Box Office '300: Rise of an Empire' Has Muscular $132M Worldwide Opening

1. 300: Rise of an Empire- $45M
While the $45M domestic opening of 300: Rise of an Empire is pretty good, especially considering it lacks Zack Snyder's direction and it's been seven years between films, it's the $87.8M overseas that must have studio reps swooning.Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures teamed up on this one (one of their last since they recently split up), and they have to be happy that dudes again turned out in droves (62% of the audience was male) and that they paid the extra cash to see half-naked warriors (including the phenomenal Eva Green) slicing one another up in IMAX. Overall it may not approach 300's $456M haul but it doesn't really have to in order to be successful and ensure we get one more film to complete the trilogy.
2. Mr. Peabody & Sherman- $32.5M
Dreamworks' Mr. Peabody & Sherman was never a threat to match the blazing start of Frozen or The LEGO Movie, but $32.5M has to be a little disappointing. It's a step down from the debuts of their most recent early-season debuts, such as last year's The Croods (opened with $43M), and it may have something to do with the marketing campaign that didn't seem to have much focus. The property is recognizable to adults who remember the Rocky & Bullwinkle cartoons, but it was obviously geared toward kids who other (and better) animated films to choose from right now. If Dreamworks could hop in the WABAC machine and pick a better release date, I'm betting they would.
3. Non-Stop- $15.3M/$52.1M
Is it bad that I had to sit and think what this movie was for a second? Yeah, Non-Stop was pretty forgettable, and 53% of audiences "forgot" to attend it this weekend.
4. The LEGO Movie- $11M/$224.9M
5. Son of God- $10M/$41.4M
6. The Monuments Men- $3.1M/$70.6M
7. 3 Days to Kill- $3.06M/$25.5M
8. Frozen- $3.01M/$393M
9. 12 Years a Slave- $2.1M/$53.1M
See what winning Best Picture can do for you? Steve McQueen's Oscar-winning 12 Years a Slave spiked 122%, moving into an additional 650 theaters, even as it hit Blu-Ray this past Tuesday. It's not alone, as Dallas Buyers Club jumped up 47% in the wake of Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto's award wins.
10. Ride Along- $2M/$129.9M

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New on DVD & Blu-ray: 'The Hunger Games: Catching Fire', '12 Years a Slave', 'The Grandmaster'

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire - One of my top 5 films of 2013, the second installment in The Hunger Games series gets a new director and better storytelling as the odds turn away from Katniss's favor. She and Peeta are once more thrown into the arena, this time against former winners of the previous Hunger Games. President Snow is constantly watching her and there's a rebellion brewing, with Katniss the face of it all. The film stars Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jenna Malone, Sam Claflin, Woody Harrelson, and Elizabeth Banks. 

BUY NOW! 

12 Years a Slave - The 2014 Best Picture Winner, and also in my top 5 picks of 2013, 12 Years a Slave follows the true story of Solomon Northrup from freedom to slavery and back again. He is tricked, sold into slavery, and moved to Louisiana where he is forced to endure mistreatment, terrible working conditions, and the harshness and cruelty of slavery. A meaningful and hard film to watch, but nevertheless important and integral to our society. The film stars Chiwetel Ijiofor, Michael Fassbender, Lupita Nyong'o, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Paul Dano. 

BUY NOW! 

Oldboy - The Spike Lee remake follows the same story of a man obsessed with getting revenge after he finally leaves his prison to find out why he was kidnapped and put away in solitary confinement for no good reason. The film stars Josh Brolin, Elizabeth Olsen, Samuel L. Jackson, and Sharlto Copley. 

BUY NOW! 

The Grandmaster - It begins as the story of Ip Man, the legendary teacher of Bruce Lee and a master of the Wing Chun school of kungfu. It becomes the portrait of a bygone era and a lost world. The film stars Tony Chiu Wai Leung, Wang Qingxiang, Song Hye Kyo, Zhang Jin, and Ziyi Zhang. 

BUY NOW!

Hours - The late Paul Walker's final film before his untimely death, Hours tells the story of a man who's wife has just given birth to a premature baby. Needing the ventilator to stay alive, he has to stay by the baby's side when the electricity goes out and he can only use the generator by cranking every few minutes. All of this is happening in the wake of Hurrican Katrina as the man and his child wait to be rescued in a dire situation. The film also stars Genesis Rodriguez, Nancy Nave, and Shane Jacobson. 

BUY NOW! 

The Last Days on Mars - On the last day of a mission to Mars, something astounding is discovered: evidence of fossilized bacteria. An astronaut disobeys orders in order to gain more samples but when astronauts start disappearing, the crew suspects that there is much more danger involved with the sample they found than they could have imagined. The film stars Liev Shreiber, Elias Koteas, and Olivia Williams. 

BUY NOW! 

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2014 Oscars: 'Gravity' Wins 7, '12 Years A Slave' Makes History with Best Picture Win

And that's a wrap, true believers. The awards season came to close tonight with the 86th Academy Awards, and it was a show with a few surprises, a lot of lulls in energy, and a spotty G-rated performance by host Ellen Degeneres. Between the jokes about pizza, a slew of "hero" montages, and live musical acts there was just enough time for Alfonso Cuaron's Gravity to emerge the big winner.

Gravity entered the night tied with American Hustle with ten nominations, and Cuaron's deep space thriller dominated with seven total victories, including Best Director and most of the technical awards. On the other hand, American Hustle was left completely shut out, a rare feat for such a high-profile film with nominees in every major acting category.  Steve McQueen's 12 Years a Slave made history by taking home Best Picture, making it the first film from a black director to earn the prize. Lupita Nyong'o was victorious for Best Supporting Actress and John Ridley earned a nod for Best Adapted Screenplay. 

Completing an amazing career 180, Matthew McConaughey defeated a competitive group to win Best Actor for Dallas Buyers Club, while his co-star Jared Leto won Best Supporting Actor. 2004's Mystic River was the last time Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor victors came from the same film.  Cate Blanchett did as expected and won Best Actress for Blue Jasmine, while there was a bit of a surprise when Spike Jonze earned Best Original Screenplay for Her.  Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby also performed well, winning two Oscars for Costume and Production Design.

The full list of winners is below:

Best Picture: "12 Years a Slave."

Actor: Matthew McConaughey, "Dallas Buyers Club."

Actress: Cate Blanchett, "Blue Jasmine."

Supporting Actor: Jared Leto, "Dallas Buyers Club."

Supporting Actress: Lupita Nyong'o, "12 Years a Slave."

Directing: Alfonso Cuaron, "Gravity."

Foreign Language Film: "The Great Beauty," Italy.

Adapted Screenplay: John Ridley, "12 Years a Slave."

Original Screenplay: Spike Jonze, "Her."

Animated Feature Film: "Frozen."

Production Design: "The Great Gatsby."

Cinematography: "Gravity."

Sound Mixing: "Gravity."

Sound Editing: "Gravity."

Original Score: "Gravity," Steven Price.

Original Song: "Let It Go" from "Frozen."

Costume: "The Great Gatsby."

Makeup and Hairstyling: "Dallas Buyers Club."

Animated Short Film: "Mr. Hublot."

Documentary Feature: "20 Feet from Stardom."

Documentary (short subject): "The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life."

Film Editing: "Gravity."

Live Action Short Film: "Helium."

Visual Effects: "Gravity."

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Indie Spirit Awards: '12 Years A Slave' Wins 5 Including Best Picture, Best Director

The final pit stop on the overlong road to the Academy Awards was tonight's Independent Spirit Awards (although these are no longer true indies, let's be honest), held in Los Angeles, and it was a night that belonged to Steve McQueen and 12 Years a Slave. The historical drama led all with five big wins, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Supporting Actress for Lupita Nyong'o. This should give it a great deal of push heading into tomorrow's Oscars.

As for the other major awards, Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto won the top male acting awards for Dallas Buyers Club, and that's very likely to continue on through tomorrow. Cate Blanchett racked up yet another Best Actress win for Cate Blanchett, and Ryan Coogler's Fruitvale Station was recognized as the Best First Feature.

