OSCAR NOMINEES PREDIX

AVATAR will lead Oscar nominations with many nods in technical categories. I predict AVATAR will have 11 Oscar nominations. INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS will have 9 Oscar nods and THE HURT LOCKER will have 7.

BEST PICTURE
AN EDUCATION
AVATAR
THE HANGOVER
THE HURT LOCKER
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
INVICTUS
PRECIOUS
STAR TREK
UP
UP IN THE AIR

BEST DIRECTOR
Kathryn Bigelow, THE HURT LOCKER
James Cameron, AVATAR
Lee Daniels, PRECIOUS
Jason Reitman, UP IN THE AIR
Quentin Tarantino, INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS

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
Vera Farmiga, UP IN THE AIR
Anna Kendrick, UP IN THE AIR
Melanie Laurent, INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
Mo'Nique, PRECIOUS
Julianne Moore, A SINGLE MAN

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
(500) DAYS OF SUMMER
AVATAR
THE HANGOVER
THE HURT LOCKER
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
CRAZY HEART
INVICTUS
JULIE & JULIA
PRECIOUS
UP IN THE AIR

BEST EDITING
AVATAR
THE HURT LOCKER
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
STAR TREK
UP IN THE AIR

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
AVATAR
THE HURT LOCKER
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
NINE
THE WHITE RIBBON

BEST ART DIRECTION
AVATAR
DISTRICT 9
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
SHERLOCK HOLMES
THE WHITE RIBBON

BEST SOUND MIXING
AVATAR
DISTRICT 9
THE HURT LOCKER
STAR TREK
TRANSFORMERS 2

BEST SOUND EDITING
AVATAR
DISTRICT 9
STAR TREK
TRANSFORMERS 2
UP

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
BRIGHT STAR
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
JULIE & JULIA
NINE
THE YOUNG VICTORIA

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
A SINGLE MAN
AVATAR
THE INFORMANT!
THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG
UP

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
AVATAR
CRAZY HEART
EVERYBODY'S FINE
THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG
NINE

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
CORALINE
FANTASTIC MR. FOX
PONYO
THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG
UP

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
AVATAR
DISTRICT 9
STAR TREK

BEST MAKE UP
DISTRICT 9
THE IMAGINARIUM OF DOCTOR PARNASSUS
STAR TREK

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
A PROPHET
AJAMI
THE MILK OF SORROW
THE WHITE RIBBON
WINTER IN WARTIME

BEST DOCUMENTARY
THE BEACHES OF AGNES
BURMA VJ
THE COVE
FOOD, INC.
SOUNDTRACK OF A REVOLUTION

KATHRYN BIGELOW WINS DGA FOR "THE HURT LOCKER"

From VARIETY: Kathryn Bigelow has won the Directors Guild of America award for directing "The Hurt Locker," becoming the first woman to do so in the 62 years of the DGA awards.
Bigelow's win was announced Saturday night at the conclusion of the DGA awards ceremonies at the Century Plaza. She defeated James Cameron for "Avatar," Lee Daniels for "Precious," Jason Reitman for "Up in the Air" and Quentin Tarantino for "Inglourious Basterds."

Bigelow, who shot the gritty drama in Jordan, was only the seventh female to be nominated for the DGA trophy.

The DGA award is viewed as a reliable predictor of the Academy Award for best director. The same director has won both in all but six years since 1948, including last year, when Danny Boyle won both trophies for "Slumdog Millionaire."

The directors branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences currently has 366 voting members, or about 6% of the total membership of 5,777. Oscar noms will be announced Tuesday.

Bigelow was one of four "Hurt Locker" producers who took home the Producers Guild of America award Sunday.

During a DGA panel discussion Saturday, Bigelow had stressed the importance of achieving a realistic portrayal of a US military squad desfusing bombs in Iraq. "Authenticity is a moral imperative," she declared.

Leslie Linka Glatter took the drama series award for the "Guy Walks into any Advertising Agency" for AMC's "Mad Men." The series pilot won the category two years ago.

Jason Winer won the comedy series kudo for the pilot of ABC newcomer "Modern Family."

Ross Katz took the award in the movies for TV-miniseries for HBO's Iraq war drama "Taking Chance."

Louis Psihoyos took the documentary trophy for "The Cove," which won the PGA award in docs Sunday. It's one of the 15 finalists for the Oscar documentary award.

