And the Directors Guild of America Award goes to...

Everyone is calling this year's race for the Oscars as one of the closest ever.  The Golden Globes went to 12 Years a Slave and American Hustle for drama and comedy respectively, the SAG ensemble was claimed by the cast of American Hustle and for the first time ever, the Producers Guild of America had a historic tie as 12 Years a Slave and Gravity both were anointed as the best films of the year.

(Photo: Reuters)

And Gravity, building on the momentum of its best picture win at the PGAs, also added yet another honor to its mantle earlier this week as director Alfonso Cuaron was named best feature film by last winner's Ben Affleck (Argo).  And in the documentary feature category, director Jehane Noujaim won for The Square. Momentum is swinging all over the place.  With the Writers Guild of America and the BAFTAs remaining as the major awards, which film will emerge as the frontrunner for the Oscars?  Right now, it's anyone's game.

Below are the film award winners for the DGAs:

Feature Film:
Alfonso Cuaron, “Gravity”

Documentary:
Jehane Noujaim, “The Square”

2014 Producers Guild of America Award Winners!

(Photo: USA Today)

A day after the Screen Guild Awards and the big American Hustle win for best ensemble, it's the turn of the Producers Guild of America Awards to give out the big awards. Everyone's eyes were on the main award looking to see if American Hustle would repeat its win from the previous night. Instead, the PGAs threw up a doozy in the race for the Oscars.

For the first time in its history, there was a genuine, honest-to-God tie in a race already to close to call.  Say what? The lucky and relieved recipients of that tie happened to be Gravity and 12 Years a Slave.  The other big winners of the night included We Steal Secrets: The Story of Wikileaks for best documentary and Frozen for best animated feature.

Folks, as famed detective Sherlock Holmes (Benedict Cumberbatch) in the BBC series Sherlock would say, "The game is on!" Have a look at the list of the feature film winners below:

Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures (TIE):
Gravity (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Producers: Alfonso Cuarón, David Heyman
&
12 Years a Slave (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Producers: Anthony Katagas, Jeremy Kleiner, Steve McQueen, Brad Pitt & Dede Gardner

Outstanding Producer of Documentary Motion Pictures:
We Steal Secrets: The Story of Wikileaks

Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures:
Frozen (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
Producer: Peter Del Vecho

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 Oscar Nominations Announced!

The nominations for the 86th Oscars were announced early this past Thursday morning at 5: 30 am PST in Los Angeles by AMPAS President Cheryl Boone Isaacs and actor Chris Hemsworth (Thor).

 

This year, there were so many great films (strangely from the latter half of the year) that the competition was fierce and the possibility of snubs and surprises in such a tight race was high.  In the end, 9 films ended up being nominated for Best Picture. Why not 10, if the field was crowded? Chalk it up to complicated Academy rules that make ten nominees impossible to get in recent years. And I'm guessing I'm not the only one is who driven mad by the uneven number. I wish they would just go back to 10 nominees for best picture.

As a result, there were several films that failed to score any nominations (Lee Daniels' The Butler, Fruitvale Station, Rush) and others who surprised with solid presence (Philomena, Nebraska, Captain Phillips). Some films like Inside Llewyn Davis and The Grandmaster ended up only with technical nominations when many were expecting them to show up in the Best Picture and Best Foreign Film categories respectively.

Once again, American Hustle and Gravity are leading the pack with 10 nominations each and 12 Years a Slave not far behind with 9 nominations.  David O. Russell became the rare director to have his actors receive nominations in all the acting categories two years in a row. I imagine all actors will be queuing up to act in his films.  That is, if Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper or Jennifer Lawrence allow them!

The full list is below:

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Christian Bale in “American Hustle” (Sony Pictures Releasing)
Bruce Dern in “Nebraska” (Paramount)
Leonardo DiCaprio in “The Wolf of Wall Street” (Paramount)
Chiwetel Ejiofor in “12 Years a Slave” (Fox Searchlight)
Matthew McConaughey in “Dallas Buyers Club” (Focus Features)

My take: Except for Bruce Dern, all the other actors in this field are playing characters based on real people. Most notable snubs in this category include Tom Hanks for Captain Phillips and Robert Redford for All is Lost. I was also hoping to see Michael B. Jordan (Fruitvale Station) score his first ever nomination. The Academy rarely rewards young actors (though Jennifer Lawrence is the exception to every rule) so I knew the chances were rare. But one can always hope that Jordan will be nominated one day. Christian Bale is the lone previous winner here.

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Barkhad Abdi in “Captain Phillips” (Sony Pictures Releasing)
Bradley Cooper in “American Hustle” (Sony Pictures Releasing)
Michael Fassbender in “12 Years a Slave” (Fox Searchlight)
Jonah Hill in “The Wolf of Wall Street” (Paramount)
Jared Leto in “Dallas Buyers Club” (Focus Features)

My take: None of these actors have ever won an Oscar before and for Bradley Cooper and Jonah Hill, it's their second nomination. But the story is here is Jared Leto, previously of the band Thirty Seconds on Mars, who returned to acting after a long break in Dallas Buyers Club. This is a once-in-a-lifetime-role and Leto is the overwhelming favorite.

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Amy Adams in “American Hustle” (Sony Pictures Releasing)
Cate Blanchett in “Blue Jasmine” (Sony Pictures Classics)
Sandra Bullock in “Gravity” (Warner Bros.)
Judi Dench in “Philomena” (The Weinstein Company)
Meryl Streep in “August: Osage County” (The Weinstein Company)

My take: Except for Amy Adams, all of these wonderful actresses have won an Oscar before. But Adams does have 4 previous nominations, albeit in the supporting actress category. This is her first lead actress nomination. Might she sneak through the veterans and score her first win? American Hustle seems to be quite beloved with critics and audiences across America so it is quite possible. But count out acting powerhouses Cate Blanchett and Meryl Streep at your risk.

