The Los Angeles Film Critics Honor James Franco!

Posted on December 8, 2013 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Earlier today, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association announced the picks for the best of 2013. There are a few things worth noting:

1) Her is coming on surprisingly strong.

2) James Franco won best supporting actor for Spring Breakers! Well, technically, Franco tied with Jared Leto for Dallas Buyers Club. But still, it’s good to see Franco’s audacious performance getting some recognition.

3) My favorite film of 2013 — Shane Carruth’s Upstream Color — came in second for best editing.

Here are the winners:

BEST PICTURE (tie)
“Gravity,” “Her”

BEST DIRECTOR
Alfonso Cuaron, “Gravity”
Runner-up: Spike Jonze, “Her”

BEST ACTOR
Bruce Dern, “Nebraska”
Runner-up: Chiwetel Ejiofor, “12 Years a Slave”

BEST ACTRESS (tie)
Cate Blanchett (“Blue Jasmine”); Adele Exarchopoulos (“Blue is the Warmest Color”)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR (tie)
James Franco, “Spring Breakers”; Jared Leto, “Dallas Buyers Club”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Lupita Nyongo, “12 Years a Slave”
Runner-up: June Squibb, “Nebraska”

BEST SCREENPLAY
“Before Midnight,” Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke & Richard Linklater
Runner-up: “Her,” Spike Jonze

BEST EDITING
“Gravity,” Alfonso Cuaron & Mark Sanger
Runner-up: “Upstream Color,” Shane Carruth & David Lowery

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
“Gravity,” Emmanuel Lubezki
Runner-up: “Inside Llewyn Davis,” Bruno Delbonnel

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
“Her,” K.K. Barrett
Runner-up: “Inside Llewyn Davis,” Jess Gonchor

BEST MUSIC/SCORE
“Inside Llewyn Davis,” T Bone Burnett
Runner-up: “Her,” Arcade Fire & Owen Pallett

BEST FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM
“Blue is the Warmest Color”
Runner-up: “The Great Beauty”

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
“Ernest and Celestine”
Runner-up: “The Wind Rises”

BEST DOCUMENTARY/NONFICTION FILM
“Stories We Tell”
Runner-up: “The Act of Killing”

Here Are The Ten Semi-Finalists For The Best Visual Effects Oscar

Posted on December 7, 2013 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Yesterday, the Academy’s Visual Effects Branch Executive Committee announced the ten semi-finalists for the Best Visual Effects Oscar.

And here they are:

Elysium

Gravity

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

Iron Man 3

The Lone Ranger

Oblivion

Pacific Rim

Star Trek: Into Darkness

Thor: The Dark World

World War Z

Five of the films listed above will receive actual Oscar nominations and then one will win the Oscar. And that one will probably be Gravity.

It’s interesting to note that Man Of Steel, a film that basically was just 143 minutes of visual effects, failed to make the cut.

The National Board of Review Falls For Her

Posted on December 4, 2013 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The National Board of Review announced their picks for the best films and performance of 2013 earlier today and the results are a bit … unexpected.

For best picture, they picked Spike Jonze’s Her, a film that has not exactly been seen as being an Oscar front-runner. Meanwhile, the two presumptive frontrunners — 12 Years A Slave and Gravity — had to make due with just being mentioned in the NBR’s Top Ten list. Also, it’s interesting to note that the NBR totally snubbed American Hustle which, just yesterday, was named best film of the year by the NYCC.

Despite the impression that one might get from a lot of breathless film bloggers (like me, to cite just one example), winning a critic’s prize does not automatically translate into Academy recognition. It’ll be interesting to see if the acclaimed but reportedly offbeat Her manages to turn the NBR prize into Oscar momentum.

