SGN's Oscars Central recaps the race so far

Lorelei Quenzer here, your Reel Spin DVD reviewer and avowed film FANatic. It's only the first week of January and the awards season is already upon us! So much to see and so little time left to see it in. As m'colleague Albert blogged earlier, I've volunteered to be your "host" for the SGN's Oscars countdown.

Let's start the ball rolling by recapping what's happened so far:

• Dec 6 - 12: Film Critics Awards - Most of the film critics' associations announced their picks for the best movies and performances in early or mid December, with one major one still to be announced (the Broadcast Film Critics, awarded next Monday). Both the New York Film Critics Circle and the Los Angeles Film Critics Association awarded best film and director honors to Ang Lee for Brokeback Mountain; the National Board of Review selected George Clooney's Good Night, and Good Luck as best pic but chose Lee as best director.
  

• Dec 13: Golden Globes nominations - After the critics made their choices, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced the Golden Globes nominees. The greatest thing about the Globes - other than the gowns - is that they split the films into two categories: best drama and best musical or comedy. It's a little frustrating if you're counting on the Globes as a Oscars precursor, since the Academy Awards generally focus on the dramas, but one comedy generally squeaks in. We'll be taking a more in-depth look at the Globes next week.

• Today & tomorrow: Guild nominations - It's the time for the various guilds to announce their nominees. Today: The Producers Guild of America and the Writers Guild of America. Tomorrow: the Directors Guild of America (DGA) and the Screen Actors Guild (SAG).

Here are the Producers Guild's nominees for best picture:

• Brokeback Mountain
• Capote
• Crash
• Good Night, and Good Luck
• Walk the Line

Here are the Writers Guild's nominees for best original screenplay:

• Cinderella Man
• Crash
• The 40-Year-Old Virgin
• Good Night, and Good Luck
• The Squid and the Whale

And here are the Writers Guild's nominees for best adapted screenplay:

• Brokeback Mountain
• Capote
• The Constant Gardener
• A History of Violence
• Syriana

So what's next? Well, the Golden Globes are awarded Monday, January 16. Most of the guilds will have presented their awards by the end of the month, just in time for the announcement of the Academy Award nominess on Tuesday, January 31st. Then we'll have to practically sit on our hands - do you follow the Independent Spirit Awards? I do, and they're given out the day before the Oscars - until the golden statuettes are given out Sunday, March 5th.

Keep watching this space! Tomorrow I'll blog with a recap of the DGA and SAG nominees, then next week I'll hash out the Globes race. I also hope to occasionally post topics for discussion . . . so check back frequently!

Aloha,
Lorelei