Michael Keaton as “Riggan” in ‘Birdman’ (Photo courtesy of Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Will the 2015 Oscars see Boyhood and Birdman emerge as the most nominated films? If the critics groups are correct, both films will earn multiple nominations, including Best Picture nods. The Washington DC Area Film Critics Association found both films worthy of multiple awards, with Birdman earning the most awards with five. Boyhood followed close behind with four awards, including Best Film and Best Director.
WAFCA is made up of 55 DC-VA-MD-based film critics.
2014 WAFCA AWARD WINNERS:
Best Film: Boyhood
Best Director:
Richard Linklater (Boyhood)
Best Actor:
Michael Keaton (Birdman or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
Best Actress:
Julianne Moore (Still Alice)
Best Supporting Actor:
J.K. Simmons (Whiplash)
Best Supporting Actress:
Patricia Arquette (Boyhood)
Best Acting Ensemble: Birdman or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance
Best Youth Performance:
Ellar Coltrane (Boyhood)
Best Adapted Screenplay:
Gillian Flynn (Gone Girl)
Best Original Screenplay:
Alejandro G. Inarritu, Nicolas Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Jr., Armando Bo (Birdman or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
Best Animated Feature: The LEGO Movie
Best Documentary: Life Itself
Best Foreign Language Film: Force Majeure
Best Art Direction:
Production Designer: Adam Stockhausen, Set Decorator: Anna Pinnock (The Grand Budapest Hotel)
Best Cinematography:
Emmanuel Lubezki, ASC, AMC (Birdman or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
Best Editing:
Douglas Crise, Stephen Mirrione, ACE (Birdman or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
Best Original Score:
Mica Levi (Under the Skin)
The Joe Barber Award for Best Portrayal of Washington, DC: Captain America: The Winter Soldier
The International Documentary Association weighed in on this year’s crop of outstanding documentary films, naming the Edward Snowden documentary Citizenfour as the Best Feature documentary of 2014. The IDA is “dedicated to building and serving the needs of a thriving documentary culture” and in addition to its annual awards, the group provides resources for documentary filmmakers and activists throughout the year.
International Documentary Association 2014 Award Winners:
Best Feature Award
Citizenfour (WINNER)
Director: Laura Poitras
RADiUS-TWC, Participant Media, and
HBO Documentary Films
Finding Vivian Maier
Directors: John Maloof, Charlie Siskel
Sundance Selects
Point and Shoot
Director: Marshall Curry
The Orchard
The Salt of the Earth
Directors: Wim Wenders, Juliano Ribeiro Salgado
Sony Pictures Classics
Tales of the Grim Sleeper
Director: Nick Broomfield
HBO and SKY ATLANTIC
Best Short Award
Tashi and the Monk (WINNER)
Directors: Andrew Hinton, Johnny Burke
HBO Documentary Films
Ghost Train
Directors: Kelly Hucker & James Fleming
Premium Films (France)
Our Curse
Director: Tomasz Śliwiński
Warsaw Film School
Prison Terminal: The Last Days of Private Jack Hall
Director: Edgar Barens
HBO Documentary Films
The Queen
Director: Manuel Abramovich
Best Curated Series Award
Independent Lens (WINNER)
Executive Producer: Sally Jo Fifer
Deputy Executive Producer: Lois Vossen
Independent Television Service (ITVS) in association with PBS
American Experience
Executive Producer: Mark Samels
Senior Producer: Sharon Grimberg
PBS
American Masters
Executive Producer: Susan Lacy
PBS
POV
Executive Producer: Simon Kilmurry
Series Producer: Chris White
POV / PBS
Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel
Executive Producer: Rick Bernstein
HBO Sports
Best Limited Series Award
Time of Death (WINNER)
Executive Producers: Cynthia Childs, Dan Cutforth, Casey Kriley, Jane Lipsitz, Alexandra Lipsitz
