67th Annual Directors Guild Awards

The Directors Guild of America (DGA) announced the 67th annual awards on February 7th with giving away the top prize to Alejandro G. Iñárritu for Birdman. Now, this comes off as a total surprise and the greatest news of the day as Birdman has now become the front-runner for both Best Picture and Best Director Oscars. Sorry, Boyhood. I’m not saying you weren’t good. It’s just, Birdman was way better.

Here’s the complete list of winners:

FEATURE FILM

ALEJANDRO G. IÑÁRRITU
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
(Fox Searchlight Pictures)

Mr. Iñárritu’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Managers: James W. Skotchdopole, Robert Graf
First Assistant Director: Peter Kohn
Second Assistant Director: Amy Lauritsen
Second Second Assistant Director: Catherine Feeny
Location Manager: Joaquin Prange

This is Mr. Iñárritu’s third DGA Award nomination. He was previously nominated in this category for Babel in 2006. He won the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Commercials for “Best Job” (Proctor and Gamble) in 2012.

DRAMATIC SERIES

LESLI LINKA GLATTER
Homeland, “From A to B and Back Again”
(Showtime)

Ms. Glatter’s Directorial Team:
• Unit Production Managers: Angela Phillips, Michael Klick
• First Assistant Director: Nick Heckstall Smith
• Second Assistant Director: Wendy Bledsoe

This is Ms. Glatter’s fifth DGA Award nomination. She previously won in this category in 2009 for Mad Men, “Guy Walks into an Advertising Agency.” She was also nominated in 2013 and 2012 for Homeland episodes “The Star” and “Q & A,” as well as in 1990 for Twin Peaks, “Episode 32006.”

COMEDY SERIES

JILL SOLOWAY
Transparent, “Best New Girl”
(Amazon Prime)

Ms. Soloway’s Directorial Team:
• Unit Production Manager: Victor Hsu
• First Assistant Director: Bill Purple
• Second Assistant Director: Allan Monteiro Fortes

This is Ms. Soloway’s first DGA Award nomination.

MOVIES FOR TELEVISION AND MINI SERIES

LISA CHOLODENKO
Olive Kitteridge
(HBO)

Ms. Cholodenko’s Directorial Team:
• Unit Production Manager: David Coatsworth
• First Assistant Director: Jesse Nye
• Second Assistant Director: Mark Constance
• Second Second Assistant Director: Elizabeth MacSwan

This is Ms. Cholodenko’s first DGA Award nomination.

DOCUMENTARY

LAURA POITRAS
Citizenfour
RADiUS
Praxis Films
Participant Media
HBO Documentary Films
Bertha Foundation | BRITDOC Circle | Channel 4
Norddeutscher Rundfunk NDR
Bayerischer Rundfunk BR
Deutscher Filmförderfonds

This is Ms. Poitras’s first DGA Award nomination.

VARIETY/TALK/NEWS/SPORTS – SPECIALS

GLENN WEISS
The 68th Annual Tony Awards
(CBS)

Mr. Weiss’s Directorial Team:
• Associate Directors: Ken Diego, Robin Abrams, Stefani Cohen, Ricky Kirshner
• Stage Managers: Garry Hood, Phyllis Digilio-Kent, Peter Epstein, Andrew Feigin, Lynn Finkel, Doug Fogel, Jeffry Gitter, Arthur Lewis, Jeffrey M. Markowitz, Joey Meade, Seth Mellman, Cyndi Owgang, Jeff Pearl, Annette Powlis, Elise Reaves, Lauren Class Schneider

This is Mr. Weiss’s twelfth DGA Award nomination. He is also nominated this year for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Movies for Television and Mini-Series, together with Rob Ashford, for Peter Pan Live! He previously won the DGA Award in 2007, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013 for the 61st, 64th, 65th, 66th and 67th Annual Tony Awards. He was also nominated in 2001, 2002, 2005, 2006 and 2008 for the 55th, 56th, 59th, 60th, and 62nd Annual Tony Awards.

VARIETY/TALK/NEWS/SPORTS – REGULARLY SCHEDULED PROGRAMMING

DAVE DIOMEDI
The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, “Episode #1″
(NBC)

Mr. Diomedi’s Directorial Team:
• Associate Director: Maureen Smith
• Stage Managers: Nicka Tolmasoff, Mike Kilkenny

This is Mr. Diomedi’s second DGA Award nomination. He was nominated in this category last year for Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, “#799.”

REALITY PROGRAMS

ANTHONY B. SACCO
The Chair, “The Test”
(Starz)

This is Mr. Sacco’s third DGA Award nomination. He previously won in this category in 2006 for Treasure Hunters, “Episode #101” and was nominated in 2007 for Project Runway, “Fashion Giant #403.”

CHILDREN’S PROGRAMS

JONATHAN JUDGE
100 Things To Do Before High School, “Pilot”
(Nickelodeon)

Mr. Judge’s Directorial Team:
• Unit Production Manager: Debra Spidell
• First Assistant Director: Julian Petrillo
• Second Assistant Director: Katey Wheelhouse
• Second Second Assistant Director: Ceci Mak

This is Mr. Judge’s third DGA Award nomination. He was previously nominated in this category in 2013 for Swindle and in 2012 for Camp Fred.

