Oscars 2015: Academy Awards

 

Birdman

Best Picture
Birdman Or (Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), Alejandro G. Inarritu, John Lesher and James W. Skotchdopole

Best Director
Alejandro González Iñárritu, Birdman Or (Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

Best Actor
Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything

Best Actress
Julianne Moore, Still Alice

Best Supporting Actor
J.K. Simmons, Whiplash

Best Supporting Actress
Patricia Arquette, Boyhood

Achievement in Costume Design
Milena Canonero, The Grand Budapest Hotel

Achievement in Makeup and Hairstyling 
Frances Hannon and Mark Coulier, The Grand Budapest Hotel

Best Foreign Language Film
Ida, Pawel Pawlikowski

Best Live Action Short Film
The Phone Call, Matt Kirkby and James Lucas

Best Documentary Short Subject
Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1, Ellen Goosenberg Kent and Dana Perry

Original Screenplay 
Birdman Or (Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) , Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Jr. and Armando Bo

Achievement in Sound Mixing
Whiplash, Craig Mann, Ben Wilkins, Thomas Curley

Achievement in Sound Editing
American Sniper,  Alan Robert Murray Bub Asman

Achievement in Visual Effects
Interstellar, Ian Hunter, Scott Fisher, Andrew Lockley and Paul Franklin

Best Animated Short
Feast, Patrick Osborne and Kristina Reed

Best Animated Movie
Big Hero Six, Don Hall, Chris Williams and Roy Conli

Achievement in Production Design
The Grand Budapest Hotel, Adam Stockhausen and Anna Pinnock

Achievement in Cinematography
Birdman Or (Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), Emannuel Lubezki

Achievement in Film Editing
Whipalsh, Tom Cross

Best Documentary Feature
Citizen Four, Laura Poitras, Mathilde Bonnefoy and Dirk Wilutzky

Best Original Song 
Glory, John Stephens and Lonnie Lynn

Best Original Score 

The Grand Budapest Hotel, Alexandre Desplat 

Best Adapted Screenplay 

The Imitation Game, Graham Moore

The Imitation Game: Interesting Fact and an Influential FYC

Central Ohio Film Critics Association

Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel continues to build momentum with the strong showing from COFCA. Selma scores high marks too earning some major nominations including Best Editing after being ignored by ACE Eddies. And the usual contenders are ever so present.

Selma

 

Best Film

Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
Boyhood
Gone Girl
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
A Most Violent Year
Nightcrawler
Selma
Snowpiercer
Whiplash

Best Director

Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Damien Chazelle, Whiplash
Ava DuVernay, Selma
Alejandro González Iñárritu, Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
Richard Linklater, Boyhood

Best Actor

Ralph Fiennes, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Jake Gyllenhaal, Nightcrawler
Michael Keaton, Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
David Oyelowo, Selma
Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything

Best Actress

Essie Davis, The Babadook
Scarlett Johansson, Under the Skin
Felicity Jones, The Theory of Everything
Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl
Reese Witherspoon, Wild

Oscar Nominations Predictions with 11 days to go

 Lenstroke's early Oscar nominations predictions are as follows- 

 

 

Best Picture

Birdman or (Virtue of Ignorance), Fox Searchlight
Boyhood, IFC Films
Gone Girl, 20th Century Fox
Mr. Turner, Sony Pictures Classics
Selma, Paramount Pictures
The Imitation Game, The Weinstein Company
Theory of Everything,Universal Pictures
The Grand Budapest Hotel, Fox Searchlight
Whiplash, Sony Pictures Classics

Best Director 

Richard Linklater, Boyhood 

Alejandro González Iñárritu, Birdman 

Mike Leigh, Mr. Turner 

Ava DuVernay, Selma

David Fincher, Gone Girl 

Best Actor

Michael Keaton, Birdman 

Eddie Redmayne, Theory of Everything 

David Oyelowo, Selma

Timothy Spall, Mr. Turner 

Jake Gyllenhaal, Nightcrawler 

Best Actress 

Julianne Moore, Still Alice 

Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl

Reese Witherspoon, Wild
Felicity Jones, Theory of Everything 

Jennifer Aniston, Cake

Best Supporting Actor

J. K. Simmons, Whiplash 

Edward Norton, Birdman 

Ethan Hawke, Boyhood

Mark Ruffalo, Foxcatcher

Josh Brolin, Inherent Vice 

National Society of Film Critics Winners

Jean Luc-Godard's Goodbye to Language was adjudged as the Picture of the year by the revered National Society of Film Critics. Richard Linklater's Boyhood lost the Best Picture by just one vote but still managed to win Best Director and Best Supporting Actress. Mike Leigh's Mr. Turner had good showing too, winning Best Actor for Timothy Spall and Dick Pope's Cinematography. Marion Cotillard took home the BEst Actresss for her combined efforts in The Immigrant and Two Days, One Night. Citizenfour won the Best Non-Fiction Feature honour. 

