Oscars 2010 Results and Reaction

What was expected to be a largely predictable 82nd Annual Academy Awards turned out to be just that. There was only one result that would largely be considered a surprise, while the few races that had some suspense played out as many had predicted. The Hurt Locker was the big winner coming away with six awards, while Avatar ended as the runner-up with three.

The actual show was a mess with some terrible directing, technical issues, unfunny sequences, and an interpretive dance routine that was grossly out of place. I finished up 17/20 on predictions, only caught off guard by the one surprise. Continue on for the results and some final thoughts on the categories.

Best Art Direction
Avatar
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Nine
Sherlock Holmes
The Young Victoria

No surprise here. The world of Pandora was stunning, there was really no competition here.
Best Art Direction Winner: Avatar

Best Cinematography
Avatar
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
The White Ribbon

Avatar did have a battle here with The Hurt Locker, but ultimately they academy rewarded the film that advanced audience technological expectations with its use of 3D.
Best Cinematography Winner: Avatar

Best Costume Design
Bright Star
Coco Before Chanel
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Nine
The Young Victoria

Period films generally win this category and that was the case yet again.
Best Costume Winner: The Young Victoria

Best Documentary
Burma VJ
The Cove
Food, Inc.
The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers
Which Way Home

The most mainstream of the nominees, The Cove is a difficult movie to watch due to how emotional and powerful the subject matter is.
Best Documentary Winner: The Cove

Best Editing
Avatar
District 9
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Precious

Generally the Best Editing award is an indicator of what film will win Best Picture. With the way things were going throughout the night the momentum was there for The Hurt Locker. The taut nature of the film was due in large part to how expertly edited it was.
Best Editing Winner: The Hurt Locker

Best Makeup
Il Divo
Star Trek
The Young Victoria

Generally sci-fi or fantasy movies end up winning this category. Star Trek keeps that perception going. I was happy it at least won an award since it really was worthy of a Best Picture nod.
Best Makeup Winner: Star Trek

Best Score
Avatar
Fantastic Mr. Fox
The Hurt Locker
Sherlock Holmes
Up

The score for Up is often cited as a large factor for why many got so emotionally attached to the characters and swept up in the events that took place.
Best Score Winner: Up

Best Song
“Almost There,” The Princess and the Frog, Randy Newman
“Down in New Orleans,” The Princess and the Frog, Randy Newman
“Loin de Paname,” Paris 36, Reinhardt Wagner & Frank Thomas
“Take It All,” Nine, Maury Weston
“The Weary Kind,” Crazy Heart, T-Bone Burnett & Ryan Bingham

The theme for Crazy Heart, which has built its run off the performance of Jeff Bridges and the role music plays in the film, was expected to win here. It was unfortunate that the usual Best Song performances were replaced by the interpretive dances for the Best Score nominees.
Best Song Winner: The Weary Kind

Best Sound Editing
Avatar
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Star Trek
Up

This was a slight upset as Avatar was considered to be the favorite. It was also the first big sign that the night was trending towards being The Hurt Locker‘s.
Best Sound Editing Winner: The Hurt Locker

Best Sound Mixing
Avatar
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Star Trek
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

I liked The Hurt Locker in this category even though most were pegging Avatar here as well. The intensity was enhanced by the sounds, and sometimes the lack thereof, and the situations which made it feel as though you were right there.
Best Sound Mixing Winner: The Hurt Locker

Best Visual Effects
Avatar
District 9
Star Trek

No surprise here. District 9 and Star Trek could have won any other year but Avatar has changed the landscape of movies forever with its motion capture technology and use of 3D.
Best Visual Effects Winner: Avatar

Best Supporting Actress
Mo’Nique in Precious
Vera Farmiga in Up in the Air
Penélope Cruz in Nine
Diane Kruger in Inglourious Basterds
Maggie Gyllenhaal in Crazy Heart

