The 2015 Oscars: Complete Winners

(Photo: AMPAS)

That's it. The 87th Academy Awards are over. The Oscar race is done. Alejandro G. Iñárritu's Birdman is 2014's Best Picture. How did we get here? Back in August, I thought for sure Boyhood had this in the bag. But there's this curse of the frontrunner that is becoming prevalent as years go by. If the critics hail it, the Academy is sure to have its own opinion. Therefore as you look at the best picture winners down the years, you'll notice that what was essentially the best film that year never ended up winning the big prize and sometimes it's better for it.

(Photo: Kevin Winter—Getty Images)

This year's host Neil Patrick Harris, after a solid opening musical number (and ably supported by Anna Kendrick and Jack Black), faltered in the comedy bits throughout the rest of the show. I think they forgot the part about hiring actual comedy writers to write the jokes and presenter introductions.  While part of the problem at the Golden Globes was that we didn't see Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, we kept wanting more. Here Harris was everywhere (not necessary a bad thing) but with jokes that weren't getting any laughs. It was just awkward because Neil's so winsome when he's hosted the Emmys and the Tonys. He should have just gone off script. 

(Photo: AMPAS)

But getting back to the show, it was a weird night for an Oscar show. All the Best Picture nominees won at least one Oscar so no one was shut out. It was the Oprah effect. "You get an Oscar, you get an Oscar and you get an Oscar!". For once, the musical numbers for the best song nominees weren't bad. Though I don't believe the Oscars were prepared or even ready for the stage performance that was 'Everything is Awesome'. That was light years ahead of the Academy, as is evidenced by The LEGO Movie not even being nominated for Best Animated Feature.

The LEGO Movie's exclusion meant that the LEGO Oscar teased by co-director Phil Lord the day of the Oscar nominations became the most coveted statue in the Dolby Theatre. During the performance, the dancers handed them out to the celebs seated   Everyone, and I mean everyone, was happily posing with them.  Excuse me while I go Google 'How to make your own LEGO Oscar'.

My personal picks were woefully miscalculated. I picked the nominees who I thought were going to win and was pleasantly surprised to see that who I wanted to win initially walked away with the Oscar.  Whiplash's win in editing, Interstellar's win for Double Negative's out of this world special effects and Alexandre Desplat's finally, finally winning after seven nominations, these were just a few of my hopeful picks and I'm so glad that they won. 

(Photo: AMPAS)

Last night was also the night that Hollywood brought out its activism in full force. Winners like Patricia Arquette (highlighting wage equality for women), Graham Moore (in the night's most emotional speech on being different) and John Legend and Common spoke up about marching on and fighting for what they believed in. Legend and Common brought the Dolby audience to their feet with their performance of 'Glory' from Selma. David  Oyelowo and Chris Pine were moved to tears.  Both of them spoke so eloquently on what the late Dr. King's march means today and why we must continue to speak up and act on the civil rights around the world. 

(Photo: Just Jared)

(Photo: AMPAS)

The night's biggest upset occurred in the Best Animated Feature category as Disney's Big Hero 6 beat out the competition (including DreamWorks' How To Train Your Dragon 2) to win the Oscar.  It was a good night for Disney Animation Studios which has regained its status as one of the top animation studios under the leadership of John Lasseter, it also won Best Animated Short for Feast. 

(Photo: Cartoon Brew)

The night also featured the battle of the Oscar winners trying to thank everyone they've ever know in 45 seconds versus that ruthless orchestra making sure they finish. Some of it was hilarious (see: Pawel Pawlikowski, the director of Ida) but sometimes orchestra, you need to chill, an Oscar moment only comes along once in a lifetime, let these people have their say.

To those who didn't win tonight, don't fret, this is not the end of the world.  Congratulations to all the winners and the nominees for their outstanding work in 2014 and let's meet back here again in a year to celebrate 2015. Good night!

Here's the complete list of winners below.

BEST MOTION PICTURE OF THE YEAR

Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance): Alejandro G. Iñárritu, John Lesher and James W. Skotchdopole, Producers

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE

Eddie Redmayne in The Theory of Everything

 

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

J.K. Simmons in Whiplash

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE

Julianne Moore in Still Alice

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Patricia Arquette in Boyhood

 

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM OF THE YEAR

Big Hero 6: Don Hall, Chris Williams and Roy Conli

 

ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY

Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance): Emmanuel Lubezki

 

ACHIEVEMENT IN COSTUME DESIGN

The Grand Budapest Hotel: Milena Canonero

 

ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTING

Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance): Alejandro G. Iñárritu

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

CitizenFour: Laura Poitras, Mathilde Bonnefoy and Dirk Wilutzky

 

