Oscars 2014 Nominations - American Hustling

(Comments to follow once my internet is up - blogger does not like the iPad)

PICTURE
12 Years a Slave
American Hustle
Captain Phillips
Dallas Buyers Club
Gravity
Her
Nabraska
Philomena
The Wolf of Wall Street

DIRECTOR
Alfonso Cuarón
Steve McQueen
Alexander Payne
David O. Russell
Martin Scorsese

ACTRESS
Amy Adams
Cate Blanchett
Sandra Bullock
Judi Dench
Meryl Streep

ACTOR
Christian Bale
Bruce Dern
Leonardo DiCaprio
Chiwetel Ejiofor
Matthew McConaughey

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Sally Hawkins
Jennifer Lawrence
Lupita Nyong'o
Julia Roberts
June Squibb

SUPPORTING ACTOR
Barkhad Abdi
Bradley Cooper
Michael Fassbender
Jonah Hill
Jared Leto

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
American Hustle
Blue Jasmine
Dallas Buyers Club
Her
Nebraska

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
12 Years a Slave
Before Midnight
Captain Phillips
Philomena
The Wolf of Wall Street

FOREIGN LANGUAGE
Broken Circle Breakdown
The Great Beauty
The Hunt
The Missing Picture
Omar

ANIMATED FEATURE
The Croods
Despicable Me 2
Ernest and Celestine
Frozen
The Wind Rises

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
20 Feet From Stardom
The Act of Killing
Cutie and the Boxer
Dirty Wars
The Square

EDITING
12 Years a Slave
American Hustle
Captain Phillips
Dallas Buyers Club
Gravity

CINEMATOGRAPHY
The Grandmaster
Gravity
Inside Llewyn Davis
Nebraska
Prisoners

PRODUCTION DESIGN
12 Years a Slave
American Hustle
The Great Gatsby
Gravity
Her

VISUAL EFFECTS
Gravity
The Hobbit: the Desolation of Smaug
Iron Man 3
The Lone Ranger
Star Trek: Into Darkness

SOUND MIXING
Captain Phillips
Gravity
The hobbit: the Desolation of Smaug
Inside Llewyn Davis
Lone Survivor

SOUND EDITING
All is Lost
Captain Phillips
Gravity
The hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Lone Survivor

MAKE UP & HAIRSTYLING
Dallas Buyers Club
Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa
The Lone Ranger

COSTUME
12 Years a Slave
American Hustle
The Grandmaster
The Great Gatsby
The Invisible Woman

SCORE
The Book Thief
Gravity
Her
Philomena
Saving Mr. Banks

SONG
Alone Yet Not Alone
Despicable Me 2
Frozen
Her
Mandela

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Summary only...

Oscars 2014 Nominations Predix!

Awards season has been my "horse race" for years and years. Ultimately, the only people these awards are important to are the people who work in the industry. However, the race itself is such a good fodder for discussions about the quality of films, the film industry's health and politics, and who's wearing what. And, it's a lot of fun! The granddaddy of all awards - the Oscars - is a special occasion for a film geek like me.  Oscars Nominations are going to be announced tomorrow, and as per tradition, I am making nominations predictions with my dear friend, Griz. We've been doing this forever, it seems. This year, with so many strong contenders, we're likely in for many surprises. It's now time to dole out our predictions! May the best guesser win!

BEST PICTURE
For this category, we've agreed to predict 10 rather than following the Oscars' potential odd number (due to their voting method, we don't know exactly the number of films that would be nominated).

