2013 Critics Choice Nominations

So, obviously we've been revealing critic's choices for the past two weeks, but this particular group is the Broadcast Film Critics Association, the largest national organization of critics in the country, and the only ones with their own televised ceremony, the Critics Choice Awards. Curiously taking place this year after the Golden Globes (in recent years they've liked to place themselves first), their influence may be less prominent this time, but of late they've become one of the best Oscar predictors of all the various precursors. Their award show is often lame and low-budget (it now airs on the CW of all places), but their choices have been pretty on the money the past few years, so they're worth noting.

Best Picture

• American Hustle
• Captain Phillips
• Dallas Buyers Club
• Gravity
• Her
• Inside Llewyn Davis
• Nebraska
• Saving Mr. Banks
• 12 Years a Slave
• The Wolf of Wall Street

Best Director

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

Best Actor

• Christian Bale, American Hustle
• Bruce Dern, Nebraska
• Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years a Slave
• Tom Hanks, Captain Phillips
• Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club
• Robert Redford, All is Lost

Best Actress

• Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
• Sandra Bullock, Gravity
• Judi Dench, Philomena
• Brie Larsen, Short Term 12
• Meryl Streep, August: Osage County
• Emma Thompson, Saving Mr. Banks

Best Supporting Actor

• Barkhad Abdi, Captain Phillips
• Daniel Bruhl, Rush
• Bradley Cooper, American Hustle
• Michael Fassbender, 12 Years a Slave
• James Gandolfini, Enough Said
• Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club

Best Supporting Actress

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

Best Young Actor/Actress

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

Best Acting Ensemble

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

Best Original Screenplay

• American Hustle
• Blue Jasmine
• Her
• Inside Llewyn Davis
• Nebraska

Best Adapted Screenplay

• August: Osage County
• Before Midnight
• Captain Phillips
• Philomena
• 12 Years a Slave
• The Wolf of Wall Street

Best Art Direction

• Gravity
• The Great Gatsby
• Her
• The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
• 12 Years a Slave

Best Cinematography

• Gravity
• Inside Llewyn Davis
• Nebraska
• Prisoners
• 12 Years a Slave

Best Costume Design

• American Hustle
• The Great Gatsby
• The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
• Saving Mr. Banks
• 12 Years a Slave

Best Editing

• American Hustle
• Captain Phillips
• Gravity
• Rush
• 12 Years a Slave
• The Wolf of Wall Street

Best Makeup

• American Hustle
• The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
• Lee Daniels' The Butler
• Rush
• 12 Years a Slave

Best Score

• Gravity
• Her
• 12 Years a Slave
• Saving Mr. Banks

Best Song

• "Atlas" (The Hunger Games: Catching Fire)
• "Happy" (Despicable Me 2)
• "Let it Go" (Frozen)
• "Ordinary Love" (Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom)
• "Please Mr. Kennedy" (Inside Llewyn Davis)
• "Young and Beautiful" (The Great Gatsby)

Best Visual Effects

• Gravity
• The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
• Iron Man 3
• Pacific Rim
• Star Trek Into Darkness

Best Animated Feature

• The Croods
• Despicable Me 2
• Frozen
• Monsters University
• The Wind Rises

Best Action Movie

• The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
• Iron Man 3
• Lone Survivor
• Rush
• Star Trek Into Darkness

Best Actor in an Action Movie

• Henry Cavill, Man of Steel
• Robert Downey, Jr., Iron Man 3
• Brad Pitt, World War Z
• Mark Wahlberg, Lone Survivor

Best Actress in an Action Movie

• Sandra Bullock, Gravity
• Jennifer Lawrence, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
• Evangeline Lilly, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
• Gwyneth Paltrow, Iron Man 3

Best Comedy

• American Hustle
• Enough Said
• The Heat
• This is the End
• The Way, Way Back
• The World's End

