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Just to put things into
perspective for the many readers of the Coltons Point Times from outside the USA , please don't think there is anything about Hollywood and the Oscars that reflects on the typical
quality of life in the USA
Here in the colonies we
are masters at embracing fantasy and the film industry is one of the very
privilege classes reflecting it. We
don't have royalty but we do have several classes
of aristocrats like stars in the
motion picture industry, professional baseball,
football and basketball players, the wizards
of Wall Street, the nouveau rich and of course the old, rich bluebloods. All
told they are about 3% of the people.
Accumulating wealth is
their playground and this is the one night they share it with us, I guess to
thank us for spending billions of dollars on box office tickets, buying their
movies on DVD, and watching them on the Telly.
As a group the movie
industry is far to the left in politics, yet the general public long ago
adopted the Mark Twain philosophy that, "everyone is entitled to their
silly ideas." Thus Republicans,
Independents and centrist Democrats can overlook the Hollywood
forays into social issues although the sight of someone stepping out of a
Ferrari to condemn the government for allowing poverty is a little odd.
Like most other
institutions in America that have been around since the 1928 stock market crash and ensuing Great Depression, the Oscars and the movie industry are in the
process of huge changes. Gone are the
days that a handful of major studios and studio moguls hand-picked everything
we saw in movie theatres from the scripts to directors to stars.
Any economic-based
institution in America
Once upon a time only
major studio productions were nominated for Oscars. This year, only three of the nine nominees for Best
Picture came from major studios. Truly the Independent production has
overwhelmed Hollywood
When institutions stop taking risks and morph to the formula, standard, vanilla, risk adverse strategy,
well they will cease to exist. In America
Following is an
outstanding overview of the penetration
of Independent films written by John
Horn of the Los Angeles Times. It
shows the extent the industry has changed to meet the demands of the public for
creativity and innovation.
After that you will find my picks for the winners in the major
categories and a list of nominees for all the significant categories. I
urge you to make your own selections.
My picks are without seeing a single, nominated movie. Not only is it easier because I have no time
to watch the dozens of movies nominated let alone I cannot afford to see them
all, but it also gives me an excuse should I be wrong.
Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
Oscars 2014: Nominations — and snubs — attest to the strong field
'American Hustle'
and 'Gravity' lead deep field with 10 Oscar nominations each. Tom Hanks and
Emma Thompson are left out, and 'Inside Llewyn Davis' gets scant interest.
By
John Horn
January 17, 2014
Tom Hanks' starring role in "Captain Phillips" was one of his most acclaimed performances in a distinguished career. But the two-time Oscar winner, who is also a governor of the
But when Academy Award nominations were read out before dawn
Thursday, Hanks' name was never called.
Cold-blooded snub? Probably not. Instead, Hanks' double omission
is more proof that 2013 was indeed a golden year for film, one in which there
were so many strong (and commercially successful) films that academy members
couldn't include all those worthy of recognition.
Emma Thompson wasn't nominated for her starring role
in "Saving Mr. Banks," Robert Redford was cast adrift from his sinking
sailboat tale "All Is Lost," and Paul Greengrass and Spike Jonze missed the cut for directing, respectively,
the hijacking thriller "Captain Phillips" and the dystopian love
story "Her."
The Coen brothers' critically lauded folk music movie "Inside Llewyn Davis" earned
just two technical nominations; last summer, it won the Grand Jury Prize at the
Cannes Film Festival.
"There's incredible work being done by incredible
filmmakers," said Michael De Luca, a producer on "Captain
Phillips." "Not to over-inflate it, but it feels like it could be
another renaissance" in movies.
Oscar voters had little trouble finding several movies to lavish
with multiple nominations in top categories. The con man tale "American Hustle" and the space
thriller "Gravity" tied with the most nominations
with 10 apiece, as the slave drama "12 Years a Slave" collected
nine. "Captain Phillips," the AIDS story "Dallas Buyers Club" and the
road movie "Nebraska" all had six nominations.
Tellingly, many of these nominated films were financed
independently. As major studios focus on superheroes and sequels, it's the
independent financiers who bankroll the edgier, director-driven films whose
merits are measured by reviews, not Happy Meals tie-ins.
