Time To Invite The Boys Home!
On January 15, 2015, the world changed for a select number of Artists in the film community. Their names were added to a very exclusive list:
2014 Academy Award Nominees!
And from that moment on, their lives changed forever. And this year, there are so many films worthy of attention:
“The Imitation Game” received major nominations for Best Picture, Director, adapted screenplay and Best Actor, and Director Richard Linklater’s decade-in-the-making look at a boy’s life, “Boyhood”, also scored nominations for Picture, Director, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress and screenplay as well:
And Clint Eastwood came back in a big way. The Director, who has previously won Best Pictures Oscars for “Unforgiven” and “Million Dollar Baby”, returned to Oscar’s limelight with his gritty look at America’s most prolific sniper, and Bradley Cooper scored a Best Actor nomination as well:
And Steve Carell went dramatic in 2014 and got his first oscar nomination as well!
“Foxcatcher” DIDN’T score a Best Picture nomination, but Carell got a Best Actor nod, and Bennett Miller received a Directing nomination as well – along with Mark Ruffalo for Supporting Actor…
Here is a link to ALL of this year’s Academy Award nominations. Congratulations to ALL of this year’s nominees!
But I’m excited about the opportunity for some previously overlooked films and Actors to get their day in the limelight…
“Whiplash!”
Kudos to the team behind this low-budget gem! “Whiplash” got nominations for Best Picture, supporting actor, screenplay and more!
The film also has one of the greatest supporting roles ever!
Veteran character actor JK Simmons is brilliant as the music instructor who will say and do anything to get a great musical performance out of his students. This is one of the most memorable roles EVER – and Simmons spews out some of the most hilariously profane movie lines of all time!
Here is one very offensive example:
“You are a worthless, friendless, faggot-lipped little piece of shit whose mommy left daddy when she figured out he wasn’t Eugene O’Neill and who’s now weeping and slobbering all over my drum set like a fucking nine-year-old girl! Now, for the final FATHER FUCKING time… SAY IT LOUDER!”
Kudos to JK Simmons and “Whiplash!” And here’s more!
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” Ties For Most Nominations With 9!
This release from March came back strong with nominations for Best Picture and a slew of other awards…9 nominations in all! Director Wes Anderson creates a unique world that is funny and beautiful to look at – it’s a terrifically stylish film that is a lot of fun!
2014’s Oscar Race Is Officially Underway – And A Superhero Will Finally Soar At The Academy Awards!
Yes, this is the year that the motion picture academy finally recognizes the power of the super hero in Hollywood, but with a brilliant twist!
Getting Oscar’s Due!
Yes, there are many reasons for getting an oscar nomination…for example, perhaps Cuba Gooding Jr. was helped in his Best Supporting Actor Award for “Jerry Maguire” because Academy members wanted to reward the film itself in some way…although Cuba gave a truly stellar and hilarious performance…but there are many reasons for how Oscar voters cast their ballots…
First, kudos to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences for their terrific archive of awards material, including pictures like this…it helps keep great movies alive for new generations to discover…and many felt that John Wayne won for “True Grit” because the Academy voters wanted to honor his entire career…
An Academy Award nomination has a tremendous impact on the films – and talent – who are nominated, and that is why it’s always interesting to see who pops up on Oscar’s radar….
And it is time to hail the “Birdman” – 9 Nominations!
“Birdman – (Or The Unexpected Virtue Of Innocence)!”
“Birdman” ties for the most nominations this year, and they are all so deserved! I think this review captured the brilliance of this film best:
“There are streaks of ’42nd Street’, ‘The Producers’ and ‘Sunset Boulevard’ here, but otherwise, Birdman isn’t much like anything else at all. Think ‘Black Swan’ directed by Mel Brooks and you’re in the vicinity, but only just.”
That’s the headline of The Daily Telegraph’s review of “Birdman”, which hurdles to the top of Oscar’s 2014 race! Nominations for Best Picture, Director, Screenplay, Best Actor for Michael Keaton, Best Supporting Actor for Edward Norton, and Best Supporting Actress for Emma Stone!
9 nominations total for this quirky classic!
Get Ready To See “Birdman” Soar!
Michael Keaton’s performance is a career best – but he is matched by a superlative supporting cast in this searing look at fame – check out the trailer:
This is what great filmmaking is all about: great direction, a funny, caustic and emotional script, and terrific performances from everyone in the cast….read more about this film, with lots of great trivia, by clicking on my entire story here:
http://johnrieber.com/2014/08/27/birdman-soars-michael-keatons-masterpiece-oscar-season-begins/
Keaton’s performance is revelatory, and it’s great to see him get the awards attention he deserves…this could be a way for Academy voters to acknowledge his body of work, especially in the criminally overlooked comedy roles that rarely get nominated….and here’s another great Actor who is also getting raves….
Brilliant “Nightcrawler”! Jake Gyllenhaal’s Oscar Worthy Portrayal Of A Modern Day Travis Bickle!
Now that the Academy Award nominations are revealed, it’s surprising that Jake Gyllenhaal’s name wasn’t announced – this terrific Actor has given the performance of a lifetime – a modern day Travis Bickle from “Taxi Driver” with a hint of Robert DeNiro’s Rupert Pupkin from “The King Of Comedy”.
First, check out the trailer:
This film was moderately successful when it was released in October, but now the awards spotlight has given it a second life…it got a nomination for best screenplay, but worthy of so much more!
Read more about it here:
http://johnrieber.com/2014/12/15/brilliant-nightcrawler-jake-gyllenhaal-modern-day-taxi-driver/
Unfortunately, comedies and musicals don’t get the attention they deserve at awards time, but here is a film that I think deserves a more serious look – and it was one of my top three films of 2014:
Dan: That’s some song you got there. I promise you it could be a big hit. Plus you’re beautiful.
Gretta: I’m sorry, what’s beauty got to do with anything?
Dan: Jesus, you’re tricky, aren’t you?
Great dialogue from one of the best film’s of 2014, “Begin Again!”
First, check out the movie trailer:
Mark Ruffalo and Keira Knightley got their oscar nominations this year, but not for this gem:
Best Original Song Nomination – Get Ready To See Adam Levine!
The film got an oscar nomination for best original song, the terrific “Lost Stars”, performed by Adam Levine in the movie, as well as Keira Knightley, who got oscar nominated for supporting actress for “The Imitation Game!”
Levine will no doubt perform the song live on the Oscar telecast. You can get more trivia about the film and some great music videos as well by clicking on my story here:
Remember that the Director of “Begin Again”, John Carney also made “Once”, which scored a shocking Oscar upset with a win for best original song! Read all about it here:
Let me know what your favorite films of 2014 were, and see you at the oscars!