Best Actor in a Comedy

• Christian Bale, American Hustle
• Leonardo Dicaprio, The Wolf of Wall Street
• James Gandolfini, Enough Said
• Simon Pegg, The World's End
• Sam Rockwell, The Way, Way Back

Best Actress in a Comedy

• Amy Adams, American Hustle
• Sandra Bullock, The Heat
• Great Gerwig, Frances Ha
• Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Enough Said
• Melissa McCarthy, The Heat

Best Sci-Fi/Horror Movie

• The Conjuring
• Gravity
• Star Trek Into Darkness
• World War Z

Best Foreign Language Film

• Blue is the Warmest Color
• The Great Beauty
• The Hunt
• The Past
• Wadjda

Best Documentary

• The Act of Killing
• Blackfish
• Stories We Tell
• Tim's Vermeer
• 20 Feet From Stardom

Virtually nothing of note here, as the BFCA figured out a way to cover their bases and nominate pretty much everyone by adding so many categories of film. For people who call themselves critics they sure aren't very discerning- It's like the ridiculous Satellite nominations all over again. But American Hustle and 12 Years lead the field, and with 12 Years becoming the consensus critics vote in regional groups across the country, I'd expect it to prevail at these awards next month. The only other thing worth picking up on is the fact that Dallas Buyers Club may have a better shot at making the Best Picture lineup than previously thought.

St. Louis, Dallas Ft. Worth, Online Film Critics

More critics groups results, all favoring 12 Years. Although when a pattern starts to emerge in several categories I wonder sometimes if people are just falling victim to the dreaded 'consensus' thinking- I don't understand why Jared Leto, for example, seems to be the only choice for Supporting Actor, when people like Michael Fassbender (ok, so he won the Online Critics) and Daniel Bruhl are just as good (if not better) in their movies. It makes me suspect this is old- fashioned thinking that any man who plays gay or transsexual automatically receives awards for it. And I don't think Cate Blanchett should be cruising Helen Mirren-style to the Oscar podium either- there are other worthy performances in that category, especially this year.

ST. LOUIS

• Film: 12 Years a Slave
• Director: Steve McQueen, 12 Years a Slave
• Actor: Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years a Slave
• Actress: Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
• Supporting Actor: Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club
• Supporting Actress: Lupita Nyong'o, 12 Years a Slave
• Original Screenplay: Her
• Adapted Screenplay: 12 Years a Slave
• Cinematography: 12 Years a Slave and Gravity (tie)
• Visual Effects: Gravity
• Score: Her
• Soundtrack: Inside Llewyn Davis
• Art Direction: The Great Gatsby
• Documentary: Blackfish
• Non-English Language Film: Blue is the Warmest Color
• Comedy: Enough Said and The World's End (tie)
• Animated Feature: Frozen
• Art-House or Festival Film: Short Term 12
• Scene: 12 Years a Slave ("The Hanging Scene")

DALLAS FT. WORTH

• Film: 12 Years a Slave
• Actor: Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club
• Actress: Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
• Supporting Actor: Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club
• Supporting Actress: Lupita Nyong'o, 12 Years a Slave
• Director: Alfonso Cuaron, Gravity
• Foreign-Language Film: Blue is the Warmest Color
• Documentary: 20 Feet From Stardom
• Animated Film: Frozen
• Cinematography: Gravity

ONLINE FILM CRITICS SOCIETY

• Picture: 12 Years a Slave
• Animated Feature: The Wind Rises
• Foreign Language Film: Blue is the Warmest Color
• Documentary: The Act of Killing
• Director: Alfonso Cuaron, Gravity
• Actor: Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years a Slave
• Actress: Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
• Supporting Actor: Michael Fassbender, 12 Years a Slave
• Supporting Actress: Lupita Nyong'o, 12 Years a Slave
• Original Screenplay: Her
• Adapted Screenplay: 12 Years a Slave
• Editing: Gravity
• Cinematography: Gravity

Joan Fontaine 1917-2013

A sad day for the film world, as silver screen star Joan Fontaine has now passed away at the age of 96. Famous in the 1940's and 50's for her roles in The Women, Hitchcock films Rebecca and Suspicion (for which she won Best Actress), Jane Eyre, and Letter From an Unknown Woman, just to name a few of her biggest classics. Also the sister of Olivia de Havilland, with whom her sibling rivalry was among the most famous in Hollywood history. The two had been estranged for decades and though Olivia was the oldest, Joan is the first to pass on.