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Sally Hawkins in “Blue Jasmine” (Sony Pictures Classics)
Jennifer Lawrence in “American Hustle” (Sony Pictures Releasing)
Lupita Nyong’o in “12 Years a Slave” (Fox Searchlight)
Julia Roberts in “August: Osage County” (The Weinstein Company)
June Squibb in “Nebraska” (Paramount)

My take: This is one category that usually produces the most upsets (see: Mira Sorvino in Mighty Aprodite or Tilda Swinton in Michael Clayton) so who will break through this year or will it go to the Girl on Fire, Jennifer Lawrence? The race for now seems to be between Lupita Nyong'o and Jennifer Lawrence who seem to be dividing up all the major awards up so far.

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM OF THE YEAR
“The Croods” (20th Century Fox)
Chris Sanders, Kirk DeMicco and Kristine Belson
“Despicable Me 2” (Universal)
Chris Renaud, Pierre Coffin and Chris Meledandri
“Ernest & Celestine” (GKIDS)
Benjamin Renner and Didier Brunner
“Frozen” (Walt Disney)
Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee and Peter Del Vecho
“The Wind Rises” (Walt Disney)
Hayao Miyazaki and Toshio Suzuki

My take: Last year's winner for Best Animated Feature for Brave, Pixar Studios' latest feature film, Monsters University, failed to land a nomination. Instead, Walt Disney Animation's Frozen along with The Croods and Despicable Me 2 ended up as the studio-produced films. Ernest & Celestine from France and Japan's The Wind Rises (also master animator Hayao Miyazaki's last film) ended up with the final two nominations. For me, the race is on between Disney's Frozen which is having such a hot streak both at the box office and as a pop culture phenomenon and The Wind Rises, which is atop many critics' lists for best animated feature.

ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY
“The Grandmaster” (The Weinstein Company) Philippe Le Sourd
“Gravity” (Warner Bros.) Emmanuel Lubezki
“Inside Llewyn Davis” (CBS Films) Bruno Delbonnel
“Nebraska” (Paramount) Phedon Papamichael
“Prisoners” (Warner Bros.) Roger A. Deakins

My take: And we're back on Roger Deakins watch again this year. The famed cinematographer has been nominated 10 times before, this year is his 11th nomination. Will he ever win an Oscar? This category is actually very competitive as some of the most gorgeously and stylishly shots films of the past year are all together. I'm so torn, this is going to be one tough category to predict though I must say that Gravity does have a slight edge here over the others.

ACHIEVEMENT IN COSTUME DESIGN
“American Hustle” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Michael Wilkinson
“The Grandmaster” (The Weinstein Company) William Chang Suk Ping
“The Great Gatsby” (Warner Bros.) Catherine Martin
“The Invisible Woman” (Sony Pictures Classics) Michael O’Connor
“12 Years a Slave” (Fox Searchlight) Patricia Norris

My take: I'm not aware about the costumes in The Grandmaster and The Invisible Woman but the favorites here are American Hustle (that 70s and 80s fashion!), The Great Gatsby (Catherine Martin is previous winner for Moulin Rouge!) and 12 Years a Slave (nominee Patricia Norris is 83 and has been nominated five times before). If The Great Gatsby wins any Oscar, it's this one.

ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTING
“American Hustle” (Sony Pictures Releasing) David O. Russell
“Gravity” (Warner Bros.) Alfonso Cuarón
“Nebraska” (Paramount) Alexander Payne
“12 Years a Slave” (Fox Searchlight) Steve McQueen
“The Wolf of Wall Street” (Paramount) Martin Scorsese

My take: The only one of the directors who has previously won in this category is Martin Scorsese. But sadly, that's the only Oscar he owns. Will that be changed this year? Or will history be created as Steve McQueen becomes the first black director to win the directing Oscar? Other strong contenders include David O. Russell and Alfonso Cuarón whose films have received 10 nominations each. I have a feeling it might a repeat of last year when Ang Lee won for the Life of Pi, the most technically difficult film out of all the nominees. Gravity, a script he wrote and edited, easily fits the bill for that.

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
“The Act of Killing” (Drafthouse Films)
Joshua Oppenheimer and Signe Byrge Sørensen
“Cutie and the Boxer” (RADiUS-TWC)
Zachary Heinzerling and Lydia Dean Pilcher
“Dirty Wars” (IFC Films)
Richard Rowley and Jeremy Scahill
“The Square” (Netflix in association with Worldview
Entertainment and Participant Media)
Jehane Noujaim and Karim Amer
“20 Feet from Stardom” (RADiUS-TWC)
Nominees to be determined

My take: The Act of Killing was named the Best Film of 2013 by Sight and Sound and featured in the lists of many critics' best of 2013. The others I'll have to acquaint myself with, though The Square and 20 Feet from Stardom have also received honorable mentions this past year.

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
“CaveDigger”
Jeffrey Karoff
“Facing Fear”
Jason Cohen
“Karama Has No Walls” (Mudhouse Films)
Sara Ishaq
“The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life”
Malcolm Clarke and Nicholas Reed
“Prison Terminal: The Last Days of Private Jack Hall”
Edgar Barens

My take: Time to do some homework.

ACHIEVEMENT IN FILM EDITING
“American Hustle” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Jay Cassidy, Crispin Struthers and Alan Baumgarten
“Captain Phillips” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Christopher Rouse
“Dallas Buyers Club” (Focus Features) John Mac McMurphy and Martin Pensa
“Gravity” (Warner Bros.) Alfonso Cuarón and Mark Sanger
“12 Years a Slave” (Fox Searchlight) Joe Walker

My take: Alfonso Cuarón scored his second nomination this year for editing Gravity with Mark Sanger. They were previously nominated for editing Children of Men (2006). Big surprise not to see Thelma Schoonmaker here for editing that wild ride that was The Wolf of Wall Street. The jerky camerawork of Captain Phillips gave me a headache so I'm not considering it as a threat in this category. It's the big 3, American Hustle, Gravity and 12 Years a Slave that are battling it out here.

