And the nominees are: (Spoilered for long) Spoiler Film "American Sniper" "Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)" "Boyhood" "The Grand Budapest Hotel" "The Imitation Game" "Selma" "The Theory of Everything" "Whiplash" Lead actress Marion Cotillard, “Two Days, One Night” Felicity Jones, “The Theory of Everything” Julianne Moore, “Still Alice” Rosamund Pike, “Gone Girl” Reese Witherspoon, “Wild” Lead actor Steve Carell, “Foxcatcher” Bradley Cooper, “American Sniper” Benedict Cumberbatch, “The Imitation Game” Michael Keaton, “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)” Eddie Redmayne, “The Theory of Everything" Director Alejandro G. Iñárritu, “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)” Richard Linklater, “Boyhood” Bennett Miller, “Foxcatcher” Wes Anderson, “The Grand Budapest Hotel” Morten Tyldum, “The Imitation Game” Supporting actress Patricia Arquette, "Boyhood" Laura Dern, "Wild" Keira Knightley, "The Imitation Game" Emma Stone, "Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)" Meryl Streep, "Into The Woods" Supporting actor Robert Duvall, "The Judge" Ethan Hawke, "Boyhood" Edward Norton, "Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)" Mark Ruffalo, "Foxcatcher" J.K. Simmons, "Whiplash" Animated feature film "Big Hero 6" "The Boxtrolls" "How To Train Your Dragon 2" "Song of the Sea" "The Tale of the Princess Kaguya" Documentary feature “CitizenFour” “Finding Vivian Maier” “Last Days in Vietnam” “The Salt of the Earth” “Virunga” Documentary short subject “Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1” “Joanna” “Our Curse” “The Reaper (La Parka)” “White Earth” Foreign language film “Ida” (Poland) “Leviathan” (Russia) “Tangerines” (Estonia) “Timbuktu” (Mauritania) “Wild Tales” (Argentina) Adapted screenplay Jason Hall, “American Sniper” Graham Moore, “The Imitation Game” Paul Thomas Anderson, “Inherent Vice” Anthony McCarten, “The Theory of Everything” Damien Chazelle, “Whiplash” Original screenplay Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris Jr. and Armando Bo, “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)” Richard Linklater, “Boyhood” E. Max Frye and Dan Futterman, “Foxcatcher” Wes Anderson (screenplay), Wes Anderson and Hugo Guinness (story), “The Grand Budapest Hotel” Dan Gilroy, “Nightcrawler” Animated short film “The Bigger Picture” “The Dam Keeper” “Feast” “Me and My Moulton” “A Single Life” Live action short film “Aya” “Boogaloo and Graham” “Butter Lamp (La Lampe au Beurre de Yak)” “Parvaneh” “The Phone Call” Makeup and hairstyling “Foxcatcher,” Bill Corso and Dennis Liddiard “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” Frances Hannon and Mark Coulier “Guardians of the Galaxy,” Elizabeth Yianni-Georgiou and David White Original score “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” Alexandre Desplat “The Imitation Game,” Alexandre Desplat “Interstellar,” Hans Zimmer “Mr. Turner,” Gary Yershon “The Theory of Everything,” Jóhann Jóhannsson Original song “Everything Is Awesome” in “The Lego Movie” “Glory” in “Selma” “Grateful” in “Beyond the Lights” “I’m Not Gonna Miss You” in “Glen Campbell … I’ll Be Me” “Lost Stars” in “Begin Again” Cinematography “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance),” Emmanuel Lubezki “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” Robert Yeoman “Ida,” Lukasz Zal and Ryszard Lenczewski “Mr. Turner,” Dick Pope “Unbroken,” Roger Deakins Costume design “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” Milena Canonero “Inherent Vice,” Mark Bridges “Into the Woods,” Colleen Atwood “Maleficent,” Anna B. Sheppard and Jane Clive “Mr. Turner,” Jacqueline Durran Film editing “American Sniper,” Joel Cox and Gary D. Roach “Boyhood,” Sandra Adair “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” Barney Pilling “The Imitation Game,” William Goldenberg “Whiplash,” Tom Cross Sound mixing “American Sniper,” John Reitz, Gregg Rudloff and Walt Martin “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance),” Jon Taylor, Frank A. Montaño and Thomas Varga “Interstellar,” Gary A. Rizzo, Gregg Landaker and Mark Weingarten “Unbroken,” Jon Taylor, Frank A. Montaño and David Lee “Whiplash,” Craig Mann, Ben Wilkins and Thomas Curley Sound editing “American Sniper,” Alan Robert Murray and Bub Asman “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance),” Martín