2014 Academy Award winners & review

Last night we celebrated the 2014 Academy Awards hosted by Ellen DeGeneres. Gravity was the big winner of the night taking home a total of seven statues including Best Director while 12 Years a Slave took home Best Picture. There weren't really any big surprises in terms of where the awards went this year, but overall I think the night went well.
As far as the total production and the host, I thought everything looked nice and flowed very well. Ellen was fun to watch and she didn't go over the top with anything. It was a night full of selfies, Tweeting, and pizza. I have seen people already complaining about the inevitable drag in the middle of the show and I know how it could have been avoided; they should have put Pharrell in the middle of the show instead of at the beginning. "Happy" is such a fun song in general and it would have definitely given the energy a needed boost.
Speaking of the musical performances, I feel a bit sorry for Idina Menzel because on top of John Travolta butchering her name and introduction she was obviously very nervous. As a result she rushed the hell out of the song. Pink was very nice and sounded great as did Karen O. The questionable one was Bette Midler mainly because she couldn't even sing her own song. She kept taking the pitch all over the place and lost track of the song. It was a bit gross.

Anyway, here are the winners!

Best Picture - 12 Years a Slave
Best Actor - Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club)
Best Actress - Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine)
Best Director - Alfonso Cuaron (Gravity)
Best Supporting Actor - Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club)
Best Supporting Actress - Lupita Nyong'o (12 Years a Slave)
Best Original Screenplay - Spike Jonze (Her)
Best Adapted Screenplay - John Ridley (12 Years a Slave)
Best Animated Feature - Frozen
Best Original Score - Steven Price (Gravity)
Best Original Song - Robert Lopez & Kristen Anderson-Lopez ("Let It Go" from Frozen)
Best Foreign Film - The Great Beauty
Best Documentary Feature - 20 Feet from Stardom
Best Documentary Short - The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life
Best Animated Short - Mr. Hublot
Best Live Action Short - Helium
Best Production Design - The Great Gatsby
Best Costume Design - The Great Gatsby
Best Cinematography - Gravity
Best Editing - Gravity
Best Visual Effects - Gravity
Best Hair & Makeup - Dallas Buyers Club
Best Sound Editing - Gravity
Best Sound Mixing - Gravity


In other fun news, Robert Lopez is now the youngest person to "EGOT." That meaning he has now won a Golden Globe, Oscar, Tony, and Emmy award. He also has won Grammys for The Book of Mormon. He joins the short list including Mel Brooks, Whoopi Goldberg, Mike Nichols, Scott Rudin, and Audrey Hepburn.

2014 BAFTA nominations

One week before the big Oscar announcements, we have the nominations for the 2014 British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). Gravity is a surprise leader with 11 total nominations while 12 Years a Slave and American Hustle each earned 10. One movie missing that has been popular in other award lists so far is Dallas Buyers Club, so that is a bit of a surprise. The BAFTA's are set to air on February 16, 2014.

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

Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director, or Producer:

Colin Carberry & Glenn Patterson - Good Vibrations
Kelly Marcel - Saving Mr. Banks
Kieran Evans - Kelly + Victor
Paul Wright & Polly Stokes - For Those in Peril
Scott Graham - Shell

Best Foreign Film:

The Act of Killing
Blue is the Warmest Color
The Great Beauty
Metro Manila
Wadjda

Best Documentary:

The Act of Killing
The Armstrong Lie
Blackfish
Tim's Vermeer
We Steal Secrets: The Story of Wikileaks

Best Animated Film:

Despicable Me 2
Frozen
Monsters University

Best Director:

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

Original Screenplay:

American Hustle
Blue Jasmine
Gravity
Inside Llewyn Davis
Nebraska

Adapted Screenplay:

12 Years a Slave
Behind the Candleabra
Captain Phillips
Philomena
The Wolf of Wall Street

Best Actor:

Bruce Dern - Nebraska
Chiwetel Ejiofor - 12 Years a Slave
Christian Bale - American Hustle
Leonardo DiCaprio - The Wolf of Wall Street
Tom Hanks - Captain Phillips

Best Actress:

Amy Adams - American Hustle
Cate Blanchett - Blue Jasmine
Emma Thompson - Saving Mr. Banks
Judi Dench - Philomena
Sandra Bullock - Gravity

 Best Supporting Actor:

Barkhad Abdi - Captain Phillips
Bradley Cooper - American Hustle
Daniel Bruhl - Rush
Matt Damon - Behind the Candelabra
Michael Fassbender - 12 Years a Slave

Best Supporting Actress:

Jennifer Lawrence - American Hustle
Julia Roberts - August: Osage County
Lupita Nyong'o - 12 Years a Slave
Oprah Winfrey - Lee Daniels' The Butler
Sally Hawkins - Blue Jasmine

Best Original Score:

12 Years a Slave
The Book Thief
Captain Phillips
Gravity
Saving Mr. Banks

For the rest of the nominees, head on over here to look.

Producers Guild Awards nominations revealed

Usually, the Producers Guild Awards (aka, the PGA's) give us more hints of which direction the Oscars are going to go. If this year is typical, expect some surprises and dark horse candidates.  This is mostly television, but the films do give some hint to how the Oscar voters might vote.

The nominees are:

Best Theatrical Picture

American Hustle
Blue Jasmine
Captain Phillips
Dallas Buyers Club
Gravity
Her
Nebraska
Saving Mr. Banks
12 Years a Slave
The Wolf of Wall Street

Outstanding Producer of an Animated Theatrical Picture

The Croods
Despicable Me 2
Epic
Frozen
Monsters University

David L. Woper Awart for Outstanding Producer of Long-Form Television

American Horror Story: Asylum
Behind the Candelabra
Killing Kennedy
Phil Spector
Top of the Lake

Award for Outstanding Producer of Documentary Theatrical Motion Pictures

A Place at the Table
Far Out Isn't Far Enough: The Tomi Ungerer Story
Life According to Sam
We Steal the Secrets: The Story of Wikileaks
Which Way is the Front of the Line From Here? The Life and Time of Tim Hetherington

Norman Felton Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television - Drama

Breaking Bad
Downton Abbey
Game of Thrones
Homeland
House of Cards

Danny Thomas Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television - Comedy

30 Rock
Arrested Development
Big Bang Theory
Modern Family
Veep

Outstanding Non-Fiction Television

30 for 30
Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown
Duck Dynasty
Inside the Actors Studio
Shark Tank

Outstanding Live Entertainment & Talk Television

The Colbert Report
Jimmy Kimmel Live
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
Real Time with Bill Maher
Saturday Night Live

Outstanding Competition Television

The Amazing Race
Dancing with the Stars
Project Runway
Top Chef
The Voice

Outstanding Sports Program

24/7
Hard Knocks
Monday Night Football
Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel
SportsCenter

Outstanding Children's Program

Dora the Explorer
iCarly
Phineas and Ferb
Sesame Street
Spongebob Squarepants

Outstanding Digital Series

Burning Love
Epic Rap Battles of History
Lizzie Bennet Diaries
Video Game High School
Wired: What's Inside


If you want to see the list of producers by name, check it out here.

Critics' Choice nominees announced

Once again, 12 Years a Slave and American Hustle lead an awards show. The Critics' Choice Awards are led by the two films with 13 nominations each. I think this list will serve as more of an Oscar precursor than the Golden Globes will. At least I hope so. The 19th annual show will be held on January 16, 2014.

Here are the nominees!

Best Picture:

American Hustle
Captain Phillips
Dallas Buyers Club
Gravity
Her
Inside Llewyn Davis
Nebraska
Saving Mr. Banks
12 Years a Slave
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
Robert Redford - All is Lost

Best Actress:

Cate Blanchett - Blue Jasmine
Sandra Bullock - Gravity
Judi Dench - Philomena
Brie Larson - Short Term 12
Meryl Streep - August: Osage County
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
James Gandolfini - Enough Said
Jared Leto - Dallas Buyers Club

Best Supporting Actress:

Scarlett Johansson - Her
Jennifer Lawrence - American Hustle
Lupita Nyong'o - 12 Years a Slave
Julia Roberts - August: Osage County
June Squibb - Nebraska
Oprah Winfrey - Lee Daniels' The Butler