The full list of winners is below:

 BEST FEATURE:
WINNER: "12 Years A Slave"
"All Is Lost"
"Frances Ha"
"Inside Llewyn Davis"
"Nebraska"

BEST LEAD FEMALE:
WINNER: Cate Blanchett - "Blue Jasmine"
Julie Delpy - "Before Midnight"
Gaby Hoffman - "Crystal Fairy"
Brie Larson - "Short Term 12"
Shailene Woodley - "The Spectacular Now"

BEST LEAD MALE:
Bruce Dern - "Nebraska"
Chiwetel Ejiofor - "12 Years A Slave"
Oscar Isaac - "Inside Llewyn Davis"
Michael B. Jordan - "Fruitvale Station"
WINNER: Matthew McConaughey - "Dallas Buyers Club"
Robert Redford - "All Is Lost"

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE:
Melonie Diaz - "Fruitvale Station"
Sally Hawkins - "Blue Jasmine" 
WINNER: Lupita N'Yongo - "12 Years A Slave"
Yolanda Ross - "Go For Sisters"
June Squibb - "Nebraska"

BEST SUPPORTING MALE:
Michael Fassbender - "12 Years A Slave"
Will Forte - "Nebraska"
James Gandolfini - "Enough Said"
WINNER: Jared Leto - "Dallas Buyers Club"
Keith Stanfield - "Short Term 12"

BEST DIRECTOR:
Shane Carruth - "Upstream Color"
J.C. Chandor - "All Is Lost"
WINNER: Steve McQueen - "12 Years A Slave"
Jeff Nichols - "Mud"
Alexander Payne - "Nebraska"

BEST FIRST FEATURE:
"Blue Caprice"
"Concussion"
WINNER: "Fruitvale Station"
"Una Noche"
"Wadjda"

JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD:
"Computer Chess"
"Crystal Fairy"
"Museum Hours"
"Pit Stop"
WINNER: "This Is Martin Bonner"

BEST SCREENPLAY:
Woody Allen - "Blue Jasmine"
Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke, Richard Linklater - "Before Midnight"
Nicole Holofcener - "Enough Said"
Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber - "The Spectacular Now"
WINNER: John Ridley - "12 Years A Slave"

BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY:
Lake Bell - "In A World"
Joseph Gordon-Levitt - "Don Jon"
WINNER: Bob Nelson - "Nebraska"
Jill Soloway - "Afternoon Delight"
Michael Starburry - "The Inevitable Defeat Of Mister & Pete"

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
WINNER: Sean Bobbitt - "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"
WINNER: Nat Sanders - "Short Term 12"

BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM:
"A Touch Of Sin"
WINNER: "Blue Is The Warmest Color"
"Gloria"
"The Great Beauty"
"The Hunt"

BEST DOCUMENTARY
"The Act Of Killing"
"After Tiller"
"Gideon's Army"
"The Square"
WINNER: "Twenty Feet From Stardom"

PIAGET PRODUCERS AWARD
WINNER: Toby Halbrooks & James M. Johnson
Jacob Jaffke
Andrea Roa
Ferderick Thornton

TRUER THAN FICTION AWARDS:
Kalyanee Mam - "A River Changes Course"
WINNER: Jason Osder - "Let The Fire Burn"
Stephanie Spray & Pancho Valez - "Manakamana"

SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARDS:
Aaron Douglas Johnston - "My Sisters' Quinceanera"
WINNER: Shaka King - "Newlyweeds"
Madeleine Olnek - "The Foxy Merkins"

ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD
"Mud"

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2014 Oscar Predictions: 'Gravity', 'American Hustle', '12 Years A Slave' Vie for Gold

In just a few short days it'll be the 86th Academy Awards, when Hollywood will (mostly) put all of the lobbying and horse-trading behind them and honor the best movies of the prior year. Actually, they'll honor the best movies that had the best marketing campaigns and threw the best parties with the most awesome swag, but that's a discussion for another day. This year we're basically looking at a three film race to take everything: American Hustle, Gravity, and 12 Years A Slave. They've cleaned up on the overlong awards drive leading up to this point, and there's little reason to think that will end now. A few surprises could bubble up in the acting categories, though, thanks to Matthew McConaughey who seems especially tough to keep down.  The same can't be said for Robert Redford, Emma Thompson, or Tom Hanks, who were expected to be contenders but couldn't quite cross the finish line.

Enough jabbering. Here are my picks for who will win, the dark horse, who should win, and in some cases what was criminally left out of the discussion. Feel free to come back here when all is said and done to mock my wild misfires, of which there usually many.

Best Picture
Well, here's where everything will come to a head. A few weeks ago one would have said this was Gravity or 12 Years a Slave's award to win, but the late release of American Hustle was a brilliant bit of chess. Ignore those other six movies on the list; they're only here to bump up Blu-Ray sales. The popular theory is that 12 Years a Slave will win here, with Alfonso Cuaron getting his due in the Best Director category. But I say screw that; Cuaron takes both in a shocker.

Who Will Win: Gravity
Who Should Win: 12 Years A Slave
The Dark Horse: American Hustle
Shoulda Been a Contender: Short Term 12

Best Director
What Steve McQueen was able to accomplish with 12 Years a Slave is truly extraordinary, but nothing compares to the groundbreaking technical achievements of Alfonso Cuaron's Gravity. And let's face it, most people would rather feel like they're in space than at the end of Michael Fassbender's whip. Regardless of who takes it they'll be making history, either as the first African-American or Latino Best Director winner. Again, the only other nominee with any glimmer of hope is David O. Russell for American Hustle, but that was more of an actors' showcase.

Who Will and Should Win: Alfonso Cuaron, Gravity
The Dark Horse: David O. Russell, American Hustle
Shoulda Been a Contender:  Spike Jonze, Her

Best Actor
Wow, no other category is quite as competitive as the Best Actor field, so much so that Tom Hanks, Robert Redford, Joaquin Phoenix, Michael B. Jordan and Oscar Isaac couldn't get in despite many finding them deserving. A few months ago this seemed like a shoe-in for Chiwetel Ejiofor's powerful turn in 12 Years a Slave, but after a string of victories it's looking like Matthew McConaughey may have the edge for Dallas Buyers Club. Matthew McConaughey, Oscar-winner. Yeah, wrap your head around that one. Still, I think Ejiofor edges him out, but just barely. A lot of love out there for Bruce Dern and Nebraska but a long career does not a great actor make, in my opinion. Christian Bale's hair and gut were impressive, but American Hustlebelonged to the ladies. Leonardo DiCaprio dropped a ton of F-Bombs in what I think was his finest performance in a string of great ones, and any other year he would easily take it.

Who Will and Should Win: Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years a Slave
The Dark Horse: Bruce Dern, Nebraska
Shoulda Been a Contender: Robert Redford, All is Lost

Best Actress
Probably by default or something, Cate Blanchett seems to be the favorite here for her vastly overrated, modulation-free performance in Blue Jasmine. Despite the presence of Meryl Streep in the mediocre August: Osage County, the only one who may stir things up is Amy Adams for American Hustle. Like Blanchett, she was the best thing about the film she was in, however the difference is that American Hustle is a good film with a tremendous cast, making Adams' performance all the more impressive. Blue Jasmine is a subpar effort stashed with stand-up comedians from Woody Allen, who just so happens to be embroiled in an ugly controversy, the kind of controversy that could keep voters from supporting his film.

Who Will Win: Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
Who Should Win: Amy Adams, American Hustle
Shoulda Been a Contender: Brie Larson, Short Term 12

Best Supporting Actor
If there's one sure-fire lead pipe lock it's that Jared Leto is walking away with some gold this weekend. He's dominated the award season for his transformative performance in Dallas Buyers Club, with the only losses coming when he wasn't even nominated, like at the BAFTAs. If Matthew McConaughey can also sure a win it'll be the first time since Mystic Riverthat Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor victors came from the same movie. There's a lot of love out there for Jonah Hill to get the win he didn't get for Moneyball, and Barkhad Abdi's debut performance in Captain Phillips is a great Cinderella story, but neither has a chance this year.

Who Will and Should Win: Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club
The Dark Horse: Jonah Hill, The Wolf of Wall Street
Shoulda Been a Contender: James Franco, Spring Breakers

Best Supporting Actress
Ding ding ding! In this corner we have Lupita Nyong'o, the Kenyan beauty who turned heads with her heartbreaking performance in 12 Years a Slave, her first major acting role. And in this corner is the defending champion and Hollywood darling, Jennifer Lawrence, the firecracker of American Hustle. Really, there are no other contenders in this fight, and the momentum seems to be behind Lawrence after big wins at the Golden Globes and BAFTAs. It's probably hers to lose, but the campaign for Nyong'o has been fierce and persistent. She's been in front of every darn camera on the west coast and attended every awards ceremony big or small, and that definitely has an effect. This one is almost too close to call, but my money is on Lawrence going 2-for-2.

Who Will Win: Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle
Who Should Win: Lupita Nyong'o, 12 Years a Slave
Shoulda Been a Contender: Octavia Spencer or Melonie Diaz, Fruitvale Station

Best Animated Feature
The world loves legendary animator, Hayao Miyazaki, and his sterling biopic The Wind Rises has more than enough fans to drown out any detractors, but this is Disney's award to win for the Frozen. A beloved smash at the box office with a soundtrack that has parents and kids singing "Let it Go" at the top of their lungs, Frozen would be Disney Animation's first win in this category since...ever. Kind of crazy, huh?

