The Academy finally announced their Oscar nominations for 2015, and they certainly created a lot of controversy. With plenty of surprise nominations (American Sniper?!), snubs (Selma), and surprises (Marion Cotillard!), there was plenty to like (and plenty more to dislike). On this edition of the Way Too Indiecast, editor-in-chief Dustin Jansick sits down with C.J. Prince to discuss the most interesting and surprising nominees. Topics include what might be the biggest snub of the year (hint: this snub was definitely the opposite of awesome), why people love nominating Meryl Streep for everything, a strange choice in Best Director, the success of The Grand Budapest Hotel and more.

Topics

• 2015 Oscar Nominations (0:35)
• Biggest Snubs (13:15)
• Best Foreign Films (18:30)
• Grand Budapest Hotel (24:25)

WTI Articles Referenced in the Podcast

2015 Oscar Nominations List

American Sniper Review

Selma Review

Into the Woods Review

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Like them or not, the 2015 Oscar nominations are in.

Snubbing seems to happen every year, apparent front-runners don’t receive nominations and the list of nominations are questioned. No The Lego Movie in Best Animated Film. No Life Itself or The Overnighters in Best Documentary Feature. Ava DuVernay and David Oyelowo walk away empty-handed. Gone Girl left out of Best Picture, Best Director, and (strangest of all) Best Adapted Screenplay. Foxcatcher has good enough direction, acting and screenplay, but not good enough for a Best Picture nomination.

Sometimes the list of snubs can shine a light on a great year, which by all means 2014 was (or at the very least, 2014 was better than people think). We all knew that categories like Best Actor, Best Original Screenplay, Best Director, etc. were going to be tight races, so it’s too easy for one of our favorites to just miss the cut (like Jake Gyllenhaal).

Shifting to a positive note, Way Too Indie favorites Birdman and The Grand Budapest Hotel led the nominations with nine each. Boyhood received six nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay and both supporting acting categories. Despite its snubs in all the other major categories, Selma was recognized with a Best Picture nomination. Ida, which was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film, also received a nomination for its stunning black-and-white cinematography. While we expected to see Force Majeure and Two Days, One Night on the list for Best Foreign Language Film, we’re equally happy to have Wild Tales and Leviathan. Meanwhile, Whiplash hauled in a whopping six nominations including Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Editing, and Best Sound Mixing.

Finally, American Sniper, a film that didn’t seem to have much buzz, received six nominations. And somehow the dismal Angelina Jolie film Unbroken wound up with three nominations. Let us know what you think in the comments below!

Full list of 2015 Oscar Nominations

BEST PICTURE
American Sniper
Birdman
Boyhood
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Selma
The Theory of Everything
Whiplash

BEST ACTOR
Steve Carell – Foxcatcher
Bradley Cooper – American Sniper
Benedict Cumberbatch – The Imitation Game
Michael Keaton – Birdman
Eddie Redmayne – The Theory of Everything

BEST ACTRESS
Marion Cotillard – Two Days, One Night
Felicity Jones – The Theory of Everything
Julianne Moore – Still Alice
Rosamund Pike – Gone Girl
Reese Witherspoon – Wild

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Robert Duvall – The Judge
Ethan Hawke – Boyhood
Edward Norton – Birdman
Mark Ruffalo – Foxcatcher
J.K. Simmons – Whiplash

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Patricia Arquette – Boyhood
Laura Dern – Wild
Keira Knightley – The Imitation Game
Emma Stone – Birdman
Meryl Streep – Into the Woods

BEST DIRECTOR
Alejandro G. Iñárritu – Birdman
Richard Linklater – Boyhood
Bennett Miller – Foxcatcher
Wes Anderson – The Grand Budapest Hotel
Morten Tyldum – The Imitation Game

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Ida – Poland
Leviathan – Russia
Tangerines – Estonia
Timbuktu – Mauritania
Wild Tales – Argentina

BEST ANIMATED FILM
Big Hero 6
The Boxtrolls
How to Train Your Dragon 2
Song of the Sea
The Tale of the Princess Kaguya

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
CitizenFour
Finding Vivian Maier
Last Days in Vietnam
The Salt of the Earth
Virunga

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Birdman
Boyhood
Foxcatcher
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Nightcrawler

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
American Sniper
The Imitation Game
Inherent Vice
The Theory of Everything
Whiplash

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Interstellar
Mr. Turner
The Theory of Everything

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
“Everything Is Awesome” – The Lego Movie
“Glory” – Selma
“Grateful” – Beyond the Lights
“I’m Not Gonna Miss You” – Glen Campbell…I’ll Be Me
“Lost Stars” – Begin Again

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Birdman
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Ida
Mr. Turner
Unbroken

BEST EDITING
American Sniper
Boyhood
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Whiplash

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Guardians of the Galaxy
Interstellar
X-Men: Days of Future Past

BEST SOUND EDITING
American Sniper
Birdman
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Interstellar
Unbroken

BEST SOUND MIXING
American Sniper
Birdman
Interstellar
Unbroken
Whiplash

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Interstellar
Into the Woods
Mr. Turner

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Inherent Vice
Into the Woods
Maleficent
Mr. Turner

BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
Foxcatcher
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Guardians of the Galaxy

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
Aya
Boogaloo and Graham
Butter Lamp
Parvaneh
The Phone Call

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1
Joanna
Our Curse
The Reaper (La Parka)
White Earth

BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM
The Bigger Picture
The Dam Keeper
Feast
Me and My Moulton
A Single Life

Ava DuVernay’s Selma, about Martin Luther King Jr.’s organization of three marches from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama in 1965 (protests that led to the Voting Rights Act), was produced for about $20 million. The film was privately funded (it was picked up for distribution by Paramount following completion) and that meant DuVernay had artistic autonomy, but it also meant that she didn’t have the dough to buy the rights to King’s famous speeches. For those expecting Selma to be a biopic about a legendary leader (it’s not), this may seem like a critical omission, but the absence of the speeches ends up being one of the film’s biggest boons; this is a story not about a great man’s famous sound bites, but about a flawed man, the burdens of greatness, and the scars they left on his mind, body, and heart.

