Directors Guild Of America Award Nominations

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 as a surprise to no one that director Morten Tyldum gets a nomination and will likely repeat for the Oscar noms. Lastly, I am so ecstatic about Clint Eastwood’s involvement for his work on “American Sniper” which has failed to make any real noise until the end of the Oscar season. Now with the nomination, he proves that voting bodies are getting behind it and the Academy could follow suit. Obviously, because of his inclusion, David Fincher (“Gone Girl”) and Ava Duvernay (“Selma”) are left out. But since these nominations have come out after the end of voting for the Academy, it could be a different landscape for the Oscars. Note, Ben Affleck was left off this list for his work on “Argo” and not only won Best Director but Best Picture as well.

• Wes Anderson, “The Grand Budapest Hotel”
• Clint Eastwood, “American Sniper”
• Alejandro Inarritu, “Birdman”
• Richard Linklater, “Boyhood”
• Morten Tyldum, “The Imitation Game”

Oscar Season: Houston Film Critics Society Awards

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 to beat out some of the other highlight performances this year.

Here is the official list for the Houston Film Critics Society Awards:

Best Picture – “Boyhood”
Best Director – Richard Linklater, “Boyhood”
Best Actor – Jake Gyllenhaal, “Nightcrawler”
Best Actress – Julianne Moore, “Still Alice”
Best Supporting Actor – J.K. Simmons, “Whiplash”
Best Supporting Actress – Patricia Arquette, “Boyhood”
Best Screenplay – Richard Linklater, “Boyhood”
Best Animated Film – “The LEGO Movie”
Best Cinematography – Emmanuel Lubezki, “Birdman”
Best Documentary – “Citizenfour”
Best Foreign Film – “Force Majeure”
Best Original Score – Alexandre Desplat, “The Grand Budapest Hotel”
Best Original Song – “Everything is Awesome” by Shawn Patterson and Joshua Bartholomew & Lisa Harriton and The Lonely Island, for “The LEGO Movie”
Best Poster Design – Annie Atkins for “The Grand Budapest Hotel”
Worst Picture – “The Identical”
Texas Independent Film Award – “Boyhood”
Humanitarian Award – Joe Hall, Ghetto Film School
Lifetime Achievement Award – Larry McMurtry
Outstanding Achievement – Rick Ferguson and the Houston Film Commission
Technical Achievement – “Boyhood”

Oscar Season: Denver 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,” Bradley Cooper, “American Sniper”
Best Actress: Rosamund Pike, “Gone Girl”
Best Supporting Actor: J.K. Simmons, “Whiplash
Best Supporting Actress: Patricia Arquette, “Boyhood”
Best Animated Film: “The Lego Movie”
Best Science Fiction/Horror Film: “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes”
Best Comedy: “Guardians of the Galaxy”
Best Original Screenplay: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Nicolas Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Armando Bo, “Birdman”
Best Adapted Screenplay: Paul Thomas Anderson, “Inherent Vice”
Best Documentary: “The Overnighters”
Best Cinematography: Emmanuel Lubezki, “Birdman”
Best Original Song: “Everything Is Awesome,” Tegan and Sara, “The Lego Movie”
Best Score: Antonio Sanchez, “Birdman”
Best Foreign Language Film: “Two Days, One Night”

72nd Golden Globe 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”) and Patricia Arquette (“Boyhood”) are almost guaranteed their Oscar wins. On top of that, “Boyhood” takes a distinct lead against “Birdman” in the Oscar race, winning its Drama category while the comedy category had one of the most phenomenal upsets of the night, giving the win to Wes Anderson and “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” a much deserved win but still skewing the neck and neck “Boyhood” and “Birdman” race.

Julianne Moore (“Still Alice”) also continues with immense trajectory into her Best Actress in a Leading Role Oscar and the Best Actor in a Leading Role category is now possibly narrowing in on either Michael Keaton (“Birdman”) or Eddie Redmayne (“The Theory Of Everything”). Amy Adams (“Big Eyes”) definitely had the love of the Hollywood Foreign Press and most years the Academy follows along with that love, so this win for her could mean there is still enough support for his to clinch the fifth Actress spot, something I feel is probably pretty likely. No real love for “Selma” besides a win in Best Original Song, which may also translate into a nomination and win at the Oscars. Also, expect Johann Johannsson to at least get a nomination for his Best Original Score in “The Theory Of Everything”. In the animated category, I do expect “The Lego Movie” to receive more love than “How To Train Your Dragon 2” and in the foreign category, “Ida” could come in with more heat than “Leviathan” despite a win for the latter tonight.

