"American Hustle" and Oscar History

David O. Russell's American Hustle earned an extremely rare feat: four acting Oscar nominations, one for each acting category.  Russell accomplished the same thing last year for Silver Linings Playbook, which collected a win for Jennifer Lawrence in the Best Actress category.  In doing some research, this marked the first time in history that a filmmaker had successfully gotten a nomination in each of the four acting categories twice, in two consecutive years no less.  At this point, surely every agent and actor in the industry will be clamoring to work on Russell's follow-up films.  To date, only fifteen films in the history of the Academy Awards have earned acting nominations in all four categories.  Interestingly, none of the films to have accomplished this have ended up winning Best Picture.  American Hustle detractors can take note of that I suppose.  And they are:

Lombard and Powell in My Man Godfrey

MY MAN GODFREY (1936)- directed by Gregory La Cava
Actor: William Powell
Actress: Carole Lombard
Supporting Actor: Mischa Auer
Supporting Actress: Alice Brady

No winners in the group, and it's the only case in Academy history when a film earned the magic four acting nods without a coinciding Best Picture nomination.

MRS. MINIVER (1942)- directed by William Wyler
Actor: Walter Pidgeon
Actress: Greer Garson
Supporting Actor: Henry Travers
Supporting Actress: Teresa Wright; Dame May Whitty

Garson and Wright won Oscars in Wyler's WWII drama which also won the Best Picture prize.  Mrs. Miniver went a step even further, get a mention in not only all four acting categories, but two in  Supporting Actress  William Wyler has directed more Oscar-nominated performances than any other filmmaker.  He directed 36 performances to a nomination and 14 to a win; Elia Kazan (also a director with a credit on this list) is his closet competitor with 24 nominated performances and Martin Scorsese (not listed) is the closet living director with a chance of defeating said record with 22 nominated performances.

MTV Movie Award Nominations

For those wiling away from post Oscar withdrawals (some mental health expert will surely come up with a more clinical word for it), here's something to gravitate to-- The MTV Movie Awards.

MOVIE OF THE YEAR
The Dark Knight Rises
Django Unchained
Marvel's The Avengers
Silver Linings Playbook
Ted

Not a bad line-up, and refreshingly not skewing the MTV norm of favoring current flavors of the month.  All props for breaking tradition with not choosing The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2, although isn't a bit odd that Skyfall, one of the best reviewed blockbusters of the past year is oddly snubbed!

BEST MALE PERFORMANCE
Ben Affleck, Argo
Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook
Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
Jamie Foxx, Django Unchained
Channing Tatum, Magic Mike

BEST FEMALE PERFORMANCE
Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables
Mila Kunis, Ted
Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
Emma Watson, The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Rebel Wilson, Pitch Perfect

BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE
Ezra Miller, The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Eddie Redmayne, Les Miserables
Suraj Sharma, Life of Pi
Quevenzhane Wallis, Beasts of the Southern Wild
Rebel Wilson, Pitch Perfect

BEST ON-SCREEN DUO
The Campaign- Will Ferrell & Zach Galifianakis
Django Unchained- Leonardo DiCaprio & Samuel L. Jackson
Marvel's The Avengers- Robert Downey, Jr. & Mark Ruffalo 
Silver Linings Playbook- Bradley Cooper & Jennifer Lawrence
Ted- Seth MacFarlane & Mark Whalberg

BEST SCARED-AS-S**T PERFORMANCE
Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty
Alexandra Daddario, Texas Chainsaw 3D
Martin Freeman, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Jennifer Lawrence, The House at the End of the Street
Suraj Sharma, Life of Pi

BEST SHIRTLESS PERFORMANCE
Christian Bale, The Dark Knight Rises
Daniel Craig, Skyfall
Taylor Lautner, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2
Seth MacFarlane, Ted
Channing Tatum, Magic Mike

Have to appreciate the reversed sexist roll call here, even if MacFarlane's inclusion is absurd.  Perhaps it's meant to be subversive for those jokes and consistent laments about his Oscar performance.

BEST KISS
Django Unchained- Jamie Foxx & Kerry Washington
Moonrise Kingdom- Kara Haywood & Jared Gillman
The Perks of Being a Wallflower- Logan Lerman & Emma Watson
Silver Linings Playbook- Bradley Cooper & Jennifer Lawrence
Ted- Mila Kunis & Mark Wahlberg 

BEST FIGHT
The Dark Knight Rises-  Christian Bale vs. Tom Hardy
Django Unchained- Jamie Foxx vs. Candieland Henchmen
Marvel's The Avengers- The Avengers vs. Tom Hiddelston
Skyfall- Daniel Craig vs. Ola Rapace
Ted- Mark Whalberg vs. Seth MacFarlane

BEST VILLAIN (I obstructed one name because its a spoiler; scroll to see)
Javier Bardem, Skyfall
Marion Cotillard, The Dark Knight Rises
Leonardo DiCaprio, Django Unchained
Tom Hardy, The Dark Knight Rises
Tom Hiddelston, Marvel's The Avengers

BEST MUSICAL MOMENT
Les Miserables- Anne Hathaway
Magic Mike- Channing Tatum and the Strippers
The Perks of Being a Wallflower- Logan Lerman, Emma Watson & Ezra Miller
Pitch Perfect- Anna Kendrick and the Bellas
Silver Linings Playbook- Bradley Cooper & Jennifer Lawrence

BEST "WTF" MOMENT
Skyfall- Javier Bardem
--Mutilated and deformed after a botched suicide attempt, Bardem's villain twists his prosthetic mug to show the few teeth he has left in a gut-twisting moment filled with vindictive vengeance.

