The Film Awards Clearinghouse Vol. 3B-Supporting and Screenplays/Imitation Clip/Mike Leigh Talks Turner

Good Thursday to All...

THE FILM AWARDS CLEARINGHOUSE VOL. 3B-SUPPORTING AND SCREENPLAYS

I'm updating the Supporting and Screenplay categories today on The FAC two weeks after the last update and that puts The FAC on what has become its regular schedule for this Oscar season.

The FAC uses the published predictions of the following to develop its list of likely Oscar nominees:

Kristopher Tapley/InContention/HitFix
Sasha Stone/Awards Daily
Bred Brevet/Rope of Silicon
Nathaniel Rogers/Film Experience
Anne Thompson/Thompson on Hollywood
Peter Knegt/IndieWire
Clayton Davis/Awards Circuit
Scott Feinberg/The Hollywood Reporter

Telluride #41 films are Bold.
A film/person's rating in the last FAC is listed to the right in parentheses.


BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

1) Patricia Arquette/Boyhood (1)
2) Kiera Knightley/The Imitation Game (2)
3) Emma Stone/Birdman (3)
4) Meryl Streep/Into the Woods (5)
5) Laura Dern/Wild (4)
6) Jessica Chastain/Interstellar (6)
7) Carmen Ejogo/Selma (7)
8) Katherine Waterston/Inherent Vice (8)
9) Sienna Miller/American Sniper (15)
10) Anna Kendrick/Into the Woods (9)

Hot: Miller who benefits from the rising notice of Clint Eastwood's "American Sniper".

Not: Kritsen Stewart who falls from the top ten.  Otherwise, this is a very stable category at the moment.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

1) J.K. Simmons/Whiplash (1)
2) Edward Norton/Birdman (2)
3) Mark Ruffalo/Foxcatcher (3)
4) Ethan Hawke/Boyhood (4)
5) Tom Wilkinson/Selma (6)
6) Miyavi/Unbroken (14)
7) Christoph Waltz/Big Eyes (15)
8) Josh Brolin/Inherent Vice (10)
9) John Goodman/The Gambler (12)
10) Tyler Perry/Gone Girl (NR)

Hot: A lot: Wilkinson, who moves into the top five and Miyavi, Waltz, Brolin, Goodman and Perry who all make big moves.  For Perry, it's the first inkling that he might be a serious candidate here.

Not: Logan Lehrman/Fury, Robert Duvall/The Judge and Channing Tatum/Foxcatcher (as people realize that he'll be campaigned in the lead category). Wow, the Logan Lehrman balloon deflated faster than I've ever seen a potential nominee deflate.

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

1) The Imitation Game (2)
2) The Theory of Everything (3)
3) Gone Girl (1)
4) Unbroken (4)
5) Wild (5)
6) American Sniper (9)
7) Inherent Vice (6)
8) Still Alice (8)
9) Into the Woods (7)
10) Rosewater (12)

Hot: "American Sniper" as has been the case in other categories: Best Picture, Actor, Director...the trailer has put this film on the map as a potential Oscar candidate in a number of categories.  Also, Jon Stewart's :"Rosewater" moves into the conversation.

Not: "Gillian Flynn's :Gone Girl" loses a little steam over the last two weeks as does "Into the Woods".  Additionally, Jason Reitman's critically excoriated "Men, Women and Children" disappears from the chart altogether.

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

1) Boyhood (1)
2) Birdman (2)
3) Whiplash (7)
4) Mr. Turner (3)
5) The Grand Budapest Hotel (5)
6) Foxcatcher (6)
7) Interstellar (4)
8) A Most Violent Year (8)
9) Selma (10)
10) Wild Tales (12)

Hot: "Whiplash" which is really hot across the board this last couple of weeks.  Also "Wild Tales" which I don't really think has a great chance at this but would love it if it did get nominated.

Not: "Interstellar" lose a little steam but I suspect that it will bounce back to some degree when it is released.


IMITATION CLIP

Brad Brevet at Rope of Silicon drops a clip from early in "The Imitation Game" earlier this week on the ROS website.  I currently think "Imitation" is the second most likely Oscar winner for Best Picture (right behind "Birdman") and that could change as the Oscar season progresses.  Take a look at the clip and Brad's accompanying story here:

http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/benedict-cumberbatch-charles-dance-chat-enigma-imitation-game-clip/


MIKE LEIGH TALKS TURNER

The Playlist excerpts Mike Leigh's interview from The Daily Beast earlier this week and also included his 35 minute "Mr. Turner" discussion from The New York Film Festival.  You can read and see/hear those here:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/mike-leigh-says-hollywood-is-motivated-by-insecurity-fear-lack-of-imagination-and-a-lack-of-flair-20141028


More on Monday...have a great weekend!

