Actor in a Leading Role

Jeff Bridges in “Crazy Heart”

Actor in a Supporting Role

Christoph Waltz in “Inglourious Basterds”

Actress in a Leading Role

Sandra Bullock in “The Blind Side”

Actress in a Supporting Role

Mo’Nique in “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”

Animated Feature Film

“Up” Pete Docter

Art Direction

“Avatar” Art Direction: Rick Carter and Robert Stromberg; Set Decoration: Kim Sinclair

Cinematography

“Avatar” Mauro Fiore

Costume Design

“The Young Victoria” Sandy Powell

Directing

“The Hurt Locker” Kathryn Bigelow

Documentary (Feature)

“The Cove” Louie Psihoyos & Fisher Stevens

Documentary (Short Subject)

“Music by Prudence” Roger Ross Williams and Elinor Burkett

Film Editing

“The Hurt Locker” Bob Murawski and Chris Innis

Foreign Language Film

“El Secreto de Sus Ojos” Argentina

Makeup

“Star Trek” Barney Burman, Mindy Hall and Joel Harlow

Music (Original Score)

“Up” Michael Giacchino

Music (Original Song)

“The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)” from “Crazy Heart” Music and Lyric by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett

Best Picture

“THE HURT LOCKER”

Short Film (Animated)

“Logorama” Nicolas Schmerkin

Short Film (Live Action)

“The New Tenants” Joachim Back and Tivi Magnusson

Sound Editing

“The Hurt Locker” Paul N.J. Ottosson

Sound Mixing

“The Hurt Locker” Paul N.J. Ottosson and Ray Beckett

Visual Effects

“Avatar” Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham and Andrew R. Jones

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

“Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” Screenplay by Geoffrey Fletcher

Writing (Original Screenplay)

“The Hurt Locker” Written by Mark Boal

• A 3 Month Netflix Membership
• Our favorite film on DVD from 2009 that missed out of this years nominations: “The Hangover”
• Two free Noodle dishes from our favorite restaurant Noodles & Company (which can be used soon at their new Kansas City locations in Lee’s Summit, MO and on The Plaza)

All entries must have a predicted winner chosen for all categories to qualify and the tie-breaker question must be answered. Deadline for predictions is March 6, 2010. We look forward to announcing our winner on March 8, 2010. Good Luck!!

The 82nd Academy Awards nominations were announced on Tuesday,February 2, 2009 by by actress Anne Hathaway and Academy President Tom Sherak. Were there any shockers?… not really, in my opinion. The nominees are:

Actor in a Leading Role

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

Actor in a Supporting Role

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

Actress in a Leading Role

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

Actress in a Supporting Role

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

Animated Feature Film

“Coraline” Henry Selick
“Fantastic Mr. Fox” Wes Anderson
“The Princess and the Frog” John Musker and Ron Clements
“The Secret of Kells” Tomm Moore
“Up” Pete Docter

Art Direction

“Avatar” Art Direction: Rick Carter and Robert Stromberg; Set Decoration: Kim Sinclair
“The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” Art Direction: Dave Warren and Anastasia Masaro; Set Decoration: Caroline Smith
“Nine” Art Direction: John Myhre; Set Decoration: Gordon Sim
“Sherlock Holmes” Art Direction: Sarah Greenwood; Set Decoration: Katie Spencer
“The Young Victoria” Art Direction: Patrice Vermette; Set Decoration: Maggie Gray

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

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

Directing

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

Documentary (Feature)

“Burma VJ” Anders Østergaard and Lise Lense-Møller
“The Cove” Nominees to be determined
“Food, Inc.” Robert Kenner and Elise Pearlstein
“The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers” Judith Ehrlich and Rick Goldsmith
“Which Way Home” Rebecca Cammisa

Documentary (Short Subject)

“China’s Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province” Jon Alpert and Matthew O’Neill
“The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner” Daniel Junge and Henry Ansbacher
“The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant” Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert
“Music by Prudence” Roger Ross Williams and Elinor Burkett
“Rabbit à la Berlin” Bartek Konopka and Anna Wydra

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: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” Joe Klotz

Foreign Language Film

“Ajami” Israel
“El Secreto de Sus Ojos” Argentina
“The Milk of Sorrow” Peru
“Un Prophète” France
“The White Ribbon” Germany

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

Music (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

Music (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

Best Picture

“Avatar” James Cameron and Jon Landau, Producers
“The Blind Side” Nominees to be determined
“District 9” Peter Jackson and Carolynne Cunningham, Producers
“An Education” Finola Dwyer and Amanda Posey, Producers
“The Hurt Locker” Nominees to be determined
“Inglourious Basterds” Lawrence Bender, Producer
“Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” Lee Daniels, Sarah Siegel-Magness and Gary Magness, Producers
“A Serious Man” Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, Producers
“Up” Jonas Rivera, Producer
“Up in the Air” Daniel Dubiecki, Ivan Reitman and Jason Reitman, Producers

Short Film (Animated)

“French Roast” Fabrice O. Joubert
“Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty” Nicky Phelan and Darragh O’Connell
“The Lady and the Reaper (La Dama y la Muerte)” Javier Recio Gracia
“Logorama” Nicolas Schmerkin
“A Matter of Loaf and Death” Nick Park

Short Film (Live Action)

“The Door” Juanita Wilson and James Flynn
“Instead of Abracadabra” Patrik Eklund and Mathias Fjellström
“Kavi” Gregg Helvey
“Miracle Fish” Luke Doolan and Drew Bailey
“The New Tenants” Joachim Back and Tivi Magnusson

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

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

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

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

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

Writing (Original Screenplay)