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT

Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1: Ellen Goosenberg Kent and Dana Perry

 

ACHIEVEMENT IN FILM EDITING

Whiplash: Tom Cross

 

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM OF THE YEAR

Ida: Poland

 

ACHIEVEMENT IN MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING

The Grand Budapest Hotel: Frances Hannon and Mark Coulier

 

ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC WRITTEN FOR MOTION PICTURES (ORIGINAL SCORE)

The Grand Budapest Hotel: Alexandre Desplat

ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC WRITTEN FOR MOTION PICTURES (ORIGINAL SONG)

“Glory” from Selma

Music and Lyric by John Stephens and Lonnie Lynn

 

ACHIEVEMENT IN PRODUCTION DESIGN

The Grand Budapest Hotel Production Design: Adam Stockhausen; Set Decoration: Anna Pinnock

BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM

Feast: Patrick Osborne and Kristina Reed

 

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM

The Phone Call: Mat Kirkby and James Lucas

 

ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND EDITING

American Sniper: Alan Robert Murray and Bub Asman

 

ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND MIXING

Whiplash: Craig Mann, Ben Wilkins and Thomas Curley

ACHIEVEMENT IN VISUAL EFFECTS
 
Interstellar: Paul Franklin, Andrew Lockley, Ian Hunter and Scott Fisher

 

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

The Imitation Game: Written by Graham Moore

 

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance): Written by Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Jr. & Armando Bo

2015 Oscars: My Predictions!

The 87th annual Oscar awards, hosted by Neil Patrick Harris, will be given out on February 22, 2015. As I do every year, here's my picks for this year's Oscar winners.  I hope I'm right for a few of them. This year looks like it could be unpredictable for in a couple of categories. Have a look below!


BEST MOTION PICTURE OF THE YEAR

American Sniper: Clint Eastwood, Robert Lorenz, Andrew Lazar, Bradley Cooper and Peter Morgan, Producers

Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance): Alejandro G. Iñárritu, John Lesher and James W. Skotchdopole, Producers

Boyhood: Richard Linklater and Cathleen Sutherland, Producers

The Grand Budapest Hotel: Wes Anderson, Scott Rudin, Steven Rales and Jeremy Dawson, Producers

The Imitation Game: Nora Grossman, Ido Ostrowsky and Teddy Schwarzman, Producers

Selma: Christian Colson, Oprah Winfrey, Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner, Producers

The Theory of Everything: Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Lisa Bruce and Anthony McCarten, Producers

Whiplash: Jason Blum, Helen Estabrook and David Lancaster, Producers

Will win: The current frontrunner Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (and major guild winner) looks very likely to fly away with the Oscar for Best Picture. Featuring a strong cast of actors (who won the Screen Actors Guild ensemble award), a director who can think out of the box (and also won the Directors Guild Award) and the backdrop of theatre (the original stomping ground for many of the Academy's members), Birdman was shot specifically as one long continuous take by ace cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki. Albeit with a different subject matter, Birdman looks to take the path as Gravity did last year going into the Oscars.  And unlike Gravity which walked away with the technical awards and best director, it eventually lost Best Picture to 12 Years a Slave. Final verdict: to quote The Hunger Games, the odds favor Birdman.


Should win: Over a month ago, I thought Boyhood had this in the bag. Well, major guilds awards later, all signs firmly point towards Birdman.  The Golden Globes and BAFTAs however have honored Boyhood so there might a slight chance that a fraction of the voting could shift its way. We won't know of the final outcome until the very last envelope is opened on Oscar night.

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE

Steve Carell in Foxcatcher

Bradley Cooper in American Sniper

Benedict Cumberbatch in The Imitation Game

Michael Keaton in Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

Eddie Redmayne in The Theory of Everything

 

Will win: Eddie Redmayne.  The theory usually goes that young actors, when nominated for an Oscar, don't  win.  The last 'young' winner was Adrien Brody at 29 in 2002.  This category habitually honors the seasoned actor for his career (see: Jeff Bridges) or anyone named Daniel Day-Lewis.  But at 33, Redmayne took on the challenging role of world renowned theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything, charting his journey from an ambitious student at Oxford to his diagnosis of motor neuron disease and his relationship with Jane Wilde Hawking, his wife. It's an uphill task for any actor but Redmayne slips into it like second skin, looking uncannily like Professor Hawking, right down to his crooked smile. 

