They’re Here~ My Big Bold 2013 Oscar WINNER Predictions

It’s been one heck of a topsy-turvy Oscar season. Since September, there seemed to be a different film out in front each week with Lincoln, Les Miserables, Argo, Zero Dark Thirty and Silver Linings Playbook all looking like the film to beat. However, after all of the Guild Awards (SAG, DGA, PGA) and the Golden Globes, it has become clear that Argo is the true front-runner and likely will win Best Picture. If it does, it will be the first film to do so without a Best Director nomination since Driving Miss Daisy in 1989. And it may also be one of the only wins the film takes home. It has a shot in Screenplay, Editing and Score, but we’ll see… There are other sure things but there are 3 big races totally up in the air and we may see the awards spread over several different films… So, just who do I think will win? Take a look at my big, bold and totally unscientific Oscar predictions below and watch the big Academy Award show Sunday the 24th on ABC.

Best Picture:
Amour, Argo, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Django Unchained, Les Miserables, Life of Pi, Lincoln, Silver Linings Playbook, Zero Dark Thirty
Will win: Argo
Should win: Les Miserables
~ spoiler: Lincoln

Best Actor:
Bradley Cooper (Silver Linings Playbook), Daniel Day-Lewis (Lincoln), Hugh Jackman (Les Miserables), Joaquin Phoenix (The Master), Denzel Washington (Flight)
Will win: Daniel Day-Lewis
Should win: Hugh Jackman (hello, degree of difficulty people)
~ spoiler: Hugh Jackman, but let’s be honest. Daniel Day-Lewis has this in the bag.

Best Actress:
Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty), Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook), Emmanuelle Riva (Amour), Quevanzhane Wallis (Beasts of the Southern Wild), Naomi Watts (The Impossible)
Will win: Jennifer Lawrence
Should win: Jessica Chastain
~ spoiler: Emmanuelle Riva
* This race is really becoming a toss-up. Lawrence is the smart money, but many feel Chastain deserves it more and Riva has the growing buzz and would be the oldest Best Actress winner ever…

Best Supporting Actor:
Alan Arkin (Argo), Robert DeNiro (Silver Linings Playbook), Tommy Lee Jones (Licoln), Phillip Seymour Hoffman (The Master), Christoph Waltz (Django Unchained)
Will win: Robert DeNiro
Should win: Tommy Lee Jones
~ spoiler: Christoph Waltz
* this is the biggest toss-up race of all. Any of the five could win (even Arkin if there’s an Argo sweep). Weinstein company is spending tons of $ to remind voters that DeNiro hasn’t won in 32 years, so I think that may give him the edge.

Best Supporting Actress:
Amy Adams (The Master), Sally Field (Lincoln), Anne Hathaway (Les Miserables), Helen Hunt (The Sessions), Jacki Weaver (Silver Linings Playbook)
Will & Should win: Anne Hathaway
~ spoiler: Sally Field, but let’s be honest Hathaway can not lose.

Best Director:
Michael Haeneke (Amour), Ang Lee (Life of Pi), David O’Russell (Silver Linings Playbook), Steven Spielberg (Lincoln), Benh Zeitlan (Beasts of the Southern Wild)
Will win: Steven Speilberg
Should win: Ben Affleck, Kathryn Bigelow or Tom Hooper (oops they’re not nominated!)
~ spoiler: Ang Lee
* this race is also incredibly close with Spielberg, Lee and Russell all having a strong shot…

Best Original Screenplay:
Amour, Django Unchained, Flight, Moonrise Kingdom, Zero Dark Thirty
Will win: Django Unchained
Should win: Zero Dark Thirty
~spoiler: Amour

Adapted Screenplay:
Argo, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Life of Pi, Lincoln, Silver Linings Playbook
Will win: Argo
Should win: Lincoln
~ spoiler: Silver Linings Playbook

Editing:
Argo, Life of Pi, Lincoln, Silver Linings Playbook, Zero Dark Thirty
Will win: Argo
Should win: Zero Dark Thirty
~ spoiler: Zero Dark Thirty

Cinematography:
Anna Karenina, Django Unchained, Life of Pi, Lincoln, Skyfall
Will win: Life of Pi
Should win: Skyfall
~ spoiler: Skyfall

Production Design:
Anna Karenina, The Hobbit, Les Miserables, Life of Pi, Lincoln
Will & Should win: Les Miserables
~ Spoiler: Anna Karenina

Costume Design:
Anna Karenina, Les Miserables, Lincoln, Mirror Mirror, Snow White and the Huntsman
Will & Should win: Anna Karenina
~ Spoiler: Les Miserables

Makeup & Hair:
The Hobbit, Les Miserables, Lincoln
Will & Should win: Les Miserables
~ spoiler: The Hobbit