Goodbye to Languaage

BEST PICTURE
1. Goodbye to Language - 25 (Jean-Luc Godard)
2. Boyhood - 24 (Richard Linklater)
3. Birdman - 10 (Alejandro G. Iñárritu)
3. Mr. Turner - 10 (Mike Leigh)

BEST DIRECTOR
1. Richard Linklater - 36 (Boyhood)
2. Jean-Luc Godard - 17 (Goodbye to Language)
3. Mike Leigh - 12 (Mr. Turner)

BEST NON-FICTION FILM
1. Citizenfour - 56 (Laura Poitras)
2. National Gallery - 19 (Frederick Wiseman)
3. The Overnighters - 17 (Jesse Moss)

BEST SCREENPLAY
1. The Grand Budapest Hotel - 24 (Wes Anderson)
2. Inherent Vice - 15 (Paul Thomas Anderson)
2. Birdman - 15 (Armando Bo, Alexander Dinelaris, Nicolas Giacobone, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu)

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
1. Mr. Turner - 33 (Dick Pope)
2. The Immigran - 27 (Darius Khondji)
3. Goodbye to Language - 9 (Fabrice Aragno)

BEST ACTOR
1.Timothy Spall - 31 (Mr. Turner)
2. Tom Hardy - 10 (Locke)
3. Joaquin Phoenix - 9 (Inherent Vice)
3. Ralph Fiennes - 9 (The Grand Budapest Hotel)

SBIFF: Montecito Award

Jennifer Aniston in Cake

 Jennifer Aniston to receive Montecito Award at SBIFF for her performance in Cake which has been aaclaimed with SAG, Globe, Critics' Choice nominations. The honor will be presented at Santa Barbara's historic Arlington Theatre on Jan. 30 as part of the fest's 30th edition, which runs Jan. 27 through Feb. 7.

he Montecito Award has been presented annually, since 2005, to "a performer who has given a series of classic and standout performances throughout his or her career and whose style has made a major contribution to film." Previous recipients include Oprah Winfrey, Daniel Day-Lewis, Geoffrey Rush, Julianne Moore, Kate Winslet, Javier Bardem, Naomi Watts and Annette Bening.

"Once in a while a performer who we thought we knew gets outside of his or her comfort zone and shows us the unexpected,” SBIFF executive director Roger Durling said in a statement. “When that happens it is cause for celebration — and this is why the 2015 Montecito Award is bestowed upon Ms. Aniston."

The fest previously announced that it will be presenting its Modern Master Award to Birdman's Michael Keaton; Outstanding Performer of the Year Award to Foxcatcher's Steve Carell; American Riviera Award to Boyhood's Ethan Hawke and Patricia Arquette; Cinema Vanguard Award to The Theory of Everything's Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones; and Virtuosos Award to Obvious Child's Jenny Slate, Fury's Logan Lerman, Boyhood's Ellar Coltrane, Get On Up's Chadwick Boseman, Gone Girl's Rosamund Pike, Whiplash's J.K. Simmons and Selma's David Oyelowo.
  

IMDb's Top Ten Films of 2014

Interstellar

These are the 2014 movies that had the highest ratings by IMDb users utilizing the same criteria as the IMDb Top 250 ranking. 

1. Interstellar
2. Boyhood
3. Gone Girl
4. Guardians of the Galaxy
5. The Grand Budapest Hotel
6. X-Men: Days of Future Past
7. The Raid 2: Berandal
8. How to Train Your Dragon 2
9. Edge of Tomorrow
10. The Fault in Our Stars

Compiling Shots of the Year #23

The Guest, David killing Craig

                                                                DoP: Robby Baumgartner

Compiling Shots of the Year #22

The Trip to Italy, At the Shelly's pyre

                                                                 DoP: James Clarke

Awards Circuit's Top Ten Films by Clayton Davis

A Most Violent Year

1. Birdman 
2. Selma
3. Boyhood
4. Wild Tales
5. A Most Violent Year
6. Life Itself
7. Foxcatcher
8. The Imitation Game
9. Dawn of the Planet of Apes
10. Whiplash

