In Contention

WEEKLY WRAP: ‘Avatar’ leads, ‘Nine’ falls, more lists

Written by

in

Sam Worthington in AvatarThere was no wrap last Friday, what with Christmas capping a dead calm news week. So here are the highlights of the last fortnight:

• Off the Carpet returned from its Christmas vacation to survey the current state of the race — advantage “Avatar.”

• The Long Shot considered the varying fortunes of the quartet of December releases once labeled the Big Four.

• After much deliberation, Kris laid out his ten favorite films of the decade that was.

• Meanwhile, I got round to picking my best of 2009.

• Further putting a bow on last year, we listed the top 10 movie-related moments of 2009.

• We also invited suggestions for Oscar moment of the decade, putting forth Martin Scorsese’s overdue win for consideration.

• Jumping off the “Precious” train, Kris updated his winner predictions; I followed suit.

• The flood of precursors abated, but “The Hurt Locker” continued its run with a clean sweep at the Chicago critics’ honors.

• Meanwhile, the Online Film Critics and London Film Critics both announced their nominations.

• As some big guns fade, we considered the chances of “The Messenger” landing an against-the-odds Best Picture nom.

• The latter was just one of the subjects under scrutiny in this week’s episode of Oscar Talk.

• After a smash opening, “Avatar” came out on top again in a massive weekend for box office takings.

• Tech Support spoke to the craftspeople behind Terry Gilliam’s “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.”

• Finally, “Inception,” our most anticipated title of 2010, unveiled a shiny new trailer.

Comments

5 responses to “WEEKLY WRAP: ‘Avatar’ leads, ‘Nine’ falls, more lists”

  1. Martin Unger Avatar
    Martin Unger

    Did anyone else notice that John Foote is now listed as being one of the new staff members over at The Awards Circuit?

  2. JJ Avatar
    JJ

    Here’s a question, regarding NINE and 10 slots, does it still have a chance of getting in if:

    2000 saw CHOCOLAT make Best Pic in a year of 5 with no director, editing, or technical noms, aside from score. The reviews were tepid. But it made some $$.

  3. Guy Lodge Avatar

    As you say, it did better business. It was also a much warmer film than Nine, which has no emotional core whatsoever. (Chocolat’s emotional core may have been thoroughly ersatz, but it was enough for voters to hold onto.)

  4. Andrew Avatar
    Andrew

    Nine is a dead horse IMO. When I saw it all the attendants looked bored and talked about how messy it was.

  5. Jayne Avatar
    Jayne

    Nine! I loved it. I disagree I thought it did have emotional core…….. Everybody looked like it was a labour of love. I did feel sorry for Kate Hudson.