Who Will Win: Frozen
Who Should Win: The Wind Rises

Best Adapted Screenplay
Who Will Win: 12 Years a Slave, John Ridley
Who Should Win: The Wolf of Wall Street, Terence Winter
The Dark Horse: Before Midnight, Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke
Shoulda Been a Contender: Short Term 12, Destin Daniel Cretton

Best Original Screenplay
Who Will Win: American Hustle, Eric Warren Singer and David O. Russell
Who Should Win:  Her, Spike Jonze

Best Foreign Language Film
Who Will Win: The Broken Circle Breakdown
Who Should Win: The Hunt
Shoulda Been a Contender: The Past

Best Documentary Feature
Who Will Win: The Square
Who Should win: The Act of Killing
Shoulda Been a Contender: Stories We Tell

Best Cinematography
Who Will and Should Win: Gravity, Emmanuel Lubezki
The Dark Horse: Inside Llewyn Davis, Bruno Delbonnel
Shoulda Been a Contender: 12 Years a Slave, Sean Bobbitt

Best Production Design
Who Will Win: Gravity
Who Should Win: The Great Gatsby

Best Costume Design
Who Will Win: American Hustle
Who Should Win: The Great Gatsby

Best Film Editing
Who Will and Should Win: Gravity

Best Make-Up & Hairstyling
Who Will Win: Dallas Buyers Club
The Dark Horse: Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa

Best Original Score
Who Will Win: Gravity, Steven Price
Who Should Win: Her,  William Butler and Owen Pallett
Shoulda Been a Contender: Short Term 12, Joel P. West

Best Original Song
Who Will Win: "Let It Go, Frozen
Who Should Win: "Happy" by Pharrell Williams, Despicable Me 2

Best Sound Editing
Who Will Win: Gravity

Best Sound Mixing
Who Will Win: Gravity
Shoulda Been a Contender: Rush

Best Visual Effects
Who Will and Should Win: Gravity

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Watch Kids Say the Darndest Things while Reenacting Best Picture Nominees

Forget all the lobbying and schmoozing that come with the Academy Awards, it's important to remember that these movies are supposed to be fun. Right? Ok, maybe not in the case of 12 Years a Slave, but even the grimness of Steve McQueen's historical drama can lighten the mood when performed by children. Cinefix have gathered up a bunch of kids, complete with oversized clothes, fake mustaches, and great wigs, to reenact scenes from this year's Best Picture nominees. So you can imagine how they look in vintage American Hustle gear, or giving a childish take on The Wolf of Wall Street. It's all cute and hilarious stuff, and the 12 Years A Slave bit is pretty clever, too. Frankly, I found the most offensive one to be Captain Phillips with a little boy waving a gun around. It's obviously fake but couldn't they have used a NERF or something?

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'Gravity' Big Winner at 2014 BAFTAs; '12 Years A Slave' Wins Best Film

The last big awards ceremony before the Academy Awards, the BAFTAs have been an increasingly reliable indicator of how the Oscars will turn out. If that holds true this year then Alfonso Cuaron's Gravity is in line to take a lot of golden statues in a couple of weeks. The sci-fi thriller was the big winner of the night, taking six awards including Best British Film (a controversial nomination, to say the least), Best Director, Best Cinematography, and most of the technical awards. Steve McQueen's 12 Years A Slave won Best Film, while Chiwetel Ejiofor took home Best Actor.

Meanwhile, in what may be a sign of things to come, Jennifer Lawrence's performance in American Hustle beat out Lupita Nyong'o for Best Supporting Actress. Captain Phillips' Barkhad Abdi won Best Supporting Actor, and Cate Blanchett, the clear favorite in the Best Actress category, won for Blue Jasmine.

You can find the full list of winners below:

Best Picture – 12 Years a Slave
Best Director – Alfonso Cuarón, Gravity
Best Actor – Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years a Slave
Best Actress – Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
Best Supporting Actor – Barkhad Abdi, Captain Phillips
Best Supporting Actress – Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle
Best Adapted Screenplay – Philomena, Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope
Best Original Screenplay – American Hustle, Eric Warren Singer and David O. Russell
Best Cinematography – Gravity, Emmanuel Lubezki
Best Documentary – The Act of Killing
Best Animated Feature – Frozen
Best Music – Gravity, Steven Price
Best British Film – Gravity
Best Editing – Rush
Best Production Design – The Great Gatsby
Best Costume Design – The Great Gatsby
Best Sound – Gravity
Best Visual FX - Gravity
Best Hair & Make – American Hustle
Best British Short, Live Action – Room 8
Best British Short, Animation – Sleeping with the Fishes
Outstanding British Debut – Kelly & Victor
BAFTA Rising Star – Will Poulter

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'12 Years a Slave' Wins Best Picture at the 2014 Critics' Choice Awards

The 19th annual Critics' Choice Awards aired live last night, January 16, on The CW Network and was hosted by Whose Line is it Anyway? host Aisha Tyler. The awards are voted on by the Broadcast Film Critics Association (of which our own Travis Hopson is a voting member). The top honor this year went to 12 Years a Slave for Best Picture. Lupita Nyong'o also picked up an award for Best Supporting Actress.  

Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto both picked up Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor, respectively, for their work in Dallas Buyers Club while Amy Adams and Leonardo DiCaprio won Best Actor and Actress in a Comedy. Surprisingly, Lone Survivor got two awards, one for Best Action Movie and another for Mark Wahlberg who took home the award for Best Actor in an Action Movie. It beat out competitors Iron Man 3 and Man of Steel. 

To see the complete all the winners, check out the list below! The winners are asterisked and highlighted in bold.  

BEST PICTURE
American Hustle
Captain Phillips
Dallas Buyers Club
Gravity
Her
Inside Llewyn Davis
Nebraska
Saving Mr. Banks
*12 Years a Slave
The Wolf of Wall Street

BEST ACTOR
Christian Bale – American Hustle
Bruce Dern – Nebraska
Chiwetel Ejiofor – 12 Years a Slave
Tom Hanks – Captain Phillips
*Matthew McConaughey – Dallas Buyers Club
Robert Redford – All Is Lost

BEST ACTRESS
*Cate Blanchett – Blue Jasmine
Sandra Bullock – Gravity
Judi Dench – Philomena
Brie Larson – Short Term 12
Meryl Streep – August: Osage County
Emma Thompson – Saving Mr. Banks

BEST SUPPORTING ACTORBarkhad Abdi – Captain Phillips
Daniel Bruhl – Rush
Bradley Cooper – American Hustle
Michael Fassbender – 12 Years a Slave
James Gandolfini – Enough Said
*Jared Leto – Dallas Buyers Club

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Scarlett Johansson – Her
Jennifer Lawrence – American Hustle
*Lupita Nyong’o – 12 Years a Slave
Julia Roberts – August: Osage County
June Squibb – Nebraska
Oprah Winfrey – Lee Daniels’ The Butler        

BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS
Asa Butterfield – Ender’s Game
*Adele Exarchopoulos – Blue Is the Warmest Color
Liam James – The Way Way Back
Sophie Nelisse – The Book Thief
Tye Sheridan – Mud

BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE
*American Hustle
August: Osage County
Lee Daniels’ The Butler
Nebraska
12 Years a Slave
The Wolf of Wall Street

BEST DIRECTOR
*Alfonso Cuaron – Gravity
Paul Greengrass – Captain Phillips
Spike Jonze – Her
Steve McQueen – 12 Years a Slave
David O. Russell – American Hustle
Martin Scorsese – The Wolf of Wall Street

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Eric Singer and David O. Russell – American Hustle
Woody Allen – Blue Jasmine
*Spike Jonze – Her
Joel Coen & Ethan Coen – Inside Llewyn Davis
Bob Nelson – Nebraska

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Tracy Letts – August: Osage County
Richard Linklater & Julie Delpy & Ethan Hawke – Before Midnight
Billy Ray – Captain Phillips
Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope – Philomena
*John Ridley – 12 Years a Slave
Terence Winter – The Wolf of Wall Street

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
*Emmanuel Lubezki – Gravity
Bruno Delbonnel – Inside Llewyn Davis
Phedon Papamichael – Nebraska
Roger Deakins – Prisoners
Sean Bobbitt – 12 Years a Slave

BEST ART DIRECTION
Andy Nicholson (Production Designer), Rosie Goodwin (Set Decorator) – Gravity
*Catherine Martin (Production Designer), Beverley Dunn (Set Decorator) – The Great Gatsby
K.K. Barrett (Production Designer), Gene Serdena (Set Decorator) – Her
Dan Hennah (Production Designer), Ra Vincent (Set Decorator) – The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Adam Stockhausen (Production Designer), Alice Baker (Set Decorator) – 12 Years a Slave

BEST EDITING
Alan Baumgarten, Jay Cassidy, Crispin Struthers – American Hustle
Christopher Rouse – Captain Phillips
*Alfonso Cuarón, Mark Sanger – Gravity
Daniel P. Hanley, Mike Hill – Rush
Joe Walker – 12 Years a Slave
Thelma Schoonmaker – The Wolf of Wall Street

