This year, I’m going to try to cover more of the smaller critics’ awards, the harbingers of the larger awards shows. Usually I only cover that stuff if it’s directly related to someone I love or hate, but this year… I don’t know, there are some interesting races going on. The New York Film Critics Circle voted yesterday on their 2014 awards, and there were lots of surprises. These awards were voted on by ONLY critics, by the way, and from what little I know, this is not the group that accepts under-the-table payoffs from Harvey Weinstein. Which might explain why there’s NO Benedict Cumberbatch anywhere on the winners’ list! Here are the big awards:
Best Picture: Boyhood
Best Actor: Timothy Spall, ‘Mr. Turner’
Best Actress: Marion Cotillard, ‘The Immigrant’ and ‘Two Days, One Night’
Best Supporting Actress: Patricia Arquette, ‘Boyhood’
Best Supporting Actor: JK Simmons, ‘Whiplash’
Best Screenplay: Wes Anderson for ‘The Grand Budapest Hotel’
Best Animated Film: ‘The Lego Movie’
Do you think anyone on this list will actually go on to win an Oscar this year? Out of everyone… JK Simmons is probably the best bet. I would love to see JK campaign more too – he’s done some appearances and interviews on behalf of Whiplash, but I want to see him mix it up and shake those hands and really have fun with the process. Even if he doesn’t do that, I’m sure he’ll get an Oscar nomination and God knows, he might even win. Patricia Arquette too – I think she’s on everyone’s Supporting Actress shortlist.
I’ve heard lots of good stuff about Spall’s performance in Mr. Turner, and the Academy does love an older curmudgeon-type, so Spall might have a decent shot at an Oscar nom, although this year the Best Actor race is filled to the brim and I’m not convinced that Spall is really interested in all of that hoopla. As for Marion… God, I kind of hope she doesn’t get nominated for anything. She’s a good actress, but I sometimes get the feeling that her performances are beloved by American critics because she’s pretty and French and we think she’s fancy.
I really don’t know about Boyhood being the “Best Picture” this year – the critics love it, for sure, and it will probably get a Best Picture nomination. But I think the Best Picture race is going to be a weird one this year, I really do.
PS… If you’re waiting to hear about some of the bigger nominations/awards, here’s the time table: later today, we’ll hear about the National Board of Review Awards. On December 7th, the LA Film Critics announce their awards. December 10th is the SAG nomination announcement, and December 11th is the Golden Globes announcement.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
Timothy Spall? Timothy Spall! How dare he steal Benedict’s NYCC award for Best Actor? How dare he? The gall of Timothy Spall!
Especially with a name like Timothy Spall! 😀
I know right? I’m predicting Benedict Cumberbatch to sweep Best Actor at all the subsequent awards! Watch him win Best Picture, Best Cinematography, Best Sound Editing, Best Animated Feature and Best Actress too! ALL THE AWARDS!!!! Slay the awards like a chimney sweep, BENEDICT!!!
And who invited Cliff Claven to the awards?
Right? The gall!
OMG I choked on coffee. LOL
*high five*
INTERNET WIN.
He is sexier than Cumberbatch and more talented.
hahah that was my question too! And why isn’t he with Norm?
So funny! Kim1: Cliff Clavin, Timothy Spall or both?
I want JK to take it all. Just to hear him talk. That yellow M&M voice. Or is it the insurance commercial. Let me go ask Miles.
Sit Miles down and force him to watch JK in Oz. A brilliant performance sustained over several years.
He’s the yellow M&M? How about that. Didn’t pick up on that.
Interesting forecast overall, but disagree with your thoughts about Marion Cotillard. If you actually watch her in anything, you can’t take your eyes off of her, and it is not because of her looks. She is charisma incarnate, that old fashioned mixture of talent and It.
I have to disagree. I think she is very flat as an actress and is highly overrated.
wholeheartedly agree. I think she is as bland as a piece of cardboard. Never got the appeal.
She was completely believable in La Vie en Rose.
If you have never seen any of her french speaking roles then try one. She is a great actress, but so far she has never really been able to do herself justice when speaking english.
On a separate note I absolutely love her style. Her hair, make-up and dress in that photo above are all so chic!
Mea Culpa, yes, her style above is perfection and unique.
I adore that dress and want it for Christmas.
She was very good in La Vie en Rose. Or maybe that was because I didn’t know about gossip and internet hype back then. One of my favourite movies. In Inception she was ‘nope’ for me. Same for Batman.