 

MOTION PICTURE

BEST MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
“Boyhood”

BEST DIRECTOR – MOTION PICTURE
Richard Linklater – “Boyhood”

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
Julianne Moore – “Still Alice”

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
Eddie Redmayne – “The Theory of Everything”

BEST MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
“The Grand Budapest Hotel”

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY/MUSICAL
Amy Adams – “Big Eyes”

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY/MUSICAL
Michael Keaton – “Birdman”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Patricia Arquette – “Boyhood”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
J.K Simmons – “Whiplash”

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
“How To Train Your Dragon 2″

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE – MOTION PICTURE
Johann Johannsson – “The Theory of Everything”

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
“Glory” by John Legend and Common (“Selma”)

BEST SCREENPLAY – MOTION PICTURE
Alejandro González Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Armando Bo – “Birdman”

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
“Leviathan”

 

TELEVISION

Best Actor in a TV Series, Drama
Kevin Spacey, “House of Cards”

Best Actress in a TV Series, Drama
Ruth Wilson, “The Affair”

Best TV Series
“The Affair”

Best TV Series, Comedy or Musical
“Transparent”

Best TV Movie or Miniseries
“Fargo”

Best Actress in a Miniseries or TV Movie
Maggie Gyllenhaal, “The Honorable Woman”

Best Actor in a Miniseries or TV Movie
Billy Bob Thornton, “Fargo”

Best Actor, TV Series Comedy
Jeffery Tambor, “Transparent”

Best Actress in a TV Series, Comedy
Gina Rodriguez, “Jane the Virgin”

Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Miniseries, or TV Movie
Joanne Froggatt, “Downton Abbey”

Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Mini-Series or TV Movie
Matt Bomer, “The Normal Heart”

Costume Designers Guild Nominations

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 Bruning

EXCELLENCE IN PERIOD FILM

• “The Grand Budapest Hotel” – Milena Canonero
• “The Imitation Game” – Sammy Sheldon Differ
• “Inherent Vice” – Mark Bridges
• “Selma” – Ruth E. Carter
• “The Theory of Everything” – Steven Noble

EXCELLENCE IN FANTASY FILM

• “Guardians of the Galaxy” – Alexandra Byrne
• “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” – Bob Buck, Lesley Burkes-Harding, Ann Maskrey
• “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1” – Kurt and Bart
• “Into the Woods” – Colleen Atwood
• “Maleficent” – Anna B. Sheppard, Jane Clive

Writers Guild Of America Nominations

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” and “Selma” from the Original category and “The Theory Of Everything” from the Adapted category, which will all most likely show up during the Oscar nominations next week. One other potential shift in the Oscar nominees is “Whiplash” showing up under Adapted because of some confusion in regards to a short. However, it rolls, the Guilds nominees are a pretty good indicator of which way the Academy is headed.

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

• “Boyhood, Written by Richard Linklater; IFC Films

• “Foxcatcher, Written by E. Max Frye and Dan Futterman; Sony Pictures Classics

• “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” Screenplay by Wes Anderson; Story by Wes Anderson & Hugo Guinness; Fox Searchlight

• “Nightcrawler, Written by Dan Gilroy; Open Road Films

• “Whiplash, Written by Damien Chazelle; Sony Pictures Classics

 

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

• “American Sniper, Written by Jason Hall; Based on the book by Chris Kyle with Scott McEwen and Jim DeFelice; Warner Bros.

• “Gone Girl,” Screenplay by Gillian Flynn; Based on her novel; 20th Century Fox

• “Guardians of the Galaxy,” Written by James Gunn and Nicole Perlman; Based on the Marvel comic by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning; Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

• “The Imitation Game,” Written by Graham Moore; Based on the book Alan Turing: The Enigma by Andrew Hodges; The Weinstein Company

• “Wild,” Screenplay by Nick Hornby; Based on the book by Cheryl Strayed; Fox Searchlight

 

DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY

• “Finding Vivian Maier,” Written by John Maloof & Charlie Siskel (Sundance Selects)

• “The Internet’s Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz,” Written by Brian Knappenberger (FilmBuff)

• “Last Days in Vietnam,” Written by Mark Bailey & Kevin McAlester (American Experience Films)

• “Red Army,” Written by Gabe Polsky (Sony Pictures Classics)

Producers Guild Of America Nominations

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 “Whiplash” are edging towards Oscar nominations in their own right. The big question marks are “American Sniper,” which just recently started getting love and rightfully so. It getting nominated at the Oscars would be huge and well deserved, and “Nightcrawler” and “Gone Girl,” which have also been showing up everywhere but are still being called outliers in the race. Most noticeably missing is “Selma,” which has gotten tons of love as of late and “Unbroken,” which most have recently predicted its fall from grace as far as the Best Picture category is concerned. Although the PGA nominates ten, the Oscars have ended up with nine for the past few years, so minus one of these, plus probably add back in “Selma,” replacing one of these as well, and this could be the Best Picture landscape.

