Pastime Productions

Even though the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences has decided to raise the number of Best Picture nominees to 10, that doesn't mean many of the 'early contenders' are still a given to be nominated. To see which films had high expectations come Oscar time, but will probably be disappointed just click here.

Just released are this year's Golden Globe nominations. I wasn't shocked by any of the nominations, but if I had to pick one it's Tobey Maguire for Brothers in the Best Actor - Drama category. I'm going to try and see more of the films nominated before making my choices so stay tuned. For a complete list of the 2010 Golden Globe nominations just click here.

Arguably one of the more recognizable movie studios, Warner Bros. has just released its 2010 movie lineup. I've heard of many of the projects coming out under Warner next year, but there are a few I've only just heard of. For instance Clint Eastwood's next project, Todd Philips next comedy and Ben Affleck's second attempt at directing. It should be noted that I was a huge fan of Gone Baby Gone so that is not a low blow to Ben Affleck. To see which Warner Bros. movies you'll be going to next year just click here.

This year Canadian filmmaker Norman Jewison will receive the lifetime achievement award from the Directors Guild of America. Jewison has been nominated for three DGA Awards and for four Oscars and his films have received a dozen Academy Awards. In 1999, Jewison received the Irving Thalberg Award. Read more on this outstanding news right here.

I think it's safe to say that Jason Reitman has become one of Hollywood's A-List directors. Up in the Air is only his third film, but his previous two efforts; Thank you for Smoking & Juno, made him a household name. In Up in the Air Jason Reitman directs probably his biggest actor to date George Clooney and to find out what it was like working with George, or how it was shooting in actual airports, or even to find out what it's like to be the son of a Hollywood legend just click here.

Though Paranormal Activity cost only $11,000 to make it brought in an astounding $107 million domestically. That's bang for your buck! Paramount therefore was quick to join (and eventually win) the bidding war for Oren Peli's next flick Area 51. The $5 million budget for Area 51 is much larger than the budget for Paranormal Activity, but $5 million is still extremely low for a studio film.

Not much is known about Area 51, but what is for certain is that it will still use the "found footage" technique which worked wonders in Paranormal Activity. A release date has not been set, but a Summer 2010 release is likely. Read a bit more on Area 51 right here.

When did Joss Whedon suddenly become the toast of mainstream award-givers? Just months after receiving an Emmy for "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog," the "Dollhouse" and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" creator has been tapped to received the 2010 Vanguard Award from the Producers Guild of America. Read more on this right here.

At first I wasn't too sure about Pirate Radio, and I'll admit the switching over of the title from The Boat That Rocked didn't help, but after each viewing of the films trailer it has been growing on me. One thing about the film that definitely stands out is the fact that it uses the largest amount of licensed music in movie history. And would have had even more if not for some artists being greedy and requesting an insanely large fee for use of their music. Read about what Richard Curtis has to say about the making of Pirate Radio and it's music right here.

Although Fantastic Mr. Fox is stop-motion animation, you can still see that the style of the film belongs to Wes Anderson. All of his films share this unique branding, and I for one am looking forward to seeing how it translates to animation. It's been a long process for Wes Anderson to get this film made, and to understand why, or to find out the inspiration behind choosing to make a stop-motion film, just click here.

Though he's had an outstanding filmmaking career to date, Guillermo Del Toro will surely be remember, for better or for worse, for directing the upcoming Hobbit films. There is an immense amount of pressure on Del Toro to create The Hobbit with such perfection as his predecessor Peter Jackson did, for The Lord of the Rings films. The production of The Hobbit is well on it's way and to get an idea of how things are going, and to find out how the collaberation between Guillermo Del Toro and Peter Jackson is going just click here.