Here's the original trailer for 1940's Best Picture winner, Rebecca, directed by Alfred Hitchcock and co-starring Laurence Olivier (you should definitely see this movie if you haven't- it's one of the best early Hitchcock's):

Houston, Kansas City and San Francisco Critics All Go For "12 Years"

Three different regional critics groups voted today and all three awarded 12 Years a Slave Best Picture. But the real surprise to me is that Sandra Bullock is suddenly winning some Best Actress prizes. Check out the winners below.

HOUSTON:

• Picture: 12 Years a Slave
• Director: Alfonso Cuaron, Gravity
• Actor: Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years a Slave
• Actress: Sandra Bullock, Gravity
• Supporting Actor: Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club
• Supporting Actress: Lupita Nyong'o, 12 Years a Slave
• Screenplay: 12 Years a Slave
• Animated Film: Frozen
• Cinematography: Gravity
• Documentary: 20 Feet From Stardom
• Foreign Language Film: The Hunt
• Original Score: Gravity
• Original Song: "Please Mr. Kennedy," Inside Llewyn Davis

KANSAS CITY:

• Sci-Fi/Horror/Fantasy Film: Her
• Documentary: The Act of Killing
• Original Screenplay: Her
• Adapted Screenplay: 12 Years a Slave
• Supporting Actor: Michael Fassbender, 12 Years a Slave
• Foreign Language Film: Blue is the Warmest Color
• Supporting Actress: Lupita Nyong'o, 12 Years a Slave
• Actress: Sandra Bullock, Gravity
• Animated Film: Frozen and Despicable Me 2 (tie)
• Actor: Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years a Slave
• Director: Alfonso Cuaron, Gravity and Steve McQueen, 12 Years a Slave (tie)
• Picture: 12 Years a Slave

SAN FRANCISCO:

• Actress: Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
• Actor: Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years a Slave
• Supporting Actor: James Franco, Spring Breakers
• Supporting Actress: Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle
• Original Screenplay: American Hustle
• Adapted Screenplay: 12 Years a Slave
• Cinematography: Gravity
• Production Design: Gravity
• Editing: Gravity
• Animated Feature: Frozen
• Foreign Language Film: Blue is the Warmest Color
• Documentary: The Act of Killing
• Director: Alfonso Cuaron, Gravity
• Picture: 12 Years a Slave

BOX OFFICE 12/13-12/15: 'The Hobbit' Comes in at #1; 'Madea' Struggles

This weekend, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug topped the box office with $73.6 million, unexpectedly down from the first film's $84 million debut at this time last year. That's a 13% drop, but still the fourth best December opening ever, and given the fact that the last movie finished with $303 million domestic but $1 billion worldwide, there's really no cause for disappointment here. The film also received better reviews than An Unexpected Journey and was issued an "A-" Cinemascore, so it should play well in the coming weeks.

Disney's Frozen held on to second place with a very strong $22 million, falling just 30% to amass a $164 million total after three weeks. It's continuing to have strong legs with the lack of competition from other family films and should finish with about $280 million or more (a better result than Disney's last princess film Tangled, which earned $200 million on a more expensive budget than Frozen, which has already made its money back). In third was Tyler Perry's A Madea Christmas, which came in with just $16 million, the lowest-ever opening for a Madea movie. The film may hold up better, since it received an "A-" from audiences, but that's still a disappointment on its $25 million budget. Catching Fire and Thor rounded out the top five this weekend, the former still on track to break the $400 million mark and tie the first one's total.

