And the Nominee is...

It is true that I get up early the morning when Academy Award nominations are read out as though I was a possible nominee for an Academy Award (definitely not). One would wonder why I bother when even those who are actually nominated often times are either working (or working hard to appear nonchalant), still in bed, etc. For movie buffs this is the annual recognition pinnacle for the movie business. To appreciate the spectacle, it must be viewed live - watching a re-airing of the announcements is just not the same.

The 2010 Oscar nominations will be announced on Tuesday, February 2, 2010 at 5:30am Pacific. The award show will air on Sunday, March 7 which is about two weeks later than usual due to the Winter Olympic Games. Mark your calendars.

The rules and eligiblity for the Academy Awards illustrate what an impressive process it is to submit work to be considered for a nomination.

It has been said that the Golden Globe Awards (Hollywood Foreign Press) often serve as an indicator of who/what will be nominated/win an Oscar. This year the Golden Globe nominees are as follows http://www.goldenglobes.org/nominations/ I will only speak to the movie nominations and leave the TV nominations for another blog entry.

These are my musings only, however, you should know that I have seen nearly all the movies/performances nominated - leaving Hollywood politics aside, these are the nominees I would like to see/deserve to win. Good luck to all the nominees, including those not mentioned here:

Best Picture - drama - The Hurt Locker - great film about a difficult & complex topic. Two words, Jeremy Renner.

Best Actress - drama - Gabourey Sidide - Precious - very difficult film to watch, will resonate with many women regardless of economic background and family situation.

Best Actor - drama - Jeff Bridges - Crazy Heart - think he is one of the most under-rated actors of his generation and it's about time he wins an award, this would be a career-win, not necessarily for this part.

Best Picture - comedy or musical - (500) Days of Summer - an under-rated movie which should have done better at the box office; one of a handful of movies I actually looked forward to seeing in the theatre in 2009. Simply terrific, great writing, acting - a movie with heart.

Best Actress - comedy or musical - Meryl Streep in anything really but here for Julie & Julia

Best Actor - comedy or musical - Joseph Gordon-Levitt, please see this movie (500) Days of Summer. It was marketed as a romantic comedy from the guy's point-of-view, although it's not a love story :) It's charming - my bias is showing here but I truly loved this movie and is probably my favourite of 2009.

Best Supporting Actress - comedy or musical - Anna Kendrick in Up in the Air. Natalie Keener, Anna's character, goes from ambitous, naive keener to become a realist yet never losing her spirit for life.

Best Supporting Actor - comedy or musical - Christoph Waltz in Inglourious Basterds. It was like a waltz watching him navigate between an egocentric, calculating & mennacing Nazi officer and showing the ridiculousness of the situation.

Best Animated Feature - Up This movie, animated or not, was one of the best ones of the year. Showing us how fleeting life is and that we should follow our dreams.

Best Foreign Film - I have not seen any of the nominees but the one with the buzz is The White Ribbon from Germany.

Best Director - Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker As I said previously, very difficult subject matter especially as the war is still ongoing in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is a terrific film - a definite must-see. Plea to the Oscars - please nominate Jeremy Renner, Sgt. William James, for Best Actor.

Best Screenplay - Mark Boal for The Hurt Locker. I am starting to sound like a broken record, if you have not seen this film yet, please do so.

Best Original Score - James Horner for Avatar.

Best Song - "The Weary Kind" from Crazy Heart. "If music be the food of love, play on" the song in this movie is a supporting character.