MAIN Arts & Culture Movies 2010 Oscar Awards

The 82nd annual Academy Awards will air live from Hollywood at the Kodak Theatre on Sunday, March 7, 2010 on ABC at 8 PM ET.

In 2010, watch for 10 major Hollywood films to be nominated for best picture, in a clever move by the Academy to further popularize the Oscars with a wider audience.

The inclusion of major blockbusters (such as last year's Wall-E or The Dark Knight - which were NOT nominated for best picture) may definitely up the ante for reviewers busy compiling their Top 10 contenders (up from 5). Hopefully, the new format will keep more viewers glued to their TVs on Oscar night to see if their favorite movie or Hollywood star wins.

Hosting duties this year go to the quirky combo of actor Alec Baldwin and comedian Steve Martin, who co-star in the December release "It's Complicated" opposite Meryl Streep. This will be the first time the Oscars have featured a hosting duo since Goldie Hawn and Chevy Chase in 1987.

Meanwhile, expect the full official roster of nominees to be announced on February 2, 2010 — along with updates on the latest buzz, rumors and Tinsel Town gossip as awards night draws near ....

2010 Oscar Buzz

Although nominees won't be officially announced until February, watch for lots of news on the latest crop of Hollywood hits that will continue to generate buzz throughout the entire awards season:

An Education - The early Sundance favorite with a nationwide release in theaters in October, is the coming-of-age story about a teenage girl in 1960s London played by 24-year-old Carey Mulligan (and a shoe-in for a Best Actress nod.)

The Hurt Locker - High tension and great acting combine in this thriller about an elite Army bomb squad in Iraq.

Invictus - Brilliant casting scores in this epic that chronicles Nelson Mandela's efforts to bring the 1995 Rugby World Cup to South Africa following the fall of Apartheid. Starring Matt Damon as South Africa's rugby team captain and Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandela.

Up - This year's Wall-E, a funny and poignant animated tale about a 70-year-old man and an 8-year-old boy on a wild adventure in South America.

District 9 - Peter Jackson's new sci-fi hit. Have you seen it? That is all.

Just up ahead, also check out the complete list of last year's nominees & winners along with links to red carpet pictures & video clips, forum postings & discussions, and related expert commentary on the movie industry's most coveted prize ...

Oscar.com - The official site - featuring the glitz, the glamour, and the movies, actors and actresses of the past, as well as Academy Award history and video clips, this year's Oscar fashion trends, with more news & features as Oscar night draws near.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences - A serious look behind the scenes at the Oscar's official governing body, with a searchable database of the award's history, the upcoming ceremony, the official poster available for purchase and the official press kit.

Awards Show Central - Updates and the latest news and press releases on the Oscars, Golden Globes and Screen Actors Guild awards along with a database of past winners plus current movie reviews with video clips, box office stats and lots more from RopeofSilicon.com.

The Oscar Guy - The self-appointed film critic extraordinaire with nominees, presenters, and predictions about this year's winners, plus a cache of both recent and archived reviews, Oscar history, discussion board.

LittleGoldenGuy.com - Get a college education in Academy trivia at this site, laid out with precision and chock full of interesting tidbits on Hollywood's top prize searchable by a criteria-driven database, or browseable by categories including actresses, actors, picture, director, and related links.

2009 Oscar Nominees & * Winners

BEST PICTURE
* Slumdog Millionaire
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Frost/Nixon
Milk
The Reader

BEST ACTOR
* Sean Penn, Milk
Richard Jenkins, The Visitor
Frank Langella, Frost/Nixon
Brad Pitt, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
* Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
Josh Brolin, Milk
Robert Downey Jr., Tropic Thunder
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Doubt
Michael Shannon, Revolutionary Road

BEST ACTRESS
* Kate Winslet, The Reader
Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married
Angelina Jolie, Changeling
Melissa Leo, Frozen River
Meryl Streep, Doubt

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
* Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Amy Adams, Doubt
Viola Davis, Doubt
Taraji P. Henson, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Marisa Tomei, The Wrestler

BEST DIRECTOR
* Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire
David Fincher, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Ron Howard, Frost/Nixon
Gus Van Sant, Milk
Stephen Daldry, The Reader

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
* Milk
Frozen
Happy-Go-Lucky
In Bruges
Wall-E

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
* Simon Beaufoy, Slumdog Millionaire
Eric Roth, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
John Patrick Shanley, Doubt
Peter Morgan, Frost/Nixon
David Hare, The Reader

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
* Wall-E
Bolt
Kung Fu Panda

BEST ART DIRECTION
* The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Changeling
The Dark Knight
The Duchess
Revolutionary Road

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
* Slumdog Millionaire
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Changeling
The Dark Knight
The Reader

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
* The Duchess
Australia
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Milk
Revolutionary Road

BEST DOCUMENTARY
* Man on Wire
The Betrayal
Encounters at the End of the World
The Garden
Trouble the Water

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT
* Smile Pinki
The Conscience of Nhem En
The Final Inch
The Witness - From the Balcony of Room 306

BEST FILM EDITING
* Slumdog Millionaire
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Frost/Nixon
Milk

BEST FOREIGN FILM
* Departures, Japan
The Baader Meinhof Complex, Germany
The Class, France
Revanche, Austria
Waltz with Bashir, Israel

ACHIEVEMENT IN MAKEUP
* The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Hellboy II: The Golden Army

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
* Slumdog Millionaire
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Defiance
Milk
WALL-E

BEST SONG
* Jai Ho, Slumdog Millionaire
Down to Earth, WALL-E
O Saya, Slumdog Millionaire

BEST ANIMATED SHORT
* La Maison en Petits Cubes
Lavatory - Lovestory
Oktapodi
Presto
This Way Up

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT
* Spielzeugland (Toyland)
Auf der Strecke (On the Line)
Manon on the Asphalt
New Boy
The Pig

BEST SOUND EDITING
* The Dark Knight
Iron Man
Slumdog Millionaire
WALL-E
Wanted

BEST SOUND MIXING
* Slumdog Millionaire
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
WALL-E
Wanted

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
* The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Iron Man

also see -> BAFTA Awards | Razzie Awards

Sundance Film Festival | Tribeca Film Festival

Golden Globes | Critics Choice | SAG Awards