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM OF THE YEAR
“The Broken Circle Breakdown” (Tribeca Film) – Belgium
“The Great Beauty” (Janus Films) – Italy
“The Hunt” (Magnolia Pictures) – Denmark
“The Missing Picture” (Strand Releasing) – Cambodia
“Omar” (Adopt Films) – Palestine

My take: The year started with such a bang at Cannes and The Past and Blue is the Warmest Color immediately became the frontrunners for the foreign film. But The Past never made it to the shortlist and Blue is the Warmest Color never made it past the eligibility rules. Italy's The Great Beauty and Denmark's The Hunt are the frontrunners by default. The rest I'll have to read up on.

ACHIEVEMENT IN MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
“Dallas Buyers Club” (Focus Features) Adruitha Lee and Robin Mathews
“Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa” (Paramount) Stephen Prouty
“The Lone Ranger” (Walt Disney) Joel Harlow and Gloria Pasqua-Casny

My take: Fruitvale Station has zero, I repeat, zero nominations and Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa is not only a nominee but the clear frontrunner in this category. Sometimes the Academy Award nominations baffle me.

ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC WRITTEN FOR MOTION PICTURES (ORIGINAL SCORE)
“The Book Thief” (20th Century Fox) John Williams
“Gravity” (Warner Bros.) Steven Price
“Her” (Warner Bros.) William Butler and Owen Pallett
“Philomena” (The Weinstein Company) Alexandre Desplat
“Saving Mr. Banks” (Walt Disney) Thomas Newman

My take: The legendary John Williams at age 81 scored his 44th nomination (beat that, Meryl Streep!) for best original score. He's only won 5 times. The scores for Gravity, Her and Saving Mr. Banks were my personal favorites this past year. Thomas Newman (son of Alfred Newman and cousin of Randy Newman) really needs to win one of these someday but I really do believe this one belongs to Steven Price.

ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC WRITTEN FOR MOTION PICTURES (ORIGINAL SONG)
“Alone Yet Not Alone” from “Alone Yet Not Alone” (Enthuse Entertainment)
Music by Bruce Broughton Lyric by Dennis Spiegel
“Happy” from “Despicable Me 2” (Universal)
Music and Lyric by Pharrell Williams
“Let It Go” from “Frozen” (Walt Disney)
Music and Lyric by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez
“The Moon Song” from “Her” (Warner Bros.)
Music by Karen O Lyric by Karen O and Spike Jonze
“Ordinary Love” from “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom” (The Weinstein Company)
Music by Paul Hewson, Dave Evans, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Lyric by Paul Hewson

My take: While I'm thrilled with the nominations of 'The Moon Song' from Her, 'Happy' from Despicable Me 2 and I'm guessing 'Ordinary Love' from Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom is really popular, 'Let It Go' from Frozen needs to win this category. Firstly because I'm dying to see incomparable Idina Menzel perform the song live and secondly, (this is very important), Robert Lopez is on EGOT watch! If he wins, he will have an Emmy (a Daytime Emmy but an Emmy nevertheless for The Wonder Pets),Tonys for Avenue Q and The Book of Mormon and a Grammy for The Book of Mormon. To experience an EGOT happening live in front of you is something else indeed.

ACHIEVEMENT IN PRODUCTION DESIGN
“American Hustle” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Production Design: Judy Becker; Set Decoration: Heather Loeffler
“Gravity” (Warner Bros.) Production Design: Andy Nicholson; Set Decoration: Rosie Goodwin and Joanne Woollard
“The Great Gatsby” (Warner Bros.) Production Design: Catherine Martin; Costume Design: Beverley Dunn
“Her” (Warner Bros.) Production Design: K.K. Barrett; Set Decoration: Gene Serdena
“12 Years a Slave” (Fox Searchlight) Production Design: Adam Stockhausen; Set Decoration: Alice Baker

My take: My personal favorite here is the set and production design for Her, a futuristic world with muted, soft colors I could totally imagine myself in. The big 3 are again quite strong here but the visuals in The Great Gatsby were eye-popping extravagant and quite amazing.

BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM
“Feral”
Daniel Sousa and Dan Golden
“Get a Horse!” (Walt Disney)
Lauren MacMullan and Dorothy McKim
“Mr. Hublot”
Laurent Witz and Alexandre Espigares
“Possessions”
Shuhei Morita
“Room on the Broom”
Max Lang and Jan Lachauer

My take: The only one of these that I've seen is the startling Get a Horse! the rediscovered short from the Mouse House. It's time to watch some animated shorts!

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
“Aquel No Era Yo (That Wasn’t Me)” (FREAK Independent Film Agency)
Esteban Crespo
“Avant Que De Tout Perdre (Just before Losing Everything)”
Xavier Legrand and Alexandre Gavras
“Helium”
Anders Walter and Kim Magnusson
“Pitääkö Mun Kaikki Hoitaa? (Do I Have to Take Care of Everything?)”
Selma Vilhunen and Kirsikka Saari
“The Voorman Problem”
Mark Gill and Baldwin Li

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

ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND EDITING
“All Is Lost” (Lionsgate & Roadside Attractions) Steve Boeddeker and Richard Hymns
“Captain Phillips” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Oliver Tarney
“Gravity” (Warner Bros.) Glenn Freemantle
“The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” (Warner Bros.) Brent Burge
“Lone Survivor” (Universal) Wylie Stateman

My take: I had system of figuring out these categories last year, I need to go back and find that again this year.

ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND MIXING
“Captain Phillips” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Chris Burdon, Mark Taylor, Mike Prestwood Smith
“Gravity” (Warner Bros.) Skip Lievsay, Niv Adiri, Christopher Benstead and
“The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” (Warner Bros.) Christopher Boyes, Michael Hedges,
“Inside Llewyn Davis” (CBS Films) Skip Lievsay, Greg Orloff and Peter F. Kurland
“Lone Survivor” (Universal) Andy Koyama, Beau Borders and David Brownlow

My take: See above.

ACHIEVEMENT IN VISUAL EFFECTS
“Gravity” (Warner Bros.) Tim Webber, Chris Lawrence, Dave Shirk and Neil Corbould
“The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” (Warner Bros.) Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton and Eric Reynolds
“Iron Man 3” (Walt Disney) Christopher Townsend, Guy Williams, Erik Nash and Dan Sudick
“The Lone Ranger” (Walt Disney) Tim Alexander, Gary Brozenich, Edson Williams and John Frazier
“Star Trek Into Darkness” (Paramount) Roger Guyett, Patrick Tubach, Ben Grossmann and Burt Dalton

My take: A superhero, a hobbit, a lone ranger are up against two stories set in space. Like last year, there's a clear frontrunner here. Gravity is a definite lock.

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
“Before Midnight” (Sony Pictures Classics) Written by Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke
“Captain Phillips” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Screenplay by Billy Ray
“Philomena” (The Weinstein Company) Screenplay by Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope
“12 Years a Slave” (Fox Searchlight) Screenplay by John Ridley
“The Wolf of Wall Street” (Paramount) Screenplay by Terence Winter

My take: All solid nominees here for adapted screenplay although this category does throw in some surprises now and again. I'd love to see the trio of Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke recognized for their intellectual 'Before' trilogy.

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
“American Hustle” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Written by Eric Warren Singer and David O. Russell
“Blue Jasmine” (Sony Pictures Classics) Written by Woody Allen
“Dallas Buyers Club” (Focus Features) Written by Craig Borten & Melisa Wallack
“Her” (Warner Bros.) Written by Spike Jonze
“Nebraska” (Paramount) Written by Bob Nelson

My take: I'm incredibly biased here, I'm rooting for Spike Jonze's Her all the way and not considering anyone else.

BEST MOTION PICTURE OF THE YEAR
“American Hustle” (Sony Pictures Releasing)
Charles Roven, Richard Suckle, Megan Ellison and Jonathan Gordon, Producers
“Captain Phillips” (Sony Pictures Releasing)
Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti and Michael De Luca, Producers
“Dallas Buyers Club” (Focus Features)
Robbie Brenner and Rachel Winter, Producers
“Gravity” (Warner Bros.)
Alfonso Cuarón and David Heyman, Producers
“Her” (Warner Bros.)
Megan Ellison, Spike Jonze and Vincent Landay, Producers
“Nebraska” (Paramount)
Albert Berger and Ron Yerxa, Producers
“Philomena” (The Weinstein Company)
Gabrielle Tana, Steve Coogan and Tracey Seaward, Producers
“12 Years a Slave” (Fox Searchlight)
Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Steve McQueen and Anthony Katagas, Producers
“The Wolf of Wall Street” (Paramount)
Nominees to be determined

My take: Finally, we come to the big Kahuna. 9 pictures, one surprise nominee (Philomena, the lone Weinstein Company product), 3 frontrunners and 5 other pictures hoping to break through. This year, I've already seen 8 of the 9 nominees with Nebraska being the only one to watch from this list. This is a first for me.

Who will win? We'll find out all when the awards will be held on March 2, 2014 in a ceremony hosted by Ellen DeGeneres. I can't wait until then. Can you?

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”

Movie Review: The Wolf of Wall Street

On Wall Street, you have the bulls and the bears. And then there's Jordan Belfort. He needs a whole separate category unto himself that's explained in this grand opus of greed, excess and the single-minded pursuit of riches.

Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio's fifth collaboration together, The Wolf of Wall Street, is yet another example of ambitious moviemaking. I don't think they'd have it any other way.  DiCaprio is Jordan Belfort, a young eager stockbroker ready to do whatever it takes to rise up the corporate ladder.   His first job at a major Wall Street firm with mentor Mark Hanna (Matthew McConaughey in a too-small role) doesn't last after the epic collapse on Black Monday in 1987. However, young Jordan manages to bounce back quite neatly when he stumbles upon a scheme of selling penny stocks for higher personal profits on Long Island. He's the lone shark amongst the fishes.

Belfort sees and seizes upon the potential the opportunity that has fallen in front of him. Along with his over-enthusiastic neighbor and partner Donnie Azoff (a hysterical Jonah Hill), he recruits these inexperienced suburbanites and turns them and himself into an established company with street-cred on Wall Street.  Behind the scenes, the crazy shenanigans are afoot and gluttony of every manner, sex, drugs, alcohol and hard cash, you name it, Jordan and his cohorts have tried and thrived on them.  I doubt they could survive a single day without them.   

But as they say, the higher you rise, the harder you fall. Belfort has built his company stealing from the poor and the rich and making himself and his partners wealthy.  He has no compunctions about it too which a lot of the audience might be turned off by but if not for Leonardo's superb and fearless lead performance, the film would collapse completely.  And in the hands of a lesser actors, the whole film would be off-putting.

Jonah Hill, who for the second year in row, has turned a stellar supporting performance (those pearly whites are startling, you won't be able to take your eyes off them!) with his portrayal of Belfort's right hand man.  The rest of the cast is just as good with Rob Reiner in his first acting job in 10 years, Margot Robbie as Jordan's second wife, Kyle Chandler as his nemesis from the FBI and a splendid cameo by director Spike Jonze (see if you can spot him!).

