TCM’s Farewell to The Filmmakers We Lost in 2014

Posted on December 29, 2014 at 8:00 am

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Black Reel Awards Nominations 2014

Posted on December 17, 2014 at 9:14 am

One of the great pleasures of this time of year is voting for so many of my favorite filmmakers as a part of the Black Reel Awards. Thanks, as ever, to Tim Gordon for allowing me to participate. I think it is fair to say we had more and better choices this year than we ever have before. Here are our nominees:

MOTION PICTURE

Outstanding Motion Picture

Belle | Damian Jones (Fox Searchlight)
Beyond the Lights | Stephanie Allain, Amar’e Stoudamire, Reggie Rock Bythewood & Ryan Kavanaugh (Relativity Media)
Dear White People | Justin Simien, Angel Lopez, Lena Waithe, Ann Le, Effie Brown & Julia Lebedev (Lionsgate/ Roadside Attractions)
Selma | Oprah Winfrey, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner & Christian Colson (Paramount)
Top Five | Scott Rudin & Eli Bush (Paramount)

Outstanding Actor, Motion Picture

Outstanding Actress, Motion Picture

Outstanding Supporting Actor, Motion Picture

Outstanding Supporting Actress, Motion Picture

Viola Davis | The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby (The Weinstein Company)
Carmen Ejogo | Selma (Paramount)
Teyonah Parris | Dear White People (Lionsgate / Roadside Attractions)
Zoe Saldana | Guardians of the Galaxy (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
Octavia Spencer | Snowpiercer (The Weinstein Company)

Outstanding Director, Motion Picture

Outstanding Screenplay (Original or Adapted), Motion Picture

Gina Prince-Bythewood | Beyond the Lights (Relativity Media)
John Ridley | Jimi: All is by My Side (XLrator Media/ Open Road Films)
Chris Rock | Top Five (Paramount)
Misan Sagay | Belle (Fox Searchlight)
Justin Simien | Dear White People (Lionsgate / Roadside Attractions)

Outstanding Documentary

Outstanding Ensemble (Awarded to Casting Directors)

Outstanding Foreign Film

Difret (Ethiopia)| Zeresenay Mehari (Moving Turtle)
The Double! (U.K.) | Richard Ayoade (Magnolia Films)
Fishing Without Nets (Kenya) | Cutter Hodierne (Drafthouse Films)
Freedom Road (South Africa) | Shane Vermooten (Media Village Productions)
Half of a Yellow Sun (Nigeria) | Biyi Bandele (Monterey Media)

Outstanding Breakthrough Performance, Male

Outstanding Breakthrough Performance, Female

Jillian Estell| Black or White (Relativity Media)
Patina Miller | The Hunger Games: Mockingjay-Part 1 (Lionsgate)
Teyonah Parris | Dear White People (Lionsgate / Roadside Attractions)
Amber Stevens | 22 Jump Street (Columbia/ MGM)
Kuoth Wiel | The Good Lie (Warner Bros.)

Outstanding Voice Performance

Vin Diesel | Guardians of the Galaxy (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
Morgan Freeman | The LEGO Movie (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Maya Rudolph | Big Hero 6 (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
Zoe Saldana | The Book of Life (20th Century Fox)
Damon Wayans Jr. | Big Hero 6 (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)

MUSIC

Outstanding Score

Terence Blanchard | Black or White (Relativity Media)
Kathryn Bostic | Dear White People (Lionsgate/ Roadside Attractions)
Danny Bramson & Waddy Wachtel | Jimi: All is by My Side (XLrator Media/ Open Road Films)
Mask Isham | Beyond the Lights (Relativity Media)
Jason Moran | Selma (Paramount)

Outstanding Original Song

“It Ain’t Easy” from Top Five | Written & Performed by: Questlove & Elza Colby (Paramount)
“It’s On Again” from The Amazing Spider-Man 2| Performed by: Alicia Keys & Kendrick Lamar; Written by: Alicia Keys, Pharrell Williams, Hans Zimmer & Kendrick Lamar (Sony Pictures)
“Glory” from Selma | Performed by: John Legend & Common; Written by: John Legend, Common & Che Smith (Paramount)
“Grateful” from Beyond the Lights | Performed by: Rita Ora; Written by: Diane Warren (Relativity Media)
“What is Love” from Rio 2 | Performed by: Janelle Monae; Written by: Janelle Monae, Nathaniel Irvin III and Roman Irvin (20th Century Fox)