Delayed Film Awards Clearinghouse Vol. 3A/"Wild" Sounds and Views/Filming "The Homesman"/Return of a Weiner

Welcome to Monday...

DELAYED FILM AWARDS CLEARINGHOUSE VOL. 3A

Again, my apologies.  This should have run last Thursday but I just flat ran out of time. Nevertheless, here is this season's first half of the third installment of The Film Awards Clearinghouse looking at the categories of Best Picture, Direction, Lead Actress and Lead Actor.  There has been some movement over the last two weeks since these four categories were last posted.


As always, The FAC uses the published predictions of the following to develop its list of likely Oscar nominees:

Kristopher Tapley/InContention/HitFix
Sasha Stone/Awards Daily
Bred Brevet/Rope of Silicon
Nathaniel Rogers/Film Experience
Anne Thompson/Thompson on Hollywood
Peter Knegt/IndieWire
Clayton Davis/Awards Circuit
Scott Feinberg/The Hollywood Reporter

Telluride #41 films are Bold.
A film/person's rating in the last FAC is listed to the right in parentheses.

BEST PICTURE

1) The Imitation Game (1)

2) Boyhood (3)

3) Birdman (2)

4) The Theory of Everything (4)

5) Unbroken (5)

6) Interstellar (6)

7) Gone Girl (8)

8) Whiplash (12)

9) Foxcatcher (7)

10) American Sniper (17)

11) Selma (11)

12) Mr. Turner (9)

13) Into the Woods (14)

14) Wild (15)

15) The Grand Budapest Hotel (16)

Hot: "Whiplash", "American Sniper"

Not: "Mr. Turner" and "Fury" which dropped to #16 and off the list.

Comment: "Whiplash" into release and doing well has aided its cause.  "American Sniper" benefited from a very good looking trailer.

BEST DIRECTION

1) Alejandro G. Inarritu/Birdman (1)

2) Richard Linklater/Boyhood (2)

3) Christopher Nolan/Interstellar (4)

4) Morten Tyldum/The Imitation Game (5)

5) Angleina Jolie/Unbroken (3)

6) David Fincher/Gone Girl (7)

7) Bennett Miller /Foxcatcher (6)

8) Clint Eastwood/American Sniper (NR)

9) Mike Leigh/Mr. Turner (10)

10) Ava Duvernay/Selma (NR)

Hot: Eastwood and Duvernay.

Not: James March/Theory of Everything and David Ayer/Fury who both dropped out of the top ten.

BEST ACTRESS

1) Julianne Moore/Still Alice (3)

2) Reese Witherspoon/Wild (1)

3) Felicity Jones/The Theory of Everything (2)

4) Rosamund Pike/Gone Girl (4)

5) Amy Adams/Big Eyes (5)

6) Hilary Swank/The Homesman (6)

7) Emily Blunt/Into the Woods (12)

8) Jessica Chastain/A Most Violent Year (7)

9) Shailene Woodley/The Fault in Our Stars (9)

10) Jessica Chastain/Eleanor Rigby (10)

Hot: Julianne Moore/Still Alice who has completed the march up the chart to sit at #1 and is, what many regard as, the undeniable favorite to win the award in February.  Also hot: Emily Blunt/Into the Woods.  She benefits hugely form the clarifying announcement that her co-star in the film, Meryl Streep, will be campaigned as a candidate for Best Supporting Actress.

Not: Nobody is really hurt.  The only actress dropping was Streep for the above mentioned reason.

BEST ACTOR

1) Benedict Cumberbatch/The Imitation Game (1)

2) Michael Keaton/Birdman (2) 

3) Eddie Redmayne/The Theory of Everything (3)

4) Steve Carell/Foxcatcher (4) 

5) Timothy Spall/Mr. Turner (5)

6) Jack O'Connell/Unbroken (8)

7) David Oyelowo/Selma (6)

8) Bradley Cooper/American Sniper (15)

9) Bill Murray/St. Vincent

10) Ralph Fiennes/The Grand Budapest Hotel (10)

Hot: Cooper who also benefits from "American Sniper's" raised profile following the trailer's release. Otherwise, this category, which is regarded as the most competitive this year, is remarkably stable.

Not: Joaquin Phoenix/Inherent Vice.  The overwhelming reaction from Oscarologists after the film's screening at the New York Festival is that it's best shot at a nomination is for Best Adapted Screenplay.  "Vice" suffered significant setbacks in expectations for Phoenix as well as for Best Picture and Direction.

