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.



View all my reviews

Tonys 2014 - Nominations Announced

I haven't always posted the Tony nominations on here, but as I'm even more interested in them this year - for reasons that may be explained later! - I thought I'd share them here. Very exciting!

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

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

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 and Lyrics by 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 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 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 MacDonald - 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 Inglehart - 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: The Signature Theatre Company exists to honor and celebrate the playwright

ISABELLE STEVENSON AWARD
Rosie O'Donnell: Emmy-award winning performer, producer, writer, three-time past host of the Tony Awards ceremony, and founder of Rosie's Theatre 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

Check back here in June for the updates! There may not be a live blog this time.

The Oscars 2014 - Complete List

The biggest night is here!! I'll be liveblogging - this post will be updated with every winner and my thoughts! Winners are bolded! I'll be putting comments below the nominees, so be sure to scroll down. Here we go!

BEST PICTURE
American Hustle - Charles Roven, Richard Suckle, Megan Ellison, Jonathan Gordon (Producers)
Captain Phillips - Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca (Producers)
Dallas Buyers Club - Robbie Brenner, Rachel Winter (Producers)
Gravity - Alfonso Cuarón, David Heyman (Producers)
Her - Megan Ellison, Spike Jonze, Vincent Landay (Producers)
Nebraska - Albert Berger, Ron Yerxa (Producers)
Philomena - Gabrielle Tana, Steve Coogan, Tracey Seaward (Producers)
12 Years a Slave - Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Steve McQueen, Anthony Katagas (Producers)
The Wolf of Wall Street - Nominees to be determined (as of January 16, 2014)

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Christian Bale - American Hustle
Bruce Dern - Nebraska
Leonardo DiCaprio - The Wolf of Wall Street
Chiwetel Ejiofor - 12 Years a Slave
Matthew McConaughey - Dallas Buyers Club

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Amy Adams - American Hustle
Cate Blanchett - Blue Jasmine
Sandra Bullock - Gravity
Judi Dench - Philomena
Meryl Streep - August: Osage County

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Barkhad Abdi - Captain Phillips
Bradley Cooper - American Hustle
Michael Fassbender - 12 Years a Slave
Jonah Hill - The Wolf of Wall Street
Jared Leto - Dallas Buyers Club

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Sally Hawkins - Blue Jasmine
Jennifer Lawrence - American Hustle
Lupita Nyong'o - 12 Years a Slave
Julia Roberts - August: Osage County
June Squibb - Nebraska

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
The Croods - Chris Sanders, Kirk DeMicco, Kristine Belson
Despicable Me 2 - Chris Renaud, Pierre Coffin, Chris Meledandri
Ernest & Celestine - Benjamin Renner, Didier Brunner
Frozen - Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee, Peter Del Vecho
The Wind Rises - Hayao Miyazaki, Toshio Suzuki

CINEMATOGRAPHY
The Grandmaster - Philippe Le Sourd
Gravity - Emmanuel Lubezki
Inside Llewyn Davis - Bruno Delbonnel
Nebraska - Phedon Papamichael
Prisoners - Roger A. Deakins

COSTUME DESIGN
American Hustle - Michael Wilkinson
The Grandmaster - William Chang Suk Ping
The Great Gatsby - Catherine Martin
The Invisible Woman - Michael O'Connor
12 Years a Slave - Patricia Norris

DIRECTING
David O. Russell - American Hustle
Alfonso Cuarón - Gravity
Alexander Payne - Nebraska
Steve McQueen - 12 Years a Slave
Martin Scorsese - The Wolf of Wall Street

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
The Act of Killing - Joshua Oppenheimer, Signe Byrge Sørensen
Cutie and the Boxer - Zachary Heinzerling, Lydia Dean Pilcher
Dirty Wars - Richard Rowley, Jeremy Scahill
The Square - Jehane Noujaim, Karim Amer
20 Feet from Stardom -  Morgan Neville, Gil Friesen and Caitrin Rogers

DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
CaveDigger - Jeffrey Karoff
Facing Fear - Jason Cohen
Karama Has No Walls - Sara Ishaq
The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life - Malcolm Clarke, Nicholas Reed
Prison Terminal: The Last Days of Private Jack Hall - Edgar Barens

FILM EDITING
American Hustle - Jay Cassidy, Crispin Struthers, Alan Baumgarten
Captain Phillips - Christopher Rouse
Dallas Buyers Club - John Mac McMurphy, Martin Pensa
Gravity - Alfonso Cuarón, Mark Sanger
12 Years a Slave - Joe Walker

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
The Broken Circle Breakdown - Belgium
The Great Beauty - Italy
The Hunt - Denmark
The Missing Picture - Cambodia
Omar - Palestine

MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
Dallas Buyers Club - Adruitha Lee, Robin Mathews
Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa - Stephen Prouty
The Lone Ranger - Joel Harlow, Gloria Pasqua-Casny

MUSIC: ORIGINAL SCORE
The Book Thief - John Williams
Gravity - Steven Price
Her - William Butler, Owen Pallett
Philomena - Alexandre Desplat
Saving Mr Banks - Thomas Newman

MUSIC: ORIGINAL SONG
"Alone Yet Not Alone" from Alone Yet Not Alone - Music by Bruce Broughton; Lyrics by Dennis Spiegel
"Happy" from Despicable Me 2 - Music and Lyrics by Pharrell Williams
"Let It Go" from Frozen - Music and Lyrics by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez
"The Moon Song" from Her - Music by Karen O; Lyrics by Karen O and Spike Jonze
"Ordinary Love" from Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom - Music by Paul Hewson, Dave Evans, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen; Lyrics by Paul Hewson

PRODUCTION DESIGN
American Hustle - Judy Becker (Production Design); Heather Loeffler (Set Decoration)
Gravity - Andy Nicholson (Production Design); Rosie Goodwin and Joanne Woollard (Set Decoration)
The Great Gatsby - Catherine Martin (Production Design); Beverley Dunn (Set Decoration)
Her - K.K. Barrett (Production Design); Gene Serdena (Set Decoration)
12 Years a Slave - Adam Stockhausen (Production Design); Alice Baker (Set Decoration)

SHORT FILM: ANIMATED
Feral - Daniel Sousa, Dan Golden
Get a Horse! - Lauren MacMullan, Dorothy McKim
Mr Hublot - Laurent Witz, Alexandre Espigares
Possessions - Shuhei Morita
Room on the Broom - Max Lang, Jan Lachauer

SHORT FILM: LIVE ACTION
Aquel No Era Yo (That Wasn't Me) - Esteban Crespo
Avant Que De Tout Perdre (Just Before Losing Everything) - Xavier Legrand, Alexandre Gavras
Helium - Anders Walter, Kim Magnusson
Pitääkö Mun Kaikki Hoitaa? (Do I Have to Take Care of Everything?) - Selma Vilhunen, Kirsikka Saari  
The Voorman Problem - Mark Gill, Baldwin Li

SOUND EDITING
All Is Lost - Steve Boeddeker, Richard Hymns
Captain Phillips - Oliver Tarney
Gravity - Glenn Freemantle
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug - Brent Burge
Lone Survivor - Wylie Stateman

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

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

WRITING: ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Before Midnight - Written by Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke
Captain Phillips - Screenplay by Billy Ray  
Philomena - Screenplay by Steve Coogan, Jeff Pope
12 Years a Slave - Screenplay by John Ridley
The Wolf of Wall Street - Screenplay by Terence Winter

WRITING: ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
American Hustle - Written by Eric Warren Singer, David O. Russell
Blue Jasmine - Written by Woody Allen
Dallas Buyers Club - Written by Craig Borten and Melisa Wallack
Her - Written by Spike Jonze
Nebraska - Written by Bob Nelson

HONOURARY AWARDS
Angela Lansbury
Steve Martin
Piero Tosi

HUMANITARIAN AWARD
Angelina Jolie

8:31pm - Of course Ellen's not wearing a gown! People are crazy. And seven years ago was the last time she hosted? Wow. And love the "so different!" Everyone is nominated who was last time; perfection.