COMMERCIALS

NICOLAI FUGLSIG
(MJZ)

Sapeurs, Guinness AMV BBDO
• First Assistant Director: Bob Wilkins

Waiting, FEMA Deutsch NY
• First Assistant Director: Bob Wagner
• Second Assistant Director: Rafa Sanz

This is Mr. Fuglsig’s second DGA Award nomination. He previously won in this category in 2007 for Tipping Point (Guinness), It’s Magic (JC Penney), and TJourney (Motorola)

26th Annual Producers Guild Awards

The Producers Guild of America (PGA) announced their winners on January 25th, 2015 with giving away the top prize to none other than Birdman which is another nail in coffin as Birdman keeps winning all the prestigious and most important awards in all the important categories. I wouldn’t be surprised if it ends up winning the Oscar for Best Picture. I’m actually rooting for it.

Here is the complete list of winners:

The Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Award for Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures:

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

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

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

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

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

The David L. Wolper Award for Outstanding Producer of Long-Form Television:
The Long-Form Television category encompasses both movies of the week and mini-series.

American Horror Story: Freak Show (FX)
Producers: Brad Buecker, Dante Di Loreto, Brad Falchuk, Joseph Incaprera, Alexis Martin Woodall, Tim Minear, Ryan Murphy, Jennifer Salt, James Wong

Fargo (FX) – WINNER
Producers: Adam Bernstein, John Cameron, Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, Michael Frislev, Noah Hawley, Warren Littlefield, Chad Oakes, Kim Todd

The Normal Heart (HBO)
Producers: Jason Blum, Dante Di Loreto, Scott Ferguson, Dede Gardner, Alexis Martin Woodall, Ryan Murphy, Brad Pitt, Mark Ruffalo

The Roosevelts: An Intimate History (PBS)
Producers: To Be Determined

Sherlock (PBS)
Producers: Mark Gatiss, Steven Moffat, Beryl Vertue, Sue Vertue

The Award for Outstanding Producer of Documentary Theatrical Motion Pictures:

The Green Prince (Music Box Films)
Producers: John Battsek, Simon Chinn, Nadav Schirman

Life Itself (Magnolia Pictures) – WINNER
Producers: Garrett Basch, Steve James, Zak Piper

Merchants of Doubt (Sony Pictures Classics)
Producers: Robert Kenner, Melissa Robledo

Particle Fever (Abramorama/BOND 360)
Producers: David E. Kaplan, Mark A. Levinson, Andrea Miller, Carla Solomon

Virunga (Netflix)
Producers: Joanna Natasegara, Orlando von Einsiedel

The Norman Felton Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Drama:

Breaking Bad (AMC) – WINNER
Producers: Melissa Bernstein, Sam Catlin, Bryan Cranston, Vince Gilligan, Peter Gould, Mark Johnson, Stewart Lyons, Michelle MacLaren, George Mastras, Diane Mercer, Thomas Schnauz, Moira Walley-Beckett

Downton Abbey (PBS)
Producers: Julian Fellowes, Nigel Marchant, Gareth Neame, Liz Trubridge

Game Of Thrones (HBO)
Producers: David Benioff, Bernadette Caulfield, Frank Doelger, Chris Newman, Greg Spence, Carolyn Strauss, D.B. Weiss

House Of Cards (Netflix)
Producers: Dana Brunetti, Joshua Donen, David Fincher, David Manson, Iain Paterson, Eric Roth, Kevin Spacey, Beau Willimon

True Detective (HBO)
Producers: Richard Brown, Carol Cuddy, Steve Golin, Woody Harrelson, Cary Joji Fukunaga, Matthew McConaughey, Nic Pizzolatto, Scott Stephens

The Danny Thomas Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Comedy:

The Big Bang Theory (CBS)
Producers: Faye Oshima Belyeu, Chuck Lorre, Steve Molaro, Bill Prady

Louie (FX)
Producers: Pamela Adlon, Dave Becky, M. Blair Breard, Louis C.K., Vernon Chatman, Adam Escott, Steven Wright

Modern Family (ABC)
Producers: Paul Corrigan, Megan Ganz, Abraham Higginbotham, Ben Karlin, Elaine Ko, Steven Levitan, Christopher Lloyd, Jeff Morton, Dan O’Shannon, Jeffrey Richman, Chris Smirnoff, Brad Walsh, Bill Wrubel, Sally Young, Danny Zuker

Orange Is The New Black (Netflix) – WINNER
Producers: Mark A. Burley, Sara Hess, Jenji Kohan, Gary Lennon, Neri Tannenbaum, Michael Trim, Lisa I. Vinnecour

Veep (HBO)
Producers: Chris Addison, Simon Blackwell, Christopher Godsick, Armando Iannucci, Stephanie Laing, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Frank Rich, Tony Roche

The Award for Outstanding Producer of Non-Fiction Television:

30 For 30 (ESPN)
Producers: Andy Billman, John Dahl, Erin Leyden, Connor Schell, Bill Simmons

American Masters (PBS)
Producers: Susan Lacy, Julie Sacks, Junko Tsunashima

Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown (CNN)
Producers: Anthony Bourdain, Christopher Collins, Lydia Tenaglia, Sandra Zweig

COSMOS: A SpaceTime Odyssey (FOX/NatGeo) – WINNER
Producers: Brannon Braga, Mitchell Cannold, Jason Clark, Ann Druyan, Livia Hanich, Steve Holtzman, Seth MacFarlane

Shark Tank (ABC)
Producers: Becky Blitz, Mark Burnett, Bill Gaudsmith, Phil Gurin, Yun Lingner, Clay Newbill, Jim Roush, Laura Roush, Max Swedlow

The Award for Outstanding Producer of Competition Television:

The Amazing Race (CBS)
Producers: Jerry Bruckheimer, Elise Doganieri, Jonathan Littman, Bertram van Munster, Mark Vertullo

Dancing With The Stars (ABC)
Producers: Ashley Edens Shaffer, Conrad Green, Joe Sungkur

Project Runway (Lifetime)
Producers: Jane Cha Cutler, Desiree Gruber, Tim Gunn, Heidi Klum, Jonathan Murray, Sara Rea, Teri Weideman

Top Chef (Bravo)
Producers: Doneen Arquines, Daniel Cutforth, Casey Kriley, Jane Lipsitz, Hillary Olsen, Erica Ross, Tara Siener, Shealan Spencer

The Voice (NBC) – WINNER
Producers: Stijn Bakkers, Mark Burnett, John De Mol, Chad Hines, Lee Metzger, Audrey Morrissey, Jim Roush, Kyra Thompson, Mike Yurchuk, Amanda Zucker

The Award for Outstanding Producer of Live Entertainment & Talk Television:

The Colbert Report (Comedy Central)
Producers: Meredith Bennett, Tanya Michnevich Bracco, Stephen Colbert, Richard Dahm, Paul Dinello, Barry Julien, Matt Lappin, Emily Lazar, Tom Purcell, Jon Stewart

Jimmy Kimmel Live (ABC)
Producers: David Craig, Ken Crosby, Doug DeLuca, Gary Greenberg, Erin Irwin, Jimmy Kimmel, Jill Leiderman, Molly McNearney, Tony Romero, Jason Schrift, Jennifer Sharron, Seth Weidner, Josh Weintraub

Last Week Tonight With John Oliver (HBO)
Producers: Tim Carvell, John Oliver, Liz Stanton

Real Time With Bill Maher (HBO)
Producers: Scott Carter, Sheila Griffiths, Marc Gurvitz, Dean Johnsen, Bill Maher, Billy Martin, Matt Wood

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (NBC) – WINNER
Producers: Rob Crabbe, Jamie Granet Bederman, Katie Hockmeyer, Jim Juvonen, Josh Lieb, Brian McDonald, Lorne Michaels, Gavin Purcell

The Award for Outstanding Sports Program:

24/7 (HBO)

Hard Knocks: Training Camp With The Atlanta Falcons (HBO)

Hard Knocks: Training Camp With The Cincinnati Bengals (HBO)

Inside: U.S. Soccer’s March To Brazil (ESPN)

Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel (HBO) – WINNER

The Award for Outstanding Children’s Program:

Dora The Explorer (Nickelodeon)

Sesame Street (PBS) – WINNER

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Nickelodeon)

Toy Story OF TERROR! (ABC)

Wynton Marsalis: A YoungArts Masterclass (HBO)

The Award for Outstanding Digital Series:

30 For 30 Shorts (http://espn.go.com/30for30/shorts)

Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee (http://www.crackle.com/c/comedians-in-cars-getting-coffee) – WINNER

COSMOS: A National Geographic Deeper Dive (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkiFfAEB5M8)

Epic Rap Battles Of History (http://youtube.com/erb)

Video Game High School Season 3 (https://www.youtube.com/user/freddiew)

21st Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards

The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) announced the winners of 21st annual Screen Actors Guild awards with giving away the top prize to Birdman, co-written and directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu. This is amazing like anything as Birdman is gradually becoming the most favorite thing of this awards season.

Another great thing is the curse of Modern Family is finally broken as Orange Is the New Black won the top prize in Television category.

Here is the complete list of winners:

FILM

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture:
“Birdman” – (WINNER)
“Boyhood”
“The Grand Budapest Hotel”
“The Imitation Game”
“The Theory of Everything”

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role:
Steve Carell – “Foxcatcher”
Benedict Cumberbatch – “The Imitation Game”
Jake Gyllenhaal – “Nightcrawler”
Michael Keaton – “Birdman”
Eddie Redmayne – “The Theory of Everything” – (WINNER)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role:
Jennifer Aniston – “Cake”
Felicity Jones – “The Theory of Everything”
Julianne Moore – “Still Alice” – (WINNER)
Rosamund Pike – “Gone Girl”
Reese Witherspoon – “Wild”

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role:
Robert Duvall – “The Judge”
Ethan Hawke – “Boyhood”
Edward Norton – “Birdman”
Mark Ruffalo – “Foxcatcher”
J.K. Simmons – “Whiplash” – (WINNER)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role:
Patricia Arquette – “Boyhood” – (WINNER)
Kiera Knightley – “The Imitation Game”
Emma Stone – “Birdman”
Meryl Streep – “Into the Woods”
Naomi Watts – “St. Vincent”

TELEVISION

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series:
“Boardwalk Empire”
“Downton Abbey” – (WINNER)
“Game of Thrones”
“Homeland”
“House of Cards”

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series:
“The Big Bang Theory”
“Brooklyn Nine-Nine”
“Modern Family”
“Orange is the New Black” – (WINNER)
“Veep”

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series:
Steve Buscemi – “Boardwalk Empire”
Peter Dinklage – “Game of Thrones”
Woody Harrelson – “True Detective”
Matthew McConaughey – “True Detective”
Kevin Spacey – “House of Cards” – (WINNER)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series:
Claire Danes – “Homeland”
Viola Davis – “How to Get Away with Murder” – (WINNER)
Julianna Marguiles – “The Good Wife”
Tatiana Maslany – “Orphan Black”
Maggie Smith – “Downton Abbey”
Robin Wright – “House of Cards”