My bets right now are that "Birdman" surprises as Best Picture with wins for Inarritu and Keaton as well and I concur that Julianne Moore is likely your Best Actress winner...but that could all change as the season marches on.

'WILD" SOUNDS AND VIEWS

New stills and soundtrack news from the Jean Marc Vallee film "Wild" starring Oscar hopeful and past Oscar winner Reese Witherspoon are out via The Playlist.  Here's the story and a couple of those new images:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/wild-soundtrack-feature-bruce-springsteen-portishead-leonard-cohen-lucinda-williams-more-20141023


FILMING "THE HOMESMAN"

Paula Bernstein of IndieWire posted her interview this week with cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto about his work on Tommy Lee Jones "The Homesman".  Prieto has been Oscar nominated for his work on Ang Lee's "Brokeback Mountain".  Check that interview here:

http://www.indiewire.com/article/the-homesman-dp-rodrigo-prieto-on-working-with-tommy-lee-jones-and-reinventing-the-western-20141024


RETURN OF A WEINER

One of the highlights of the Telluride fest in 2009 was Todd Solondz's "Life During Wartime".  For my money, it's his best film.  Solondz's films have been frequently featured in Telluride.  In addition to "Wartime" his " Palindromes" and "Happiness" have also appeared at TFF.  His last film "Dark Horse" in 2011 did not make the lineup which leaves one wondering if Solondz's offbeat film making maybe has worn out its welcome at T-ride.  We may find out next year as news broke this week that he has a new film in the works titled (at least for now) "Wiener Dog" .  The film will reportedly connect a series of stories around a dog as the unifying object.  Additionally, Dawn Wiener, a character who we have seen in previous Solondz films is expected to return to this film in some fashion.

Here's the story from The Playlist:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/dawn-weiner-returns-in-todd-solondzs-wiener-dog-with-greta-gerwig-and-julie-delpy-20141023


That's all for now.  More on Thursday...

Leviathan Leads London/Trailers for Two/Oscar Matters/News from the Future/Rudderless Reminder

Good Thursday everyone...


LEVIATHAN LEADS LONDON

Russian Foreign Language Oscar entry and Telluride/Cannes hit "Leviathan" continues to impress as it was just named the Best Film at the recently concluded 58th British Film Institutes's London Film Festival.  The Andrey Zvyagintsev directed film was also the Best Screenplay winner at Cannes last May.  The film was a bit of a surprise as Russia's official Oscar entry as it is less than flattering in its depiction of modern day Russia.  I've linked coverage of the London win from HitFix and Variety:


http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/leviathan-takes-best-film-at-the-london-film-festival#Xd5llxLfyeZgDIBb.99

http://variety.com/2014/film/news/russian-oscar-entry-leviathan-takes-top-prize-at-london-film-fest-1201333550/


TRAILERS FOR TWO

Trailers were released this week for two Telluride #41 films, both of them documentaries.  Joshua Oppenheimer's follow up to "The Act of Killing": "The Look of Silence" as well as Chuck Workman's examination of the life and career of Orson Welles: "Magician".  Stories and links to the trailers are here:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/watch-new-trailer-for-act-of-killing-followup-the-look-of-silence-plus-18-min-talk-with-director-joshua-oppenheimer-20141021


http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/orson-welles-magician-documentary-astonishing-life-and-work-trailer


OSCAR MATTERS

The latest edition of The Film Awards Clearinghouse is going to be delayed until Monday with my apologies.  Wedding and play competition finally overwhelmed my ability to have that ready for today.  To tide you over until Monday's post I have linked Scott Feinberg's latest Feinberg Forecast from The Hollywood Reporter here:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/feinberg-forecast-oscar-landscape-post-741955


NEWS FROM THE FUTURE

Two projects that I am following had news this week.. The Coen Brothers added more cast members to their next project, "Hail Caesar" and Quentin Tarantino is a step closer to filming his next opus, "The Hateful Eight" just outside Telluride.  Here are stories about each announcement via The Hollywood Reporter and Tempo:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/coen-brothers-hail-caesar-adds-741718

http://entertainment.tempo.com.ph/2014/10/tarantino-film-gets-permit-to-use-telluride-ranch/


RUDDERLESS REMINDER

William H. Macy's Oklahoma filmed and written directing debut "Rudderless" continues its run as it expends into more markets and theaters this week as well is available on demand. Check it out.





That's all for now.  More on Monday...

Oscar Matters/Looking at Leviathan/Birdman Flying/Imitation Game Momentum/Foxcatcher Full Trailer

Welcome to Monday everyone...

