Here Are The Central Ohio Film Critics Nominees!

Posted on January 5, 2015 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Yesterday, the Central Ohio Film Critics announced their nominees for the best of 2014 and they really liked Birdman! I wonder if the Central Ohio Film Critics ever have fights with the Southwestern Ohio Film Critics or the Ohio/Kentucky Border Critics…

Here are the nominees!

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

Best Supporting Actor

Josh Brolin – Inherent Vice
Ethan Hawke – Boyhood
Edward Norton – Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
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 or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
Tilda Swinton – Snowpiercer

Best Ensemble

Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
Foxcatcher
Gone Girl
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Guardians of the Galaxy

Actor of the Year (for an exemplary body of work)

Jessica Chastain (The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby, Interstellar, Miss Julie, and A Most Violent Year)
Benedict Cumberbatch (The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies and The Imitation Game)
Jake Gyllenhaal (Enemy and Nightcrawler)
Chris Pratt (Guardians of the Galaxy and The LEGO Movie)
Tilda Swinton (The Grand Budapest Hotel, Only Lovers Left Alive, Snowpiercer, and The Zero Theorem)

Breakthrough Film Artist

Damien Chazelle – Whiplash – (for directing and screenwriting)
Ava DuVernay – Selma – (for directing)
Jennifer Kent – The Babadook – (for directing and screenwriting)
Gugu Mbatha-Raw – Belle and Beyond the Lights – (for acting)
Justin Simien – Dear White People – (for directing and screenwriting)

Best Cinematography

Benoît Delhomme – The Theory of Everything
Hoyte Van Hoytema – Interstellar
Daniel Landin – Under the Skin
Emmanuel Lubezki – Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
Robert Yeoman – The Grand Budapest Hotel

Best Film Editing

Sandra Adair – Boyhood
Spencer Averick – Selma
Kirk Baxter – Gone Girl
Douglas Crise and Stephen Mirrione – Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
Tom Cross – Whiplash

Best Adapted Screenplay

Paul Thomas Anderson – Inherent Vice
Bong Joon-ho and Kelly Masterson – Snowpiercer
Gillian Flynn – Gone Girl
Nick Hornby – Wild
Graham Moore – The Imitation Game

Best Original Screenplay

Wes Anderson – The Grand Budapest Hotel
J.C. Chandor – A Most Violent Year
Damien Chazelle – Whiplash
Alejandro González Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, and Armando Bo – Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
Paul Webb – Selma

Best Score

Alexandre Desplat – The Grand Budapest Hotel
Jóhann Jóhannsson – The Theory of Everything
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross – Gone Girl
Antonio Sanchez – Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
Hans Zimmer – Interstellar

Best Documentary

Citizenfour
Dinosaur 13
Finding Vivian Maier
Jodorowsky’s Dune
Life Itself

Best Foreign Language Film

Force Majeure (Turist)
A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night
Ida
Two Days, One Night (Deux jours, une nuit)
We Are the Best! (Vi är bäst!)

Best Animated Film

Big Hero 6
The Book of Life
The Boxtrolls
How to Train Your Dragon 2
The LEGO Movie

Best Overlooked Film

The Babadook
Blue Ruin
Edge of Tomorrow
Enemy
Locke

Here Are The Producers Guild Nominees!

Posted on January 5, 2015 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Producers Guild of America nominees were announced today.

The PGA is often seen as being a pretty strong precursor as far as the actual Oscar nominations are concerned. Therefore, it’s a bit surprising to see that Selma was snubbed. (A lot of people are speculating that it may be because the Selma screeners were sent out late. We’ll see.) It’s less surprising that Unbroken was snubbed because Unbroken has not exactly lived up to expectations. (I’ll post my review of the film soon.) At this point, it’s hard to be surprised to see Nightcrawler mentioned because — for a supposed long shot — Nightcrawler‘s been doing pretty well as far as the precursors are concerned. Finally, the producers of former front runners Foxcatcher and Gone Girl have to be happy to see that their film has not been as forgotten by the guilds as it has been by many of the critical groups.

Here are the nominees!

