BEST FILM
An Education, d: Lone Scherfig; scr: Nick Hornby
In Swinging (suburban) London, a teenager decides to have her first sexual experience with a man in his thirties.
The Hurt Locker, Kathryn Bigelow; scr: Mark Boal
An elite unit of the US Army must disarm bombs during combat in an "enemy" city in Iraq.
The Informant!, d: Steven Soderbergh; scr: Scott Z. Burns
A whistle-blower (who also happens to be a pathological liar) helps the US government nab an agribusiness conglomerate.
The Lovely Bones, Peter Jackson; scr: Jackson, Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens
A murdered girl, now a heaven-resident, sees how life has changed in her small Pennsylvania town following her disappearance.
The Men Who Stare at Goats, d: Grant Heslov; scr: Peter Straughan
A journalist gets involved with US military intelligence (or rather, stupidity), which uses paranormal activities in its missions.
Nine, d: Rob Marshall; scr: Michael Tolkin, Anthony Minghella
A musicalized remake of Federico Fellini's 8 1/2, about a film director and his many women
Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire, d: Lee Daniels; scr: Geoffrey Fletcher
A pregnant, abused teen is helped by a compassionate teacher.
A Serious Man, d & scr: Joel and Ethan Coen
In the late 1960s, a Midwestern Jewish man goes through more suffering than Job.
Up in the Air, d: Jason Reitman; scr: Reitman, Sheldon Turner
A peripatetic professional downsizer discovers his perfect frequent-flying match — and a bit of his own lost humanity.
The White Ribbon, d & scr: Michael Haneke
The seeds of the Nazi generation can be found in this small German town prior to the outbreak of World War I
So you're thinking, "This is ridiculous! We're not even in mid-October. It's way too early to predict the list of 2010 Academy Award nominees."
I totally agree.
Well, almost totally.
People have been predicting not only the 2010 Oscar nominees, but also the winners since sometime in late 2007 when movies now being released were announced as "possibly in pre-pre-pre-production."
Additionally, Sundance, Cannes, Venice, Toronto, Berlin, and Telluride have all come and gone. Though none of those festivals are 100% accurate Oscar predictors, they do give an idea — sometimes a pretty good idea — of who or what may land a nomination or even an Oscar win, e.g.:
- 2004 Venice best actress Imelda Staunton for Vera Drake
- 2005 Berlin best director Marc Rothemund for Sophie Scholl – The Final Days (which received a best foreign-language film nod)
- 2006 Venice best actress Helen Mirren for The Queen
- 2007 Berlin loser (but widely praised) Marion Cotillard for La Vie en Rose
- 2007 Berlin best director Joseph Cedar for Beaufort (which received a best foreign-language film nod)
- 2007 Cannes best director Julian Schnabel and best technical contribution winner (cinematographer) Janusz Kaminski for The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
- 2008 Sundance US narrative winner Frozen River (which earned nominations for actress Melissa Leo and for writer-director Courtney Hunt in the original screenplay category)
- 2008 Sundance World Cinema documentary winner Man on Wire
- 2008 Cannes Palme d'Or winner The Class (which received a best foreign-language film nod)
- 2008 Toronto Audience Award winner Slumdog Millionaire, etc. etc.
Anyhow, the ten films listed above are ten very tentative (in a few cases, e.g., Up in the Air, The Hurt Locker, not that tentative) possibilities for Oscar 2010's best picture category.
I haven't seen ANY of these films!!!!! I want to see them all before the Oscars… :o)
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