Precious swept the Indie Spirit awards last night/this morning!

Here are the full results, in case you missed the Live Blog of the event earlier:

• BEST FEATURE: Precious
• BEST DIRECTOR: Lee Daniels for Precious
• BEST FEMALE LEAD: Gabby Sidibe for Precious
• BEST MALE LEAD: Jeff Bridges for Crazy Heart
• BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE: Mo’Nique for Precious
• BEST SUPPORTING MALE: Woody Harrelson for The Messenger
• BEST FIRST FEATURE: Crazy Heart
• JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD: Humpday
• BEST SCREENPLAY: Scott Neustadter, Michael H. Weber for 500 Days of Summer
• BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY: Geoffrey Fletcher for Precious
• BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: Roger Deakins for A Serious Man
• BEST DOCUMENTARY: Anvil!
• BEST FOREIGN FILM: An Education
• ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD: Director and Cast of A Serious Man
• PRODUCERS AWARD: Karen Chien (The Exploding Girl, Santa Mesa)
• SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD: Kyle Patrick Alvarez for Easier With Practice
• TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD: Bill Ross, Turner Ross for 45365

-Thoughts?

Live Blogging the 25th annual Spirit Awards!

I will be Live Blogging the show right here, so be sure to check back frequently as it's sure to be an interesting show! As a primer on the show, check out my preview/prediction article on the Main Page of The Awards Circuit (found here).
Now, on with the Live Blogging:

1:20- That's a wrap for this Live Blog of the 25th Annual Independent Spirit Awards. Hope you enjoyed! Sunday will be a Live Blog of the Oscars, so be prepared for another of these things soon enough...

1:18- Anvil! takes us out...

1:17- I did shockingly well with my predictions tonight, only missing on 4 categories, and accurately predicted them in a sense, since I would have voted for them. Consider it a soft 100%, but the reality is that I went 13 for 17. Not bad at all.

1:15- Precious completes the sweep!

1:14- The nominees for Best Feature are (500) Days of Summer, Amreeka, Precious, Sin Nombre, and The Last Station. It's between (500) Days and Precious, but it's 99% likely Precious will finish off the sweep.
And the winner is...Precious!

1:13- Ben Stiller bringing out "independent porn stars" to stand with him as he reads the nominees is my highlight of the night I think.

1:11- One last award, and it's the biggie...Best Feature.

1:08- Expect a Precious sweep now, but hey, anything could happen at the Spirit Awards...

1:06- Speaking of Best Director, it's up now. Lee Daniels seems likely to win for Precious, but I could see it going a few ways. Don't bet against Precious though.
And the winner is...Lee Daniels!

1:03- All that's left is Best Director and Best Feature. Will Precious sweep? Will (500) Days of Summer or The Last Station steal one? Stay tuned to find out!

1:01- Jeff Bridges has had a few...good, I say.

12:58- Best Actor is the category now. Jeff Bridges should win this, considering Crazy Heart hasn't had a bad night, but Colin Firth could get one last award for the season...but don't count on it too much (though anything is possible).
And the winner is...Jeff Bridges!

12:55- Eddie Izzard is up for the last time, introducing the last nominee for Best Feature, which is The Last Station.

12:53- Bill Murray's great speech in 2003 is the #1 speech of all time at the Spirit Awards!

12:51- Precious is 3 for 3 so far, but the two big ones are still approaching soon, not that I think it's going to stop its winning ways...

12:48- We come now to Best Female Lead. Gabourey Sidibe is the likely winner (continuing the dominance of Precious), but watch out for Helen Mirren as well.
And the winner is...Gabourey Sidibe!

12:45- I'm still doing pretty well, in terms of predictions, but all of the ones I've gotten wrong have been the ones I'd have voted for if I had a vote, so I've got 100% in my soul (assuming I have one)...

12:43- Best Foreign Film is up now. This should be A Prophet vs An Education, so place your bets.
And the winner is...An Education!

12:40- Independent cinema in general is now being celebrated, as it's the 25th anniversary of the show.

12:38- The big awards are coming...

