Awards Season 2014: The 86th Annual Academy Awards

So, last night saw the 86th Annual Academy Awards, held at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. All in all, this year's Oscars telecast was full of heart, soul and a whole lot of fun.

A large part of that came from Ellen DeGeneres, taking hosting duties for the second time. No ill-advised boob songs this year, just a (seemingly) effortless charm and wit which had the audience engaged. There aren't many award ceremony hosts who would make a crack about ordering pizza for the crowd- and actually follow up on it. I loved her hosting the first time round (back in 2007); this time she seemed more at ease and there were some great one-liners (even if her crack about Liza Minnelli looking like a female impersonator was a little cutting). There's also the small matter of this epic selfie which crashed Twitter:

The theme of this year's ceremony was 'cinematic heroes' and there were several nice montages showing animated heroes, everyday heroes and superheroes. There was also a tribute to honour 75 years of The Wizard Of Oz with an absolutely knockout performance of 'Somewhere Over The Rainbow' by Pink (which was one of the highlights of the night for me). Pharrell Williams brought the place to its feet with his performance of 'Happy' from Despicable Me 2 whilst Idina Menzel (take note, Mr Travolta) absolutely killed it in her solo performance of 'Let It Go'.

Some of the guest presenters were absolutely great- I thought Robert de Niro was fantastic with the spiel about how bad it is to be a writer before the Adapted Screenplay award, Bill Murray was just fabulous when presenting the Best Cinematography award and gave a heartfelt tribute to the late Harold Ramis, and Glenn Close gave a very dignified and heartfelt introduction to the In Memoriam section- but a lot of the hosts seemed to have a bit of an issue with the autocue, and the least said about Jamie Foxx, the better.

So, on to the awards themselves:

I have to be honest, I was surprised to find myself 6 for 6 again this year- but I was absolutely overjoyed when Lupita Nyong'o won. Her acceptance speech was very moving and heartfelt and was just lovely, as was Jared Leto's (who could kick back and chill for the rest of the night as his was the first award announced). I did cringe a little bit during Matthew McConaughey's acceptance speech (it's a purely personal thing but I do find any mention of God to be a little but much) but I liked the sentiment behind a lot of the rest of it. Cate Blanchett's speech was erudite and strong, simultaneously recognising the whole awards season hoopla for the insubstantial nonsense that it actually is but also celebrating the art of cinema. However, I have to say I think my favourite acceptance speech came from Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez after their win for Best Original Song (the epic 'Let It Go' from Frozen). 

Gravity was the big winner of the evening, taking 7 of the 10 awards it was nominated for (including Best Director for Alfonso Cuaron). There were three awards apiece for 12 Years A Slave (including Best Picture) and Dallas Buyers Club and two each for The Great Gatsby and Frozen: interestingly, both films were only nominated for two Oscars (Gatsby for Production Design and Costume Design, and Frozen for Animated Film and Original Song) and won both! 

Despite 10 nominations, American Hustle came away with nothing. Similarly, nothing for Captain Phillips, Philomena, Nebraska or The Wolf Of Wall Street.

Below is the full list of winners at the 86th Annual Academy Awards:

Best Motion Picture of the Year: 12 Years A Slave 

Best Actor: Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club) 

Best Actress: Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine) 

Best Supporting Actor: Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club) 

Best Supporting Actress: Lupita Nyong'o (12 Years A Slave) 

Best Director: Alfonso Cuaron (Gravity) 

Best Original Screenplay: Spike Jonze (Her)

Best Adapted Screenplay: John Ridley (12 Years A Slave) 

Best Animated Feature Film of the Year: Frozen 

Best Foreign Language Film of the Year: The Great Beauty

Best Cinematography: Gravity 

Best Editing: Gravity 

Best Production Design: The Great Gatsby

Best Costume Design: The Great Gatsby

Best Makeup and Hairstyling: Dallas Buyers Club 

Best Original Score: Gravity 

Best Original Song: 'Let It Go' (Frozen) 

Best Sound Mixing: Gravity 

Best Sound Editing: Gravity 

Best Visual Effects: Gravity 

Best Documentary (Feature): 20 Feet From Stardom

Best Documentary (Short Subject): The Lady In Number 6

Best Animated Short Film: Mr Hublot

Best Live Action Short Film: Helium


Congratulations to all winners!

