Some weather reports say it’s “breezy” outside. I call it “windy.”  In Burbank, the palm trees are being whipped around by the strong winds. Some of the gusts in Media City are over 30 miles per hour. And temperature have dropped down into the 50s. Brrr! I know back East, they would break out the shorts and tee shirts in this kind of weather. Hey, this is Southern California where we put on coats and double sweaters when it gets this cold.

This chilly weather is expected to hang around until the end of the week, when we have a good chance of  getting a sunny, dry, and warm weekend.  Nice.

Photo: Mario Anzuoni/Reuters– Director/Producer Kathryn Bigelow and Screenwriter/Producer Mark Boal of “The Hurt Locker”

She did it!  Kathryn Bigelow became the first woman to win the best director Oscar at last night’s 82nd Annual Academy Awards ceremony in Hollywood. Bigelow’s name was announced by Superstar Entertainer/Filmmaker Barbra Streisand, who was overlooked as a contender for the award back when she directed “Yentl” (1983), “The Prince of Tides” (1991), and “The Mirror Has Two Faces” (1996).

Bigelow’s best director Oscar was one of six wins for “The Hurt Locker,” which included  best original screenplay, picked up by screenwriter/producer Mark Boal, and best picture. 

The winners in the other top categories were Sandra Bullock, best actress for her performance in “The Blind Side,” Mo’Nique best supporting actress for her role in  “Precious: Based on the novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire,” best actor trophy went to Jeff Bridges for his performance in “Crazy Heart,” and best supporting actor award to Christoph Waltz for his role in “Inglourious Basterds.”     

 A complete list of the winners on the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences website.

Good coverage of the Oscars on Reuters, CNN, The Hollywood Reporter, and a ton of photos and video moments from the telecast over on oscars.org  

UPDATED:  Latest figures from the rating giant Nielsen shows 41.3 million people watched Sunday’s Academy Awards ceremony. That’s the best rating for the Oscars since 2005. Last year, 35.3 million tuned into the Academy Awards to see ”Slumdog Millionaire” win best picture.

Director Tim Burton’s cinematic version of the classic “Alice in Wonderland” story clicked in a big way with moviegoers over the weekend. The fantasy adventure live action/animation in 3D debuted with an estimated $116.3 at the domestic Box Office to claim the crown as the number one film in the country.

Burton’s ”Alice” is a take-off on Lewis Carroll’s beloved novels “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” and “Through the Looking-Glass.” The film stars include Johnny Depp, Mia Wasikowska, Helen Bonham Carter, and Anne Hathaway.

“Alice in Wonderland” broke a number of records. The biggest winter release and the best 3D film debut, beating “Avatar,” which debuted last December with a $77 million opening. 

A new cop thriller “Brooklyn’s Finest,” directed by Antoine Fuqua, came in second with  around $13.5 million. “Brooklyn’s Finest” is a crime drama about cops and criminals in a rough section of New York. It stars Richard Gere, Don Cheadle, Ethan Hawke, and Wesley Snipes.  

In third, the thriller “Shutter Island” with an estimated $13.3 million followed by the comedy “Cop Out” with around $9 million and rounding out the top five, “Avatar” with about $7.7 million.  By the way, the 12 week domestic haul for ”Avatar” is now up to $720 million!

Photo: Jason Merritt/Getty/Instyle.com – Actress Vera Farmiga

Before the 82nd Annual Academy Awards ceremony began at 5:30 this evening in Hollywood, many of the stars walked the red carpet. Actress Vera Farmiga looked lovely in a glamorous, ruffled fuchsia gown by Marchesa. Farmiga is a best actress nominee for her role in, “Up in the Air.”  More star arrivals at the Oscars on Instyle.com

File Photo: Kodak Theatre in Hollywood

The stormy weather is out of here!  On Oscar Sunday, sunshine and maybe some partly cloudy skies, but very little chance of raindrops, according to weather reports. Southland temperatures will be cool — in the 50s and 60s today. The live ABC broadcast of the 82nd Annual Academy Awards ceremony at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood kicks off at 5:30 p.m. Pacific Time. Before that, the red carpet coverage with the hype, the fans, the stars, and those fancy designer gowns. Bring it on!

UPDATE: A few raindrops and dark clouds in Burbank around noon. Hope that’s not a bad omen for the Oscar parade of stars on the red carpet a few hours from now.

Surprise, we’re getting dumped on by another winter storm. The cloudy skies let loose with a prelude of thunder and drizzle, which soon erupted into a steady rain in Burbank shortly after 10 a.m. This is a cold rainstorm. The high might reach 60 in Media City, but I doubt it.

The rain is expected to hang around through tonight. The prediction is for cloudy skies and a 20 percent chance of rain tomorrow. Hopefully, it will not rain on Sunday’s Oscar festivities.

The Walt Disney company scored a major promotional deal with the Los Angeles Times for its new movie, “Alice in Wonderland.” The Times created a special front page newspaper ad just for “Alice” that runs in today’s edition. This is not a first for the Times and more than likely, it’s part of a trend.  

The Wrap has a nice story about the controversial decision and what it says about the possible direction of the Times.

“Alice in Wonderland,”which opens in theaters today, has received mixed reviews. An interesting review of the film, with photos and video, on the Times’ website.

UPDATE:  Nikki Finke, over on Deadline Hollywood, reporting “Alice in Wonderland” is headed for a super weekend debut — somewhere between 75 and perhaps $100 million!

2ND UPDATE: Deadline Hollywood has some early figures from Friday that show “Alice in Wonderland” is on track to becoming a huge hit. The live action/animated fantasy adventure rang up an estimated $45 million when it opened yesterday. At that pace, “Alice” could surpass the $100 million mark this weekend.