At the end of the 90s, famous Oscar show writer and Celebrity Fit Club contestant Bruce Vilanch claimed that, “Generally with the Oscars…there isn’t much you can do until the nominations are announced. Then you know what kind of year you’re dealing with – what’s been overlooked, what the issues are.” He was talking about preparing to write the show, but it applies to everyone from the directors, producers and stars on down to the fans. It’s fun to guess around the water cooler (your office still has a water cooler?), but until now, it’s all been speculation. Thankfully, almost all that speculation has been spot on, so we can all continue our conversations about whether Black Swan will beat The Social Network for Best Picture. Whether Natalie Portman has any true competition for Best Actress. Whether, most importantly of all, Colleen Atwood will beat Mary Zophres for Best Costume Design. Here they are. The 2011 Academy Award nominees:

Quite a fuss has been made of Sunday night’s Golden Globes ceremony. Not the actual awards mind you – everything was safe and predictable in that arena. Not even the obvious drunkenness or awkward attempts at humor with varying degrees of success by the night’s celebrity award winners and presenters are the primary subject of the conversation (De Niro’s bizarre acceptance speech, Robert Downey Jr’s creepy framing of the Best Actress category). All discourse has been centered on the performance by the show’s host, Ricky Gervais. Gervais’s acerbic monologue was met with audible surprise and even aghast by his elite audience. His introductions to awards presenters ranged from tongue-in-cheek playfulness to blatant comic criticism. He later disappeared for more than an hour, prompting speculation on Twitter (the only place where aside observations can immediately morph into conspiracy theory) that he was taken off the show, only to emerge later, without his jacket and appearing vexed, to give quite the backhanded introduction to Tom Hanks and Tim Allen, which all-in-all does suggest at least a firm backstage talking-to. With strangely perfect timing, Gervais ended the show with the line, “And thank you to God for making me an atheist” before the generic end credits music surged. The Buñuelean echo of these final words was a rather appropriate summation of Gervais’s brilliant absurdity and anarchic irreverence peppered throughout this masturbatory rich-ual (get it?). It was, in short, hilarious and the best thing about the show. Here’s his monologue:

This week, on a very special episode of Reject Radio, Alyson Krier of The Best Picture Project drops by to discuss her journey to watch every Best Picture nominee in a year. I also fiendishly force her to watch Season of the Witch, which turns out to be a great antidote for the quality overdose she’s currently enjoying. Listen Here: Download This Episode

Peter Yates, the greatest American filmmaker to ever be born in Britain and live there his whole life, died Sunday as the result of a prolonged illness. Yates got his start as a feature director in the early 1960s and made the jump into a new era of filmmaking with Bullitt and Breaking Away coming in back to back years. The first, hitting theaters in 1968, is credited with inventing the cinematic car chase and remains one of the best examples of the element that’s now common place in most action movies. The second is a completely different beast altogether; it’s the thoughtful coming of age story that captures Americana and teenage life better than most American directors could.

The Producers Guild of America is known for aligning its picks with the Oscar nominations with the startling regularity that can only come when two groups share the same voting pool. That’s why groups like, say, the Hollywood Foreign Press (who I think actually nominated a nip-slip video this year) doesn’t match up at all. The PGA, which announced its award nominees today, went 9 for 10 last year, and by the looks of this list, they might just do it again in 2011.

If you’re like me, you remember a time when Billy Crystal was the only person that hosted the Oscars, every year, forever and ever. There was something comforting about having a comedian on stage because it meant a hilarious opening bit that mocked Clint Eastwood (in song) and guaranteed that a stuffy evening wouldn’t be taken too seriously. Now, the Academy has chosen James Franco and Anne Hathaway to co-host the next presentation of awards. Not counting Hugh Jackman (who brought his own musical flair to the proceedings), the last time that the show didn’t have a comedian as host was either technically the ’89 broadcast (which had no host) or the ’75 broadcast where Walter Matthau shared the duties with Goldie Hawn, Gene Kelly, Robert Shaw, and George Segal. It’s a modern convention to have someone notable for their hosting (like Jon Stewart) or their stand up comedy (like Jon Stewart) take center stage as emcee. Franco and Hathaway will no doubt bring a different energy, though, and that comes with some good and some bad.