Tez

Awards Season 2014: Tez's Official Oscar Predictions 2014

Tonight, the great and good of Hollywood will convene to celebrate the best of filmmaking in 2013 at the 86th Annual Academy Awards, which will be hosted for the second time by Ellen DeGeneres (hooray!). It has become a tradition for me to predict the nominations and the winners in the main six categories (the four acting categories, Best Director and Best Picture).  I've done this since 2003 with varying degrees of success. So, without further ado, here are my predictions for who will win.

Best Supporting Actress: Lupita Nyong'o (12 Years A Slave)

Nyong'o's stunning performance as slave girl Patsey gives added heart to 12 Years A Slave, and it's made even more impressive for the fact that it's her first feature film role. However, there's a chance that the award might go to Jennifer Lawrence (who won the Golden Globe and BAFTA for her performance in American Hustle). Whilst Lawrence's performance is very powerful, I found Nyong'o's performance more emotionally affecting and she would be a very deserving winner.

Best Supporting Actor: Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club)

Leto's been the stand-out winner throughout the awards season for his fierce yet fragile performance as transgender woman Rayon. Leto provides a great foil to McConaughey's boorishness, giving Dallas Buyers Club a real emotional heart, and I will be very surprised if any other name is called out.

Best Actress: Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine)

Similarly, I will also be gobsmacked if anyone other than Blanchett gets named Best Actress for her breathtaking turn in Blue Jasmine. Ever since I saw the film back in October, her turn as the neurotic, glacial Jasmine has stayed with me and I even stated when we did the Review Of 2013 that I thought she would win. In a category dominated by acting royalty- Streep, Dench- Blanchett stands head-and-shoulders above them. Like Leto, she's been the runaway winner throughout the awards season and totally deserves to win.

Best Actor: Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club)

Who ever thought I'd be saying this? Matthew McConaughey is pretty much locked in to win the Best Actor Oscar for his sterling turn as Ron Woodroof. Anyone who can portray a racist, homophobic redneck and have you rooting for him to succeed is doing something pretty special. Whilst it would be nice to see Chiwetel Ejiofor to win (as his performance in 12 Years A Slave is just superb), I think it's going to go to  McConaughey.

Best Director: Alfonso Cuaron (Gravity)

Despite my reservations about some of the script decisions in the film, there's no taking away from the fact that Gravity is a technical tour-de-force- the amazing opening sequence done in two single takes, the zero-gravity effects- and for that reason, Cuaron deserves to win.

Best Picture: 12 Years A Slave

Again, this has been the stand-out Best Picture winner throughout awards season, so I'm fully expecting it to win the top prize. 12 Years A Slave is a powerful film, one to be respected rather than enjoyed though due to its unflinching portrayal of the harshness of slavery. It's a film full of strong performances and is shot with a striking visual style. 


Last year, I got a clean sweep of 6 out of 6. With no false modesty, I'm confident on 3 of these, maybe 4. I think Best Supporting Actress may be open for debate, as might Best Picture. The assumption is that it's 12 Years A Slave's to lose, but you can never really tell until the golden envelope is opened.

I'll update the blog on Monday March 3rd with all the results and my thoughts on the ceremony

Tez

Awards Season 2014: Independent Spirit Awards and Razzies Results

Awards season is nearly over for another year (which must come as a relief to most of you). It's been a slightly longer season this year due to the Winter Olympics in Sochi. In other years, this would have been done and dusted last weekend. So you can blame the IOC for the extension.

Anyway, the 86th Annual Academy Awards ceremony is tonight (March 2nd). It can be viewed on a dedicated Sky Movies channel in the UK and on ABC in the US. But before I turn my eyes to the Oscars, here's a round-up of the other awards ceremonies that have taken place in this weekend. 

INDEPENDENT SPIRITS AWARDS

Yesterday- Saturday 1st March- saw the handing out of the Independent Spirit Awards, in a ceremony hosted by comedian Patton Oswalt (Ratatouille, Young Adult). These honour films made (partly or wholly) outside the major film studio system. Some of the winners are below.

