2010 Academy Awards Winners

We can finally close the book on 2009. The Oscars have come and gone and The Hurt Locker has triumphed, winning Best Picture and five more awards including Best Director (making Kathryn Bigelow the first woman to win best director) and Original Screenplay.

It was definitely a night for "Hurt Locker" as it nabbed many of the technical awards that were expected for "Avatar," the blockbuster that was directed by Bigelow's ex-spouse James Cameron.

The Dude, Jeff Bridges, won best actor for his portrayal of an alcoholic country singer in "Crazy Heart." Sandra Bullock won best actress for portraying a nurturing mom in the football drama "The Blind Side" and worst actress for portraying a stalker in "All About Steve."

Enough talk, here are the winners and who they were up against:


Best motion picture of the year

* Avatar
* The Blind Side
* District 9
* An Education
* The Hurt Locker
* Inglourious Basterds
* Precious
* A Serious Man
* Up
* Up In the Air

Performance by an actress in a leading role

* Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side)
* Helen Mirren (The Last Station)
* Carey Mulligan (An Education)
* Gabourey Sidibe (Precious)
* Meryl Streep (Julie and Julia)

Performance by an actor in a leading role

* Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart)
* George Clooney (Up In the Air)
* Colin Firth (A Single Man)
* Morgan Freeman (Invictus)
* Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker)

Achievement in directing

* James Cameron (Avatar)
* Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker)
* Quentin Tarantino (Inglourious Basterds)
* Lee Daniels (Precious)
* Jason Reitman (Up In the Air)

Performance by an actor in a supporting role

* Matt Damon (Invictus)
* Woody Harrellson (The Messenger)
* Christopher Plummer (The Last Station)
* Stanley Tucci (The Lovely Bones)
* Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds)

Performance by an actress in a supporting role

* Penelope Cruz (Nine)
* Vera Farmiga (Up In the Air)
* Maggie Gyllenhaal (Crazy Heart)
* Anna Kendrick (Up In the Air)
* Mo'Nique (Precious)

Best animated feature film of the year

* Coraline
* Fantastic Mr. Fox
* The Princess and the Frog
* The Secret of Kells
* Up

Best Documentary Short Subject

* China's Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province
* The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner
* The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant”
* Music by Prudence
* Rabbit à la Berlin

Best Short Film (Animated)

* French Roast
* Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty
* The Lady and the Reaper (La Dama y la Muerte)
* Logorama
* A Matter of Loaf and Death

Best Short Film (Live Action)

* The Door
* Instead of Abracadabra
* Kavi
* Miracle Fish
* The New Tenants

Achievement in art direction

* Avatar
* The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
* Nine
* Sherlock Holmes
* The Young Victoria

Achievement in cinematography

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

Achievement in costume design

* Bright Star, Janet Patterson
* Coco before Chanel, Catherine Leterrier
* The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, Monique Prudhomme
* Nine, Colleen Atwood
* The Young Victoria, Sandy Powell

Best documentary feature

* Burma VJ
* The Cove
* Food, Inc.
* The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers
* Which Way Home

Achievement in makeup

* Il Divo, Aldo Signoretti and Vittorio Sodano
* Star Trek, Barney Burman, Mindy Hall and Joel Harlow
* The Young Victoria, Jon Henry Gordon and Jenny Shircore

Achievement in film editing

* Avatar, Stephen Rivkin, John Refoua and James Cameron
* District 9, Julian Clarke
* The Hurt Locker, Bob Murawski and Chris Innis
* Inglourious Basterds, Sally Menke
* Precious, Joe Klotz

Best foreign language film of the year

* Ajami
* El Secreto De Sus Ojos
* The Milk of Sorrow
* A Prophet
* The White Ribbon

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)

* Avatar, James Horner
* Fantastic Mr. Fox, Alexandre Desplat
* The Hurt Locker, Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders
* Sherlock Holmes, Hans Zimmer
* Up, Michael Giacchino

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)

