The Visual Effects Are...

From Hitflix:

"The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the 15 semi-finalists for the Achievement in Visual Effects for the 82nd Academy Awards today. The contenders are as follows:

Angels & Demons
Avatar
Coraline
Disney’s A Christmas Carol
District 9
G-Force
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Sherlock Holmes
Star Trek
Terminator Salvation
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
2012
Watchmen
Where the Wild Things Are

According to the Academy, the members of the Academy’s Visual Effects Branch Executive Committee, who selected the semifinalists, will narrow the list to seven early next month. At that point, all members of the Visual Effects Branch will be invited to view 15-minute excerpts from each of the seven shortlisted films on Thursday, January 21. Following the screenings, the members will vote to nominate three films for final Oscar consideration. "

Okay, three? As painful as it is, here goes -

Avatar
Star Trek
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Follow-ups?

Disney's A Christmas Carol
District 9
Sherlock Holmes
Terminator Salvation
2012
Watchmen
Where the Wild Things Are

UPDATE:

Here's the seven finalists:

Avatar
District 9
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Star Trek
Terminator Salvation
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
2012

The Animated Features Are...

From ComingSoon.net:

"20 features have been submitted for consideration in the Animated Feature Film category for the 82nd Academy Awards®.

The 20 submitted features are:

Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel
Astro Boy
Battle for Terra
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
Coraline
Disney's A Christmas Carol
The Dolphin – Story of a Dreamer
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
Mary and Max
The Missing Lynx
Monsters vs. Aliens
9
Planet 51
Ponyo
The Princess and the Frog
The Secret of Kells
Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure
A Town Called Panic
Up

Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel, The Dolphin – Story of a Dreamer, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Planet 51, The Princess and the Frog, The Secret of Kells and A Town Called Panic have not yet had their required Los Angeles qualifying run. Submitted features must fulfill the theatrical release requirements and meet all of the category's other qualifying rules before they can advance in the voting process.

Under the rules for this category, a maximum of 5 features can be nominated in a year in which the field of eligible entries numbers at least 16.

Films submitted in the Animated Feature Film category also may qualify for Academy Awards in other categories, including Best Picture, provided they meet the requirements for those categories.

The 82nd Academy Awards nominations will be announced on Tuesday, February 2, 2010, at 5:30 a.m. PT in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2009 will be presented on Sunday, March 7, 2010, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 200 countries worldwide."

My predictions:

Up
The Princess and the Frog
Ponyo
Disney's A Christmas Carol
Fantastic Mr. Fox

I don't see why Alvin and the Chipmunks 2: The Squeakuel is up there - it's half live-action. If Up is as insanely popular with Oscar judges as people are saying it is, and it does get a Best Picture (never say never - remember, Beauty and the Beast) then my runner-up would be Coraline.

Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin host the '10 Oscars!

From ComingSoon.net:

"Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin will serve as co-hosts of the 82nd Academy Awards®.

'I am happy to co-host the Oscars with my enemy Alec Baldwin,' said Martin.

'I don't play the banjo but I'm thrilled to be hosting the Oscars – it's the opportunity of a lifetime,' said Baldwin.

Martin hosted the 73rd and 75th Academy Awards shows, earning an Emmy nomination for the first stint. He has also served as a presenter on the show several times, most recently at the ceremony in February when he appeared with Tina Fey. He is currently touring with the bluegrass band Steep Canyon Rangers in support of his latest album 'The Crow: New Songs for the Five String Banjo.' In 1977 and 1978 Martin won Grammys for Best Comedy Recording. He earned a third Grammy in 2001 in the Best Country Instrumental Performance category. In 2007 Martin earned a Kennedy Center Honor.

Baldwin was nominated for an Academy Award in 2003 for his supporting role in The Cooler. That year also marked his most recent appearance as a presenter on the show. Baldwin currently stars as Jack Donaghy on the [TV] comedy '30 Rock', a role for which he has won two Emmys (in 2008 and 2009). Baldwin earned a Tony nomination in 1992 for his performance in 'A Streetcar Named Desire.'

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2009 will be presented on Sunday, March 7, 2010, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 200 countries worldwide."

What they don't mention is that this is also a subconcious promotion of their upcoming romantic comedy It's Complicated... with Meryl Streep. Ew.

And then there were 10

From ComingSoon.net:

"The 82nd Academy Awards, which will be presented on March 7, 2010, will have 10 feature films vying in the Best Picture category, Academy Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Sid Ganis announced at a press conference in Beverly Hills.

'After more than six decades, the Academy is returning to some of its earlier roots, when a wider field competed for the top award of the year,' said Ganis. 'The final outcome, of course, will be the same – one Best Picture winner – but the race to the finish line will feature 10, not just five, great movies from 2009.'

For more than a decade during the Academy's earlier years, the Best Picture category welcomed more than five films; for nine years there were 10 nominees. The 16th Academy Awards (1943) was the last year to include a field of that size; Casablanca was named Best Picture. (In 1931/32, there were eight nominees and in 1934 and 1935 there were 12 nominees.) Currently, the Academy is presenting a bicoastal screening series showcasing the 10 Best Picture nominees of 1939, arguably one of Hollywood's greatest film years. Best Picture nominees of that year include such diverse classics as Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Stagecoach, The Wizard of Oz and Best Picture winner Gone with the Wind.

'Having 10 Best Picture nominees is going allow Academy voters to recognize and include some of the fantastic movies that often show up in the other Oscar categories, but have been squeezed out of the race for the top prize,' commented Ganis. 'I can't wait to see what that list of ten looks like when the nominees are announced in February.'

The 82nd Academy Awards nominations will be announced on Tuesday, February 2. The Oscar® ceremony honoring films for 2009 will again take place at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center® in Hollywood, and will be televised live by the ABC Television Network."

You know what all the fuss is about, right? It's all because Dark Knight got shut out of Best Picture by The Reader.