 

Should win: If the Oscar were going to the seasoned actor getting due this year, I would look no further than Michael Keaton who, cliché be damned, got a role of a lifetime in Birdman. A past his prime actor, who was once the most recognizable faces on the screen, Keaton goes through a whole range of emotions as Riggan Thomson trying to revive his career on Broadway. Keaton is terrific with his interactions with his fellow actors and it's been so long seeing him in a role, it would be an amazing cap on his career with sly wink to the actor who was first Batman. Plus, he would give an amazing speech if he won. 

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Robert Duvall in The Judge

Ethan Hawke in Boyhood

Edward Norton in Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

Mark Ruffalo in Foxcatcher

J.K. Simmons in Whiplash

Will win: J.K. Simmons. He's a character actor whose face you recognize in popular films (Juno, Spider-Man, I Love You, Man) who's now stepping up as the co-lead in Whiplash. Without his rendition of the music teacher from hell, Terence Fletcher, the film would fall flat.  

 

Should win: J.K. Simmons. No contest.

 

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE

Marion Cotillard in Two Days, One Night

Felicity Jones in The Theory of Everything

Julianne Moore in Still Alice

Rosamund Pike in Gone Girl

Reese Witherspoon in Wild

Will win: Julianne Moore.  She always features on those annul lists that name actors who should win an Oscar but never have as yet.  She should have won twice over for Boogie Nights in 1997 and The Hours in 2002. Moore is always likable and solid in all her films and it still feels if she wins, it will be the same as when Martin Scorsese finally won for The Departed in 2006.

 

Should win: Julianne Moore.  See above. Former Best Actress winners Marion Cotillard and Reese Witherspoon who have done fine work in their respective films won't even be considered, which is a shame.  My personal vote would have gone to Rosamund Pike in Gone Girl.  She was quite spectacular as the 'amazing' yet unhinged Amy. 

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Patricia Arquette in Boyhood

Laura Dern in Wild

Keira Knightley in The Imitation Game

Emma Stone in Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

Meryl Streep in Into the Woods

 

Will win: Patricia Arquette.  It's not just Ellar Coltrane with whom we journey along in Boyhood, we watch both Ethan Hawke and Patricia Arquette mature and change as parents. Arquette was outstanding, equal parts vulnerable and fearless, as a mother trying to do the best for her kids.  She stands high above the rest of the competition today, even above Meryl Streep. 

 

Should win: Patricia Arquette.

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM OF THE YEAR

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

 

Will win: How to Train Your Dragon 2.  The best animated film of 2014 (and the most successful) The LEGO Movie isn't even nominated, which makes this category into an unfair playing field.  Studio Ghibli's The Tale of Princess Kaguya (which took years to finish), Cartoon Saloon's Song of the Seas and Laika's Boxtrolls will get more viewers with their nominations but the winner here will be DreamWorks' How to Train Your Dragon 2 in Pixar-less year.

 

Should win: The LEGO Movie. Respect!

ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY

Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance): Emmanuel Lubezki

The Grand Budapest Hotel: Robert Yeoman

Ida: Lukasz Zal and Ryszard Lenczewski

Mr. Turner: Dick Pope

Unbroken: Roger Deakins

 

Will win: Emmanuel Lubezki goes for back-to-back Oscars with his astonishing camerawork in Birdman.

 

Should win: While Lubezki seems to be the overwhelming favorite, I can also Robert Yeoman (The Grand Budapest Hotel) and Lukasz Zal and Ryszard Lenczewski (Ida) possibly upsetting Lubezki on Oscar night.

ACHIEVEMENT IN COSTUME DESIGN

The Grand Budapest Hotel: Milena Canonero

Inherent Vice: Mark Bridges

Into the Woods: Colleen Atwood

Maleficent: Anna B. Sheppard and Jane Clive

Mr. Turner: Jacqueline Durran

 

Will win: Milena Canonero.  Just look at the eccentric cast of character spread across The Grand Budapest Hotel.  Hands down favorite.

 

Should win: Milena Canonero for The Grand Budapest Hotel. Just wish we would see more contemporary films in here. It's not as if costume directors don't exist for them.

ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTING

Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance): Alejandro G. Iñárritu

Boyhood: Richard Linklater

Foxcatcher: Bennett Miller

The Grand Budapest Hotel: Wes Anderson

The Imitation Game: Morten Tyldum

Will win: Richard Linklater. Although I feel Birdman's Alejandro G. Iñárritu might be play spoiler here.

 

Should win: Richard Linklater.  I think if I read one more article that mentions that Boyhood was 12 years in the making, I'd scream. 12 years notwithstanding, Linklater's focus in staying course and his belief in his project is nothing short of amazing and kinda of awesome.