Compiling Shots of the Year #21

Blue Ruin, The head shot

                                                                    DoP: Jeremy Saulnier

Compiling Shots of the Year #20

Calvary, The final stand-off

                                                                      DoP: Larry Smith

Compiling Shots of the Year #19

Ida, Walk to the burial

                                                        DoP: Lukasz Zal & Ryszard Lenczewski

Compiling Shots of the Year #18

Gone Girl, Nick posing for press with the stupid smile

                                                                DoP: Jeff Cronenweth

Capri Hollywood Film Festival Awards

Imitation Game took home the Best Film and Best Director award at 19th Annual Capri Hollywood Film Festival awards. Timothy Spall won the Best Actor Mr. Turner while a tie was observed in Actress, and honor was shared between Amy Adams and Jennifer Aniston for Big Eyes and Cake respectively. Birdman won the visionary awards while Boyhood had to content with Family award. Human Capital was adjudged as the European film of the Year. David. O. Russell reviews the Italian American Icon Award.

The Imitation Game 

Best Picture
The Imitation Game

Best Actor
Timothy Spall, Mr. Turner

Best Actress (tie)
Jennifer Aniston, Cake
Amy Adams, Big Eyes

Best Director
Morten Tyldum, The Imitation Game

Visionary Award
Birdman

Family Award
Boyhood

Animated Movie of the Year
Big Hero 6

Filmdrunk's Top Ten Films by Vince Mancini

Birdman

1. Birdman
2. Nightcrawler
3. Boyhood
4. Gone Girl
5. The Drop
6. Interstellar
7. Whiplash
8. Blue Ruin/ The Babadook
9. Guardians of the Galaxy/ Snowpiercer
10. The Lego Movie

ACE Eddie Nominations Announced

The American Cinema Editors have announced their nominees for Best Edited feature in Dramatic and Comedy. Surprisingly, there are six nominees in Drama category which resulted from a tie in voting. DuVernay's Selma takes a hit as the Civil Rights feature is ignored even with six nominees. Nightcrawler continues to surge in momentum with this year's Guild opener ACE Eddie nomination. American Sniper and Whiplash receive a nice shout-out. And other notable absentees are Unbroken, Theory of Everything, Foxcatcher and Interstellar. Birdman and The Grand Budapest Hotel lock horns in Comedy. Guardians of the Galaxy finds some affinity among five nominees, so does Inherent Vice and Into the Woods.

American Sniper

BEST EDITED FEATURE FILM (DRAMATIC):

• American Sniper
  Joel Cox, ACE & Gary Roach, ACE
• Boyhood
  Sandra Adair, ACE
• Gone Girl
  Kirk Baxter, ACE
• The Imitation Game
  William Goldenberg, ACE
• Nightcrawler
  John Gilroy, ACE
• Whiplash
  Tom Cross

BEST EDITED FEATURE FILM (COMEDY OR MUSICAL):

• Birdman
  Douglas Crise & Stephen Mirrione, ACE
• Guardians of the Galaxy
  Fred Raskin, Hughes Winborne, ACE & Craig Wood, ACE
• Into the Woods
  Wyatt Smith
• Inherent Vice
  Leslie Jones, ACE
• The Grand Budapest Hotel
  Barney Pilling

Compiling Shots of the Year #17

A Most Wanted Man, Issa entering Hamburg

                                                             DoP: Benoît Delhomme

Compiling Shots of the Year #16

Filth, Robbo on the noose

                                                                   DoP: Matthew Jensen

New Year: 2015

Predicting the 10 PGA nominess

Birdman

Boyhood

The Imitation Game 

Selma 

The Theory of Everything 

The Grand Budapest Hotel

Gone Girl

Nightcrawler

Into the Woods

American Sniper

Quality Slug's Top Ten Films by Laremy Legel

Interstellar

1. Interstellar
2. Whiplash
3. Gone Girl
4. The Gambler
5. Fury
6. Locke
7. Birdman
8. The Grand Budapest Hotel
9. Edge of Tomorrow
10. Inherent Vice, The Lego Movie

North Carolina Fim Critics Awards Nominations

Birdman leads the NCFCA award nominations with 7 nods. Calvary receives some well-deserved mentions in the major categories. Winners will be announced on January 5.

