Live Blogging the 82nd Annual Academy Awards!

We'll be starting in force soon (Joey's note: We've now started), but I just wanted to point out that Vera Farmiga just accidentally admitted on the red carpet to voting for Kathryn Bigelow instead of her director Jason Reitman in Best Picture. Consider this the first post here at 6:30, but at 7 things will get underway big time here, so stay tuned!

And we're off:

6:50- Jeremy Renner brought his mom...1, 2, 3 "awwww". (Joey)

6:55- I appreciate that Tom Ford finally stopped a reporter from asking about what he's wearing tonight, insisting he's "just here for film". (Myles)

7:00- The Barbara Walters pre-show special is on. It's her last one ever, if anyone cares. (Joey)

7:03- Barbara is bringing up how disparrate Mo'Nique's performance in "Precious" is compared to her comedic roots. Also some light biography stuff. (Myles)

7:05- Woah, I guess not so light after all. Apparently she based her performance on her brother, who sexually abused her. I don't know what's more disturbing, her story, or how nonchalantly she's recalling it. (Myles)

7:10- Mo'Nique has remarkably open views about having sex outside of marriage. I have absolutely no idea how this relates to the Oscars, but there you go. Also, her views on not shaving her legs. What am I watching right now? (Myles)

7:14- I don't shave my legs either, so Mo'Nique and I have something in common...(Joey)

7:16- Barbara Walters on why this is her last Oscar Special: "I'm just sick of it." Say it like it is, Barbara. (Myles)

7:25- No offense to Barbara, but this is taking forever. (Joey)

7:27- Demi Moore teaching Walters to do a striptease. Could two more dissimilar women be doing the same motion at the same time? (Joey)

7:29- Over 10 minutes of Barbara looking back at all the Oscar specials she's done. You get the sense that she absolutely hated every minute of it. (Myles)

7:35- A brief shot of Nicolas Cage reminds us that no matter what he does with it, his hair will always look atrocious. (Myles)

7:37- George Clooney is apparently the man of her dreams. Good to know... (Joey)

7:40- "After getting a lapdance from Hugh Jackman, I had nothing left to prove." I wish all shows ended on such a flashy note. (Myles)

7:45- All this attention on Sandra Bullock tells me two things...one is that she's likely to win tonight, and two is that she is a very cool gal. I'd rather it be for a slightly better film, but it's all good. (Joey)

7:49- The show is getting closer, so sit tight everyone! (Joey)

7:52- It's interesting that Sandra Bullock keeps going on about how her work has improved literally the day after winning Worst Actress at the Razzies for "All About Steve". That's called accentuating the positive. (Myles)

7:54- Myles, I think they're mistaking box office with quality (The Blind Side and The Proposal), but hey, I liked The Blind Side just fine and gave it a good review here, so I shouldn't complain. (Joey)

7:58- The Barbara Walters Special is finally over, and we're ready to get started soon. Hold onto your hats. (Myles)

8:00- Nope, another half hour of the red carpet. At this point, I've almost forgotten what I'm supposed to be watching. (Joey)

8:01- Holy cow, Kathy Ireland? I completely forgot she existed. Should she even be allowed near this kind of ceremony? (Myles)

8:05- At this point, really all I can say is "25 minute warning". (Joey)

8:12- They've flashed us the 18 minute countdown. The generic red carpet interview brigade. Not much to really comment on here. (Myles)

8:20- The guys with the envelopes are walking the red carpet now, and oh my, to be them for a moment and know what they know now. (Joey)

8:25- 5 minute warning, finally. (Joey)

8:30- And we're off! And we have the Best Actor and Actress nominees taking the stage. This is already unusual. (Myles)

8:31- It's like a wedding procession. (Joey)

8:32- Neil Patrick Harris is leading a musical number while wearing a frankly irresponsible amount of glitter on his jacket. (Myles)

8:34- Apparently nobody took notice when the general consensus at last year's awards was that all the musical numbers were an absolutely terrible idea. The hosts are out. (Myles)

8:36- Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin are off to a decent enough start. (Joey)

8:37- Well, they started off alright. They appear to be getting worse and worse with each joke. It's starting to get sort of painful. (Myles)

8:38- They also used the 10 Best Picture nominees to begin discussing "Invictus" and "The Last Station", neither of which were nominated. Fail. (Myles)

8:40- Wood sprites, really? (Joey)

8:42- That being said, I'm laughing much more than I should at their opening bit. It's not classy, but then again, neither am I. (Joey)

8:43- The hosts proceed to tell Zac Efron and Taylor Lautner that this will be them in a few years. I deeply appreciate that. (Myles)

8:45- Best Supporting Actor is the first award of the night. We all know Christoph Waltz is winning this, but hey, let's pretend it's a race. (Joey)
And the winner is...Christoph Waltz!

