Oscars, Oscars, Oscars, Oscars- OSCARS!

March 7, 2010 by Kayla Hillier

Ok. I try to do this every year- it’s time for me to make my Oscar predictions.
X indicates the one that I think the Academy will choose.
* indicates the one that I think should win.

Some of these I feel are well informed choices while others are just educated guesses. (At times simply because I could not track down all the bloody films *shakes fist*)

Actor in a Leading Role
X Jeff Bridges in “Crazy Heart”
George Clooney in “Up in the Air”
* Colin Firth in “A Single Man”
Morgan Freeman in “Invictus”
Jeremy Renner in “The Hurt Locker”
(Mind you I must say that Ben Foster did an AMAZING job in The Messenger and it saddens me that he got no recognition.)

Actor in a Supporting Role
Matt Damon in “Invictus”
Woody Harrelson in “The Messenger”
Christopher Plummer in “The Last Station”
Stanley Tucci in “The Lovely Bones”
X*Christoph Waltz in “Inglourious Basterds”

Actress in a Leading Role
Sandra Bullock in “The Blind Side”
Helen Mirren in “The Last Station”
Carey Mulligan in “An Education”
Gabourey Sidibe in “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”
X* Meryl Streep in “Julie & Julia”
(Mind you Bullock was pretty damn epic- so if it ends up being her no surprise there. But please note Mulligan was FANTASTIC- such a good flick.)

Actress in a Supporting Role
Penélope Cruz in “Nine”
Vera Farmiga in “Up in the Air”
Maggie Gyllenhaal in “Crazy Heart”
Anna Kendrick in “Up in the Air”
X* Mo’Nique in “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”

Animated Feature Film
“Coraline” Henry Selick
* “Fantastic Mr. Fox” Wes Anderson
“The Princess and the Frog” John Musker and Ron Clements
“The Secret of Kells” Tomm Moore
X “Up” Pete Docter

Art Direction
X* “Avatar” Art Direction: Rick Carter and Robert Stromberg; Set Decoration: Kim Sinclair
“The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” Art Direction: Dave Warren and Anastasia Masaro; Set Decoration: Caroline Smith
“Nine” Art Direction: John Myhre; Set Decoration: Gordon Sim
“Sherlock Holmes” Art Direction: Sarah Greenwood; Set Decoration: Katie Spencer
“The Young Victoria” Art Direction: Patrice Vermette; Set Decoration: Maggie Gray

Cinematography
X “Avatar” Mauro Fiore
“Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” Bruno Delbonnel
“The Hurt Locker” Barry Ackroyd
* “Inglourious Basterds” Robert Richardson
“The White Ribbon” Christian Berger

Costume Design
“Bright Star” Janet Patterson
“Coco before Chanel” Catherine Leterrier
* “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” Monique Prudhomme
“Nine” Colleen Atwood
X “The Young Victoria” Sandy Powell

Directing
X “Avatar” James Cameron
“The Hurt Locker” Kathryn Bigelow
* “Inglourious Basterds” Quentin Tarantino
“Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” Lee Daniels
“Up in the Air” Jason Reitman

Documentary (Feature)
* “Burma VJ” Anders Østergaard and Lise Lense-Møller
X “The Cove” Louie Psihoyos and Fisher Stevens
“Food, Inc.” Robert Kenner and Elise Pearlstein
“The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers” Judith Ehrlich and Rick Goldsmith
“Which Way Home” Rebecca Cammisa

Documentary (Short Subject)
X* “China’s Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province” Jon Alpert and Matthew O’Neill
“The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner” Daniel Junge and Henry Ansbacher
“The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant” Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert
“Music by Prudence” Roger Ross Williams and Elinor Burkett
“Rabbit à la Berlin” Bartek Konopka and Anna Wydra

Film Editing
“Avatar” Stephen Rivkin, John Refoua and James Cameron
“District 9” Julian Clarke
X “The Hurt Locker” Bob Murawski and Chris Innis
* “Inglourious Basterds” Sally Menke
“Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” Joe Klotz

Foreign Language Film
“Ajami” Israel
“The Milk of Sorrow (La Teta Asustada)” Peru
“A Prophet (Un Prophète)” France
“The Secret in Their Eyes (El Secreto de Sus Ojos)” Argentina
X* “The White Ribbon (Das Weisse Band)” Germany

Makeup
“Il Divo” Aldo Signoretti and Vittorio Sodano
X* “Star Trek” Barney Burman, Mindy Hall and Joel Harlow
“The Young Victoria” Jon Henry Gordon and Jenny Shircore