12:34- We're up to Best Documentary. Anvil! The Story of Anvil would obviously have some support, but Food, Inc. might get in on its prestige. We'll know shortly...
And the winner is...Anvil! The Story of Anvil!

12:31- Mickey Rourke's speech last year is being shown now, the #2 speech of all time at the Spirit Awards, according to voters.

12:27- Anvil! is performing a set now, and it's a bit strange to think of them as a band (they seem more out of the Spinal Tap mold in my brain), but hey, that's what they actually are.

12:25- Amreeka is now being featured, the 4th nominee for Best Feature.

12:24- I'm amused by people drinking at a live show, but then again, I'm weird like that.

12:22- (500) Days of Summer winning makes me happy...no point to this post here except that little comment.

12:19- We come now to Best Screenplay. (500) Days of Summer, The Last Station, and The Messenger are fighting it out for the award, though I'd get a nice smile if Adventureland slipped in with a win.
And the winner is...Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber for (500) Days of Summer!

12:16- Now is the Truer than Fiction Award. The winner here turned out to be Bill and Turner Ross for 45365.

12:14- Roger Ebert is being honored right now, and I'm glad to see it.

12:11- I've only missed on two of the categories so far (I split on the Fellowship Grants). I'm doing too well, so some surprises must be coming as the show goes on.

12:09- John Waters is poking some gentle fun at Precious before presenting Film Independent's Fellowship Grants. The winners of the grant are Kyle Patrick Alvarez for Easier with Practice and Karin Chien for The Exploding Girl and Santa Mesa.

12:07- A look at Best Feature nominee Precious is now being played.

12:06- No other way to put it, Eddie Izzard is bombing with the crowd.

12:04- It seems that more people than usual aren't in attendance, but I could be wrong.

12:02- A Serious Man is now being honored with the 3rd Annual Robert Altman Award.

12:00- Midnight here on the East Coast, but we're still going strong!

11:57- Random thought...for people involved in independent cinema, these speeches sure are thanking a lot of corporate people. Just a thought...

11:52- The John Cassavetes Award is being given out now. It goes to the best flick made for less than a half a million bucks. Humpday has the inside track for this one, but it's a decently open field.
And the winner is...Humpday!

11:50- We now get a clip from another speech highlight by Derrick Luke and a video for Best Feature nominee Sin Nombre.

11:48- The sponsors get a shout from Eddie Izzard, which is being done with a bit of wit.

11:47- Next is the award for Best Cinematography (Mariah Carey claims to adore Cinematography, which makes her and I have our first thing in common ever). Roger Deakins should win this for A Serious Man, but who knows.
And the winner is...Roger Deakins for A Serious Man!

11:45- The announcement of a directing fellowship is being delivered. Good for the recipient!

11:41- We return to our host, who is introducing the 5 films nominated for Best Feature, starting with (500) Days of Summer.

11:39- Felicity Huffman's classic speech from 2004 is now being played, and it's a personal favorite of mine.

11:34- Best Supporting Actress is up next. Prepare for another win by Mo'Nique.
And the winner is...Mo'Nique!

11:32- I'm always impressed when I hear Jeff Bridges singing...

11:30- My favorite song from Crazy Heart is now being played...Fallin' and Flyin'.

11:24- We come now to the category of Best First Screenplay. The smart money is on Precious, but Crazy Heart or A Single Man could surprise, signaling potentially a good night for either (the former more than the latter).
And the winner is...Geoffrey Fletcher for Precious!

11:22- Now we start the highlights of speeches past, with the #5 pick...Paul Giamatti in 2005.

11:19- In case anyone cares, I was right about Supporting Actor, but missed on First Feature, so there goes my perfect score for the night...alas.

11:15- The next category is Best First Feature. This is a crap-shoot, since all five contenders are strong and have support, but I see it as Crazy Heart or The Messenger here, though don't count out A Single Man.
And the winner is...Crazy Heart!

11:13- I'm not going to bother commenting on the speeches, which is pretty much a comment in and of itself...

11:08- The category is Best Supporting Actor. Look for Woody Harrelson in The Messenger or Christian McKay in Me and Orson Welles to take this one home.
And the winner is...Woody Harrelson!