8:50- Great speech by Waltz. It was an obvious win, but very much deserved. (Myles)

8:51- The Blind Side is the first Best Picture nominee to get the full presentation treatment. (Joey)

8:55- An interesting bit where the stars of the Best Animated Features talk about being nominated. Even the other nominees have never heard of "Secret of Kells". (Myles)

8:58- Best Animated Feature is up. It's almost definitely "Up", as well. (Myles)

And the winner is...Up!

9:00- No surprises so far, but it's early. (Joey)

9:02- We come now to Best Original Song. This should be a slam dunk for 'The Weary Kind' from Crazy Heart, but this is a tricky category. (Joey)
And the winner is...'The Weary Kind' from Crazy Heart!

9:04- Congrats on "The Weary Kind" winning. Ryan Bingham and T-Bone Burnett are hilariously disproportionate when it comes to height. (Myles)

9:06- "District 9" is the next film to get the highlight reel. (Myles)

9:09- It's almost as if they're getting the least competitive categories out of the way first on purpose. Then again, it could just be wishful thinking on my part. (Joey)

9:12- Best Original Screenplay time. It's between "Hurt Locker" and "Inglourious Basterds". Who's it gonna be? (Myles)

And the winner is...The Hurt Locker!

9:15- This win for Mark Boal leads me to think that Inglourious Basterds is not winning Best Picture and step 1 for The Hurt Locker winning has been completed. We'll see if the tech categories boost it more. (Joey)

9:18- Now is a special tribute to John Hughes. This should be quite touching. (Joey)

9:21- Excellent tribute to John Hughes. I'd forgotten just how many movies he did. They've also managed to dig up all the actors that used to work with him but who you haven't seen in anything else since. (Myles)

9:24- "Up" gets the presentation now, perplexingly offered by one Samuel L. Jackson. (Myles)

9:28- The short film categories are up now. We start with Best Animated Short, and Wallace and Gromit's latest should be locked, but who knows? (Joey)
And the winner is...Logorama!

9:32- Wow, didn't see that one coming. Hopefully we get a few more surprises, eh? (Myles)

9:33- Best Documentary Short now. It's anyone's guess. (Joey)
And the winner is...Music by Prudence!

9:35- We finish this category with Best Live Action Short. Again, guess away. (Joey)
And the winner is...The New Tenants!

9:38- Ben Stiller is doing some sort of "Avatar" skit. His makeup is absolutely terrifying. So naturally, he's presenting Best Makeup. I'm guessing "Star Trek". (Myles)

And the winner is...Star Trek!

9:42- If anyone cares, it's a close race to see who on the staff does the best prediction-wise. (Joey)

9:44- A Serious Man gets the classy treatment now. (Joey)

9:47- Best Adapted Screenplay is on deck. Up in the Air looks like a lock. (Myles)

And the winner is...Precious!

9:51- So much for Up in the Air winning anything tonight... (Joey)

9:53- The Governor's Awards are now being shown. (Joey)

9:54- A nice hand for Lauren Bacall and Roger Corman, who are actually in attendance. (Joey)

9:57- Best Supporting Actress is up now. We can all pretend Mo'Nique isn't 100% winning this, but she still is a lock. (Joey)
And the winner is...Mo'Nique!

10:00- Congrats to Mo'Nique, and Precious in general. It's doing better than expected tonight. Could we perhaps be seeing an upset? (Myles)

10:01- It's time for "An Education" to get the presentational treatment. (Myles)

10:04- It hasn't been a real predictable show yet. Now I'm really anxious to see what happens with the tech categories, namely Cinematography and Film Editing. (Joey)

10:06- Best Art Direction time. Avatar, or something less predictable? (Myles)

And the winner is...Avatar!

10:09- Now it's time for Best Costume Design. This one's a bit open. Who will take it? (Myles)

And the winner is...The Young Victoria!

10:12- Precious, the surprise juggernaut of the night so far (will it last?) gets the presentation treatment now. (Joey)

10:15- Anyone else now second guessing themselves a lot? (Joey)

10:17- A send-up of Paranormal Activities, now that's something Oscar needs to do. (Joey)

10:18- We come now to a tribute to the horror genre. Very cool, in my eyes. (Joey)

10:22- It's official...Morgan Freeman narrates everything. (Joey)

10:24- The awards for Sound come now, and it's going to be interesting to see if Avatar can sweep this or not. First up is Best Sound Editing. It's between Avatar and The Hurt Locker in my eyes. (Joey)
And the winner is...The Hurt Locker!

