Live Blogging the Critics Choice Awards...

I will be live blogging the show starting between the Pre-show at 8:30 and the actual show at 9, so be sure to follow along, and watch it on VH1 (I'll list times for all posts so everyone will be able to know what I'm talking about). Until then, use this post to comment with anything in relation to the show tonight, including predictions, running commentary, post show comments, etc. Without further ado, let the Live Blogging begin!

11:15- That's it for the coverage tonight. The Hurt Locker and Inglourious Basterds were the big winners here in my eyes. Will it mean anything for the Oscars? Who knows, but we'll find out soon enough. Hope everyone enjoyed my coverage and that I didn't bore you too much!

11:11- We finally come to Best Picture. The 10 nominees are Avatar, An Education, The Hurt Locker, Inglourious Basterds, Invictus, Nine, Precious, A Serious Man, Up, and Up in the Air. It could go to Avatar, The Hurt Locker, Inglourious Basterds, or Up in the Air. I have no clue which will win, but Basterds isn't the long shot it was going into tonight and Avatar is falling behind. The Hurt Locker and Up in the Air did really well with critics this year, so I'd say they're in the lead, but who knows, especially with what Tarantino's film has done tonight. Pick em, as the sports world says...
THE AWARD GOES TO...The Hurt Locker. This is where it needed a win, and it got it, simple as that.

11:05- They're certainly going to make us wait for Best Picture...

11:02- Yes, we've ventured into overtime for the final award (though technically the Best Actress tie and speeches did it)...

10:59- Best Actress is here, and the nominees are Emily Blunt for The Young Victoria, Sandra Bullock for The Blind Side, Carrie Mulligan for An Education, Saoirse Ronan for The Lovely Bones, Gabourey Sidibe for Precious, and Meryl Streep for Julie & Julia. Streep is the likely winner, though Mulligan would be the one to take it away from her.
THE AWARD GOES TO...both Meryl Streep AND Sandra Bullock. Yes, it's a tie! Goes to show what I know. This doesn't help us at all with any new predictions, but it is pretty cool to see, at least in my book, and makes this perhaps a 3 person race now.

10:52- Is it just me, or are the commercials for awards films not really jiving with the ones for VH1 programming?

10:47- We're up to Best Actor, and this is a big one. The nominees are Jeff Brides for Crazy Heart, George Clooney for Up in the Air, Colin Firth for A Single Man, Morgan Freeman as Invictus, Viggo Mortensen for The Road, and Jeremy Renner for The Hurt Locker. I'd lean towards Bridges winning, but Clooney could easily win. Mortensen and Renner are the spoilers.
THE AWARD GOES TO...Jeff Bridges. He's on a track to the Oscar win, but he still needs to win a few more to make it a sure thing.

10:42- The big three categories are coming up now. The 4 main contenders (Avatar, The Hurt Locker, Inglourious Basterds, and Up in the Air) have all won something, though I'd say that, perhaps surprisingly, Avatar is now the least likely to win. Still, it's a toss up...

10:39- The next award is Best Director (pay attention to this one). The nominees are Clint Eastwood for Invictus, James Cameron for Avatar, Lee Daniels for Precious, Jason Reitman for Up in the Air, Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker, and Quentin Tarantino for Inglourious Basterds. Your guess is as good as mine, though Bigelow might have the critic edge.
THE AWARD GOES TO...Kathryn Bigelow. That's very nice to see, and could be a sign of bigger things to come for her.


10:37- He gave a pretty good speech...

10:31- Time for Kevin Bacon to be presented with the Joel Siegel Award. Meryl Streep is doing the honoring. Should be good, if not quite life changing.

10:24- Best Original Screenplay wraps up the writing awards. The nominees are (500) Days of Summer, The Hurt Locker, Inglourious Basterds, A Serious Man, and Up. It's between (500) Days and Basterds.
THE AWARD GOES TO...Inglourious Basterds. Could Tarantino be soon accepting his second writing Oscar?

10:21- The screenplay awards are up now. They start with Best Adapted Screenplay. The nominees are Fantastic Mr. Fox, District 9, Precious, A Single Man, An Education, and Up in the Air. This should go to Reitman for Up in the Air.
THE AWARD GOES TO...Up in the Air. This was a slam dunk, more or less. Reitman and co-writer Sheldon Turner need to start writing speeches to thank the Academy.