As usual, ace director Scorsese and his editor Thelma Schoonmaker continue to surprise us with their vivacity with each new film (Scorsese is 71 and Schoonmaker is 74).  I especially loved the soundtrack choices and editing cuts.  As I mentioned before, the content of the film might be off-putting or just too much for many but I suggest you watch The Wolf of Wall Street primarily for Leonardo DiCaprio, this is his one performance where everything is just laid out on the table, warts and all. Don't look away. 

Directed by Martin Scorsese; Screenplay by Terence Winter; Based on the book by Jordan Belfort; Cinematography by Rodrigo Prieto; Editing by Thelma Schoonmaker

Additional cast: Jon Bernthal, Jon Favreau, Jean DuJardin, Joanna Lumley, Cristin Milioti

Rating:

28th Annual ASC Award Nominees Announced!

The American Society of Cinematographers announced the seven best cinematographers of the past year.  All of the honorees have produced great works in the past and this year too is no exception with some stunning visuals present in films like Prisoners, Nebraska and Gravity. The winners will be announced on February 1st, 2014.  The full list of nominees is below:

• Sean Bobbitt, BSC for 12 Years a Slave
• Barry Ackroyd, BSC for Captain Phillips
• Philippe Le Sourd for The Grandmaster
• Emmanuel Lubezki, ASC, AMC for Gravity
• Bruno Delbonnel, ASC, AFC for Inside Llewyn Davis
• Phedon Papamichael, ASC for Nebraska
• Roger Deakins, ASC, BSC for Prisoners

First Look at the 2014 Oscar Poster!

(Photo Credit: AMPAS)

It's here! This year's official Oscar poster shows a very happy looking Ellen DeGeneres, hosting the show for the second time, sitting down with the statue everyone wants a piece of.  We see the new logo front and center featuring the Oscar statue yet again.  What do you think? Love it or too simple?  The Oscars will be presented live around the world on March 2, 2014.  

2014 EE BAFTA nominees announced!

The 2014 EE British Academy Film Awards aka the BAFTAs announced their nominations for the best in film for the past year and Gravity, 12 Years a Slave and American Hustle have done very well with multiple nominations in the leading and technical categories.  There are no big surprises here but for those you surprised to see Behind the Candelabra on the nominations list, it was released theatrically in the UK so therefore it's eligible for the awards. Their nominations in the technical categories are spot on and some deserving performances might have been left out the list because they technically haven't released in the UK as yet (see Dallas Buyers Club and August: Osage County).  This year's Rising Star honourees include young talent such as Dane DeHaan, George MacKay, Lupita Nyong’o, Will Poulter and Léa Seydoux in an award that the public votes upon.  The awards will be given out on February 16 in a ceremony hosted by Stephen Fry.

Here's a full list of the nominees:

BEST FILM
12 YEARS A SLAVE Anthony Katagas, Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Steve McQueen
AMERICAN HUSTLE Charles Roven, Richard Suckle, Megan Ellison, Jonathan Gordon
CAPTAIN PHILLIPS Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca
GRAVITY Alfonso Cuarón, David Heyman
PHILOMENA Gabrielle Tana, Steve Coogan, Tracey Seaward

OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM
GRAVITY Alfonso Cuarón, David Heyman, Jonás Cuarón
MANDELA: LONG WALK TO FREEDOM Justin Chadwick, Anant Singh, David M. Thompson, William Nicholson
PHILOMENA Stephen Frears, Gabrielle Tana, Steve Coogan, Tracey Seaward, Jeff Pope
RUSH Ron Howard, Andrew Eaton, Peter Morgan
SAVING MR. BANKS John Lee Hancock, Alison Owen, Ian Collie, Philip Steuer, Kelly Marcel, Sue Smith
THE SELFISH GIANT: Clio Barnard, Tracy O’Riordan

OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER
COLIN CARBERRY (Writer), GLENN PATTERSON (Writer) Good Vibrations
KELLY MARCEL (Writer) Saving Mr. Banks
KIERAN EVANS (Director/Writer) Kelly + Victor
PAUL WRIGHT (Director/Writer), POLLY STOKES (Producer) For Those in Peril
SCOTT GRAHAM (Director/Writer) Shell

FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
THE ACT OF KILLING Joshua Oppenheimer, Signe Byrge Sørensen
BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOUR Abdellatif Kechiche, Brahim Chioua, Vincent Maraval
THE GREAT BEAUTY Paolo Sorrentino, Nicola Giuliano, Francesca Cima
METRO MANILA Sean Ellis, Mathilde Charpentier
WADJDA Haifaa Al-Mansour, Gerhard Meixner, Roman Paul

DOCUMENTARY
THE ACT OF KILLING Joshua Oppenheimer
THE ARMSTRONG LIE Alex Gibney
BLACKFISH Gabriela Cowperthwaite
TIM’S VERMEER Teller, Penn Jillette, Farley Ziegler
WE STEAL SECRETS: THE STORY OF WIKILEAKS Alex Gibney

ANIMATED FILM
DESPICABLE ME 2 Chris Renaud, Pierre Coffin
FROZEN Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee
MONSTERS UNIVERSITY Dan Scanlon

DIRECTOR
12 YEARS A SLAVE Steve McQueen
AMERICAN HUSTLE David O. Russell
CAPTAIN PHILLIPS Paul Greengrass
GRAVITY Alfonso Cuarón
THE WOLF OF WALL STREET Martin Scorsese

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
AMERICAN HUSTLE Eric Warren Singer, David O. Russell
BLUE JASMINE Woody Allen
GRAVITY Alfonso Cuarón, Jonás Cuarón
INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
NEBRASKA Bob Nelson

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
12 YEARS A SLAVE John Ridley
BEHIND THE CANDELABRA Richard LaGravenese
CAPTAIN PHILLIPS Billy Ray
PHILOMENA Steve Coogan, Jeff Pope
THE WOLF OF WALL STREET Terence Winter

