In honor of their performances in 2014 feature films, the Santa Barbara International Film Festival will be honoring Get On Up‘s Chadwick Boseman, Boyhood‘s Ellar Coltrane, Fury‘s Logan Lerman, Selma‘s David Oyelowo, Gone Girl‘s Rosamund Pike, Whiplash‘s J.K. Simmons, and Obvious Child‘s Jenny Slate with Virtuoso Awards during the 2015 festival. The special Virtuoso Awards honor is handed out in recognition of “actors who have distinguished themselves through performances in film this past year.”
“These are seven exemplary performers that provide us with undeniable evidence that 2014 was a dynamic year in acting,” stated SBIFF Executive Director Roger Durling, announcing the Virtuoso Award winners.
Previous winners include Ann Dowd, Elle Fanning, Ezra Miller, Eddie Redmayne, Omar Sy, Quvenzhane Wallis, Demian Bichir, Rooney Mara, Melissa McCarthy, Shailene Woodley, Andy Serkis, Patton Oswalt, Andrew Garfield, John Hawkes, Lesley Manville, Hailee Steinfeld, Jacki Weaver, Emily Blunt, Carey Mulligan, Saoirse Ronan, and Gabourey Sidibe. Also, Michael Stuhlbarg, Casey Affleck, Marion Cotillard, Viola Davis, Rosemarie DeWitt, Sally Hawkins, Richard Jenkins, Melissa Leo, James McAvoy, Ellen Page, Amy Ryan, Michael Shannon, Michael B. Jordan, Brie Larson, Jared Leto, and June Squibb have won the award.
The festival runs from January 27 through February 7, 2015. The winners will receive their awards during a special ceremony on February 1st.
For more info on the Santa Barbara Film Festival, visit sbiff.org.
Karl Urban, James Marsden and Wentworth Miller star in the thriller The Loft heading to theaters on January 23, 2015. In support of the film’s upcoming release, Open Road Films has unveiled a trailer along with a motion poster for the dramatic film directed by Erik Van Looy, based on the film Loft by Bart De Pauw, and co-starring Eric Stonestreet, Matthias Schoenaerts, Isabel Lucas, Rachael Taylor, and Rhona Mitra.
The Plot:
Karl Urban and James Marsden star in the tense psychological thriller The Loft, the story of five married guys who conspire to secretly share a penthouse loft in the city–a place where they can carry out hidden affairs and indulge in their deepest fantasies. But the fantasy becomes a nightmare when they discover the dead body of an unknown woman in the loft, and they realize one of the group must be involved. Paranoia seizes them as everyone begins to suspect one another. Friendships are tested, loyalties are questioned and marriages crumble as the group is consumed by fear, suspicion and murder in this relentless thriller.
“I came to tell you that something is coming that is far beyond you or I,” says Moses (Christian Bale) to Ramses (Joel Edgerton), trying to convince the Egyptian Pharaoh to set free 600,000 Hebrew slaves before the next terrible plague is set upon Egypt in director Ridley Scott’s Biblical epic Exodus: Gods and Kings.
Using state-of-the-art visual effects, Scott sets out to retell the classic story of how Moses, who once was a favorite of Ramses’ father, Seti (John Turturro), and was raised as an Egyptian, comes to learn the truth about his mother and about his Hebrew heritage. Exodus: Gods and Kings tells how Ramses, who used to call him brother, banishes Moses into the wilderness, where Moses not only survives but finds a wife, home, and a new life until he is called upon by God to go back to Egypt and tell Ramses to free the Hebrew slaves.
When Ramses refuses, God sets upon Egypt the 10 deadly plagues to force him to free the Hebrews and let them journey into the wilderness to find a home.
Ridley Scott’s Exodus: Gods and Kings is a ponderous, stilted, and heavy-handed epic with melodramatic performances and labored pacing. In truth, the 1955 Cecil B. DeMille film The Ten Commandments and even Disney’s The Prince of Egypt are far superior movie adaptations of the story of Moses and Ramses.
Christian Bale delivers an uneven performance as Moses, the favorite of Pharaoh Seti and chosen by God to lead the Jews out of Egypt. His best scenes are the quiet, intimate ones between Moses and his wife. The scenes focusing on Bale and Edgerton as Moses and Ramses battling wills feel forced and are over the top, as do the scenes between Moses and God.
Great actors, including Sir Ben Kingsley and Sigourney Weaver, are sadly wasted in the hollow epic, with each given only two scenes in a film that runs two hours and 30 minutes. Other key characters such as Joshua, Aaron, and Miriam, who have traditionally played a big part in the telling of Moses’ story, are given zero character development in Scott’s adaptation.