Pitch Perfect- Anna Camp
--As Aubrey, Camp gives a barftastic display of a capella angst that tips the scales of cinematic grossness.

Django Unchained- Jamie Foxx & Samuel L. Jackson

--In an excruciating sequence, Foxx's Django blasts servile head-servant Stephen, played by Jackson, and sets the Candieland mansion ablaze with the strike of a match.

 

Ted- Seth MacFarlane

--Fuzzy, flirtatious and flagrantly inappropriate, Seth MacFarlane's Ted takes his co-worker crush one step too far.

 

Flight- Denzel Washington

--Washington's Whip Whitaker rolls an inverted plane out of a 90-degree nose dive and saves the lives of 96 passengers on board.

Independent Spirit Awards

FEATURE: Silver Linings Playbook
DIRECTOR: David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook
ACTOR: John Hawkes, The Sessions
ACTRESS: Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
SUPPORTING ACTOR: Matthew McConaughey, Magic Mike
SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Helen Hunt, The Sessions
JOHN CASSAVETTES AWARD (Best Film Under $500,000): Middle of Nowhere
FIRST FEATURE: Perks of Being a Wallflower
SCREENPLAY: Safety Not Guaranteed- Derek Connolly
FOREIGN FILM: Amour
DOCUMENTARY: The Invisible War
CINEMATOGRAPHY: Beasts of the Southern Wild- Ben Richardson

"Win on Saturday, lose on Sunday," the expression must remain from the Independent Spirit Awards which has had a stubborn and sometimes spotty history as the Oscar's also ran eternal bridesmaid.  And while many can quibble the mere idea that Silver Linings Playbook, a film fully distributed by a mini-major motion picture studio came about to the major winner at a budget reportedly higher than the $20 million cap, there goes the dirt apart of this society....all of which has a bit of blood upon them.  Whatever the summation, not a bad line-up.

ACE Eddies Awards

The American Cinema Editors prize is a big one as the Best Film Editing prize is typically linked to the Best Picture prize (not that such things matter much as any more.)   The ACE Eddies are an integral guild mention.  Here are the winners:

BEST FILM EDITING

DRAMA: Argo- William Goldenberg
MUSICAL OR COMEDY: Silver Linings Playbook- Jay Cassidy & Crispin Struthers
ANIMATED FEATURE: Brave- Nicholas C. Smith
DOCUMENTARY: Searching for Sugar Man- Malik Bendjelloul

For Your Consideration: Last Pleas

We are but ten short days away from the 85th Academy Awards and in the true thick of it all.  Final ballots are due back by Tuesday, and as we reach the finality of this nutty year in the awards landscape, all the stops are going out in order to make sense of, what truly feels like the most open Oscar race in some time, if perhaps ever.  And while personally, we all grasp the category and finalist that we want to trump and champion for, the one race, in my eyes, that I find the most compelling, the most to pin down and the most irritating comes in that for Best Adapted Screenplay.  The nominees are:

• Argo- Chris Terrio
• Beasts of the Southern Wild- Lucy Alibar & Benh Zeitlin
• Life of Pi- Chris Magee
• Lincoln- Tony Kushner
• Silver Linings Playbook- David O. Russell

A fairly strong line-up with the race whittled down to three potentials-- Argo, Lincoln and Silver Linings Playbook.  However, in my view, nothing tops Kushner's achievement in taking Lincoln and turning into a great American play of politics, all in the guise of a dressed up biopic.  His language is something akin to great poetry and it's fortunate that the actors in Lincoln are capable and bold and grand enough to make it appear as light as they do.  Aside from that, I believe it's the strength of Kushner's great American work that forced director Steven Spielberg to be at his most restrained, forcing the power of the language and the content to be front and center.  The accomplishment, depth, understanding and the power to not just rip away at rusty co-webs in cementing Lincoln as a reverent, but also timeless creation is truly a testament to Kushner, one of the great Americans writers of our time, but that his work is also by extension, funny and witty and not all in any way a chore, or viewed as homework should be all but enough for the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences to all but hand him the Oscar.

Of course, it's not as simple as that, as the politics of Oscar campaigning are nearly as ruthless and cutthroat (not to mention as costly) as that of a gubernatorial race.  And this is where things get a little tricky.  As Best Adapted Screenplay seems to hew closely to this years Best Picture race, of which Argo by now must be valued as the unstoppable machine due to its circuitous post-Oscar nomination stumble and quick rebound with the PGA, DGA and at BAFTA.  That leaves the at first if only paper frontrunner Lincoln relegated to also-ran status, with perhaps Best Actor being that films only true thing.  The question behind this is that Argo, a certified winners circle crown member at this stage, can't possibly just be honored with Best Picture, something else will have to follow.  Chris Terrio's tight and economical script seems the easiest second get, coupled with what's assured to be an easy Writers Guild get come this Saturday, which would follow the near guild sweep, as well as last weekend's USC Scripter win for Argo.  The reasoning behind this: well Kushner will already be honored by the WGA this weekend with the Paul Selvin Award, which in my view, can be seen as a make-up honor by a branch that foresees an Argo victory ahead.  But Kushner's so good-- he can't possibly just leave empty handed-- not from writers at least.