Co-Executive Producer: Miggi Hood, Sandy Shapiro
Showtime
Chicagoland
Executive Producers: Mark Benjamin, Marc Levin, Laura Michalchyshyn, Robert Redford
CNN/ BCTV and Sundance Productions
COSMOS: A SpaceTime Odyssey
Executive Producers: Brannon Braga, Mitchell Cannold, Ann Druyan, Seth MacFarlane
FOX / National Geographic Channel
The Sixties
Executive Producers: Gary Goetzman, Tom Hanks, Mark Herzog
CNN / Playtone and Herzog & Co
Years of Living Dangerously
Executive Producers: Daniel Abbasi, Joel Bach, James Cameron, David Gelber, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jerry Weintraub
Showtime
Best Episodic Series Award
Our America with Lisa Ling (WINNER)
Executive Producers: Amy Bucher, Gregory Henry, Lisa Ling, David Shadrack Smith
OWN
Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown
Executive Producer and Host: Anthony Bourdain
Executive Producers: Chris Collins, Lydia Tenaglia, Sandra Zweig
CNN
Morgan Spurlock Inside Man
Executive Producer and Host: Morgan Spurlock
Executive Producers Jeremy Chilnick, Mathew Galkin
Warrior Poets/CNN
Oprah’s Master Class
Executive Producers: Jon Kamen, Jonathan Sinclair, Justin Wilkes, Oprah Winfrey
OWN/ Harpo Studios
VICE
Executive Producers: BJ Levin, Bill Maher, Eddy Moretti, Shane Smith
HBO
Best Short Form Series Award
Planet Money Makes a T-shirt (WINNER)
Executive Producer: Alex Blumberg
NPR
A Short History of the Highrise
Executive Producers: Jason Spingarn-Koff, Silva Basmajian
National Film Board of Canada and The New York Times
Last Chance High
Executive Producer: Jason Mojica
VICE News
Op-Docs
Executive Producer: Jason Spingarn-Koff
The New York Times
Russian Roulette
Executive Producers: Jason Mojica, Kevin Sutcliffe
VICE News
David L. Wolper Student Documentary Award
This award recognizes exceptional achievement in non-fiction film and video production at the university level and brings greater public and industry awareness to the work of students in the documentary field.
My Dad’s a Rocker (WINNER)
Director: Zuxin Hou
University of Southern California
Cast in India
Director: Natasha Raheja
New York University
Evaporating Borders
Director: Iva Radivojevic
CUNY – Hunter College
Hotel 22
Director: Elizabeth Lo
Stanford University
Solitary Plains
Director: J. Christian Jensen
Stanford University
Humanitas Award
This award is given to a film that explores the hopes and fears of human beings who are very different in culture, race, lifestyle, political loyalties and religious beliefs in order to break down the walls of ignorance which separate us.
Limited Partnership (WINNER)
Director: Thomas G. Miller
PBS / Independent Lens
How I Got Over
Director: Nicole Boxer
Keep On Keepin’ On
Director: Alan Hicks
Radius
Pare Lorentz Award
The Pare Lorentz Award recognizes films that demonstrate exemplary filmmaking while focusing on the appropriate use of the natural environment, justice for all and the illumination of pressing social problems.
Tashi and the Monk (WINNER)
Directors: Andrew Hinton, Johnny Burke
HBO Documentary Films
ABCNews VideoSource Award
This award is given each year for the best use of news footage as an integral component in a documentary.
1971 (WINNER)
Director: Johanna Hamilton
Independent Lens/ PBS
The Assassination of President Kennedy
Executive Producers: Gary Goetzman, Tom Hanks, Mark Herzog
CNN / Playtone and Herzog & Co
Captivated The Trials of Pamela Smart
Director: Jeremiah Zagar
HBO Documentary Films
Concerning Violence
Director: Göran Hugo Olsson
Kino Lorber
The Joe Show
Director: Randy Murray
Investigation Discovery / Film Buff
Creative Recognition Award Winners
The Creative Recognition category recognizes special achievement in cinematography, editing, music and writing in films entered in the Feature Category.
