'Hurt Locker' Keeps Winning, Picks Up WGA Award

It may be a big deal, but it may not mean anything at all: The Hurt Locker won the Writers Guild Award for Best Original Screenplay last night, and you'd think - if you follow these guild awards at all - that it should signal a win for the film at the Oscars in two weeks. After all, it wasn't too long ago that we pointed out how Mark Boal may have overtaken Quentin Tarantino and Inglourious Basterds in that race at the Academy Awards, or had at least significantly narrowed the gap.

But here's the problem: There's no Tarantino at the Writers Guild Awards, because he's not a member of the WGA. So it's hard to say whether or not this win bodes well for The Hurt Locker and Mark Boal. It's definitely not a bad omen, but Tarantino might still have to be the favorite in that category. It's certainly no worse than second on that list. In the adapted category, it was another win for Jason Reitman's Up in the Air. And that's about the only thing the film will win, even though it was probably the favorite between mid-November and mid-December. The full list of winners follows, via Awards Daily.

Click to read more ...

WGA Nominees Miss Some of the Year's Best

A few omissions from the Writers Guild of America nominees make you wonder if some rule changes aren't about overdue. For example, Inglourious Basterds and Fantastic Mr. Fox aren't nominees because they're both ineligible, and the same goes for Up, District 9, and An Education.

The Academy Awards won't have these restrictions, although there are still rules that exclude some films there, too. I don't believe any of the ones mentioned above would be out of the running for those reasons, though. So instead, our nominees include Crazy Heart, which is a solid script but nothing too memorable, Julie & Julia, and The Hangover, a surprising but rewarding inclusion. It wouldn't be there if Tarantino were allowed to the party, however.

Click to read more ...

Box Office - 'Avatar' Takes Friday with $12.6 Million

A good showing by newcomer Daybreakers is not enough to make a significant dent in Avatar's box office armor, but the James Cameron film is finally showing signs of coming back to Earth four weeks into its record-setting run. Still number one on Friday, Avatar was down 50% from last Friday, and its $12.6 million estimate might give the film another $40 million weekend. That would take it to $420 million or so, pacing it only behind The Dark Knight as the second-fastest movie to $400 million.

Daybreakers, the new futuristic vampire movie, took in $5.8 million, which should translate to a $15 million weekend. That number could go up a couple million if Friday word of mouth matches the fairly strong reviews for the film, pushing more Saturday business. It's the first of several movies right in a row that are aiming for the young male audience, along with Book of Eli and Legion in the next two weeks. Those movies are the likely candidates to chip away at repeat business for Avatar, collectively and individually. But I don't think any of them have any major lasting impact at the box office.

Click to read more ...

Bigelow, Cameron Top DGA Nominations

There is not a whole lotta shakin' goin' on with the Directors Guild of America nominations. If you were hoping for Neill Blomkamp, you'll be disappointed, but four of the five were definitely expected to be here, and for a long time during this awards season, so was contestant number five.

Kathryn Bigelow - The Hurt Locker
James Cameron - Avatar
Lee Daniels - Precious
Jason Reitman - Up in the Air
Quentin Tarantino - Inglourious Basterds

Click to read more ...

'Hurt Locker' Takes Online Film Critics Honors

Kudos to Cinematical for tracking down the specific stats on this; it's a great supplement to the news that The Hurt Locker now has a noticeable lead in the year-end critics awards. Whether or not that translates to the Academy Awards is hard to say, but this certainly shores up the film's standing as a legitimate contender.

The Hurt Locker won four Online Film Critics Society Awards today, tying the film with the most nominations, Inglourious Basterds. However, it won three of the major trophies - Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor, also winning Best Editing. Here's where it gets noteworthy: The win brings to 10 the number of Best Pictures secured by The Hurt Locker, which is one ahead of Up in the Air. Way off in the distance are Basterds with three, Up with two wins, and Avatar taking home only the award from New York Film Critics Online. Cinematical's breakdown of what these numbers could mean is worth checking out, although the theme is the same one we've been trumpeting for a couple of weeks: Hurt Locker is right there with Avatar, and both of them may neutralize Up in the Air.

Click to read more ...