Hernández and Aaron Glascock “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies,” Brent Burge and Jason Canovas “Interstellar,” Richard King “Unbroken,” Becky Sullivan and Andrew DeCristofaro Production design “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” Adam Stockhausen (production design) and Anna Pinnock (set decoration) “The Imitation Game,” Maria Djurkovic (production design) and Tatiana Macdonald (set decoration) “Interstellar” Nathan Crowley (production design) and Gary Fettis (set decoration) “Into the Woods” Dennis Gassner (production design) and Anna Pinnock (set decoration) “Mr. Turner” Suzie Davies (production design) and Charlotte Watts (set decoration) Visual effects “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” Dan DeLeeuw, Russell Earl, Bryan Grill and Dan Sudick “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes,” Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, Daniel Barrett and Erik Winquist “Guardians of the Galaxy,” Stephane Ceretti, Nicolas Aithadi, Jonathan Fawkner and Paul Corbould “Interstellar,” Paul Franklin, Andrew Lockley, Ian Hunter and Scott Fisher “X-Men: Days of Future Past,” Richard Stammers, Lou Pecora, Tim Crosbie and Cameron Waldbauer
My picks (who I think deserves to win) Picture: Birdman Director: Richard Linklater (as an achievement, movie actually only okay) Actor: Michael Keaton Actress: Julianne Moore Supporting Actor: JK Simmons Supporting actress: Emma Stone
Where is El Tee for his yearly visit to the forum? I haven't watched Birdman yet but from what everyone was saying Keaton should win. American Sniper was a good film, Best Picture quality? I didn't think so. I am I the only one who thinks this years movie choices have been pretty terrible?
I'm right here, bitches. A couple of thoughts: - I'm glad Steve Carrell was nominated for Foxcatcher, because it wasn't a fluke performance. He is an extremely talented actor: even if you aren't a fan of "The Office", the character of Michael Scott would have been incredibly demanding even without the shadow of David Brent hanging over it. The fact that he repeatedly lost Emmys to scrubs like Jim Parsons and Jon Cryer is a fucking travesty. - Meryl Streep could literally take a shit in a bucket, call it performance art, and still get nominated for an Oscar any time she wants. She is the Tim Duncan of the acting world. The world will miss her when she's gone. - I need to see Birdman before I start making serious predictions. - Get ready for some ridiculous civil rights speech from Common and John Legend. Giving them an Oscar for their song would prove that #blacklivesmatter without actually wasting a good award on Oprah's movie. - Boyhood might become the first (or at least first film in a very long time by my recollection) that could win Best Picture without actually winning in any other category, and it would be an appropriate feat. The movie is more of a novelty, and the fact that it turned out as well as it did is undeniably remarkable. But as a directing feat, or writing feat, or an acting feat, it's not the "Best" in any regard. - Sadly, Patricia Arquette seems to have more momentum for a take-home award even though - I think - Ethan Hawke gave the much better performance. Perhaps that's because I'm sexist.
No, it's not just you. I have some catching up to do, but I really can't think of one movie I watched all year that I liked very much. If Boyhood is really going to win best picture that's fucking terrible. Watching some nobody's uneventful life morph into a teenage emo dipshit was not in any way compelling. It would easily make for the worst best picture ever in my opinion. Plus, holy shit was that movie boring. I have to watch Birdman and a few other movies before I really make predictions, but I can't think of anything all year that jumped out to me as oscar worthy. Although my vote would go to Rosamund Pike for best actress. She absolutely nailed that role.
I'm in the opposite boat -- the only movie I've seen from the list is Birdman, and I really enjoyed it. Granted, it had elements of fantasy/magical realism in it which I always dig, but I thought all the characters were well-written and well-acted and I thought that they all progressed throughout the story together in interesting ways. Edward Norton really, really shines in his role as a volatile method actor.
