Movies - Awards posts

The 2015 Seattle International Film Festival ends this evening, and this morning its awards were announced:

Golden Space Needle Awards (voted by moviegoers)

• Best Film: “The Dark Horse” (New Zealand)
• Best Director: Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl”
• Best Actor: Cliff Curtis, “The Dark Horse”
• Best Actress: Nina Hoss, “Phoenix”
• Best Documentary: “Romeo is Bleeding,” Jason Zeldes 
• Best Short: “Even the Walls”

Grand Jury

• New Directors Competition: Károly Ujj-Mészáros, “Liza, The Fox-Fairy”
• New American Cinema Award: “Chatty Catties”
• Documentary: “The Great Alone”

Youth Jury

• Futurewave: “Seoul Searching”
• Films4Family: “When Marnie Was There”
• Futurewave shorts: “Minimum Max”

The trailer for the big winner is below. I was aware of “Dark Horse”—my friend Vinny is a big chess guy—but wasn't much interested in seeing it. (Which is why I didn't.) Seemed like one of those Michelle Pfeiffer teacher/pupil movies. The teacher is redeemed by inspiring the students. The audience is supposed to be inspired. We're supposed to want to “stand up and cheer.” 

Anyone see it? Any good? 

Here's a list of past Golden Space Needle awards. Not a bad group: “Boyhood,” “The Hurt Locker,” “Sex and Lucia,” “The Usual Suspects,” “The Wedding Banquet,” “My Life as a Dog.” But some recent head-scratchers, too. I wasn't a “Beasts of the Southern Wild” fan. And “The Whistleblower” seems a particularly weak choice. Feels like a lot of bad politics in these decisions. I also heard not-complimentary things about two of this year's award winners: “Chatty Catties” and “Seoul Searching.”

That said, this was probably my best SIFF ever. Maybe they had better movies this year; maybe I'm just getting better at picking them.

I'll post my SIFF awards tomorrow. 

The fact that the Seattle International Film Festival (or SIFF) happens concurrently with the Cannes Film Festival (or Cannes) assuages some of the disappointment with not being in the south of France at this time of year. Instead I rely on the usual suspects (Jeff Wells, Sasha Stone) for their reports. Not to mention the final awards, which were announced today. They are:

• Palme d'Or: “Dheepan,” directed by Jacques Audiard, who has twice won “best film” at the Erik International Film Festeival (a.k.a. my annual Top 10 list) so I'm excited by this; I think Audiard is one of the best directors in the world right now. At the same time, the win is being called one of the great upsets in the history of Cannes. Further thoughts here. The movie below was supposed to win ...
• Grand Prix: “Son of Saul,” directed by Laszlo Nemes. Another Holocaust film that seems particularly resonant. 
• Director: Hou Hsiao-hsien, “The Assassin.” I've never been a big Hou fan, but ... open mind. At least 3/4 open.
• Actor: Vincent Lindon, “The Measure of a Man.” I mostly know Lindon from the film adaptation of “The Moustache.”
• Actress (tie): Emmanuelle Bercot, “Mon Roi”; Rooney Mara, “Carol.” Both Wells and Stone raved about “Carol,” which also stars Cate Blanchett.

The jury presidents were Joel and Ethan Coen, while the jury included actors Jake Gyllenhaal, Sophie Marceau, Sienna Miller and Rossy de Palma; directors Guillermo del Toro and Xavier Dolan; and composer Rolia Traoré.

Do these awards mean anything? Ca depend. Past winners of the Palme d'Or have included great films (“Pulp Fiction,” “The Pianist,” “The Class,” “The Tree of Life,” “Blue is the Warmest Color”) and some awful/arty films (“Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives”). But I love Audiard so I'm hopeful this year.  

In “Dheepan,” a Sri Lankan Tamil warrior uses his skills to survive as an immigrant in Paris.

Saw it via Jeff Wells' “Hollywood Elsewhere” site. Guy doesn't miss a beat. Except for the “Lincoln” debacle, in which he told Daniel Day-Lewis how to act. Plus his odd “42” poster defense, where he gave tips on baserunning to Jackie Robinson. But ... you know.