INDEPENDENT

Outstanding Independent Feature

Outstanding Independent Documentary

25 to Life | Mike Brown (AAFRM)
Evolution of a Criminal | Darius Clark Monroe
Let the Fire Burn | Jason Osder
Oscar Micheaux: The Czar of Black Hollywood | Bayer Mack
Through a Lens Darkly: Black Photographers and the Emergence of a People | Thomas Allen Harris

Outstanding Independent Short

#AmeriCan | Nate Parker
Muted | Rachel Goldberg
The Voodoo | Steven Alexander

TELEVISION

Outstanding Television Documentary or Special

Finding the Funk | Nelson George (VH1)
Mr. Dynamite: The Rise of James Brown | Alex Gibney (HBO)
On the Run Tour: Jay-Z & Beyonce | Jonas Akerlund (HBO)
The Tanning of America: One Nation Under Hip-Hop | Billy Corben & Alfred Spellman (VH1)
Terror at the Mall | Dan Reed (HBO)

Outstanding TV Movie or Mini-Series

A Day Late and a Dollar Short | Tom Leonardis, Jeffrey M. Hayes, Bill Haber & Whoopi Goldberg (Lifetime)
Gun Hill | Daniel Hank (BET)
Rosemary’s Baby | Zoe Saldana, Cisely Saldana, Mariel Saldana, Tom Patricia & Robert Bernacchi (NBC)
Seasons of Love | Joshua A. Green, Asger Hussain & Yaron Schwartzman (Lifetime)
The Trip to Bountiful | Bill Haber, Cicely Tyson, Hallie Foote & Jeff Hayes (Lifetime)

Outstanding Actor, TV Movie or Mini-Series

Outstanding Actress, TV Movie or Mini-Series

Outstanding Supporting Actor, TV Movie or Mini-Series

Outstanding Supporting Actress, TV Movie or Mini-Series

Outstanding Director, TV Movie or Mini-Series

Outstanding Writing, TV Movie or Mini-Series

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Online Film Critics Awards 2014

Posted on December 15, 2014 at 10:15 am

I am proud to be a member of the Online Film Critics Society, and very pleased to announce this year’s awards:

Best Picture: The Grand Budapest Hotel
Best Animated Feature: The Lego Movie
Best Film Not in the English Language: Two Days, One Night
Best Documentary: Life Itself
Best Director: Richard Linklater – Boyhood
Best Actor: Michael Keaton – Birdman
Best Actress: Rosamund Pike – Gone Girl
Best Supporting Actor: Edward Norton – Birdman
Best Supporting Actress: Patricia Arquette – Boyhood
Best Original Screenplay: The Grand Budapest Hotel
Best Adapted Screenplay: Gone Girl
Best Editing: Birdman
Best Cinematography: The Grand Budapest Hotel

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Critics Choice Award Nominees 2014

Posted on December 15, 2014 at 9:59 am

I am very proud to be a member of the Broadcast Movie Critics Association and very excited about attending this year’s award ceremony on January 15, 2015, hosted by Michael Strahan. I’m thrilled that we will be presenting special awards to Kevin Costner, Ron Howard and Jessica Chastain. Costner will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award, Howard will receive the Louis XIII Critics’ Choice Genius Award and Chastain, who is a Best Supporting Actress nominee for “A Most Violent Year,” will receive the newly-created Critics’ Choice MVP Award.

The nominees:

BEST PICTURE
“Birdman”
“Boyhood”
“Gone Girl”
“The Grand Budapest Hotel”
“The Imitation Game”
“Nightcrawler”
“Selma”
“The Theory of Everything”
“Unbroken”
“Whiplash”

BEST ACTOR
Benedict Cumberbatch – “The Imitation Game”
Ralph Fiennes – “The Grand Budapest Hotel”
Jake Gyllenhaal – “Nightcrawler”
Michael Keaton – “Birdman”
David Oyelowo – “Selma”
Eddie Redmayne – “The Theory of Everything”

