Cinema and Popcorn

1. Director: Michel Hazanavicius Starring: Jean Dujardin, Bérénice Bejo, John Goodman, James Cromwell and Penelope Ann Miller Synopsys: " Hollywood, 1927: As silent movie star George Valentin wonders if the arrival of talking pictures will cause him to fade into oblivion, he sparks with Peppy Miller, a young dancer set for a big break. " Release date: 15th May, 2011 (Cannes Film Festival); 9th September, 2011 (Toronto International Film Festival); 23rd November, 2011 (USA) Oscar chances comment: The Artist is the proof that studio should pick risky projects - who would say that a France-made silent movie, black&white style, starring excelent actors with no star-power and being directed for a less-known director would be one of the most acclaimed, loved and Oscar-buzzy films of the year? This movie is fresh in a era where franchises, reboots, remakes and predictable romantic comedies are the box-office successes and it is one of the best movies that was seen in years. ...

Awards nominees announcements just made a LOT of changes in my head about Oscar predictions... I mean, I wasn't expecting all this awards attentions around Tilda Swinton for We Need To Talk About Kevin (the movie just seems too unlikely to get any kind of recognition from any award) or Jessica Chastain for The Help (she was good, but not as great as she was in Take Shelter and what promised to be a divisive awards season for her work, seems now to be focused in her performance in The Help ), just to mention some surprises. My new Best Picture predictions should come out today or tomorrow, so don't forget to check them and give me your opinion (I really appreciate when you discuss the contenders with me) Kind regards Ed

BEST MOTION PICTURE - DRAMA The Descendants The Help Hugo The Ides of March Moneyball War Horse BEST MOTION PICTURE - COMEDY OR MUSICAL 50/50 The Artist Bridesmaids Midnight in Paris My Week with Marilyn BEST ANIMATED FILM Rango The Adventures of Timtin Puss in Boots Winnie the Pooh Arthur Christmas BEST ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE - DRAMA George Clooney for The Descendants Brad Pitt for Moneyball Ryan Gosling for The Ides of March Michael Fassbender for Shame Leonardo DiCaprio for J. Edgar BEST ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE - COMEDY OR MUSICAL Jean Dujardin for The Artist Brendan Gleeson for The Guard Joseph Gordon-Levitt for 50/50 Ryan Gosling for Crazy, Stupid, Love. Owen Wilson for Midnight in Paris BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE Kenneth Branagh for My Week With Marilyn Albert Brooks for Drive Jonah Hill for Moneyball Christopher Plummer for Beginners Viggo Mortensen for A Dangerous Method BEST ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE - DRAM...

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY AN ENSEMBLE CAST IN A MOTION PICTURE The Artist Bridesmaids The Descendants The Help Midnight in Paris OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A LEADING MALE ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE Demian Bichir for A Better Life George Clooney for The Descendants Leonardo DiCaprio for J. Edgar Jean Dujardin for The Artist Brad Pitt for Moneyball OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A LEADING FEMALE ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE Glenn Close for Albert Nobbs Viola Davis for The Help Meryl Streep for The Iron Lady Tilda Swinton for We Need To Talk About Kevin Michelle Williams for My Week With Marilyn OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A SUPPORTING MALE ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE Kenneth Branagh for My Week With Marilyn Armie Hammer for J. Edgar Jonah Hill for Moneyball Nick Nolte for Warrior Christopher Plummer for Beginners OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A SUPPORTING FEMALE ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE Bérénice Bejo for The Artist Jessica Chastain for The Help Melissa Mc...

BEST PICTURE The Artist The Descendants Drive Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close The Help Hugo Midnight in Paris Moneyball The Tree of Life War Horse BEST ACTOR George Clooney ( The Descendants ) Leonardo DiCaprio ( J. Edgar ) Jean Dujardin ( The Artist ) Michael Fassbender ( Shame ) Ryan Gosling ( Drive ) Brad Pitt ( Moneyball ) BEST ACTRESS Viola Davis ( The Help ) Elizabeth Olsen ( Martha Marcy May Marlene ) Meryl Streep ( The Iron Lady ) Tilda Swinton ( We Need to Talk About Kevin ) Charlize Theron ( Young Adult ) Michelle Williams ( My Week With Marilyn ) BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR Kenneth Branagh ( My Week With Marilyn ) Albert Brooks ( Drive ) Nick Nolte ( Warrior ) Patton Oswalt ( Young Adult ) Christopher Plummer ( Beginners ) Andrew Serkis ( Rise of the Planet of the Apes ) BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS Berenice Bejo ( The Artist ) Jessica Chastain ( The Help ) Melissa McCarthy ( Bridesmaids ) Carey Mulligan ( Shame ) Octavia Spencer ( The He...

With the first awards nominees and winners, what I predicted looks a bit... well... I really need to update my predictions! Hugo is officially declared a lock in the Best Picture race. Bérénice Bejo seems to be promoted as Supporting Actress for The Artist , once every Oscar folks are including her in the Supporting Actress field. Felicity Jones is taking home the indie Breakthrough Performance prizes Elizabeth Olsen was supposed to receive. War Horse received a couple of Oscary raves and We Bought a Zoo seems to be have not enough buzz in order to be a Best Picture nominated movie. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II is doing well in the first season's awards, but The Artist is the officially the most loved movie of the season alongside Martin Scorsese 's latest. The first reviews about David Fincher 's The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo gave the movie nice Oscar prospects and they were love letters to Rooney Mara 's performance. Glenn Close 's perform...

BEST MOTION PICTURE The Artist The Descendants Drive The Help Hugo Midnight in Paris Moneyball Shame Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy War Horse BEST DIRECTOR Tomas Alfredson for Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy Woody Allen for Midnight in Paris Michel Hazanavicius for The Artist John Michael McDonagh for The Guard Steve McQueen for Shame Alexander Payne for The Descendants Nicolas Winding Refn for Drive Martin Scorsese for Hugo Steven Spielberg for War Horse Tate Taylor for The Help BEST ACTRESS Olivia Colman for Tyrannosaur Glenn Close for Albert Nobbs Viola Davis for The Help Vera Farmiga for Higher Ground Elizabeth Olsen for Martha Marcy May Marlene Meryl Streep for The Iron Lady Charlize Theron for Young Adult Emily Watson for Oranges and Sunshine Michelle Williams for My Week with Marilyn Michelle Yeoh for The Lady BEST ACTOR George Clooney for The Descendants Leonardo DiCaprio for J. Edgar Michael Fassbender for Shame Brendan Gleeson for The Guard ...