The 89th Annual Academy Awards - Nominations

Here they are!! Nominations for the 2017 Oscars are IN. Not surprised about some of them, but oh so excited. I'm going to be attending another event this year, and will probably be livetweeting, but will do an updated post the next day or so. (Follow @DanaDeMille)

BEST PICTURE

Arrival
Fences
Hacksaw Ridge
Hell or High Water
Hidden Figures
La La Land
Lion
Manchester By the Sea
Moonlight

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE

Casey Affleck for Manchester By the Sea
Andrew Garfield for Hacksaw RidgeRyan Gosling for La La Land
Viggo Mortenson for Captain Fantastic
Denzel Washington for Fences

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE

Isabelle Huppert for Elle
Ruth Negga for LovingNatalie Portman for JackieEmma Stone for La La Land
Meryl Streep for Florence Foster Jenkins

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Mahershala Ali for MoonlightJeff Bridges for Hell or High Water
Lucas Hedges for Manchester By the Sea
Dev Patel for LionMichael Shannon for Nocturnal Animals

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Viola Davis for Fences
Naomie Harris for Moonlight
Nicole Kidman for Lion
Octavia Spencer for Hidden FiguresMichelle Williams for Manchester By the Sea

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM

Kubo and the Two Strings
Moana
My Life As a Zucchini
The Red Turtle
Zootopia

CINEMATOGRAPHY

Bradford Young for Arrival
Linus Sandgren for La La Land
Greig Fraser for LionJames Laxton for MoonlightRodrigo Prieto for Silence

COSTUME DESIGN

Joanna Johnston for Allied
Colleen Atwood for Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find ThemConsolata Boyle for Florence Foster Jenkins
Madeline Fontaine for Jackie
Mary Zaphres for La La Land

DIRECTING

Denis Villeneuve for Arrival
Mel Gibson for Hacksaw Ridge
Damien Chazelle for La La Land
Kenneth Lonergan for Manchester By the Sea
Barry Jenkins for Moonlight

DOCUMENTARY (FEATURE)

Fire at Sea
I Am Not Your Negro
Life, Animated
O.J.: Made in America
13th 

DOCUMENTARY (SHORT SUBJECT)

Extremis
4.1 Miles
Joe's Violin
Watani: My Homeland
The White Helmets

FILM EDITING

Joe Walker for Arrival
John Gilbert for Hacksaw Ridge
Jake Roberts for Hell or High Water
Tom Cross for La La Land
Nat Sanders and Joi McMillon for Moonlight

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

Land of Mine - Denmark
A Man Called Ove - Sweden
The Salesman - Iran
Tanna - Australia
Toni Erdmann - Germany

MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING

Eva von Bahr and Love Larson for A Man Called Ove
Joel Harlow and Richard Alonzo for Star Trek Beyond
Alessandro Bertolazzi, Giorgio Gregorini and Christopher Nelson for Suicide Squad

MUSIC (ORIGINAL SCORE)

Mica Levi for Jackie
Justin Hurwitz for La La Land
Dustin O'Halloran and Hauschka for Lion
Nicholas Britell for Moonlight
Thomas Newman for Passengers

MUSIC (ORIGINAL SONG)

"Audition (The Fools Who Dream)" - La La Land - Music by Justin Hurtwitz, Lyric by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul
"Can't Stop the Feeling" - Trolls - Music and Lyric by Justin Timberlake, Max Martin and Karl Johan Schuster
"City of Stars" - La La Land - Music by Justin Hurwitz, Lyric by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul
"The Empty Chair" - Jim: The James Foley Story - Music and Lyric by J. Ralph and Sting
"How Far I'll Go" - Moana - Music and Lyric by Lin-Manuel Miranda

I wasn't going to comment much on these but I AM SO EXCITED about "Audition" from La La Land getting nominated - I adore that song and it moved me. But I also really want Lin-Manuel Miranda to EGOT so I'm conflicted.