Best Cinematography presented by Canon
Elevator
Cinematography By: Hatuey Viveros Lavielle
Best Editing
Last Days in Vietnam
Editing By: Don Kleszy
Best Music
Alfred and Jakobine
Music By: Nick Urata
Best Writing
Finding Vivian Maier
Written By: John Maloof & Charlie Siskel
Oyelowo joins a list of honorees that includes Richard Linklater, Julianne Moore, Rosamund Pike, Eddie Redmayne, J.K. Simmons, Reese Witherspoon, and The Imitation Game cast.
“David Oyelowo’s transformation into Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is truly outstanding,” stated Film Festival Chairman Harold Matzner. “He perfectly recreates King’s mannerisms and speech cadence, and moreover, captures the spirit of one of the greatest leaders in history, giving audiences a rewarding portrait of this iconic man that is deeply layered and effecting. For this phenomenal portrayal it is an honor to present him with the 2015 Breakthrough Performance Award, Actor.”
The 2015 festival will run January 2nd through January 12th. The awards gala will take place on January 3rd.
The Selma Plot:
Selma is the story of a movement. The film chronicles the tumultuous three-month period in 1965, when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. led a dangerous campaign to secure equal voting rights in the face of violent opposition. The epic march from Selma to Montgomery culminated in President Johnson (Tom Wilkinson) signing the Voting Rights Act of 1965, one of the most significant victories for the civil rights movement. Director Ava DuVernay’s Selma tells the story of how the revered leader and visionary Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (David Oyelowo) and his brothers and sisters in the movement prompted change that forever altered history.
Michael Keaton as “Riggan” in BIRDMAN. (Photo courtesy of Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Boston’s film critics threw their support behind Boyhood and Birdman, with Boyhood picking up five awards and Birdman earning three. The Boston Society of Film Critics announced their 2014 winners on December 7th, and this year’s awards were dedicated to the memory of Boston Globe film critic Jay Carr who passed away in May.
Boston Society of Film Critics 2014 Awards Winners:
Best Picture – Boyhood
Best Actor – Michael Keaton for Birdman
Best Actress – Marion Cotillard for The Immigrant and Two Days, One Night
Best Supporting Actor – J. K. Simmons for Whiplash
Best Supporting Actress – Emma Stone for Birdman
Best Director – Richard Linklater for Boyhood
Best Screenplay – (tie) Alejandro González Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris and Armando Bo for Birdman & Richard Linklater for Boyhood
Best Cinematography – Emmanuel Lubezki for Birdman
Best Documentary – Citizenfour
Best Foreign-Language Film (awarded in memory of Jay Carr) – Two Days, One Night
Best Animated Film – The Tale of The Princess Kaguya
Best Film Editing (awarded in memory of Karen Schmeer) – Sandra Adair for Boyhood
Best New Filmmaker (awarded in memory of David Brudnoy) – Dan Gilroy for Nightcrawler
Samantha (Lorelei Linklater), Mason Sr. (Ethan Hawke), and Mason (Ellar Coltrane), age 9, in Richard Linklater’s BOYHOOD. (Photo Courtesy of Matt Lankes. An IFC Films Release.)
The Los Angeles Film Critics Association chose Boyhood as the best film of 2014 and named Boyhood‘s Richard Linklater the year’s best director. THE LAFCA is made up of film critics who work in print and/or electronic media, with the winners of this year’s awards set to be honored in mid-January at a special ceremony.
“Originality was honored in this year’s awards from LAFCA, with several prizes going to Richard Linklater’s twelve years in the making Boyhood, and other important awards for the imaginative Grand Budapest Hotel, the groundbreaking cinematography of Birdman, and the tour de force performance by Tom Hardy in Locke. Our group again honored a range of films from around the world and an impressive array of emerging and veteran talents,” stated LAFCA President Stephen Farber.