Original Score:
Anna Karenina, Argo, Life of Pi, Lincoln, Skyfall
Will win: Life of Pi
Should win: Skyfall
~ spoiler: Lincoln (it’s John Williams after all)

Song:
“Before My Time” (Chasing Ice), “Everybody Need’s a Friend” (Ted), “Pi’s Lullably” (Life of Pi), “Skyfall” (Skyfall), “Suddenly” (Les Miserables)
Will & Should win: “Skyfall”
~ spoiler: “Suddenly”

Sound Editing:
Argo, Django Unchained, Life of Pi, Skyfall, Zero Dark Thirty
Will & Should win: Zero Dark Thirty
~ spoiler: Skyfall

Sound Mixing:
Argo, Les Miserables, Life of Pi, Lincoln, Skyfall
Will & Should win: Les Miserables
~ spoiler: Life o Pi

Visual Effects:
The Avengers, The Hobbit, Life of Pi, Prometheus, Snow White and the Huntsman
Will win: Life of Pi
Should win: The Hobbit
~ spoiler: The Hobbit

Animated Film:
Brave, Frankenweenie, ParaNorman, The Pirates: Band of Misfits!, Wreck it Ralph
Will win: Wreck it Ralph
Should win: ParaNorman (but, hey Wreck It Ralph was pretty damn good)
~ spoiler: Frankenweenie

Foreign Language Film:
Amour, Kontiki, No, A Royal Affair, War Witch
Wil win: Amour
Should win: No
~ spoiler: A Royal Affair

Documentary:
5 Broken Cameras, The Gatekeepers, How to Survive a Plague, The Invisible War, Searching for Sugar Man
Will win: Searching for Sugar Man
Should win: How to Survive a Plague
~ spoiler: The Gatekeepers

“Argo” is Unstoppable at the BAFTAS

Argo continued to roll over the competition this awards season as it took home three big awards at today’s BAFTA Awards, aka the British Oscars. The film won Best Picture, Best Editing and Best Director for Ben Affleck who has pretty much won every precursor directing award for this film but still has no shot at the Oscar because he mysteriously wasn’t even nominated. Nonetheless, watch for Argo to take Best Picture in two weeks… What we don’t know is who will win Best Actress. Yesterday I said Jessica Chastain might beat Jennifer Lawrence with an Emmanuelle Riva spoiler. Well, today Riva beat both her younger counterparts and now seems like a true contender for that spoil. Winning Best Actor was Daniel Day-Lewis while Anne Hathaway also continued her sweep with the Supporting Actress Award. Her film Les Miserables actually won the most awards tonight with 4 BAFTAS… Django Unchained picked up two for Original Screenplay and Christoph Waltz in the very competitive Supporting Actor Category… Skyfall walked away with the Best British Film honor while Silver Linings Playbook usurped Lincoln in the Adapted Screenplay category… Take a look at all the winners below and head to the BAFTA website here for more.

2013 BAFTA Award Winners~

Best Film: “Argo”
Outstanding British Film: “Skyfall,” Sam Mendes, Michael G. Wilson, Barbara Broccoli, Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, John Logan
Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer: Bart Layton (director), Dimitri Doganis (producer), “The Impostor”
Film Not in the English Language: “Amour”
Documentary: “Searching for Sugar Man”
Animated Film: “Brave,” Mark Andrews, Brenda Chapman
Director: Ben Affleck, “Argo”
Original Screenplay: “Django Unchained,” Quentin Tarantino
Adapted Screenplay: “Silver Linings Playbook,” David O. Russell
Leading Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis, “Lincoln:
Leading Actress: Emmanuelle Riva, “Amour”
Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz, “Django Unchained”
Supporting Actress: Anne Hathaway, “Les Miserables”
Original Music: “Skyfall,” Thomas Newman
Cinematography: “Life of Pi,” Claudio Miranda
Editing: “Argo,” William Goldenberg
Production Design: “Les Miserables,” Eve Stewart, Anna Lynch-Robinson
Costume Design: “Anna Karenina,” Jacqueline Durran
Make Up & Hair: “Les Miserables,” Lisa Westcott
Sound: “Les Miserables,” Simon Hayes, Andy Nelson, Mark Paterson, Jonathan Allen, Lee Walpole, John Warhurst
Special Visual Effects: “Life of Pi,” Bill Westenhofer, Guillaume Rocheron, Erik-Jan De Boer
Short Animation: “The Making of Longbird,” Will Anderson, Ainslie Henderson
Short Film: “Swimmer,” Lynne Ramsey, Peter Carlton, Diarmid Scrimshaw
EE Rising Star Award: Juno Temple
Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema Award: Tessa Ross