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

CitizenFour: Laura Poitras, Mathilde Bonnefoy and Dirk Wilutzky

Finding Vivian Maier: John Maloof and Charlie Siskel

Last Days in Vietnam: Rory Kennedy and Keven McAlester

The Salt of the Earth: Wim Wenders, Juliano Ribeiro Salgado and David Rosier

Virunga: Orlando von Einsiedel and Joanna Natasegara

 

Will win: CitizenFour. The buzz has been mostly about this powerful documentary about Ed Snowden and the NSA leaks. Possibly causing an upset here could be Virunga which has big celebrity support from Oprah Winfrey, Leonardo Di Caprio and Mark Ruffalo.

 

Should win: CitizenFour.

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT

Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1: Ellen Goosenberg Kent and Dana Perry

Joanna: Aneta Kopacz

Our Curse: Tomasz Sliwinski and Maciej Slesicki

The Reaper (La Parka): Gabriel Serra Arguello

White Earth: J. Christian Jensen

 

Will win: Joanna.  The emotional story of a mother with a terminal diagnosis looks to be a frontrunner here.  Fun fact: Former Oscar winner, Jan A. P. Kaczmarek, composed the music for the short.  His score for 2004's Finding Neverland is one of my all-time personal favorites. 

 

ACHIEVEMENT IN FILM EDITING

American Sniper: Joel Cox and Gary D. Roach

Boyhood: Sandra Adair

The Grand Budapest Hotel: Barney Pilling

The Imitation Game: William Goldenberg

Whiplash: Tom Cross

 

Will win: Sandra Adair for Boyhood. I can't even imagine the amount of footage she had to wade through over 12 years (there it again!). While the rule of thumb usually means that whoever wins editing wins Best Picture, it hasn't really counted these past couple of years. Boyhood looks to prevail here.

 

Should win: While it's a shame that Birdman (slyly and cleverly edited by Douglas Crise and Stephen Mirrione) isn't nominated, I'm secretly rooting for Whiplash. Those music sessions were intense!

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM OF THE YEAR

Ida: Poland

Leviathan: Russia

Tangerines: Estonia

Timbuktu: Mauritania

Wild Tales: Argentina

 

Will win: Ida. Golden Globe winner Leviathan or Cesar winner Timbuktu could give it some competition. Wild Tales from Argentina (which in recent years had a winner in wonderful The Secret in Their Eyes) could be the dark horse in the race. 

 

Should win: Ida.

 
ACHIEVEMENT IN MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING

Foxcatcher: Bill Corso and Dennis Liddiard

The Grand Budapest Hotel: Frances Hannon and Mark Coulier

Guardians of the Galaxy: Elizabeth Yianni-Georgiou and David White

 

Will win: Frances Hannon and Mark Coulier for The Grand Budapest for disguising Tilda Swinton beyond recognition. 

 

Should win: See above.

ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC WRITTEN FOR MOTION PICTURES (ORIGINAL SCORE)

The Grand Budapest Hotel: Alexandre Desplat

The Imitation Game: Alexandre Desplat

Interstellar: Hans Zimmer

Mr. Turner: Gary Yershon

The Theory of Everything: Jóhann Jóhannsson

Will win: Jóhann Jóhannsson for The Theory for Everything.  The score is just lovely, soft and soaring in the right places.

 

Should win: Double nominee Alexandre Desplat for something! Desplat is consistently good and his score on The Imitation Game is very good, but is it good enough to win Jóhannsson? I'm not sure. 

ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC WRITTEN FOR MOTION PICTURES (ORIGINAL SONG)

“Everything Is Awesome” from The Lego Movie

Music and Lyric by Shawn Patterson

“Glory” from Selma

Music and Lyric by John Stephens and Lonnie Lynn

“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

 

Will win: The slightly older Academy members might be leaning to vote for Glen Campbell's 'I'm Not Gonna Miss You'. 

 

Should win: Biased vote here: The world's most awesome anthem in 'Everything Is Awesome'.  If 'It's Hard Out There for a Pimp' can win an Oscar, it's hard not to root for 'Everything is Awesome'.  I wouldn't be bummed if the truly wonderful 'Lost Stars' from Begin Again won as well.  

ACHIEVEMENT IN PRODUCTION DESIGN

The Grand Budapest Hotel Production Design: Adam Stockhausen; Set Decoration: Anna Pinnock

The Imitation Game Production Design: Maria Djurkovic; Set Decoration: Tatiana Macdonald

Interstellar Production Design: Nathan Crowley; Set Decoration: Gary Fettis

Into the Woods Production Design: Dennis Gassner; Set Decoration: Anna Pinnock

Mr. Turner Production Design: Suzie Davies; Set Decoration: Charlotte Watts

Will win: The best looking film hands down, The Grand Budapest Hotel.  It's as pretty as Agatha's confections in the film. 

