"12 Years a Slave" Best Film of 2013 Sez Chicago Film Critics

by Amos Semien

The film, 12 Years a Slave, owned the 2013 Chicago Film Critics Awards, winning the “Best Picture” award.  This film is based on a true story:  Solomon Northup’s 1853 memoir of being a once-free black man from the North, kidnapped and sold into slavery in the Deep South in the years leading up to Civil War.

The Chicago Film Critics Association gave the film five awards:  Best Director to Steve McQueen, Best Actor to Chiwetel Ejiofor, Best Supporting Actress to newcomer Luptia Nyong'o, Adapted Screenplay to John Ridley, as well as Best Picture.

Director Alfonso Cuaron’s Gravity was the runner-up with three awards:  Best Cinematography to Emmanuel Lubezki, Best Art Direction/Production Design to Mark Scruton and Andy Nicholson and Best Editing to Cuaron and Mark Sanger.

The CFCA awards were announced at a ceremony held on Monday, December 16, 2013.

2013 Chicago Film Critics Awards winners:

BEST PICTURE
12 Years A Slave

BEST DIRECTOR
Steve McQueen--12 Years A Slave

BEST ACTOR
Chiwetel Ejiofor--12 Years A Slave

BEST ACTRESS
Cate Blanchett--Blue Jasmine

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Jared Leto--Dallas Buyers Club

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Lupita Nyong'o--12 Years A Slave

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Spike Jonze--Her

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
John Ridley--12 Years A Slave

BEST DOCUMENTARY
The Act of Killing

BEST FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM
The Act of Killing

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
The Wind Rises

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Her--Arcade Fire

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Gravity--Emmanuel Lubezki

BEST EDITING
Gravity--Alfonso Cuaron & Mark Sanger

BEST ART DIRECTION/PRODUCTION DESIGN
Gravity--Mark Scruton/Andy Nicolson

MOST PROMISING PERFORMER
Adele Exarchopoulos--Blue is the Warmest Color

MOST PROMISING FILMMAKER
Destin Cretton--Short Term 12

http://www.chicagofilmcritics.org/

END

"12 Years a Slave" 2013's Best Picture Sez Online Film Critics Society

by Amos Semien

The Online Film Critics Society announced the recipients of the 17th annual OFCS awards for excellence in film.  Over 250 members voted in this year’s awards.

Director Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave was the standout with five wins.  The film is based on Solomon Northup’s 1853 memoir about his life after being kidnapped into slavery.  It earned recognitions for “Best Picture,” “Best Actor” (Chiwetel Ejiofor), “Best Supporting Actor” (Michael Fassbender), “Best Supporting Actress” (Lupita Nyong’o), and “Best Adapted Screenplay” (John Ridley).  McQueen lost “Best Director” to Alfonso Cuaron for Gravity.

The Online Film Critics Society 2013 Film Awards Winners:

Best Picture: 12 Years a Slave

Best Animated Feature: The Wind Rises

Best Film Not in the English Language: Blue Is the Warmest Color

Best Documentary: The Act of Killing

Best Director: Alfonso Cuaron – Gravity

Best Actor: Chiwetel Ejiofor – 12 Years a Slave

Best Actress: Cate Blanchett – Blue Jasmine

Best Supporting Actor: Michael Fassbender – 12 Years a Slave

Best Supporting Actress: Lupita Nyong’o – 12 Years a Slave

Best Original Screenplay: Her

Best Adapted Screenplay: 12 Years a Slave

Best Editing: Gravity

Best Cinematography: Gravity

Special Awards:
Best Sound Design and Best Visual Effects to Gravity
To Roger Ebert, for inspiring so many of our members

Top Ten films Without a U.S. Release:
Closed Curtain
Gloria
Like Father, Like Son
Our Sunhi
R100
The Rocket
Stranger By the Lake
We Are the Best!
Le Weekend
Why Don’t You Play in Hell?

http://www.ofcs.org/

END

Detroit Film Critics Choose "Her" as "Best Film" of 2013

by Amos Semien

The Detroit Film Critics Society was founded in Spring 2007 and currently consists of a group of 20 Michigan film critics (as December 2013) who write or broadcast in the Detroit area as well as other major cities within a 150-mile radius of the city including Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Lansing, and Flint, Michigan.

American Hustle and Short Term 12 led the pack with five nominations apiece for the 2013 Detroit Film Critics Society Awards, in nominations announced December 9. 2013.  However, when the winners were announced Friday, December 13, 2013, Spike Jonze’s Her was named “Best Film.”