American Sniper

Birdman

Boyhood

Foxcatcher

Gone Girl

The Grand Budapest Hotel

The Imitation Game

Nightcrawler

The Theory of Everything

Whiplash

Here Are The Art Directors Guild Nominees!

Posted on January 5, 2015 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Art Directors Guild announced their nominees today!

And here they are:

Period Film
Inherent Vice
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
The Theory of Everything
Unbroken

Fantasy Film
Interstellar
Into the Woods
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Guardians of the Galaxy
Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Contemporary Film
American Sniper
Birdman
Foxcatcher
Gone Girl
Nightcrawler

Award Season Continues! Here Are The Winners From Georgia!

Posted on January 5, 2015 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Yes, awards season is still going on and critics and guilds from across the country and the industry are still announcing their picks for the best of 2014!

The latest group to make their picks known? The Georgia Film Critics Association! Here are their nominees for the best of 2014!

Best Picture
BIRDMAN
BOYHOOD
GONE GIRL
THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL
IDA
A MOST VIOLENT YEAR
NIGHTCRAWLER
SELMA
SNOWPIERCER
WHIPLASH

Best Director
Richard Linklater BOYHOOD
David Fincher GONE GIRL
Wes Anderson THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL
Ava DuVernay SELMA
Damien Chazelle WHIPLASH

Best Actor
Ralph Fiennes THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL
Jake Gyllenhaal NIGHTCRAWLER
Michael Keaton BIRDMAN
David Oyelowo SELMA
Eddie Redmayne THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING.

Best Actress
Marion Cotillard TWO DAYS ONE NIGHT
Scarlett Johansson UNDER THE SKIN
Felicity Jones THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING
Lisa Loven Kongsli FORCE MAJEURE
Julianne Moore STILL ALICE
Rosamund Pike GONE GIRL

Best Supporting Actor
Riz Ahmed NIGHTCRAWLER
Ethan Hawke BOYHOOD
Edward Norton BIRDMAN
Mark Ruffalo FOXCATCHER
JK Simmons WHIPLASH

Best Supporting Actress
Patricia Arquette BOYHOOD
Jessica Chastain A MOST VIOLENT YEAR
Rene Russo NIGHTCRAWLER
Emma Stone BIRDMAN
Tilda Swinton SNOWPIERCER

Best Original Screenplay
BOYHOOD
CALVARY
THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL
NIGHTCRAWLER
SELMA

Best Adapted Screenplay
GONE GIRL
THE IMITATION GAME
INHERENT VICE
SNOWPIERCER
THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING
WILD

Best Cinematography
BIRDMAN
THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL
IDA
INHERENT VICE
INTERSTELLAR

Best Production Design
THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL
INHERENT VICE
INTERSTELLAR
INTO THE WOODS
SNOWPIERCER
UNDER THE SKIN

Best Original Score
BIRDMAN (Antonio Sánchez)
GONE GIRL (Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross)
INTERSTELLAR (Hans Zimmer)
LIFE ITSELF (Joshua Abrams)
UNDER THE SKIN (Mica Levi)

Best Original Song
“Everything is Awesome” from THE LEGO MOVIE
“Glory” from SELMA
“We Will Not Go” from VIRUNGA
“I’m Not Gonna Miss You” from GLEN CAMPBELL: I’LL BE ME
“Something So Right” from MUPPETS MOST WANTED

Best Ensemble Cast
BIRDMAN
BOYHOOD
THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL
GONE GIRL
SELMA

Best Foreign Language Film
FORCE MAJEURE
IDA
SEPIDEH
TWO DAYS ONE NIGHT
WE ARE THE BEST!

Best Animated Feature Film
BIG HERO 6
THE BOOK OF LIFE
THE BOXTROLLS
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2
THE LEGO MOVIE

Best Documentary Feature Film
CITIZENFOUR
FINDING VIVIAN MAIER
KEEP ON KEEPIN’ ON
LIFE ITSELF
SEPIDEH

Breakthough of the Year
Ellan Coltrane
Ava DuVernay
Gugu Mbatha-Raw
Jenny Slate
Tessa Thompson

The National Society Of Film Critics Honors Goodbye to Language!