Editor (in order of the films most likely to get in):
12 Years a Slave
American Hustle
Dallas Buyers Club
Gravity
The Wolf of Wall Street
Captain Phillips
Her
Nebraska
Saving Mr. Banks
Blue Jasmine

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


BEST DIRECTOR

Editor:
Alfonso Cuaron
David O. Russell 
Steve McQueen
Paul Greengrass
Martin Scorsese

Alt: Spike Jonze

Griz:
Alfonso Cuarón - Gravity
Paul Greengrass - Captain Phillips
Steve McQueen - 12 Years a Slave
David O. Russell - American Hustle
Martin Scorsese - The Wolf of Wall Street

Alt: Alexander Payne - Nebraska

BEST ACTOR

Editor:
Bruce Dern
Chiwetel Ejiofor
Matthew McConaughey
Robert Redford
Tom Hanks

Alt: Christian Bale

Griz:
Bruce Dern - Nebraska
Chiwetel Ejiofor - 12 Years a Slave
Tom Hanks - Captain Phillips
Matthew McConaughey - Dallas Buyers Club
Robert Redford - All Is Lost

Alt: Leonardo DiCaprio - The Wolf of Wall Street


BEST ACTRESS

Editor:
Cate Blanchett
Sandra Bullock
Emma Thompson 
Amy Adams
Meryl Streep

Alt: Judi Dench

Griz:
Cate Blanchett - Blue Jasmine
Sandra Bullock - Gravity
Judi Dench - Philomena
Meryl Streep - August: Osage County
Emma Thompson - Saving Mr. Banks

Alt: Amy Adams - American Hustle


BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Editor:
Jared Leto
Michael Fassbender
Daniel Bruhl
Barkhad Abdi
Bradley Cooper

Alt. James Gandolfini

Griz:
Barkhad Abdi - Captain Phillips
Daniel Brühl - Rush
Bradley Cooper - American Hustle
Michael Fassbender - 12 Years a Slave
Jared Leto - Dallas Buyers Club

Alt: Tom Hanks - Saving Mr. Banks


BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Editor:
Jennifer Lawrence
Lupita Nyong'o
June Squibb
Julia Roberts
Oprah Winfrey

Alt. Sally Hawkins

Griz:
Jennifer Lawrence - American Hustle
Lupita Nyong’o - 12 Years a Slave
Julia Roberts - August: Osage County
June Squibb - Nebraska
Oprah Winfrey - The Butler

Alt: Sally Hawkins - Blue Jasmine


BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Editor:
American Hustle
Blue Jasmine
Dallas Buyers Club
Her
Nebraska 

Alt. Inside Llewyn Davis

Griz:
American Hustle
Blue Jasmine
Her
Inside Llewyn Davis
Nebraska

Alt: Dallas Buyers Club


BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Editor:
12 Years a Slave
Before Midnight
Captain Phillips
Philomena
The wolf of Wall Street

Alt: August: Osage County

Griz:
12 Years a Slave
Before Midnight
Captain Phillips
Philomena
The Wolf of Wall Street

Alt: Lone Survivor


BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Editor:
12 Years a Slave
Gravity
Inside Llewyn Davis
Captain Phillips
Nebraska

Alt: Prisoners

Griz:
12 Years a Slave
Captain Phillips
Gravity
Inside Llewyn Davis
Prisoners

Alt: Nebraska


BEST FILM EDITING

Editor:
12 Years a Slave
American Hustle
Captain Phillips
Gravity
The Wolf of Wall Street

Alt: Rush

Griz:
12 Years a Slave
American Hustle
Captain Phillips
Gravity
The Wolf of Wall Street

Alt: Nebraska


BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

Editor:
12 Years a Slave
American Hustle
The great Gatsby
Her
Gravity

Alt: the hobbit

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

Alt: Inside Llewyn Davis


BEST COSTUME DESIGN

Editor:
The Great Gatsby
American Hustle
12 Years a Slave
The Hunger Games
Saving Mr. Banks

Alt: The hobbit

Griz:
12 Years a Slave
American Hustle
The Great Gatsby
The Invisible Woman
Saving Mr. Banks