8:32pm - Only Ellen could pull off that Barkhad Abdi joke without being too offensive. AND the Liza Minnelli joke!

8:33pm - I always forget the Oscars get themes. Heroes in Hollywood is a good one, though.

8:34pm - Definitely laughing more this year than last! I'll always take Ellen over Seth MacFarlane.

8:35pm - Love the 'total of six years of college' - especially with people like Lupita Nyong'o in the room!

8:37pm - It is the Hunger Games. Jennifer Lawrence won last year. PERFECT. And gotta love that Ellen is pushing to bring her the Oscar - no more tripping! She only trips once, generally, so we should be good.

8:40pm - Oh Ellen! Killing it with the subtle penis jokes for Jonah Hill!

8:41pm - I obviously have a problem remembering the order of awards. I always forget Best Supporting Actor is given first!

8:43pm - YES! Jared Leto definitely, more than anyone, deserved this award. He broke my heart and lifted it at the same time. His performance in Dallas Buyers Club blew me away. This award was maybe predictable after he swept the awards all season long, but it doesn't mean that getting this highest honour doesn't mean anything.

8:47pm - Ahh Jim Carrey, not feeling shafted at all! Haha. I find Jim Carrey less and less funny as time goes on,though.

8:51pm - Oh, Ellen. Never gives up a moment to plug Finding Nemo. Who's excited for the second one? (Because Ellen's more excited than you are, I promise.)

8:47pm - Love Pharrell engaging with everyone in the front row! Meryl would, but Amy Adams was amazing. She was so into it! Love her so much.

8:59pm - I love Catherine Martin's design work, and I also love her. She's awesome. And Gatsby costumes were phenomenal! Love her work with Luhrmann. Also, things you learn: she's married to Baz Luhrmann. I used to know who everyone was married to!

9:20pm - I'm not sure I can handle the adorbs of JGL! Bowing to Emma Watson, looking like an excited little boy to open the envelope - the man is so amazing.

9:30pm - I was SO hoping Kate and Goldie would be presenting together. Oh well. I bet Jason Sudeikis is crossing fingers for HELIUM to win - he was nervous about pronunciation! OH IT WAS HELIUM!

9:42pm - Love the honourary Oscars! Steve Martin is so gracious. And Angela Lansbury - 'are you the living definition of range.' Well put, Geoffrey Rush. Well. Put. AND she would call an Oscar a golden chap.

9:43pm - Piero Tosi, yes!

9:44pm - Jean Herschel Award for Angelina Jolie is in no way surprising, but much as I don't like her as an actress, she does great work.

9:55pm - Fingers crossed for Benedict Cumberbatch to run around behind U2 onstage and do another epic photobomb.

10:04pm - I still think the Science & Tech awards should get WAY more recognition. These are the people who make things POSSIBLE!

10:35pm - No one can tell me P!nk can't sing. Not ever. Not a conventional belting voice, but she's still lovely to listen to.

10:36pm - Things I learn: I'm really bad at liveblogging and really good at livetweeting.

11:36pm - Really, Angelina Jolie? Maybe you don't cut off Sidney Poitier. Who cares what the teleprompter says or if he's slow? Shush!

There were really no upsets this year! That often makes for a fun but volatile time. I figured most of the people who won would win. But I also didn't have a problem with anyone who won, really. It mostly made me see that I need to see all of the films! When I'm not planning an event going up two days after the Oscars, I will see all of the nominated films. Thanks for coming along on the awards season ride for another year!

The Independent Spirit Awards 2014 - Complete List

Today is Oscar Day, yes, but we've got to keep up with the other award shows winners! These are the Independent Spirit Awards - some of my favourites, though I always manage to fail to watch them - so check it out! As always, the bolded nominees are the winners!