BEST ACTRESS
Jennifer Aniston – “Cake”
Marion Cotillard – “Two Days, One Night”
Felicity Jones – “The Theory of Everything”
Julianne Moore – “Still Alice”
Rosamund Pike – “Gone Girl”
Reese Witherspoon – “Wild”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Josh Brolin – “Inherent Vice”
Robert Duvall – “The Judge”
Ethan Hawke – “Boyhood”
Edward Norton – “Birdman”
Mark Ruffalo – “Foxcatcher”
J.K. Simmons – “Whiplash”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Patricia Arquette – “Boyhood”
Jessica Chastain – “A Most Violent Year”
Keira Knightley – “The Imitation Game”
Emma Stone – “Birdman”
Meryl Streep – “Into the Woods”
Tilda Swinton – Snowpiercer

BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS
Ellar Coltrane – “Boyhood”
Ansel Elgort – “The Fault in Our Stars”
Mackenzie Foy – “Interstellar”
Jaeden Lieberher – “St. Vincent”
Tony Revolori – “The Grand Budapest Hotel”
Quvenzhane Wallis – “Annie”
Noah Wiseman – “The Babadook”

BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE
“Birdman”
“Boyhood”
“The Grand Budapest Hotel”
“The Imitation Game”
“Into the Woods”
“Selma”

BEST DIRECTOR
Wes Anderson – “The Grand Budapest Hotel”
Ava DuVernay – “Selma”
David Fincher – “Gone Girl”
Alejandro G. Inarritu – “Birdman”
Angelina Jolie – “Unbroken”
Richard Linklater – “Boyhood”

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
“Birdman” – Alejandro G. Inarritu, Nicolas Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Jr., Armando Bo
“Boyhood” – Richard Linklater
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” – Wes Anderson, Hugo Guinness
“Nightcrawler” – Dan Gilroy
“Whiplash” – Damien Chazelle

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
“Gone Girl” – Gillian Flynn
“The Imitation Game” – Graham Moore
“Inherent Vice” – Paul Thomas Anderson
“The Theory of Everything” – Anthony McCarten
“Unbroken” – Joel Coen & Ethan Coen, Richard LaGravenese, William Nicholson
“Wild” – Nick Hornby

BEST CINEMATOGRAPY
“Birdman” – Emmanuel Lubezki
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” – Robert Yeoman
“Interstellar” – Hoyte Van Hoytema
“Mr. Turner” – Dick Pope
“Unbroken” – Roger Deakins

BEST ART DIRECTION
“Birdman” – Kevin Thompson/Production Designer, George DeTitta Jr./Set Decorator
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” – Adam Stockhausen/Production Designer, Anna Pinnock/Set Decorator
“Inherent Vice” – David Crank/Production Designer, Amy Wells/Set Decorator
“Interstellar” – Nathan Crowley/Production Designer, Gary Fettis/Set Decorator
“Into the Woods” – Dennis Gassner/Production Designer, Anna Pinnock/Set Decorator
“Snowpiercer” – Ondrej Nekvasil/Production Designer, Beatrice Brentnerova/Set Decorator

BEST EDITING
“Birdman” – Douglas Crise, Stephen Mirrione
“Boyhood” – Sandra Adair
“Gone Girl” – Kirk Baxter
“Interstellar” – Lee Smith
“Whiplash” – Tom Cross

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” – Milena Canonero
“Inherent Vice” – Mark Bridges
“Into the Woods” – Colleen Atwood
“Maleficent” – Anna B. Sheppard
“Mr. Turner” – Jacqueline Durran

BEST HAIR & MAKEUP
“Foxcatcher”
“Guardians of the Galaxy”
“The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies”
“Into the Woods”
“Maleficent”

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
“Dawn of the Planet of the Apes”
“Edge of Tomorrow”
“Guardians of the Galaxy”
“The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies”
“Interstellar”

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
“Big Hero 6”
“The Book of Life”
“The Boxtrolls”
“How to Train Your Dragon 2”
“The Lego Movie”

BEST ACTION MOVIE
“American Sniper”
“Captain America: The Winter Soldier”
“Edge of Tomorrow”
“Fury”
“Guardians of the Galaxy”

BEST ACTOR IN AN ACTION MOVIE
Bradley Cooper – “American Sniper”
Tom Cruise – “Edge of Tomorrow”
Chris Evans – “Captain America: The Winter Soldier”
Brad Pitt – “Fury”
Chris Pratt – “Guardians of the Galaxy”

