Everybody knew “The Avengers” would make money. Everybody. They’ve been building up to it for what seems like a decade, Joss Whedon was at the helm, it sat at 94 percent on the Tomatometer, it made $185 million in its overseas debut. In so many words, all the pieces were in place. That said, I don’t know if anybody expected this.

“The Avengers” made a record-breaking $200.3 million, the largest opening weekend in history. The total trounces the previous high of $169.2 million, set by “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2” last summer.

Along the way, “The Avengers” toppled a number of other major records. It reached $100 million, $150 million, and $200 million faster than any other movie, set new highs for Saturday ($69.7 million) and Sunday ($50.1 million), and had the highest ever per-theater average for a nationwide release with $46,057. The only high score “The Avengers” didn’t take is largest opening day, making only $80.5 million to the “The Deathly Hallows Part 2’s” $91 million.

“The Avengers'” worldwide total of $641.8 million has already overtaken all of the team’s individual members’ totals. Coming closest are the “Iron Man” films, the first made $585 million and the second $624 million, while “Thor” made $449 million and “Captain America” took in $364 million. Oh, and for those of you counting “The Incredible Hulk” made $263 million.

The film didn’t make all that money without good reason. “The Dark Knight” may be the best ever movie about a superhero, but “The Avengers” is the best superhero movie. It played like a comic book, lighthearted and witty, but the action scenes did not disappoint. It seems there’d be a thick line between pleasing fanboys and those who have never picked up a comic in their lives, but “The Avengers” made it fine and walked that tightrope with grace. Everybody expected Robert Downey Jr. to continue to be great as Tony Stark, especially with Joss Whedon writing his lines, and he did not disappoint. But the film’s biggest question mark, Mark Ruffalo in his new role as the Hulk, stole the show.

Now, I could talk about how much all those other films made, but with these numbers it’s got to be pretty clear not many people who went to the movies this weekend saw something other than “The Avengers.” In fact, the film accounted for 82.7 percent of the roughly $242 million earned by the top 12 movies this weekend. That’s the second highest weekend market share of all time, behind only “Spider-Man 3’s” 83.3 percent.

Here are the results for this week’s top 10 at the box office:

Title/Weeks in release/Theater count, Studio/Three-day weekend total/Cume
1. The Avengers, 1/4,349, Disney/Marvel Studios, $200.3 million.
2. Think Like a Man, 3/2,011, Sony, $8 million, $73 million.
3. The Hunger Games, 7/2,794, Lionsgate, $5.7 million, $380.7 million.
4. The Lucky One, 3/3,005, Warner Bros., $5.5 million, $40 million.
5. The Pirates! Band of Misfits, 2/3,358, Sony/Aardman, $5.4 million, $18.6 million.
6. The Five-Year Engagement, Universal, 2/2,941, $5.1 million, $19.3 million.
7. The Raven, 2/2,209, Relativity/Intrepid, $2.5 million, $12 million.
8. Safe, 2/2,271, Lionsgate/IM Global, $2.5 million, $12.9 million
9. Chimpanzee, 3/1,531, Disney, $2.4 million, $23 million.
10. The Three Stooges, 4/2,174, $1.8 million, $39.6 million.

The nominees are: Darren Aronofsky for “Black Swan,” David Fincher for “The Social Network,” Tom Hooper for “The King’s Speech,” Christopher Nolan for “Inception,” and David O. Russell for “The Fighter.” Among the directors excluded who made films a lot of people are pulling for are two women: Lisa Cholodenko of “The Kids Are All Right” and Debra Ganik of “Winter’s Bone.” As Anne Thompson points out, the Guild has been slightly more open to nominating women than the Academy in the past. On the other hand, after last year’s big win for Kathryn Bigelow, it’s possible some of the pressure is off, or not.

Though it’s not as earth shaking, we movie fans like our movie special effects and the Visual Effects Society has made their nominations. No big surprises here either as the nominees for the movie with best effects are “Inception,” “Iron Man 2 ,” “Tron: Legacy,” “Alice in Wonderland,” and “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1.” I think it’s fair to say that visually stunning “Inception” should have the lead here, but we’ll see. In animation the nominees are: “How to Train Your Dragon,” “Toy Story 3,” “Tangled,” “Shrek Forever After,” and “Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole.”

