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Matt's 2014 Oscar Predictions

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Boy oh boy, the 86th Academy Awards are bearing down now and it’s time to start pulling my hair out deciding what awards going to go and why. Hours spend bargaining and equivocating all probably for nothing. The problem with predicting the Oscars is that the damn thing is anything but a science so as much as we try and prescribe logic and historicity to turn our prognostication into an a+b=c type formula, there’s literally no saying what will actually be written in those ballots until they’re open and read. For however much we like to talk about the Academy like they’re a hive mind collective all zipping and swarming as one, they’re really just a bunch of guys and gals who probably don’t pay nearly as much attention to their roles as we do.

Having said that, it’s still a blast to be a part of the ceremony and it’s, for all intents and purposes, the culmination of a year of cinema, a reminder of how great movies can be and how old-fashion the taste of the Academy is. Though there will likely be many moments this Sunday where we all throw our arms up and shout and curse at the screen, we’ve gotta remember that you often have just as much luck betting on horses than you do at the Oscars. That doesn’t discount the fact that there are certain trends within a year and those trends often equate to an Oscar.

But before I can even launch into my list of suspected winners, I would like to note how caution I am about my picks this year. Moreso than most, I have this feeling in the back of my mind that this year is gonna throw a wrench in things and totally skew a whole different direction than many of us expect. As it is now, I have zero wins for American Hustle and that literally terrifies me. Although I didn’t fall in love with the Hustle, a lot of people did and I’m worried that it sneaks in from its cozy third-place position and pulls a couple of fast punches. As for Gravity, I currently have it basically winning anything technical but feel that’s a fairly safe bet and wouldn’t be that shocked if some of those got picked off by the likes of Captain Phillips or even Lone Survivor. Sad though it may be, I also wouldn’t be shocked if 12 Years a Slave got completely shut out. I’m crossing my fingers here but hoping that the odds are not ever in J La’s favor.

Without further adieu, let’s get to the actual predictions…

Picture: ’12 Years a Slave’

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Since early on in the year, it’s 12 Years a Slave that everyone’s been talking about, waiting for the inevitable upset to roll around and tip it off its high horse. And yet, seven months after its premiere at the Telluride Film Festival, 12 Years a Slave is still considered top dog. What it really comes down to though is: are Academy members even watching this movie? The biggest hurtle 12 faces is, ironically enough, word of mouth. With all the talk of how difficult a film it is to watch, reports have surfaced that a sizable percentage of Academy members hadn’t even seen the film. Major cop out that this certainly is, it poses a situation in which Gravity, as an easy crowd favorite, could sneak in and get the unexpected populist win. Is it a better film? No. Is it more important? Certainly not. But there’s no whipping and it doesn’t remind us of how shitty America’s past is so it could just be that easily digestible win. That and space. So while I’m putting down 12 Years a Slave, I can’t help but feel like Gravity might float into the spotlight and nab the big win.

Actor: Matthew McConaughey ‘Dallas Buyers Club’

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Chiwetel Ejiofor, my how you have fallen. Although Ejiofor easily gives the most soulful and likely difficult performance in this entire category, the love for Matt McConaughey knows no bounds. Piping hot right now from the hit HBO series True Detective and coming off a streak of sleeper hits, the transformation we’ve seen from shirtless romcom beau to dramatic yellow king has ripely coined the term ‘McConaissance’. And for this McConaissance, he shall be awarded, and all will be good. Although his performance in Dallas Buyers Club might not strictly speaking be the best of the year (or even his best of the year), this victory feels more like a compilation award for his last few years, a sum total of his recent work. It’s for Ron Woodruff in Dallas Buyers Club and Mark Hannah in Wolf of Wall Street and Mud in Mud and Dallas in Magic Mike and Rust Cohle in True Detective (and a pat on the head for no longer working with Kate Hudson.) And while I admit that I’d love to see Leonardo DiCaprio walk away with Oscar gold, I have little doubt that this is McConaughey’s night to shine. Alright, alright, alright.

Actress: Cate Blanchett ‘Blue Jasmine’

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Even with the looming threat of Woody backlash, I’m still partial to thinking that Cate Blanchett has no chance of losing this category. On the road to the Oscars, she failed to miss out on even one precursor award, including the SAG, which is often the biggest predictor for the Academy Awards down the road. Her contenders are undeniably tough, and in another year each could have taken home the win, but Blanchett’s steamrolling is unlikely to run out of zest in the homestretch. If the tides do turn, it’s likely Amy Adams or Judi Dench who will benefit, though I’m sure such a situation comes with the knowledge that they profited off of a sticky situation.

Supporting Actor: Jared Leto ‘Dallas Buyers Club’

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Another lock of a category, Jared Leto‘s turn as a transvestite with HIV will almost certainly be enough to encourage him to clear a space on the cabinet for his inevitable trophy. Top marks are deserved as Leto nearly stole the show from co-star and likely winner Matt McConaughey. Although there’s slim chance that Leto walks away empty-handed, if he did, it’s likely Michael Fassbender who will take up the mantle of Best Supporting Actor for his poisonous performance as a callused slave owner. Personally, I would love to hear Jonah Hill‘s name called and see the looks of shock spread like a wave across the crowd. If so, I would fully expect a wacky, Qualudde-induced acceptance speech.

Supporting Actress: Luipta Nyong’o ’12 Years a Slave’

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What a toss up this one is. On the other hand, Lupita Nyong’o benefits from throwing down an absolutely haunting performance of the most dramatic varietal. But again, the thing working against 12 Years is how difficult it is and Nyong’o is arguably the hardest person to watch in the whole film. So will the Academy then find it appropriate to award Jennifer Lawrence who’s eagerly waiting in the wings? Hopefully not. Lawrence is certainly fun in American Hustle but nowhere near the caliber of Nyong’o, or many of the other performers in this category. Add that to the fact that she won last year and a Lawrence win seems out of the question. Nonetheless, I can’t shake the feeling that her earnest charm might have been enough to swoon voters into writing her name on the ballot. Strange though it may seem, this is definitely one of the most hotspot categories and could easily go against me Sunday night.

Director: Alfonso Cuarón ‘Gravity’

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This award is hardly worth a breakdown as Cuarón is a tsunami right now, plowing through every ceremony without signs of slowing. Though many would argue that Steve McQueen deserves this award, there’s no denying that what Cuarón achieved in Gravity was monumental. It’s just a shame that he wasn’t able to achieve as much emotionally as he was visually and that’s what keeps me from feeling that this win shouldn’t be as cut and dry as it’s turning out to be. For my money, Children of Men is the far superior film and features much better directing from Cuarón but I guess that is the nature of the Academy: no one wins for their best work.

Documentary: The Act of Killing

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A toss up the caliber of Gravity vs. 12 Years, The Act of Killing is the far superior film to contender 20 Feet From Stardom but the subject matter (which is essentially genocide) could be too off-putting for the notoriously thin-skinned academy. Stardom looks inside the industry, a tactic the Academy loves to reward, and though it has some potency to it, lacks the focus and effect that Act of Killing packs. Added to the fact that a musical documentary (Searching for Sugarman) won last year, I’m hoping that The Act of Killing has a slight edge. Maybe it’s wishful thinking, but I hope not. Having seen all five of this years nominees before the ceremony (*pats self on back*) I would be surely disappointed in a 20 Feet win as I find it the lesser of the five by a good arm’s length.

Film Editing: Alfonso Cuarón and Mark Sanger ‘Gravity’

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Traditionally, film editing has gone hand-in-hand with the best picture winner but that hasn’t quite been the case over the past five years. With my compass constantly in flux over whether 12 Years a Slave or Gravity will take BP, I wonder if this might go to one of the other contenders as a bit of tip of the hat to them and so they don’t go home completely empty-handed. A Captain Phillips win would likely be the only one of the night (unless it pulls off a sound award) but Phillips seems to have all but fallen off the radar entirely so I doubt it’ll do anything here. American Hustle could always swing in and grab this but that would be nothing short of moronic as the editing here is as messy as the over-celebrated screenplay and one of the big reasons the film fell on its face at times. In the end, I’m offering it to Gravity because of how tight and suspenseful the film feels throughout and it’s easy to point to strong editing for such.

Foreign Language Film: ‘The Great Beauty’

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Of the five nominees, I’ve seen three (The Hunt, The Great Beauty, The Broken Circle Breakdown) so I feel that I have a pretty good handle on what the Academy’s looking for this year and have little doubt that The Great Beauty will be their prized gem of a non-English film. The Academy is overwhelming made up of old, white, powerful men and The Great Beauty is a movie about an old, white, powerful man…and yet it’s so much more. While I loved The Hunt, I would be happy to see The Great Beauty win big here and fully expect it to do so.

Makeup and Hairstyling: ‘Dallas Buyers Club’

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This category I don’t quite understand (Why are makeup and hairstyling grouped together? Who’s voting? Why are the films that are nominated nominated in the first place?) but feel that the Academy doesn’t really understand it either. The winner always feels out of left field, which makes me a little nervous putting Dallas Buyers Club in first. But when you factor in the fact that Dallas‘ makeup budget was a pithily $250 dollars and then see what they did with that, it’s hard to doubt that this film deserves a win here. Even with that knowledge though, I still have a feeling that turning Johnny Knoxville into an old man might be enough to coax the Academy into giving a movie with the word “Jackass” in the title an Academy Award.

