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--By Max Evry

Movies based on or inspired by real life events are commonplace, but every once in awhile one comes along that taps into something so current it hits a raw nerve with the public. This week sees the release of such a film, David Fincher's "The Social Network," based around the founding of the Facebook website, which -- at over 500 million users and counting -- is dominating human interaction the way arguably no device has since the telephone.

Currently at the height of its popularity, Facebook has been an accelerator pad for public discourse, and Fincher's film and its depiction of founder Mark Zuckerberg (the world's youngest billionaire) is less a biopic than a document of history still being written. Whether Zuckerberg and his website will still have the sway it has today five years from now is anybody's guess, but we're going to take a look back at other timely films that tapped into the zeitgeist like no others have. Read more...

Tags Casablanca, charlie wilson's war, david fincher, dirty harry, facebook, m*a*s*h, primary colors, syriana, the china syndrome, the hurt locker, The Social Network, traffic, wag the dog

The 2010 MTV Movie Awards are almost here! You and your peers have been voting on your favorite movies, movie moments and performers of 2009 and the results will be revealed on Sunday, June 6. In the below promo, host Aziz Ansari shares the latest home entertainment gadget in his home with pal Justin Bieber: 4-D! They settle in to watch "The Hurt Locker," but star Jeremy Renner... well... you'll see.

Tags aziz ansari, Jeremy Renner, justin bieber, the hurt locker, Video

Shortly before the Academy Awards show in March, "The Hurt Locker" was in the news because of a mass e-mail sent by producer Nicolas Chartier to his Hollywood friends in which he urged them to vote for his indie instead of "a $500M film," a clear reference to "Avatar" and a clear breach of Oscar campaigning rules. Chartier was censured and ultimately banned from attending the ceremony for his questionable decision.

Now the Voltage Pictures producer is back in the news. Last week, "The Hurt Locker" appeared in the news when Voltage announced plans to file lawsuits against "tens of thousands of BitTorrent users" for illegally downloading the Oscar-winning film. While that is certainly one approach, there's an argument -- and a valid one, I think -- that the only way to effectively curb piracy is to root it out at the source. One person in particular, a BoingBoing.net reader, sent off a polite e-mail to Voltage president Chartier arguing that exact point. Those familiar with his previous outburst shouldn't be surprised by the response. Read more...

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FROM MTV.COM: Kathryn Bigelow made cinematic history at the 82nd Annual Academy Awards by becoming the first woman to win an Oscar in the Best Director category for her work on "The Hurt Locker." While Bigelow has plenty of cause for celebration, her victory also leads to an interesting question: What's next for the award-winning filmmaker? As of now, the 58-year-old director has two projects on her agenda, an HBO television series called "The Miraculous Year" and an upcoming feature film titled "Triple Frontier."

In "The Miraculous Year," Bigelow will leave the violent front lines of the Iraq War in favor of a street-level view of New York. The project is described by The Hollywood Reporter as a light family drama with a flamboyant Broadway personality at the story's center. Bigelow will direct the pilot episode and is an executive producer alongside writer and fellow executive producer John Logan. Filming is expected to commence in May or June.

Continue reading What's Next For 'Hurt Locker' Director Kathryn Bigelow?

Tags kathryn bigelow, the hurt locker

FROM MTV.COM: The 82nd annual Academy Awards are over and the winners have been counted. "Avatar" and "The Hurt Locker" squared off in a nomination-leading nine categories, and Kathryn Bigelow's Iraq war story emerged the victor. Her David beat James Cameron's sci-fi Goliath with six wins to the three for "Avatar." Sandra Bullock and Jeff Bridges won for Best Actress and Best Actor, respectively, while Mo'Nique and Christoph Waltz took home statues for supporting actress and actor, all as expected.

Here is a full list of the winners:

Best Picture
"The Hurt Locker"

Best Director
Kathryn Bigelow, "The Hurt Locker"

Continue reading 2010 Oscar Winners List

Tags avatar, james cameron, kathryn bigelow, the hurt locker

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. Read more...

Tags avatar, the hurt locker

Yesterday we launched a poll to see which of the eight Best Picture contenders would win if frontrunners "Avatar" and "The Hurt Locker" were taken out of the running. I'm bringing that poll back today to keep things going. Which do you think? My own pick -- and I still think it's a dark horse favorite to win -- in "Inglourious Basterds."

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, inglourious basterds, the hurt locker

Let's take a trip to fantasy land right now. An interesting question came up this morning in the editorial meeting: if frontrunners "Avatar" and "The Hurt Locker" were taken out of the equation, which of the eight remaining Oscar nominees would land the Best Picture award? I know my pick, and I think it's even a dark horse possibility in real life for this Sunday's awards ceremony. But I want to know what you readers think. So please, cast your vote below and let us know.

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

This Sunday, March 7, Barbara Walters will host her final Academy Awards special. After 29 years, the 80-year-old veteran journalist is ready to pass the duty along to someone else. Who better to take it on than MTV's Josh Horowitz?

He'll need some help though. Josh is a pro, but these are Barbara Walters' shoes he's trying to fill. Just learning to walk in heels is going to be a challenge! Fortunately, Josh has a lot of friends out in the world. People like "Avatar" star Stephen Lang, "A Serious Man" star Fred Melamed and "The Hurt Locker" star Anthony Mackie. They're all pulling for him -- wellll, maybe not Mackie -- and they've all got some words to share, as you'll see in the video below.

Make sure you follow us on Sunday night for ongoing Oscar coverage, starting at 6pm with Hollywood Crush's red carpet fashion coverage and a live streaming red carpet show. Then head over here to Movies Blog at 8pm to follow our live blog of the ceremony. Should be a fun night... let us know your predictions in the comments section below.

Tags A Serious Man, Anthony Mackie, avatar, Fred Melamed, Stephen Lang, the hurt locker, Video

You all know "Jersey Shore," right? You'd better, or I'll send the MTV stormtroopers after you. Oh yes-- we have stormtroopers. But now I've said too much.

Anyway... "Jersey Shore" is a rather popular MTV reality series about a group of eight New Jersey kids who share a summer house together in the titular location. We get to watch as they work and they play, and the shenanigans that unfold through it all. The first season ended in late-January and the second will air over the coming summer, with the crew moving from New Jersey to a new, unannounced location.

Even though the first season is over, Snooki, The Situation and all of the rest are keeping busy. In preparation for the Oscars on Sunday they've planned a series of Best Picture spoofs, which will run all this week on George Lopez's late-night TBS series, "Lopez Tonight." The first two aired last night -- for "The Hurt Locker" and "Inglourious Basterds" -- and we've got both of them here for you to check out.

First up is "Inglourious," which features Vinny G. trading words with Christoph Waltz-as-Hans Landa in a send-up of the movie's fabulous opening scene...

Hit the jump for the "Hurt Locker" spoof, which features Ronnie Magro, Paul "DJ Pauly D" Delevcchio, and Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino. Read more...

Tags inglourious basterds, Jersey Shore, the hurt locker