# Oscar Countdown: The Award Season Begins **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 13, 2009, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-countdown-the-award-season-begins/521157 "2009-12-13T23:52:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2010, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-countdown-the-award-season-begins/521157/61 "2010-01-16T19:35:12Z")
I watched the Critic’s Choice Awards last night and was pretty surprised by the tie for Best Actress. I thought it was almost a lock that Gabourey Sidibe would win. Sandra Bullock, really?? ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2010, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-countdown-the-award-season-begins/521157/62 "2010-01-16T20:13:19Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > I watched the Critic’s Choice Awards last night and was pretty surprised by the tie for Best Actress. I thought it was almost a lock that Gabourey Sidibe would win. Sandra Bullock, really?? Have you seen **The Blind Side**? If you have, you would understand. She was terrific! It’s the role of a lifetime for her. I expected the critics to choose Carey Mulligan, so it surprised me too, but not because it wasn’t deserved. (I’m on break at work. I never log in and respond at work, but I had to this one time just to say this. Really, if you see The Blind Side you’ll say “Ok, I get it now.”) ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2010, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-countdown-the-award-season-begins/521157/63 "2010-01-16T21:59:44Z")
> [@Equipoise](#): > > Have you seen **The Blind Side**? If you have, you would understand. She was terrific! It’s the role of a lifetime for her. I expected the critics to choose Carey Mulligan, so it surprised me too, but not because it wasn’t deserved. > > (I’m on break at work. I never log in and respond at work, but I had to this one time just to say this. Really, if you see The Blind Side you’ll say “Ok, I get it now.”) No, I haven’t seen that one. Is it actually good? Honestly, the trailers I’ve seen made it look like a cliche Lifetime movie type film. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2010, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-countdown-the-award-season-begins/521157/64 "2010-01-17T08:21:20Z")
I just watched **Moon** tonight and really liked it. It was very different from what I expected–I thought it was going to be some kind of mystery/suspense story and it wasn’t that at all. It was very much a character study and Sam Rockwell was terrific in it. Too bad he’s not getting more attention for it. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2010, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-countdown-the-award-season-begins/521157/65 "2010-01-18T18:16:08Z")
Thanks to Equi from the Golden Globe thread, here are last night’s winners: - Best Picture, Drama – _Avatar_ - Best Picture, Comedy/Musical — _The Hangover_ - Best Director — James Cameron, _Avatar_ - Best Actress, Drama — Sandra Bullock, _The Blind Side_ - Best Actor, Drama – Jeff Bridges, _Crazy Heart_ - Best Actress, Comedy/Musical — Meryl Streep, _Julie & Julia_ - Best Actor, Comedy/Musical — Robert Downey Jr, _Sherlock Holmes_ - Best Supporting Actress — Mo’Nique, _Precious_ - Best Supporting Actor — Christoph Waltz, _Inglourious Basterds_ - Best Foreign Language Film — _The White Ribbon_ - Best Animated Feature — _Up_ - Best Screenplay — Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner, _Up in the Air_ - Best Original Score — Michael Giacchino, _Up_ - Best Original Song — The Weary Kind, _Crazy Heart_ The big losers were: _The Hurt Locker_, though Cameron gave Bigelow props when he accepted the Director award. And the _Avatar_ award comes as no surprise, since this is the Foreign Press awards, and the Cameron has been a huge international hit and more readily accessible to foreign tastes than its two biggest competitors. I think for the Oscar, the race is still between _HL_ and _UitA_. _Nine_, which went 0-for-5, fairly amazing since the Globes tend to be overly generous to musicals. For _The Hangover_ to beat it (as funny as it may be), it must have zero traction with audiences, and seems unlikely to make much of a splash at all at the Oscars (beyond a few craft/technicals). This coming Saturday is the SAG awards. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2010, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-countdown-the-award-season-begins/521157/66 "2010-01-20T18:41:43Z")
