Can you believe it's already time again for the Golden Satellites nominations? Seems just like yesterday my movie geek pals and I were wagering on which films would take home the most Satties.
Relax, folks. I've never heard of them either.
Apparently, the Satellites Awards have been given out for the last 13 years by the International Press Academy, which is apparently the largest international press organization in the, um, press organization biz.
The IPA was founded in 1996 by the former president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association which sponsors the annual Golden Globe Awards. Talk about your needless spin-offs!
Anyway, this year's nominations were announced and the big winner so far is Nine, the new musical from Chicago director Rob Marshall that features just about every Oscar winner from the last ten years: Daniel Day Lewis, Nicole Kidman, Penelope Cruz, and La Vie En Rose's Marion Cotillard.
Nine garnered 10 nominations including Best Picture (Musical or Comedy,) Director, and Actor and Actress nods for Day-Lewis, Cruz, and Cotilliard. Yes, you will have to learn to pronounce the latter name properly before movie awards season is over.
Other Musical or Comedy noms included Jason Reitman's Up in the Air, The Coen Brothers' A Serious Man, and Steven Soderbergh's The Informant!
While it is quite notable that this year's Best Drama nods, which included Precious, An Education, and The Messenger - were all indie films, it is even more impressive that the three remaining films - The Hurt Locker, Bright Star, and An Education - were all directed by women, as were Best Comedy noms It's Complicated and Julia & Julia.
As with every other awards ceremony, it's the surprise omissions from the nominations that raise the most eyebrows. Among the films left out in the cold for this year's top Satellite Awards festivities are Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds, Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones, Clint Eastwood's Invictus, and the eagerly awaited James Cameron CGI-fest Avatar.
Apparently, these films were not screened for the IPA in time for awards consideration, so no Golden Satellites for you!
The winners will be announced December 20th in Los Angeles, so get those ballots ready for this year's office pool.
Check out the complete list of nominees here.