11:07- He got better, but still, meh. We have our first award of the night now.

11:03- Scratch that last statement, Izzard seems off his game tonight, so far.

11:00- And we're off...this should be a fun show, with some interesting match-ups. (500) Days of Summer, The Last Station, The Messenger, and Precious got the most nods, so watch out for them. Eddie Izzard is the host of the show, so the jokes should be pretty good.

10:58- 2 minute warning!

10:45- 15 minutes till the show gets underway...

10:30- Getting things started slowly. The show isn't for a half hour (on IFC), but the channel right now is showing the nomination special from last month, so if you're prepping for the show, it's hosted by the great Matt Singer and is worth checking out!

-Feel free to comment as the show goes on!

The IFMCA Awards honor Michael Giacchino!

He took top honors, but these are the full awards:

FILM COMPOSER OF THE YEAR
• MICHAEL GIACCHINO

FILM SCORE OF THE YEAR
• UP, music by Michael Giacchino

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A DRAMA FILM
• A SINGLE MAN, music by Abel Korzeniowski

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A COMEDY FILM
• THE INFORMANT!, music by Marvin Hamlisch

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR AN ACTION/ADVENTURE FILM
• THE RED CANVAS, music by James Peterson

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A FANTASY/SCIENCE FICTION FILM
• STAR TREK, music by Michael Giacchino

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A HORROR/THRILLER FILM
• DRAG ME TO HELL, music by Christopher Young

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR AN ANIMATED FEATURE
• UP, music by Michael Giacchino

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
• HOME, music by Armand Amar

FILM MUSIC COMPOSITION OF THE YEAR
• DRAG ME TO HELL – “Concerto to Hell,” music by Christopher Young

BREAKOUT COMPOSER OF THE YEAR
• JAMES PETERSON

-Thoughts?

The Visual Effects Society had their awards last night...

...and here are the winners:

Visual Effects in a Visual Effects Driven Feature Motion Picture
“2012”
“Avatar”
“District 9”
“Star Trek”
“Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen”

Supporting Visual Effects in a Feature Motion Picture
“Angels & Demons”
“The Box”
“Invictus”
“The Road”
“Sherlock Holmes”

Animation in an Animated Feature Motion Picture
“9”
“Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs”
“Coraline”
“Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs”
“Up”

Best Single Visual Effect of the Year
“2012” (“Escape From L.A.”)
“Avatar” (“Quarich’s Escape”)
“Avatar” (“Neytiri Drinking”)
“Knowing” (“Plane Crash”)
“Terminator Salvation” (“VLA Escape”)

Animated Character in a Live-Action Feature Motion Picture
“Avatar” (Neytiri)
“District 9” (Christopher Johnson)
“G-Force” (Bucky)
“Watchmen” (Doctor Manhattan)

Animated Character in an Animated Feature Motion Picture
“Coraline” (Coraline)
“Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs” (Buck)
“Monsters vs. Aliens” (B.O.B.)
“Up” (Carl, “No Dad Scene”)

Effects Animation in an Animated Feature Motion Picture
“Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs”
“Coraline”
“Monsters vs. Aliens”
“Up”

Matte Paintings in a Feature Motion Picture
“Avatar” (“Pandora”)
“Franklyn” (“Meanwhile City Scapes”)
“Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince”
“Star Trek”

Models and Miniatures in a Feature Motion Picture
“Avatar” (”Samson” / “Home Tree” / “Floating Mountains” / “Ampsuit”)
“Coraline”
“Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian” (”National Air and Space Museum Escape”)
“Terminator Salvation”

Created Environment in a Feature Motion Picture
“2012” (“Los Angeles Destruction”)
“Avatar” (“Floating Mountains”)
“Avatar” (“Jungle” / “Biolume”)
“Avatar” (“Willow Glade”)

Compositing in a Feature Motion Picture
“Avatar”
“Avatar” (“End Battle”)
“District 9”
“Sherlock Holmes” (“Wharf Explosion Sequence”)

-Thoughts?