10:18- They just skipped over a whole bunch of technical awards, which they spread out between a few films, though Avatar won a bunch of them. I'll get the full list to you when I can. Damn time constraints.

10:15- Frankly, these fake screen tests suck out loud. She's certainly trying hard, but perhaps too hard. It could be worse, I suppose...

10:11- Best Documentary now. The nominees are Anvil! The Story of Anvil, Capitalism: A Love Story, The Cove, Food, Inc., and This is It. I think it's between Anvil! and The Cove.
THE AWARD GOES TO...The Cove. Expect to see this win the Oscar, so this is a good precursor to it.

10:08- Time for Best Song to be named. The nominees are All is Love from Where the Wild Things Are, Almost There from Princess and the Frog, Cinema Italiano from Nine, (I Want To) Come Home from Everybody's Fine, and The Weary Kind from Crazy Heart. I think it's between Cinema Italiano and The Weary Kind, though the latter should win.
THE AWARD GOES TO...The Weary Kind. Aside from Help Yourself from Up in the Air, this is the best song of the year, so it's great to see.

9:59- After a rough bit of joking around by the host (saved by the presenters of this award having some raunchy fun), we're up to Best Comedy. The nominees for this one are (500) Days of Summer, The Hangover, It's Complicated, The Proposal, and Zombieland. I'd say this goes to The Hangover, though I'm honestly crossing my fingers for (500) Days.
THE AWARD GOES TO...The Hangover. While not my favorite movie of the year, it does happen to be very funny, so this is an appropriate win.

9:55- We come to Best Supporting Actor at this point. The nominees here are Matt Damon for Invictus, Woody Harrelson for The Messenger, Christian McKay for Me and Orson Welles, Alfred Molina for An Education, Stanley Tucci for The Lovely Bones, and Christoph Waltz for Inglourious Basterds. Waltz should, well...waltz away with this one.
THE AWARD GOES TO...Christoph Waltz. This could end up being a good night for Tarantino's film, but it's too early to tell.

9:47- They focused more on the films than the man, but it was a pretty fitting tribute to Mr. Hughes.

9:42- Now it's a tribute to John Hughes, which should be rather touching.

9:40- The next award is for Best Young Actor or Actress. The nominees are Jae Head for The Blind Side, Bailee Madison for Brothers, Max Records for Where the Wild Things Are,, Saoirse Ronan for The Lovely Bones, and Kodi-Smit McPhee for The Road. This is between Ronan and Records, though Madison deserves it.
THE AWARD GOES TO...Saoirse Ronan. She's one of the better parts of the film, so this was the category to honor it.

9:37- Comparing The Lovely Bones to Orphan just shows how far the mighty have fallen...

9:31- We now have Best Animated Feature. The nominees are Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Coraline, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Princess and the Frog, and Up. I can't see Up not winning this, though Fantastic Mr. Fox would be the only one that could ruin it for Pixar.
THE AWARD GOES TO...Up. As expected...

9:27- Best Action Movie is up now. The nominees are Avatar, Disctrict 9, The Hurt Locker, Inglourious Basterds, and Star Trek. It's between Avatar, The Hurt Locker, and the Basterds in my eyes, though this is a weird award, so it could go a number of ways.
THE AWARD GOES TO...Avatar. That makes sense, and also leaves the bigger awards still up for grabs.

9:17- The next award is Best Supporting Actress. The nominees are Mo'Nique for Precious, Marion Cotillard for Nine, Vera Farmiga for Up in the Air, Julianne Moore for A Single Man, Samantha Morton for The Messenger, and Anna Kendrick for Up in the Air. This is likely Mo'Nique's, though Kendrick's the spoiler.
THE AWARD GOES TO...Mo'Nique. No surprise there, at all.

9:13- They mention the 10 Best Picture nominees quickly, which leads into Chenoweth making some small jokes about some of the nominees in general.

9:10- The first award of the evening is for Best Acting Ensemble. Nominees are Inglourious Basterds, Nine, Precious, Star Trek, and Up in the Air. The award could go to either Basterds, Nine, or Up in the Air, if I had to guess.
THE AWARD GOES TO...Inglourious Basterds! Could this bode well for its Best Picture chances later tonight? We shall see...

