2014 Oscar Nominations

Barkhad Abdi should get Supporting Actor. Mike Fassboring will probably get it. I'd like Gravity to sweep the technical awards, and it should get Director and Cinematography. Don't know if it's really Best Movie territory though. Neither will Captain Phillips, despite its Oscar-baitey feel.

I will bet the blood of my firstborn on C. E. getting Best Actor .

I hope Fassbender gets it. Jared Leto probably will. He's been winning all the pre-Oscar shows (golden globes, critic's choice). And he's been campaigning. Hard. He took a few verbal shots at Fassbender and J. Phoenix for not being on the "awards promotional circuit," because both of those actors just aren't into the whole, "Vote for ME! Vote for ME" bandwagon. Not sure why Leto would care enough to take jabs on Twitter or whatnot.

Then he gets up at the golden globes and acts like he never imagined in a million years that he'd win. "This is just so surprising."

Bleh! The thing is, I hear Leto absolutely nailed his role and it was an amazing performance, but his douchery is tainting it for me. When the buzz started happening, I thought, "That would be cool of Leto won. I'd settle for him or Fassbender." Now, he's just being icky. And weird. And he'll probably win.

I'll still put Fassbender down on my Oscar ballot contest (I attend a super cool Oscar party every year). I want to send that good mojo because I think M. Fassbender is really an amazing actor. Shame, sure, but Hunger as well. And other roles. And Magneto! Let's not forget that.

Anyway, I need to get on some of these movies before March. Fortunately, we have a small movie house here that runs many of the nominees--including the short films, documentaries and such.

Gravity is winning a lot, which I find odd. I don't think the director was "SO AMAZING" that he deserves it. McQueen should get it. But chances are, he won't. Sadly.

CrastersBabies said:

I hope Fassbender gets it. Jared Leto probably will. He's been winning all the pre-Oscar shows (golden globes, critic's choice). And he's been campaigning. Hard. He took a few verbal shots at Fassbender and J. Phoenix for not being on the "awards promotional circuit," because both of those actors just aren't into the whole, "Vote for ME! Vote for ME" bandwagon. Not sure why Leto would care enough to take jabs on Twitter or whatnot.

Then he gets up at the golden globes and acts like he never imagined in a million years that he'd win. "This is just so surprising."

Bleh! The thing is, I hear Leto absolutely nailed his role and it was an amazing performance, but his douchery is tainting it for me. When the buzz started happening, I thought, "That would be cool of Leto won. I'd settle for him or Fassbender." Now, he's just being icky. And weird.

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Wow! I didn't know that! I do think that's very weird. Actors do know that they are usually expected to promote themselves to get awards. It's that way for small indie festivals all the way up to the Academy Awards. But why would you ever criticize another actor just because he didn't want to do it? There are some actors I won't name (because I don't know for sure) whom I think are very good but will never win because they don't do the promotional circuit. Some actors get criticized for self-promoting too much. (It's hard out there for a pimp.) I just think it's weird to dis another actor because s/he doesn't care that much about awards.

Predictions:

Best Picture: 12 Years A Slave
Best Actress: Cate Blanchette
Best Actor: Matthew Mc(not gonna try and spell that last name)
Best Supporting Actress: Jennifer Lawrence
Best Supporting Actor: Jared Leto
Best Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Best Original Screenplay: American Hustle
Best Adapted Screenplay: 12 Years A Slave
Best Cinematography: Gravity
Animated Feature: Frozen

Celia, I know Fassbender campaigned for "Shame" pretty hard and has come out saying it makes him feel more like a politician than an actor. (And honestly? I think he's been filming during the usual campaign time--shooting a film version of MacBeth.)

I know Joaquin Phoenix has criticized campaigning in the past--pretty vehemently--and still gets nominations. I know there are other actors who don't campaign, but can't think of any names off the top of my head.

Oh, and K.B.'s predictions are pretty spot on, imho.

Interesting fact.

Last year, Silver Linings Playbook became the first movie in 31 years to have actors in all four categories (Lawrence, Cooper, Weaver and Deniro). This year, David Russel has done it again (Lawrence, Cooper, Adams, Bale). He has become the only director in history to accomplish this back to back. (Only 15 films have ever had nominations in all four categories; including Streetcar Named Desire).

However, in 1941 and 1942, Director William Wyler was able to snag 8 nominations in two years, 3 in 1941 and 5 in 1942. Wyler then went onto a record 10 acting nominations with 3 consecutive films

Russel just broke that record as well, with the fighter earning 3 nominations, adding to SLP and AM's combined 8.

One more fun fact for Russels films; The past three films have also all been nominated for Best Picture, Director, Screenplay (adapted or original) and editing.

I'd say he's about the hottest damn director in the world at this point.

What, exactly, is the technical difference between an actor and a supporting actor, anyway? (I think I understand the difference between an actor and an actress.) Is it amount of screen time? Billing? Whether or not they're the protagonist? Could a movie have two lead actors? NO lead actors?

