BEST PICTURE
American Hustle
Great movie. Awesome team of actors. Jennifer Lawrence was hilarious. This is my pick for Best Picture.
Captain Phillips
Excellent movie. Great acting by Tom Hanks and Barkhad Abdi. This was Abdi's first project and he knocked it out the park. Good for you Barkhad.
Dallas Buyers Club
Excellent acting by Matthew Mcconaughey, Jared Leto and Jennifer Garner.Gravity
Sandra Bullock and George Clooney did and excellent carrying the move. The computer graphics were phenomenal. I really feel Alfonso Cuarón has a chance at Best Director.
Her
I thought the concept for this movie was brilliant. Especially now that we are living in the era of technical evolution. Although Scarlett Johansson was not visibly seen in the movie, her acting was still quite wonderful. She is a fantastic actor.
Nebraska
Very interesting. I love the way it was filmed. This is on my "hurry up and watch list"
Philomena
This is a beautiful story. I always enjoy watching Judi Dench. She is a marvelous actress.
12 Years a Slave
(I have been following this film since it's debut at the Telluride Film Festival and the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival. The film received such artistic acclaim before its wide release. I am also very excited for Lupita Nyong's Supporting Actress nomination. This s her first film in America. Yay Lupita! Congrats to Chiwetel Ejiofor. He is an awesome actor. I am glad he is finally getting due recognition. The cinematography and sound design was excellent. However, I don't think it will take home Best Picture.
The Wolf of Wall Street
Wonderful film. Great directing and acting. It was humor and drama all rolled up into one. Congrats to Leonardo DiCaprio for his Best Actor nomination. I really hope he wins this year. There are many great contenders in this category, so it will be tough. However, he has yet to be blessed with a golden statuette. I would be so happy for him if finally this year is his shinning moment. Also, Congrats also to Jonah Hill for his Supporting Actor nomination.
Best Original Song
After you have finished your Best Picture movie marathon, leave some room for Frozen. This newest Disney movie has taken the public by storm (no pun intended.) It's a great family movie with awesome humor, loveable characters and spectacular music.
Nomination List
BEST DIRECTORAlfonso Cuarón, Gravity
Steve McQueen, 12 Years a Slave
Alexander Payne, Nebraska
David O. Russell, American Hustle
Martin Scorsese, The Wolf of Wall Street
BEST ACTOR
Christian Bale, American Hustle
Bruce Dern, Nebraska
Leonardo DiCaprio, The Wolf of Wall Street
Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years a Slave
Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club
BEST ACTRESS
Amy Adams, American Hustle
Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
Sandra Bullock, Gravity
Judi Dench, Philomena
Meryl Streep, August: Osage County
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Barkhad Abdi, Captain Phillips
Bradley Cooper, American Hustle
Michael Fassbender, 12 Years a Slave
Jonah Hill, The Wolf of Wall Street
Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Sally Hawkins, Blue Jasmine
Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle
Lupita Nyong'o, 12 Years a Slave
Julia Roberts, August: Osage County
June Squibb, Nebraska
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
David O. Russell and Eric Warren Singer, American Hustle
Woody Allen, Blue Jasmine
Craig Borten and Melisa Wallack, Dallas Buyers Club
Spike Jonze, Her
Bob Nelson, Nebraska
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke, Before Midnight
Billy Ray, Captain Philips
Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope, Philomena
John Ridley, 12 Years a Slave
Terence Winter, The Wolf of Wall Street
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
The Croods
Despicable Me 2
Ernest & Celestine
Frozen
The Wind Rises
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
The Broken Circle Breakdown (Belgium)
The Great Beauty (Italy)
The Hunt (Denmark)
The Missing Picture (Cambodia)
Omar (Palestine)
BEST DOCUMENTARY – FEATURE
The Act of Killing
Cutie and the Boxer
Dirty Wars
The Square
20 Feet From Stardom
BEST ORIGINAL SONG
"Alone Not Alone," Alone Yet Not Alone
"Let It Go," Frozen
"The Moon Song," Her
"Ordinary Love," Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
"Happy," Despicable Me 2 ( Congrats to Pharrell Williams on this nomination. I'm so happy!)