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series:
Ty Burrell – “Modern Family”
Louis C.K. – “Louie”
William H. Macy – “Shameless” – (WINNER)
Jim Parsons – “The Big Bang Theory”
Eric Stonestreet – “Modern Family”

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series:
Uzo Aduba – “Orange is the New Black” – (WINNER)
Julie Bowen – “Modern Family”
Edie Falco – “Nurse Jackie”
Jula Louis-Dreyfus – “Veep”
Amy Poehler – “Parks and Recreation”

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries:
Adrian Brody – “Houdini”
Benedict Cumberbatch – “Sherlock: His Last Vow”
Richard Jenkins – “Olive Kitteridge”
Mark Ruffalo – “The Normal Heart” – (WINNER)
Billy Bob Thorton – “Fargo”

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries:
Ellen Burstyn – “Flowers in the Attic”
Maggie Gyllenhaal – “The Honorable Woman”
Frances McDormand – “Olive Kitteridge” – (WINNER)
Julia Roberts – “The Normal Heart”
Cicely Tyson – “The Trip to Bountiful”

9th Annual Oklahoma Film Critics Circle Awards

The Oklahoma Film Critics Circle (OFCC) announced its awards in January, 2015 with giving away the Best Picture award to Boyhood, written and directed by Richard Linklater who also won the Best Director award.

Last year, 6 OFCC winners won the Oscars, i.e. Best Director, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Original Screenplay, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Animated Film. Let’s see how it goes this year.

Here is the complete list of winners:

Best Film: “Boyhood”

Top 10 Films:
“Boyhood”
“Birdman”
“The Grand Budapest Hotel”
“Whiplash”
“Gone Girl”
“Nightcrawler”
“The Imitation Game”
“The Lego Movie”
“A Most Violent Year”
“Guardians of the Galaxy”

Best Director: Richard Linklater, “Boyhood”

Best Actor: Michael Keaton, “Birdman”

Best Actress: Rosamund Pike, “Gone Girl”

Best Animated Film: “The Lego Movie”

Best Body of Work: Christopher Miller & Phil Lord (“The Lego Movie” and “22 Jump Street”)

Best Documentary: “Life Itself”

Best First Feature: “Nightcrawler”

Best Foreign Language Film: “Force Majeure”

Best Guilty Pleasure: “Edge of Tomorrow”

Not-So-Obviously Worst Movie: “Monuments Men”

Obviously Worst Movie: “Transformers: Age of Extinction”

Best Original Screenplay: “The Grand Budapest Hotel”

Best Adapted Screenplay: “Gone Girl”

Best Supporting Actor: Edward Norton, “Gone Girl”

Best Supporting Actress: Patricia Arquette, “Boyhood”

87th Academy Awards Nominations

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) announced the nominations of 87th Academy Awards with so many surprises and shocks that one would be like, “WTF is wrong with these guys?” The award ceremony will be held on February 22th, 2015 and it will be hosted by Neil Patrick Harris. I have a feeling he’d do good at the Oscars.

NOMINATION SHOCKS

1. The most disappointing thing the AMPAS ever did was totally ignoring the Roger Ebert documentary Life Itself. The Oscars are becoming more and more irrelevant every year.
2. WHERE THE HELL IS THE LEGO MOVIE? LIKE SERIOUSLY? The Lego Movie was probably the best animated feature of 2014 and the AMPAS failed to recognize that. One of the directors Phil Lord even tweeted about it. That’s such a shocking news when you look at the Best Animated Feature nominations and go like, “I have never heard of these movies.” Well, I have but that doesn’t make any difference because the Lego Movie isn’t there.
3. GONE GIRL. No Best Director, Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Score [the most deserving one, probably] nominations. It’s surprising to see Rosamund Pike getting nominated for Best Actress though. She was so good in it. But she is not going to win.
4. SELMA. UNBROKEN. NIGHTCRAWLER. Jennifer Aniston for CAKE.
5. AMERICAN SNIPER getting nominations for no reason. NIGHTCRAWLER should’ve gotten nominated instead, at least in Best Actor and Best Picture category.

SURPRISES

1. WHIPLASH. I freaking love this movie and it’s so great to see it getting nominated in the Best Picture category along with Best Adapted Screenplay nomination and best Supporting Actor nomination [which is an absolute win, btw]
2. THE IMITATION GAME. Scoring the important nominations is already a win for this film as it won’t be winning anything major. Let’s see.

Here is the complete list of nominations along with my 1st and 2nd guesses:

Best Picture

• American Sniper, Clint Eastwood, Robert Lorenz, Andrew Lazar, Bradley Cooper and Peter Morgan
• Birdman, Alejandro González Iñárritu, John Lesher and James W. Skotchdopole
• Boyhood, Richard Linklater and Cathleen Sutherland
• The Grand Budapest Hotel, Wes Anderson, Scott Rudin, Steven M. Rales and Jeremy Dawson
• The Imitation Game, – Nora Grossman, Ido Ostrowsky and Teddy Schwarzman
• Selma, Christian Colson, Oprah Winfrey, Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner
• The Theory of Everything, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Lisa Bruce and Anthony McCarten
• Whiplash, Jason Blum, Helen Estabrook and David Lancaster

Best Director

• Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel
• Richard Linklater, Boyhood
• Alejandro González Iñárritu, Birdman
• Bennet Miller, Foxcatcher
• Morten Tyldum, The Imitation Game