BEST PICTURE
“Her”

BEST DIRECTOR
Spike Jonze, “Her”

BEST ACTOR
Bruce Dern, “Nebraska”

BEST ACTRESS
Emma Thompson, “Saving Mr. Banks”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Will Forte, “Nebraska”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Octavia Spencer, “Fruitvale Station”

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Joel and Ethan Coen, “Inside Llewyn Davis”

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Terence Winter, “The Wolf of Wall Street”

BEST ENSEMBLE
“Prisoners”

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
“The Wind Rises”

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
“The Past”

BEST DOCUMENTARY
“Stories We Tell”

SPOTLIGHT AWARD
Career collaboration of Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio

BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCES
Adele Exarchopoulos, “#Blue is the Warmest Colo#r”
Michael B. Jordan, “Fruitvale Station”

DEBUT DIRECTOR
Ryan Coogler, “Fruitvale Station”

CREATIVE INNOVATION IN FILMMAKING
“Gravity”

FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
“Wadjda”

BEST PICTURE NOMINEES (alphabetical)
“12 Years a Slave”
“Fruitvale Station”
“Gravity”
“Inside Llewyn Davis”
“Lone Survivor”
“Nebraska”
“Prisoners”
“Saving Mr. Banks”
“The Secret Life of Walter Mitty”
“The Wolf of Wall Street”

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE NOMINEES (alphabetical)
“Beyond the Hills”
“Gloria”
“The Grandmaster”
“A Hijacking”
“The Hunt”

BEST DOCUMENTARY NOMINEES (alphabetical)
“20 Feet from Stardom”
“The Act of Killing”
“After Tiller”
“Casting By”
“The Square”

BEST INDEPENDENT FILMS (alphabetical)
“Ain’t Them Bodies Saints”
“Dallas Buyers Club”
“In a World…”
“Mother of George”
“Much Ado About Nothing”
“Mud”
“The Place Beyond the Pines”
“Short Term 12”
“Sightseers”
“The Spectacular Now”

The 15 Semi-Finalists For Best Documentary Feature

Posted on December 3, 2013 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Academy has announced the 15 semi-finalists for the Best Documentary Feature Oscar. 5 nominees will be picked from this list and then the winner will be announced on March 2nd.

I’m rooting for Stories We Tell. I’m also hoping that Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer will, at the very least, get a nomination.

“The Act of Killing,” Final Cut for Real
“The Armstrong Lie,” The Kennedy/Marshall Company
“Blackfish,” Our Turn Productions
“The Crash Reel,” KP Rides Again
“Cutie and the Boxer,” Ex Lion Tamer and Cine Mosaic
“Dirty Wars,” Civic Bakery
“First Cousin Once Removed,” Experiments in Time, Light & Motion
“God Loves Uganda,” Full Credit Productions
“Life According to Sam,” Fine Films
“Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer,” Roast Beef Productions
“The Square,” Noujaim Films and Maktube Productions
“Stories We Tell,” National Film Board of Canada
“Tim’s Vermeer,” High Delft Pictures
“20 Feet from Stardom,” Gil Friesen Productions and Tremolo Productions
“Which Way Is the Front Line from Here? The Life and Time of Tim Hetherington,” Tripoli Street

The NYFCC Honors American Hustle

Posted on December 3, 2013 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Oscar season has begun! This afternoon, The New York Films Critics Circle announced their picks for the best of 2013. Fortunately, I had the office to myself so I was able to follow along online. Here are the winners and a few random thoughts:

BEST PICTURE
“American Hustle”

(This is something of a surprise, no? Most award watchers were expecting 12 Years a Slave to pretty much sweep all of the critics’ awards. It will be interesting to see if American Hustle does with the other critic groups but, for now, it seems like American Hustle has taken a major step forward to scoring a best picture nomination.)

BEST DIRECTOR
Steve McQueen, “12 Years a Slave”

(This was much more expected.)

BEST ACTOR
Robert Redford, “All Is Lost”

(Ditto. I recently saw All Is Lost. It’s interesting to note that Redford has only a few more lines than Jean Dujardin in The Artist.)

BEST ACTRESS
Cate Blanchett, “Blue Jasmine”

(Deserved and expected.)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Jared Leto, “Dallas Buyers’ Club”

(I haven’t seen this one yet but I hope to soon.)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Jennifer Lawrence, “American Hustle”

(I was kind of surprised how angry some people on twitter got over Lawrence’s victory. However, from my own personal experience, being intelligent, talented, and pretty really brings out the haters..)