The production design is impressive, bringing back to the big screen a stunning Egypt the likes of which a moviegoing audience has not seen since DeMille’s Ten Commandments. However, the 10 horrible plagues set upon Egypt by God are done too rapidly in a montage of quick scenes. Especially unimpressive is the Passover where death slowly covers Egypt and claims the lives of every firstborn Egyptian, but all the Hebrew firstborn children are left unharmed.
Exodus: Gods and Kings is a pointless and unnecessary retelling of a Biblical story that deserves much better and that follows two far superior films that got it right to begin with.
GRADE: C-
Exodus: Gods and Kings opened in theaters on December 12, 2014 and is rated PG-13 for violence, including battle sequences and intense images.
Ed Sheeran appears on NBC News’ “Today” show (Photo by: Peter Kramer / NBC)
NBC’s The Voice will crown its season seven winner on December 16, 2014 and in addition to the announcement of the winner, big-name musical guests will be hitting the stage to perform. Grammy nominee Ed Sheeran will sing “Thinking Out Loud” from his album x, and Bruno Mars is confirmed to perform “Uptown Funk” with Mark Ronson. “Uptown Funk” is off of Ronson’s Uptown Special album.
Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson is confirmed to team up with Coach Adam Levine’s artist Damien, and Irish singer-songwriter Hozier will be a part of the season seven finale singing his hit single, “Take Me to the Church.” The “Take Me to the Church” music video has over 40 million views, and the single hit the number one spot as the “top viral track” on Spotify this year.
Coach Blake Shelton’s remaining artist, Country musician Craig Wayne Boyd, will have the honor of performing with Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Famers Lynyrd Skynyrd.
Season seven of The Voice has been averaging 13.6 million viewers and is, according to NBC, the #1 reality series.
The Voice season 7 finalists are Chris Jamison, Damien Lawson (the wildcard winner), and Matt McAndrew from Team Adam, and Craig Wayne Boyd from Team Blake.
“Everything is Awesome” could be an Oscar contender.
79 original songs and 114 original scores remain in the running for the 2015 Academy Awards. According to the official Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, all songs submitted in the Original Song category must “consist of words and music, both of which are original and written specifically for the film. A clearly audible, intelligible, substantive rendition of both lyric and melody must be used in the body of the film or as the first music cue in the end credits.”
To qualify in the Original Score category, a score must “be a substantial body of music that serves as original dramatic underscoring, and must be written specifically for the motion picture by the submitting composer. Scores diluted by the use of tracked themes or other preexisting music, diminished in impact by the predominant use of songs, or assembled from the music of more than one composer shall not be eligible.”
The nominees for the 87th Academy Awards will be announced on Thursday, January 15, 2015. The 2015 Oscars will take place on February 22nd in Hollywood and will be televised live on ABC.
Eligible Original Songs
“It’s On Again” from “The Amazing Spider-Man 2”
“Opportunity” from “Annie”
“Lost Stars” from “Begin Again”
“Grateful” from “Beyond the Lights”
“Big Eyes” from “Big Eyes”
“Immortals” from “Big Hero 6”
“The Apology Song” from “The Book of Life”
“I Love You Too Much” from “The Book of Life”
“The Boxtrolls Song” from “The Boxtrolls”
“Quattro Sabatino” from “The Boxtrolls”
“Ryan’s Song” from “Boyhood”
“Split The Difference” from “Boyhood”
“No Fate Awaits Me” from “The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Them”
“Brave Souls” from “Dolphin Tale 2”
“You Got Me” from “Dolphin Tale 2”
“All Our Endless Love” from “Endless Love”
“Let Me In” from “The Fault in Our Stars”
“Not About Angels” from “The Fault in Our Stars”
“Until The End” from “Garnet’s Gold”
“It Just Takes A Moment” from “Girl on a Bicycle”
“Last Stop Paris” from “Girl on a Bicycle”
“Ordinary Human” from “The Giver”