“The Hurt Locker” Written by Mark Boal
“Inglourious Basterds” Written by Quentin Tarantino
“The Messenger” Written by Alessandro Camon & Oren Moverman
“A Serious Man” Written by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
“Up” Screenplay by Bob Peterson, Pete Docter, Story by Pete Docter, Bob Peterson, Tom McCarthy

**Sign up for our Oscar prediction giveaway!**

The academy stunned the entertainment industry when they announced that this years Academy Awards will have TEN Best Picture nominees. That is double the five from previous years. It took sixty-six years to make this change and allow other deserving films, such as last years dismissed “The Wrestler” and “The Dark Knight”, a shot at an Oscar. This new change will make it much more difficult for predictions of who will win, with a one out of ten shot the odds are not good. It’s going to be interesting to see what films are nominated. As of right now I see only one or two films that are deserving of a nomination, and we are already in June! Here is the official word from the Academy:

Beverly Hills, CA (June 24, 2009) — The 82nd Academy Awards, which will be presented on March 7, 2010, will have 10 feature films vying in the Best Picture category, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Sid Ganis announced today (June 24) at a press conference in Beverly Hills.

“After more than six decades, the Academy is returning to some of its earlier roots, when a wider field competed for the top award of the year,” said Ganis. “The final outcome, of course, will be the same – one Best Picture winner – but the race to the finish line will feature 10, not just five, great movies from 2009.”

For more than a decade during the Academy’s earlier years, the Best Picture category welcomed more than five films; for nine years there were 10 nominees. The 16th Academy Awards (1943) was the last year to include a field of that size; “Casablanca” was named Best Picture. (In 1931/32, there were eight nominees and in 1934 and 1935 there were 12 nominees.)

Currently, the Academy is presenting a bicoastal screening series showcasing the 10 Best Picture nominees of 1939, arguably one of Hollywood’s greatest film years. Best Picture nominees of that year include such diverse classics as “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” “Stagecoach,” “The Wizard of Oz” and Best Picture winner “Gone with the Wind.”

“Having 10 Best Picture nominees is going to allow Academy voters to recognize and include some of the fantastic movies that often show up in the other Oscar categories, but have been squeezed out of the race for the top prize,” commented Ganis. “I can’t wait to see what that list of ten looks like when the nominees are announced in February.”

The 82nd Academy Awards nominations will be announced on Tuesday, February 2. The Oscar® ceremony honoring films for 2009 will again take place at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center® in Hollywood, and will be televised live by the ABC Television Network.

Best Picture:
* The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
* Frost/Nixon
* Milk
* The Reader
* Slumdog Millionaire

Best Actor:
* Richard Jenkins, The Visitor
* Frank Langella, Frost/Nixon
* Sean Penn, Milk
* Brad Pitt, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
* Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler
 
Best Actress:
* Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married
* Angelina Jolie, Changeling
* Melissa Leo, Frozen River
* Meryl Streep, Doubt
* Kate Winslet, The Reader

 Best Supporting Actor:
* Josh Brolin, Milk
* Robert Downey Jr., Tropic Thunder
* Philip Seymour Hoffman, Doubt
* Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
* Michael Shannon, Revolutionary Road

 Best Supporting Actress:
* Amy Adams, Doubt
* Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
* Viola Davis, Doubt
* Taraji Henson, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
* Marissa Tomei, The Wrestler

 Best Director:
* Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire
* David Fincher, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
* Ron Howard, Frost/Nixon
* Stephen Daldry, The Reader
* Gus Van Sant, Milk

 Best Original Screenplay:
* Frozen River
* Milk
* In Bruges
* Happy-Go-Lucky
* Wall*E

 Best Adapted Screenplay:
* The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
* Doubt
* Frost/Nixon
* The Reader
* Slumdog Millionaire

 Best Animated Film:
* Bolt
* Kung Fu Panda
* Wall*E

 Best Foreign Language Film:
* The Baader Meinhof Complex
* The Class
* Departures
* Revanche
* Waltz With Bashir

Best Art Direction:
* Changeling
* The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
* The Dark Knight
* The Duchess
* Revolutionary Road

Cinematography:
* Changeling
* The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
* The Dark Knight
* The Reader
* Slumdog Millionaire

Sound Mixing:
* The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
* The Dark Knight
* Slumdog Millionaire
* Wall*E
* Wanted

 Sound Editing:
* The Dark Knight
* Iron Man
* Slumdog Millionaire
* Wall*E
* Wanted

 Original Score:
* The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
* Defiance
* Milk
* Slumdog Millionaire
* WALL*E

 Original Song:
* “Down to Earth” from WALL*E
* “Jai Ho” from Slumdog Millionaire
* “O Saya” from Slumdog Millionaire

 Costume:
* Australia
* The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
* The Duchess
* Milk
* Revolutionary Road

 Documentary Feature:
* The Betrayal
* Encounters at the End of the World
* The Garden
* Man on Wire
* Trouble the Water

Documentary (short subject):
* The Conscience of Nhem En
* The Final Inch
* Smile Pinki
* The Witness — From the Balcony of Room 306

Makeup:
* The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
* The Dark Knight
* Hellboy II: The Golden Army

Animated Short Film:
* La Maison en Petits Cubes
* Lavatory — Lovestory
* Oktapodi
* Presto
* This Way Up

 Live Action Short Film:
* Auf der Strecke (On the Line)
* Manon on the Asphalt
* New Boy
* The Pig
* Spielzeugland (Toyland)

Visual Effects:
* The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
* The Dark Knight
* Iron Man

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2008 will be presented on Sunday, February 22, 2009, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 200 countries worldwide. For more details visit the official site for the Oscars. Check back to JoReviews next week where I will be making my predicitions for the Academy Award winners and will be asking for our site visitors to vote on who they think will win. The JoReviews visitor that gets the most correct winners will win a movie prize pack. Click here for your guesses.