American Sniper (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Producers: Bradley Cooper, p.g.a., Clint Eastwood, p.g.a., Andrew Lazar, p.g.a., Robert Lorenz, p.g.a., Peter Morgan, p.g.a.

Birdman (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Producers: Alejandro G. Iñárritu, John Lesher, James W. Skotchdopole

Boyhood (IFC Films)
Producers: Richard Linklater, p.g.a., Cathleen Sutherland, p.g.a.

Foxcatcher (Sony Pictures Classics)
Producers: Megan Ellison, p.g.a., Jon Kilik, p.g.a., Bennett Miller, p.g.a.

Gone Girl (20th Century Fox)
Producer: Ceán Chaffin, p.g.a.

The Grand Budapest Hotel (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Producers: Wes Anderson & Scott Rudin, Jeremy Dawson, Steven Rales

The Imitation Game (The Weinstein Company)
Producers: Nora Grossman, p.g.a., Ido Ostrowsky, p.g.a., Teddy Schwarzman, p.g.a.

Nightcrawler (Open Road Films)
Producers: Jennifer Fox, Tony Gilroy

The Theory of Everything (Focus Features)
Producers: Tim Bevan & Eric Fellner, Lisa Bruce, Anthony McCarten

Whiplash (Sony Pictures Classics)
Producers: Jason Blum, Helen Estabrook, David Lancaster

The Award for Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures:

Big Hero 6 (Walt Disney Animation Studios)
Producer: Roy Conli, p.g.a.

The Book of Life (20th Century Fox)
Producers: Brad Booker, p.g.a., Guillermo del Toro, p.g.a.

The Boxtrolls (Focus Features)
Producers: David Bleiman Ichioka, p.g.a., Travis Knight, p.g.a.

How To Train Your Dragon 2 (20th Century Fox)
Producer: Bonnie Arnold, p.g.a.

The LEGO Movie (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Producer: Dan Lin

Art Directors Guild Nominations

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 Designer: CHARLES WOOD

INTERSTELLAR
Production Designer: NATHAN CROWLEY

INTO THE WOODS
Production Designer: DENNIS GASSNER

Contemporary Film

AMERICAN SNIPER
Production Designers: JAMES J. MURAKAMI, CHARISSE CARDENAS

BIRDMAN
Production Designer: KEVIN THOMPSON

FOXCATCHER
Production Designer: JESS GONCHOR

GONE GIRL
Production Designer: DONALD GRAHAM BURT

NIGHTCRAWLER
Production Designer: KEVIN KAVANAUGH

American Society of Cinematographers Nominations

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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 nomination for Óscar Faura (“The Imitation Games”) shows just how popular that film is with the voting bodies and Dick Pope’s (“Mr. Turner”) nomination looks to be the first recognition that film has received since the start of this awards season. The winner of the 29th annual ASC Awards will be announced February 15th at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza here in Los Angeles.

• Roger Deakins, ASC, BSC, “Unbroken”
• Óscar Faura, “The Imitation Game”
• Emmanuel Lubezki ASC, AMC, “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)”
• Dick Pope, BSC, “Mr. Turner”
• Robert D. Yeoman, ASC, “The Grand Budapest Hotel”

Oscar Season: Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards

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 (“Still Alice”) adding another win for Best Actress over Rosamund Pike (“Gone Girl”) or Reese Witherspoon (“Wild”).

Here is the official list for the Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards:

Best Film: “The Grand Budapest Hotel”
Best Director: Richard Linklater (“Boyhood”)
Best Actor: Michael Keaton (“Birdman”)
Best Actress: Julianne Moore (“Still Alice”)
Best Supporting Actor: J.K. Simmons (“Whiplash”)
Best Supporting Actress: Patricia Arquette (“Boyhood”)
Best Original Screenplay: Wes Anderson and Hugo Guinness (“The Grand Budapest Hotel”)
Best Adapted Screenplay: Gillian Flynn (“Gone Girl”)
Best Cinematography: Emmanuel Lubezki (“Birdman”)
Best Ensemble: “The Grand Budapest Hotel”
Best Animated Film: “The LEGO Movie”
Best Documentary: “Life Itself”
Best Foreign Language Film: “Force Majeure”
The Gene Wyatt Award for the Film that Best Evokes the Spirit of the South: “Selma”

Best Film
1. “The Grand Budapest Hotel”
2. “Boyhood”
3. “Birdman”
4. “Whiplash”
5. “The Imitation Game”
6. “Gone Girl”
7. “Snowpiercer”
8. “Nightcrawler”
9. “Foxcatcher”
10. “The Theory of Everything”