It’s been a nice week. Thanks to the lack of news I was able to focus on my top 25 movies of 2009, but it won’t be slow for long.
This past Monday ballots for the 2010 Oscars were mailed to the 5,777 voting members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and one day later ballots for the 2010 Screen Actors Guild Awards were sent out to nearly 100,000 actors. Oscar ballots must be returned to PricewaterhouseCoopers by 5 p.m. on Saturday, January 23, 2010 and SAG ballots are due two days earlier, by noon PST on Thursday, January 21, 2010.
While the ballots make the rounds, we are just over two weeks away from the 2010 Golden Globe Awards, which will be held on January 17, 2010 from the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. The show will be hosted by Ricky Gervais, and will be broadcast live coast to coast (which I believe is a first) on NBC (5 to 8 pm PT, 8 to 11 pm ET).
The SAG Awards will be held on Saturday, January 23, 2010 followed by the 2010 Oscars a couple weeks later on Sunday, March 7, 2010.
If those three shows won’t satiate your awards fix the Critics’ Choice Movie Awards will be revealed at the 15th annual Critics’ Choice Movie Awards ceremony on January 15, 2009 and broadcast live on VH1 Television Network. I’ve never actually watched this broadcast, but seeing how this is the third year the gala has been televised I may want to finally give it a watch.
Speaking of awards shows, have you boned up on the nominees? If not here’s a list of the announced nominees so far with Oscar nominations set to be announced on Tuesday, February 2, 2010, at 5:30 a.m. PT.
Moving beyond ballots and calendars, Kris Tapley at In Contention came across a fantastic video feature focusing on the sound mixing work done by Gary Summers and Greg P. Russell on Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. No matter what you thought of the film, the magic behind the making of it presented in this six-minute video piece is sure to interest you. Give it a watch.
For some reason I always enjoy seeing the practical methods used to make some of those sounds. Transformers has got to be considered a major contender for sound and I would add Star Trek, Avatar and The Hurt Locker to that list as well. Beyond those three (which are pretty much the obvious choices) I guess I would add something like District 9 or maybe 2012. If we’re talking editing I would definitely go with Hurt Locker, Transformers and Star Trek. With mixing I would take those three again and add Avatar and 2012. So there’s a little something to chew on.
Tom O’Neil at Gold Derby is convinced Basterds is the Best Picture front-runner. His reasons:
- Film critics loved it
- It was hugely successful ($311 million worldwide)
- It’s got a high “cool factor” with Pitt and Tarantino
- Harvey Weinstein
- It took home the most Critics’ Choice Award nominations
- Was nominated in ALL of the top Golden Globe races
- It’s got a great title
Any of these reasons convincing you? Personally I would love to see Basterds in the driver’s seat with Tarantino holding the Oscar high above his head in March, and Lord knows it would bring in the ratings as it’s definitely a fan favorite. I’ve already penciled in Christoph Waltz for a Supporting Actor win, Tarantino is likely to nab a director nom, and his original screenplay should do the same. O’Neil points out several other possibilities including Diane Kruger or Melaine Laurent for supporting actress, film editing, cinematography, art direction, costumes, sound editing and sound mixing.
Nope, I don’t think Avatar has the legs for a win (a nomination is assured), and I think the backlash against Precious is just enough to keep it out of the discussion. This leaves me with my current two front-runners — The Hurt Locker and Up in the Air — and O’Neil’s whispers of Basterds in my ear. The race is undoubtedly down to these five films and I have pretty much convinced myself Up in the Air lost its legs as The Hurt Locker began dominating the critics’ kudos. Does this mean I’m contemplating an Inglourious Basterds vs. The Hurt Locker Oscar showdown? Perhaps, but I’m not going to move too hasty. Let’s just leave it open-ended for now and get your thoughts in the comments.