The shortlist for the Foreign Language film category has been announced: Argentina, _El Secreto de Sus Ojos_, Juan Jose Campanella, director; Australia, _Samson & Delilah_, Warwick Thornton, director; Bulgaria, _The World Is Big and Salvation Lurks around the Corner_, Stephan Komandarev, director; France, _Un Prophète_, Jacques Audiard, director; Germany, _The White Ribbon_, Michael Haneke, director; Israel, _Ajami_, Scandar Copti and Yaron Shani, directors; Kazakhstan, _Kelin_, Ermek Tursunov, director; The Netherlands, _Winter in Wartime_, Martin Koolhoven, director; Peru, _The Milk of Sorrow_, Claudia Llosa, director. The two heavy hitters are from France (Grand Prize winner at Cannes) and Germany (Golden Globe winner plus a myriad of critics awards), so the exclusion of either will probably cause a big stir. The final ballot will consist of 5 nominees, and the winner is one of the few categories where members are prohibited from voting unless they can verify they’ve seen all 5 candidates. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-countdown-the-award-season-begins/521157/67 "2010-01-21T08:15:44Z")
I haven’t seen any of those movies, but I’m hoping **The White Ribbon** will move from my least favorite theater to one I like once it gets an Oscar nomination. And I can’t wait for **The Prophet** to open, partly because I want to see it, and partly so I don’t have to see the trailer anymore. One of the problems with going to the movies a lot is that you see some trailers WAY too many times. Can Edge of Darkness just fucking OPEN ALREADY?! Here are the Cinema Audio Society (CAS) nominations courtesy of Awards Daily. > [@](#): > > **Avatar** > Re-recording Mixers: > Chris Boyes > Gary Summers > Andy Nelson > Production Mixer: > Tony Johnson, CAS > > **District 9** > Re-recording Mixers: > Michael Hedges > Gilbert Lake > Production Mixer: > Ken Saville > > **The Hurt Locker** > Re-recording Mixers: > Paul N.J. Ottosson > Production Mixer: Ray Beckett > > **Star Trek** > Re-recording Mixers: Andy Nelson > Anna Behlmer > Production Mixer: Peter J. Devlin, CAS > > **Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen** > Re-recording Mixers: > Greg P. Russell, CAS > Gary Summers > Production Mixer: > Geoffrey Patterson, CAS > > The Cinema Audio Society (CAS) is usually the best predictor of the sound category. They are usually off by one or two for nominations. We have no reason to think these won’t be the nominated five. Last year Wall-E was one of the nominees, so Oscar might see a sound nod for Up. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-countdown-the-award-season-begins/521157/68 "2010-01-21T08:58:46Z")
The [BAFTA nominations](http://www.bafta.org/awards/film/film-awards-nominations,949,BA.html) came out. They don’t have anything to do with the Oscars, but I still usually find their picks interesting. It’s nice to see the Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus get SOME recognition. It’s nice to see Duncan Jones and Moon get a little love, though not as much as it deserves. Same with Fantastic Mr. Fox and A Serious Man. They also threw out some other surprises. Audrey Tautou, Andy Serkis (I hadn’t heard of his movie), Christian McKay and Alfred Molina getting very well-deserved nominations. The Hangover!?! for Screenplay!?! Wow. I’ve seen almost all of the nominees, but I hadn’t heard of Nowhere Boy. I’ll have to look it up. Avatar, An Education and The Hurt Locker all received 8 nomintions. **BEST FILM** AVATAR – James Cameron, Jon Landau AN EDUCATION – Amanda Posey, Finola Dwyer THE HURT LOCKER – Nominees TBC PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL PUSH BY SAPPHIRE – Lee Daniels, Sarah Siegel-Magness, Gary Magness UP IN THE AIR – Ivan Reitman, Jason Reitman, Daniel Dubiecki **OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM** AN EDUCATION – Amanda Posey, Finola Dwyer, Lone Scherfig, Nick Hornby FISH TANK – Kees Kasander, Nick Laws, Andrea Arnold IN THE LOOP – Kevin Loader, Adam Tandy, Armando Iannucci, Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Tony Roche MOON – Stuart