The Cinema Audio Society Awards honor The Hurt Locker for its sound!

This also throws a monkey wrench into the tech categories (though I've long predicted a split between Avatar and The Hurt Locker). The full winners are here, but with The Hurt Locker taking the Sound Mixing award at this precursor, I could definitely see it winning with Oscar and making my prediction less of a long shot.
-Thoughts?

The American Society of Cinematographers honors The White Ribbon with its top prize!

This is definitely a surprise, as the race was thought to have been between Avatar and The Hurt Locker, though to be fair The White Ribbon has a lot of supporters. The Cinematography category at the Oscars might have just gotten more interesting...
-Thoughts?

'A Prophet' does quite well at the Cesar Awards...

...as seen by this tally:

Best Film: “A Prophet”
Best Director: Jacques Audiard, “A Prophet”
Best Actor: Tahar Rahim, “A Prophet”
Best Actress: Isabelle Adjani, “Skirt Day”
Best Supporting Actor: Niels Arestrup, “A Prophet”
Best Supporting Actress: Emmanuelle Devos, “In the Beginning”
Best Original Screenplay: Jacques Audiard, Thomas Bidegain, Abdel Raouf Dafri and Nicolas Peufaillit, “A Prophet”
Best Adapted Screenplay: Stephane Brize and Florence Vignon, “Mademoiselle Chambon”
Best Foreign Film: “Gran Torino”
Best Documentary: “Henri-Georges Clouzot’s Inferno”
Best First Film: “The French Kissers”
Best Breakthrough Actor: Tahar Rahim, “A Prophet”
Best Breakthrough Actress: Melanie Thierry, “One for the Road”
Best Original Score: Armand Amar, “The Concert”
Best Cinematography: Stephane Fontaine, “A Prophet”
Best Film Editing: Juliette Welfling, “A Prophet”
Best Art Direction: Michel Barthelemy, “A Prophet”
Best Costume Design: Catherine Leterrier, “Coco Before Chanel”
Best Sound: “The Concert”

-Thoughts?

The Costume Designers Guild announces its winners!

Behold:

Period
“Coco Before Channel” (Catherine Leterrier)
“Julie & Julia” (Ann Roth)
“Nine” (Colleen Atwood)
“Sherlock Holmes” (Jenny Beavan)
-“The Young Victoria” (Sandy Powell) (WINNER)

Fantasy
“Avatar” (Mayes C. Rubeo, Deborah Lynn Scott)
-“The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” (Monique Prudhomme) (WINNER)
“Star Trek” (Michael Kaplan)

Contemporary
“(500) Days of Summer” (Hope Hanafin)
“Bruno” (Jason Alper)
-“Crazy Heart” (Doug Hall) (WINNER)
“Precious” (Marina Draghici)
“Up in the Air “(Danny Glicker)

-Thoughts?

The Hurt Locker sweeps the BAFTA Awards!

Indeed, it was a great showing for this year's little film that could. Here is the complete list of winners:

Best Film: “The Hurt Locker”
Best Actress: Carey Mulligan, “An Education”
Best Actor: Colin Firth, “A Single Man”
Best Director: Kathryn Bigelow, “The Hurt Locker”
Best Foreign Language Film: “A Prophet”
Best Animated Film: “Up”
Best Adapted Screenplay: Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner, “Up in the Air”
Rising Star Award: Kristen Stewart
Best Production Design: Rick Carter, Robert Stromberg and Kim Sinclair, “Avatar”
Best Original Screenplay: Mark Boal, “The Hurt Locker”
Best British Film: “Fish Tank”
Best Supporting Actress: Mo’Nique, “Precious”
Best Makeup and Hair: Jenny Shircore, “The Young Victoria”
Best Costume Design: Sandy Powell, “The Young Victoria”
Best Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz, “Inglourious Basterds”
Best Visual Effects: “Avatar”
Best Cinematography: Barry Ackroyd, “The Hurt Locker”
Best Film Editing: Bob Murawski and Chris Innis, “The Hurt Locker”
Best Music: Michael Giacchino, “Up”
Best Sound: “The Hurt Locker”
Carl Foreman Award (Best Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer): Duncan Jones, “Moon”
Best Short Film: “I Do Air”
Best Animated Short: “Mother of Many”
Outstanding Contribution to British Cinema: Joe Dunton

-The Hurt Locker certainly got a big boost...thoughts?