Top 5

1. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug- $73.6 million
2. Frozen- $22.2 million
3. A Madea Christmas- $16.2 million
4. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire- $13.2 million
5. Thor: The Dark World- $2.7 million

In limited release, American Hustle debuted with the biggest limited opening of the year, pulling in $115,000 per theater on only six screens. The movie goes wide next weekend and looks to be a major success, the second this year for the on fire Jennifer Lawrence. Saving Mr. Banks also opened in 15 theaters for a $28,000 avg, which is fairly solid as it will also expand wide next weekend. Aside from those two, the other major release next week is Anchorman 2, coming out on Wednesday. Until then.

Peter O'Toole 1932-2013

The legendary Peter O'Toole has passed away at the age of 81. The man known for playing Lawrence of Arabia to one generation and critic Anton Ego to another, had a career that spanned five decades and will always be remembered for such films as Lawrence, Becket, The Lion in Winter, Goodbye Mr. Chips, The Ruling Class, The Stunt Man, My Favorite Year, The Last Emperor, Venus and Ratatouille. He worked right up until the end, even though he was well known for his hard drinking-and-partying lifestyle for much of his life. Always a joyous screen presence, he's a big loss to the world of film and he will be missed.

Here he is in one of my favorite movies, The Lion in Winter (1967):

And here he is receiving his honorary Oscar in 2003. Peter O'Toole was famously nominated 8 times for Best Actor and never won, making him the most nominated actor in history never to receive a competitive Academy Award:

And showing off the great personality and sense of humor that made him a favorite to have on talk shows, visiting David Letterman in 1995, when The Late Show went to London. Part One:

Part Two:

TEASER: "Interstellar"

The first teaser for Christopher Nolan's sci-fi epic Interstellar, coming out in November, 2014.

African American Film Critics Winners

Sandra Bullock gets her first Best Actress win and The Butler does really well here.

• Best Actor: Forest Whitaker (Lee Daniels' The Butler)
• Best Actress: Sandra Bullock (Gravity)
• Best Supporting Actor: Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club)
• Best Supporting Actress: Oprah Winfrey (Lee Daniels' The Butler)
• Best World Cinema: Mother of George
• Breakout Performance: Lupita Nyong'o (12 Years a Slave)
• Best Director: Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave)
• Best Screenplay: 12 Years a Slave
• Best Music: Black Nativity
• Best Independent Film: Fruitvale Station
• Best Animation: Frozen
• Best Documentary: American Promise
• Best Picture: 12 Years a Slave

Top 10 Films

1. 12 Years a Slave
2. Lee Daniels' The Butler
3. Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
4. American Hustle
5. Gravity
6. Fruitvale Station
7. Dallas Buyers Club
8. Saving Mr. Banks
9. Out of the Furnace
10. 42

Detroit Film Critics Society- Another One for "Her"

Detroit goes for Her, and gives Brie Larson Best Actress!

• Picture: Her
• Director: Alfonso Cuaron, Gravity
• Actor: Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club
• Actress: Brie Larson, Short Term 12
• Supporting Actor: Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club
• Supporting Actress: Scarlett Johansson, Her
• Ensemble: American Hustle
• Screenplay: Her
• Breakthrough: Brie Larson, Short Term 12
• Documentary: Stories We Tell

'American Hustle' and '12 Years a Slave' Lead the 71st Golden Globe Nominations

American Hustle and 12 Years lead the Globe nods with 7 each, and with that, my immediate thought is that we have confirmation that American Hustle will be the alternative Best Picture choice to 12 Years a Slave going forward. Of course, it's still just an instinct, because Gravity could also make a big play, but that's my hunch. As for the other nominations, the Globes kind of went all over the place this year- they hated The Butler, they liked Philomena and Rush, they loved Captain Phillips (Greengrass over Scorsese for Director), and they snubbed Oprah despite their reputation for being star worshipers. But look at that Best Actress Comedy/Musical category- Greta Gerwig, Julie Delpy and Julia Louis-Dreyfus! That's probably my favorite category of the day just for those unexpected and completely welcome nods (which don't mean anything for the Oscars, but are still pretty cool).