Selma‘s a focused film that covers a pivotal moment in American history (about 90 days), with no flashbacks to King’s upbringing or the march on Washington. The story’s concern is Selma, and what King did there. The pertinence of the film to the issues of today is undeniable, and is most evident in its most horrific sequence, in which we’re shown the gory results of the March 7, 1965 march. The march ends in a sickening bloodbath as we see white police officers savagely brutalize King’s protesters without mercy. While the imagery is rightly appalling and explicit, it isn’t the most disturbing thing about the film: What’s most disturbing about Selma is how relevant today, in 2015, in light of current events, the image of a white “protector” murdering an unarmed black man is. It’s been 50 years. That’s the most disturbing thing. It’s not the most interesting thing about the film, though.

What’s most interesting is that the film is a human history lesson, not a mythical one. Prolific English actor David Oyelowo takes a more grounded, sensible approach to playing King than anyone could have expected. His King is a man of intense focus and imperfect ego. Jealous. Neglectful. You expect him to channel the commanding presence and oratory prowess of King, and to be sure, on that front he delivers: He makes the speakers rumble when on the podium or pulpit, mobilizing large crowds to take a stand. It’s thrilling to watch, and he sounds just like King, and it’s all very, very impressive. But the real key to Oyelowo’s performance is when his mouth is shut; that’s when you’ll quiver.

The best scene is an uncomfortable domestic impasse. After listening to a surveillance recording that’s supposed evidence of her husband’s infidelity, Coretta King (a strong Carmen Ejogo) launches a low, slow, burning set of yes-or-no questions at King (concerning his mistresses), who looks puny sitting in a chair as she towers over him. Having Coretta impose her will by commanding her husband, one of the greatest speakers in history, to answer yes-or-no questions, is brilliant. He looks weak, and bruised. In a later scene, Coretta visits King while he’s behind bars after being arrested following a public protest. She mentions that she’s met with Malcolm X, who’s willing to give King his support. He’s hurt upon learning his wife met with his rival, and even dares to suggest that she’s infatuated. It’s these moments of sheer vulnerability, off the front lines, that honor King’s life like no history book or documentary ever could. It’s a thoughtful perspective. To truly appreciate his accomplishments, we must remember that King breathed and bled and hurt like all of us, and yet still did all the things he did. He was strong, not invincible.

In the film’s first incarnation, which was written by Paul Webb and was to be directed by Lee Daniels (who eventually passed the project up to do The Butler), the story centered heavily on King’s negotiations with President Lyndon B. Johnson. When DuVernay was brought on to direct in 2013, however, she revised the script (with Webb, who stayed on as penner), shifting its focus significantly, concentrating more on King’s organizing in Selma. LBJ is still in the movie (Tom Wilkinson plays him very well), but his presence is limited and is clearly de-emphasized from the original script. DuVernay makes it crystal clear that the President is no white savior (he’s mostly utilized as a force of opposition), though the film has come under criticism for allegedly misrepresenting LBJ’s level of cooperation with King on the Voting Rights Act.

Also in the film as government officials are Tim Roth, as AL Gov. George Wallace, and Dylan Baker, as J. Edgar Hoover. Their malevolence feels largely overplayed, and though Roth’s turns as weaselly heels are always fun, he and Baker (who’s not nearly as good) feel like they’re in a separate film. Oprah Winfrey, Common, Martin Sheen, and Cuba Gooding Jr. also play supporting roles, with Winfrey making the biggest impression as a Annie Lee Cooper, a woman fighting tooth and nail for her right to vote as an American citizen (she was also a producer on the film).

Selma is a phenomenal movie when it operates as a character study, showing us King having one-on-one conversations with different people around him, revealing layers of his personality in a nuanced, elegant way. When the film zooms out however, as in the big marching scenes or the handful of times King takes the pulpit, the film loosens its grip and becomes a less rich, less grounded affair. Whiffs of “prestige picture” arise now and again (especially near the film’s close), but Oyelowo does all he can to maintain the film’s sense of immediacy. There’s an emphasis on chronicling King’s perceptive maneuverings and strategies when orchestrating the marches, but these sections ultimately feel like detours on the more compelling, emotional journey of getting to know the man behind the scenes.

Like I mentioned earlier, we hear none of the famous speeches. DuVernay wrote new speeches in their stead, and remarkably, they sound 100% in accordance with King’s voice and philosophy. (To be fair, I’m no MLK historian, but for what it’s worth it was totally believable to me that he wrote these things.) Because they’re tailor-made, the new lectures and sermons fit into the film’s larger narrative much better than the original speeches would have, and in fact, had the original speeches made it in, they probably would have pushed the film into the realm of hagiography in earnest.

DuVernay proves that she’s a terrific director, especially when it comes to collaborating with her actors. Oyelowo, a young veteran, has his proudest outing as an actor here, and we miss him every moment he’s not on-screen. Like Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave, Selma‘s cultural significance is critical and will inevitably permeate all conversations about the film. As a reviewer, I must stress that its cinematic value speaks for itself, even when you swipe away the context of today’s struggles.

This Sunday the 11th at 8pm ET we’ll be gluing our eyeballs to NBC ready for the real action of awards season to finally begin. With Amy Poehler and Tina Fey hosting, and the ever plentiful booze flowing, we imagine this year’s Golden Globe Awards should provide plenty of entertainment. And since the Golden Globes are unique in the crazy amount of categories they fill, the competition is plenty fierce.

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association tends to shake things up a bit (I mean who are they really anyway?) and Hollywood never fails to come out to pat themselves on the back. But honestly, the Globes are a great way to start getting Oscar predictions queued up (nominations are out next Thursday the 15th.) So since these awards are really just to spark discussion and squabbling, fellow staff writer CJ Prince and I lay out our predictions.

Other than Fey and Poehler undoubtedly dousing us with comedy gold, what do you expect will happen Sunday night? Let us know in the comments.

Our 2015 Golden Globe Predictions:

Best Motion Picture – Drama

CJ: Boyhood
Because: The current narrative of awards season has the race coming down to Boyhood and Birdman. Thanks to the Golden Globes splitting Drama and Musical/Comedy, Boyhood has no competition in this category. It’s Boyhood’s to lose (I wouldn’t mind Selma taking the gold, though).

Ananda: Boyhood
Because: Months later I still remember my initial impression of Boyhood, and while I have strong love for Foxcatcher, I don’t see it appealing as universally. This one’s a no-brainer.