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Philippe Le Sourd, The Grandmaster
Emmanuel Lubezki, Gravity
Bruno Delbonnel, Inside Llewyn Davis
Phedon Papamichael, Nebraska
Roger A. Deakins, Prisoners
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Michael Wilkinson, American Hustle
William Chang Suk Ping, The Grandmaster
Catherine Martin, The Great Gatsby
Michael O'Connor, The Invisible Woman
Patricia Norris, 12 Years a Slave
BEST DOCUMENTARY – SHORT SUBJECT
CaveDigger
Facing Fear
Karama Has No Walls
The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life
Prison Terminal: The Last Days of Private Jack Hall
BEST FILM EDITING
Jay Cassidy, Crispin Struthers and Alan Baumgarten, American Hustle
Christopher Rouse, Captain Phillips
John Mac McMurphy and Martin Pensa, Dallas Buyers Club
Alfonso Cuarón and Mark Sanger, Gravity
Joe Walker, 12 Years a Slave
BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
Adruitha Lee and Robin Mathew, Dallas Buyers Club
Stephen Prouty, Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa
Joel Harlow and Gloria Pasqua-Casny, The Lone Ranger
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
John Williams, The Book Thief
Steven Price, Gravity
William Butler and Owen Pallett, Her
Alexandre Desplat, Philomena
Thomas Newman, Saving Mr. Banks
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Judy Becker (Production Design) and Heather Loeffler (Set Decoration), American Hustle
Andy Nicholson (Production Design); Rosie Goodwin and Joanne Woollard (Set Decoration), Gravity
Catherine Martin (Production Design) and Beverley Dunn (Set Decoration), The Great Gatsby
K.K. Barrett (Production Design) and Gene Serdena (Set Decoration), Her
Adam Stockhausen (Production Design) and Alice Baker (Set Decoration), 12 Years a Slave
BEST SHORT FILM – ANIMATED
Feral
Get a Horse!
Mr. Hublot
Possessions
Room on the Broom
BEST SHORT FILM – LIVE ACTION
Aquel No Era Yo (That Wasn't Me), Esteban Crespo
Avant Que De Tout Perdre (Just Before Losing Everything), Xavier Legrand and Alexandre Gavras
Helium, Anders Walter and Kim Magnusson
Pitääkö Mun Kaikki Hoitaa? (Do I Have to Take Care of Everything?), Selma Vilhunen and Kirsikka Saari
The Voorman Problem, Mark Gill and Baldwin Li
BEST SOUND EDITING
Steve Boeddeker and Richard Hymns, All Is Lost
Oliver Tarney, Captain Phillips
Glenn Freemantle, Gravity
Brent Burge, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Wylie Stateman, Lone Survivor
BEST SOUND MIXING
Chris Burdon, Mark Taylor, Mike Prestwood Smith and Chris Munro, Captain Phillips
"Gravity" Skip Lievsay, Niv Adiri, Christopher Benstead and Chris Munro, Gravity
Christopher Boyes, Michael Hedges, Michael Semanick and Tony Johnson, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Skip Lievsay, Greg Orloff and Peter F. Kurland, Inside Llewyn Davis
Andy Koyama, Beau Borders and David Brownlow, Lone Survivor
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Tim Webber, Chris Lawrence, Dave Shirk and Neil Corbould, Gravity
Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton and Eric Reynolds, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Christopher Townsend, Guy Williams, Erik Nash and Dan Sudick, Iron Man 3
Tim Alexander, Gary Brozenich, Edson Williams and John Frazier, The Lone Ranger
Roger Guyett, Patrick Tubach, Ben Grossmann and Burt Dalton, Star Trek Into Darkness
There you have it, the full 2014 list of hopefuls. It's going to be exciting to learn the final results. Also, you can visit the official Oscar websites to print a ballot for your Oscar viewing party and learn more about the spectacular nominees. Cheers and I'll see you on "red carpet."
