The Best in Film 2009: The Woody Awards

Well, the nominations for this year's Oscars came out last week. As usual, a few of the picks were spot-on, some of the picks were shocking in their ridiculousness, and most of the picks were, predictably, for movies that are specifically engineered to win awards. So, since the people that actually give out the big film awards each year have a tendency to choose mediocrity and predictability over true greatness and originality, I'm creating my own list of awards for the best in film from 2009*. I'm not following the same weird rules as the Oscars concerning eligibility - even if a film has been shown at a film festival or something prior to 2009, if it was released in theaters in the U.S. in 2009, it's eligible. I'm going to have the same major categories as the Oscars, with five nominees and one winner in each (excluding Best Picture, which will include ten nominees, same as the Oscars are starting to do this year). I will post the list of nominees below, and then I will post one category at a time over the next few weeks, discussing each nominee and naming the winner. Here's my list of nominees, and along with my picks, I've included the actual Oscar nominees in each category.

BEST SCREENPLAY (ORIGINAL OR ADAPTED)
My Nominees:
District 9
Inglourious Basterds
Up
Up in the Air
Where the Wild Things Are

Oscar Nominees:
(Best Original Screenplay)
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
The Messenger
A Serious Man
Up
(Best Adapted Screenplay)
District 9
An Education
In the Loop
Precious
Up in the Air

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
My Nominees:
Zach Galifianakis, The Hangover
Andrew Garfield, The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus
Jackie Earle Haley, Watchmen
Zachary Quinto, Star Trek
Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds

Oscar Nominees:
Matt Damon, Invictus
Woody Harrelson, The Messenger
Christopher Plummer, The Last Station
Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones
Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
My Nominees:
Emily Blunt, Sunshine Cleaning
Maggie Gyllenhaal, Away We Go
Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air
Diane Kruger, Inglourious Basterds
Rachel Weisz, The Brothers Bloom

Oscar Nominees:
Penelope Cruz, Nine
Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air
Maggie Gyllenhaal, Crazy Heart
Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air
Mo'Nique, Precious

BEST ACTOR
My Nominees:
George Clooney, Up in the Air
Sharlto Copley, District 9
Tom Hardy, Bronson
Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker
Sam Rockwell, Moon

Oscar Nominees:
Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart
George Clooney, Up in the Air
Colin Firth, A Single Man
Morgan Freeman, Invictus
Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker

BEST ACTRESS
My Nominees:
Amy Adams, Sunshine Cleaning
Zooey Deschanel, (500) Days of Summer
Melanie Laurent, Inglourious Basterds
Leslie Mann, Funny People
Maya Rudolph, Away We Go

Oscar Nominees:
Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side
Helen Mirren, The Last Station
Carey Mulligan, An Education
Gabourey Sidibe, Precious
Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia

BEST DIRECTOR
My Nominees:
J. J. Abrams, Star Trek
Neill Blomkamp, District 9
James Cameron, Avatar
Spike Jonze, Where the Wild Things Are
Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds

Oscar Nominees:
Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
James Cameron, Avatar
Lee Daniels, Precious
Jason Reitman, Up in the Air
Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds

BEST PICTURE
My Nominees:
Avatar
Away We Go
The Brothers Bloom
District 9
Inglourious Basterds
Moon
Star Trek
Up
Up in the Air
Where the Wild Things Are

Oscar Nominees:
Avatar
The Blind Side
District 9
An Education
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Precious
A Serious Man
Up
Up in the Air


*Films released in 2009 that I have not seen yet, which I suspect may have been in contention in some categories if I had: Adam, World's Greatest Dad, Mystery Team, The Informant, Whip It, An Education, Antichrist, The Men Who Stare at Goats, The Messenger, The Road, A Single Man, Crazy Heart