The 30th Annual Independent Spirit Awards - Updated With Winners

Some more nominees! The Spirit Awards are a little different, and that's why I love them. It's not ALL of the same people nominated over the board as with the more mainstream shows. The only issue is that I never get to watch them because I can never find them - so, despite where I live, there probably won't be any liveblogging, but I'll update when winners are announced! The Awards air February 21, 2015.

BEST FEATURE (Award given to the producer) *Executive Producers are not awarded
Birdman Or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) Alejandro G. Inarritu, John Lesher, Arnon Milchan, James W. Skotchdopole
Boyhood Richard Linklater, Jonathan Sehring, John Sloss, Cathleen Sutherland
Love Is Strange Lucas Joaquin, Lars Knudsen, Ira Sachs, Jayne Baron Sherman, Jay Van Hoy
Selma Christian Colson, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Oprah Winfrey
Whiplash Jason Blum, Helen Estabrook, David Lancaster, Michael Litvak

BEST FIRST FEATURE (Award given to the director and producer)
A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night Director: Ana Lily Amirpour; Producers: Justin Begnaud, Sina Sayyah
Dear White People Director/Producer: Justin Simien; Producers: Effie T. Brown, Ann Le, Julia Lebedev, Angel Lopez, Lena Waithe
Nightcrawler Director: Dan Gilroy; Producers: Jennifer Fox, Tony Gilroy, Jake Gyllenhaal, David Lancaster, Michel Litvak
Obvious Child Director: Gillian Robespierre; Producer: Elisabeth Holm
She's Lost Control Director/Producer: Anja Marquardt; Producers: Mollye Asher, Kiara C. Jones

JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD (Award given to the best feature made for under $500,000; award given to the writer, director, and producer) *Executive Producers are not awarded
Blue Ruin Writer/Director: Jeremy Saulnier; Producers: Richard Peete, Vincent Savino, Anish Savjani
It Felt Like Love Writer/Director/Producer: Eliza Hittman; Producers: Shrihari Sathe, Laura Wagner
Land Ho! Writers/Directors: Aaron Katz, Martha Stephens; Producers: Christina Jennings, Mynette Louie, Sara Murphy
Man From Reno Writer/Director: Dave Boyle; Writers: Joel Clark, Michael Lerman; Producer: Ko Mori
Test Writer/Director/Producer: Chris Mason Johnson; Producer: Chris Martin

BEST DIRECTOR
Damien Chazelle - WhiplashAva Duvernay - Selma
Alejandro G. Inarritu - Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
Richard Linklater - Boyhood
David Zellner - Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter

BEST SCREENPLAY
Scott Alexander, Larry Karaszewski - Big Eyes
J.C. Chandor - A Most Violent Year
Dan Gilroy - Nightcrawler
Jim Jarmusch - Only Lovers Left Alive
Ira Sachs, Mauricio Zacharias - Love Is Strange

BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
Desiree Akhavan - Appropriate Behavior
Sara Colangelo - Little Accidents
Justin Lader - The One I Love
Anja Marquardt - She's Lost ControlJustin Simien - Dear White People

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Darius Khondji - The Immigrant
Emmanuel Lubezki - Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
Sean Porter - It Felt Like Love
Lyle Vincent - A Girl Walks Home Alone At NightBradford Young - Selma

BEST EDITING
Sandra Adair - Boyhood
Tom Cross - Whiplash
John Gilroy - Nightcrawler
Ron Patane - A Most Violent Year
Adam Wingard - The Guest

BEST MALE LEAD
Andre Benjamin - Jimi: All Is By My Side
Jake Gyllenhaal - Nightcrawler
Michael Keaton - Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
John Lithgow - Love Is Strange
David Oyelowo - Selma

BEST FEMALE LEAD
Marion Cotillard - The Immigrant
Rinko Kikuchi - Kumiko, The Treasure HunterJulianne Moore - Still Alice
Jenny Slate - Obvious ChildTilda Swinton - Only Lovers Left Alive

BEST SUPPORTING MALE
Riz Ahmed - NightcrawlerEthan Hawke - Boyhood
Alfred Molina - Love Is Strange
Edward Norton - Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
J.K. Simmons - Whiplash

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE
Patricia Arquette - BoyhoodJessica Chastain - A Most Violent YearCarmen Ejogo - Selma
Andrea Suarez Paz - Stand Clear of the Closing Doors
Emma Stone - Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM
Force Majeure (Sweden) Director: Ruben Ostlund
Ida (Poland) Director: Pawel Pawlikowski
Leviathan (Russia) Director: Andrey Zvyagintsev
Mommy (Canada) Director: Xavier Dolan
Norte, the End of History (Philippines) Director: Lav Diaz
Under the Skin (United Kingdom) Director: Jonathan Glazer

BEST DOCUMENTARY (Award given to the director and producer)
20,000 Days on Earth Directors: Iain Forsyth, Jane Pollard; Producers: Dan Bowen, James Wilson
CitizenFour Director/Producer: Laura Poitras; Producers: Mathilde Bonnefoy, Dirk Wilutzky
Stray Dog Director: Debra Granik; Producer: Anne Rosellini
The Salt of the Earth Directors: Juliano Ribeiro Salgado, Wim Wenders; Producer: David Rosier
Virunga Director/Producer: Orlando von Einsiedel; Producer: Joanna Natasegara

ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD (Award given to one film's director, casting director and ensemble cast)
Inherent Vice Director: Paul Thomas Anderson; Casting Director: Cassandra Kulukundis

SPECIAL DISTINCTION AWARD
Foxcatcher Director/Producer: Bennett Miller; Writers: E. Max Frye, Dan Futterman; Producers: Anthony Bregman, Megan Ellison, Jon Kilik

PIAGET PRODUCERS AWARD
The Producers Award, now in its 18th year, honors emerging producers who, despite highly limited resources, demonstrate the creativity, tenacity and vision required to produce quality, independent films. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by Piaget.
Chad Burris
Elisabeth Holm

Chris Ohlson

LENSCRAFTERS TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD
The Truer Than Fiction Award, now in its 20th year, is presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by LensCrafters.
Sara Dosa - The Last Season
Dan Krauss - The Kill Team
Darius Clark Monroe - Evolution of a Criminal
Amanda Rose Wilder - Approaching the Elephant  

2015 ROGER AND CHAZ EBERT FOUNDATION FELLOWSHIP
This award includes a $10,000 cash grant. It is given to a filmmaker currently participating in a Film Independent Artist Development program with the mission of diversity in mind.
Christina Choe - Currently in active pre-production on her first narrative feature film, Nancy

KIEHL'S SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD
The Someone to Watch Award, now in its 21st year, recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by Kiehl's Since 1851.
Ana Lily Amirpour - A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night
Rania Attieh & Daniel Garcia - H.
Chris Eska - The Retrieval 

I was sad not to be able to view the Spirit Awards - we don't get the channel on which they air - but I'm glad to see everything. I was hoping some different titles would get the distinctions, but it seems that a lot of the Oscar favourites are staying true here. (Although Nightcrawler snuck its way in there!)

The 72nd Golden Globes - Updated Winners

When  it rains, it pours. SAG Awards nominations were announced yesterday, and today we have the Golden Globes. (The Globes are always super fun, and I can't wait to see the fun. They're always way more  laid back than the Academy Awards.)

Again, since they air January 11, 2015, and I'm as yet unsure where I'll be, I won't guarantee any liveblogging. I will post again with the updated winners when the time comes, however. (I'm more likely to have access to a television for January 11, though!)

UPDATE: I do have access to a television! Watching live. As always, I update throughout the show, bolding the winning people as we go along. I'm also going to put my commentary underneath each specific category, with the commentary on Amy and Tina's antics at the top before the nominees.

Here we go!

Amy and Tina are ALREADY on point - somehow making the North Korea threat funny without attacking anyone except the quality of The Interview.
Bahahaha - LOVE the Emma Stone shot for the Big Eyes reference.
As always, Steve Carell is the king of the stone faced look.
Nice, Tina, NICE, with the human woman comment!
I don't think I've ever seen Wes Anderson at an awards show. He looks very uncomfortable, and not used to being called out.
THANK YOU, LADIES, FOR THAT EXCELLENT JOKE ABOUT AMAL AND GEORGE, YES, YES.
Excellent Sondheim, Amy and Tina.
Oh, whoaaaaaa, Bill Cosby. Okay, the Cosby impressions are not great, but at least it's BEING MENTIONED.
Benedict Cumberbatch is probably one of the cutest people on the planet.  ON THE PLANET. Pretending to be completely enamoured with Jennifer Aniston.
This North Korea thing got out of hand. It's not funny, in any way, and is only going to make people in North Korea angry and offended. This is so beneath Tina and Amy. UPDATE: It got a tiny bit better with Margaret Cho talking about Orange Is the New Black, though. Still desperate and beneath them.

That was an EXCELLENT speech, ABOUT free speech. It definitely deserved a standing ovation.

BEST MOTION PICTURE, DRAMA
Boyhood
Foxcatcher
The Imitation Game
Selma
The Theory of Everything

I called this. But only in the last few hours of today, after hearing way more and seeing the love it got. I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE THIS.
Also, the guy who came up on stage and yelled "Dude!" before shaking someone's hand is pretty hilarious and one of my favourites.

BEST ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE, DRAMA
Julianne Moore - Still Alice
Reese Witherspoon - Wild
Rosamund Pike - Gone Girl
Felicity Jones - The Theory of Everything
Jennifer Aniston - Cake

None of these incredible ladies would have been a surprise. None of them. They're all so talented, and I've heard incredible things about all their performances. (And can attest directly to that with Rosamund Pike, that lady floored me.) But Julianne Moore is always incredible, so this is still well deserved. Gotta read the book and see the movie ASAP!

BEST ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE, DRAMA
Eddie Redmayne - The Theory of Everything
Benedict Cumberbatch - The Imitation Game
Steve Carell - Foxcatcher
David Oyelowo - Selma
Jake Gyllenhaal - Nightcrawler

I was NOT expecting that. I adore Eddie Redmayne, but I didn't know if he would win! I was totally expecting Cumberbatch, even without having seen any of these films. I've still heard he does an astounding job, and I cannot wait to see this film. He's also adorable.