The BAFTA winners are currently being announced...

...so stay tuned for all the winners!

The Motion Picture Sound Editors announced their winners last night!

So here they are:

Best Sound Editing: Sound Effects, Foley, Music, Dialogue and ADR Animation in a Feature Film
“9”
“Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs”
“Coraline”
“Fantastic Mr. Fox”
“Monsters vs. Aliens”
“The Princess and the Frog”
“Up” (WINNER)

Best Sound Editing: Sound Effects, Foley, Dialogue and ADR in a Foreign Feature Film
“An Education”
“The Baader Meinhof Complex”
“Coco Before Chanel”
“District 9” (WINNER)
“Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince”
“Red Cliff”

Best Sound Editing: Music in a Feature Film
“2012”
“(500) Days of Summer”
“An Education”
“Avatar” (WINNER)
“The Informant!”
“It’s Complicated”
“Sherlock Holmes”
“Star Trek”

Best Sound Editing: Music in a Musical Feature Film
“Crazy Heart”
“Every Little Step”
“Nine”
“Michael Jackson’s This Is It” (WINNER)

Best Sound Editing: Dialogue and ADR in a Feature Film
“(500) Days of Summer”
“A Serious Man”
“Avatar”
“G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra”
“The Hurt Locker”
“Inglorious Basterds” (AVATAR)
“Star Trek”
“The Stoning of Soraya M.”

Best Sound Editing: Sound Effects and Foley in a Feature Film
“2012”
“Avatar” (WINNER)
“The Hurt Locker”
“Inglorious Basterds”
“Push”
“Star Trek”
“Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen”
“Watchmen”

-Thoughts?

The Writers Guild of America bestows its top prizes on The Hurt Locker and Up in the Air...

...will the Academy follow suit? Here's the winners of the WGA Awards:

Original: Mark Boal for The Hurt Locker

Adapted: Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner for Up in the Air

Documentary: The Cove

-Thoughts?

The Saturn Awards come out with their nominations!

Here they are:

Best Science Fiction Film:
“The Book of Eli” (Warner Bros)
“Knowing” (Summit Entertainment)
“Moon” (Sony Pictures Classics)
“Star Trek” (Paramount)
“Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” (Paramount)
“X-Men Origins: Wolverine” (20th Century Fox)

Best Fantasy Film:
“Avatar” (20th Century Fox)
“Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” (Warner Bros)
“The Lovely Bones” (Paramount)
“The Time Traveler’s Wife” (Warner Bros.)
“Watchmen” (Warner Bros.)
“Where the Wild Things Are” (Warner Bros.)

Best Horror Film:
“The Box” (Warner Bros.)
“Drag Me to Hell” (Universal)
“Frozen” (Anchor Bay Films)
“The Last House on the Left” (Rogue / Universal)
“The Twilight Saga’s New Moon” (Summit Entertainment)
“Zombieland” (Sony)

Best Action/Adventure/Thriller Film:
“2012 (2009)” (Sony)
“Brothers” (Lionsgate)
“The Hurt Locker” (Summit Entertainment)
“Inglourious Basterds” (The Weinstein Co.)
“Law Abiding Citizen” (Overture)
“The Messenger” (Oscilloscope Pictures)
“Sherlock Holmes” (Warner Bros.)