Most Wins Per Film:
Les Miserables: 4
Argo: 3
Django Unchained: 2
Life of Pi: 2
Skyfall: 2

Ben Affleck Wins Big at the DGA Awards

Ben Affleck keeps making the Oscars look foolish as he took home Best Director at this weekend’s Director’s Guild Awards and his film Argo remains this season’s big Awards winner despite Affleck’s Oscar snub. After winning the PGA, SAG Ensemble and the DGA Award, it seems Argo just may be unstoppable for the Best Picture Oscar even without Affleck’s individual recognition. We’ll see in a few weeks… Other big winners at the DGA Awards included Lena Dunham for Girls and the directors of Game Change, Searching for Sugar Man and Breaking Bad. Take a look at all the winners below and head here for more on the DGA.

2013 DGA Award Winners:

Director Film: Ben Affleck, Argo
Director Documentary: Malik Bendjelloul, Searching for Sugar Man
Director Drama Series: Rian Johnson, Breaking Bad
Director Comedy Series: Lena Dunham, Girls
Director TV Movie/Miniseries: Jay Roach, Game Change
Director Musical/Variety: Glenn Weiss, The Tony Awards
Reality Program: Master Chef
Daytime Series: One Life to Live
Children’s Program: Let it Shine
Commercial: Best Job

“Les Mis” Wins Big at the Golden Globes

Did you hear the people sing? Or at least the members of the Hollywood Foreign Press? You did if you watched tonight’s highly entertaining Golden Globe show where they awarded Les Miserables with a leading 3 awards including Best Picture (Musical/Comedy), Best Actor Musical/Comedy (Hugh Jackman) and Best Supporting Actress (Anne Hathaway). I was thrilled with these incredibly deserving wins for what I consider the Best film of last year…. Other big wins included Daniel Day-Lewis and Jessica Chastain for Drama Actor and Actress, Jennifer Lawrence for Musical/Comedy Actress and Christoph Waltz for Supporting Actor… Ben Affleck continued to stick it to the Academy as he won his second Director trophy this week for Argo which also usurped Lincoln to take home the Best Picture Prize….
On the TV front, Homeland and Game Change won big with three awards while Girls  picked up two…. Check back here tomorrow for my take on the telecast and see all the winners below… For more on all the winners and the show which was hosted by the incredibly hysterical and brilliant Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, head here.

2013 Golden Globe Award Winners:

FILM~

Best Picture (Drama): Argo
Best Actor (Drama): Daniel Day-Lewis (Lincoln)
Best Actress (Drama): Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty)
Best Picture (Musical or Comedy): Les Miserables
Best Actor (Musical/Comedy): Hugh Jackman
Best Actress (Musical/Comedy): Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook)
Best Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz (Django Unchained)
Best Supporting Actress: Anne Hathaway (Les Miserables)
Best Director: Ben Affleck (Argo)
Best Screenplay: Quentin Tarantino (Django Unchained)
Best Score: Life of P9
Best Original Song: “Skyfall” by Adele (Skyfall)
Best Animated Film: Brave
Best Foreign Film: Amour

TV~

Drama Series: Homeland
Actress Drama: Clare Danes (Homeland)
Actor Drama: Damian Lewis (Homeland)
Musical or Comedy Series: Girls
Actress Musical/Comedy: Lena Dunham (Girls)
Actor Musical/Comedy: Don Cheadle (House of Lies)
Supporting Actor TV Movie/Drama Series or Musical/Comedy Series: Ed Harris (Game Change)
Supporting Actress TV Movie/Drama Series or Musical/Comedy Series: Maggie Smith (Downton Abbey)
TV Movie or Miniseries: Game Change
Actress TV Movie/Miniseries: Julianne Moore (Game Change)
Actor TV Movie/Miniseries: Kevin Costner (Hatfields & McCoys)

Cecil B. DeMille Award: Jodie Foster

They’re Here~ My Big Bold 2013 Golden Globe WINNER Predictions!

Sunday night brings what NBC claims is the biggest party of the year in Hollywood, The Golden Globe Awards and no doubt, it’s always a good time. This year the hosts are the brilliant and hysterical Tina Fey and Amy Poehler who are also nominees. I can’t wait to see what they bring to the show that often favors big stars as its winners…. So, just who do I think will take home the golden hardware and who actually deserves to? Take a look at my predictions below and watch the Golden Globes Sunday night on NBC.