BEST MOTION PICTURE, MUSICAL OR COMEDY
Birdman
Into the Woods
The Grand Budapest Hotel
St. Vincent
Pride

I was actually shocked here. I didn't think this would win at all! I wasn't a huge fan - I've liked some of Wes Anderson's other films way better - but it's fun to see something like that win, with it being so quirky and so Wes Anderson. Although from what I'm hearing, Pride is also incredible. I liked Into the Woods, but didn't think it was gonna win, necessarily.

BEST ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE, MUSICAL OR COMEDY
Amy Adams - Big Eyes
Julianne Moore - Maps To the Stars
Emily Blunt - Into the Woods
Helen Mirren - The Hundred Foot Journey
Quevenzhané Wallis - Annie 

I wasn't entirely expecting Amy! Although I haven't seen anything other than Into the Woods, so I guess I didn't really have expectations? But I always love Amy Adams, so I'm excited. (Though Emily was awesome awesome awesome.)

BEST ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE, MUSICAL OR COMEDY
Michael Keaton - Birdman
Bill Murray - St. Vincent
Ralph Fiennes - The Grand Budapest Hotel
Joaquin Phoenix - Inherent Vice
Christoph Waltz - Big Eyes

I  kind of figured on this one. Although I haven't seen Birdman. Because I'm really slacking on my nominated films! They're just hard to access when they're not in theatres very long and I miss them. Also, I'm cheap. But I LOVE Michael Keaton.
Ooh, slight dig at the Academy Awards about the comedy category. (Although the Globes are STILL terrible at actually putting things in the right category, and also for categorizing musicals under comedy.)

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
The Lego Movie
Big Hero 6
How to Train Your Dragon 2
The Boxtrolls
The Book of Life

I feel like this is a surprise! I have seen absolutely none of these, though I'm sure they're good and have heard good things about most of them. (Except Boxtrolls.) I thought it might be The Lego Movie or The Book of Life. I also don't have a real opinion, because I'm not a huge fan of animated films. But congrats! (And THANK YOU for thanking the author!)

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Ida (Poland/Denmark)
Leviathan (Russia)
Force Majeure Turist (Sweden)
Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem Gett (Israel)
Tangerines Mandariinid (Estonia)

I really, really want to see more foreign films. These look great, and I'm actually a huge fan. (Whenever people are like, 'I hate watching them because I have to read subtitles,' I get incredibly rage-y. That's a terrible excuse! At least to me. To not even try is ridiculous.) I just wish I had a more accessible way of viewing these incredible films.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE
Patricia Arquette - Boyhood
Meryl Streep - Into the Woods
Keira Knightley - The Imitation Game
Emma Stone - Birdman
Jessica Chastain - A Most Violent Year

NICE! I've heard nothing but good things about Boyhood, and though Meryl always deserves the highest acclaim, she USUALLY wins, so I'm glad to see Patricia up there. They worked so hard and it's an incredible story. (Again, I've heard.) And I always love to hear nominees recognising the others they're nominated with. Now, I just want to hear even more about Boyhood and watch it ASAP.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE
J.K. Simmons - Whiplash
Edward Norton - Birdman
Mark Ruffalo - Foxcatcher
Ethan Hawke - Boyhood
Robert Duvall - The Judge

From what I've heard, this is a very, very well deserved award. J.K. Simmons is one of my favourite actors, and he deserves this recognition. I can't wait to see Whiplash, and though I'm not ENTIRELY sure if he'll win the Oscar, I've heard he should. 

BEST DIRECTOR - MOTION PICTURE
Richard Linklater - Boyhood
Alejandro Iñárritu - Birdman
Ava DuVernay - Selma
Wes Anderson - The Grand Budapest Hotel
David Fincher - Gone Girl

Not going to lie - I adored Fincher's direction of Gone Girl. He was the only one, to me, who could have helmed that. And Ava DuVernay - from what I've heard of Selma, she's incredible. However, I have also heard amazing things about Boyhood, and just the concept of what Richard Linklater created is fascinating to me. 

BEST SCREENPLAY - MOTION PICTURE
Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Armando Bo - Birdman
Richard Linklater - Boyhood
Gillian Flynn - Gone Girl
Wes Anderson - The Grand Budapest Hotel
Graham Moore - The Imitation Game

I have heard great things about this film. I wasn't entirely expecting it - I thought Imitation Game or Boyhood - but there we are! (Also, Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig are hilarious, but that joke lasted so long, and was so unfunny by the end.)

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE - MOTION PICTURE
Alexandre Desplat - The Imitation Game
Johann Johansson - The Theory of Everything
Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross - Gone Girl
Antonio Sanchez - Birdman
Hans Zimmer - Interstellar

I haven't heard the score, but from what I'm hearing right now, YES. Although I did really like the Gone Girl score too. 

BEST ORIGINAL SONG - MOTION PICTURE
"Big Eyes" - Big Eyes
"Glory" - Selma
"Mercy Is" - Noah
"Opportunity" - Annie
"Yellow Flicker Beat" - The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1

 I really liked Yellow Flicker Beat, BUT look at the diversity being represented tonight! This is absolutely incredible, and well deserved for John Legend. First nod and first win! And this acceptance speech is incredibly moving. The song sounded beautiful too.

BEST TV SERIES, DRAMA
House of Cards
Game of Thrones
The Good Wife
Downton Abbey
The Affair

This seems to be coming out of nowhere? I haven't heard anything about this show, but it looks really interesting. It must be at least a little good to win! I guess I'll see what the chatter says! I love to see completely unexpected winners. I was predicting House of Cards, despite not having seen it. I haven't seen any of these, though. As usual. I'm bad at TV watching. I'll catch up on them in a few years, since that's how I roll.

BEST ACTRESS IN A TV SERIES, DRAMA
Viola Davis - How to Get Away With Murder
Robin Wright - House of Cards
Julianna Margulies - The Good Wife
Ruth Wilson - The Affair
Claire Danes - Homeland

Again with this show! (Not that it's a bad thing, it sounds awesome. Also, Joshua Jackson. I'm already sold.) It's getting a lot of love, and it's always encouraging to see new shows recognised like that. I have got to see this!
Side note: Anna Faris and Chris Pratt are pretty much the best couple. Relationship goals, maybe. "Take your own helicopter home."

BEST ACTOR IN A TV SERIES, DRAMA
Kevin Spacey - House of Cards
Clive Owen - The Knick
James Spader - The Blacklist
Dominic West - The Affair
Liev Schreiber - Ray Donovan

I'm not entirely surprised, I have heard such incredible things about that show. Also, I'm super in love with Kevin Spacey and his work, so there's that! I can't BELIEVE he's never won before.
I'm not in any way surprised that he was bleeped. But after that super moving speech, almost in tears here.

BEST TV SERIES, MUSICAL OR COMEDY
Orange Is the New Black
Silicon Valley
Transparent
Girls
Jane the Virgin

THAT is a surprise. But maybe it's only a surprise to me because I haven't heard anything about it. Which seems weird, because it seems to be groundbreaking. But I'm not sure what exactly it's about? Good for them! I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED that speech, dedicated to Leelah Alcorn and authenticity. Beautiful.

BEST ACTRESS IN A TV SERIES, MUSICAL OR COMEDY
Julia Louis-Dreyfus - Veep
Taylor Schilling - Orange Is the New Black
Lena Dunham - Girls
Edie Falco - Nurse Jackie
Gina Rodriguez - Jane the Virgin

I have heard ONLY good things about this show, but it's incredible for her to win! (I'm not sure how new she is, but I don't think she was expecting to win.) I have got to watch this show, and she is so excited. I hear it's well deserved.

BEST ACTOR IN A TV SERIES, MUSICAL OR COMEDY
Jeffrey Tambor - Transparent
Ricky Gervais - Derek
Louis C.K. - Louie
Don Cheadle - House of Lies
William H. Macy - Shameless* 

Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin are burning EVERYTHING talking about how men aren't funny. Literally the best moment tonight, along with the Clooney joke. This is an incredible night for that.
And even bigger - Transparent is getting a lot of recognition! So, so important in this world. This is so special.


BEST TV MOVIE OR MINISERIES
True Detective
Fargo
The Normal Heart
Olive Kitteridge
The Missing

Oh, Jeremy Renner losing his place - priceless. -- I haven't seen this yet either - though I was pretty irked to hear they were remaking it, as that's one of my favourite films of all time - but I've heard it's pretty different and pretty great. I'm kind of sad to see The Normal Heart get snubbed, but I also kind of figured it would be. Frances McDormand does NOT look impressed, though. But maybe she's tired.

BEST ACTRESS IN A TV MOVIE OR MINISERIES
Frances McDormand - Olive Kitteridge
Maggie Gyllenhaal - The Honorable Woman
Jessica Lange - American Horror Story: Freak Show
Allison Tolman - Fargo
Frances O'Connor - The Missing

I haven't seeeeen this, I am such a fail. I've heard amazing things about Maggie's work in this series though. It sounds like an incredibly powerful role, and I can't wait to see it, though my love for Maggie makes me happy here.
I love her speech. She's incredible. The wealth of powerful roles for women lately has been amazing, and it's new, and it's happening, and this is important.

BEST ACTOR IN A TV MOVIE OR MINISERIES
Matthew McConaughey - True Detective
Billy Bob Thornton - Fargo
Woody Harrelson - True Detective
Mark Ruffalo - The Normal Heart
Martin Freeman - Fargo

Jennifer Lopez is very excited about Matthew McConaughey. JEREMY RENNER, WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY ABOUT HER GLOBES.
I do like Billy Bob Thornton as an actor - he seems really shady as a person, but apparently he's amazing.


BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A SERIES, MINISERIES OR TV MOVIE
Kathy Bates - American Horror Story: Freak Show
Allison Janney - Mom
Uzo Aduba - Orange Is the New Black
Joanne Froggatt - Downton Abbey
Michelle Monaghan - True Detective

I have not seen Downton Abbey ever, so I really don't have an opinion. I do know that Uzo Aduba is incredible, and I do wish she had received recognition for portraying someone with a mental illness in such an astounding way. But I haven't seen Miss Froggatt, and have heard amazing things about her show, so I'm not as knowledgeable about this actress and win.


BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A SERIES, MINISERIES OR TV MOVIE
Bill Murray - Olive Kitteridge
Matt Bomer - The Normal Heart
Jon Voight - Ray Donovan
Alan Cumming - The Good Wife
Colin Hanks - Fargo 

YAY! Some recognition for this story. I haven't seen it, but am familiar with the story. Matt Bomer looks so incredibly shocked and happy. So important.

THE CECIL B. DEMILLE AWARD
George Clooney

I love George Clooney a LOT. He is one of my favourite performers and one of my favourite people (well, people who I don't know). His work in humanitarian efforts is also something we shouldn't forget. Although, also, my mother was very, very disappointed that him on Facts of Life was not included in that tribute reel. But congratulations to Clooney - he is the epitome of class in Hollywood with this acceptance speech, too. The fact that he just thanked the talents we recently lost is also so important to me, and breaking my heart in the best way. And I KNEW he would mention what's happening, in Paris and around the world. He's incredible.

*On the Globes website, it does say Transparent under William H. Macy's name. However, seeing as he has never appeared in that show, the majority of people, and myself, are assuming it was a typo and meant to say Shameless. If I am incorrect, I will update this post with that information as soon as possible. UPDATE: I wasn't incorrect. It was for Shameless.

Again, I'm not seeing a lot of surprises. I am enjoying the love for Gone Girl, particularly Rosamund Pike. M'lady DESERVES it. Gillian Flynn also deserves it, and I'm excited to see the Best Director nod for David Fincher, although it wasn't a surprise. I am seeing a lot of nods for Grand Budapest, and though I wasn't a huge fan of the film, I can definitely see why, although again, nothing earth shattering. I'm still looking forward to the broadcast - because Tina and Amy are two badass, hilarious women. I can't wait to see what they come up with! 

There were a TON of surprises here tonight, actually. Good surprises, most of them. I can't entirely predict the Oscar race anymore! The Academy Awards nominees are announced on Thursday, January 15, and you better believe I'll have that post up ASAP. I don't know if I'll be liveblogging - I may be going to an Oscars party - but I'll be updating that post too! Thanks for starting out this awards season with me on the right foot! 

21st Annual Screen Actors Guild - Updated Winners

It's that time of year again - when my blog is resurrected as I follow the awards season to its conclusion. I find it fascinating and love to see who won.

Currently, I have no idea where I'll be when the Awards actually air, so no promise of liveblogging. However, I will probably do a separate post with the winners when they're announced. The Awards air on Sunday, January 25, 2015!

Update: I was unable to watch the broadcast, so I'm updating the awards (as always, winners are bolded) on January 26!

Here they are.

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A CAST IN A MOTION PICTURE
Birdman
Boyhood
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
The Theory of Everything

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Steve Carell - Foxcatcher
Benedict Cumberbatch - The Imitation Game
Jake Gyllenhaal - Nightcrawler
Michael Keaton - Birdman
Eddie Redmayne - The Theory of Everything

Eddie is cleaning up! He's definitely in the Oscar race - I'm thinking it's between him and Michael Keaton at this point. I'm still surprised Benedict isn't getting any recognition, despite not having seen the film yet.

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Jennifer Aniston - Cake
Felicity Jones - The Theory of Everything
Julianne Moore - Still Alice
Rosamund Pike - Gone Girl
Reese Witherspoon - Wild

Julianne Moore is also cleaning up. I'm thinking she's the top contender for the Oscars.

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Robert Duvall - The Judge
Ethan Hawke - Boyhood
Edward Norton - Birdman
Mark Ruffalo - Foxcatcher
J.K. Simmons - Whiplash

I think I see a lock here. Exciting, because J.K. Simmons is a severely underrated actor!

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Patricia Arquette - Boyhood
Keira Knightley - The Imitation Game
Emma Stone - Birdman
Meryl Streep - Into the Woods
Naomi Watts - St. Vincent

Another lock, I think! Well deserved, she was incredible in Boyhood.

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY AN ENSEMBLE IN A DRAMA SERIES
Boardwalk Empire
Downton Abbey
Game of Thrones
Homeland
House of Cards

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY AN ENSEMBLE IN A COMEDY SERIES
The Big Bang Theory
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Modern Family
Orange Is the New Black
Veep

I'm loving seeing something OTHER than Big Bang (which I have some issues with) and Modern Family take home the prize. Especially OITNB, which I adore, despite its complete break away from the actual story of Piper Kerman.

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Steve Buscemi - Boardwalk Empire
Peter Dinklage - Game of Thrones
Woody Harrelson - True Detective
Matthew McConaughey - True Detective
Kevin Spacey - House of Cards

Can't say I'm surprised here - Kevin Spacey is a brilliant actor.

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Claire Danes - Homeland
Viola Davis - How to Get Away With Murder
Julianna Margulies - The Good Wife
Tatiana Maslany - Orphan Black
Maggie Smith - Downton Abbey
Robin Wright - House of Cards

YES. YES! Though I gave up on the show, Viola Davis was incredibly talented and brought an amazing presence to the screen. I'm so excited.

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Ty Burrell - Modern Family
Louis C.K. - Louie
William H. Macy - Shameless
Jim Parsons - The Big Bang Theory
Eric Stonestreet - Modern Family

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Uzo Aduba - Orange Is the New Black
Julie Bowen - Modern Family
Edie Falco - Nurse Jackie
Julia Louis-Dreyfus - Veep
Amy Poehler - Parks and Recreation

YES! You better believe I was rooting for Uzo. She is absolutely amazing, and brings such an important character to life in a sensitive way. She's incredible, and has been passed over so many times I was starting to get really angry. Well deserved.

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A TELEVISION MOVIE OR MINISERIES
Adrien Brody - Houdini
Mark Ruffalo - The Normal Heart
Benedict Cumberbatch - Sherlock: His Last Vow
Richard Jenkins - Olive Kitteridge
Billy Bob Thornton - Fargo

I heard about Mark Ruffalo's win last night, and I was so excited. I haven't seen The Normal Heart yet, but I've heard amazing things, and from the clips I've seen of Mark's performance, this is well deserved.

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A TELEVISION MOVIE OR MINISERIES
Ellen Burstyn - Flowers in the Attic
Maggie Gyllenhaal - The Honorable Woman
Frances McDormand - Olive Kitteridge
Julia Roberts - The Normal Heart
Cicely Tyson - The Trip to Bountiful

Frances McDormand is a queen, and I'm glad to see her win. I haven't seen any of these, though, so I don't have an opinion beyond loving Frances.

OUTSTANDING ACTION PERFORMANCE BY A STUNT ENSEMBLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
Fury
Get On Up
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Unbroken
X-Men: Days of Future Past

I have a feeling this may be one of Unbroken's few wins. I haven't seen the film yet, but I haven't heard anything good about it. It's an incredible story, and I loved Laura Hillenbrand's book, since she's a talented historical writer in my view, so I'm worried that the film didn't live up to that.

OUTSTANDING ACTION PERFORMANCE BY A STUNT ENSEMBLE IN A COMEDY OR DRAMA SERIES
24: Live Another Day
Boardwalk Empire
Game of Thrones
Homeland
Sons of Anarchy
The Walking Dead

There are really no surprises here. I'm predicting a lot of these for Oscar contenders as well; the SAG Awards are often a great indicator of how things might go. I'll definitely be waiting to see if there are any surprises when the night rolls around. (Really, I'll be rooting for Rosamund Pike for Gone Girl; she was fantastic. But I haven't seen a lot of the other ones yet either!)

UPDATE: I still thought Rosamund Pike was incredible, and I can't get enough of her now, but from what I hear, Julianne Moore is absolutely incredible in Still Alice. There were some great performances this year, and despite the Oscars' complete  lack of diversity in its nominations, it might still be an interesting race. I'm most excited about Uzo Aduba's win from this list for sure, though.

Review: As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride

As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride by Cary Elwes

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



First off, I truly enjoyed this book. I came into my appreciation of The Princess Bride later in life - I was in high school when I finally saw it - but it was definitely all encompassing! I adored the film, and since then, have watched it countless times and can quote along with no problem. I got to read the book shortly after, and fell in love with it as well. It is crafted by genius, truly, and I couldn't have loved it more.

So this memoir and account of the making of something that was so beloved by me - as it was beloved by so, so many people - was something I knew I would love. I was excited to hear about this and so glad I finally got to read it. And I wasn't actually disappointed! The anecdotes from all the cast and crew, not just Cary, was moving and fun to read. The book itself is written with heartfelt gratitude and love from Cary, and there's no negative wording. It was an adorable exercise in nostalgia, and getting to find out all the behind the scenes stuff will be exciting for any fan.

There are, however, occasional patches of awkwardness. Sometimes the story telling will become disjointed - this isn't really a surprise, as Cary is not a writer. However, it's surprising that neither the co-writer nor an editor picked up on the fact that sometimes, sections do not make sense. There's occasionally two anecdotes being related, but with no bridge between them, so you're not entirely sure how they relate until you reach the end, and then sit and analyze it to see why that was included or why that quote was put there. It's really just a matter of a missing line of text to make the link, but that's something that should have been caught in the end by the team working on creating the book. It's really just some technical writing aspects that leave a little to be desired.

I also have the hardcover edition, and I'm so sad that the limited edition poster, though definitely included, is on the inside of the dustjacket! I want to frame it and hang it on my wall, but I don't want to lose that jacket for the book. (Anyone know where I can get that poster separately, because I NEED IT, it's gorgeous!)

All in all, I loved to read about this, and Cary speaking of such great people as Andre the Giant or Peter Falk, who have since passed away, will definitely bring tears to your eyes. The love everyone involved in this film had for the project and for each other is incredible, and very well related here.



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Review: The Iron Trial

The Iron Trial by Cassandra Clare

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Okay, first things first: yes, there are a lot of similarities to Harry Potter. It's a book about going to a magic school, and there's a villain. OF COURSE it's similar to Harry Potter. However, JK Rowling was not the first author to write about a magic school, and she won't be the last. I believe it's important to put that aside and let the story from Holly Black & Cassandra Clare take its own course. THEN you can decide if you hate it. I urge you not to pre-judge!