Los Angeles Film Critics Association 2014 Winners:
Cecily Strong as Allison Williams’ Peter Pan, Kyle Mooney as John, Kate McKinnon as Wendy, Beck Bennett as Michael and James Franco as Christopher Walken’s Captain Hook during the “Peter Pan Live!” skit on ‘SNL’ (Photo by: Dana Edelson / NBC)
The ratings were up a bit when James Franco handled hosting duties on the December 6, 2014 episode of Saturday Night Live, with the weekend late night show poking fun at the ongoing hack of Sony Pictures, the release of the Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer, and the NBC live musical version of Peter Pan.
Seth Rogen joined his The Interview co-star to talk about the personal information that’s been released as the result of some unknown party (fingers are pointed at S. Korea) gaining access to the company as well as the business records of the film studio. Host James Franco also dressed up as Christopher Walken’s Hook in Peter Pan Live! (and did a spot-on impersonation), while Cecily Strong transformed into the “gorgeous, womanly boy”-version of Peter Pan as portrayed by Allison Williams.
And in the parody of the new Star Wars trailer, we find out what Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Chewbacca, and Lando Calrissian have really been up to.
The 57th Annual Grammy Awards will be held on February 8, 2015 and The Recording Academy just announced the nominees for the upcoming awards. The list of nominees is led by Sam Smith, Pharrell Williams and Beyonce who each picked up six nominations. Following close behind are Iggy Azalea, Beck, Eric Church, Tom Coyne, Drake, Gordon Goodwin, Jay Z, Miranda Lambert, Sia, Usher, and Jack White with four nominations each.
“This year’s nominees are a reflection of the music community’s diversity and range of talent, and a testament to The Academy’s voting process,” said Neil Portnow, President/CEO of The Recording Academy. “The Recording Academy is pleased to celebrate this talented crop of artists, nominated to receive music’s greatest honor for their contributions to their respective genres. The tone for Music’s Biggest Night® has undoubtedly been set, and we look forward to producing one of the most exciting telecasts in GRAMMY® history.”
2015 Grammy Awards Nominees
Album Of The Year:
Morning Phase — Beck
Beyoncé — Beyoncé
X — Ed Sheeran
In The Lonely Hour — Sam Smith
Girl — Pharrell Williams
Record Of The Year:
“Fancy” — Iggy Azalea Featuring Charli XCX
“Chandelier” — Sia
“Stay With Me” (Darkchild Version) — Sam Smith
“Shake It Off” — Taylor Swift
“All About That Bass” — Meghan Trainor
Song Of The Year:
“All About That Bass” — Kevin Kadish & Meghan Trainor, songwriters (Meghan Trainor)
“Chandelier” — Sia Furler & Jesse Shatkin, songwriters (Sia)
“Shake It Off” — Max Martin, Shellback & Taylor Swift, songwriters (Taylor Swift)
“Stay With Me” (Darkchild Version) — James Napier, William Phillips & Sam Smith, songwriters (Sam Smith)
“Take Me To Church” — Andrew Hozier-Byrne, songwriter (Hozier)
Best New Artist:
Iggy Azalea
Bastille
Brandy Clark
Haim
Sam Smith
Best Pop Duo/Group Performance:
“Fancy” — Iggy Azalea Featuring Charli XCX
“A Sky Full Of Stars” — Coldplay
“Say Something” — A Great Big World With Christina Aguilera
“Bang Bang” — Jessie J, Ariana Grande & Nicki Minaj
“Dark Horse” — Katy Perry Featuring Juicy J
Best Dance Recording:
“Never Say Never” — Basement Jaxx