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Michael Wilkinson – American Hustle
*Catherine Martin – The Great Gatsby
Bob Buck, Lesley Burkes-Harding, Ann Maskrey, Richard Taylor – The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Daniel Orlandi – Saving Mr. Banks
Patricia Norris – 12 Years a Slave

BEST MAKEUP
*American Hustle
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Lee Daniels’ The Butler
Rush
12 Years a Slave

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
*Gravity
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Iron Man 3
Pacific Rim
Star Trek into Darkness

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
The Croods
Despicable Me 2
*Frozen
Monsters University
The Wind Rises

BEST ACTION MOVIE
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
Iron Man 3
*Lone Survivor
Rush
Star Trek into Darkness

BEST ACTOR IN AN ACTION MOVIE
Henry Cavill – Man of Steel
Robert Downey Jr. – Iron Man 3
Brad Pitt – World War Z
*Mark Wahlberg – Lone Survivor

BEST ACTRESS IN AN ACTION MOVIE
*Sandra Bullock – Gravity
Jennifer Lawrence – The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
Evangeline Lilly – The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Gwyneth Paltrow – Iron Man 3

BEST COMEDY
*American Hustle
Enough Said
The Heat
This Is the End
The Way Way Back
The World’s End

BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY
Christian Bale – American Hustle
*Leonardo DiCaprio – The Wolf of Wall Street
James Gandolfini – Enough Said
Simon Pegg – The World’s End
Sam Rockwell – The Way Way Back

BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
*Amy Adams – American Hustle
Sandra Bullock – The Heat
Greta Gerwig – Frances Ha
Julia Louis-Dreyfus – Enough Said
Melissa McCarthy – The Heat

BEST SCI-FI/HORROR MOVIE
The Conjuring
*Gravity
Star Trek into Darkness
World War Z

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
*Blue Is the Warmest Color
The Great Beauty
The Hunt
The Past
Wadjda

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
The Act of Killing
Blackfish
Stories We Tell
Tim’s Vermeer
*20 Feet from Stardom

BEST SONG
Atlas – Coldplay – The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
Happy – Pharrell Williams – Despicable Me 2
*Let It Go – Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez – Frozen
Ordinary Love – U2 – Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
Please Mr. Kennedy – Justin Timberlake/Oscar Isaac/Adam Driver – Inside Llewyn Davis
Young and Beautiful – Lana Del Rey – The Great Gatsby

BEST SCORE
*Steven Price – Gravity
Arcade Fire – Her
Thomas Newman – Saving Mr. Banks
Hans Zimmer – 12 Years a Slave

Joel Siegel Award
*Forest Whitaker

Louis XIII Genius Award
*Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke, Richard Linklater for trilogy Before Sunrise, Before Sunsetand Before Midnight

Hollywood's Hottest Star
*Benedict Cumberbatch

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2014 Oscar Nominations: 'American Hustle' and 'Gravity' Lead with 10 Each

Today is the day that every filmmaker, actor, producer, and studio rep has been building towards. It's the day Hollywood wakes up early and reveals the nominees for the 2014 Academy Awards, and in one of the most crowded fields in recent memory there were a number of surprises, shocks, and snubs.

David O. Russell's political caper American Hustle led with 10 nominations, surpassing the 8 he earned for Silver Linings Playbook just a year ago. Alfonso Cuaron's Gravity also earned 10, followed closely behind by 12 Years a Slave with 9.

Surprisingly, Tom Hanks was left out of the Best Actor race for Captain Phillips, when he had seemed like a shoe-in for months. That's probably due to the late surge by Leonardo DiCaprio in The Wolf of Wall Street. Saving Mr. Banks was left on the outside looking as it failed to make the final Best Picture field, and star Emma Thompson missed the Best Actress cut in another surprising move. The Coen Brothers' folk music drama Inside Llewyn Davis vastly underperformed, even in the musical categories where it was expected to do wwell. Sentimental pick James Gandolfini did not earn a nomination for Enough Said, as some expected, with Jonah Hill likely taking his place for The Wolf of Wall Street.

The Academy Awards will be held on March 2nd. The full list of nominations are below.

Best motion picture of the year
“American Hustle” Charles Roven, Richard Suckle, Megan Ellison and Jonathan Gordon, Producers
“Captain Phillips” Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti and Michael De Luca, Producers
“Dallas Buyers Club” Robbie Brenner and Rachel Winter, Producers
“Gravity” Alfonso Cuarón and David Heyman, Producers
“Her” Megan Ellison, Spike Jonze and Vincent Landay, Producers
“Nebraska” Albert Berger and Ron Yerxa, Producers
“Philomena” Gabrielle Tana, Steve Coogan and Tracey Seaward, Producers
“12 Years a Slave” Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Steve McQueen and Anthony Katagas, Producers
“The Wolf of Wall Street” Nominees to be determined

Performance by an actor in a leading role
Christian Bale in “American Hustle”
Bruce Dern in “Nebraska”
Leonardo DiCaprio in “The Wolf of Wall Street”
Chiwetel Ejiofor in “12 Years a Slave”
Matthew McConaughey in “Dallas Buyers Club”

Performance by an actor in a supporting role
Barkhad Abdi in “Captain Phillips”
Bradley Cooper in “American Hustle”
Michael Fassbender in “12 Years a Slave”
Jonah Hill in “The Wolf of Wall Street”
Jared Leto in “Dallas Buyers Club”

Performance by an actress in a leading role
Amy Adams in “American Hustle”
Cate Blanchett in “Blue Jasmine”
Sandra Bullock in “Gravity”
Judi Dench in “Philomena”
Meryl Streep in “August: Osage County”

Performance by an actress in a supporting role
Sally Hawkins in “Blue Jasmine”
Jennifer Lawrence in “American Hustle”
Lupita Nyong’o in “12 Years a Slave”
Julia Roberts in “August: Osage County”
June Squibb in “Nebraska”

Best animated feature film of the year
“The Croods” Chris Sanders, Kirk DeMicco and Kristine Belson
“Despicable Me 2” Chris Renaud, Pierre Coffin and Chris Meledandri
“Ernest & Celestine” Benjamin Renner and Didier Brunner
“Frozen” Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee and Peter Del Vecho
“The Wind Rises” Hayao Miyazaki and Toshio Suzuki

Achievement in cinematography
“The Grandmaster” Philippe Le Sourd
“Gravity” Emmanuel Lubezki
“Inside Llewyn Davis” Bruno Delbonnel
“Nebraska” Phedon Papamichael
“Prisoners” Roger A. Deakins

Achievement in costume design
“American Hustle” Michael Wilkinson
“The Grandmaster” William Chang Suk Ping
“The Great Gatsby” Catherine Martin
“The Invisible Woman” Michael O’Connor
“12 Years a Slave” Patricia Norris

Achievement in directing
“American Hustle” David O. Russell
“Gravity” Alfonso Cuarón
“Nebraska” Alexander Payne
“12 Years a Slave” Steve McQueen
“The Wolf of Wall Street” Martin Scorsese

Best documentary feature
“The Act of Killing”Joshua Oppenheimer and Signe Byrge Sørensen
“Cutie and the Boxer” Zachary Heinzerling and Lydia Dean Pilcher
“Dirty Wars” Richard Rowley and Jeremy Scahill
“The Square” Jehane Noujaim and Karim Amer
“20 Feet from Stardom” Nominees to be determined

Best documentary short subject
“CaveDigger” Jeffrey Karoff
“Facing Fear” Jason Cohen
“Karama Has No Walls” Sara Ishaq
“The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life” Malcolm Clarke and Nicholas Reed
“Prison Terminal: The Last Days of Private Jack Hall” Edgar Barens

Achievement in film editing
“American Hustle” Jay Cassidy, Crispin Struthers and Alan Baumgarten
“Captain Phillips” Christopher Rouse
“Dallas Buyers Club” John Mac McMurphy and Martin Pensa
“Gravity” Alfonso Cuarón and Mark Sanger
“12 Years a Slave” Joe Walker

Best foreign language film of the year
“The Broken Circle Breakdown” Belgium
“The Great Beauty” Italy
“The Hunt” Denmark
“The Missing Picture” Cambodia
“Omar” Palestine

Achievement in makeup and hairstyling
“Dallas Buyers Club” Adruitha Lee and Robin Mathews
“Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa” Stephen Prouty
“The Lone Ranger” Joel Harlow and Gloria Pasqua-Casny

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)
“The Book Thief” John Williams
“Gravity” Steven Price
“Her” William Butler and Owen Pallett
“Philomena” Alexandre Desplat
“Saving Mr. Banks” Thomas Newman