Albedo said:

What, exactly, is the technical difference between an actor and a supporting actor, anyway? (I think I understand the difference between an actor and an actress.) Is it amount of screen time? Billing? Whether or not they're the protagonist? Could a movie have two lead actors? NO lead actors?

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Most of the time, the difference is screentime. In the American Hustle example, Jennifer Lawrence is only in the movie for a few scenes, but man does she leave an impression. The movie doesn't work without her.

In that same movie, Bradley Cooper has almost as much screen time as Adams and Bale, but he was placed in the supporting category for one of two reasons (or both), it might not make sense to place two actors from the same movie in the same category and he's not seen as integral to the story as Adams and Bale (Imo, he's not).

Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight was nominated for best supporting actor. He clearly steals the entire movie, but he's just a supporting player.

http://www.collegehumor.com/post/6948688/honest-titles-for-2014s-oscar-nominated-movies

Sharing this for the 'honest title' of American Hustle.

K.B. Parker said:

Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight was nominated for best supporting actor. He clearly steals the entire movie, but he's just a supporting player.

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That's an interesting example. I always think Ledger's Joker was in many ways the most mesmerising screen villain since Hannibal Lecter. Yet Anthony Hopkins won Best Actor, not Supporting Actor, for Silence of the Lambs. Each was the primary antagonist of their respective story. But then, there wasn't a competing male protagonist in SOTL.

Albedo said:

That's an interesting example. I always think Ledger's Joker was in many ways the most mesmerising screen villain since Hannibal Lecter. Yet Anthony Hopkins won Best Actor, not Supporting Actor, for Silence of the Lambs. Each was the primary antagonist of their respective story. But then, there wasn't a competing male protagonist in SOTL.

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I can't discuss SOTL without having nightmares. It is the scariest effing thing I have ever seen in my life. (Anthony Hopkins never scared me, I was fine with him as a kid, but that damn scene in that hole, where Foster is walking around in the dark, watching her? Nope. I tried watching that movie at least twenty times before I was able to finish it. I think I was 22 when I finally said, I'm a big boy, I can handle this. I will NEVER watch it again.)

Albedo said:

That's an interesting example. I always think Ledger's Joker was in many ways the most mesmerising screen villain since Hannibal Lecter. Yet Anthony Hopkins won Best Actor, not Supporting Actor, for Silence of the Lambs. Each was the primary antagonist of their respective story. But then, there wasn't a competing male protagonist in SOTL.

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I'd say it's a generalized 'heft of the role' feeling, and/or where a studio thinks the competition will be. There have been best actor/tress noms for roles that had less screen time than some of the supporting roles nominated those years.

Hopkins was on screen like 15 or so minutes in Silence (I love that movie so).

It's a pretty mainstream list of Best Picture nominees this time. There are no foreign-language films or low-budget indies on the list like last year (Amour and Beasts of the Southern Wild). As I saw The Wolf of Wall Street yesterday, I've now seen all seven of the nine which have opened in the UK so far. Dallas Buyers Club and Her both open here in February.

Adèle Exarchopoulos should have been up for Best Actress for Blue is the Warmest Colour, but that wasn't going to happen, not for a NC-17-rated foreign-language film with controversy attached to it. (It was declared ineligible for Best Foreign-Language Film due to its release date in its native country.)

One major shut-out is Inside Llewyn Davis, which I admittedly haven't seen yet as it doesn't open here until Friday. I do admit a bias, having been a Coen Brothers fan since I saw Blood Simple at University. They've been rewarded plenty by the Academy in the past, though, so I don't think I can read too much into this not getting nominated.

My guess is that 12 Years a Slave will get Best Picture but Alfonso Cuarón will get Best Director for Gravity, Bruce Dern for Best Actor (he's 76, paid a lot of dues, only been nominated once before and he's very good in Nebraska), Cate Blanchett for Best Actress. Supporting acting wins are anyone's guess. K.B.'s suggestions seem good to me, though I wonder if Lawrence, much as I like her, really will win Oscars two years running. We'll find out in a month and a half from now.

K.B. Parker said:

Most of the time, the difference is screentime. In the American Hustle example, Jennifer Lawrence is only in the movie for a few scenes, but man does she leave an impression. The movie doesn't work without her.

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Yep. Judi Dench is another one who won best supporting actress for her stint as Queen Elizabeth in "Shakespeare in Love." I think her total on screen minutes was around 8 minutes.

Then you have Christoph Waltz who won for best supporting actor in "Inglorious Basterds" and "Django Unchained," and was essentially a co-lead in both films, had massive time compared to the average supporting actor.

In that same movie, Bradley Cooper has almost as much screen time as Adams and Bale, but he was placed in the supporting category for one of two reasons (or both), it might not make sense to place two actors from the same movie in the same category and he's not seen as integral to the story as Adams and Bale (Imo, he's not).

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This could be part of it, but I wonder. Waltz's characters were 100% integral to both Tarantino films. So, who knows? Perhaps there is something to the characters not being the "protagonist?"