“Rather Be” — Clean Bandit Featuring Jess Glynne
“F For You” — Disclosure Featuring Mary J. Blige
“I Got U” — Duke Dumont Featuring Jax Jones
“Faded” — Zhu
Best Rock Performance:
“Gimme Something Good” — Ryan Adams
“Do I Wanna Know?” — Arctic Monkeys
“Blue Moon” — Beck
“Fever”— The Black Keys
“Lazaretto”— Jack White
Best Alternative Music Album:
This Is All Yours — Alt-J
Reflektor — Arcade Fire
Melophobia — Cage The Elephant
St. Vincent — St. Vincent
Lazaretto — Jack White
Best Urban Contemporary Album:
Sail Out — Jhené Aiko
Beyoncé — Beyoncé
X — Chris Brown
Mali Is… — Mali Music
Girl — Pharrell Williams
Best Rap Performance:
“3005” — Childish Gambino
“0 To 100/The Catch Up” — Drake
“Rap God” — Eminem
“I” — Kendrick Lamar
“All I Need Is You” — Lecrae
Best Rap Album:
The New Classic — Iggy Azalea
Because The Internet — Childish Gambino
Nobody’s Smiling — Common
The Marshall Mathers LP2 — Eminem
Oxymoron — Schoolboy Q
Blacc Hollywood — Wiz Khalifa
Best Country Duo/Group Performance:
“Gentle On My Mind” — The Band Perry
“Somethin’ Bad” — Miranda Lambert With Carrie Underwood
“Day Drinking” — Little Big Town
“Meanwhile Back At Mama’s” — Tim McGraw Featuring Faith Hill
“Raise ‘Em Up” — Keith Urban Featuring Eric Church
Best Country Album:
Riser — Dierks Bentley
The Outsiders — Eric Church
12 Stories — Brandy Clark
Platinum — Miranda Lambert
The Way I’m Livin’ — Lee Ann Womack
Best Improvised Jazz Solo:
“The Eye Of The Hurricane” — Kenny Barron, soloist
“Fingerprints” — Chick Corea, soloist
“You & The Night & The Music” — Fred Hersch, soloist
“Recorda Me” — Joe Lovano, soloist
“Sleeping Giant” — Brad Mehldau, soloist
Best Gospel Album:
Help — Erica Campbell
Amazing (Live) — Ricky Dillard & New G
Withholding Nothing (Live) — William McDowell
Forever Yours — Smokie Norful
Vintage Worship — Anita Wilson
Best Contemporary Christian Music Album:
If We’re Honest — Francesca Battistelli
Run Wild. Live Free. Love Strong. — For King & Country
Hurricane — Natalie Grant
Welcome To The New — MercyMe
Royal Tailor — Royal Tailor
Best Latin Pop Album:
Tangos — Rubén Blades
Elypse — Camila
Raíz — Lila Downs, Niña Pastori And Soledad
Loco De Amor — Juanes
Gracias Por Estar Aquí — Marco Antonio Solís
Best American Roots Performance:
“Statesboro Blues” — Gregg Allman & Taj Mahal
“A Feather’s Not A Bird” — Rosanne Cash
“And When I Die” — Billy Childs Featuring Alison Krauss & Jerry Douglas
“The Old Me Better” — Keb’ Mo’ Featuring The California Feet Warmers
“Destination” — Nickel Creek
Best Spoken Word Album (Includes Poetry, Audio Books & Storytelling):
Actors Anonymous — James Franco
A Call To Action — Jimmy Carter
Carsick: John Waters Hitchhikes Across America — John Waters
Diary Of A Mad Diva — Joan Rivers
A Fighting Chance — Elizabeth Warren
We Will Survive: True Stories Of Encouragement, Inspiration, And The Power Of Song — Gloria Gaynor
Best Comedy Album:
Mandatory Fun — “Weird Al” Yankovic
Obsessed — Jim Gaffigan
Oh My God — Louis C.K.
Tragedy Plus Comedy Equals Time — Patton Oswalt
We Are Miracles — Sarah Silverman
Shailene Woodley, Theo James and Ansel Elgort in ‘Insurgent’
The second film of the Divergent franchise, The Divergent Series: Insurgent, is showing off a new photo featuring Shailene Woodley, Theo James, and Ansel Elgort. Lionsgate also announced the official full trailer for the action series will premiere on December 12, 2014.
