2010 Academy Awards Preview

On the first Sunday in March 2010, the 82nd Academy Awards will take place and the Kodak Theater in Los Angeles, California will be the center of the entertainment world. With veteran host Steve Martin and newbie Alec Baldwin, the night should prove to be one to remember. From the Best Picture contest to the Best Director race, fans won't be disappointed!

Best Picture

When the Academy of Motion Picture Acts and Sciences (AMPAS) announced that it would expand the field for films being considered for Best Picture, the entertainment world was surprised. Some thought the most a discredit to the category. Others thought the move open the field for broader selection of noteworth pieces. The 2010 Academy nominees were no disappointment. The nominees, in alphabetical order, for Best Picture are:

Avatar (Sci-Fi);

The Blind Side (Drama);

District Nine (Sci-Fi);

An Education (Drama);

The Hurt Locker (Thriller);

Inglourious Basterds (Comedy);

Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire (Drama);

A Serious Man (Black Comedy);

Up (Animated Comedy); and

Up in the Air (Drama).

While Avatar has set many domestic and international box office records this year, the Hurt Locker has received more critical acclaim. Precious and Brit offering An Education have also received a great deal of buzz from critics. However, given the results from the Golden Globes and UK Awards, many predict that Hurt Locker may grab the Oscar.

Best Actor in a Leading Role

There are familiar faces in the Best Actor category. Oscar winners and former nominees fill the line-up with two talented men receiving their first Best Actor nominations. The nominees for Best Actor are:

Jeff Bridges - Crazy Heart;

George Clooney - Up in the Air;

Colin Firth - A Single Man;

Morgan Freeman- Invictus; and

Jeremy Renner - The Hurt Locker.

Jeff Bridges has always offered stellar performances and his career is at a point of resurgence. He is the odds on favorite. However, you can count out George Clooney and Morgan Freeman, who are no strangers to the Academy with five prior nominations each, and one win for Best Supporting Actor each. However, it's Jeremy Renner's portrayal of Staff Sargent William James that might pull out a surprise win for the first time nominee

Best Actress in a Leading Role:

From sass to sugar, the women in the Best Actress category represent some of the most electrifying performances of the year. There are newcomers and veterans in the fold as well. The nominees for Best Actress are:

Sandra Bullock - The Blind Side;

Helen Mirren - The Last Station;

Carey Mulligan - An Education;

Gabourey Sidibe - Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire; and

Meryl Streep - Julie and Julia.

Streep with 16 nominations in her career has set an Academy record, but critics are very impressed with Sandra Bullock, who won the Golden Globe for her deeply moving and powerful portrayal of Lee Tuohy, and young Carey Mulligan. However, do not count newcomer, Gabourey Sidibe out of this one.

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

In this category, the field is tight, but has not gained as much attention as the Best Actor or Actress categories, which is a bit of a shame. The nominees for Best Actor in a Support Role are:

Matt Damon - Invictus;

Woody Harrelson - The Messenger;

Christopher Plummer - The Last Station;

Stanley Tucci - The Lovely Bones; and

Christoph Waltz - Inglourious Basterds.

While Woody Harrelson may be a bit of a surprise to anyone who has not gone to movie since Cheers went off the air, he should not be a surprise for this nomination. Harrelson has proven that he is a gifted actor. Matt Damon was good in Invictus, but better in the Informant. However, And, let's not forget the amazing Stanley Tucci and comparable Christopher Plummer. However, the critics agree that Waltz is the favorite to take this prize come March 7^th.

Best Actress in a Supporting Role:

This is one of the most cultural diverse set of nominees for a major category. And, they represent a remarkable range of roles as well. The nominees for Best Actress in a Support Role are:

Penélope Cruz - Nine;

Vera Farmiga - Up in the Air;

Maggie Gyllenhaal - Crazy Heart;

Anna Kendrick - Up in the Air; and

Mo'Nique - Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire

Penelope Cruz is very familiar to the Academy, but her movie was forgettable. Maggie Gyllenhaal is endearing, but the critics believe that Mo'Nique's transformation to the abusive mother of Precious will take the golden statuette.

Best Director:

Over the history of the Oscars, more than 60 directors have vied for this coveted prize. Many have won it several times. However, history could be made in this category come March 2010. The nominees for Best Director are:

James Cameron - Avatar;

Kathryn Bigelow - The Hurt Locker;

Quentin Tarantino - Inglourious Basterds;

Lee Daniels - Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire; and

Jason Reitman - Up in the Air

While there has been a great deal of talk about Kathryn Bigelow becoming the first woman to win the Best Director award. Little is said about that fact that Lee Daniels could possible become the first African American to win the award. The critics believe that it will be a contest between ex-spouses with Bigelow having a slight advantage.

Best Animated Film:

2009 was full of respectable animated films. Some pushed the envelope toward the dark side and others were completing breathtaking. The nominees for Best Animated Film are:

Coraline;

Fantastic Mr. Fox;

The Princess and the Frog;

The Secret of Kells; and

Up.

If this category was based on sheer beauty of animation, The Princess and The Frog should win, but the critics favor Up and The Fantastic Mr. Fox.
Best Screenplay and Other Categories:

While a great deal of attention will be on the acting and directing prizes, there are other notable categories, such as the Best Screenplay. Of note, Geoffrey Fletcher, the writer of Precious, will be the sixth African American in the Academy's history to be nominated and if he wins, he will be the first.

For the technical awards- sound editing, sound mixing, make-up, and visual effects, fan favorites such as Avatar, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Star Trek and Harry Potter are up for a few awards as well. The Star Trek crew should win the Make-Up Oscar, while Avatar may will out in regards to Sound Editing. While Star Trek may deserve the Visual Effects Oscar, warp speed may not be enough to stop the Avatar Juggernaut. The same can be said for Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince's nod for Cinematography against Avatar.

As for shorts, documentaries and foreign films, the nominees are all deserving of the prize.

Music is the key to life, but at the Oscars, there are songs and there are scores. In the Scores category, Oscar Winners James Horner and Hans Zimmer make this one a hard field to predict. As for original songs, The Princess and The Frog deserves the Oscar.

With Avatar and The Hurt Locker having nine nominations each, Oscar Night should be extremely exciting. And, with Baldwin and Martin as hosts, anything can happen! The ceremony kicks off March 7, 2010 at 8:00 pm (eastern standard time) on ABC. As true in show biz, there is no business like it!

For more information regarding the nominees and the history of the Academy, check out the Academy's official Oscar site at http://oscar.go.com/nominations/nominees?cid=10_oscars_gridLayout_hot