BEST FEATURE
12 Years a Slave
All Is Lost
Frances Ha
Inside Llewyn Davis
Nebraska

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

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

BEST FIRST FEATURE
Blue Caprice
Concussion
Fruitvale Station
Una Noche
Wadjda

BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
Lake Bell - In a World...
Joseph Gordon-Levitt - Don Jon
Bob Nelson - Nebraska
Jill Soloway - Afternoon Delight
Michael Starrbury - The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Sean Bobbitt - 12 Years a Slave
Benoit Debie - Spring Breakers
Bruno Delbonnel - Inside Llewyn Davis
Frank G. DeMarco & Peter Zuccarini - All Is Lost
Matthias Grunsky - Computer Chess

BEST EDITING
Shane Carruth & David Lowery - Upstream Color
Jem Cohen & Mark Vives - Museum Hours
Jennifer Lame - Frances Ha
Cindy Lee - Una Noche
Nat Sanders - Short Term 12

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

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

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE
Melonie Diaz - Fruitvale Station
Sally Hawkins - Blue Jasmine
Lupita Nyong'o - 12 Years a Slave
Yolanda Ross - Go for Sisters
June Squibb - Nebraska

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

BEST DOCUMENTARY
20 Feet From Stardom
After Tiller
Gideon's Army
The Act of Killing
The Square

BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM
A Touch of Sin (China)
Blue Is the Warmest Color (France)
Gloria (Chile)
The Great Beauty (Italy)
The Hunt (Denmark)

ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD
Mud (Director, casting director, cast) - WINNER

JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD
Given to the writer, director and producers of a feature made for under $500,000
Computer Chess
Crystal Fairy
Museum Hours
Pit Stop
This Is Martin Bonner

SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD
Recognises a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant.
Shaka King - Newlyweeds
Aaron Douglas Johnston - My Sister's Quinceanera
Madeline Olnek - The Foxy Merkins

STELLA ARTOIS TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD
Presented to an emerging director on non-union features who has not yet received significant recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by Stella Artois.
Kalyanee Mam - A River Changes Course
Jason Osder - Let the Fire Burn
Stephanie Spray & Pacho Velez - Manakamana

PIAGET PRODUCERS AWARD
The Piaget Producers Award honours 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.
Toby Halbrooks & James M. Johnston
Jacob Jaffke
Andrea Roa
Frederick Thornton

BAFTA Awards 2014 - Complete List

The BAFTAs were just announced! I didn't get to watch them, unfortunately, but still gotta love seeing what might be happening as we travel the road to the Oscars. I have a previous post listing nominees, but this post includes the winners. As always, the winners are bolded!

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Philomena - Steve Coogan, Jeff Pope
12 Years a Slave - John Ridley
Behind the Candelabra - Richard LaGravenese
Captain Phillips - Billy Ray
The Wolf of Wall Street - Terence Winter

ANIMATED FILM
Frozen - Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee
Despicable Me 2 - Chris Renaud, Pierre Coffin
Monsters University - Dan Scanlon

BRITISH SHORT ANIMATION
Sleeping With the Fishes - James Walker, Sarah Woolner, Yousif Al-Khalifa
Everything I Can See From Here - Bjorn-Erik Aschim, Friederike Nicolaus, Sam Taylor
I Am Tom Moody - Ainslie Henderson

BRITISH SHORT FILM
Room 8 - James W. Griffiths, Sophie Venner
Island Queen - Ben Mallaby, Nat Luurtsema, Emma Hughes
Keeping Up With the Joneses - Megan Rubens, Michael Pearce, Selina Lim
Orbit Ever After - Chee-Lan Chan, Jamie Stone, Len Rowles
Sea View - Anna Duffield, Jane Linfoot

