Oscar Awards 2011 Best Picture Films

Oscar Awards 2011 Best Picture Films. AMPAS (Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences) has confirmed that there are 248 feature films eligible for the Best Picture Category in the 83rd Academy Awards next year of 2011.

Front runners for the Best Picture nominations are Golden Globe nominees The King's Speech and The Social Network. Animated films like Despicable Me and Toy Story 3 are also considered for the category. Also included in the list are Christopher Nolan's blockbuster Inception.

The criteria for qualification according to AMPAS include "feature-length motion picture must have a running time of more than 40 minutes and must have been exhibited theatrically on 35mm or 70mm film, or in a qualifying digital format." And movies that, say, appear in a film festival rather than at a movie theater are not eligible for an Academy Award "in any category."

Oscar Awards 2011 Predictions

With the announcement of the nominees of the Independent Spirit Awards, the awards season has officially begun. A few early awards has already been given and contenders for each category are emerging. Here are the predictions for likely nominees of the Oscar Awards 2011:

Best Picture
Predictions: The Best Picture category was expanded to ten nominees last year. Fans can expect to see favorites The Social Network and The King's Speech on the nominees list on January's announcement, along with the blockbuster Inception, and indies Black Swan, 127 Hours, andWinter's Bone.

Toy Story may also have a shot as everyone love it. The Kids Are All Right and Russell's The Fighter has both the well-polished grit and the soaring uplift that make Academy voters clap with glee, so that could end up with a nod.

Best Director
Predictions: Tom Hooper for the The King's Speech is a definite as well as current favorite David Fincher for The Social Network. Darren Aronofsky is also a lock in this category, as his Black Swan is so largely a marvel of technique and visual ingenuity.

Christopher Nolan has never been nominated but Inception was certainly his most elaborately realized movie to date, so he is also a sure bet. Danny Boyle is also well-loved by The Academy, and people liked 127 Hours, but might it be too soon for him after his Slumdog win.

Best Actress
Predictions: This is most exciting for the Best Actress category. The war will definitely be between Jennifer Lawrence for her mumble-mouthed determination in Winter's Bone, Annette Bening for her red wine-swilling doctor in The Kids Are All Right, and Natalie Portman for her crazytown high-wire act in Black Swan.

Best Actor
Predictions: This is basically Colin Firth's thing to lose this year for his role in The King's Speech. Competition includes James Franco who endeared himself to critics in 127 Hours and Jesse Eisenberg for his creepy embodiment of Mark Zuckerberg's Kane-like ambition in The Social Network.

Spirit Awards 2011 Nominations

The Spirit Awards 2011 Nominations are now out and with the earlier awards being given out, film fans are given a glimpse of who might be receiving nominations for the big event, the Oscar Awards 2011, this February. Let's see the nominations:

BEST FEATURE
127 Hours
Black Swan
Greenberg
The Kids Are All Right
Winter’s Bone

BEST DIRECTOR
Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan
Danny Boyle, 127 Hours
Lisa Cholodenko, The Kids Are All Right
Debra Granik, Winter’s Bone
John Cameron Mitchell, Rabbit Hole

BEST FIRST FEATURE
Everything Strange and New
Get Low
The Last Exorcism
Night Catches Us
Tiny Furniture

JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD
(Given to the best feature made for under $500,000; award given to the writer, director, and producer)
Daddy Longlegs
The Exploding Girl
Lbs.
Lovers of Hate
Obsedila

BEST SCREENPLAY
Stuart Blumberg, Lisa Cholodenko, The Kids Are All Right
Debra Granik, Anne Rosellini, Winter’s Bone
Nicole Holofcener, Please Give
David Lindsay-Abaire, Rabbit Hole
Todd Solondz, Life During Wartime

BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
Diane Bell, Obselidia
Lena Dunham, Tiny Furniture
Nik Fackler, Lovely, Still
Bob Glaudini, Jack Goes Boating
Dana Adam Shapiro, Evan M. Wiener, Monogamy

BEST FEMALE LEAD
Annette Bening, The Kids Are All Right
Greta Gerwig, Greenberg
Nicole Kidman, Rabbit Hole
Jennifer Lawrence, Winter’s Bone
Natalie Portman, Black Swan
Michelle Williams, Blue Valentine

BEST MALE LEAD
Ronald Bronstein, Daddy Longlegs
Aaron Eckhart, Rabbit Hole
James Franco, 127 Hours
John C. Reilly, Cyrus
Ben Stiller, Greenberg

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE
Ashley Bell, The Last Exorcism
Dale Dickey, Winter’s Bone
Allison Janney, Life During Wartime
Daphne Rubin-Vega, Jack Goes Boating
Naomi Watts, Mother and Child

BEST SUPPORTING MALE
John Hawkes, Winter’s Bone
Samuel L. Jackson, Mother and Child
Bill Murray, Get Low
John Ortiz, Jack Goes Boating
Mark Ruffalo, The Kids Are All Right

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Adam Kimmel, Never Let Me Go
Matthew Libatique, Black Swan
Jody Lee Lipes, Tiny Furniture
Michael McDonough, Winter’s Bone
Harris Savides, Greenberg

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Exit Through The Gift Shop
Marwencol
Restrepo
Sweetgrass
Thunder Soul

BEST FOREIGN FILM
Kisses
Mademoiselle Chambon
Of Gods and Men
The King’s Speech
Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives

ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD
(Given to one film’s director, casting director, and its ensemble cast)
Please Give
Director: Nicole Holofcener
Casting Director: Jeanne McCarthy
Ensemble Cast: Ann Guilbert, Rebecca Hall, Catherine Keener, Amanda Peet, Oliver Platt, Lois Smith, Sara Steele

PIAGET PRODUCERS AWARD
In-Ah Lee, Au Revoir Taipei
Adele Romanski, The Myth of the American Sleepover
Anish Savjani, Meek’s Cutoff

SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD
Hossein Keshavarz, Dog Sweat
Laurel Nakadate, The Wolf Knife
Mike Ott, Littlerock

TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD
Ilisa Barbash, Lucien Castaing-Taylor, Sweetgrass
Jeff Malmberg, Marwencol
Lynn True, Nelson Walker, Summer Pasture

The 2011 Spirit Awards airs on February 26, 2011 10PM ET/PT. Premiere sponsors for this year's ceremony are IFC, Netflix, ELLE, Piaget and Jameson Irish Whiskey.

Oscar Awards 2011 Info

Event: Oscar Awards 2011

Date: Sunday, February 27, 2011

Site: Kodak Theatre Hollywood, Los Angeles, California

Host: James Franco and Anne Hathaway

Producer: Bruce Cohen and Don Mischer

Director: Don Mischer

Oscar Awards 2011 Presenters

• Halle Berry
• Jeff Bridges
• Sandra Bullock
• Marisa Tomei
• Oprah Winfrey