“I’m Not Gonna Miss You” from “Glen Campbell…I’ll Be Me”
“Find A Way” from “The Good Lie”
“Color The World” from “The Hero of Color City”
“The Last Goodbye” from “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies”
“Chariots” from “The Hornet’s Nest”
“Follow Me” from “The Hornet’s Nest”
“Something To Shoot For” from “Hot Guys with Guns”
“For The Dancing And The Dreaming” from “How to Train Your Dragon 2”
“Afreen” from “The Hundred-Foot Journey”
“Yellow Flicker Beat” from “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1”
“Heart Like Yours” from “If I Stay”
“I Never Wanted To Go” from “If I Stay”
“Mind” from “If I Stay”
“Everything Is Awesome” from “The Lego Movie”
“Call Me When You Find Yourself” from “Life Inside Out”
“Coming Back To You” from “Life of an Actress The Musical”
“The Life Of An Actress” from “Life of an Actress The Musical”
“Sister Rust” from “Lucy”
“You Fooled Me” from “Merchants of Doubt”
“Million Dollar Dream” from “Million Dollar Arm”
“Spreading The Word/Makhna” from “Million Dollar Arm”
“We Could Be Kings” from “Million Dollar Arm”
“A Million Ways To Die” from “A Million Ways to Die in the West”
“Way Back When” from “Mr. Peabody & Sherman”
“America For Me” from “A Most Violent Year”
“I’ll Get You What You Want (Cockatoo In Malibu)” from “Muppets Most Wanted”
“Something So Right” from “Muppets Most Wanted”
“We’re Doing A Sequel” from “Muppets Most Wanted”
“Mercy Is” from “Noah”
“Seeds” from “Occupy the Farm”
“Grant My Freedom” from “The One I Wrote for You”
“The One I Wrote For You” from “The One I Wrote for You”
“Hal” from “Only Lovers Left Alive”
“Shine” from “Paddington”
“Still I Fly” from “Planes: Fire & Rescue”
“Batucada Familia” from “Rio 2”
“Beautiful Creatures” from “Rio 2”
“Poisonous Love” from “Rio 2”
“What Is Love” from “Rio 2”
“Over Your Shoulder” from “Rudderless”
“Sing Along” from “Rudderless”
“Stay With You” from “Rudderless”
“Everyone Hides” from “St. Vincent”
“Why Why Why” from “St. Vincent”
“Glory” from “Selma”
“The Morning” from “A Small Section of the World”
“Special” from “Special”
“Gimme Some” from “#Stuck”
“The Only Thing” from “Third Person”
“Battle Cry” from “Transformers: Age of Extinction”
“Miracles” from “Unbroken”
“Summer Nights” from “Under the Electric Sky”
“We Will Not Go” from “Virunga”
“Heavenly Father” from “Wish I Was Here”
“So Now What” from “Wish I Was Here”
“Long Braid” from “Work Weather Wife”
“Moon” from “Work Weather Wife”
Eligible Original Scores:
“American Revolutionary: The Evolution of Grace Lee Boggs,” Vivek Maddala, composer
“Anita,” Lili Haydn, composer
“Annabelle,” Joseph Bishara, composer
“At Middleton,” Arturo Sandoval, composer
“Atlas Shrugged: Who Is John Galt?,” Elia Cmiral, composer
“Bears,” George Fenton, composer
“Belle,” Rachel Portman, composer
“Big Eyes,” Danny Elfman, composer
“Big Hero 6,” Henry Jackman, composer
“The Book of Life,” Gustavo Santaolalla and Tim Davies, composers
“The Boxtrolls,” Dario Marianelli, composer
“Brick Mansions,” Trevor Morris, composer
“Cake,” Christophe Beck, composer
“Calvary,” Patrick Cassidy, composer
“Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” Henry Jackman, composer
“The Case against 8,” Blake Neely, composer
“Cheatin’,” Nicole Renaud, composer
“Dawn of the Planet of the Apes,” Michael Giacchino, composer
“The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Them,” Son Lux, composer
“Divergent,” Tom Holkenborg, composer
“Dolphin Tale 2,” Rachel Portman, composer
“Dracula Untold,” Ramin Djawadi, composer
“Draft Day,” John Debney, composer
“The Drop,” Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders, composers
“Earth to Echo,” Joseph Trapanese, composer
“Edge of Tomorrow,” Christophe Beck, composer
“Endless Love,” Christophe Beck and Jake Monaco, composers
“The Equalizer,” Harry Gregson-Williams, composer
“Exodus: Gods and Kings,” Alberto Iglesias, composer
“The Fault in Our Stars,” Mike Mogis, composer
“Finding Vivian Maier,” J. Ralph, composer
“Fury,” Steven Price, composer
“Garnet’s Gold,” J. Ralph, composer
“Girl on a Bicycle,” Craig Richey, composer
“The Giver,” Marco Beltrami, composer
“Godzilla,” Alexandre Desplat, composer
“Gone Girl,” Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, composers