BEST SCREENPLAY
“American Hustle”

(A lot of people on twitter were upset over this. I haven’t seen American Hustle yet so I can’t judge.)

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Bruno Delbonnel, “Inside Llewyn Davis”

(This was the award that managed to tick off thousands of Gravity fans. Don’t get me wrong — I liked Gravity. But some of the pro-Gravity people actually make the pro-Avatar people look calm and collected.)

BEST ANIMATED FILM
“The Wind Rises”

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
“Blue is the Warmest Color”

(I agree.)

BEST NON-FICTION FEATURE
“Stories We Tell”

(I agree.)

BEST FIRST FEATURE
“Fruitvale Station”

(And, for a third time, I agree.)

One final note — unlike the Academy, in which a simple majority determines the winner, the NYFCC awards were determined by consensus and, as a result, several of the categories apparently required multiple ballots before a winner was agreed upon. As such, some of the winners listed above are definitely compromise picks.

Myself, I still have to see a lot of the potential Oscar nominees — including 12 Years A Slave, American Hustle, and Dallas Buyers Club. However, for now, my favorite film of 2013 remains Upstream Color.

And finally — here are the Satellite Nominations

Posted on December 2, 2013 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Along with the Annie Nominations and the Gotham Awards, the Satellite Nominations were announced earlier today. What are the Satellites? The Satellites are given out by the International Press Academy. They apparently used to be a part of the Hollywood Foreign Press (i.e., the people who give out the Golden Globes) but then they broke off to form their own organization and give out their own awards. The Satellites, themselves, are often viewed as being just as unsavory as the Golden Globes while also being far less influential when it comes to determining what films will end up Oscar-nominated and which films will be snubbed.

That said, I still like the Satellites, just because they nominate such a large number of nominees for each category and you know how I am about long lists.

Here are the major Satellite film nominations. A full list of nominations (including television nominations) can be found here.

BEST PICTURE
“12 Years a Slave”(Fox Searchlight)
“All Is Lost” (Lionsgate/Roadside Attractions)
“American Hustle” (Sony)
“Blue Jasmine” (Sony Pictures Classics)
“Captain Phillips” (Sony)
“Gravity” (Warner Bros.)
“Inside Llewyn Davis” (CBS Films)
“Philomena” (The Weinstein Company)
“Saving Mr. Banks” (Disney)
“The Wolf of Wall Street” (Paramount)

BEST DIRECTOR
Woody Allen, “Blue Jasmine” (Sony Pictures Classics)
Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, “Inside Llewyn Davis” (CBS Films)
Alfonso Cuaron, “Gravity” (Warner Bros.)
Paul Greengrass, “Captain Phillips” (Sony)
Ron Howard, “Rush” (Universal)
Steve McQueen, “12 Years a Slave”(Fox Searchlight)
David O. Russell, “American Hustle” (Sony)
Martin Scorsese, “The Wolf of Wall Street” (Paramount)

BEST ACTRESS
Amy Adams, “American Hustle” (Sony)
Cate Blanchett, “Blue Jasmine” (Sony Pictures Classics)
Sandra Bullock, “Gravity” (Warner Bros.)
Judi Dench, “Philomena” (The Weinstein Company)
Adèle Exarchopoulos, Blue Is the Warmest Color (Sundance)
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, “Enough Said” (Fox Searchlight)
Meryl Streep, “August: Osage County” (The Weinstein Company)
Emma Thompson, “Saving Mr. Banks” (Disney)