Best Actor:
Robert Downey Jr. – “Sherlock Holmes” (Warner Bros.)
Tobey Maguire – “Brothers” (Lionsgate)
Viggo Mortensen – “The Road” (The Weinstein Co.)
Sam Rockwell – “Moon” (Sony Pictures Classics
Denzel Washington – “The Book of Eli” (Warner Bros.)
Sam Worthington – “Avatar” (20th Century Fox)

Best Actress:
Catherine Keener – “Where the Wild Things Are” (Warner Bros.)
Melanie Laurent – “Inglourious Basterds” (The Weinstein Co.)
Alison Lohman – “Drag Me to Hell” (Universal)
Natalie Portman – “Brothers” (Lionsgate)
Zoe Saldana – “Avatar” (20th Century Fox)
Charlize Theron – “The Burning Plain” (Magnolia)

Best Supporting Actor:
Woody Harrelson – “Zombieland” (Sony)
Stephen Lang – “Avatar” (20th Century Fox)
Frank Langella – “The Box” (Warner Bros.)
Jude Law – “Sherlock Holmes” (Warner Bros.)
Stanley Tucci – “The Lovely Bones” (Paramount)
Christoph Waltz – “Inglourious Basterds” (The Weinstein Co.)

Best Supporting Actress:
Malin Akerman – “Watchmen” (Warner Bros.)
Diane Kruger – “Inglourious Basterds” (The Weinstein Co.)
Rachel McAdams – “Sherlock Holmes” (Warner Bros.)
Lorna Raver – “Drag Me to Hell” (Universal)
Susan Sarandon – “The Lovely Bones” (Paramount)
Sigourney Weaver – “Avatar” (20th Century Fox)

Best Performance by a Younger Actor:
Taylor Lautner – “The Twilight Saga’s New Moon” (Summit Entertainment)
Bailee Madison – “Brothers” (Lionsgate)
Brooklynn Proulx – “The Time Traveler’s Wife” (Warner Bros.)
Max Records – “Where the Wild Things Are” (Warner Bros.)
Saoirse Ronan – “The Lovely Bones” (Paramount)
Kodi Smit-McPhee – “The Road” (The Weinstein Co.)

Best Director:
J.J. Abrams – “Star Trek” (Paramount)
Kathryn Bigelow – “The Hurt Locker” (Summit Entertainment)
Neill Blomkamp – “District 9″ (Sony)
James Cameron – “Avatar” (20th Century Fox)
Guy Ritchie – “Sherlock Holmes” (Warner Bros.)
Zack Snyder – “Watchmen” (Warner Bros.)
Quentin Tarantino – “Inglourious Basterds” (The Weinstein Co.)

Best Writing:
Neill Blomkamp, Terri Tatchell – “District 9″ (Sony)
James Cameron – “Avatar” (20th Century Fox)
Spike Jonze, Dave Eggers – “Where the Wild Things Are” (Warner Bros.)
Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci – “Star Trek” (Paramount)
Quentin Tarantino – “Inglourious Basterds” (The Weinstein Co.)
Alex Tse, David Hayter – “Watchmen” (Warner Bros.)

Best Music:
Brian Eno – “The Lovely Bones” (Paramount)
Michael Giacchino – “Up” (Walt Disney/Pixar)
James Horner – “Avatar” (20th Century Fox)
Taro Iwashiro – “Red Cliff” (Magnolia)
Christopher Young – “Drag Me To Hell” (Universal)
Hans Zimmer – “Sherlock Holmes” (Warner Bros.)

Best Costume:
Colleen Atwood – “Nine” (The Weinstein Co.)
Jenny Beavan – “Sherlock Holmes” (Warner Bros.)
Anna Sheppard – “Inglourious Basterds” (The Weinstein Co.)
Jany Temime – “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” (Warner Bros.)
Michael Wilkinson – “Watchmen” (Warner Bros.)
Tim Yip – “Red Cliff” (Magnolia)

Best Make-Up:
Barney Burman, Minday Hall, Joel Harlow – “Star Trek” (Paramount)
Joe Dunckley, Sarah Rubano, Frances Richardson – “District 9″ (Sony)
Sarah Monzani – “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” (Sony Pictures Classics)
Gregory Nicotero, Howard Berger – “The Book of Eli” (Warner Bros.)
Gregory Nicotero, Howard Berger – “Drag Me to Hell” (Universal)
Mike Smithson, John Rosengrant – “Terminator Salvation” (Warner Bros.)