Or maybe not....

Albedo said:

That's an interesting example. I always think Ledger's Joker was in many ways the most mesmerising screen villain since Hannibal Lecter. Yet Anthony Hopkins won Best Actor, not Supporting Actor, for Silence of the Lambs. Each was the primary antagonist of their respective story. But then, there wasn't a competing male protagonist in SOTL.

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LOL. Hard to say. Anthony Hopkins is, well, Anthony Hopkins. Perhaps there is something about reputation and body of work going on here as well.

K.B. Parker said:

I can't discuss SOTL without having nightmares. It is the scariest effing thing I have ever seen in my life.

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Never watch Kids or A Serbian Film, then. Probably should stay away from Sin Nombre and August Underground, too. Horrifying and nasty, them all.

Albedo said:

That's an interesting example. I always think Ledger's Joker was in many ways the most mesmerising screen villain since Hannibal Lecter. Yet Anthony Hopkins won Best Actor, not Supporting Actor, for Silence of the Lambs. Each was the primary antagonist of their respective story. But then, there wasn't a competing male protagonist in SOTL.

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You know, I've never really thought about this before, but now that I do, it's kinda weird. If Starling had been male, then Hannibal Lector might have been considered a supporting role. Likewise, if Batman had been Batgirl, the Joker might have been considered the male lead. He had a much smaller role, but as you said, he was the primary antagonist.

Although I do wonder if it also has to do with the actors themselves, their unique situations, and how the academy feels about them. In the case of Anthony Hopkins, maybe they just felt that someone like him, who has had such a long career and is well respected, should be considered a lead. On the other hand, Heath Ledger probably would have been less likely to win in the best actor category. But he was a brilliant actor who had already given another Oscar caliber performance in the past, and unfortunately would never have the chance again. Maybe they were hoping he would win, and put him in the category in which it would be more likely.

Sometimes lead/supporting is just matter of the studio picking which category the actor has the best shot of winning. If the lead category is filled with a lot strong performances and a role can "pass" as supporting, they'll run supporting. It doesn't help the film or anyone involved to run two actors in the same category against one another.

Harvey Weinstein ran Berenice Bejo as supporting actress in THE ARTIST. She wanted to run as lead but Harvey wouldn't let her: She'd be up against Meryl Streep for Harvey's other movie, THE IRON LADY. Meryl won.

By the way, I think KB's predictions are pretty spot, too, although I'd wager Spike Jonze is going to win original screenplay for HER. I think Lupita has a better shot beating Jennifer Lawrence now that she's won the SAG; I think people are more likely to vote 12 YEARS best picture, though, and let American Hustle win in some other categories like supporting actress.

Well, the race for Best Picture got a little more interesting. The winner of the Producer's Guild is usually a pretty good indicator of what film will win at the Oscars, and last night they awarded a tie: Gravity and 12 Years a Slave.

katiemac said:

Well, the race for Best Picture got a little more interesting. The winner of the Producer's Guild is usually a pretty good indicator of what film will win at the Oscars, and last night they awarded a tie: Gravity and 12 Years a Slave.

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I'm not so confident in my decision for best picture now. This is further complicated by American Hustle winning the Best Ensemble at the SAG's, which is basically their version of 'Best Picture'.

K.B. Parker said:

I'm not so confident in my decision for best picture now. This is further complicated by American Hustle winning the Best Ensemble at the SAG's, which is basically their version of 'Best Picture'.

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SAG has never been a big indicator for Best Picture, though. It's good for predicting the acting categories.

katiemac said:

SAG has never been a big indicator for Best Picture, though. It's good for predicting the acting categories.

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True, but in the past eight years, it has picked the winner five times (Crash, Argo, The Kings Speech, Slumdog Millionaire and No Country for Old Men) and missed out with Little Miss Sunshine, Inglorious Bastards and The Help.

Historically, the Producers Guild has a better rate at predicting best picture winners. But with them tying with Gravity and 12 Years A Slave, I see an opening for American Hustle to, erm hustle a win.

That is an interesting question, about Supporting Actor vs Lead Actor. I guess that makes sense, the total screentime thing, but does it work that way elsewhere? Do we judge literary protagonists by wordcount?

Also: Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger were both up for something the year Brokeback Mountain came out, if memory serves. Were they both up for for Lead Actor, or was one of them Supporting?

Hang on...

Okay, according to IMDB, Ledger was up for Best Actor and Gyllenhaal was up for Best Supporting. I only watched it the one time--was Ledger onscreen that much longer? It seemed like they were about even.

I was glad to see Broken Circle Breakdown get a nomination. My second favorite movie of last year (behind Ain't Them Bodies Saints) and, as far as musically-inclined movies go, I liked it much, much more than Inside Llewyn Davis.

I was surprised by the movies they chose for the Best Picture category. There's really only one or two that I want to win. The rest I don't care about. (12 Years a Slave and maybe either Gravity or Captain Phillips?)