Original Score: Steven Price ‘Gravity’

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Somewhat of a boring selection, Steven Price is joined by composer regulars John Williams,  Alexandre Desplat and Thomas Newman who all seemed to nab a slot in this category by name recognition alone. The only interesting choice that I see is William Butler and Owen Pallett of Arcade Fire for their work in Her but they unfortuantely don’t stand much of a chance for the win. Since Gravity depended so much on score, Price was the go-to man responsible for holding the viewers exactly where Cuaron wanted them and he did his job aptly. For it, he’ll likely win his first Academy Award. I can’t help but note that missing entirely from this category is Hans Zimmer who apparently composed too many great scores this year to be selected for just one.

Production Design: Catherine Martin ‘The Great Gatsby’

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If there’s one thing that Baz Luhrman got right with his adaptation of The Great Gatsby, it was the production design. Rich, colorful and lavish in ways that blew our imagination wide open (in 3D, no less), the glory of doing a 2013 adaptation is that it allowed us a glimpse into the unhinged festivities that F. Scott Fitzgerald so prosaically wove. From Martin’s sets, we felt like we were there, living out the glory days of the roaring 20s in all its wild majesty. When it comes down to it though, this award could end up leaning towards American Hustle, 12 Years a Slave, Her or even Gravity and I don’t think anyone would be the least bit surprised. Regardless of any issues that I had with any of those films, the one thing that was never lacking was production design. That being the case, I can’t think of an outcome here that I would lament.

Animated Feature: Frozen

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Although cult love for Miyazaki (and this being his farewell film) may translate into a surprise win for The Wind Rises, the writing is on the wall for Disney Animation Studios to walk away with their first Best Animated Feature since ever (the category only launched in 2001) for Frozen. Since this year didn’t feature a lot of impressive animated films, the list of contenders feels slight and, outside of the aforementioned two, none of the others much stand of a chance at all. It is worthy of note that Pixar did not make the cut this year and hopefully that’ll be the kind of blow they need to spur them back into the realm of what once made them so beloved.

Cinematography: Emmanuel Lubezki ‘Gravity’

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You can pretty much close the books on this one as Emmanuel Lubezki is looking pretty, pretty good for an assured victory here. His work on Gravity was epic when it needed to be and up close and personal when required. If anyone is gonna sneak in around Lubezki here though, I’d like to be to Roger Deakins, whose camerawork is always the star of whatever project he works on. However, I feel that if we are in store for an upset, the name Philippe Le Sourd of The Grandmaster will be the one getting pulled from the envelope.

Original Song: “Let it Go” Frozen

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If you heard  me on the In Session Film Podcast last week, you’ll know that I heartily disapprove of this category in general. Aside from the embarrassing travesty that was giving the fifth slot to unheard of “Alone But Not Alone” and then later yanking it for ethical reasons, the songs chosen for the title “Best Song” really baffle me. Left out were all the actual “best” of the year with Lana Del Ray‘s “Young and Beautiful” joining the sidelines where all of Inside Llewn Davis‘ tunes slumped. I don’t dislike “Let it Go” and know it’s exactly the kind of poppy brand of sing-a-long that’s made Disney the icon that it is, but it’s still not even my favorite song from Frozen. As for the U2 song, spare me. And Pharrell William‘s ‘Happy’ is just more poppy top 40 junk that should never be confused with the label “best.” Karen O‘s ‘The Moon Song’ is my favorite on this shameless list but doesn’t actually stand a chance of winning. I’m willing to wager that Idina Menzel wins for ‘Let it Go’ but U2 did take the prize last month at the Globes. Depending on how star-fucking the Academy is feeling, they might just slink in for the win.

Costume Design: Catherine Martin ‘The Great Gatsby’

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Although Patricia Norris could score for her period costumery of 12 Years or Michael Wilkinson could see his gaudy 70s suits and pin-up dresses take the cake for American Hustle, I’m thinking that Catherine Martin wins for combining the best of both worlds in The Great Gatsby. Although riddled with narrative issues, there’s no denying the grandiose of Gatsby and that’s in large part thanks to the costumes. The party scenes alone see many different lavish styles, it’s almost as if we’re on some chic runway, and when added to the scene where Leonardo as Gatsby literally makes it rain clothes, I’m thinking the academy will look to The Great Gatsby, if for nothing more than the fact that it goes out of its way to recognize the beauty of its clothing.

Writing Original Screenplay: Spike Jonze ‘Her’

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This should be a no-brainer but a win for Spike Jonze is surely an uphill battle no matter he’s category in. Contending against Eric Warren Singer and David O. Russell’s script for American Hustle, Jonze has visibility working against him but raw talent working for him. If you put their scripts side-by-side, there’s no way that anyone would deny that Jonze’s is superior to Singer and Russell’s work but, unfortunately, that’s not common practice for Academy voters. More often than not, their final call is a gut reaction based on feelings for a particular film rather than the individual components that make them up. So overwhelming love for Hustle might turn the tide against Her. In my mind, Jonze most certainly deserves a victory for his ambitious and perfectly executed script and I’m willing to stand beside him, even if his ship does sink.  

Writing Adapted Screenplay: John Ridley ’12 Years a Slave’

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Battling chief contenders Philomena and The Wolf of Wall Street, John Ridley‘s penmanship on 12 Years a Slave seems to have a good amount of steam going into the awards. After losing the WGAs to Captain Phillips though, I’m still not quite sure what to do with this category. Philomena could always sneak in for its fanciful blend of drama and comedy but I feel that it’s a little too slight for a win and also has the fact that it’s recently been called “anti-catholic” working against it. As far as I see it, I would love Terrence Winter to nab the win for his work on Wolf, as I think what he had to achieve my turning Jordan Belfort’s autobiographical memoirs into a scathing inditement of the man is a feat in and of itself.

Visual Effects: Tim Webber, Chris Lawrence, David Shirk and Neil Corbould ‘Gravity’

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I’m so confident in this one that if I’m wrong, I will shave my head. Seriously, I’m that sure. I would say hold me to it but you’re not going to have to because Gravity already won. Bank it.

Sound Editing: Glenn Freemantle ‘Gravity’

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It seems a safe bet to put Gravity in the lead in any of these technical categories at this point and although the distinction between sound editing and sound mixing may be slight (editing involves the creation of sounds while mixing is how they’re placed together), it’s a distinction that I think the Academy themselves often fail to understand and kind of just wing it when naming their top slots. So with that in mind, with the masterful soundscape that Gravity was, I think sound wizard Glemm Freemantle win see a trophy in his near future. Captain Phillips and Lone Survivor both stand a decent chance but Gravity is on such a roll that I think voters will have been so used to writing its name by now that they’ll do it out of habit.

Sound Mixing: Skip Lievsay, Niv Adiri, Christopher Benstead and Chris Munro ‘Gravity’

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That silent explosion scene alone is likely enough to win Gravity this techie award. Utilizing the vacuum of space as a voice in the film really elevated the terror and isolation of Gravity‘s experience so I’m wagering it has a great shot at winning this sound category as well. Other contenders include Inside Llewyn Davis, which did a great job incorporating folk music into the texture of the film’s sonic sphere, and Lone Survivor which turned sound into pain in a way we thought unimaginable.

Documentary Short Subject: The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life

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I’ve yet to see any of these so I’m taking a shot in the dark and going with what I’ve heard the most buzz for. Plus, The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life focuses on the last living Holocaust survivor, Alice Herz-Sommer, which is always an extra check mark for awards attention. Don’t hold me to it though.

Short Film (Animated): Get A Horse!

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The only short of them all that I’ve seen is Get a Horse! and I will rightfully admit that I loved watching this fun little rumpus take full advantage of 3D. As for the voters, I’m thinking that the nostalgic factor alone will help it gallop to a win.

Short Film (Live Action):

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It’s at this point that I start questioning the need for the shorts segment of the Academy Awards. First of all, hardly anyone actually sees these things and, this year especially, those that have had had nothing particularly positive to say about the batch. I can more see the need for an animated section here but I feel like live action segment in particular is the most useless of all the Academy Awards. Helium‘s apparently pretty dec so sure, that’ll win.

At the end of the day, that leaves a tally of one win for everything excluding the following:

Gravity – 7
12 Years a Slave – 3
Dallas Buyers Club – 2
The Great Gatsby – 2
Frozen – 2

Remember to enter our Oscar Prediction Contest if you haven’t already and be sure to tune in to the Academy Awards 7 PM this Sunday on ABC. I’ll be live tweeting the Oscars so make sure to follow @SSRdotcom and check it occasionally to hear some live updates. 

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2nd Annual Silver Screen Riot Oscar Prediction Contest

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Before I go ahead and spoil the fun for everybody by posting my own predictions, I’m giving you guys a shot to predict the Academy Award winners. While I feel like I have a solid handle on my predictions, there’s definitely a few categories that I’m still not 100% confident in so don’t be alarmed if you’re feeling a little wary staring sideways at your ballot.

While calling this the second annual may be a bit of a misnomer considering I’ve changed platforms since last time, I do it so that we can take a moment to recognize the winners of last year: Nate Thibeault and Stefanie Schneider – both of whom went 20 for 24. Anyone think that can one up it this time? This time around though, we’ll only be taking the major 21 non-short categories into account with shorts only functioning as tie-breakers. So even if you get 20/24 it still might end up being a 17/21 depending on where you fell short.