PRODUCTION DESIGN

Patrice Vermette (Production Design) and Paul Hotte (Set Decoration) for Arrival
Stuart Craig (Production Design) and Anna Pinnock (Set Decoration) for Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Jess Gonchor (Production Design) and Nancy Haigh (Set Decoration) for Hail, Caesar!
David Wasco (Production Design) and Sandy Reynolds-Wasco (Set Decoration) for La La Land
Guy Hendrix Dyas (Production Design) and Gene Serdena (Set Decoration) for Passengers

SHORT FILM (ANIMATED)

Blind Vaysha
Borrowed Time
Pear Cider and Cigarettes
Pearl
Piper

SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION)

Ennemis Interieurs
La Femme et le TGV
Silent Nights
Sing
Timecode

SOUND EDITING

Sylvain Bellmare for Arrival
Wylie Stateman and Renee Tondelli for Deepwater Horizon
Robert Mackenzie and Andy Wright for Hacksaw Ridge
Ai-Ling Lee and Mildred Iatrou Morgan for La La Land
Alan Robert Murray and Bub Asman for Sully

SOUND MIXING

Bernard Gariepy Strobl and Claude La Haye for Arrival
Kevin O'Connell, Andy Wright, Robert Mackenzie and Peter Grace for Hacksaw Ridge
Andy Nelson, Ai-Ling Lee and Steve A. Morrow for La La Land
David Parker, Christopher Scarabosio and Stuart Wilson for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers, Jeffrey J. Haboush and Mac Ruth for 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi

VISUAL EFFECTS

Craig Hammack, Jason Snell, Jason Billington and Burt Dalton for Deepwater Horizon
Stephane Ceretti, Richard Bluff, Vincent Cirelli and Paul Corbould for Doctor Strange
Robert Legato, Adam Valdez, Andrew R. Jones and Don Lemmon for The Jungle Book
Steve Emerson, Oliver Jones, Brian McLean and Brad Schiff for Kubo and the Two Strings
John Knoll, Mohen Leo, Hal Hickel and Neil Corbould for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

WRITING (ADAPTED SCREENPLAY)

Eric Heisserer for Arrival
August Wilson for Fences
Allison Schroeder and Theodore Melfi for Hidden Figures
Luke Davies for Lion
Barry Jenkins (Screenplay) and Tarell Alvin McCraney (Story) for Moonlight

WRITING (ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY)

Taylor Sheridan for Hell or High Water
Damien Chazelle for La La Land
Yorgos Lanthimos and Efthimis Filippou for The Lobster
Kenneth Lonergan for Manchester By the Sea
Mike Mills for 20th Century Women

Winners - Critics' Choice Awards 2016

We're getting down to the wire! (The Oscars wire, I guess.)

BEST MOVIE
The Big Short
Bridge of Spies
Brooklyn
Carol
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Room
Sicario
Spotlight
Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens

BEST ACTOR
Bryan Cranston, Trumbo
Matt Damon, The Martian
Johnny Depp, Black Mass
Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant
Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs
Eddie Redmayne, The Danish Girl

BEST ACTRESS
Cate Blanchett, Carol
Brie Larson, Room
Jennifer Lawrence, Joy
Charlotte Rampling, 45 Years
Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn
Charlize Theron, Mad Max: Fury Road

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Paul Dano, Love & Mercy
Tom Hardy, The Revenant
Mark Ruffalo, Spotlight
Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies
Michael Shannon, 99 Homes
Sylvester Stallone, Creed

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Jennifer Jason Leigh, The Hateful Eight
Rooney Mara, Carol
Rachel McAdams, Spotlight
Helen Mirren, Trumbo
Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl
Kate Winslet, Steve Jobs

BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS
Abraham Attah, Beasts of No Nation
R.J. Cyler, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
Shameik Moore, Dope
Milo Parker, Mr. Holmes
Jacob Tremblay, Room

BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE
The Big Short
The Hateful Eight
Spotlight
Straight Outta Compton
Trumbo

BEST DIRECTOR
Todd Haynes, Carol
Alejandro G. Inarritu, The Revenant
Tom McCarthy, Spotlight
George Miller, Mad Max: Fury Road
Ridley Scott, The Martian
Steven Spielberg, Bridge of Spies