In other big Insurgent news, The Hollywood Reporter says that Lionsgate will be bringing back Insurgent director Robert Schwentke to helm Allegiant: Part 1. The Divergent Series: Insurgent will open in theaters on March 20, 2015. Allegiant: Part 1 follows on March 18, 2016, and Part 2 is set for March 24, 2017.
The Divergent Series: Insurgent Plot:
The Divergent Series: Insurgent raises the stakes for Tris as she searches for allies and answers in the ruins of a futuristic Chicago. Tris (Woodley) and Four (James) are now fugitives on the run, hunted by Jeanine (Kate Winslet), the leader of the power-hungry Erudite elite. Racing against time, they must find out what Tris’s family sacrificed their lives to protect, and why the Erudite leaders will do anything to stop them. Haunted by her past choices but desperate to protect the ones she loves, Tris, with Four at her side, faces one impossible challenge after another as they unlock the truth about the past and ultimately the future of their world.
Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch and Keira Knightley [full cast list under the ‘Cast’ tab]
Directed By: Morten Tyldumen
Screenplay By: Graham Moore
Based on the Book: “Alan Turing: The Enigma” by Andrew Hodges
Release Date: November 28, 2014
Genres: Drama, thriller
Running Time: 1 hour 54 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for some sexual references, mature thematic material and historical smoking
News: The Imitation Game earns Ensemble Award
News: Details on the real Alan Turing
Official Synopsis:
During the winter of 1952, British authorities entered the home of mathematician, cryptanalyst and war hero Alan Turing (Benedict Cumberbatch) to investigate a reported burglary. They instead ended up arresting Turing himself on charges of ‘gross indecency’, an accusation that would lead to his devastating conviction for the criminal offense of homosexuality – little did officials know, they were actually incriminating the pioneer of modern-day computing. Famously leading a motley group of scholars, linguists, chess champions and intelligence officers, he was credited with cracking the so-called unbreakable codes of Germany’s World War II Enigma machine. An intense and haunting portrayal of a brilliant, complicated man, The Imitation Game follows a genius who under nail-biting pressure helped to shorten the war and, in turn, save millions of lives.
[tabs style=”default” title=”‘The Imitation Game’ Resources”] [tab title=”Cast List”]
Benedict Cumberbatch – ‘Alan Turing’
Keira Knightley – ‘Joan Clarke’
Matthew Goode – ‘Hugh Alexander’
Mark Strong – ‘Stewart Menzies’
Rory Kinnear – ‘Detective Robert Nock’
Charles Dance – ‘Commander Denniston’
Allen Leech – ‘John Cairncross’
Matthew Beard – ‘Peter Hilton’
[/tab]
[tab title=”Videos”]
CBS has slated a February 19, 2015 time slot for the series finale of the half-hour comedy Two and a Half Men starring Jon Cryer and Ashton Kutcher. The series will finish up its 12-season run with a special one-hour episode airing at 9pm ET/PT.
The network also announced that the comedy The Odd Couple will be airing on Thursday at 8:30pm, debuting right before the series finale of Two and a Half Men. The Odd Couple stars Matthew Perry and Thomas Lennon and is based on the classic award-winning show about a slob who lives with a neat freak. Perry plays the slob, Oscar Madison, and Lennon plays neat freak Felix Unger. The cast also includes Wendell Pierce, Lindsay Sloane, and Yvette Nicole Brown.
CBS is also switching things up for Mom starring Anna Faris. The half-hour sitcom will move to Thursdays at 9:30pm ET/PT on February 26th.
CBS Thursday, Feb. 19
8:00-8:30 PM THE BIG BANG THEORY
8:30-9:00 PM THE ODD COUPLE (P)
9:00-10:00 PM TWO AND A HALF MEN (One-Hour Series Finale)
Stumble It! 