The glorious winner will get a DVD/Blu-Ray of the film that wins Best Picture. Second place will receive a DVD/Blu-ray of one of last year’s Best Picture nominees (select options).

The Rules

  • You must submit your predictions Saturday, March 1st at Midnight anytime before the Oscar ceremony starts.
  • Only one submission per person.
  • Only submissions placed via page comment (at the bottom of this page) will count. Do not post on the Silver Screen Riot Facebook wall or send me an email or message. Your predictions are only valid if they’re in the right spot. 
  • Vote for every category in order to win. While it’s all well and good to only care about the primary battlefields, if you only submit predictions for Best Performers and Pic/Director, you’ll miss out on all the other categories and will have a small shot at winning.
  • The shorts DO NOT count towards your final tally and will only be accounted for in the case of a tie-breaker. So while it might not matter in the end, if it comes down to a tie, the person with the most wins in shorts will take home gold.
  • In case of a super-way tie (after shorts), the person who predicted first will win, so get your submissions in early.
  • Please be sure to follow us on Twitter and Facebook (at least one of the two) in order to be eligible to win.

The Prizes

  • First place will win a DVD/Blu-Ray of the film that wins Best Picture
  • Second place will receive a DVD/Blu-ray of their choice from last year’s Best Picture nominees (select options)

The nominees are as follows.

Best Picture
American Hustle
Captain Phillips
Dallas Buyers Club
Gravity
Her
Nebraska
Philomena
12 Years a Slave
The Wolf of Wall Street

Best Actor in a Leading Role
Christian Bale (American Hustle)
Bruce Dern (Nebraska)
Leonardo DiCaprio (The Wolf of Wall Street)
Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave)
Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club)

Best Actress in a Leading Role
Amy Adams (American Hustle)
Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine)
Sandra Bullock (Gravity)
Judi Dench (Philomena)
Meryl Streep (August: Osage County)

Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Barkhad Abdi (Captain Phillips)
Bradley Cooper (American Hustle)
Michael Fassbender (12 Years a Slave)
Jonah Hill (The Wolf of Wall Street)
Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club)

Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Sally Hawkins (Blue Jasmine)
Jennifer Lawrence (American Hustle)
Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years a Slave)
Julia Roberts (August: Osage County)
June Squibb (Nebraska)

Best Animated Feature
The Croods (Chris Sanders, Kirk DeMicco, Kristine Belson)
Despicable Me 2 (Chris Renaud, Pierre Coffin, Chris Meledandri)
Ernest & Celestine (Benjamin Renner, Didier Brunner)
Frozen (Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee, Peter Del Vecho)
The Wind Rises (Hayao Miyazaki, Toshio Suzuki)

Best Cinematography
The Grandmaster (Philippe Le Sourd)
Gravity (Emmanuel Lubezki)
Inside Llewyn Davis (Bruno Delbonnel)
Nebraska (Phedon Papamichael)
Prisoners (Roger A. Deakins)

Best Costume Design
American Hustle (Michael Wilkinson)
The Grandmaster (William Chang Suk Ping)
The Great Gatsby (Catherine Martin)
The Invisible Woman (Michael O’Connor)
12 Years a Slave (Patricia Norris)

Best Directing
American Hustle (David O. Russell)
Gravity (Alfonso Cuarón)
Nebraska (Alexander Payne)
12 Years a Slave (Steve McQueen)
The Wolf of Wall Street (Martin Scorsese)

Best Documentary Feature
The Act of Killing (Joshua Oppenheimer, Signe Byrge Sørensen)
Cutie and the Boxer (Zachary Heinzerling, Lydia Dean Pilcher)
Dirty Wars (Richard Rowley, Jeremy Scahill)
The Square (Jehane Noujaim, Karim Amer)
20 Feet from Stardom (Nominees to be determined)

Best Film Editing
American Hustle (Jay Cassidy, Crispin Struthers, Alan Baumgarten)
Captain Phillips (Christopher Rouse)
Dallas Buyers Club (John Mac McMurphy, Martin Pensa)
Gravity (Alfonso Cuarón, Mark Sanger)
12 Years a Slave (Joe Walker)

Best Foreign Language Film
The Broken Circle Breakdown (Belgium)
The Great Beauty (Italy)
The Hunt (Denmark)
The Missing Picture (Cambodia)
Omar (Palestine)

Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Dallas Buyers Club (Adruitha Lee, Robin Mathews)
Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa (Stephen Prouty)
The Lone Ranger (Joel Harlow, Gloria Pasqua-Casny)

Best Original Score
The Book Thief (John Williams)
Gravity (Steven Price)
Her (William Butler, Owen Pallett)
Philomena (Alexandre Desplat)
Saving Mr. Banks (Thomas Newman)

Best Original Song
Happy (Despicable Me 2)
Let It Go (Frozen)
The Moon Song (Her)
Ordinary Love (Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom)

Best Production Design
American Hustle (Judy Becker, Heather Loeffler)
Gravity (Andy Nicholson, Rosie Goodwin, Joanne Woollard)
The Great Gatsby (Catherine Martin, Beverley Dunn)
Her (K.K. Barrett, Gene Serdena)
12 Years a Slave (Adam Stockhausen, Alice Baker)

Best Sound Editing
All Is Lost (Steve Boeddeker, Richard Hymns)
Captain Phillips (Oliver Tarney)
Gravity (Glenn Freemantle)
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (Brent Burge, Chris Ward)
Lone Survivor (Wylie Stateman)

Best Sound Mixing
Captain Phillips (Chris Burdon, Mark Taylor, Mike Prestwood Smith, Chris Munro)
Gravity (Skip Lievsay, Niv Adiri, Christopher Benstead, Chris Munro)
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (Christopher Boyes, Michael Hedges, Michael Semanick, Tony Johnson)
Inside Llewyn Davis (Skip Lievsay, Greg Orloff, Peter F. Kurland)
Lone Survivor (Andy Koyama, Beau Borders, David Brownlow)

Best Visual Effects
Gravity (Tim Webber, Chris Lawrence, Dave Shirk, Neil Corbould)
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton, Eric Reynolds)
Iron Man 3 (Christopher Townsend, Guy Williams, Erik Nash, Dan Sudick)
The Lone Ranger (Tim Alexander, Gary Brozenich, Edson Williams, John Frazier)
Star Trek Into Darkness (Roger Guyett, Patrick Tubach, Ben Grossmann, Burt Dalton)

Best Adapted Screenplay
Before Midnight (Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke)
Captain Phillips (Billy Ray)
Philomena (Steve Coogan, Jeff Pope)
12 Years a Slave (John Ridley)
The Wolf of Wall Street (Terence Winter)

Best Original Screenplay
American Hustle (Eric Warren Singer, David O. Russell)
Blue Jasmine (Woody Allen)
Dallas Buyers Club (Craig Borten, Melisa Wallack)
Her (Spike Jonze)
Nebraska (Bob Nelson)

Best Animated Short Film
Feral (Daniel Sousa, Dan Golden)
Get a Horse! (Lauren MacMullan, Dorothy McKim)
Mr. Hublot (Laurent Witz, Alexandre Espigares)
Possessions (Shuhei Morita)
Room on the Broom (Max Lang, Jan Lachauer)

Best Live Action Short Film
Aquel No Era Yo (That Wasn’t Me) (Esteban Crespo)
Avant Que De Tout Perdre (Just Before Losing Everything) (Xavier Legrand, Alexandre Gavras)
Helium (Anders Walter, Kim Magnusson)
Pitääkö Mun Kaikki Hoitaa? (Do I Have to Take Care of Everything?) (Selma Vilhunen, Kirsikka Saari)
The Voorman Problem (Mark Gill, Baldwin Li)

Best Documentary Short
CaveDigger (Jeffrey Karoff)
Facing Fear (Jason Cohen)
Karama Has No Walls (Sara Ishaq)
The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life (Malcolm Clarke, Nicholas Reed)
Prison Terminal: The Last Days of Private Jack Hall (Edgar Barens)

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Please remember to submit predictions in the comments section below and good luck!

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2013 Silver Screen Riot Awards

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With the majority of 2013 awards winding down and the Oscars gearing up for next month, it’s time for me to reflect on the best parts about last year’s films. I’ve already published my top ten list alongside the absolute worst movies of the year but with these awards, I focus on the performances, direction, music, scene work and artistry of 2013.

At first, I tried to pigeonhole five nominees into each category but found that didn’t give me enough leeway to recognize all the talent I wanted to. When I then expanded to ten, it felt like there were times where I would be putting names down to fill up spots and didn’t really work for me either. So, instead of making an arbitrary number of nominees for each category, I opted to just recognize as many people as I saw fit in each category. So while the best actor category has 11 names of note, best foreign film only had 6 nominees and so forth. I know a lot of these may see overlap with other award nominations but I tried to recognize talent from all walks,  the old to the new, and award what stood out as my personal favorites.

Look out for a short breakdown in the actors and directors sections but the other categories speak for themselves.