Don Mischer copped the musical-variety award for HBO's "We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial."

Craig Borders won the reality TV award for Discovery Science's "Build It Bigger Season 3: Hong Kong Bridge."

Allison Liddi-Brown took the children's program trophy for Disney Channel's "Princess Protection Program."

Christopher Goutman won the daytime serial award for CBS's "As the World Turns," which the net has cancelled.

Tom Kuntz of MJZ UK took the commercials trophy.

35 TO GO: WHO SHOULD BE NOM. NEXT TUESDAY

This is my dream list. These are those who, in my humble opinion, should be the Oscar nominees this year. Can Academy get it right?

BEST PICTURE
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
INVICTUS
AVATAR
THE HURT LOCKER
THE HANGOVER
NINE
SHERLOCK HOLMES
THE INFORMANT!
THE ROAD
UP IN THE AIR

BEST DIRECTOR
Quentin Tarantino, INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
Clint Eastwood, INVICTUS
James Cameron, AVATAR
Kathryn Bigelow, THE HURT LOCKER
Jason Reitman, UP IN THE AIR

BEST ACTOR
Jeff Bridges, CRAZY HEART
Colin Firth, A SINGLE MAN
Morgan Freeman, INVICTUS
Daniel Day-Lewis, NINE
Matt Damon, THE INFORMANT!

BEST ACTRESS
Meryl Streep, JULIE & JULIA
Sandra Bullock, THE BLIND SIDE
Helen Mirren, THE LAST STATION
Carey Mulligan, AN EDUCATION
Yolande Moreau, SÉRAPHINE

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Christoph Waltz, INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
Matt Damon, INVICTUS
Kodi Smith-McPhee, THE ROAD
Stanley Tucci, JULIE & JULIA
Alfred Molina, AN EDUCATION

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Melanie Laurent, INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
Marion Cotillard, NINE
Penelope Cruz, NINE
Vera Farmiga, UP IN THE AIR
Mo'Nique, PRECIOUS

36 TO GO: CAMERON VS. BIGELOW, THE BIG FIGHT!

"Utivich? I think this might just be my masterpiece". That is the last line of INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS and it's obvious that Quentin Tarantino said that for a reason. INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS is his best work ever. And it's my favorite picture of the year. Despite that, I believe that the best director of the year is Kathryn Bigelow for THE HURT LOCKER. The movie also deserves the best editing Oscar.

Directors Guild of America will announced today his favorite director of the year. James Cameron and Kathryn Bigelow are the frontrunners. The ex-couple will have a big fight tonight.

AVATAR haven't won a major award from the guild members. AVATAR wasn't nominated for the SAG and lost the PGA to THE HURT LOCKER. AVATAR won the Golden Globe but that doesn't really matter. What matters instead is box office. AVATAR has it: it's the box office champion. And THE HURT LOCKER was a flop. Probably, all the members of DGA saw AVATAR, many saw INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS and few saw THE HURT LOCKER (admiting that PRECIOUS and UP IN THE AIR are out of this race).

So, what I think it will happen tonight is:
who will win the DGA: James Cameron, AVATAR
who should win the DGA: Kathryn Bigelow, THE HURT LOCKER
A real possible upset: Quentin Tarantino, INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS

VOTE FOR THE OOPSIES AWARDS!

We decided to continue an annual tradition from PREMIERE forums: the BOOOOSCARS. The BOOOOSCARS have a new name: OOPSIES. Apparently the award, a can of inspiration, reminded Julia Roberts of her uncle. She called us saying that, so we changed the name. Not really.

We give them the name OOPSIES based on the expression "oopsy-daisy", which is "an exclamation made when encouraging a child to get up after a fall". That is what we want: encourage our great actors and directors to get up after a major flop.

The OOPSIES are the awards for the worst among those who were supposed to be the best. One rule, a new one by the way: only past Oscar winners or nominees can be nominated for an OOPSIE. You really have to vote for a past Oscar winner or contender who sucked badly this year.

We asked for you your opinion and you have given us some suggestions. So, here are the nominees for the 6TH ANNUAL OOPSIES AWARDS.

Winners will be announced February 20th.

