2010 Writers Guild of America nominations

The Writers Guild of America today announced the 2010 nominations for outstanding achievement in writing for the screen during the last year, and James Cameron's "Avatar" is among those fighting for an award in the category of best original screenplay.

Also competing for that particular trophy are "The Hangover" (Jon Lucas & Scott Moore), "(500) Days of Summer" (by Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber) "The Hurt Locker" (Mark Boal) and "A serious Man" (Joel Coen & Ethan Coen).

The nominees in the category of adapted screenplay are: "Crazy Heart" (Scott Cooper), "Julie & Julia" (Nora Ephron), "Precious" (Geoffrey Fletcher), "Star Trek" (Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman) and "Up in the Air" (Jason Reitman & Sheldon Turner).

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National Society of Film Critics Awards 2009

The National Society of Film Critics liks 'Hurt Locker;' 'Up in the Air' nowhere to be seen

The 2009 awards season is not over yet. The National Society of Film Critics picked their winners for the year that is now history, and the big winner is "The Hurt Locker," which won best film and best director for Kathryn Bigelow.

Jeremy Renner also won best actor for his strong performance in "Locker." Yolande Moreau was voted best actress for her role in "Seraphine." Meanwhile, Mo’Nique was named best supporting actress for "Precious: Based on the novel 'Push' by Sapphire."

Christoph Waltz ("Inglourious Basterds") tied with Paul Schneider ("Bright Star") for the award for best supporting actor. Joel and Ethan Coen won the best screenplay prize for "A Serious Man."

Also, Christian Berger was voted best cinematographer for "The White Ribbon," while Nelson Lowry took home the award for best production design for "Fantastic Mr. Fox." "The Beaches of Agnes" won best non-fiction film.

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San Francisco Film Critics Circle Awards 2009

The city by the bay has voted: the San Francisco Film Critics Circle picked Kathryn Bigelow's acclaimed war drama "The Hurt Locker" as the best film of 2009. Bigelow was also named best director.

Quentin Tarantino took home the award for best original screenplay for "Inglourious Basterds," while Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach picked up the best adapted screenplay for "Fantastic Mr. Fox."

Colin Firth won the award for best actor in "A Single Man," while Meryl Streep picked up the award for best actress for "Julie & Julia." Christian McKay was named best supporting actor for “Me and Orson Welles.”

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American Film Institute picks 10 best films of 2009

The American Film Institute picks the 10 best films of the year each year, and the 2009 list isn't that surprising: acclaimed dramas "The Hurt Locker," "Up in the Air" and "Precious" all made the cut.

In my book, there is one surprise though: "Coraline." The AFI also picked "Up," but it looks like they weren't that impressed with Wes Anderson's "Fantastic Mr. Fox," which I clearly preferred to "Coraline."

Also, you won't see James Cameron's "Avatar" on this list. Instead, the selection includes "The Hangover" (which I adored as well), "The Messenger," "Sugar," "A Serious Man" and "A Single Man."

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Boston film critics pick 'Hurt Locker' as year's best

The Boston Society of Film Critics has named its best films of the year, and just like the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, it picked Kathryn Bigelow's war drama "The Hurt Locker" as best film of '09.

"Locker" won more than one award though. Bigelow was named best director, and Barry Ackroyd won the award for best cinematography. Bob Murawski and Chris Innis won best editing for the film.

Joel Coen and Ethan Coen earned the award for best screenplay for "A Serious Man," and Meryl Streep won best actress for "Julie & Julia." Christoph Waltz won best supporting actor for "Inglourious Basterds."

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Four clips from the Coens' 'A Serious Man'

Ethan and Joel Coen are back in action, and their latest creation is a comedy titled "A Serious Man." Four brand-new clips have popped on the Web recently, and you can check out the embeds after the jump.

"Man" centers on a guy named Larry Gopnik, a physics professor whose life starts to fall apart when his wife decides to leave him, his lazy brother refuses to move out, his son has problems at school, and his daughter is trying to get a nose job.