9:07- The Inglourious Basterds inspired opening was decently clever, but host Kristin Chenoweth's song following it left something to be desired (especially since she's wearing the Kate Hudson dress from Nine, but pretty much ignored that fact).

9:00- Now, we can get the show on the road. The awards have officially started!

8:56- Kevin Bacon talking now. He's getting the honorary award tonight, which will be cool to see.

8:55- Thankfully, only 5 minutes left...

8:48- The first curse of the night, and the host took it so awkwardly...cut into a weird transition for the talk with Mo'Nique. I really need to not be so critical of a Pre-show, but then again, if I'm not commenting on it, what is there to comment on? 12 minutes to go...

8:45- Quentin Tarantino wants to win for Best Director? I'm shocked. 15 minutes to go...

8:37- So far, it's a very standard Red Carpet type deal. No worse than any other, but no better.

8:34- Zac Efron is a fan of 'The Hurt Locker', so maybe he's not all evil...

8:30- And we're off...Nick Jonas doesn't make me think "Movie Awards", but what do I know?

BFCA Reactions

Well, the first major awards show has announced their nominees, in comparison to the HFPA or AMPAS, this diverse group is made up of critics including yours truly. There are arguments to be made that the organization votes for the likely Oscar contenders rather than the actual film craft. I can only speak for myself, but I vote for the craft itself. I don't let the "likely" contenders sway my vote. I knew when I voted, there were going to be some throw away votes on my list as I realized they probably had no chance but I was fine with that. I did my job and my job was done.

Best Picture -

• Avatar
• An Education
• The Hurt Locker
• Inglourious Basterds
• Invictus
• Nine
• Precious
• A Serious Man
• Up
• Up In The Air

These could easily be the predicted ten. There my predictions as of now. Are these my voted ten? No. I was a little surprised by Nine given the lukewarm reception by the critics. I'm just glad to not see Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones, even though showing up with 6 nominations anyway.

Best Director

• Kathryn Bigelow – “The Hurt Locker”
• James Cameron – “Avatar”
• Lee Daniels – “Precious”
• Clint Eastwood – “Invictus”
• Jason Reitman – “Up In The Air”
• Quentin Tarantino – “Inglourious Basterds”

Go Daniels! Go Bigelow! Go Cameron! I think Tarantino still has an uphill climb ahead of him to nab a Director nomination, screenplay hurts enough. Eastwood's nod, though bugs some people, I'm fine with. Rob Marshall may find himself missing come Oscar time if stuff like this keeps up.

Best Actor

• Jeff Bridges – “Crazy Heart”
• George Clooney – “Up In The Air”
• Colin Firth – “A Single Man”
• Morgan Freeman – “Invictus”
• Viggo Mortensen – “The Road”
• Jeremy Renner – “The Hurt Locker”

These six guys are in contention. Bridges, Clooney, Firth and Freeman are looking locked and loaded for Oscar. Renner is very likely. Mortensen is a dark horse. It's a pity not to see Michael Stuhlbarg, if everyone basing the performance on actual quality, he should be in there.

Best Actress

• Emily Blunt – “The Young Victoria”
• Sandra Bullock – “The Blind Side”
• Carey Mulligan – “An Education”
• Saoirse Ronan – “The Lovely Bones”
• Gabourey Sidibe – “Precious”
• Meryl Streep – “Julie & Julia”

Whoa, no Helen Mirren or The Last Station for that matter. Ronan deserves the mention here no matter how bad the film is, everyone agrees she's good enough. Emily Blunt was a surprise but may just be in the realm of Kate Beckinsale's mention last year for Nothing But the Truth. Bullock gets another mention to add to her armor and is looking good for the Oscar nod.

Best Supporting Actor

• Matt Damon – “Invictus”
• Woody Harrelson – “The Messenger”
• Christian McKay – “Me And Orson Welles”
• Alfred Molina – “An Education”
• Stanley Tucci – “The Lovely Bones”
• Christoph Waltz – “Inglourious Basterds”

Matt Damon's mention puts a real bad taste in my mouth. Considering the voting method of the BFCA's, I find it perplexing that anyone would pick Damon. Surprising to not see Christopher Plummer and it might sting harder then people might think, or maybe not enough voters saw The Last Station.