Here's another “Birdman” spoof, which is less exact but brings a bigger smile: “Big Birdman.”

There will be more of these spoofs. That's how iconic the movie already is. 

Oh, as for Spirit Award winners for best independent films? “Birdman,” Richard Linklater, Michael Keaton, Julianne Moore, J.K. Simmons, Patricia Arquette, “Ida,” Dan Gilroy (screenplay). 

After the Screen Actors Guild, I compared and contrasted the SAG awards with the Oscars—mostly to see how accurate SAG was as predictor—and noticed that, in their recent disagreements, SAG tended to choose black actors more often. For what it was worth. 

I did the same for the Writers Guild of America Awards (and for the same reason: Oscar predictor) and noticed the opposite. Here are the only four differences between the WGA and Oscar, in both original and adapted screenplays, during the last 10 years:

*The differences in 2013 and 2009 were over adapted screenplay, 2012 and 2010 over original.  

I'm not talking about black and white writers so much, although all of the WGA writers listed are white while the Oscar winners for both “Precious” and “12 Years a Slave” are black. No, I'm talking stories; and whose stories matter. 

2010 is a racial wash. But in 2009, instead of going for the story about the white man who fires people during the global financial meltdown, Oscar went for the story about the almost unbearable sadness of a black girl with an abusive mother in Harlem in the 1980s. In 2012, instead of the story about the search for Osama bin Laden, Oscar went for the revenge flick with the black hero and the white villain set in the Old West. And in 2013, the story with the white hero and the African pirates was thrown overboard in favor of a story about a black hero and his white tormentors in the 1840s. 

Now you could argue that the Academy, which tends toward the aged, simply likes stories set in the past while the WGA prefers more modern stories. And for what it's worth, I prefer most of the movies on the WGA side. I still found it interesting, given the amount of the shit the Academy received earlier this year on racial matters. 

Wes is more; Moore is less.

Last night in a crowded field, Wes Anderson won his first WGA (Writers Guild of America) for “The Grand Budapet Hotel.” (Click here to hear his speech.) 

The competion for original screenplay was stacked: Richard Linklater for “Boyhood,” E. Max Frye and Dan Futterman for “Foxcatcher,” Dan Gilroy for “Nightcrawler,” and Damien Chazelle for “Whiplash.” Tough room but a deserved win. One of Anderson's lines made No. 2 on my list of the top 10 movie quotes of 2014. 

Adapated screenplay was less packed and yet WGA gave it to the least-deserving candidate: Graham Moore for “The Imitation Game.” I’m still stunned by how well-received this movie is. All the things that feel untrue in “Imitation Game” are untrue: the reductive battles among the scientists, the big blow-up with Clark where she calls him a monster, naming the computer after his lost love. Alan Turing wasn’t really closeted and he wasn’t very Sherlockian. To me, Moore took a naturally powerful story—birth of computers and Enigma and gay—and made weak tea out of it. Me, I’d have voted for “Wild”’s Nick Hornby, who helped turn a diary about a woman walking and thinking for a thousand miles into a pretty fascinating movie.

As for what these awards mean for the Oscars next week? WGA and the Oscars have agreed on screenplays about two-thirds of the time since 1990 (16 of 24 for original; 17 of 24 for adapted) and 80% of the time in the last 10 years.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Oscar goes the same way as WGA this year. I’d be happy for Wes Anderson anyway. 

Richard Linklater's “Boyhood,” the beautiful, resonant odyssey of a boy aging from 6 to 18, played by an actor aging from 7 to 19, won Britain's highest honor, the BAFTA, for best film tonight.

The award comes 24 hours after “Boyhood”'s chief rival, “Birdman,” won its third consecutive industry award, the DGA, following wins from the PGA and SAG-Cast. No film has ever won all three and not won the Oscar for best picture. 

Initially I didn't think the BAFTA for “Boyhood” would change that much. Besides, didn't BAFTA and Oscar disagree a lot?