* "Almost There" from The Princess and the Frog Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
* "Down in New Orleans" from The Princess and the Frog Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
* "Loin de Paname" from Paris 36 Music by Reinhardt Wagner Lyric by Frank Thomas
* "Take It All" from Nine Music and Lyric by Maury Yeston
* "The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)" from Crazy Heart Music and Lyric by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett

Achievement in sound editing

* Avatar, Christopher Boyes and Gwendolyn Yates Whittle
* The Hurt Locker, Paul N.J. Ottosson
* Inglourious Basterds, Wylie Stateman
* Star Trek, Mark Stoeckinger and Alan Rankin
* Up, Michael Silvers and Tom Myers

Achievement in sound mixing

* Avatar, Christopher Boyes, Gary Summers, Andy Nelson and Tony Johnson
* The Hurt Locker, Paul N.J. Ottosson and Ray Beckett
* Inglourious Basterds, Michael Minkler, Tony Lamberti and Mark Ulano
* Star Trek, Anna Behlmer, Andy Nelson and Peter J. Devlin
* Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers and Geoffrey Patterson

Achievement in visual effects

* Avatar, Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham and Andrew R. Jones
* District 9, Dan Kaufman, Peter Muyzers, Robert Habros and Matt Aitken
* Star Trek, Roger Guyett, Russell Earl, Paul Kavanagh and Burt Dalton

Adapted screenplay

* Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell (District 9)
* Nick Hornby (An Education)
* Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche (In the Loop)
* Geoffrey Fletcher (Precious)
* Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner (Up In the Air)

Original screenplay

* Mark Boal (The Hurt Locker)
* Quentin Tarantino (Inglourious Basterds)
* Alessandro Camon and Oren Moverman (The Messenger)
* Joel and Ethan Coen (A Serious Man)
* Screenplay by Bob Peterson, Pete Docter, Story by Pete Docter, Bob Peterson, Tom McCarthy (Up)

As for the actual event itself, I really enjoyed the banter between Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin. The two did a great job of keeping the atmosphere light and no doubt, helping viewers not only tune in, but to stick around.

Throughout the ceremony we saw a wide variety of presenters which included notable Oscar winners of the past and currently-popular mainstream celebrities.

Some Notable call-outs:

* Robert Downey Jr. & Tina Fey were awesome. We needed more Robert Downey Jr.
* Miley Cyrus & Amanda Seyfried were not awesome. Ms. Hannah Montana messed up her lines and tried to cover herself by saying she was nervous (and no one else was?). We need none of this next year.
* Ben Stiller as a Na’Vi from "Avatar" was hilarious.
* The hosts "Paranormal Activity" skit was quite amusing.
* The tribute to John Hughes was a very touching moment and featured Hughes regulars such as Jon Cryer, Anthony Michael Hall, Molly Ringwald, Judd Nelson, Ally Sheedy, Macaulay Culkin and Matthew Broderick.

And in an offbeat rant, I’m not a fan of desperate attempts at bringing out celebrities like Taylor Lautner and Miley Cyrus for the sole reason of bringing their fanbases in for ratings rather than their accomplishments. There were quite a few shots of Lautner sitting near the front when he wasn’t nominated for anything (like we saw with Rob Pattinson last year). He has a better seat than those who were nominated or even winners of other categories.

What did you think of the 2010 Oscars? Do all the winners deserve their awards?
More news to come! Catch ya' later!
Sources: Rope of Silicon, USA Today, Screen Rant

Box Office Results and Weekly Movie News

Movies coming out this week!

Green Zone - Discovering covert and faulty intelligence causes a U.S. Army officer (Damon) to go rogue as he hunts for Weapons on Mass Destruction in an unstable region.

Remember Me - A romantic drama centered on two new lovers: Tyler (Pattinson), whose parents have split in the wake of his brother's suicide, and Ally (de Ravin), who lives each day to the fullest since witnessing her mother's murder.

She's Out of My League - A guy (Baruchel) lets his insecurities pick away at his fledgling relationship with the perfect gal (Eve).