Best Actor:

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WINNER: Leonardo DiCaprio ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’
Runner Up: Christian Bale ‘Out of the Furance’ & ‘American Hustle’
Honorable Mention: Ethan Hawke ‘Before Midnight’

Also:
Matthew McConaughey ‘Dallas Buyers Club’ & ‘Mud’
Joaquin Phoenix ‘Her’
Mads Mikkelsen ‘The Hunt’
Chiwetel Elijofor ’12 Years a Slave’
Bruce Dern ‘Nebraska’
Tom Hanks ‘Captain Phillips’
Michael B. Jordan ‘Fruitvale Station’

It’s no secret that I’m a big Leonardo DiCaprio fan and it’s performances like his in The Wolf of Wall Street that earns him such a high ranking amongst my favorite working actors. With manic physicality, hypnotizing stage presence and wonderfully potent comedic timing, his take on amoral but lovin’ it Jordan Belfort is a role to remember. Christian Bale did wonders in Out of the Furnace and, even though I wasn’t head over heels for American Hustle, his performance there was nothing to balk at and one of the strongest features of the film. The most underrated performance of the year is Ethan Hawke who embodied humanity and boyish charm in my favorite film of the year Before Midnight. The film rests squarely on his and Julie Delpy‘s compotent shoulders and had their performances been any less, the impact wouldn’t have been nearly what it was. 

Best Supporting Actor:

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WINNER: Jared Leto ‘Dallas Buyers Club’
Runner Up: Jonah Hill ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’

Honorable Mention:  Geoffrey Rush ‘The Book Thief’

Also:
Woody Harrelson ‘Out of the Furnace’
Michael Fassbender ’12 Years a Slave’
Barkhad Abdi ‘Captain Phillips’
Ben Foster ‘Lone Survivor’
Daniel Bruhl ‘Rush’
Matthew McConaughey ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’
Alexander Skaarsgard ‘What Maisie Knew’

Another crowded category, I had to go with a somewhat calculated choice, a man more than likely to win at the Academy Awards this year, Jared Leto. His performance, almost moreso than Matthew McConaughey‘s, grounds the heartbreaking tale of Dallas Buyers Club and brings humanity to those that are too often dehumanized. On the other side of the coin, Jonah Hill was a riot in The Wolf of Wall Street and between his introductory scene and subsequent cousin soliloquy and the unhinged energy he brings to the Lemmons scene, his is one of the most unforgettable performances of the year. Another under-appreciated role takes my honorable mention slot with Geoffrey Rush‘s lovely performance in the otherwise forgettable The Book Thief. Rush is an acting giant and watching him effortlessly capture our sympathy just goes to show his monumental range.

Best Actress:

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WINNER: Meryl Streep ‘August: Osage County’
Runner Up: Julie Delpy ‘Before Midnight’
Honorable Mention: Scarlett Johansson ‘Her’

Also:
Cate Blanchett ‘Blue Jasmine’
Brie Larson ‘Short Term 12’
Judi Dench ‘Philomena’
Adele Exarchopoulos ‘Blue is the Warmest Color’
Shailene Woodley ‘The Spectacular Now’
Greta Gerwig ‘Frances Ha’
Emma Thompson ‘Saving Mr. Banks’

I know Cate Blanchett is the name on everyone’s lips right now and there’s no denying that her performance is a showstopper but, for me, was not quite the most impressive of the year. Speaking of cinematic giants, I just couldn’t help but give my top award to Meryl Streep for her poisonous performance in the ensemble drama August: Osage County. Streep is a chameleon and we’re used to seeing her, for the most part, play loveable roles so seeing her transform into an utterly despicable train wreck of a pill popper showcases why she is the monolithic actress she is. Watching Julie Delpy embody the role of Celine for the third (or fourth if you consider Waking Life) time, you can see how much she has sank into this role and it’s simply a beauty to behold. Although deemed ineligible for the Oscars, Scarlett Johansson is able to achieve wonders with just her voice and deserves a pile of praise for that.

Best Supporting Actress:

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WINNER: Julia Roberts “August: Osage County”
Runner Up: Margot Robbie “The Wolf of Wall Street”
Honorable Mention: Kristen Scott Thomas ‘Only God Forgives’

Also:
Octavia Spenser ‘Fruitvale Station’
Jennifer Lawrence ‘American Hustle’
June Squibb ‘Nebraska’
Lupita Nyong’o ’12 Years a Slave’
Emily Watson ‘The Book Thief’
Melissa Leo ‘Prisoners’

Easily the least impressive of the four acting categories, the best supporting actress category just didn’t have quite as much to offer as the rest did this year. Going through my nominees, it was hard to choose a top spot because all were commendable but none were absolutely unforgettable. I would hardly consider Julia Roberts as someone whose films I anticipate so was caught offguard by her fantastic work in August: Osage County. She holds her own against Streep and at times even shows her up. Color me impressed. I gave the second slot to Margot Robbie of The Wolf of Wall Street because of an unforgettable scene she shares with DiCaprio that’s sexy, tortuous and hysterical all at once and would have been nothing without the presence she brings to the scene. And for all the flak Only God Forgives caught for lacking dialogue, Kristen Scott Thomas stood out as the only character with true personality and she absolutely chewed through her deluded sanctimony. She’s menacing, repulsive and commanding and totally owns every scene she’s in. And just to preempt those offended by my lack of pedastalizing Academy darling Jennifer Lawrence, I enjoyed what she did in American Hustle but could never really take her character seriously. It was fun but not near worthy the level of praise being heaped on. And Lupita Nyong’o was certainly stunning in her 12 Years a Slave scenes but remember, this is my favorites and her performance is nothing less than a chore to watch.

Best Director

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WINNER: Spike Jonze ‘Her’
Runner Up: Richard Linklater ‘Before Midnight’
Honorable Mention: Steve McQueen ’12 Years a Slave’

Also:
Martin Scorsese ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’
Jean-Marc Valee ‘Dallas Buyers Club’
Alexander Payne ‘Nebraska’
Denis Villeneuve ‘Prisoners’
Alfonso Cuaron ‘Gravity’
Destin Cretton ’12 Years a Slave’
Coen Bros ‘Inside Llewyn Davis’

I have to give a leg up to the director/writer combos so it’s no surprise that Spike Jonze has secured the top position. The humanity he brings to this technological world and the insight he’s able to provide is simply stunning, aided by his sharp visual style and realistic futurism. Richard Linklater may not be the world’ most hands on director but the palpably freedom he affords his actors gives them the capacity to create the caliber of tender moments we see in Before Midnight. He’s no bleeding heart but he’s not quite a cynic either and I love watching the way he sees the world. On the more difficult side of things, I’ve seen all three of Steve McQueen‘s films and, though this comment may be hotly debated, think 12 Years a Slave is actually his least tortuous. At least to watch. It’s an amazing effort that drags us through hell and yet there is a string of hope that runs throughout the story. I guess that only someone from outside of the states could bring such honesty and power to a distinctly American story.

Best Ensemble:

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WINNER: American Hustle
Runner Up: The Wolf of Wall Street
Honorable Mention: August: Osage County

Also:
12 Years a Slave
This is the End
The Counselor

Best Cinematography

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WINNER: Sean Bobbitt ’12 Years A Slave’
Runner Up: Emmanuel Lubezki ‘Gravity’
Honorable Mention: Roger Deakins ‘Prisoners’

Also:
Phedon Papamichael ‘Nebraska’
Hoyte Van Hoytema ‘Her’
Bruno Delbonnel ‘Inside Llewyn Davis’
John R. Leonetti ‘The Conjuring’
Yves Bélanger ‘Lawrence Anyways’

Best Foreign Film

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WINNER: The Hunt
Runner Up: Laurence Anyways
Honorable Mention: Populaire

Also:
Wajdja
Blue is the Warmest Color
Crystal Fairy and the Magical Cactus

Best Documentary:

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WINNER: The Act of Killing
Runner Up: Cutie and the Boxer
Honorable Mention: Dirty Wars

Also:
The Crash Reel
Blackfish
The Square
Somm

Best Song

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WINNER: “Fare Thee Well” – Inside Llewyn Davis
Runner Up: “Young and Beautiful” – Great Gatsby
Honorable Mention: “Doby” – Anchorman 2: The Journey Continues

Also:
“Please Mr. Kennedy – Inside Llewy6n Davis
“The Moon Song – Inside Llewyn Davis
“In Summer – Frozen
“Oblivion” – Oblivion

Best Scene:

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WINNER: Her ‘When it All Goes Dark’
Runner Up: The Wolf of Wall Street “Lemmons 714”
Honorable Mention: Before Midnight ‘Letter from the Future’

Also:
Captain Phillips “Check Up”
August: Osage “Family Dinner”
Nebraska “Mt. Rushmore”
This is the End “Backstreets Back”
Gravity ‘Opening Sequence’
Out of the Furnace ‘Hot Dog’
Inside Llewyn Davis ‘Please Mr. Kennedy’
The Conjuring “Basement Exorcism”
Lawrence Anyways “It’s Raining Clothes”

I’d love to hear where you guys agree and disagree and would encourage you to share your own lists in the comments section below.

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2014 Academy Award Nominations Breakdown

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Oh what a year it has been, a fact cemented this morning with the announcement of 121 Oscar nominations. Noticeably absent were a host of Academy kings and queens like Tom Hanks, who was originally looking at two potential nominations and would up with none, and Hank’s Saving Mr. Banks co-star Emma Thompson, who became a runner-up to the five ladies who secured Best Actress noms. Missing out on the expected nominations, Saving Mr Banks is definitely the biggest snubbed film as it failed to secure even one nom while it almost looked like a frontrunner at one point.

