WELCOME TO OUR FIRST BLOG: ...AND SO, IT BEGINS...LET'S TALK OSCARS

JER: Greetings to ALL and welcome to our first blog…fitting enough…THE RACE BEGINS: The 83rd Annual Academy Award Nominations have been announced and those last minute, mad-dashes to the ballots are occurring as we speak!...Let me cut some of the fat off and go right for the meat and potatoes! To begin with...THANK GOD we didn't see the likes of either ALICE IN WONDERLAND or THE TOURIST carry a Best Picture nomination from the Golden Globes!!! These are your 10 Best Picture noms:

BLACK SWAN

THE FIGHTER

INCEPTION

THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT

THE KING'S SPEECH

127 HOURS

THE SOCIAL NETWORK

TOY STORY 3

TRUE GRIT

WINTER'S BONE

Jer's choice: INCEPTION

My personal favorite, INCEPTION, doesn't look like it has a chance amongst the "now" favorites THE SOCIAL NETWORK and THE KING'S SPEECH. TOY STORY 3 will probably win Best Animated Film and not too sure if WINTER'S BONE should have gone as far as getting a nom here.

10 Best Picture noms still only equal 5 Best Director noms, which includes (a Director I personally worked with) David O. Russell (THE FIGHTER) and Joel and Ethan Coen (TRUE GRIT) but I am greatly disappointed by the omitted nod to Christopher Nolan for INCEPTION.

Best Actor and Best Actress nominations became a bit scrambled; including everyone from Jeff Bridges (my personal fav for TRUE GRIT), Javier Barden, Jesse Eisenberg, Colin Firth and James Franco... then, Annette Bening (she could take it!), Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Lawrence (my fav for WINTER'S BONE), Natalie Portman and Michelle Williams.

On a personal side-note, I would LOVE to see Rick Baker win another Best Make-Up award for THE WOLFMAN! It would certainly bring things to full circle to see him win another award and match the first one won for AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON! (also involving wolves, I may add)

JC's Choice: THE SOCIAL NETWORK

JOHNNY CHAZZ: ‎"Social Network" wins Best Picture most likely and Fincher will win for Best Director. "Colin Firth" is a virtual guarantee for Best Actor. Not sure that the Best Actress category is that "wide-open" Jer - it looks like there are only two likely winners (Portman and Bening): I believe however that Natalie Portman likely wins for "Black Swan" due to her popularity and established Hollywood personae as well as the artistic quality of the role - but Jennifer Lawrence probably deserves it for the wonderful, yet understated performance in Winter's Bone. Supporting roles will go to (deservingly so) Christian Bale and Melissa Leo from "The Fighter" as they were both excellent. Still, keep an eye out for a possible upset in the Supp. Actress category if Leo does not win: Hailee Stenifeld (True Grit) could get the nod. Alejandro Inarritu's Mexican-Spanish drama "Bitiful" has a realistic shot at the Best Foreign Film category as well. On a final note, there are 3 films that have no business being nominated and they include: Toy Story 3, 127 Hours and The Kids are All Right. 

TOY STORY 3 for Best Animated Film (?)

JER: What I meant by "wide-open" is that it seems there is a large variety to choose from...very different than what the Golden Globes offered recently. I have to agree with your selections, try as hard as I can to deny it, though.... AAAAHHHH! ...I will disagree with your "no business being nominated" comment towards TOY STORY 3 for Best Picture. It will likely win Best Animated Film, but deserves a reflective nod in the category and should proudly stand as a well-deserved nomination...unlike the agreed 127 HOURS and THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT...still need to see BLACK SWAN before I say anything further on that film.

Natalie Portman for THE BLACK SWAN

JOHNNY CHAZZ: "No Business" being nominated in respect to - if a film is nominated it should have a somewhat reasonable chance to win....and well, Toy Story 3 has little if no shot at the award. So, my point is - why nominate it and take a spot away from another film - especially a foreign film that is 10x the caliber? I know they can't be nominated, but they should be. Black Swan remains a sleeper for the award night, and I expect it to make the most noise in the Best Actress category as Portman is a serious contender.

JER: JC, you have to agree that TOY STORY 3 'rightfully' belongs in that category, considering the other bad options the Academy could have gone with...also... you have to agree that the Academy now having to pull 10 possible nominations...pardon my French...FROM IT'S ASS...since there aren't 10 solid films that came out in 2010 that would fit the bill! Seriously, what about THE TOWN? I'm still a little perplexed by 127 HOURS and WINTER'S BONE, myself...

OK, so what are your opinions? We welcome your thoughts and ideas.   Would you take sides with either Jer or Johnny Chazz? Thanks for visiting us and please check with us as we will SEE YOU NEXT WEDNESDAY!

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