Best Actor in a Leading Role

• Michael Keaton, Birdman
• Benedict Cumberbatch, The Imitation Game
• Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything
• Steve Carell, Foxcatcher
• Bradley Cooper, American Sniper

Best Actress in a Leading Role

• Julianne Moore, Still Alice
• Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl
• Marion Cotillard, Two Days, One Night
• Reese Witherspoon, Wild
• Felicity Jones, The Theory of Everything

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

• J.K. Simmons, Whiplash
• Robert Duvall, The Judge
• Ethan Hawke, Boyhood
• Edward Norton, Birdman
• Mark Ruffalo, Foxcatcher

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

• Meryl Streep, Into the Woods
• Emma Stone, Birdman
• Laura Dern, Wild
• Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
• Keira Knightley, The Imitation Game

Best Original Screenplay

• Alejandro González Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Jr. and Armando Bo, Birdman
• Richard Linklater, Boyhood
• E. Max Frye and Dan Futterman, Foxcatcher
• Wes Anderson and Hugo Guinness, The Grand Budapest Hotel
• Dan Gilroy, Nightcrawler

Best Adapted Screenplay

• Jason Hall from American Sniper by Chris Kyle, Scott McEwen and Jim DeFelice, American Sniper
• Graham Moore from Alan Turing: The Enigma by Andrew Hodges, The Imitation Game
• Paul Thomas Anderson from Inherent Vice by Thomas Pynchon, Inherent Vice
• Anthony McCarten from Travelling to Infinity: My Life with Stephen by Jane Wilde Hawking, The Theory of Everything
• Damien Chazelle from his short film of the same name, Whiplash

Best Animated Feature

• Big Hero 6, Don Hall, Chris Williams and Roy Conli
• The Boxtrolls, Anthony Stacchi, Graham Annable and Travis Knight
• How to Train Your Dragon 2, Dean DeBlois and Bonnie Arnold
• Song of the Sea, Tomm Moore and Paul Young
• The Tale of the Princess Kaguya, Isao Takahata and Yoshiaki Nishimura

Best Foreign Language Film

• Ida (Poland), Paweł Pawlikowski
• Leviathan (Russia), Andrey Zvyagintsev
• Tangerines (Estonia), Zaza Urushadze
• Timbuktu (Mauritania), Abderrahmane Sissako
• Wild Tales (Argentina), Damián Szifrón

Best Documentary – Feature

• Citizenfour, Laura Poitras, Mathilde Bonnefoy and Dirk Wilutsky
• Finding Vivian Maier, John Maloof and Charlie Siskel
• Last Days in Vietnam, Rory Kennedy and Keven McAlester
• The Salt of the Earth, Wim Wenders, Lélia Wanick Salgado, David Rosier, Julia de Abreu, Fakhrya Fakhry, Andrea Gambetta and Christine Ponelle
• Virunga, Orlando von Einsiedel, Joanna Natasegara and Jon Drever

Best Documentary – Short Subject

• Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1, Ellen Goosenberg Kent and Dana Perry
• Joanna, Aneta Kopacz
• Our Curse, Tomasz Śliwiński and Maciej Ślesicki
• The Reaper (La Parka), Gabriel Serra Arguello
• White Earth, J. Christian Jensen

Best Live Action Short Film

• Aya, Oded Binnun and Mihal Brezis
• Boogaloo and Graham, Michael Lennox and Ronan Blaney
• Butter Lamp (La Lampe au beurre de yak), Hu Wei and Julien Féret
• Parvaneh, Talkhon Hamzavi and Stefan Eichenberger
• The Phone Call, Mat Kirkby and James Lucas

Best Animated Short Film

• The Bigger Picture, Daisy Jacobs and Christopher Hees
• The Dam Keeper, Robert Kondo and Dice Tsutsumi
• Feast, Patrick Osborne and Kristina Reed
• Me and My Moulton, Torill Kove
• A Single Life, Joris Oprins

Best Original Score

• Alexandre Desplat, The Grand Budapest Hotel
• Alexandre Desplat, The Imitation Game
• Hans Zimmer, Interstellar
• Gary Yershon, Mr. Turner
• Jóhann Jóhannsson, The Theory of Everything

Best Original Song

• Everything Is Awesome from The Lego Movie – Music and Lyric by Shawn Patterson
• Glory from Selma – Music and Lyric by John Legend and Common
• Grateful from Beyond the Lights – Music and Lyric by Diane Warren
• I’m Not Gonna Miss You from Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me – Music and Lyric by Glen Campbell and Julian Raymond
• Lost Stars from Begin Again – Music and Lyric by Gregg Alexander and Danielle Brisebois

Best Sound Editing

• Alan Robert Murray and Bub Asman, American Sniper
• Martin Hernández and Aaron Glascock, Birdman
• Brent Burge and Jason Canovas, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
• Richard King, Interstellar
• Becky Sullivan and Andrew DeCristofaro, Unbroken

Best Sound Mixing

• John Reitz, Gregg Rudloff and Walt Martin, American Sniper
• Jon Taylor, Frank A. Montaño and Thomas Varga, Birdman
• Gary A. Rizzo, Gregg Landaker and Mark Weingarten, Interstellar
• Jon Taylor, Frank A. Montaño and David Lee, Unbroken
• Craig Mann, Ben Wilkins and Thomas Curley, Whiplash

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

• Bill Corso and Dennis Liddiard, Foxcatcher
• Frances Hannon and Mark Coulier, The Grand Budapest Hotel
• Elizabeth Yianni-Georgiou and David White, Guardians of the Galaxy