I think the Lead Actor category is the closest race this year. I'm rooting for Eddie Redmayne, though. I still have two more that I need to see out of the ones I'm planning on seeing (Whiplash and The Imitation Game) but out of what I've seen so far I'm not too passionate about most of the categories. Also, seeing what crap they've shoved into the Best Picture category since expanding it to 10 options, I'm kind of surprised at what they've left out. I was expecting Gone Girl to get a lot more nominations than Lead Actress, and I thought Wild was going to make it in there too. Out of what they do have, I enjoyed Grand Budapest Hotel the most, despite not being a huge Wes Anderson fan and it being perhaps the most Wes Andersony of his films, but I don't think it should get the win. I liked The Theory of Everything a lot more than I expected to, and I wasn't planning on seeing Imitation Game until a bunch of people told me I had to, but based on what I've heard I guess I'd want one of the two to win? I just don't really care all that much. Anything but American Sniper. Semi-related: my friend throws an Oscars party every year and everyone needs to bring a dish inspired by one of the movies up for Best Picture. I'm bringing drumsticks for Whiplash (badum tssh), so if anyone has favorite drumstick recipes (or wings recipes I can just do for drumsticks) send them my way, please.
I've seen all of the Best Picture nominees except for Selma. Racist joke goes HERE. Here's what I think of them, in order from best to worst. It's pretty close towards the top and then just really, really, really, really falls off at the very bottom. 1. Whiplash - As pointed out by others, the category is pretty weak this year so I don't really feel bad saying I liked this the best out of the bunch. I thought it was a fairly unique movie in the sense that the last time I heard of a movie about a band was Drumline. I also highly enjoy J.K. Simmons and Miles Teller though, so that probably helped. Like I said, it's real close for me at the top of the list but this was my favorite. Simmons will deserve his Supporting Actor which is apparently a lock at this point according to our friends in Vegas. 2. The Imitation Game - Good movie, good story that I didn't know shit about because I'm a poorly read dumbfuck, and then there's also that thing where I'd probably let Cumberbatch bang me if he wanted to after I watched Sherlock. And at points it kind of seems like he's playing the exact same character in TIG. Mostly that. 3-6. Grand Budapest, Birdman, American Sniper, and The Theory of Everything, in that order but very close. Budapest is typical Anderson, which if you're into that sort of thing (I am), is good. I need to watch Birdman again because I streamed it (SORRY) and was semi preoccupied during it, but Keaton murdered it. I put Sniper ahead of Theory of Everything because 'Merica. Theory was fine and well too but I can definitely see the gals liking that movie more than anything with a dick. 7. We can put Selma here because despite not seeing yet, I can guarantee my ballsack that I will like it more than Boyhood. Literally. I would bet my life savings, my dick, my first born child, whatever, that I will like Selma more than Boyhood. Vegas, come at me bro. 898983476726832462835627636637236468236488263842. Boyhood - Holy FUCK. What is it about this movie? Everyone that I actually know personally, and apparently everyone from this board is in the same boat. If you aren't a movie critic, this movie bore the fucking shit out of you. I mean, I get it. He filmed it over 12 years. We get to watch the characters grow and get older, etc etc. Awesome. I can appreciate that from a film making aspect. All right then. After two hours and forty minutes of my life, I expect to actually see something happen. Not watch a documentary about some dipshit kid going through different stages of hipster and emo. I watched that during my entire middle school, high school, and college aged existence and it wasn't that great then. It sure as shit isn't that exciting now. I Redbox'd that shit and I can say I would rather have my $1.27 or whatever the fuck back so that I could light it on fire, including the change, and then Golden Crown myself, Game of Thrones style, instead of watching that god damn waste of time again. This would hopefully be me: The end. Also, my girlfriend kept saying how much bigger Patricia Arquette's tits kept getting in Dumbhood and I was all, "Yeah, bitch, I know. I saw the last season of Boardwalk Empire. Fuck." At least that would've left me some sort of sense of entertainment if I hadn't seen those giant cannons coming a mile away. Thanks for nothing, Dick Linklater.