To me, it was like an inverted Harry Potter. Maybe a next step - it's even darker just by the nature of the plot twists that happen. (And it's harder to get darker than Harry Potter!) It also draws on all the classic fantasy aspects - you can see the Lord of the Rings influence, I can even see a Mercedes Lackey influence in the way that it reads - but none of this means that the story steals from them and becomes a carbon copy of them. I also love the reintroduction of the mage aspect - it's been a while since I've read something involving mages that isn't based in historical fiction, though I don't read a TON of young adult fantasy. I think it was done well, however.

The characters are developed; you get a healthy curiosity about them because you're given JUST enough backstory to want to know more, but not all of it. Tamara especially fascinates me, because there is definitely something in her background but we don't get to find out that much about it. The characters also change - Callum's path is, of course, one of the most interesting, but I feel like Aaron will also get a lot more attention as the series goes on, and he doesn't stay the same flat character the whole time in this book. (I also like Callum's development because he goes from angst filled and angry to happy to other things. And YES, he does remind me of Harry, but with even better character development and a darker story.)

Parts of the novel did read a little slowly, and there was a lot of world building that sometimes took away from the plot. (A little too much exposition.) It is a complicated world they're trying to build, with a lot more history than is normal in most books, and I think this was really a set up book for the rest of the series, but both Holly Black and Cassandra Clare are pretty funny people, so there's a lot of lightness in the darkness.

I did enjoy it, and maybe my head wasn't in the right place (or I'm not one of those people who always have to say they saw plot twists coming!) but I certainly didn't see the twist. I knew something was up (no spoilers here, I've decided) but I didn't see it. It's definitely one of the ways I'd recommend this book, that plot twist. And you can always use the Harry Potter similarities as a way to recommend it, because it's like an even darker version, and as said, the next step from Harry Potter. It's similar, but it's even more intense and there's so many ways for it to go, and the backstory is just as tragic. I find it interesting, and also found that I read it in about one day overall, minus breaks I took to go to work.

And yes, it's technically 9-12, but so is Harry Potter - I'm a firm believer in the fact that YA and 9-12 fiction can be read by ANYONE. Don't get me started on that.

I've seen a lot of bad reviews for this book, and though I agree with some of those reasons - the worldbuilding is too much, exposition, slowness, etc - I do not agree with calling it bad because of the Harry Potter parallels. There was no way to avoid that, as Harry Potter exploded over the world stage, but I think, in time, Black & Clare will be able to make it their own. (Their writing voices are different!) I also see a lot of other classic influences that no one is commenting on in a negative way. I think they're doing a great job, and it's not like they don't know that people are going to be comparing the two endlessly. I think they've already made it their own with the plot twist. I will recommend it to people who enjoyed Harry Potter and a classic fantasy feel mixed with modern funny parts. (Though I definitely know that not everyone will agree there, and that's fine - just make sure you don't pre-judge this book because of the HP similarities!)



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GONE GIRL - The Film

Gone Girl is one of my favourite books. It's dark, it's creepy, it's completely messed up - in other words, it is right up my alley. (I gravitate toward weird things, what can I say?) Gillian Flynn's unflinching portrayal of a ridiculously terrifying, manipulative person is incredible. I'm just sad I don't own a copy, but I definitely plan to rectify that as soon as possible.

WARNING: SPOILERS! Lots and lots of spoilers.

Today, I saw the film adaptation. As soon as I heard it was to be directed by David Fincher, I knew they'd definitely get the feel of the film right. And Gillian Flynn penned the screenplay - to be honest, this gave me some pause. Sometimes, when authors write the screenplays based on their books, it doesn't work out so well.

But in this case? It worked out EXTREMELY well. Gillian Flynn was not afraid to cull certain parts of her large novel for the good of the film. (And though the extended examination of the "Cool Girl" piece didn't make it into the movie, it did get mentioned, and that was something. It was addressed, but I can see why people were a little upset that it wasn't in the film to the extent that it could have been, since it is a real issue.) Everything still made sense and worked. It flowed really well. I was concerned about how they were going to make the divisions in the book clear without hitting people over the head with it. (There are distinct separations, and there are a lot of flashbacks and going back to present. It's one of the things that will also be interesting to see in a Looking for Alaska movie, but that's a whole different thing.) But the simple text in the lower corner of the screen worked really well to me. The change in Amy was also done extremely well. The clean, simple shooting style was something I really enjoyed and found was very effective, as the content is so convoluted. I loved the small titles, and the way they flashed on very quickly, just long enough to be read, and then disappeared, was really interesting. I would probably be surprised if this film didn't get some kind of editing and cinematography nominations in the coming awards season.

And let me fangirl for a second over the score. I always love Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross working together. Put them back with David Fincher, and you have got an unbeatable thematic combination. Check out this amazing article where Trent Reznor talks about making the score "Rot From the Inside". (A perfect representation of the film and the novel too!) It was haunting and disturbing, and was a big part of the reason that the film felt as dark and scary as it did.

I am sensing definite Oscar buzz for this film. I'm seeing editing and cinematography, as well as something for the score. But let's talk about the acting too.

Rosamund Pike was a beautiful, terrifying powerhouse. I will honestly be shocked if she doesn't get a Best Actress nod. I definitely think she deserves it, for performing Amy to the max - just as Amy performs Amy. All the different Amys were done brilliantly. She scared me like no other. I was very, very concerned for Ben Affleck the ENTIRE time. Anytime she was near him, especially at the end, I was on edge. (Really, the whole movie, I was on edge.) I really loved her in this role. I haven't seen Rosamund Pike in very much, and I think she's finally broken through in a bigger way.

Carrie Coon was another breakthrough for me. Again, I've seen - well, pretty much nothing in which she appears. (She does some Broadway work, which is exciting.) I'm hoping for a nod for her as well for Best Supporting Actress. She was incredible as Nick Dunne's twin sister, being just the right amount of broken and scared as she is in the novel. Nick has obviously taken on more of the familial issues than she has, but she's still a little messed up. (Yes, I also love messed up characters, is anyone surprised at this point?) I would be disappointed if she isn't announced at least once this awards season. She was incredible.

Missi Pyle was actually amazing - I love her, and she is NOT in enough films lately!  She was perfect as Ellen Abbott in the few glimpses we had of her. Tyler Perry was also great as Tanner Bolt - exactly how I pictured him being, and the one liners he managed to throw out were perfectly placed. (And I don't usually like Tyler Perry, so that was surprising.)

Ben Affleck wasn't as high a point for me. Don't get me wrong, he was great - he was very smarmy and made me uncomfortable, even knowing his entire background as Nick Dunne. He was great, but parts of his performance fell a bit flat, particularly in his moments with Andie. That one's hard to explain, but he did a good job overall. In the end, especially, he was fantastic.

Neil Patrick Harris was just ALMOST creepy enough for me. ALMOST. I think this was mainly due to the fact that we didn't get as much time with Desi as we do in the novel - again, an understandable cut - but the story behind his relationship with Amy was never really told. (We never found out that he was another of her victims, and thus we didn't get to see how close she was to the mark even when making false allegations about him, as we do in the novel.) I just think with more time, we would have been able to see more of his controlling, lovesick tendencies. But in the time he had, I think he did a fantastic job; he WAS still creepy. And he dies very well! I mostly just wanted more time for him, as his utter adoration of Amy didn't really come through, and he has no chance to actually scare you. He seemed more annoyed with her. And his death was a LOT more gruesome than it is in the novel; I think that really added to the psychopath tendencies of Amy's character - in the novel, she drugs him and kills him, and doesn't bathe in his blood. (Also, she was just soaked in it for way too long! As if they wouldn't clean her up at the hospital.)

Finally, I want to discuss the nudity. There wasn't a lot - which I was fine with; the novel really doesn't involve that much - but it still irked me, as it has irked some other people, that we got extended shots of Andie's breasts, but extremely quick, almost non-existent pans over the penises of Nick and Desi. Come ON, Fincher. What's so wrong with showing them if we're going to focus on Andie in a sex scene? There wasn't even anything sexual about the scenes with Desi and Nick - well, Desi to an extent, but we got a longer shot of that. Nick was showing us he was completely clean to Amy, no wire - wouldn't we see what she sees? Hollywood has this hang up and I do wish it wasn't a thing that mattered. Just have some equal representation! (Although it was interesting that we didn't see much of Rosamund Pike either - is Amy above that? Was she so careful not to reveal herself? Just interesting - she usually had some kind of top on even during sex scenes. It's an interesting way to look at her character.)

In the end, I thoroughly enjoyed the film, and I did really feel it captured the novel in an amazing way.  Amy is terrifying, and Nick going back to her despite this is also terrifying in its way. I don't think she gets away with it. Not really. There's no sequel, and Gillian Flynn has said she didn't write it to set up a sequel, but to me, she doesn't get away with it. It's an ominous ending, and she's an extreme kind of person, and that doesn't end with the ending of the book, or the movie. It's lethal and it's part of what makes the novel so intense. I thought the movie really stayed true to that feeling of intensity.

Review: The Infinite Moment of Us

The Infinite Moment of Us by Lauren Myracle

My rating: 1 of 5 stars



Lauren Myracle is usually an author whose work I love. SHINE was one of the most important books in my life. Now, obviously, not all books can be great. But this was so disappointing, especially coming from one of my favourite YA authors. It was sexist, promoted some extremely disturbing ideas(reminiscent of TWILIGHT issues, in fact, in terms of possessiveness and inability to be alone), and was just not well written.

The writing itself was choppy and felt very weird. This is hard to explain, but it just didn't flow in any way, almost as if there was no editor at work. It felt like a first fanfiction attempt in some parts. The characters aren't developed very well; Wren reads like she's 12 and paper thin. There's no strength to any of the characters, and everything is very flat.

I could have dealt with the writing style if it wasn't for the rampant sexism. Wren (and Tessa, judging from the conversation/lecture she has with Charlie the night Charlie and Wren are to have sex) seem to think that men need to take charge. Wren has no ideas of her own; everything depends on Charlie, and when he hurts her, she childishly shuts him down completely. It really shocked me she shut him out after sending him a sexy picture and when he said he had to help his family, she STILL did that. (I know he was lying, but it was a terrible thing for her to do if she KNEW there was a family emergency!) She defers to him in everything - he does a similar thing, but it was just a terrible feeling. The whole Guatemala issue was also horrifying to me; one or the other of them had to go in order for them to stay together? She didn't understand why he didn't want to throw his plan away for her, and then HE DID? I couldn't believe that, and it completely belittled long distance relationships. You wouldn't have "broken up by default" - you should have discussed the options and decided the best course of action. As someone who has been in a long distance relationship for four years, when people discount the possibility of them, it irks me. It's also completely unrealistic. Neither of them should have changed all their plans for the other - ESPECIALLY when Wren decided she wasn't going to go to Guatemala and stay PURELY FOR HIM.

