2014 Screen Actors Guild Awards Winners!

(Photos: AceShowbiz/USA Today/Popsugar)

The winners of the 20th annual Screen Actors Guild Award gave us a clearer idea of who might walk away with the Oscar come March 2nd.  Matthew McConaughey, Cate Blanchett, Jared Leto and Lupita Nyong'o all solidified their frontrunner status with their wins.  American Hustle also took a slight lead from Gravity and 12 Years a Slave with their best ensemble win.  The actors, who are largest voting body in the Academy, have indicated their preference for American Hustle.  However, I think both Gravity and 12 Years a Slave both have a shot at best picture at the Oscars.  American Hustle works largely because of its charming cast whose total star presence cannot be ignored.  Up next, the Producers Guild of America announces its best picture tomorrow. 

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role

MATTHEW McCONAUGHEY / Ron Woodroof – “DALLAS BUYERS CLUB” (Focus Features)


Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role

CATE BLANCHETT / Jasmine – “BLUE JASMINE” (Sony Pictures Classics)


Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role

JARED LETO / Rayon – “DALLAS BUYERS CLUB” (Focus Features)


Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role

LUPITA NYONG’O / Patsey – “12 YEARS A SLAVE” (Fox Searchlight Pictures)


Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture

AMERICAN HUSTLE (Columbia Pictures)

AMY ADAMS / Sydney Prosser

CHRISTIAN BALE / Irving Rosenfeld

LOUIS C.K. / Stoddard Thorsen

BRADLEY COOPER / Richie DiMaso

PAUL HERMAN / Alfonse Simone

JACK HUSTON / Pete Musane

JENNIFER LAWRENCE / Rosalyn Rosenfeld

ALESSANDRO NIVOLA / Federal Prosecutor

MICHAEL PEÑA / Sheik (Agent Hernandez)

JEREMY RENNER / Mayor Carmine Polito

ELISABETH RÖHM / Dolly Polito

SHEA WHIGHAM / Carl Elway

2014 Critics Choice Awards Winners!

 
The 19th annual Critics Choice Awards were held on the same day as the Oscar nominations were announced. Hosted by comedian Aisha Tyler, the night feted the recent Oscar nominees while noting the big name snubs (Tom Hanks, Oprah Winfrey).  The night's big winners were 12 Years a Slave whose Lupita Nyong'o who won best supporting actress, American Hustle who won best ensemble and best actress and Gravity won best director, best action actress and whole truckload of technical awards.

Director Richard Linklater and actors Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke also received the Louis XIII Genius award for their Before trilogy while actor Forest Whitaker was given the Joel Siegel Award from his costar from Lee Daniels' The Butler, Oprah Winfrey, for his humanitarian work all around the world.

The full list of winners is below:

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 YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS
Adele Exarchopoulos – Blue Is the Warmest Color

BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE
American Hustle

BEST DIRECTOR
Alfonso Cuaron – Gravity

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Spike Jonze – Her

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
John Ridley – 12 Years a Slave

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Emmanuel Lubezki – Gravity

BEST ART DIRECTION
Catherine Martin (Production Designer), Beverley Dunn (Set Decorator) – The Great Gatsby

BEST EDITING
Alfonso Cuarón, Mark Sanger – Gravity

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Catherine Martin – The Great Gatsby

BEST MAKEUP
American Hustle

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Gravity

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Frozen

BEST ACTION MOVIE
Lone Survivor

BEST ACTOR IN AN ACTION MOVIE
Mark Wahlberg – Lone Survivor

BEST ACTRESS IN AN ACTION MOVIE
Sandra Bullock – Gravity

BEST COMEDY
American Hustle

BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY
Leonardo DiCaprio – The Wolf of Wall Street

BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
Amy Adams – American Hustle

BEST SCI-FI/HORROR MOVIE
Gravity

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Blue Is the Warmest Color

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
20 Feet from Stardom

BEST SONG
Let It Go – Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez – Frozen

BEST SCORE
Steven Price – Gravity

2014 Golden Globe Award Winners

The 71st Golden Globe awards were held this past Sunday and as usual it did not disappoint.  The show was hosted for the second time in a row by Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, who in their inimitable style "crushed it", with their jokes (Gravity is "the story of how George Clooney would rather float away in space and die than spend any more time with a woman his own age.") or hijacking the stage as teenager "Randy" and his mom.

