Mark Boal, Kathryn Bigelow and Greg Shapiro with their awards
Summary
8 March 2010
The prize for best film at this year's Oscars went to The Hurt Locker, a film about American troops in Iraq. Its main rival, the multi-billion dollar blockbuster Avatar, didn't pick up any of the major awards.
Reporter:
Rajesh Mirchandani
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Report
A low-budget war film that's failed to find large audiences beat off a ground-breaking fantasy epic that's the biggest money earner in cinema history. The Hurt Locker about bomb disposal teams in Iraq won six awards including best picture, and Kathryn Bigelow became the first woman to win the Oscar for best director. She paid tribute to members of the armed services in her acceptance speech.
Meanwhile her ex-husband, the film-maker James Cameron, had to be content with three awards out of nine nominations, for his sci-fi blockbuster Avatar.
Acting prizes went as predicted. Jeff Bridges won for Crazy Heart, Sandra Bullock for The Blind Side.
In supporting roles Christoph Waltz won for Inglourious Basterds and Mo'Nique for Precious. British nominees, Helen Mirren, Colin Firth and Kerry Mulligan went home empty-handed.
Rajesh Mirchandani, 大象传媒 News, Los Angeles
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Grammar
- low-budget
not expensive, cheap to make
- beat off
was more sucessful than
- ground-breaking
new and different to other things of its type
- fantasy epic
a make-believe film which is long
- bomb disposal teams
groups of people whose job is to examine and remove bombs that are found, and to prevent them from exploding
- paid tribute
said something, especially on a formal occasion that shows your respect and admiration for someone else
- acceptance speech
formal talk given usually to a large number of people on a special occasion when you are being awarded something
- had to be content
accepted a situation (not winning many prizes) which is not exactly what you wanted or expected
- nominations
things (here, aspects of the film, directing, writing, cinematography etc) are selected to be in a small group. One of the group (nominations) goes on to win
- empty-handed
without a prize