My BIG BOLD Golden Globe WINNER Predictions~

FILM

Best Picture (Drama)
Argo, Django Unchained, Life of Pi, Lincoln, Zero Dark Thirty
Will win: Argo
Should win: Zero Dark Thirty
~ spoiler: Lincoln

Best Actor (Drama)
Daniel Day-Lewis (Lincoln), Richard Gere (Arbitrage), John Hawkes (The Sessions), Joaquin Phoenix (The Master), Denzel Washington (Flight)
Will & Should win: Daniel Day-Lewis
~ spoiler: Denzel Washington

Best Actress (Drama)
Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty), Marion Cotillard (Rust & Bone), Helen Mirren (Hitchcock), Naomi Watts (The Impossible), Rachel Weisz (Deep Blue Sea)
Will & Should win: Jessica Chastain
~spoiler: Naomi Watts

Best Picture (Musical or Comedy)
The Best Marigold Hotel, Les Miseralbes, Moonrise Kingdom, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, SIlver Linings Playbook
Will & Should win: Les Miserables
~ spoiler: Silver Linings Playbook

Best Actor (Musical or Comedy):
Jack Black (Bernie), Bradley Cooper (Silver Linings Playbook), Hugh Jackman (Les Miserables), Ewan McGregor (Salmon Fishing in the Yemen), Bill Murray (Hyde Park on Hudson)
Will & Should win: Hugh Jackman
~ spoiler: Bradley Cooper

Best Actress (Musical or Comedy):
Emily Blunt (Salmon Fishing in the Yemen), Judi Dench (The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel), Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook), Maggie Smith (Quartet), Meryl Streep (Hope Springs)
Will win: Jennifer Lawrence
Should win: Meryl Streep or Maggie Smith
~ spoiler: Maggie Smith

Best Supporting Actor:
Alan Arkin (Argo), Leonardo DiCaprio (Django Unchained), Tommy Lee Jones (Lincoln), Phillip Seymour Hoffman (The Master), Christoph Waltz (Django Unchained)
Will win: Leonardo DiCaprio
Should win: Tommy Lee Jones
~ spoiler: Christoph Watlz

Best Supporting Actress:
Amy Adams (The Master), Sally Field (Lincoln), Anne Hathaway (Les Miserables), Helen Hunt (The Sessions), Maggie Smith (The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel)
Will & Should win: Anne Hathaway
~ Spoiler: no one. She deservedly has it in the bag.

Best Director:
Ben Affleck (Argo), Kathryn Bigelow (Zero Dark Thirty), Ang Lee (Life of Pi), Quentin Tarantino (Django Unchained), Steven Spielberg (Lincoln)
Will win: Ben Affleck
Should win: Kathryn Bigelow
~ Spoiler: Steven Spielberg

Best Screenplay:
Argo, Django Unchained, Lincoln, Silver Linings Playbook, Zero Dark Thirty
Will & Should win: Lincoln
~ spoiler: Django Unchained

Best Score:
Anna Karenina, Argo, Cloud Atlas, Life of Pi, Lincoln
Will & Should win: Lincoln
~ Spoiler: Anna Karenina

Best Original Song:
“For You” (Act of Valor), “Not Running Anymore” (Stand Up Guys), “Safe & Sound” (The Hunger Games), “Suddenly” (Les Miserables), “Skyfall” (Skyfall)
Will & Should win: “Skfyall” (yay, Adele)
~ spoiler: “Suddenly”

Best Animated Film:
Brave, Frankenweenie, Hotel Transylvania, Rise of the Guardians, Wreck It Raph
Will win: Rise of the Guardians
Should win: Wreck It Ralph
~ spoiler: Frankenweenie

Best Foreign Language Film:
Amour, A Royal Affair, The Intouchables, Kon-Tiki, Rust & Bone
Will win: Amour
Should win: The Intouchables
~ spoiler: The Intouchables

TV:

Drama Series:
Breaking Bad, Boardwalk Empire, Downton Abbey, Homeland, The Newsroom
Will & Should win: Homeland
~ spoiler: Downton Abbey (remember this is the FOREIGN press and Downton is all about the Brits!)

Best Actor Drama:
Steven Buscemi (Boardwalk Empire), Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad), Jeff Daniels (The Newsroom), Jon Hamm (Mad Men), Damian Lewis (Homeland)
Will win: Damian Lewis
Should win: Bryan Cranston
~ Spoiler: Jeff Daniels

Best Actress Drama:
Connie Britton (Nashville), Glenn Close (Damages), Clare Danes (Homeland), Michelle Dockrey (Downton Abbey), Juliana Marguiles (The Good Wife)
Will & Should win: Clare Danes
~ spoiler: Michelle Dockrey (this category rarely has repeat winners and since Danes won last year, Dockrey could prevail)

Best Musical or Comedy Series:
The Big Bang Theory, Episodes, Girls, Modern Family, Smash
Will & Should win: Modern Family
~ spoiler: Smash

