Proving to be one of the toughest years yet for completing the Oscar Challenge since I started 6 years ago, with life getting in the way in the best possible ways, I was still able to see every film that was readily available to me, viewing 43 of the 45 films nominated and all 15 short films. The two missing films were “Glen Campbell: … Read More 87th Academy Award Winners
Having fallen behind on the Oscar Challenge, today will be my last ditch effort to see all the films I have yet to see. There are also two films as of today that I cannot find; “Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me” and “The Salt Of The Earth”. There’s still a dead heat between “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)” and “Boyhood”, Alejandro G. … Read More 87th Annual Academy Awards Predictions
ROSAMUND PIKE “Gone Girl” OscarsⓇ Nominated Role: Rosamund Pike plays Amy Dunne, a young wife whose disappearance causes suspicion to fall on her husband. When a particular film finds itself with almost zero support whatsoever, despite many indicators that state that it should have, you can bet that any nomination that comes out of that film will be up against the wall in terms … Read More 2015 Oscars Challenge: [18] Gone Girl – Best Actress In A Leading Role
“LEVIATHAN” Russia Russia is no stranger to the Academy Awards, with plenty of nominations and wins all around. This year, “Leviathan” tells the story of a family, all dealing with their own challenges, yet intertwining in the sense that their actions all effect one another. Kolya (Aleksei Serebryakov), a husband and father, is dealing with a court ruling forcing him to sell his family’s … Read More 2015 Oscars Challenge: [17] Leviathan – Best Foreign Language Feature
“MR. TURNER” Suzie Davies (Production Design); Charlotte Watts (Set Decoration) The elaborate sets and detailed production design are on full display in “Mr. Turner”. One set in particular that comes to mind is Turner’s workspace in his father’s mansion. Tables covered with paint and cups holding brushes, an easel standing next to a giant open window, and actual paintings lining the walls, this imagery … Read More 2015 Oscars Challenge: [16] Mr. Turner – Best Production Design
“MR. TURNER” FROM “MR. TURNER” Gary Yershon The score in “Mr. Turner” is the equivalent of giving a nomination to good elevator music. Not to say Gary Yershon’s score is bad, by any means, in fact it fits the period piece nature of the film perfectly, but that being said, there are multiple composers every year that put out similar original scores, offering to … Read More 2015 Oscars Challenge: [16] Mr. Turner – Best Original Score
JACQUELINE DURRAN “Mr. Turner” Producing the costumes for an entire set during the production of a period piece has to be overwhelming. Not only does everyone have to fit the era, but they also have to be presented in a way that is accepted by the viewing public. The costumes must stand out in some pleasant way that causes one to follow along the … Read More 2015 Oscars Challenge: [16] Mr. Turner – Best Costume Design
DICK POPE “Mr. Turner” Watching the cinematography of Dick Pope in “Mr. Turner” is not that different from viewing the paintings of the title character. The composition of each shot comes off like Turner’s paintings, capturing the nature around the title character with a grandeur that elevates the film as a whole. Along the same lines as Robert Yeoman’s work on “The Grand … Read More 2015 Oscars Challenge: [16] Mr. Turner – Best Cinematography
CRISIS HOTLINE: VETERANS PRESS 1 || The first short shown in the series, the HBO produced “Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1” also set the bar for the shorts to follow. Building suspense with each telephone conversation, the employees at this crisis hotline paint terrifying and sometimes heartbreaking situations, with the veterans on the other line, suffering from PTSD. This being the only crisis hotline … Read More 2015 Oscars Challenge: Best Documentary Shorts
“DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES” Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, Daniel Barrett and Erik Winquist Here’s how good the visual effects team on “Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes” is: for two straight films now, critics and audiences alike have been rooting for Andy Serkis to be nominated for an acting award for his motion capture performance as Caesar the ape. Let … Read More 2015 Oscars Challenge: [15] Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes – Best Visual Effects