Our Family Wedding - The weeks leading up to a young couple's wedding is comic and stressful, especially as their respective fathers (Whitaker and Mencia) try to lay to rest their long-standing feud.

Movies coming out on DVD and Blu-ray!

Up in the Air
Precious
Old Dogs
Planet 51
The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day

Box Office results for the weekend!

1 Alice in Wonderland $116.3 M

2 Brooklyn's Finest$13.5 M

3 Shutter Island $13.3 M

4 Cop Out $9.1 M

5 Avatar $7.7 M

6 The Crazies $7.0 M

7 Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief $5.1 M

8 Valentine's Day $4.2 M

9 Crazy Heart $3.3 M

10 Dear John $2.8 M

Audiences followed Tim Burton and Johnny Depp down the rabbit hole this weekend as "Alice in Wonderland" scored the sixth largest debut of all time, shattering box office records for 3-D and IMAX along the way and was the second biggest PG opening ever ($5 M behind "Shrek the Third").

The debut was nearly $40 million more than analysts predicted and gave the film the largest debut ever for a non-sequel, beating out "Spider-Man."

The film also smashed records set just a few weeks ago by "Avatar," including largest debut on IMAX.

"Wonderland" raked in $11.9 million on IMAX, surpassing "Avatar's" $9.5 million.

The 2009 Sundance hit "Brooklyn's Finest" held its own with a $13.5 million opening and beating out "Shutter Island," which came in third.

"Cop Out" came in fourth and was followed by "Avatar." After three months on screen, Avatar has racked up $720.2 million and has yet to drop out of the top five. Worldwide, it has done $2.6 billion, another record.

The rest of the films kind of did bottom barrel business as usual. Say goodbye to "Valentine's Day" as you won't be seeing it around these parts anymore.

Expect films like "Green Zone" and "She's Out of My League" to be battling for second place next weekend as I expect "Alice in Wonderland" to stay in the top spot.

More news to come! Catch ya' later
(Latino Review, Rope of Silicon, USA Today)

3D Bonanza: More Films go to the Next Dimension

The new wave in blockbuster action cinema is almost upon us. Hate it or Love it, 3D films are now happening around us everyday. Who in the world could have given every major studio the notion that 3D equals buckets of money?

The easy answer is James Cameron and "Avatar," but he can only be held responsible for so much. Animated 3D movies aimed at children have been doing well for awhile - maybe because you can charge more money for tickets and kids see it as a gimmick.

James Cameron just proved you could do 3D for adults.

He didn't necessarily prove that just because you can you should, and the difference between a gimmick and a new tool for directors lies in the audience's tolerance of it.

"Avatar" was a game changer, but we're still playing the game. It's time to expect a shotgun approach that's shaping up to be something like Jason Bourne shaky cam or Bullet Time, except this one costs the theater-goer more money and makes the potential for electronics company to bring new products into your home - so this new trick isn't acting like a new tool.

Then again, I extend an open invitation to any of the below mentioned films to come slap the cynisim right out of me. Through my 3D glasses, of course.

Warner Bros is upping the ante by upgrading Zach Snyder's action-fantasy "Sucker Punch" up another dimension in time for it's March 25, 2011 release, and it's also giving Ryan Reynolds' superhero flick "Green Lantern" a boost to 3D for June 17, 2011.

So now Warner Brothers is going 3D crazy? I guess they're satisfied with the way "Clash of the Titans" turned out in 3D.

To be honest, this isn't all that surprising, but it could be considered exciting. We already know Hollywood is going 3D crazy, it just took a little while for Warner Brothers to join in.

Also on the list of films to go 3D is the upcoming "Alien" prequel that is set to be directed by Ridely Scott.

Shadow Locked spoke with Roger Christian (art director on "Star Wars" and "Alien") who mentioned that Scott's "Alien" prequel would be getting the 3D treatment.

Honestly, it was inevitable that we'd hear this sooner or later, since everything under the sun is going into the third dimension. So acid spit and chest splitting aliens will be flying right at our faces in the new installment.

