‘Hurt Locker’ director Kathryn Bigelow, co-producers, and stars at 82nd Academy Awards The Academy Award choices revealed last night were in general a pleasant surprise. They indicated a welcome, if but nascent and imperfect, movement toward an appreciation of quality as opposed to politics. Most prominent, of course, was the number of awards for The Hurt Locker, which nabbed six of them, including Best Picture and Best Director. Those who found Avatar insufferably addlepated and didactic surely were pleased that it didn’t get the nod for either of those awards, winning just in plausible categories: cinematography, art direction, and visual effects. In addition, those annoyed or offended by Avatar producer-director James Cameron’s many public pronouncements affirming and further arguing the expensive and technically advanced film’s message against technology and modern civilization were undoubtedly pleased by the fact that his ex-wife won Best Director and Best Picture. That had to sting Cameron and provide a good dose of schadenfreuede to his detractors, but it’s only fair to observe that The Hurt Locker is more deserving of honor than Avatar and is the type of film Hollywood likes to present as representing the industry’s aims. Whereas Cameron’s film is a loony, ambitious,

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