BEST ACTRESS IN AN ACTION MOVIE
Emily Blunt – “Edge of Tomorrow”
Scarlett Johansson – “Lucy”
Jennifer Lawrence – “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1”
Zoe Saldana – “Guardians of the Galaxy”
Shailene Woodley – “Divergent”

BEST COMEDY
“Birdman”
“The Grand Budapest Hotel”
“St. Vincent”
“Top Five”
“22 Jump Street”

BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY
Jon Favreau – “Chef”
Ralph Fiennes – “The Grand Budapest Hotel”
Michael Keaton – “Birdman”
Bill Murray – “St. Vincent”
Chris Rock – “Top Five”
Channing Tatum – “22 Jump Street”

BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
Rose Byrne – “Neighbors”
Rosario Dawson – “Top Five”
Melissa McCarthy – “St. Vincent”
Jenny Slate – “Obvious Child”
Kristen Wiig – “The Skeleton Twins”

BEST SCI-FI/HORROR MOVIE
“The Babadook”
“Dawn of the Planet of the Apes”
“Interstellar”
“Snowpiercer”
“Under the Skin”

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
“Force Majeure”
“Ida”
“Leviathan”
“Two Days, One Night”
“Wild Tales”

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
“Citizenfour”
“Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me”
“Jodorowsky’s Dune”
“Last Days in Vietnam”
“Life Itself”
“The Overnighters”

BEST SONG
“Big Eyes” – Lana Del Rey – “Big Eyes”
“Everything Is Awesome” – Jo Li and the Lonely Island – “The Lego Movie”
“Glory” – Common/John Legend – “Selma”
“Lost Stars” – Keira Knightley – “Begin Again”
“Yellow Flicker Beat” – Lorde – “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1”

BEST SCORE
Alexandre Desplat – “The Imitation Game”
Johann Johannsson – “The Theory of Everything”
Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross – “Gone Girl”
Antonio Sanchez – “Birdman”
Hans Zimmer – “Interstellar”

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2014 Award Nominations: SAG and Golden Globes

Posted on December 11, 2014 at 3:55 pm

Awards season is heating up. Yesterday, the Screen Actors Guild announced their nominees and this morning we heard from the Golden Globes. Both are considered early indicators of the Oscars, but for different reasons. SAG is the actors voting for other actors and since the same people vote for the acting awards at the Oscars, they tend to come out the same way. The Golden Globes voters, a mysterious secret group of “foreign press” no one hears from except at awards time. Because they give out separate awards for drama and comedy and for television and movies, they cover a lot of territory, which (1) makes a lot of stars happy, (2) insures a lot of stars will appear at the ceremony and a lot of people will watch the show, and (3) just as a matter of statistics, gives them a good chance of covering all the Academy Award nominees. (Plus, the show is a lot of fun because it does not take itself too seriously.)

I was particularly happy to see the Golden Globes acknowledge “Selma,” my favorite film of the year, as it did not get a single nomination from SAG. Indeed, SAG did not nominate any actor of color in any of its categories, truly shameful in a year that included brilliant work by dozens of actors including the casts of “Selma,” “Beyond the Lights,” “Belle,” “Get on Up,” and more. Reportedly, the nominators did not see “Selma” in time to consider it. If that’s true, it is the fault of the studio.

Another disappointment was the omission of “Unbroken” as a Best Picture nominee and Angelina Jolie as Best Director. If it were up to me, I’d have nominated star Jack O’Connell over Steve Carell in “Foxcatcher.” But it was wonderful to see the Globes nomination for “Selma” director Ava DuVernay, the first ever for a black woman, and the nomination for “Pride,” an overlooked gem that will be on my best of the year list. And cheers to SAG for giving their lifetime achievement award to Debbie Reynolds!