I think Hollywood has a habit of not using the talents of European actors properly. They often get turned into caricatures too. When I watched Monica Bellucci’s French and Italian films for example, you can see she’s talented, the American ones are like ‘boobs, sexy, accent, hot’. There are a lot of them that can turn it around (Christoph Waltz) and make a decent career but in the end, it’s all about choices and opportunities.
I think the same, she is a dull actress, plays the same character in all of her movies. I guess she is the French Jennifer Aniston? Lol.
rust and bone and two days, one night?? and she’s a FLAT actress??? LOL
I agree she is perfection.
She is such a beauty. Almost old style Hollywood glamour beauty, gorgeousness.
I agree, Kelly! She was superb in The Inmigrant. I couldn’t take my eyes off her. Half of her lines were delivered in polish and she did it perfectly. I am happy she’s getting recognition for her works. She was also very good in Two Days, One Night.
The other night I watched Blood Ties. I wasn’t as bad as I thought but I guess Marion made it much more watchable.
i’m with you, too.
marion is the epitome of “old hollywood” – style, charisma, the IT factor and talent.
and she manages to pull off the most demure style and make it sexy as hell.
i LOVE her…
how amazing would it be for patricia arquette to receive and academy award?
she is a tremendous actress…
i’d love to see it happen!
I haven’t seen Boyhood yet.
I wish the awards were given to performers who really deserve them and not to the ones who lobbied for them.
JLaw, Nat Portman, AnnE, Benedict, etc, I’m looking at you!!!!!
You managed to finish ‘Blood Ties’? Wow, for me that was one boring, boring, boring movie. Marion was okay (her accent wobbled) but it was so boring I couldn’t bring myself to finish it.
I like her too.
Give me Julie Delpy over Marion Cotillard any day!
I agree. I find it hard to take me eyes of Marion. I like her acting and ouzo around her. Maybe it’s because I’m european and more used to european ways to act.
I saw Marion in The Immigrant–I thought she and Joaquin were very good, but the movie itself was so-so. It was a little confusing, and didn’t really seem to go anywhere. Seemed a bit lost. I didn’t really think there was any point, or that her character learned anything. She just seemed to..exist.
My thoughts exactly Virgilia. That movie was a waste. She did good and is always nice to see Joaquin, but the story was senseless.
So interested in your impressions from ” The Immigrant”- I thought JP phoned in another crazed persona performance- to me, it was “The Master” performance in a different period costume. Marion did best in her scenes with the sister actress. Agree the movie as a whole was aimless.
I really had high hopes for The Immigrant and was so dissappointed – it just wasn’t very good. Both Phoenix and Renner overacted and Marion gave this whiny pathetic performance. She a great actress and definitely better in French movies (she was amazing in LaVie en Rose) but she tends to raise her voice when trying to act in English and it’s kind of irritating. Nevertheless, I think she’s gorgeous and elegant with such great style.
She looks like Reese Witherspoon (or whatever her name is) with brown hair!
I don’t see it.
Weirdly enough, Marion won for a movie that Weinstein refuses to campaign for. He bought it and buried it.
He did that several times this year. Cough. Snowpiercer.
Tracks and even Big Eyes sort of went down the drain…
Yep. I am still mad at him and his whole hate on for Snowpiercer. Glad it has become a cult hit.
Snowpiercer is totally overreacted anyway.
I liked Snowpiercer but I thought it was a bit overrated.
Do you think he now regrets hitching his wagon to Big Eyes/Amy Adams? Heh.
His money is on TIG. He tends to choose the weakest of all and give them hype. I think he finds certain pleasure in that. Tracks and The Inmigrant are far better movies than TIG.
I really liked Boyhood and I hope it’ll wins something 🙂
I love love Patricia.
I really respect that she and Ethan Hawke agreed to commit so much time over so many years to that project. She deserves recognition for that dedication.
She stole the thunder of Julianne Moore.
True dat.
Jennifer never even had a chance.
Agreed.
The world is shocked, just shocked!
I am so happy for Best Supporting Actress: Patricia Arquette, ‘Boyhood’!!!!! YAY!
Love Marion C. too.
Jenn Anniston not getting these awards on the lead up to the Oscars means her chances are diminishing, IF she ever had a chance.
I still think Huvane in his craftiness may still pull some Golden Globe magic ( favor) to get Jenn Anniston a nomination. GG’s can be man handled manipulated with the right maneuvering. According to rumours I’ve heard over the years
Marion Cotillard all the way, love her. But please get Jennifer Aniston an award for something! She worked so hard showing up in all kinds of dresses for so long.
Razzie?
Snort!
Oh pleasepleaseplease let her win a Razzie!
You know what? She might too – Horrible Bosses 2?