Best Feature: 12 Years A Slave

Best Female Lead: Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine)

Best Male Lead: Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club)

Best Supporting Female: Lupita Nyong'o (12 Years A Slave)

Best Supporting Male: Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club)

Best Director: Steve McQueen (12 Years A Slave)

Best Screenplay: 12 Years A Slave

Best First Screenplay: Nebraska

Best Cinematography: 12 Years A Slave

Best First Feature: Fruitvale Station

Best International Film: Blue Is The Warmest Colour

Best Documentary: 20 Feet From Stardom

John Cassavetes Award: This Is Martin Bonner

The John Cassavetes Award is given to the creative team of a film budgeted at less than $500,000. The full list of winners can be found here.

12 Years A Slave was the runaway winner with five awards (all deserved). I'm sure I said this last year when I shared the results, but there were several nominated films and performances that had quite a widespread cinema release- I think Dallas Buyers Club and 12 Years A Slave are still at my local cinemas- so it's good to see that independent film is going strong. I think it's also good to show that films not produced (or not wholly produced) within Hollywood's studio system can get to a wide audience. Long may it continue. 

RAZZIES

As is traditional, last night (the night before the Oscars ceremony) also saw the 34th Annual Golden Raspberry Awards. No runaway winner this year (unlike Twilight's almost clean sweep) which probably goes to show that there have been a lot more bad movies made in the last year. 

Here's the full 'winners' list:

Worst Picture: Movie 43

Worst Actor: Jaden Smith (After Earth)

Worst Actress: Tyler Perry (in drag) (A Madea Christmas)

Worst Supporting Actor: Will Smith (After Earth)

Worst Supporting Actress: Kim Kardashian (Tyler Perry's Temptation)

Worst Screen Ensemble: Jaden Smith & Will Smith (After Earth)

Worst Director: Movie 43's 13 directors

Worst Remake, Rip-Off or Sequel: The Lone Ranger

Worst Screenplay: Movie 43 (written by 19 screenwriters)

It does seem a damning indictment that- even with over 30 people working on writing and directing Movie 43 (let alone production staff and the actors)- it turned out to be such a turgid mess. One surprise though: no Golden Raspberry for Adam Sandler this year; perhaps the nominations were enough?

So now we're up to date. But what about the Oscars? My predictions for who will win the major prizes will be posted next.

Tez

Awards Season 2014: BAFTA Winners

Tonight (Sunday 16 February), at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, the 67th British Academy Film Awards were given out in a star-studded ceremony hosted for the ninth time by Stephen Fry. In attendance were stars like Leonardo DiCaprio, Michael Fassbender, Tom Hanks, Emma Thompson, Brad Pitt, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Amy Adams and Cate Blanchett to honour the best in film. 

Here's a full list of BAFTA winners:

Best Film: 12 Years A Slave

Outstanding British Film: Gravity

Leading Actor: Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years A Slave)

Leading Actress: Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine)

Supporting Actor: Barkhad Abdi (Captain Phillips)

Supporting Actress: Jennifer Lawrence (American Hustle)

Director: Alfonso Cuaron (Gravity)

Original Screenplay: Eric Warren Singer and David O. Russell (American Hustle)

Adapted Screenplay: Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope (Philomena)

Outstanding Debut By A British Writer, Director Or Producer: Kieran Evans (writer-director, Kelly + Victor)

Animated Film: Frozen

Documentary: The Act Of Killing

Film Not In The English Language: The Great Beauty

Cinematography: Gravity

Costume Design: The Great Gatsby

Editing: Rush

Make Up And Hair: American Hustle

Original Music: Gravity

Production Design:  The Great Gatsby

Sound: Gravity

Special Visual Effects: Gravity

Short Animation: Sleeping With The Fishes

Short Film: Room 8

Rising Star: Will Poulter

Outstanding British Contribution To Cinema: Peter Greenaway

BAFTA Fellowship: Dame Helen Mirren

As usual, the ceremony was broadcast on time delay on BBC1 and Stephen Fry was, as expected, a wonderful host. Gravity proved to be the big winner with six BAFTAs, taking a lot of the technical awards as well as Best Director (no surprises there) with three awards for American Hustle (including a surprise win for Jennifer Lawrence as Best Supporting Actress) and two each for 12 Years A Slave and The Great Gatsby. Cate Blanchett paid tribute to the late Philip Seymour Hoffman in a moving and well-received acceptance speech for Best Actress and Helen Mirren's Fellowship acceptance speech was just lovely- I particularly loved the quote from The Tempest at the end. 

