This is it! The biggest awards show in Hollywood has released their nominations today and as expected, Avatar has been well represented in the categories. Perhaps the biggest news is that Avatar will NOT be able to steal the crown from Jackson’s masterpiece Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, the epic Ben-Hur and Cameron’s own Titanic. Each film won 11 Oscars and hold the joint record of most Oscars awarded. Avatar and The Hurt Locker (directed by Cameron’s ex-wife Kathryn Bigelow) both lead the pack this year with 9 nominations each.
The other big news is MovieViral and fan favorite District 9 has been pitted against Avatar in one of the best Sci-Fi battles of all time, both picking up nominations for Best Picture. They have strong competition from staff favorites The Hurt Locker and Inglorious Basterds, ensuring this year’s Oscars will be a close battle for the overall winner.
District 9 also picked up nominations for Best Editing, Best Adapted Screenplay (since it’s based off of Blomkamp’s own short), and Best Visual Effects. This means District 9 is up for a total of 4 awards!
Unfortunately, the viral push for Sam Rockwell to be nominated for Best Actor for his role in Moon didn’t succeeed. Well done to all the nominees and best of luck from all of us at MovieViral.
What do you think of the nominations? Any predictions and was there anything missed. Leave you comments at the bottom of the page. For more details on all the nominations, check out the list below:
Best Picture
Avatar
The Blind Side
District 9
An Education
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Precious
Up
Up in the Air
Best Actor
Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart
George Clooney, Up in the Air
Colin Firth, A Single Man
Morgan Freeman, Invictus
Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker
Best Actress
Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side
Helen Mirren, The Last Station
Carey Mulligan, An Education
Gabourey Sidibe, Precious
Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia
Best Supporting Actor
Matt Damon, Invictus
Woody Harrelson, The Messenger
Christopher Plummer, The Last Station
Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones
Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds
Best Supporting Actress
Penelope Cruz, Nine
Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air
Maggie Gyllenhaal, Crazy Heart
Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air
Mo’Nique, Precious
Best Director
Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
James Cameron, Avatar
Lee Daniels, Precious
Jason Reitman, Up in the Air
Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds
Best Original Screenplay
Mark Boal, The Hurt Locker
Alessandro Camon & Oren Moverman, The Messenger
Joel Coen & Ethan Coen, A Serious Man
Pete Docter, Bob Peterson & Tom McCarthy, Up
Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds
Best Adapted Screenplay
Jesse Armstrong & Armando Iannucci, In the Loop
Neill Blomkamp & Terri Tatchell, District 9
Geoffrey Fletcher, Precious
Nick Hornby, An Education
Jason Reitman & Sheldon Turner, Up in the Air
Best Animated Film
Coraline
Fantastic Mr. Fox
The Princess and the Frog
The Secret of Kells
Up
Best Foreign Language Film
El Secreto do Sus Ojos (Argentina)
Un Prophete (France)
The White Ribbon (Germany)
Ajami (Israel)
The Milk of Sorrow (Peru)
Best Art Direction
Avatar
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Nine
Sherlock Holmes
The Young Victoria
Best Cinematography
Avatar
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
The White Ribbon
Best Costume Design
Bright Star
Coco Before Chanel
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Nine
The Young Victoria
Best Documentary
Burma VJ
The Cove
Food, Inc.
The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers
Which Way Home
Best Editing
Avatar
District 9
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Precious
Best Makeup
Il Divo
Star Trek
The Young Victoria
Best Score
Avatar
Fantastic Mr. Fox
The Hurt Locker
Sherlock Holmes
Up
Best Song
“Almost There,” The Princess and the Frog, Randy Newman
“Down in New Orleans,” The Princess and the Frog, Randy Newman
“Loin de Paname,” Paris 36, Reinhardt Wagner & Frank Thomas
“Take It All,” Nine, Maury Weston
“The Weary Kind,” Crazy Heart, T-Bone Burnett & Ryan Bingham
Best Sound Editing
Avatar
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Star Trek
Up
Best Sound Mixing
Avatar
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Star Trek
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Best Visual Effects
Avatar
District 9
Star Trek
Best Documentary Short
China’s Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province
The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner
The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant
Music by Prudence
Rabbit à la Berlin
Best Animated Short
French Roast
Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty
The Lady and the Reaper (La Dama y la Muerte)
Logorama
A Matter of Loaf and Death
Best Live-Action Short
The Door
Instead of Abracadabra
Kavi
Miracle Fish
The New Tenants
The Academy Awards air live on March 7th at 8/5p on ABC.