 

Should win: See above. 


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

 

Will win: The Dam Keeper. This short made by former Pixar animators has the most buzz about it. 

 

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

 

Will win: Parvaneh.  Have read a lot of good stuff about this particular short online.

 

ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND EDITING

American Sniper: Alan Robert Murray and Bub Asman

Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance): Martín Hernández and Aaron Glascock

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies: Brent Burge and Jason Canovas

Interstellar: Richard King

Unbroken: Becky Sullivan and Andrew DeCristofaro

 

Will win: American Sniper.  I don't know, films about war usually win here.

Should win: Would have loved to see Interstellar win here.  I appreciate its purposeful use of silence in the film.

ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND MIXING

American Sniper: John Reitz, Gregg Rudloff and Walt Martin

Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance): Jon Taylor, Frank A. Montaño and Thomas Varga

Interstellar: Gary A. Rizzo, Gregg Landaker and Mark Weingarten

Unbroken: Jon Taylor, Frank A. Montaño and David Lee

Whiplash: Craig Mann, Ben Wilkins and Thomas Curley

 

Will win: Whiplash.

 

Should win: Whiplash. Fingers crossed.

ACHIEVEMENT IN VISUAL EFFECTS

Captain America: The Winter Soldier: Dan DeLeeuw, Russell Earl, Bryan Grill and Dan Sudick

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes: Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, Daniel Barrett and Erik Winquist

Guardians of the Galaxy: Stephane Ceretti, Nicolas Aithadi, Jonathan Fawkner and Paul Corbould

Interstellar: Paul Franklin, Andrew Lockley, Ian Hunter and Scott Fisher

X-Men: Days of Future Past: Richard Stammers, Lou Pecora, Tim Crosbie and Cameron Waldbauer

 

Will win: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. Weta and Andy Serkis looks to be winning combination.

 

Should win: Really rooting for either Interstellar or Guardians of the Galaxy to break through.

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

American Sniper: Written by Jason Hall

The Imitation Game: Written by Graham Moore

Inherent Vice: Written for the screen by Paul Thomas Anderson

The Theory of Everything: Screenplay by Anthony McCarten

Whiplash: Written by Damien Chazelle

 

Will win: Damien Chazelle's Whiplash. Although recent Writer's Guild winner The Imitation Game could give it real competition here. 

 

Should win: Gillian Flynn for Gone Girl.  I'm still bitter about it.  

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance): Written by Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Jr. & Armando Bo

Boyhood: Written by Richard Linklater

Foxcatcher: Written by E. Max Frye and Dan Futterman

The Grand Budapest Hotel: Screenplay by Wes Anderson; Story by Wes Anderson & Hugo Guinness

Nightcrawler: Written by Dan Gilroy

 

Will win: The Grand Budapest Hotel. It was one of my favorites last year. What a crazy, wonderful, hilarious and entertaining movie. 

 

Should win: Wes Anderson for The Grand Budapest Hotel. It's about time. 

2015 SAG Awards announced!

A day after its big win at the PGA Awards, Birdman continued its run forward by winning the ensemble award at the Screen Actor's Guild Awards last night.  Although the lead actor Michael Keaton lost to The Theory of Everything's Eddie Redmayne (who was outstanding as Professor Stephen Hawking), the rest of the awards were predictable enough as Julianne Moore (Still Alice), J.K. Simmons (Whiplash) and Patricia Arquette (Boyhood) all consolidated their positions as the favorites in their categories. The rest of the night held many highlights and the actors fraternity all honored each other's work in the film and television mediums.  This year's 'In Memoriam' reel was hard to watch as one by one, the greats who left us in 2014 (Lauren Bacall, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Robin Williams), had me almost in tears.  Carrie Fisher presented her mother Debbie Reynolds with the SAG Lifetime Achievement Award in a funny and lively tribute that only she could give.  Who knew that Reynolds had such lovely voice? Time to go back and watch some older films, I say.  All in all, the SAG Awards confirmed to those watching the Oscars race that Birdman means business now. Don't count it out come Oscar night February 22nd.  Below is the full list of the film winners: 

(Photo: Voice of America)

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A CAST IN A MOTION PICTURE:

Birdman
OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE:

Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything)

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE:

Julianne Moore (Still Alice)

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:

J.K Simmons (Whiplash)

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:

Patricia Arquette (Boyhood)

2015 Oscar Nominations Announced!

 It's the most wonderful time of the year, it's time for the Oscar nominations! The noms this year were announced by directors JJ Abrams and Alfonso Cuaron and Chris Pine and Academy President Cheryl Isaacs Boone in a slightly different manner.  This time, not everyone got the shaft, every nomination was announced live in two segments. As usual they were surprises, snubs and eventual celebrations as everyone gathered to laud the best of a year gone by. The full list of nominations with my reactions below:

BEST MOTION PICTURE OF THE YEAR

American Sniper: Clint Eastwood, Robert Lorenz, Andrew Lazar, Bradley Cooper and Peter Morgan, Producers

Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance): Alejandro G. Iñárritu, John Lesher and James W. Skotchdopole, Producers

Boyhood: Richard Linklater and Cathleen Sutherland, Producers

The Grand Budapest Hotel: Wes Anderson, Scott Rudin, Steven Rales and Jeremy Dawson, Producers

The Imitation Game: Nora Grossman, Ido Ostrowsky and Teddy Schwarzman, Producers

Selma: Christian Colson, Oprah Winfrey, Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner, Producers

The Theory of Everything: Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Lisa Bruce and Anthony McCarten, Producers

Whiplash: Jason Blum, Helen Estabrook and David Lancaster, Producers

My take: Well, well, well, now I'd say we have ourselves an Oscar race. Although with only 8 nominees, there are some movies that missing from the race. Most notably, Gone Girl and Wild, both of which featured female leads. Any surprises as why they're missing from the list? Guardians of the Galaxy was another crowd pleaser this past year, a good candidate of why popular films also deserve to be part of the conversation. I'm guessing Christopher Nolan's Interstellar, another big blockbuster, was just too much to process for the Academy voters.  And just because animated features have their own category, it doesn't mean they can't be considered for best picture. Without any competition from Pixar, DreamWorks, Disney and Warner Bros' The LEGO Movie all brought their A-game, but it wasn't enough.  Onto the actual nominees, American Sniper, Birdman and The Grand Budapest Hotel are giving Boyhood tough competition here. Boyhood only has 6 total nominations compared to Birdman and The Grand Budapest Hotel's 9 each. Even The Imitation Game has 8 noms. Eventually, I do think that Boyhood will walk away with the top prize. 

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE

Steve Carell in Foxcatcher

Bradley Cooper in American Sniper

Benedict Cumberbatch in The Imitation Game

Michael Keaton in Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

Eddie Redmayne in The Theory of Everything

My take: The big takeaway in this category is that Bradley Cooper is a three-time nominee against four first time nominees. That's right, Cooper has scored his nominations for three straight years. Impressive indeed! All the first-timers are completely deserving of their nominations (Yay Benedict!), though I wish Miles Teller (Whiplash), Jake Gyllenhaal (Nightcrawler) or David Oyelowo (Selma) would have gotten some recognition as well

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Robert Duvall in The Judge

Ethan Hawke in Boyhood

Edward Norton in Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

Mark Ruffalo in Foxcatcher

J.K. Simmons in Whiplash

My take: How did Robert Duvall manage to sneak in? I had seen some critics correctly predicting his nomination but didn't take it seriously. Never assume in an Oscar race. J.K. Simmons has this locked down tight, but I expect Edward Norton to give him a run for his money. Ethan Hawke in Boyhood was guaranteed and I loved that Mark Ruffalo got a nom for Foxcatcher, his Dave Schulz is understated and sincere. Ruffalo's had a good 2014. 


PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE

Marion Cotillard in Two Days, One Night

Felicity Jones in The Theory of Everything

Julianne Moore in Still Alice

Rosamund Pike in Gone Girl

Reese Witherspoon in Wild

My take: Is this year that Julianne Moore is finally rewarded for her long career and outstanding work in almost every film she's in?  I certainly hope so. Gone Girl's Rosemund Pike received the film's lone nomination for her role. She's amazing in it (pun intended), one of my favorite performances of the past year.  I haven't see most of these performances yet except Felicity Jones in The Theory of Everything, a statement I hope to rectify soon. There was a lot of talk about Jennifer Aniston breaking through with her work in Cake but she was snubbed this year. 

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Patricia Arquette in Boyhood

Laura Dern in Wild

Keira Knightley in The Imitation Game

Emma Stone in Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

Meryl Streep in Into the Woods

My take: The incomparable Meryl Streep makes history once again with her 19th nomination (the most of any actor) and before I begrudge her nomination, she really was great in Into the Woods. Keira Knightley returns with her second nomination this time in the supporting category.  Laura Dern, too, earns her second nomination after 23 years! She was last nominated for Rambling Rose in 1991. Emma Stone and Patricia Arquette are both first-timers here but I don't think anyone can beat Arqueette this year. 

