Tuesday, January 25, 2011

And the nominations go to...


The only one I haven't seen is 127 Hours.  Guess I'll have to see that guy cut his own arm off after all..
Best
Actress
: Annette Bening, "The Kids Are
All Right"; Nicole
Kidman
, "Rabbit Hole"; Jennifer
Lawrence
, "Winter's Bone"; Natalie Portman, "Black
Swan"; Michelle
Williams
, "Blue
Valentine
"
Best
Actor
: Javier
Bardem
, "Biutiful"; Jeff Bridges, "True
Grit"; Jesse
Eisenberg
, "The Social Network"; Colin Firth, "The King's Speech";
James Franco, "127
Hours"
Best Supporting Actress: Amy
Adams, "The Fighter"; Helena Bonham Carter, "The King's Speech"; Melissa Leo,
"The Fighter"; Hailee Steinfeld, "True Grit"; Jacki Weaver, "Animal Kingdom"
Best Supporting Actor:
Christian Bale, "The Fighter"; John Hawkes, "Winter's Bone"; Jeremy Renner, "The
Town"; Mark Ruffalo, "The Kids Are All Right"; Geoffrey Rush, "The King's
Speech"
Best Director: Darren
Aronofsky, "Black Swan"; David O. Russell, "The Fighter"; Tom Hooper, "The
King's Speech"; David Fincher, "The Social Network"; Ethan Coen and Joel Coen,
"True Grit"
Best Animated Feature: "How
to Train Your Dragon," "The Illusionist," "Toy Story 3"
Best Screenplay: "Another
Year," "The Fighter," "Inception," "The Kids Are All Right," "The King's Speech"
 
Best Adapted Screenplay:
"127 Hours," "The Social Network," "Toy Story 3," "True Grit," "Winter's Bone"
Best Foreign Film:
"Biutiful," "Dogtooth," "In a Better World," "Incendies," "Outside the Law"
Art Direction: "Alice in
Wonderland," Robert Stromberg (Production Design), Karen O'Hara (Set
Decoration); "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1," Stuart Craig
(Production Design), Stephenie McMillan (Set Decoration); "Inception," Guy
Hendrix Dyas (Production Design), Larry Dias and Doug Mowat (Set Decoration);
"The King's Speech," Eve Stewart (Production Design), Judy Farr (Set
Decoration); "True Grit," Jess Gonchor (Production Design), Nancy Haigh (Set
Decoration) 
Achievement in
Cinematography
: "Black Swan," Matthew Libatique; "Inception," Wally
Pfister; "The King's Speech," Danny Cohen; "The Social Network," Jeff
Cronenweth; "True Grit," Roger Deakins
Achievement in Costume
Design
: "Alice in Wonderland," Colleen Atwood; "I Am Love," Antonella
Cannarozzi; "The King's Speech," Jenny Beavan; "The Tempest," Sandy Powell;
"True Grit," Mary Zophres
Best Documentary Feature:
"Exit Through the Gift Shop," "Gasland," "Inside Job," "Restrepo," "Waste Land"
Best Documentary Short
Subject
: "Killing in the Name," "Poster Girl," "Strangers No More,"
"Sun Come Up," "The Warriors of Quigang"
Achievement in Film Editing:
"Black Swan," Andrew Weisblum; "The Fighter," Pamela Martin; "The King's
Speech," Tariq Anwar; "127 Hours," Jon Harris; "The Social Network," Angus Wall
and Kirk Baxter
Achievement in Music Written for
Motion Picture (Original Score)
: "How to Train Your Dragon," John
Powell; "Inception," Hans Zimmer; "The King's Speech," Alexandre Desplat; "127
Hours," A. R. Rahman; "The Social Network," Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
Achievement in Music Written for
Motion Picture (Original Song)
: "Coming Home" from "Country Strong;" "I
See the Light" from "Tangled;" "If I Rise" from "127 Hours;" "We Belong
Together" from "Toy Story 3"
Best Animated Short Film:
"Day and Night," Teddy Newton; "The Gruffalo," Jakob Schuh and Max Lang; "Let's
Pollute," Feefwee Boedoe; "The Lost Thing," Shaun Tan and Andrwe Ruhemann;
"Madagascar, A Journey Diary," Bastien Dubois
Best Live Action Short: "The
Confession," Tanel Toom; "The Crush," Michael Creagh; "God of Love," Luke
Matheny; "Na Wewe," Ivan Goldschmidt; "Wish 143," Ian Barnes and Samantha Waite
Achievement in Sound
Editing
: "Inception," Richard King; "Toy Story 3," Tom Myers and
Michael Silvers; "Tron: Legacy" Gwndolyn Yates Whittle and Addison Teague; "True
Grit," Skip Lievsay and Craig Berkey; "Unstoppable," Mark P. Stoeckinger
Achievement in Sound Mixing:
"Inception," Lra Hirschberg, Gary A. Rizzo and Ed Novick; "The King's Speech,"
Paul Hamblin, Martin Jensen and John Midgley; "Salt," Jeffrey J. Haboush, Greg
P. Russell, Scott Millan and William Sarokin; "The Social Network," Ren Klyce,
David Parker, Michael Semanick and Mark Weingarten; "True Grit," Skip Lievsay,
Craig Berkey, Greg Orloff and Peter F. Kurland
Achievement in Visual
Effects
: "Alice in Wonderland," Ken Ralston, David Schaub, Carey
Villegas and Sean Phillips; "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1," Tim
Burke, John Richardson, Christian Manz and Nicolas Aithadi; "Hereafter," Michael
Owens, Bryan Grill, Stephan Trojanski and Joe Farrell; "Inception," Paul
Franklin, Chris Corbould, Andrew Lockley and Peter Bebb; "Iron Man 2," Janek
Sirrs, Ben Snow, Ged Wright and Daniel Sudick