“X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST” Richard Stammers, Lou Pecora, Tim Crosbie and Cameron Waldbauer Even if it does showcase prominent visual effects, “X-Men: Days Of Future Past” was a surprise nomination in the Best Visual Effects category (I had picked “The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies” or “Transformers: Age Of Extinction” for the fifth spot). The reason for surprise is not because … Read More 2015 Oscars Challenge: [14] X-Men: Days Of Future Past – Best Visual Effects
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” is like your favorite rock band. You probably started off going to their shows at intimate venues with hardly any crowds and the next thing you know, they’re selling out the Staples Center and winning Grammys. Everyone is listening to them now and tickets that used to cost $10-$20 are more like $80-$100 or more. That’s what I feel like … Read More 2015 Oscars Challenge: [12] The Grand Budapest Hotel – Best Picture
WES ANDERSON “The Grand Budapest Hotel” No one in Hollywood is embracing their creativity and individuality more so right now than Wes Anderson. And he always has. Look at any of his previous films and you will notice a style of film that no other director is even trying to touch. And with a record setting limited release box office this year and … Read More 2015 Oscars Challenge: [12] The Grand Budapest Hotel – Best Directing
“MOONSHINE” FROM “THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL” Alexandre Desplat As is the case were Wes Anderson to win Best Directing, if Alexandre Desplat wins Best Original Score, it will be because he is due. Now, whether you agree with the Academy people because they are due and not because of their particular merits on the given nominated film is your own opinion, but Desplat, who … Read More 2015 Oscars Challenge: [12] The Grand Budapest Hotel – Best Original Score
WES ANDERSON & HUGO GUINNESS “The Grand Budapest Hotel” Another year and another Best Original Screenplay nomination for Wes Anderson, this time for his screenplay, “The Grand Budapest Hotel”. Nominated for Best Original Screenplay three times now (previously nominated for “The Royal Tenenbaums” (2001) and “Moonrise Kingdom” (2012)), some will argue that this year’s entry is his best film yet. It involves a … Read More 2015 Oscars Challenge: [12] The Grand Budapest Hotel – Best Original Screenplay
FRANCIS HANNON & MARK COULIER “The Grand Budapest Hotel” Most of the makeup in “The Grand Budapest Hotel” is subtle. Apart from turning Tilda Swinton into an entirely different person, the rest of the makeup just tends to accent certain features of a character, like Agatha’s birthmark or Edward Norton’s mustache. Or the makeup is used to comedic effect, like making Harvey Keitel bald … Read More 2015 Oscars Challenge: [12] The Grand Budapest Hotel – Best Makeup & Hairstyling
Would “The Grand Budapest Hotel” be as funny if editor Barney Pilling wasn’t willing to hold on certain shots for longer than some normally would? Or as cutting abruptly to a reaction when others might take their time or cut the reaction at a normal pace? For someone that’s never worked with Wes Anderson, Pilling gets it. Take a look at his past editing … Read More 2015 Oscars Challenge: [12] The Grand Budapest Hotel – Best Film Editing
MILENA CANONERO “The Grand Budapest Hotel” The costumes of “The Grand Budapest Hotel” should be catnip for the Oscar voters this year. Not only is it a period piece set in several different eras, including the 1930s and ’60s, but it also has a fantasy style to it, with rich colors and on-the-nose representations of those eras, as ridiculous as they may be. The … Read More 2015 Oscars Challenge: [12] The Grand Budapest Hotel – Best Costume Design
ROBERT YEOMAN “The Grand Budapest Hotel” The magic behind the films of Wes Anderson is how interconnected all the elements are when you really look at them. Of course, any film has interconnected parts. If the visual effects are bad, it makes the cinematography perhaps look less intense. But to make a style all your own, you need everyone on the same team … Read More 2015 Oscars Challenge: [12] The Grand Budapest Hotel – Best Cinematography
Being one of the more successful entries coming out of Dreamworks, it really is no surprise of the success that the sequel, “How To Train Your Dragon 2” has had this year, and rightfully so. In the original film, a young Viking boy named Hiccup finds that he’s not keen to the life of killing dragons that his father and the village has set … Read More 2015 Oscars Challenge: [13] How To Train Your Dragon 2 – Best Animated Feature
“THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL” Adam Stockhausen (Production Design); Anna Pinnock (Set Decoration) “The Grand Budapest Hotel” and Wes Anderson are the definition of Production Design. Every frame of Anderson’s films are like a painting, with rich, extraordinary colors, intricate attention to detail, and a quality so unique it’s impossible not to know you’re watching one of Anderson’s films. Almost all the establishing footage in … Read More 2015 Oscars Challenge: [12] The Grand Budapest Hotel – Best Production Design