For best picture, I nailed seven of the nominations but left out Philomena, which edged out Inside Llewyn Davis and Banks. Alexander Payne took a spot in the Best Director category that many expected to head towards Paul Greengrass. The absence of both Hanks (Captain Phillips) and Robert Redford (All is Lost) opened up spots for Christian Bale (American Hustle) and Leonardo DiCaprio (The Wolf of Wall Street). And while my predictions suffered for not including either, all in all, I’m really happy with those switches as I believe Bale and DiCaprio put in two of the best performances of the year.

A couple pleasant surprises include Jonah Hill‘s Best Supporting Actor nomination and Her scooping up a few extra awards with Best Original Song and Production Design.

Amongst those films noticeable absent across the board are Inside Llewyn Davis, which only scored two nominations (Best Sound Mixing and Best Cinematography), and The Butler which didn’t see a single nom. It seems like Dallas Buyers Club got some last minute wind beneath its wings to edge out Davis in just about every category I had it positioned for nomination.

But the biggest snubs seem to come from 12 Years a Slave, which still managed nine nominations. Most notably Hans Zimmer was passed up for his score and Sean Bobbitt who served as DP on 12 Years and was thought to be a sure contender in the cinematographer field both left empty handed. Alex Ebert, who just won a Golden Globe for his All is Lost score, was also surprisingly passed up. And though I’m not shocked, it was disappointed to not see Lana Del Rey‘s stunning “Young and Beautiful” left out of the Best Original Song category.

Leading the scoreboard, both Gravity and American Hustle each have ten nominations and stunningly director David O. Russell continues his streak of just crushing it and garnishing his actors nominations in all four categories. As if he wasn’t already an actor’s dream director, he’s become so adept at scoring noms for his performers now that any future performer in an O. Russell film is essentially assured a nomination. And while American Hustle suddenly looks like the one to beat, Gravity is still poised to strike down competition in all the technical fields.

Taking Hustle and Gravity‘s domination into account, 2014 certainly signals a mood shift for the inherently old-timey Academy. More than ever, this set of nominations is a populist collection, leaning heavily towards mass approval and away from the eclectic little indies that the mainstream doesn’t often stray into. What will this mean when award times come? Most likely a bent towards the breezy, the easy, and those that don’t wallow in the muds of slavery.

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So let’s get down to the actual nominations. Without a doubt, we’re in store for an interesting season.
I’ve highlighted those that I predicted in green.

BEST PICTURE
American Hustle
12 Years a Slave
Her
Gravity
Nebraska
Saving Mr Banks
The Butler
Captain Phillips
Philomena

BEST DIRECTOR
Steve McQueen
Alfonso Cuaron
David O. Russell
Martin Scorsese
Alexander Payne

BEST ACTOR
Chiwetel Ejifor
Christian Bale
Bruce Dern
Matthew McConaughey
Leonardo DiCaprio

BEST ACTRESS
Cate Blanchett
Amy Adams
Sandra Bullock
Judi Dench
Meryl Streep

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Jared Leto
Bradley Cooper
Michael Fassbender
Barkhad Abdi
Jonah Hill

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Lupita Nyong’o
June Squibb
Julia Roberts
Jennifer Lawrence
Sally Hawkins

BEST EDITING
Gravity
12 Years a Slave
Dallas Buyers Club
American Hustle
Captain Phillips

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Nebraska
Her
Dallas Buyers Club
Blue Jasmine
American Hustle

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
12 Years a Slave
Wolf of Wall Street
Before Midnight
Captain Phillips
Philomena

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
The Hunt
The Missing Picture
The Broken Circle Breakdown
The Great Beauty
Omar

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
The Grandmaster
Gravity
Inside Llewyn Davis
Prisoners
Nebraska

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
12 Years a Slave
The Great Gatsby
American Hustle
Her
Gravity

BEST SOUND MIXING
Gravity
Captain Phillips
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Lone Survivor
Inside Llewyn Davis

BEST SOUND EDITING
Gravity
All is Lost
Captain Phillips
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Lone Survivor

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Michael Wilkinson “American Hustle”
William Chang Suk Ping “The Grandmaster”
Michael O’Connor “The Invisible Woman”
Catherine Martin “The Great Gatsby”
Patricia Norris “12 Years a Slave”

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
William Butler and Owen Pallett “Her”
Steven Price “Gravity”
Thomas Newman “Saving Mr Banks”
Alexandre Desplat “Philomena”
John Williams “The Book Thief”

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
The Act of Killing
Cutie and the Boxer
Dirty War
The Square
20 Feet From Stardom

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Frozen
Despicable Me 2
Ernest and Celestine
The Croods
The Wind Rises

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Gravity
Iron Man 3
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Star Trek into Darkness
The Lone Ranger

BEST MAKEUP & HAIRSTYLING
Bad Grandpa
Dallas Buyers Club
The Lone Ranger

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
“Let it Go” – Frozen
“Happy” – Despicable Me 2
“The Moon Son” – Her
“Alone Yet Not Alone” – Alone Yet Not Alone
“Ordinary Love” – Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom

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For their nominations, certain actors, directors have already spoken out in gratitude.

Michael Fassbender, 12 Years a Slave
“I’m really chuffed with the Oscar nomination especially being recognised alongside such great actors.  It’s a real honor.”
 
Steve McQueen, 12 Years a Slave
“I’m extraordinarily happy for all the cast and crew of our 12 Years a Slave family.  This has been an amazing ride, and to receive nine nominations from the Academy is testament to all of the hard work.  And for that I am truly grateful.”
 
Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years a Slave
“At no point during filming, in the sweltering heat of New Orleans, did any of us ever foresee the journey this film would take us all on. Steve McQueen created an entire family to tell one man’s tale and I am delighted that so many of this family have also been recognized today. I am hugely grateful to the Academy for this great honour, and, of course, to Solomon Northup for sharing his story through his breathtaking book.”
 
John Ridley, 12 Years a Slave
“It feels very special, but I just really appreciate how people have responded to Solomon Northup’s story and his life.  I’m just so happy for the whole crew and cast who brought Solomon’s memoir to the screen.  It’s been a great year for film, and for people to consider 12 Years a Slave to be among the best is more humbling than you can imagine.”

Amy Adams, American Hustle
“I’m very honored to be nominated alongside such inspiring actresses. Congratulations to the cast and crew of American Hustle and Her, two films that I’m incredibly proud to be a part of.”
 
David O. Russell, American Hustle
“First of all, I want to congratulate all of the nominees from all of the films. We are all blessed to be in this business, telling stories. In American Hustle, we tried to create characters and a world that the audience would find romantic and moving and real. I am so thrilled for my partners – my actors, my producers, Eric Singer, and the craftspeople from the film – who were honored today. They gave it their all; they poured their passion into the movie and I am truly thankful to them.”
 
Dana Brunetti, Captain Phillips
“We’re so incredibly proud of this film and the team we assembled both in front of and behind the camera. Simply put, we could not have done it without the enormous talent of Paul and Tom.  It was an honor to be able to tell the heroic story of Captain Richard Phillips and the US Navy SEALS who rescued him.” –
 
Michael DeLuca, Captain Phillips
We are grateful to the Academy for the recognition and for the privilege of being included in an amazing field of movies this year. It’s all a testament to Paul Greengrass’ artistry and Tom Hanks’ craft and commitment.
 
Barkhad Abdi, Captain Phillips
“I am truly honored to have been nominated by the Academy this morning.
This has been a life changing experience for me.  I would like to congratulate all of the nominees this morning, especially the team from Captain Phillips who were recognized.  My performance is a testament to the vision of our incredible director Paul Greengrass, and our other Captain
— the generous, amazing, and inspiring Tom Hanks.”

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2014 Academy Award Nominations Predictions

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In two days time, Chris Hemsworth and the President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Cheryl Boone Isaacs will announce the nominations for the 86th Academy Awards. With the dust from the Golden Globes still setting, this year’s nominations will indelibly include some surprises and snubs because with 2013 being such a crowded year for talent, there really is no other option.

Two categories overflowing with potential nominees include Best Actress which is really a six-horse nom race between Meryl Streep, Amy Adams, Sandra Bullock, Emma Thompson, Judi Dench, with Cate Blanchett all but assured the win. At this point, even though Adams scored big over at the Globes, I’m willing to bet that old blood rings true and she misses out on her fifth nomination.

In the best actor category, Chiwetel Ejifor, Robert Redford, Bruce Dern, Matthew McConaughey, Tom Hanks, and Leonardo DiCaprio will duke it out for a spot and Leo’s spotted history with the Academy (they have a tendency to overlook his work) suggests to me that it’ll be him who misses the mark by a margin.

As far as Best Picture goes, I would be shocked if all ten of these films receive nominations but I figure it’s best to nominate more rather than less. I wouldn’t be surprised to see The Butler, Captain Phillips or even Saving Mr. Banks missing out. Although the new policy has dictated nine Best Picture nominees in the past two years, I have a feeling that with 2013 being so divided, it might be closer to eight or even seven.

And finally, no, I have not bothered predicting any shorts.