Birdman

BEST NARRATIVE FILM
Boyhood
Birdman
Calvary
The Grand Budapest Hotel
A Most Violent Year
Selma
Whiplash

BEST DOCUMENTARY FILM
Citizenfour
Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me
Jodorowsky’s  Dune
Life Itself
The Overnighters

BEST ANIMATED FILM
Big Hero 6
The Boxtrolls
How to Train Your Dragon 2
The Lego Movie
The Tales of Princess Kaguya

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Force Majeure
Ida
The Lunchbox
Two Days, One Night
We are the Best!

BEST DIRECTOR
Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Damien Chazelle Whiplash
Ava DuVernay, Selma
David Fincher, Gone Girl
Alejandro González Iñárritu, Birdman
Richard Linklater, Boyhood

Rope of Silicon's Top Ten Films by Brad Brevet

1. Birdman
2. Whiplash
3. Locke
4. Gone Girl
5. Mommy
6. Booyhood
7. Nightcrawler
8. The Grand Budapest Hotel
9. Edge of Tomorrow
10. The Guest

La Internacional Cinefela

Horse Money tops the list of La Internacional Cinefela with 45 votes, followed by Jean-Luc Godard's Goddbye to Language 3D with 36 votes.

Horse Money

1. Cavalo Dinheiro (Horse Money), Pedro Costa, Portugal, 2014 (Locarno): 45 votes

2. Adieu au langage (Goodbye to Language 3D) , Jean-Luc Godard, Francia-Suiza, 2013 (Cannes): 36 votes

3. Jauja, Lisandro Alonso, Argentiina-Dinamarca-Francia-Estados Unidos-México-Holanda, 2014 (Cannes): 31 votes

4. Maidan, Sergei Loznitsa, Ucrania, 2014 (Cannes): 22 votes

5. Hard To Be a God, Aleksei German, Rusia, 2013 (Roma Film Festival): 20 votes

Jauja (tercer puesto)

6. Boyhood, Richard Linklater, EE.UU (Berlín): 2014: 14 votes
7. Jersey Boys , Clint Eastwood, EE.UU / The Grand Hotel Budapest, Wes Anderson, EE.UU., (Berlín): 11 votes

8. Welcome to New York, Abel Ferrara, EE.UU., 2014 /From What is Before, Lav Diaz, Filipinas, 2013 (Locarno) /Branco sai, preto fica, Adirley Quierós, Brasil, 2014 (Bandeirantes) / The Wolf of Wall Street, Martin Scorsese, EE.UU., 2013 / Force Majeure, Ruben Östlund,  Noruega-Suecia-Francia, 2014 (Cannes): 10 votes

9. P’tit Quinquin (Li'l Quinquin), Bruno Dumont, Francia, 2014 (Cannes): 9 votess
10. Mercuriales, Virgil Vernier, Francia, 2014 (ACID Cannes): 7 votes

MEJOR ÓPERA PRIMA (Best Film)
Mauro, Hernán Rosselli, Argentina, 2014

Black Film Critics Circle Awards

As expected Ava DuVernay's Selma sweeps Black Film Critics in a big way winning Picture, Director, Actor, Ensemble, Supporting Actress and Original Screenplay.

Selma

Best Picture
Selma

Best Director
Ava Duvernay, Selma

Best Actor
David Oyelowo, Selma

Best Supporting Actor
J.K. Simmons, Whiplash

Best Actress
Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Belle

Best Supporting Actress
Carmen Ejogo, Selma

Best Adapted Screenplay
Gone Girl, Gillian Flynn

Best Original Screenplay
Selma, Paul Webb

Compiling Shots of the Year #15

Nymphomaniac I, Understanding Delirium

                                                              DoP: Manuel Alberto Claro

PGA Visionary Award

L-R: Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Brad Pitt

The Producers Guild of America (PGA) announced that Plan B Entertainment will receive the 2015 Visionary Award. Partners Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner will accept the award at the 26^thAnnual Producers Guild Awards on January 24, 2015 at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza.

The Producers Guild Visionary Award recognizes television, film or new media producers for their unique or uplifting contributions to our culture through inspiring storytelling or performance. The Producers Guild 2015 Visionary Award is sponsored by Delta Air Lines.