Music (Original Score)
“Avatar” James Horner
* “Fantastic Mr. Fox” Alexandre Desplat
“The Hurt Locker” Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders
“Sherlock Holmes” Hans Zimmer
X “Up” Michael Giacchino

Music (Original Song)
“Almost There” from “The Princess and the Frog” Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
“Down in New Orleans” from “The Princess and the Frog” Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
“Loin de Paname” from “Paris 36” Music by Reinhardt Wagner Lyric by Frank Thomas
“Take It All” from “Nine” Music and Lyric by Maury Yeston
X* “The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)” from “Crazy Heart” Music and Lyric by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett

Best Picture
X “Avatar” James Cameron and Jon Landau, Producers
“The Blind Side” Gil Netter, Andrew A. Kosove and Broderick Johnson, Producers
“District 9” Peter Jackson and Carolynne Cunningham, Producers
“An Education” Finola Dwyer and Amanda Posey, Producers
“The Hurt Locker” Kathryn Bigelow, Mark Boal, Nicolas Chartier and Greg Shapiro, Producers
* “Inglourious Basterds” Lawrence Bender, Producer
“Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” Lee Daniels, Sarah Siegel-Magness and Gary Magness, Producers
“A Serious Man” Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, Producers
“Up” Jonas Rivera, Producer
“Up in the Air” Daniel Dubiecki, Ivan Reitman and Jason Reitman, Producers

Short Film (Animated)
“French Roast” Fabrice O. Joubert
“Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty” Nicky Phelan and Darragh O’Connell
“The Lady and the Reaper (La Dama y la Muerte)” Javier Recio Gracia
“Logorama” Nicolas Schmerkin
X* “A Matter of Loaf and Death” Nick Park

Short Film (Live Action)
“The Door” Juanita Wilson and James Flynn
“Instead of Abracadabra” Patrik Eklund and Mathias Fjellström
X* “Kavi” Gregg Helvey
“Miracle Fish” Luke Doolan and Drew Bailey
“The New Tenants” Joachim Back and Tivi Magnusson

Sound Editing
X “Avatar” Christopher Boyes and Gwendolyn Yates Whittle
“The Hurt Locker” Paul N.J. Ottosson
* “Inglourious Basterds” Wylie Stateman
“Star Trek” Mark Stoeckinger and Alan Rankin
“Up” Michael Silvers and Tom Myers

Sound Mixing
X “Avatar” Christopher Boyes, Gary Summers, Andy Nelson and Tony Johnson
“The Hurt Locker” Paul N.J. Ottosson and Ray Beckett
* “Inglourious Basterds” Michael Minkler, Tony Lamberti and Mark Ulano
“Star Trek” Anna Behlmer, Andy Nelson and Peter J. Devlin
“Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers and Geoffrey Patterson

Visual Effects
X* “Avatar” Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham and Andrew R. Jones
“District 9” Dan Kaufman, Peter Muyzers, Robert Habros and Matt Aitken
“Star Trek” Roger Guyett, Russell Earl, Paul Kavanagh and Burt Dalton

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
“District 9” Written by Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell
“An Education” Screenplay by Nick Hornby
“In the Loop” Screenplay by Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche
“Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” Screenplay by Geoffrey Fletcher
X* “Up in the Air” Screenplay by Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner
(But I have to say that In the Loop is FANTASTIC as well as An Education)

Writing (Original Screenplay)
“The Hurt Locker” Written by Mark Boal
* “Inglourious Basterds” Written by Quentin Tarantino
“The Messenger” Written by Alessandro Camon & Oren Moverman
“A Serious Man” Written by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
X “Up” Screenplay by Bob Peterson, Pete Docter, Story by Pete Docter, Bob Peterson, Tom McCarthy

So there we have it- I will be up very late … watching live 5 hours later in England… it starts at 1am *gulp*

K

Manchester week 8

February 26, 2010 by Kayla Hillier

Hello there-

Welcome to yet another weekly recap. I promised a photo of fajitas nummers so here goes:

I also went on an epic adventure around Manchester yesterday so I thought I’d focus on that.

Most of last week involved my plans for the new website layout- doing some drawings and creating icons… that kind of thing. Not much to really tell- you’ll just have to see once it’s all complete. I’ve also been burying myself in thought. I’m trying to come up with some kind of approach to make this next month really count. Also I’m trying to figure out what I want to do. My adventure doesn’t really end when I end up back in Toronto. It’s just reaching the next stage. Do I want to stay in Canada? Do I want to go back to England? What kind of career do I want to strive for? Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah… ahhhhhhhhhhh

Sooo, photos!
First thing we did yesterday was go to Chetham’s Library which is the oldest free public reference library in the United Kingdom. It was also one of the top 10 most beautiful libraries on a list that I found online ages ago.