The complete lists of award nominations, including a huge list from the VSA, are after the jump.

Directors Guild Award Nominees

DARREN ARONOFSKY
Black Swan
(Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Mr. Aronofsky’s Directorial Team:
· Unit Production Manager: Jennifer Roth
· First Assistant Director: Joseph Reidy
· Second Assistant Director: Amy Lauritsen
· Second Second Assistant Director: Travis Rehwaldt
· Location Manager: Ronnie Kupferwasser
This is Mr. Aronofsky’s first DGA Feature Film Award Nomination.

DAVID FINCHER
The Social Network
(Columbia Pictures)
Mr. Fincher’s Directorial Team:
· Unit Production Manager: JoAnn Perritano
· First Assistant Director: Bob Wagner
· Second Assistant Director: Allen Kupetsky
· Second Second Assistant Director: Maileen Williams
This is Mr. Fincher’s second DGA Feature Film Award nomination. He was previously nominated for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button in 2008. He previously won the DGA Commercial Award for Speed Chain (Nike), Gamebreakers (Nikegridiron.com), and Beauty for Sale (Xelibri Phones) in 2003 and was nominated in that category again in 2008.

TOM HOOPER
The King’s Speech
(The Weinstein Co.)
Mr. Hooper’s Directorial Team:
· Production Manager: Erica Bensly
· First Assistant Director: Martin Harrison
· Second Assistant Director: Chris Stoaling
This is Mr. Hooper’s first DGA Feature Film Award Nomination. He was previously nominated for the DGA Award for Movies for Television/Miniseries for John Adams in 2008.

CHRISTOPHER NOLAN
Inception
(Warner Bros. Pictures)
Mr. Nolan’s Directorial Team:
· Unit Production Manager: Jan Foster
· First Assistant Director: Nilo Otero
· Second Assistant Director: Brandon Lambdin
· Second Second Assistant Director: Greg Pawlik
· Additional Second Assistant Director: Lauren Pasternack
This is Mr. Nolan’s third DGA Feature Film Award nomination. He was previously nominated for The Dark Knight in 2008 and for Memento in 2001.

DAVID O. RUSSELL
The Fighter
(Paramount Pictures and The Weinstein Co.)
Mr. Russell’s Directorial Team:
· Unit Production Manager: Mark Kamine
· First Assistant Director: Michele Ziegler
· Second Assistant Director: Xanthus Valan
· Second Second Assistant Director: Timothy Blockburger
This is Mr. Russell’s first DGA Feature Film Award nomination.

Visual Effects Society Award Nominations

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual-Effects Driven Feature Motion Picture

Inception
Paul Franklin
Visual Effects Supervisor
Chris Corbould
Special Effects Supervisor
Mike Chambers
Visual Effects Producer
Matthew Plummer
Visual Effects Producer

Iron Man 2
Ben Snow
VFX Supervisor
Ged Wright
VFX Supervisor
Janek Sirrs
VFX Supervisor
Susan Pickett
VFX Producer

TRON: Legacy
Eric Barba
Visual Effects Supervisor
Lisa Beroud
Visual Effects Producer
Steve Preeg
Animation Director
Karl Denham
Sequence Supervisor

Alice In Wonderland
Ken Ralston
Senior Visual Effects Supervisor
Tom Peitzman
Visual Effects Producer
David Schaub
Animation Supervisor
Carey Villegas
Visual Effects Supervisor

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
Tim Burke
Overall VFX Supervisor
Emma Norton
Visual Effects Producer
John Richardson
Special Effects Supervisor

Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Feature Motion Picture

Green Zone
Peter Chiang
Visual Effects Supervisor
Charlie Noble
Visual Effects Supervisor
Joss Williams
Special Effects Supervisor
Matthew Plummer
Visual Effects Producer

SALT
Robert Grasmere
Visual Effects Supervisor
Camille Cellucci
Visual Effects Producer
Mark Breakspear
Visual Effects Supervisor
Ivan Moran
Visual Effects Supervisor