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)
“Alone Yet Not Alone” from “Alone Yet Not Alone”
Music by Bruce Broughton; Lyric by Dennis Spiegel
“Happy” from “Despicable Me 2”
Music and Lyric by Pharrell Williams
“Let It Go” from “Frozen”
Music and Lyric by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez
“The Moon Song” from “Her”
Music by Karen O; Lyric by Karen O and Spike Jonze
“Ordinary Love” from “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom”
Music by Paul Hewson, Dave Evans, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen; Lyric by Paul Hewson

Achievement in production design
“American Hustle” Production Design: Judy Becker; Set Decoration: Heather Loeffler
“Gravity” Production Design: Andy Nicholson; Set Decoration: Rosie Goodwin and Joanne Woollard
“The Great Gatsby” Production Design: Catherine Martin; Set Decoration: Beverley Dunn
“Her” Production Design: K.K. Barrett; Set Decoration: Gene Serdena
“12 Years a Slave” Production Design: Adam Stockhausen; Set Decoration: Alice Baker

Best animated short film
“Feral” Daniel Sousa and Dan Golden
“Get a Horse!” Lauren MacMullan and Dorothy McKim
“Mr. Hublot” Laurent Witz and Alexandre Espigares
“Possessions” Shuhei Morita
“Room on the Broom” Max Lang and Jan Lachauer

Best live action short film
“Aquel No Era Yo (That Wasn’t Me)” Esteban Crespo
“Avant Que De Tout Perdre (Just before Losing Everything)” Xavier Legrand and Alexandre Gavras
“Helium” Anders Walter and Kim Magnusson
“Pitääkö Mun Kaikki Hoitaa? (Do I Have to Take Care of Everything?)” Selma Vilhunen and Kirsikka Saari
“The Voorman Problem” Mark Gill and Baldwin Li

Achievement in sound editing
“All Is Lost” Steve Boeddeker and Richard Hymns
“Captain Phillips” Oliver Tarney
“Gravity” Glenn Freemantle
“The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” Brent Burge
“Lone Survivor” Wylie Stateman

Achievement in sound mixing
“Captain Phillips” Chris Burdon, Mark Taylor, Mike Prestwood Smith and Chris Munro
“Gravity” Skip Lievsay, Niv Adiri, Christopher Benstead and Chris Munro
“The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” Christopher Boyes, Michael Hedges, Michael Semanick and Tony Johnson
“Inside Llewyn Davis” Skip Lievsay, Greg Orloff and Peter F. Kurland
“Lone Survivor” Andy Koyama, Beau Borders and David Brownlow

Achievement in visual effects
“Gravity” Tim Webber, Chris Lawrence, Dave Shirk and Neil Corbould
“The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton and Eric Reynolds
“Iron Man 3” Christopher Townsend, Guy Williams, Erik Nash and Dan Sudick
“The Lone Ranger” Tim Alexander, Gary Brozenich, Edson Williams and John Frazier
“Star Trek Into Darkness” Roger Guyett, Patrick Tubach, Ben Grossmann and Burt Dalton

Adapted screenplay
“Before Midnight” Written by Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke
“Captain Phillips” Screenplay by Billy Ray
“Philomena” Screenplay by Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope
“12 Years a Slave” Screenplay by John Ridley
“The Wolf of Wall Street” Screenplay by Terence Winter

Original screenplay
“American Hustle” Written by Eric Warren Singer and David O. Russell
“Blue Jasmine” Written by Woody Allen
“Dallas Buyers Club” Written by Craig Borten & Melisa Wallack
“Her” Written by Spike Jonze
“Nebraska” Written by Bob Nelson

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71st Annual Golden Globes: 'American Hustle' Wins Three Awards, '12 Years A Slave' Wins Best Drama

The 71st Annual Golden Globes are now in the books, one of the last major steps on the road to the Academy Awards, and there are a couple of surprises that are all tied in together. Probably the biggest of all is that 12 Years A Slave, which had come in as the favorite over the last few months, only managed one win for Best Drama, leading many on social media to wail that the film was mere moments away from being totally shut out.

The big victor of the night was David O. Russell's American Hustle with three, including Best Picture Comedy/Musical, Best Actress-Comedy for Amy Adams, and Best Supporting Actress for Jennifer Lawrence. The momentum for Matthew McConaughey for Dallas Buyers Club continued as he defeated Chiwetel Ejiofor for Best Actor-Drama, while his co-star Jared Leto won Best Supporting actor. Despite the film earning its share of criticism, Leonardo DiCaprio won Best Actor-Comedy for Martin Scorsese's The Wolf of Wall Street. As many predicted, Alfonso Cuaron won Best Director for Gravity, overcoming stiff competition from Steve McQueen and O. Russell.

In their second year as hosts, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler began the night with a scathing and pin-point opener skewering many of the guests, especially ripping George Clooney for his infamous ageism. Tom Hanks was especially in the duo's comedic sights for some reason, and yeah there were plenty of off-the-wall, possibly alcohol-fueled acceptance speeches. In particular Jacqueline Bissett, winning for TV miniseries Dancing on the Edge, gave a sputtering, angry speech that had to be censored for vulgarity.

How will all of this affect the Oscar nominations next week? If anything, it shows that 12 Years A Slave's seeming grip on the top honors is slipping.

The full list of winners is below:

Best Motion Picture - Drama
WINNER: "12 Years a Slave"
"Captain Phillips"
"Gravity"
"Philomena"
"Rush"

Best Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical
WINNER: "American Hustle"
"Her"
"Inside Llewyn Davis"
"Nebraska"
"The Wolf Of Wall Street"

Best Director
WINNER: Alfonso Cuaron - "Gravity"
Paul Greengrass - "Captain Phillips"
Steve McQueen - "12 Years a Slave"
Alexander Payne - "Nebraska"
David O Russell - "American Hustle"

Best Actress - Drama
WINNER: Cate Blanchett - "Blue Jasmine"
Sandra Bullock - "Gravity
Judi Dench - "Philomena"
Emma Thompson - "Saving Mr Banks"
Kate Winslet - "Labor Day"

Best Actor - Drama
WINNER: Matthew McConaughey - "Dallas Buyers Club"
Chiwetel Ejiofor - "12 Years a Slave"
Idris Elba - "Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom"
Tom Hanks - "Captain Phillips"
Robert Redford - "All Is Lost"

Best Actress - Comedy
WINNER: Amy Adams - "American Hustle"
Julie Delpy - "Before Midnight"
Greta Gerwig - "Frances Ha"
Julia Louis-Dreyfus - "Enough Said"
Meryl Streep - "August: Osage County"

Best Actor - Comedy/Musical
WINNER: Leonardo DiCaprio - "The Wolf of Wall Street"
Christian Bale - "American Hustle"
Bruce Dern - "Nebraska"
Oscar Isaac - "Inside Llewyn Davis"
Joaquin Phoenix - "Her"

Best Supporting Actress
WINNER:  Jennifer Lawrence - "American Hustle"
Sally Hawkins - "Blue Jasmine"
Lupita N'yongo - "12 Years a Slave"
Julia Roberts - "August: Osage County"
June Squibb - "Nebraska"

Best Supporting Actor
WINNER: Jared Leto - "Dallas Buyers Club"
Barkhad Abdi - "Captain Phillips"
Daniel Bruhl - "Rush"
Bradley Cooper - "American Hustle"
Michael Fassbender - "12 Years a Slave"

Best Screenplay
WINNER: Spike Jonze - "Her"
Bob Nelson - "Nebraska"
Jeff Pope & Steve Coogan - "Philomena"
John Ridley - "12 Years a Slave"
Eric Warren Singer & David O. Russell - "American Hustle"

Best Foreign Film
WINNER: "The Great Beauty"
"Blue Is The Warmest Color"
"The Hunt"
"The Past"
"The Wind Rises"

Best Animated Feature
WINNER: "Frozen"
"The Croods"
"Despicable Me 2"

Best Original Score - Motion Picture
WINNER: Alex Ebert - "All Is Lost
Alex Heffes - "Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom"
Steven Price - "Gravity"
John Williams - "The Book Thief"
Hans Zimmer - "12 Years a Slave"

Best Original Song - Motion Picture
WINNER: "Ordinary Love" - U2 - "Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom"
 "Atlas" - Coldplay - "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire"
"Let It Go - Idina Menzel - "Frozen"
"Please Mr. Kennedy" - Justin Timberlake & co - "Inside Llewyn Davis"
"Sweeter Than Fiction" - Taylor Swift - "One Chance"

Best TV Series - Comedy/Musical
WINNER: "Brooklyn Nine Nine"
"Girls"
"Big Bang Theory"
"Modern Family"
"Parks and Recreation"

Best Miniseries Or Motion Picture Made For Television
WINNER: "Behind the Candelabra"
"American Horror Story: Coven"
"Dancing On The Edge"
"Top of the Lake"
"The White Queen"

Best TV Drama
WINNER: "Breaking Bad"
"Downton Abbey"
"The Good Wife"
"House of Cards"
"Masters of Sex"