There's another wild card, a slipperier one, that might stand in way of a Lincoln victory with Adapted Screenplay.  That comes in the flakier form of Silver Linings Playbook, which surprisingly took home the prize at the BAFTAs last weekend.  While questionable in some corners, it's absolutely true that the film is loved, and in nearly the same token as Argo, appears as one of the films of 2012 in which most can agree upon as well-liked-- sometimes more important than being loved.  While the campaign for Silver Linings, upon a last stand for the Weinstein Company, has pulled out the stops trying to trump the film as not the lightweight romantic comedy in which it is, but a avid, heart warmer about mental illness.  This feels a bit thorny, even if it's been orchestrated by the master of Oscar campaigners, but still, I wonder if all this last minute trumping might go towards a Silver Linings favor in a few categories come ten days from now.

So what is left of Lincoln...I plea for the members of the Academy to do the right thing here and remember the great American treasure that not only is Tony Kushner, but in his tremendous achievement for Lincoln, which will stand the test of time regardless of what ever occurs on February, 24th.

Australian Academy of Cinema Arts Awards

PICTURE: Silver Linings Playbook
DIRECTOR: David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook
ACTOR: Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
ACTRESS: Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
SUPP. ACTOR: Robert De Niro, Silver Linings Playbook
SUPP. ACTRESS: Jacki Weaver, Silver Linings Playbook
SCREENPLAY: Django Unchained- Quentin Tarantino

SAG Predictions-- A "Silver Lining" for Weinstein Company?

BEST ENSEMBLE
Will win: Silver Linings Playbook

Ripe after the PGA and Globe wins for Argo, where it asserts itself it the frontrunner position even as the pesky Best Director snub for Ben Affleck stings, SAG should shake things up slightly in honoring Silver Linings, if anything neatly packaged fodder for the Screen Actors Guild, with its agreeably chaotic interplay of its actors, and their diverse styles, all merging and fusing together in David O. Russell's mental illness romantic comedy.  While the huge ensembles of Argo, Lincoln and Les Miserables may split votes, this seems like the best bet.  The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel was always doomed one of SAG's fatefully pleasant also-rans.  Be mindful that the Best Ensemble SAG award typically has little heft on terms of the eventual Best Picture, as last year's The Help, and other past winners like Inglourious Basterds, Gosford Park, Traffic and The Birdcage can surely attest, while others may sight that the SAG victory was the leading component to upsets like Crash.

BEST ACTOR
Will win: Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln

Another safely assured victory in my book.  Day-Lewis' masterful portrait of Abraham Lincoln cries for attention in the very way that this actor, as always, escapes and paints a beautifully vivid character study without constrictions of legacy.  Actors will surely admire the performance as the Best Actor race has all but been solidified.

BEST ACTRESS
Will win: Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook

I'm going with Lawrence with say a 60% likelihood, since certainty freaks you out, but the catnip of the freshly turned movie star in a stalwart performance in the film that should be the one to beat should prove enough of an advantage.  Off stage antics, including the dismissive Oscar nominee roast on SNL shouldn't be a deterrent here, especially considering her rival, Jessica Chastain in Zero Dark Thirty received a low turnout from SAG.  I wonder, however, if the constant celebrity pushings for The Impossible (from the like of people like Reese Witherspoon and Angelina Jolie) might sway a Naomi Watts shocker.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Will win: Robert De Niro, Silver Linings Playbook

I stand that Philip Seymour Hoffman (for The Master) and Tommy Lee Jones (for Lincoln) stand great odds, but strongly feel SAG will go with De Niro, because firstly-- this would be his SAG award (not so terrible to comprehend since the awards themselves were only formed in 1994, and well, the legendary actors output in that time, was well...not exactly awards worthy), and because his genially comedic performance in Silver Linings Playbook was a nicely calibrated ticking time bomb that De Niro handled nicely, if not exactly capturing the grandness of his greatest cinematic achievements.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Will win: Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables

The dream that was dreamed was that Hathaway's star turn in Les Miserables would be awards bait.  While the film itself has caught itself in the midst of very divisive notices, that dream will continue on with SAG and beyond.  The surest acting category of the night.

USC Scripter Nominations

The Scripters celebrate adapted screenplays by honoring both the screenwriters and the original authors of the source material.  The 2012 nominees are:

• Argo- Joshuah Bearman, author of the article "The Great Escape," Tony Mendez, author of The Master of Disguise, and screenwriter Chris Terrio
• Beasts of the Southern Wild- Lucy Alibar, dramatist of the play, Juicy & Delicious, and screenwriters Alibar and Benh Zeitlin.
• Life of Pi- Yann Martel, author of the novel, and screenwriter Chris Magee
• Lincoln- Doris Kearns Goodwin, author of Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, and screenwriter Tony Kushner.
• The Perks of Being a Wallflower- Stephen Chbosky, author and screenwriter.
• Silver Linings Playbook- Matthew Quick, author of the novel and screenwriter David O. Russell.