10:26- Now is Best Sound Mixing. Will there be a split or will The Hurt Locker surprisingly sweep? (Joey)
And the winner is...The Hurt Locker!

10:28- I'm still reeling from Twilight's inclusion in the best of Horror. But congratulations on The Hurt Locker for taking both Sound categories. It's doing well so far tonight. (Myles)

10:29- Wow, did they give the sci/tech awards the shaft this year. (Joey)

10:30- Inglourious Basterds just got the big montage treatment. (Joey)

10:34- Best Cinematography time. This will be the first real test for Avatar vs. Hurt Locker. Who's it gonna be? (Myles)

And the winner is...Avatar!

10:38- Get out the hankies, it's time for the tribute to those who've passed this year. And what a remarkable many there were. So many wonderful artists, who gave us so much. (Myles)

10:41- That was pretty classy. (Joey)

10:43- Way to miss out on Farrah Fawcett, guys. (Myles)

10:44- Indeed. Tisk, tisk. (Joey)

10:46- Next up is Best Original Score, which is being honored through...dance? Now I've seen everything. Up is in the driver's seat for this one, but hey, with how this night has gone, I'm sure of nothing anymore. (Joey)
And the winner is...Up!

10:53- I'm not entirely sure the dance choreography works for this category (especially half these nominees), but congrats to Up. (Myles)

10:55- Now it's time for Best Visual Effects. Don't pretend anything other than Avatar will win this.

And the winner is...Avatar!

10:57- Up in the Air is now the one getting the big presentation treatment, though Jason Reitman is still likely stinging from his loss earlier, so he's probably not beaming as much as you'd expect. (Joey)

11:01- A lot of writer jokes tonight... (Joey)

11:02- Best Documentary Feature is up now. I'd think this is The Cove's, but you never know. (Joey)
And the winner is...The Cove!

11:05- Best Film Editing is up now. Avatar vs. Hurt Locker. Who's it gonna be? (Myles)

And the winner is...The Hurt Locker!

11:09- Right after getting a nice boost in its Best Picture hopes, The Hurt Locker gets its tribute played. (Joey)

11:11- Anyone want to pretend that they're sure they know how the rest of the night will go? (Joey)

11:14- Best Foreign Language Film up now. There are 3 or 4 ways this award could go, so let's just sit back and see who wins it. (Joey)
And the winner is...The Secret in Their Eyes!

11:18- Bit of an upset there. I suppose we should have paid more attention to the spectacular round of applause it got on nomination morning. (Myles)

11:20- Avatar gets presented. By Kathy Bates. I swear, they're pulling these presenters out of a hat. (Myles)

11:22- Not to brag, but I've only gotten 4 wrong so far, and hit on a couple of upsets. Go me...until I next screw up! (Joey)

11:24- It's time for one of the big ones, Best Actor. They're doing the thing they did last year where previous nominees discuss each nominee in depth. This is obviously Bridges' to lose. (Myles)

And the winner is...Jeff Bridges!

11:33- I love the enthusiasm that The Dude has. (Joey)

11:38- The Actress nominees will now get the same treatment as the boys just did. (Joey)

11:44- We finally now will find out who wins the award for Best Actress. Is it still Bullock versus Streep, or is an upset coming, perhaps from Carey Mulligan or Gabourey Sidibe? (Joey)
And the winner is...Sandra Bullock!

11:50- Congrats to Sandra Bullock for her incredible modesty, despite being the obvious winner since the nominations were announced. (Myles)

11:52- Random bit of trivia...all 4 acting awards went to first timers...same for both writing awards. (Joey)

11:54- Time for perhaps the most important race of the night, Best Director. Will Kathryn Bigelow make history? (Myles)

And the winner is...Kathryn Bigelow!

11:56- Congrats to Kathryn Bigelow for breaking the glass ceiling for female directors! (Joey)

11:58- The Hurt Locker wins Best Picture! (Joey)

12:00- Congratulations to The Hurt Locker for a wonderful night, and to all the winners! And so this season finally comes to an end. I'd like to thank my co-writer Joey Magidson for LiveBlogging with me, our fearless leader Clayton David, our fellow writers Keith Lucas, John Foote, and Jackson Truax, and all our devote readers for making this website as popular as it has become. Thanks to everyone for the spectacular season, and here's looking forward to the next one!

Cheers,

-Myles

12:05- I couldn't have said it better myself, so we'll wrap up now. Thanks for reading! (Joey)

-Thoughts on the big event?

Place Your Ballots....

