It's awards season, and rather than hastily cobble together a thread on the night I thought we could have a bit of a chat about the nominations beforehand this year. So, uh, here they are:
Best PictureAmerican Sniper
Birdman
Boyhood
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Selma
The Theory Of Everything
Whiplash
Best DirectorAlejandro G. Iñárritu, Birdman
Richard Linklater, Boyhood
Bennett Miller, Foxcatcher
Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Morten Tyldum, The Imitation Game
Best ActorSteve Carell, Foxcatcher
Bradley Cooper, American Sniper
Benedict Cumberbatch, The Imitation Game
Michael Keaton, Birdman
Eddie Redmayne, The Theory Of Everything
Best ActressMarion Cotillard, Two Days, One Night
Felicity Jones, The Theory Of Everything
Julianne Moore, Still Alice
Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl
Reese Witherspoon, Wild
Supporting ActressPatricia Arquette, Boyhood
Laura Dern, Wild
Emma Stone, Birdman
Meryl Streep, Into The Woods
Keira Knightley, The Imitation Game
Supporting ActorRobert Duvall, The Judge
Ethan Hawke, Boyhood
Edward Norton, Birdman
Mark Ruffalo, Foxcatcher
JK Simmons, Whiplash
Foreign Language FilmIda
Leviathan
Tangerines
Timbuktu
Wild Tales
Best CinematographyBirdman, Emmanuel Lubezki
The Grand Budapest Hotel, Robert Yeoman
Ida, Lukasz Zal and Ryszard Lenczewski
Mr. Turner, Dick Pope
Unbroken, Roger Deakins
Adapted ScreenplayAmerican Sniper
The Imitation Game
Inherent Vice
The Theory of Everything
Whiplash
Original ScreenplayBoyhood
Birdman
Foxcatcher
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Nightcrawler
Animated FeatureBig Hero 6
Boxtrolls
How To Train Your Dragon 2
Song Of The Sea
The Tale Of Princess Kaguya
Visual EffectsCaptain America: The Winter Soldier
Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes
Guardians Of The Galaxy
Interstellar
X:Men: Days Of Future Past
Film EditingAmerican Sniper
Boyhood
Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Whiplash
Production DesignThe Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Interstellar
Into The Woods
Mr. Turner
My thoughts, having not seen everything:
I don't like what I'm reading about Selma. Doing a PhD on that period of time means I'll probably be hyper-critical of events. Still, the subject matter means it'll be a strong candidate for best picture, but I'd like to see Birdman or Grand Budapest Hotel win. Please though, not American Sniper.
I can't see past Linklater as best director for Boyhood but the Academy works in weird and wonderful ways.
I'd like Michael Keaton to win the best actor Oscar for Birdman if only because I really like him, and also Ed Norton for best supporting actor. That said, Birdman is the only film I've seen from the nominees for that one. Quite enjoyed The Imitation Game but Benedict Cumberbatch shouldn't be up for an Oscar for it - the film wasn't
that good.
Can't comment on best actress as I've yet to see the films, but I'm not sure about Emma Stone getting a nod for supporting actress in Birdman. She's good, and has an epic rant that brought a smile to my face, but same as Cumberbatch I dunno if it's Oscar-worthy stuff. Still, I love Emma Stone so would be quite happy to see her win.
Straight shoot out between Big Hero 6 and How to Train Your Dragon 2 for the animated Oscar. I remember reading that Disney wanted a nod for Big Hero 6 in the best picture category outright - unlucky lads. I'd still give it the nod, although it'd be nice to see Ghibli score a win for Kaguya(which admittedly I haven't seen yet).
Can't really comment on the technical Oscars as I don't know enough about them save to say that Guardians of the Galaxy must have the visual effects one sewn up.