Crystall Ball: Golden Globe Awards

A few notables for this most interesting awards season.  Because of the abbreviated schedules and the lack of the typical over-lapping of events, this years race may turn bonkers in a few short hours as the Golden Globes announced their favorites from the always interesting (!@#@) Hollywood Foreign Press Association.  Because the Oscar nominations were moved up this year, ballots were due before some of the more notable shocks the Academy provided this year.  All of which makes it a bit more confusing.  Here's how I think it will go:

BEST PICTURE (Drama)
Will win: Argo
Or maybe: Lincoln

Argo, despite the shocking Best Director Oscar snub for Ben Affleck may still be king of the world with the Globes who looove stars.   Lincoln tells a fundamentally American story, which may not have the same impact from this group (then again Argo, Zero Dark Thirty and even Django Unchained...all nominated do the same thing.)  Either way, I'm still going with Argo, fresh from it's Critics Choice victory.  However, the internationally more successful Life of Pi could shock as well.  Damn.

BEST PICTURE (Musical or Comedy)
Will win: Silver Linings Playbook
Or maybe: Les Miserables

I'm guessing the Weinstein-loving HFPA will go for Silver Linings considering the critical drubbing of Les Miserables.  Then again, they do love musicals-- Moulin Rouge!, Dreamgirls and Sweeney Todd all recently won this prize, and Les Miserables has a heavy international flavor.  Silver Linings screenplay nomination makes me suggest they liked it a tad bit more...

BEST DIRECTOR
Will win: Ben Affleck, Argo
Or maybe: Kathryn Bigelow, Zero Dark Thirty

I'm thinking it will come down the to the two shocking Director Oscar snubs for the win.  Bigelow didn't win the Golden Globe for The Hurt Locker, make me think this might be a way for a make-up, but the allure of fallen matinee idol making good on director potential me thinks will be too good for the HFPA to resist.

BEST ACTOR (Drama)
Will win: Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
Or maybe: ????

No contest-- unless the HFPA wants to submit themselves to even further ridicule and embarrassment, they will look no further than Day-Lewis' mercurial turn as Abraham Lincoln.

BEST ACTRESS (Drama)
Will win: Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty
Or maybe: Marion Cotillard, Rust & Bone or Naomi Watts, The Impossible

Damn, another hard one!  Chastain has the buzz and the controversy-laden movie and she's a pretty, likable star in the making who gives a tremendous performance, but who knows if this group knows that, care about that, or even liked the movie.  Cotillard, who won for La Vie en Rose en route to that surprise Oscar victory may make the cut for what was assumed to be another run with Oscar, or Watts, may get an overdue credit.  Best Actress is confusing this year.

BEST ACTOR (Musical or Comedy)
Will win: Hugh Jackman, Les Miserables
Or maybe: Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook

Probably the hardest to call for Jackman or Cooper both make compelling cases however I'm going with Jackman, because he's a movie star and a charmer, and one, I assume, they've been wanting to celebrate for some time now.  Cooper-- who's great in Silver Linings, I just don't see as his time just yet-- it's more his welcoming nomination.  Still could go either way.

BEST ACTRESS (Musical or Comedy)
Will win: Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
Or maybe: Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook

No contest-- with the year she's had, she's didn't even need to be good in a good movie for the HFPA to praise her.  Enough said...

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Will win: Leonardo DiCaprio, Django Unchained
Or maybe: Anyone?!?!?!

A confusing one, that seems to have many plausible scenarios.  Remember, the Oscar nominations really shouldn't have any effect here, as DiCaprio was noticeably snubbed.  But he's again, a star, and a HFPA favorite.  However, I'll be the first to admit, I have little confidence in this one.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Will win: Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables
Or maybe: It won't matter, because Hell would have frozen over if anyone other name is called.

Les Miserables may have lost a lot of buzz and awards credibility due to some very harsh critics, but Hathaway's emotional turn as the dying and tragic dreamer Fantine is awards gold.

BEST SCREENPLAY
Will win: Lincoln- Tony Kushner
Or maybe: Silver Linings Playbook- David O. Russell

How strong is Silver Linings?  We shall find out tomorrow, but I feel, again, not honoring Kushner for Lincoln will be something akin to an act of treason.

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Will win: Frankenweenie
Or maybe: Wreck-It-Ralph

BEST FOREIGN FILM
Will win: Amour
Or maybe: The Intouchables

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Will win: Life of Pi
Or maybe: Lincoln

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
Will win: "Skyfall," Skyfall- Adele
Or maybe: Not a chance 

May the odds be ever in your favor.  How do you see it going?     

WGA Nominations

Within the yearly ritual of many key films ineligible for the Writers Guild prizes, it's often important to keep these with a grain of salt.  Still a nice showing and a leg up for a few key films.