The intense slut shaming of Starrla also bothered me tremendously, particularly because her character was never given a chance. She obviously had a bad home life and there were many allusions to the issues in her life, but we never saw her get credit for them. Sleeping with many people doesn't mean anything; but Myracle made it seem as though that was the sum total of her character. Charlie did it, Wren was terrible about her, everyone dumped on her and focused on her supposed promiscuity. (While never getting true evidence.)

I had a lot of the same issues with his as I did with Twilight: the dependency they have on each other, leading to a sense that they don't think they can live without each other; the absolute lack of communication between the two; the lack of consent at some points, that is made to seem like it's not lack of consent, but meant to be "racy." The possessiveness also bothered me, though it came more from Wren. She literally asked him to stop talking to Starrla. And both of them would panic about being in any kind of fight, and instead of talking about it, would just ignore it. NONE of these are hallmarks of a healthy relationship. Absolutely none. And condomless sex should not be encouraged, just because Wren was on birth control - birth control is not the be all and end all of pregnancy prevention. It's not perfect. Kudos for getting him tested - but why wasn't Wren also getting tested as well? Doesn't matter if she's a virgin. All the responsibility fell on Charlie there. It was not a good thing to relate to younger readers.

There was absolutely no kindness shown to anyone who wasn't in a straight relationship, identifying as cis. There was NO room for anyone else; and yes, that's who the protagonists were, but all of the conversations regarding that kind of thing really bothered me. (Man and a woman, at all times; it wasn't about the sex, but rather the societal expectations there.)

Something else stuck with me - the fact that Wren was told, by Tessa, that penis is not a nice or palatable word. WHAT THE HELL. IT'S A TERM. I personally hate the word dick and cock - penis is fine. It is absolutely ridiculous to tell young readers that there's something wrong with that word. I'm all for speaking in whatever way you want - I'm a big fan of swearing, see Stephen Fry for reasoning, though of course not in professional environments and certain situations - but you shouldn't be forcing certain words on people. That really bothered me.

All in all, it was extremely disappointing for me.



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Accio Books Tag

Yes. I am aware this is super old. But I've only recently had a chance to actually catch up on YouTube, and I just discovered Kristina Horner's Accio Books tag. While I don't make videos, and when I do, they take FOREVER, I thought, there's no reason I can't write a blog post! And I'm bored right now, so here we go. (Check out Kristina's video here!)

The Accio Books program is something run by the Harry Potter Alliance (one of my favourite organisations), and it is an annual book drive! "Since 2009, Harry Potter fans around the world have donated more than 100,000 books to underprivileged or underserved readers." (Check out this page for more information - it is mainly an American organisation, meaning I don't get to participate as fully due to limited access, but I absolutely adore the idea.)

Here's the tag!

1. What was your favourite book growing up?
Oof. What a question. And I'm going to cop out and list like ten million! My family is pretty much made up of voracious readers, so I have NEVER had a shortage of books. (And I am aware of  how lucky I am to have that childhood experience, and sharing that experience is part of the reason I love the Accio Books drive.) I think I read a lot of classics handed down from my mum - Anne of Green Gables (I reread this series every year, pretty much); Chronicles of Narnia; Nancy Drew (every time my grandparents went to a garage sale, I got a new Nancy Drew book!) - there were so many. Harry Potter also came out when I was seven years old, so I am totally counting that as part of my favourite books growing up. Also Babysitters Club, and I read a lot of Mercedes Lackey's books. I read above my age level, and one of the funniest/frustrating stories my mum tells me is that they would get notes sent home from school from teachers concerned about my reading material.

2. What's the best lesson you ever learned from a book?
I think it's gotta be Harry Potter themed for one lesson - love. That was a MASSIVE part of shaping  my life, because I started reading them so young. Love and perseverance, and learning what can come of those and what can't be fixed by them is so important. (And that your friends will get you through anything - Harry would have been nothin' without Ron and Hermione, especially Hermione.) I also learned that it's okay to show that you're smart! (That's from a lot of books.)
Otherwise, lessons I learned from Anne Shirley - that you can't have ridiculous levels of optimism because it's just not realistic and you'll crash - but you should try to strive for some optimism no matter what.

3. What would your dream library look like?
Realistically - a room with three and a half walls just bookcases. Just floor to ceiling bookcases, but three and a half walls because one wall would have a huge bay window with a super comfy window seat looking out onto a lake! And a super comfy chair in a corner with a lamp. And room in the middle so I could spread out on some pillows sometimes. I want to make that happen!
Fantasy - definitely gotta go with Beauty and the Beast library. That one's been in my head for my whole life!

4. If you could be any fictional character, who would you be?
HM. I'm probably going to surprise no one and say Hermione. Even with all her trials and tribulations, she is just one of my favourite people ever.

5. What's your favourite fictional food?
Any time I read ANY story wherein ANYONE goes to a faerie court, I want everything in the feast except the meat. ALWAYS. (And I would be hard pressed to remember that if I eat it, I'm stuck in faerie forever.) Or you have to love raspberry cordial - although luckily, that's not actually fictional. That's just one of my favourite scenes. Also any of Marilla's preserves. I am going to have to make a trip to PEI.

6. What fictional book from Harry Potter would you most like to read?
I totally had an answer prepared, and then Kristina mentioned Lockhart's books - and YES! I want to read all of those! They would be fascinating and more than likely super pretentious and hilarious.
Other than that, I definitely want to read The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore by Rita Skeeter, and Hogwarts, a History. Come on, Jo Rowling!

7. What books are you donating to Accio Books and why?
Again, it's much harder to figure out where I can donate books in Canada, and I definitely don't have the resources to ship books - also, I'm behind the times here - but if I was able to, I would have a hard time choosing. And would probably end up replacing the copies of whatever I donated, because I would want to donate books that meant a lot to me and would be entertaining for others, and not books I felt lukewarm about.

Well, that passed about twenty minutes! Excellent. I love this initiative, and it was fun trying to answer these questions, and having to peruse my literature memories. (Especially because of the majority of my books are still in storage, two years after I moved.)

Invitations to the Academy

Every year, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences invites people to join the Academy. It's usually to fill vacancies that open when members pass on or retire. Under Dawn Hudson, CEO since 2011, the Academy has been trying to increase diversity. (https://www.yahoo.com/movies/lupita-nyongo-julia-louis-dreyfus-michael-fassbender-89987731367.html)

Members of the Academy represent 17 general areas - actors, directors, animators and short film makers, designers, casting directors, costume designers, cinematographers, composers and songwriters, documentary filmmakers, executives, film editors, makeup artists and hairstylists, producers, public relations specialists, sound artists and engineers, visual effects experts and writers. Each has different requirements and must be nominated by other members.

Here's the list of the 271 people invited to join! They come from all over - it's a big list!

ACTORS
Barkhad Abdi (Captain Phillips)
Clancy Brown (The Hurricane; The Shawshank Redemption)
Paul Dano (12 Years a Slave; Prisoners)
Michael Fassbender (12 Years a Slave; Shame)
Ben Foster (Lone Survivor; Ain't Them Bodies Saints)
Beth Grant (The Artist; No Country for Old Men)
Clark Gregg (Much Ado About Nothing; Marvel's The Avengers)
Sally Hawkins (Blue Jasmine; Happy-Go-Lucky)
Josh Hutcherson (The Hunger Games; The Kids Are All Right)
Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Enough Said; Planes)
Kelly Macdonald (Brave; No Country for Old Men)
Mads Mikkelsen (The Hunt; Casino Royale)
Joel McKinnon Miller (Super 8; The Truman Show)
Cillian Murphy (The Dark Knight Rises; Inception)
Lupita Nyong'o (Non-Stop; 12 Years a Slave)
Rob Riggle (21 Jump Street; The Hangover)
Chris Rock (Grown Ups 2; Madagascar)
June Squibb (Nebraska; About Schmidt)
Jason Statham (Parker; Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels)
David Strathairn (Lincoln; Good Night, and Good Luck)

CASTING DIRECTORS
Douglas Aibel (The Grand Budapest Hotel; The Immigrant)
Simone Bär (The Monuments Men; The Book Thief)
Kerry Barden (August: Osage County; Dallas Buyers Club)
Nikki Barrett (The Railway Man; The Great Gatsby)
Mark Bennett (Drinking Buddies; Zero Dark Thirty)
Risa Bramon Garcia (Speed; Wall Street)
Michelle Guish (The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel; Nanny McPhee)
Billy Hopkins (Lee Daniels' The Butler; Disconnect)
Ros Hubbard (Romeo & Juliet; The Mummy)
Allison Jones (The Way, Way Back; The Heat)
Christine King (The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader; Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith)
Beatrice Kruger (To Rome With Love; The American)
Marci Liroff (Mean Girls; Pretty in Pink)
Debbie McWilliams (Skyfall; Quantum of Solace)
Joseph Middleton (The Twilight Saga: New Moon; Legally Blonde)
Robi Reed (For Colored Girls; Do the Right Thing)
Kevin Reher (Monsters University; Finding Nemo)
Paul Schnee (August: Osage County; Dallas Buyers Club)
Gail Stevens (Zero Dark Thirty; Slumdog Millionaire)
Lucinda Syson (Gravity; Fast & Furious 6)
Fiona Weir (J. Edgar; Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2)
Ronnie Yeskel (The Sessions; Atlas Shrugged Part 1)

CINEMATOGRAPHERS
Sean Bobbitt (12 Years a Slave; The Place Beyond the Pines)
Philippe Le Sourd (The Grandmaster; Seven Pounds)
James Neihouse (Hubble 3D; NASCAR: The IMAX Experience)
Masanobu Takayanagi (Out of the Furnace; Silver Linings Playbook)
Bradford Young (Ain't Them Bodies Saints; Pariah)

