Jeff Bridges wins Oscar for 'Crazy Heart'

Although it was no surprise, I am thrilled Jeff Bridges won the Academy Award for his stunning performance in "Crazy Heart," Scott Cooper's drama about a troubled country singer getting a chance to reassess his crazy life. We've seen many great male performances last year, but Bridges' effort easily stood out.

Not only does he look like a real country singer, but he's also got the perfect voice for it. His performance as Bad Blake is a heartfelt one I will never forget. Bridges created an intriguing, at times humorous and memorable role in "Crazy Heart," and he deserves this award more than anyone else. Nice job.

Live Coverage - 82nd Annual Academy Awards

Welcome to the Screening Log's live coverage of the 82nd Annual Academy Awards. Stay tuned as we update this page with the latest winners and comments. And here we go!

- Best Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz ("Inglourious Basterds"). Yes! He so deserves this.

- Best Supporting Actress: Mo'Nique ("Precious")

- Best Actor: Jeff Bridges ("Crazy Heart"). Totally deserves it. Fantastic performance.

- Best Actress: Sandra Bullock ("The Blind Side"). Ridiculous!

- Best Director: Kathryn Bigelow ("The Hurt Locker"). WOOOOOOO! Superb!

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Oscar notes & comments: Join us on Facebook!

Sandra Bullock? James Cameron? "Avatar"? "The Hurt Locker"? What star or film will score an award at the 82nd Annual Academy Awards? Stay tuned for our live coverage right here on the Web site or read our live comments and updates on our Facebook page right here.

Some reactions from some 2010 Oscar nominees!

As you may know by now, the nominations fot the 82nd Annual Academy Awards are out, and as usual, some of the nominees were asked how they felt about being nominated in different categories. Here's what some of the stars and filmmakers had to say this year:

Vera Farmiga: “I am deeply honored and humbled by this recognition and truly grateful to the Academy for their support of 'Up In The Air.'  I feel my nomination is due, in large part, to the phenomenal work of George, Anna and Jason on this film and it is especially moving to receive my first nomination in their company.”

Anna Kendrick: “I am thrilled beyond words to be nominated with these talented and inspiring women. Being involved in a film as special as 'Up in the Air' was a dream come true. I am overwhelmed and honored by this nomination and am so grateful to be able to share this experience with George, Vera and Jason.”

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82nd Annual Academy Award nominations!

And the nominees are...

The nominations for the 82nd Annual Academy Awards have been announced, and to be honest, I'm not really surprised by all the picks. As commercial as the whole thing has become, it's not too hard to guess who's on the list. Let's take a brief look:

Nominated for best picture are "Avatar," "The Blind Side" (what the f**k?), "District 9," "An Education," "The Hurt Locker," "Inglourious Basterds," "Precious: Based on the novel 'Push' by Sapphire," "A Serious Man," "Up" and "Up in the Air."

Nominated for best actor are Jeff Bridges for "Crazy Heart," George Clooney for "Up in the Air," Colin Firth for "A Single Man," Morgan Freeman for "Invictus," and Jeremy Renner for "The Hurt Locker."

Nominated for best supporting actor are Matt Damon in "Invictus," "Woody Harrelson" for "The Messenger," Christoper Plummer for "The Last Station," Stanley Tucci for "The Lovely Bones" and Christoph Waltz for "Inglourious Basterds."

Actress in a leading role: Sandra Bullock for "The Blind Side" (what the f**k?), Helen Mirren for "The Last Station," Carey Mulligan for "An Education," Gabourney Sidibe for "Precious" and Meryl Streep for "Julie & Julia."

Actress in a supporting role: Penelope Cruz for "Nine," Vera Farmiga for "Up in the Air," Anna Kendrick for "Up in the Air," Maggie Gyllenhaal for "Crazy Heart" and Mo'Nique for "Precious."

The nominees for best animated film are "Coraline," "Fantastic Mr. Fox," "The Princess and the Frog," "The Secret of Kells," and "Up."