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Matt Charm and Joel & Ethan Coen, Bridge of Spies
Alex Garland, Ex Machina
Quentin Tarantino, The Hateful Eight
Pete Docter, Meg LeFauve, Josh Cooley, Inside Out
Josh Singer and Tom McCarthy, Spotlight

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Charles Randolph and Adam McKay, The Big Short
Nick Hornby, Brooklyn
Drew Goddard, The Martian
Emma Donoghue, Room
Aaron Sorkin, Steve Jobs

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Ed Lachman, Carol
Robert Richardson, The Hateful Eight
John Seale, Mad Max: Fury Road
Dariusz Wolski, The Martian
Emmanuel Lubezki, The Revenant
Roger Deakins, Sicario

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Adam Stockhausen, Rena DeAngelo, Bridge of Spies
Francois Seguin, Jennifer Oman and Louise Tremblay, Brooklyn
Judy Becker and Heather Loeffler, Carol
Eve Stewart and Michael Standish, The Danish Girl
Colin Gibson, Mad Max: Fury Road
Arthur Max and Celia Bobak, The Martian

BEST EDITING
Hank Corwin, The Big Short
Margaret Sixel, Mad Max: Fury Road
Pietro Scalia, The Martian
Stephen Mirrione, The Revenant
Tom McArdle, Spotlight

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Odile Dicks-Mireaux, Brooklyn
Sandy Powell, Carol
Sandy Powell, Cinderella
Paco Delgado, The Danish Girl
Jenny Beavan, Mad Max: Fury Road

BEST HAIR & MAKEUP
Black Mass
Carol
The Danish Girl
The Hateful Eight
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Revenant

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Ex Machina
Jurassic World
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
The Walk

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Anomalisa
The Good Dinosaur
Inside Out
The Peanuts Movie
Shaun the Sheep

BEST ACTION MOVIE
Furious 7
Jurassic World
Mad Max: Fury Road
Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation
Sicario

BEST ACTOR IN AN ACTION MOVIE
Daniel Craig, Spectre
Tom Cruise, Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation
Tom Hardy, Mad Max: Fury Road
Chris Pratt, Jurassic World
Paul Rudd, Ant-Man

BEST ACTRESS IN AN ACTION MOVIE
Emily Blunt, Sicario
Rebecca Ferguson, Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation
Bryce Dallas Howard, Jurassic World
Jennifer Lawrence, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2
Charlize Theron, Mad Max: Fury Road

BEST COMEDY
The Big Short
Inside Out
Joy
Sisters
Spy
Trainwreck

BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY
Christian Bale, The Big Short
Steve Carell, The Big Short
Robert De Niro, The Intern
Bill Hader, Trainwreck
Jason Statham, Spy

BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
Tina Fey, Sisters
Jennifer Lawrence, Joy
Melissa McCarthy, Spy
Amy Schumer, Trainwreck
Lily Tomlin, Grandma

BEST SCI-FI/HORROR MOVIE
Ex Machina
It Follows
Jurassic World
Mad Max: Fury World
The Martian

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
The Assassin
Goodnight Mommy
Mustang
The Second Mother (Que Horas Ela Volta?)
Son of Saul

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Amy
Cartel Land
Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief
He Named Me Malala
The Look of Silence
Where to Invade Next

BEST SONG
"Love Me Like You Do," Fifty Shades of Grey
"See You Again," Furious 7
"Til It Happens to You," The Hunting Ground
"One Kind of Love," Love & Mercy
"Writing's On the Wall," Spectre
"Simple Song #3," Youth

BEST SCORE
Carter Burwell, Carol
Ennio Morricone, The Hateful Eight
Ryuichi Sakamoto and Alva Noto, The Revenant
Johann Johansson, Sicario
Howard Shore, Spotlight

BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Anthony Anderson, black-ish
Aziz Ansari, Master of None
Will Forte, The Last Man on Earth
Randall Park, Fresh Off the Boat
Fred Savage, The Grinder
Jeffrey Tambor, Transparent

BEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Hugh Dancy, Hannibal
Rami Malek, Mr. Robot
Clive Owen, The Knick
Liev Schreiber, Ray Donovan
Justin Theroux, The Leftovers
Aden Young, Rectify

BEST ACTOR IN A MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION OR LIMITED SERIES
Wes Bentley, American Horror Story: Hotel
Martin Clunes, Arthur & George
Idris Elba, Luther
Oscar Isaac, Show Me a Hero
Vincent Kartheiser, Saints & Strangers
Patrick Wilson, Fargo

BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Rachel Bloom, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
Aya Cash, You're the Worst
Wendi McLendon-Covey, The Goldbergs
Gina Rodriguez, Jane the Virgin
Tracee Ellis Ross, black-ish
Constance Wu, Fresh Off the Boat

BEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Shiri Appleby, UnREAL
Carrie Coon, The Leftovers
Viola Davis, How to Get Away With Murder
Eva Green, Penny Dreadful
Taraji P. Henson, Empire
Krysten Ritter, Jessica Jones

BEST ACTRESS IN A MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION OR LIMITED SERIES
Kathy Bates, American Horror Story: Hotel
Kirsten Dunst, Fargo
Sarah Hay, Flesh and Bone
Alyvia Alyn Lind, Dolly Parton's Coat of Many Colours
Rachel McAdams, True Detective
Shanice Williams, The Wiz Live!

BEST COMEDY SERIES
black-ish
Catastrophe
Jane the Virgin
Master of None
The Last Man on Earth
Transparent
You're the Worst

BEST DRAMA SERIES
Empire
Mr. Robot
Penny Dreadful
Rectify
The Knick
The Leftovers
UnReal

BEST GUEST ACTOR/ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Ellen Burstyn, Mom
Anjelica Huston, Transparent
Cherry Jones, Transparent
Jenifer Lewis, black-ish
Timothy Olyphant, The Grinder
John Slattery, Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp

BEST GUEST ACTOR/ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Richard Armitage, Hannibal
Justin Kirk, Manhattan
Patti LuPone, Penny Dreadful
Margo Martindale, The Good Wife
Marisa Tomei, Empire
B.D. Wong, Mr. Robot

BEST MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION OR LIMITED SERIES
Childhood's End
Fargo
Luther
Saints & Strangers
Show Me a Hero
The Wiz Live!

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Andre Braugher, Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Jaime Camil, Jane the Virgin
Jay Duplass, Transparent
Neil Flynn, The Middle
Keegan Michael Key, Playing House
Mel Rodriguez, Getting On

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Clayne Crawford, Rectify
Christopher Eccleston, The Leftovers
Andre Holland, The Knick
Jonathan Jackson, Nashville
Rufus Sewell, The Man in the High Castle
Christian Slater, Mr. Robot

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION OR LIMITED SERIES
David Alan Grier, The Wiz Live!
Ne-Yo, The Wiz Live!
Nick Offerman, Fargo
Jesse Plemons, Fargo
Raoul Trujillo, Saints & Strangers
Bokeem Woodbine, Fargo

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Mayim Bialik, The Big Bang Theory
Kether Donohue, You're the Worst
Allison Janney, Mom
Judith Light, Transparent
Niecy Nash, Getting On
Eden Sher, The Middle

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Ann Dowd, The Leftovers
Regina King, The Leftovers
Helen McCrory, Penny Dreadful
Hayden Panetierre, Nashville
Maura Tierney, The Affair
Constance Zimmer, UnREAL

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION OR LIMITED SERIES
Mary J. Blige, The Wiz Live!
Laura Haddock, Luther
Cristin Milioti, Fargo
Sarah Paulson, American Horror Story: Hotel
Winona Ryder, Show Me a Hero
Jean Smart, Fargo

BEST ANIMATION SERIES
Bob's Burgers
BoJack Horseman
South Park
Star Wars Rebels
The Simpsons
 
 

The 20th Annual Critics' Choice Movie Awards - Updated Winners

I always manage to forget about the Critics' Choice Awards, but I noticed they were airing tonight, January 15, so I figured, let's jump on board! I think I'll watch them, so I may be liveblogging - keep an eye on this post for updated winners!