Hereafter
Michael Owens
VFX Supervisor
Joel Mendias
Executive Producer
Bryan Grill
VFX Supervisor
Danielle Plantec
CG Supervisor

Black Swan
Dan Schrecker
Visual Effects Supervisor
Colleen Bachman
Visual Effects Producer
Michael Capton
3D Supervisor
Brad Kalinoski
Compositing Supervisor

Robin Hood
Richard Stammers
Overall VFX Supervisor
Allen Maris
VFX Producer
Jessica Norman
Digital Effects Supervisor
Max Wood
CG Supervisor

Outstanding Animation in an Animated Feature Motion Picture

Tangled
Clay Kaytis
Supervising Animator
John Kahrs
Supervising Animator
Glen Keane
Supervising Animator
Roy Conli
Producer

How to Train Your Dragon
Simon Otto
Head of Character Animation
Craig Ring
Visual Effects Supervisor
Bonnie Arnold
Produced By

Toy Story 3
Lee Unkrich
Director
Darla K. Anderson
Producer
Guido Quaroni
Supervising Technical Director
Michael Fong
Simulation & Effects Supervisor

Shrek Forever After
Jason Reisig
Head of Character Animation
Doug Cooper
VFX Supervisor
Gina Shay
Produced By
Teresa Cheng
Produced By

Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole
Zareh Naibandian
Producer
Simon Whiteley
Production Designer
Eric Leighton
Animation Director
Alex Weight
Animation Supervisor

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Broadcast Miniseries, Movie or a Special

Last Day of the Dinosaurs
Arnaud Brisebois
Artistic Director
Louis Desrochers
VFX Artist
Alain Lachance
Visual Effects Producer
Marc-Antoine Rousseau
Visual Effects Supervisor

Inside The Perfect Predator
Philip Dobree
VFX Supervisor/VFX Producer
Richard Costin
Animation TD
Sam Meisels
Compositor

The Pacific
John Sullivan
Senior Visual Effects Supervisor
David Taritero
VFX Producer
William Mesa
Visual Effects Supervisor
Marco Requay
Digital Visual Effects Supervisor

Prep and Landing: Operation Secret Santa
Dorothy McKim
Producer
Kyle Odermatt
VFX Supervisor
Andy Harkness
Art Director
Adolph Lusinsky
Look and Lighting Director

America – Story of US
Philip Dobree
VFX Supervisor/VFX Producer
Emile Hardy
DMP
Sam Howell
Lead Animator

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Broadcast Series

Caprica
Michael Gibson
VFX Producer
Gary Hutzel
VFX Supervisor
Davey Morton
VFX Artist
Jesse Toves
CGI Artist

No Ordinary Family
Andrew Orloff
VFX Supervisor
Curt Miller
VFX Supervisor
Paul Linden
VFX Supervisor
Scott Tinter
VFX Producer

V
Andrew Orloff
VFX Supervisor
Nathan Overstrom
2D Supervisor
Karen Czukerberg
VFX Producer
Roberto Biagi
VFX Supervisor

The Event
Victor Scalise
Visual Effects Supervisor
Jason Spratt
Visual Effects Producer
Diego Galtieri
Compositor
Mike Enriquez
Lead 3D Artist

Stargate: Universe
Mark Savela
VFX Supervisor
James Rorick
VFX Producer
Craig Vanden Biggelaar
Digital Effects Supervisor
Adam de Bosch Kemper
Lead Animator

Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Broadcast Program

The Walking Dead
Sam Nicholson
Visual Effects Supervisor
Jason Sperling
Visual Effects Supervisor
Kent Johnson
Visual Effects Producer
Chris Martin
Compositing Supervisor

Human Target
Andrew Orloff
VFX Supervisor
Raoul Bolognini
VFX Producer
Nathan Overstrom
2D Supervisor
Jason Monroe
Lead Modeler

Undercovers
Jay Worth
VFX Producer / Supervisor
Andrew Waisler
VFX Supervisor
Ron Thornton
VFX Supervisor
Andrew Kramer
Digital Artist

Boardwalk Empire
Robert Stromberg
VFX Supervisor
Dave Taritero
VFX Producer
Richard Friedlander
VFX Producer
Paul Graff
VFX Supervisor