“The Good Lie,” Martin Léon, composer
“The Grand Budapest Hotel,” Alexandre Desplat, composer
“The Great Flood,” Bill Frisell, composer
“Hercules,” Fernando Velázquez, composer
“The Hero of Color City,” Zoë Poledouris-Roché and Angel Roché, Jr., composers
“The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies,” Howard Shore, composer
“The Homesman,” Marco Beltrami, composer
“Horrible Bosses 2,” Christopher Lennertz, composer
“How to Train Your Dragon 2,” John Powell, composer
“The Hundred-Foot Journey,” A.R. Rahman, composer
“The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1,” James Newton Howard, composer
“I Origins,” Will Bates and Phil Mossman, composers
“The Imitation Game,” Alexandre Desplat, composer
“Inherent Vice,” Jonny Greenwood, composer
“Interstellar,” Hans Zimmer, composer
“The Interview,” Henry Jackman, composer
“Into the Storm,” Brian Tyler, composer
“Jal,” Sonu Nigam and Bickram Ghosh, composers
“The Judge,” Thomas Newman, composer
“Kill the Messenger,” Nathan Johnson, composer
“Kochadaiiyaan,” A.R. Rahman, composer
“Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return,” Toby Chu, composer
“The Lego Movie,” Mark Mothersbaugh, composer
“The Liberator,” Gustavo Dudamel, composer
“Life Itself,” Joshua Abrams, composer
“Living Is Easy with Eyes Closed,” Pat Metheny, composer
“Lucy,” Eric Serra, composer
“Maleficent,” James Newton Howard, composer
“The Maze Runner,” John Paesano, composer
“Merchants of Doubt,” Mark Adler, composer
“Million Dollar Arm,” A.R. Rahman, composer
“A Million Ways to Die in the West,” Joel McNeely, composer
“Mr. Peabody & Sherman,” Danny Elfman, composer
“Mr. Turner,” Gary Yershon, composer
“The Monuments Men,” Alexandre Desplat, composer
“A Most Violent Year,” Alex Ebert, composer
“My Old Lady,” Mark Orton, composer
“Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb,” Alan Silvestri, composer
“Nightcrawler,” James Newton Howard, composer
“No God, No Master,” Nuno Malo, composer
“Noah,” Clint Mansell, composer
“Non-Stop,” John Ottman, composer
“The One I Love,” Danny Bensi and Saunder Jurriaans, composers
“Ouija,” Anton Sanko, composer
“Paddington,” Nick Urata, composer
“Penguins of Madagascar,” Lorne Balfe, composer
“Pompeii,” Clinton Shorter, composer
“The Purge: Anarchy,” Nathan Whitehead, composer
“The Railway Man,” David Hirschfelder, composer
“Red Army,” Christophe Beck and Leo Birenberg, composers
“Ride Along,” Christopher Lennertz, composer
“Rocks in My Pockets,” Kristian Sensini, composer
“Rosewater,” Howard Shore, composer
“St. Vincent,” Theodore Shapiro, composer
“The Salt of the Earth,” Laurent Petitgand, composer
“Selma,” Jason Moran, composer
“The Signal,” Nima Fakhrara, composer
“Snowpiercer,” Marco Beltrami, composer
“Song of the Sea,” Bruno Coulais, composer
“Still Alice,” Ilan Eshkeri, composer
“The Tale of the Princess Kaguya,” Joe Hisaishi, composer
“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” Brian Tyler, composer
“That Awkward Moment,” David Torn, composer
“The Theory of Everything,” Jóhann Jóhannsson, composer
“This Is Where I Leave You,” Michael Giacchino, composer
“300: Rise of an Empire,” Tom Holkenborg, composer
“Tracks,” Garth Stevenson, composer
“Transformers: Age of Extinction,” Steve Jablonsky, composer
“22 Jump Street,” Mark Mothersbaugh, composer
“Unbroken,” Alexandre Desplat, composer
“Under the Skin,” Mica Levi, composer
“Virunga,” Patrick Jonsson, composer
“Visitors,” Philip Glass, composer
“A Walk among the Tombstones,” Carlos Rafael Rivera, composer
“Walking with the Enemy,” Timothy Williams, composer
“Wild Tales,” Gustavo Santaolalla, composer
“X-Men: Days of Future Past,” John Ottman, composer
Disney’s focusing on the kids of notorious villains in the upcoming Disney Channel Original Movie Descendants and they’ve just released the first super short teaser trailer that gives nothing away. Kenny Ortega (the High School Musical films) directs the family-friendly, villain-friendly movie, which is aiming for a 2015 premiere.
Dove Cameron plays Maleficent’s daughter, Sofia Carso is the Evil Queen’s daughter, and Cameron Boyce tackles the role of Cruella de Vil’s son. And Twilight‘s Booboo Stewart is playing Jafar’s son.