LEADING 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

LEADING ACTRESS
AMY ADAMS American Hustle
CATE BLANCHETT Blue Jasmine
EMMA THOMPSON Saving Mr. Banks
JUDI DENCH Philomena
SANDRA BULLOCK Gravity

SUPPORTING ACTOR
BARKHAD ABDI Captain Phillips
BRADLEY COOPER American Hustle
DANIEL BRÜHL Rush
MATT DAMON Behind the Candelabra
MICHAEL FASSBENDER 12 Years a Slave

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
JENNIFER LAWRENCE American Hustle
JULIA ROBERTS August: Osage County
LUPITA NYONG’O 12 Years a Slave
OPRAH WINFREY The Butler
SALLY HAWKINS Blue Jasmine

ORIGINAL MUSIC
12 YEARS A SLAVE Hans Zimmer
THE BOOK THIEF John Williams
CAPTAIN PHILLIPS Henry Jackman
GRAVITY Steven Price
SAVING MR. BANKS Thomas Newman

CINEMATOGRAPHY
12 YEARS A SLAVE Sean Bobbitt
CAPTAIN PHILLIPS Barry Ackroyd
GRAVITY Emmanuel Lubezki
INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS Bruno Delbonnel
NEBRASKA Phedon Papamichael

EDITING
12 YEARS A SLAVE Joe Walker
CAPTAIN PHILLIPS Christopher Rouse
GRAVITY Alfonso Cuarón, Mark Sanger
RUSH Dan Hanley, Mike Hill
THE WOLF OF WALL STREET Thelma Schoonmaker

PRODUCTION DESIGN
12 YEARS A SLAVE Adam Stockhausen, Alice Baker
AMERICAN HUSTLE Judy Becker, Heather Loeffler
BEHIND THE CANDELABRA Howard Cummings
GRAVITY Andy Nicholson, Rosie Goodwin, Joanne Woodlard
THE GREAT GATSBY Catherine Martin, Beverley Dunn

COSTUME DESIGN
AMERICAN HUSTLE Michael Wilkinson
BEHIND THE CANDELABRA Ellen Mirojnick
THE GREAT GATSBY Catherine Martin
THE INVISIBLE WOMAN Michael O’Connor
SAVING MR. BANKS Daniel Orlandi

MAKE UP & HAIR
AMERICAN HUSTLE Evelyne Noraz, Lori McCoy-Bell
BEHIND THE CANDELABRA Kate Biscoe, Marie Larkin
THE BUTLER Debra Denson, Beverly Jo Pryor, Candace Neal
THE GREAT GATSBY Maurizio Silvi, Kerry Warn
THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG Peter Swords King, Richard Taylor, Rick Findlater

SOUND
ALL IS LOST Richard Hymns, Steve Boeddeker, Brandon Proctor, Micah Bloomberg, Gillian Arthur
CAPTAIN PHILLIPS Chris Burdon, Mark Taylor, Mike Prestwood Smith, Chris Munro, Oliver Tarney
GRAVITY Glenn Freemantle, Skip Lievsay, Christopher Benstead, Niv Adiri, Chris Munro
INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS Peter F. Kurland, Skip Lievsay, Greg Orloff
RUSH Danny Hambrook, Martin Steyer, Stefan Korte, Markus Stemler, Frank Kruse

SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS
GRAVITY Tim Webber, Chris Lawrence, David Shirk, Neil Corbould, Nikki Penny
THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton, Eric Reynolds
IRON MAN 3 Bryan Grill, Christopher Townsend, Guy Williams, Dan Sudick
PACIFIC RIM Hal Hickel, John Knoll, Lindy De Quattro, Nigel Sumner
STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS Ben Grossmann, Burt Dalton, Patrick Tubach, Roger Guyett

BRITISH SHORT ANIMATION
EVERYTHING I CAN SEE FROM HERE Bjorn-Erik Aschim, Friederike Nicolaus, Sam Taylor
I AM TOM MOODY Ainslie Henderson
SLEEPING WITH THE FISHES James Walker, Sarah Woolner, Yousif Al-Khalifa

BRITISH SHORT FILM
ISLAND QUEEN Ben Mallaby, Nat Luurtsema
KEEPING UP WITH THE JONESES Megan Rubens, Michael Pearce, Selina Lim
ORBIT EVER AFTER Chee-Lan Chan, Jamie Stone, Len Rowles
ROOM 8 James W. Griffiths, Sophie Venner
SEA VIEW Anna Duffield, Jane Linfoot

THE EE RISING STAR AWARD (voted for by the public)
DANE DEHAAN
GEORGE MACKAY
LUPITA NYONG’O
WILL POULTER
LÉA SEYDOUX

66th Directors Guild of America nominees announced!

With all the guilds announcing their nominations in the weeks leading up to the Oscar nominations, things are definitely getting interesting and hopefully a clearer picture is starting to emerging this awards season.  The Directors Guild of America announced their feature film nominees for 2014 and their prestigious list features three first time honorees, one with his second nomination and one living legend with his eleventh (yes, eleventh!).  Alfonso Cuarón, Paul Greengrass, Steve McQueen, David O. Russell and Martin Scorsese are all nominated for the 66th annual awards which will be given out on January 25th, 2014.  The ceremony will be hosted by actress Jane Lynch. 

Here are the nominees and their details:

ALFONSO CUARÓN - Gravity (Warner Bros. Pictures)

Mr. Cuarón’s Directorial Team:

• Unit Production Manager: David Siegel (Arizona Unit)
• First Assistant Directors: Josh Robertson, Stephen Hagen (Arizona Unit)
• Second Assistant Director: Ben Howard

This is Mr. Cuarón’s first DGA Feature Film Award nomination.