Lost
Adam Avitabile
Visual Effects Supervisor
Melinka Thompson-Godoy
Visual Effects Producer
Michael Capton
3D Supervisor
Brad Kalinoski
Compositing Supervisor

Outstanding Achievement in an Animated Short

Looney Tunes – Coyote Falls
Bryan Engram
Animation Supervisor
Greg Lyons
Producer
Josh Carey
Rigging Supervisor
Harry Michalakeas
Technical Supervisor

Day & Night
Teddy Newton
Director
Kevin Reher
Producer
Michael Fu
Supervising Technical Director
Tom Gately
Supervising Animator

Paths of Hate
Tomasz Baginski
Animation Producer
Jaroslaw Sawko
Animation Producer
Damian Nenow
VFX Supervisor
Marta Staniszewska
Production Manager

Tick Tock Tale
Dorothy McKim
Producer
John Murrah
VFX Supervisor
Adolph Lusinsky
Look and Lighting Director
Wayne Unten
Animator

Cat Shit One – The Animated Series
Kazuya Sasahara
Director
Junya Okabe
Producer
Tomohisa Ishikawa
Art Director
Yoshiyuki Okada
Concept Artist

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Live Action Commercial

Wrigley’s 5 Gum – React
Robert Sethi
VFX Supervisor
Chris Knight
VFX Supervisor
Arielle Davis
VFX Producer
Gawain Liddiard
3D Lead Artist

DirecTV “Ice Cream”
Franck Lambertz
VFX Supervisor
Andrew Bell
VFX Producer/Head of Production
Mike Wynd
VFX Supervisor
Ross Denner
3 D Animator

Barclaycard Rollercoaster
Angus Kneale
Executive Creative Director/Shoot Supervisor
Ben Smith
Creative Director/Shoot Supervisor
Dan Williams
Lead Flame Artist
Ruben Vanderbroek
CG Artist

Halo: Reach
Dan Glass
Senior VFX Supervisor
Dan Seddon
CG Supervisor
Matt Dessero
DFX Supervisor
Stephanie Gilgar
VFX Producer

Verizon – Towers
Robert Sethi
VFX Supervisor
Arielle Davis
VFX Producer
Chris Knight
Shoot Supervisor/2D Lead Artist
Andre Desouza
3D Artist

Outstanding Animated Commercial

World of Warcraft
Marc Messenger
VFX Supervisor
Phillip Hillenbrand, Jr.
VFX Producer
Michael Kelleher
FX Supervisor
Brian LaFrance
Matte Painting Supervisor

Dante’s Inferno: Hell Awaits
Tim Miller
Director
Kevin Margo
CG Supervisor
Lindsey Zamplas
Producer
Kirby Miller
VFX Supervisor

Target “A Better Bullseye”
Chris Riehl
Animation Director
Javier Jimenez
Executive Producer
Daniel Zobrist
CG/Animation Supervisor
Charles Paek
CG/Lighting Supervisor

Andrex
Abby Orchard
VFX Producer
Antoine Moulineau
CGI Supervisor
Mike Mellor
Animation Supervisor
Russell Dodgson
VFX Supervisor

Cadbury’s Spots V Stripes
Jake Mengers
Creative VFX Director
Julie Evans
VFX Producer
Jorge Montiel Meurer
Lead Animator
Michael Gregory
2D Supervisor

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Special Venue Project

City of Ruins
Marcin Kobylecki
VFX Producer
Piotr Sliwowski
VFX Producer
Michal Gryn
VFX Supervisor
Damian Nenow
VFX Supervisor

King Kong 360 3D
Matt Aitken
VFX Supervisor
Kevin Sherwood
VFX Producer
Eric Reynolds
Animation Supervisor
R. Christopher White
CG Supervisor

Flight of the Dragon
Brent Young
Overall VFX Supervisor
Dina Benadon
Overall VFX Producer
Charlotte Huggins
Overall Project Producer
Michael “Oz” Smith
Technical Director

Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey
Richard Mann
VFX Producer
Adam Howard
Visual Effects Supervisor
Matt Hendershot
CG Supervisor
James Strauss
Animation Supervisor