Fenegan, Trudie Styler, Duncan Jones, Nathan Parker NOWHERE BOY – Kevin Loader, Douglas Rae, Robert Bernstein, Sam Taylor-Wood, Matt Greenhalgh **OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER** LUCY BAILEY, ANDREW THOMPSON, ELIZABETH MORGAN HEMLOCK, DAVID PEARSON – Directors, Producers – Mugabe and the White African ERAN CREEVY – Writer/Director – Shifty STUART HAZELDINE – Writer/Director – Exam DUNCAN JONES – Director – Moon SAM TAYLOR-WOOD – Director – Nowhere Boy **DIRECTOR** AVATAR – James Cameron DISTRICT 9 – Neill Blomkamp AN EDUCATION – Lone Scherfig THE HURT LOCKER – Kathryn Bigelow INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS – Quentin Tarantino **ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY** THE HANGOVER – Jon Lucas, Scott Moore THE HURT LOCKER – Mark Boal INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS – Quentin Tarantino A SERIOUS MAN – Joel Coen, Ethan Coen UP – Bob Peterson, Pete Docter **ADAPTED SCREENPLAY** DISTRICT 9 – Neill Blomkamp, Terri Tatchell AN EDUCATION – Nick Hornby IN THE LOOP – Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL PUSH BY SAPPHIRE – Geoffrey Fletcher UP IN THE AIR – Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner **FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE** BROKEN EMBRACES – Agustín Almodóvar, Pedro Almodóvar COCO BEFORE CHANEL – Carole Scotta, Caroline Benjo, Philippe Carcassonne, Anne Fontaine LET THE RIGHT ONE IN – Carl Molinder, John Nordling, Tomas Alfredson A PROPHET – Pascale Caucheteux, Marco Chergui, Alix Raynaud, Jacques Audiard THE WHITE RIBBON – Stefan Arndt, Veit Heiduschka, Margaret Menegoz, Michael Haneke **ANIMATED FILM** CORALINE – Henry Selick FANTASTIC MR FOX – Wes Anderson Up – Pete Docter **LEADING ACTOR** JEFF BRIDGES – Crazy Heart GEORGE CLOONEY – Up in the Air COLIN FIRTH – A Single Man JEREMY RENNER – The Hurt Locker ANDY SERKIS – Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll **LEADING ACTRESS** CAREY MULLIGAN – An Education SAOIRSE RONAN – The Lovely Bones GABOUREY SIDIBE – Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire MERYL STREEP – Julie & Julia AUDREY TAUTOU – Coco Before Chanel **SUPPORTING ACTOR** ALEC BALDWIN – It’s Complicated CHRISTIAN McKAY – Me and Orson Welles ALFRED MOLINA – An Education STANLEY TUCCI – The Lovely Bones CHRISTOPH WALTZ – Inglourious Basterds **SUPPORTING ACTRESS** ANNE-MARIE DUFF – Nowhere Boy VERA FARMIGA – Up in the Air ANNA KENDRICK – Up in the Air MO’NIQUE – Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire KRISTIN SCOTT THOMAS – Nowhere Boy **MUSIC** AVATAR – James Horner CRAZY HEART – T-Bone Burnett, Stephen Bruton FANTASTIC MR FOX – Alexandre Desplat SEX & DRUGS & ROCK & ROLL – Chaz Jankel UP – Michael Giacchino **CINEMATOGRAPHY** AVATAR – Mauro Fiore DISTRICT 9 – Trent Opaloch THE HURT LOCKER – Barry Ackroyd INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS – Robert Richardson THE ROAD – Javier Aguirresarobe **EDITING** AVATAR – Stephen Rivkin, John Refoua, James Cameron DISTRICT 9 – Julian Clarke THE HURT LOCKER – Bob Murawski, Chris Innis INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS – Sally Menke UP IN THE AIR – Dana E. Glauberman **PRODUCTION DESIGN** AVATAR – Rick Carter, Robert Stromberg, Kim Sinclair DISTRICT 9 – Philip Ivey, Guy Poltgieter HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE – Stuart Craig, Stephenie McMillan THE IMAGINARIUM OF DOCTOR PARNASSUS – Nominees TBC INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS – David Wasco, Sandy Reynolds Wasco **COSTUME DESIGN** BRIGHT STAR – Janet Patterson COCO BEFORE CHANEL – Catherine Leterrier AN EDUCATION – Odile Dicks-Mireaux A SINGLE MAN – Arianne Phillips THE YOUNG VICTORIA – Sandy Powell **SOUND** AVATAR – Christopher Boyes, Gary Summers, Andy Nelson, Tony Johnson, Addison Teague DISTRICT 9 – Nominees TBC THE HURT LOCKER – Ray Beckett, Paul N. J. Ottosson, Craig Stauffer STAR TREK – Peter J. Devlin, Andy Nelson, Anna Behlmer, Mark Stoeckinger, Ben Burtt UP – Tom Myers, Michael Silvers, Michael Semanick **SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS** AVATAR – Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham, Andrew R. Jones DISTRICT 9 – Dan Kaufman, Peter Muyzers, Robert Habros, Matt Aitken HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE – John Richardson, Tim Burke, Tim Alexander, Nicolas Aithadi THE HURT LOCKER – Richard Stutsman STAR TREK – Roger Guyett, Russell Earl, Paul Kavanagh, Burt Dalton **MAKE UP & HAIR** COCO BEFORE CHANEL – Thi Thanh Tu Nguyen, Jane Milon AN EDUCATION – Lizzie Yianni Georgiou THE IMAGINARIUM OF DOCTOR PARNASSUS – Sarah Monzani NINE – Peter ‘Swords’ King THE YOUNG VICTORIA – Jenny Shircore **SHORT ANIMATION** THE HAPPY DUCKLING – Gili Dolev MOTHER OF MANY – Sally Arthur, Emma Lazenby THE GRUFFALO – Michael Rose, Martin Pope, Jakob Schuh, Max Lang **SHORT FILM** 14 – Asitha Ameresekere I DO AIR – James Bolton, Martina Amati JADE – Samm Haillay, Daniel Elliott MIXTAPE – Luti Fagbenle, Luke Snellin OFF SEASON – Jacob Jaffke, Jonathan van Tulleken **The Orange Rising Star nominees** JESSE EISENBERG NICHOLAS HOULT CAREY MULLIGAN TAHAR RAHIM KRISTEN STEWART ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2010, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-countdown-the-award-season-begins/521157/69 "2010-01-24T04:45:45Z")
The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) winners: **Motion Picture:** ``` * Best Ensemble — Inglourious Basterds * Best Actress — Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side * Best Actor — Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart * Best Supporting Actor — Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds * Best Supporting Actress — Mo’Nique, Precious * Best Stunt Ensemble — Star Trek ``` No real surprises there, though it wouldn’t have been surprising if Meryl Streep had won. Meryl and Sandra will be neck and neck at the Oscars. I think they might as well just give the Oscars to Bridges, Waltz and Mo’Nique. It would be a HUGE upset if any of them lost. IG was a natural choice to win Best Ensemble. Actors LOVE Quentin Tarantino, he always makes them look great. He revives and starts careers better than any other director working today. IG won’t win the Oscar (not that I wouldn’t cheer if it did) but it deserved this win. Here’s TV if anyone wants them. I haven’t seen any of these, but I’m sure they’re all good. **Television:** ``` * Best Ensemble, Drama — Mad Men * Best Actress, Drama — Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife * Best Actor, Drama — Michael C. Hall, Dexter * Best Ensemble, Comedy — Glee * Best Actress, Comedy — Tina Fey, 30 Rock * Best Actor, Comedy — Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock * Best Actor, Miniseries — Kevin Bacon, Taking Chance * Best Actress, Miniseries — Drew Barrymore, Grey Gardens * Best Stunt Ensemble — 24 ``` ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2010, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-countdown-the-award-season-begins/521157/70 "2010-01-24T06:12:04Z")
I love Jeff Bridges’ rambling acceptance speeches, because they are so genuine and cheerful. Drew Barrymore’s stuttering speechlessnes, on the other hand, came across as kind of fake. Christoph Waltz’s speeches (Golden Globes and SAG) sound like he’s trying WAY too hard and are kind of tiresome. Speech of the night goes to Betty White (lifetime award). She had everyone rolling with laughter. Clooney’s later callback to her speech was hilarious, too. Yay for _Glee!_ ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2010, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-countdown-the-award-season-begins/521157/71 "2010-01-24T07:55:26Z")
I thought Drew was very sweet, and her flustration was genuine. Jessica Lange had been winning the awards but all of a sudden Drew got the last two. She’s going to cringe when she sees a replay and has to relive all her “Ummms” but I believe she was truly surprised and grateful. I loved that she mentioned her actor ancestors, it reminded everyone in the room of the legacy she has on her shoulders. Damn, I have to watch Grey Gardens. Why wasn’t it released to theaters? Argh! It’s received so much praise it might have been a film awards contender. Shoot, I missed Betty White’s speech because I was in the kitchen. For those who love the more technical awards, here’s what the [sound guys](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/awards/news/e3ia5c65e5d8c5aad679011561f4ea21825?pn=2) like (link is to source, which also has the television and specialty nominations): **Motion Picture Sound Editors (MPSE) 2010 