Today on MTV.com, senior writer Larry Carroll only previewed the Best Picture category for Sunday's 2010 Academy Awards ceremony. But I've decided to consider both that category and Best Director, since they're closely tied together this particular year.
The contenders in the Best Picture category -- now 10 strong -- are "Avatar," "The Hurt Locker," "Up," "A Serious Man," "Up in the Air," "District 9," "The Blind Side," "An Education," "Inglourious Basterds" and "Precious." Five of these 10 also got Best Director noms: James Cameron for "Avatar," Kathryn Bigelow for "The Hurt Locker," Quentin Tarantino for "Inglourious Basterds," Lee Daniels for "Precious" and Jason Reitman for "Up in the Air." Let's get to the opining... after the jump of course.
If we're being honest with ourselves, then it's a foregone conclusion that the only true contenders in both of these categories this year are "Avatar" and "The Hurt Locker." It actually makes for pretty great news, a real David v. Goliath type of story. "Avatar" is this massive, billion dollar-plus grossing studio blockbuster titan while "The Hurt Locker" is an indie that released last summer to stellar reviews but not much more. And then, in late 2009, it came out of nowhere to suddenly become the year's indie frontrunner, supplanting "Up in the Air" from that position.
Making things even more interesting is the fact that the two directors, Cameron and Bigelow, are ex-spouses. They've been perfectly amicable about this competition, but the only thing that gets observers more interested in a 'David v. Goliath' conflict is the fact that the two used to sleep together.
So. What does all of this mean? Well it means that there's a tight race ahead for these two juggernauts. The votes are cast and (probably) counted, but we won't know until Sunday. My thought?
"Avatar" is going to take Best Picture while Bigelow gets Best Director. The two films are an apples/oranges comparison: an epic-scale sci-fi adventure spectacle and a tense, character-driven, apolitical war story. I think "Avatar" takes Best Picture because the achievement of Cameron besting himself -- "Titanic" -- in the three all-time box office gross records (domestic, international and worldwide) clinches it.
And I think Bigelow gets Best Director because hers is a spectacular effort, perhaps the best film of last year -- and yes, I realize the irony of saying this given my "Avatar" prediction -- and that needs to be honored somehow. She needs to be honored somehow. Also, sadly, a woman has never won in that category. That's going to change this year.
That's it for my 2010 Oscar predictions. Now I want to hear from you readers. What do you all think?
Make sure to tune in this Sunday for MTV's live Oscars coverage! The festivities kick off at 6pm with a live streaming red carpet show and a fashion-focused live blog on Hollywood Crush. Then head over here at 8pm when the awards show begins to follow our running commentary in MTV's Academy Awards live blog.
Tags avatar, the hurt locker
** FOLLOW MTV MOVIES BLOG ON TWITTER! **
Predicting The Best Picture And Best Director Winners At Sunday's Academy Awards
Posted 3/5/10 4:30 pm EST by Adam Rosenberg in Commentary
The contenders in the Best Picture category -- now 10 strong -- are "Avatar," "The Hurt Locker," "Up," "A Serious Man," "Up in the Air," "District 9," "The Blind Side," "An Education," "Inglourious Basterds" and "Precious." Five of these 10 also got Best Director noms: James Cameron for "Avatar," Kathryn Bigelow for "The Hurt Locker," Quentin Tarantino for "Inglourious Basterds," Lee Daniels for "Precious" and Jason Reitman for "Up in the Air." Let's get to the opining... after the jump of course.
If we're being honest with ourselves, then it's a foregone conclusion that the only true contenders in both of these categories this year are "Avatar" and "The Hurt Locker." It actually makes for pretty great news, a real David v. Goliath type of story. "Avatar" is this massive, billion dollar-plus grossing studio blockbuster titan while "The Hurt Locker" is an indie that released last summer to stellar reviews but not much more. And then, in late 2009, it came out of nowhere to suddenly become the year's indie frontrunner, supplanting "Up in the Air" from that position.
Making things even more interesting is the fact that the two directors, Cameron and Bigelow, are ex-spouses. They've been perfectly amicable about this competition, but the only thing that gets observers more interested in a 'David v. Goliath' conflict is the fact that the two used to sleep together.
So. What does all of this mean? Well it means that there's a tight race ahead for these two juggernauts. The votes are cast and (probably) counted, but we won't know until Sunday. My thought?
"Avatar" is going to take Best Picture while Bigelow gets Best Director. The two films are an apples/oranges comparison: an epic-scale sci-fi adventure spectacle and a tense, character-driven, apolitical war story. I think "Avatar" takes Best Picture because the achievement of Cameron besting himself -- "Titanic" -- in the three all-time box office gross records (domestic, international and worldwide) clinches it.
And I think Bigelow gets Best Director because hers is a spectacular effort, perhaps the best film of last year -- and yes, I realize the irony of saying this given my "Avatar" prediction -- and that needs to be honored somehow. She needs to be honored somehow. Also, sadly, a woman has never won in that category. That's going to change this year.
That's it for my 2010 Oscar predictions. Now I want to hear from you readers. What do you all think?
Make sure to tune in this Sunday for MTV's live Oscars coverage! The festivities kick off at 6pm with a live streaming red carpet show and a fashion-focused live blog on Hollywood Crush. Then head over here at 8pm when the awards show begins to follow our running commentary in MTV's Academy Awards live blog.
Tags avatar, the hurt locker
Comments