12 Years a Slave

If you’re like me, you’re still struggling to think about closing the book on 2013 at the movies since it feels like there is still so much yet to come. Yet for many groups, critics circles, and guilds, they’ve seen all they need to see and are ready to put their stamp on 2013 at the movies. That means whether we’re ready or not, awards season is officially upon us.

Some early thoughts on the state of things…

  • For the second year in a row, a late release has me puzzled. While a small handful of critics groups have seen THE WOLF OF WALL STREET, its Christmas Day release has it shrouded with uncertainty. It’s certainly possible that it could make a lot of noise come nomination morning, or its possible that it may just become an afterthought. It seems strange to say that about a Scorsese picture, and often the freshest entry into the race becomes the forefront idea in voters’ minds. Stay tuned.
  • This feels like the first year in a few where there is no franchise that people want to see make the jump to the big show (read: HARRY POTTER, THE DARK KNIGHT, 007, etc). Not that I don’t believe those sorts of films are deserving, just that I realize that the people who select these sorts of things don’t see those films the way you and I do. So knowing that we’ll be spared a bit of anger and indignation is nice.
  • Keep your eyes on the Best Actor race, since at this early stage, it seems like the one that will be the hardest to crack. Already a “fab five” of Bruce Dern, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Tom Hanks, Matthew McConaughey, and Robert Redford have emerged. Several could unseed one or two of those (perhaps Leo or Forest Whitaker to name a few – the former having already made some noise with SAG this morning)…but it’ll be a tough field to crack.

As of this morning, several groups with influence have had their say. The Indie Spirits, The New York Critics, The Los Angeles Critics, The National Board of Review, and The Screen Actors Guild have all weighed in with their best-of’s and nominations.

At this stage, there isn’t really a clear-cut frontrunner, though with its good showing at SAG this morning, 12 YEARS A SLAVE could make a case for the pole position. Other titles that are doing well early include GRAVITY, HER, and AMERICAN HUSTLE, but with several contenders getting released so late,  by and large things are still pretty cloudy.

Things should get a little clearer around the turn of the calendar. By then we’ll have heard the Critics Choice nominees, along with the Producers Guild and the Directors Guild selections. The interesting thing though, is that if you think back to last year, everything there seemed like a toss-up until the Oscar nominees were announced, and Ben Affleck’s directorial omission became to the overarching narrative.

Right now though, there are no sure bets – and that oughta keep things interesting for a little while longer. Doesn’t mean there won’t be one by the time we get to sundown on January 16th though.

Here’s a gathering of what’s gone down so far. Feel free to make your guesses in the comments section.

 

SCREEN ACTORS GUILD AWARD NOMINATIONS

Ensemble Cast
12 Years a Slave
American Hustle
August: Osage County
Dallas Buyers Club
The Butler

Lead Actor
Bruce Dern, Nebraska
Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years a Slave
Tom Hanks, Captain Phillips
Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club
Forest Whitaker, The Butler

Lead Actress
Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
Sandra Bullock, Gravity
Judi Dench, Philomena
Meryl Streep, August: Osage County
Emma Thompson, Saving Mr. Banks

Supporting Actor
Barkhad Abdi, Captain Phillips
Daniel Bruhl, Rush
Michael Fassbender, 12 Years a Slave
Janes Gandolfini, Enough Said
Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club

Supporting Actress
Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle
Lupita Nyong’o, 12 Years a Slave
Julia Roberts, August: Osage County
June Squibb, Nebraska
Oprah Winfrey, The Butler

NATIONAL BOARD OF REVIEW

Winner: HER

Top Ten (in alphabetical order)

12 YEARS A SLAVE
FRUITVALE STATION
GRAVITY
INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS
LONE SURVIVOR
NEBRASKA
PRISONERS
SAVING MR. BANKS
THE SECRET LIFE OF WALTER MITTY
THE WOLF OF WALL STREET

LOS ANGELES FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION
Best Picture (TIE): Gravity and Her
Best Director: Alfonso Cuarón, Gravity
Best Actor: Bruce Dern, Nebraska
Best Actress (TIE): Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine and Adèle Exarchopoulos, Blue Is the Warmest Color
Best Supporting Actor (TIE): James Franco, Spring Breakers and Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club
Best Supporting Actress: Lupita Nyong’o, 12 Years a Slave
Best Screenplay: Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke, Before Midnight
Best Documentary/Nonfiction Film: Stories We Tell
Best Foreign Language Film: Blue Is the Warmest Color
Best Music/Score: T Bone Burnett, Inside Llewyn Davis
Best Animation: Ernest & Célestine
Best Cinematography: Emmanuel Lubezki, Gravity
Best Editing: Alfonso Cuarón and Mark Sanger, Gravity
Best Production Design: K.K. Barrett, Her
Douglas Edwards Independent/Experimental Film/Video Award: Cabinets Of Wonder: Films and a Performance by Charlotte Pryce
New Generation Award: Megan Ellison
Legacy of Cinema: Criterion Collection
A Special Citation: The creative team behind 12 Years a Slave