Best Actor Musical or Comedy:
Alec Baldwin (30 Rock), Don Cheadle (House of Lies), Louis CK (Louie), Matt LeBlanc (Episodes), Jim Parsons (The Big Bang Theory)
Will win: Louis CK
Should win: Matt LeBlanc
~ Spoiler: Jim Parsons

Best Actress Musical or Comedy:
Zooey Deschanel (New Girl), Julia Louis-Dreyfuss (Veep), Lena Dunham (Girls), Tina Fey (30 Rock), Amy Poehler (Parks & Recreation)
Will win: Julia Louis Dreyfuss
Should win: Amy Poehler
~ spoiler: Lena Dunham

TV Movie or Miniseries:
Game Change, The Girl, Hatfields & McCoys, The Hour, Political Animals
Will & Should win: Game Change
~ spoiler: Political Animals (and wouldn’t that be fun?!)

Best Actor TV Movie/Miniseries:
Kevin Costner (Hatfields & McCoys), Benedict Cumberpatch (Sherlock), Woody Harrelson (Game Change), Toby Jones (The Girl), Clive Owen (Hemingway & Gelhorn)
Will win: Kevin Costner
Should win: Woody Harrleson
~ spoiler: Benedict Cumberpatch

Best Actress TV Movie/Miniseries:
Nicole Kidman (Hemingway & Gelhorn), Jessica Lange (American Horror Story: Asylum), Sienna Miller (The Girl), Julianne Moore (Game Change), Sigourney Weaver (Political Animals)
Will & Should win: Julianne Moore
~ spoiler: Jessica Lange

Best Supporting Actor TV Movie/Miniseries/Drama Series or Musical/Comedy Series:
Max Greenfield (New Girl), Ed Harris (Game Change), Danny Huston (Magic City), Mandy Patinkin (Homeland), Eric Stonestreet (Modern Family)
Will win: Mandy Patinkin
Should win: Max Greenfield
~ spoiler: Ed Harris

Best Supporting Actress TV Movie/Miniseries/Drama Series or Musical/Comedy Series:

Hayden Panitierre (Nashville), Archie Penjabi (The Good Wife), Sarah Paulson (Game Change), Maggie Smith (Downton Abbey), Sofia Vergara (Modern Family)

Will & Should win: Maggie Smith

~ spoiler: Sofia Vergara

 

The Critic’s Choice Awards Spread the Love while Argo Upsets Lincoln.

All of the big contenders won at least one award at tonight’s Critic’s Choice Awards ceremony honoring the best films and performances according to the biggest critics group in the nation. The big surprise was Argo taking home Best Picture over supposed front-runner (and the biggest Oscar contender this morning) Lincoln. Not only did it win the biggest award of the night, but Ben Affleck also took home Best Director. It was the first of several awards I think Affleck will win this year despite his shocking omission at the Oscar nominations today…. In the acting categories Daniel Day-Lewis (Lincoln) and Anne Hathaway (Les Miserables) continued to mow over the competition in the Lead Actor and Supporting Actress category. However, the two other acting categories are just gearing up with their horse races as Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty) and Phillip Seymour Hoffman (The Master) took home Lead Actress and Supporting Actor in very competitive fields. In fact Chastain held off her strongest competition, Jennifer Lawrence who nonetheless won three, yes three other awards tonight. Lawrence took home Actress in an Action Film, Actress in a Comedy and was part of the Best Ensemble award to Silver Linings Playbook. That last award was a bit of a shocker to me as I thought either Lincoln or Les Mis would take that one. (I still maintain that Les Mis will grab that Ensemble award at the SAG kudosfest at the end of the month though)…. Screenplay honors went to Django Unchained and Lincoln while Life of Pi, Skyfall and Anna Karenina won below the line categories. Scroll down for al the winners and head here for more on the Broadcast Film Critics Association and tonight’s awards.

2013 Broadcast Film Critics Choice Movie Award Winners:

Best Picture: Argo
Best Director: Ben Affleck, Argo
Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
Best Actress: Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty
Best Supporting Actor: Phillip Seymour Hoffman, The Master
Best Supporting Actress: Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables
Best Ensemble: Silver Linings Playbook
Best Younger Actor/Actress: Quevanzhane Wallis (Beasts of the Southern Wild)
Best Original Screenplay: Django Unchained
Best Adapted Screenplay: Lincoln
Best Animated Film: Wreck It Ralph
Best Foreign Film: Amour
Best Documentary: Searching For Sugar Man
Best Cinematography: Skyfall
Best Editing: Zero Dark Thirty
Best Score: Lincoln
Best Song: “Skyfall” by Adele from Skyfall
Best Art Direction: Anna Karenina
Best Costume Design: Anna Karenina
Best Makeup: Cloud Atlas
Best Visual Effects: Life of Pi
Best Comedy Film: Silver Linings Playbook
Beat Actor Comedy: Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook
Best Actress Comedy: Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
Best Action Film: Skyfall
Best Actor Action: Daniel Craig, Skyfall
Best Actress Action: Jennifer Lawrence, The Hunger Games
Best Horror/Sci-Fi Film: Looper