Two of the best picture nominees — "American Hustle" and
"Her" — were bankrolled by producer Megan Ellison, daughter of
billionaire businessman Larry Ellison. She had more combined nominations with
17 than Paramount Pictures (13) and 20th Century Fox (11).
"I know we couldn't make this movie without Megan," said
David O. Russell, who directed and co-wrote
"American Hustle." "And 'Her' couldn't have gotten made without
Megan."
The best picture finalists "The Dallas Nebraska
"The independent financiers are critical," said Rachel
Winter, a producer of "The Dallas
Her movie was underwritten by executives from a Texas
fertilizer company after Hollywood studios
turned the project down more than 120 times over the last 20 years.
The Academy Award nominations will help encourage others to take
similar risks, noted Tracey Seaward, a producer of "Philomena" whose
financing was pieced together from three European backers. "It's really a
great boost and shows there's an audience for serious storytelling," she
said.
Many film critics have called 2013 one of the best years for
movies in memory. Happily for Hollywood
"Gravity" has grossed more than $256 million in domestic
theaters, "American Hustle" has surpassed $104 million, "Captain
Phillips" stands at $105 million and "The Wolf of Wall Street"
just climbed past $81 million.
(end of article)
And the nominees are...
BEST MOTION PICTURE OF THE YEAR
“American Hustle” (Sony
Pictures Releasing)
“Captain Phillips” (Sony Pictures Releasing)
“
Voltage Pictures, R2 Films, Evolution Independent Production
“Gravity” (Warner Bros.)
A Warner Bros. UK Services Limited Production
“Her” (Warner Bros.)
An
“
A
“Philomena” (The Weinstein Company)
A Pathé, BBC Films, BFI, Canal+, Cine+ and Baby Cow/Magnolia Mae Production
“12 Years a Slave” (Fox Searchlight)
“The Wolf of Wall Street” (Paramount)
A Red Granite Production
[Putnam's Pick - American Hustle because it has been a while since
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Christian Bale in “American Hustle” (Sony Pictures Releasing)
Bruce Dern in “
Leonardo DiCaprio in “The Wolf of Wall Street” (Paramount)
Chiwetel Ejiofor in “12 Years a Slave” (Fox Searchlight)
Matthew McConaughey in “
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Barkhad Abdi in “Captain Phillips” (Sony Pictures Releasing)
Bradley Cooper in “American Hustle” (Sony Pictures Releasing)
Michael Fassbender in “12 Years a Slave” (Fox Searchlight)
Jonah Hill in “The Wolf of Wall Street” (Paramount)
Jared Leto in “
[Putnam's Pick - Bradley Cooper again because of the American Hustle sweep.]
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Amy Adams in “American Hustle” (Sony Pictures Releasing)
Cate Blanchett in “Blue Jasmine” (Sony Pictures Classics)
Sandra Bullock in “Gravity” (Warner Bros.)
Judi Dench in “Philomena” (The Weinstein Company)
Meryl Streep in “August:
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Sally Hawkins in “Blue Jasmine” (Sony Pictures Classics)
Jennifer Lawrence in “American Hustle” (Sony Pictures Releasing)
Lupita Nyong’o in “12 Years a Slave” (Fox Searchlight)
Julia Roberts in “August:
June Squibb in “
[Putnam's Pick - Jennifer Lawrence because she is a rising star, Oscar winner, has not got caught up in the Hollywood rat packs and is from
ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTING
“American Hustle” (Sony Pictures Releasing) David O. Russell
“Gravity” (Warner Bros.) Alfonso Cuarón
“
“12 Years a Slave” (Fox Searchlight) Steve McQueen
“The Wolf of Wall Street” (
[Putnam's Pick - Martin Scorsese because he paid his dues but never won and they can't give everything to American Hustle.]
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM OF THE YEAR
“The Broken Circle Breakdown” (Tribeca Film)
A Menuet Production
“The Great Beauty” (Janus Films)
An Indigo Film Production
“The Hunt” (Magnolia Pictures)
A Zentropa Entertainments 19 Production
“The Missing Picture” (
A Bophana Production
An Omar Production Company Production
[Putnam's Pick - The Great Beauty though I have no idea why.]