Yes and no:

Historically, yes, BAFTA and Oscar disagree. The Brits, given the chance, get veddy, veddy British in their voting: “Commitments,” “Howard's End,” “Four Weddings,” “Sense & Sensibility,” “Full Monty,” “Fellowship of the Ring,” “The Queen,” “Atonement.” 

But recently, it's been Blair/Bush all over again. There hasn't been a disagreement since 2007.

(Sidenote: not much Brit love for Clint is there? Much more for Marty. BTW: In the disagreeable years, I'd side with the Brits in 1990, 1994, 1995, 2002, 2005 and 2006, with several other years being washes.)

(Another sidenote: This year's BAFTA acting awards played out like I assume Oscar's will: Redmayne, Moore, Simmons and Arquette. As for Best British Film (a sad, seperate, BAFTA category), the Brits chose “The Theory of Everything.” Doesn't say much for British film, does it?)

Anyway, this opens a bit of a window for “Boyhood.” But I'd still bet on “Birdman.”

The Oscar race for best picture is over.

Last night, the Directors Guild awarded its DGA for feature film to “Birdman”'s Alejandro Inarritu. This follows on the heels of the Producers Guild awarding “Birdman” and SAG-Cast awarding “Birdman.” And if all of these industry awards go “Birdman,” how likely is it that the Academy won't go “Birdman”?

Very, very unlikely. Since SAG-Cast's inception in 1996, no film has won all three and not gone on to win the Oscar:

Caveat: It's still possible for Richard Linklater of “Boyhood” to win best director, since Roman Polanski won best director in 2002 for “The Pianist” despite the guild sweep for “Chicago.” But it doesn't seem too likely. 

To be honest, I think we're almost done for the major Oscar awards: “Birdman,” Inarritu, Redmayne, Moore, Simmons, Arquette. We'll know in a few weeks. 

In some ways, the bigger news from DGA was the number of female winners in that mostly white male body. Lesli Linka Glatter won outstanding direcdting for a dramatic series (“Homeland”), Jill Soloway won for comedy series (“Transparent”), Lisa Cholodenko for best TV movie/miniseries (“Olive Kitteridge”) and Laura Poitras won for best documentary (“Citizenfour”). The men were relegated to the lesser platforms: variety, sports, reality, children's, and commercials.

Dueling Saint Laurents: Both Gaspard Ulliel (l) in “Saint Laurent” and Pierre Niney (r) in “Yves Saint Laurent” were nominated best actor, but only Ulliel's film was nominated best film. Between them, they split four supporting nominations.

The nominees for the 40th annual Césars were announced the other day, and the big news on this side was that Kristen Stewart became the first American actress to receive a César nomination since Julia Migenes did so in “Carmen” in 1984. Me, I found it interesting that “Saint Laurent,” a biopic of fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent from 1967 to 1976, received the most nominations, 10, followed closely by “Yves Saint Laurent,” a biopic of the fashion designer from 1958 onward, which received seven. The two movies don't seem to be related, either, in the way of, say, “Mesrine” a few years back. Just how much Yves can one country take? A lot, apparently.

“Les Combattants” sounds interesting to me (nine noms), while I'm there for anything Olivier Assayas directs. Seriously, if any of these films showed up at SIFF, I would be there. A Césars Night at SIFF would be fun. 

The Césars will be broadcast on February 20, two days before the Oscars. 

The nominees for the 40th annual César Awards (the French Oscars, yo), were announced the other day, and the movies on the left are the choices for best film. On the right, the IMDb synopsis, shortened somewhat for space. See if you can match them.

Answers in the comments field.

The second industy award has spoken. The Screen Actors Guild, or SAG, has given out its awards for, among others, film actor, actress, supporting actor and actress, as well as—unique to SAG—the cast award. 

The cast award is seen as SAG's best picture, and it's often used to try to predict Oscar winners for best picture. It shouldn't. It's the least accurate: only 50 percent over 18 years. Past recepients have included “The Help,” “Inglorious Basterds,” “Little Miss Sunshine” and “The Full Monty.” It's a whole other category. 

