OSCAR Night

The 2010 Academy Award nominations were announced and although not 100%, I got a few right.

The 2010 Academy Awards ceremony took place on March 7, 2010, at the Kodak Theatre, Hollywood & Highland Center. As usual, it was televised live by ABC.

Now, let's see how we did predicting the OSCAR winners.

I don't like the idea of having animated features considered for Best Picture. Not because they can't be the Best Picture, but because actors -- who make up the largest voting bloc of the Academy -- tend not to vote for movies that only employ actors for their voices. So, even though 'Up' made the expanded ballot (and if it belongs there, I would argue so does 'Fantastic Mr. Fox'), it probably won't have enough ultimate support to win.

Saying that, there's absolutely no doubt in my mind that "UP" is far and away the best picture of the year. There isn't even a close second place.

For reasons stated above though, the real race looks to be between James Cameron's "Avatar" and Kathryn Bigelow's "Hurt Locker."

Should "Avatar" win, it won't be long before all that groovy technology becomes the cinematic standard and the Cameron blockbuster is remembered as the "Around the World In 80 Days" of Best Picture Winners. "The Hurt Locker," on the other hand, is the movie no one seems to have seen. The cloistered and hopelessly inbred film community loves it but no amount of (excessive) cheerleading on their part could bring it to even the $13 million mark.

The Pixar masterpiece is almost certain to win for best animated film.

IMHO Crazy Heart," "500 Days of Summer," and "The Road" are all superior films but weren't even nominated so how could they win.

Maybe, like me, you did not have a chance to see every film. Well, just to be fair, I looked at all the Movie Trailers then at the end of each category I predicted.

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UP
The Blind Side
Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire
The Hurt Locker
Up In The Air
Inglourious Basterds
Avatar
District 9
An Education
A Serious Man

The smart money said Mo'Nique was a shoo-in. The other four performances were fine but there's no arguing that Mo'Nique not only landed the kind of role that sticks in your mind, she knocked it out of the park. The Oscar already had her name on it.

I have added the trailers for "Nine" and "Crazy Heart" if you need a little help to see why Mo'Nique won.
You have already seen Mo'Nique in Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire and
Anna Kendrick in Up in the Air (in the Trailers above)

The trailers you have not had a chance to review may be seen below. Mo'Nique in Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire.
Anna Kendrick in Up in the Air
Penélope Cruz in Nine
Maggie Gyllenhaal in Crazy Heart
Vera Farmiga in Up in the Air

I had a hard time deciding which one of the talented actors were better than the others. Some of the movies didn't really appeal to me, but the acting is a different ball game, altogether.

The trailers you have not had a chance to review may be seen below.

Christopher Waltz in Inglourious Basterds (trailer above)
Matt Damon in Invictus
Christopher Plummer in The Last Station
Woody Harrelson in The Messenger
Stanley Tucci in The Lovely Bones

This prediction was difficult for me.

This looked to be a death-match between Meryl Streep and Sandra Bullock.

Not having seen Streep in "Julia and Julia" made it difficult to comment but Bullock was pure movie star in "Blind Side." She burst off that screen, lifted every scene she was in and did what's becoming more and more impossible for actors these days: pulled off a believable accent.

There were so many great actors to choose from, I think that I would probably have done better if I had been blindfolded.

And who doesn't love Sandra Bullock? She's the rare actress these days who managed to earn and maintain an enormous reservoir of audience goodwill. Bullock not only deserved to win on the merits of her performance, but most of the world was rooting for her. That should count for something.

Here again, I will only post trailers not already on this lens.

Sandra Bullock in The Blind Side (Trailer above)
Meryl Streep in Julie & Julia
Gabourey 'Gabby' Sidibe in Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire(Trailer above)
Helen Mirren in The Last Station(Trailer Above)
Carey Mulligan in An Education (Trailer above)

BUZZ:
Meryl Streep was nominated for her role as chef extraordinaire Julia Child in "Julie and Julia." "Julia, that spirit was very like my mother's spirit," Streep told ABC "World News" anchor Diane Sawyer. "Joie de vivre. She had it. And a great sense of fun and [an] infectious ability to bring people along in whatever adventure she cared to take charge of." Streep recently won the Golden Globe in the best actress category for her role as Julia.

I used to watch Julia Child when she was on T.V. I think that Streep did a marvelous job of portraying Julia! Hmmm maybe I'll change my vote!

Why was this hard for me to predict. I tend to fall for the tall dark and handsome. (My hubby is all of that.)

Bridges is favorite to finally land the OSCAR on his fifth attempt.

The 60-year-old is considered one of the best actors never to win an Academy Award. He was nominated for The Contender (2001), Starman (1985), Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1975), and The Last Picture Show (1972), and his role as The Dude in The Big Lebowski has become a cult classic.

Viggo Mortensen "The Road" and Sam Rockwell "Moon" should both be on this list but either way Jeff Bridges won't be denied.

Only one Movie Trailer here ... the others have all been shown above. Go check them out if you like so that you can make an informed decision. Do I really want my child to see a certain movie?

Colin Firth in A Single Man
Jeff Bridges in Crazy Heart
(A once popular heartland country singer who's degenerated more...)
George Clooney in Up in the Air
Morgan Freeman in Invictus
Jeremy Renner in The Hurt Locker

I've been mulling these over ever since I watched them. I guess because of the human interest .. I found it difficult to make a decision as to which documentary would win. When little children are involved, it is especially hard to turn from those accounts.

You probably found it difficult also.

Academy Launches College OSCAR Watch Party Contest on Campuses Nationwide.

Have you heard that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the launch of its first College Oscar Watch Party Contest on campuses nationwide. Participation is open to undergraduates from any college or university in the United States that offers a B.A., B.S. or equivalent degree.

Individual party organizers or groups of up to four organizers who register with the Academy will be responsible for organizing their respective parties and submitting recap materials after the event. A registration form is available for download at www.oscars.org. I'm sure this is to be an annual even so watch for the announcement for 2011 nominations. There will be a deadline for registration.

Entrants will post up to 10 photos of their Oscar watch party on www.flickr.com and up to five minutes of video footage on www.YouTube.com, and submit URLs and a description of no more than 500 words by e-mail to marketing@oscars.org. The Academy will select the best Oscar watch party based on the following criteria: enthusiasm (i.e., number of attendees, how the event was publicized); creativity (i.e., themes, decorations, food); and guest involvement (i.e., games, activities). The deadline to submit post-event materials will be announced by the academy.

The organizers of the grand prize-winning party, to be revealed later in the month, will each receive two red carpet bleacher seats at the 84rth Academy Awards® in 2012. Photos and/or video of the winning party will be posted on the Academy's Facebook page. Organizers of two runner-up parties will also receive acknowledgement on the site, as well as official Oscar prize packages.

For a complete list of rules and regulations for the College Oscar Watch Party Contest, please visit www.oscars.org/watchpartycontest

Thank you for the cool text ..