Oscar Contenders and other Such Award Nonsense!

First I'm hearing about his movie, but have read several articles in recent months on how his gracing a building with his grafitti can double it's value! I should invited him for dinner.

I don't mind mockumentaries ... in fact I absolutely love the mockumentaries from Christopher Guest but they don't try and game the system and market them as the real thing and thusly try to work on the emotions of their potential audience. This year has been the year of the conartist/documentarian in Catfish, Exit Through the Gift Shop, and one more I can't remember which.

Interesting set of wins at the European Film Awards, though to be fair it will have absolutely no influence on the Academy or the Oscars:
European Film: "The Ghost Writer"
European Film Academy Animated Feature Film: "The Illusionist"
European Director: Roman Polanski, "The Ghost Writer"
European Actor: Ewan McGregor, "The Ghost Writer"

http://www.thewrap.com/awards/column-post/roman-polanskis-ghost-writer-tops-european-film-awards-23008

Do the Academy voters have the courage/gall (depending on what side you fall on the Polanski criminal scandal issue) to give so much nomination recognition to Roman Polanski now that he's hiding away from the US authorities?

Here Are the 15 Semifinalists for the Special Effects Oscar
http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2010/12/here_are_the_15_movies_that_ma.html

We watched it last night. Once I knew the meaning behind the title, I was near tears through the rest. Very powerful. I want them home for Christmas All of them.

Yep. It was indeed a tearjerker. Hard to watch and see these guys crumple under the loss of their best friend.

Hope they make it home for Christmas (and indefinitely at that).

The Oscars just published the short list of 15 films for the Best Visual Effects set of nomination/consideration.
http://www.cinemasight.com/2010/12/10/oscars-visual-effects-short-list/
Alice in Wonderland I turned this one off after 35 minutes. I was kind of disappointed in the whole production. Another underwhelming Johnny Depp vehicle that doesn't live up to the usual Tim Burton high standards.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
Clash of the Titans
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1
Hereafter
Inception
Iron Man 2 Fair but not noteworthy visual effects. Still I won't cry crocodile tears if this one gets or doesn't get a nomination.
The Last Airbender This stinker is sweeping this year's Razzies.
Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
Scott Pilgrim vs the World
Shutter Island Very good movie but the opportunities for special effects were so camouflaged and subtle that it's hard to figure out why this one deserves a nod in the first place.
The Sorcerer’s Apprentice
Tron: Legacy Hoping this one lives up to the hype.
Unstoppable

I hope these ones get the nod.

I know most people here at a2k have been holding their breaths until the BSFC have released this year's award winners so here it is:
http://www.thebsfc.org/CurrWin.html

The Social Network is the biggest winner of the entire lot. Swept every category it was in.

is there an award for the best gratuitous use of the word chickenshit in a kids film?

That's the latest category the Hollywood Foreign Press Association is bringing out for the next Golden Globes.

SAG's 2011 nominations
Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
http://www.sagawards.org/media-pr/press-releases/17th-annual-screen-actors-guild-awards-%C2%AE-nominations-announcement
BLACK SWAN (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
VINCENT CASSEL / Thomas Leroy
BARBARA HERSHEY / Erica Sayers
MILA KUNIS / Lily
NATALIE PORTMAN / Nina Sayers
WINONA RYDER / Beth Macintyre

THE FIGHTER (Paramount Pictures)
AMY ADAMS / Charlene Fleming
CHRISTIAN BALE / Dicky Eklund
MELISSA LEO / Alice Ward
JACK MCGEE / George Ward
MARK WAHLBERG / Micky Ward

THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT (Focus Features)
ANNETTE BENING / Nic
JOSH HUTCHERSON / Laser
JULIANNE MOORE / Jules
MARK RUFFALO / Paul
MIA WASIKOWSKA / Joni

THE KING’S SPEECH (The Weinstein Company)
ANTHONY ANDREWS / Stanley Baldwin
HELENA BONHAM CARTER / Queen Elizabeth
JENNIFER EHLE / Myrtle Logue
COLIN FIRTH / King George VI
MICHAEL GAMBON / King George V
DEREK JACOBI / Archbishop Cosmo Lang
GUY PEARCE / King Edward VIII
GEOFFREY RUSH / Lionel Logue
TIMOTHY SPALL / Winston Churchill

THE SOCIAL NETWORK (Columbia Pictures)
JESSE EISENBERG / Mark Zuckerberg
ANDREW GARFIELD / Eduardo Saverin
ARMIE HAMMER / Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss
MAX MINGHELLA / Divya Narendra
JOSH PENCE / Tyler Winklevoss
JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE / Sean Parker


[urlhttp://www.sagawards.org/media-pr/press-releases/17th-annual-screen-actors-guild-awards-%C2%AE-nominations-announcement][/url]