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Flight- John Gatins
Looper- Rian Johnson
The Master- Paul Thomas Anderson
Moonrise Kingdom- Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola
Zero Dark Thirty- Marc Boal

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Argo- Chris Terrio
Life of Pi- David Magee
Lincoln- Tony Kushner
The Perks of Being a Wallflower- Stephen Chbosky
Silver Linings Playbook- David O. Russell

BEST DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY
The Central Park Five- Sarah Burns, David McMahon, Ed Burns
The Invisible War- Kirby Dick
Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God- Alex Gibney
Searching for Sugar Man- Malik Bendejelloul
We Are Legion- Brian Knappenberger
West of Memphis- Amy Berg & Billy McMilian

Golden Satellite Winners

PICTURE: Silver Linings Playbook
DIRECTOR: David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook
ACTOR: Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook
ACTRESS: Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
SUPPORTING ACTOR: Javier Bardem, Skyfall
SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: Zero Dark Thirty- Marc Boal
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: Life of Pi- David Magee
FOREIGN FILM: (tie) The Intouchables; Pieta
DOCUMENTARY: Chasing Ice
ANIMATED/MIXED MEDIA FILM: Rise of the Guardians
CINEMATOGRAPHY: Life of Pi- Claudio Miranda
PRODUCTION DESIGN: Lincoln- Rick Carter, Curt Beech, David Crank & Leslie McDonald
COSTUME DESIGN: A Royal Affair- Manon Rasmussen
FILM EDITING: Silver Linings Playbook- Jay Cassidy
SCORE: Argo- Alexandre Desplat
SONG: "Suddenly," Les Miserables
VISUAL EFFECTS: Flight

Detroit Film Critics Society

PICTURE: Silver Linings Playbook
DIRECTOR: David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook
ACTOR: Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
ACTRESS: Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
SUPPORTING ACTOR: Robert DeNiro, Silver Linings Playbook
SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables
SCREENPLAY: Silver Linings Playbook- David O. Russell
ENSEMBLE CAST: Lincoln
DOCUMENTARY: Jiro Dreams of Sushi
BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE: Zoe Kazan, Ruby Sparks

Golden Globe Nominations

BEST PICTURE (Drama)
Argo
Django Unchained
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Zero Dark Thirty

BEST PICTURE (Musical or Comedy)
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Les Miserables
Moonrise Kingdom
Salmon Fishing on the Yemen
Silver Linings Playbook

BEST DIRECTOR
Ben Affleck, Argo
Kathryn Bigelow, Zero Dark Thirty
Ang Lee, Life of Pi
Steven Spielberg, Lincoln
Quentin Tarantino, Django Unchained

BEST ACTOR (Drama)
Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
Richard Gere, Arbitrage
John Hawkes, The Sessions
Joaquin Phoenix, The Master
Denzel Washington, Flight 

BEST ACTRESS (Drama)
Jessica Chastian, Zero Dark Thirty
Marion Cotillard, Rust & Bone
Helen Mirren, Hitchcock
Naomi Watts, The Impossible
Rachel Weisz, The Deep Blue Sea 

BEST ACTOR (Musical or Comedy)
Jack Black, Bernie
Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook
Hugh Jackman, Les Miserables
Ewan McGregor, Salmon Fishing on the Yemen
Bill Murray, Hyde Park on Hudson 

BEST ACTRESS (Musical or Comedy)
Emily Blunt, Salmon Fishing on the Yemen
Judi Dench, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
Maggie Smith, Quartet
Meryl Streep, Hope Springs 

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Alan Arkin, Argo
Leonardo DiCaprio, Django Unchained
Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Master
Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln
Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams, The Master
Sally Field, Lincoln
Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables
Helen Hunt, The Sessions
Nicole Kidman, The Paperboy 

BEST SCREENPLAY
Argo- Chris Terrio
Django Unchained- Quentin Tarantino
Lincoln- Tony Kushner
Silver Linings Playbook- David O. Russell
Zero Dark Thirty- Marc Boal

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Brave
Frankenweenie
Hotel Transylvania
Rise of the Guardians
Wreck-It-Ralph 

BEST FOREIGN FILM
Amour (Austria
The Intouchables (France)
Kon-Tike (Norway)
A Royal Affair (Denmark)
Rust & Bone (France)

BEST SCORE
Anna Karenina
Argo
Cloud Atlas
Life of Pi
Lincoln 

BEST SONG
"For You," Act of Valor
"Not Running Anymore," Stand Up Guys
"Safe and Sound," The Hunger Games
"Skyfall," Skyfall
"Suddenly," Les Miserables

Screen Actors Guild Nominations

Les Miserables nets SAG nominations for Ensemble, Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway and Best Stunts!

ENSEMBLE CAST
Argo
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Les Miserables
Lincoln
Silver Linings Playbook 

ACTOR
Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook
Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
John Hawkes, The Sessions
Hugh Jackman, Les Miserables
Denzel Washington, Flight 

ACTRESS
Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty
Marion Cotillard, Rust & Bone
Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
Helen Mirren, Hitchcock
Naomi Watts, The Impossible 

SUPPORTING ACTOR
Alan Arkin, Argo
Javier Bardem, Skyfall
Robert De Niro, Silver Linings Playbook
Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Master
Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln 

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Sally Field, Lincoln
Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables
Helen Hunt, The Sessions
Nicole Kidman, The Paperboy
Maggie Smith, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

STUNT ENSEMBLE
The Amazing Spider-man
The Bourne Legacy
The Dark Knight Rises
Les Miserables
Skyfall

The biggest and most delightful surprise from the Screen Actors Guild comes in the form of recognizing the great performance of Nicole Kidman in the otherwise none so great The Paperboy.  While surely the sight and spectacle of the great actress and movie star to come to the ceremony might have been potential enough for the voting this singular creation, it still stands as a superior move on the part of actors appreciating great acting.  Kidman saunters and teases as a white trash tart in Lee Daniels' mess of a feature with such a confidence and stature and all consuming passion that there's little doubt with whom best of show honors rightfully belong to.  Alongside that, there was little surprises, aside from the Javier Bardem's inclusion for playing villain to James Bond in Skyfall and the prominence of this summer's octogenarian hit The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, which netted Ensemble acting mentions alongside Supporting Actress Maggie Smith.  Joaquin Phoenix was shut out for The Master in a tough category, while Marion Cotillard, Naomi Watts and Helen Mirren skirted into the definitely in flux Best Actress category.  Whilst critical favorite Zero Dark Thirty just has Jessica Chastain to claim as nominee, and Django Unchained lies snubbed.  Thoughts?  How do you think they did?