Best Costume Design

• Milena Canonero, The Grand Budapest Hotel
• Mark Bridges, Inherent Vice
• Colleen Atwood, Into the Woods
• Anna B. Sheppard and Jane Clive, Maleficent
• Jacqueline Durran, Mr. Turner

Best Film Editing

• Joel Cox and Gary D. Roach, American Sniper
• Sandra Adair, Boyhood
• Barney Pilling, The Grand Budapest Hotel
• William Goldenberg, The Imitation Game
• Tom Cross, Whiplash

Best Visual Effects

• Dan DeLeeuw, Russell Earl, Bryan Grill and Dan Sudick, Captain America: The Winter Soldier
• Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, Daniel Barrett and Erik Winquist, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
• Stephane Ceretti, Nicolas Aithadi, Jonathan Fawkner and Paul Corbould, Guardians of the Galaxy
• Paul Franklin, Andrew Lockley, Ian Hunter and Scott Fisher, Interstellar
• Richard Stammers, Lou Pecora, Tim Crosbie and Cameron Waldbauer, X-Men: Days of Future Past

19th Annual San Diego Film Critics Society Awards

The San Diego Film Critics Society (SDFCS) announced their awards  with giving away the Best Film award to NIGHTCRAWLER directed by Dan Gilroy who also won the Best Director award. That is a surprise and such a bold choice by the critics to love a film so much that it becomes the major winner of the night.

Last year, 6 SDFCS winners won the Oscar, i.e. Best Director, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography and Best Production Design. Let’s see what happens this time.

Here is the complete list of winners:

BEST FILM
NIGHTCRAWLER

BEST DIRECTOR
Dan Gilroy, NIGHTCRAWLER

BEST ACTOR
Jake Gyllenhaal, NIGHTCRAWLER

BEST ACTRESS
Marion Cotillard, TWO DAYS, ONE NIGHT

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Mark Ruffalo, FOXCATCHER

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Rene Russo, NIGHTCRAWLER

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Dan Gilroy, NIGHTCRAWLER

BEST ADAPATED SCREENPLAY
Gillian Flynn, GONE GIRL

FOREIGN LANGUAGE
FORCE MAJEURE

DOCUMENTARY
CITIZENFOUR

ANIMATED
THE BOXTROLLS

CINEMATOGRAPHY
Robert Elswit, NIGHTCRAWLER

EDITING
James Herbert, Laura Jennings, EDGE OF TOMORROW

PRODUCTION DESIGN
Adam Stockhausen, Anna Pincock, THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL

BEST SCORE
James Newton Howard, NIGHTCRAWLER

BEST ENSEMBLE
BIRDMAN

BODY OF WORK
Willem Dafoe – JOHN WICK, THE FAULT IN OUR STARS, THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL, A MOST WANTED MAN & NYMPHOMANIAC 2

4th Annual Georgia Film Critics Association Awards

The Georgia Film Critics Association (GFCA) announced their awards on January 9th, 2015 with giving away the top prize to Boyhood, written and directed by Richard Linklater who also won the Best Director award.

The critics showed love to Nightcrawler and awarded it with Best Actor and Best Screenplay.

Last year, 7 GFCA winners won the Oscars, i.e. Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress, Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography and Best Animated Feature. Let’s see how it goes this year

Here is the complete list of winners, along with nominations:

Best Picture

• “Birdman”
• WINNER: “Boyhood”
• “Gone Girl”
• “The Grand Budapest Hotel”
• “Ida”
• “A Most Violent Year”
• “Nightcrawler”
• “Selma”
• “Snowpiercer”
• “Whiplash”

Best Director

• WINNER: “Boyhood” – Richard Linklater
• “Gone Girl” – David Fincher
• “The Grand Budapest Hotel” – Wes Anderson
• “Selma” – Ava DuVernay
• “Whiplash” – Damien Chazelle

Best Actor

• Ralph Fiennes (“The Grand Budapest Hotel”)
• WINNER: Jake Gyllenhaal (“Nightcrawler”)
• Michael Keaton (“Birdman”)
• David Oyelowo (“Selma”)
• Eddie Redmayne (“The Theory of Everything”)

Best Actress

• WINNER: Marion Cotillard (“Two Days, One Night”)
• Scarlett Johansson (“Under the Skin”)
• Felicity Jones (“The Theory of Everything”)
• Lisa Loven Kongsli (“Force Majeure”)
• Julianne Moore (“Still Alice”)
• Rosamund Pike (“Gone Girl”)

Best Supporting Actor

• Riz Ahmed (“Nightcrawler”)
• Ethan Hawke (“Boyhood”)
• Edward Norton (“Birdman”)
• Mark Ruffalo (“Foxcatcher”)
• WINNER: J.K. Simmons (“Whiplash”)

Best Supporting Actress

• Patricia Arquette (“Boyhood”)
• Jessica Chastain (“A Most Violent Year”)
• Rene Russo (“Nightcrawler”)
• Emma Stone (“Birdman”)
• WINNER: Tilda Swinton (“Snowpiercer”)

Best Original Screenplay

• “Boyhood” – Richard Linklater
• “Calvary” – John Michael McDonagh
• “The Grand Budapest Hotel” – Wes Anderson, Hugo Guinness
• WINNER: “Nightcrawler” – Dan Gilroy
• “Selma” – Paul Webb