The Plot:
Disney’s iconic characters are living out their happy endings in Auradon, a present-day idyllic kingdom. All defeated villains have been exiled to the Isle of the Lost, a remote island where they must spend their remaining days isolated from Auradon’s modern-day luxuries. Time passes, and the teenage son of King Beast and Queen Belle is poised to take the throne.
His first proclamation: offer a chance at redemption to the trouble-making descendants of the villains stuck on the Isle of the Lost. The teenaged kids of Maleficent, the Evil Queen, Jafar and Cruella de Vil are allowed into the kingdom to attend prep school alongside the teenage progeny of iconic Disney heroes. The villainous parents see this as an opportunity to use their children to carry out an evil plan that will finally free them all from the Isle of the Lost. Will these evil teens follow in the footsteps of their wicked parents?
Community star Donald Glover will write and star in Atlanta, a comedy pilot set up at FX. Glover created the series and will executive produce along with Paul Simms and Dianne McGunigle.
“Donald Glover is a uniquely talented actor and performer who brings real-life experience to this subject matter,” said Nick Grad, President of Original Programming for FX Networks. “Not only is Donald a very gifted actor, he has achieved tremendous success and acclaim as the musical artist Childish Gambino. He, along with Paul Simms, has a very honest, sometimes serious, and funny perspective on life, the world of rap music and the city of Atlanta.”
The Plot:
Atlanta revolves around two cousins on their way up through the Atlanta rap scene whose opposing views on art versus commerce, success, and race will make their quest anything but easy. Glover will play “Earnest ‘Earn’ Marks,” a college drop-out who reconnects with his long-buried ambition and sets out to seize the life he imagined for himself when his estranged cousin becomes a sudden star.
Jessica Chastain attends amfAR’s 21st Cinema Against AIDS Gala (Photo by Vittorio Zunino Celotto / Getty Images)
Jessica Chastain (A Most Violent Year) will receive the first-ever MVP Award at the 20th Annual Critics Choice Movies Awards* to be held on January 15, 2015 in Los Angeles. Broadcast Film Critics Association President Joey Berlin also announced that Ron Howard was named as the recipient of the Louis XIII Genius Award and Kevin Costner has earned the group’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
Michael Strahan has been tapped to host the awards shows which will be broadcast live from the Hollywood Palladium on A&E at 9pm ET and 6pm PT.
The Critics Choice MVP Award will be given to an “extraordinary actor for their work in several standout movies throughout a single year.” Chastain’s 2014 movies included Interstellar, Miss Julie, A Most Violent Year, and The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby.
Howard earned the Louis XIII Critics Choice Genius Award as an icon who has “demonstrated unprecedented excellence in the cinematic arts.” Previous recipients include Richard Linklater and Judd Apatow.
Kevin Costner is being recognized for his three decades of incredible work with the Lifetime Achievement Award. Working in front of and behind the camera, Costner’s impressive filmography includes Dances with Wolves which he produced, directed, and starred in. He also delivered stellar performances in The Untouchables, Field of Dreams, JFK, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves and Draft Day.
The nominees for the 2015 Critics Choice Movie Awards will be announced on Monday, December 15th.
* – I’m a member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association, the group that votes on the annual Critics Choice Movie Awards.
Michael Mann’s action thriller Blackhat will arrive in theaters on January 16, 2015 and today Legendary Pictures has put out a brand new trailer for the 2015 release. Chris Hemsworth, the Sexiest Man Alive according to People magazine, stars as a genius hacker who is tasked with taking down terrorists. Blackhat also features Viola Davis, Tang Wei, and Wang Leehom.
The Plot:
Set within the world of global cybercrime, Legendary’s Blackhat follows a furloughed convict and his American and Chinese partners as they hunt a high-level cybercrime network from Chicago to Los Angeles to Hong Kong to Jakarta.
Tolkien fanatic Stephen Colbert had a very special guest show up on Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report: Smaug from The Hobbit films. To make the interview even more entertaining than you’d automatically assume a Colbert and Smaug bit would be, Benedict Cumberbatch – who plays Smaug in the films – once again lent his voice to the iconic dragon to answer Colbert’s questions.
During the interview, Smaug attempted not to set the audience on fire while discussing his views on life. In the far-ranging interview, Smaug revealed he’s a supporter of Rand Paul and confirmed it’s difficult for a conservative to get good roles in Hollywood. Smaug also quoted There Will Be Blood and slammed Game of Thrones‘ dragons as well as Toothless from How to Train Your Dragon 2. In addition, he shared his opinions of both Orlando Bloom and that “hack” Benedict Cumberbatch.
The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies opens in theaters on December 17, 2014.
The video’s no longer available via YouTube but you can check it out on Comedy Central.