Timothy Spall was brilliant and so is Eddie so might not be a BC sweep and his embarrassment of riches 🙂
Cotillard was really excellent in The Immigrant. It’s about how female immigrants to the US were often at the mercy of men once they got here–especially the pretty ones.
I only care about Patty Arquette winning. I will be mad if she loses the Oscar. I care slightly about Michael Keaton, not because I have seen Birdman (I haven’t) but because he seems like a nice, normal guy and we don’t hear from him very often.
If that’s your reasoning then you should be delighted for Timothy Spall! (He’s EXCELLENT in Turner and deserves every award going).
Agree about Arquette though. That scene when the son is leaving for college and she breaks down and is all, “I Just thought there would be MORE!”…
Yay! For Marion!
It seems there won’t be any big glamorous showdown between Jennifer and Angelina. Jennifer’s Oscar buzz is dying and Angelina’s movie gets very mixed reviews. Too bad.
The immigrant got a lot of buzz when was screened.
I do believe boyhood will get nominated for best picture. MY favorite movies so far (in order of preference) are:Boyhood, whiplash , birdman, the theory of everything . I haven’t seen force majeure yet, but I think it will get nominated for foreign movie later int he award season.
Those are my favorite so far also, and in that order! When I watched Boyhood I wasn’t instantly blown away, but that movie has really stayed with me- it’s been a couple months and I still think about specific scenes. Patricia Arquette was really great in it, and JK Simmons was excellent in Whiplash. Ditto Michael Keaton in Birdman (and Edward Norton). What Eddie Redmayne did in Theory of Everything was as good as DDL in My Left Foot, but the film itself wasn’t. Looking forward to seeing the other contenders when they show near me. I love Oscar season- it’s my fantasy football! This year in particular- so many races wide open at this point, and NO real best picture front runner.
Eddie’s performance reminded me of DDL’s in my left foot too!!!
There I say , Matthew M did a great job in interstellar and it was a very good scifi movie.
Love Marion in every way–she is gorgeous, talented, and stylish.
Funny how you mention JA in the headline but her name doesn’t appear in the body of the story (unless I missed it). Anyhow, I’m delighted that her manufactured Oscar “buzz” seems to be dying the death it deserves.
I’m with Kaiser on this one. Marion C. is overrated. And yes, I have heard it all before, “oh, but you should see “Random French Film”, she’s so good”. Really? One or two good French films means she is an A-list Oscar contender for everything she does in english for the rest of her life? She is flat out terrible in anything I have ever seen, but she is very pretty.
It’s great to see people butthurt about her win! And newsflash for you: out of the 50 French films that Cotillard starred in, she was great in most of them and it’s amazing to see a foreign actress getting recognition for her work in indie and foreign films instead of the fake, talentless and overrated Hollywood actresses with big studios behind them! Suck it!
Bonjour, Mme. Cotillard. Welcome to the site!
The last person on earth Marion would have to steal something from is Jennifer Aniston. My turtle has a bigger shot at a nom than her.
Strange just mention Aniston in a headline and not in the story. Click-baiting?
I think Cotillard is a very talented and has attention despite she is French not the other way around. Jow many actors from non English speaking contries have success in Hollywood? There are people trying to make it but barely any succeed, if being foreing was a positive there would be more. Even Marion has only gets work in some indies and Christopher Nolan films and a bit more attention to her Frech ones.
Of course, it’s click baiting. Putting other women down esp JA is fun!
Why did you leave out Rick Linklater’s win for BEST DIRECTOR? Because he stole AJ’s thunder? Either your inept or all the fat housewives on this board – don’t really care just so long as you keep putting JA down. That’s your snark.
Fat housewives? I resemble that remark.
Do you? I kinda resent it…
NN–you’re probably too young to remember the Three Stooges lol.
Hey!!!! I’m no housewife!!!!! 🙁
Quick! Launch the Aniston serious producer while working for a baby rumors! Let’s get that steam back!
She’s brilliant in ‘two days, one night’ and ‘the Immigrant’ very well deserved. she only has been praised for excellent performances such, ‘la vie en rose’ ‘rust and bone’ and now.
would you say the same about Amy thirsty Adams, i bet not
LOL “and we think she’s fancy”. Slow clap. Also is it just me or does it feel like grand Budapest came out 7 years ago?!
It came out in March or something, right? But I love it, I’m glad it gets some recognition. I think it was one of the most entertaining and beautiful movies of 2014 and Ralph Fiennes was amazing.
Everyone’s always stealing something from poor Jennifer, Husbands included 😁😁😁