Best Young Actor/Actress:

Asa Butterfield - Ender's Game
Adele Exarchopoulos - Blue is the Warmest Color
Liam James - The Way Way Back
Sophie Nelisse - The Book Thief
Tye Sheridan - Mud

Best Acting Ensemble:

American Hustle
August: Osage County
Lee Daniels' The Butler
Nebraska
12 Years a Slave
The Wolf of Wall Street

Best Director:

Alfonso Cuaron - Gravity
Paul Greengrass - Captain Phillips
Spike Jonze - Her
Steve McQueen - 12 Years a Slave
David O. Russell - American Hustle
Martin Scorsese - The Wolf of Wall Street

Best Original Screenplay:

Eric Singer & David O. Russell - American Hustle
Woody Allen - Blue Jasmine
Spike Jonze - Her
Joel Coen & Ethan Coen - Inside Llewyn Davis
Bob Nelson - Nebraska

Best Adapted Screenplay:

Tracy Letts - August: Osage County
Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke - Before Midnight
Billy Ray - Captain Phillips
Steve Coogan & Jeff Pope - Philomena
John Ridley - 12 Years a Slave
Terence Winter - The Wolf of Wall Street

Click the jump to see the rest of the nominations.

Golden Globes nominations announced

The 2014 Golden Globes has its nominations. 12 Years a Slave and American Hustle lead the nominations with 7 each. I think these, as always, will serve as a precursor of what to expect for the Oscars. I expect lots of 12 Years a Slave and American Hustle. However, Gravity could be a dark horse as well as Dallas Buyers Club.

Here are the nominees:

Best Picture - Drama:

12 Years a Slave
Captain Phillips
Gravity
Philomena
Rush

Best Actress - Drama:

Cate Blanchett - Blue Jasmine
Sandra Bullock - Gravity
Judi Dench - Philomena
Emma Thompson - Saving Mr. Banks
Kate Winslet - Labor Day

Best Actor - Drama:

Chiwetel Ejiofor - 12 Years a Slave
Idris Elba - Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
Tom Hanks - Saving Mr. Banks
Matthew McConaughey - Dallas Buyers Club
Robert Redford - All is Lost

Best Picture - Comedy or Musical:

American Hustle
Her
Inside Llewyn Davis
Nebraska
The Wolf of Wall Street

Best Actress - Comedy or Musical:

Amy Adams - American Hustle
Julie Delpy - Before Midnight
Greta Gerwig - Frances Ha
Julia Louis-Dreyfus - Enough Said
Meryl Streep - August: Osage County 

Best Actor - Comedy or Musical:

Christian Bale - American Hustle
Bruce Dern - Nebraska
Leonardo DiCaprio - The Wolf of Wall Street
Oscar Isaac - Inside Llewyn Davis
Joaquin Phoenix - Her

Best Animated Feature:

The Croods
Despicable Me 2
Frozen

Best Foreign Language Film:

Blue is the Warmest Color
The Great Beauty
The Hunt
The Past
The Wind Rises

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 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 Director:

Alfonso Cuaron - Gravity
Paul Greengrass - Captain Phillips
Steve McQueen - 12 Years a Slave
Alexander Payne - Nebraska
David O. Russell - American Hustle

Best Screenplay:

Spike Jonze - Her
Bob Nelson - Nebraska
Jeff Pope & Steve Coogan - Philomena
John Ridley - 12 Years a Slave
Eric Warren Singer & David O. Russell - American Hustle

Best Original Score:

Alex Ebert - All is Lost
Alex Heffes - Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
Steven Price - Gravity
John Williams - The Book Thief
Hans Zimmer - 12 Years a Slave

Best Original Song:

"Atlas" - The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
"Let it Go" - Frozen
"Ordinary Love" - Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
"Please Mr. Kennedy" - Inside Llewyn Davis
"Sweeter Than Fiction" - One Chance

Click here to see the television nominations. A lot of people are complaining that they snubbed Sons of Anarchy, Homeland, and Game of Thrones.

