20 Weeks To Oscar: 3 Days To Go

There’s no real sport to making Oscar picks. The star athletes have, in most cases, completed their work over a year ago. The others, including the director, have been done with the work of creation for at least 4 months. Nothing will change between this last Tuesday and Sunday evening.

Gurus o’ Gold: Time To Open Envelopes

In their final look at the Oscars, picking only a winner in each category, The Gurus are unanimous on 12 of 24 awards and the only categories without at least a two-thirds majority are Picture, Film Editing, and Live Action Short. Based on the Gurus vote, 12 Years A Slave would win Best Picture and 2 other Oscars, while Gravity would lead in wins for the evening, taking home 6 Oscars. And Dallas Buyers Club would have the third highest Oscar count on the night. In a year where people are talking about a limited field, Gurus voting says that the Top 8 categories would go to 5 different movies. Statisticians, start your spreadsheets.

And the Oscar presenters are…

STARS COME OUT TO CELEBRATE ON OSCAR® SUNDAY

Gurus o’ Gold: Top 3

This week, The Gurus offer their Top 3 in 13 Oscar categories.

Only 2 of the categories are still highly competitive in the Guru voting, however, given the chance to vote on fewer than 3 in each category if they felt it was a lock, very few Gurus chose to step up to that in very few categories.

20W2O: 12 Days To Go – Season of Pudding

I have to say, I am pretty agnostic at this point. I have my favorites, but I know that a very good film will win Best Picture, great performances will win the acting categories, and so on. I can foresee very few opportunities for me to really feel that anyone is going to win an Oscar this year leaving me feeling like the result was bad.

FINAL OSCARS® VOTING BEGINS FRIDAY

Closing on Tuesday, February 25, at 5pm PT.

Gurus o’ Gold: If We Could Sway The Academy

After opining on the Best Picture race (which isn’t changing much in order, but is getting tighter & tighter), The Gurus offer their personal feelings about The Race. If they could sway Academy members to vote for as many as 5 nominees to win the gold, these are the ones they would choose.

20 Weeks To Oscar: Media, Publicists, And Trying To Do Harm

My perspective on this season is that the movies have been well-liked and the fighting mostly affirmative. Inside Llewyn Davis asserted itself intensely and with some really beautiful efforts… and didn’t get the votes. Nebraska pushed hard with actors, but not much else, and did get the votes. Go figure.

Gurus o’ Gold: Frontrunners & Potential Upsetters

This week, The Gurus offer their weekly look at the Top Ten and then, a look at the category frontrunners and potential upsets. Cate Blanchett, Jared Leto, Lupita Nyong’o, Frozen, and the screenplay of 12 Years A Slave are the five clear frontrunners, with all 15 Gurus voting for them. The most competitive categories, by this measure, are Original Screenplay… and Best Picture.

20W2O: What The Oscars Should Learn From This Super Bowl

The Oscars benefit from and have long benefited from what the Super Bowl does. It is an institution. Like all live events (and ironically, like opening a movie), no one knows what the content of the show is going to be. All they know is that they want to participate in that event. They want to have fun. They want to go, “ooooo.” They want to get ticked off. They want Jen Lawrence to trip going up the stairs but to be the world’s biggest movie star once she gets to the podium.

GRAVITY Earns Top Honors from Cinematographers

KILLING LINCOLN, GAME OF THRONES and DRUNK HISTORY Win in TV Categories   LOS ANGELES, February 1, 2014 – Emmanuel Lubezki, ASC, AMC; Jeremy Benning, CSC; Jonathan Freeman, ASC and Blake McClure earned top honors in the four competitive categories at the 28thAnnual American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) Awards for Outstanding Achievement. The ceremony was held here…

Writers Guild Awards 2014

SCREEN NOMINEES ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY American Hustle, Written by Eric Warren Singer and David O. Russell; Columbia Pictures Blue Jasmine, Written by Woody Allen; Sony Pictures Classics Dallas Buyers Club, Written by Craig Borten & Melisa Wallack; Focus Features Her, Written by Spike Jonze; Warner Bros. – WINNER Nebraska, Written by Bob Nelson; Paramount Pictures ADAPTED SCREENPLAY August: Osage County, Screenplay by Tracy Letts; Based on his…

Statement Regarding “Alone Yet Not Alone” Song Decision

The Board of Governors’ decision to rescind the Original Song nomination for “Alone Yet Not Alone,” music by Bruce Broughton, was made thoughtfully and after careful consideration.  The Academy takes very seriously anything that undermines the integrity of the Oscars® voting process. The Board regretfully concluded that Mr. Broughton’s actions did precisely that. The nominating process for Original Song is intended…