BEAT ACTOR
Christian Bale, “American Hustle” (Sony)
Bruce Dern, “Nebraska” (Paramount)
Leonardo DiCaprio, “The Wolf of Wall Street” (Paramount)
Chiwetel Ejiofor, “12 Years a Slave”(Fox Searchlight)
Tom Hanks, “Captain Phillips” (Sony)
Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club (Focus Features)
Robert Redford, “All Is Lost” (Lionsgate/Roadside Attractions)
Forest Whitaker, “The Butler” (The Weinstein Company)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Sally Hawkins, “Blue Jasmine” (Sony Pictures Classics)
Jennifer Lawrence, “American Hustle” (Sony)
Lupita Nyong’o, “12 Years a Slave”(Fox Searchlight)
Julia Roberts, “August: Osage County” (The Weinstein Company)
Léa Seydoux, Blue Is the Warmest Color (Sundance)
June Squibb, “Nebraska” (Paramount)
Emily Watson, “The Book Thief” (20th Century Fox)
Oprah Winfrey, “The Butler” (The Weinstein Company)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Bradley Cooper, “American Hustle” (Sony)
Michael Fassbender, “12 Years a Slave”(Fox Searchlight)
Harrison Ford, “42” (Warner Bros.)
Ryan Gosling, “The Place Beyond the Pines” (Focus Features)
Jake Gyllenhaal, “Prisoners” (Warner Bros.)
Tom Hanks, “Saving Mr. Banks” (Disney)
Casey Affleck, “Out of the Furnace” (Relativity Media)
Jared Leto, “Dallas Buyers Club” (Focus Features)

BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM
“Bethlehem,” Israel
“Blue Is the Warmest Color,” France
“The Broken Circle Breakdown,” Belgium
“Circles,” Serbia
“Four Corners,” South Africa
“The Great Beauty,” Italy
“The Hunt,” Denmark
“Metro Manila,” United Kingdom
“The Past,” Iran
“Wadjda,” Saudia Arabia

BEST ANIMATED PICTURE
“Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2” (Sony)
“The Croods” (DreamWorks)
“Epic” (20th Century Fox)
“Ernest & Celestine” (GKIDS)
“Frozen” (Disney)
“Monsters University” (Disney-Pixar)
“Turbo” (DreamWorks)
“The Wind Rises” (Studio Ghibli)

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
“20 Feet from Stardom” (Radius-TWC)
“The Act of Killing” (Drafthouse Films)
“After Tiller (Oscilloscope)
“American Promise (Rada Film Group)
“Blackfish (Magnolia Pictures)
“Evocateur: The Morton Downey Jr. Movie (Ironbound Films)
“Sound City (Roswell Films)
“The Square (City Drive Entertainment Group)
“Stories We Tell (Roadside Attractions)
“Tim’s Vermeer (Sony Pictures Classics)

Here Are 2013 The Annie Nominations!

Posted on December 2, 2013 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The 2013 Annie Nominations were announced earlier today. The Annies honor the best of the year’s animated features and television series. The race for the Best Animated Feature Oscar is unusually competitive this year so it’s interesting to note that Frozen, Monsters U., Despicable Me 2, and The Croods received the most Annie nominations this year.

Below are the major nominations. A full list of the nominees can be found by clicking here.

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
A Letter to Momo –  GKIDS
Despicable Me 2 –  Universal Pictures
Ernest & Celestine  – GKIDS
Frozen –  Walt Disney Animation Studios
Monsters University –  Pixar Animation Studios
The Croods  – DreamWorks Animation
The Wind Rises  – The Walt Disney Studios
BEST ANIMATED SPECIAL PRODUCTION
Chipotle Scarecrow  – Moonbot Studios
Listening Is an Act of Love  – StoryCorps
Room on the Broom –  Magic Light Pictures
Toy Story OF TERROR! - Pixar Animation Studios

BEST ANIMATED SHORT SUBJECT
Despicable Me 2 – Puppy  – Universal Pictures
Get A Horse!  – Walt Disney Animation Studios
Gloria Victoria  – National Film Board of Canada
My Mom is an Airplane  – Acme Filmworks
The Numberlys –  Moonbot Studios

BEST ANIMATED TV/BROADCAST COMMERCIAL
Despicable Me 2 – Cinemark  – Universal Pictures
Sound of the Woods – Acme Filmworks
The Polar Bears Movie  – CAA Marketing

Best General Audience Animated TV/Broadcast Production For Preschool Children
Bubble Guppies  – Nickelodeon Animation Studio
Disney Sofia the First  – Disney Television Animation
Doc McStuffins  – Disney Television Animation
Justin Time  – Guru Studio
Peter Rabbit – Nickelodeon Animation Studio