PAUL THOMAS ANDERSON “Inherent Vice” Ever year that there is a Paul Thomas Anderson film released, everyone looks to the Oscars to see what he or the film will be nominated for, as this ends up being Anderson’s sixth nomination. “Inherent Vice,” however, slides in with only two nominations including one for Best Adapted Screenplay. Based on the 2009 detective novel of the same … Read More 2015 Oscars Challenge: [11] Inherent Vice – Best Adapted Screenplay
MARK BRIDGES “Inherent Vice” Heading to the ’70s gives “Inherent Vice” all the opportunities to do special things with their costume design and for the most part they do. With an edge of humor throughout the film, the costumes play into that comedy, for example when Joaquin Phoenix’s Doc is called to a meeting at a fancy restaurant and the attire calls for a … Read More 2015 Oscars Challenge: [11] Inherent Vice – Best Costume Design
VIRUNGA Orlando von Einsiedel, Joanna Natasegara, and Jon Drever The question “who gives a fuck about a monkey?” resonated in my mind from the moment I heard it in the Netflix documentary “Virunga” and for days to follow. What an ignorant statement to be made about the endangered mountain gorillas depicted in the film, coming from the mouth of an employee (of some sort) … Read More 2015 Oscars Challenge: [10] Virunga – Best Documentary Feature
I have to laugh just the slightest bit with “Interstellar” getting nominated for Best Sound Mixing, when, after the first few weeks of the film’s release, one of the biggest stories in the Hollywood news was the complaint from several audiences about the film’s sound and bombastic mix. Later approved by director Christopher Nolan, apparently these audience’s ears were a little too sensitive, but … Read More 2015 Oscars Challenge: [9] Interstellar – Best Sound Mixing
Imagine for a second that you are filming the scene from “Interstellar” where the crew of the Endurance lands on the tidal wave planet. Just to state the completely obvious, the tidal wave planet is not a real place. Therefore, if you are filming this scene, you’re likely in a body of water somewhere, where recording sound will not prove fruitful in terms of … Read More 2015 Oscars Challenge: [9] Interstellar – Best Sound Editing
“INTERSTELLAR” Paul Franklin, Andrew Lockley, Ian Hunter and Scott Fisher Dust clouds and robots, the visual effects team behind “Interstellar” literally created other worlds. And not just one, several. From a giant tidal wave planet to a completely ice covered planet with a sky that mirrors the ground, not only did these worlds captivate on the big screen, they also became some of the … Read More 2015 Oscars Challenge: [9] Interstellar – Best Visual Effects
“S.T.A.Y.” FROM “INTERSTELLAR” Hans Zimmer “Interstellar” is an emotionally gripping score, that not only accents the conflicting moments, like lead Matthew McConaughey’s big decision to leave his children for a trip to another galaxy to save the human race or major secrets revealed over the spaceship tape relay, but also adds to the science fiction element that all space odyssey’s must have. That tinge … Read More 2015 Oscars Challenge: [9] Interstellar – Best Original Score
“INTERSTELLAR” Nathan Crowley (Production Design); Gary Fettis (Set Decoration) Production designers immerse not only the audience but the actors and their characters in the sets that they design. Every object in a frame of a major motion picture is thought out. So when a production designer takes on the task of creating a future world as seen in “Interstellar,” the meaning behind their job … Read More 2015 Oscars Challenge: [9] Interstellar – Best Production Design
“Song Of The Sea” could be one of the cutest movies I’ve ever seen. Most of the credit for that goes to the adorable little girl character Saoirse and the coy humor she presents. Along with this incredible character, every frame of the film is gorgeous, with deep, rich colors and a dynamic, hand drawn animations that catch the eye. Telling the story of … Read More 2015 Oscars Challenge: [8] Song Of The Sea – Best Animated Feature
“CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER” Dan DeLeeuw, Russell Earl, Bryan Grill and Dan Sudick Every punch. Every missile. Every helicarrier. These are just a hand full of effects that go into making a superhero film these days. Watch any Marvel film with the visual effects in mind and it will leave you speechless by how much work goes into each and every sequence. There … Read More 2015 Oscars Challenge: [7] Captain America: The Winter Soldier – Best Visual Effects