All nominees: Boyhood, Selma, The Imitation Game, Foxcatcher, The Theory of Everything

Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy

CJ: Birdman
Because: I’d honestly prefer Grand Budapest to take this, but Birdman has it locked. Without Boyhood in the category, and with no real buzzy films competing, this one’s a no-brainer.

Ananda: Birdman
Because: All of these movies are awesome, and to be honest I think Birdman is a stretch in this category although it has very hilarious moments, but mostly I think it stands out because it’s not 100% comedy, though that may be an unfair advantage.

All nominees: Birdman, The Grand Budapest Hotel, St. Vincent, Into the Woods, Pride

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama

CJ: Benedict Cumberbatch
Because: Harvey Weinstein. He knows how to push a movie to voters, and he’s gotta take something home. My bet is he’ll convince HFPA voters to give this to Cumberbatch because it’s a respectable pick. If Oyelowo gets it I’ll be happy, and if Gyllenhaal gets it my whole night will be made. But for now my bets are on Cumberbatch.

Ananda: Eddie Redmayne
Because: Interesting to note all but one of these performances is based on a real-life person. And in a perfect world I’d say Steve Carell hands down, and Gyllenhaal would be awesome, but Redmayne just had the more overt transformation with his role.

All nominees: Steve Carell (Foxcatcher), Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game), Jake Gyllenhaal (Nightcrawler), Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything), David Oyelowo (Selma)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama

CJ: Julianne Moore
Because: She’s been racking up every award under the sun, and honestly it’s time. Give Julianne the damn award already. Plus, if anyone wants to join I’ll be holding a prayer ceremony on Sunday night where I pray for Jennifer Aniston to go home empty-handed. Sorry Jennifer, but that’s a campaign, not a performance.

Ananda: Rosamund Pike
Because: I may be reaching a bit, but based on Cate Blanchett’s win last year I just think Pike’s twisty cerebral performance has a chance over Moore’s more obvious dramatic turn.

All nominees: Jennifer Aniston (Cake), Julianne Moore (Still Alice), Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl), Reese Witherspoon (Wild), Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy

CJ: Michael Keaton
Because: After the completion of the McConaissance, we’ve all been itchy for another actor to make their triumphant return to the A-list. And with Keaton doing a great job in Birdman, it’s all a matter of time before the Keatonaissance begins! Personally I would give this one to Ralph Fiennes, but Fiennesaissance doesn’t have a nice ring to it (not that he needs a renaissance, he’s always been awesome).

Ananda: Michael Keaton
Because: Birdman was my favorite movie of the year and it had much to do with how brilliant Keaton was. No competition in my eyes, though he’s among great company.

All nominees: Michael Keaton (Birdman), Ralph Fiennes (The Grand Budapest Hotel), Christoph Waltz (Big Eyes), Bill Murray (St. Vincent), Joaquin Phoenix (Inherent Vice)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy

CJ: Amy Adams
Because: I’ve only seen Maps to the Stars in this category, so I’m blindly guessing Amy Adams because she’s a great actress and has been getting plenty of praise for her role in Bright Eyes.

Ananda: Amy Adams
Because: I don’t even necessarily think this is Adams most award-worthy performance, but considering the competition it’s all hers.

All nominees: Amy Adams (Big Eyes), Emily Blunt (Into the Woods), Julianne Moore (Maps to the Stars), Helen Mirren (The Hundred-Foot Journey), Quvenzhané Wallis (Annie)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture

CJ: J.K. Simmons
Because: See Whiplash. Seriously, I don’t need to explain it. If you’ve seen it, you know exactly why I picked Simmons. If you haven’t seen it, fix that problem immediately.

Ananda: J.K. Simmons
Because: I can say awesome things about everyone nominated, but nobody freaked me out more than Simmons as the nazi-like music teacher from hell.

All nominees: Mark Ruffalo (Foxcatcher), Ethan Hawke (Boyhood), J.K. Simmons (Whiplash), Robert Duvall (The Judge), Edward Norton (Birdman)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture

CJ: Meryl Streep
Because: Personally rooting for Patricia Arquette here, but awards shows handing statues to Meryl Streep is about as boring and predictable as the roles Meryl Streep chooses to play.

Ananda: Emma Stone
Because: Since no one has a problem writing a great supporting role for a female (if only lead roles were the same), this category should have at least five more names in it (Laura Dern? Rene Russo?). But from what we’ve got I’m going out on a limb and thinking they’ll stick with what they did last year with J-Law and push the young blood forward.

All nominees: Patricia Arquette (Boyhood), Keira Knightley (The Imitation Game), Emma Stone (Birdman), Meryl Streep (Into the Woods), Jessica Chastain (A Most Violent Year)

Best Director – Motion Picture

CJ: Alejandro González Iñárritu
Because: This was the toughest category for me to make a decision on because it comes down to Birdman or Boyhood. Ultimately I figured the HFPA would give it to Iñárritu because it’s the kind of direction that calls attention to itself. Usually awards like this tend to go to the most direction, not the best.

Ananda: Richard Linklater
Because: Also a tough call in terms of my own affection for all of these director’s work this past year, but Linklater spent 12 years on his film and that kind of perseverance deserves respect.

All nominees: Alejandro González Iñárritu (Birdman), Richard Linklater (Boyhood), Ava DuVernay (Selma), David Fincher (Gone Girl), Wes Anderson (The Grand Budapest Hotel)

Best Screenplay – Motion Picture

CJ: The Grand Budapest Hotel
Because: Much like Spike Jonze winning for Her, or Quentin Tarantino winning for Django Unchained, Best Screenplay goes to the kind of film where the writing really shines. Wes Anderson’s nesting egg structure and quick paced quippy dialogue makes it an easy pick for this award.

Ananda: The Grand Budapest Hotel
Because: It won’t win anything else and it’s a truly great film. Plus, Anderson is really getting his whole layered stories and quirky relationships thing down to an art.

All nominees: Boyhood, Birdman, Gone Girl, The Imitation Game, The Grand Budapest Hotel

Best Original Song – Motion Picture

CJ: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 (Yellow Flicker Beat)
Because: I figured one of the white pop girls would win, and Lorde seems to be more popular now (the honest truth: I’ve only heard this song out of the bunch).

