Oscars

2010 was a year of movies for me - so i thought i'd finish it off by watching as many of the 2010 films nominated for Oscars as possible. Not all of them were available to see after the nominees were announced, but a good number of them were either still in the theaters or already out on dvd. Of the many that were nominated for awards, these are the ones I've seen:

127 Hours
Alice in Wonderland
Black Swan
Blue Valentine
Biutiful
The Fighter
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1
How to Train Your Dragon
I Am Love
The Illusionist
Inception
Iron Man 2
The Kids Are All Right
The King's Speech
The Social Network
The Town
Toy Story 3
True Grit
Winter's Bone
The Wolfman


For the categories where I've seen all or most of the films, my picks are below! (for those where I couldn't decide, I just chose more than one) :)

Actor in a Leading Role
Javier Bardem in “Biutiful”
Jeff Bridges in “True Grit”
Jesse Eisenberg in “The Social Network”
Colin Firth in “The King's Speech”
James Franco in “127 Hours”

Actor in a Supporting Role
Christian Bale in “The Fighter”
John Hawkes in “Winter's Bone”
Jeremy Renner in “The Town”
Mark Ruffalo in “The Kids Are All Right”
Geoffrey Rush in “The King's Speech”

Actress in a Leading Role
Annette Bening in “The Kids Are All Right”
Nicole Kidman in “Rabbit Hole”
Jennifer Lawrence in “Winter's Bone”
Natalie Portman in “Black Swan”
Michelle Williams in “Blue Valentine”

Actress in a Supporting Role
Amy Adams in “The Fighter”
Helena Bonham Carter in “The King's Speech”
Melissa Leo in “The Fighter”
Hailee Steinfeld in “True Grit”
Jacki Weaver in “Animal Kingdom”

Animated Feature Film
“How to Train Your Dragon” Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois
“The Illusionist” Sylvain Chomet
“Toy Story 3” Lee Unkrich

Art Direction
“Alice in Wonderland”
Production Design: Robert Stromberg; Set Decoration: Karen O'Hara
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1”
Production Design: Stuart Craig; Set Decoration: Stephenie McMillan
“Inception”
Production Design: Guy Hendrix Dyas; Set Decoration: Larry Dias and Doug Mowat
“The King's Speech”
Production Design: Eve Stewart; Set Decoration: Judy Farr
“True Grit”
Production Design: Jess Gonchor; Set Decoration: Nancy Haigh

Cinematography
“Black Swan” Matthew Libatique
“Inception” Wally Pfister
“The King's Speech” Danny Cohen
“The Social Network” Jeff Cronenweth
“True Grit” Roger Deakins

Costume Design
“Alice in Wonderland” Colleen Atwood
“I Am Love” Antonella Cannarozzi
“The King's Speech” Jenny Beavan
“The Tempest” Sandy Powell
“True Grit” Mary Zophres

Directing
“Black Swan” Darren Aronofsky
“The Fighter” David O. Russell
“The King's Speech” Tom Hooper
“The Social Network” David Fincher
“True Grit” Joel Coen and Ethan Coen

Film Editing
“Black Swan” Andrew Weisblum
“The Fighter” Pamela Martin
“The King's Speech” Tariq Anwar
“127 Hours” Jon Harris
“The Social Network” Angus Wall and Kirk Baxter

Best Picture
“Black Swan” Mike Medavoy, Brian Oliver and Scott Franklin, Producers
“The Fighter” David Hoberman, Todd Lieberman and Mark Wahlberg, Producers
“Inception” Emma Thomas and Christopher Nolan, Producers
“The Kids Are All Right” Gary Gilbert, Jeffrey Levy-Hinte and Celine Rattray, Producers
“The King's Speech” Iain Canning, Emile Sherman and Gareth Unwin, Producers
“127 Hours” Christian Colson, Danny Boyle and John Smithson, Producers
“The Social Network” Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca and Ceán Chaffin, Producers
“Toy Story 3” Darla K. Anderson, Producer
“True Grit” Scott Rudin, Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, Producers
“Winter's Bone" Anne Rosellini and Alix Madigan-Yorkin, Producers

Visual Effects
“Alice in Wonderland” Ken Ralston, David Schaub, Carey Villegas and Sean Phillips
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1” Tim Burke, John Richardson, Christian Manz and Nicolas Aithadi
“Hereafter” Michael Owens, Bryan Grill, Stephan Trojansky and Joe Farrell
“Inception” Paul Franklin, Chris Corbould, Andrew Lockley and Peter Bebb
“Iron Man 2” Janek Sirrs, Ben Snow, Ged Wright and Daniel Sudick

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
“127 Hours” Screenplay by Danny Boyle & Simon Beaufoy
“The Social Network” Screenplay by Aaron Sorkin
“Toy Story 3” Screenplay by Michael Arndt; Story by John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich
“True Grit” Written for the screen by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
“Winter's Bone” Adapted for the screen by Debra Granik & Anne Rosellini

Writing (Original Screenplay)
“Another Year” Written by Mike Leigh
“The Fighter” Screenplay by Scott Silver and Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson; Story by Keith Dorrington & Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson
“Inception” Written by Christopher Nolan
“The Kids Are All Right” Written by Lisa Cholodenko & Stuart Blumberg
“The King's Speech” Screenplay by David Seidler

storytelling

i have noticed a recurring theme in my life. this isn't a new observation, really, but one that i have been made aware of again recently. it has to do with my superb listening skills, which seem to inspire people to tell me all sorts of things. The first time I really remember this happening was in high school. I had a couple of friends who would routinely sit and tell me just about everything that was on their mind. (and I never betrayed their secrets).

Then, when I was in community college, I used to sit in a particular little alcove with several other regulars - and a couple of them would routinely tell me loads of personal stories too. (i never betrayed their secrets either - although come to think of it, it's probably in large part because i can't actually remember anybody's secrets. i have a terrible memory).

At the UW I had a student job at Suzzallo Library all 4 years, and a few people would come and chat with me, including my boss. If I was having a particularly tired day, I could just go sit in her office, and if she was in a storytelling mood, it would take up so much time that I wouldn't have any time left to actually do much work. There were another couple of student workers who would come and sit in my work area just to chat too. One of them told me I should charge like they were therapy sessions, since they did all of the talking and I did all of the listening.

I've had a number of friends since that will just sit and chat when we're together. And now, I'm spending a bunch of time in the library at work, and the librarian has been chatting up a storm too. She's asked me several times why she tells me so much - and i've confessed to her that it isn't her - it's me. I inspire people to tell their secrets. i'd probably make a great spy.

I've told my librarian friend that I never repeat other people's stories - except to my husband. (so if you've ever found yourself telling me far more about yourself than you ever intended, you can probably rest assured that I'm not going to repeat it anytime soon, except potentially to Mike, who has a bad memory anyway). I do rather enjoy listening to other people's stories though. I find it highly interesting to learn about the people I know. it's probably what makes me such a great listener - i'm paying good attention when you're talking, because i'm interested in what you're telling me. so chat away, and feel free to blame it on my strange ability to inspire you to do so!