GOLDEN REEL AWARD NOMINEES** FEATURE FILMS **Best Sound Editing: Sound Effects, Foley, Music, Dialogue and ADR in a Feature Film Animation** 9 Coraline Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs Fantastic Mr. Fox Monsters Vs. Aliens The Princess and the Frog Up **Best Sound Editing: Sound Effects, Foley, Dialogue and ADR in a Foreign Feature Film** An Education Coco Avant Chanel District 9 Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince Red Cliff The Baader Meinhof Complex **Best Sound Editing: Music in a Feature Film** 2012 (500) Days of Summer An Education Avatar It’s Complicated Star Trek Sherlock Holmes The Informant! **Best Sound Editing: Music in a Musical Feature Film** Crazy Heart Every Little Step Nine This is it **Best Sound Editing: Dialogue and ADR in a Feature Film** (500) Days of Summer A Serious Man Avatar GI Joe Inglourious Basterds Star Trek The Hurt Locker The Stoning of Soraya M. **Best Sound Editing: Sound Effects and Foley in a Feature Film** 2012 Avatar Inglourious Basterds Push Transformers - Revenge of the Fallen The Hurt Locker Star Trek Watchmen I love that [Red Cliff](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0425637/), [The Baader Meinhof Complex](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0765432/) and [The Stoning of Soraya M.](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt1277737/) are recognized by the SOUND Guild! And check out Soraya in a regular category, not just Foreign (I grinned at seeing Harry Potter in the “Foreign” category) ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2010, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-countdown-the-award-season-begins/521157/72 "2010-01-25T06:14:06Z")
**The Producers Guild of America (PGA)** have honored **The Hurt Locker** as their choice for Best Picture of the year. I’m very happy for everyone involved! [A full list of nominees are in post #40.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=11957227&postcount=40) Full list of winners: Best Picture: The Hurt Locker Animated Feature: Up Documentary: The Cove Comedy Television: 30 Rock Long Form Television: Grey Gardens Live Entertainment and Competition: The Colbert Report Selznick Award: John Lasseter Non-Fiction Television: 60 Minutes Stanley Kramer Award: Precious TV Drama: Mad Men Vanguard Award: Joss Whedon Milestone Award: Sony’s Amy Pascal and Michael Lynton ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2010, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-countdown-the-award-season-begins/521157/73 "2010-01-25T06:49:42Z")
> [@Equipoise](#): > > **The Producers Guild of America (PGA)** have honored **The Hurt Locker** as their choice for Best Picture of the year. I’m very happy for everyone involved! This comes as a fairly big upset, since the general consensus was that _Avatar_, because of its massive box office take, would win. The PGA awards have been around for a decade now, and of the last 9 winners, 5 went on to win the Academy’s Best Picture but the 4 that didn’t were generally considered bigger crowd pleasers over the eventual Oscar winner (_Moulin Rouge!_ over _A Beautiful Mind_, _Little Miss Sunshine_ over _The Departed_, etc.). The PGA has never gone for the picture that made the least money of the 5 nominees, so for them to go with _The Hurt Locker_ comes as quite a surprise (though a very welcome one). ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2010, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-countdown-the-award-season-begins/521157/74 "2010-01-31T07:57:24Z")
**Directors Guild of America (DGA)** winners: **Kathryn Bigelow** won the Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures award for her movie [The Hurt Locker](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0887912/)! As Roger Ebert said in his Twitter reaction: “In 58 of the last 60 years, the DGA winner went on to win the Oscar for best director. Don’t bet against Kathryn Bigelow” **Louie Psihoyos** , a first-time director, won the Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary award for his movie [The Cove](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt1313104/). I would have been happy too if Cameron or Tarantino had won, but I’m thrilled for Bigelow. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2010, 8:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-countdown-the-award-season-begins/521157/75 "2010-01-31T08:40:37Z")
It should be noted that in the last 60 years, the DGA winner has not gone on to win the Best Director Oscar 6 times (it’s the most reliable precursor by a significant degree). Bigelow now appears to be a mortal lock for the Academy Award and _Hurt Locker_ the favorite for Best Picture, too. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2010, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-countdown-the-award-season-begins/521157/76 "2010-01-31T16:01:26Z")