Next stop was the Manchester Cathedral which was nice- but my church snobbery wants me to tell you that it definitely wasn’t the best one I’ve seen during my travels.

Toronto needs a large ferris wheel- I’ve decided…

On the way to the Manchester Art Gallery to see the Ron Mueck exhibit (which was pretty damn impressive although it was only 3 pieces- well worth takin’ a gander) I grabbed this photo of St. Anne’s Church.

We also took a look at the Town Hall

Adam was pretty damn ecstatic to find out that Vimto comes in a new flavour- cherry. For anyone not “in the know” learn more about Vimto here.

This is the canal- loverrrly

We went and watched ‘A Single Man’ which was fantastic and followed things up with class. Adam took me to the bar in the Hilton Hotel which has this snazzy view:

And these’s snazzy drinks. I had a ‘Sally Cinnamon’ and Adam had an ‘Old Fashioned’.

Then we went to Chinatown and had some dim sum om nom nom. Pork buns 4 life!

Today I’ve just been trying to work on the website more and some writing and yadda yadda. I do have intentions on going to Ireland soon so hopefully that means Dublin photos for you.

K

The Annotated Weekender

February 24, 2010 by Kayla Hillier

Hello!

The lovely Joe List at The Annotated Weekender has been drawing in The Guardian’s Weekend Supplement for a year now- for the site’s birthday Joe invited the public to submit their own annotations from last Saturday’s supplement to him.

Here’s some of my doodles:

Check out his site to see his fantastic annotations and the work of several other artists who are quite hip yes yes!

K

Pancake Day fun pt. 2

February 20, 2010 by Kayla Hillier

Since I forgot to mention Adam’s mad skillz on the fryin’ pan in my previous post I thought I’d post this lil’ guy here.

The epic-ness that could only be pancake day flippin’ from Adam “Hotwell” Cadwell:

K

London- Manchester week 7

February 19, 2010 by Kayla Hillier

This past week was a little hectic but I will do my best with this recap.

Thursday and Friday were pretty low key days just hanging out with Adam at his place.

Saturday and Sunday were super busy.
On Saturday I attended the Alternative Press Fair in Euston. This was my first adventure into the realm of zine selling. I was pretty damn pleased with the whole thing. If anything, looking at the work produced by the people around me gave me a kick in the ass (I should really bring things up a notch) and a hefty spoonful of motivation.

I was lucky enough to be sitting beside Joe Decie I think you should check out some of his work yes yes.

That night Matt Sheret and Anne were nice enough to invite us to join them and Liz Greenfield for food and drinks and general shenanigans.

On Sunday We Are Words + Pictures had a two event combo at the Notting Hill Arts Club. I lent a hand with whatever was needed- they’re such an awesome crew- the day was FANTASTIC! First Drop In + Draw to chat with some artists, perhaps hone some new skills etc followed by Modern Romance featuring Robin Ince and some sweet sweet dance tunes.

I was spoiled by Adam as we took leave for a tasty Italian meal to celebrate the ol’ V day. *blush*

Monday we lingered in London for a bit, adventuring to Green Park (my personal fave in the city) and grabbin’ a bite to eat before heading back to Manchester pretty damn exhausted.

Tuesday was a day of catch-up and some relaxin’- Wednesday Adam took me to Afflecks where I acquired a new nose ring hoop and we discovered a tasty chocolate place om nom. Also I should mention that Good Grief! is a neat little comic shop in there.

Yesterday was yet another relaxing day but it did involve the making of some delicious OMG fajitas. SO DELICIOUS. I will post photos of those bad boys next time.

Passed this wee shop on the way to the Press Fair… oh la la!

My table at the Fair with sir Adam at the end

Alternative Pressin’

Matt dishin’ out the delicious cake that Anne made (for icing help you can always turn to this guy *points to self*)

Notting Hill-ness

Adam was on the wall at the Arts Club

Drop In + Draw

Jamie McKelvie hard at work

Julia hard at work

Honest to god Matt played such a wicked set AHHH! So much dance! DANCE!

Notting of the Hills

Green Park has the best trees

London- near Victoria station

We ended Pancake Day on Tuesday with dessert pancakes :D

Inside Afflecks

More next time!

K

PS- Just a reminder that the website will be ch-ch-ch-ch-changin’!