Last week, the recipients of the Honorary Oscars were announced, the awards ceremony taking place at the Academy Governor’s Awards Dinner on November 13 (an evident pushback from the typical televised reception of the Honorary Oscar at the actual ceremony in the first quarter of the following calendar year). Honorary awards are being given to Veteran actor and senior-senior-citizen Eli Wallach, film historian and preservationist Kevin Brownlow, legendary French New Wave auteur Jean-Luc Godard, and the Irving G. Thalberg memorial award for excellent producing has been bestowed (to the surprise of no one) to the occasionally brilliant cinematic patriarch and wine magnate Francis Ford Coppola. According to the Academy’s executive director on August 25, attempts were made to contact Godard directly (by phone, fax, and through associates), but to no avail. Unbeknownst to the fact there does indeed exist television and the Internet in Paris, members of the Academy interpreted Godard’s behavior as elusive rather than evasive. Godard has a history of rejecting awards of the honorary or lifetime achievement variety, so until he makes a statement that provides an official stance, it remains likely that Godard will simply and inevitably turn this one down as well. And as well he should.

After the stuffier critics bash Piranha 3D for its attempts, it’s inevitable that at least one internet commenter (who also happens to be “the funniest guy in his group of friends”) will use the time-honored phrase that all connoisseurs of fine film use to defend fun movies: It’s not like it’s trying to win an Oscar or anything. Unfortunately for this particular movie, that argument will be incorrect. The stars of the film have taken to an early campaign for the film and make some incredibly strong points. I haven’t seen the movie, but I have to assume that any film where Ving Rhames rips a motor off a boat and wields it as a weapon should at least get some of Your Consideration. Also, bringing up Ghost‘s nomination is inspired. Check out the Oscar pitch in this Funny or Die video:

A brief history of the Movie Star and why it’s currently gasping for breath.

If you’re among the massive group of FSR readers that aspires to create films yourself, draw a giant X on your calendar for Thursday, July 15th. That’s tomorrow for those of you keeping score. At 4:30 PST, Oscar-nominated director Mark Rydell (who helmed On Golden Pond, For The Boys, The River and The Rose) will answer your questions about acting and directing, and he’ll do it on the internet. For more information about how to get in on this live chat, read on!

It’s admittedly a bit premature to start tagging Oscar winners, but Inception stands up and demands this sort of analysis. Christopher Nolan’s forthcoming film has been hailed as the most anticipated of the Summer (and maybe of the year), and it fulfills every promise that it makes. Beyond the film itself, there are several other factors that might come together as a perfect storm that will clear a path toward the podium for Nolan and company. Inception will win Best Picture next year. Here’s why.

Science Fiction is, sadly, not always seen as high art. However, there are some brilliant acting talents who have dared to slum it in the world of science fiction. Here’s the 15 most notable ones.

The last installment of the series just got an Oscar pedigree, and sees the return of its entire main cast.

A murdered woman. An intrepid federal employee. An unspoken love affair. And a naked, little, gold man.

Stephen Daldry is attached to see Jonathan Safran Foer’s novel about a little boy, his father, and 9/11.

Three names emerge as Summit starts aiming at Oscar-caliber talent for the top job on its monster.

Now that we’ve survived the onslaught of award season, you can travel to the video store and watch many of the winners in the comfort of your own home. And with both Up in the Air and Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire hitting the streets this week, it’s time for an all-encompassing drinking game to give you an honest-to-God Oscar hangover.

Driving Miss Daisy is one of three films in history, and the only one in modern history, to do something incredible at the Academy Awards. Find out what the phenomenon is inside.

Tonight, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will hand out the 82nd Annual Oscars. And like any great movie site would, we will be updating our site live along with the ceremony. We will also be live-blogging the event, with much of the FSR staff providing up-to-the-minute commentary on the winners, the speeches, and everything in between. Come join!

Last year, we live-blogged the Academy Awards from a large yacht. This was, of course, in honor of the fact that the characters from Slumdog Millionaire could not afford such lavish luxury, at least not until the end. This year, in honor of nominees like Avatar and District 9, we considered live-blogging Oscar night from space. We’re still waiting on a few call-backs on that one…