COSTUME DESIGNERS
William Chang Suk Ping (The Grandmaster; In the Mood for Love)
Pascaline Chavanne (Renoir; Augustine)
Daniela Ciancio (The Great Beauty; Il Divo)
Frank L. Fleming (Draft Day; Monster's Ball)
Maurizio Millenotti (Hamlet; Othello)
Beatrix Aruna Pasztor (Great Expectations; Good Will Hunting)
Karyn Wagner (Lovelace; The Green Mile)

DESIGNERS
William Arnold (Lovelace; Crazy, Stupid, Love.)
K.K. Barrett (Her; Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close)
Susan Benjamin (Saving Mr Banks; The Blind Side)
Bill Boes (The Smurfs 2; Fantastic Four)
Tony Fanning (Contraband; War of the Worlds)
Robert Greenfield (Priest; Almost Famous)
Marcia Hinds (I Spy; The Public Eye)
Sonja Brisbane Klaus (Prometheus; Robin Hood)
David S. Lazan (Flight; American Beauty)
Diane Lederman (Lee Daniels' The Butler; Tower Heist)
Heather Loeffler (American Hustle; Silver Linings Playbook)
Christa Munro (Jack Reacher; Erin Brockovich)
Andy Nicholson (Gravity; The Host)
Adam Stockhausen (12 Years a Slave; Moonrise Kingdom)

DIRECTORS
Hany Abu-Assad (Omar; Paradise Now)
Jay Duplass (Jeff, Who Lives at Home; Cyrus)
Mark Duplass (Jeff, Who Lives at Home; Cyrus)
David Gordon Green (Joe; Pineapple Express)
Gavin O'Connor (Warrior; Miracle)
Gina Prince-Bythewood (The Secret Life of Bees; Love and Basketball)
Paolo Sorrentino (The Great Beauty; This Must Be the Place)
Jean-Marc Vallee (Dallas Buyers Club; Young Victoria)
Felix van Groeningen (The Broken Circle Breakdown; The Misfortunates)
Denis Villeneuve (Prisoners; Incendies)
Thomas Vinterberg (The Hunt; The Celebration)

DOCUMENTARY
Malcolm Clarke (The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life; Prisoner of Paradise)
Dan Cogan (How to Survive a Plague; The Queen of Versailles)
Kief Davidson (Open Heart; Kassim the Dream)
Dan Geller (The Galapagos Affair: Satan Came to Eden; Ballets Russes)
Dayna Goldfine (The Galapagos Affair: Satan Came to Eden; Ballets Russes)
Julie Goldman (God Loves Uganda; Gideon's Army)
Sam Green (Utopia in Four Movements; The Weather Underground)
Gary Hustwit (Urbanized; Helvetica)
Eugene Jarecki (The House I Live In; Why We Fight)
Brian Johnson (Anita; Buena Vista Social Club)
Ross Kauffman (E-Team; Born Into Brothels)
Morgan Neville (20 Feet From Stardom; Troubadours)
Matthew J. O'Neill (Redemption; China's Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province)
Rithy Panh (The Missing Picture; S-21: The Khmer Rouge Death Machine)
Lucy Massie Phenix (Regret to Inform; Word Is Out)
Enat Sidi (Detropia; Jesus Camp)
Molly Thompson (The Unknown Known; Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer)
Cynthia Wade (Mondays at Racine; Freeheld)

EXECUTIVES
Adrian Alperovich
Sean Bailey
Len Blavatnik
Nicholas Carpou
Nancy Carson
Charles S. Cohen
Jason Constantine
Peter Cramer
William Kyle Davies
Christopher Floyd
David Garrett
David Hollis
Tomas Jegeus
Michelle Raimo Kouyate
Anthony James Marcoly
Hiroyasu Matsuoka
Kim Roth
John Sloss

FILM EDITORS
Alan Baumgarten (American Hustle; Gangster Squad)
Alan Edward Bell (The Hunger Games: Catching Fire; The Amazing Spider-Man)
Dorian Harris (The Magic of Belle Isle; The Mod Squad)
Sabrina Plisco (The Smurfs 2; Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow)
Tatiana S. Riegel (Million Dollar Arm; The Way, Way Back)
Julie Rogers (Wreck-It Ralph; Kit Kittredge: An American Girl)
Mark Sanger (Gravity)
Joan Sobel (Admission; A Single Man)
Crispin Struthers (American Hustle; Silver Linings Playbook)
Tracey Wadmore-Smith (About Last Night; Death at a Funeral)
Joe Walker (12 Years a Slave; Shame)
John Wilson (The Book Thief; Billy Elliot)

MAKEUP ARTISTS AND HAIRSTYLISTS
Vivian Baker (Oz the Great and Powerful; Conviction)
Adruitha Lee (Dallas Buyers Club; 12 Years a Slave)
Robin Mathews (Dallas Buyers Club; The Runaways)
Anne Morgan (The Incredible Burt Wonderstone; A Little Bit of Heaven)
Gloria Pasqua-Casny (The Lone Ranger; Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter)

MEMBERS-AT-LARGE
Peter Becker
Jeff Dashnaw
Kenneth L. Halsband
Jody Levin
Tom MacDougall
Chuck Picerni, Jr.
Spiro Razatos
Mic Rodgers
Kevin J. Yeaman

MUSIC
Kristen Anderson-Lopez (Frozen; Winnie-the-Pooh)
Stanley Clarke (The Best Man Holiday; Boyz N the Hood)
Earl Ghaffari (Frozen; Wreck-It Ralph)
Steve Jablonsky (Lone Survivor; Ender's Game)
Robert Lopez (Frozen; Winnie the Pooh)
Steven Price (Gravity; The World's End)
Tony Renis (Hidden Moon; Quest for Camelot)
Angie Rubin (Pitch Perfect; Sex and the City)
Buck Sanders (Warm Bodies; The Hurt Locker)
Charles Strouse (All Dogs Go to Heaven; Annie)
Eddie Vedder (Eat Pray Love; Into the Wild)
Pharrell Williams (Despicable Me 2; Fast & Furious)

PRODUCERS
Jason Blumenthal (Hope Springs; Seven Pounds)
Dana Brunetti (Captain Phillips; The Social Network)
Megan Ellison (American Hustle; Her)
Sean Furst (Daybreakers; The Cooler)
Nicola Giuliano (The Great Beauty; This Must Be the Place)
Preston Holmes (Waist Deep; Tupac: Resurrection)
Lynette M. Howell (The Place Beyond the Pines; Blue Valentine)
Anthony Katagas (12 Years a Slave; Killing Them Softly)
Alix Madigan (Girl Most Likely; Winter's Bone)
Paul Mezey (The Girl; Maria Full of Grace)
Stephen Nemeth (The Sessions; Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas)
Tracey Seaward (Philomena; The Queen)
John H. Williams (Space Chimps; Shrek 2)

PUBLIC RELATIONS
Larry Angrisani
Nancy Bannister
Christine Batista
Karen Hermelin
Marisa McGrath Liston
David Magdael
Steven Raphael
Bettina R. Sherick
Dani Weinstein

SHORT FILMS AND FEATURE ANIMATION
Didier Brunner (Ernest & Celestine; The Triplets of Belleville)
Scott Clark (Monsters University; Up)
Pierre Coffin (Despicable Me 2; Despicable Me)
Esteban Crespo (Aquel No Era Yo (That Wasn't Me); Lala)
Peter Del Vecho (Frozen; The Princess and the Frog)
Kirk DeMicco (The Croods; Space Chimps)
Doug Frankel (Brave; WALL-E)
Mark Gill (The Voorman Problem; Full Time)
David A.S. James (Mr Peabody & Sherman; Megamind)
Fabrice Joubert (Dr Seuss' The Lorax; French Roast)
Jean-Claude Kalache (Up; Cars)
Jason Katz (Toy Story 3; Finding Nemo)
Jennifer Lee (Frozen; Wreck-It Ralph)
Baldwin Li (The Voorman Problem; Full Time)
Nathan Loofbourrow (Puss in Boots; How to Train Your Dragon)
Lauren MacMullan (Get a Horse!; Wreck-It Ralph)
Tom McGrath (Megamind; Madagascar)
Dorothy McKim (Get a Horse!; Meet the Robinsons)
Hayao Miyazaki (The Wind Rises; Spirited Away)
Ricky Nierva (Monsters University; Up)
Chris Renaud (Despicable Me 2; Despicable Me)
Benjamin Renner (Ernest & Celestine; A Mouse's Tale (La Queue de la Souris))
Michael Rose (Chico & Rita; The Gruffalo)
Toshio Suzuki (The Wind Rises; Howl's Moving Castle)
Selma Vilhunen (Pitääkö Mun Kaikki Hoitta? (Do I Have to Take Care of Everything?); The Crossroads)
Anders Walter (Helium; 9 Meter)
Laurent Witz (Mr Hublot; Renart the Fox)

SOUND
Niv Adiri (Gravity; The Book Thief)
Christopher Benstead (Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit; Gravity)
Steve Boedekker (All Is Lost; Beasts of the Southern Wild)
Beau Borders (Million Dollar Arm; Lone Survivor)
David Brownlow (Lone Survivor; The Book of Eli)
Chris Burdon (Captain Phillips; Philomena)
Brent Burge (The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug; The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey)
Andre Fenley (How to Train Your Dragon 2; All Is Lost)
Glenn Freemantle (Gravity; Slumdog Millionaire)
Greg Hedgepath (Frozen; The Incredible Hulk)
Craig Henighan (Noah; The Secret Life of Walter Mitty)
Tony Johnson (The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug; Avatar)
Laurent M. Kossayan (Red Riding Hood; Public Enemies)
Thomas L. Lalley (Mr Peabody & Sherman; Star Trek Into Darkness)
Ai-Ling Lee (Godzilla; 300: Rise of an Empire)
Stephen Morris (Monsters University; Fruitvale Station)
Jeremy Peirson (The Hunger Games: Catching Fire; Looper)
Mike Prestwood Smith (Divergent; Captain Phillips)
Alan Rankin (Iron Man 3; Star Trek)
Oliver Tarney (Captain Phillips; Philomena)
Chris Ward (The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug; The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey)