Bigelow is also the first woman who’s ever won a DGA award for a feature film. > [@ArchiveGuy](#): > > It should be noted that in the last 60 years, the DGA winner has not gone on to win the Best Director Oscar 6 times (it’s the most reliable precursor by a significant degree). Is Ebert wrong then? I went to bed immediately after I posted, and now I have to go fill in at work, so I can’t check. What are the particulars? I do agree it’s the most reliable precursor. Edit to add, the Academy Award nominations come out Tuesday morning. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2010, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-countdown-the-award-season-begins/521157/77 "2010-01-31T16:57:56Z")
> [@Equipoise](#): > > Is Ebert wrong then? I went to bed immediately after I posted, and now I have to go fill in at work, so I can’t check. What are the particulars? He’s wrong. Here’s a breakdown of the DGA winner/Oscar winner mismatches: **1968** : DGA honored Anthony Harvey (_The Lion in Winter_); AMPAS honored Carol Reed (_Oliver!_) **1972** : DGA honored Francis Ford Coppola (_The Godfather_); AMPAS honored Bob Fosse (_Cabaret_) **1985** : DGA honored Steven Spielberg (_The Color Purple_); AMPAS honored Sydney Pollack (_Out of Africa_) **1995** : DGA honored Ron Howard (_Apollo 13_); AMPAS honored Mel Gibson (_Braveheart_) **2000** : DGA honored Ang Lee (_Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon_); AMPAS honored Steven Soderbergh (_Traffic_) **2002** : DGA honored Rob Marshall (_Chicago_); AMPAS honored Roman Polanksi (_The Pianist_) Also, since the Director winner usually matches with the Picture winner at the Oscars, this means that the DGA winner has around an 80% accuracy rate with the eventual Academy winner for the top prize (again, no other precursor comes close). ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2010, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-countdown-the-award-season-begins/521157/78 "2010-02-02T08:10:11Z")
My Predictions: PICTURE _Avatar The Blind Side District 9 The Hurt Locker Inglorious Basterds Invictus Precious A Serious Man Up Up in the Air_ ACTOR Jeff Bridges George Clooney Colin Firth Morgan Freeman Jeremy Renner ACTRESS Sandra Bullock Helen Mirren Carey Mullign Gabourey Sidibe Meryl Streep (_Julie & Julia_) SUPP.ACTOR Woody Harrelson Alfred Molina Christopher Plummer Stanley Tucci (_Julie & Julia_) Christoph Waltz SUPP.ACTRESS Vera Farmiga Anna Kendrick Mo’Nique Julianne Moore Samantha Morton DIRECTOR Kathryn Bigelow James Cameron Michael Haneke Jason Reitman Quentin Tarantino ORIG.SCREENPLAY _(500) Days of Summer The Hurt Locker Inglorious Basterds A Serious Man Up_ ADAPT.SCREENPLAY _District 9 An Education In the Loop Precious Up in the Air_ CINEMATOGRAPHY \*The Hurt Locker Inglorious Basterds Nine A Serious Man The White Ribbon \* ART DIRECTION _Avatar Inglorious Basterds The Road Sherlock Holmes Where the Wild Things Are_ EDITING _Avatar District 9 The Hurt Locker Inglorious Basterds Up in the Air_ COSTUME DESIGN _Bright Star Coco Before Chanel Inglorious Basterds Nine Young Victoria_ SCORE _Avatar Brothers The Informant! A Single Man Up_ SONG “Almost There” “Cinema Italiano” “Take It All” “The Weary Kind” “You’ve Got Me Wrapped Around Your Little Finger” SOUND MIXING _Avatar District 9 The Hurt Locker Inglorious Basterds Star Trek_ SOUND EDITING _Avatar District 9 The Hurt Locker Star Trek Up_ VISUAL EFFECTS _Avatar District 9 Star Trek_ MAKE-UP _District 9 The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus Young Victoria_ ANIMATED FEATURE _Coraline Fantastic Mr. Fox Ponyo The Princess and the Frog Up_ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-countdown-the-award-season-begins/521157.md?page=3)