Best Production Design:
Rick Carter, Robert Stromberg – “Avatar” (20th Century Fox)
Scott Chambliss – “Star Trek” (Paramount)
Stuart Craig – “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” (Warner Bros.)
Sarah Greenwood – “Sherlock Holmes” (Warner Bros.)
Philip Ivey – “District 9″ (Sony)
Alex McDowell – “Watchmen” (Warner Bros.)

Best Special Effects:
Tim Burke, John Richardson, Nicholas Aithadi, Tim Alexander – “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” (Warner Bros.)
John DesJardin, Peter G. Travers, Joel Whist, Jessica Norman – “Watchmen” (Warner Bros.)
Volker Engel, Marc Weingert, Mike Vezina – “2012 (2009)” (Sony)
Roger Guyett, Russell Earl, Paul Kavanagh, Burt Dalton – “Star Trek” (Paramount)
Dan Kaufman, Peter Muyzers, Robert Habros, Matt Aitken – “District 9″ (Sony)
Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham, Andrew R. Jones – “Avatar” (20th Century Fox)

Best International Film:
“District 9″ (Sony)
“The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” (Sony Pictures Classics)
“Lorna’s Silence” (Sony Pictures Classics)
“Red Cliff” (Magnolia)
“Taken” (20th Century Fox)
“Thirst” (Focus Features)

Best Animated Film:
“A Christmas Carol” (Walt Disney Studios)
“The Fantastic Mr. Fox” (20th Century Fox)
“Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs” (20th Century Fox)
“Monsters Vs. Aliens” (Paramount/DreamWorks)
“The Princess and the Frog” (Walt Disney Studios)
“Up” (Walt Disney Studios/Pixar)

-I always look at this as a precursor that highlights all of the "other" films that came out in a given year, and look forward to it...thoughts?

The London Film Critics Circle announces its winners!

Behold:

Film of the Year: “A Prophet”
British Film of the Year: “Fish Tank”
Foreign Language Film of the Year: “Let the Right One In”
Director of the Year: Kathryn Bigelow, “The Hurt Locker”
British Director of the Year: Andrea Arnold, “Fish Tank”
Actor of the Year: Christoph Waltz, “Inglourious Basterds”
Actress of the Year: Mo’Nique, “Precious”
British Actor of the Year: Colin Firth, “A Single Man”
British Actress of the Year: Carey Mulligan, “An Education”
British Supporting Actor: Michael Fassbender, “Fish Tank”
British Supporting Actress: Anne-Marie Duff, “Nowhere Boy”
Screenwriter of the Year: Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci and Tony Roche, “In the Loop”
Young British Performer of the Year: Katie Jarvis, “Fish Tank”
Breakthrough British Filmmaker: Duncan Jones, “Moon”
Dilys Powell Award: Quentin Tarantino
40th Anniversary Award: “Apocalypse Now”

-Thoughts?

The International Cinemaphile Society gives out their awards!

Here's the ICS winners:

PICTURE
01. A Serious Man
02. The White Ribbon
03. Fantastic Mr. Fox
04. Inglourious Basterds
05. Tokyo Sonata
06. 35 Shots of Rum
07. The Hurt Locker
08. District 9
09. Bright Star
10. Up In The Air

DIRECTOR
Ethan & Joel Coen – A Serious Man
runner-up: Michael Haneke – The White Ribbon

FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
01. The White Ribbon
02. Tokyo Sonata
03. 35 Shots of Rum
04. Summer Hours
05. Broken Embraces
06. Still Walking
07. Lorna’s Silence
08. The Beaches of Agnès
09. Ponyo
10. O’Horten
11. The Headless Woman

ACTOR
Colin Firth – A Single Man
runner- up: Michael Stuhlbarg – A Serious Man

ACTRESS
Tilda Swinton – Julia
runner-up: Abbie Cornish – Bright Star

SUPPORTING ACTOR
Christoph Waltz – Inglourious Basterds
runner-up: Peter Capaldi – In the Loop

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Vera Farmiga – Up In The Air
runners-up: Mo’Nique – Precious, and Penélope Cruz – Broken Embraces

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
A Serious Man – Ethan & Joel Coen
runner-up: Inglourious Basterds – Quentin Tarantino