With a few notable exceptions, I've pretty much seen every movie nominated in a major category this year, so I can finally post the long prediction post you know all you motherfuckers have been dying to read. Best Supporting Actress: This whole category is pretty weak, because most of the films themselves are not all that exciting. Laura Dern and Keira Knightly are both basically disqualified for that reason. Emma Stone deserves the blanket praise that comes with giving a great performance in Birdman, because having to hold a performance that long without the saving grace of editing is rightfully impressive. However, while the Academy likes to reward rising starlets, they normally do so in the lead category, not this one (and Amy Adams is still ahead of her in that line anyway). Like I said before, Meryl Streep can appear in a six-second Vine version of "Two Girls, One Cup" and score a nomination for it because she's the motherfucking G.O.A.T. Regardless, after a year in which dirty secrets about how Hollywood treats its female talent were leaked by North Korea, all the stars have lined up for the Academy to reward a woman for aging gracefully on screen. Should Win: Patricia Arquette didn't even give the best performance in Boyhood, but this is an extremely weak field. Could Win: As long as Meryl Streep is alive, she can always win. Shit, she may even win multiple awards years after she dies, like Selena. Will Win: Patricia Arquette, because everyone will feel better about passing her up for better roles in the future after Sunday night. Best Supporting Actor: Robert Duvall is the recipient of this year's TBT nomination, and because he'll probably be a whole lot of fun to hang out with backstage at the open bar. Edward Norton gave the best performance of Birdman's ensemble, but rumors persist that he's kind of an asshole and most of the below-the-fold Academy voters would rather reward actors they respect. Ethan Hawke is getting the short-shrift for Boyhood: his character showed far more development that Arquette's mom or either of the shitty kids, but unlike Arquette he's actually up against good actors. Mark Ruffalo was phenomenal in Foxcatcher, which is a difficult film to get through, and it sucks that he has to go head-to-head with a guy like JK Simmons, who has probably worked with every single voting member of the Academy at some point in time because the man is as blue-collar as the come in that industry. Should Win: Yes, JK Simmons was nominated for a supporting role despite being a co-lead. Tough shit, that happens all the time. Could Win: Don't count Mark Ruffalo out completely. Unless you have money on this race, in which case you can count him and everyone else out completely. Will Win: Simmons rescued an otherwise goofy movie with a classic Simmons performance. Yes, his conductor was basically just a version of Vern Schillinger, but Vern Schillinger was fucking incredible too. Best Actress: Here's where shit gets difficult. Neither Still Alice nor Two Days, One Night were ever screened in San Diego that I could tell. So fuck it: place your bets on Julianne Moore. Best Actor: Okay, now we're talking. First off, I think Steve Carrell has always been a fantastic actor. Even ostensibly stupid characters like Michael Scott and Brick Tamland are NOT easy to pull off unless you are legitimately talented. (This is the same reason I always thought Kevin Dillon was the most valuable player in the "Entourage" crew, too.) Foxcatcher is a weird film with John Du Pont as the creepy center. But, I'll be damned if Carrell didn't completely inhabit that role and earn himself consideration for other serious roles in the future. This an example of where a nomination is a win in itself, I believe. Benedict Cumberbatch was apparently trying to go Full Retard in The Imitation Game, but if you've seen the movie, let me pause for a second to ask you this: what exactly was TIG about? Was it a spy thriller about how some limeys broke the Enigma code? Was it a period piece about how some weirdo overcame the haters to invent the precursor to the modern computer? Or was it about a gay guy who was persecuted for being homosexual? By the end of the movie, I was convinced it tried too hard to be all sorts of things and ended up as a shitty film made of up otherwise good parts. And basically, Cumberbatch's performance suffers because he was all over the place as well. Bradley Cooper gave a performance near and dear to my heart: I knew many guys from Team THREE during that time, and so his version of Chris Kyle rings more true for me than it would for most other folks. I fear that the manufactured controversy around American Sniper might spill over into the ballots, though. Eddie Redmayne won the SAG award, which is the best predictor for an Oscar out there, but notably that slate of nominees did NOT include Cooper. And if one thing holds true about the Academy, it's that its non-actor branches skew far more conservative. That could play a big difference if the Best Actor votes are scattered across three deserving nominees, including Michael Keaton, who coincidentally is the only person in this category playing a completely fictional character. Should Win: Fuuuuuuuck. This is hard. If I am being completely honest, I thought Eddie Redmayne gave the best performance. It sounds corny, but having to give a performance hampered by Hawking's handicaps is just a hair more impressive than Cooper having to bulk up an act through a thousand-yard stare. Could Win: And that said, Cooper may benefit from a considerable number of voters who love Clint Eastwood, love America, and appreciate that Cooper is as