Ananda: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 (Yellow Flicker Beat)
Because: I’ve been rocking out to this on the radio for months so…

All nominees: Big Eyes: Lana Del Ray (Big Eyes); Selma: John Legend, Common (Glory); Noah: Patty Smith, Lenny Kaye (Mercy Is); Annie: Sia (Opportunity); The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1: Lorde (Yellow Flicker Beat)

Best Original Score – Motion Picture

CJ: Gone Girl: Trent Reznor
Because: It’s a great score, and Reznor has earned himself a great reputation as a composer since collaborating with Fincher. I considered putting Birdman here (and won’t be shocked if it wins), but part of me feels like some people might be turned off by the nonstop percussion.

Ananda: Birdman: Antonio Sanchez
Because: I loved all the music listed below, but Sanchez’s sporadic and pulsating drums were one of the most noticeable (in a good way) soundtracks I’ve ever encountered.

All nominees: The Imitation Game: Alexandre Desplat, The Theory of Everything: Jóhann Jóhannsson, Gone Girl: Trent Reznor, Birdman: Antonio Sanchez, Interstellar: Hans Zimmer

Best Animated Film

CJ: The Lego Movie
Because: It’s an animated movie that’s funny without pandering, and it has an incredible, universal message. And I’m sick of Disney. They’re a meat factory.

Ananda: The Lego Movie
Because: Well duh. It’s beyond clever to watch and to look at it, but it also embodied the very message it was spouting to: think outside the box and forget the supposed instruction manuals of life.

All nominees: The Book of Life, The Boxtrolls, Big Hero 6, How to Train Your Dragon 2, The Lego Movie

Best Foreign Language Film

CJ: Ida
Because: Middlebrow Holocaust movie from Europe that strikes the perfect balance of arty without being too arty? Ida easily wins the Foreign Language Film jackpot. Just another statue for the mantle until it takes home the Oscar.

Ananda: Ida
Because: A difficult decision for sure, but damn if if Ida isn’t both pretty and universally appealing.

All nominees: Ida, Leviathan, Force Majeure, Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem, Tangerines

We’re only predicting movie nominations this year, but if you want to make your own guesses on the TV categories or have a full list of the nominations on hand for the live broadcast, here’s a complete list of the nominations. And if you can’t watch, or someone talks over a winner announcement, we’ll be live updating the winners as they are announced.

I’m certainly not the first to admit 2014 wasn’t a ground-breaking year for cinema—Todd McCarthy from The Hollywood Reporter conceded it was “far from a great year,” Robbie Collin at The Telegraph declared it “a relatively placid year,” and Dana Stevens of Slate confessed it had “been kind of a rough year.” And I’m sure I won’t be the last to say 2014 wasn’t phenomenal. But that doesn’t mean it was a horrible year for movies. In fact, our overall favorite film of the year, Richard Linklater’s Boyhood, wasn’t just the best film of the year—it’s one of the best film of the past five years—at least in the humble opinion of this writer. So if it wasn’t such a poor year, why do many critics insist on calling it one? It might have something to do with release dates.

Movie studios spend a lot of time figuring out when they should release their film. And there’s a lot of different factors at play in this decision. The most important consideration is what kind of film they’re promoting. Summer months are for blockbuster movies like the latest Michael Bay film or the latest reboot of a comic book franchise. If a studio believes they have a flop on their hands they’ll screen it in what’s called the “dump months,” time periods which follow high attendance months when commercially promising movies are released. The dumping grounds are typically in the months of January/February and August/September. Now when a studio knows (or at least thinks) they have a critical hit, they’ll save it for an award season push sometime between October and December. There are outliers of course, but the movie industry has been around for a long time and have this strategy pretty much ironed out.

The Huffington Post recently did a study which found 77% of Oscar Best Picture winners were released between October and December, the three months before the Academy releases their list of Oscar nominations. Which makes perfect sense when you think about it. Films that remain fresh in the memories of voting members would logically increase their chances of being nominated. Studios are aware of our short-term memories and seize the opportunity by spending large amounts of money for an Oscar campaign.

The same basic principles of short-term memory applies to critics and moviegoers too. Our perception of an entire year’s worth of movies could easily be effected by the movies at the end of the year. Which might explain why 2013 felt like a speculator year for movies. Last year was stacked with good Oscar season releases, resulting in an exciting Oscar race led by two films which were released in October; 12 Years A Slave and Gravity. In fact, not a single film in last year’s Best Picture category was released before October. While it’s still too early to make definitive predictions for this year’s Oscars, since nominations haven’t even been announced yet, Boyhood seems to be the front-runner; a film that received the dreaded August wide release date.

Ellar Coltrane growing up in Boyhood

Boyhood is not alone. On our list of the 20 Best Films of 2014, 10 of those films were released before October. That means exactly half of our favorite films of the year were outside that favorable award season release zone. And most of them weren’t even close. All but one of those 10 films were released in June or even earlier.

Furthermore, several of our year-end favorites defied all odds by screening in the first few months of 2014. Specifically, The LEGO Movie which won over audiences all the way back in February and The Grand Budapest Hotel back in March, yet still found their way on Metacritic’s Top 20 list at the end of the year. Other great films including Under the Skin, Blue Ruin, Only Lovers Left Alive, and Oculus reached audiences as early as April. It’s impossible to predict what the impact would’ve been if these films waited for an October release instead, but they’d have better odds of landing higher on year-end lists.

Late season standouts this year included Alejandro González Iñárritu’s dazzling Birdman, Dan Gilroy’s creepy Nightcrawler, David Fincher’s murder mystery Gone Girl, Damien Chazelle’s brutal Whiplash, and Ava DuVernay’s vital Selma. But aside from Birdman, it was rare to find any of those picked as the Best Film of the year. There were several major studio films like Fury, The Theory of Everything, Interstellar, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, and The Imitation Game which didn’t meet expectations and only made some Top 10 lists. Not to mention complete duds such as Unbroken, Annie, The Gambler, and Exodus: Gods and Kings. Even critic favorite Paul Thomas Anderson failed to crack most Top 10’s with his highly anticipated, but ultimately perplexing, Inherent Vice.

So what does all of this mean? Perhaps the batch of underwhelming movies towards the end of the year, combined with the excellent but distance memory of the first half, altered people’s overall impression of 2014 in terms of its movies. Maybe 2014 wasn’t such a downer year after all, and it was just more front-loaded than we’re used to. So if the year’s releases had been reversed, the discussion might just have been about how strong 2014 was for movies.

