2014 Oscars In Memoriam Plus Bette Midler's 'Wind Beneath My Wings' Performance

There were a number of times during last night's Oscars ceremony when I found myself near tears. And no, it wasn't just me crying over another Degeneres joke that landed like a ton of bricks. With another year having gone by, we've lost a great many actors, writers, directors, and others who contributed to this world of movies we love so much. This year's In Memoriam segment was introduced by Glenn Close, beginning with the late James Gandolfini and closing with the recently-passed Philip Seymour Hoffman.

And as if it wasn't a moving enough segment on its own, Bette Midler came out at the end to perform "Wind Beneath My Wings" and guarantee there wasn't a dry eye in the house. It may have been a better idea to have her perform it during the video rather than after, but oh well. You can check out the In Memoriam video and Midler's performance below.

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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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Cinema Royale #52- 'Non-Stop'; Academy Awards Predictions

The parties are over, the votes are counted, and now it's time to learn who will walk away the big winners at the Academy Awards! Cinema Royale will be joined by film critic and RogerEbert.com contributor Susan Wloszczyna to predict the night's victors. Can 12 Years a Slave hold off the push of American Hustle and Gravity? Will Jennifer Lawrence steal a surprise win from favorite Lupita Nyong'o? Is Cate Blanchett a sure thing opposite the legendary Meryl Streep?

Plus, Joblo.com's Christopher Bumbray helps us review Liam Neeson's latest thriller, Non-Stop!

Cinema Royale is part of the Hashtag Studios Broadcast Network. You can hear it live or download it every single week on Blogtalkradio, Itunes, Libsyn, Stitcher, and Podomatic.  Listen to the latest episode below...

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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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Interview: 'The Act of Killing' Director, Joshua Oppenheimer

There's no question in my mind what the top documentary of 2013 was, and it's Joshua Oppenheimer's unforgettable The Act of Killing. The film is nominated for Best Documentary at this weekend's Academy Awards and will face some pretty stiff competition, but none of the other films go as in depth, using a unique approach to tackle issues of genocide, celebrity culture, and the overwhelming power of cinematic violence.  Oppenheimer boldly approached Indonesian death squad members, responsible for the deaths of thousands in the 1960s, and asked them to reenact the killings in the form of their favorite American movies. It's powerful stuff, and as I said before the results will be tough to shake from memory.

I had a chance to speak with Oppenheimer about The Act of Killing, and he talked about his long history with the subject matter, what it was like being amongst unrepetant murderers, and how he came up with the movie reenactment idea. You can listen to that interview below, and when you're done check out The Act of Killing for yourself here.

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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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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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