OOPSIE PICTURE
AMELIA
AWAY WE GO
THE LOVELY BONES
THE SOLOIST
NINE

OOPSIE DIRECTOR
Guillermo Arriaga, THE BURNING PLAIN
Ron Howard, ANGELS & DEMONS
Peter Jackson, THE LOVELY BONES
Rob Marshall, NINE
Sam Mendes, AWAY WE GO

OOPSIE LEADING ACTOR
George Clooney, THE MAN WHO STARE AT THE GOATS
Robert De Niro, EVERYBODY'S FINE
Robert Downey Jr., THE SOLOIST
Jamie Foxx, THE SOLOIST
Tom Hanks, ANGELS & DEMONS

OOPSIE LEADING ACTRESS
Sandra Bullock, ALL ABOUT STEVE
Anne Hathaway, BRIDE WARS
Kate Hudson, BRIDE WARS
Hilary Swank, AMELIA
Renee Zellweger, NEW IN TOWN

OOPSIE SUPPORTING ACTOR
Jeff Bridges, THE MAN WHO STARE AT THE GOATS
Matt Dillon, OLD DOGS
Thomas Haden Church, ALL ABOUT STEVE
Phillip Seymour Hoffman, PIRATE RADIO
Kevin Spacey, THE MAN WHO STARE AT THE GOATS

OOPSIE SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Kim Basinger, THE BURNING PLAIN
Kathy Bates, THE BLIND SIDE
Salma Hayek, CIRQUE DU FREAK
Sophia Loren, NINE
Susan Sarandon, THE LOVELY BONES

37 TO GO: BOOOOSCARS HAVE A NEW NAME: IT'S THE OOPSIES!

Forget BOOOOSCARS. OOPSIES is the new name. Check CountdownOscar this weekend to see the new rules about this awards. Nominees will be announced this weekend. We receive many e-mails giving us some suggestions. It's looks that NINE is a real contender... Check it!

38 TO GO: MERYL REALLY WANTS HER 3RD OSCAR

39 TO GO: WATCH "HOWL", FIRST CLIPS

All about HOWL here.

TIM BURTON TO HEAD THE CANNES JURY

From VARIETY — Tim Burton will serve as jury prexy for this year's Cannes Film Festival.
A master of fantasy and animation, Burton directed cult films like "Beetlejuice" and "Edward Scissorhands." He travelled to Cannes in 1995 with Johnny Depp starrer "Ed Wood," which was selected for the Competition.

Burton's next film, "Alice in Wonderland," a 3D adaptation of Lewis Carroll's cult novel, starring Depp and Helena Bonham Carter, will bow in the U.S. on March 5.

As well as working as a filmmaker for more than 25 years, Burton is also an illustrator, painter and photographer. The New York's MoMA is currently hosting a major exhibition of his work until April 28.

Cannes fest prexy Gilles Jacob said, "He's a magician of visual delights who turns the screen into a faery wonder. We hope his sweet madness and gothic humor will pervade the Croisette, bringing Christmas to all. Christmas and Halloween."

"After spending my early life watching triple features and 48-hour horror movie marathons, I'm finally ready for this," said Burton.

Cannes unspools May 12-23.

MY TOP TEN MOVIES OF 2009

A very poor year for movies. Few have emerged. And for the first time, I didn't give an "A" to a movie.

1. Inglourious Basterds
Take the 3D glasses from AVATAR and watch this masterpiece. It's more about the movies that you ever dream.

2. The Hurt Locker
Again, take the 3D glasses. Kathryn Bigelow gives the most interesting look at war since HBO's BAND OF BROTHERS. The best director of the year.

3. Invictus
The most powerful story of the year. The real feel good movie of the year. Second best movie of the year, even thought no one notice Eastwood's direction.

4. Avatar
A visual extravanganza, a revolution without a script, the movie that everyone saw. Did I mention that it is directed by Bigelow's ex-husband? James something.

5. The Hangover
An instant classic of comedy. A simple one. The real summer blockbuster.

6. Nine
The sad musical that was killed by the early buzz. It has the most glamourous stars and one of the most spectacular frames seen this year. Did anyone notice? You can't see it with AVATAR 3D glasses.

7. Sherlock Holmes
That's entertainment without being too pretentious. Robert Downey Jr.'s way to say us "I'm sorry for THE SOLOIST".

8. The Informant!
The music! The Matt Damon! The lies! The truth! The lies!

9. The Road
The most underrated movie of the year. They call it too "depressing". I called BRÜNO depressing, not this one.

10. Up in the Air
Good movie, definitely one of the best of the year. But a little bit overrated. Clooney needs too stop with that Nespresso commercials.

honorable mention
Star Trek
The surprise of the year. And old dying saga returns better than the original.