In every category....What gets your vote! Comment.

Jack-in-the-Box Office OSCAR EDITION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Though two new films were at the top of the Box Office this weekend (“Alice in Wonderland” took in $116 million to become the highest grossing film of 2010 so far, followed by a decent $13.5 million opening for “Brooklyn’s Finest”), it seemed more pertinent to today’s happenings to look at the affect Oscar weekend had on some of the films nominated for today’s awards.

The highest Oscar nominee at the Box Office this weekend was “Avatar” in fifth place. “Avatar” had the steepest decline so far in it’s run due to losing 3D and IMAX screens to “Alice in Wonderland”. Despite the 43.6% decline, the film earned $7.7 million dollars to bring it’s domestic total to over $720 million dollars.

In ninth place, “Crazy Heart” had its best weekend at the Box Office yet, grossing $3.35 million dollars. In addition to grossing 36% more than last weekend, the film has now earned $29.56 million in domestic Box Office, substantially more than its $7 million production budget.

In a weekend when Sandra Bullock could make history by being the first actress to win an Oscar and a Razzie in the same year, her film enjoyed a Box Office bump (which can likely be attributed to the film opening in more second run theaters) and made another $1.27 million landing it in fourteenth place. This was a 2.5% increase from last week, and more notably, brought the film’s domestic total to over $250 million dollars.

In fifteenth place, “The Last Station” added two theaters (to now play in 354) and despite a small decline in gross (13.7%) the film earned another $837,000, to bring its domestic total to $4.6 million and its worldwide total to $6.2 million. While this may be only a fraction of it’s $18 million dollar budget, much of the money from the film came from donations from the governments of Russia and Germany and needn’t be paid back.

The honor for the highest per-screen-average this weekend went to “The Secret of Kells” which opened in one theater in New York where it grossed $40,000 dollars. After months of accolades, positive buzz, and precursor nominations, the film is finally enjoying some box office glory. This will hopefully translate into the film’s expansion into a wider release in the coming weeks.

Other Oscar nominees to enjoy an “Oscar Bump” this week included “A Single Man,” “The Hurt Locker,” “An Education,” “A Prophet,” and “The Lovely Bones”.

Did you catch up with any of these nominees this weekend? Did other nominees entice you to the theater for a first or second viewing? Or, did you try and get a head start on next year’s race with “Alice in Wonderland”? Please let us know in the comments section, and enjoy the show today!

UPDATE: I was e-mailed by some readers who asked me to mention the continued success of Kevin Smith’s latest film “Cop Out” in its second weekend and try and rectify some negative perceptions of its Box Office. I could break down numbers further, but all that needs to be said is that it has already made $32.3 million domestically on a $30 million dollar budget. Although it’s not known how much was spent on publicity and advertising, and of course a percentage of the gross of course goes to the theaters, the domestic gross can be as little as one-sixth of what a film makes after foreign, DVD, and other grosses are taken into account. Smith’s films always do well on DVD, so anyway you slice it in addition to “Cop Out” already being Smith’s highest grossing film, it stands to become one of his most profitable films. This should bode well for his future as a director, in addition to being a catalyst for more films from Tracy Morgan.

Any last guesses for what the surprises of the night will be?

Will there be a big upset in Best Picture (Precious or Up perhaps?), Best Actor (Jeremy Renner?), or any other category?
-Now's your chance to let loose with them before the show!

My night at the Razzies!

Since you've already seen the list of this evening's "winners" (or losers rather) from the Razzie Awards, I thought I'd take a minute to give some accounts of the 30th annual ceremony overall, as I was in attendance last night.

- The show overall was one thrill after another, and getting into the show alone is well worth the cost of annual dues to be a voting Razzie member. The songs and presentations had a quirky and charming summer-camp-let's-put-on-a-show-right-here element, and they were augmented with photo and video clips from the past ceremonies. Many of the performers have been in the show for decades, with highlights including characters Lady Hoo-Ha and a drag queen Julia Child. The best part about about watching the show was that the performers were having a wonderful time onstage and that was contagious to the audience.

- The emcee for the evening was Bill A. Jones (recently seen as Rod Remington on "Glee") whose vocal dynamics and prowess added a wonderful dimension to the proceedings. He was truly a vital and enjoyable part of the ceremony and hopefully he'll be back next year.