Alt: Oz the Great and Powerful


BEST MAKEUP & HAIRSTYLING
American Hustle
The Great Gatsby
Dallas Buyers Club

Alt: The Hunger Games

Griz:
American Hustle
Bad Grandpa
The Lone Ranger

Alt: Dallas Buyers Club


BEST SOUND EDITING
Gravity
Captain Phillips
Lone Survivor
Rush
All is lost

Alt: Iron Man 3

Griz:
All Is Lost
Captain Phillips
Gravity
Lone Survivor
Rush

Alt: Iron Man 3


BEST SOUND MIXING

Editor:
Gravity
Captain Phillips
Lone Survivor
Inside Llewyn Davis
Rush

Alt: All is lost

Griz:
Captain Phillips
Gravity
Inside Llewyn Davis
Iron Man 3
Lone Survivor

Alt: Rush


BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Gravity
The hobbit
Pacific Rim
Iron Man 3
Star Trek

Alt: Elysium

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

Alt: Oblivion


BEST ORIGINAL SONG
Frozen
Mandela 
One Chance
The Hunger Games
Her

Alt: The Great Gatsby

Griz:
Frozen
The Great Gatsby
Her
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom

Alt: The Butler


BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

Editor:
12 Years a Slave
Gravity
The book thief
Captain Phillips
All is lost

Alt: Her

Griz:
12 Years a Slave
All Is Lost
The Book Thief
Gravity
Saving Mr. Banks

Alt: Captain Phillips


BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM

Editor:
Frozen 
The Croods
Despicable Me 2
Monsters University
The Wind Rises

Alt: Epic

Griz:
The Croods
Despicable Me 2
Frozen
Monsters University
The Wind Rises

Alt: Ernest and Celestine


BEST FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM

Editor:
The Great Beauty
The Hunt
The Grandmaster
The Missing Picture
The Broken Circle Breakdown

Alt: the Notebook

Griz:
The Broken Circle Breakdown (Belgium)
The Grandmaster (Hong Kong)
The Great Beauty (Italy)
The Hunt (Denmark)
The Missing Picture (Cambodia)

Alt: Omar (Palestine)


BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

Editor:
The Act of Killing
Stories we tell
Blackfish
Tim's Vermeer
20 Feet from Stardom

Alt: Cutie and the Boxer

Griz:
The Act of Killing
Blackfish
The Square
Stories We Tell
Tim’s Vermeer

Alt: 20 Feet From Stardom

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Summary only...

Golden Globes 2014 Winners: The surprise is in the pudding

Well, well, what do we have here? Other than a beautiful Cate Blanchett in yet another magnificent Armani gown? In a rather unexpectedly tame telecast (best joke? George Clooney and his penchant for younger ladies), the Hollywood Foreign Press (HFP) managed to pull out a few shockers in their winner circle.

First, there was the Leo win. Although there was no true obvious front runner in this particular category (the heavyweights were in the drama section), Leo had so far been plagued by an awards-losing streak many years in the running that was hard to overlook. That boy just couldn't seem to win anything with any role he played his heart out - anything in terms of major awards, that is - until now. Could Leo be taken seriously as an Oscar contender with this push from the Globes? Who knows? He won't win the big guy though. If anyone would be giving Chiwetel Ejiofor a run for his front runner status money comes Oscars time, it would be Matthew McConaughey.

Speaking of whom, that was the second, bigger surprise of the evening: Matthew McConaughey. Who would've thunk it? Well, should I have seen Dallas Buyers Club (DBC) earlier, I would've predicted him in stead of Chiwetel. I watched the film earlier today, and I gotta say, his performance was right up Serious Awards' alley. It was showy in an underdog story, and considering his body of work this past year, I was not surprised he'd won. So in retrospect, the surprise was there mainly because I did not see DBC becoming such a major player that it could win McConaughey, of all people, a best actor trophy. And I only did not see it because, well, I literally did not see the movie before making my predictions. But I should've seen it coming with the onslaught of Guilds nominations for the picture. Watch out, here comes DBC to ruin everyone's party!