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM OF THE YEAR
“The Croods” (20th Century Fox)
Chris Sanders, Kirk DeMicco and Kristine Belson
“Despicable Me 2” (Universal)
Chris Renaud, Pierre Coffin and Chris Meledandri
“Ernest & Celestine” (GKIDS)
Benjamin Renner and Didier Brunner
“Frozen” (Walt Disney)
Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee and Peter Del Vecho
“The Wind Rises” (Walt Disney)
Hayao Miyazaki and Toshio Suzuki
[Putnam's Picks - The Wind Rises because Disney combined with the Japanese is too good to pass up.]
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
“The Act of Killing” (Drafthouse Films)
A Final Cut for Real Production
“Cutie and the Boxer” (RADiUS-TWC)
An Ex Lion Tamer and Cine Mosaic Production
“Dirty Wars” (IFC Films)
“The Square” (Netflix in association with Worldview
Entertainment and Participant Media)
A Noujaim Films and Maktube Production
“20 Feet from Stardom” (RADiUS-TWC)
A Gil Friesen Productions and Tremolo Production
[Putnam's Pick - 20 Feet from Stardom since it sounds like a
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
“Before Midnight” (Sony Pictures Classics) Written by Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy,
“Captain Phillips” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Screenplay by Billy Ray
“Philomena” (The Weinstein Company) Screenplay by Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope
“12 Years a Slave” (Fox Searchlight) Screenplay by John Ridley
“The Wolf of Wall Street” (
[Putnam's Pick - 12 Years a Slave since it meets the liberal standard of the leftist elite.]
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
“American Hustle” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Written by Eric Warren Singer and David
O . Russell
“Blue Jasmine” (Sony Pictures Classics) Written by Woody Allen
“
“Her” (Warner Bros.) Written by Spike Jonze
“
[Putnam's Pick - Her because Spike Jonze has done some interesting stories and I like the way he spells his last name.]
ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY
“The Grandmaster” (The Weinstein Company) Philippe Le Sourd
“Gravity” (Warner Bros.) Emmanuel Lubezki
“Inside Llewyn Davis” (CBS Films) Bruno Delbonnel
“
“Prisoners” (Warner Bros.) Roger A. Deakins
[Putnam's Pick - Gravity because Sandra Bullock looked great in a space suit.]
ACHIEVEMENT IN COSTUME DESIGN
“American Hustle” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Michael Wilkinson
“The Grandmaster” (The Weinstein Company) William Chang Suk Ping
“The Great Gatsby” (Warner Bros.) Catherine Martin
“The Invisible Woman” (Sony Pictures Classics) Michael O’Connor
“12 Years a Slave” (Fox Searchlight) Patricia Norris
[Putnam's Pick - The Invisible Woman as I cannot imagine the difficulty of dressing an Invisible Woman.]
ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC WRITTEN FOR MOTION PICTURES (ORIGINAL SONG)
“Alone Yet Not Alone” from “Alone Yet Not Alone” (Enthuse Entertainment)
“Happy” from “Despicable Me 2” (Universal)
“Let It Go” from “Frozen” (Walt Disney)
“The Moon Song” from “Her” (Warner Bros.)
“Ordinary Love” from “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom” (The Weinstein Company)
[Putnam's Pick - tie between The Moon Song and Let It Go as they are more creative titles than the others.]
ACHIEVEMENT IN VISUAL EFFECTS
“Gravity” (Warner Bros.) Tim Webber, Chris Lawrence, Dave Shirk and
“The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” (Warner Bros.) Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David
Clayton
“Iron Man 3” (Walt Disney)
“The Lone Ranger” (Walt Disney) Tim Alexander, Gary Brozenich, Edson Williams and John
Frazer
“Star Trek Into Darkness” (
Burt Dalton
[Putnam's Picks - Gravity because after
Lord of the Rings we are tired of wizards and
hobnobs.]
