Naughty naughty. Nicolas Chartier, one of the producers on this year’s Oscar front runner The Hurt Locker, has been banned from coming to the Oscars after urging the Academy panel not to vote for Avatar.

Well well well, who’ve thought it? This year’s Baftas was an interesting mix – full of both predictable winners (Colin and Carey, anyone?) as well as a couple of surprises. I think we all would have predicted that Avatar would have walked away with at least three Baftas this year, but in the end of the night, Cameron’s 4D fists were clutching but two

It’s always nice to stay ahead of the curve, if only so you can feel unneccessarily smug in front of friends and loved ones. With this in mind Best For Film brings you what you need to know about next week’s film releases. Have a read, plan your week accordingly, and practice that lovely self-satified smile we all love you for…

…well, dollars at least. It has been announced today that the 19-year-old Harry Potter starlett has this year earned $19 million, making her the highest paid actress of 2009. She beat out the likes of Cameron Diaz and Angelina Jolie, as well as being the youngest person on Varietys best paid list at number 14.

n terms of hype, Precious is the only film in months that has managed to come close to the endless Avatar onslaught. This is in part due to the number of people that were genuinely affected by the film’s story – that of a 16-year-old girl lived in Halem, horribly abused and hopeless scrabbling through life with only dead ends in front of her. And it is in part (perhaps the more significant part) due to the massive impact that Oprah Winfrey’s opinion has on the American public.

The gloves are on for the showdown we’re all waiting for at this year’s Oscars. The big contenders for Best Director are Avatar’s James Cameron and The Hurt Locker’s Kathryn Bigelow. So who should bag the Oscar? Let’s review the contenders, shall we?

Oh dear. Another franchise bows its head in grudging respect to the new world run by James Cameron and his voodoo. After being adamant last year that the Transformers films wouldn’t go 3D, director Michael Bay has been under major pressure from Universal to change his mind following the never-ending success of Avatar. Another one bites the beautifully pixilated dust.

Hurrah! It’s the golden event of the cinematic calender, where dreams are crushed, legends are made and celebrities get very, very, inappropriately drunk. What’s not to look forward to?

It may be strange to think it, but in an age where we’re so used to 3D creatures, pixilated flying houses and talking toys, a 2D film can be considered pushing the boundaries of today’s kids entertainment. Gone is the golden age of Disney classics- The Lion King, The Little Mermaid, Aladdin – all-singing, all dancing, all bloomin’ marvelous. Today what kids want is action explosions, nifty special effects and some smooth-talking robots, right?

Joel Silver has announced to the LA Times that Guy Ritchie set to be back for the second Sherlock Holmes film. With Robert Downey Jr. having recently dropped out of John Favreau’s inelegantly-titled Cowboys And Aliens, it seems the Baker Street boys are having a sequel rushed through production. There’s already plot info in the works, and with Ritchie dropping his current project Lobo, we’d be highly surprised if we didn’t see Homles 2 sometime in the latter half of the year…