Best Actress - Drama TV Series
WINNER: Robin Wright - "House of Cards"
Julianna Margulies - "The Good Wife"
Tatiana Maslany - "Orphan Black"
Taylor Schilling - "Orange Is the New Black"
Kerry Washington - "Scandal"

Best Actor - TV Drama
WINNER: Bryan Cranston - "Breaking Bad"
Liev Schreiber - "Ray Donovan"
Michael Sheen - "Masters of Sex"
Kevin Spacey - "House of Cards"
James Spader - "The Blacklist"

Best Actress - Miniseries
WINNER: Elisabeth Moss - "Top of the Lake"
Helena Bonham-Carter - "Burton & Taylor"
Rebecca Ferguson - "The White Queen"
Jessica Lange - "American Horror Story: Coven"
Helen Mirren - "Phil Spector"

Best Actor - Miniseries
WINNER: Michael Douglas - "Behind the Candelabra"
Matt Damon - "Behind the Candelabra"
Chiwetel Ejiofor - "Dancing On the Edge"
Idris Elba - "Luther"
Al Pacino - "Phil Spector"

Best Actress - Comedy TV Series
WINNER: Amy Poehler - "Parks and Recreation" 
Zooey Deschanel - "New Girl"
Lena Dunham - "Girls"
Edie Falco - "Nurse Jackie"
Julia Louis-Dreyfus - "Veep"

Best Actor - Comedy TV Series
WINNER: Andy Samberg - "Brooklyn Nine Nine"
Jason Bateman - "Arrested Development"
Don Cheadle - "House of Lies"
Michael J. Fox - "The Michael J. Fox Show"
Jim Parsons - "The Big Bang Theory"

Best Supporting Actor - TV
WINNER: Jon Voight - "Ray Donovan"
Josh Charles - "The Good Wife"
Rob Lowe - "Behind the Candelabra"
Aaron Paul - "Breaking Bad"
Corey Stoll - "House of Cards"

Best Supporting Actress - TV
WINNER: Jacqueline Bisset - "Dancing On the Edge"
Janet McTeer - "The White Queen"
Hayden Panetierre - "Nashville"
Monica Potter - "Parenthood"
Sofia Vergara - "Modern Family"

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'Gravity' Leads 2014 BAFTA Nominations

The awards season rolls along, and before the Academy Awards, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts have revealed the 2014 BAFTA nominations, and there were a couple of decisions that may have future implications. Alfonso Cuaron's Gravity leads the field with eleven nominations, with American Hustle and 12 Years A Slave with ten apiece. Not surprisingly, Brit favorite Philomena did well with five nominations, and of course Judi Dench turned up in the Best Actress category. Surprises? Robert Redford and Matthew McConaughey totally missing out for Best Actor, and Meryl Streep not getting in for Best Actress in August: Osage County.

The full list of nominees are below.

BEST FILM
12 YEARS A SLAVE Anthony Katagas, Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Steve McQueen
AMERICAN HUSTLE Charles Roven, Richard Suckle, Megan Ellison, Jonathan Gordon
CAPTAIN PHILLIPS Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca
GRAVITY Alfonso Cuarón, David Heyman
PHILOMENA Gabrielle Tana, Steve Coogan, Tracey Seaward

OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM
GRAVITY Alfonso Cuarón, David Heyman, Jonás Cuarón
MANDELA: LONG WALK TO FREEDOM Justin Chadwick, Anant Singh, David M. Thompson, William Nicholson
PHILOMENA Stephen Frears, Gabrielle Tana, Steve Coogan, Tracey Seaward, Jeff Pope
RUSH Ron Howard, Andrew Eaton, Peter Morgan
SAVING MR. BANKS John Lee Hancock, Alison Owen, Ian Collie, Philip Steuer, Kelly Marcel, Sue Smith
THE SELFISH GIANT: Clio Barnard, Tracy O’Riordan

OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER
COLIN CARBERRY (Writer), GLENN PATTERSON (Writer) Good Vibrations
KELLY MARCEL (Writer) Saving Mr. Banks
KIERAN EVANS (Director/Writer) Kelly + Victor
PAUL WRIGHT (Director/Writer), POLLY STOKES (Producer) For Those in Peril
SCOTT GRAHAM (Director/Writer) Shell

FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
THE ACT OF KILLING Joshua Oppenheimer, Signe Byrge Sørensen
BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOUR Abdellatif Kechiche, Brahim Chioua, Vincent Maraval
THE GREAT BEAUTY Paolo Sorrentino, Nicola Giuliano, Francesca Cima
METRO MANILA Sean Ellis, Mathilde Charpentier
WADJDA Haifaa Al-Mansour, Gerhard Meixner, Roman Paul

DOCUMENTARY
THE ACT OF KILLING Joshua Oppenheimer
THE ARMSTRONG LIE Alex Gibney
BLACKFISH Gabriela Cowperthwaite
TIM’S VERMEER Teller, Penn Jillette, Farley Ziegler
WE STEAL SECRETS: THE STORY OF WIKILEAKS Alex Gibney

ANIMATED FILM
DESPICABLE ME 2 Chris Renaud, Pierre Coffin
FROZEN Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee
MONSTERS UNIVERSITY Dan Scanlon

DIRECTOR
12 YEARS A SLAVE Steve McQueen
AMERICAN HUSTLE David O. Russell
CAPTAIN PHILLIPS Paul Greengrass
GRAVITY Alfonso Cuarón
THE WOLF OF WALL STREET Martin Scorsese

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
AMERICAN HUSTLE Eric Warren Singer, David O. Russell
BLUE JASMINE Woody Allen
GRAVITY Alfonso Cuarón, Jonás Cuarón
INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
NEBRASKA Bob Nelson

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
12 YEARS A SLAVE John Ridley
BEHIND THE CANDELABRA Richard LaGravenese
CAPTAIN PHILLIPS Billy Ray
PHILOMENA Steve Coogan, Jeff Pope
THE WOLF OF WALL STREET Terence Winter

LEADING ACTOR
BRUCE DERN Nebraska
CHIWETEL EJIOFOR 12 Years a Slave
CHRISTIAN BALE American Hustle
LEONARDO DICAPRIO The Wolf of Wall Street
TOM HANKS Captain Phillips

LEADING ACTRESS
AMY ADAMS American Hustle
CATE BLANCHETT Blue Jasmine
EMMA THOMPSON Saving Mr. Banks
JUDI DENCH Philomena
SANDRA BULLOCK Gravity

SUPPORTING ACTOR
BARKHAD ABDI Captain Phillips
BRADLEY COOPER American Hustle
DANIEL BRÜHL Rush
MATT DAMON Behind the Candelabra
MICHAEL FASSBENDER 12 Years a Slave

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
JENNIFER LAWRENCE American Hustle
JULIA ROBERTS August: Osage County
LUPITA NYONG’O 12 Years a Slave
OPRAH WINFREY The Butler
SALLY HAWKINS Blue Jasmine

ORIGINAL MUSIC
12 YEARS A SLAVE Hans Zimmer
THE BOOK THIEF John Williams
CAPTAIN PHILLIPS Henry Jackman
GRAVITY Steven Price
SAVING MR. BANKS Thomas Newman

CINEMATOGRAPHY
12 YEARS A SLAVE Sean Bobbitt
CAPTAIN PHILLIPS Barry Ackroyd
GRAVITY Emmanuel Lubezki
INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS Bruno Delbonnel
NEBRASKA Phedon Papamichael

EDITING
12 YEARS A SLAVE Joe Walker
CAPTAIN PHILLIPS Christopher Rouse
GRAVITY Alfonso Cuarón, Mark Sanger
RUSH Dan Hanley, Mike Hill
THE WOLF OF WALL STREET Thelma Schoonmaker

PRODUCTION DESIGN
12 YEARS A SLAVE Adam Stockhausen, Alice Baker
AMERICAN HUSTLE Judy Becker, Heather Loeffler
BEHIND THE CANDELABRA Howard Cummings
GRAVITY Andy Nicholson, Rosie Goodwin, Joanne Woodlard
THE GREAT GATSBY Catherine Martin, Beverley Dunn

COSTUME DESIGN
AMERICAN HUSTLE Michael Wilkinson
BEHIND THE CANDELABRA Ellen Mirojnick
THE GREAT GATSBY Catherine Martin
THE INVISIBLE WOMAN Michael O’Connor
SAVING MR. BANKS Daniel Orlandi

MAKE UP & HAIR
AMERICAN HUSTLE Evelyne Noraz, Lori McCoy-Bell
BEHIND THE CANDELABRA Kate Biscoe, Marie Larkin
THE BUTLER Debra Denson, Beverly Jo Pryor, Candace Neal
THE GREAT GATSBY Maurizio Silvi, Kerry Warn
THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG Peter Swords King, Richard Taylor, Rick Findlater