VISUAL EFFECTS
Gary Brozenich (The Lone Ranger; Wrath of the Titans)
Everett Burrell (Grudge Match; Pan's Labyrinth)
Marc Chu (Noah; Marvel's The Avengers)
David Fletcher (Sabotage; Prisoners)
Swen Gillberg (Ender's Game; Jack the Giant Slayer)
Paul Graff (The Wolf of Wall Street; Identity Thief)
Alex Henning (Star Trek Into Darkness; Hugo)
Evan Jacobs (Captain America: The Winter Soldier; Olympus Has Fallen)
Chris Lawrence (Edge of Tomorrow; Gravity)
Eric Leven (The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2; The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1)
Steven Messing (Godzilla; Oz the Great and Powerful)
Ben Matthew Morris (Lincoln; The Golden Compass)
Jake Morrison (Thor: The Dark World; Marvel's The Avengers)
Eric Reynolds (The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug; The Hunger Games: Catching Fire)
David Shirk (Gravity; Elysium)
Patrick Tubach (Star Trek Into Darkness; Marvel's The Avengers)
Bruno Van Zeebroeck (Lone Survivor; Public Enemies)
Tim Webber (Gravity; The Dark Knight)
Harold Weed (G.I. Joe: Retaliation; Star Trek)

WRITERS
Chantal Akerman (A Couch in New York; Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles)
Olivier Assayas (Summer Hours; Irma Vep)
Craig Borten (Dallas Buyers Club)
Scott Z. Burns (Side Effects; Contagion)
Jean-Claude Carriere (The Unbearable Lightness of Being; The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie)
Steve Coogan (Philomena; The Parole Officer)
Claire Denis (White Material; Beau Travail)
Larry Gross (We Don't Live Here Anymore; 48 Hrs.)
Mathieu Kassovitz (Babylon A.D.; Hate (La Haine))
Diane Kurys (For a Woman; Entre Nous)
Bob Nelson (Nebraska)
Scott Neustadter (The Spectacular Now; (500) Days of Summer)
Jeff Pope (Philomena; Pierrepoint - The Last Hangman)
John Ridley (12 Years a Slave; Undercover Brother)
Paul Rudnick (In & Out; Jeffrey)
Eric Warren Singer (American Hustle; The International)
Melisa Wallack (Dallas Buyers Club; Mirror Mirror)
Michael H. Weber (The Spectacular Now; (500) Days of Summer)
Terence Winter (The Wolf of Wall Street; Get Rich Or Die Tryin')

ASSOCIATES
Matt Del Piano
Joe Funicello
Robert Hohman
Paul Christopher Hook
David Kramer
Joel Lubin
David Pringle
Melanie Ramsayer
Beth Swofford
Meredith Wechter

68th Tony Awards - Winners - UPDATED

I didn't get to liveblog the Tony's this year as I was working at the 1st Annual Ottawa Tony Awards Show - a party where we watch the Tony's and raise money for local theatre initiatives. It was fun, and it'll be happening again next year - make sure to keep us in mind! (ottawatonyawards.com)

And here are the winners of the Tony's - including the history making Audra MacDonald, winning a Tony in every acting category! Winners are bolded.

BEST PLAY
Act One
All the Way
Casa Valentina
Mothers and Sons
Outside Mullingar

BEST MUSICAL
After Midnight
Aladdin
Beautiful - The Carole King Musical
A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder

BEST REVIVAL OF A PLAY
The Cripple of Inishmaan
The Glass Menagerie
A Raisin in the Sun
Twelfth Night 

BEST REVIVAL OF A MUSICAL
Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Les Miserables
Violet

BEST BOOK OF A MUSICAL
Aladdin - Chad Beguelin
Beautiful - The Carole King Musical - Douglas McGrath
Bullets Over Broadway - Woody Allen
A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder - Robert L. Freedman

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE (MUSIC AND/OR LYRICS) WRITTEN FOR THE THEATRE
Aladdin - Music: Alan Menken; Lyrics: Howard Ashman, Tim Rice, Chad Beguelin
The Bridges of Madison County - Music & Lyrics: Jason Robert Brown
A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder - Music: Steven Lutvak; Lyrics: Robert L. Freedman, Steven Lutvak
If/Then - Music: Tom Kitt; Lyrics: Brian Yorkey

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE IN A PLAY
Samuel Barnett - Twelfth Night
Bryan Cranston - All the Way
Chris O'Dowd - Of Mice and Men
Mark Rylance - Richard III
Tony Shalhoub - Act One

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE IN A PLAY
Tyne Daly - Mothers and Sons
LaTanya Richardson Jackson - A Raisin in the Sun
Cherry Jones - The Glass Menagerie
Audra McDonald - Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill
Estelle Parsons - The Velocity of Autumn 

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE IN A MUSICAL
Neil Patrick Harris - Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Ramin Karimloo - Les Miserables
Andy Karl - Rocky
Jefferson Mays - A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder
Bryce Pinkham - A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE IN A MUSICAL
Mary Bridget Davies - A Night With Janis Joplin
Sutton Foster - Violet
Idina Menzel - If/Then
Jessie Mueller - Beautiful - The Carole King Musical
Kelli O'Hara - The Bridges of Madison County

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A FEATURED ROLE IN A PLAY
Reed Birney - Casa Valentina
Paul Chahidi - Twelfth Night
Stephen Fry - Twelfth Night
Mark Rylance - Twelfth Night
Brian J. Smith - The Glass Menagerie

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A FEATURED ROLE IN A PLAY
Sarah Greene - The Cripple of Inishmaan
Celia Keenan-Bolger - The Glass Menagerie
Sophie Okonedo - A Raisin in the Sun
Anika Noni Rose - A Raisin in the Sun
Mare Winningham - Casa Valentina

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A FEATURED ROLE IN A MUSICAL
Danny Burstein - Cabaret
Nick Cordero - Bullets Over Broadway
Joshua Henry - Violet
James Monroe Iglehart - Aladdin
Jarrod Spector - Beautiful - The Carole King Musical

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A FEATURED ROLE IN A MUSICAL
Linda Emond - Cabaret
Lena Hall - Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Anika Larsen - Beautiful - The Carole King Musical
Adriane Lenox - After Midnight
Lauren Worsham - A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder

BEST DIRECTION OF A PLAY
Tim Carroll - Twelfth Night
Michael Grandage - The Cripple of Inishmaan
Kenny Leon - A Raisin in the Sun
John Tiffany - The Glass Menagerie

BEST DIRECTION OF A MUSICAL
Warren Carlyle - After Midnight
Michael Mayer - Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Leigh Silverman - Violet
Darko Tresnjak - A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder

BEST CHOREOGRAPHY
Warren Carlyle - After Midnight
Steven Hoggett & Kelly Devine - Rocky
Casey Nicholaw - Aladdin
Susan Stroman - Bullets Over Broadway

BEST ORCHESTRATIONS
Doug Besterman - Bullets Over Broadway
Jason Robert Brown - The Bridges of Madison County
Steve Sidwell - Beautiful - The Carole King Musical
Jonathan Tunick - A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder

BEST SCENIC DESIGN OF A PLAY
Beowulf Boritt - Act One
Bob Crowley - The Glass Menagerie
Es Devlin - Machinal
Christopher Oram - The Cripple of Inishmaan

BEST SCENIC DESIGN OF A MUSICAL
Christopher Barreca - Rocky
Julian Crouch - Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Alexander Dodge - A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder
Santo Loquasto - Bullets Over Broadway

BEST COSTUME DESIGN OF A PLAY
Jane Greenwood - Act One
Michael Krass - Machinal
Rita Ryack - Casa Valentina
Jenny Tiramani - Twelfth Night

BEST COSTUME DESIGN OF A MUSICAL
Linda Cho - A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder
William Ivey Long - Bullets Over Broadway
Arianne Phillips - Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Isabel Toledo - After Midnight

BEST LIGHTING DESIGN OF A PLAY
Paule Constable - The Cripple of Inishmaan
Jane Cox - Machinal
Natasha Katz - The Glass Menagerie
Japhy Weideman - Of Mice and Men

BEST LIGHTING DESIGN OF A MUSICAL
Kevin Adams - Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Christopher Akerlind - Rocky
Howell Binkley - After Midnight
Donald Holder - The Bridges of Madison County

BEST SOUND DESIGN OF A PLAY
Alex Baranowski - The Cripple of Inishmaan
Steve Canyon Kennedy - Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill
Dan Moses Schreier - Act One
Matt Tierney - Machinal

BEST SOUND DESIGN OF A MUSICAL
Peter Hylenski - After Midnight
Tim O'Heir - Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Mick Potter - Les Miserables
Brian Ronan - Beautiful - The Carole King Musical

SPECIAL TONY AWARD FOR LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT IN THE THEATRE
Jane Greenwood (Costume designer for more than 125 Broadway productions)

REGIONAL THEATRE AWARD
Signature Theatre (New York City's Signature Theatre exists to honour and celebrate the playwright)

ISABELLE STEVENSON AWARD
Rosie O'Donnell (The Emmy-award winning performer, writer, producer, three-time past host of the Tony Awards ceremony, and founder of Rosie's Theater Kids) 

TONY HONORS FOR EXCELLENCE IN THE THEATRE
Joseph P. Benincasa - President and CEO of The Actors Fund
Joan Marcus - Broadway photographer who has created production shots for over 300 shows on the Great White Way since 1986
Charlotte Wilcox - Founder of The Charlotte Wilcox Company and one of the leading general managers in the Broadway industry

59th Annual Drama Desk Awards - Winners

The Tony Awards are TOMORROW! On that note - I won't be liveblogging like I usually do! I'm assisting in a Tony's party that's fundraising for Suzart Productions, a local Ottawa non-profit community theatre initiative. (Mostly, we just want to hang out with people and watch the Tony's, but might as well raise some money for a great cause.) Check out @OttTonyAwards on Twitter - and if you're in Ottawa, you can pay at the door to get in! Silent auction, coffee station and a fun photobooth! (ottawatonyawards.com)

Anyway. I wanted to share the Drama Desk Awards winners! Let's prep for Broadway's biggest night; I always love to see who gets the Drama Desk Awards.

As always, winners are bolded!