Awards season comes to a close on the first weekend of March, with the Razzies and the Independent Spirit Awards on 1 March and the 86th Annual Academy Awards on 2 March.

Awards Season 2014: Critics Choice Awards, SAG Awards and Producers Guild Awards

Over the past week, there have been three major sets of awards handed out

CRITICS CHOICE AWARDS

The Critcs Choice Awards were given out on Thursday January 16th. Below are a list of selected film winners:

Best Picture: 12 Years A Slave

Best Actor: Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club)

Best Actress: Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine)

Best Supporting Actor: Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club)

Best Supporting Actress: Lupita Nyong'o (12 Years A Slave)

Best Acting Ensemble: American Hustle

Best Director: Alfonso Cuaron (Gravity)

A full list of winners can be found here. The Critics Choice Awards also have separate categories for Action movies, Sci-Fi/Horror movies and comedies as well, so it's a much broader base.

SCREEN ACTORS GUILD (SAG) AWARDS

The SAG Awards were handed out in a ceremony on Saturday January 18th. The film winners were:

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture: 

American Hustle

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role: 

Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role:

Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine)

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role:

Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role:

Lupita Nyong'o (12 Years A Slave)

I think it's safe to say there's a bit of a pattern emerging here.

PRODUCERS GUILD AWARDS (PGA)

The PGAs were handed out yesterday (Sunday January 19th). The film winners were:

Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures: Gravity and 12 Years A Slave

Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures: Frozen

Documentary Film: We Steal Secrets: The Story Of WikiLeaks

Now this is where things get interesting. For the first time in its 25 year history, there was a tie for the Theatrical Motion Pictures category. The winner of the PGA is generally a lock for the Best Picture Oscar, but the fact that the PGA has gone to two films may mean that things are a bit more open than people expect. I think the result of the Directors Guild Awards (DGA) which will be handed out this coming Saturday (25th January) could also raise an interesting point or two.

Things slacken off with Awards Season after this past weekend - there'll be a brief round-up at the start of February once the Directors Guild and Writers Guild Awards will be handed out, and the next big one will be the BAFTAs in mid-February.

Normal blogging service will now resume

Tez

Programme 35: 12 Years A Slave, American Hustle, Last Vegas and Anchorman 2

The Watchers Film Show Ep 35 from The Watchers Film Show on Vimeo.

Our latest show is now available to view!

In the first show of 2014, we look at awards heavyweights 12 Years A Slave and American Hustle and comedies Last Vegas and Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues.

Enjoy!

Awards Season 2014: Academy Award Nominations

As announced earlier today, here is a selection of the nominations for this year's Academy Awards:

BEST PICTURE

12 Years A Slave

American Hustle

Captain Phillips

Dallas Buyers Club

Gravity

Her

Nebraska

Philomena

The Wolf Of Wall Street

BEST DIRECTOR

Alfonso Cuaron (Gravity)

Steve McQueen (12 Years A Slave)

Alexander Payne (Nebraska)

David O. Russell (American Hustle)

Martin Scorsese (The Wolf Of Wall Street)

BEST ACTOR

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

Amy Adams (American Hustle)

Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine)

Sandra Bullock (Gravity)

Judi Dench (Philomena)

Meryl Streep (August: Osage County)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

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 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)

So I make that 28 out of 34 correct - 82% - which is pretty good (and better than last year). I'm overjoyed at seeing Sally Hawkins getting nominated for Best Supporting Actress- she more than holds her own against the frankly brilliant Cate Blanchett. It's also nice to see Philomena get nominated for Best Picture as well. 

In other categories, Iron Man 3, Star Trek: Into Darkness and The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug have all been nominated for Best Visual Effects. Hayao Miyazaki's The Wind Rises is up against The Croods, Ernest And Celestine, Despicable Me 2 and Frozen for Best Animated Feature. Perhaps the most bizarre nomination so far is for Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa which had had a nod for Best Make-Up and Hairstyling!