The Best of 2013 as picked by the Detroit Film Critics Society:

BEST FILM
WINNER: Her
Before Midnight
Gravity
Short Term 12
12 Years a Slave

BEST DIRECTOR
WINNER: Alfonso Cuaron, Gravity
Paul Greengrass, Captain Phillips
Spike Jonze, Her
David O. Russell, American Hustle
Martin Scorsese, The Wolf of Wall Street

BEST ACTOR
WINNER: Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club
Leonardo DiCaprio, The Wolf of Wall Street
Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years a Slave
Tom Hanks, Captain Phillips
Robert Redford, All Is Lost

BEST ACTRESS
WINNER: Brie Larson, Short Term 12
Amy Adams, American Hustle
Julie Delpy, Before Midnight
Adele Exarchopoulos, Blue is the Warmest Color
Meryl Streep, August: Osage County

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
WINNER: Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club
Barkhad Abdi, Captain Phillips
James Franco, Spring Breakers
Matthew McConaughey, Mud
Stanley Tucci, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
WINNER: Scarlett Johansson, Her
Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle
Lupita Nyong’o, 12 Years a Slave
Julia Roberts, August: Osage County
June Squibb, Nebraska

BEST ENSEMBLE
WINNER: American Hustle
August: Osage County
Blue Jasmine
12 Years a Slave
The Wolf of Wall Street

BREAKTHROUGH
WINNER: Brie Larson, Short Term 12 (actress)
Lake Bell, In a World (actress, screenplay, director)
Ryan Coogler, Fruitvale Station (screenplay, director)
Destin Cretton, Short Term 12 (screenplay, director)
Michael B. Jordan, Fruitvale Station (actor)

BEST SCREENPLAY
WINNER: Spike Jonze, Her
Destin Cretton, Short Term 12
Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy, and Ethan Hawke, Before Midnight
Eric Singer and David O. Russell, American Hustle
Terence Winter, The Wolf of Wall Street

BEST DOCUMENTARY
WINNER: Stories We Tell
The Act of Killing
Blackfish
The Square
The Unknown Known

http://detroitfilmcritics.com/

END

7 Films Battle for 3 Makeup Oscar Nominations in 2014

7 Features Advance In Race For Makeup And Hairstyling Oscar®

BEVERLY HILLS, CA — The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences today announced that seven films remain in competition in the Makeup and Hairstyling category for the 86th Academy Awards®.

The films are listed below in alphabetical order:

    "American Hustle"
    "Dallas Buyers Club"
    "The Great Gatsby"
    "Hansel & Gretel Witch Hunters"
    "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire"
    "Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa"
    "The Lone Ranger"

On Saturday, January 11, 2014, all members of the Academy's Makeup Artists and Hairstylists Branch will be invited to view 10-minute excerpts from each of the seven shortlisted films. Following the screenings, members will vote to nominate three films for final Oscar consideration.

The 86th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Thursday, January 16, 2014, at 5:30 a.m. PT in the Academy's Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2013 will be presented on Oscar Sunday, March 2, 2014, at the Dolby Theatre® at Hollywood & Highland Center® and televised live on the ABC Television Network. The presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.

Boston Online Film Critics Declare "12 Years a Slave" Best Pic of 2013

by Amos Semien

The Boston Online Film Critics Association named 12 Years a Slave "Best Picture" of 2013.  That was one of six awards the critics group bestowed upon director Steve McQueen's film; that included notices for McQueen as "Best Director" and Chiwetel Ejiofor ("Best Actor") and Lupita Nyong' o ("Best Supporting Actress").

The Boston Online Film Critics Association (BOFCA) was founded in May 2012.  According to the group, BOFCA fosters a community of web-based film critics and provides them with a supportive group of colleagues and a professional platform for their voices to be heard. They collect and link to their reviews every week at a website that also features original content by members, including filmmaker interviews and spotlights on Boston’s vital repertory film scene.

By widening professional membership to writers working in new media, BOFCA aims to encourage more diverse opinions in the field. The Boston Online Film Critics Association has gathered together critics writing for publications that collectively receive over 15 million impressions/page views per month. BOFCA is present on social media year-round with members’ film articles and essays.

