(February 25, 2010) — As award shows are coming to an end, the upcoming Academy Awards on March 7 will decide the elite of Hollywood. Ten films will be competing in the 2010 Oscar nomination for the highest honor, best picture. “ Avatar took movie making to the next level with its amazing special effects,” said senior Narineh Khanbabaei. “I’m confident it will win a lot of awards.” According to the Los Angeles Times , Avatar has raised $2 billion worldwide. “Even though Avatar was a long movie, it was consistently entertaining and kept me in awe,” said senior David Arsenyan. Another front runner in the box office is Up in the Air, starring George Clooney. “As a Clark student we’re told to work hard and invest in our future,” junior Arthur Adjamoglian said. “I can relate this to Clooney’s character who worked for his career and paid at the cost of his happiness. Adjamoglian thinks that Up in the Air will win best picture and actor for the meaning it conveys to the majority of the population. He says that Avatar may have amazing special effects but Up in the Air is much more emotionally impactful. Some students predict that even though Clooney did not win best actor at the Golden Globes he will at the Oscar’s. “Although I couldn’t see Up in the Air , I have seen the entire Ocean’s series and George Clooney is brilliant,” junior Daniel Abdelmalak said. “So he must win best actor. Another contender for best picture is the animated film Up , which has led sophomore Erica Barin to predict that it will be successful. “ Up was great because it was the only cartoon that has ever made me cry,” Barin said. “It was unexpected that there would be a death in a kid’s movie.