Monday, January 24, 2011

Toasting Tinseltown!

  Tomorrow the Academy Award nominations will be announced and I couldn't be more excited! Awards season is one of my favorite times of the year, and no dance is bigger than the Oscars.  The grandeur, the gowns, the speeches, the spectacle- I love it all! Best Picture front runners and some of my absolute favorite films this year, all of which feature phenomenal acting include Inception, The Social Network, The King's Speech, The Fighter, Black Swan, True Grit and The Kids are All Right.  See any and all if you have the chance!  Can't wait for the February 27th ceremony to see who the Oscars go to. 
p.s. Forgot to mention one of my other favorite movies of the year- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I. I found it sad and moving and so beautifully executed.  It definitely had a more somber, grown up tone compared to the earlier films. I really will hate to see this wonderful, magical story come to an end.

Saturday, January 15, 2011

  Just signed up for SCBWI Western WA's 20th Annual Writing & Illustrating for Children Conference! This will be my first conference and I am feeling a mix of excitement and anxiety. After the Great Critique I realized that my Kiwi & Chirp story still needs a lot of revision and reworking until I feel satisfied that it is conference ready. So, I have also signed up again for Peggy King Anderson's Magic of Writing for Children class. It was an expensive morning! But well worth it. I need the help, guidance and support of my fellow Peggy King followers to get this work where I want it before Feb 26th when I have to send a draft in if I want to have a personal manuscript consultation (which I desperately do) and a conference ready draft no later than Mar 26th. So big goals and lots to do. I really can't wait to tackle this and make it a work I am truly proud of. 2011 is the year for writing and the pursuit of success!

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

The Great Critique

  I attended SCBWI Western Washington's Great Critique last night, and I'm so glad I went!  Lately I've been feeling really discouraged about my seemingly hopeless pursuit of publishing a children's picture book in a dying market.  I broke down in tears last weekend feeling so overwhelmed by the unlikely odds that some nobody like me can ever get published.  With only a few rejections under my belt, I know I need to get a thicker skin if I want to make it in this business. But its the breaking in that seems the most insurmountable to me at this point. If I want to get published I need an agent to get my work into the right and tightly guarded hands, and if I want an agent I need to be published first.  I feel like I'm banging my head against wall after wall.  Thus the weekend breakdown. When I set out on this journey I didn't fully realize just how much of an emotional roller coaster the creative process can be. For me and my boyfriend who has to deal with the unexpected bouts of depression (sorry Tim!).
  That is why I am so thankful for the SCBWI community.  Being around fellow writers who are struggling and succeeding and can commiserate and enlighten, is just the greatest joy. Every time I go to a meeting or spend time with a critique group or attend a class, I am reenergized and I remember the passion that got me excited to write for children in the first place. 
  Last night I turned in one of my versions of Kiwi & Chirp (I have probably 10 different ones now!) for critique. And again my face burns hot and my heart beats fast any time my work is read aloud.  But all the enthusiasm and support and guidance is so welcome and so appreciated. Sometimes you just need fresh eyes to go over a work that has become blurred to you. It allows you to breathe a little, and take some of the burden off of you making your work so perfect, while someone else takes a stab at it.  So while a peaceful snow fell outside our classroom window, I finally made (some) peace with my own work by letting others in. It was a beautiful thing and I feel grateful for having seized the opportunity, even if it would have been easier to stay at home and wallow away in misery and doubt.  Attending the Great Critique was much more fun! So I'll keep writing, keep pushing forward, and keep finding inspiration and positivity wherever I can get it.
Next stop: SCBWI Western WA Conference in April

Saturday, January 1, 2011



Welcome 2011!  It is a beautiful, clear day in Seattle, what a perfect way to start the new year!

"Life has got to be lived — that’s all there is to it."
~ Eleanor Roosevelt