Got the youngest child married last night.  Much love and congratulations to the newlyweds Kelsey and Sean Sanders who are on a plane to Jamaica this morning.


OSCAR MATTERS

In lieu of a fresh FAC update, here' the link to the newest Movie City News Gurus of Gold update which includes its latest charts for Best Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor and Supporting Actress.  You'll see that MCN's charts look a lot like where the FAC has been so far this fall.
http://moviecitynews.com/2014/10/gurus-o-gold-after-new-york/

The FAC will return with a new update next week.


LOOKING AT "LEVIATHAN"

One of my regrets about this year's TFF was that I missed "Leviathan".  It's a film that emerged as a possible Telluride player as a result of its Cannes run last May and my interest had been piqued since then.  For my last film in T-ride I had to pick between it and The Dardennes' "Two Days, One Night".  I chose "Two Days".  Pretty sure that was a mistake.

Nevertheless, I'll be waiting for the chance to catch "Leviathan" down the road somewhere, somehow.  To whet my appetite, Sony Pictures Classics has released a trailer for the Russian nominee for Best Foreign Language Oscar consideration.  You can get to it with either of the links below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEs_dFSba4c&feature=youtu.be&utm_content=buffercc84a&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/sony/leviathan/


"BIRDMAN" FLYING

Alejandro Inarritu's "Birdman" opened this past weekend in New York and Los Angeles and will expand this Friday to other cities.  With that, here are a couple of notes.  The Playlist excerpts an Inarritu interview with Deadline.com in which he talks about the nature of "superhero" films among other topics.  Look at that here:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/alejandro-inarritu-calls-hollywood-superhero-obsession-cultural-genocide-plus-watch-1-hour-of-birdman-interviews-more-20141016

The Wrap's Steve Pond also talked to Inarritu:

http://www.thewrap.com/alejandro-inarritu-reveals-why-birdman-was-endless-spaghetti-any-noodle-could-choke-me/

Meanwhile, HitFix posted an interview with Zach Galifinakis and Amy Ryan on their roles in the film:

http://www.hitfix.com/news/zach-galifianakis-and-amy-ryan-talk-about-playing-it-straight-in-birdman


And this...There is a Birdman action figure.  Fox Searchlight posted the figure on birdmanspeaks.com and Oscar bloggers Kristopher Tapley and Jeff Wells both posted that they had received their talking Birdman over the weekend.

Look at it here:

http://www.birdmanspeaks.com/

The "Birdman" figure...I want one.

"THE IMITATION GAME" MOMENTUM

I think that if were betting right now on the Best Picture Oscar, my money would probably go on "Birdman"  (Sasha Stone thinks I'm nuts).  I have reasons...but that's not what this segment is about.  What it is about is that Morten Tyldum's "The Imitation Game" might be the film that I'd have in second place as the possible Best Picture spoiler.  

"Imitation" came out of Telluride with a big head of steam and that continued with an audience favorite award at the Toronto Fest.  Now, Thompson on Hollywood reports that the film has picked up another Festival award from The Hamptons Film Fest.  The momentum continues...

http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/the-imitation-game-wins-another-audience-award-20141014

FOXCATCHER FULL TRAILER

You've seen a number of teasers, clips and etc. for Bennett Miller's brilliant "Foxcatcher".  FirstShowing reports that we now have the first full trailer for the film.  Access the story and the film here:

http://www.firstshowing.net/2014/must-watch-full-trailer-for-bennett-millers-powerful-foxcatcher/

More on Thursday...

Between New York and Release, Birdman Gets a Lot of Attention/Rosewater Trailer

Good Thursday Everyone...


BETWEEN NEW YORK AND RELEASE, BIRDMAN IS GETTING A LOT OF ATTENTION

Alejandro Inarritu's "Birdman" closed the New York Film Festival last weekend and opens in a limited release beginning tomorrow and between those two poles, the dramatic comedy is getting a lot of notice this week in the press.