Where SAG and the Academy agree most? Lead actor: 16 of 20, and the last 10 in a row. 

Indeed, over the last five years, SAG and the Academy have matched up almost exactly:

Only 2012 supporting actor (Oscar: Christoph Waltz for “Django Unchained”) and 2011 lead actress (Meryl Streep for “The Iron Lady”) haven't matched, and I'd have to give it to SAG on both of them. 

So get ready if you're in any Oscar pools. Here are this year's winners: 

Cast went to “Birdman.” 

All are frontrunners with maybe the exception of Redmayne (many are predicting Keaton)  so I could see the Academy matching this exactly. We'll know in a month. 

“All these films have a believable voice and would not exist if there were not an [individual] expression behind them. And only the people who made it could have made it; they were not designed as products but as real expressions of human emotions.”

--Alejandro G. Iñárritu, accepting the Producers Guild of America award for best film of 2014, and talking about the other talent in the room—specifically, one imagines, Richard Linklater's “Boyhood,” Wes Anderson's “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” Bennet Miller's “Foxcatcher,” Damien Chazelle's “Whiplash” and Dan Gilroy's “Nightcrawler.” Pretty much my feelings. Some have complained that 2014 was a weak year for movies but I think the opposite. Even better, those films have been recognized not just by critics but by the industry, which tends to recognize and reward corporate products.

... “Birdman.”

Most of the pundits assumed “Boyood.” Maybe because the critics awards generally went to “Boyhood.”

The PGAs, for what it's worth, often presage Oscar's best picture winner. At least they have 17.5 times out of 25:

SAG is tomorrow night, the DGAs take place on February 7. And if you're wondering if a film has ever won the PGA and DGA and not the Oscar, the answer is yes: three times. In 1995, the GAs went for “Apollo 13” (instead of “Braveheart”), in '98 for “Saving Private Ryan” (instead of “Shakespeare in Love”) and in 2005 for “Brokeback Mountain” (instead of You Know What.) Each time, I'd argue, Oscar blew it.

The PGAs went a different route than the Academy in two other movie categories this year. For best animated feature, it chose “The LEGO Movie,” which the Academy failed to nominate. And in best documentary, it went with “Life Itself,” about the life and times of Roger Ebert, which ditto. 

The Fantastic Five.

The Directors Guild of America nominated its five best directors for 2014:

• Wes Anderson, “The Grand Budapest Hotel”
• Clint Eastwood, “America Sniper,”
• Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, “Birdman”
• Richard Linklater, “Boyhood”
• Morten Tyldum, “The Imitation Game” 

Three of these would be among my five nominees. Not? Eastwood, whose movie I haven't seen (and have doubts about), and Tyldum, whose movie I have (and don't). 

So why does Tyldum get the nod over Whatshisface who directed the other British supersmart biopic, “The Theory of Everything”? Who knows? And think of the dozen, two dozen, more deserving directors that could've, should've, been nom'ed: Bennet Miller, Michael R. Roskam, David Ayer, Ira Sachs, Dan Gilroy, Damien Chazelle, Jean-Marc Vallee, Ava DuVernay, and Paul Thomas Anderson. And that's just from the American movies. 

Seems “Theory of Everything” is out of the running now. So is “American Sniper,” really. It didn't get a nom for SAG cast and the last film that won the AA for best pic without a SAG cast nomination was “Braveheart” in 1995.

What's left? The three American indies (“Birdman,” “Boyhood,” “Grand Budapest”) and the British biopic (“Imitation Game”). 

This is the first DGA nomination for Anderson, Linklater and Tyldum. It's the second for Inarritu (“Babel” in 2006) and the fourth for Eastwood (“Unforgiven,” “Mystic River” and “Million Dollar Baby”).

Oscar nominations Thursday.  

Sherlock Holmes' smarter brother and Finnick Odair announced the nominees last week. 

