THE OSCARS 2010: A QUICK RECAP

We're all strapped for time, so here's the Oscars recapped for those of you who missed it.

• Mo'Nique was absolutely no surprise in winning Best Supporting Actress for Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire.  She delivered  a poignant speech thanking the Academy for not letting politics decide her fate and basing the award on merit.  Hardly modest, but the audience would seem to have agreed with her as they gave her a standing ovation.  The film also won the Best Adapted Screenplay award.
• Dapper German actor Christoph Waltz won for his terrifying turn in Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds, being the subject of hosts Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin's Nazi jokes.  Expect his career to take off in North America soon.
• Designer and A Single Man director Tom Ford looked the gold standard in handsome.  I'm anxious to see what's to come next from him after such a strong reception to his first and only film.
• Sarah Jessica Parker arrived on the Red Carpet with husband Matthew Broderick looking like an Avatar character with her fluorescent blue eyes. The Grecian Goddess look constructed by Tom Ford, just didn't work for her and she looked over-tanned.  Broderick later paid tribute with Molly Ringwald (the original Lindsay Lohan) to the late great director John Hughes (Home Alone, Pretty in Pink, The Breakfast Club).
• Helen Mirren looked stunning in a gray Badgley Mischka number.  It didn't even matter that she wasn't a serious contender for Best Lead Actress.

THE OSCARS RACE 2010: A DRAMA BASED ON A DRAMA | FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION

Check out some of these recently-released For Your Consideration pieces submitted by studios to Academy voters leading up to the Oscars. The ceremony will be televised Sunday, March 7, 2010 8 PM EST on CBS.  More of these pieces can be found on one of my favourite blogs, Awards Daily.

Best Picture favourite The Hurt Locker has raised a few eyebrows with some controversy surrounding one of its four producers, Nicolas Chartier who personally e-mailed a number of Academy voters in January urging they "not to vote for a $500 million film" (Avatar). This of course is a flagrant violation of Academy guidelines which prohibit competitors from "casting a negative or derogatory light on a competing film".  Needless to say, his invitation is now "magically" lost in the mail. How's that for drama based on a Drama?  

God, I love Hollywood!

OSCARS 2010 NOMINATIONS ANNOUNCED: A BATTLE OF THE SEXES AND THE EXES

The 2010 Oscar nominations were announced this morning and not only will this year be a Battle of the Sexes, but also a Battle of the Exes.  Director James Cameron (Avatar) will be going head-to-head with his former wife Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker) in major categories like Best Director and Best Picture.  Each director garnered an astounding nine nominations. 

For the time ever, the format of the Best Picture category has been ammended to include ten films this year.  This year's nominees include:  Inglourious Basterds, Precious, A Serious Man, Up, Up in the Air, Avatar, An Education, The Hurt Locker, The Blind Side and District 9.  Although my heart leans towards The Blind Side as a personal favourite, in all probability this will be Avatar's year.

Finalists in the Best Actor category are: Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart), George Clooney (Up in the Air), Colin Firth (A Single Man), Morgan Freeman (Invictus) and Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker).  Make no mistake about it, it's all about Bridges in this category.

Nominees for Best Actress are: Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side), Helen Mirren (The Last Station), Carey Mulligan (An Education), Gabourey Sidibe (Precious) and Meryl Streep (Julie & Julia).  I think most of my readers will agree as per a recent poll here, that this will be Bullock's year.