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Poster Madness: 'Whiteout;' 'A Serious Man;' 'Extract'

Another week is coming to an end, and it's time to go back and check up on recent movie poster releases on the Web. Check out one-sheets for "Whiteout" and "A Serious Man," among others, below.

The first poster below is for Dominic Sena's upcoming action thriller "Whiteout," in which Kate Beckinsale plays a deputy marshal heading to Antarctica to investigate a ruthless murder before the threatening arctic winter begins. It's a simple sheet, but it looks decent nonetheless.

Next up is the new one-sheet for Ethan and Joel Coen's new film "A Serious Man," about a physics professor whose life starts to fall apart when his wife decides to leave him, his lazy brother refuses to move out, his son has problems at school, and his daughter is trying to get a nose job.

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Trailer for Coen's 'Serious Man' is intriguing

Ethan and Joel Coen are back in action, and their latest creation is a comedy entitled "A Serious Man." A first trailer for the film is now online, and as you can see below, it looks both funny and intriguing.

"Man" centers on a guy named Larry Gopnik, a physics professor whose life starts to fall apart when his wife decides to leave him, his lazy brother refuses to move out, his son has problems at school, and his daughter is trying to get a nose job.

Oh, many more things will happen to Larry in the film, and I can't wait to meet this guy and his misadventure on the big screen. Like I mentioned above, this one looks incredibly awkward yet very interesting as well.

Michael Stuhlbarg, Simon Helberg, Richard Kind, Adam Arkin, George Wyner, Sari Lennick, Jessica McManus and Aaron Wolff star. Watch for "A Serious Man" in theaters this October.

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Daily news dose: Focus Features sets release dates; Claude Berri dead at 74

Here's your dose of quick news bits for Jan. 12, 2009...

• Focus Features today announced a bunch of release dates for some of their 2009 films. For starters, Rob Marshall's musical "Nine" will open Nov. 25. Joel and Ethan Coen's "A Serious Man" will open in limited release Oct. 2, while Mikael Håfström's John Cusack vehicle "Shanghai" is set for Sept. 4. Sam Mendes' comedy "Away We Go" will start June 5.

• Legendary French filmmaker Claude Berri died Monday in Paris. He was 74. Some of Berri's notable directing efforts include "Germinal," "Jean de Florette" and "Lucie Aubrac." He also established a fabulous career as producer, developing successful films such as "Welcome to the Sticks" and "The Secret of the Grain." He will be greatly missed. (The Hollywood Reporter)

• The folks at Bloody-Disgusting today landed some "Scream 4" news. Although none of this has been confirmed yet, Kevin Williamson is apparently on board to write a draft. Also, Wes Craven may return to helm the fourth film in the series, which will be a younger version. Finally, rumor is David Arquette, Courtney Cox and Neve Campbell may be offered cameos in the sequel.

• Kristin Scott Thomas and Anne-Marie Duff have signed on to star in Sam Taylor-Wood's "Nowhere Boy," a film about John Lennon's early years. Aaron Johnson stars as Lennon, while Thomas playshis Aunt Mimi. Duff is on board as his mother. Matt Greenhalgh wrote the script. (Variety)

Adam Arkin is a ‘Serious Man’

Adam Arkin is the latest to join Ethan and Joel Coen’s upcoming comedy “A Serious Man,” according to Variety.

Set in 1967, the film follows Larry Gopnik, a professor whose life starts to break apart when his wife plans to leave him and his incompetent brother refuses to move out.

Michael Stuhlbarg and Richard Kind already boarded the project, which is currently filming in Minnesota.

At this stage, we really don’t know anything about the role of Arkin, who is known best for playing Dr. Aaron Shutt on television’s “Chicago Hope.” Arkin also stars in several episodes of “Life.”

Joel and Ethan Coen also wrote the script for “A Serious Men.” Their latest comedy, “Burn After Reading,” is currently showing in theaters.