I must admit that this year is by far, more interesting than the last. At this point we all knew who would take the Best Picture award, the Director award, Actress and supporting actor. This year, none of those categories are predictable. The only one of all that might be considered an early lock is Emmanuel Lubezki in cinematography for "Birdman". Perhaps Patricia Arquette for "Boyhhod", is in the lead in her category. But as for the rest, nothing is for sure. That's why my Oscar Leaderboard, might come in handy this year. It is a combination of points collected by contenders. The points are awarded for certain spots in predictions, and for winning awards.
Also, we are past the TIFF, NYFF and other festivals. It is the time between major festivals, and before the actual awards season starts. I mean, generally, the six months from September to February are called awards season, but I mean the actual months (December - February) when they do give the awards out. We've seen many films be praised. For example "Birdman" has the momentum now. It got raves in NY, and is by many called a masterpiece. It would be interesting to see it be a major contender. We haven't seen a comedy take the top prize in quite some time, have we? And no, I do not count "The Artist" as a comedy. Then we have "Foxcatcher" which was also praised in Toronto, however was called "too dark" to actually stand a chance. And then we have films, that we haven't seen yet, like "Unbroken" (which is set to premiere in Australia on November 17th. Also we have "Interstellar" - no one has seen it, no one really knows too much about it. And "Into the Woods" which only showed us 1 trailer so far, which did not look to appealing. And it is a musical - no songs in trailer. Anyways, let's move on.
As for now, let's take a look at the main categories:
BEST PICTURE:
1. Birdman (Alejandro G. Innaritu)
2. The Imitation Game (Morten Tyldum)
3. Unbroken (Angelina Jolie)
4. Boyhood (Richard Linklater)
5. Foxcatcher (Bennet Miller)
6. Interstellar (Christopher Nolan)
7. Gone Girl (David Fincher)
8. American Sniper (Clint Eastwood)
9. Whiplash (Damien Chazelle)
10. Into the Woods (Rob Marshall)
BEST DIRECTOR:
1. Alejandro G. Innaritu (Birdman)
2. Bennet Miller (Foxcatcher)
3. Angelina Jolie (Unbroken)
4. Christopher Nolan (Interstellar)
5. Richard Linklater (Boyhood)
BEST ACTOR:
1. Michael Keaton (Birdman)
2. Steve Carell (Foxcatcher)
3. Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game)
4. Timothy Spall (Mr. Turner)
5. Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything)
BEST ACTRESS:
1. Julianne Moore (Still Alice)
2. Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl)
3. Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything)
4. Emily Blunt (Into the Woods)
5. Jessica Chastain (A Most Violent Year)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:
1. J.K. Simmons (Whiplash)
2. Edward Norton (Birdman)
3. Mark Ruffalo (Foxcatcher)
4. Ethan Hawke (Boyhood)
5. Miyavi (Unbroken)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:
1. Patricia Arquette (Boyhood)
2. Keira Knightley (The Imitation Game)
3. Meryl Streep (Into the Woods)
4. Emma Stone (Birdman)
5. Katherine Waterston (Inherent Vice)
This is it for now. Next time we'll take a look at screenplays too. And cinematography and music. See you soon.
Burt Mizaki