Entering this awards season discussion late in the game is David Oyelowo, whose career-defining performance as Martin Luther King Jr. in Ava DuVernay‘s ’60s-set drama Selma seems to be turning more and more heads each day as we inch closer and closer to the Oscars. Hopefully for the English actor (who in 2014 also made appearances in Interstellar and A Most Violent Year), the film’s rave-train will hit maximum velocity come Oscar night, and he’ll walk away holding a shiny new statue. (DuVernay has arguably better chances, but the efforts of both actor and director are equally worthy.) The film opened in New York and Los Angeles on Christmas, and rolls out wide this Friday. I sincerely recommend you shell out the dough to see what all the excitement is about. You won’t be disappointed.

The film takes place over a 3-month period in Selma, Alabama, and follows Dr. King as he rallies his followers to march through the small town to accelerate the emergence of the Voting Rights Act as well as amend its preliminarily shoddy implementation. What heightens the film is its treatment of King as a character: We see him vulnerable and torn as his home life hangs precariously in the balance in the dangerous climate of his civil rights crusade. Oyelowo’s sensitivity and willingness to act with his mouth shut (this is a quieter Dr. King than we’ve ever seen on screen) is easily some of the strongest work turned in by any actor this past year. The film also stars Carmen Ejogo, Oprah, Tim Roth, and Tom Wilkinson.

I caught up with Oyelowo during his visit to San Francisco the day after a screening of the film at the Castro Theatre with DuVernay and Oprah (who also produced the film). In a roundtable interview, we talked to Oyelowo about not being able to use King’s famous speeches; approaching Dr. King as a man, not an icon; the process of adopting King’s verbal delivery; what he brings to the role as an Englishman; the original Lee Daniels incarnation of the project; the use of silence in his performance; the current shift of Hollywood toward black stories, and more.

Yesterday at the Q&A, you mentioned that it was difficult to get the rights to Martin Luther King’s speeches.
Steven Spielberg has the rights to the speeches. Oprah was beaten to the punch by him. [laughs] Not for lack of trying, by the way; we tried. But I’m hugely relieved that we didn’t, because the last thing I want as an actor playing Dr. King is people comparing and contrasting word-for-word speeches that he had given. At the end of the day, what we felt we had to do was express the spirit of this man and the facts of what went down, but not feel like we had to do an impersonation or beat-by-beat account of those speeches. In all honesty, because the speeches [in the film] were written in the rhythms and in the cadence and in the spirit of Dr. King’s speeches, it meant we were able to tie the speeches to the narrative that we were weaving rather than have things in there that didn’t really chime with the film. It ended up working out great, I think.

You play Dr. King with such vulnerability, which is something we don’t really get to see when he’s depicted in other works. How integral was that?
It was absolutely necessitous, I think. This is a historical figure around whom copious amounts of documentaries and books and specials and TV films…there’s a lot out there. But the one thing, in my research, that they don’t have as much of is who the man was behind the speeches, behind the iconography, behind the holiday that is named after him. In many ways, why make a movie if it’s not going to be revelatory? It’s just going to be stuff that you find in a documentary, so go watch a documentary. I was more interested in–and thankfully, Ava was more interested in–who the guy is at home with his wife, taking out the trash, putting his kids to bed, having doubt, fear, shame, guilt. What was he like as a husband? A friend? A father? These are all things that evoke universal truths so that we as an audience can get into the film.

What was the process of you nailing Dr. King’s voice, his cadence, his accent…It’s done very well.
It was a layered approach. There are a lot of recordings, and part of my job as an actor is to understand the musicality of how we speak. Doing accents is something I love to do; I barely do films in my own accent now! [laughs] I think I’d be thrown if I had to play an Englishman. I also worked with an incredible dialect coach named Elizabeth Himelstien, who works with me on all my films where I have an American accent. I had this incredible journey towards doing this film. In 2007, I felt called by God to do this. I had this visceral reaction when I read this script.

What went on to happen in terms of my career felt like I was taking on this divine journey of a history lesson through movies. I did Lincoln, and you have the Civil War and I’m doing a scene with Daniel Day Lewis as a soldier asking for the vote. I did Red Tails, which is about fighter pilots in the second World War who were marginalized because they were black, had the best bomber support record in the entire war, but came back to segregation in America. I did The Butler, which goes through 82 years of civil rights history, playing an activist. I did The Help, in which I play a preacher in a pulpit in Greenwood, Mississippi. Those films were all in the DNA of what [led] me to do this film. I kind of felt like all those years I was gleaning things along the way.

What do you, as a non-American person, bring to these roles that’s unique from what an American actor could bring?
I know that the director who originally cast me, Lee Daniels, said, of everyone who came in to read this role, you’re the only one who’s come in without any reverence or weight of, “I’m coming in to play Dr. King”. That’s because, even though I’ve admired him in my childhood, I didn’t grow up like a lot of African-Americans did, in their grandmother’s house with a photograph of Jesus, JFK, and Martin Luther King. I haven’t grown up with the deification of him, with “Saint King”, as part of my upbringing. I very much approached him as a man first. I think that’s what I’m able to bring. That’s the thing we wanted this film to have: the man behind all of that. I think being a foreigner helped me get there quicker.

Do you see him as a saint now?
[laughs] I see him as a saintly human being. I think that showing how human he really was in many ways elevates what he did. He did it in spite of being like us, which really makes me examine my own life. I find myself going, “What am I doing?” I’m the exact same age as he was, and I’m not changing the world. It really makes you examine your role in the shifts that are needed for humanity to continue to improve and grow. My admiration for him has now transcended the iconography. He’d been reduced to “I have a dream.” A phrase, really. You can’t really plug into that. I hope the film makes people appreciate who he was and what he did.

You were already cast in the previous version of this film, the Lee Daniels version. Was that version any different from what the film is now?
The project has differed, but it doesn’t necessarily have to do with Lee. The original script, as written by Paul Webb, was more focused on LBJ. King was not the focal point. When Ava came onboard, she felt very strongly that it should be about King and the movement. The man and the movement. In terms of Lee, I think what happened there is that we hadn’t yet had the moment that The Butler and 12 Years a Slave gave us. You have two films with black protagonists as the driving force which did very well at the box office. I truly believe one of the resistances to this film in the time that I had been aware of it was this notion that, “Well, if it’s a black lead, what does that mean for foreign [markets]? If it’s King, who was 36 at the time, it can’t be Denzel, it can’t be Will Smith, so that means it’s going to be some unknown actor. Do people really want to see a King movie?” There were all these questions which kind of seem ridiculous now when you see how immediate and necessitous I think the film is. That’s what we were suffering under the weight of until those [two] undeniable successes came along.