The presenters were just as lively with Robert Downey Jr. promising us that no matter what happened that night, he was leaving home a winner or my favorite Emma Thompson who appeared on stage with a martini in one hand and a pair of Louboutins in another.  The red on the shoes, she told us, was her blood.  And she chose the martini over the shoes when it came to presenting the award!

(Photo: Getty Images)

Emma Stone (who's currently working with Woody Allen on the upcoming Magic in the Moonlight) and Diane Keaton (who worked with Allen from Annie Hall to Interiors) presented the Cecil B. DeMille award to an absent Woody Allen, who usually never attends awards functions. 

(Photos: Just Jared/The Hollywood Reporter)

Now, onto the awards, American Hustle won the most with 3 including best comedy/musical, 12 Years a Slave won for best drama, Gravity had the best director and Her had the best screenplay.  The acting awards went out to Dallas Buyers Club, Blue Jasmine, The Wolf of Wall Street and American Hustle, while Frozen won the best animated feature.

(Photos: E! Online/Getty Images)

Here's the full list of the feature film winners:

BEST MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
“12 Years a Slave”

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA

Matthew McConaughey, “Dallas Buyers Club”

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
Cate Blanchett, “Blue Jasmine”

BEST MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
“American Hustle”

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Leonardo DiCaprio, “The Wolf of Wall Street”

BEST DIRECTOR – MOTION PICTURE
Alfonso Cuaron, “Gravity”

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
“Frozen”

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

“The Great Beauty” (Italy)


BEST SCREENPLAY – MOTION PICTURE
Spike Jonze, “Her”

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
Jared Leto, “Dallas Buyers Club”

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Amy Adams, “American Hustle”

BEST ORIGINAL SONG – MOTION PICTURE
“Ordinary Love,” “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom”
Music by: Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton, Larry Mullen, Jr., Brian Burton
Lyrics by: Bono

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE – MOTION PICTURE
Alex Ebert, “All Is Lost”

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
Jennifer Lawrence “American Hustle”

First Teaser for Christopher Nolan's Interstellar!

It's here! An early Christmas present has arrived. The highly anticipated trailer for Christopher Nolan's Interstellar was launched yesterday and is being shown in theaters with The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.  Nolan has an all star cast of old favorites from his previous films like Michael Caine and Anne Hathaway and first timers like Matthew McConaughey, Jessica Chastain, Casey Affleck, Topher Grace, John Lithgow and David Oyelowo assembled for his follow up to the The Dark Knight Rises.  His last original film was wildly imaginative Inception that blew audiences away.  And after watching the teaser trailer once, twice, thrice, okay numerous times now, I can safely say this film too will be in a similar vein. The film's synopsis has this to say about the secretive film:

Interstellar chronicles the adventures of a group of explorers who make use of a newly discovered wormhole to surpass the limitations on human space travel and conquer the vast distances involved in an interstellar voyage.

So, what will you be doing 'One year from now'?  I know where I'll be: in the theater, probably on my second viewing of Interstellar. 

Casting News for Captain America, Interstellar and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

• Matthew McConaughey continues to impress with his choice of projects.  According to The Guardian, he has confirmed his lead role in Christopher Nolan’s next film Interstellar.  This should be an intriguing combination.  
• However, the most intriguing combination award of the week goes to Robert Redford and Marvel. The veteran actor-producer-director and founder of Sundance joins the cast of Captain America: The Winter Soldier as “the head of S.H.I.E.L.D.”. I can’t wait to see how this plays out.
• And finally, Will Arnett will feature in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as yet unnamed character.  Let the speculation begin!