The trailer for Pixar's new movie Inside Out is here- at least it looks a lot more ambitious than anything they've done in long time (not another sequel to one of their old favorites). It's also from the the director of Up, so maybe there's some hope for this one. Based on this look at it though, it's hard for me to see how they make a full length feature out of it, but they must have something.
2014 Screen Actor's Guild Nominations
Well, finally we get our first industry/guild awards group, or in other words, one that actually matters. It matters because the guilds have major overlap with the Academy, unlike critics awards, and the guilds are going to tell us for sure which movies and actors are popular within the industry and which ones aren't. Birdman leads with four nominations, but right behind it with three each are Boyhood, The Imitation Game and The Theory of Everything. Theory was the big surprise here, getting into Ensemble (or SAG's equivalent of Best Picture) despite the minimal cast, which shows that love for the film is very strong. Stronger than I had anticipated, similar to what happened with Dallas Buyers Club last year. A big snub was the total shutout of Selma, which is expected to factor in heavily at the Oscars this year, but the film was not finished in time for the studio to send out screeners to the SAG nominating committee, which has pretty much doomed every single late release in the last few years (last year it was Wolf of Wall Street, which went on to get five Oscar nominations, including Leo Dicaprio and Jonah HIll for acting). I think Selma will make a comeback with the Golden Globe nominations tomorrow- if it doesn't, then it might be in some trouble.
Ensemble
Birdman
Boyhood
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
The Theory of Everything
Actor in a Leading Role
Steve Carell, Foxcatcher
Benedict Cumberbatch, The Imitation Game
Jake Gyllenhaal, Nightcrawler
Michael Keaton, Birdman
Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything
Female Actor in a Leading Role
Jennifer Aniston, Cake
Felicity Jones, The Theory of Everything
Julianne Moore, Still Alice
Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl
Reese Witherspoon, Wild
Actor in a Supporting Role
Robert Duvall, The Judge
Ethan Hawke, Boyhood
Edward Norton, Birdman
Mark Ruffalo, Foxcatcher
J.K. Simmons, Whiplash
Female Actor in a Supporting Role
Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
Keira Knightley, The Imitation Game
Emma Stone, Birdman
Meryl Streep, Into the Woods
Naomi Watts, St. Vincent
Another surprise (a happy one for me) was Grand Budapest Hotel making it into Ensemble, a possible sign that this may finally be the year a Wes Anderson movie cracks the Oscar Best Picture race. Also, the vast majority of SAG nominees go on to receive Oscar nods every year, save for maybe one or two in each category. Looking over this list it's pretty obvious which ones will likely be left out for someone else, starting with Jennifer Aniston in Cake. Aniston is a big star, and TV actors make up a lot of SAG's membership. To me, that's the reason she got into a weak Best Actress field, which is shocking enough on its own, but I'd be flabbergasted if she made it into the Oscar field for such a poorly received film, no matter how hard she campaigns. Other likely non-Oscar contenders will be Jake Gyllenhaal, Naomi Watts and Robert Duvall, because those films are all considered to be non-entities in the Oscar race, so look for them to be replaced with other names. But everyone else looks pretty set to me. We'll see if they solidify with tomorrow's Golden Globes announcement.
"Selma," "Get On Up" and "Dear White People" Lead the NAACP Image Nominees
The nominations for the NAACP Image Awards for film were announced today, and unsurprisingly, Selma led the charge, as it's expected to be a heavy Oscar favorite as well. It may be worth taking note that British actress Gugu Mbatha-Raw is having quite the breakout year with lead roles in Belle and Beyond the Lights, and just won the BIFA the other day for Belle.