CINEMATOGRAPHY
Gravity - Emmanuel Lubezki
12 Years a Slave - Sean Bobbitt
Captain Phillips - Barry Ackroyd
Inside Llewyn Davis - Bruno Delbonnel
Nebraska - Phedon Papamichael

COSTUME DESIGN
The Great Gatsby - Catherine Martin
American Hustle - Michael Wilkinson
Behind the Candelabra - Ellen Mirojnick
The Invisible Woman - Michael O'Connor
Saving Mr Banks - Daniel Orlandi

DIRECTOR
Alfonso Cuaron - Gravity
Steve McQueen - 12 Years a Slave
David O. Russell - American Hustle
Paul Greengrass - Captain Phillips
Martin Scorsese - The Wolf of Wall Street

DOCUMENTARY
The Act of Killing - Joshua Oppenheimer
The Armstrong Lie - Alex Gibney
Blackfish - Gabriela Cowperthwaite
Tim's Vermeer - Teller, Penn Jillette, Farley Ziegler
We Steal Secrets: The Story of Wikileaks - Alex Gibney

EE RISING STAR
Will Poulter
Dane DeHaan
George MacKay
Lupita Nyong'o
Lea Seydoux

EDITING
Rush - Dan Hanley, Mike Hill
12 Years a Slave - Joe Walker
Captain Phillips - Christopher Rouse
Gravity - Alfonso Cuaron, Mark Sanger
The Wolf of Wall Street - Thelma Schoonmaker

FELLOWSHIP
Dame Helen Mirren

FILM
12 Years a Slave - Anthony Katagas, Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Steve McQueen
American Hustle - Charles Roven, Richard Suckle, Megan Ellison, Jonathan Gordon
Captain Phillips - Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca
Gravity - Alfonso Cuaron, David Heyman
Philomena - Gabrielle Tana, Steve Coogan, Tracey Seaward

FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
The Great Beauty - Paolo Sorrentino, Nicola Giuliano, Francesca Cima
The Act of Killing - Joshua Oppenheimer, Signe Byrge Sorenson
Blue Is the Warmest Colour - Abdellatif Kechiche, Brahim Chioua, Vincent Maraval
Metro Manila - Sean Ellis, Mathilde Charpentier
Wadjda - Haifaa Al-Mansour, Gerhard Meixner, Roman Paul

LEADING ACTOR
Chiwetel Ejiofor - 12 Years a Slave
Bruce Dern - Nebraska
Christian Bale - American Hustle
Tom Hanks - Captain Phillips
Leonardo DiCaprio - The Wolf of Wall Street

LEADING ACTRESS
Cate Blanchett - Blue Jasmine
Amy Adams - American Hustle
Emma Thompson - Saving Mr Banks
Judi Dench - Philomena
Sandra Bullock - Gravity

MAKE-UP AND HAIR
American Hustle - Evelyne Noraz, Lori McCoy-Bell, Kathrine Gordon
Behind the Candelabra - Kate Biscoe, Marie Larkin
The Butler - Debra Denson, Candace Neal, Robert Stevenson, Matthew Mungle
The Great Gatsby - Maurizio Silvi, Kerry Warn
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug - Peter Swords King, Richard Taylor, Rick Findlater

ORIGINAL FILM MUSIC
Gravity - Steven Price
12 Years a Slave - Hans Zimmer
The Book Thief - John Williams
Captain Phillips - Henry Jackman
Saving Mr Banks - Thomas Newman

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
American Hustle - Eric Warren Singer, David O. Russell
Blue Jasmine - Woody Allen
Gravity - Alfonso Cuaron, Jonas Cuaron
Inside Llewyn Davis - Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Nebraska - Bob Nelson