BEST PICTURE:
American Hustle
12 Years a Slave
Gravity
Her
Nebraska
Inside Llewyn Davis
Saving Mr Banks
Captain Phillips
Dallas Buyers Club
The Wolf of Wall Street

BEST DIRECTOR
Steve McQueen “12 Years a Slave”
Alfonso Cuaron “Gravity”
David O. Russell “American Hustle”
Paul Greengrass “Captain Phillips”
Martin Scorsese “The Wolf of Wall Street”

BEST ACTOR
Chiwetel Ejifor “12 Years a Slave”
Matthew McConaughey “Dallas Buyers Club”
Robert Redford “All is Lost”
Bruce Dern “Nebraska”
Tom Hanks “Captain Phillips”

BEST ACTRESS
Cate Blanchett “Blue Jasmine”
Emma Thompson “Saving Mr. Banks”
Sandra Bullock “Gravity”
Judi Dench “Philomena”
Meryl Streep “August: Osage County”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Jared Leto “Dallas Buyers Club”
Michael Fassbender “12 Years a Slave”
Daniel Bruhl “Rush”
Barkhad Abdi “Captain Phillips”
Bradley Cooper “American Hustle”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Lupita Nyong’o “12 Years a Slave”
Jennifer Lawrence “American Hustle”
June Squibb “Nebraska”
Julia Roberts “August: Osage County”
Oprah Winfrey “The Butler”

BEST EDITING
Alfonso Cuarón, Mark Sanger “Gravity”
Joe Walker “12 Years a Slave”
Thelma Shoonmaker “The Wolf of Wall Street”
Jay Cassidy, Crispin Struthers “American Hustle”
Christopher Rouse “Captain Phillips”

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Spike Jonze “Her”
Bob Nelson “Nebraska”
Joel and Ethan Coen “Inside Llewyn Davis”
Woody Allen “Blue Jasmine”
David O. Russell and Eric SingerAmerican Hustle”

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
John Ridley “12 Years a Slave”
Terrence Winter “The Wolf of Wall Street”
Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke & Richard Linklater “Before Midnight”
Billy Ray “Captain Phillips”
Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope “Philomena”

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
The Hunt
The Grandmaster
The Broken Circle Breakdown
The Great Beauty
The Notebook

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Emmanuel Lubezki “Gravity”
Sean Bobbitt “12 Years a Slave”
Bruno Delbonnel “Inside Llewyn Davis”
Roger Deakins “Prisoners”
Phedon Papamichael “Nebraska”

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Adam Stochausen & Alice Baker “12 Years a Slave”
Catherine Martin & Beverly Dunn “The Great Gatsby”
Michael Corenblith & Susan Benjamin “Saving Mr Banks”
Jess Gonchor & Susan Bode, “Inside Llewyn Davis”
Dan Hennah & Ra Vincent “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug”

BEST SOUND MIXING
Gravity
Rush
All is Lost
Lone Survivor
Inside Llewyn Davis

BEST SOUND EDITING
Gravity
All is Lost
Captain Phillips
Rush
Lone Survivor

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Michael Wilkinson “American Hustle”
Daniel Orlandi “Saving Mr Banks”
Michael O’Connor “The Invisible Woman”
Catherine Martin “The Great Gatsby”
Patricia Norris “12 Years a Slave”

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Hans Zimmer “12 Years a Slave”
Steven Price “Gravity”
Thomas Newman “Saving Mr Banks”
Alex Ebert “All is Lost”
John Williams “The Book Thief”

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
The Act of Killing
Blackfish
Stories We Tell
The Square
20 Feet From Stardom

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Frozen
Monsters University
Ernest and Celestine
The Croods
The Wind Rises

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Gravity
Iron Man 3
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Star Trek into Darkness
Oblivion

BEST MAKEUP & HAIRSTYLING
American Hustle
Dallas Buyers Club
The Great Gatsby

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
“Let it Go” – Frozen
“Young and Beautiful” – The Great Gatsby
“The Moon Son” – Her
“Amen” – All is Lost
“Ordinary Love” – Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom

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Golden Globes Nominations Stick to the Usual Suspects

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What a crazy two months it has been, as the majority of the Golden Globes film nominees were released in the last sixth of this year. 12 Years a Slave and American Hustle earned seven nods each, leading the pack of award season favorites. Interestingly, the competition for best film has been essentially cut in half, since the Globes consider Her, American Hustle, Inside Llewyn Davis, and Nebraska comedies, which seems a bit odd, even though they are lighter dramas.

Of the two categories, the comedy one looks to be much more competitive, honestly. While Gravity, Captain Phillips, Philomena, and Rush were all exceptionally solid films, they are second tier to the likes of 12 Years a Slave and Dallas Buyers Club (which is curiously absent). The actor nods are in the same boat, as the competitive pool has been divided into two separate categories.

The complete list of nominees below with predictions in red.

Best Picture, Drama

“12 Years a Slave”

“Captain Phillips”

“Gravity”

“Philomena”

“Rush”

Best Picture, Musical or Comedy

“American Hustle”

“Her”

“Inside Llewyn Davis”

“Nebraska”

“The Wolf of Wall Street”


Best Director

Alfonso Cuarón, “Gravity”

Paul Greengrass, “Captain Phillips”

Steve McQueen, “12 Years a Slave”

Alexander Payne, “Nebraska”

David O. Russell, “American Hustle”

 

Best Actor, Drama

Chiwetel Ejiofor, “12 Years a Slave”

Idris Elba, “Mandela: The Long Walk to Freedom”

Tom Hanks, “Captain Phillips”

Matthew McConaughey, “Dallas Buyers Club”

Robert Redford, “All Is Lost”

 

Best Actress, Drama

Cate Blanchett, “Blue Jasmine”

Sandra Bullock, “Gravity”

Judi Dench, “Philomena”

Emma Thompson, “Saving Mr. Banks”

Kate Winslet, “Labor Day”

 

Best Actor, Musical or Comedy

Christian Bale, “American Hustle”

Bruce Dern, “Nebraska”

Leonardo DiCaprio, “The Wolf of Wall Street”

Oscar Isaac, “Inside Llewyn Davis”

Joaquin Phoenix, “Her”

 

Best Actress, Musical or Comedy

Amy Adams, “American Hustle”

Julie Delpy, “Before Midnight”

Greta Gerwig, “Frances Ha”

Julia Louis-Dreyfus, “Enough Said”

Meryl Streep, “August: Osage County”

 

Best Supporting Actor

Barkhad Abdi, “Captain Phillips”

Daniel Brühl, “Rush”

Bradley Cooper, “American Hustle”

Michael Fassbender, “12 Years a Slave”

Jared Leto, “Dallas Buyers Club”

 

Best Supporting Actress

Sally Hawkins, “Blue Jasmine

Jennifer Lawrence, “American Hustle”

Lupita Nyong’o, “12 Years a Slave”

Julia Roberts, “August: Osage County”

June Squibb, “Nebraska”

 

Best Animated Feature Film

“The Croods”

“Despicable Me 2”

“Frozen”

 

Foreign Language Film

“Blue Is the Warmest Color”

“The Great Beauty”

“The Hunt”

“The Past”

“The Wind Rises”

 

Best Screenplay

“12 Years a Slave”

“American Hustle”

“Her”

“Nebraska”

“Philomena”

 

Best Original Song

“Atlas,” performed by Coldplay — “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire”

“Let It Go,” performed by Idina Menzel — “Frozen”

“Ordinary Day,” performed by U2 — “Mandela: The Long Walk to Freedom”

“Please Mr. Kennedy,” performed by Justin Timberlake, Oscar Isaac, and Adam Driver — “Inside Llewyn Davis”

“Sweeter Than Fiction,” performed by Taylor Swift — “One Chance”

 

Best Original Score

Alex Ebert, “All Is Lost”

Alex Heffes, “Mandela: The Long Walk to Freedom”

Steven Price, “Gravity”

John Williams, “The Book Thief”

Hans Zimmer, “12 Years a Slave”

 

TELEVISION

 

Best Television Series, Drama

“Breaking Bad”

“Downton Abbey”

“The Good Wife”

“House of Cards”

“Masters of Sex”

 

Best Television Series, Comedy or Musical

“The Big Bang Theory”

“Brooklyn Nine-Nine”

“Girls”

“Modern Family”

“Parks and Recreation”

 

Best Miniseries or Television Movie

“American Horror Story: Coven”

“Behind the Candelabra”

“Dancing on the Edge”

“Top of the Lake”

“White Queen”

 

Best Actor, Television Drama

Bryan Cranston, “Breaking Bad”

Liev Schreiber, “Ray Donovan”

Michael Sheen, “Masters of Sex”

Kevin Spacey, “House of Cards”

James Spader, “The Blacklist

 

Best Actress, Television Drama

Juliana Margulies, “The Good Wife”

Tatiana Maslany, “Orphan Black”

Taylor Schilling, “Orange Is the New Black”

Kerry Washington, “Scandal”

Robin Wright, “House of Cards”

 

Best Actor, Television Comedy or Musical

Jason Bateman, “Arrested Development”

Don Cheadle, “House of Lies”

Michael J. Fox, “The Michael J. Fox Show”

Jim Parsons, “The Big Bang Theory”

Andy Samberg, “Brooklyn Nine-Nine”

 

Best Actress, Television Comedy or Musical

Zooey Deschanel, “New Girl”

Lena Dunham, “Girls”

Edie Falco, “Nurse Jackie”

Julia Louis-Dreyfus, “Veep”

Amy Poehler, “Parks and Recreation”

 

Best Actor, Television Movie or Mini-Series

Matt Damon, “Behind the Candelabra”

Michael Douglas, “Behind the Candelabra”

Chiwetel Ejiofor, “Dancing on the Edge”

Idris Elba, “Luthor”

Al Pacino, “Phil Specter”

 

Best Actress, Television Movie or Mini-Series

Helena Bonham Carter, “Burton and Taylor”

Rebecca Ferguson, “White Queen”

Jessica Lange, “American Horror Story: Coven”

Helen Mirren, “Phil Specter”

Elisabeth Moss, “Top of the Lake”

 

Best Supporting Actor

Josh Charles, “The Good Wife”

Rob Lowe, “Behind the Candelabra”

Aaron Paul, “Breaking Bad”

Corey Stoll, “House of Cards”

Jon Voight, “Ray Donovan”

 

Best Supporting Actress

Jacqueline Bisset, “Dancing on the Edge”

Janet McTeer, “White Queen”

Hayden Panettiere, “Nashville”

Monica Potter, “Parenthood”

Sofia Vergara, “Modern Family”

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20th SAG Nominees Led By 12 YEARS A SLAVE, DALLAS BUYERS CLUB, BREAKING BAD, ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT

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The 20th SAG award nominations are just full of surprises as 12 Years a Slave, again, was nominated for almost every film category. Best actor looks like it will be neck and neck, between Bruce Dern, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Tom Hanks, and Matthew McConaughey. Still unreleased to the general public, American Hustle was also well represented, along with underdog Dallas Buyers Club. Strangely there are no nominations for Her, which is hopefully poised to do well during award season.