Best Animated TV/Broadcast Production For Children’s Audience
Adventure Time –  Cartoon Network Studios
Beware the Batman  – Warner Bros. Animation
Disney Gravity Falls  – Disney Television Animation
Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness –  Nickelodeon Animation Studio
Regular Show –  Cartoon Network Studios
Scaredy Squirrel –  Nelvana Ltd.
Teen Titans Go!  – Warner Bros. Animation
The Legend of Korra  – Nickelodeon Animation Studio

Best General Audience Animated TV/Broadcast Production
Archer  – FX Networks
Bob’s Burgers –  Bento Box Entertainment
Disney Tron Uprising  – Disney Television Animation
Futurama  – 20th Century Fox Television
Motorcity  – Titmouse Inc.

Best Animated Video Game
Diggs Nightcrawler  – Moonbot Studios
Tiny Thief  – 5 ANTS
The Last of Us –  Naughty Dog

Best Student Film
Chicken or the Egg  – Ringling College of Art and Design
Kellerkind – Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg
Miss Todd  – Kristina Yee
Move Mountain  – Kirsten Lepore
SEMÃ•FORO –  University of Southern California
The Final Straw  – Ringling College of Art and Design
Trusts & Estates  – CalArts
Wedding Cake –  Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg

Here Are The Winners of the 2013 Gotham Awards

Posted on December 2, 2013 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Gotham Awards were awarded earlier tonight. Here are the winners:

X = Winner

BEST PICTURE
“12 Years a Slave”
“Ain’t Them Bodies Saints”
“Before Midnight”
X – “Inside Llewyn Davis”
“Upstream Color”

BEST ACTOR
Chiwetel Ejiofor in “12 Years a Slave”
Oscar Isaac in “Inside Llewyn Davis”
X – Matthew McConaughey in “Dallas Buyers Club”
Robert Redford in “All Is Lost”
Isaiah Washington in “Blue Caprice”

BEST ACTRESS
Cate Blanchett in “Blue Jasmine”
Scarlett Johansson in “Don Jon”
X – Brie Larson in “Short Term 12”
Amy Seimetz in “Upstream Color”
Shailene Woodley in “The Spectacular Now”

BEST BREAKTHROUGH ACTOR
Dane DeHaan in Kill Your Darlings
Kathryn Hahn in Afternoon Delight
X – Michael B. Jordan in “Fruitvale Station”
Lupita Nyong’o in “12 Years a Slave”
Robin Weigert in “Concussion”

BEST BREAKTHROUGH DIRECTOR
X – Ryan Coogler for “Fruitvale Station”
Adam Leon for “Gimme the Loot”
Alexandre Moors for “Blue Caprice”
Stacie Passon for “Concussion”
Amy Seimetz for “Sun Don’t Shine”

BEST DOCUMENTARY
X – “The Act of Killing”
“The Crash Reel”
“First Cousin Once Removed”
“Let the Fire Burn”
“Our Nixon”

The Gothams themselves are not considered to be that strong of a precursor to the Oscars. However, 12 Years A Slave has been so widely perceived as being such a lock for Best Picture that any time it loses to another film, it’s going to be noticed.

It’s The 2014 Independent Spirit Nominations!

Posted on November 26, 2013 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The nominees for the 2014 Independent Spirit Awards were announced earlier today. While the Spirit noms aren’t exactly the most accurate of Oscar precursors (and the rules of Indie Spirit Awards are pretty much specifically designed to honor the type of low-budget films that are often ignored by the Academy), more than a few of the Spirit nominees are usually remembered when the Oscar nominations are announced.

The winners will be announced, by Patton Oswalt, on March 1st.

Myself, I’m just happy to see Frances Ha and Upstream Color’s Shane Carruth nominated.