Best Adapted Screenplay

• WINNER: “Gone Girl” – Gillian Flynn
• “The Imitation Game” – Graham Moore, Andrew Hodges
• “Inherent Vice” – Paul Thomas Anderson, Thomas Pynchon
• “Snowpiercer” – Bong Joon-ho, Kelly Masterson, Jacques Lob, Benjamin Legrand, Jean-Marc Rochette
• “The Theory of Everything” – Anthony McCarten, Jane Wilde Hawking
• “Wild” – Nick Hornby, Cheryl Strayed

Best Cinematography

• WINNER: “Birdman” – Emmanuel Lubezki
• “The Grand Budapest Hotel” – Robert Yeoman
• “Ida” – Lukasz Zal, Ryszard Lenczewski
• “Inherent Vice” – Robert Elswit
• “Interstellar” – Hoyte van Hoytema

Best Production Design

• WINNER: “The Grand Budapest Hotel” – Adam Stockhausen, Anna Pinnock
• “Inherent Vice” – David Crank, Amy Wells
• “Interstellar” – Nathan Crowley, Gary Fettis
• “Into the Woods” – Dennis Gassner, Anna Pinnock
• “Snowpiercer” – Ondrej Nekvasil, Catherine George
• “Under the Skin” – Chris Oddy, Emer O’Sullivan

Best Original Score

• “Birdman” – Antonio Sánchez
• “Gone Girl” – Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross
• WINNER: “Interstellar” – Hans Zimmer
• “Life Itself” – Joshua Abrams
• “Under the Skin” – Mica Levi

Best Original Song

• “Everything is Awesome” – Shawn Patterson, Joshua Bartholomew, Lisa Harriton, The Lonely Island (“The Lego Movie”)
• WINNER: “Glory” – John Stephens, Lonnie Lynn, Che Smith (“Selma”)
• “I’m Not Gonna Miss You” – Glen Campbell, Julian Raymond (“Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me”)
• “Something so Right” – Bret McKenzie (“Muppets Most Wanted”)
• “We Will Not Go” – J. Ralph (“Virunga”)

Best Ensemble

• “Birdman”
• “Boyhood”
• WINNER: “The Grand Budapest Hotel”
• “Gone Girl”
• “Selma”

Best Foreign Film

• “Force Majeure”
• WINNER: “Ida”
• “Sepideh”
• “Two Days, One Night”
• “We Are the Best!”

Breakthrough Award

• Ellar Coltrane (“Boyhood”)
• Ava DuVernay (“Selma”)
• Gugu Mbatha-Raw (“Belle,” “Beyond the Lights”)
• WINNER: David Oyelowo (“Default,” “Interstellar,” “A Most Violent Year,” “Nightingale,” “Selma”)
• Jenny Slate (“The Longest Week,” “Obvious Child”)
• Tessa Thompson (“Dear White People,” “Grantham & Rose,” “Selma”)

Best Animated Film

• “Big Hero 6”
• “The Book of Life”
• “The Boxtrolls”
• “How to Train Your Dragon 2”
• WINNER: “The LEGO Movie”

Best Documentary

• “Citizenfour”
• “Finding Vivian Maier”
• “Keep On Keepin’ On”
• WINNER: “Life Itself”
• “Sepideh”

 

Oglethorpe Award for Excellence in Georgia Cinema

• “Selma” – Ava DuVernay, Paul Webb

49th Annual National Society of Film Critics Awards

The National Society of Film Critics (NSFC) announced their awards on January 3rd, 2015 with giving away the Best Picture to Goodbye to Language by Jean-Luc Godard. That’s probably the  most irrelevant choice of the year, but hats off for making such a bold decision. Best Director went to Richard Linklater for Boyhood.

Last year, only 1 NSFC winner won the Oscar, i.e. Best Actress. So that explains it. Let’s see how it goes this year.

Here is the complete list of winners along with nominations and total votes:

BEST PICTURE
WINNER: 1. Goodbye to Language 25 (Jean-Luc Godard)
2. Boyhood 24 (Richard Linklater)
3. Birdman 10 (Alejandro G. Iñárritu)
3. Mr. Turner 10 (Mike Leigh)

BEST DIRECTOR
WINNER: 1. Richard Linklater 36 (Boyhood)
2. Jean-Luc Godard 17 (Goodbye to Language)
3. Mike Leigh 12 (Mr. Turner)

BEST NON-FICTION FILM
WINNER: 1. Citizenfour 56 (Laura Poitras)
2. National Gallery 19 (Frederick Wiseman)
3. The Overnighters 17 (Jesse Moss)

BEST SCREENPLAY
WINNER: 1. The Grand Budapest Hotel 24 (Wes Anderson)
2. Inherent Vice 15 (Paul Thomas Anderson)
2. Birdman 15 (four co-writers)

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
WINNER: 1. Mr. Turner 33 (Dick Pope)
2. The Immigrant 27 (Darius Khondji)
3. Goodbye to Language 9 (Fabrice Aragno)

BEST ACTOR
WINNER: 1.Timothy Spall 31 (Mr. Turner)
2. Tom Hardy 10 (Locke)
3. Joaquin Phoenix 9 (Inherent Vice)
3. Ralph Fiennes 9 (The Grand Budapest Hotel)

BEST ACTRESS
WINNER: 1. Marion Cotillard 80 (The Immigrant; Two Days, One Night)
2. Julianne Moore 35 (Still Alice)
3. Scarlett Johansson 21 (Lucy; Under the Skin)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
WINNER: 1. J.K. Simmons 24 (Whiplash)
2. Mark Ruffalo 21 (Foxcatcher)
3. Edward Norton 16 (Birdman)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
WINNER: 1. Patricia Arquette 26 (Boyhood)
2. Agata Kulesza 18 (Ida)
3. Rene Russo 9 (Nightcrawler)

FILM HERITAGE AWARD
1. To Ron Magliozzi, associate curator, and Peter Williamson, film conservation manager, of the Museum of Modern Art, for identifying and assembling the earliest surviving footage of what would have been the first feature film to star a black cast, the 1913 “Lime Kiln Field Day” starring Bert Williams.

