Earlier this week, we brought you a review of the true crime documentary Cropsey.  The documentary explores the urban legend behind several unsolved child murders that occurred on Staten Island. Tonight you can catch the movie on the Discovery Channel sister network, Investigation Discovery.

The channel specializes on fact-based investigative content about culture, history and the human condition.  The Investigation Discovery channel will be adding documentaries to their lineup, under the brand ID films. Cropsey: The Urban Legend will be the first documentary to air on the channel, followed by Final Judgement (aka No Tomorrow) in October.

Final Judgement illuminates the role of the media in the criminal justice system, and provides commentary on the death penalty.

A third Discovery channel spin-off, named Planet Green, will be presenting documentaries under the name Reel Impact.  Upcoming documentaries include Sharkwater, No Impact Man, The Cove (Academy Award winner),  and Black Wave: Legacy of the Exxon Valdez.

Cropsey will run tonight, Friday the 13th, @9pm ET on Investigation Discovery.  Check with your cable provider for availability.

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The Winners

Just call her the giant slayer. Kathryn Bigelow and her modest little Iraq War drama The Hurt Locker beat out the behemoth box office champ Avatar for best picture, best director, best original screenplay, best editing, best sound editing, and best sound mixing. Bigelow made history, becoming the first female ever to win the award for directing.

James Cameron and company (Avatar) left with a total of three trophies: best visual effects, best art direction and best cinematography. The cinematography award seemed a little odd. After all, most of this film was computer generated, wasn’t it?

There were no real surprises in the acting categories. Best supporting actress went to Mo’nique for Precious, best supporting actor Christoph Waltz for Inglourious Basterds, best actress was Sandra Bullock for The Blind Side, and Jeff Bridges finally won for Crazy Heart.

Up won best animated feature and best original score, while El Secreto do Sus Ojos (Argentina) won best foreign picture. The Cove won best documentary. For an expanded list of major category winners, scroll to the bottom of the article.

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The Director’s Guild of America Awards were held over the weekend, and Kathryn Bigelow became the first woman ever to win for feature film direction in the guild’s 62 year history. She won for directing The Hurt Locker, and beat out some stiff competition, including Quentin Tarantino, James Cameron, Jason Reitman, and Lee Daniels.

This could be a momentum changer going into the Academy Award nominations tomorrow morning. There have only been six times in its history that the DGAs have not correctly predicted the eventual Oscar winner. Incidentally, a woman has never won an Academy Award for best director, either.

Other highlighted winners from Saturday night included:

Movies for Television/Mini-Series Ross Katz, Taking Chance

Documentary Louie Psihoyos The Cove

Dramatic Series  Leslie Linka Glatter Mad Men “Guy Walks Into An Advertising Agency”

Comedy Series Jason Winer Modern Family “Pilot”

For a complete list of all the winners, visit the DGA site.

Photo courtesy of the DGA.

As hard as it may be to believe sometimes, someone (or someones) actually sits down and writes a movie or TV show before you end up seeing it at your local multiplex or on your favorite TV network. The people who do the sitting and the writing are, surprisingly, called writers and, like the Directors, the Golden Globes and the Oscars, they have their own awards show.

This week, the Writers Guild of America, which is the trade group and advocate for writers, announced its nominations for outstanding achievement in feature film and television, radio, news, promotional writing, and graphic animation during the 2009 season to be honored at the upcoming 2010 Writers Guild Awards on February 20, 2010, in Los Angeles and New York.

We realize that these nominations may not be as glamorous as the Golden Globes or the Oscars, but we kinda like writers around here and think they do a pretty important job. So, with that in mind, here’s a complete list of nominees.

Check out these names, these people are pretty important. Without them you wouldn’t get to enjoy your favorite TV show, movie or pretty much any other form of entertainment. The 2010 Writers Guild Awards will be held on Saturday, February 20, 2010, simultaneously at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles and the Hudson Theatre at the Millennium Broadway Hotel in New York City.

FILM NOMINEES

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

(500) Days of Summer, Written by Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber

Avatar, Written by James Cameron

The Hangover, Written by Jon Lucas & Scott Moore

The Hurt Locker, Written by Mark Boal

A Serious Man, Written by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Crazy Heart, Screenplay by Scott Cooper

Based on the novel by Thomas Cobb

Julie & Julia, Screenplay by Nora Ephron Based on the books Julie & Julia by Julie Powell and My Life in France by Julia Child with Alex Prud’homme

Precious: Based on the novel Push by Sapphire, Screenplay by Geoffrey Fletcher Based on the novel Push by Sapphire

Star Trek, Written by Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman Based upon Star Trek, Created by Gene Roddenberry

Up in the Air, Screenplay by Jason Reitman and Sheldon TurnerBased upon the novel by Walter Kirn

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