close to a classic Hollywood superstar as we've had in a while. Will Win: But with that said, Michael Keaton gave a career performance too and there could be an inclination to reward him for an opportunity that may never happen again. Cooper and Redmayne will be back; Keaton probably won't. Plus, he's be completely gracious and said all the right things. If anyone is going to benefit from Cooper and Redmayne splitting votes, it may be the Birdman. Best Original Song: I only mention this category because I am honestly curious if John Legend and Common can beat out John Stephens and Lonnie Lynn. I think it would be hilarious if two celebrities lose because the Academy made them use their given names on the ballot. I want to warn everyone to prepare themselves for a #BlackLivesMatter/#ICan'tBreathe lecture from two assholes who think giving them an Oscar means you've made the world a better place, but I'm going to laugh my ass off if they lose. Best Adapted Screenplay: I didn't see Inherent Vice, but the Academy hates Paul Thomas Anderson. The Imitation Game is a terrible story. Whiplash is a nice little flick, but so much of what makes it memorable isn't in the script: it's either Simmons being abusive or Miles Teller making his funny drumgasm faces. The Theory of Everything is a nice story with a happy ending (and a still-living subject), but American Sniper made a shitload of money and ultimately the Oscars are about rewarding movies people actually want to see. Will Win: American Sniper. Best Original Sceenplay: As always, where there is no clear-cut favorite for Best Picture expect some hinky shit to happen as voters try to reward who they think won't win the big prize. I can't seem to find anyone anywhere who has anything great to say about Nightcrawler, and it's never a good sign when a film in this category has no other nominations. Foxcatcher is an interesting film, but it's so far behind the other three nominees it's not worth mentioning. Both Boyhood and Birdman have taken home Best Picture-equivalent prizes in precursor shows, so both are likely contenders for the grand prize here. However, I'd argue that both of those films are favorites for the novelty of how they were made rather than their scripts. That's good news for Wes Anderson, who made a highly regarded and highly original film (per usual) that was released way the hell back in February or something. That's fucking impressive, at least if you're an Oscar nerd like me. Will Win: The Grand Budapest Hotel, because if you don't love every Wes Anderson movie besides the unwatchable The Darjeeling Unlimited you are simply a miserable human being. Best Director: The Directors Guild of America has already spoken: Alejandro G. Iñárritu, for his apparently one-take Birdman. Yeah, it's kind of a strange film, but like Gravity last year you have to simply marvel at the skill it took to make it. Richard Linklater will probably get a lot of votes here too, but ultimately Boyhood was a production miracle, not a spectacular film in and of itself. Richard Linklater the producer deserves far more credit for keeping the project alive for a decade than Richard Linklater the director deserves for just turning the camera on for a few weeks every year...and luckily for the voter, Richard Linklater the producer is an option. Will Win: DGA winners almost never lose. Iñárritu ain't no different. Best Picture: The Academy doesn't like being told it's racist less than one year after awarding Best Picture to a film about slavery. So Oprah Winfrey and her Selma crew can go fuck themselves. Whiplash, The Imitation Game, and The Theory of Everything are all standard art-house fodder. Like I said, it is incredible that The Grand Budapest Hotel is still in the discussion despite being released an eternity before Oscar-bait season. But this race comes down to two films that critics love and one film that the audience loved (American Sniper). Should Win: Look, Boyhood is polarizing for a couple of good reasons. Shitty (kid) acting, meandering story. I get that. But it is a never-before-seen premise that turned out remarkably well. Could Win: Birdman is a lock for Best Director and a favorite for Best Actor, and while it's not as uncommon this century to split the Best Picture/Best Director ticket that's definitely a historically easy pairing to make. But, I also think the voters have much more favorable opinion of Boyhood than the average viewer. Will Win: Choosing between Boyhood and Birdman is kind of like choosing between two decent looking chicks in a bar at the end of the night. In a perfect world, you would have already split with the hottest chick (American Sniper) three hours earlier, but since you have to award your penis/Best Picture to someone, it may as well be the one that's not fucking weird. Boyhood for the win.
I said this last year as well, but it was a crappy year for awards. Actor seems to be the only tight category. It would have been cool to see Timothy Spall, an old school Brit actor, get nominated. However, from what I could tell from clips, his performance as the painter JMW Turner was him grunting and grumbling. Two and a half hours of that? Fuck off. Once again the only horse I have in this race is Roger Deakins in the Best Cinematography category. Skyfall was so profoundly beautiful that it physically pained me to see the guy overlooked for the 11th time. I first noticed his work for The Assassination of Jesse James, the second most beautiful film I have seen. This is his 12th nomination and if they snub him again he should run up stage, punch everyone in the mouth, and shit off the edge of the stage into a tuba.