Posted on January 3, 2015 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Earlier today, the National Society of Film Critics announced their picks for the best films of 2014! By one vote, they named Jean-Luc Godard’s Goodbye To Language as best picture of the year.

Thank you, National Society of Film Critics, for reminding us that, occasionally, unexpected things do happen!

Check out the winners and the runner-ups below!

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 (four co-writers)

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

*1. Mr. Turner 33 (Dick Pope)

2. The Immigrant 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)

BEST ACTRESS

*1. Marion Cotillard 80 (Two Days, One Night)

2. Julianne Moore 35 (Still Alice)

3. Scarlett Johansson 21 (Lucy; Under the Skin)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

*1. J.K. Simmons 24 (Whiplash)

2. Mark Ruffalo 21 (Foxcatcher)

3. Edward Norton 16 (Birdman)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

*1. Patricia Arquette 26 (Boyhood)

2. Agata Kulesza 18 (Ida)

3. Rene Russo 9 (Nightcrawler)

Here Are The Eddie Nominations!

Posted on January 2, 2015 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Eddies! Isn’t that a perfectly adorable name for an award?

Anyway, the Eddies are given out by the American Cinema Editors and they honor the best editing in film and television. The Eddies make for an interesting precursor because (much like the SAG awards), they’re a guild award and the nominees and winners are being determined by many of the same people who will be voting on the Oscars.

Add to that, films that get a nomination for best editing often also get nominated for best picture. (One huge exception to that rule would be David Fincher’s rehash The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, which actually won best editing despite not being nominated for best picture.)

The big news from the Eddie nominations is that potential Oscar front-runner Selma was snubbed. However, American Sniper was not. While I doubt that the makers of Selma have anything to worry about, this does seem to indicate that — despite not making a huge showing as far as the critics awards are concerned — American Sniper might still be a factor in the best picture race.

(Then again, Oscar watchers like me are notorious for overanalyzing stuff like this…)

The film nominees can be found below.

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, ACE)

Best Editing Feature Film (Comedy or Musical)
“Birdman” (Douglas Crise & Stephen Mirrione, ACE)
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” (Barney Pilling)
“Guardians of the Galaxy” (Fred Rasking, Hughes Winborn, ACE & Craig Wood, ACE)
“Into the Woods” (Wyatt Smith)
“Inherent Vice” (Leslie Jones, ACE)

Best Edited Animated Feature Film
“Big Hero 6” (Tim Mertens)
“The Boxtrolls” (Edie Ichioka, ACE)
“The LEGO Movie” (David Burrow & Chris McKay)

Best Edited Documentary (Feature)
“CITIZENFOUR” (Mathilde Bonnefoy)
“Finding Vivian Maier” (Aaron Wickenden)
“Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me” (Elisa Bonora)

Birdman Soars Over Utah

Posted on December 23, 2014 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Somehow, I missed this one in my previous awards roundup. Way back on December 18th, the Utah Film Critics announced their picks for the best of 2014. Here’s what won!

Best Picture
“Birdman”
(Runner-up: “The Imitation Game”)

Best Director
Alejandro González Iñárritu, “Birdman”
(Runner-up: Jonathan Glazer, “Under the Skin”)

Best Actor
Michael Keaton, “Birdman”
(Runner-up: TIE – Benedict Cumberbatch, “The Imitation Game” and Ralph Fiennes, “The Grand Budapest Hotel”

Best Actress
Rosamund Pike, “Gone Girl”
(Runner-up: Marion Cotillard, “Two Days, One Night”)

Best Supporting Actor
J.K. Simmons, “Whiplash”
(Runner-up: Edward Norton, “Birdman”)

Best Supporting Actress
Jessica Chastain, “A Most Violent Year”
(Runner-up: Tilda Swinton, “Snowpiercer”)

Best Adapted Screenplay
(TIE) “Inherent Vice” and “Snowpiercer”

Best Original Screenplay
“Birdman”
(Runner-up: “Nightcrawler”)

Best Cinematography
“Nightcrawler”
(Runner-up: “Under the Skin”)

Best Animated Feature
“The LEGO Movie”
(Runner-up: “The Boxtrolls”)

Best Non-English Feature
“We Are the Best!”
(Runner-up: “Two Days, One Night”)

Best Documentary Feature
“CITIZENFOUR”
(Runner-up: “The Overnighters”)

Birdman Lands In Florida

Posted on December 23, 2014 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Florida Film Critics have voted and they’ve named Birdman the best film of 2014! You can find all of the Florida winners below and check out the Florida nominees by clicking here!