Outstanding Real-Time Visual Effects in a Video Game

StarCraft II
Scott Goffman
VFX Supervisor
Phillip Hillenbrand, Jr.
VFX Producer
Nick Carpenter
Executive Art Director
James McCoy
Animation Director

Need for Speed
Henry LaBounta
Senior Art Director
Fiona Sperry
VP, GM
Johannes Soderqvist
Art Director
Alex Fry
Software Engineer

Halo: Reach
Marcus Lehto
Creative Director
Joseph Tung
Executive Producer
Stephen Scott
Senior FX Lead
CJ Cowan
Cinematics Director

Kinectimals
Jorg Neumann
Executive Producer
Brian Moore
Art Director
John Laws
Art Director
Jonny Watts
Game Design Director

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Video Game Trailer

World of Warcraft
Marc Messenger
VFX Supervisor
Phillip Hillenbrand, Jr.
VFX Producer

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
Dave Wilson
Director
Corey Butler
CG Supervisor
Keith Luczywo
Producer
Seung Jae Lee
VFX Supervisor

Star Wars: The Old Republic 2
Tim Miller
Director
Dave Wilson
Director
Lindsey Zamplas
Producer
Brandon Riza
VFX Supervisor

Deus Ex: Human Revolution
Kazuyuki Ikumori
VFX Producer
Mitsuharu Fukai
VFX Supervisor
Kody Sabourin
VFX Director
Jonathan Jacques-Belletete
Art Director

Outstanding Animated Character in a Live Action Feature Motion Picture

Chronicles Of Narnia: Voyage Of The Dawn Treader – Reepicheep
Gabriele Zucchelli
Animation Supervisor
Catherine Mullan
Lead Animator
Benoit Dubuc
Lead Animator
Peta Bayley
Lead Animator

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 – Dobby
Mathieu Vig
Animator
Ben Lambert
Modeller
Laurie Brugger
Character Supervisor
Marine Poirson
Look Development TD

Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore – Kitty Galore
William Groebe
Animation Supervisor
Brian Mendenhall
Animation Lead
Aharon Bourland
Computer Graphics Supervisor
Steve Reding
Lighting Supervisor

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 – Kreacher
Laurent Laban
Animator
Will Brand
Modeller
Matthieu Goutte
Rigger
Jason Baker
Look Development TD

Outstanding Animated Character in an Animated Feature Motion Picture

Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole – Digger
Josh Murtack
Rigging Supervisor
James Cunliffe
Lead Animator
Jessica Groom
Character Surfacer
Andrew Hunt
Lead Animator

How to Train Your Dragon – Toothless
Gabe Hordos
Supervising Animator
Cassidy Curtis
Supervising Animator
Mariette Marinus
Character Technical Director
Brent Watkins
Character Technical Director

Tangled – Rapunzel
Tony Smeed
Supervising Animator
Amy Smeed
Animator
Becky Bresee
Animator
Kira Lehtomaki
Animator

Megamind – Minion
David Cross
Minion
Rani Naamani
Animator
Dick Walsh
Character Technical Director
Adrian Tsang
Character Technical Director

Outstanding Animated Character in a Broadcast Program or Commercial

Citron C3 The Spacebox – Citro
Michael Nauzin
CG Supervisor
Anne Chatelain
CG Animator
Gregory Mougne
CG Animator
Cedric Nicolas
CG Animator

Cadbury – Freida Steer
Raphael Pimentel
Animation Supervisor
Thana Siripopungul
Rigging Supervisor

Prep and Landing: Operation Secret Santa – Lanny
Tony Smeed
Supervising Animator
Chad Sellers
Animator
Patrick Osborne
Animator
John Wong
Animator

Logitech – Robot
Rob Ramsdell
Lead Artist/Puppeteer
Darnell Isom
Lead Art Designer/Puppeteer
James Springham
Lead Model Maker
Shelly Dutcher
Lead Flame Artist

Outstanding Animated Character in a Video Game

Halo: Reach – Kat
Lee R. Wilson
Story and Cinematic Lead
Jason Robertson
Senior Animator
David Hunt
Senior Technical Artist
Joe Spataro
Technical Designer in Animation