In television, Breaking Bad is aiming to win just about everything. There is no way that final season doesn’t garner best drama and best actor for Bryan Cranston. Making predictions for comedy awards is usually fruitless, since comedic tastes tend to be all over the place. However, the usual suspects are here, including Arrested Development, Modern Family, and 30 Rock. In other news, people still like Big Bang Theory, as it has quite a few nominations too. Go figure.

See the full nominations below. Predictions in red.

Theatrical Motion Pictures

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture

12 Years a Slave

American Hustle

August: Osage County

Dallas Buyers Club

Lee Daniels’ The Butler

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role

Bruce Dern – Woody Grant – “Nebraska

Chiwetel Ejiofor – Solomon Northup – “12 Years a Slave

Tom Hanks – Capt. Richard Phillips – “Captain Phillips

Matthew McConaughey – Ron Woodroof – “Dallas Buyers Club

Forest Whitaker – Cecil Gaines – “Lee Daniels’ The Butler

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role

Cate Blanchett – Jasmine – “Blue Jasmine

Sandra Bullock – Ryan Stone – “Gravity

Judi Dench – Philomena Lee – “Philomena

Meryl Streep – Violet Weston – “August: Osage County

Emma Thompson – P.L. Travers – “Saving Mr. Banks

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role

Barkhad Abdi – Muse – “Captain Phillips

Daniel Brühl – Niki Lauda – “Rush

Michael Fassbender – Edwin Epps – “12 Years a Slave

James Gandolfini – Albert – “Enough Said

Jared Leto – Rayon – “Dallas Buyers Club

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role

Jennifer Lawrence – Rosalyn Rosenfeld – “American Hustle

Lupita Nyong’o – Patsey – “12 Years a Slave

Julia Roberts – Barbara Weston – “August: Osage County

June Squibb – Kate Grant – “Nebraska

Oprah Winfrey – Gloria Gaines – “Lee Daniels’ The Butler

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries

Matt Damon – Scott Thorson – “Behind the Candelabra

Michael Douglas – Liberace – “Behind the Candelabra

Jeremy Irons – King Henry IV – “The Hollow Crown

Rob Lowe – John F. Kennedy – “Killing Kennedy

Al Pacino – Phil Spector – “Phil Spector

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries

Angela Bassett – Coretta Scott King – “Betty & Coretta

Helena Bonham Carter – Elizabeth Taylor – “Burton and Taylor

Holly Hunter – G.J. – “Top of the Lake

Helen Mirren – Linda Kenney Baden – “Phil Spector

Elisabeth Moss – Robin Griffin – “Top of the Lake

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series

Steve Buscemi – Enoch “Nucky” Thompson – “Boardwalk Empire

Bryan Cranston – Walter White – “Breaking Bad

Jeff Daniels – Will McAvoy – “The Newsroom

Peter Dinklage – Tyrion Lannister – “Game of Thrones

Kevin Spacey – Francis Underwood – “House of Cards

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series

Claire Danes – Carrie Mathison – “Homeland

Anna Gunn – Skyler White – “Breaking Bad

Jessica Lange – Fiona Goode – “American Horror Story: Coven

Maggie Smith – Violet, Dowager Countess of Grantham – “Downton Abbey

Kerry Washington – Olivia Pope – “Scandal

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series

Boardwalk Empire

Breaking Bad

Downton Abbey

Game of Thrones

Homeland

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series

Alec Baldwin – Jack Donaghy – “30 Rock

Jason Bateman – Michael Bluth – “Arrested Development

Ty Burrell – Phil Dunphy – “Modern Family

Don Cheadle – Martin “Marty” Kaan – “House of Lies

Jim Parsons – Sheldon Cooper – “The Big Bang Theory

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series

Mayim Bialik – Amy Farrah Fowler – “The Big Bang Theory

Julie Bowen – Claire Dunphy – “Modern Family

Edie Falco – Jackie Peyton – “Nurse Jackie

Tina Fey – Liz Lemon – “30 Rock

Julia Louis-Dreyfus / Vice President Selina Meyer – “Veep

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series

30 Rock

Arrested Development

The Big Bang Theory

Modern Family

Veep

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HER Wins National Board Of Review Best Picture

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The National Board Of Review has awarded Her best film and Spike Jonze best director. Her, 12 Years a Slave, Dallas Buyers Club, Gravity, Inside Llewyn Davis, American Hustle and The Wolf on Wall Street have each thrived throughout the precursor awards receiving a wide spread of nominations and wins, proving that this Fall season looks to redeem a very poor summer at the movies. Although, Her won’t see a wide release until January 10, 2014, it’s been screening to select audiences and critics who have received the film very, very warmly. This expected win will surely boost its chances in the upcoming Oscar season.

Spike Jonze’s track record speaks for itself and the trailer provides a haunting and thought-provoking cinematic landscape. Expect Joaquin Phoenix to be in the running for this year’s very competitive Best Actor category but considering how crowded it is, he may not quite make the grade. If he keeps turning The Master caliber performances, it’s only a matter of time until he is considered as much of a shoe-in as the likes of Daniel Day Lewis or Tom Hanks. 

What does this mean for the rest of award season? It’s anyone’s game really. 12 Years a Slave has seemed to lose some serious moment in these precursor awards but I would still be surprised if it didn’t do some serious damage at the Oscars. The aforementioned films however have certainly been delivering the proverbial chink to 12 Year’s armor.

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Independent Spirit Award Nominations Topped by 12 YEARS A SLAVE AND NEBRASKA

Exclusively set aside for films made for under $20 million, the Independent Spirit Awards seeks to award the best of the best of films made on a shoestring budget. Even the original ISA statues themselves were made up of a glass pyramid encasing a shoestring – a paper-thin but elegant metaphor for the process of making independent movies.

This year’s nominees stir some of the strongest Oscar contenders in with a host of new coming talent. Leading the pack, 12 Years a Slave received seven nominations over a number of categories. Alexander Payne‘s Nebraska trailed closely with six nominations for his satirical look at a Midwest father and son on a roadtrip.

While a number of the nominees here will make their way into the Oscar contest come next March, many films with bigger budgets will edge out some of the competition seen here. For instance, 12 Years a Slave will certainly go on to make huge waves in this year’s Oscars whereas it’s closest competitor here, Nebraska, will have trouble getting the same attention.

Nominees are all below with my predicted winner highlighted in red.

Best Feature

12 Years a Slave: Dede Gardner, Anthony Katagas, Jeremy Kleiner, Steve McQueen, Arnon Milchan, Brad Pitt, Bill Pohlad
All Is Lost: Neal Dodson, Anna Gerb
Frances Ha: Noah Baumbach, Scott Rudin, Rodrigo Teixeira, Lila Yacoub
Inside Llewyn Davis: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, Scott Rudin
Nebraska: Albert Berger, Ron Yerxa

Best Director

Shane Carruth “Upstream Color”
J.C. Chandor “All Is Lost”
Steve McQueen “12 Years a Slave”
Jeff Nichols “Mud”
Alexander Payne “Nebraska”

Best Screenplay

Woody Allen “Blue Jasmine”
Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke & Richard Linklater “Before Midnight”
Nicole Holofcener “Enough Said”
Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber “The Spectacular Now”
John Ridley “12 Years a Slave”

Best First Feature

Blue Caprice – Alexandre Moors, Kim Jackson, Brian O’Carroll, Isen Robbins, Will Rowbotham, Ron Simons, Aimee Schoof, Stephen Tedeschi
Concussion – Stacie Passon, Rose Troche
Fruitvale Station – Ryan Coogler, Nina Yang Bongiovi, Forest Whitaker
Una Noche – Lucy Mulloy, Sandy Pérez Aguila, Maite Artieda, Daniel Mulloy, Yunior Santiago
Wadjda – Haifaa Al Mansour, Gerhard Meixner, Roman Paul

Best First Screenplay

Lake Bell “In A World”
Joseph Gordon-Levitt “Don Jon”
Bob NelsonNebraska
Jill SolowayAfternoon Delight”
Michael StarrburyThe Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete

John Cassavetes Award – (Given to the best feature made for under $500,000.) 