Best Supporting Actress

• Marion Cotillard – “Nine”
• Vera Farmiga – “Up In The Air”
• Anna Kendrick – “Up In The Air”
• Mo’Nique – “Precious”
• Julianne Moore – “A Single Man”
• Samantha Morton – “The Messenger”

It is absolutely awesome to Marion Cotillard in the right category for the right film. Hopefully AMPAS and the Weinsteins pick up on this and switch her categorization. Farmiga, Kendrick, and Mo'Nique are locked and loaded. Moore is a safe bet. Morton is surprising, pleasant, and helps in the campaign. This may hurt Penelope Cruz's campaign as people thought she was considered the most likely to be recognized of the cast.

Overall, the nominations didn't offer anything too distinctive. Bright's Star's absence is significant. No love for Brothers outside of Bailee Madison (which is very deserving). Original Screenplay may be the Oscar final five. Adapted screenplay is eh, a bit uninspired if you ask me. Where is Where the Wild Things Are? The Last Station? In the Loop? Oh well. And all that Avatar love! Fantastic to see.

Who do you think will win? Remember to watch the Critics Choice Awards on January 15, 2010 on VH1

BFCA Predictions and Announcement

In a few hours, the Broadcast Film Critics Association will announce their nominees with some new categories added. The organization has been doing ten Best Picture nominees for years now, so it will crucial as ever to see what films they choose. Their top ten rated films of this year are:
100 – Me and Orson Welles
100 – Up
97 – Up in the Air
95 – An Education
93 – The Hurt Locker
93 – Star Trek
92 – (500) Days of Summer
91 – Inglourious Basterds
91 – Fantastic Mr Fox
tied>
89 – Avatar
89 – Precious

Are these ten the Best Picture nominees? I think not. The locks seem to be Up in the Air and The Hurt Locker. It's hard to determine where certain critics' loyalty lies. It'll be interesting to see what's changed their minds. Me & Orson Welles at 100 speaks more for Christian McKay then it does for the film itself. There are more possibilities and this is all a guessing game. Here they are...

Predictions are:
BEST PICTURE
The Hurt Locker
Up in the Air
Avatar
Nine
Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire
A Serious Man
Up
An Education
Inglourious Basterds
Star Trek

Alternate: Invictus

BEST DIRECTOR
Kathryn Bigelow-The Hurt Locker
James Cameron-Avatar
Joel Coen & Ethan Coen-A Serious Man
Clint Eastwood-Invictus
Quentin Tarantino-Inglourious Basterds

Alternate: Lee Daniels-Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire

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

Alternate: Michael Stuhlbarg-A Serious Man

BEST ACTRESS
Abbie Cornish-Bright Star
Helen Mirren-The Last Station
Carey Mulligan-An Education
Gabourey Sidibe-Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire
Meryl Streep-Julie & Julia

Alternate: Sandra Bullock-The Blind Side

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Christoph Waltz-Inglourious Basterds
Christian McKay-Me & Orson Welles
Alfred Molina-An Education
Christopher Plummer-The Last Station
Anthony Mackie-The Hurt Locker

Alternate: Stanley Tucci-The Lovely Bones

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Mo'Nique-Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire
Julianne Moore-A Single Man
Anne Kendrick-Up in the Air
Vera Farmiga-Up in the Air
Penelope Cruz-Nine

Alternate: Marion Cotillard-Public Enemies

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
A Serious Man
The Hurt Locker
Up
Inglourious Basterds
(500) Days of Summer

Alternate: The Messenger

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Up in the Air
An Education
Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire
In the Loop
Invictus

Alternate: The Last Station

BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS
Max Records-Where the Wild Things Are
Saoirse Ronan-The Lovely Bones
Jae Head-The Blind Side
Abigail Breslin-My Sister's Keeper
Dakota Fanning-Coraline

Alternate: Martha West-Creation

BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE
The Hurt Locker
Up in the Air
Nine
Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire
An Education

Alternate: Inglourious Basterds

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Nine
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Bright Star
Avatar