SOUND
ALL IS LOST Richard Hymns, Steve Boeddeker, Brandon Proctor, Micah Bloomberg, Gillian Arthur
CAPTAIN PHILLIPS Chris Burdon, Mark Taylor, Mike Prestwood Smith, Chris Munro, Oliver Tarney
GRAVITY Glenn Freemantle, Skip Lievsay, Christopher Benstead, Niv Adiri, Chris Munro
INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS Peter F. Kurland, Skip Lievsay, Greg Orloff
RUSH Danny Hambrook, Martin Steyer, Stefan Korte, Markus Stemler, Frank Kruse

SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS
GRAVITY Tim Webber, Chris Lawrence, David Shirk, Neil Corbould, Nikki Penny
THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton, Eric Reynolds
IRON MAN 3 Bryan Grill, Christopher Townsend, Guy Williams, Dan Sudick
PACIFIC RIM Hal Hickel, John Knoll, Lindy De Quattro, Nigel Sumner
STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS Ben Grossmann, Burt Dalton, Patrick Tubach, Roger Guyett

BRITISH SHORT ANIMATION
EVERYTHING I CAN SEE FROM HERE Bjorn-Erik Aschim, Friederike Nicolaus, Sam Taylor
I AM TOM MOODY Ainslie Henderson
SLEEPING WITH THE FISHES James Walker, Sarah Woolner, Yousif Al-Khalifa

BRITISH SHORT FILM
ISLAND QUEEN Ben Mallaby, Nat Luurtsema
KEEPING UP WITH THE JONESES Megan Rubens, Michael Pearce, Selina Lim
ORBIT EVER AFTER Chee-Lan Chan, Jamie Stone, Len Rowles
ROOM 8 James W. Griffiths, Sophie Venner
SEA VIEW Anna Duffield, Jane Linfoot

THE EE RISING STAR AWARD (voted for by the public)
DANE DEHAAN
GEORGE MACKAY
LUPITA NYONG’O
WILL POULTER
LÉA SEYDOUX

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PDC Staff Picks: The Top 5 Movies of 2013

In the immortal words of Porky the Pig, ble, ble, ble, that's all folks! It is the final day of 2013, a year that brought us all of the fun that a year with a Syrian civil war, a bombing at a beloved Boston tradition, and a government shutdown can bring. Years like this are the reason that cinema's ability to provide an escape will never die. So we now happily bring you the climactic ending to all of our "End of 2013" lists, the PDC staff picks for the top 5 movies of 2013!

Mae, Rocky, Julian and John (Travis previously published his picks for the top 15 movies of 2013, which you can find here) each went back and painstakingly narrowed down their picks to the 5 movies from 2013 that were their overall favorites.

So without further adieu, here's Mae to start us off!

Mae's Picks

5. THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE
I wasn't a big fan of the first film, though I'm a huge fan of the books. So when Gary Ross bowed out as director, I didn't shed a tear and was more than excited when director Francis Lawrence jumped on-board. And when the film was finally released, there was really no doubt that Lawrence had just delivered a great movie that exceeded all expectations. Jennifer Lawrence and everyone else involved are at the top of their game. The film is intense, action-packed, and makes right everything that was wrong with the first film. What's not to love about that?

4. PRISONERS
What makes Prisoners such an outstanding film is its ability to portray great drama all while exploring the gray area of a person's morals when pushed to the brink. Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Paul Dano are exceptional in their roles. It's not a film you can watch more than once, because it's so emotionally exhausting, but it's intense and gripping and the end might piss you off just a little just because it ends on a cliff-hanger.

3. THE BROKEN CIRCLE BREAKDOWN 
There hasn't been a film in recent memory that encompasses the trials of love and the pain of loss the way this film does. It uses bluegrass music as a backdrop for its story and isn't told in the traditional chronological way, which is part of what makes it unique. It captures a love story and then sends that love story through the wringer and asks the characters (and us) to survive it. The way the movie is told is mesmerizing, the music moving, and the performances so strong that you might need a tissue or two... or three by the end of the film.    

2. 12 YEARS A SLAVE
You've probably heard me praise this film on the PDC podcast over and over, and even after watching the movie a second time, it's still deserving of praise. Steve McQueen gives a straightforward film that's full of powerful and oftentimes hard-to-watch moments of intensity. McQueen doesn't sugarcoat anything, bringing us the realities of slavery in a no- nonsense manner, and isn't scared to do so. The long takes, the emotion, and the realistic nature of the whole film leaves a huge impact and asks us to revisit one of the darkest parts of America's history with our eyes wide open.

1. SHORT TERM 12
If this film doesn't make it to the Oscar ballot, it would truly be a damn shame. Like my #2 pick, Short Term 12 deals with pretty serious topics and does it with absolute grace and dignity. The film explores the emotional impact foster care and abusive families can have on kids and teenagers. There are issues of trust, rape, neglect, physical and verbal abuse, and skeletons in the closet that the cast deal with. Brie Larson's performance is one layered with maturity and John Gallagher, Jr. is an outstanding pillar of support. The entire cast clicks so well together and bring warmth to an otherwise dramatic and emotionally-heavy film. Intense and strong story-telling at its best.

Rocky's Picks

5. PACIFIC RIM
I’ve loved Guillermo del Toro for a long time, but my affection practically doubled with Pacific Rim, his big-budget would-be blockbuster this summer. As I’ve already griped in my Best/Worst Trailers of 2013 list, too few of my American countrymen saw this movie, and I still can’t figure out why. You guys realize this wasn’t Transformers, right? And yet chances are when the next Michael Bay dreckfest hits theaters, you’ll be lining up to see that. Sigh. But I loved everything del Toro brought to Pacific Rim: his eye for detail in the design of the kaiju; an international mentality and cast; strong female and minority characters in Mako Mori (Ranko Kikuchi) and Stacker Pentecost (Idris Elba); and, finally, a story that didn’t rely on egregious violence or the objectification of women to get its point across. Thanks for that, Guillermo.

4. THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES
“I’m still his father; I can give him stuff.” Possibly the most underrated movie of the year was Derek Cianfrance’s The Place Beyond the Pines, which had a fantastic ensemble in Ryan Gosling, Bradley Cooper, Eva Mendes, Rose Byrne, and Dane DeHaan but got almost zero attention when it was released this past spring. Ugh, but it was such an affecting, powerful movie, with a story spanning generations and hitting on various issues about patriarchy, masculinity, and family. Don’t forget that Cianfrance did the same thing with his previous movie starring Ryan Gosling, Blue Valentine, but I think The Place Beyond the Pines is the better film. That final scene with DeHaan? I’m getting teary just thinking about it.

3. SPRING BREAKERS
“This is the fucking American Dream. This is my fucking dream, y’all!” Oh, James Franco! He was a revelation in Harmony Korine’s Spring Breakers, but so was the film’s main foursome: Korine’s wife, Rachel; ABC Family star Ashley Benson; and former Disney princesses Selena Gomez and Vanessa Hudgens. Together, they presented a range of teenage girl debauchery, from the naïve, idealistic one (Gomez as Faith) to the lascivious, bored one (Hudgens as Candy), and the film revolved around their simultaneously competitive-yet-loyal friendship. Bound to be a cult classic, Spring Breakers holds up to repeat viewings like few other films this year—and who could ever tire of Franco’s faux-gangster drawl? Certainly not me.

2. THE PAST/THE GREAT GATSBY
Is having a tie cheating? Because if so, I’m cheating. But oof, both of these movies hit me hard this year, in ways that I can’t imagine myself forgetting. The Past, the latest film from Iranian director Asghar Farhadi—who won the Best Foreign-Language Film Oscar last year for the very deserving A Separation—is a slowly unfurling, character-driven drama, the kind of movie that parcels out information methodically and entrancingly. Much like A Separation, this isn’t a movie with good guys or bad guys—just people struggling to make a life for themselves, to protect their families, to find some semblance of happiness. Bérénice Bejo and Ali Mosaffa are unforgettable; the final scene with Tahar Rahim will break your heart. The Past will haunt you.

And The Great Gatsby will, too, even though it’s so opulent, so bombastic, so soaked in glitter and booze and couture. As I noted in my piece about the Best and Worst Onscreen Kisses of 2012, there’s something “rotten and lustful and idealistic” in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s original novel, and director Baz Luhrmann gets that right. He keeps a shocking amount of Fitzgerald’s original dialogue and text; presents Gatsby (a fantastic Leonardo DiCaprio) as the right kind of half-dangerous, half-pathetic bastard who can’t let the past go; and although his framing device of Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire) telling the story to a psychiatrist isn’t the best, it’s ambitious. The Great Gatsby might have been one of the most unabashed films of the year, wearing all of its emotions on its sleeve. I respected it so much for that.