Congratulations to all nominees - a full list can be found here

The 86th Academy Awards will be handed out on Sunday March 2nd 2014 in a ceremony hosted by Ellen DeGeneres, taking hosting duties for the second time. The theme for this year's ceremony is that of cinematic heroes. Can't wait!

Next up for Awards Season are the Critics Choice Awards (tonight), the Screen Actors Guild Awards (Saturday) and the Producers Guild Awards (Sunday). I'll do a round-up post of these results on Monday.

Awards Season 2014: Tez's Official Academy Award Nomination Predictions

On Thursday 16th January, at 5:38am PST, in the Samuel Goldwyn Theatre in Beverly Hills, Cheryl Boone Isaacs (president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences) and Chris Hemsworth (Thor, Rush, The Cabin In The Woods) will announce the nominations for the 86th Academy Awards, due to be held on Sunday 2nd March. 

As has been my practice for the last few years, I like to try and predict who will be nominated (this is done for Best Picture, Best Director and the four acting awards). Below is my list of who I think will be named on Thursday.

NB. Just like the last few years, the Academy rules state that there could be anywhere between five and ten Best Picture nominees. I have selected ten films. If the total number of films nominated is less than ten, but one of the movies selected is named in my list of ten, I will count it as a successful prediction.

BEST PICTURE

12 Years A Slave

American Hustle

Captain Phillips

Dallas Buyers Club

Gravity

Her

Inside Llewyn Davis

Nebraska

Saving Mr. Banks

The Wolf Of Wall Street

BEST DIRECTOR

Alfonso Cuaron (Gravity)

Paul Greengrass (Captain Phillips)

Steve McQueen (12 Years A Slave)

David O. Russell (American Hustle)

Martin Scorsese (The Wolf Of Wall Street)

BEST ACTOR

Christian Bale (American Hustle)

Bruce Dern (Nebraska)

Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years A Slave)

Tom Hanks (Captain Phillips)

Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club)

BEST ACTRESS

Amy Adams (American Hustle)

Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine)

Sandra Bullock (Gravity)

Judi Dench (Philomena)

Emma Thompson (Saving Mr. Banks)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Barkhad Abdi (Captain Phillips)

Daniel Bruhl (Rush)

Bradley Cooper (American Hustle)

Michael Fassbender (12 Years A Slave)

Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Jennifer Lawrence (American Hustle)

Lupita Nyong'o (12 Years A Slave)

Julia Roberts (August: Osage County)

June Squibb (Nebraska)

Oprah Winfrey (The Butler)

As usual, I think there are some definites, a few maybes and perhaps a couple of WTFs in my predictions.

Her is probably an outside shot for a Best Picture nomination, but stranger things have happened. With Best Director, I've gone for the five nominated for the BAFTA and for the DGA - however, that doesn't mean that it's set. Alexander Payne may well sneak a nomination for Nebraska (possibly in place of Scorsese). 

In the Best Actor category, there's always a chance that Robert Redford (All Is Lost) or Leonardo DiCaprio (The Wolf Of Wall Street) could be named. Of the five names up there, I'd say Christian Bale is the one in most risk of being replaced. With Best Actress, Meryl Streep could well be named for August: Osage County or- if the Academy are in the mood to throw a curve-ball (which they often are)- Adele Exarchopoulos for Blue Is The Warmest Color. 

With Best Supporting Actor, there are a couple of additional choices that the Academy could go for - the one that springs to mind is the late James Gandolfini for Enough Said (his final role). It was touch-and-go whether I put Sally Hawkins down for Best Supporting Actress (for Blue Jasmine) but in the end I opted for Oprah Winfrey instead.

Usually a score of 15 is adequate, but given the fact that there could be anywhere between 5 and 10 Best Picture awards, I'ill be happy with a prediction of 18 or higher. I'll add the official nominations once they're announced on Thursday afternoon.

Tez

Awards Season 2014: Golden Globe Winners

Last night, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) announced the winners of this year's Golden Globe Awards, for both television and film, in a ceremony hosted by Tina Fey and Amy Poehler for the second time.

Here is the full list of film winners.