Alternate: The Lovely Bones

BEST ART DIRECTION
Bright Star
Inglourious Basterds
The Last Station
A Serious Man
Where the Wild Things Are

Alternate: Avatar

BEST FILM EDITING
The Hurt Locker
Avatar
Inglourious Basterds
Nine
Star Trek

Alternate: Up in the Air

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Nine
Bright Star
Inglourious Basterds
The Young Victoria
The Last Station

Alternate: Public Enemies

BEST MAKEUP
Star Trek
The Imagainarium of Dr. Parnassus
District 9

Alternate: Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Avatar
Star Trek
District 9

Alternate: The Lovely Bones

BEST SOUND
The Hurt Locker
Avatar
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Nine
Star Trek

Alternate: District 9

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Up
Coraline
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
The Princess & the Frog

Alternate: Ponyo

BEST ACTION MOVIE
Avatar
Star Trek
District 9
The Hurt Locker
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Alternate: Terminator: Salvation

BEST COMEDY
The Hangover
Up in the Air
It's Complicated
Julie & Julia
(500) Days of Summer

Alternate: In the Loop

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
The White Ribbon
A Prophet
Broken Embraces
Coco avant Chanel
Mother

Alternate: Samson & Delilah

BEST DOCUMENTARY
The Cove
Food Inc.
Under our Skin
Capitalism: A Love Story
Valentino: The Last Emperor

Alternate: Tyson

BEST SONG
"The Weary Kind" - Crazy Heart
"Cinema Italiano" - Nine
"Take It All" - Nine
"All is Love" - Where the Wild Things Are
"(I Want to) Come Home" - Everybody's Fine

Alternate: "I Can See in Color" - Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire

BEST SCORE
Avatar
Up
The Lovely Bones
Crazy Heart
Where the Wild Things Are

Alternate: The Last Station

KRISTIN CHENOWETH TO HOST BFCA

AWARDS CEREMONY TO BE BROADCAST LIVE ON VH1

FRIDAY, JANUARY 15 AT 9:00 PM*

(Santa Monica, CA - December 9, 2009) - The Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA) has announced that Emmy and Tony Award winning actress Kristin Chenoweth will be taking the stage as host for the 15th Annual Critics' Choice Movie Awards gala on Friday, January 15, 2010 at the Hollywood Palladium.

Kristin Chenoweth effortlessly transitions between stage, film and television. Chenoweth recently received the 2009 Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her memorable performance in the ABC series Pushing Daisies. On the stage, Chenoweth is best known for her show-stealing, Tony Award winning performance in You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown and her triumphant star turn when she originated the role of Glinda the Good Witch in Wicked, which earned her a leading actress Tony Award nomination. Chenoweth will next be seen starring in the all new Lifetime Original Movie The Twelve Men of Christmas as well as Disney's 2010 release of You Again with Jamie Lee Curtis and Kristen Bell. She will also return to Broadway in Spring 2010, starring alongside Sean Hayes in the much-anticipated revival of Promises, Promises.

"We are delighted to have a triple threat such as Kristin Chenoweth, a multiple award-wining star of the stage, film and television as host for our show," said Tom Calderone, President of VH1. "Kristin is hugely talented with broad appeal and will bring a tremendous energy to the live ceremony."

The 15th Annual Critics' Choice Movie Awards gala will air live for the third straight year on VH1 on Friday, January 15, 2010 at 9:00 PM*. The awards are bestowed annually by the BFCA to honor the finest in cinematic achievement. Since its inception in 1995, the Critics' Choice Movie Awards has been a star-studded bellwether event of the awards season and historically, the most accurate predictor of the Academy Award nominations.

Nominations for the 15th Annual Critics' Choice Movie Awards will be announced on Monday, December 14, 2009.
The 15th Annual Critics' Choice Movie Awards is executive produced by Bob Bain for Bob Bain Productions, Joey Berlin for Berlin Entertainment and Lee Rolontz for VH1.


About Broadcast Film Critics Association

The broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA) is the largest film critics' organization in the United States and Canada, representing more than 200 television, radio and online critics. BFCA members are the primary source of information for today's film going public. The very first opinion a moviegoer hears about new releases at the multiplex or the art house usually comes from one of its members.

About VH1

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