17th ANNUAL SCREEN ACTORS GUILD AWARDS® NOMINATIONS
http://www.sagawards.org/media-pr/press-releases/17th-annual-screen-actors-guild-awards-%C2%AE-nominations-announcement

Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
JEFF BRIDGES / Rooster Cogburn – “TRUE GRIT” (Paramount Pictures)
ROBERT DUVALL / Felix Bush - "GET LOW” (Sony Pictures Classics)
JESSE EISENBERG / Mark Zuckerberg - "THE SOCIAL NETWORK" (Columbia Pictures)
COLIN FIRTH / King George VI - "THE KING’S SPEECH" (The Weinstein Company)
JAMES FRANCO / Aron Ralston - "127 HOURS" (Fox Searchlight Pictures)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading RoleANNETTE BENING / Nic - "THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT” (Focus Features)
NICOLE KIDMAN / Becca – “RABBIT HOLE” (Lionsgate)
JENNIFER LAWRENCE / Ree Dolly – “WINTER’S BONE” (Roadside Attractions)
NATALIE PORTMAN / Nina Sayers – “BLACK SWAN” (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
HILARY SWANK / Betty Anne Waters – “CONVICTION” (Fox Searchlight Pictures)

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting RoleCHRISTIAN BALE / Dicky Eklund – “THE FIGHTER” (Paramount Pictures)
JOHN HAWKES / Teardrop – “WINTER’S BONE” (Roadside Attractions)
JEREMY RENNER / James Coughlin – “THE TOWN” (Warner Bros. Pictures)
MARK RUFFALO / Paul – “THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT” (Focus Features)
GEOFFREY RUSH / Lionel Logue – “THE KING’S SPEECH” (The Weinstein Company)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting RoleAMY ADAMS / Charlene Fleming – “THE FIGHTER” (Paramount Pictures)
HELENA BONHAM CARTER / Queen Elizabeth – “THE KING’S SPEECH” (The Weinstein Company)
MILA KUNIS / Lily – “BLACK SWAN” (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
MELISSA LEO / Alice Ward – “THE FIGHTER” (Paramount Pictures)
HAILEE STEINFELD / Mattie Ross – “TRUE GRIT” (Paramount Pictures)

The following people in my opinion have been sadly snubbed so far:

Olivia Williams for The Ghost Writer ~ supporting actress
[urlhttp://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2010/12/2010s_25_best_performances_tha.html#photo=7x72829[/url]
and
Carey Mulligan for Never Let Me Go - lead actress.

Both actresses and their respective films have been overlooked this award season and the movie going public.

The Social Network is on the express track to the Oscars with another win. This time with the weirdly titled Satellite Awards, whatever they are.
http://www.awardsdaily.com/2010/12/15th-annual-satellite™-awards/

And it's great to see Restrepo grab the Documentary Award.

Just saw Black Swan this afternoon.

Natalie Portman is my frontrunner for Lead Actress. Excellant supporting cast!
A 10 out of 10 in a year flooded with great films!

Natalie Portman has the name recognition but if we are to place her performance in Black Swan up against Jennifer Lawrence's performance in Winter's Bone, with all others things being equal, this race for Best Leading Actress is impossible to tell.
_________________
♪♫On a lighter note: ♭

The ...(((cough-cough))) 77 films of the Academy score consideration short list has been released:
(Some of the most notable of the eligible film scores)
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS, PART 1: Alexandre Desplat 's scores even outdoes John Williams' Potter scores.
THE ILLUSIONIST
INSIDE JOB
127 HOURS
THE SOCIAL NETWORK ~ Nine Inch Nails' Trev Revner is the front runner in the field with so many critics' top picks already. I loved it and won't lament its seemingly inevitable win.
TRON: LEGACY ~ outside of the film and out of context, I was overwhelmed by the score so much so that it led me to perhaps expected too much from the overall film and the inevitable let down when I actually seen the film last week. The score seemed to have lost something in its onscreen translation.
WINTER'S BONE

For the entire list of 77 films plus the several high profile films that were not eligible... poor Black Swan as the Academy disses Mr. Tchaikovsky!
http://www.thewrap.com/awards/column-post/77-original-score-oscars-smallest-field-23534?page=0,0

Art Directors Guild and their top 15 films:

The Director's Guild has finally sent out their official nominations:
http://www.thewrap.com/awards/column-post/dgas-doc-noms-honor-23838#


I got Last Train Home on the Netflix queue. I'm really happy to see Inside Job and Client 9 as Restrepo which I thought was going to be completely neglected.

Really weary about Waiting for Superman because of the filmmakers made the very unconvincing An Inconvenient Truth and as an individual I do believe in climate change.