Total Awards:
Silver Linings Playbook: 4
Lincoln: 3
Skyfall: 3
Argo: 2
Anna Karenina: 2
Life of Pi: 2
Zero Dark Thirty: 2
Amour: 1
Beasts of the Southern Wild: 1
Cloud Atlas: 1
Django Unchained: 1
Les Miserables: 1
The Hunger Games: 1
Looper: 1
The Master: 1
Searching for Sugar Man: 1
Wreck It Ralph: 1

“Lincoln” and “Les Mis” Lead the BAFTA Noms

Lincoln continues its run as the Oscar front-runner as it pulled in 10 BAFTA nominations this morning ahead of Les Miserables and Life of Pi with 9 each and Skyfall with 8 (including Javier Bardem and Judi Dench in the Supporting Actor categories). The big surprise was the snub of Lincoln and Les Mis directors Steven Spielberg and Tom Hooper who both missed the cut… In fact, the story of the day is actually the other people snubbed by the British academy. Getting no love this morning were Denzel Washington, Naomi Watts, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Robert DeNiro who all didn’t make the cut…. So just who did? Take a look at the full list below which featured a surprisingly strong showing for Anna Karenina and a huge shocker with Ben Affleck in the Best Actor category. Winners will be announced just before the Oscar ceremony next month.

2013 BAFTA Award Nominations~

BEST FILM:
Argo
Les Miserables
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Zero Dark Thirty

BEST BRITISH FILM:
Anna Karenina
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Les Miserables
Seven Psychopaths
Skyfall

FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
AMOUR Michael Haneke, Margaret Ménégoz
HEADHUNTERS Morten Tyldum, Marianne Gray, Asle Vatn
THE HUNT Thomas Vinterberg, Sisse Graum Jørgensen, Morten Kaufmann
RUST AND BONE Jacques Audiard, Pascal Caucheteux
UNTOUCHABLE Eric Toledano, Olivier Nakache, Nicolas Duval Adassovsky, Yann Zenou, Laurent Zeitoun
DOCUMENTARY
THE IMPOSTER Bart Layton, Dimitri Doganis
MARLEY Kevin Macdonald, Steve Bing, Charles Steel
McCULLIN David Morris, Jacqui Morris
SEARCHING FOR SUGAR MAN Malik Bendjelloul, Simon Chinn
WEST OF MEMPHIS Amy Berg
ANIMATED FILM
BRAVE Mark Andrews, Brenda Chapman
FRANKENWEENIE Tim Burton
PARANORMAN Sam Fell, Chris Butler
DIRECTOR
AMOUR Michael Haneke
ARGO Ben Affleck
DJANGO UNCHAINED Quentin Tarantino
LIFE OF PI Ang Lee
ZERO DARK THIRTY Kathryn Bigelow
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
AMOUR Michael Haneke
DJANGO UNCHAINED Quentin Tarantino
THE MASTER Paul Thomas Anderson
MOONRISE KINGDOM Wes Anderson, Roman Coppola
ZERO DARK THIRTY Mark Boal
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
ARGO Chris Terrio
BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD Lucy Alibar, Benh Zeitlin
LIFE OF PI David Magee
LINCOLN Tony Kushner
SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK David O. Russell
LEADING ACTOR
BEN AFFLECK Argo
BRADLEY COOPER Silver Linings Playbook
DANIEL DAY-LEWIS Lincoln
HUGH JACKMAN Les Misérables
JOAQUIN PHOENIX The Master
LEADING ACTRESS
EMMANUELLE RIVA Amour
HELEN MIRREN Hitchcock
JENNIFER LAWRENCE Silver Linings Playbook
JESSICA CHASTAIN Zero Dark Thirty
MARION COTILLARD Rust and Bone
SUPPORTING ACTOR
ALAN ARKIN Argo
CHRISTOPH WALTZ Django Unchained
JAVIER BARDEM Skyfall
PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN The Master
TOMMY LEE JONES Lincoln
SUPPORTING ACTRESS
AMY ADAMS The Master
ANNE HATHAWAY Les Misérables
HELEN HUNT The Sessions
JUDI DENCH Skyfall
SALLY FIELD Lincoln
ORIGINAL MUSIC
ANNA KARENINA Dario Marianelli
ARGO Alexandre Desplat
LIFE OF PI Mychael Danna
LINCOLN John Williams
SKYFALL Thomas Newman