PAUL GREENGRASS - Captain Phillips (Columbia Pictures)
Mr. Greengrass’s Directorial Team:

• Unit Production Managers: Todd Lewis, Gregory Goodman
• First Assistant Director: Chris Carreras
• Second Assistant Directors: Nick Shuttleworth, Mark S. Constance

This is Mr. Greengrass’s first DGA Award nomination.


STEVE McQUEEN - 12 Years A Slave (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Mr. McQueen’s Directorial Team:

• Unit Production Manager:  Anthony Katagas
• First Assistant Director: Doug Torres
• Second Assistant Director:  James Roque Jr.
• Second Second Assistant Director: Sherman Shelton Jr.
• Additional Second Assistant Director: Nathan Parker

This is Mr. McQueen’s first DGA Award nomination.


DAVID O. RUSSELL - American Hustle (Columbia Pictures)
Mr. Russell’s Directorial Team:

• Unit Production Managers: Shea Kammer, Mark Kamine
• First Assistant Director: Michele ‘Shelley’ Ziegler
• Second Assistant Director: Xanthus Valan
• Second Second Assistant Director: Jason Fesel
• Location Managers: David Velasco, Guy Efrat (New York Unit)

This is Mr. Russell’s second DGA Award nomination.  He was previously nominated in this category for The Fighter in 2010.


MARTIN SCORSESE - The Wolf of Wall Street (Paramount Pictures)

Mr. Scorsese’s Directorial Team:

• Unit Production Manager: Richard Baratta
• First Assistant Director: Adam Somner
• Second Assistant Director: Francisco Ortiz
• Second Second Assistant Director: Jeremy Marks
• Additional Second Assistant Director: Scott Koche
• Location Manager: Nils Widboom

This is Mr. Scorsese’s eleventh DGA Award nomination.  He won the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film in 2006 for The Departed, and has also been nominated in that category for Taxi Driver (1976), Raging Bull (1980), Goodfellas (1990), The Age of Innocence (1993), Gangs of New York (2002), The Aviator (2004) and Hugo (2011). Mr. Scorsese also won the DGA Award in 2010 for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Dramatic Television for Boardwalk Empire and he was nominated for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary for George Harrison: Living in the Material World in 2011.  In 1999, Mr. Scorsese was presented with the Filmmaker Award at the inaugural DGA Honors Gala, and he was honored with the DGA Lifetime Achievement Award in 2003.

2014 Writers Guild of America Awards nominees announced!

The Writers Guild of America award nominations were announced last week on January 3rd and American Hustle, Blue Jasmine, Her, Before Midnight and Captain Phillips have all scored nominations. Of course, other films like 12 Years a Slave, Fruitvale Station, Lee Daniels' The Butler and August: Osage County (all produced by The Weinstein Company coincidentally) weren't eligible for awards consideration.

Meanwhile, in the documentary category, I'm personally pleased to see Sarah Polley's Stories We Tell make the cut. The memories and emotions unearthed in the films have stayed with me still. I'd love for Polley to get some awards attention. I'm always looking forward to what kind of stories she has to say from behind the camera.

The awards will be given out on February 1, 2014.

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

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

American Hustle, Written by Eric Warren Singer and David O. Russell; Columbia Pictures
Blue Jasmine, Written by Woody Allen; Sony Pictures Classics
Dallas Buyers Club, Written by Craig Borten & Melisa Wallack; Focus Features
Her, Written by Spike Jonze; Warner Bros.
Nebraska, Written by Bob Nelson; Paramount Pictures

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

August: Osage County, Screenplay by Tracy Letts; Based on his play; The Weinstein Company
Before Midnight, Written by Richard Linklater & Julie Delpy & Ethan Hawke; Based on characters created by Richard Linklater & Kim Krizan; Sony Classics
Captain Phillips, Screenplay by Billy Ray; Based on the book A Captain’s Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALS, and Dangerous Days at Sea by Richard Phillips with Stephan Talty; Columbia Pictures
Lone Survivor, Written by Peter Berg; Based on the book by Marcus Lutrell with Patrick Robinson; Universal Pictures
The Wolf of Wall Street, Screenplay by Terence Winter; Based on the book by Jordan Belfort; Paramount Pictures

DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY

Dirty Wars, Written by Jeremy Scahill & David Riker; Sundance Selects
Herblock – The Black & The White, Written by Sara Lukinson & Michael Stevens; The Stevens Company
No Place on Earth, Written by Janet Tobias & Paul Laikin; Magnolia Pictures
Stories We Tell, Written by Sarah Polley; Roadside Attractions
We Steal Secrets: The Story of Wikileaks; Written by Alex Gibney; Focus Features

25th Annual Producers Guild Awards Nominees Announced!

The 25th annual Producers Guild Awards were announced yesterday selecting their top ten films of 2013. As usual, there were surprises and shocks in the announcement as several shoo-ins were left out (Lee Daniels' The Butler, August: Osage County) and some little films that could made the list (Dallas Buyers Club, Blue Jasmine). Meanwhile, in the animated feature category, the wealth was spread out as all the major studios were represented.