OUTSTANDING BRITISH CONTRIBUTION TO CINEMA
Peter Greenaway

OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM
Gravity - Alfonso Cuaron, David Heyman, Jonas Cuaron
Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom - Justin Chadwick, Anant Singh, David M. Thompson, William Nicholson
Philomena - Stephen Frears, Gabrielle Tana, Steve Coogan, Tracey Seaward, Jeff Pope
Rush - Ron Howard, Andrew Eaton, Peter Morgan
Saving Mr Banks - John Lee Hancock, Alison Owen, Ian Collie, Philip Steuer, Kelly Marcel, Sue Smith
The Selfish Giant - Clio Barnard, Tracy O'Riordan

OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER
Kieran Evans - Kelly & Victor
Colin Carberry, Glenn Patterson - Good Vibrations
Kelly Marcel - Saving Mr Banks
Paul Wright, Polly Stokes - For Those In Peril
Scott Graham - Shell

PRODUCTION DESIGN
The Great Gatsby - Catherine Martin, Beverley Dunn
12 Years a Slave - Adam Stockhausen, Alice Baker
American Hustle - Judy Becker, Heather Loeffler
Behind the Candelabra - Howard Cummings, Barbara Munch-Cameron
Gravity - Andy Nicholson, Rosie Goodwin, Joanne Woollard

SOUND
Gravity - Glenn Freemantle, Skip Lievsay, Christopher Benstead, Niv Adiri, Chris Munro
All Is Lost - Richard Hymns, Steve Boeddeker, Brandon Proctor, Micah Bloomberg, Gillian Arthur
Captain Phillips - Chris Burdon, Mark Taylor, Mike Prestwood Smith, Chris Munro, Oliver Tarney
Inside Llewyn Davis - Peter F. Kurland, Skip Lievsay, Greg Orloff, Paul Urmson
Rush - Danny Hambrook, Martin Steyer, Stefan Korte, Markus Stemler, Frank Kruse 

SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS
Gravity - Tim Webber, Chris Lawrence, David Shirk, Neil Corbould, Nikki Penny
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug - Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton, Eric Reynolds
Iron Man 3 - Bryan Grill, Christopher Townsend, Guy Williams, Dan Sudick
Pacific Rim - Hal Hickel, John Knoll, Lindy De Quattro, Nigel Sumner
Star Trek Into Darkness - Roger Guyett, Patrick Tubach, Ben Grossmann, Burt Dalton

SUPPORTING ACTOR
Barkhad Abdi - Captain Phillips
Bradley Cooper - American Hustle
Daniel Bruhl - Rush
Matt Damon - Behind the Candelabra
Michael Fassbender - 12 Years a Slave

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Jennifer Lawrence - American Hustle
Julia Roberts - August: Osage County
Lupita Nyong'o - 12 Years a Slave
Oprah Winfrey - The Butler
Sally Hawkins - Blue Jasmine

The Experience of Loss As a Fan

Today was a heavy day. First I saw DALLAS BUYERS CLUB (you may be able to expect an eventual post on that at some point, but no promises), which is not the cheeriest movie in the Oscar race. On my way home, though, I was dealt a devastating blow. I saw, via Jezebel, of all places, that Philip Seymour Hoffman had been found dead in his New York home.

I wanted to take a second, away from my multiple posts about awards shows, to reflect on experiencing loss when you're a fan.

When John Ritter died in 2003, I cried for hours. That was my first experience with a loss that, as is the view of many people, really wasn't something that should affect me. Heath Ledger's death, in 2008, was another blow, and even more devastating than John's. I walked around in a fog for the entire day. I barely heard people. I felt as if the world had shifted. When I heard Richard Griffiths had died last year, I was heartbroken, but nowhere near what I had felt when John and Heath had died. Artists have since died that I greatly admired, but I haven't felt any blow like those I felt with John and Heath - until today. With the death of Philip Seymour Hoffman, the world has again shifted.

A lot of people don't get this. I didn't know them, right? It's normal to be sad, but to be heartbroken? That's weird. I'm not related to them, I'm not a friend, I never even met them, and if they were still alive, I probably still wouldn't have met them. (Unless entirely by chance.) They're celebrities. They have no idea I exist, and wouldn't care if I did. Right?