I’m guessing the decision to shift the view from LBJ to MLK was made prior to 12 Years a Slave.
It was, because Ava was already onboard by then. It was a beautiful synergy of circumstances. Those films came out, and we were off to the races. Up until then, it was a struggle. That’s why I asked Oprah to come onboard. Despite Ava’s brilliant work, I could feel we were segueing again into, “Okay, can we make it for this budget? What does that mean for this?” She came on and she was like, “Okay guys, this is what’s happening. Let’s do it!”

You mentioned at the Q&A that you brought on Ava after Lee dropped out. How easy or difficult was it to get that process going?
It wasn’t easy, because the film that we had done before we went on to do Selma was a $200,000 movie. This is a $20 million movie, and almost never do you get that with black directors. You never get that with black female directors. I went in and tub-thumped on her behalf, and thankfully her film Middle of Nowhere is very persuasive in terms of it being a great film, and that’s what broke the deadlock.

You talk about the musicality of King’s voice, but there’s a pivotal scene in the film in which Carmen is giving you yes-or-no questions, and you actually say very little. Talk about the silent moments in your performance.
That’s one of Ava’s gifts, her ability to tell as much story through silences and human behavior as through the spoken word. It’s something I very much gravitate towards as an actor. I think acting is reacting at its richest and most true. Also, I think we’re watching a film about a great orator; how interesting to see how he is when he’s not doing that. When this very strong woman whom he married, who actually introduced him to civil rights, is talking to him…I love that scene. I think it is the ultimate “behind the veil” scene. It is truly revelatory and I love that we go against the thing that King is known for, which is talking, and we see him being.

You’ve been in the industry for a while now. How have you seen the landscape of Hollywood change for people of color?
What’s happening now is that, for people of color in film, we’re making a shift. Selma, 12 Years a Slave, The Butler, Fruitvale Station–these are films whereby a white protagonist isn’t crowbarred into the center of it to tell a black story. I think that that has been a tradition that has long existed in Hollywood at the highest level, and it’s become a self-fulfilling prophecy: Of course those films do well, because the story is interesting, but we’re not following the right people. You set up an obstacle; how does the central character overcome it? What’s often happened is, you set up an obstacle, and suddenly this white person comes along and helps the black person through it. I feel that tolerance for that has dropped, from people like me, actors, producers, directors…and I think financiers now have a comfort level where they will now support people of color being in the driver’s seat of their own stories, because those films [that I mentioned] are doing well. That is something I’ve hoped to see, and I think that literally in the past 12 months we’ve seen a shift.

At an obscenely early ceremony, the Hollywood Foreign Press announced the nominees for the 2015 Golden Globes.

On the film side, Birdman led all nominees with seven – and will surely be helped pull in some awards being in the arguably less competitive “Musical or Comedy” categories. Boyhood and Selma each have five nominations, though they will have to battle each other in the Drama categories.

Because the Golden Globes breaks up lead acting and best film into the two categories, there are few major snubs. In the Best Actor categories, Carell, Cumberbatch, Gyllenhaal, Redmayne, Oyelowo, Keaton and Phoenix all got love, though more than likely two of them won’t be so lucky come Oscar noms, which is shaping up to be a brutally contentious group.

Possibly the biggest snub is no Best Picture for Gone Girl, despite receiving nominations for Best Actress, Director and Screenplay (no adapted/original clarification for the Globes). This may not be a death sentence for an Oscar nom, though, assuming ten nominees, Gone Girl would certainly get more love than a few of the nominations for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy. Unbroken, however, may have received a bad omen when it comes to the Oscars, as it received zero nominations here.

The Golden Globes takes place on January 11th and will be hosted by a returning Tina Fey and Amy Poehler.

2015 Golden Globe Nominations

Best Motion Picture – Drama
Boyhood
Selma
The Imitation Game
Foxcatcher
The Theory of Everything

Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy
Birdman
The Grand Budapest Hotel
St. Vincent
Into the Woods
Pride

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama
Steve Carell, Foxcatcher
Benedict Cumberbatch, The Imitation Game
Jake Gyllenhaal, Nightcrawler
Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything
David Oyelowo, Selma

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama
Jennifer Aniston, Cake
Julianne Moore, Still Alice
Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl
Reese Witherspoon, Wild
Felicity Jones, The Theory of Everything

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy
Michael Keaton, Birdman
Ralph Fiennes, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Christoph Waltz, Big Eyes
Bill Murray, St. Vincent
Joaquin Phoenix, Inherent Vice

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy
Amy Adams, Big Eyes
Emily Blunt, Into the Woods
Julianne Moore, Maps to the Stars
Helen Mirren, The Hundred-Foot Journey
Quvenzhané Wallis, Annie

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Mark Ruffalo, Foxcatcher
Ethan Hawke, Boyhood
J.K. Simmons, Whiplash
Robert Duvall, The Judge
Edward Norton, Birdman

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
Keira Knightley, The Imitation Game
Emma Stone, Birdman
Meryl Streep, Into the Woods
Jessica Chastain, A Most Violent Year

Best Director – Motion Picture
Alejandro González Iñárritu, Birdman
Richard Linklater, Boyhood
Ava DuVernay, Selma
David Fincher, Gone Girl
Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel

Best Screenplay – Motion Picture
Boyhood
Birdman
Gone Girl
The Imitation Game
The Grand Budapest Hotel

Best Original Song – Motion Picture
Big Eyes: Lana Del Ray (Big Eyes)
Selma: John Legend, Common (Glory)
Noah: Patty Smith, Lenny Kaye (Mercy Is)
Annie: Sia (Opportunity)
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1: Lorde (Yellow Flicker Beat)

Best Original Score – Motion Picture
The Imitation Game: Alexandre Desplat
The Theory of Everything: Jóhann Jóhannsson
Gone Girl: Trent Reznor
Birdman: Antonio Sanchez
Interstellar: Hans Zimmer

Best Animated Film
The Book of Life
The Boxtrolls
Big Hero 6
How to Train Your Dragon 2
The Lego Movie

Best Foreign Language Film
Ida
Leviathan
Force Majeure
Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem
Tangerines