Full list of 2013 BOFCA winners:

BEST PICTURE: 12 YEARS A SLAVE

BEST DIRECTOR: Steve McQueen, 12 YEARS A SLAVE

BEST ACTOR: Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 YEARS A SLAVE

BEST ACTRESS: Cate Blanchett, BLUE JASMINE

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Jared Leto, DALLAS BUYERS CLUB

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Lupita Nyong’o, 12 YEARS A SLAVE

BEST SCREENPLAY: BEFORE MIDNIGHT

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM: BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOR

BEST DOCUMENTARY: THE ACT OF KILLING

BEST ANIMATED FILM: THE WIND RISES and FROZEN (tie)

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS

BEST EDITING: 12 YEARS A SLAVE

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE: 12 YEARS A SLAVE

BEST ENSEMBLE: 12 YEARS A SLAVE

THE TEN BEST FILMS OF THE YEAR:

1. 12 YEARS A SLAVE
2. INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS
3. THE WOLF OF WALL STREET
4. GRAVITY
5. BEFORE MIDNIGHT
6. THE SPECTACULAR NOW
7. BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOR
8. SPRING BREAKERS
9. THE WORLD’S END
10. FRUITVALE STATION

http://bofca.com/

END

Teaser Trailer for Christopher Nolan's "Interstellar" Debuts

from Christopher Nolan

INTERSTELLAR

Teaser: http://youtu.be/nyc6RJEEe0U

November 2014

http://www.InterstellarMovie.com/
https://twitter.com/Interstellar
https://www.facebook.com/InterstellarMovie

114 Original Musical Scores Compete for 5 Oscar Nominations in 2014

114 Original Scores in 2013 Oscar® Race

BEVERLY HILLS, CA — One hundred fourteen scores from eligible feature-length motion pictures released in 2013 are in contention for nominations in the Original Score category for the 86th Oscars®, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced today.

The eligible scores along with their composers are listed below, in alphabetical order by film title:

      "Admission," Stephen Trask, composer
      "Ain't Them Bodies Saints," Daniel Hart, composer
      "All Is Lost," Alex Ebert, composer
      "Alone Yet Not Alone," William Ross, composer
      "The Armstrong Lie," David Kahne, composer
      "Arthur Newman," Nick Urata, composer
      "At Any Price," Dickon Hinchliffe, composer
      "Austenland," Ilan Eshkeri, composer
      "Before Midnight," Graham Reynolds, composer
      "The Best Man Holiday," Stanley Clarke, composer
      "The Book Thief," John Williams, composer
      "The Butterfly's Dream," Rahman Altin, composer
      "The Call," John Debney, composer
      "Captain Phillips," Henry Jackman, composer
      "Closed Circuit," Joby Talbot, composer
      "The Company You Keep," Cliff Martinez, composer
      "The Conjuring," Joseph Bishara, composer
      "Copperhead," Laurent Eyquem, composer
      "The Counselor," Daniel Pemberton, composer
      "The Croods," Alan Silvestri, composer
      "Despicable Me 2," Heitor Pereira, composer
      "Elysium," Ryan Amon, composer
      "Ender's Game," Steve Jablonsky, composer
      "Enough Said," Marcelo Zarvos, composer
      "Epic," Danny Elfman, composer
      "Ernest & Celestine," Vincent Courtois, composer
      "Escape from Planet Earth," Aaron Zigman, composer
      "Escape from Tomorrow," Abel Korzeniowski, composer
      "Evil Dead," Roque Baños, composer
      "47 Ronin," Ilan Eshkeri, composer
      "42," Mark Isham, composer
      "Free Birds," Dominic Lewis, composer
      "Free China: The Courage to Believe," Tony Chen, composer
      "Fruitvale Station," Ludwig Goransson, composer
      "G.I. Joe: Retaliation," Henry Jackman, composer
      "Gangster Squad," Steve Jablonsky, composer
      "Gravity," Steven Price, composer
      "The Great Gatsby," Craig Armstrong, composer
      "The Hangover Part III," Christophe Beck, composer
      "Hansel & Gretel Witch Hunters," Atli Örvarsson, composer
      "Haute Cuisine," Gabriel Yared, composer
      "Her," William Butler and Owen Pallett, composers
      "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug," Howard Shore, composer
      "Hollywood Seagull," Evgeny Shchukin, composer
      "Hours," Benjamin Wallfisch, composer
      "How Sweet It Is," Matt Dahan, composer
      "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire," James Newton Howard, composer
      "Identity Thief," Christopher Lennertz, composer
      "The Incredible Burt Wonderstone," Lyle Workman, composer
      "Insidious: Chapter 2," Joseph Bishara, composer
      "Instructions Not Included," Carlo Siliotto, composer
      "The Internship," Christophe Beck, composer
      "The Invisible Woman," Ilan Eshkeri, composer
      "Iron Man 3," Brian Tyler, composer
      "Jack the Giant Slayer," John Ottman, composer
      "Jobs," John Debney, composer
      "Kamasutra 3D," Sreejith Edavana and Saachin Raj Chelory, composers
      "Labor Day," Rolfe Kent, composer
      "Lee Daniels' The Butler," Rodrigo Leão, composer
      "Live at the Foxes Den," Jack Holmes, composer
      "Love Is All You Need," Johan Söderqvist, composer
      "Mama," Fernando Velázquez, composer
      "Man of Steel," Hans Zimmer, composer
      "Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom," Alex Heffes, composer
      "The Missing Picture," Marc Marder, composer
      "Monsters University," Randy Newman, composer
      "The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones," Atli Örvarsson, composer
      "Mud," David Wingo, composer
      "Murph: The Protector," Chris Irwin and Jeff Widenhofer, composers
      "Now You See Me," Brian Tyler, composer
      "Oblivion," Anthony Gonzalez and Joseph Trapanese, composers
      "Oldboy," Roque Baños, composer
      "Olympus Has Fallen," Trevor Morris, composer
      "Oz The Great and Powerful," Danny Elfman, composer
      "Pacific Rim," Ramin Djawadi, composer
      "Pain & Gain," Steve Jablonsky, composer
      "Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters," Andrew Lockington, composer
      "Philomena," Alexandre Desplat, composer
      "The Place beyond the Pines," Mike Patton, composer
      "Planes," Mark Mancina, composer
      "Prisoners," Jóhann Jóhannsson, composer
      "R.I.P.D.," Christophe Beck, composer
      "Reaching for the Moon," Marcelo Zarvos, composer
      "Romeo & Juliet," Abel Korzeniowski, composer
      "Runner Runner," Christophe Beck, composer
      "Rush," Hans Zimmer, composer
      "Safe Haven," Deborah Lurie, composer
      "Salinger," Lorne Balfe, composer
      "Saving Mr. Banks," Thomas Newman, composer
      "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty," Theodore Shapiro, composer
      "Short Term 12," Joel P. West, composer
      "Side Effects," Thomas Newman, composer
      "The Smurfs 2," Heitor Pereira, composer
      "The Spectacular Now," Rob Simonsen, composer
      "Star Trek Into Darkness," Michael Giacchino, composer
      "Stoker," Clint Mansell, composer
      "Thor: The Dark World," Brian Tyler, composer
      "Tim's Vermeer," Conrad Pope, composer
      "Trance," Rick Smith, composer
      "Turbo," Henry Jackman, composer
      "12 Years a Slave," Hans Zimmer, composer
      "2 Guns," Clinton Shorter, composer
      "The Ultimate Life," Mark McKenzie, composer
      "Unfinished Song," Laura Rossi, composer
      "Wadjda," Max Richter, composer
      "Walking with Dinosaurs," Paul Leonard-Morgan, composer
      "Warm Bodies," Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders, composers
      "We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks," Will Bates, composer
      "We're the Millers," Theodore Shapiro and Ludwig Goransson, composers
      "What Maisie Knew," Nick Urata, composer
      "Why We Ride," Steven Gutheinz, composer
      "The Wind Rises," Joe Hisaishi, composer
      "Winnie Mandela," Laurent Eyquem, composer
      "The Wolverine," Marco Beltrami, composer

A Reminder List of works submitted in the Original Score category will be made available with a nominations ballot to all members of the Music Branch, who shall vote in the order of their preference for not more than five achievements.  The five achievements receiving the highest number of votes will become the nominations for final voting for the award.

To be eligible, the original score must be a substantial body of music that serves as original dramatic underscoring, and must be written specifically for the motion picture by the submitting composer.  Scores diluted by the use of tracked themes or other preexisting music, diminished in impact by the predominant use of songs, or assembled from the music of more than one composer shall not be eligible.

The 86th Academy Awards® nominations will be announced live on Thursday, January 16, 2014, at 5:30 a.m. PT in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

Academy Awards® for outstanding film achievements of 2013 will be presented on Oscar Sunday, March 2, 2014, at the Dolby Theatre® at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live on the ABC Television Network.  The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.