Wrong. I think that is wrong. Obviously, I wouldn't know if they would care if I existed. That's not the reason I cared so deeply about these people. In a Tweet, Emma Woodman of Hereafter Events (more on this amazing company later in the post) said, "You connected through his art." This just struck me as the absolutely spot-on description of how I feel about these men. (And all the women I love, such as Maggie Smith. I just happen to have lost men lately.) I truly did connect through all of their art. They got to me with their talent. And they all got to me in such significantly different ways.

John Ritter was very much a father figure. I do have a father, who is amazing, there's no sob story there, but he was another figure. I watched him on 8 Simple Rules for ages, and I grew up watching him on reruns of Three's Company. Obviously, he was a father figure in terms of 8 Simple Rules. But he was also a laugh riot on Three's Company. He also seemed like such a nice man - that seems trivial. But it's still something I felt.

Heath Ledger started out as a crush, and as I grew and matured, and as his roles grew and matured, he became someone I admired and I couldn't wait to see where he would go next. (Brokeback Mountain just solidified this for me.) I am the farthest thing from a Batman fan - in terms of not being knowledgeable at all - but he was easily astounding in The Dark Knight. I went through a major evolution with Heath, and hearing of his death rocked me to the core.

Finally, today, with Philip Seymour Hoffman - it was another blow that felt like it shattered everything. I have always loved him - my primary loves were definitely Almost Famous and Capote. That man, to me, could truly do anything he set his mind to. Even in the smallest role, he dominated, and he was so smart. (I'm hating the past tense.) He was a quiet genius, and I don't think he ever got enough recognition for what he brought to the world's table.

What ties these together? I think they were all completely unexpected. It hardly matters what they died of; none of them were deaths that people saw coming. It was upsetting when Richard Harris died; I mourned him. But he had cancer, and he was quite elderly. It was expected, though still sad when it happened. But you had more capacity and more time to prepare yourself. For these men, there was no preparation. One day, I woke up, and I heard the news. It took me years to watch the last episode of 8 Simple Rules that dealt with John's character, and I couldn't stand the continuation of the series. It took me ages to watch 10 Things I Hate About You again, and I used to watch it every few months. Now, it's going to be extremely difficult to see anything with Philip. I just saw a photoset from Catching Fire that I've seen twenty times, but now it's different.

I connected with these people through their art. I feel I have that connection to them, so when it is severed, and I know I won't be seeing any of their new art, it hurts. No, I don't know them. That doesn't mean I can't feel their loss. Why should you only be able to be upset about death when you know people? With that logic, you shouldn't feel bad about people being murdered, because you didn't know them. (See how flawed that is?) Obviously, this isn't quite the same thing, but I refuse to pretend I feel nothing at the loss of these artists just because I didn't know them. I felt that connection, and it hurts, especially when it's such an incredibly shocking loss.

Hereafter Events is a company I've become fascinated with and really supportive of recently. Emma Woodman runs it (I started following her on Twitter without having any idea what her business was about when I was looking for event companies to connect with) and she plans celebrations of life. This is such an important area of the event world; who wants to plan a loved one's celebration? It's hard to get out of your head and think of the celebration aspect, and planning a funeral is incredibly difficult. (Obviously, funeral directors are the people who plan the actual funeral service; but celebrations of life are becoming huger and huger, and so important to overcome the popular perception of a loss as being incredibly depressing and nothing else.) She also runs Death Cafes, and though I haven't made it to one yet, I am so excited to attend in the future. They involve having conversations about death and erasing the perception of complete depression, and they just sound so cool. I've been thinking about working in that world, and can't wait to talk to Emma and her team more, and her reassurance that the fact that I feel this loss so keenly is fine makes me even more excited. Please check her out! Twitter

Anyway. I wanted to get some of that out. It's been running around my head all day. I feel better than I did earlier, but the loss will always be there. And I'm okay with that. I'm a fan, and I can feel loss too.