[12] The Grand Budapest Hotel – Best Original Score

“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 has been nominated eight times (including twice this year) does exquisite work and has yet to take home any gold. He also attributed a similar score to Wes Anderson’s Academy Award nominated animated feature “Fantastic Mr. Fox” (2009). And the fact that he would win for this over anything else he has done would mean either the competition was somewhat lighter or the Academy felt him due for the award, as their is nothing particularly different about this score than his other masterful works.

The score of “The Grand Budapest Hotel” is light and chipper, creating the sense that often comes with a Wes Anderson film. It is humorous while bringing out the wacky nature of some of the characters and some of their situations. It has the urgency of a caper while having the bouncy feel of a “Keystone Cops” comedy. While many of the other nominees bring out emotions that are not necessarily particular to those specific films, Desplat’s score can immediately be associated with Wes Anderson’s product without mistake. And to be able to bring that kind of life to a score, to which it is married to its source material, is a huge feat for a composer.

What’s its competition? Not only is Alexandre Desplat facing off with another one of his scores in this category for “The Imitation Game”, he is also facing the Best Original Score Golden Globe winner Jóhann Jóhannsson for his work on “The Theory Of Everything” and one of the best composers in the history of scores, Hans Zimmer (“Interstellar”), so nothing is set in stone. With the odds being stacked in his favorite, there’s obviously a higher probability that Desplat will be taking home gold for at least one of his films, but do not count out the popularity of Zimmer or the amazing work done by Jóhannsson. And with “The Theory Of Everything” also nominated for Best Picture, Desplat does not necessarily hold any upper hands besides having to two irons in the fire.

---

  

---

// Produced by Wes Anderson, Scott Rudin, Steven Rales, and Jeremy Dawson // Directed by Wes Anderson //
// Dated Viewed: Sunday, January 25th, 2015 // BLU-RAY //  33 films – 29 days //

87th Annual Academy Award Nomination Predictions

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 Theory Of Everything”
• Julianne Moore, “Still Alice”
• Rosamund Pike, “Gone Girl”
• Reese Witherspoon, “Wild”

Actor in a Supporting Role

• Ethan Hawke, “Boyhood”
• Edward Norton, “Birdman”
• Mark Ruffalo, “Foxcatcher”
• J.K. Simmons, “Whiplash”
• Tom Wilkinson, “Selma”

Actress in a Supporting Role

• Patricia Arquette, “Boyhood”
• Jessica Chastain, “A Most Violent Year”
• Keira Knightley, “The Imitation Game”
• Emma Stone, “Birdman”
• Meryl Streep, “Into The Woods”

Animated Feature Film

• “Big Hero 6”
• “The Boxtrolls”
• “How To Train Your Dragon 2”
• “The LEGO Movie”
• “The Tale Of Princess Kaguya”

Cinematography

• Jeff Cronenweth, “Gone Girl”
• Roger Deakins, “Unbroken”
• Emmanuel Lubeszki, “Birdman”
• Hoyte Van Hoytema, “Interstellar”
• Robert Yeoman, “The Grand Budapest Hotel”

Costume Design

• “The Grand Budapest Hotel” – Milena Canonero
• “The Imitation Game” – Sammy Sheldon Differ
• “Into the Woods” – Colleen Atwood
• “Maleficent” – Anna B. Sheppard, Jane Clive
• “Mr. Turner” – Jacqueline Durran

Directing

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

Documentary (Feature)

• “CitizenFour”
• “The Last Days In Vietnam”
• “Life Itself”
• “The Overnighters”
• “Virunga”

Documentary (Short Subject)

• “Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1”
• “Joanna”
• “The Lion’s Mouth Opens”
• “The Reaper”
• “White Earth”

Film Editing

• “American Sniper,” Joel Cox & Gary Roach
• “Birdman,” Douglas Crise, Stephen Mirrione
• “Boyhood,” Sandra Adair
• “Gone Girl,” Kirk Baxter
• “Interstellar,” Lee Smith

Foreign Language Film

• “Force Majeure” (Sweden)
• “Ida” (Poland)
• “Leviathan” (Russia)
• “Tangerines” (Estonia)
• “Wild Tales” (Argentina)

Makeup & Hairstyling

• “Foxcatcher”
• “The Grand Budapest Hotel”
• “Guardians Of The Galaxy”

Music (Original Score)

• “Gone Girl,” Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross
• “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” Alexandre Desplat
• “The Imitation Game,” Alexandre Desplat
• “Interstellar,” Hans Zimmer
• “The Theory Of Everything,” Johann Johannson

Music (Original Song)

• “Big Eyes” by Lana Del Rey from “Big Eyes”
• “Everything Is Awesome” by Tegan and Sara & The Lonely Island from “The Lego Movie”
• “Glory” by John Legend from “Selma”
• “Lost Stars” by Adam Levine from “Begin Again”
• “Mercy Is” by Patti Smith from “Noah”

Production Design

• “Birdman,” Kevin Thompson
• “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” Adam Stockhausen
• “The Imitation Game,” Maria Djurkovic
• “Interstellar,” Nathan Crowley
• “Into The Woods,” Dennis Gassner

Short Film (Animated)

• “The Bigger Picture”
• “Coda”
• “Duet”
• “Feast”
• “Footprints”

Short Film (Live Action)

• “Aya”
• “Baghdad Messi”
• “Carry On”
• “My Father’s Truck”
• “The Phone Call”

Sound Editing

• “American Sniper”
• “Guardians Of The Galaxy”
• “Interstellar”
• “Unbroken”
• “Whiplash”

Sound Mixing

• “Fury
• “Guardians Of The Galaxy”
• “Into The Woods”
• “Interstellar”
• “Whiplash”

Visual Effects

• “Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes”
• “Guardians Of The Galaxy”
• “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies”
• “Interstellar”
• “Transformers: Age Of Extinction”

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

• “American Sniper,” Jason Hall
• “Gone Girl,” Gillian Flynn
• “The Imitation Game,” Graham Moore
• “Inherent Vice,” Paul Thomas Anderson
• “The Theory Of Everything,” Anthony McCarten

Writing (Original Screenplay)

• “Birdman,” Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Jr., Armando Bo
• “Boyhood,” Richard Linklater
• “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” Wes Anderson & Hugo Guinness
• “A Most Violent Year,” J.C. Chandor
• “Nightcrawler,” Dan Gilroy

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