Mike Leigh has described Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt's decision to abolish the UK Film Council as "totally out of order". The announcement from the Department for Culture, Media and Sports came yesterday, shocking both the public and the UK film industry.

"It's very shocking indeed," the Vera Drake director told the BBC. "It's from left of field in a very sudden and devastating way." Leigh's not the only one against the decision, which will see the organisation, established by Labour to to develop and promote British films, completely disbanded. 

The coalition government are putting the move forward as a way of cutting costs. The Culture Secretary said that the aim was to form a "direct and less bureaucratic relationship with the British Film Institute" - the DCMS have stated that the funding of British films will continue, but have released no further details on who would be distributing the money (which is why they invented the UKFC in the first place).

The Golden Raspberry Awards - the definitive celebration of all things cinematic and shambolic - have announced their nominations for 2010. With 2009 full to the brim of terrible movies, there's a lot for the Razzies to pick from. And of course, in any contest the one mostly like to win is the giant robot. So Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen is leading the pack with 7 nominations, also joined by the dreadful Will Ferrell film, Land of the Lost. Just behind on six? Why, it's G.I Joe! It's all obvious stuff to point out, but this is what the Razzies do so well: point at the festering turd in the room and laugh.

The winners are announced on the eve of the Academy Awards - Saturday 6th March - and ever since Halle Berry turned up to collect hers, there's always that outside chance that some game star will attend the ceremony. Here's looking at you, Michael Bay. Read on for the full list of stinking crap.

Another day, another set of nominations. Now it's the turn of the Writers Guild of America to name their best of the year. And, surprise surprise, Avatar's in there. For what? A pretty blue typeface? The more deserving stuff is thankfully in there too, from Mark Boal's Hurt Locker to The Hangover. But when it comes to Original Screenplays, nothing can compete with the witty (500) Days of Summer. Well, nothing except for the complex and mature effort from the Coens, A Serious Man.

The Adapted Screenplay market has its share of questionable titles as well. Well, Julia & Julia. But while Precious may pack a punch, it's things like Star Trek that may well draw the WGA's attention. The clear-cut winner, though, is Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner's intelligent and entertaining Up in the Air.

For Best Documentary Screenplay, it looks to be battle between Michael Moore and dolphins - Capitalism: A Love Story and The Cove are likely contenders for the prize. The winners will be revealed on Saturday 20th February. Read on for the full list of nominees in each category.

In another batch of nominations, the Directors Guild of America have announced their contenders for 2009, including Jason Reitman for Up in the Air. The director announced his nomination on Twitter (he's well worth a follow) yesterday.

He faces stiff competition from other usual suspects, including Quentin Tarantino, Kathryn Bigelow and James Cameron. While Tarantino's average, but apparently award-friendly, movie is a mild surprise in all of this year's nominations, the real big addition is that of Lee Daniels, director of Precious. He's the first African-American to be nominated by the DGA for a feature film.

The awards are handed out on Saturday 30th January. And while James Cameron seems like a worthy candidate, what with his sterling box office boost for the industry this year, the direction in the film doesn't really compare to The Hurt Locker. Tarantino and Daniels are nice nominees to have, but Bigelow's hard-hitting and unique war movie is the one to beat. And yet, while artistically that is true, I personally can't help but cheer for Jason Reitman.

The helmer of the wonderful Up in the Air had this to tweet: "This morning's honor will stay with me for a long time. Thank you to the ADs, UPMs, and directors that make me so proud to be a member." Daddy Ivan will be so proud. And rightly so.

Well, the votes are in and the nominations are out. This year, the Golden Globes race is led by none other than Jason Reitman's excellent Up in the Air - and deservedly so. It's a pleasure to see such an intelligent, entertaining and well-made drama leading the pack, picking up nods for Clooney (a shoe-in for Best Actor), alongside both ladies and Reitman's screenplay and top-notch direction.

Right behind him is Rob Marshall's Nine. No surprises there, given the additional room for musicals in the Hollywood Foreign Press Association's stables. What is a shock, though, is the attention given to Cameron's commercial behemoth Avatar, which has equalled Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds with 4 nominations apiece (the first chance in many years for Quentin to get some solo credit). A special mention at this point must go to Christoph Waltz, the man of the year for many a moviegoer. This guy will clearly get Best Supporting Actor. If not, I'll eat Hans Landa's pipe myself.

Still, the great stuff comes in the form of the more independent talent, with the hard-hitting Iraq masterpiece The Hurt Locker notching up 5 nods, and (500) Days of Summer mustering up 2 (you go, Gordon-Levitt!). Even Carey Mulligan gets some attention for An Education - my pick for Best Actress at the moment - which is wonderful to see. But what I don't understand is why fellow British flick In the Loop is missing out. The former deserves a screenplay nod at the very least, if not a nomination for Malcolm Tucker's Best Swearing.

So, an interesting bag of contenders (including District 9's screenplay, randomly). Who will win? Clooney, Daniel Day-Lewis or the big blue Ewoks? And does this indicate anything about the Oscars? (No is the answer to that one, but more on that in the coming weeks.) Read on for the full list of nominees.

Yes, the line-up for the British Independent Film Awards has been announced. And Fish Tank and Moon are kicking independent butt. Andrea Arnold's incredible feature has got itself 8 nods, with Duncan Jones' Moon clocking in with 7.

Other noms of note go to Jane Campion for Bright Star, Armando Ianucci's In the Loop and Lone Scherfig's An Education. The awards take place on Sunday 6th December, hosted by James Nesbitt and judged by such talent as Liam Cunningham and Eddie Marsan. If you can pick between these brilliant Brits, you're a better man than me.

Read on for the full list of nominees.