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

Best Ensemble:

The Grand Budapest Hotel

Runner-up: Boyhood

Best Original Screenplay:

The Grand Budapest Hotel (Wes Anderson)

Runner-up: Birdman (Alejandro González Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Armando Bo)

Best Adapted Screenplay:

Gone Girl (Gillian Flynn)

Runner-up: Inherent Vice (Paul Thomas Anderson)

Best Cinematography:

Interstellar (Hoyte Van Hoytema)

Runner-up: The Grand Budapest Hotel (Robert D. Yeoman)

Best Visual Effects:

Interstellar

Runner-up: Guardians of the Galaxy

Best Art Direction/Production Design:

The Grand Budapest Hotel

Runner-up: Interstellar

Best Score:

Under the Skin (Micah Levi, aka Micachu)

Runner-up: Gone Girl (Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross)

Best Documentary:

Life Itself

Runner-up: Citizenfour

Best Foreign-Language Film:

The Raid 2

Runner-up: Force Majeure

Best Animated Film:

The Lego Movie

Runner-up: How to Train Your Dragon 2

Pauline Kael Breakout Award:

Damien Chazelle (writer/director: Whiplash)

Runner-up: Gugu Mbatha-Raw (actress: Belle, Beyond the Lights)

Here Are The Nevada Film Critics Winners!

Posted on December 23, 2014 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Gone Girl, which — with the exception of Rosamund Pike’s performance — has not quite been the precursor powerhouse that some were expecting it to be, was named best picture by the Nevada Film Critics!

(I’m actually enjoying the precursors this year. They’re spreading the wealth around, as opposed to every critics group moving in lockstep and slavishly honoring only one film, like they did with The Social Network.)

Check out the rest of their winners below!

Best Film
Gone Girl

Best Director
Dan Gilroy (Nightcrawler)

Best Actor
Jake Gyllenhaal (Nightcrawler)

Best Actress
Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl)

Best Supporting Actor
J. K. Simmons (Whiplash)

Best Supporting Actress
Patricia Arquette (Boyhood)
Jessica Chastain (A Most Violent Year)

Best Screenplay
Dan Gilroy (Nightcrawler)

Best Cinematography
Hoyte van Hoytema (Interstellar)

Best Production Design
Adam Stockhausen (The Grand Budapest Hotel)

Best Visual Effects
Interstellar

Best Ensemble Cast
Guardians of the Galaxy

Best Animated Movie
Big Hero 6

Best Documentary
Citizenfour

Best Youth Performance
Ellar Coltrane (Boyhood)

Here’s What The Southeastern Film Critics Honored!

Posted on December 23, 2014 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Oscar precursor race — which started out with Boyhood and Birdman basically winning everything — has gotten a little bit more interesting over the past week or so. Other movies have been picking up awards. For instance, Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel!

On December 22nd, the Southeastern Film Critics named their picks for the best of 2014. And here are the winners!

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

Best Ensemble
1. The Grand Budapest Hotel
2. Birdman or (the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

Best Director
1. Richard Linklater, Boyhood
2. Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel

Best Original Screenplay
1. The Grand Budapest Hotel: Wes Anderson and Hugo Guinness
2. Birdman or (the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance): Alejandro González Iñárritu, Nicolas Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Armando Bo

Best Adapted Screenplay
1. Gone Girl: Gillian Flynn
2. Wild: Nick Hornby

Best Documentary
1. Life Itself
2. CitizenFour

Best Foreign Language Film
1. Force Majeure
2. Ida

Best Animated Film
1. The Lego Movie
2. Big Hero 6

Best Cinematography
1. Birdman or (the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance): Emmanuel Lubezki
2. The Grand Budapest Hotel: Robert Yeoman

The Gene Wyatt Award for the Film that Best Evokes the Spirit of the South
1. Selma