UPDATED WITH WINNERS

BEST PICTURE
Birdman, or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance
Boyhood
Gone Girl
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Nightcrawler
Selma
The Theory of Everything
Unbroken
Whiplash

BEST ACTOR
Benedict Cumberbatch - The Imitation Game
Ralph Fiennes - The Grand Budapest Hotel
Jake Gyllenhaal - Nightcrawler
Michael Keaton - Birdman, or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance
David Oyelowo - Selma
Eddie Redmayne - The Theory of Everything

That's the second win for Michael Keaton tonight! I'm thinking an Oscar is likely. But Benedict and Eddie are still in the running, to me, especially considering the different voters that the Oscars have. This is going to be interesting.

BEST ACTRESS
Jennifer Aniston - Cake
Marion Cotillard - Two Days, One Night
Felicity Jones - The Theory of Everything
Julianne Moore - Still Alice
Rosamund Pike - Gone Girl
Reese Witherspoon - Wild

Oh, Julianne's speech was beautiful - my favourite part was definitely when she thanked the other ladies nominated with her, and when she spoke about Alzheimer's. I think we've got a race between her and Felicity Jones, maybe? All these women are just so talented!

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR 
Josh Brolin - Inherent Vice
Robert Duvall - The Judge
Ethan Hawke - Boyhood
Edward Norton - Birdman, or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance
Mark Ruffalo - Foxcatcher
J.K. Simmons - Whiplash

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Patricia Arquette - Boyhood
Jessica Chastain - A Most Violent Year
Keira Knightley - The Imitation Game
Emma Stone - Birdman, or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance
Meryl Streep - Into the Woods
Tilda Swinton - Snowpiercer

BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS
Ellar Coltrane - Boyhood
Ansel Elgort - The Fault In Our Stars
Mackenzie Foy - Interstellar
Jaeden Lieberher - St Vincent
Quvenzhane Wallis - Annie
Noah Wiseman - The Babadook

BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE
Birdman, or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance
Boyhood
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Into the Woods
Selma

BEST DIRECTOR
Wes Anderson - The Grand Budapest Hotel
Ava DuVernay - Selma
David Fincher - Gone Girl
Alejandro G. Inarritu - Birdman, or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance
Angelina Jolie - Unbroken
Richard Linklater - Boyhood

I called this about two seconds before it was announced. I think Richard Linklater's going to take home a ton of awards this season, as is Boyhood.

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Birdman, or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance - Alejandro G. Inarritu, Nicholas Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris Jr., Armando Bo
Boyhood - Richard Linklater
The Grand Budapest Hotel - Wes Anderson, Hugo Guinness 
Nightcrawler - Dan Gilroy
Whiplash - Damien Chazelle

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Gone Girl - Gillian Flynn
The Imitation Game - Graham Moore
Inherent Vice - Paul Thomas Anderson
The Theory of Everything - Anthony McCarten
Unbroken - Joel & Ethan Coen, Richard LaGravenese, William Nicholson
Wild - Nick Hornby

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Birdman, or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance - Emmanuel Lubezki
The Grand Budapest Hotel - Robert Yeoman
Interstellar - Hoyte Van Hoytema
Mr Turner - Dick Pope
Unbroken - Roger Deakins

BEST ART DIRECTION
Birdman, or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance - Kevin Thompson (Production Designer); George DeTitta Jr. (Set Decorator)
The Grand Budapest Hotel - Adam Stockhausen (Production Designer); Anna Pinnock (Set Decorator)
Inherent Vice - David Crank (Production Designer); Amy Wells (Set Decorator)
Interstellar - Nathan Crowley (Production Designer); Gary Fettis (Set Decorator)
Into the Woods - Dennis Gassner (Production Designer); Anna Pinnock (Set Decorator)
Snowpiercer - Ondrej Nekvasil (Production Designer); Beatrice Brentnerova (Set Decorator)

BEST EDITING
Birdman, or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance - Douglas Crise, Stephen Mirrione
Boyhood - Sandra Adair
Gone Girl - Kirk Baxter
Interstellar - Lee Smith
Whiplash - Tom Cross

This was definitely one of the favourites; the film looks like it was filmed in one long, continuous take, which is an incredible feat of editing. I can't wait to see it for myself.