Best Motion Picture (Drama): 12 Years a Slave

Best Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy): American Hustle

Best Director: Alfonso Cuarón (Gravity)

Best Actor (Drama): Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club)

Best Actor (Comedy or Musical): Leonardo DiCaprio (The Wolf of Wall Street)

Best Actress (Drama): Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine)

Best Actress (Comedy or Musical): Amy Adams (American Hustle)

Best Supporting Actor: Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club)

Best Supporting Actress: Jennifer Lawrence (American Hustle)

Best Screenplay: Her

Best Original Score: All Is Lost

Best Original Song: 'Ordinary Love' (Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom)

Best Foreign Language Film: The Great Beauty

Best Animated Feature Film: Frozen

Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award: Woody Allen

There were a number of surprising results- a lot of people were expecting Chiwetel Ejiofor and Lupita Nyong'o to win Best Actor (Drama) and Best Supporting Actress respectively for their performances in 12 Years A Slave instead of McConaughey and Lawrence. The Golden Globes are usually a good barometer for what's going on with the Academy, so it may mean that the Oscars are a little more open that people expect. Whilst I wasn't in love with Gravity as a whole, I was blown away by the technical brilliance of the direction so Cuaron is a worthy winner. I'm also glad to see Cate Blanchett's win for her stunning turn in Blue Jasmine.

Next up with Awards Season will be the Razzie nominations this coming Wednesday (15th January), and I will also share my predictions for the Oscar nominations.

Tez

Awards Season 2014: BAFTA Nominations

For those who may have been wondering (not very many of you, I expect), the slight delay in putting up this post comes from a move of house. But fear not, trusty award season aficionados (all 3 of you), I am now well and truly internet-ted up and can post away. Joy unbounded, eh?

Anyway, Awards Season is well and truly in full swing: it's Golden Globes weekend, and the nominations have been announced for the Producers Guild Awards, the Directors Guild Awards, and the Writers Guild Awards. Next week will see the announcement of the Razzies (on Wednesday 15th) before the Oscar nominations are announced on Thursday 16th. I will, as last year, put my official Oscar nomination predictions up the day before the announcement.

My main reason for posting, though, is that earlier this week- Wednesday 8th January, to be precise- the nominations were announced for this years BAFTA Film Awards. Here's a selection of the nominations:

BEST FILM

12 Years A Slave

American Hustle

Captain Phillips

Gravity

Philomena

OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM

Gravity

Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom

Philomena

Rush

Saving Mr. Banks

The Selfish Giant

LEADING ACTOR

Christian Bale (American Hustle)

Bruce Dern (Nebraska)

Leonardo DiCaprio (The Wolf Of Wall Street)

Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years A Slave)

Tom Hanks (Captain Phillips)

LEADING ACTRESS

Amy Adams (American Hustle)

Sandra Bullock (Gravity)

Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine)

Judi Dench (Philomena)

Emma Thompson (Saving Mr. Banks)

SUPPORTING ACTOR

Barkhad Abdi (Captain Phillips)

Daniel Bruhl (Rush)

Bradley Cooper (American Hustle)

Matt Damon (Behind The Candelabra)

Michael Fassbender (12 Years A Slave)

SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Sally Hawkins (Blue Jasmine)

Jennifer Lawrence (American Hustle)

Julia Roberts (August: Osage County)

Lupita Nyong'o (12 Years A Slave)

Oprah Winfrey (The Butler)

DIRECTOR

Alfonso Cuaron (Gravity)

Paul Greengrass (Captain Phillips)

Steve McQueen (12 Years A Slave)

David O. Russell (American Hustle)

Martin Scorsese (The Wolf Of Wall Street)

A full list can be found here.

There's a few interesting additions and omissions here, mostly Matt Damon's nomination for Behind The Candelabra. Both he and Michael Douglas gave great performances but, as it didn't get a cinema release in the US, it's ineligible for a lot of the major awards. However, it was released in the cinema here. A lot of the usual names have been mentioned, but in some categories- mostly Leading Actor and Supporting Actress- there are a few lesser mentioned names which could make for an interesting curve-ball or two come the Oscar nominations. I'd absolutely love to see Sally Hawkins get an Oscar nod for Blue Jasmine.