Plan B Entertainment is being recognized with the Visionary Award for producing stories that have breathed new life into some of the seminal—and in some cases, most painful—episodes of our shared history. Plan B Entertainment receives this award on heels of their upcoming film, SELMA, adding to the company’s already impressive roster of critically acclaimed films such as 12 YEARS A SLAVE, HBO’S "The Normal Heart”, WORLD WAR Z, TREE OF LIFE and THE DEPARTED, among many others.

"For over a decade, Plan B Entertainment has inspired creativity and innovation in the entertainment industry,” said Producers Guild Awards Co-Chairs Todd Black (THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS, THE EQUALIZER) and Ryan Murphy ("American Horror Story”, "Glee”). "With critical and popular successes in both film and TV, Plan B continually breaks new artistic ground and stimulates necessary dialogue about our history and culture. We look forward to being further enthralled and engaged by their work in the years to come, and are delighted to honor them with this year’s Visionary Award.”

Compiling Shots of the Year #14

22 Jump Street, 'Art Major' talk

                                                                     DoP: Barry Peterson

Vancouver Film Critics Circle Awards Nminations

Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Birdman: or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) leads all films in the Vancouver Film Critics Circle’s International category with five nominations.

Mommy

Xavier Dolan’s alternately intimate and operatic family drama Mommy has earned six VFCC nominations in the Canadian category, including Best Canadian Film. Dolan is nominated for both Best Director of a Canadian Film and Best Screenplay for a Canadian Film. Meanwhile, cast members Antoine-Olivier Pilon, Anne Dorval and Suzanne Clément are vying for Best Actor in a Canadian Film, Best Actress in a Canadian Film and Best Supporting Actress in a Canadian Film.

Jake Gyllenhaal scores Best Actor nominations both in International(Nightcrawler) and Candian Feature(Enemy).

Winners will be announced at the VFCC’s 15^th annual awards ceremony, to be held at Blackbird Public House & Oyster Bar in Vancouver on Monday, January 5. A full list of nominees in the International category follows.

BEST FILM
Birdman
Boyhood
Whiplash

BEST ACTOR
Benedict Cumberbatch, The Imitation Game
Jake Gyllenhaal, Nightcrawler
Michael Keaton, Birdman

BEST ACTRESS
Marion Cotillard, The Immigrant
Tilda Swinton, Only Lovers Left Alive
Reese Witherspoon, Wild


BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Edward Norton, Birdman
Mark Ruffalo, Foxcatcher
J.K. Simmons, Whiplash

Southeastern Film Critcs Association Awards

Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel won top honors this year from the Southeastern Film Critics Association, narrowly edging out Richard Linklater's Boyhood as the year's best film. While the Best Director honor went to Richard Linklater. Keaton took the Actor and Moore, the Actress. Force Majeure wins the foreign language film over Ida.

Grand Budapest Hotel

      
           Top Ten:

1. The Grand Budapest Hotel
2. Boyhood
3. Birdman or (the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
4. Whiplash
5. The Imitation Game
6. Gone Girl
7. Snowpiercer
8. Nightcrawler
9. Foxcatcher
10. The Theory of Everything

Best Actor
1. Michael Keaton, Birdman or (the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
2. Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything

Best Actress
1. Julianne Moore, Still Alice
2. Reese Witherspoon, Wild

Best Supporting Actor
1. J.K. Simmons, Whiplash
2. Edward Norton, Birdman or (the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

Best Supporting Actress
1. Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
2. Tilda Swinton, Snowpiercer

Nevada Film Critics Society Awards

The mesmerizing, mystery thriller, Gone Girl, was named Best Film of 2014 by The Nevada Film Critics Society. The movie also garnered Rosamund Pike the award for Best Actress.  In other major categories, the chilling crime thriller, Nightcrawler received three awards.  Jake Gyllenhaal was chosen Best Actor and Dan Gilroy won for Best Director and Best Screenplay.


J K Simmons beat out his competition as Best Supporting Actor and Jessica Chastain and Patricia Arquette tied for Best Supporting Actress.  Best Cinematography and Best Visual Effects went to Christopher Nolan's sci-fi fantasy adventure Interstellar.