Kinectimals – Cub
Joel Mongeon
Senior Artist
Kenneth Lammers
Technical Art Director
Felix Ilsley
Lead Animator
Andrew Matthews
Lead Character Artist

StarCraft II – Sarah Kerrigan
Jeffrey W. Chamberlain
VFX Supervisor
Angela Blake
VFX Producer
Nick Carpenter
Executive Art Director

Outstanding Effects Animation in an Animated Feature Motion Picture

Shrek Forever After
Jeff Budsberg
Effects Lead
Andrew Kim
Effects Lead
Yancy Lindquist
Effects Animator
Can Yuksel
Effects Animator

How to Train Your Dragon
Andy Hayes
Effects Animator
Laurent Kermel
Effects Animator
Jason Mayer
Effects Animator
Brett Miller
Effects Animator

Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole
Sebastien Quessy
FX Lead
Kevin Blom
FX Artist
Jerome Escobar
FX Artist

Toy Story 3
Jason Johnston
Effects Artist
Eric Froemling
Effects Artist
David Ryu
Effects Artist
JD Northrup
Effects Artist

Outstanding Created Environment in a Live Action Feature Motion Picture

Iron Man 2 – Stark Expo
Giles Hancock
Digimatte Supervisor
Richard Bluff
Digimatte Artist
Todd Vaziri
Digital Artist
Aaron McBride
VFX Art Director

TRON: Legacy – Disc Game
Jonathan Litt
Lighting Supervisor
Juan S. Gomez
Lighting Lead
Kevin Sears
Environment Lead
Sonja Burchard
Compositing Supervisor

Inception – Paris Dreamscape
Bruno Baron
Lighting Supervisor
Dan Neal
CG Supervisor
Graham Page
Compositing Sequence Supervisor
Per Mork-Jensen
Compositor

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time – Sand Room
Alex Rothwell
Lead Effects Artist
Chris Zeh
Compositing Supervisor
Laurent Hugueniot
CG Supervisor
Kevin Jenkins
Visual Effects Art Director

Outstanding Created Environment in a Live Action Broadcast Program

Boardwalk Empire – Boardwalk
Robert Stromberg
CG Supervisor
Brian Sales
Lead Compositor
Paul Graff
VFX Supervisor
Brian Pace
Digital Modeler

The Event – To Keep Us Safe
Michael Cook
Lead 3D Artist
Jon Rosenthal
3D Artist
Ragui Hanna
2D Artist
Ryan Wieber
2D Artist

The Pacific – The Battle of Iwo Jima
Marco Recuay
VFX Supervisor/Lead Artist
Morgan McDermott
CG Supervisor
NIck Lund-Ulrich
Compositing Supervisor

Boardwalk Empire – Family Limitation
J. John Corbett
Compositing Supervisor
Matthew Conner
Digital Artist & Compositor
Brendan Fitzgerald
Senior 3D Artist
Jun Zhang
Lead Compositor
Outstanding Models & Miniatures in a Feature Motion Picture
Shutter Island – Ward-C Int./Ext. Lighthouse Int./Ext.
Matthew Gratzner
VFX Supervisor
Scott Schneider
Model Crew Chief
Adam Gelbart
Model Maker
Richard A.F. Ewan
Model Painter

Iron Man 2 – Hammer Military Drones
Bruce Holcomb
Digital Model Supervisor
Ron Woodall
View Paint Supervisor
John Goodson
Modeler
John Walker
CG Supervisor

The Expendables – The Palace Explodes
Gene Warren Jr.
Owner
Christopher Lee Warren
Director of Photography
Gene Warren III
Visual Effects Supervisor

Inception – Hospital Fortress Destruction
Ian Hunter
VFX Supervisor
Scott Beverly
Mechanical FX Supervisor
Forest Fischer
Model Crew Chief
Robert Spurlock
Special FX Supervisor

Outstanding Models & Miniatures in a Broadcast Program or Commercial

Family Guy – Brian Griffin’s House of Payne
Andrew Karr
3D Artist
Alec McClymont
CG Supervisor
Daniel Osaki
Lead 3D Modeler
Paul Hegg
CG Artist