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Fantastic Mr. Fox – Wes Anderson & Noah Baumbach
runner-up: In the Loop – Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci & Tony Roche

CINEMATOGRAPHY
The White Ribbon – Christian Berger
runner-up: Inglourious Basterds – Robert Richardson

EDITING
The Hurt Locker – Chris Innis & Bob Murawski
runner-up: Broken Embraces – José Salcedo

PRODUCTION DESIGN
Fantastic Mr. Fox – Nelson Lowry
runner-up: A Serious Man – Jess Gonchor

ORIGINAL SCORE
A Single Man – Abel Korzeniowski
runner-up: Fantastic Mr. Fox – Alexandre Desplat

ENSEMBLE
In the Loop
runner-up: The White Ribbon

ANIMATED FILM
Fantastic Mr. Fox
runner-up: Ponyo

DOCUMENTARY
The Beaches of Agnès
runner-up: Anvil! The Story of Anvil

-They certainly mixed it up...thoughts?

The ACE Eddie Awards are Tonight...

...and the winners have been announced:

Best Editing, Drama: The Hurt Locker
Best Editing, Comedy: The Hangover
Best Editing, Documentary: The Cove
Best Editing, Animated Feature: Up
Best Editing, Miniseries: Grey Gardens
Best Editing, Drama Series: Dexter
Best Editing, Comedy Series: 30 Rock

-This is a slight advantage for The Hurt Locker at the Oscars, but we shall see what ultimate happens...thoughts?

The Art Directors will announce their winners shortly...

...and here are the winners:

Period Film: Sherlock Holmes
Fantasy Film: Avatar
Contemporary design: The Hurt Locker

-Thoughts?

The Evening Standard Awards come out...

...so take a gander:

Best Film
“Bright Star”
“Fish Tank” (WINNER)
“Helen”

Best Actor
Tom Hardy, “Bronson”
Alex MacQueen, “The Hide”
Christian McKay, “Me and Orson Welles”
Andy Serkis, “Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll” (WINNER)

Best Actress
Anne-Marie Duff, “Nowhere Boy” (WINNER)
Kelly Macdonald, “The Merry Gentleman”
Carey Mulligan, “An Education”

Best Screenplay
Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci and Tony Roche, “In the Loop” (WINNER)
Nick Hornby, “An Education”
Paul Laverty, “Looking for Eric”

London Film Museum Award for Technical Achievement
Barry Ackroyd, cinematographer, “The Hurt Locker” (WINNER)
James Herbert, film editor, “Sherlock Holmes”
Tony Noble, production designer, “Moon”

Most Promising Newcomer
Katie Jarvis, actress, “Fish Tank”
Duncan Jones, director, “Moon”
Peter Strickland, writer/director, “Katalin Varga” (WINNER)

The Peter Sellers Award for Comedy
Peter Capaldi, “In the Loop”
Sacha Baron Cohen, “Bruno” (WINNER)
Ricky Gervais, “The Invention of Lying”

Best Documentary
“Afghan Star”
“Anvil! The Story of Anvil” (WINNER)
“Sleep Furiously”

-Thoughts?

Shocking no one, 'Up' does well at the Annie Awards...

...so take a break from your Super Bowl party (mine is getting going now, so people are yelling at me for uploading this) and see the winners list (the full list can be found here, but these are the big ones):

Best Animated Feature: “Up”
Best Director: Pete Docter, “Up”
Best Screenplay: Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach, “Fantastic Mr. Fox”
Best Voice Acting: Jen Cody as Charlotte, “The Princess and the Frog”
Best Production Design: Tadahiro Uesugi, “Coraline”
Best Music: Bruno Coulais, “Coraline”
Best Character Design: Shane Prigmore, “Coraline”
Best Character Animation: Eric Goldberg, “The Princess and the Frog”
Best Animated Effects: James Mansfield, “The Princess and the Frog”
Best Storyboarding: Tom Owens, “Monsters vs. Aliens”

-Thoughts?

The Scripter Awards are going on at the current moment...

...and you can watch live here! We'll have a full report when the winners are announced.

-Update: Up in the Air has won the USC Scripter Award!