Best Feature:
“12 Years a Slave”
“All Is Lost”
“Frances Ha”
“Inside Llewyn Davis”
“Nebraska”

Best Director:
Shane Carruth, “Upstream Color”
J.C. Chandor, “All is Lost”
Steve McQueen, “12 Years a Slave”
Jeff Nichols, “Mud”
Alexander Payne, “Nebraska”

Best Screenplay:
Woody Allen, “Blue Jasmine”
Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke and Richard Linklater, “Before Midnight”
Nicole Holofcener, “Enough Said”
Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber, “The Spectacular Now”
John Ridley, “12 Years a Slave”

Best Female Lead:
Cate Blanchett, “Blue Jasmine”
Julie Delpy, “Before Midnight”
Gaby Hoffman, “Crystal Fairy”
Brie Larson, “Short Term 12″
Shailene Woodley, “The Spectacular Now”

Best Male Lead:
Bruce Dern, “Nebraska”
Chiwetel Ejiofor, “12 Years a Slave”
Oscar Isaac, “Inside Llewyn Davis”
Michael B. Jordan, “Fruitvale Station”
Matthew McConaughey, “Dallas Buyers Club”
Robert Redford, “All Is Lost”

Best Supporting Female:
Melonie Diaz, “Fruitvale Station”
Sally Hawkins, “Blue Jasmine”
Lupita Nyong’o, “12 Years a Slave”
Yolonda Ross, “Go for Sisters”
June Squibb, “Nebraska”

Best Supporting Male:
Michael Fassbender, “12 Years a Slave”
Will Forte, “Nebraska”
James Gandolfini, “Enough Said”
Jared Leto, “Dallas Buyers Club”
Keith Stanfield, “Short Term 12”

Best First Feature:
“Blue Caprice”
“Concussion”
“Fruitvale Station”
“Una Noche”
“Wadjda”

Best First Screenplay:
“In a World,” Lake Bell
“Don Jon,” Joseph Gordon-Levitt
“Nebraska,” Bob Nelson
“Afternoon Delight,” Jill Soloway
“The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete,” Michael Starrbury

John Cassavetes Award:
“Computer Chess”
“Crystal Fairy”
“Museum Hours”
“Pit Stop”
“This Is Martin Bonner”

Best Cinematography:
Sean Bobbit, “12 Years a Slave”
Benoit Debie, “Spring Breakers”
Bruno Delbonnel, “Inside Llewyn Davis”
Frank G. DeMarco, “All Is Lost”
Matthias Grunsky, “Computer Chess”

Best Editing:
Shane Carruth & David Lowery, “Upstream Color”
Jem Cohen & Marc Vives, “Museum Hours”
Jennifer Lame, “Frances Ha”
Cindy Lee, “Una Noche”
Nat Sanders, “Short Term 12”

Best Documentary:
“20 Feet From Stardom”
“After Tiller”
“Gideon’s Army”
“The Act of Killing”
“The Square”

Best International Film:
“A Touch of Sin”
“Blue Is the Warmest Color”
“Gloria”
“The Great Beauty”
“The Hunt”

Robert Altman Award (given to a film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast)
“Mud”

Piaget Producers Award:
Toby Halbrooks & James M. Johnston
Jacob Jaffke
Andrea Roa
Frederick Thornton

Someone to Watch Award:
“My Sister’s Quinceanera,” Aaron Douglas Johnston
“Newlyweeds,” Shake King
“The Foxy Merkins,” Madeline Olnek

Truer Than Fiction Award:
“A River Changes Course,” Kalvanee Mam
“Let the Fire Burn,” Jason Osder
“Manakamana,” Stephanie Spray & Pacho Velez

Here Are The 19 Films Eligible To Be Nominated For Best Animated Feature

Posted on November 5, 2013 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Oscar season continues! The Academy today released it’s list of the films that are eligible for Best Animated Feature. Here are the 19 films that are in the running.

Per Academy Rules, no less than two and no more than 5 of these films will ultimately be nominated.

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2
The Croods
Despicable Me 2
Epic
Ernest and Celestine
The Fake
Free Birds
Frozen
Khumba
The Legend of Sarila
A Letter to Momo
Monsters University
O Apóstolo
Planes
Puella Magi Madoka Magica the Movie — Rebellion
Rio: 2096 A Story of Love and Fury
The Smurfs 2
Turbo
The Wind Rises