Critics Choice Awards Nominations

The Broadcast Film Critics Association have announced their awards.  The winners-- everyone!

PICTURE
Argo
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Django Unchained
Les Miserables
Life of Pi
Lincoln
The Master
Moonrise Kingdom
Silver Linings Playbook
Zero Dark Thirty

DIRECTOR
Ben Affleck, Argo
Kathryn Bigelow, Zero Dark Thirty
Tom Hooper, Les Miserables
Ang Lee, Life of Pi
David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook

ACTOR
Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook
Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
John Hawkes, The Sessions
Hugh Jackman, Les Miserables
Joaquin Phoenix, The Master
Denzel Washington, Flight

ACTRESS
Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty
Marion Cotillard, Rust & Bone
Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
Emmanuelle Riva, Amour
Quvenzhane Wallis, Beasts of the Southern Wild
Naomi Watts, The Impossible

SUPPORTING ACTOR
Alan Arkin, Argo
Javier Bardem, Skyfall
Robert DeNiro, Silver Linings Playbook
Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Master
Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln
Matthew McConaughey, Magic Mike

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams, The Master
Judi Dench, Skyfall
Ann Dowd, Compliance
Sally Field, The Sessions
Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables
Helen Hunt, The Sessions

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Django Unchained- Quentin Tarantino
Flight- John Gatins
Looper- Rian Johnson
The Master- Paul Thomas Andersno
Moonrise Kingdom- Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola
Zero Dark Thirty- Marc Boal

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Argo- Chris Terrio
Life of Pi- David Magee
Lincoln- Tony Kushner
The Perks of Being a Wallflower- Stephen Chbosky
Silver Linings Playbook- David O. Russell

ANIMATED FEATURE
Brave
Frankenweenie
Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Watned
ParaNorman
Rise of the Guardians
Wreck-It-Ralph

DOCUMENTARY
Bully
Central Park Five
The Imposter
The Queen of Versailles
Searching for Sugarman
West of Memphis

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Amour
The Intouchables
A Royal Affair
Rust & Bone

YOUNG ACTOR\ACTRESS
Elle Fanning, Ginger & Rosa
Kara Hayward, Moonrise Kingdom
Tom Holland, The Impossible
Logan Lerman, The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Suraj Sharma, Life of Pi
Quvenzhane Wallis, Beasts of the Southern Wild

ACTING ENSEMBLE
Argo
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Les Miserables
Lincoln
Moonrise Kingdom
Silver Linings Playbook

CINEMATOGRAPHY
Les Miserables- Danny Cohen
Life of Pi- Claudio Miranda
Lincoln- Janusz Kaminski
The Master- Mihai Malaimare Jr.
Skyfall- Roger Deakins

ART DIRECTION
Anna Karenina- Sarah Greenwood & Katie Spencer
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey- Dan Hennah, Ra Vincent & Simon Bright
Les Miserables- Eve Stewart & Anna Lynch-Robinson
Life of Pi- David Gropman & Anna Pinnock
Lincoln- Rick Carter & Jim Erickson

FILM EDITING
Argo- William Goldenberg
Les Miserables- Melanie Ann Oliver & Chris Dickens
Life of Pi- Tim Squyres
Lincoln- Michael Kahn
Zero Dark Thirty- William Goldenberg & Dylan Tichenor

COSTUME DESIGN
Anna Karenina- Jacqueline Durran
Cloud Atlas- Kym Barrett & Pierre-Yves Gayraud
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey- Bob Buck, Ann Maskrey & Richard Taylor
Les Miserables- Paco Delgado
Lincoln- Joanna Johnson

ORIGINAL SCORE
Argo- Alexandre Desplat
Life of Pi- Mychael Danna
Lincoln- John Williams
The Master- Jonny Greenwood
Moonrise Kingdom- Alexandre Desplat

ORIGINAL SONG
"For You," Act of Valor
"Learn Me Right," Brave
"Suddenly," Les Miserables
"Still Alive," Paul Williams Still Alive
"Skyfall," Skyfall 

MAKE-UP
Cloud Atlas
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Les Miserables
Lincoln

VISUAL EFFECTS
Cloud Atlas
The Dark Knight Rises
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Life of Pi
Marvel's The Avengers

ACTION MOVIE
The Dark Knight Rises
Looper
Marvel's The Avengers
Skyfall

ACTOR IN AN ACTION MOVIE
Christian Bale, The Dark Knight Rises
Daniel Craig, Skyfall
Robert Downey, Jr., Marvel's The Avengers
Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Looper
Jake Gyllenhaal, End of Watch

