Oscar Nominations 2010.... zzzzzzzz

With the Academy introducing an additional five nominees to the Best Picture category, they predictably failed to meet any of the optimistic possibilities that could have arisen from the decision. Instead, the extra slots opened the door for populist bullshit like The Blind Side, instead of perhaps the first Best Picture nomination for a foreign-language film, like The White Ribbon or even Broken Embraces; Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was the last foreign-language film to have received a Best Picture nomination in 2001, if you don't count Babel. Pixar's Up did make the cut, becoming just the second animated feature to be nominated in the category; Beauty and the Beast was the first in 1992. The Best Animated Feature category also upped its nominees to five for the second time since the category was introduced in 2001 as a result of the eligible titles surpassing 16.

But, of course, the nominees yielded no great surprises. Tilda Swinton (for Julia) and Mélanie Laurent (for Inglourious Basterds) would have been worthy (er... worthier) inclusions, but In the Loop's nod in the Adapted Screenplay category was the only (kinda) surprise that was worth getting excited over. In the acting categories, Morgan Freeman, Penélope Cruz, Meryl Streep and Helen Mirren are the only former acting winners (though George Clooney and Matt Damon have both won in the Screenplay category). The first-time nominees: Colin Firth, Jeremy Renner, Sandra Bullock (ugh), Carey Mulligan, Gabourey Sidibe, Christopher Plummer (surprisingly never nominated before), Stanley Tucci, Christoph Waltz, Vera Farmiga, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Anna Kendrick and Mo'Nique.

The Director's Guild of America unveiled their winners Saturday night. Kathryn Bigelow is now the first woman to have taken home the prize in the Feature Film Category for The Hurt Locker. Louie Psihoyos won in the Documentary category for The Cove, which is the front-runner for the Oscar docs. A list of the major Oscar nominees are below; the ceremony will take place on 7 March.

Best Motion Picture

Avatar, d. James Cameron
The Blind Side, d. John Lee Hancock
District 9, d. Neill Blomkamp
An Education, d. Lone Scherfig
The Hurt Locker, d. Kathryn Bigelow
Inglourious Basterds, d. Quentin Tarantino
Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire, d. Lee Daniels
A Serious Man, d. Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Up, d. Pete Docter, Bob Peterson
Up in the Air, d. Jason Reitman

Best Director

Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
James Cameron, Avatar
Lee Daniels, Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
Jason Reitman, Up in the Air
Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds

Best Actor

Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart
George Clooney, Up in the Air
Colin Firth, A Single Man
Morgan Freeman, Invictus
Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker

Best Actress

Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side
Helen Mirren, The Last Station
Carey Mulligan, An Education
Gabourey Sidibe, Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia

Best Supporting Actor

Matt Damon, Invictus
Woody Harrelson, The Messenger
Christopher Plummer, The Last Station
Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones
Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds

Best Supporting Actress

Penélope Cruz, Nine
Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air
Maggie Gyllenhaal, Crazy Heart
Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air
Mo'Nique, Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire

Best Original Screenplay

The Hurt Locker - Mark Boal
Inglourious Basterds - Quentin Tarantino
The Messenger - Alessandro Camon, Oren Moverman
A Serious Man - Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Up - Bob Peterson, Pete Docter, Thomas McCarthy

Best Adapted Screenplay

District 9 - Neill Blomkamp, Terri Tatchell
An Education - Nick Hornby
In the Loop - Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche
Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire - Geoffrey Fletcher
Up in the Air - Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner

Best Foreign Language Film

Ajami, d. Scandar Copti, Yaron Shani, Israel
A Prophet [Un prophète], d. Jacques Audiard, France
The Milk of Sorrow [La teta asustada], d. Claudia Llosa, Peru
The Secret in Their Eyes [El secreto de sus ojos], d. Juan José Campanella, Argentina
The White Ribbon [Das weiße Band], d. Michael Haneke, Germany