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM OF THE YEAR

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

My take: Holy Snub, Batman! The biggest shock from the nominations is the exclusion of The LEGO Movie from this category. It was a slam dunk to many. Now, it looks like How to Train Your Dragon 2 is leading favorite. And after the sad news from Studio Ghibli that there would be no more feature films, it's wonderful to see Isao Takahata's The Tale of the Princess Kaguya here. Been hear nothing but praise since it released.  This coming on the heels of Hayao Miyazaki's honorary Oscar at the Governor's Awards is bittersweet.


ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY

Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance): Emmanuel Lubezki

The Grand Budapest Hotel: Robert Yeoman

Ida: Lukasz Zal and Ryszard Lenczewski

Mr. Turner: Dick Pope

Unbroken: Roger Deakins

My take: I've only seen two films in this category and already I can tell that Roger Deakins isn't going to be the favorite here. This makes me sad. I need to finish watching the rest of the nominees, especially looking forward to seeing Ida. 

ACHIEVEMENT IN COSTUME DESIGN

The Grand Budapest Hotel: Milena Canonero

Inherent Vice: Mark Bridges

Into the Woods: Colleen Atwood

Maleficent: Anna B. Sheppard and Jane Clive

Mr. Turner: Jacqueline Durran

My take: All period films nominated here no big surprise.  Really hope The Grand Budapest Hotel wins. Every one in the cast of the film had such an eclectic look. 


ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTING

Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance): Alejandro G. Iñárritu

Boyhood: Richard Linklater

Foxcatcher: Bennett Miller

The Grand Budapest Hotel: Wes Anderson

The Imitation Game: Morten Tyldum

My take: The biggest surprise here is director Benett Miller's nomination.  He was previously nominated for his first film Capote (2005). Wes Anderson receives his fourth nomination but his first as best director. Morten Tyldum also gets his first best director nomination for his first English film for The Imitation Game. The real competition is between Alejandro G. Iñárritu and Richard Linklater and we all know which way the majority is leaning. Big snubs here were David Fincher for Gone Girl and Ava DuVernay for Selma. Real missed opportunities here.

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

CitizenFour: Laura Poitras, Mathilde Bonnefoy and Dirk Wilutzky

Finding Vivian Maier: John Maloof and Charlie Siskel

Last Days in Vietnam: Rory Kennedy and Keven McAlester

The Salt of the Earth: Wim Wenders, Juliano Ribeiro Salgado and David Rosier

Virunga: Orlando von Einsiedel and Joanna Natasegara

My take: I was surprised to see the acclaimed documentry, Life Itself, on Roger Ebert not make the cut.  But the buzz in the documentary world has been mostly about CitizenFour and Virunga. I have go back and do some research on the rest of the nominees. 

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT

Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1: Ellen Goosenberg Kent and Dana Perry

Joanna: Aneta Kopacz

Our Curse: Tomasz Sliwinski and Maciej Slesicki

The Reaper (La Parka): Gabriel Serra Arguello

White Earth: J. Christian Jensen

My take: It's homework time on these shorts!

ACHIEVEMENT IN FILM EDITING

American Sniper: Joel Cox and Gary D. Roach

Boyhood: Sandra Adair

The Grand Budapest Hotel: Barney Pilling

The Imitation Game: William Goldenberg

Whiplash: Tom Cross

My take: Believe it or not, this is my favorite category at the Oscars.  What ties a movie together is the editing and sets it apart from being just a film and takes it to the great film.  That said, I'm disappointed that Gone Girl isn't here. I'd love to see The Grand Budapest Hotel or Whiplash win here but something tells me Boyhood will win.

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM OF THE YEAR

Ida: Poland

Leviathan: Russia

Tangerines: Estonia

Timbuktu: Mauritania

Wild Tales: Argentina

My take: This is embarrassing, I haven't even one of the films here. Time to rectify that!


ACHIEVEMENT IN MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING

Foxcatcher: Bill Corso and Dennis Liddiard

The Grand Budapest Hotel: Frances Hannon and Mark Coulier

Guardians of the Galaxy: Elizabeth Yianni-Georgiou and David White

My take: This is actually a tough category.  Steve Carell's look in Foxcatcher is the most striking but the aliens of Guardians of the Galaxy vs the cast of characters in The Grand Budapest Hotel (for Tilda Swinton alone!) is the real competition.


ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC WRITTEN FOR MOTION PICTURES (ORIGINAL SCORE)

The Grand Budapest Hotel: Alexandre Desplat

The Imitation Game: Alexandre Desplat

Interstellar: Hans Zimmer

Mr. Turner: Gary Yershon

The Theory of Everything: Jóhann Jóhannsson

My take: My second favorite category at the Oscars.  Pereninal favorites Hans Zimmer and this year a double nominee Alexander Desplat were expected but I have a feeling that the front runner is Jóhann Jóhannsson with his score for The Theory of Everything. It truly felt incandescent.  

ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC WRITTEN FOR MOTION PICTURES (ORIGINAL SONG)

“Everything Is Awesome” from The Lego Movie

Music and Lyric by Shawn Patterson

“Glory” from Selma

Music and Lyric by John Stephens and Lonnie Lynn

“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

My take: How do you take a catchy song like 'Everything is Awesome' and turn into a downer? You don't nominate the film for best animated feature. *facepalm*  On the other end of the spectrum, there's Glory from Selma with the film's only other nomination.  I loved 'Lost Stars' from Begin Again and I'm kinda rooting for it, secretly hoping that Adam Levine will sing it at Oscar night.


ACHIEVEMENT IN PRODUCTION DESIGN

The Grand Budapest Hotel Production Design: Adam Stockhausen; Set Decoration: Anna Pinnock

The Imitation Game Production Design: Maria Djurkovic; Set Decoration: Tatiana Macdonald

Interstellar Production Design: Nathan Crowley; Set Decoration: Gary Fettis

Into the Woods Production Design: Dennis Gassner; Set Decoration: Anna Pinnock

Mr. Turner Production Design: Suzie Davies; Set Decoration: Charlotte Watts

My take:  Interstellar makes an appearance here with one of its few nominations (a small win for the contemporary films) but for me, it's The Grand Budapest Hotel all the way.  That powder pink hotel is forever etched in my brain (in a good way!).


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

My take: I have woefully neglected the animated shorts this past year. I definitely should mend that soon.

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

My take: Time to do some major homework. I don't recognize any of the shorts here.

ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND EDITING

American Sniper: Alan Robert Murray and Bub Asman

Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance): Martín Hernández and Aaron Glascock

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies: Brent Burge and Jason Canovas

Interstellar: Richard King

Unbroken: Becky Sullivan and Andrew DeCristofaro

My take: Great to see Interstellar here with its deliberate choice of silence mixed into the film's soundtrack.  Something tells me that American Sniper and Birdman are the favorites in the sound categories here.

ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND MIXING

American Sniper: John Reitz, Gregg Rudloff and Walt Martin

Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance): Jon Taylor, Frank A. Montaño and Thomas Varga

Interstellar: Gary A. Rizzo, Gregg Landaker and Mark Weingarten

Unbroken: Jon Taylor, Frank A. Montaño and David Lee

Whiplash: Craig Mann, Ben Wilkins and Thomas Curley

My take: Love that Whiplash got nominated here. Watch the film to see how cleverly it weaved the music into the narrative. Really hoping that it will eventually win.

ACHIEVEMENT IN VISUAL EFFECTS

Captain America: The Winter Soldier: Dan DeLeeuw, Russell Earl, Bryan Grill and Dan Sudick

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes: Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, Daniel Barrett and Erik Winquist

Guardians of the Galaxy: Stephane Ceretti, Nicolas Aithadi, Jonathan Fawkner and Paul Corbould

Interstellar: Paul Franklin, Andrew Lockley, Ian Hunter and Scott Fisher

X-Men: Days of Future Past: Richard Stammers, Lou Pecora, Tim Crosbie and Cameron Waldbauer

My take: The only time Hollywood blockbusters (all of them have grossed over $100 million) get any love is this category.  One of these films has an ace up its sleeve called Andy Serkis. Who do you think will win now?


ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

American Sniper: Written by Jason Hall

The Imitation Game: Written by Graham Moore

Inherent Vice: Written for the screen by Paul Thomas Anderson

The Theory of Everything: Screenplay by Anthony McCarten

Whiplash: Written by Damien Chazelle

My take: Not seeing Gillian Flynn's name here for Gone Girl really hurts. The film was textbook adaption done right, maybe because Flynn adapted her own book. I tell myself that even Citizen Kane didn't win any Oscars and move on.  For me, the clear cut winner now is Damien Chazelle's screenplay for Whiplash.


ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance): Written by Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Jr. & Armando Bo

Boyhood: Written by Richard Linklater

Foxcatcher: Written by E. Max Frye and Dan Futterman

The Grand Budapest Hotel: Screenplay by Wes Anderson; Story by Wes Anderson & Hugo Guinness

Nightcrawler: Written by Dan Gilroy

My take: Once again, this one's between The Grand Budapest Hotel and Birdman. I wonder if having so many screenwriters will hurt the film's chances. Most of the previous winners have been solo writers. 

The 87th annual Oscar awards, hosted by Neil Patrick Harris, will be given out on February 22, 2015.