Outstanding Motion Picture
• “Belle”
• “Beyond The Lights”
• “Dear White People”
• “Get On Up”
• “Selma”
Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture
• Chadwick Boseman – “Get On Up”
• David Oyelowo – “Selma”
• Denzel Washington – “The Equalizer”
• Idris Elba – “No Good Deed”
• Nate Parker – “Beyond The Lights”
Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture
• Gugu Mbatha-Raw – “Belle”
• Quvenzhané Wallis – “Annie”
• Taraji P. Henson – “No Good Deed”
• Tessa Thompson – “Dear White People”
• Viola Davis – “The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby”
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture
• André Holland – “Selma”
• Cedric the Entertainer – “Top Five”
• Common – “Selma”
• Danny Glover – “Beyond The Lights”
• Wendell Pierce – “Selma”
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture
• Carmen Ejogo – “Selma”
• Jill Scott – “Get On Up”
• Octavia Spencer – “Get On Up”
• Oprah Winfrey – “Selma”
• Viola Davis – “Get On Up”
Outstanding Independent Motion Picture
• “Belle”
• “Dear White People”
• “Half of a Yellow Sun”
• “JIMI: All Is By My Side”
• “Life of a King”
Outstanding Writing in a Motion Picture
• Chris Rock – “Top Five”
• Justin Simien – “Dear White People”
• Margaret Nagle – “The Good Lie”
• Misan Sagay – “Belle”
• Richard Wenk – “The Equalizer”
Outstanding Directing in a Motion Picture
• Amma Asante – “Belle”
• Antoine Fuqua – “The Equalizer”
• Ava DuVernay – “Selma”
• Gina Prince-Bythewood – “Beyond The Lights”
• John Ridley – “JIMI: All Is By My Side”
TRAILER: "Still Alice"
You know, Still Alice already came out in limited release, and yet the trailer for the movie is arriving just now. I don't know what that's about, but here's a look at the film if you're interested. I was not a big fan of this movie, but the consensus seems to be that Julianne Moore is the default frontrunner for Best Actress for it, mostly based on the incredibly weak competition in that category this year. I love Julianne Moore, but this would be entirely a career award if she wins. The film just isn't that great, any way you look at it.
TRAILER: "The Last 5 Years"
Anna Kendrick seems to be carving out a niche for herself as the go to actress for modern movie musicals, doesn't she? This is another one, based on the play and co-starring theater actor Jeremy Jordan. It's coming out next year and unlike most trailers for these things, the fact that it's a musical is front and center, with several songs showcased. What do you think?
Blu-Ray Pick of the Week: "Calvary" (2014)
This week I'm recommending an independent film from earlier in the year that came out and was almost completely overlooked, but it's worth seeing, because it was one of the most unique movies of the year. Brendan Gleeson stars as a Catholic priest in a small town in Ireland, dealing with the changing role of the church and its effects on the various townspeople he counsels. It was a thought-provoking, well-acted film and deserves to be seen by a wider audience. You should check it out.
Trailer:
BOX OFFICE 12/05-12/07: 'Hunger Games' Leads a Slow Weekend
Mockingjay easily led one of the worst weekends of the year for box office- the dreaded post-Thanksgiving week. With no new wide releases to speak of, the top five consisted of all holdovers, and that leaves not a whole lot to talk about, except the cumulative grosses of films that have been in theaters for weeks now. Mockingjay's $21 million brought its total to $258 million, leading its final prediction gross to be around $330 million (if it follows Catching Fire's trajectory from here on in). Worldwide it's done about $560 million so far...and yet the Hunger Games story this year feels incredibly redundant and unexciting. I've got to say something here- will anyone be watching any of these movies in five year's time? Will anyone remember what they were about? This is one of the dullest, most pointless franchises to exist in movie history.
The rest of the top five included Penguins of Madagascar (which fell off huge from last week), Horrible Bosses 2, which held decent but won't outgross the first one, Big Hero 6 (looking on track to end with $200 million) and Interstellar, which now seems likely to close with close to $175 million.
Top 5:
- The Hunger Games: Mockingjay- Part 1- $22 million
- Penguins of Madagascar- $10.9 million
- Horrible Bosses 2- $8.4 million
- Big Hero 6- $8 million
- Interstellar- $7.8 million
In limited release, Wild opened in 21 locations for a per screen average of $28k, pretty good for the Fox Searchlight film looking to score Reese Witherspoon her second Best Actress nomination, while The Imitation Game continued to impress at just 8 theaters, earning a $48k PTA and bringing in over $1 million already before major expansion. Next week it's Chris Rock's Top Five and the limited opening of PT Anderson's Inherent Vice. See you then!
