Awards Season in full swing!

And we at 3pies4rolls are doing our homework in preparation for our Top 10 Lists. We do it for you, dear reader(s?).

Anyway, the SAG Award nominations were announced today, with a couple of surprises. No Gary Oldman or Michael Fassbender for Best Actor (apparently, the SAGs still want me to see J. Edgar, despite its rather dismal reviews). Nothing for Drive, despite the rave reviews of Albert Brooks in particular. 3pies4rolls favorite Philip Seymour Hoffman was overlooked for The Ides of March (though, that's less of a surprise, and more of a disappointment). And, awesomely, Bridesmaids picking up a nomination for the big award- Outstanding Cast (the incredibly fabulous Melissa McCarthy also grabbed a Best Supporting nod).



These don't stray too far from what our favorite prediction site, Awards Circuit, has been saying, so it could start to solidify the races going forward. We'll see what comes from the Golden Globe nominations tomorrow.

The Help led the way with four nominations, and, to be fair, the acting is great in that movie. I just hope it doesn't give it any steam for the other awards shows. In case you need help keeping track of these all-important awards show dates, here's a handy tracker.

and, just a note on the television side, how can you possibly continue to nominate Jon Cryer and not give anything to Parks & Recreation or Community?? That's just dumb.

74 days to Oscar Day!!!

finally, a twist!

Last night's Screen Actors Guild Awards finally inserted the slightest bit of drama into the Oscar race! No, it didn't mix up the acting races at all - Firth (sorry, Franco :( ), Portman, Bale, and Leo pretty much solidified their chances of holding the little golden man with wins across the board. No, the aforementioned twist was thrown right in the pathway of The Social Network's march to Best Picture. It had emerged as the undeniable favorite, winning all the major critics' awards as well as the Golden Globe (you've already heard me rant about this). But last night The King's Speech picked up the big award of the evening- Best Ensemble:



While the cast was hoisting the little (green) men, Tom Hooper was taking the top award at the Directors Guild of America, also decided over the weekend. Many considered the trophy to already have the Social Network's David Fincher's name engraved on it. Only 6 times in history has the DGA winner not gone on to win the Oscar for directing.

Do we now have a horserace? Or is The King's Speech suddenly the legitimate favorite to win? Hard to say for sure. Vanity Fair has a good piece about this, and rightfully points out that not only does The King's Speech's win put the might of the Screen Actors Guild behind it (which is pretty important), but the actors' branch is the largest voting block in the Academy. Throw in the recognition in the DGA and that's a pretty powerful argument. Of course, the crazy voting rules for the expanded field of ten nominations (here's our explanation from last year) could throw a wrench in the whole thing.

Frankly, I'm just excited that there could be some level of suspense come Oscar Day!

big week in movie news!

This week has given us nominations two of the big pre-Oscar awards shows: The Golden Globes and The Screen Actors Guild Awards. These have actually made me happier than some of the other early awards results (see my little rant on The Social Network running away with most of the early awards season prizes), but mostly because it raises my expectations for movies I haven't seen yet, which could definitely go badly (Up in the Air anyone?)



Both sets of nominations continued to set up The King's Speech as my most anticipated movie for the rest of the year. As anyone who has read this blog before knows, we kind of died for Colin Firth's performance last year in A Single Man. I thought he was robbed of all deserved awards because of the idea (that I agree with) that Jeff Bridges should have an Oscar (of course, it should have come for Lebowski, but what are you gonna do?). But Firth has quickly become the frontrunner due to the rave reviews he's getting for TKS. Hopefully that one doesn't let me down (it is the theme of movies in 2010).

Also getting lots of recognition are Black Swan and The Fighter, which are two others that I'm super excited for (can people forget that Christian Bale is kind of a douchebag and remember that he's an awesome actor? I guess we'll see, because it seems like he's emerging as the frontrunner in the supporting category).

