Oscar News

• The Gotham Independent Film Awards are always the first out of the gate, and they announced their nominations this week. Nominated for Best Film are Black Swan, Blue Valentine, The Kids Are All Right, Let Me In and Winter’s Bone. Last year’s winner was eventual Best Picture The Hurt Locker.
• The Hollywood Awards gala will honor the ensemble of The Social Network with the Hollywood Ensemble Acting Award on October 25.
• Carey Mulligan will receive the Breakthrough Award at the Palm Springs Film Festival. Previous honorees include Oscar nominees Jeremy Renner, Jennifer Hudson and Felicity Huffman.
• James Franco has picked up his first award of the year. He will receive the 2011 Outstanding Performance award from the Santa Barbara International Film Festival for his work in 127 Hours.
• The first bit of casting news is in for The Hobbit, the prequel to the Best Picture-winning Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Review Round-Up

No major Oscar contenders were released this week.

Oscar Box Office

• The Social Network was bumped from the top spot after two weeks. The top film of the weekend was Jackass 3-D, an almost sure non-contender for the Academy Awards.
• Secretariat dropped to fourth place last week, but only suffered a 31% dropoff.
• Despite weak reviews, Hereafter managed an almost $40,000 per screen average in a very limited release. It will expand to theaters everywhere this weekend.

New Trailers

• Cars 2: Pixar is always a contender in multiple categories, so look for a possible run next year.
• Made in Dagenham: Could be a possible contender for some beloved actors, but it would be a longshot
• Outside the Law: Algeria’s foreign film submission this year.

Oscar Farewell

• Although best known for his television and stage work, Tom Bosley had a film career that included playing opposite Natalie Wood’s Oscar-nominated performance in Love with the Proper Stranger. He passed away at the age of 83.