This was one of the biggest locks of the evening. She won every award along the way.
Best Supporting Actress Winner: Mo’Nique

Best Supporting Actor
Christoph Waltz in Inglourious Basterds
Christopher Plummer in The Last Station
Matt Damon in Invictus
Stanley Tucci in The Lovely Bones
Woody Harrelson in The Messengers

This award has long been decided, so much so that casinos wouldn’t even take wagers on it. Waltz’s performance was outstanding and easily the best part of a film I didn’t really like.
Best Supporting Actor Winner: Christoph Waltz

Best Actress
Meryl Streep in Julie & Julia
Sandra Bullock in The Blind Side
Helen Mirren in The Last Station
Gabourey Sidibe in Precious
Carey Mulligan in An Education

It was a toss-up between Bullock and Streep. While Streep was talked about as the best part of Julie and Julia, it is odd that Bullock was never really cited as the main reason for the success of The Blind Side. If anything I heard more complaints about her accent than raves about her performance. Still, I thought here speech was fantastic and one of the highlights of the night.
Best Actress Winner: Sandra Bullock

Best Actor
Morgan Freeman in Invictus
Jeff Bridges in Crazy Heart
George Clooney in Up in the Air
Colin Firth in A Single Man
Jeremy Renner in The Hurt Locker

Pretty much everyone loves Jeff Bridges. It was good to see “The Dude” get recognition like this. His performance carried Crazy Heart and has resulted in it doing well at the box office, which it never would have otherwise.
Best Actor Winner: Jeff Bridges

Best Adapted Screenplay
District 9
An Education
Precious
Up in the Air
In the Loop

This was the only shocker of the night. Most everyone expected Up in the Air to come away with the Oscar. It was thought that the film and director Jason Reitman would be rewarded in this category since it wasn’t going to be elsewhere. Precious clearly had a groundswell of support that wasn’t limited to just the acting categories it was nominated for.
Best Adapted Screenplay Winner: Precious

Best Original Screenplay
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
A Serious Man
Up
The Messenger

Inglourious Basterds was thought to be the slight favorite, and when The Hurt Locker knocked it off (early in the show) it prompted the first comments that things were looking good for its chances later on.
Best Original Screenplay Winner: The Hurt Locker

Best Animated Film
Up
The Princess and the Frog
Coraline
Fantastic Mr Fox
Secret of Kells

Up was going to win this, even though I thought Fantastic Mr. Fox was the best animated movie. It had too much support all along and the nomination for Best Picture solidified it as the clear favorite. Pixar just doesn’t lose these.
Best Animated Winner: Up

Best Director
James Cameron (Avatar)
Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker)
Quentin Tarantino (Inglourious Basterds)
Jason Reitman (Up in the Air)
Lee Daniels (Precious)

The first female director to ever win the award. I’ve been a fan of hers throughout her career, beginning with one of the best action movies of its time in Point Break. The Hurt Locker was masterly crafted.
Best Director Winner: Kathryn Bigelow

Best Picture
Avatar
District 9
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Up
A Serious Man
Up in the Air
The Blind Side
An Education
Precious

I suspect that years from now, people will look back and wonder how Avatar didn’t win Best Picture. It reminds me of how Shakespeare in Love beat Saving Private Ryan. At the time Shakespeare in Love was the underdog movie that had people pushing for the upset. Now most would look back on that and wonder how the hell it topped Saving Private Ryan. Avatar will have a legacy of changing film-making and introducing new technologies, and advancing the movie-going experience.

Despite all that The Hurt Locker was fantastic, and it was my choice to win. It’s hard for me to cite any movie that I felt as tense watching. I wouldn’t necessarily think of it as a usual Best Picture, somewhat by default in a relatively weak class this year that made it my top choice. The final decision was between the “experience” and impact of Avatar and the terrific performances, screenplay, and powerful nature of The Hurt Locker.
Best Picture Winner: The Hurt Locker