The Hurt Locker sweeps the BAFTAs...

The Hurt Locker won 6 prizes at last night's BAFTA ceremony. The war drama nearly shut out Avatar which only took home 2 of its 8 nominated prizes for Production Design and Visual Effects. With every awards show giving the top prize to a different film (Golden Globes: Avatar, BAFTA: Hurt Locker, SAG Awards: Inglourious Basterds), and with 10 films nominated for Best Picture Oscar, this year's Academy Awards ceremony might just be a surprise.

The two prizes that are guaranteed are in the supporting actor categories. Both Mo'Nique (for Precious) and Christoph Waltz (for Inglourious Basterds) tripled their awards last night (both also won SAG and Golden Globes).

The biggest surprises of last night were in the two best actor categories. Colin Firth won the top prize for his work in A Single Man and Carey Mulligan won for An Education. Neither are expected to repeat this win at the Oscars, but we shall see...

WEZ SEZ: The Hurt Locker deserves Best Picture Oscar. See it. Now.

See the full list of winners after the jump... 

Crying? There's no crying at the Oscars...

At least not any more. Oscar nominees gathered at the annual luncheon yesterday to discuss the upcoming awards show and were treated to advice from the producers. As originally reported in October (HERE) Adam Shankman will be producing the show with Bill Mechanic. Mechanic's advice to the star-studded crowd was to hold back their emotions when they get to the podium. He said that teary speeches are "the single most hated thing on the show." Really? They are? I would say shameless plugs, long drawn out presentations, and tech awards would be the most hated things.


Adam Shankman also introduced plans for the winners to give two speeches. The first speech will be a short thank you on the main stage televised live, and the other will be filmed backstage and can be emailed to friends and family and/or posted online. So basically, they're saying take your award and shut up, and most of all, don't cry!

Hmmmm... I guess it means that THIS will never happen again:

 

Or THIS:

  

Or THIS:

  

Will the Oscars ever be the same? 

Last night, a great tragedy occured...

Yes Candy Eaters, tragedy struck last night. The event that will surely make people look back and shake their heads in sorrow and shock occurred in Hollywood at the Golden Globe Awards. The award for Best Motion Picture Drama was given to AVATAR. Go ahead. Take a minute to absorb the shock...

I know what you're thinking: "Why was AVATAR even nominated in that category?" Well it shouldn't have been. It's not a drama. It is an action / adventure kids movie. If you go to McDonald's and buy a Happy Meal, an AVATAR toy will come with it. Large portions of the film (probably most of the film) are completely animated, why was it nominated against live action dramas? Would Polar Express be nominated against The Hours? AVATAR should have been put in the Best Animated Film category against Up where it belongs (although it would not have won - Up was much better than AVATAR).

AVATAR is already the second highest grossing film of all time, and could ultimately beat Titanic for that title. It is an exciting adventure with imaginative art direction. The story is old and recycled, yet still entertaining. The biggest pull of the film (and the main reason it worked so well) was the life-like 3D. It's a story that relies too heavily on a gimmick. Up was a 3D movie, but if you saw it in 2D, it was still amazing. That's because it had a good script, a lot of heart and good performances. AVATAR doesn't have any of those things, which is why everyone says that you have to see it in 3D. Does that mean it is a bad film? Certainly not. Does it mean it has the merits to deserve an artistic award for Best Motion Picture Drama? Certainly not. The only awards it deserves are People's Choice and technical awards.

What is the winning this award going to do for AVATAR? Nothing. What is awarding AVATAR going to do for the Golden Globes? Everything. Last year both the Globes and the Oscars received major backlash for not honoring The Dark Knight as Best Picture (not even nominating it). With viewership dwindling every year, awards shows are going out of style. By nominating and awarding the most popular movie of the year, they get people interested in watching so they can charge more money for ads, etc. Who suffers? The films that actually deserve the award. Four stellar films were nominated against AVATAR: Precious, The Hurt Locker, Inglourious Basterds, and Up in the Air. A win for any of these films would have been a major boost in sales, and a potential expansion to markets that would not otherwise get to see it. It would definitely put the film in the limelight and stir up interest. They all lost out on that opportunity. 

Ultimately, this was just the Golden Globes. No awards show can compare to the Oscars. But many times the Oscars follow Globe trending, and if that is the case this  year, the movie industry may never be the same. You make some pictures for global appeal. They are not made for artistic merit. They are made to make money and have cool shots of flying animals. Then you make some movies to go the long haul. You put time and energy and thought into the script. You cast actors who can handle the emotional terrain of the story. You have a director who can handle guiding a movie through it's intense journey. And ultimately, you may be rewarded with critical acclaim and awards which could translate to higher sales and future opportunities.

Dear Academy voters, NOT for your consideration: AVATAR

See the full list of winners from last night's Golden Globes ceremony after the jump...

2010 People's Choice Awards winners....

In awards season, the main out-cast that truly means nothing is the People's Choice Awards wherein the public (mostly under the age of 17) votes on the winners. This means that such films as Twilight: New Moon can sweep an awards show as it did last night, and Katherine Heigl can win an award for (are you sitting down?) acting. These awards really don't mean anything, and you can pretty much guess which movie will win based on how much money it made and its popularity, but just in case you care, here is the full list of winners after the jump...

Satellite Awards winners...

The winners were announced in the (un)watched 14th annual Satellite Awards this past Sunday. While the awards aren't a major player, they definitely help films as they pick up steam for the major awards. The major contenders for the Oscars and the Globes were all present, and the winners may show us a preview of what will happen with the Academy in March. The highlights include Best Picture Drama: The Hurt Locker, Best Picture Comedy or Musical: Nine, and Best Animated film: Fantastic Mr. Fox. Up in the Air strangely only walked away with one award as Best Score. The actor awards went to Shohreh Aghdashloo for The Stoning of Soroya M, Jeremy Renner for The Hurt Locker, Meryl Streep for Comedy Julie & Julia, and Michael Shahlbarg for Comedy A Serious Man. Shoe-in winners for supporting acting Oscars Christoph Waltz in Inglourious Basterds, and Mo’Nique for Precious walked away with awards. In TV, Breaking Bad won Best Drama and Glee won Best Comedy or Musical. See the full list of winners after the jump...

Full list of SAG Noms...

The SAG award nominations came out yesterday morning. Is your head spinning yet? So many nominations in one week, and the Oscar noms are still a month away! Things are looking good for Up in the Air, Precious and Inglorious Basterds, each leading with 3 nominations. While the globes passed on An Education, it got nominated for the top prize at SAG. The Hurt Locker is also having a good run this awards season. In TV, almost all was the same as the Globes, except the addition of The Good Wife. With all the nominations coming out so early, it seems like the buzz will have some time to cool off and perhaps the academy will be less likely to feel swayed by another awards show. Read the full list of nominees after the jump...