“EVERYTHING IS AWESOME” FROM THE LEGO MOVIE Music and Lyric by Shawn Patterson On the morning of the nomination announcements, everyone was stunned when the Best Animated Feature category came up and “The Lego Movie” was not among the nominees. A film that had garnered huge critical and popular success had been dismissed by the Academy for some reason or another. That left the … Read More 2015 Oscars Challenge: [6] The Lego Movie – Best Original Song
ANNA B. SHEPPARD “Maleficent” Following in the footsteps of “Snow White and the Huntsman” (2011), the Disney film “Maleficent” sets out to turn the animated story of “Sleeping Beauty” into a live action, fantasy adventure film. With that comes not only some wild costumes for title character, Maleficent, but bringing to real life some costumes that were pivotal in the 1959 animated version, including … Read More 2015 Oscars Challenge: [5] Maleficent – Best Costume Design
“GLORY” FROM SELMA Music and Lyrics by John Stephens and Lonnie Lynn John Legend and Common (who also stars in “Selma”) come together to perform the song “Glory,” which plays during the end credits of “Selma”. Under pictures of the cast and their characters, the song’s lyrics hit historical moments from the walk in Selma depicted in the film to the struggles of race … Read More 2015 Oscars Challenge: [4] Selma – Best Original Song
What a funny year when a well-made, socially relevant, historical biopic about Martin Luther King Jr. is passed up almost completely at the Academy Awards. You can site that it was a competitive year all you want, but having now actually seen “Selma,” it is mind-blowing that such a stellar film with such a stake in our national history was completely brushed away. Now, … Read More 2015 Oscars Challenge: [4] Selma – Best Picture
MARION COTILLARD “Two Days, One Night” OscarsⓇ Nominated Role: As Sandra, Marion Cotillard portrays a factory worker who has two days to convince her colleagues to forgo their bonuses so that she can keep her job. Clinching the fifth spot in the Best Actress category, Marion Cotillard beat out the likes of Jennifer Aniston for her dramatic turn in “Cake,” which earned her both … Read More 2015 Oscars Challenge: [3] Two Days, One Night – Best Actress In A Leading Role
CITIZENFOUR Laura Poitras, Mathilde Bonnefoy and Dirk Wilutzky What qualifies a film to be called the Best Documentary Feature of the year? To me, there is a label that I need to be able to put on that documentary to call it the best. That label is “once in a lifetime”. Obviously this label can land on a few documentaries every year, but for … Read More 2015 Oscars Challenge: [2] CitizenFour – Best Documentary Feature
“LOST STARS” FROM BEGIN AGAIN Music and Lyric by Gregg Alexander and Danielle Brisebois These may be the first Academy Award nominations for songwriters Gregg Alexander and Danielle Brisebois, but director John Carney previously saw his feature “Once” produce a Best Original Song winner in 2006-2007, titled “Falling Slowly” by Glen Hansgard and Markéta Irglová of The Swell Season. So whatever collaborative freedom that … Read More 2015 Oscars Challenge: [1] Begin Again – Best Original Song
Best Picture “American Sniper” “Birdman” “Boyhood” “Gone Girl” “The Grand Budapest Hotel” “The Imitation Game” “Selma” “The Theory Of Everything” “Whiplash” Actor in a Leading Role Steve Carrell, “Foxcatcher” Bradley Cooper, “American Sniper” Benedict Cumberbatch, “The Imitation Game” Michael Keaton, “Birdman” Eddie Redmayne, “The Theory Of Everything” Actress in a Leading Role Amy Adams, “Big Eyes” || Marion Cotillard, “Two Days, One Night” Felicity … Read More Oscars Watch: 87th Academy Awards Nominations
Best Picture “American Sniper” “Birdman” “Boyhood” “Gone Girl” “The Grand Budapest Hotel” “The Imitation Game” “Selma” “The Theory Of Everything” “Whiplash” (If 10, “Foxcatcher” or “Nightcrawler”) Actor in a Leading Role Steve Carrell, “Foxcatcher” Bradley Cooper, “American Sniper” Benedict Cumberbatch, “The Imitation Game” Michael Keaton, “Birdman” Eddie Redmayne, “The Theory Of Everything” Actress in a Leading Role Amy Adams, “Big Eyes” Felicity Jones, “The … Read More Oscars Watch: 87th Academy Awards Nomination Predictions
You know it is a great year when everything begins to fall into place. The Directors Guild of America announces their nominees and I agree with every single director on the list. Linklater and Inarritu solidify their status as the frontrunners, while Anderson clinches his chance at his first ever Oscar Best Directing nomination. With the momentum behind “The Imitation Game,” it should come … Read More Oscars Watch: 67th Annual Directors Guild of America Award Nominees