Best Documentary Feature

Burma VJ: Reporting from a Closed Country [Burma VJ: Reporter i et lukket land], d. Anders Østergaard
The Cove, d. Louie Psihoyos
Food, Inc., d. Robert Kenner
The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers, d. Judith Ehrlich, Rick Goldsmith
Which Way Home, d. Rebecca Cammisa

Best Animated Feature

Coraline, d. Henry Selick
Fantastic Mr. Fox, d. Wes Anderson
The Princess and the Frog, d. Ron Clements, John Musker
The Secret of Kells [Brendan et le secret de Kells], d. Tomm Moore, Nora Twomey
Up, d. Pete Docter, Bob Peterson

Best Cinematography

Barry Ackroyd, The Hurt Locker
Christian Berger, The White Ribbon [Das weiße Band]
Bruno Delbonnel, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Mauro Fiore, Avatar
Robert Richardson, Inglourious Basterds

Golden Globe Nominations 2010

The Golden Globe nominations are in and have proven what a strange year it has been for Hollywood. While two nods for Meryl Streep is usually an annual affair, two for Sandra Bullock is just about unheard-of; Matt Damon makes the third actor with two nominations. In the non-acting categories, Jason Reitman and Quentin Tarantino received two nominations for directing and writing. As usual, the nominations were all over the board, giving recognition to films most people would would argue don't deserve it (Nine, Avatar, Tobey Maguire... at least if early word is accurate). But the two best moves the Hollywood Foreign Press made were ignoring both Lee Daniels and Rob Marshall in the directing category. I've discussed Daniels previously, but Marshall is quite possibly one of the worst directors in Hollywood. Chicago worked (for the most part) as a result of its source material and Catherine Zeta-Jones, but pay attention to any of the non-musical scenes, and you'll see that the guy can't direct for shit.

So who was missing, in terms of expectations? Invictus for picture, even though ol' Clint got a directing nod; Jeremy Renner; A Single Man in any non-acting category; Samantha Morton and Ben Foster; In the Loop, period; the Coens and A Serious Man in the Musical/Comedy category; and of course Tilda Swinton, though Julia came out so early this year, all the award folk have forgotten. Oh, and also, Mariah Carey. Full nominees, including the television categories and film music ones (Karen O. is now a GG nominee), via the press release.

Best Picture - Drama

- Avatar, d. James Cameron
- The Hurt Locker, d. Kathryn Bigelow
- Inglourious Basterds, d. Quentin Tarantino
- Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire, d. Lee Daniels
- Up in the Air, d. Jason Reitman

Best Picture - Musical/Comedy

- (500) Days of Summer, d. Marc Webb
- The Hangover, d. Todd Phillips
- It's Complicated, d. Nancy Meyers
- Julie & Julia, d. Nora Ephron
- Nine, d. Rob Marshall

Best Director

- Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
- James Cameron, Avatar
- Clint Eastwood, Invictus
- Jason Reitman, Up in the Air
- Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds

Best Actor - Drama

- Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart
- George Clooney, Up in the Air
- Colin Firth, A Single Man
- Morgan Freeman, Invictus
- Tobey Maguire, Brothers

Best Actress - Drama

- Emily Blunt, The Young Victoria
- Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side
- Helen Mirren, The Last Station
- Carey Mulligan, An Education
- Gabourey Sidibe, Precious

Best Actor - M/C

- Matt Damon, The Informant!
- Daniel Day-Lewis, Nine
- Robert Downey, Jr., Sherlock Holmes
- Joseph Gordon-Levitt, (500) Days of Summer
- Michael Stuhlbarg, A Serious Man

Best Actress - M/C

- Sandra Bullock, The Proposition
- Marion Cotillard, Nine
- Julia Roberts, Duplicity
- Meryl Streep, It's Complicated
- Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia

Best Supporting Actor

- Matt Damon, Invictus
- Woody Harrelson, The Messenger
- Christopher Plummer, The Last Station
- Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones
- Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds

Best Supporting Actress

- Penélope Cruz, Nine
- Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air
- Anna Kenrick, Up in the Air
- Mo'Nique - Precious
- Julianne Moore, A Single Man

Best Screenplay

- Neill Blomkamp, District 9
- Mark Boal, The Hurt Locker
- Nancy Meyers, It's Complicated
- Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner, Up in the Air
- Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds

Foreign-Language Film

- Baarìa, d. Giuseppe Tornatore, Italy
- Broken Embraces [Los abrazos rotos], d. Pedro Almodóvar, Spain
- The Maid [La nana], d. Sebastián Silva, Chile
- A Prophet [Un prophète], d. Jacques Audiard, France
- The White Ribbon [Das weiße Band], d. Michael Haneke, Austria/Germany/France/Italy

Animated Feature

- Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, d. Phil Lord, Chris Miller
- Coraline, d. Henry Selick
- Fantastic Mr. Fox, d. Wes Anderson
- The Princess and the Frog, d. Ron Clements, John Musker
- Up, d. Peter Docter, Bob Peterson

European Film Award Nominees

The nominees for the 2009 European Film Awards are in! Culling from 48 films released within a window of 1 July 2008 to 15 July 2009 (the specifics are really murky, as a country can decide whether to submit a film based on their festival premiere or their national release), the official nominees have been announced, some of them expected, some surprising and others downright foolish. Apparently, if the European Film Academy is to believe The Reader is European enough to be included, I guess they're silly enough to think it's a good film. I hope I'm not the only person bothered by films set in foreign countries where all the actors speak English (or worse, with accents!). I suppose a nod for Winslet is always acceptable, but David Kross as well!? Anywho, the nominations for Andrea Arnold's Fish Tank are all well-deserved, especially the less likely choice of Katie Jarvis in the Actress category. The nominees are listed below, and the award ceremony will take place in Germany on 12 December.

Film

Fish Tank - d. Andrea Arnold, UK
Let the Right One In [Låt den rätte komma in] - d. Tomas Alfredson, Sweden
A Prophet [Un prophète] - d. Jacques Audiard, France
The Reader - d. Stephen Daldry, Germany/UK
Slumdog Millionaire - d. Danny Boyle, Loveleen Tandan, UK
The White Ribbon [Das weiße Band] - d. Michael Haneke, Austria/Germany/France/Italy

Director

Pedro Almodóvar - Broken Embraces [Los abrazos rotos]
Andrea Arnold - Fish Tank
Jacques Audiard - Un prophète
Danny Boyle - Slumdog Millionaire
Michael Haneke - Das weiße Band
Lars von Trier - Antichrist

Actor

Moritz Bleibtreu - The Baader Meinhof Complex [Der Baader Meinhof Komplex]
Steve Evets - Looking for Eric
David Kross - The Reader
Dev Patel - Slumdog Millionaire
Tahar Rahim - Un prophète
Filippo Timi - Vincere

Actress

Penélope Cruz - Los abrazos rotos
Charlotte Gainsbourg - Antichrist
Katie Jarvis - Fish Tank
Yolande Moreau - Séraphine
Noomi Rapace - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo [Män som hatar kvinnor]
Kate Winslet - The Reader

Screenwriter

Jacques Audiard, Thomas Bidegain - Un prophète
Simon Beaufoy - Slumdog Millionaire
Gianni di Gregorio - Mid-August Lunch [Pranzo di ferragosto]
Michael Haneke - Das weiße Band

Cinematographer

Christian Berger - Das weiße Band
Anthony Dod Mantle - Antichrist; Slumdog Millionaire
Maxim Drozdov, Alisher Khamidkhodzhaev - Paper Soldier
Stéphane Fontaine - Un prophète

Composer

Alexandre Desplat - Coco Before Chanel [Coco avant Chanel]
Jakob Groth - Män som hatar kvinnor
Alberto Iglesias - Los abrazos rotos
Johan Söderqvist - Låt den rätte komma in