OUTSTANDING PLAY
The Explorers Club - Neil Benjamin
Core Values - Steven Levenson
The Night Alive - Conor McPherson
Regular Singing - Richard Nelson
Domesticated - Bruce Norris
All the Way - Robert Schenkkan
Outside Mullingar - John Patrick Shanley

OUTSTANDING MUSICAL
A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder
Aladdin
Beautiful - The Carole King Musical
Fun Home
Love's Labour's Lost
Rocky
The Bridges of Madison County

OUTSTANDING REVIVAL OF A PLAY
I Remember Mama
London Wall
No Man's Land
Of Mice and Men
The Cripple of Inishmaan
The Model Apartment
Twelfth Night (Shakespeare's Globe Production)

OUTSTANDING REVIVAL OF A MUSICAL OR REVUE
Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Les Miserables
Violet

OUTSTANDING ACTOR IN A PLAY
Bryan Cranston - All the Way
Hamish Linklater - The Comedy of Errors
Ian McKellen - No Man's Land
David Morse - The Unavoidable Disappearance of Tom Dumin
Chris O'Dowd - Of Mice and Men
Daniel Radcliffe - The Cripple of Inishmaan
Denzel Washington - A Raisin in the Sun

OUTSTANDING ACTRESS IN A PLAY
Barbara Andres - I Remember Mama
Tyne Daly - Mothers and Sons
Audra McDonald - Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill
Laurie Metcalf - Domesticated
J. Smith-Cameron - Juno and the Paycock
Harriet Walter - Julius Caesar

OUTSTANDING ACTOR IN A MUSICAL
Neil Patrick Harris - Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Adam Jacobs - Aladdin
Andy Karl - Rocky
Jefferson Mays - A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder
Steven Pasquale - The Bridges of Madison County
Bryce Pinkham - A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder

OUTSTANDING ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL
Sutton Foster - Violet
Idina Menzel - If/Then
Jessie Mueller - Beautiful - The Carole King Musical
Kelli O'Hara - The Bridges of Madison County
Margo Seibert - Tamar of the River
Barrett Wilbert Weed - Heathers: The Musical

OUTSTANDING FEATURED ACTOR IN A PLAY
Reed Birney - Casa Valentina
Chuck Cooper - Choir Boy
Peter Maloney - Outside Mullingar
Bobby Moreno - Year of the Rooster
Bill Pullman - The Jacksonian
Brian J. Smith - The Glass Menagerie

OUTSTANDING FEATURED ACTRESS IN A PLAY
Betty Buckley - The Old Friends
Julia Coffey - London Wall
Diane Davis - The Model Apartment
Celia Keenan-Bolger - The Glass Menagerie
Jan Maxwell - The Castle
Sophie Okonedo - A Raisin in the Sun

OUTSTANDING FEATURED ACTOR IN A MUSICAL
Danny Burstein - Cabaret
Nick Cordero - Bullets Over Broadway: The Musical
Joshua Henry - Violet
James Monroe Inglehart - Aladdin
Rory O'Malley - Nobody Loves You
Bobby Steggert - Big Fish

OUTSTANDING FEATURED ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL
Stephanie J. Block - Little Miss Sunshine
Anika Larsen - Beautiful - The Carole King Musical
Adriane Lenox - After Midnight
Sydney Lucas - Fun Home
Laura Osnes - The Threepenny Opera
Jennifer Simard - Disaster!
Lauren Worsham - A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder

OUTSTANDING DIRECTOR OF A PLAY
Joe Calarco - A Christmas Carol
Tim Carroll - Twelfth Night
Thomas Kail - Family Furniture
Bill Rauch - All the Way
Anna D. Shapiro - Domesticated
Julie Taymor - A Midsummer Night's Dream

OUTSTANDING DIRECTOR OF A MUSICAL
Sam Gold - Fun Home
Michael Mayer - Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Bartlett Sher - The Bridges of Madison County
Susan Stroman - Bullets Over Broadway: The Musical
Alex Timbers - Rocky
Darko Tresnjak - A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder

OUTSTANDING CHOREOGRAPHY
Warren Carlyle - After Midnight
Steven Hoggett, Kelly Devine - Rocky
Danny Mefford - Love's Labour's Lost
Casey Nicholaw - Aladdin
Susan Stroman - Bullets Over Broadway: The Musical
Sonya Tayeh - Kung Fu

OUTSTANDING MUSIC
Jason Robert Brown - The Bridges of Madison County
Andrew Lippa - Big Fish
Steven Lutvak - A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder
Alan Menken - Aladdin
Kevin Murphy and Laurence O'Keefe - Heathers: The Musical
Jeanine Tesori - Fun Home

OUTSTANDING LYRICS
Howard Ashman, Tim Rice and Chad Beguelin - Aladdin
Jason Robert Brown - The Bridges of Madison County
Robert L. Freedman and Steven Lutvak - A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder
Michael Friedman - Love's Labour's Lost
Michael Korie - Far From Home
Lisa Kron - Fun Home

OUTSTANDING BOOK OF A MUSICAL
Chad Beguelin - Aladdin
Robert L. Freedman - A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder
Joe Kinosian and Kellen Blair - Murder for Two
Lisa Kron - Fun Home
Douglas McGrath - Beautiful - The Carole King Musical
Marsha Norman - The Bridges of Madison County

OUTSTANDING ORCHESTRATIONS
Jason Robert Brown - The Bridges of Madison County
 John Clancy - Fun Home
Larry Hochman - Big Fish
Steve Sidwell - Beautiful - The Carole King Musical
Michael Starobin - If/Then
Jonathan Tunick - A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder

OUTSTANDING MUSIC IN A PLAY
Lewis Flinn - The Tribute Artist
Elliot Goldenthal - A Midsummer Night's Dream
Rob Kearns - The Life and Sort Of Death of Eric Argyle
Tom Kochan - Almost, Maine
Nico Muhly - The Glass Menagerie
Duncan Sheik - A Man's a Man

OUTSTANDING REVUE
After Midnight
I'm a Stranger Here Myself: Musik from the Weimar and Beyond
Le Jazz Hot: How the French Saved Jazz
Til Divorce Do Us Part
What's It All About? Bacharach Reimagined

OUTSTANDING SET DESIGN
Christopher Barreca - Rocky
Alexander Dodge - A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder
Richard Hoover - Small Engine Repair
Santo Loquasto - Bullets Over Broadway: The Musical
Ian MacNeil - A Doll's House
Donyale Werle - The Explorers Club

OUTSTANDING COSTUME DESIGN
Constance Hoffman - A Midsummer Night's Dream
William Ivey Long - Bullets Over Broadway: The Musical
Zane Pihlstrom - Nutcracker Rouge
Loren Shaw - The Mysteries
Jenny Tiramani - Twelfth Night
David C. Woolard - The Heir Apparent

OUTSTANDING LIGHTING DESIGN
Christopher Akerlind - Rocky
Jane Cox - Machinal
David Lander - The Civil War
Peter Mumford - King Lear
Brian Tovar - Tamar of the River
Japhy Wiedeman - Macbeth

OUTSTANDING PROJECTION DESIGN
Robert Massicotte and Alexis Laurence - Cirkopolis
Sven Ortel - A Midsummer Night's Dream
Aaron Rhyne - A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder
Shawn Sagady - All the Way
Austin Switser - Sontag: Reborn
Ben Rubin - Arguendo

OUTSTANDING SOUND DESIGN IN A MUSICAL
Kai Harada - Fun Home
Peter Hylenski - Bullets Over Broadway: The Musical
Peter Hylenski - Rocky
Brian Ronan - Beautiful - The Carole King Musical
Dan Moses Schreier - A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder
Jon Weston - The Bridges of Madison County

OUTSTANDING SOUND DESIGN IN A PLAY
M.L. Dogg - The Open House
Katie Down - The Golden Dragon
Paul James Prendergast - All the Way
Dan Moses Schreier - Act One
Christopher Shutt - Love and Information
Matt Tierney - Machinal

OUTSTANDING SOLO PERFORMANCE
David Barlow - This Is My Office
Jim Brochu - Character Man
Hannah Cabell - Grounded
Debra Jo Rupp - Becoming Dr Ruth
Ruben Santiago-Hudson - August Wilson's How I Learned What I Learned
John Douglas Thompson - Satchmo at the Waldorf

UNIQUE THEATRICAL EXPERIENCE
Charlatan
Cirkopolis
Mother Africa
Nothing to Hide
Nutcracker Rouge
The Complete & Condensed Stage Directions of Eugene O'Neill Vol. 2

SPECIAL AWARDS
To SoHo Rep: For nearly four decades of artistic distinction, innovative production, and provocative play selection.
To Veanne Cox: For her ability to express the eccentricities, strengths, and vulnerabilities of a range of characters, and notably for her comedic flair as evidenced in this season's The Old Friends and The Most Deserving.
To Ed Sylvanus Iskandar, the Sam Norkin Off-Broadway Award: For his visionary directorial excellence. This season's The Golden Dragon and The Mysteries exemplify his bold and strikingly original imagination.
To the ensembles of off-Broadway's The Open House and Broadway's The Realistic Joneses and to the creator of both plays, Will Eno: For two extraordinary casts and one impressively inventive playwright.
             The Open House: Hannah Bos, Michael Countryman, Peter Friedman, Danny McCarthy, Carolyn McCormick
             The Realistic Joneses: Toni Collette, Michael C. Hall, Tracy Letts, Marisa Tomei

Review: Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders

Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders by Vincent Bugliosi

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Both a fascinating and horrifying read, Vincent Bugliosi effectively portrayed the madness behind Manson's facade, as only someone intimately familiar with the case could. He was the prosecutor in this historical trial, and it showed. His attention to detail was extraordinary, and while providing all the necessary background information to ensure readers learn about this case, he also ensures that the terrifying truth of this movement and this man is brought to the fore. He draws excellent parallels and also speaks to the uniqueness of the Manson case, and the fear that it could happen again. (And his discussion of Fear, and Manson's beliefs, is, again, fascinating and scary.) I couldn't read this book at night, or I would have been up all night, but this is the most intense and truthful, bare bones true crime book I have read thus far, and written in an easy-to-understand way. Bugliosi doesn't make himself to be a hero, and doesn't seek to glorify Manson. He just shares the truth, as was his job in the courtroom, and he luckily succeeded.



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