- The first "winner" of the night to accept their award was J.D. Shapiro who accepted the Golden Raspberry won by "Battlefield Earth" for Worst Film of the Decade. Shapiro showcased his penchant for stand-up comedy by doing a bit that included him sharing negative reviews of the film (the worst of which was from his mother). He also used the opportunity to explain that much of his original script was removed from the film after it was rewritten by Corey Mandell, a writer who has no film credits since. Shapiro (whose credits also include the Mel Brooks film "Robin Hood: Men in Tights") was present for the entire ceremony, and stayed after to talk to the press at great length. For whatever reason, he appeared to have no hard feelings about the legacy of "Battlefield Earth" and enjoyed the evening immensely.

- The second "winner" of the night to accept was Sandra Bullock who won Worst Actress for "All About Steve". She was only in the building briefly (she was taking a break from a charity event hosted by Jeffery Katzenberg - the "K" of Dreamworks SKG) but her unique speech made an impact. Instead of going the Halle Berry route and agreeing the film was horrible, Bullock humorously defended the film, saying that since her character spends the film stalking Bradley Cooper's character they can't really be called an "on-screen couple" (in reference to another award the film won that night) and she didn't think anyone who voted for the Razzies had seen the movie. Bullock brought DVDs of the movie for everyone there and said that if after watching it the Razzie voters didn't think she still deserved the award, she would come back next year to give it back and then go out for drinks with the voters.

If you'd like to be there next year to see how this unfolds, please go to www.razzies.com to see how you and your friends can easily and affordably become voting members.

Take a gander at the Razzie "winners"...

...or losers, more appropriately. Here they are:

Worst Picture: Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Worst Actress: Sandra Bullock for 'All About Steve'

Worst Actor(s): All three Jonas Brothers for 'Jonas Brothers: The 3-D Concert Experience

Worst Screen Couple: Sandra Bullock and Bradley Cooper for 'All About Steve'

Worst Supporting Actress: Sienna Miller for 'G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra'

Worst Supporting Actor: Billy Ray Cyrus for 'Hannah Montana: The Movie'

Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-Off, or Sequel: Land of the Lost

Worst Director: Michael Bay for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Worst Screenplay: Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen written by Ehren Kruger, Roberto Orci, and Alex Kurtzman, based on Hasbro's Transformers Action Figures

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Worst Picture of the Decade: Battlefield Earth

Worst Actor of the Decade: Eddie Murphy

Worst Actress of the Decade: Paris Hilton

-Thoughts?

Tonight's the big night...

...and we'll be Live Blogging the event, so check back in later for all the fun!

Behold the winner of Academy Idol this year!

First of all, a big thanks goes to Myles for doing these videos all year!
Now, the wait is over:

-Thoughts on the outcome of the contest?

An interesting graph on Book Adaptations that have won Best Picture...

I found this pretty cool...thoughts?

This is just an amusing image to me...

Call it the Ultimate Oscar or something...

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!

Last chance to joing our Awards Circuit Oscar Pool...

...so go here and make sure you get in on the fun!

Final Oscar predictions, a Preview of tonight's Spirit Awards, and the next in the Will Win/Should Win series!

Yes, it's a busy day at The Awards Circuit. We start off with our fearless leader Clayton's final Oscar predictions. Kick it off with Best Picture here and check them all out! (We've also updated the staff chart predictions here, so see how we all forsee the night going on Sunday!)
Tonight is the last awards show (not counting the Razzies) before the Oscars, and it's the Independent Spirit Awards. To get a sense of how the night might play out, and what, if anything, this means for the Academy Awards on Sunday, check out the article here. Be sure to let us know what you think!
We also have the next in the series of Who Will Win/Should Win articles on the Oscars. Check it out here and tell us what you think!
Finally, there's more American Idol commentary to be found here, so take a look and stay abreast of the happenings on the show!
-Thoughts on all the updates?

IFC makes the case for The Blind Side over Precious...

...and while I agree with a lot of the points the article makes about both films, I'm not 100% sure I buy it. I have more issues with Precious than I do with The Blind Side, but perhaps the author is reading into things a little too much. The IFC article is found here, so take a gander and judge for yourself.
-Where do you come down on the debate?

Today's Posters: New looks at Toy Story 3 and A Nightmare on Elm Street, as well as Posters for Furry Vengeance and The Joneses

Thoughts?

The Who Will Win/Should Win Oscar Series continues on the Main Page of The Awards Circuit!

Indeed, the latest article in the Who Will Win/Should Win series has hit, and can be found here for your reading pleasure. As always, comment, critiques, queries, questions, and thoughts in general are appreciated!
We also have an update to the Historical Circuit with a review of Saving Private Ryan here. Be sure to keep giving us ideas for future historical reviews as well, as we do listen.
Finally, there's new commentary on the American Idol page here, so check it out and keep abreast of what's going on with the show!
-Thoughts on the new article, Historical Circuit review, and Idol commentary?