For example, I have provided double coverage of the NYFF press conference for the film.  Below is a link to the video of that as well as a list to an IndieWire compilation of portions of the conference:

The entire 45 min. press conference is here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEf3i6U7Txo&list=PLdLHQX1t7hV2wDlOmA4jBzkQOPjtTR1wE

Meanwhile, excerpts from IndieWire are here:

http://www.indiewire.com/article/ed-norton-jabs-at-critics-naomi-watts-reveals-nightmares-and-more-from-birdman-nyff-premiere-20141012

Additionally, the British outlet SciFiNow posted images of a series of "Birdman" promotional posters featuring U.S. landmarks.  Attendees to Fox Searchlight's party in Telluride got one of these and I'm looking at mine right now.  It is a screened and numbered print that looks as if the Birdman may be in the mountains around Telluride.  Take a look at the ten posters SciFiNow has posted here:

http://www.scifinow.co.uk/news/birdman-brilliant-new-art-posters-and-new-clips/


Finally, Variety's Janelle Reilly says that the Birdman, himself, might be the one to beat come Oscar night.  That's what I've been thinking since I walked out of The Zog in T-ride.  Here's the Variety story:

http://variety.com/2014/film/awards/oscars-is-michael-keaton-the-actor-to-beat-1201326113/


ROSEWATER TRAILER

Jon Stewart's directing debut is set for Nov. 14 and we now have a new trailer.

https://amp.twimg.com/v/8799ff35-6d07-43af-8606-975b96387c11


More on Monday...after the Wedding!

New York Ends and Had Telluride Goodness: Birdman, Mr. Turner and Foxcatcher/Rudderless for Real/Post New York Feinberg

Good Monday everyone...


It's wedding week at the Patterson house as the youngest ties the knot Sunday evening.  This week will be full and insane...in  addition to the impending nuptials, I'll have parent/teacher conference nights tonight and tomorrow night plus broadcasting Tiger football on KKBS (kkbs.com) on Thursday evening from Deer Creek and then there's that One Act play that moves onto the State contest next week that will need some rehearsal.  Going to be a busy week.

NEW YORK ENDS AND HAD TELLURIDE GOODNESS

The New York Film Festival concluded this past weekend with the presentation of "Birdman", which, for my money, is the best film of 2014 (of course I still have to see a number of films that could alter that declaration: "Whiplash", "American Sniper", "Interstellar", "Unbroken", "The Theory of Everything", "Inherent Vice", "Boyhood", "Fury" and "A Most Violent Year").  That said, because a good number of TFF #41 films played NYFF ("Birdman", " '71", "Foxcatcher", "Mr. Turner", "Tales of the Grim Sleeper" and "Two Days, One Night")  this last couple of weeks have seen a variety of features, stories and posts about those films.  Here are some of the most recent beginning with a Gold Derby look at "Birdman" and its cast:

http://www.goldderby.com/news/7436/birdman-nyff-michael-keaton-emma-stone-edward-norton-oscars-entertainment-13579086-story.html

Additionally, here's a look at an interview with "Foxcatcher" director Bennett Miller from The Hollywood Reporter:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/new-york-film-fest-how-738935

And from NYFF itself, Mike Leigh talking about the creation of "Mr. Turner":

http://www.filmlinc.com/nyff2014/blog/listen-mike-leigh-and-the-crew-of-mr.-turner-uncover-the-world-of-j.-m.-w


RUDDERLESS FOR REAL

Counting down the days...William H. Macy's Oklahoma set and filmed "Rudderless" which I have been following for more than five years is finally unleashed this week.  Friend of the blog and "Rudderless" co-writer Casey Twenter says that the film will open Friday in Oklahoma City as well as Tulsa, New York, Milwaukee, Cleveland, Houston, Miami, Chicago, Los Angeles, Scottsdale/Phoenix, Portland, Seattle, Philadelphia and Eugene, OR.

To continue to set the stage for the film I have linked the music video for "Hold On" from the film here:

Additionally, here's a scene from the film that's up on Yahoo Movies:

https://www.yahoo.com/movies/when-actors-take-a-turn-in-the-directors-chair-99576283237.html

Go see it this weekend!

POST NEW YORK FEINBERG

The Hollywood Reporters' Awards expert Scott Feinberg has updated his latest crystal ball for the Oscars.  Check his latest Feinberg Forecast that includes analysis from the just concluded New York Film Festival:


http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/feinberg-forecast-as-new-york-739976


More on Thursday...probably...

The Film Awards Clearinghouse Vol. 2B/New "Birdman" Clip/More from "The Imitation Game"

Hell on a Thursday...

THE FILM AWARDS CLEARINGHOUSE VOL. 2B

Today, I'm updating the Supporting and writing categories.  These latest numbers show some effect of the end of the Toronto Festival as well as the screening of "Gone Girl" at the New York Fest and its subsequent release last weekend.

As always, The FAC uses the published predictions of the following to develop its list of likely Oscar nominees:

Kristopher Tapley/InContention/HitFix
Sasha Stone/Awards Daily
Bred Brevet/Rope of Silicon
Nathaniel Rogers/Film Experience
Anne Thompson/Thompson on Hollywood
Peter Knegt/IndieWire
Clayton Davis/Awards Circuit
Scott Feinberg/The Hollywood Reporter

Telluride #41 films are Bold.
A film/person's rating in the last FAC is listed to the right in parentheses.


BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

1) Patricia Arquette/Boyhood (1)
2) Keira Knightley/The Imitation Game (2)
3) Emma Stone/Birdman (4)
4) Laura Dern/Wild (3)
5) Meryl Streep (NR)
6) Jessica Chastain/Interstellar (7)
7) Carmen Ejogo/Selma (8)
8) Katherine Waterston/Inherent Vice (6)
9) Anna Kendrick/Into the Woods (9)
10) Kristen Stewart/Still Alice (10)

Hot: Streep who jumps into a nominees spot as the announcement came that she would be campaigned in Supporting rather than Best Actress.

Not: Emily Blunt completely drops from this list.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

1) J.K. Simmons/Whiplash (1)
2) Edward Norton/Birdman (2)
3) Mark Ruffalo/Foxcatcher (3)
4) Ethan Hawke/Boyhood (4)
5) Logan Lehrman/Fury (6)
6) Tom Wilkinson/Selma (7)
7) Robert Duvall/The Judge (8)
8) Channing Tatum/Foxcatcher (9)
9) Domnhall Gleeson/Unbroken (10)
10) Josh Brolin/Inherent Vice (5)

Hot: Logan Lehrman moves into the fifth spot.

Not" Josh Brolin takes a big dive but does stay on the list...barely.


ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

1) Gone Girl (6)
2) The Imitation Game (1)
3) The Theory of Everything (3)
4) Unbroken (1)
5) Wild (8)
6) Inherent Vice (5)
7) Into the Woods (7)
8) Still Alice (NR)
9) Sniper (4)
10) Men, Women and Children (9)

Hot: "Gone Girl" benefits hugely in this category following a great critical reception for its New York Film Festival opening.  "wild" and "Still Alice" also show strength.

Not: "Unbroken" remains as a "nominee" but dropped precipitously.  Also, "Sniper" inexplicably dropped six spots.

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

1) Boyhood (2)
2) Birdman (1)
3) Mr. Turner (5)
4) Interstellar (6)
5) The Grand Budapest Hotel (4)
6) Foxcatcher (3)
7) Whiplash (NR)
8) A Most Violent Year (7)
9) Fury (8)
10) Selma (9)

Hot: "Boyhood" jumps to the top spot and creates a bit of separation from "Birdman".  Also hot are "Whiplash" and, to a lesser extent, "Interstellar" and "Mr. Turner".

Not: "Foxcatcher" takes a three spot drop out of the "nominee" position it held a couple of years ago.


NEW BIRDMAN CLIP

Alejandro Inarritu's "Birdman" is a week away from limited release here in the U.S. and Fox Searchlight continues to roll out promotional material.  This week came another clip from the film featuring Michael Keaton, Zach Galifinakis and Naomi Watts.  Check it and an accompanying story here from Rope of Silicon:

http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/new-birdman-clip-features-three-people-talking-doorway/


MORE FROM THE IMITATION GAME

New  posters from "The Imitation Game"via The Playlist  

The Playlist posted this week an "Imitation Game" story with several new stills from the film in addition to the latest U.K. trailer (linked in my last post here on MTFB) and a couple of new posters (see above).  You can take a look at the entire story with its attendant goodies here:


http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/watch-new-uk-trailer-for-the-imitation-game-starring-benedict-cumberbatch-keira-knightley-20141002


More on Monday...have an exceptional weekend...

The Foreign Candidates/"Birdman" Items/Imitation" UK Trailer/As "Rudderless" Gets Closer/Latest Feinberg Forecast (with bonus "American Sniper" trailer)

Welcome to Monday...


THE FOREIGN CANDIDATES

Argentina's entry and TFF fave "Wild Tales"

The deadline has come and gone for nations to nominate films for Academy Award consideration for Best Foreign Language Film.  HitFix/InContention reports that there are 70+ entrants for the 2014 competition and they list their ten most likely nominees in order plus a list of all the films nominated by their home countries for the Oscar.  Among the top ten contenders according to them are:

"Ida" from TFF #40 as well as,  "Leviathan",  "Wild Tales", "Mommy" and "Two Days, One Night" from TFF #41.