DC Critics Like 'Boyhood'; AAFCA Honors 'Selma'
More critics groups! It's critics galore all month, as the DC critics went with the dull consensus pretty much down the line:
Best Foreign Language Film: Force Majeure
Best Art Direction: The Grand Budapest Hotel
Best Cinematography: Birdman
Best Editing: Birdman
Best Original Score: Under the Skin
Joe Barber Award for Best Portrayal of Washington, DC: Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Best Acting Ensemble: Birdman
Best Youth Performance: Ellar Coltrane, Boyhood
Best Adapted Screenplay: Gone Girl
Best Original Screenplay: Birdman
Best Animated Feature: The LEGO Movie
Best Documentary: Life Itself
Best Supporting Actress: Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
Best Supporting Actor: J.K. Simmons, Whiplash
Best Actress: Julianne Moore, Still Alice
Best Actor: Michael Keaton, Birdman
Best Director: Richard Linklater, Boyhood
Best Film: Boyhood
Not too exciting is it? Meanwhile, the African-American Film Critics Association thankfully reveals a totally different lineup of winners, including a top ten of their own:
Best Actor – David Oyelowo, Selma
Best Actress – Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Belle
Best Supporting Actress – Octavia Spencer, Black or White
Best Supporting Actor – Tyler Perry, Gone Girl (Fox) / J.K. Simmons, Whiplash
Best World Cinema – Timbuktu
Breakout Performance – Tessa Thompson, Dear White People
Best Director – Ava Duvernay, Selma
Best Screenplay – Gina Prince-Bythewood, Beyond the Lights
Best Music – John Legend/Common, “Glory”
Best Ensemble – Get On Up
Best Independent Film – Dear White People
Best Animation – The Boxtrolls
Best Documentary – Life Itself
Top 10 of 2014
1. Selma
2. The Imitation Game
3. Theory of Everything
4. Birdman
5. Belle
6. Top Five
7. Unbroken
8. Dear White People
9. Get On Up
10. Black or White
Looks like Life Itself is going to be Citizenfour's major rival for Best Documentary this year- which is actually going to be a very close contest, because with the entire Academy voting on Documentary now, the category that used to almost always go to a political/socially important film, now tends to go with the heartugging,most sentimental option. That means the heartfelt tribute to the world's most famous film critic Roger Ebert, is probably in a very good position to win that award, should it get nominated.
AFI Top 11 for 2014
The American Film Institute awards a top ten list every year, and this year their list speaks to what may be a disconnect between the critic's consensus and the coming guild/industry groups. Check out this top eleven they just bestowed:
American Sniper
Birdman
Boyhood
Foxcatcher
The Imitation Game
Interstellar
Into the Woods
Nightcrawler
Selma
Unbroken
Whiplash
The AFI list is usually more important than the various critics awards for predicting the Oscars- this jury actually includes some Academy members, so we can see here that their taste includes not well received titles like American Sniper, Unbroken, Into the Woods and Interstellar (which was more mixed than negative), as well as the crowdpleasing Imitation Game (which I could have sworn was a British production, so I don't know how that got in here) and Selma- two movies that are heavily predicted to be Oscar favorites but that critics don't seem to be embracing in their year end awards so far. The two crossover films are Boyhood and Birdman, while tiny indie darlings Foxcatcher, Nightcrawler and Whiplash also get a boost here. Based on this list it's going to be interesting to see what actually makes up the Oscar BP nominees- they could be drawn from a very wide range of films this year, and right now it looks like the only locks are Boyhood, Birdman, Imitation Game and Selma, which leaves at least five slots open that could be filled with any of up to ten other contenders. I'm pretty shocked that Gone Girl missed out here, as one of the biggest American hits of the year, from a respected director and studio. We'll see what the SAG and Golden Globe nominees reveal later this week.
British Independent Film Awards Honor 'Pride'
In non-Oscar related news, the BIFAS overseas chose to honor the truly independent films made in Britain this year by choosing Pride as the best of 2014. You'll notice however, that even they honored Boyhood as the best foreign indie of the year, and Richard Linklater was actually at the ceremony to pick up the trophy in this instance:
Picture - Pride
Director - Yann Demange – '71
Actor - Brendan Gleeson - Calvary
Actress - Gugu Mbatha-Raw - Belle
S. Actor - Andrew Scott - Pride
S. Actress - Imelda Staunton - Pride
Revelation - Iain Forsyth, Jane Pollard – 20,000 Days on Earth
Screenplay - Frank
Production - The Goob
Documentary - Next Goal Wins
Foreign Film - Boyhood
LA, Boston and New York Online All Go For 'Boyhood'
So much for my hopes for a non-sweep year. This was right down the line and I think clinches Boyhood as the pick for the vast majority of critics to come. The Los Angeles Film Critics Association is known for being quirky and purposely contrarian in their choices, and they rarely agree with New York, but that was not the case this year. Boyhood is simply too big of a filmmaking achievement (for the critics) to ignore. We'll see what happens with the industry and guild awards, but this could very well be the default winner of 2014.
LA FILM CRITICS
BEST PICTURE: Boyhood
BEST DIRECTOR: Richard Linklater, Boyhood
BEST FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM: Ida
NEW GENERATION: Ava DuVernay, Selma
BEST SCREENPLAY: The Grand Budapest Hotel
BEST ACTRESS: Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
BEST DOCUMENTARY/NONFICTION FILM: Citizenfour
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: Emmanuel Lubezki, Birdman
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Agata Kulesza, Ida
BEST MUSIC SCORE (tie): Inherent Vice and Under the Skin
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: J.K. Simmons, Whiplash
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN: The Grand Budapest Hotel
BEST EDITING: Boyhood
As you can see, their quirky no-chance-in-hell for an Oscar nom pick this year was Tom Hardy for Locke. What that really means is that Best Actor is a wide open race, with Michael Keaton not quite dominating the critics awards the way he was predicted to. And Patricia Arquette is not a lead for Boyhood, but they rewarded her there anyway.