Here's a look at the full list of nominees:

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


American Hustle (Columbia Pictures)

Producers: Megan Ellison, Jon Gordon, Charles Roven, Richard Suckle

Blue Jasmine (Sony Pictures Classics)

Producers: Letty Aronson, Stephen Tenenbaum


Captain Phillips (Columbia Pictures)

Producers: Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca, Scott Rudin


Dallas Buyers Club (Focus Features)

Producers: Robbie Brenner, Rachel Winter


Gravity (Warner Bros. Pictures)

Producers: Alfonso Cuarón, David Heyman


Her (Warner Bros. Pictures)

Producers: Megan Ellison, Spike Jonze, Vincent Landay


Nebraska (Paramount Pictures)

Producers: Albert Berger, Ron Yerxa


Saving Mr. Banks (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)

Producers: Ian Collie, Alison Owen, Philip Steuer


12 Years a Slave (Fox Searchlight Pictures)

Producers: Anthony Katagas, Jeremy Kleiner, Steve McQueen, Brad Pitt & Dede Gardner


Wolf of Wall Street (Paramount Pictures)
Producers: Riza Aziz, Emma Koskoff, Joey McFarland



The Award for Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures:


The Croods (DreamWorks Animation)

Producers: Kristine Belson, Jane Hartwell


Despicable Me 2 (Universal Pictures)

Producers: Janet Healy, Chris Meledandri


Epic (Twentieth Century Fox)

Producers: Jerry Davis, Lori Forte


Frozen (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)

Producer: Peter Del Vecho


Monsters University (Pixar Animation)

Producer: Kori Rae

First Still: Guardians of the Galaxy

(Photo: Hitfix)

The first still from Marvel and Disney's Guardians of the Galaxy is out. The summer blockbuster hopeful is an epic space adventure that aspires to have the same connect that the Avengers team did.  If you were mystified by the end credits scene of Thor: The Dark World, it was hinting at characters and plots in Guardians of the Galaxy.  The film, directed by James Gunn (Super), features Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) who finds himself being chased by Ronan (Lee Pace) when he gets his hands on a mysterious orb.  Quill then has to team up with Rocket Raccoon (voice of Bradley Cooper), Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista) and Groot (voice of Vin Diesel).  Glenn Close, John C. Reilly and Benicio del Toro are also part of the cast.  Guardian of the Galaxy releases on August 1, 2014.

What do you think? Are the Guardians intriguing? Or you still looking ahead to the next Avengers film?

Oscars: New Logo, new trailer!

A new logo, a new peppy trailer! What time is it? Why, it's the Oscars, obviously!  The start of the new year always means the countdown to the Oscars for me.  In this case, it's March 2, 2014, when the most prestigious awards in movies are handed out.  This year is a tough one to call so all eyes and ears will be on January 16th when the nominations are announced and we find out who's been rewarded and who has been left out, sometimes yet again.  Until then, let's share in Oscar host Ellen DeGeneres' enthusiasm in the new trailer directed by Paul Feig (The Heat, Bridesmaids) as we too count down the days until the big awards.  Here we go!

New Trailer: Transcendence featuring Johnny Depp

The directorial debut of Christopher Nolan's longtime cinematographer and collaborator, Wally Pfister, features a star cast that rivals Nolan's, with Johnny Depp, Paul Bettany, Rebecca Hall, Kate Mara, Cillian Murphy and usually the voice of reason in any movie, Morgan Freeman.  For his first film (which is also being executive-produced by Nolan and his wife Emma Thomas), Pfister has chosen to tell the story of Dr. Will Caster, played by Depp, who is downloaded unto a computer after a life-threatening attack which leads to both exciting and terrifying possibilities.  Transcendence releases in theaters on April 17, 2014.  

New How To Train Your Dragon 2 Trailer!

I think I've been quite effusive with my fondness for How To Train Your Dragon on this blog so it's quite evident that how I am keenly anticipating the film's sequel.  This time around, our heroes Hiccup and Toothless are older, wiser and more confident.  But the island of Berk still faces threats from those who wish to harm the dragons and it's up to Hiccup, Toothless and their friends to make sure that doesn't happen.  Hiccup too must confront a figure from his past he thought was lost to him and Toothless, he's just adorably being Toothless still. I really do love that dragon!

How To Train Your Dragon 2 is directed by Dean DeBlois who co-directed and co-scripted the first film along with Chris Sanders. Jay Baruchel, America Ferrera, Jonah Hill, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Craig Ferguson and Gerard Butler are all back to voice their characters and Cate Blanchett is the new addition to the cast. This is going to be the highlight of my movie-viewing year and one of the biggest animation films of 2014 as well.  How To Train Your Dragon 2 releases in theaters on June 13, 2014! This is one Friday the 13th that I'm actually looking forward to!

News Update: Marvel's Ant-Man, Harry Potter, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and You've Got Mail at 15!

• I'm a big fan of Marvel superhero franchises and I even enjoy the TV series Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.  But I have to say I have no interest in its upcoming Ant-Man which is joining the overcrowded field of blockbusters releasing in 2015 (Star Wars! Avengers! Batman!) even though they've cast the very likable Paul Rudd (I Love You Man, This is 40) in the lead.  The film will be directed by Edgar Wright, who has been attached to the project for many years now and is due to release on July 31, 2015!

• Speaking of July 31st, it's the birthday of a very famous literary bespectacled wizard who had a great run at the press and the big screen and now Harry's heading to the stage.  J.K. Rowling isn't done surprising us as yet.  She's co-producing and bringing forth a new play based on Harry Potter's life before he became a wizard and lived with the Dursleys.  The play will debut on the West End in 2015.  Please keep surprising us like this forever Ms Rowling!

(Photo: Joseph Gordon-Levitt Facebook)

• What can't Joseph Gordon-Levitt do? The actor-writer-director is also turning producer for the big screen yet again (He also produced Looper last year) with author Neil Gaiman's Sandman.  He'll also be voicing the character of Jiro Horikoshi in the English language release of Hayao Miyazaki's last feature as director, The Wind Rises.  (PS- The resemblance is uncanny!)
• And finally, just for fun, let's revisit the trailer of You've Got Mail which celebrated its 15th anniversary two weeks ago.  Remember dial-up? Or typewriters! Or *sob* bookstores!  Contrasted with 2013's Her in which a character now falls in love with the OS on his phone, the story of two people falling in love over e-mails sounds so old-fashioned, doesn't it?