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Nine films compete for foreign Oscar

What film will win the foreign Oscar? One of these nine will for sure...

The list of films competing for the Oscar for best foreign feature is shrinking, but nine films are still in the race for a spot among the final five nominees. Among those moving to the next round is "The White Ribbon," which won a Golden Globe.

"Ribbon" also took the Palme d'Or in Cannes, which explains why it's a hot contender for a nomination and maybe even the foreign language Oscar. Also still in the race is Jacques Audiard's highly acclaimed drama "Un Prophète," from France.

Also part of the nine films are Juan Jose Campanella's "El Secreto de Sus Ojos" from Argentina, Warwick Thornton's "Samson & Delilah" from Australia, and Stephan Komandarev's "The World Is Big and Salvation Lurks Around the Corner" from Bulgaria.

And finally, these are still in the race as well: Scandar Copti and Yaron Shani's "Ajami," Israel; Ermek Tursunov's "Kelin," Kazakhstan; Martin Koolhoven's "Winter in Wartime," the Netherlands; and Claudia Llosa's "The Milk of Sorrow," Peru.

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Seven films competing for visual effects Oscar

A bunch of films battle for a nomination in the best visual effects category at the Oscars. Here are the candidates...

The list of films competing for the three nomination spots in the Academy Awards' category for best visual effects has been narrowed down to seven. Fifteen flicks were in the running, but some of them got kicked out. Let's find out which ones are still in...

"Avatar," "District 9," "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," "Star Trek," "Terminator Salvation," "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" and "2012" all have a shot at getting nominated Feb. 2, when we'll find out what films will be competing at the 82nd Academy Awards.

Out of the race are: "Angels & Demons," "Coraline," "Disney's A Christmas Carol," "G-Force," "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra," "Sherlock Holmes," "Watchmen" and "Where the Wild Things Are."

I would have liked to see "Where the Wild Things Are" or "Watchmen" move on, but what the hell... I guess "Avatar" will pick up this one anyway. It also actually deserves it, don't you think? Then again, all seven films had pretty cool visuals.

(via Hollywood Reporter)

Shortlist for visual effects Oscar contenders

As the 82nd Annual Academy Awards are slowly approaching, more lists of semifinalists are starting to pop up. Now we finally know what films will be competing for a nomination for best visual effects.

"Angels & Demons," "Avatar," "Coraline," "Disney's A Christmas Carol," "District 9," "G-Force," "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra" and "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" are among the 15 films trying to get a spot.

Also competing for nominations are "Sherlock Holmes," "Star Trek," "Terminator Salvation," "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen," "2012," "Watchmen" and "Where the Wild Things Are." Only three will make it.

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Steve Martin, Alec Baldwin to host Oscars!

Last week we learned Hugh Jackman would not host the 82nd annual Academy Awards, and while I didn't care too much about that, I admit I'm pretty excited about the new hosts for the upcoming show.

Ladies, and gentlemen, give it up for Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin, who will co-host the Oscars March 7, 2010. Telecast producers Bill Mechanic and Adam Shankman made the announcement earlier today.

"Steve will bring the experience of having hosted the show in the past and Alec will be a completely fresh personality for this event," they said.

“I am happy to co-host the Oscars with my enemy Alec Baldwin,” Martin said. He and Baldwin will soon be seen onscreen together in Nancy Meyers' upcoming comedy "It's Complicated."

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Hugh Jackman won't host Oscars, but who cares?

Sure, Hugh Jackman did a great job hosting the 81st annual Academy Awards, but the show as a whole was not as exciting as many of us expected. One thing is for sure though: Jackman won't be back in 2010.

Sources tell Variety Jackman turned down the job as host for the 82nd annual Academy Awards, which will take place March 7, 2010. The actor did say though that he may return to host in the future.

That leaves the question: who's next in line? The folks over at WAMG say they've received word that Neil Patrick Harris would replace Jackman. It's only a rumor, but I admit that could work.

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