Even though this website could technically be called a “Blog” and those of us who contribute to it are known as “Bloggers,” we like to think of ourselves as writers. So, when other writers get recognized, as they have by the Writer’s Guild of America’s nominations for it’s awards today, we take notice.

We also take notice when movies that seem an odd choice for awards get nominated anyway. We will leave it to you, good readers, to decide which of the following nominees for Writers Guild awards seems a bit out of place.

Winners will be announced at the 2012 Writers Guild Awards on Sunday, February 19, 2012, during simultaneous ceremonies in Hollywood and New York. Check out all the nominees (and more) from the official press release:

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

50/50, Written by Will Reiser; Summit Entertainment

Bridesmaids, Written by Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig; Universal Studios

Midnight in Paris, Written by Woody Allen; Sony Pictures Classics

Win Win, Screenplay by Tom McCarthy; Story by Tom McCarthy & Joe Tiboni; Fox Searchlight

Young Adult, Written by Diablo Cody; Paramount Pictures

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It is award season and one of the biggest award shows has just chimed in with it’s annual nomination list. The Golden Globes is often considered the biggest indicator for the Oscars, and even though that is not true, the show is usually fun. Especially when they get a host as fearless as Ricky Gervais.

One of the most interesting aspects of the show is that the Hollywood Foreign Press also salutes Television in their annual show, so it ends up being more of a celebration of entertainment and less about being a stodgy film industry banquet. Along with the TV nominees, the HFPA gives us the Best Comedy or Musical category, allowing for a larger variety of films to be showcased.

The nominations themselves are not overly surprising, but it is always good to see shows like Game of Thrones and movies like Hugo getting some love. We also see Moneyball getting a lot of attention, including Jonah Hill for supporting actor, he already picked up a SAG nomination yesterday, could the comedic actor be up for an Academy Award soon?

Check out the full list of nominations after the jump.

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The nominations for the 2012 Film Independent Spirit Awards are out. These awards highlight the best in independent cinema and have often helped Academy Awards voters who don’t see indie films realie there’e more to life than what they get at the local multi-plex. Not that Academy Awards voters actually ever go to a multi-plex either.

Looking over the list we can guess what you’re thinking: where’s Michael Fassbender’s nomination for Shame? We don’t know either. We are, however, very happy to see Ryan Gosling, Nicolas Winding Refn and Albert Brooks get nods for their work on Drive. Great movie and great performances.

Here’s all the nominees:

BEST FEATURE
50/50 Producers: Evan Goldberg, Ben Karlin, Seth Rogen
Beginners Producers: Miranda de Pencier, Lars Knudsen, Leslie Urdang, Dean Vanech, Jay Van Hoy
Drive Producers: Michel Litvak, John Palermo, Marc Platt, Gigi Pritzker, Adam Siegel
Take Shelter Producers: Tyler Davidson, Sophia Lin
The Artist Producer: Thomas Langmann
The Descendants Producers: Jim Burke, Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor

BEST DIRECTOR
Michel Hazanavicius The Artist
Mike Mills Beginners
Jeff Nichols Take Shelter
Alexander Payne The Descendants
Nicolas Winding Refn Drive

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After nearly a month of children’s films make the number 1 spot in the box office, we finally get a film that isn’t just appealing to kids, but kids of all ages! That’s right, Hugh Jackman’s robot fighting flick Real Steel managed to pull off the top of the box office with just over $27 million.

That brings the film’s total gross worldwide to a solid $49.4 million, which isn’t bad for the film that was released in both standard theaters and IMAX.

Also hitting theaters this past weekend, the George Clooney written/directed political drama Ides of March was able to start strong with $10.4 million. Not terrible for the worst month of the year for the box office.

After the first two slots, more of the same that we’ve seen for a while now. Dolphin Tale came in at #3 with $9 million, while Moneyball hit at #4 with $7.5 and the cancer comedy 50/50 dropped down to $5.5 million.

Next weekend looks to be the weekend of remakes, as Footloose opens to 3,300 screens, while The Thing opens to 2,900. Also hitting theaters is the Fox comedy The Big Year, starring Owen Wilson, Jack Black, and Steve Martin. Could be a tough call for those who love mediocrity.

There wasn’t much going on this Saturday, so I figured I might as well take the Brown Line up to the Western stop, then catch the 1:10 viewing at the Davis Theatre. I wasn’t much in the mood to head downtown to one of the AMCs, so I decided to venture uptown.

The Davis is one of those theaters that looks like it’s been around for years. It has the old-style theater sign with the letters descending in vertical order. I’d been there once before to see The King’s Speech with a friend who lives around the area, but I didn’t remember the distinct smell of urine that pervaded everywhere, from the box-office to the screening room itself.

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Just when you thought things couldn’t get more bizarre than seeing a film that was originally released in 1994 making #1 in the box office two weeks in a row, how about a film about a dolphin hitting #1 after it’s second week.

That’s right, Warner Bros’ Dolphin Tale managed to pull together $14.2 Million this weekend, bringing it in as the #1 winner for the three days. The film has only hit a total gross of $37.5, just slightly more than its production budget.

In second this week, Brad Pitt’s Moneyball came in with an estimated $12.5. All the while, Lion King in 3D is still creeping up on $100 Million, with an estimated $11 Million this weekend, bringing it to a total of $79.6 for the re-release.

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When does a film not need a trailer to get you excited to see it?  While most people need to see what the film is about before deciding whether it is worth their time, I can sometimes be satisfied knowing that there is strong  talent that going into making the film.  If a film has a talented director with a reliable track record, or has managed to pull together a unique cast, that should be reason enough to want to go and see that movie.

Each of the trailers this week has an element that alone should get you intrigued enough to watch it.  We have a couple independent films with strong casts, a sequel to the great animation, and a fun 3D experience.

50/50

Click to see the trailer

Right off the bat this film feels like a great feel-good indie with strong characters and honest performances.  Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Hesher, 500 Days of Summer, Inception) alone is one of the most talented young actors working today.  And Seth Rogan (who is also producing), while fresh and talented in everything he does, could use this type of role to break out of this Apatow comedy type-casting.

Additionally we have the under-appreciated Anna Kendrick (Up in the Air, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World), who is simply enjoyable in everything she does, as well as Bryce Dallas Howard (Hearafter) in some strange Twilight reunion.  Not to mention the incomparable Anjelica Huston (The Royal Tenenbaums) rounding out the supporting cast.

I get a strange feeling that this could be a strange mixture of 500 Days of Summer and Up in the Air.

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