 

12 Years a Slave leads SAG Nominations

The Screen Actors Guild Awards has its nominations. 12 Years a Slave leads with four total while Lee Daniels' The Butler and August: Osage County were also heavy hitters. Snubs include The Wolf of Wall Street, All is Lost, and Inside Llewyn Davis.

The nominees are:

Ensemble in a Motion Picture:

12 Years a Slave
American Hustle
August: Osage County
Lee Daniels' The Butler
Dallas Buyers Club

Female Lead in a Motion Picture:

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

Male Lead in a Motion Picture

Bruce Dern - Nebraska
Chiwetel Ejiofor - 12 Years a Slave
Tom Hanks - Captain Phillips 
Matthew McConaughey - Dallas Buyers Club
Forest Whitaker - Lee Daniels' The Butler

Female Supporting in a Motion Picture:

Jennifer Lawrence - American Hustle
Lupita Nyong'o - 12 Years a Slave
Julia Roberts - August: Osage County
June Squibb - Nebraska
Oprah Winfrey - Lee Daniels' The Butler

Male Supporting in a Motion Picture:

Barkhad Abdi - Captain Phillips
Daniel Bruhl - Rush
Michael Fassbender - 12 Years a Slave
James Gandolfini - Enough Said
Jared Leto - Dallas Buyers Club

Best Drama Series:

Boardwalk Empire
Breaking Bad
Downton Abbey
Game of Thrones
Homeland

Ensemble Comedy Series:

30 Rock
Arrested Development
The Big Bang Theory
Modern Family
Veep

Female Actress Drama Series:

Claire Danes - Homeland
Anna Gunn - Breaking Bad
Jessica Lange - American Horror Story
Maggie Smith - Downton Abbey
Kerry Washington - Scandal

Male Actor Drama Series:

Steve Buscemi - Boardwalk Empire
Bryan Cranston - Breaking Bad
Jeff Daniels - The Newsroom
Peter Dinklage - Game of Thrones
Kevin Spacey - House of Cards

Female Actress Comedy Series:

Mayim Bialik - The Big Bang Theory
Julie Bowen - Modern Family
Edie Falco - Nurse Jackie
Tina Fey - 30 Rock
Julia Louis-Dreyfus - Veep

Male Actor Comedy Series:

Alec Baldwin - 30 Rock
Jason Bateman - Arrested Development
Ty Burrell - Modern Family
Don Cheadle - House of Lies
Jim Parsons - The Big Bang Theory

Female Actress TV Movie or Miniseries:

Helen Mirren - Phil Spector
Elisabeth Moss - Top of the Lake
Angela Bassett - Betty & Corretta
Helena Bonham Carter - Burton & Taylor
Holly Hunter - Top of the Lake

Male Actor TV Movie or Miniseries:

Matt Damon - Behind the Candelabra 
Michael Douglas - Behind the Candelabra 
Jeremy Irons - The Borgias 
Rob Lowe - Killing Kennedy
Al Pacino - Phil Spector

Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture:

All is Lost
Fast & Furious 6
Lone Survivor
Rush
The Wolverine

Outstaning Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a TV Series:

Boardwalk Empire
Breaking Bad
Game of Thrones
Homeland
The Walking Dead


This makes me realize how little movies I have seen this year. I haven't seen most of the ones that got nominations.

Madonna texts during 12 Years a Slave premiere

I normally wouldn't post about this but I found it hilarious.

Madonna attended the premiere of 12 Years a Slave at the New York Film Festival and promptly texted throughout the whole film. A fellow moviegoer asked that she put her phone away and Madonna claimed it was required for business and called the woman an "enslaver." After the movie was over she ducked out of the theater quickly and is now being dubbed the "worst person in America" by the Hollywood elite that attended.

As a result of her apparent rudeness and entitled behavior, Alamo Drafthouse president Tim League announced that Madonna is no longer welcome at Alamo Drafthouse cinemas calling her "unbearably rude to others."


12 Years a Slave stars Michael Fassbender, Chiwetel Egiofor, and Quvenzhane Wallis. It hits theaters on October 18th.