1. 12 YEARS A SLAVE
But I didn’t respect anything this year as much as 12 Years a Slave, the Steve McQueen-directed film that swept our Washington DC Area Film Critics Association awards this year. No, it’s not an easy film to watch. But it shouldn’t be, should it? You should watch it for the overwhelmingly great performances from Chiwetel Ejiofor, Lupita Nyong’o, Michael Fassbender, Paul Dano, Sarah Paulson, and even Brad Pitt, in his limited screentime; you should watch it for McQueen’s exceptionally long takes, how he lets his actors display their resolve and pain and determination on their faces; you should watch it for the sense that film can stand for something and mean something and do something. If 12 Years a Slave doesn’t make a strong showing at the Oscars this year, we riot. Or at least I do.

John's Picks

5. GI JOE: RETALIATION
Now hold on before you start throwing rotten fruit. First of all this isn’t medieval Europe so you need to update your methods of taunting. Secondly, when I say top 5 it doesn't mean best 5 it means the 5 I enjoyed the most so, no, I’m not saying Snake Eyes should be up for a best actor Oscar (what a wonderful world that would be)

GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra was a pleasant surprise, there’s no doubt there, but it definitely left Joe fans wondering why there was no visual acuity with the cartoon…I mean, that was one of the coolest things about the cartoon, the way everything looked. Jon Chu said he was one of those fans and he certainly proved it with GI Joe: Retaliation. It certainly had some problems, like killing off the entire original cast except for Snake Eyes (Snake Eyes is to GI Joe what Daryl Dixon is to The Walking Dead) but this misstep was more than made up for. Bringing Dwayne Johnson on board as Roadblock and filing out the other two main spots with fan favorites Lady Jaye (Adrienne Palicki) and Flint (D.J. Cotrona) was the first show of good faith, but the reason it’s on my list can be narrowed down to two things, design and ninjas. Cobra Commander is back to the silver faced mastermind we know and love, the vehicles and weapons are completely outrageous and awesome, and best of all Cobra Commander’s evil plan is actually quite genius. I’m not going to try and explain the ninja aspect since there’s no way I’ll do it justice but if you watched any of the trailers you know that this all boils down to half of the movie being about Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow complete with some more history and possibly the most epic mountaintop ninja fight ever filmed.

4. EVIL DEAD
If history has shown us anything it’s that remaking a beloved 80’s horror property does not end well. Needless to say remaking Sam Rami’s ultra low budget horror classic, possibly the most beloved cult horror film of the time, had to be a bad idea. What we get is a movie that (aside from the lack of Bruce Campbell) completely honors and improves on the original. Though most will give The Conjuring top honors for scariest movie of the year I have to go with Evil Dead, it’s terrifying, satisfying, and most importantly a hell of a lot of fun.

3. FAST & FURIOUS 6
This really seems alien to me, I mean is there any other franchise that started getting better after it’s fourth installment? Finally someone in Hollywood figured out how to take what made something popular and adapt it properly to grow the story in a believable way. Now, of course I don’t mean that the events in the movie are believable, just that outlaw street racers would, conceivably, use their skills for bigger and better scores. Part 6, another movie on my top 5 with Dwayne Johnson, sees the gang finally on the edge of gaining their way back into the states with a clean slate but at the cost of going up against their most deadly opponent yet. The plot really doesn’t matter though as long as it’s somewhat fresh and includes the two most important things to the franchise; fast cars and the best action ensemble in decades (which makes the passing of co-lead Paul Walker all the more saddening).

2. THE GREAT GATSBY
If I had done a prediction list at the beginning of the year I most definitely would not have thought this would have made it. Decadent, superbly acted, and awesomely fun…the kind of movie that will make you want to put throwing a party like Gatsby on your bucket list. Honestly, I’m kind of amazed there wasn't a trend of Gatsby parties across college campuses after the movie came out. A soundtrack of hip-hop mixed with the flapper style of the roaring 20’s hits all of the right notes (pun intended) in a surprisingly compatible way. Then, on top of the sheer exhilaration of watching the party scenes , you have a perfectly filmed adaptation of the classic novel’s real story, the star-crossed relationship of Gatsby and Daisy. It will reinvigorate your love of reading the book in high school, or, in my case, make you regret opting for the Cliff’s notes.

1.  MAN OF STEEL
If Julian reads this list, he may never talk to me again, but Man of Steel is one of those goose-bump inducing films that remind you of why you started loving movies as a kid. I know that people had problems with the movie but, in my opinion, there was literally nothing I could gripe about afterwards. Superman Returns showed us that the candy coated boy scout from Krypton defined by Christopher Reeve was no longer something with broad appeal. Zack Snyder gave Superman what he needed a (slight) edge. He needs to remain the moral compass for not just the Justice League but for mankind, so Batman dark was never an option nor should it have been. Oh, and the whole killing Zod thing. Here are two perfect reasons that doing so was the right choice. First, this is Superman’s first week on the job against what will be one of his toughest enemies, showing him do things out of character and/or make mistakes stands only to humanize him…something he sorely needed. Second, it serves as the moment when Superman definitively chooses Earth as his true home, saving a random family by killing the only remaining person from your planet in existence is a pretty bold statement of allegiance I would say. All of the magical, inspiring and visually astounding hallmarks of the original Superhero but with some new, fresh twists that work on every level…yup, that sounds exactly like the way to successfully reboot a classic film.

Final Note: The most confusing complaint that was popular among MoS detractors was the damage done to Metropolis and Superman’s apparent indifference to bystanders. First, it’s four people that are basically Gods fighting to the death in the middle of a crowded city…this is that realism that you've been asking for. Also, Superman wasn’t indifferent to bystanders, like I said earlier this was his first real week on the job and he had his hands extremely full. If anything I think it’s a great jumping point to explain a bit more about why he is so unwaveringly good other than hometown words of wisdom from Jonathan Kent.

Julian's Picks

Note: My list is the basically the dark side of the American Dream list. Since I haven’t seen all of the films I wanted to see this year, I decided to focus most of my list on the theme. There are no numbers here, just hits, like it's Bad Boy records in 1995.

AMERICAN HUSTLE
I think I was into this film from the title alone. If America is about anything it’s about the hustle. That’s how you win, those are the some of the main beliefs taught in this country and this film loosely based on the Abscam scandal in the late '70s is a thesis on that. The highlight for this whole film is the many fantastic performances like the lauded one from JLaw, Amy Adams and Bale but also from the other ones like Renner and Louis C.K. This whole movie is such a complete piece of work; David O. Russell and his team deserve all the accolades for the choice of music, costuming, cinematography and even the hair/makeup. This is a highly re-watchable film; I wanted to make like 80 gifs from it while I was in the theater.

THE GREAT GATSBY
Balling. Pure and simple. It’s very rare that I read a fiction prose book before seeing a film but this one I decide to take that plunge and did so. Man I really loved this film. I thought it totally captured the book and that feeling of what we think about the '20s. The costuming in this is crazy and so is the use of music and 3D. I think that Gatsby might not get a lot of awards since it was released in the summer but I think its impact will be very great, more so than any other adaptation of the work. Heck I think you can see it now, it’s the reason we got Jay Z’s Magna Carta Holy Grail. Leo is about to be the next Scarface folks. Also, all the best film gifs of 2013 came from the trailer for this film.

ONLY GOD FORGIVES 
Now I didn’t see this film in theaters, I went ahead and gave Amazon some money for that rental and man I don’t regret it one bit. I don’t know if I should’ve seen it in the theater by how much this film got me hype. This film is far from standard, not really linear and is more than most films out this year about a feeling and a look more than anything else. Only God Forgives was like looking at a video mood board with all original content. This weird journey of Baby Goose’s Julian and his quite crazy mother and their eventual run in with the Angel of Vengeance is like somehow watching Nicolas Winding Refn’s dreams. It’s not a film for everyone, it’s very violent and indulgent, but not many films got me as excited and inspired like this film.

SPRING BREAKERS 
Look at my Shiiiiiiit! James Franco y’all. This movie. This movie folks. The tumblr pic king of 2013 films. Spring Breakers is very much the Kids of right now. Frightening for those with children and at a certain age, about right for those younger and for those in the age of the characters, I don’t know, because they are out there doing this craziness. Early on I called this film like a Southern rap song as a film (specifically screwed and chopped) and it very much is as it’s a mix of the good times of parties while also the dark times of the trap life. It’s interesting to see these people go down this hole, all for the pursuit of a never-ending good time.

THE GRANDMASTER 
This doesn’t fit the dark American Dream theme I said in my prologue but this film hit so many notes for me. It’s a martial art film that feels like an old kung fu classic film telling a story of famous people of the past that became myth, but it’s just set in a closer place in time. For me it perfectly meshes Wong Kar Wai’s usual style of story with very well done fight sequences and choreography. It’s beautiful and has a good sense of the actual philosophy on how each Grandmaster sees their art and the world. Zhang Ziyi has one of the best performances of the year; in the end you’ll be sitting there on YouTube watching 64 hands demos all day.

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