And as for front runner 12 Years a Slave - ouch. The only award it took home was the biggie, but it lost the awards it could've won too: actor, supporting actress, screenplay (Her! Surprise ruiner!). If it was a more serious threat as a front runner, it would've picked up at least another category. But it didn't. And now we have a-few-horses race: Slave, Hustle, and ... Dallas. Gravity, as expected, will duke it out with the other guys in the Director category alone.

In the end, my money is still on American Hustle to win big. Dallas maybe a serious threat now, but overall, Hustle still got the fun factor and a big ensemble with pedigrees to power through.

And, oh, yeah, go The Great Beauty!!!

Winners:

PICTURE (DRAMA)
12 years a slave

PICTURE (COMEDY/MUSICAL)
American Hustle

DIRECTOR
Alfonso Cuarón

ACTOR (DRAMA)
Matthew McConaughey

ACTOR (COMEDY/MUSICAL)
Leonardo DiCaprio

ACTRESS (DRAMA)
Cate Blanchett

ACTRESS (COMEDY / MUSICAL)
Amy Adams

SUPPORTING ACTOR
Jared Leto

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Jennifer Lawrence

SCREENPLAY
Her

FOREIGN FILM FEATURE
The Great Beauty

ANIMATED FEATURE
Frozen

SCORE
All is lost

SONG
Mandela

Editor: 7/14 <--- I live dangerously.
Griz: 10/14 <--- Made deal with Awards devil.

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Summary only...

Golden Globes 2014 Winners Predictions

Golden Globes crown their winners tonight. Ahead of the race, here are my predictions who'd finish first (Griz's in purple):

PICTURE (DRAMA)
12 years a slave
Alt: Gravity

12 Years a Slave 
Alt: Gravity 

PICTURE (COMEDY/MUSICAL)
American Hustle
Alt: The Wolf of Wall Street

American Hustle
Alt: The Wolf of Wall Street

DIRECTOR
Steve McQueen
Alt: Alonso Cuarón

Alonso Cuarón
Alt: Steve McQueen - 12 Years a Slave

ACTOR (DRAMA)
Chiwetel Ejiofor
Alt: Matthew McConaughey

Matthew McConaughey - Dallas Buyers Club
Alt: Chiwetel Ejiofor - 12 Years a Slave

ACTOR (COMEDY/MUSICAL)
Bruce Dern
Alt: Christian Bale

Leonardo DiCaprio - The Wolf of Wall Street
Alt: Christian Bale - American Hustle

ACTRESS (DRAMA)
Cate Blanchette
Alt: Sandra Bullock

Cate Blanchett - Blue Jasmine
Alt: Sandra Bullock - Gravity

ACTRESS (COMEDY / MUSICAL)
Amy Adams
Alt: Meryl Streep

Meryl Streep - August: Osage County
Alt: Julie Delpy - Before Midnight

SUPPORTING ACTOR
Jared Leto
Alt: Michael Fassbender

Jared Leto - Dallas Buyers Club
Alt: Michael Fassbender - 12 Years a Slave

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Jennifer Lawrence
Alt: Lupita Nyong'o

Jennifer Lawrence - American Hustle
Alt: Lupita Nyong’o - 12 Years a Slave

SCREENPLAY
American Hustle
Alt: 12 Years a Slave

American Hustle
Alt: 12 Years a Slave

FOREIGN FILM FEATURE
Blue is the warmest colour
Alt: The Past

The Great Beauty (Italy)
Alt: Blue is the Warmest Colour (France)

ANIMATED FEATURE
Frozen
Alt: The Croods

Frozen
Alt: Despicable Me 2

SCORE
Gravity
Alt: 12 Years a Slave

Gravity
Alt: 12 Years a Slave

SONG
The Hunger Games
Alt: Frozen

Frozen
Alt: The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Methinks American Hustle will come home rich tonight.

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Summary only...