What a beautiful historic moment! Kathryn Bigelow, director of The Hurt Locker, became the first women in the history of the Oscars to receive the Best Director Oscar. Not only that, but The Hurt Locker won Best Picture, the small, tiny, independent war film on a shoestring budget slayed the enormous Avatar juggernaut. Bigelow seemed overwhelmed, but gracious, acknowledging “The moment of the lifetime.” Bigelow thanked the screenwriter first, then the cast. She thanked everyone involved with producing and distributing the film, then she dedicated the award to the men and women serving overseas in the military. She reiterated the same thing when she and her team won Best Picture.
I thought Bigelow was very classy during her speech, and I think The Hurt Locker was a very worthy film. It blew me away when I saw it, and you could tell – just by the work of the “cameo” talent, including Ralph Fiennes and Guy Pierce, amongst others – that this was a project people really believed in. I honestly thought the Academy would end up splitting the vote between Bigelow and Avatar, but I was wrong! I’m not sorry either.
Congratulations to Bigelow and the Hurt Locker team!
‘The Hurt Locker’ promotional images courtesy of WENN.
I don’t know anything about that movie but i am glad that she one as the first woman to ever win that prize !
Congrats !
First woman winning!! Wow, what an honor!
Lina Wertmuller and Jane Campion deserved it before her but…world is not perfect
Congrats,KB!
YES!
This is a milestone! Hollywood is still very much a boy’s club.
I’m going to watch the Hurt Locker on demand tomorrow, courtesy of Cablevision hehe. I’m really looking forward to it. (Some good came of this stupid network dispute!)
I didn’t see that movie but Avatar got ripped off…Avatar is a movie like no other. period. This is just another war movie…although i do quite fancy jeremy renner 😉
What a fantastic personal moment for her and a fantastic moment for female filmmakers. Maybe this will open some more doors. Then she beat out her ex-husband, to boot. Irony is so beautiful.
I’m going to have to download it now. I had watching movies on my laptop.
I’m disappointed to be honest. Avatar is by far the better movie and it sends out such a better message.
I’m blown away Hurt Locker won Best Picture. I think Avatar, Inglorious Basterds and Dist. 9 were all much better and more epic. Nice that she won best director. She seemed genuinely shocked and appeared to be almost hyperventilating when she took both honors. James Cameron looked genuinely happy for her and he stood up instantly when her name was called. Congrats to KB.
I cannot believe the Hurt Locker BLEW AWAY Avatar…Avatar was so epic and so deserving to win. Poor James Cameron, they’ve been working on the movie for ten years, it was like his baby and then his ex-wife comes and steals the show? Oh, hell no. Avatar was so much more deserving.
The thing is, I saw all of the nominated films when they were released. The Hurt Locker is the only one that haunted me, and the only one I saw twice. They’re all amazing films, but The Hurt Locker really affected me. Just one opinion.
Lovely that she was the first woman to win and for such an exceptional film. This was not just a “oh, we’re gonna give it to the woman this year just for any old film”.
All smiles on this front. 🙂
This is a political statement more than artisitc achievement.
Shoestring? It had a 38 million dollar budget, I read. I bet it would never have gotten this much PR if it were directed by a guy. Overrated, and very cliched film.
I haven’t seen it, but Himself has and it’s been the one he’s been chanting for Best Pic since last year, so he’ll be delighted to hear this news. 😀
I’m happy for her and I’m also glad that avatar didn’t win, it doesn’t deserve an oscar
What a wonderful moment! When Tom Hanks read the winner I thought he was joking and was then going to say “Naaa, Avatar won” I’m happy to see that The Hurt Locker and Kathryn Bigelow won instead.
Loved the movie and, although my personal choice would have been Inglourious Basterds, I’m glad it won over the remake of Ferngully: The Last Rainforest – a $250 million dollar film using cutting-edge technology all about, ermm… the evils of monetary greed and technology. As cinematic irony goes, it’s pretty much only matched by the tidal wave of merchandise accompanying Wall.E, a film about the evils of consumerism!
And on a shallower note, how good does KB look for 58?
avatar got the awards it deserved – cinematography related ones. Not sure about the Hurt Locker as the best picture but I’m rarely in agreement with Academy. To me The Road was the most haunting movie of the year with Viggo Mortensen giving one of the most outstanding performances ever but it didn’t even get any nominations.
YESSS!! Congrats KB for Best Director & Best Picture.
Someone said the movie was a cliche? I love war movies, and this is the first one that went a different angle.
Avatar couldnt have won for story (Ferngully, Pocahontas). Special effect? YES. But nothing more.
I think that it’s great that she used to be married to James Cameron and then she blew him out of the water by winning “best director” over him. Never liked that guy…..too smug for me.