Computer Chess – Andrew Bujalski, Houston King & Alex Lipschultz
Crystal Fairy – Sebastiàn Silva, Juan de Dios Larraín & Pablo Larraín
Museum Hours – Jem Cohen, Paolo Calamita & Gabriele Kranzelbinder
Pit Stop – Yen Tan, David Lowery, Jonathan Duffy, James M. Johnston, Eric Steele, Kelly Williams
This is Martin Bonner – Chad Hartigan, Cherie Saulter

Best Female Lead

Cate Blanchett “Blue Jasmine”
Julie Delpy “Before Midnight”
Gaby Hoffmann “Crystal Fairy”
Brie Larson “Short Term 12”
Shailene Woodley “The Spectacular Now”

Best Male Lead

Bruce DernNebraska
Chiwetel Ejiofor12 Years a Slave”
Oscar Isaac “Inside Llewyn Davis”
Michael B. JordanFruitvale Station”
Matthew McConaugheyDallas Buyers Club”
Robert RedfordAll Is Lost”

Best Supporting Actress

Melonie Diaz “Fruitvale Station”
Sally Hawkins “Blue Jasmine”
Lupita Nyong’o “12 Years a Slave”
Yolonda Ross “Go For Sisters”
June Squibb “Nebraska”

Best Supporting Actor

Michael Fassbender “12 Years a Slave”
Will Forte “Nebraska”
James Gandolfini “Enough Said”
Jared Leto “Dallas Buyers Club”
Keith Stanfield “Short Term 12”

Best Cinematography

Sean Bobbitt “12 Years a Slave”
Benoit Debie “Spring Breakers”
Bruno Delbonnel “Inside Llewyn Davis”
Frank G. DeMarco “All Is Lost”
Matthias Grunsky “Computer Chess”

Best Editing

Shane Carruth & David Lowery “Upstream Color”
Jem Cohen & Marc Vives “Museum Hours”
Jennifer Lame “Frances Ha”
Cindy Lee “Una Noche”
Nat Sanders “Short Term 12”

Best Documentary

20 Feet From Stardom – Morgan Neville, Gil Friesen & Caitrin Rogers
After Tiller – Martha Shane & Lana Wilson
Gideon’s Army – Dawn Porter, Julie Goldman
The Act of Killing – Joshua Oppenheimer,  Joram Ten Brink, Christine Cynn, Anne Köhncke, Signe Byrge Sørensen, Michael Uwemedimo
The Square – Jehane Noujaim, Karim Amer

Best International Film

A Touch of Sin (China) – Jia Zhang-Ke
Blue is the Warmest Color (France) -Abdellatif Kechiche
Gloria (Chile) – Sebastián Lelio
The Great Beauty
(Italy) – Paolo Sorrentino
The Hunt (Denmark) – Thomas Vinterberg

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Taking a Second Swing at the 2014 Oscar Predictions

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A lot has changed in the weeks since my first Oscar prediction post. A big contender is now out of the running with Monuments Men unexpected move to a 2014 release, while Saving Mr. Banks debuted to soaring reviews, and The Wolf of Wall Street secured its chance in this year’s Oscar after solidifying a Christmas release date.

Although buzz has Gravity and 12 Years a Slave going head-to-head for the title, that conversation is nothing more than preemptive positioning, as there’s just so much more to see before the we start setting things in stone. One thing is for sure though, Gravity’s continued praise and high box office numbers make it a stronger contender than expected and it’s pretty much locked in nominations across the board. Nonetheless, expect it to pull an Inception/Life of Pi manuever and mostly walk away with technical accolades. Although unlikely, a director-picture split could potentially see Alfonso Cuaron taking home his first Oscar but after last year’s Affleck, Argo drama, don’t cross your fingers.

After seeing 12 Years a Slave, Blue is the Warmest Color, and Nebraska, I had to shake up a few categories, first and foremost, the Best Actor category, as I can’t imagine Bruce Dern not seeing some recognition. As for Chiwetel Ejifor‘s lead role in 12 Years, it’s beyond powerful, and he’s very likely to take home the gold. Nipping at his heels, Robert Redford continues to climb the charts for his near silent role in All is Lost and could just end up playing a legacy trump card when it comes voting time.

Another black man playing a role tailor man for the Oscars, Forest Whitaker got pushed out of the top five for now but it wouldn’t be unlikely for him to step back in sooner or later. Perhaps the biggest unknown quality in this category though is Leonardo DiCaprio, who leads Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street. Criminally undernominated, DiCaprio was pegged for an Oscar for this role early on but now his odds are shakier with the knowledge that Wolf is a nearly three hour long dark comedy. Now that the film will definitely see the light of day in 2013, there’s still a chance he can pull some last minute punches. For once, it’s a rather interesting race for Best Actor with some massive talent pining for those top five spots.

The Best Director category seems pretty firmed up as none of the top five spots managed to budge. Expect further momentum in that category in December when Saving Mr. Banks, American Hustle, and Inside Llewyn Davis play for a wider audience. For now, it’s a race between McQueen and Cuaron but if American Hustle is the success story that so many people expect, a win for David O. Russell would be more than understandable.

Glancing through the list for now, you’ll notice a bit of a 12 Years a Slave domination. Does that mean I expect 12 Years a Slave to clean up at the Oscars? Not necessarily, but all current momentum does have it as an early frontrunner, making it the one to beat at the moment. Gravity is currently perceived as its biggest competition but that’s little more than hogwash, as Gravity, no matter how well received, just doesn’t stand a chance at the top.

The closet thing we have as a lock for now is Cate Blanchett‘s stronghold on Best Actress. Although Judi Dench will give her a run for her money with her titular role in Philomena, Bullock is assured a nomination, and Streep is never someone to be scoffed at, this category is all but signed, sealed, and delivered for Blanchett.

Best Picture:

1. “12 Years a Slave” (No change)

2. “Gravity” +1
3. “Saving Mr. Banks” +1
4. “American Hustle” -2
5.  “The Wolf of Wall Street” +4
6. “Inside Llewyn Davis” (No change)
7. “Captain Phillips” -2
8. “Nebraska” +4
9. “Dallas Buyers Club” -2
10. “All is Lost” +1

Fringe:
11. “August: Osage County” -1
12. “Rush” +1
13. “Before Midnight” +1
14. “Blue is the Warmest Color” (New)
15. “Prisoners” (New)

Best Director:

1. Steve McQueen “12 Years a Slave” (No change)

2. Alfonso Cuaron “Gravity” (No change)
3. David O. Russell “American Hustle” (No change)
4. John Lee Hancock “Saving Mr. Banks” (No change)
5. The Coen Bros “Inside Llewyn Davis” (No change)

Fringe:
6. Martin Scorsese “The Wolf of Wall Street” +2
7. Paul Greengrass  “Captain Phillips” -1
8. JC Chandor “All is Lost” +1
9. Alexander Payne “Nebraska” +1
10. Jean-Marc Vallee “Dallas Buyers Club” (New)

Best Actor:

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1. Chiwetel Ejifor “12 Years a Slave” +1

2. Robert Redford “All is Lost” +2
3. Matthew McConaughey “Dallas Buyers Club” -2
4. Tom Hanks  “Captain Phillips” -1
5. Bruce Dern “Nebraska” +3
 
Fringe:
6. Leonardo DiCaprio “The Wolf of Wall Street” (No change)
7. Forest Whitaker “Lee Daniel’s The Butler” -2
8. Christain Bale “American Hustle” -1
9. Joaquin Phoenix “Her” (No change)
10. Oscar Isaac “Inside Llewyn Davis” (No change)

Best Actress:

blue_jasmine_640.jpg

1. Cate Blanchett “Blue Jasmine” (No change)

2. Judi Dench “Philomena” (No change)
3. Sandra Bullock “Gravity” +1
4. Meryl Streep “August: Osage County” -1
5. Emma Thompson “Saving Mr. Banks” (No change)
 
Fringe:
6.Amy Adams “American Hustle” (No change)
7. Adèle Exarchopoulos “Blue is the Warmest Color” +2
8. Julie Delpy “Before Midnight” -1
9. Brie Larson “Short Term 12” -1
10. Berenice Bejo “The Past” (No change)

Best Supporting Actor:

1. Jared Leto “Dallas Buyers Club” (No change)

2. Michael Fassbender “12 Years a Slave” +1
2. Daniel Bruhl “Rush” -1
4. Tom Hanks “Saving Mr. Banks” (No change)
5. Barkhad Abdi “Captain Phillips” +3

Fringe:
6. Bradley Cooper “American Hustle” (No change)
7. Jake Gllyenhaal “Prisoners” (No change)
8. Jonah Hill “The Wolf of Wall Street” (New)
9. John Goodman “Inside Llewyn Davis” -4
10. James Gandolfini “Enough Said” (New)

Best Supporting Actress:

1. Lupita Nyong’o “12 Years a Slave” (No change)

2. Oprah Winfrey “Lee Daniel’s The Butler” (No change)
3. June Squibb “Nebraska” +4
4. Julia Roberts “August: Osage County” -1
5. Octavia Spencer “Fruitvale Station” -1

Fringe:
6. Lea Seydoux “Blue is the Warmest Color” (New)
7. Margo Martindale “August: Osage County” -1
8. Melissa Leo “Prisoners” (No change)
9. Jennifer Lawrence “American Hustle” (No change)
10. Carey Mulligan “Inside Llewyn Davis” (No change)

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