 

NEW YORK FILM CRITICS CIRCLE

BEST PICTURE: American Hustle

LEAD ACTOR: Robert Redford, All Is Lost

LEAD ACTRESS: Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine

SUPPORTING ACTOR: Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club

SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle

DIRECTOR: Steve McQueen, 12 Years a Slave

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM: Blue Is the Warmest Color (France)

ANIMATED FILM: The Wind Rises

SCREENPLAY: Eric Singer and David O. Russell, American Hustle

CINEMATOGRAPHY: Bruno Delbonnel, Inside Llewyn Davis

FIRST FILM: Fruitvale Station

NON-FICTION FILM (DOCUMENTARY): Stories We Tell

 

THE INDEPENDENT SPIRIT AWARDS

BEST FEATURE
12 Years a Slave
All Is Lost
Frances Ha
Inside Llewyn Davis
Nebraska

BEST DIRECTOR
Upstream Color, Shane Carruth
All is Lost, J.C. Chandor
12 Years a Slave, Steve McQueen
Mud, Jeff Nichols
Nebraska, Alexander Payne

BEST SCREENPLAY
Blue Jasmine, Woody Allen
Before Midnight, Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke & Richard Linklater
Enough Said, Nicole Holofcener
The Spectacular Now, Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber
12 Years a Slave, John Ridley

BEST FIRST FEATURE
Blue Caprice
Concussion
Fruitvale Station
Una Noche
Wadjda

BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
In A World, Lake Bell
Don Jon, Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Nebraska, Bob Nelson
Afternoon Delight, Jill Soloway
The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete, Michael Starrbury

JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD – (Best Feature made for under $500,000)
Computer Chess
Crystal Fairy
Museum Hours
Pit Stop
This is Martin Bonner

BEST FEMALE LEAD
Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
Julie Delpy, Before Midnight
Gaby Hoffmann, Crystal Fairy
Brie Larson, Short Term 12
Shailene Woodley, The Spectacular Now

BEST MALE LEAD
Bruce Dern, Nebraska
Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years a Slave
Oscar Isaac, Inside Llewyn Davis
Michael B. Jordan, Fruitvale Station
Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club
Robert Redford, All Is Lost

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE
Melonie Diaz, Fruitvale Station
Sally Hawkins, Blue Jasmine
Lupita Nyong’o, 12 Years a Slave
Yolonda Ross, Go For Sisters
June Squibb, Nebraska

BEST SUPPORTING MALE
Michael Fassbender, 12 Years a Slave
Will Forte, Nebraska
James Gandolfini, Enough Said
Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club
Keith Stanfield, Short Term 12

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Sean Bobbitt, 12 Years a Slave
Benoit Debie, Spring Breakers
Bruno Delbonnel, Inside Llewyn Davis
Frank G. DeMarco, All Is Lost
Matthias Grunsky, Computer Chess

BEST EDITING
Shane Carruth & David Lowery, Upstream Color
Jem Cohen & Marc Vives, Museum Hours
Jennifer Lame, Frances Ha
Cindy Lee, Una Noche
Nat Sanders, Short Term 12

BEST DOCUMENTARY 
20 Feet From Stardom
After Tiller
Gideon’s Army
The Act of Killing
The Square

BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM 
A Touch of Sin (China)
Blue is the Warmest Color (France)
Gloria (Chile)
The Great Beauty (Italy)
The Hunt (Denmark)

ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD – (Ensemble Cast)
Mud

17th ANNUAL PIAGET PRODUCERS AWARD
Toby Halbrooks & James M. Johnston
Jacob Jaffke
Andrea Roa
Frederick Thornton

SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD
My Sister’s Quinceañera, director Aaron Douglas Johnston
Newlyweeds, director Shaka King
The Foxy Merkins, director Madeline Olnek

TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD 
Kalyanee Mam, A River Changes Course
Jason Osder, Let the Fire Burn
Stephanie Spray & Pacho Velez, Manakamana