Gone Girl

Best Film

Gone Girl
 

Best Actor

Jake Gyllenhaal, Nightcrawler
 

Best Actress

Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl
 

Best Supporting Actor

J K Simmons, Whiplash
 

Best Supporting Actress (Tie) 

Jessica Chastain, A Most Violent Year' and Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
 

Best Youth Performance

Ellar Coltrane, Boyhood
 

Florida Film Critics Circle Awards

After a nomination phase which saw Birdman lead the way with eight nominations, the final votes are in for the 2014 Florida Film Critics Circle Awards, and in a surprise turn, The Grand Budapest Hotel walked away with the most trophies. Including Best Original Screenplay, the Wes Anderson film also won for Best Ensemble and Best Art Direction/Production Design while Alejandro González Iñárritu’s showbiz satire walked away with the top honors of Best Picture and Best Actor (for the sensational Michael Keaton). Also making a strong showing was Richard Linklater’s 12 years in the making Boyhood. It took home accolades for Best Director as well as Best Supporting Actress (for Patricia Arquette’s amazing performance). Interstellar gets two nods winning Visual Effects and Cinematography.

The Grand Budapest Hotel

Best Picture

Birdman

Runner-up: Boyhood

Best Director:

Richard Linklater, Boyhood

Runner-up: Alejandro González Iñárritu, Birdman

Best Actress:

Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl

Runner-up: Julianne Moore, Still Alice

Best Actor:

Michael Keaton, Birdman

Runner-up: Jake Gyllenhaal, Nightcrawler

Best Supporting Actor:

J.K. Simmons – Whiplash

Runner-up: Edward Norton, Birdman

Best Supporting Actress:

Patricia Arquette, Boyhood

Runner-up: Emma Stone, Birdman

Las Vegas FIlm Critics Society Awards

Birdman sweeps Sierra awards from Las Vegas Film Critics Society with Picture, Director, Screenplay, Cinematography, Ensemble and Score. Tilda Swinton wins the Best Supporting Actress. Good shout-out for Frank in rewarding the film with the best song. Bill Murray is bestowed with William Holden Lifetime Achievement Award of the year.

Birdman

1. Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
2. Boyhood
3. Whiplash
4. Nightcrawler
5. The Grand Budapest Hotel
6. Wild
7. Selma
8. The Imitation Game
9. Snowpiercer
10. Under the Skin

Best Picture
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

Best Actor
Michael Keaton, Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

Best Actress
Reese Witherspoon, Wild

Best Supporting Actor
J.K. Simmons, Whiplash

Best Supporting Actress
Tilda Swinton, Snowpiercer

Best Director
Alejandro González Iñárritu, Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

9 Foreign Language Films Advance in Oscar Race

Nine features will advance to the next round of voting in the Foreign Language Film category for the 87th Academy Awards®.  Eighty-three films had originally been considered in the category.

The films, listed in alphabetical order by country, are:

Argentina, "Wild Tales," Damián Szifrón, director;

Estonia, "Tangerines," Zaza Urushadze, director;

Georgia, "Corn Island," George Ovashvili, director;

Mauritania, "Timbuktu," Abderrahmane Sissako, director;

Netherlands, "Accused," Paula van der Oest, director;

Poland, "Ida," Paweł Pawlikowski, director;

Russia, "Leviathan," Andrey Zvyagintsev, director;

Sweden, "Force Majeure," Ruben Östlund, director;

Venezuela, "The Liberator," Alberto Arvelo, director.

Foreign Language Film nominations for 2014 are being determined in two phases.

London Film Critics' Circle Awards Nominations

The London Film Critics' Circle has announced the nominations for its 35th annual awards ceremony, with Mike Leigh's historical biopic Mr Turner leading the way with seven nominations, including Film of the Year and British Film of the Year.

Mr. Turner

Close behind in the race for the awards, voted on by 140 of the UK's leading print, online and broadcast film critics, is Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu's Birdman. The film-industry satire scored six nominations, including Film of the Year, Director of the Year and Actor of the Year for star Michael Keaton.

The winners will be announced at a ceremony on Sunday 18 January 2015 at The May Fair Hotel, which is sponsoring and hosting the proceedings for the third year running

FILM OF THE YEAR
Birdman
Boyhood
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Ida
Leviathan
Mr Turner
Nightcrawler
The Theory of Everything
Under the Skin
Whiplash

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM OF THE YEAR
Ida
Leviathan
Norte, The End of History
Two Days, One Night
Winter Sleep

BRITISH FILM OF THE YEAR
The Imitation Game
Mr Turner
Pride
The Theory of Everything
Under the Skin

DOCUMENTARY OF THE YEAR
20,000 Days on Earth
Citizenfour
Manakamana
Next Goal Wins
Night Will Fall

SBIFF: Cinema Vanguard Awards

The Theory of Everything co-stars, Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones, who have been basked with success of Critics and Industry awards' nominations this year, will jointly receive the Cinema Vanguard Award at the 2015 Santa Barbara International Film Festival. The honor will be presented at Santa Barbara's historic Arlington Theatre on Jan. 29 as part of the fest's 30th edition, which runs Jan. 27 through Feb. 7. 

Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones

The Cinema Vanguard Award recognizes filmmakers "who have forged their own path, taking artists risks and making a significant and unique contribution to film."

"These two actors continue to impress, and we are honored to have them at SBIFF to celebrate their fantastic body of work," SBIFF executive director Roger Durling said in a statement. "[Their] work together in The Theory of Everything is nothing short of an astonishing collaboration, recalling the alchemy of Daniel Day-Lewis and Brenda Fricker in My Left Foot." 

Golden Satellites Nominations

Birdman leads the nominations from International Foreign Press with 10, followed by The Imitation Game, Boyhood and Gone Girl.

Boyhood

Actor in a Motion Picture
Benedict Cumberbatch, The Imitation Game, The Weinstein Co.
Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything, Focus Features
Jake Gyllenhaal, Nightcrawler, Open Road
Michael Keaton, Birdman, Fox Searchlight
Miles Teller, Whiplash, Sony Pictures Classics
Steve Carell, Foxcatcher, Sony Pictures Classics
David Oyelowo, Selma, Paramount

Actor in a Supporting Role
J.K. Simmons, Whiplash, Sony Pictures Classics
Edward Norton, Birdman, Fox Searchlight
Ethan Hawke, Boyhood, IFC Films
Mark Ruffalo, Foxcatcher, Sony Pictures Classics
Robert Duvall, The Judge, Warner Bros.
Andy Serkis, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Fox

Actress in a Motion Picture
Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl, Fox
Anne Dorval, Mommy, Roadside Attractions
Felicity Jones, The Theory of Everything, Focus Features
Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Belle, Fox Searchlight
Julianne Moore, Still Alice, Sony Pictures Classics
Reese Witherspoon, Wild, Fox Searchlight
Marion Cotillard, Two Days, One Night, IFC Films

Actress in a Supporting Role
Emma Stone, Birdman, Fox Searchlight
Keira Knightley, The Imitation Game, The Weinstein Co.
Laura Dern, Wild, Fox Searchlight
Tilda Swinton, Snowpiercer, The Weinstein Co.
Patricia Arquette, Boyhood, IFC Films
Katherine Waterston, Inherent Vice, Warner Bros.

Art Direction & Production Design
George DeTitta Jr., Kevin Thompson, Stephen H. Carter, Birdman, Fox Searchlight
Andrew Menzies, Peter Russell, Fury, Sony
Debra Schutt, Mark Friedberg, Noah, Paramount
Dylan Cole, Frank Walsh, Gary Freeman, Maleficent, Disney
Adam Stockhausen, Anna Pinnock, Stephan Gessler, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Fox Searchlight
Maria Djurkovic, Nick Dent, The Imitation Game, The Weinstein Co.

Toronto Film Critics Association Awards

Boyhood, Richard Linklater’s era-spanning look at a Texas kid’s life from his first week of school to his first week of college, has won three top prizes at the 2014 awards of the Toronto Film Critics Association. Tom Hardy was rewarded the Best Actor and Marion Cotillad, the Actress of the year for Two Days, One Night. Birdman is surprisingly shut out.
 

Boyhood

BEST PICTURE
Boyhood (Mongrel Media)
Runners-up
The Grand Budapest Hotel (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Inherent Vice (Warner Bros.)

BEST ACTOR
Tom Hardy, Locke
Runners-up
Ralph Fiennes, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Jake Gyllenhaal, Nightcrawler

BEST ACTRESS
Marion Cotillard, The Immigrant
Runners-up
Julianne Moore, Still Alice
Reese Witherspoon, Wild

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
J.K. Simmons, Whiplash
Runners-up
Josh Brolin, Inherent Vice
Edward Norton, Birdman Or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
Runners-up
Tilda Swinton, Snowpiercer
Katherine Waterston, Inherent Vice

Compiling Shots of the Year #13

Dom Hemingway, The Crash

                                                                       DoP: Giles Nuttgens

Compiling Shots of the Year #12

A Hard Day, Gun-Su carrying Lee's body to Park

                                                                 DoP: Kim Tae-seong