ACHIEVEMENT IN FILM EDITING
“American Hustle” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Jay
Cassidy, Crispin Struthers and Alan Baumgarten
“Captain Phillips” (Sony
Pictures Releasing) Christopher Rouse“
“Gravity” (Warner Bros.) Alfonso Cuarón and Mark Sanger
“12 Years a Slave” (Fox Searchlight) Joe Walker
[Putnam's Pick - Captain Phillips as an apology for not nominating Tom Hanks for Best Actor.]
BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
“CaveDigger”
A Karoffilms Production
“Facing Fear”
A Jason Cohen Production
“Karama Has No Walls” (Mudhouse Films)
A Hot Spot Films Production
“The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life”
A Reed Entertainment Production
“Prison Terminal: The Last Days of Private Jack Hall”
A Prison Terminal LLC Production
[Putnam's Pick - The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life as it must have a happy ending and the others sound rather morbid or exploitive.]
ACHIEVEMENT IN MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
“
“Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa” (
“The Lone Ranger” (Walt Disney) Joel Harlow and Gloria Pasqua-Casny
[Putnam's Pick - Dallas Buyers Club because I can't image how they took a hunk like Matthew McConaughey and made him look so weak.]
ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC WRITTEN FOR MOTION PICTURES (ORIGINAL SCORE)
“The Book Thief” (20th Century Fox) John Williams
“Gravity” (Warner Bros.) Steven Price
“Her” (Warner Bros.) William Butler and Owen Pallett
“Philomena” (The Weinstein Company) Alexandre Desplat
“Saving Mr. Banks” (Walt Disney) Thomas Newman
[Putnam's Pick - it is hard to bet against the genius John Williams but I pick Gravity because it is such a sweeping story.]
ACHIEVEMENT IN PRODUCTION DESIGN
“American Hustle” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Production Design:
“Gravity” (Warner Bros.) Production Design:
“The Great Gatsby” (Warner Bros.) Production Design:
“Her” (Warner Bros.) Production Design:
“12 Years a Slave” (Fox Searchlight) Production Design:
[Putnam's Pick - Gravity because anything with Sandra Bullock and George Clooney has to win a few awards.]
BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM
“Feral”
A Daniel Sousa Production
“Get a Horse!” (Walt Disney)
A Walt Disney Animation Production
“Mr. Hublot”
A Zeilt Production
“Possessions”
A
“Room on the Broom”
A Magic Light Pictures Production
[Putnam's Pick - this time I really have no idea why but I pick Feral.]
BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
“Aquel No Era Yo (That Wasn’t Me)” (FREAK Independent Film Agency)
A Producciones Africanauan Production
“Avant Que De Tout Perdre (Just before Losing Everything)”
A KG Production
“Helium”
An M & M Production
“Pitääkö Mun Kaikki Hoitaa? (Do I Have to Take Care of Everything?)”
A Tuffi Films Production
“The Voorman Problem”
A Honlodge Production
[Putnam's Pick - Helium since it is the only one I can pronounce.]
ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND EDITING
“All Is Lost” (Lionsgate & Roadside Attractions) Steve Boeddeker and Richard Hymns
“Captain Phillips” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Oliver Tarney
“Gravity” (Warner Bros.) Glenn Freemantle
“The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” (Warner Bros.) Brent Burge
“Lone Survivor” (Universal) Wylie Stateman
[Putnam's Pick - All is Lost because one of the sound editors is named Hymns so it must be a sign from God.]
ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND MIXING
"Captain Phillips” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Chris Burdon, Mark Taylor, Mike Prestwood
Smith and Chris Munro
“Gravity” (Warner Bros.) Skip Lievsay, Niv Adiri, Christopher Benstead and Chris Munro
“The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” (Warner Bros.) Christopher Boyes, Michael
Hedges, Michael Semanick and Tony Johnson
“Inside Llewyn Davis” (CBS Films) Skip Lievsay, Greg Orloff and Peter F. Kurland
“Lone Survivor” (Universal) Andy Koyama, Beau Borders and David Brownlow
[Putnam's Pick - The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug because I don't want Smaug's desolation to go unnoticed nor the Little People to be mad at me.]
That's All Folks! See you March 2...
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