Oscar Nominations 2010 Mostly as Expected

Oscar nominations 2010 finally came out in the early morning. The Oscar nominations 2010 were largely predictable, at least in the acting categories. Most of the expected actors got in, as did the expected directors, but the most suspense was for Best Picture. In this year of 10 Best Picture nominees instead of five, there was much debate over what might fill out the field. At last, the Oscar nominations 2010 answered that with a couple of surprises - though whether there will be any more surprises this Oscar season is unknown.

Several films were locks to get in, and they did, as Avatar, The Hurt Locker, Inglourious Basterds, Precious, Up In The Air and Up got in as expected. But to fill out the field, the Academy overlooked Oscar bait like Invictus and Nine, and went for small films like An Education and A Serious Man, and blockbusters like The Blind Side and District 9.

These four surprise movies added some intrigue this morning, but the Oscar nominations 2010 were largely predictable elsewhere. In the acting categories, most pundits probably got the vast majority of their picks right.

Best Actor nominees were Jeff Bridges, George Clooney, Colin Firth, Morgan Freeman and Jeremy Renner, as projected for a while. Best Actress is made up of Sandra Bullock, Helen Mirren, Carey Mulligan, Gabourey Sidibe and Meryl Streep, which was inevitable.

For Best Supporting Actor, Christoph Waltz is heavily favored over Matt Damon, Woody Harrelson, Christopher Plummer and Stanley Tucci. The only slight acting surprise was in Best Supporting Actress, as Maggie Gyllenhaal got in for Crazy Heart, joining Penelope Cruz, Vera Farmiga, Anna Kendrick and Mo'Nique.

The Oscar nominations 2010 had one surprise for Best Director as well. Precious' Lee Daniels got in over Clint Eastwood for the final spot, joining James Cameron, Kathryn Bigelow, Quentin Tarantino and Jason Reitman.

Overall, the Oscar nominations 2010 reflected how Best Picture may be a two-film race. Avatar and The Hurt Locker each tied with nine nominations, which was notable in itself. Even though Avatar cleaned up in visual effects noms, The Hurt Locker kept pace, as the little film that could is still neck-and-neck with the highest grossing movie ever.

Behind these two frontrunners, Inglourious Basterds took home eight nods, while Up In The Air and Precious got six, and Up received five. Sci-fi hits District 9 and Star Trek took four nods, though District 9 got the bigger selection.

Now that the Oscar nominations 2010 are finished, there's just 33 days left until the winners are chosen. Most already believe that Bridges, Waltz and Mo'Nique are guaranteed winners, while Best Actress is down to Bullock and Streep, and Best Picture and Director are an Avatar-Hurt Locker duel.

Fans will find out for sure when the 2010 Oscars air on March 7 on ABC, with Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin overseeing the action.

Sources

Oscar.com- "Nominations"

Awards Daily- "Oscar Nominations - The Hurt Locker and Avatar Lead with 9 Each"