CINEMATOGRAPHY
ANNA KARENINA Seamus McGarvey
LES MISÉRABLES Danny Cohen
LIFE OF PI Claudio Miranda
LINCOLN Janusz Kaminski
SKYFALL Roger Deakins
EDITING
ARGO William Goldenberg
DJANGO UNCHAINED Fred Raskin
LIFE OF PI Tim Squyres
SKYFALL Stuart Baird
ZERO DARK THIRTY Dylan Tichenor, William Goldenberg
PRODUCTION DESIGN
ANNA KARENINA Sarah Greenwood, Katie Spencer
LES MISÉRABLES Eve Stewart, Anna Lynch-Robinson
LIFE OF PI David Gropman, Anna Pinnock
LINCOLN Rick Carter, Jim Erickson
SKYFALL Dennis Gassner, Anna Pinnock
COSTUME DESIGN
ANNA KARENINA Jacqueline Durran
GREAT EXPECTATIONS Beatrix Aruna Pasztor
LES MISÉRABLES Paco Delgado
LINCOLN Joanna Johnston
SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN Colleen Atwood
MAKE UP & HAIR
ANNA KARENINA Ivana Primorac
HITCHCOCK Julie Hewett, Martin Samuel, Howard Berger
THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY Peter Swords King, Richard Taylor, Rick Findlater
LES MISÉRABLES Lisa Westcott
LINCOLN Lois Burwell, Kay Georgiou
SOUND
DJANGO UNCHAINED Mark Ulano, Michael Minkler, Tony Lamberti, Wylie Stateman
THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY Tony Johnson, Christopher Boyes, Michael Hedges, Michael Semanick, Brent Burge, Chris Ward
LES MISÉRABLES Simon Hayes, Andy Nelson, Mark Paterson, Jonathan Allen, Lee Walpole, John Warhurst
LIFE OF PI Drew Kunin, Eugene Gearty, Philip Stockton, Ron Bartlett, D. M. Hemphill
SKYFALL Stuart Wilson, Scott Millan, Greg P. Russell, Per Hallberg, Karen Baker Landers
SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS
THE DARK KNIGHT RISES Paul Franklin, Chris Corbould, Peter Bebb, Andrew Lockley
THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton, R. Christopher White
LIFE OF PI Bill Westenhofer, Guillaume Rocheron, Erik-Jan De Boer
MARVEL AVENGERS ASSEMBLE Nominees TBC
PROMETHEUS Richard Stammers, Charley Henley, Trevor Wood, Paul Butterworth
SHORT ANIMATION
HERE TO FALL Kris Kelly, Evelyn McGrath
I’M FINE THANKS Eamonn O’Neill
THE MAKING OF LONGBIRD Will Anderson, Ainslie Henderson
SHORT FILM
THE CURSE Fyzal Boulifa, Gavin Humphries
GOOD NIGHT Muriel d’Ansembourg, Eva Sigurdardottir
SWIMMER Lynne Ramsay, Peter Carlton, Diarmid Scrimshaw
TUMULT Johnny Barrington, Rhianna Andrews
THE VOORMAN PROBLEM Mark Gill, Baldwin Li
THE EE RISING STAR AWARD (voted for by the public)
ELIZABETH OLSEN
ANDREA RISEBOROUGH
SURAJ SHARMA
JUNO TEMPLE
ALICIA VIKANDER

OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER
BART LAYTON (Director), DIMITRI DOGANIS (Producer) The Imposter
DAVID MORRIS (Director), JACQUI MORRIS (Director/Producer) McCullin
DEXTER FLETCHER (Director/Writer), DANNY KING (Writer) Wild Bill
JAMES BOBIN (Director) The Muppets
TINA GHARAVI (Director/Writer) I Am Nasrine

Ben Affleck plays with the Big Kids at the DGA Noms

Ben Affleck officially got an invitation to the big kids table as he grabbed his first DGA Nomination for his critical and commercial hit third film Argo. Affleck is the only first time nominee going against previous winners Tom Hooper (previous winner for The King’s Speech), Ang Lee (wins for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Brokeback Mountain), Kathryn Bigelow (won for The Hurt Locker) and Steven Spielberg who now has 11 nominations and 3 wins (The Color Purple, Schindler’s List and Saving Private Ryan)…. Left off the Director’s Guild list were David O’Russell (Silver Linings Playbook) and Quentin Tarantino (Django Unchained). Take a look at the list of nominees below which is usually quite an accurate Oscar predictor and watch for the winner announcement next month.