2. To Ron Hutchinson, co-founder and director of The Vitaphone Project, which since 1991 has collected and restored countless original soundtrack discs for early sound short films and features, including the recent Warner Bros. restoration of William A. Seiter’s 1929 “Why Be Good?”

23rd Annual Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards

The Southeastern Film Critics Association (SEFCA) announced their 23rd annual awards with giving away the Best Film award to The Grand Budapest Hotel whereas the Best Director award went to Richard Linklater for Boyhood.

Last year, 6 SEFCA winners won the Oscar. Let’s see how it goes this year.

Here is the complete list of winners:

Best Picture
“The Grand Budapest Hotel”

Best Director
Richard Linklater, “Boyhood” (Runner-up: Wes Anderson, “The Grand Budapest Hotel”)

Best Actor
Michael Keaton, “Birdman” (Runner-up: Eddie Redmayne, “The Theory of Everything”)

Best Actress
Julianne Moore, “Still Alice” (Runner-up: Reese Witherspoon, “Wild”)

Best Supporting Actor
J.K. Simmons, “Whiplash” (Runner-up: Edward Norton, “Birdman”)

Best Supporting Actress
Patricia Arquette, “Boyhood” (Runner-up: Tilda Swinton, “Snowpiercer”)

Best Adapted Screenplay
“Gone Girl” (Runner-up: “Wild”)

Best Original Screenplay
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” (Runner-up: “Birdman”)

Best Animated Film
“The LEGO Movie” (Runner-up: “Big Hero 6”)

Best Foreign Language Film
“Force Majeure” (Runner-up: “Ida”)

Best Documentary
“Life Itself” (Runner-up: “CITIZENFOUR”)

Best Ensemble
“The Grand Budapest Hotel”

Gene Wyatt Award
For a film that best evokes the spirit of the South
“Selma” (Runner-up: “Cold in July”)

Top 10
“Birdman”
“Boyhood”
“Foxcatcher”
“Gone Girl”
“The Grand Budapest Hotel”
“The Imitation Game”
“Nightcrawler”
“Snowpiercer”
“The Theory of Everything”
“Whiplash”

18th Annual Online Film Critics Society Awards

The  Online Film Critics Society (OFCS) announced their awards with giving away the Best Picture award to THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL whereas the Best Director award went to Richard Linklater for BOYHOOD.

Last year, 8 OFCS winners won the Oscar, i.e. Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress, Best Original Screenplay, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Editing and Best Cinematography. Let’s see how it goes this time.

Here is the complete list of winners along with nominations:

Best Picture

Boyhood
^ The Grand Budapest Hotel ^
Ida
The Lego Movie
Mommy
Nightcrawler
Selma
Two Days, One Night
Under the Skin
Whiplash

Best Animated Feature

Big Hero 6
The Boxtrolls
How to Train Your Dragon 2
^ The Lego Movie ^
The Tale of the Princess Kaguya

Best Film Not in the English Language

Ida
The Missing Picture
Mommy
The Tale of the Princess Kaguya
^ Two Days, One Night ^

Best Documentary

Citizenfour
^ Life Itself ^
The Missing Picture
National Gallery
The Overnighters

Best Director

Wes Anderson – The Grand Budapest Hotel
Jean-Pierre Dardenne & Luc Dardenne – Two Days, One Night
Ava DuVernay – Selma
Jonathan Glazer – Under the Skin
^ Richard Linklater – Boyhood ^

Best Actor

Ralph Fiennes – The Grand Budapest Hotel
Brendan Gleeson – Calvary
Jake Gyllenhaal – Nightcrawler
^ Michael Keaton – Birdman ^
Timothy Spall – Mr. Turner

Best Actress

Marion Cotillard – Two Days, One Night
Essie Davis – The Babadook
Anne Dorval – Mommy
Julianne Moore – Still Alice
^ Rosamund Pike – Gone Girl ^

Best Supporting Actor

Josh Brolin – Inherent Vice
Ethan Hawke – Boyhood
^ Edward Norton – Birdman ^
Mark Ruffalo – Foxcatcher
J.K. Simmons – Whiplash

Best Supporting Actress

^ Patricia Arquette – Boyhood ^
Jessica Chastain – A Most Violent Year
Suzanne Clément – Mommy
Agata Kulesza – Ida
Tilda Swinton – Snowpiercer

Best Original Screenplay

Boyhood
^ The Grand Budapest Hotel ^
Selma
Two Days, One Night
Whiplash

Best Adapted Screenplay

^ Gone Girl ^
Inherent Vice
Snowpiercer
Under the Skin
We Are the Best!

Best Editing

^ Birdman ^
Boyhood
Gone Girl
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Whiplash

Best Cinematography

Birdman
^ The Grand Budapest Hotel ^
Ida
Mr. Turner
Under the Skin

Best Non-U.S. Release (non-competitive category)

’71
10,000 km
Entre Nós
Han Gong-ju
Hard to Be a God
The Look of Silence
The Salt of the Earth
What We Do in the Shadows
Timbuktu
The Tribe