Best Picture Comedy/Musical

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

Best Actress Comedy/Musical

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

Best Actor Comedy/Musical

• Christian Bale (American Hustle)
• Bruce Dern (Nebraska)
• Leonardo Dicaprio (The Wolf of Wall Street)
• Oscar Isaac (Inside Llewyn Davis)
• Joaquin Phoenix (Her)

Best Picture Drama

• 12 Years a Slave
• Captain Phillips
• Gravity
• Philomena
• Rush

Best Actress Drama

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

Best Actor Drama

• Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave)
• Idris Elba (Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom)
• Tom Hanks (Captain Phillips)
• Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club)
• Robert Redford (All is Lost)

Best Director

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

Best Supporting Actor

• Barkhad Abdi (Captain Phillips)
• Daniel Bruhl (Rush)
• Bradley Cooper (American Hustle)
• Michael Fassbender (12 Years a Slave)
• Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club)

Best Supporting Actress

• Sally Hawkins (Blue Jasmine)
• Jennifer Lawrence (American Hustle)
• Lupita Nyong'o (12 Years a Slave)
• Julia Roberts (August: Osage County)
• June Squibb (Nebraska)

Best Screenplay

• Her
• Nebraska
• Philomena
• 12 Years a Slave
• American Hustle

Best Score

• All is Lost
• Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
• Gravity
• The Book Thief
• 12 Years a Slave

Best Song

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

Best Foreign Language Film

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

Best Animated Film

• The Croods
• Despicable Me 2
• Frozen

As you can see, they made up for the SAG snub of Robert Redford yesterday, and added another boost to what were longshots Barkhad Abdi and Daniel Bruhl's chances in Supporting Actor- that race seems to be solidifying with those two in place. Saving Mr. Banks hasn't fared well at all outside of Emma Thompson at the awards so far- that movie's Oscar chances appear to be slipping, but what would take its place? My feeling is still The Butler, but we'll see. They do still love their stars at the Globes, which means that Leo should probably be considered a frontrunner to win, but they also really liked Nebraska, nominating it in several categories, including director and picture, so watch out for Bruce Dern. And no Scorsese for director means they didn't totally fall for Wolf of Wall Street, despite a couple of nods for it. But the overwhelming love for American Hustle by the HFPA (all 4 acting nominations) means it's definitely in it win it, and I even think it's probably the frontrunner here for Comedy/Musical. In drama, Gravity or even Captain Phillips could pull off a win, as well as 12 Years but my instinct says it's Gravity, at least at the moment. The Golden Globes are held January 12th on NBC.

POSTER: "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes"

A new poster showing an angry Caesar from Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, due out next year. I can't wait!

San Diego Critics Choose "Her"

Another day, another critics group. The San Diego Film Critics Society joins the love for Her and anoints it as their best film:

• Best Film: Her
• Best Director: Alfonso Cuaron, Gravity
• Best Actress: Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
• Best Actor: Oscar Isaac, Inside Llewyn Davis
• Best Supporting Actress: Shailene Woodley, The Spectacular Now
• Best Supporting Actor: Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club
• Best Original Screenplay: Her
• Best Adapted Screenplay: Before Midnight
• Best Foreign Language Film: Drug War
• Best Documentary: The Act of Killing
• Best Cinematography: To the Wonder
• Best Animated Film: The Wind Rises
• Best Editing: Captain Phillips
• Best Production Design: The Great Gatsby
• Best Score: Her
• Best Ensemble Performance: American Hustle
• Body of Work: Matthew McConaughey (Mud, The Wolf of Wall Street, Dallas Buyers Club)