BOSTON SOCIETY OF FILM CRITICS
Animated Film: THE TALE OF PRINCESS KAGUYA
Runner up: LEGO MOVIE
Best Cinematography: BIRDMAN
Runner up: MR. TURNER
Best Editing: BOYHOOD
Runner up: AMERICAN SNIPER
Best Use of Music: INHERENT VICE
Runner up: WHIPLASH
Best New Filmmaker: DAN GILROY, NIGHTCRAWLER
Runner up: GILLIAN ROBESPIERRE, OBVIOUS CHILD
Best Documentary: CITIZENFOUR
Runer up: JORODOWSKY'S DUNE
Best Screenplay: BIRDMAN & BOYHOOD (TIE)
Runner up: MR. TURNER
Best Foreign Language Film: TWO DAYS, ONE NIGHT
Runner up: IDA
Best Supporting Actress: EMMA STONE, BIRDMAN
Runner up: LAURA DERN, WILD
Best Supporting Actor: JK SIMMONS, WHIPLASH
Runner up: EDWARD NORTON, BIRDMAN
Best Actress: MARION COTILLARD, THE IMMIGRANT & TWO DAYS, ONE NIGHT
Runner up: HILARY SWANK, THE HOMESMAN
Best Actor: MICHAEL KEATON, BIRDMAN
Runner up: TIMOTHY SPALL, MR. TURNER
Best Ensemble: BOYHOOD
Runner up: BIRDMAN
Best Director: RICHARD LINKLATER, BOYHOOD
Runner up: CLINT EASTWOOD, AMERICAN SNIPER
Best Film: BOYHOOD
Runner up: BIRDMAN
More Boyhood and Birdman love here (I don't know what that Emma Stone win is about though), and after what the NYCC did the other day, other critics seemed to want to jump on the bandwagon in resisting Julianne Moore, instead banding together to try an get Marion Cotillard nominated (still a long shot at best).
NEW YORK CRITICS ONLINE
BEST BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE: Jack O'Connell, Starred Up & Unbroken
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: J.K. Simmons, Whiplash
BEST SCREENPLAY: Birdman
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: Birdman
BEST USE OF MUSIC: Get On Up
BEST DEBUT DIRECTOR: Dan Gilroy, Nightcrawler
BEST DIRECTOR: Richard Linklater, Boyhood
BEST ACTRESS: Marion Cotillard, Two Days, One Night
BEST ACTOR: Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything
BEST ENSEMBLE: Birdman
BEST PICTURE: Boyhood
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM: Two Days, One Night
BEST DOCUMENTARY: Life Itself
BEST ANIMATED FILM: The Lego Movie
Top 10:
Birdman
Boyhood
Guardians of the Galaxy
The Imitation Game
A Most Violent Year
Mr. Turner
Selma
The Theory of Everything
Under the Skin
Whiplash
These guys are a little more mainstream in their choices, but still Boyhood prevails. Linklater is starting to look to me like a shoo-in for the "directorial achievement" aspect of the movie alone. And if he's winning Director no contest, than the movie is likely going with it, although we'll what happens.
Boston Online Film Critics Choose 'Snowpiercer'
Over the next month there's going to be an awful lot of critics weighing in with their picks for the year, and most of them will be minor regional groups, of which this is the first. Nevertheless, their choices here are so outside the box and inspired that it makes me especially glad this doesn't seem to be a year in which one movie will sweep everything (although I'm sure Boyhood still has the edge- it seems to be making just about everyone's top ten list). But yay for Snowpiercer, one of my absolute favorite movies of the year!
Best Picture: Snowpiercer
Director: Alejandro G. Inarritu, Birdman
Actor: Brendan Gleeson, Calvary
Actress: Marion Cotillard, Two Days One Night
S. Actor: Edward Norton, Birdman
S. Actress: Tilda Swinton, Snowpiercer
Screenplay: Calvary
Foreign Film: Two Days, One Night
Documentary: Life Itself
Animated: The Lego Movie
Cinematography: Birdman
Editing: Edge of Tomorrow
Score: Under the Skin
Ensemble: Birdman
THE TEN BEST FILMS OF THE YEAR:
1. SNOWPIERCER
2. UNDER THE SKIN
3. BOYHOOD
4. ONLY LOVERS LEFT ALIVE
5. THE BABADOOK
6. TWO DAYS ONE NIGHT
7. BIRDMAN
8. CALVARY
9. INHERENT VICE
10. SELMA
