voters urging them to support his film over "Avatar."

Overseers at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences took some heat after doubling the field to 10 films last summer. Many actors, filmmakers and others in Hollywood wondered if the Oscars had lowered their standards by letting so many films into the best-picture race.

But the move has brought a different energy to the show, both for producers with films in the running and TV viewers who have gradually lost interest in the Oscars. The ceremony's TV ratings sank to an all-time low two years ago, then bounced back a bit last year.

The top awards were utterly predictable both years, "No Country for Old Men" dominating two years ago and "Slumdog Millionaire" winning last time.

Oscar organizers say they sense greater interest in the awards all-around, from the A-list lineup that will strut the red carpet outside Hollywood's Kodak Theatre to the stargazers watching on TV at home.

"People seem to be talking about the movies. The idea that we've gone to 10 is something that's been a little controversial to some people, even though we've done it before," said Tom Sherak, academy president. The Oscars often had 10 or more best-picture nominees until 1943.

"It's created a conversation about the movies, and I don't think there's a clear-cut winner. We want it to be fun to watch, for people to have an interest in seeing what's going to happen with these 10 movies," Sherak said.

Also in the running for best picture: the football drama "The Blind Side," the sci-fi thriller "District 9," the British teen tale "An Education," the World War II saga "Inglourious Basterds," the Harlem story "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire," the Jewish domestic chronicle "A Serious Man," the animated adventure "Up" and the recession-era yarn "Up in the Air."

Along with "The Hurt Locker," which took in just $12.6 million domestically, competitors such as "An Education" and "A Serious Man" have found relatively small audiences.

The lineup is balanced with huge hits, led by "Avatar," the biggest modern blockbuster with $700 million domestically and $2.6 billion worldwide. "Up" and "The Blind Side" both topped $200 million domestically, while "Inglourious Basterds" and "District 9" were $100 million hits.

Oscar TV ratings tend to rise in years when big hits are among the front-runners. The show had its biggest audience ever when Cameron's colossal hit "Titanic" won best-picture 12 years ago.

Academy organizers also aim to liven up the show, continuing a trend they began last year by hiring song-and-dance man Hugh Jackman as host, rather than a traditional comedian.

Sunday's show features past host Steve Martin paired with Alec Baldwin, the first time since 1987 that the Oscars have had more than one emcee.

Lifetime-achievement Oscars have been moved to a separate event to speed up the pace of the show.

Oscar producers Adam Shankman and Bill Mechanic also are mixing up the cast of awards presenters with young talent such as Miley Cyrus and "Twilight" co-stars Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner and veterans such as Sean Penn, Barbra Streisand and Samuel L. Jackson.

"New Hollywood and classic Hollywood. Love it," Shankman said.

"You'll see that quite a bit," Mechanic said. "Not paired together, but you'll see a respect for the traditions of Hollywood and a welcoming of new Hollywood."

And a scramble by Oscar bosses come Monday to see how the ratings went.


©The Canadian Press, 2010

Danny Glover asks Oscars nominees to help Ohio factory workers by shunning Hugo Boss suits


at 17:39 on March 6, 2010, EDT.
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS


American actor Danny Glover. (THE ASSOCIATED PRESS/Francois Mori)


CLEVELAND - Actor/activist Danny Glover is calling on Academy Awards nominees and others in the film industry to not wear Hugo Boss suits at Sunday's awards ceremony.

The "Lethal Weapon" star makes the request in a letter on behalf of 375 Cleveland factory workers who'll lose their jobs if the German company closes the plant next month as planned.

The Feb. 26 letter asks Hollywood to "take a small stand for American workers." It asks Oscars attendees to wear on their lapels a pin reading, "Keep the Hugo Boss Plant Open."

Glover is collaborating with the labour union Workers United. The union says the plant is profitable and the company is shutting it because it can make clothing more cheaply in Europe.

Hugo Boss AG says the plant isn't globally competitive.


©The Canadian Press, 2010

I haven't seen any of the movies!

I just hope Jeff Bridges wins this time! I've always thought he was an underappreciated/underrated actor.

And I hope "The Weary Kind" wins best song.

I haven't seen it, but in a way, I really love to see Meyrl Streep win for Julia Child... I've always liked that Julia Child was a bon vivant! I saw this cooking show where she encouraged her audience to use tuna in oil, for example! She said to ditch the tuna in water because the taste just was not the same! I just love she's into to quality and not so much worrying about calories. She lived until she was pretty old, too?

The only thing is though... I hate it when actresses and actors win for "impersonating" somebody!. I like it more when they develop a character..

So... I don't know.

Vendetta1 said:

Some blogger made this



It would've been a more appropriate title.

Don't mean to hijack this thread but



@ Boy! SOOO true...

if Avatar wins best picture, movies with good storylines are dead.

CarrieMpls said:

And here they are for bringing to my Oscar party:

sextonseven said:

And I have seen none of them! I just tune in to critique the clothes.

minneapolisgenius said:

I know you saw Transformers. You love that kind of stuff.

sextonseven said:

Yeah, I was first in line.

Actually, looking at the list now, I have seen Avatar and I saw An Education on the plane! I thought of you. I'm sure they cut a bunch of it out though.

hmm...how can I watch it in NY ...with the abc war going on....?

i really do hope A Prophet gets the best Foreign Film!!!

I really want Meryl to win for Julie & Julia. I watched it again last night and she was Childs.

FauxReal said:

NO, you aren't, and I'm glad to see there is someone else out there besides me who feels that way!

I was excited to see that movie but seriously, when I finally did I found it so awful I gave up and shut it off a little after halfway through...I just couldn't take it anymore. Maybe I was having an 'off' night when I watched it but

CarrieMPLS, your Coraline cookies are so cute! What is the glaze or frosting on them?

i'm so pissed, damn

peacenlovealways said:

For those you outside of the USA or in NYC being held hostage by Cablevision and getting no signal from your digital converter box, you can watch the Oscars online here:

http://tv.rightcelebrity.com/?p=4109

This site is setting up a live video feed thru UStream.com. You can also live blog on the site.


[Edited 3/7/10 17:12pm]

Hahahaha! Sarah Jessica Parker is NUCLEAR orange.

^N her beard bueller has gotten so old.

NPH FTW!!!

I just have to say that Kathy Ireland's interviewing was terrifying. She looked like she was being held up by a pole that was rammed up her ass as her head bobbled around and her arms stretched out in pain.

And the woman is huge it was like watching a bright orange Navi avatar interview people.

wow..

this is the 1970's again..

the jokes..