The complete listing and story are here:

http://www.hitfix.com/contenders/best-foreign-language-film


"BIRDMAN" ITEMS

Anne Thompson/Thompson on Hollywood recently posted an interview with Antonio Sanchez, the man behind the percussive score for Alejandro Inarritu's "Birdman".  Check that out here:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/watch-how-birdman-composer-antonio-sanchez-drummed-the-score-20141003

For those who didn't catch "Birdman" at the fest thus year, or even those who did, Yahoo Movies posted an exclusive clip fro m the film this weekend ahead of it's presentation as the closing night film for the New York Film Festival which concludes this coming weekend.  That's here:

https://www.yahoo.com/movies/given-hes-been-in-a-public-eye-for-three-decades-98980521627.html


"IMITATION" UK TRAILER

The British trailer for Morten Tyldum's very,very good and likely Oscar Best Picture nominee, "The Imitation Game" appeared at the end of the week.  If you follow this blog then you know that the film was the top selection among those responding to my "People's Telluride" poll of films.  Take a look at the story and the U.K. trailer form The Playlist here:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/watch-new-uk-trailer-for-the-imitation-game-starring-benedict-cumberbatch-keira-knightley-20141002


AS "RUDDERLESS" GETS CLOSER

"Rudderless" is just days away from release (Oct. 17th) and The Wall Street Journal has a nice interview with the film's lead, Billy Crudup.  Here's your link to that:

http://online.wsj.com/articles/billy-crudup-is-still-almost-famous-1412355022?google_editors_picks=true


LATEST FEINBERG FORECAST

The Hollywood Reporter's Scott Feinberg has updated his weekly Feinberg Forecast for this year's Oscar competition.  Looks like Scott really has been impressed with the "American Sniper" trailer as it makes a solid jump up.  Check the latest Forecast as well as that trailer below.

"American Sniper" trailer vie YouTube

The latest Feinberg Forecast:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/feinberg-forecast-updated-projections-as-738173

More on Thursday...

The Film Awards Clearinghouse Vol. 2-Four Major Categories/HitFix-InContention Survey the Oscar Field/Inherent Trailer/Last Note: Trumbo

Hello on a Monday...October is just around the corner.


THE FILM AWARDS CLEARINGHOUSE VOL. 2A-FOUR MAJOR CATEGORIES

As the New York Film Festival roared to life over the past weekend, I took the opportunity to take another snapshot of the four biggest races in the Oscar contest for 2014.  In the wake of the conclusion of the triumvirate of September fests (Telluride, Toronto and Venice) and the first reviews coming out for the NYFF opener, David Fincher's "Gone Girl", there has been some movement in some of the categories.

As always, The FAC uses the published predictions of the following to develop its list of likely Oscar nominees:

Kristopher Tapley/InContention/HitFix
Sasha Stone/Awards Daily
Bred Brevet/Rope of Silicon
Nathaniel Rogers/Film Experience
Anne Thompson/Thompson on Hollywood
Peter Knegt/IndieWire
Clayton Davis/Awards Circuit
Scott Feinberg/The Hollywood Reporter

Telluride #41 films are Bold.
A film/person's rating in the last FAC is listed to the right in parentheses.


BEST PICTURE

1) The Imitation Game (3)
2) Birdman (1)
3) Boyhood (2)
4) The Theory of Everything (6)
5) Unbroken (5)
6) Interstellar (7)
7) Foxcatcher (4)
8) Gone Girl (8)
9) Mr. Turner (9)
10) Fury (NR)
11) Selma (NR)
12) Whiplash (NR)
13) Into the Woods (NR)
14) Wild (NR)
15) The Grand Budapest Hotel (10)

Comment:  Big boost to "The Imitation Game" coming out of Telluride and then winning the audience award at Toronto.  "Theory" also got a good bump from Toronto.  "Foxcatcher" and "Grand Budapest" getting the worst of it over the last couple of weeks.

Watch out for J.C. Chandor's "A Most Violent Year" which has been announced as the opening film for the American Film Institute festival on Nov. 6th.


BEST DIRECTION

1) Alejandro Inarritu/Birdman (1)
2) Richard Linklater/Boyhood (2)
3) Angelina Jolie/Unbroken (5)
4) Christopher Nolan/Interstellar (4)
5) Morten Tyldum/The Imitation Game (6)
6) Bennett Miller/Foxcatcher (3)
7) David Fincher/Gone Girl (NR)
8) James Marsh/The Theory of Everything (NR)
9) David Ayer/Fury (7)
10) Mike Leigh/Mr. Turner (8)

Comment: Wes Anderson and Paul Thomas Anderson drop out.  I expect PTA will jump back into the conversation once "Inherent Vice" plays as the centerpiece for the New York Film Festival.  There's been big momentum for Jolie, Fincher and Marsh in the past two weeks and, as I expected and wrote in the first FAC for Best Director, Morten Tyldum moved up a spot to #5 and would be a nominee if these stats prove accurate.