BAFTA, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, announced its nominations for 2014 at end of last week. Here they are. I've included thoughts, FWTW, on each category:

Best film

• Birdman
• Boyhood
• The Grand Budapest Hotel
• The Imitation Game
• The Theory of Everything

Yes, yes, yes, no, no. Seriously, what do people see in these last two movies? They're reductive biopics of supersmart Brits. The leads in each are great. The stories? Meh. But all five films will appear on the Academy's list. What's missing? Folks who know say “Unbroken” and “Selma.” Folks who don't (me) say “The Drop” and “Fury.”   

Best British film

• '71
• The Imitation Game
• Paddington
• Pride
• The Theory of Everything
• Under The Skin

The BAFTAs began this category way back in 1948, but dropped it in 1968 after four of its previous six “Best films” were also “Best British films”: “Lawrence of Arabia,” “Tom Jones,” “Dr. Strangelove,” and “A Man for All Seasons.” They started the category up again 30 years later in 1993. Anyone know why? BTW, I want to see “'71” based on the title alone. I've heard “Paddington” is good. Put it on a double bill with “Kindertransport.” 

Actor

• Benedict Cumberbatch - The Imitation Game
• Ralph Fiennes - The Grand Budapest Hotel
• Jake Gyllenhaal - Nightcrawler
• Michael Keaton - Birdman
• Eddie Redmayne - The Theory of Everything

If I had a vote I'd go Redmayne or Fiennes. But no Tom Hardy? For either film?

Actress

• Amy Adams - Big Eyes
• Felicity Jones - The Theory of Everything
• Julianne Moore - Still Alice
• Rosamund Pike - Gone Girl
• Reese Witherspoon - Wild

The main surprise is Amy Adams in place of Mariion Cotillard. Is the latter doomed to win critics' praise but not industry praise for “Two Days, One Night”? Does she need a hand to hold onto, a shoulder to cry on? Marion: call me.

Supporting actor

• Steve Carell - Foxcatcher
• Ethan Hawke - Boyhood
• Edward Norton - Birdman
• Mark Ruffalo - Foxcatcher
• JK Simmons - Whiplash

Carell as supporting? The Academy should do that. Otherwise, the list is as expected. 

Supporting actress

• Patricia Arquette - Boyhood
• Rene Russo - Nightcrawler
• Keira Knightley - The Imitation Game
• Imelda Staunton - Pride
• Emma Stone - Birdman

Keira, huh? Haven't seen “Pride.” What's missing: Laura Dern for “Wild,” Agata Kulesza for “Ida,” and hey, how about Kim Dickens for “Gone Girl”? But no one's talking that one up.

Director

• Wes Anderson - Grand Budapest Hotel
• Damian Chazelle - Whiplash
• Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu - Birdman
• Richard Linklater - Boyhood
• James Marsh - The Theory of Everything

Same as pic except Norway's Morten Tyldum, who directed “The Imitation Game,” has been replaced by Damian Chazelle of “Whiplash.” Good move. I would've lost James Marsh, too.

Adapted Screenplay

• American Sniper - Jason Hall
• Gone Girl - Gillian Flynn
• The Imitation Game - Graham Moore
• Paddington - Paul King
• The Theory of Everything - Anthony McCarten

No Nick Hornby for “Wild”? Instead Graham Moore for “Imitation Game”? For shame. And the rest? When I post my Oscar nominee wishlist (next week), exactly none of these will be on it. 

Original Screenplay

• Birdman - Alejandro G. Inarritu, Nicolas Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris Jr, Armando Bo
• Boyhood - Richard Linklater
• The Grand Budapest Hotel - Wes Anderson
• Nightcrawler - Dan Gilroy
• Whiplash - Damien Chazelle

I'd take all of these in a heartbeat. So odd that I agree almost 100% with original and 0% with adapated. 

Animated Feature

• Big Hero 6
• The Boxtrolls
• The Lego Movie

I would include “Mr. Peabody & Sherman” here. But then it's one of only two animated movies I've seen this year. 

Documentary

• 20 Feet from Stardom
• 20,000 Days on Earth
• Citizenfour
• Finding Vivian Maier
• Virunga

Maybe there should be a “divisible by 20” category? “20 Feet” won the Oscar last year but apparently didn't make it across the pond until this year. I assume “CitizenFour” will be tough competition. Anyone seen “Virunga”?