Unfortunately, I think the studios are going to convert most of these movies to 3D in post-production and not shooting any of them in 3D from the start. Hopefully that kind of decision will backfire on some studios and cause them to shoot 3D the way it should be shot.

Any thoughts on all these films becoming 3D?

More news to come! Catch ya' later!
Sources: First Showing (1,2), Latino Review, Live for Films

'Legend of the Guardians' Trailer

I'm going to have to take some time to work out the tag change for this post and others since Zack Snyder's animated film "The Guardians of Ga'hoole" had its named changed to the generic title "Legend of the Guardians."

Anyway, the trailer for the film is now online and it kind of reminds me of "300" - but with owls.

Watch below and see what you think.

The film is based on the series of children's books by Kathryn Lasky. It's is set in the Forest of Tyto, where Barn Owls live in peace until their kingdom is threatened by an evil that could destroy their home.

Does this trailer get you excited for this movie?
"Legend of the Guardians" hits theaters September 24, 2010.
More news to come! Catch ya' later!

'Wolverine 2' Script Finished and Shooting to Begin in Jan. 2011

THR's Showbiz 411 has confirmed that the sequel to "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" will be ready to begin shooting by January of 2011.

Christopher McQuarrie ("The Usual Suspects," "Valkyrie") has finished the screenplay for the project, which will see star Hugh Jackman returning as the metal-clawed mutant.

In Chris Claremont and Frank Miller's 1982 four-issue comic book miniseries, Wolverine journeys to the Far East to track down former fiancee Mariko Yashida and learns the ways of the samurai. He battles a ninja clan called The Hand as he struggles with whether to give in to his animalistic killer instincts or follow the samurai code of honor and respect.

There is no director yet, but THR's Roger Friedman says the script is a bit different than originally thought.

"It's a beautiful story," a source said, "and will be very different than the first film."

And that's a good thing as I'm hoping "Wolverine 2" will be better than the first film. While it was a decent action flick, it was nothing to really get excited about.

They're definitely in the right direction with McQuarrie writing the screenplay as I think he's a great writer (he won an Oscar for "The Usual Suspects"). Secondly, they're using the storyline from Wolverine's Japanese comic book arc from the 80s, which is amazing and will hopefully translate well to the big screen. And they're hiring a Japanese actress to play opposite Hugh Jackman as his love interest.

Now all that's left is to find a director who can put the finishing touches on and show us the "Wolverine" movie we've wanted to see. I'm not expecting it to be rated-R, but maybe they can make it a hard PG-13 like "The Dark Knight."

More news to come! Catch ya' later!
Sources: The Geek Files, First Showing

Tim Burton and Timur Bekmambetov adapting 'Abe Lincoln: Vampire Hunter'

According to Heat Vision, Tim Burton ("Batman," "Alice in Wonderland") and Timur Bekmambetov ("Wanted") are joining forces to bring the Seth Grahame-Smith novel "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" to the big screen.

Grahame-Smith, who combined zombies and Jane Austen in the best-selling novel “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies,” will write the screenplay. The film adaptation of that novel is set up at Lionsgate with Natalie Portman producing and attached to star.

The story kicks off with the revelation that Lincoln's mother was killed by a supernatural creature, which fueled his passion to crush vampires and their slave-owning helpers. The book depicts the 16th US president as a highly trained vampire killer!

Burton and Bekmambetov, who have also teamed up to produce Shane Acker's "9," bought the rights with their own money and haven't involved any studios yet. This is a neat idea and I'm down for seeing this on the big screen. I like the concepts that Seth Grahame-Smith is coming up with - this guy is going to break out huge once one of these movies actually gets made. Let's hope Burton and Bekmambetov find a director who can start working on this right away.

In anticipation of the book's release, a short video was made to highlight what the story would be about. Is this what we can expect the film to possibly be like?