One more win for “Boyhood” tells us what we already know, that Linklater’s 12 year darling will be the belle of the ball at the Oscars this year, with “Birdman” coming from behind with some likely technical wins. Jake Gyllenhaal continues to teeter on an Oscar nomination with yet another critics win in Houston, but there is no telling if he will be able … Read More Oscars Watch: 2014 Houston Film Critics Society Awards
Some love for “American Sniper” late in the game from Denver, with a Best Picture win and a tied win for Best Actor. The rest is pretty much by the book at this point. Here is the official list for the Denver Film Critics Society Awards: Best Picture: “American Sniper” Best Director: Richard Linklater, “Boyhood” Best Actor: (tie) Ralph Fiennes, “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” … Read More Oscars Watch: 2014 Denver Film Critics Society Awards
Since the Oscar ballots were already turned in, the Golden Globes have very little bearing on who will get nominated this Thursday when the nominees are announced, but what the Globes do is potentially shift the Academy into picking different winners based on their speeches and likability throughout the night. It also solidifies certain momentum, say the supporting categories in which J.K. Simmons (“Whiplash”) … Read More Oscars Watch: 72nd Annual Golden Globe Winners
Expect the nominees from the Period and Fantasy categories to be big players at the Academy Awards, with “The Grand Budapest Hotel” and “Into The Woods” being obvious frontrunners for both the CDG Awards as well as for Oscar nominations. EXCELLENCE IN CONTEMPORARY FILM “Birdman” – Albert Wolsky “Boyhood” – Kari Perkins “Gone Girl” – Trish Summerville “Interstellar” – Mary Zophres “Wild” – Melissa … Read More Oscars Watch: 17th Annual Costume Design Guild Nominees
Don’t expect “Guardians Of The Galaxy” to get a nomination for the Best Adapted Screenplay at the Oscars, but enjoy the honor from the Writers Guild. This should show you just how wide open the Adapted field is, with “Gone Girl” and “The Imitation Game” being the only locks in this category. Notably missing because of their ineligibility under the Guild rules are “Birdman” … Read More Oscars Watch: 67th Annual Writers Guild Award Nominees
The Producers Guild nominations are the closest look that we will get at the Best Picture category before Oscar nominations come out next week. Obviously “Birdman” and “Boyhood” are no surprises, as they are locked and ready for a heated battle for the gold. “The Grand Budapest Hotel”, “The Imitation Game”, and “The Theory Of Everything” are basically clinched as well, while “Foxcatcher” and … Read More Oscars Watch: 26th Annual Producers Guild of America Award Nominees
Period Film INHERENT VICE Production Designer: DAVID CRANK THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL Production Designer: ADAM STOCKHAUSEN THE IMITATION GAME Production Designer: MARIA DJURKOVIC THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING Production Designer: JOHN PAUL KELLY UNBROKEN Production Designer: JON HUTMAN Fantasy Film CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER Production Designer: PETER WENHAM DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES Production Designer: JAMES CHINLUND GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY Production … Read More Oscars Watch: 19th Annual Art Directors Guild Award Nominees
Coming off the nominations from the ASC, three cinematographers that you can expect to see nominated for Oscars are Roger Deakins (“Unbroken”), which will mark his twelfth nomination, Emmanuel Lubezki (“Birdman”), who is a six-time nominee and was last year’s winner for his work on “Gravity,” and Robert D. Yeoman (“The Grand Budapest Hotel”), which will be his first nomination by the Academy. The ASC … Read More Oscars Watch: 29th Annual American Society of Cinematographers Award Nominees
POTENTIAL LOCKS // These four men have the most momentum going into next week. Not to say these will be my final picks but all four of them garner Screen Actors Guild and Golden Globe nominations and have been talked about by experts since the start of the season, so on paper, they’re the best bets. Michael Keaton as Riggan Thompon (“Birdman”): Without a … Read More Oscars Watch: The Best Actor In A Leading Role Race
People love Wes Anderson’s latest, “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” but will that translate into a Best Picture nomination at the Oscars? For sure Anderson will be nominated for Best Original Screenplay as he in most years, whether the film gets a Best Picture nomination or not. Everything else lands right about in the same vein as all the other critics awards, with Julianne Moore … Read More Oscars Watch: 2014 Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards
Nevada strays completely from the pack and gives “Gone Girl” its first Best Film of the Year win. It really is a great film and should get some recognition come Academy Award time but one vote isn’t going to do it much. “Nightcrawler” also gets some love, both for Dan Gilroy (Director and Screenplay) and Jake Gyllenhaal. “Big Hero 6” also gets one of … Read More Oscars Watch: 2014 Nevada Film Critics Society Awards
This late in the game, you are not making a splash anymore unless you are like the San Diego Film Critics naming “Nightcrawler” the Best Film of the year or the Online Film Critics naming “The Grand Budapest Hotel” the best. Still Richard Linklater (“Boyhood”) gets Best Director and the acting and screenplay awards are exactly the same. But instead of placing “Boyhood” in … Read More Oscars Watch: 2014 Online Film Critics Society Awards
Detroit follows suit with naming “Boyhood” and Richard Linklater the best of the year with “Birdman” getting Best Ensemble and Michael Keaton (“Birdman”) getting Best Actor. Here is the official list for the Detroit Film Critics Society Awards: BEST FILM: “Boyhood” BEST DIRECTOR: Richard Linklater (“Boyhood”) BEST ACTOR: Michael Keaton (“Birdman”) BEST ACTRESS: Rosamund Pike (“Gone Girl”) BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: J.K. Simmons (“Whiplash”) BEST … Read More Oscars Watch: 2014 Detroit Film Critics Society Awards
From 83 films to 9, the Oscar shortlist for the Best Foreign Language Film category has been solidified. The next process will see five of these films becoming nominees for the Academy Awards category. Expect “Ida”, “Leviathan”, and “Force Majeure” to make the final cut, as they have all been touted over since their releases. “Ida” and “Force Majeure” in particular have both been … Read More Oscars Shortlist: 9 Foreign Language Features Shortlisted for 87th Academy Awards
Of course Austin is going to give its awards to “Boyhood” as it is their Texas darling which was shot over the course of 12 years in the state. Austin is also a huge supporter of the independent scene and “Boyhood” is the prime example for how successful an independent film can be. Jake Gyllenhaal continues to surprise with another win. He might have … Read More Oscars Watch: 2014 Austin Film Critics Association Awards
Balancing out again, Phoenix gives the win to “Birdman” and director Alejandro G. Inarritu, as well as giving Michael Keaton and Emma Stone each another win. They also go as far to award films by genre, so “The Grand Budapest Hotel”, “Snowpiercer”, “Gone Girl”, and “Nightcrawler” all find themselves small wins. Here is the official list for the Phoenix Film Critics Circle Awards: BEST … Read More Oscars Watch: 2014 Phoenix Film Critics Circle Awards
There is no denying that “Boyhood” has the edge coming out of the film critics awards. But remember that the film critics are not apart of the Academy. It will all depend on whether the Academy feels like commending Richard Linklater on his 12 year efforts and supporting the independent process. Or whether they will turn to a much more pristine candidate like “Birdman”. … Read More Oscars Watch: 2014 Chicago Film Critics Association Awards
Toronto weighs in, giving its win to “Boyhood” and Richard Linklater. They also show some more love for Tom Hardy and his one-man show in “Locke” and Marion Cotillard, except not for “Two Days, One Night” but instead her role in “The Immigrant”. Supporting goes to exactly who you would expect. “The Overnighters” documentary finally enters the race while they also stray from “The … Read More Oscars Watch: 2014 Toronto Film Critics Association Awards
Splitting the Best Film / Best Director vote like I am beginning to predict, Kansas City gives Best Film to “Birdman” and Best Director to Richard Linklater (“Boyhood”). I also think Michael Keaton may have the best shot to win Best Actor for “Birdman” and Patricia Arquette (“Boyhood”) for Best Supporting Actress. It is also great to see “Obvious Child” getting some screenplay love. … Read More Oscars Watch: 2014 Kansas City Film Critics Circle Awards
Following suit with the other film critics, San Francisco splits its votes between “Birdman” and “Boyhood” with the latter bringing home Best Picture and Best Director. Edward Norton (“Birdman”) edges out J.K. Simmons (“Whiplash”) and Paul Thomas Anderon gets another win for his writing of “Inherent Vice”. Here is the official list for the San Francisco Film Critics Circle Awards: BEST PICTURE: “Boyhood” BEST … Read More Oscars Watch: 2014 San Francisco Film Critics Circle Awards
This is the sign of a heated Oscar race; for every win that “Boyhood” receives from a film critics awards, “Birdman” comes back with its own win, this time getting Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Screenplay, and Best Cinematography. Patricia Arquette (“Boyhood”) is also starting to lock in her win for the Oscars, right next to J.K. Simmons (“Whiplash”), both of which … Read More Oscars Watch: 2014 Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards
The big question everyone is asking is: “can Boyhood win when it counts?” which is at the Oscars. Yes, it has been cleaning up through the film critics awards, but they love their independent darlings. Oscar, on the hand, is a mixed bag. Personally, I am hoping for a “Birdman” win on the big night, but most people that I know are in the … Read More Oscars Watch: 2014 Indiana Film Critics Association Awards
No surprises here. “Boyhood” and “Birdman” split most of the major awards while Jake Gyllenhaal grabs another Best Actor win. Let is be stated that J.K. Simmons is likely going to win Best Supporting Actor at the Oscars and I cannot wait for that. Also expecting Emmanuel Lubezki to win his second consecutive Oscar this year (last year for “Gravity”). Here is the official … Read More Oscars Watch: 2014 St. Louis Film Critics Association Awards
San Diego steps outside the box, giving most of their wins to “Nightcrawler” and those involved with it, including director and writer Dan Gilroy, lead actor Jake Gyllenhaal, supporting actress Rene Russo, and cinematography Rovert Elswit. Although most of these will not carry over to the Oscars, Jake Gyllenhaal may be edging his way more and more to a nomination. Mark Ruffalo gets his … Read More Oscars Watch: 2014 San Diego Film Critics Society Awards
In the smallest category of the Academy Awards, with eventually only three nominees, the Best Makeup & Hairstyling Oscar is still completely up for grabs despite now only having seven films in contention. “The Amazing Spider-man 2” saw Jamie Foxx get the full blue Electro make-over. “Foxcatcher” saw Steve Carrell get the creepy John Du Pont make-over with a prosthetic nose. Several characters including … Read More Oscar Shortlist: 7 Makeup & Hairstyling Shortlisted for 87th Academy Awards
If there is absolutely one Oscar category that is impossible to predict every year, it is the Best Original Song. Last year, with a song being deemed ineligible and previous years with only two nominees, the Best Original Song category should get back to normal this year with a shake up in the nominating process. However, predicting this category will still almost be impossible. … Read More Oscar Shortlist: 79 Original Songs Shortlisted for 87th Academy Awards
As with every year around this time, Best Original Score has barely been narrowed down, with 114 of the best scores still in contention. With 109 of these composers going home unhappy, the field is wide open for this one. The ones to watch out for are almost always the Academy favorites like Hans Zimmer (“Interstellar”), Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (“Gone Girl”), and … Read More Oscars Shortlist: 114 Original Scores Shortlisted for 87th Academy Awards
Oscar frontrunners “Birdman” and “Boyhood” actually face off at the Golden Globes this year, being placed in separate categories which allows them both to win and thus gives no one an inclination as to what will play out at the Oscars. However, be sure if one of them does not win its category, it will leave the other one wide open to take Best … Read More Oscars Watch: 72nd Annual Golden Globe Awards Nominees
No real surprises anywhere here. Could be pretty close to what we see come Oscar nominations. Expect Jake Gyllenhaal (“Nightcrawler”) to be the top of the dark horses in the Best Actor category however, possibly pushing out David Oyelowo (“Selma”) or Timothy Spall (“Mr. Turner”). Also, with enough attention on Jennifer Aniston and her performance in “Cake,” that could also nudge her into the … Read More Oscars Watch: 21st Annual Screen Actors Guild Nominees
Good thing we got our “Snowpiercer” and “A Most Violent Year” wins early because we are about to settle in for the long haul with “Boyhood” bringing home all the Best Film of the Year lists. Richard Linklater and Patricia Arquette join it in the winner’s circle, as even Ellar Coltrane who plays the title character grabs an award for Best Youth Performance. “Birdman” … Read More Oscars Watch: 2014 Washington DC Film Critics Association Awards
Without fail, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association picks independent darling “Boyhood” and director Richard Linklater as their winners. For some reason, Patricia Arquette takes Best Actress rather than Supporting while Best Foreign Film winning “Ida” has supporting actress Agata Kuleszka winning in that category. Tom Hardy comes out of nowhere as the winner of Best Actor for his one man show performance in … Read More Oscars Watch: 2014 Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards
Yet another win for “Boyhood” and director Richard Linklater, but “Birdman” takes some pretty high profile wins away from it, with Michael Keaton getting his first real win, while Emma Stone’s name pops up for the first time this season. Emmanuel Lubezki wins another Best Cinematography category for his work in “Birdman” while “Boyhood” takes Best Editing and Best Ensemble. To make things even … Read More Oscars Watch: 2014 Boston Society Of Film Critics Awards
Richard Linklater and his twelve years in the making “Boyhood” take the first lead of the critics award season, getting picked now by both New York Film Critics bodies. Patricia Arquette also grabs another critic award, as does Marion Cotillard and J.K. Simmons, who both prove that they could have the wherewithal to grab an Oscar nomination. Finally, Eddie Redmayne shows up with an … Read More Oscars Watch: 2014 New York Film Critics Online Awards
No two critics awards have picked the same Best Picture yet, with “Boyhood” and “A Most Violent Year” getting picks. Now add “Snowpiercer” to the list, yet another film (like “A Most Violent Year”) which was not really being talked about in the Oscar race. A personal favorite of mine, it would be great to see this get some nominations at the Oscars. There … Read More Oscars Watch: 2014 Boston Online Film Critics Association Awards
The animated feature films have been narrowed down to twenty. Three to bank on are “Big Hero 6” because of the Disney factor, “The Lego Movie” which is widely popular this year and making a run for the animated film to beat, and “How To Train Your Dragon 2” which is also popular and following the original that was nominated for an Oscar as … Read More Oscars Shortlist: 20 Animated Features & 10 Animated Shorts Shortlisted for 87th Academy Awards
Looking at this list of films in contention for the Best Visual Effects nominations shows you exactly how good of a year it was in film, especially where visual effects were concerned. Consisting of three superhero films, four sequels, a reboot, a re-imagining, and one original science fiction fare, this is also a perfect dissection of where the Hollywood blockbuster is at. I question … Read More Oscars Shortlist: 10 Best Visual Effects Shortlisted for 87th Academy Awards
The National Board Of Review goes completely outside the box with their pick for the best film of the year with J.C. Chandor’s “A Most Violent Year”. Giving Jessica Chastain the win for Best Supporting Actress leaves speculation up for whether this support comes in the wake of “Interstellar” demanding Chastain not lobby for Chandor’s film over Nolan’s or whether “A Most Violent Year” … Read More Oscars Watch: 2014 National Board Of Review Awards
The enormous list of this year’s eligible documentaries has been whittled down to fifteen. First off all, let it be known that I have not seen any of these documentaries yet, but I have seen almost all of their trailers. Of the bunch, there are clear frontrunners which will likely get nominated and a few that are completely up in the air. If there was … Read More Oscars Shortlist: 15 Documentary Features Shortlisted for 87th Academy Awards
First out of the gate for the awards season is the New York Film Critics Circle, placing “Boyhood” at the top of their list. Being predicted to garner a lot of Academy attention, Richard Linklater’s 12 year endeavor will likely end up on many of the best of lists this year. Along with Best Picture and Best Director, Patricia Arquette also received Best Supporting … Read More Oscars Watch: 2014 New York Film Critics Circle Awards
…dary Step aside Ellen DeGeneres because Neil Patrick Harris is here. With “How I Met Your Mother” no longer filling up his schedule, Harris takes the Academy Awards stage for the first time as host. However, he is no stranger to awards shows, having hosted the Emmys (twice) and the Tonys. Let him host the Golden Globes and he will have his own EGOT. He … Read More Oscars Watch: And the Host of the Oscars is Legen… wait for it….
First out of the gate are the submissions for Best Foreign Language Film. Sadly, each country gets one submission, so the films listed below are the films thought to have the best chance at gaining a nomination. Most of them you will not recognize, but there are a few that have either been buzzed about or released stateside. Mexico’s release “Cantinflas” was a nationwide … Read More Oscars Shortlist: 83 Foreign Language Features Shortlisted for 87th Academy Awards
Summer blockbuster season ends and immediately the masses are turning their heads to the Oscars. Of course, five months is a long time to wait for the nominations, but the ride to those nominations becomes half of the fun of this time of year. Instead of audiences racing to their local theater chains to catch the latest major motion picture blockbusters like “Transformers” or … Read More 2015 Oscars Challenge: 6th Annual Oscar Challenge: And So It Begins…