Foreign Film

• Ida
• Leviathan
• The Lunchbox
• Trash
• Two Days, One Night

I'd go “Ida.” Havent' seen “Leviathan” or “Trash.” Want to see “Leviathan.”

Cinematography

• Birdman - Emmanuel Lubezki
• The Grand Budapest Hotel - Robert Yeoman
• Ida - Lukasz Zal, Ryszard Lenczewski
• Interstellar - Hoyte van Hoytema
• Mr Turner - Dick Pope

Good choices all around. I'd go “Ida.”

Costume Design

• The Grand Budapest Hotel
• The Imitation Game
• Into the Woods
• Mr Turner
• The Theory of Everything

Um ... “Budapest”? Not my wheelhouse.

Editing

• Birdman - Douglas Crise, Stephen Mirrione
• The Grand Budapest Hotel - Barney Pilling
• The Imitation Game - William Goldenberg
• Nightcrawler - John Gilroy
• The Theory of Everything - Jinx Godfrey
• Whiplash - Tom Cross

Anything but the myopic biopics. 

Make-Up and Hair

• The Grand Budapest Hotel - Frances Hannon
• Guardians of the Galaxy - Elizabeth Yianni-Georgiou, David White
• Into the Woods - Peter Swords King, J Roy Helland
• Mr Turner - Christine Blundell, Lesa Warrener
• The Theory of Everything - Jan Sewell

Um ... “Budapest”?

Music

• Birdman - Antonio Sanchez
• The Grand Budapest Hotel - Alexandre Desplat
• Interstellar - Hans Zimmer
• The Theory of Everything - Johann Johannsson
• Under the Skin - Mica Levi

I'd probably go Antonio Sanchez. Cue: single drumbeat. 

Rising Star Award

• Gugu Mbatha-Raw
• Jack O'Connell
• Margot Robbie
• Miles Teller
• Shailene Woodley

The ages, from top to bottom: 31, 24, 24, 27, 23. Brit, Brit, Aussie, and two Yanks. Should the Academy do something like this? To draw in the kids? Or is the Academy too old to figure it out? BAFTA is suspect, too. I mean, Shailene Woodley? Rising? Three years ago she was in “The Descendants,” last year “The Spectacular Now.” Way to wake up, gramps. 

Overall, “The Grand Budapest Hotel” had the most nominations (11), followed by “Birdman” and “Theory of Everything” (10 each). “Boyhood” received five nominations. 

The BAFTA awards will be broadcast on February 8.

Among the nominees: “The Theory of Everything,” “Nightcrawler,” “Whiplash,” “Gone Girl” and “Birdman.”

Screw the critics, time for the industry awards. 

The Producers Guild of America, or PGA, announced its 2014 nominees for both film and TV today. Here are its 10 nominated films:

• American Sniper
• Birdman
• Boyhood
• Foxcatcher
• Gone Girl
• The Grand Budapest Hotel
• The Imitation Game
• Nightcrawler
• The Theory of Everything
• Whiplash

I'm happy to see half of these movies make the list. (Specifically: “Birdman,” “Boyhood,” “Foxcatcher,” “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” “Nightcrawler” and “Whiplash.”) I'm resigned to seeing “The Imitation Game” and “The Theory of Everything” on here. Neither deserves it, but they were made to be on these lists, and garner these awards, so here they are. “American Sniper” is a late Eastwood entry (again) that hasn't arrived in Seattle yet, so no comment. “Gone Girl”? Meh.

But eveyrthing else, yay. 

What's missing? Among the assumed nominees: “Selma,” “Unbroken.” Among the good pictures? “The Drop” and “Fury.” 

Does it mean anything for the Oscars? A bit. Every PGA winner since 2006 (“Little Miss Sunshine”) has gone on to win the Academy's best picture. Plus, only one best picture Oscar winner has not been nominated by the PGA: “Braveheart” in 1995. So it's likely your 2014 Oscar winner is above.

The ceremony takes place Jan. 24.