Television Categories

Best Television Series – Drama
“Downton Abbey”
“The Good Wife”
“House of Cards”
“Game of Thrones”
“The Affair”

Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy
“Girls”
“Orange Is the New Black”
“Transparent”
“Silicon Valley”
“Jane the Virgin”

Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
“Olive Kitteridge”
“True Detective”
“Fargo”
“The Missing”
The Normal Heart

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Drama
Kevin Spacey, “House of Cards”
Liev Schreiber, “Ray Donovan”
James Spader, “The Blacklist”
Dominic West, “The Affair”
Clive Owen, “The Knick”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Drama
Robin Wright, “House of Cards”
Julianna Margulies, “The Good Wife”
Viola Davis, “How to Get Away with Murder”
Claire Danes, “Homeland”
Ruth Wilson, “The Affair”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy
Don Cheadle, “House of Lies”
Ricky Gervais, “Derek”
Jeffrey Tambor, “Transparent”
William H. Macy, “Shameless”
Louis C.K., “Louie”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy
Lena Dunham, “Girls”
Edie Falco, “Nurse Jackie”
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, “Veep”
Taylor Schilling, “Orange Is the New Black”
Gina Rodriguez, “Jane the Virgin”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television
Martin Freeman, “Fargo”
Billy Bob Thornton, “Fargo”
Matthew McConaughey, “True Detective”
Woody Harrelson, “True Detective”
Mark Ruffalo, “The Normal Heart”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television
Jessica Lange, “American Horror Story”
Maggie Gyllenhaal, “The Honourable Woman”
Frances McDormand, “Olive Kitteridge”
Frances O’Connor, “The Missing”
Allison Tolman, “Fargo”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Jon Voight, “Ray Donovan”
Alan Cumming, “The Good Wife”
Bill Murray, “Olive Kitteridge”
Colin Hanks, “Fargo”
Matt Bomer, The Normal Heart

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Allison Janney, “Mom”
Uzo Aduba, “Orange Is the New Black”
Kathy Bates, “American Horror Story”
Michelle Monaghan, “True Detective”
Joanne Froggatt, “Downton Abbey”

Let’s talk about FOMO.

You know what I’m talking about. That feeling you get when a friend posts online that they just saw the film you’ve read about for months and haven’t seen yet. It’s avoiding social media the entire weekend a new movie opens for fear of spoilers. It’s knowing that awards season is just around the bend and there’s more films to be seen than time to see them in. It’s Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO) and in some way, shape, or form it’s been eating at you for months during the busy-ness of fall. But the light at the end of the tunnel has arrived: the Holidays.

Full, work-free days where you are practically mandated to eat a lot of food and catch up on movies. But unless you’re in college, you don’t have ALL the time in the world, so here’s your Holiday Movie Preview, just in time to help you figure out what’s coming out so you know where best to put your energy. You may return to work from the holidays 5 pounds heavier, but you’ll ace any water cooler movie pop-quizzes.

Must-Sees

Mockingjay: Part 1

It’s the beginning of the end for what is arguably the best YA film adaptation series of all time. Of course you’ll feel incomplete having to wait a year for Part 2, but this will be the one all your friends are talking about. (11/20)

The Imitation Game

The Oscar buzz around Benedict Cumberbatch will make this one worth being able to talk about. (11/27)

The Babadook

Perfect for those who like balancing savory and sweet, family time and fright time. Nothing makes you more grateful for family than a horror film about a mother and her son fighting to reconnect as they are haunted by a kid’s book character. (11/28, limited)

Wild

Skip the book, see the movie, bring tissues. Reese Witherspoon is phenomenal in the film, and Laura Dern adds emotional veracity. (12/4)

Still Alice

It’s been a slow year for decent female-led films. Julianne Moore has been building buzz around her role as a woman who discovers she has early-onset alzheimers. (12/5, limited)

Top Five

Animated films and Grown Ups movies aside, Chris Rock hasn’t been on our radar for a while, but when Top Five debuted at TIFF this year it was immediately what everyone was talking about. Chris Rock taps his best stand-up while exploring being black and famous. (12/11)

Exodus: Gods and Kings

If you’re over Middle Earth but still want some big screen epic action (with Christian Bale no less), this film’s got your back. And if it means Ridley Scott is getting back to Gladiator-level awesomeness, it should be a satisfying watch. (12/11)

Inherent Vice

The loopy, cool movie you’re film-geek friends will want to discuss. With a bit more humor than his usual, Paul Thomas Anderson weaves a groovy stoner-style mystery starring Joaquin Phoenix. (12/12, limited)

Mr. Turner

A British biopic of the eccentric painter J.M.W. Turner. Timothy Spall will be among award contenders playing the impassioned artist in director Mike Leigh’s latest. (12/18)

Big Eyes

This one might be iffy as the historical art drama hasn’t garnered a whole lot of accolade as of yet, but we’re willing to take a bet on Tim Burton, Christoph Waltz and Amy Adams almost any day. (12/24)

Unbroken

Angelina Jolie’s inspiration tale of war hero Louis “Louie” Zamperini (Jack O’Connell,) who was taken as a prisoner-of-war in WWII after surviving in a raft for a month and a half. Take Grandma, it’s almost guaranteed to be the inspirational tale of the year. (12/24)

The Interview

Intriguing due to the controversy around it and Kim Jong-Un’s apparent hatred for it. Basically after seeing Rogan and Franco in This Is the End we’re betting this could be just as hilarious. A good one to catch with friends once the family has cleared out. (12/25)

American Sniper

It’s not a true end of the year awards race without an entry from Clint Eastwood. Starring Bradley Cooper as America’s best sniper, coping with life in war, and outside of it. (12/25, limited)

Selma

If you live near a city you’ll likely be able to see this one before it goes nationwide in January, marking the 50th anniversary of the organization of the march from Selma to Montgomery, a turning point in the American Civil Rights movement. Critical consensus thus far is that director Ava DuVernay makes a name for herself with this timely historical drama. (12/25, limited)

A Most Violent Year

Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain are the new wave of hollywood elite, of the DeNiro and Streep variety. It’s a crime-thriller set in dirty 1981 NYC where an immigrant family attempts to capitalize on the American Dream. Might be the perfect grit to go with all that dessert you’ve been eating. (12/31)

Leviathan

Alright, this is for the arthouse families willing to find small theaters and in the mood for a more serious foreign film. But this drama around a family in a small fishing town has garnered serious praise thus far. (12/31, limited)

With the Family

Family-safe for when the small-talk AND the food has run out.