Prix d'excellence

Francesca Calvelli, editor - Vincere
Catherine Leterrier, costume desginer - Coco avant Chanel
Waldemar Pokromski, make-up and hair - Der Baader Meinhof Komplex
Brigitte Taillandier, Francis Wargnier, Jean-Paul Hurier, Marc Doisne, sound design - Un prophète

Discovery

Ajami - d. Scandar Copti, Yaron Shani, Israel/Germany
The Other Bank - d. George Ovashvili, Georgia/Kazakhstan
Katalin Varga - d. Peter Strickland, Romania/UK/Hungary
Be Good [Sois sage] - d. Juliette Garcias, France/Denmark
Autumn [Sonbahar] - d. Özcan Alper, Turkey/Germany

Animated Feature Film

Mia and the Migoo [Mia et le Migou] - d. Jacques-Rémy Girerd, France
Niko & the Way to the Stars [Niko - Lentäjän poika] - d. Michael Henger, Kari Juusonen, Finland/Germany/Denmark/Iceland
The Secret of Kells - d. Tomm Moore, Nora Twomey, France/Ireland/Belgium

Documentary

The Beaches of Agnès [Les plages d'Agnès] - d. Agnès Varda, France
Below Sea Level - d. Gianfranco Rosi, Italy/USA
Burma VJ [Burma VJ: Reporter i et lukket land] - d. Anders Østergaard, Denmark
Cooking History [Ako sa varia dejiny] - d. Péter Kerekes, Slovakia/Austria/Czech Republic
The Damned of the Sea [Les damnés de la mer] - d. Jawad Rhalib, Belgium
Defamation - d. Yoav Shamir, Denmark/Austria/Israel/USA
The Heart of Jenin [Das Herz von Jenin] - d. Leon Geller, Marcus Vetter, Germany
Pianomania - d. Robert Cibis, Lilian Franck, Germany/Austria
The Sound of Insects: Record of a Mummy - d. Peter Liechti, Switzerland
The Woman with the 5 Elephants [Die Frau mit den 5 Elefanten] - d. Vadim Jendreyko, Switzerland/Germany

People's Choice Award

Der Baader Meinhof Komplex - d. Uli Edel, Germany
Los abrazos rotos - d. Pedro Almodóvar, Spain
Coco avant Chanel - d. Anne Fontaine, France
The Duchess - d. Saul Dibb, UK/Italy/France
Fly Me to the Moon - d. Ben Stassen, Belgium
Män som hatar kvinnor - d. Niels Arden Oplev, Sweden/Denmark/Germany
Låt den rätte komma in - d. Tomas Alfredson, Sweden
Pranzo di ferragosto - d. Gianni di Gregorio, Italy
Slumdog Millionaire - d. Danny Boyle, Loveleen Tandan
Transporter 3 - d. Olivier Megaton, France/UK

European Film Awards Finalists

Sometime last month, the European Film Academy announced the 48 films included on their selection list for the 2009 Awards. The nominations, which are to be announced sometime in November, will be pulled from these 48, and the official ceremony will be held in Germany on 12 December. Matteo Garrone's Gomorrah [Gomorra] was the big winner last year, taking prizes for Best Film, Director, Actor, Screenwriter and Cinematographer. The list blogs will slow down soon, as my work doing writing for the Saint Louis International Film Festival is nearing the finish line... the schedule should be announced at the end of next week. More on that later. For now, the 48 "short" list for the European Film Awards. As for the overlapping years between 2008 and 2009, I'm not sure what the window of inclusion is.