Boardwalk Empire – The Ivory Tower
J. John Corbett
Compositing Supervisor
Matthew Conner
Digital Artist & Compositor
Brendan Fitzgerald
Senior 3D Artist

Outstanding Compositing in a Feature Motion Picture

TRON: Legacy
Kym Olsen
Look Development Compositing Lead
Paul Lambert
Compositing Supervisor
Sarahjane Javelo Chase
Rotoscope & Paint Lead
Sonja Burchard
Compositing Supervisor

Alice In Wonderland – Stolen Tarts
Lisa Deaner
Precomp
Orde Stevanoski
Compositor
Aaron Kupferman
Lighting/comp
Ruben Flores
Lighting/comp

Inception
Astrid Busser-Casas
Compositing Sequence Supervisor
Scott Pritchard
Compositing Sequence Supervisor
Jan Maroske
Compositing Sequence Supervisor
George Zwier
Compositing Sequence Supervisor

Hereafter – Tsunami Sequence
Joseph Farrell
Compositing Supervisor
Nick Crew
Lead Visual Effects Artist
Jamie Hallett
Compositor
Christine Lo
Compositor
Outstanding Compositing in a Broadcast Program or Commercial

Drench Cubehead
Matthew Unwin
VFX Supervisor
Lisa Ryan
Compositor
Michael Gregory
2D Supervisor

Boardwalk Empire – Episode 1
Paul Graff
VFX Supervisor
Brian Sales
Lead Compositor
Jesse Siglow
Compositor
Merysa Nichols
Compositor

Travelers “Watering Hole”
Franck Lambertz
VFX Supervisor/Compositing Lead
Ryan Knowles
2D Artist

The Pacific – Peleliu landing
Jeremy Nelson
Lead Compositor
John Mesa
Compositor/Supervisor
Dan Novy
Animator/Compositor
Tyler Cote
Compositor
Outstanding Visual Effects in a Student Project

LOOM
Regina Welker
Student

Time For Change
Rupert Ashton
3D Artist
Priyan Jayamaha
3D Artist
Junying Xu
3D Artist
Kirsten Dale Pretorious
Key Nuke Compositor

Das Tub
Rupert Ashton
3D Artist
Priyan Jayamaha
3D Artist
Junying Xu
3D Artist
Kirsten Dale Pretorious
Key Nuke Compositor

Nuisible(s)
Erick Hupin
Realisation
Baptiste Ode
Realisation
Philippe Puech
Realisation
Pierre Nahoum
Realisation

H/t Mike Ryan at Movieline, who I think I completely agree with about this.

* If we can believe the Wall Street Journal, it appears that the Weinstein/Burkle deal to kinda-sort retake Miramax is off, writes Monika Bartyzel at Cinematical.  Since the company is actually named after the parents of Harvey and Bob Weinstein, I imagine this might hurt a little.

* John Slattery of “Mad Men” was one of the more pleasant surprises of “Iron Man 2” as a middle-aged (actually long-deceased) Howard Stark. Now, we know who’ll be playing Stark as a young man in “Captain America: The First Avenger.” It’s Dominic Cooper, the male ingenue of “Mamma Mia,” whose other recent parts includes playing Uday Hussein, so he’s definitely running the gamut.

* Jesse Eisenberg, who had a rather good weekend with two films in limited release, is reteaming with his “Zombieland” director, Ruben Fleischer. The picture sounds like a pretty fun black comedy about a bizarre bank robbery. Aziz Ansari is also in the film as a middle-school teacher which, right off the bat makes me laugh.

* Sam Rockwell as…Joe Christ?

* There’s very little reason to expect the Paul W.S. Anderson 3-D version “The Three Musketeers” is going to be anywhere near one of the better versions of the oft-filmed adventure tale, but I actually like the idea of elf-to-punching-bag actor Orlando Bloom as a bad ass villain. I’ve missed most of his non-elven performances, so I’m not yet a Bloom-hater. Anyhow, it’s good for actors to stretch a bit.