Are you excited for "Abe Lincoln: Vampire Hunter"? Are you a fan of Grahame-Smith's work thus far?

More news to come! Catch ya' later!
Sources: Live for Films, First Showing

New 'Prince of Persia' Trailer

The first trailer for Disney’s "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time" that was released back in November highlighted the special effects driven scenery and action that moviegoers will witness in the summer blockbuster.

IGN has just released a new "Prince of Persia" trailer and it’s a bit better than the first. It doesn’t reveal anything new overall but it does feature more story elements through Gemma Arterton’s exposition/narration intertwined with quick action shots. We also get to see a bit more of the use of the dagger to slow and reverse time which I hope is going to be used for some cool action sequences.


Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Trailer 2 in HD

Trailer Park Movies | MySpace Video

In the fantasy adventure based on Ubisoft's popular video game, Gyllenhaal will play Dastan, a young prince in sixth century Persia who must join forces with Tamina (Arterton), a feisty and exotic princess, to prevent a villainous nobleman from possessing the Sands of Time, a gift from the gods that can reverse time and allow its possessor to rule the world.

I’m a big fan of the game and from what I’ve see so far from the trailers and features, there’s not enough cool sword fighting and parkour (basically what made the game a success). Hopefully more will come.

The film is directed by Mike Newell and stars Jake Gyllenhaal as Prince Dastan, Gemma Arterton as Tamina, Alfred Molina, Ben Kingsley and Toby Kebbell.

"Prince of Persia" hits theaters May 28, 2010.
More news to come! Catch ya' later!
Sources: Latino Review, Screen Rant

Movie News Mash 32

Guardians of Ga'Hoole

According to THR, Zack Snyder's ("300", "Watchmen") animated film "Guardians of Ga'Hoole" has been renamed "Legend of the Guardians."

That is a really, really generic name. I actually liked "Guardians of Ga'Hoole." Sure, it sounded like an offbeat role playing game, but different is good, right? Oh, well. I'm sure it will be good no matter what it's called.

The film is based on the series of children's books by Kathryn Lasky and set in the Forest of Tyto, where Barn Owls live in peace until their kingdom is threatened by an evil that could destroy their home. The voice cast includes Hugh Jackman, Hugo Weaving, Ryan Kwanten, Jim Sturgess, Geoffrey Rush, Rachael Taylor, David Wenham and Sam Neill.

The movie hit theaters Sept. 24.
(Rope of Silicon, Latino Review)

Arthur
According to THR, ABC's "Modern Family" director/producer Jason Winer has signed on to direct "Arthur" for Warner Bros. starring Russell Brand as the title character.

The film is a remake of the 1981 Oscar-winning comedy starring Dudley Moore who played Arthur, a boozy playboy rascal who is set to inherit a fortune if he marries an heiress his family thinks will make something out of him. However, he falls in love with a working-class woman and turns to his valet for help when his family makes him choose between money and love.

I enjoyed Russell in "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," so I'm excited to see what he does with the character. What do you guys think? Have most of you seen the original Arthur?
(Rope of Silicon, Latino Review)

Zoolander 2
Fans of the 2001 Ben Stiller comedy, "Zoolander," were probably ecstatic last week when news hit that a sequel was in the works.

Details at the time of the announcement were that Stiller is writing the script along with his "Tropic Thunder" scribe Justin Theroux, and that Theroux is also planning on directing.

In a chat with MTV News, we get word from Stiller himself that "Zoolander 2" is definitely happening and he gave some details on what we can expect from the long anticipated sequel. He discussed such things as the possibility of Will Ferrell coming back as the character of Mugatu, and also that the story will take place 10 years after the first movie ended, when Derek and Hansel (played by Owen Wilson in the first) are literally forgotten about.

Instead of transcribing everything Stiller said, why not just check out the video for yourself? Here it is, courtesy of MTV:

Movie Trailers - Movies Blog

Do you like the details you’re hearing about "Zoolander 2"? Are you glad they’re making another one?
(Screen Rant)

More news to come! Catch ya' later!