- 33 sceny z życia [33 Scenes of Life], d. Małgośka Szumowska, Poland/Germany
- Los abrazos rotos [Broken Embraces], d. Pedro Almodóvar, Spain
- Alle Anderen [Everyone Else], d. Maren Ade, Germany
- Antichrist, d. Lars von Trier, Denmark
- Apaföld [Father's Acre], d. Viktor Nagy, Hungary
- Der Baader Meinhof Komplex [The Baader-Meinhof Complex], d. Uli Edel, Germany
- Brothers, d. Igaal Niddam, Switzerland
- Camino, d. Javier Fesser, Spain
- Coco avant Chanel, d. Anne Fontaine, France

- Dogtooth, d. Yorgos Lanthimos, Greece
- Eastern Plays, d. Kamen Kalev, Bulgaria
- Fish Tank, d. Andrea Arnold, UK
- Frygtelig lykkelig [Terribly Happy], d. Henrik Ruben Genz, Denmark
- It All Begins at Sea, d. Eitan Green, Israel
- Jaffa, d. Keren Yedaya, France/Israel/Germany
- Jerichow, d. Christian Petzold, Germany
- Käsky [Tears of April], d. Aku Louhimies, Finland/Germany/Greece
- Kisses, d. Lance Daly, Ireland
- Der Knochenmann [The Bone Man], d. Wolfgang Murnberger, Austria

- Låt den rätte komma in [Let the Right One In], d. Tomas Alfredson, Sweden
- Lille soldat [Little Soldier], d. Annette K. Olesen, Denmark
- Loft, d. Erik Van Looy, Belgium
- Looking for Eric, d. Ken Loach, UK/France
- Män som hatar kvinnor [The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo], d. Niels Arden Oplev, Sweden
- Maria Larssons eviga ögonblick [Everlasting Moments], d. Jan Troell, Sweden/Denmark
- Max Manus, d. Joachim Rønning, Espen Sandberg, Norway/Germany/Denmark
- Ničiji sin [No One's Son], d. Arsen Anton Ostojić, Croatia
- Nord [North], d. Rune Denstad Langlo, Norway
- Oorlogswinter [Winter in Wartime], d. Martin Koolhoven, Netherlands

- Pandora'nin kutusu [Pandora's Box], d. Yeşim Ustaoğlu, Turkey/France/Germany/Belgium
- Paper Soldier, d. Aleksei German MI., Russia
- Poliţist, adjectiv [Police, Adjective], d. Corneliu Porumboiu, Romania
- Pranzo di ferragosto [Mid-August Lunch], d. Gianni Di Gregorio, Italy
- Questione di cuore [A Matter of Heart], d. Francesca Archibugi, Italy
- The Reader, d. Stephen Daldry, Germany [Huh?]
- Retorno a Hansala [Return to Hansala], d. Chus Gutiérrez, Spain
- Séraphine, d. Martin Provost, France
- Slumdog Millionaire, d. Danny Boyle, UK [Hmm]
- Strella [A Woman's Journey], d. Panos H. Koutras, Greece

- Tatarak [Sweet Rush], d. Andrzej Wajda, Poland
- The Time That Remains, d. Elia Suleiman, France
- Tobruk, d. Václav Marhoul, Czech Republic/Slovakia
- Turneja [The Tour], d. Goran Marković, Serbia/Bosnia & Herzegovina/Croatia/Slovenia
- Un prophète [A Prophet], d. Jacques Audiard, France
- Uzak ihtimal [Wrong Rosary], d. Mahmut Fazıl Coşkun, Turkey
- Vincere, d. Marco Bellocchio, Italy
- Das weiße Band [The White Ribbon], d. Michael Haneke, Austria/Germany/France/Italy
- Welcome, d. Philippe Lioret, France

In addition to these 48, 5 films have been nominated in the category of European Discovery of the Year. Steve McQueen's Hunger was the recipient last year.

- Ajami, d. Yaron Shani, Scandar Copti, Germany/Israel
- Katalin Varga, d. Peter Strickland, Romania/UK/Hungary
- The Other Bank, d. George Ovashvili, Georgia/Kazakhstan
- Sois sage [Be Good], d. Juliette Garcias, France/Denmark
- Sonbahar [Autumn], d. Özcan Alper, Turkey/Germany