She’s sophisticated, smart and accomplished. Take that, James!
TEAM HURT LOCKER and while my man Jeremy didn’t win, he certainly lost to an amazing performance by Jeff Bridges.
If Avatar had won the Academy would have lost the teeny shreds of credibility it has left. I think the people voting knew that, and I think they knew it was time to give the award to a film that actually deserved it. Avatar, schmavatar. I’ve seen cartoons on the Disney channel with more original plots.
Although I though Avatar was an amazing achievement in technology, it lacked huge in story. Good for Disney, but no writing worth recognizing. With that being said, the HURT LOCKER, could be one of the most overrated movies I have ever seen. It’s quite obvious that the Oscar’s has subcome to media vs. art.
Take your pick, HL won because of: 1. to show “support for the troops” 2. There was a female director in the running 3. Noth much else to choose from
i read shes more than 50 years old and shes hot!!
58?! wow.
I so agree w/ Toe. I too love war films & this was really something special. Months later I still can’t stop thinking about it. It was not only a riveting experience but surprisingly apolitical & what an incredible cast. The acting was first rate & it certainly didn’t hurt to have cast two gorgeous & charasmatic actors in the main roles. I just adore Renner & how smoking hot is Mackie? Congratulations to them all.
Yay! She’s amazing in just about every way. I can’t wait for her next project!
wait – she’s 58 years old? she looks great. aven’t seen her film, as i dislike war movies (except for “das boot”), but i’m glad “avatar” didn’t win. i was talked into going and hated every boring second. i could have just rented “neverending story” or “the dark crystal” and been done with it. and i agree with celadine who commented on the irony of spending a gazillion dollars to make a movie about greed and consumerism. oh, hollywood!
She missed a golden opportunity to shake that second Oscar at the sky and declare, “I’m Queen of the World!”.
I don’t live in the states, so when i saw a pic of KB with an Oscar in her hands, i thought, WTF did Liz Hurley do to win an Oscar?
This woman looks great.
The fake tan stuff sucks, hideous, it’s just hideous. I get better stuff at the freaking drug store.
The Hurt Locker truly deserved to win “BIG” at the Oscars. Kathryn Bigelow did such an amazing job on a “shoe string” production budget with no help from the military. All the performances were first rate. Defeating her ex-husband’s film, Avatar, and looking great while doing so was just icing on her cake! She’s a divorcee’s ultimate role model. Don’t become bitter — become BETTER!!!
Kudos to Kathryn Bigelow and cast!!!
I’m sorry, but I yelled bullshit, threw the remote and stormed out of the room when they announced that The Hurt Locker won best picture…
The Hurt Locker did terrible in the box office, shouldn’t the academy be rewarding the movie that does amazing and also attracts the most viewers be awarded the title? I’m pretty sure that makes more sense.
The Hurt Locker is about an intense portrayal of elite soldiers who have one of the most dangerous jobs in the world: disarming bombs in the heat of combat.
Avatar is about a journey of self-discovery, in the context of imperialism and biodiversity. And a love story revolving around a couple that come from radically different cultures that are contemptuous of their relationship and are forced to choose sides between the competing communities.
As seeing both and am far more drawn to Avatar and the story of nature and harmony and the fight to keep that.
I’m soooo angry…….
@BeeCee
Though you are correct in your assessment regarding Avatar, you just listed the themes. If screenplays, novels, and other creative writing were judged merely on their themes the world would possess far fewer good writers. And that is what Avatar lacked: good narrative execution. Megalomanic Cameron really should have let someone else do the writing. It was predictable from beginning to end, exploiting antiquated philsophical themes without inserting any original thought behind them. Good thing it had stunning visuals to narrowly string together the major plot points. Now, I can’t speak on behalf of Hurt Locker as I’m currently unable to see it, so it could be just as formulaic.
At first I really wanted to see Avatar, but after hearing how people are depressed because they can’t live in it.. put it in the “I don’t think so!” catagory. I will catch it on cable.
I did see District 9 and loved it. It was nothing that I expected. And I also look forward to seeing the other nominated movies.
I am very glad that she did win for director, and hopefully now more fabulous female directors will actually get some notice.
@BeeCee
“The Hurt Locker did terrible in the box office, shouldn’t the academy be rewarding the movie that does amazing and also attracts the most viewers be awarded the title? I’m pretty sure that makes more sense.”
…why?
The EOD community is gnashing its teeth.
The biggest problem with the film is its horrendously inaccurate portrayal of the personality types involved in EOD work. It was insulting to the spouses of these people as well as the EOD techs themselves. This one-dimensional “crazy and emotionally constipated” portrayal is SO tired. I’m totally on team Avatar with this one.
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