2010 Oscar Nominations - First Impressions

AND IT BEGINS! After my first frantic sprint through the nominee list, I'm happy with the results, especially given my frustration in recent years. There are certainly things I'm furious about (No Nolan for Directing?!!?! Ruffalo over Garfield for Supporting Actor? WHERE'S RYAN GOSLING?) and ecstatic over (Winter's Bone! Michelle Williams!), along with a few tradition curveballs (Javier Bardem, Jacki Weaver); given the momentum certain films have had throughout the awards circuit, I can't complain or nitpick too much (ex. the lack of love for my darling Blue Valentine).

The race for Best Picture undoubtedly comes down to The Social Network vs. The King's Speech. I'm giving the edge to The Social Network (right now), as it has won almost every possible critical award so far... However, The King's Speech leads the Oscar pack with 12 nominations. Whew.

The nominee in bold is what I believe will win (at this point in the race, as some categories are still up in the air), and the italicized nominee is my person favorite. Sometimes, these choices line up, hence the double duty. I'm only tackling the big(ger) categories, so head over to http://oscar.go.com/ for the full lineup; I certainly have options about all of the technical business, and am more than willing to have that conversation.

Best Picture
'Black Swan'
'The Fighter'
'Inception'
'The Kids Are All Right'
'The King's Speech'
'127 Hours'
'The Social Network'
'Toy Story 3'
'True Grit'
'Winter's Bone'

Best Actor
Javier Barden, 'Biutiful'
Jeff Bridges, 'True Grit'
Jesse Eisenberg, 'The Social Network'
Colin Firth, 'The King's Speech'
James Franco, '127 Hours'

Best Support Actor

Christian Bale, 'The Fighter'

John Hawkes, 'Winter's Bone'

Jeremy Renner, 'The Town'

Mark Ruffalo, 'The Kids Are All Right'

Geoffrey Rush, 'The King's Speech'

Best Actress
Annette Bening, 'The Kids Are All Right'
Nicole Kidman, 'Rabbit Hole'
Jennifer Lawrence, 'Winter's Bone'
Natalie Portman, 'Black Swan'
Michelle Williams, 'Blue Valentine'

Best Supporting Actress
Amy Adams, 'The Fighter'
Helena Bonham Carter, 'The King's Speech'
Melissa Leo, 'The Fighter'
Hailee Steinfeld, 'True Grit'
Jacki Weaver, 'Animal Kingdom'

Best Director
Darren Aronofsky, 'Black Swan'
David O. Russell, 'The Fighter'
Tom Hooper, 'The King's Speech'
David Fincher, 'The Social Network'
Joel & Ethan Coen, 'True Grit'

Adapted Screenplay
Danny Boyle & Simon Beaufoy, '127 Hours'
Aaron Sorkin, 'The Social Network'
Michael Arndt, 'Toy Story 3'
Joel & Ethan Coen, 'True Grit
Debra Granik & Anne Rosellini, 'Winter's Bone'

Original Screenplay
Mike Leigh, 'Another Year'
Scott Silver & Paul Tamasy, 'The Fighter'
Christopher Nolan, 'Inception'
Lisa Cholodenko & Stuart Blumberg, 'The Kids Are All Right'
David Seidler, 'The King's Speech'