BEST ACTRESS

1) Reese Witherspoon/Wild (1)
2) Felicity Jones/The Theory of Everything (4)
3) Julianne Moore/Still Alice (8)
4) Rosamund Pike/Gone Girl (3)
5) Amy Adams/Big Eyes (2)
6) Hilary Swank/The Homesman (6)
7) Jessica Chastain/A Most Violent Year (9)
8) Meryl Streep/Into the Woods (5)
9) Shailene Woodley/The Fault in Our Stars (7)
10) Jessica Chastain/The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby (10)

Comment:  Julianne Moore rockets up the chart after her Toronto performance.  I expect that she'll move to the top spot by the time I get the next FAC for Best Actress up.  Amy Adams and Meryl Streep take a dive...and I get the feeling that that may be prophetic.  Who benefits?  Chastain would be my bet.  My five would be: Moore, Witherspoon, Pike, Jones and Chastain (for "Most Violent Year").

BEST ACTOR

1) Benedict Cumberbatch/The Imitation Game (2)
2) Michael Keaton/Birdman (1)
3) Eddie Redmayne/The Theory of Everything (4)
4) Steve Carell/Foxcatcher (3)
5) Timothy Spall/Mr. Turner (5)
6) David Oyelowo/Selma (6)
7) Bill Murray/St. Vincent (8)
8) Jack O'Connell/Unbroken (10)
9) Joaquin Phoenix/Inherent Vice (9)
10) Ralph Fiennes/The Grand Budapest Hotel (7)

Comment: This has been a fairly stable category the last two weeks despite bring generally regarded as one of the most competitive categories.  The top three men are so tightly packed that it's likely going to be tight right to the end.  Big boost for O'Connell (who would replace Timothy Spall in my guesses at the five nominees) and Fiennes suffers the biggest drop.


HITFIX AND IN CONTENTION SURVEY THE OSCAR FIELD

The crew at HitFix and In Contention have put together a lengthy list of Best Picture contenders and assess the chances of each of the films at winning the big prize on Feb. 22.  The TFF #41 films on their list (alphabetically):

"Birdman"
"Foxcatcher"
"The Homesman"
"The Imitation Game"
"Mr. Turner"
"Rosewater"
"Wild"

The complete post is here:

http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/best-picture-2015-oscar-contenders-include-interstellar-gone-girl-and-the-imitation-game


INHERENT TRAILER

OK...OK...it's not a Telluride film but I couldn't help linking to the trailer for Paul Thomas Anderson's "Inherent Vice" that dropped earlier this week.  I'll be honest, I've been a little reluctant about embracing/anticipating this film.  I love me some PTA but I found, in reading the Thomas Pynchon novel, that the loosey goosey structure to be entertaining for awhile and then a little annoying.  Occasional comparisons to PTA's "Punch Drunk Love" didn't help...it's his one film that I think is really just bad.

But recent reports that "Vice" is inspired/informed by Zucker-esque films such as "Airplane" and "Top Secret" have me re-intrigued.  The trailer is also...interesting.  Check it here and take a look at a number of posts/stories about the film and the trailer that I have also linked:

"Inherent Vice" trailer (via YouTube)

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/first-trailer-inherent-vice-has-736562

http://moviecitynews.com/2014/09/trailering-paul-and-toms-inherent-vice-201/

http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/paul-thomas-anderson-thomas-pyncheon-and-joaquin-phoenix-collide-in-inherent-vice-trailer#YvFDolziFfKXy3AW.99

http://time.com/3448964/trailer-paul-thomas-anderson-inherent-vice/

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/watch-joaquin-phoenix-gets-his-stoner-detective-groove-on-in-paul-thomas-andersons-psychedelic-comedy-inherent-vice-20140929

LAST NOTE: TRUMBO

On Monday I posted a list of five films that might have a future at Telluride and at #3 on that list was Jay Roach's "Trumbo" which will star Bryan Cranston as the blackballed author and screenwriter.  I admitted than that I had no real Telluride connections that I could point to such as a producer, director or dustributor with a Telluride history.

Fortunately MTFB reader Patrick Pringle was on the ball and pointed out that Dalton Trumbo came from that part of Colorado.  Patrick reminded me that Trumbo was born in Montrose, CO. and raised in nearby Grand Junction.  For all practical purposes, Dalton Trumbo was a hometown boy.  

Thanks Patrick!

More on Monday...Have a great weekend.