To quote ms. kt on a couple of other important points related to the Golden Globes:

1) the kids are all right being classified as a comedy is, well, a comedy. see what i did there??!!
2) yes, "burlesque" contains music, henceforward, one could call it a "musical." but that seems rash and silly, don't you agree?

Our feelings on the kids are all right have been made pretty clear, but I'm honestly offended by the idea that it's a comedy. Maybe if your definition of funny is being miserable. but mine's not.

I do love the inclusion of Emma Stone for Easy A, because that is a movie that IS a comedy. A light-hearted romp even. Totally enjoyable time at the movies, and she's charming as hell, so I like seeing her get recognized. Plus, we get a Johnny Depp vs. Johnny Depp showdown, so that should be a good time. And, of course, Ricky Gervais!!!

Pretty happy about the tv nominations all around (though Matthew Morrison? Really? I used to love Glee as much as the next girl, and am super happy about Chris Colfer and Jane Lynch, but honestly, that show's been in a downward spiral, and Mr. Schuster is one of the worst things about it), though apparently I don't watch as much tv as I used to. Sigh...

My new favorite red carpet-er...

the ADORABLE Lea Michele!

Last night at the Grammys:


In my top two at the SAGs:


Starting it off at the Golden Globes:

Well done, Rachel, well done.

on the 200th day of awards show season, the SAGs gave... yawn...

...sorry, i just fell asleep. Seriously, could I get at least a little drama in the different acting categories? I really thought the SAGs might be the place that Carey Mulligan or Colin Firth got honored. Although, actors do love to honor those long due. The only award that actually excited me was Glee winning best comedy ensemble. Other than that? Who was surprised by these winners?

• Mo'Nique and Christoph Waltz have been the two sure things all along. now they're joined by, apparently, everyone else. And yes, in case you're wondering, Waltz continued his trend of overly rehearsed, thematic speeches, this one going off on "screen actors" versus "stage actors". can't wait to see how he fits "Oscar" into his speech. (Mo'Nique's was disappointingly boring at this event, after her incredible Golden Globe speech).
  
• Alec Baldwin and Tina Fey for comedy actors
• Michael C. Hall and Julianna Margulies for drama actors
• Mad Men for drama ensemble
• Jeff Bridges and Sandra Bullock. Both are fantastic in their roles and both deserve to be honored (even if I do believe that Colin Firth deserves it more).

I guess this is one of those cases where I'm not so much disappointed as I am bored. I feel like there is no drama in the acting categories going into the Oscars. Of course, the BAFTAs could potentially insert a little, as they do love to honor their own, which could give Mulligan a shot at an upset. But maybe we have all the drama we need in the Avatar vs. Hurt Locker/Cameron vs. Bigelow races.

The one thing that the SAGs did enforce is that everyone loves Betty White, and rightfully so, because, damn, that woman is rad. If you want to see the uber-charming intro by Sandy Bullock go here, but for the woman herself, check out her Lifetime Achievement Award acceptance speech below:

on whatever day of awards show season the SAGs gave to us...

...their nominations (which line up pretty neatly with the Globes).
(this joke's not old yet, right?)

Only a couple of notable differences here- Jeremy Renner getting a best actor nod instead of Tobey Maguire, Emily Blunt getting left out (and Meryl Streep making it in for Julie and Julia) in the Best Actress category, and Diane Kruger replacing Julianne Moore for supporting actress (but seriously, where the hell is Melanie Laurent? She and Christoph Waltz are the best part about Inglorious Basterds). I'm really liking the Cast nominations as well (although I haven't seen Nine, and the reviewers have not been kind). TV awards are separated somewhat differently, so you can analyze them for yourself (thank god we got Charlie Sheen in there, I was worried. Come on SAGs, seriously?). And, yes, we will be seeing Jessica Lange and Drew Barrymore hold hands again. Oh, in case you're wondering, I did just make a gagging gesture of putting my finger down my throat. Good times.

Finally, the marvelous Betty White will be getting the Lifetime Achievement Award, so that makes it worth watching by itself.