ANNE HATHAWAY WILL TELL US THE OSCAR NOMINEES

Nominations for the 82nd Academy Awards® will be announced on Tuesday, February 2, by Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Tom Sherak and Oscar-nominated actress and Academy member Anne Hathaway.

Sherak and Hathaway will unveil the nominations in 10 of the 24 categories at a 5:30 a.m. news conference at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, where hundreds of media representatives from around the world will be gathered.

40 TO GO: "AVATAR" BREAKS "TITANIC" BOX OFFICE RECORD

It's official. AVATAR is now the movie with the big box office in history. TITANIC is now second. But adjusted to inflation, GONE WITH THE WIND is still the number 1.

CAN "THE HURT LOCKER" WIN BEST PICTURE?

After last night, everyone is wondering if THE HURT LOCKER can beat AVATAR and win best picture. THE HURT LOCKER won the PGA but - don't forget - didn't win the SAG. That went to INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS. That means that we gonna have an even more interesting race for best picture - and best director.
The acting categories are almost locked: Jeff Bridges, Mo'Nique, Waltz and Bullock (I admit, Streep is losing momentum).
Kathryn Bigelow should win the DGA and the Oscar for best director. It's the best director, no doubt. If she wins the DGA, THE HURT LOCKER gains more strengh.
All of this theories will be correct if we forget one thing: we have to wait 41 days for the Oscars. Anything can change. And AVATAR will gain even more momentum. This week, AVATAR will become the movie with the biggest box office. And keep counting. AVATAR will have more than 2 billion dollars worldwide. ~
So... many things can change. Even INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS take the lead. I hope. We still have 41 days to go.

41 TO GO: "THE HURT LOCKER" STEALS PGA FROM "AVATAR"

PGA WINNERS
Best Picture: The Hurt Locker
Comedy Television: 30 Rock
Long Form Television: Grey Gardens
Documentary: The Cove
Animated Feature: Up
Live Entertainment and Competition: The Colbert Report
Non-Fiction Television: 60 Minutes
Stanley Kramer Award: Precious
TV Drama: Mad Men

42 DAYS TO GO: "AVATAR" WILL WIN PGA AWARD

My predictions

PGA Producer of the Year Award in Theatrical Motion Picture:
AVATAR
DISTRICT 9
AN EDUCATION
THE HURT LOCKER
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
INVICTUS
PRECIOUS
STAR TREK
UP
UP IN THE AIR

will win: AVATAR
should win: INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS

PGA Producer of the Year Award in Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures:
9
CORALINE
FANTASTIC MR. FOX
THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG
UP

will win: UP
should win: UP

PGA Producer of the Year Award in Documentary Theatrical Motion Pictures:
BURMA VJ
THE COVE
SERGIO
SOUNDTRACK FOR A REVOLUTION

will win: THE COVE
should win: THE COVE

David L. Wolper Producer of the Year Award in Long-Form Television:
GEORGIA O’KEEFFE
GREY GARDENS
LITTLE DORRIT
PRAYERS FOR BOBBY
THE PRISONER
TAKING CHANCE

will win: GREY GARDENS
should win: GREY GARDENS

BETTY WHITE: SAG LIFE ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Dear readers, let me indulge in more love for the glorious Betty White. My personal highlight was the Golden Girl receiving the Screen Actors Guild's highest honor, presented by Sandra Bullock. You could tell that they must have had a ball doing "The Proposal". Bullock did a good job, thank God for once the Lifetime Achievement Award was not boring as usual at award shows. Of course Betty White was hilarious (and naughty) accepting her award. Betty White for all!

SAG AWARDS: THE AFTERMATH

Not only was I happy about my predix score (10 out of 12), the SAG Awards were overall enjoyable.
SAG should really get over Tina Fey by now and spread the wealth a bit, other than that it was great to see people like Drew Barrymore and Kevin Bacon getting some hardware. Mo'Nique was as eloquent as at the Golden Globes and Christoph Waltz has become this award season's Helen Mirren speech-wise. He's always humble, his acceptance speech is always different and elegant, but never boring. Sandra Bullock was funny in presenting Betty White with her Life Achievement Award, and genuine when she herself won for "The Blind Side". Now she really should start getting ready for the Oscars. And the same goes for you, Jeff Bridges!

SAG AWARDS: PRESSROOM

SAG AWARDS: SHOW