2012 Director’s Guild Award Nominees for Motion Picture:

Ben Affleck (Argo)
Kathryn Bigelow (Zero Dark Thirty)
Tom Hooper (Les Miserables)
Ang Lee (Life of Pi)
Steven Spielberg (Lincoln)

Oscar Front Runner Argo Rises to the Top of the Box Office as the Newbies Bomb

Ben Affleck’s crowd pleasing thriller Argo is not only a front-runner in this year’s Oscar race, but it’s also a big hit. The film finally hit the top of the box office in its third week pulling in another $12 million for a total of $60.5 million. It fended off four new films that all tanked in their debuts. Opening best was the big budget sic-fi mind bender Cloud Atlas with $9.6 million. Starring Tom Hanks and Halle Berry, Atlas has a long way to go towards profitability with a budget over $100 million. At least it did better than the horror sequel Silent Hill: Revelation 3D which barely managed $8 million, the new teen comedy Fun Size which only grossed $4 million or the new surfer pic Chasing Mavericks which practically didn’t even register with a tiny $2.2 million in 13th place…. For more on all these numbers, head to Box Office Mojo here and check out the new top ten below.

TW LW Title (click to view) Studio Weekend Gross % Change Theater Count / Change Average Total Gross Budget* Week #
1 2 Argo WB $12,085,059 -26.5% 2,855 -392 $4,233 $60,510,347 $44.5 3
2 N Cloud Atlas WB $9,612,247 – 2,008 – $4,787 $9,612,247 – 1
3 4 Hotel Transylvania Sony $9,444,014 -27.4% 3,276 +262 $2,883 $130,380,355 $85 5
4 1 Paranormal Activity 4 Par. $8,510,186 -70.7% 3,412 – $2,494 $42,467,551 $5 2
5 N Silent Hill: Revelation 3D ORF $8,023,036 – 2,933 – $2,735 $8,023,036 $20 1
6 3 Taken 2 Fox $7,716,732 -41.8% 2,995 -494 $2,577 $117,105,577 $45 4
7 7 Here Comes the Boom Sony $5,210,024 -38.0% 2,491 -523 $2,092 $30,320,496 – 3
8 5 Alex Cross Sum. $5,133,486 -55.0% 2,541 +2 $2,020 $19,452,177 $35 2
9 6 Sinister Sum. $4,996,099 -43.3% 2,347 -195 $2,129 $39,441,054 $3 3
10 N Fun Size Par. $4,101,017 – 3,014 – $1,361 $4,101,017 $14 1

“Argo” opens well, but can’t stop “Taken 2″ from taking the Top Spot

Ben Affleck’s fantastic Oscar worthy drama Argo (my film grade: A) opened quite nicely this weekend with $19.4 million at the box office. However, he couldn’t stop the action of Taken 2 from claiming the top spot for a second week with $21.8 million and a strong total of $86 million. Watch for Argo to have good legs throughout the fall as the awards season will undoubtedly keep it on moviegoers minds…. The same can’t be said for the new horror film Sinister. It did open well with $18 million but will likely fall apart in the weeks ahead as most horror films do. But hey, it’s already made a profit, so Summit Pictures is probably pretty happy… I don’t think Sony is very happy with the opening of Kevin James new comedy Here Comes the Boom which landed in fifth with $11 million. At least it outdid the big bomb debut of Atlas Shrugged Pt. 2 with only $ 1.7 million and the very funny and well reviewed indie action comedy Seven Psychopaths (my film grade: B+) which did a lackluster $ 4.1 million…. For more on all the numbers, head to Box Office Mojo here and check out the new top ten below.

TW LW Title (click to view) Studio Weekend Gross % Change Theater Count / Change Average Total Gross Budget* Week #
1 1 Taken 2 Fox $21,873,127 -55.8% 3,706 +45 $5,902 $86,131,979 $45 2
2 N Argo WB $19,458,109 – 3,232 – $6,020 $19,458,109 $44.5 1
3 N Sinister Sum. $18,007,934 – 2,527 – $7,126 $18,007,934 $3 1
4 2 Hotel Transylvania Sony $17,241,317 -36.3% 3,375 +23 $5,109 $102,133,934 $85 3
5 N Here Comes the Boom Sony $11,816,596 – 3,014 – $3,921 $11,816,596 – 1
6 3 Pitch Perfect Uni. $9,266,940 -37.6% 2,787 +17 $3,325 $36,015,403 $17 3
7 5 Frankenweenie BV $7,054,334 -38.2% 3,005 – $2,348 $22,075,002 $39 2
8 4 Looper TriS $6,201,665 -48.8% 2,605 -388 $2,381 $51,344,090 $30 3
9 N Seven Psychopaths CBS $4,174,915 – 1,480 – $2,821 $4,174,915 $15 1
10 11 The Perks of Being a Wallflower Sum. $2,150,064 +37.3% 726 +505 $2,962 $6,135,509 – 4