*  I might have been tempted to run clips from the ongoing “Star Wars” spoofery going on at “The Family Guy” only I have this strange, yet deep, inner conviction that Seth MacFarlane should in no way be confused with someone who makes funny shows. The clip from a table read embedded on a  post by Geoff Boucher only strengthens that conviction. I seriously do not understand what those people are laughing at. I’ve asked this question before and have never received a good answer: is the “joke” of his shows that all the jokes are bad?

* If the movie adventures of young Jack London get more kids to actually read Jack London, I think that’ll be great. Confession time: I’ve only read The Sea Wolf. The movie, despite having Edward G. Robinson, John Garfield, and Ida Lupino in it, didn’t begin to do it justice. Steling Hayden or Robert Ryan were the only men ever born to play the half-insane, ultra-macho, pseudo-intellectual control freak Wolf Larsen. Actually, Russell Crowe could not only play Wolf Larson, I suspect he is Wolf Larsen.

It’s even further below the  numbers that were being bandied about by writers, if not, studios, earlier on. I mentioned last time that Carl DiOrio thought the film could hit $100 million, but failed to note the breakdown at the Numbers. It said that while “analysts” (whoever they may be) were suggesting a $90-$95 million opening, the studio was pimping a more modest $80 million while trying to diminish expectations. They should have diminished them a little bit more.

The week’s other major opener, “MacGruber,” proved my hunches to be at least as wrong as DiOrio’s. While steering clear to some extent of the $15-20 million guess at the Numbers, I doubted the single-digit numbers that DiOrio mentioned. As the singer of the obscure Difford and Tilbrook tune says, let’s face it, I’m wrong again. As it turns out, even DiOrio’s lowest figures weren’t low enough. The incompetent MacGyver-like bomb diffuser only earned a fairly pathetic $4.1 million in 2,551 theaters for the #6 spot. I think it’s safe to say that the poor reputation of SNL-derived films clearly preceded this one, which actually has garnered reviews that are a bit better than most other films in this long-running franchise.

Still, considering that most SNL sketches, even at their best, never seem to sustain until the end of the bit, it shouldn’t be too surprising that the movies derived from them have a hard time holding attention through feature-length running times. If “MacGruber” suffered from a bit of movie guilt-by-association, it’s just too bad for anyone who was hoping for a quick A-list status for the off-kilter Will Forte — a performer who I think would fit in really nicely in a David Lynch movie. (I mean that as a compliment, I think.) On the other hand, every time I check Rotten Tomatoes, even it’s now-meh-to-bad (once kind of okay and maybe even almost good) critical numbers keep dropping, with “Top Critics” being a bit more brutal.

The #2 and #3 spots, respectively, were held by “Iron Man 2” with an estimate of $26.6 million for Marvel and Paramount, and “Robin Hood” with $18.7 million estimated for long suffering Universal. Probably helped by weak competition, both movies managed to keep their weekly drop to just under 50%. Still, I think it’s safe to call the $200 million “Robin Hood” a disappointment that won’t do much for the careers of either Russell Crowe or Ridley Scott, not that they’re in any danger of obscurity just yet.

A paucity of movies for women of any age probably also helped grow some legs for the #4 cross-generational rom-com, “Letters to Juliet,” which dropped only by 32.8% and earned a solid $9.1 million for the probably fairly modestly budgeted film. That should help young Amanda Seyfried cement her growing credibility as a box office draw, at least for young-female-skewing films and even if her most challenging film role so far has been ignored. Of course, that lack of female-friendly major draws will change next week with the arrival of “Sex and the City 2.”

On the limited release circuit, it was actually a pretty good weekend for Jesse Eisenberg and the talented young actor’s efforts to prove he’s something other than a Jewish knock-off of Michael Cera. His high-concept drama with mixed reviews, “Holy Rollers,” performed fairly strongly in its opening weekend on three screens with a solid per screen average of $13,003 from an audience that probably discussed after the film whether the drama about a drug-running Hasid was good or bad for the Jews. Doing even better was the all-star comedy, “Solitary Man,” top-lined by Michael Douglas and Danny DeVito (let’s not talk about how long it’s been since “Romancing the Stone” and ‘The War of the Roses”),” and also featuring mid twenty-something Eisenberg. On the strength of strong reviews and the cast, it managed an estimated $22,250 on four screens. As usual, Peter Knegt at Indiewire has the details.