Interestingly, the five nominations for Best Director tally directly with the Directors Guild Awards so I would expect to see all five names mentioned on Thursday. 

Next up for Awards Season will be Golden Globe results on Monday.

Enjoy your weekend.

Tez

Awards Season 2014: SAG Awards and Golden Globe Nominations

I've got a double dose of awards season news coming up. Some of you may wish to get a cup of tea and get comfy, and others may wish to do something else (such as balance your cheque book or watch paint dry).

Yesterday (Wednesday 11th December) saw the nominations for the Screen Actors Guild Awards announced. They are as follows:

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture

12 Years A Slave

American Hustle

August: Osage County

The Butler

Dallas Buyers Club

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role

Chiwete Ejiofor (12 Years A Slave)

Bruce Dern (Nebraska)

Tom Hanks (Captain Phillips)

Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club)

Forest Whitaker (The Butler)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role

Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine)

Sandra Bullock (Gravity)

Judi Dench (Philomena)

Meryl Streep (August: Osage County)

Emma Thompson (Saving Mr Banks)

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role

Barkhad Abdi (Captain Phillips)

Daniel Bruhl (Rush)

Michael Fassbender (12 Years A Slave)

James Gandolfini (Enough Said)

Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role

Jennifer Lawrence (American Hustle)

Lupita Nyong'o (12 Years A Slave)

Julia Roberts (August: Osage County)

June Squibb (Nebraska)

Oprah Winfrey (The Butler)

This is the first real awards recognition for The Butler and, for me, I'm happy to see Daniel Bruhl's brilliant performance as Niki Lauda in Rush getting recognised too. Apart from that, strong showings for 12 Years A Slave and Nebraska, as expected.

Today (Thursday 12th December) saw the Golden Globe nominations. The Golden Globes split the films into Drama and Musical/Comedy strands for some awards, which can make things interesting, not least when you look at what the Hollywood Foreign Press Association would consider a Musical/Comedy (a few years ago, The Tourist was nominated as Best Musical/Comedy, despite being marketed as a spy thriller). Today's announcement did raise an eyebrow or two with Scorsese's The Wolf Of Wall Street down as a comedy but, despite that, several films and performances get another step closer to the Oscar nomination.

Here are a selection of the Golden Globes' film nominations:

Best Motion Picture - Drama

12 Years A Slave

Captain Phillips

Gravity

Philomena

Rush

Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy

American Hustle

Her

Inside Llewyn Davis

Nebraska

The Wolf Of Wall Street

Best Director - Motion Picture

Alfonso Cuaron (Gravity)

Paul Greengrass (Captain Phillips)

Steve McQueen (12 Years A Slave)

Alexander Payne (Nebraska)

David O. Russell (American Hustle)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama

Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years A Slave)

Idris Elba (Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom)

Tom Hanks (Captain Phillips)

Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club)

Robert Redford (All Is Lost)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - 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 Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama

Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine)

Sandra Bullock (Gravity)

Judi Dench (Philomena)

Emma Thompson (Saving Mr Banks)

Kate Winslet (Labor Day)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - 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 Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture

Barkhad Abdi (Captain Phillips)

Daniel Bruhl (Rush)

Bradley Cooper (American Hustle)

Michael Fassbender (12 Years A Slave)

Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture

Sally Hawkins (Blue Jasmine)

Jennifer Lawrence (American Hustle)

Lupita Nyong'o (12 Years A Slave)

Julia Roberts (August: Osage County)

June Squibb (Nebraska)

A full list can be found here.

It's interesting to see the same names starting to crop up again and again. It's also interesting to see that both SAG and the Golden Globes have nominated the two performances from August: Osage County. I'm happy to see Sally Hawkins getting a nod for her turn in Blue Jasmine (and further recognition for Daniel Bruhl). Also, given the recent sad news of Mandela's passing, the nod for Idris Elba is timely. Whether that will translate to the Academy Awards remains to be seen.

Thankfully, we still have another five weeks before I have to get off the fence and make my Oscar nomination predictions. We still have the BAFTA nominations and various guild nominations to come- of especial interest will be the Directors' Guild Award and the Producers' Guild Award (essentially crystallising the Oscars Best Director and Best Producer lists).

Normal blog service can be resumed. Til next time.

Tez