ACTRESS IN AN ACTION MOVIE
Emily Blunt, Looper
Gina Carano, Haywire
Judi Dench, Skyfall
Anne Hathaway, The Dark Knight Rises
Jennifer Lawrence, The Hunger Games

COMEDY MOVIE
21 Jump Street
Bernie
Silver Linings Playbook
Ted
This is 40 

ACTOR IN A COMEDY MOVIE
Jack Black, Bernie
Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook
Paul Rudd, This is 40
Channing Tatum, 21 Jump Street
Mark Wahlberg, Ted

ACTRESS IN A COMEDY MOVIE
Mila Kunis, Ted
Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
Shirley MacLaine, Bernie
Leslie Mann, This is 40
Rebel Wilson, Pitch Perfect

SCI-FI\HORROR MOVIE
The Cabin in the Woods
Looper
Prometheus

Los Angeles Film Critics Association

Emmanuelle Riva in the Best Picture winner Amour.

PICTURE: Amour
runner-up: The Master

DIRECTOR: Paul Thomas Anderson, The Master
runner-up: Kathryn Bigelow, Zero Dark Thirty

ACTOR: Joaquin Phoenix, The Master
runner-up: Denis Levant, Holy Motors

ACTRESS: (tie) Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook; Emmanuelle Riva, Amour

SUPPORTING ACTOR: Dwight Henry, Beasts of the Southern Wild
runner-up: Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained

SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Amy Adams, The Master
runner-up: Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables

SCREENPLAY: Argo- Chris Terrio
runner-up: Silver Linings Playbook- David O. Russell

ANIMATED FEATURE: Frankenweenie
runner-up: It's Such a Beautiful Day

DOCUMENTARY: The Gatekeepers
runner-up: Searching for Sugarman

FOREIGN FILM: Holy Motors
runner-up: Footnote

CINEMATOGRAPHY: Skyfall- Roger Deakins
runner-up: The Master- Mihai Malaimaire, Jr.

EDITING: Zero Dark Thirty- William Goldenberg & Dylan Tichenor
runner-up: Argo- William Goldenberg

SCORE: Beasts of the Southern Wild- Benh Zeitlin & Dan Romer
runner-up: The Master- Johnny Greenwood

PRODUCTION DESIGN: The Master- Jack Fisk
runner-up: Moonrise Kingdom- Adam Stockhausen

NEW GENERATION AWARD: Benh Zeitlin, Beasts of the Southern Wild

Independent Spirit Award Nominations

Jennifer Lawrence nets her first nomination of the season for Female Lead in Silver Lining Playbook

And we're off!  Summer sleeper Moonrise Kingdom and potential fall sleeper Silver Linings Playbook lead the nominations for the Independent Spirit Awards with five each, with Beasts of the Southern Wild and the Sundance hit Middle of Nowhere following closely behind.

After a surprise win at the Gothams, Moonrise Kingdom co-leads Indie Spirits with 5!

BEST FEATURE
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Bernie
Keep the Lights On
Moonrise Kingdom
Silver Linings Playbook

BEST DIRECTOR
Wes Anderson, Moonrise Kingdom
Julia Loktev, The Loneliest Planet
David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook
Ira Sachs, Keep the Lights On
Benh Zeitlin, Beasts of the Southern Wild

BEST FIRST FEATURE
Fill the Void
Gimme the Loot
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Safety Not Guaranteed
Sound of My Voice

JOHN CASSAVETTES AWARD (Best Feature under $500,000)
Breakfast with Curtis
The Color Wheel
Middle of Nowhere
Mosquita & Mari
Starlet

BEST MALE LEAD
Jack Black, Bernie
Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook
John Hawkes, The Sessions
Thure Lindhardt, Keep the Lights On
Matthew McConaughey, Killer Joe
Wendell Pierce, Four

Perhaps a preview of whats in store for the most competitive category of the year...the Best Actor race has six candidates including John Hawkes in The Sessions.  Co-star Helen Hunt was also nominated, but the film was snubbed everywhere else.

BEST FEMALE LEAD
Linda Cardellini, Return
Emayatzy Corinealdi, Middle of Nowhere
Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
Quvenzhane Wallis, Beasts of the Southern Wild
Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Smashed

BEST SUPPORTING MALE
Matthew McConaughey, Magic Mike
David Oyelowe, Middle of Nowhere
Michael Pena, End of Watch
Sam Rockwell, Seven Psychopaths
Bruce Willis, Moonrise Kingdom

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE
Rosemarie DeWitt, Your Sister's Sister
Ann Dowd, Compliance
Helen Hunt, The Sessions
Brit Marling, Sound of My Voice
Lorraine Toussaint, Middle of Nowhere

BEST SCREENPLAY
Keep the Lights On- Ira Sachs
Moonrise Kingdom- Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola
Ruby Sparks- Zoe Kazan
Seven Psychopaths- Martin McDonaugh
Silver Linings Playbook- David O. Russell

BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
Celeste & Jesse Forever- Rashida Jones & Will McCormack
Fill the Void- Rama Burshstein
Gayby- Jonathon Lisecki
Robot & Frank- Christopher Ford
Safety Not Guaranteed- Derek Connolly

BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM
Amour
Once Upon a Time in Anatolia
Rust & Bone
Sister
War Witch

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Central Park Five
How to Survive a Plague
The Invisible War
Marina Abramoviac: The Artist is Present
The Waiting Room

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Here
End of the Watch
Moonrise Kingdom
Valley of Saints

ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD (presented to a films director, casting director and ensemble cast)
Starlet

Silver Linings Playbook

There is, indeed, a silver lining to David O. Russell's latest, a romantic screwball comedy fairy tale, which won the Audience Award at this years Toronto Film Festival, and is being packaged as the feel good confection primed for awards goodwill courtesy of Harvey Weinstein.  Adapted from Matthew Quick's novel, Silver Linings Playbook follows The Fighter as O'Russell's return from movie jail and again showcases a sprawling family dynamic presented in a seemingly gritty version of reality.  Just like The Fighter, his latest is a true ensemble effort, and much of the fascination of the film revolves around the disparate acting styles stewed around.  It's interesting the course of David O. Russell, who started as an idiosyncratic maker of comedic chaos in the same age of the Wes Andersons and Spike Jonzes, whose fail from grace was spawned by less than gracious movie set behavior (that unfortunately went viral) and the less than stellar reception to his joyously nutty 2004 existential romp I Heart Huckabees, only to have rebounded as a sharp (and seemingly refined) director for hire.  And while Silver Linings Playbook on the outset reminds a glimmer of the wacky and disjointed free associative messiness of I Heart Huckabees, it's really more of finely greased machine charting its course to happily ever after, with occasional of the road pit-stops along the way.  Which isn't to say that for a film whose audience manipulation is fully soaked in, is without its pleasures.  They are abundant.

We first meet Pat (Bradley Cooper), a manic depressant being released into the care of the his family.  Hospitalized after a nearly killing the man who was his wife was having an affair with, he's attempting to prove to her, and himself that he can overcome his anger and issues.  Instilled with a new found sense of positivity and optimism, Pat's mission is clear: to win back his estranged wife, restraining order be damned.  Coming home to his Eagles-loving, superstitious father (Robert De Niro) and pleasingly motherly mom Dolores (Jackie Weaver), O'Russell pins down in seconds (a perhaps a bit too on the nose) that the apple doesn't fall to far from the tree.  Right off there's a nuanced and manic energy with bits of overlapping dialogue-- all crisp and quick that fuses a nearly schizophrenic sensibility to Silver Linings Playbook.  The film is centered around messy people and their messy, nearly debilitating neuroses, but there's such a wittily screwball joie de vivre to the writing and the performances that at times the whole thing nearly erupts with frothiness.  If it works, and I'm not entirely sure it does exactly, the reason may be that the Silver Linings is so quick, that the contrivances, the problems, the messiness and the short segments of intensity move about so fast-- possibly afraid to linger-- that the audience has to keep up, and let go.  Perhaps just as do the characters.

Cooper himself is magnetic in a performance that suits the actors quick speech and temperament.  Pat is a difficult character to like, and as he says, he has no filter, and is just taking the truth.  He may just be an asshole too.  Known for the overgrown frat guy dude from The Hangover films, this feels like his first real movie star performance, and he ably anchors the films messier and more finely calibrated scenes with a dignity that's truthful to Pats mental illness, but charming enough to cater to the romantic comedy whims Silver Linings ultimately becomes.  He meets his match in Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence), a troubled young widow.  Acid tongued and accepting of the dirty, messed up things about herself, she challenges Pat, just as she becomes drawn to him.  After an awkward meet-cute set up, Tiffany begins to follow Pat around on his neighborhood jogs-- he's trying to firm up to impress his wife, who complained of such things (he wears a trash bag over his sweats, for oddball comedic effect)-- and the two when they aren't fighting over who's crazier, develop a cutely jagged rapport.  Tiffany, as the plot must dictate, is an acquaintance of Pat's wife and a truce is introduced that she will help him out in exchange for a dancing partner.  Tiffany uses dance as therapy and needs one, you see, for an upcoming dance contest.

Lawrence is nearly revelatory as Tiffany.  First off, it's in the stark contrast of her work in Winter's Bone and this year's blockbuster The Hunger Games, but mostly because of her fresh take on a character that could have read as nutty pixie girl next door, or worse yet, a muse of which to free her messed up man.  Instead she showcases a steadfastness, an intelligent and a vigor that changes the film and provides it with its real silver lining.  Even the caveat that Tiffany often works as a cipher for the film's encoded messaging is itself put aside because of her charm, comedic beats and timing.  It's in her daffy, often profane flirtiness and pent up exasperation that highlight the film and while the film, about depressed mentally unfit people, may never really have the guts to fully explore the mania of love itself, Lawrence's tight and energetic performance comes the closes without even seeming like caricature.  

The best moments of Silver Linings are where the words and language of its loud characters all come together and there's a lovely bit of controlled chaos that evolves as all the disparate parts and characters come together and tie it all up.  The way it gets tied up is all movie fantasy, nearly sitcom-like in its reduction, but it almost doesn't matter because the characters and the performances have at this point, ingratiated themselves strongly enough that the emotion feels earned.  That is until you move back and truly to start to think about it.  For a film that flirts with honest exploration with real human malaise, it's main quest is really just to have a good time.  B+