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20 February 2015—
It is the awards season, and we almost come to the end with the Oscar Awards Ceremony on Feb 22, 2015. The Oscar nominations were announced on January 15; and the Golden Globes, the Screen Actors Guild (SAG), the Producers Guild of America (PGA), and the Directors Guild of America (DGA) Awards, and more awards have already named their winners. Each of these awards brings the winners one step closer to the Oscar in their respective categories, if they are nominated by the Academy.
I would like to look at the Academy Awards nominees in Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Movie, Best Documentary and Best Foreign Language Film categories, and the already-awarded winners from different associations in these categories.
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From left to right, Oscar nominees, Birdman cast Edward Norton, Michael Keaton and director Alejandro González Iñárritu at the 2014 New York Film Festival (NYFF) press conference.
Best Picture:
American Sniper
Birdman (PGA Award)
Boyhood (BAFTA , Golden Globe in Drama Awards)
The Grand Budapest Hotel (Golden Globe in Musical or Comedy Award)
The Imitation Game
Selma
The Theory of Everything
Whiplash
It is a clear indication that the movies American Sniper (a U.S. Navy sniper Chris Kyle’s autobiography), The Imitation Game (scientist Alan Turing’s biography), Selma (1965 Selma to Montgomery voting rights marches and Martin Luther King, Jr.) The Theory of Everything (physicist Stephen Hawking and his wife Jane Hawkin’s life), Whiplash (Director Damien Chazelle’s own experiences) are loosely based on a true story. But how much of it is true, and how much of it is fictional?
Incidentally, two of the films –Whiplash and Birdman– out of eight were in the 2014 New York Film Festival (NYFF) program, which is organized annually by the Film Society of Lincoln center.
Do either of these films have a chance to win the Oscar for the Best Movie? It would be a very pleasant surprise if Birdman gets it.
Do you remember Steven Knight’s film “LOCKE with Tom Hardy, and eleven voices? About how a one-night stand can chance happily married, very successful businessman’s life. A film (mostly) shot in a small car’s front seat, in real time, with one person and phone calls which he communicates with everyone in his life and conducts everything needs to be taking care of. “Locke” exhibits a great cinematography, very challenging directing and brilliant performance by Hardy.
I always wanted or believed that this movie should have been in “Best Film”, Best Director”, “Best Actor”, “Best Cinematography”, “ Best Original Screenplay” Oscar nominees list. Alas, not even in one category we see this movie.
Best Director:
Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Alejandro González Iñárritu, Birdman (DGA Award)
Richard Linklater, Boyhood (BAFTA, Golden Globe Awards)
Morten Tyldum, The Imitation Game
Bennett Miller, Foxcatcher
Steven Knight “LOCKE” should have been on this list.
Best Actor:
Steve Carell, Foxcatcher
Bradley Cooper, American Sniper
Benedict Cumberbatch, The Imitation Game
Michael Keaton, Birdman (Golden Globe in Musical or Comedy)
Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything (BAFTA, SAG, Golden Globe in Drama Awards)
Jake Gyllenhaal “Nightcrawler , Tom Hardy “Locke” should have been nominated in this category.)
In Hollywood if an actor/actress gains/loses weight or otherwise changes his/her appearance, it seems to increase the odds of their being awarded the prize. Or so it seem from the past examples of Robert De Niro (Raging Bull), Tom Hanks (Philadelphia), Adrien Brody (The Pianist) Charlize Theron (Monster), Natalie Portman (Black Swan), and Nicole Kidman (The Hours), Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club), Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club).
In this category, without any hesitation, Eddie Redmayne , The Theory of Everything, will take the Oscar home by, almost, becoming Stephen Hawking.
Best Actress:
Marion Cotillard, Two Days, One Night
Felicity Jones, The Theory of Everything
Julianne Moore, Still Alice (BAFTA, SAG, Golden Globe in Drama Awards)
Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl
Reese Witherspoon, Wild
Definitely the winner will be Julianne Moore.
Best Supporting Actor:
Robert Duvall, The Judge
Ethan Hawke, Boyhood
Edward Norton, Birdman
Mark Ruffalo, Foxcatcher
J.K. Simmons, Whiplash (BAFTA, SAG, Golden Globe Awards)
This is a difficult category in which to choose one actor. J.K. Simmons gave a very powerful performance, and Edward Norton did too.
Best Supporting Actress:
Patricia Arquette, Boyhood (BAFTA, SAG, Golden Globe Awards)
Laura Dern, Wild
Keira Knightley, The Imitation Game
Emma Stone, Birdman
Meryl Streep, Into The Woods
Best Documentary Feature:
CITIZENFOUR –directed by Laura Poitras (BAFTA, DGA Awards)
Last Days In Vietnam
Virunga
Finding Vivian Maier
The Salt of the Earth
Virunga was shown at the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival, and CITIZENFOUR at the 2014 NYFF.
Best Cinematography:
Emmanuel Lubezki, Birdman (BAFTA)
Ryszard Lenczewski and Łukasz Żal, Ida
Dick Pope, Mr. Turner
Robert D. Yeoman, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Roger Deakins, Unbroken
Haris Zamabarloukos “Locke” shold have been nominated too.
Best Foreign Language Film:
A scene from Leviathan (Russia)
Leviathan (Russia) (Golden Globe)
Ida (Poland) (BAFTA)
Tangerines (Estonia)
Timbuktu (Mauritania)
Wild Tales (Argentina)
This category must be a difficult one in which to choose a winner, since all the contenders are very strong.
Ida, directed by Pawel Pawlikowski is a beautifully shot black and white film. It is about a young woman’s experience and findings about herself, her past during the preparation to become a nun.
Leviathan, directed by Andrey Zvyagintsev is a very bold, very raw movie about one family’s determination to regain control of their home against the corrupt mayor’s decision.
Timbuktu, directed by Abderrahmane Sissako, has little dialog and doesn’t need any more. Beautiful cinematography, music and Sissako’s very artfull yet clean story telling style brings us a sad story. It takes place in northern Mali in 2012. The local inhabitants’ peaceful lives are ruined by the religious demands of the jihadists. Timbuktu was shown at the 2014 NYFF.
JUST A WISH LIST, JUST MY “ WISH LIST”!
I would like to see that the Oscars go to:
BEST PICTURE: Birdman.
(Boyhood will win.)
BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE: Michael Keaton (Sadly Tom Hardy was not on the list.)
(Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything will take the Oscar)
BEST ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE: Julianne Moore
(And Julianne Moore will win.)
BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE: Tie: Edward Norton and J.K. Simmons.
(J.K. Simmons will win.)
BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE: Patricia Arquette, Boyhood, (Rene Russo, “Nightcrawler” not even on the list but definitely should have been.)
(Patricia Arquette, Boyhood will win)
DIRECTING: Alejandro González Iñárritu, Birdman (Sadly, Steven Knight ‘ Locke” is not even on the list)
(And Richard Linklater, Boyhood will win)
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: Emmanuel Lubezki, Birdman.
(Ryszard Lenczewski and Łukasz Żal, Ida, may win)
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE: Finding Vivian Maier
(CITIZENFOUR will win)
FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM: Leviathan
( But if we look at the Oscar Awards history “Ida” has more chance to win.)
This is not my predictions, but merely my “wish list.” Most likely – except for Julianne Moore– it won’t happen!!!
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