Penguins of Madagascar

The other Benedict Cumberbatch movie opening Thanksgiving week, and while this franchise seems overdone, from what we saw at Comic-Con it’s quite clever. Take your little sister. She’ll love you. (11/25)

The Hobbit: The Battle of The Five Armies

For the family member obsessed with Tolkien, or for those who always finish a book even if they don’t like it. At least you’ll feel you got closure by watching this last installment in Peter Jackson’s Hobbit series. (12/16)

Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb

It’s the third in the franchise, so no guarantees on quality. But the gang’s all back, Stiller, Wilson, Gervais, and even Robin Williams. Might be nice to see just to see the latter one more time. (12/18)

Annie

Understand that we’re only trying to give you options that the whole family might enjoy. But as a musical re-make of an already cutesy film, we make no promises. Jamie Foxx, Cameron Diaz, and Rose Byrne lead the family friendly foray. (12/19)

Into The Woods

A film version of Sondheim’s musical of fairy tale characters with real world problems sounds great. With Disney behind it, we worry they may soften it a bit. Either way it’s got an all-star cast including Meryl Streep, Johnny Depp, Emily Blunt, Anna Kendrick, and Chris Pine. (12/24)

Skip ‘Em

Trust us, these ones are likely not to be worth your precious time.

VHS: Viral (11/21)

Horrible Bosses 2 (11/25)

Extraterrestrial (11/28)

The Gambler (12/19)

The Mule (12/28)

Dying of the Light (12/5)

It’s starting to feel like Christmas already as the nominations for our favorite awards show, the Film Independent Spirit Awards, were announced moments ago. Leading the pack with a total of six nominations was Alejandro G. Iñárritu‘s Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) grabbing nods for Best Feature, Best Director, Best Editing, and three acting categories. Not far behind it was Richard Linklater‘s masterful Boyhood which received a total of five nominations in major categories. Also landing five nominations were Dan Gilroy’s Nightcrawler, and Ava DuVernay’s Selma.

Perhaps the biggest surprise was the absence of Jean-Marc Vallée’s Dallas Buyer’s Club follow-up Wild, since a lot of people have been talking about Reese Witherspoon’s performance in it. However, the biggest snub this year belongs to The Overnighters for not getting a nod for Best Documentary, as this indie doc is getting some serious Oscar buzz. Also, I had to do a double take when seeing André Benjamin’s name under the Best Actor category, which seems a little out of left-field but also edged out Ellar Coltrane for Boyhood and Oscar Isaac for A Most Violent Year.

Here at Way Too Indie, we were especially happy to see nominations for some smaller films such as A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (which picked up 3 noms and landed on our Must See Indie list), The One I Love, and It Felt Like Love. The 2015 Independent Spirit Awards will broadcast live (new this year) on IFC at 2:00/5:00pm PT/ET on Saturday, February 21, 2015.

Watch For: Our Spirit Award predictions coming soon.

2015 Independent Spirit Award Nominations:

Birdman
Boyhood
Love is Strange
Selma
Whiplash

Damien Chazelle – Whiplash
Ava DuVernay – Selma
Alejandro G. Iñárritu – Birdman
Richard Linklater – Boyhood
David Zellner – Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter

Scott Alexander & Larry Karaszewski – Big Eyes
J.C. Chandor – A Most Violent Year
Dan Gilroy – Nightcrawler
Jim Jarmusch – Only Lovers Left Alive
Ira Sachs & Mauricio Zacharias – Love is Strange

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night
Dear White People
Nightcrawler
Obvious Child
She’s Lost Control

Desiree Akhavan – Appropriate Behavior
Sara Colangelo – Little Accidents
Justin Lader – The One I Love
Anja Marquardt – She’s Lost Control
Justin Simien – Dear White People

André Benjamin – Jimi: All Is By My Side
Jake Gyllenhaal – Nightcrawler
Michael Keaton – Birdman
John Lithgow – Love is Strange
David Oyelowo – Selma

Marion Cotillard – The Immigrant
Rinko Kikuchi – Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter
Julianne Moore – Still Alice
Jenny Slate – Obvious Child
Tilda Swinton – Only Lovers Left Alive

Riz Ahmed – Nightcrawler
Ethan Hawke – Boyhood
Alfred Molina – Love is Strange
Edward Norton – Birdman
J.K. Simmons – Whiplash

Patricia Arquette – Boyhood
Jessica Chastain – A Most Violent Year
Carmen Ejogo – Selma
Andrea Suarez Paz – Stand Clear of the Closing Doors
Emma Stone – Birdman

Darius Khondji – The Immigrant
Emmanuel Lubezki – Birdman
Sean Porter – It Felt Like Love
Lyle Vincent – A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night
Bradford Young – Selma

Sandra Adair – Boyhood
Tom Cross – Whiplash
John Gilroy – Nightcrawler
Ron Patane – A Most Violent Year
Adam Wingard – The Guest

Force Majeure (Sweden)
Ida (Poland)
Leviathan (Russia)
Mommy (Cananda)
Norte, the End of History (Philippines)
Under the Skin (United Kingdom)

20,000 Days on Earth
CITIZENFOUR
Stray Dog
The Salt of the Earth
Virunga

Blue Ruin – Jeremy Saulnier
It Felt Like Love – Eliza Hittman
Land Ho! – Aaron Katz & Martha Stephens
Man From Reno – Dave Boyle
Test – Chris Mason Johnson

Foxcatcher

Inherent Vice
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Casting Director: Cassandra Kulukundis
Ensemble Cast: Josh Brolin, Martin Donovan, Jena Malone, Joanna Newsom, Joaquin Phoenix, Eric Roberts, Maya Rudolph, Martin Short Serena Scott Thomas, Benicio Del Toro, Katherine Waterston, Michael Kenneth Williams, Owen Wilson, Reese Witherspoon

Chad Burris
Elisabeth Holm
Chris Ohlson

Amanda Rose Wilder – Approaching the Elephant
Darius Clark Monroe – Evolution of a Criminal
Dan Krauss – The Kill Team
Sara Dosa – The Last Season

Ana Lily Amirpour – A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night
Rania Attieh & Daniel Garcia – H.
Chris Eska – The Retrieval