Golden Globes nominations 2014

Best Motion Picture, Drama
Boyhood
Foxcatcher
The Imitation Game
Selma
The Theory of Everything

The_Grand_Budapest_Hotel_3 — Copyright 2014 Fox Searchlight

Best Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical
Birdman
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Into the Woods
Pride
St. Vincent

Best Director, Motion Picture
Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Ava Duvernay, Selma
David Fincher, Gone Girl
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Birdman
Richard Linklater, Boyhood

Best TV Series, Drama
The Affair
Downton Abbey
Game of Thrones
The Good Wife
House of Cards

Best Comedy Series
Girls
Jane the Virgin
Orange Is the New Black
Silicon Valley
Transparent

Best TV Movie or Miniseries
Fargo
The Missing
The Normal Heart
Olive Kitteridge
True Detective

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama
Steve Carell, Foxcatcher
Benedict Cumberbatch, The Imitation Game
Jake Gyllenhaal, Nightcrawler
David Oyelowo, Selma
Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama
Jennifer Aniston, Cake
Felicity Jones, The Theory of Everything
Julianne Moore, Still Alice
Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl
Reese Witherspoon, Wild

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical
Amy Adams, Big Eyes
Emily Blunt, Into the Woods
Julianne Moore, Map to the Stars
Quvenzhané Wallis, Annie
Helen Mirren, Hundred Foot Journey

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical
Ralph Fiennes, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Michael Keaton, Birdman
Bill Murray, St. Vincent
Joaquin Phoenix, Inherent Vice
Christoph Waltz, Big Eyes

Best Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture
Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
Jessica Chastain, A Most Violent Year
Keira Knightley, The Imitation Game
Emma Stone, Birdman
Meryl Streep, Into the Woods

Best Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture
Robert Duvall, The Judge
Ethan Hawke, Boyhood
Edward Norton, Birdman
Mark Ruffalo, Foxcatcher
J.K, Simmons, Whiplash

Best Performance by an Actress in TV Series, Drama
Claire Danes, Homeland
Viola Davis, How to Get Away With Murder
Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife
Ruth Wilson, The Affair
Robin Wright, House of Cards

Best Performance by an Actor in a TV Series, Drama
Clive Owen, The Knick
Liev Schreiber, Ray Donovan
Kevin Spacey, House of Cards
James Spader, The Blacklist
Dominic West, The Affair

Best Performance by an Actress in TV Series, Comedy
Lena Dunham, Girls
Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep
Gina Rodriguez, Jane the Virgin
Taylor Schilling, Orange is the New Black

Best Performance by an Actor in TV Series, Comedy
Louis C.K., Louie
Don Cheadle, House of Lies
Ricky Gervais, Derek
William H. Macy, Shameless
Jeffrey Tambor, Transparent

Best Screenplay, Motion Picture
Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Gillian Flynn, Gone Girl
Alejandro González Inarritu, Nicolas Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Jr., Birdman
Richard Linklater, Boyhood
Graham Moore, The Imitation Game

Best Performance by an Actress in a TV Movie or Miniseries
Maggie Gyllenhaal, The Honorable Woman
Jessica Lange, American Horror Story
Frances McDormand, Olive Kitteridge
Frances O’Connor, The Missing
Allison Tolman, Fargo

Best Performance by a Supporting Actor in TV
Matt Bomer, The Normal Heart
Alan Cumming, The Good Wife
Colin Hanks, Fargo
Bill Murray, Olive Kitteridge
Jon Voight, Ray Donovan

Best Performance by Supporting Actress in TV
Uzo Aduba, Orange is the New Black
Kathy Bates, American Horror Story
Joanne Froggatt, Downton Abbey
Allison Janney, Mom
Michelle Monaghan, True Detective

Best Performance by an Actor in a TV Miniseries or Movie
Martin Freeman, Fargo
Woody Harrelson, True Detective
Matthew Mcconaughey, True Detective
Mark Ruffalo, The Normal Heart
Billy Bob Thornton, Fargo

Best Foreign film
Force Majeure (Sweden)
Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem (France)
Ida (Poland)
Leviathan (Russia)
Tangerines (Estonia)

Animated Feature Film
Big Hero 6
The Book of Life
The Boxtrolls
How to Train Your Dragon 2
The Lego Movie

Best Original Song in Motion Picture
“Big Eyes,” Big Eyes, Lana Del Rey
“Glory,” Selma, John Legend and Common
“Mercy Is,” Noah, Patty Smith and Lenny K
“Opportunity,” Annie
“Yellow Flicker Beat,” The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part I, Lorde

Best Original Score in a Motion Picture
The Imitation Game
The Theory of Everything
Gone Girl
Birdman
Interstellar

(more…)

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