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
The Grand Budapest Hotel - Milena Canonero
Inherent Vice - Mark Bridges
Into the Woods - Colleen Atwood
Maleficent - Anna B. Sheppard
Mr Turner - Jacqueline Durran

I'm a little disappointed - I have a soft spot for Colleen Atwood, though. The costumes in Grand Budapest were pretty great, though.

BEST HAIR & MAKEUP
Foxcatcher
Guardians of the Galaxy
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Into the Woods
Maleficent

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Edge of Tomorrow
Guardians of the Galaxy
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Interstellar 

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

I can't say I'm surprised - apparently, the Academy is the only one who missed the memo on this one. (I haven't seen it, but I'm basing it on what friends and people on Twitter have said, mostly.)


BEST ACTION MOVIE
American Sniper
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Edge of Tomorrow
Fury
Guardians of the Galaxy

BEST ACTOR IN AN ACTION MOVIE
Bradley Cooper - American Sniper
Tom Cruise - Edge of Tomorrow
Chris Evans - Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Brad Pitt - Fury
Chris Pratt - Guardians of the Galaxy

BEST ACTRESS IN AN ACTION MOVIE
Emily Blunt - Edge of Tomorrow
Scarlett Johansson - Lucy
Jennifer Lawrence - The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1
Zoe Saldana - Guardians of the Galaxy
Shailene Woodley - Divergent

This was a pleasant surprise! I wouldn't have expected this. Also, John Krasinski popping out to give her a kiss was adorable! And THANK YOU to Ms Blunt for mentioning that she finally wasn't a damsel in distress in an action film - it doesn't happen enough, and I hope she starts a trend.


BEST COMEDY
Birdman, or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance
The Grand Budapest Hotel
St Vincent
Top Five
22 Jump Street

BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY
Jon Favreau - Chef
Ralph Fiennes - The Grand Budapest Hotel
Michael Keaton - Birdman, or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance
Bill Murray - St Vincent
Chris Rock - Top Five
Channing Tatum - 22 Jump Street

BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
Rose Byrne - Neighbors
Rosario Dawson - Top Five
Melissa McCarthy - St Vincent
Jenny Slate - Obvious Child
Kristen Wiig - The Skeleton Twins

I LITERALLY SQUEALED. I'm SO glad to see recognition for this film! Jenny Slate is hilariously amazing in Obvious Child, and has gotten absolutely no large scale recognition. The film is also so, so important, and such an excellent discussion and realistic portrayal of abortion. It's amazing.


BEST SCI-FI/HORROR MOVIE
The Babadook
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Interstellar
Snowpiercer
Under the Skin

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Force Majeure
Ida
Leviathan
Two Days, One Night
Wild Tales

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
CitizenFour
Glen Campbell...I'll Be Me
Jodorowsky's Dune
Last Days in Vietnam
Life Itself
The Overnighters

BEST SONG
"Big Eyes" from Big Eyes
"Everything Is Awesome" from The Lego Movie
"Glory" from Selma
"Lost Stars" from Begin Again
"Yellow Flicker Beat" from The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1

BEST SCORE 
The Imitation Game - Alexandre Desplat
The Theory of Everything - Johann Johansson
Gone Girl - Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross
Birdman, or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance - Antonio Sanchez
Interstellar - Hans Zimmer

I really loved Gone Girl's score, so I'm a bit disappointed, but at least they were nominated. They haven't been up for any other awards. But maybe I just don't know anything about music! (Oh, well.)

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER (MVP) - New Award 2015 
Jessica Chastain

MY QUEEN! I was very excited to hear this, and that SPEECH. Her speech, completely calling out the lack of diversity in Hollywood, was so important, and so eloquently said. What a woman.

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Kevin Costner

LOUIS XIII GENIUS AWARD
Ron Howard 

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.