And the Oscar Goes To....

The 82nd Annual Academy Awards were on Sunday, March 7. This year the Academy doubled the amount of Best Picture nominations, from five to ten.

Some of the results were:

Motion Picture (Best Picture): "The Hurt Locker"
Actor: Jeff Bridges, "Crazy Heart"
Actress: Sandra Bullock, "The Blind Side"
Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz, "Inglourious Basterds"
Supporting Actress: Mo'Nique, "Precious"
Director: Kathryn Bigelow, "The Hurt Locker
Animated Feature Film: "Up"

"The Hurt Locker" won other awards such as Original Screenplay, Sound Mixing, Sound Editing, and Film Editing.
Even though "Avatar" didn't win best picture, it won three other awards including Best Visual Effects, Best Art Direction, and Best Cinematography.

This year's nominees for Best Picture were "Avatar," "The Hurt Locker," "The Blind Side," "District 9," "Inglourious Basterds," "Up," "An Education," "Precious," "A Serious Man," and "Up in the Air." The most talked about nominee, however, was "Avatar" because it's made nearly $2.5 billion worldwide and it was created in a new way.

But what did the students of Jamesville-Dewitt High School think about these nominees?

Freshman Nick Bono said "Avatar" should win best picture because "The world Pandora was pretty cool, and technology was really good!"

"Avatar" vs. "The Hurt Locker." These movies became Oscar rivals because they both received the most nominations, with nine each. But there is also another reason: the director of Avatar, James Cameron, and the director of "The Hurt Locker," Kathryn Bigelow, used to be married.

The fact that Bigelow won Best Director and her movie "The Hurt Locker" won Best Picture is historic because it's the first time in film history that a female director has won Best Director.

Freshman Natalie Frank believes that "The Hurt Locker" deserved to win best picture. She says, "It's so amazing because you couldn't look away for one second. It's so intense, sad and it has a lot of information about what some soldiers go through."
See It? "The Hurt Locker" is about a soldier in Iraq named William James who has to complete a very dangerous job: bomb defusing. As James becomes more into his job, his support team begins to worry about his reckless behavior.
Controversy: The producers are being sued because Sgt. Jeffrey Sarver is saying that the main character, William James, is based on him. The screenwriter, Mark Boal, apparently did follow Sarver around in Iraq and Sarver gave him information, but did not receive compensation.

However, sophomore Katherine Coughlin said that "Avatar" should have won Best Picture because "A lot of hard work was put into making it. Its new, interesting, something that no one has ever seen before."
See It? "Avatar", directed by James Cameron, captures the story of a former Marine Jake Sully as he is sent to infiltrate the society on the world of Pandora. He finds many problems and adventures as he interacts with the planet's indigenous creatures, the Na'vi, while in his avatar, which is a part human/part Na'vi that he can control with his mind.

"Up" is also a rival of "Avatar" because their words are entirely or almost entirely computer generated. Sophomore Sonia Narsipur said "Up" should win best picture because "It's really good and it's good for all ages."
See It? "Up" is about an old man named Carl Fredricksen who accidentally takes a young Boy Scout named Russell with him on an adventure to South America. They fly there in Fredricksen's house that is held in the air by hundreds of helium balloons.

"Up" is only the second animated film to be nominated for best picture, according to the website Cartoon Brew. The first animated movie that was nominated for best picture was "Beauty and the Beast." The website Cartoon Brew also said that "Avatar" will eventually be seen as an animated film.

Freshman Brooke Oberferst said that "Up" doesn't deserve to win because there are better movies out there.

Other films that were nominated are the WWII comedy "Inglourious Basterds" which sophomore Julen Bascaran said should have won because it's amazing.
Freshman Brian Roth also said it should have won because "there's lots of violence, a good director and good writing."
See It? "Inglourious Basterds" is about a woman who plans her revenge on the man who is responsible for her family's death. Her plan draws the attention of a young group of Jewish soldiers fighting the Nazis known as the Basterds. They try to plan revenge behind enemy lines.

The science fiction movie nominated was "District 9," which freshman Nick Harron said should have won because "It has a good story line and special effects."
See It? "District 9" is about a disabled spaceship that comes to Earth, and people established refugee camps for the stranded aliens. As they try to re-locate the aliens, one of the main characters goes through a dramatic change when he comes in contact with an alien substance.