The 2010 Academy Awards: Live Commentary

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Awards,

When you throw in an extra host, add five more Best Picture nominees, take away the Best Song performances and nominate two formerly married directors—what do you get? A night that will surely be talked about.

Although many believe the 82nd Annual Academy Awards will end with very few surprises, the possibility of an upset is still too great to ignore. Will the box office champ (Avatar) win Best Film as well? Or will The Hurt Locker - or even Inglourious Basterds - take the prize? Is Jeff Bridges a shoo-in for Best Actor…or could BAFTA winner Colin Firth sneak past him? Will Sandra Bullock have to deliver another acceptance speech, or will Meryl Streep take home her first Oscar since 1983?

To find out if the ceremony ends in a world of Hurt or Up in the Air, stay tuned here for the live results!

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Read More | Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

2010 Academy Award Nominations

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: DreamWorks, FOCUS, Disney, Lionsgate, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Weinstein Company, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Biopics, Drama, Family, Music, Musicals, Period, Science Fiction, Comedy, Sports, Thrillers, Awards, Celeb News, Lists,

After the list of Academy Award nominees were announced this morning, two movies rose to the top of the pack. Avatar and The Hurt Locker - helmed respectively by James Cameron and Kathryn Bigelow - both lead the field with nine nominations each. Thankfully, the formerly married directors still get along.

Even though this will be the first time since 1943 (when Casablanca won) that ten films will go up for Best Film, this year’s list only revealed a handful of surprises. Those who have been following other ceremonies during this awards season saw very little changes in the acting categories.

Here are some of the noteworthy mentions/omissions from today’s nominations:

• Many had hoped The Hangover, Star Trek and/or (500) Days of Summer would go up for Best Picture. Many were left disappointed.
• Is this the first time Daniel Day-Lewis wasn’t nominated for simply breathing?
• Acting queen Meryl Streep is up now up for her sweet 16th nomination for her role in Julie & Julia. (I believe I will one day see her 20th.)
• Speaking of leading women, there will be three newcomers going up against vets Streep and Helen Mirren (The Last Station): Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side), Carey Mulligan (An Education) and Gabourey Sidibe (Precious)—someone who wasn’t even an actress to begin with!
• Disney/Pixar’s Up will be double-dipping it this year. The feature has been nominated in both the Best Film and Best Animated Film categories.

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Read More | Oscars