Jennifer Lawrence, Quvenzhané Wallis make Oscar history as nominations are announced

January 10, 2013 | Posted by Linda Ge in Awards Leave a comment

It’s a history-making year for the Best Actress category as the nominations for “Beasts of the Southern Wild” star Quvenzhane Wallis and “Silver Linings Playbook” star Jennifer Lawrence made history. Nine year old Wallis becomes the youngest person ever to be nominated for Best Actress, while Lawrence, at 22, becomes the youngest person to be nominated twice for Best Actress (she received her first nomination in 2010 for “Winter’s Bone”). Also making history in the category is Emmanuelle Riva for “Amour”, who becomes the oldest Best Actress nominee ever at age 85. Naomi Watts for “The Impossible” and Jessica Chastain – thought to be Lawrence’s biggest competition for the win – for “Zero Dark Thirty” rounded out the top five.

“Beasts of the Southern Wild” and “Silver Linings Playbook” not only made history but were also two of the biggest winners of the morning, each earning more nominations than expected. In addition to Wallis, “Beasts” also garnered a Best Director nod for Behn Zeitlin and a Best Picture nomination. “Silver Linings” got its expected Best Picture, Best Director (David O. Russell), Best Supporting Actor (Robert DeNiro) and Best Actor (Bradly Cooper) nominations, but it surprised in Best Supporting Actress, where Jacki Weaver was nominated. That category is still led by Anne Hathaway’s powerhouse performance in “Les Miserables” (which missed out on Best Director for Tom Hooper but garnerd Hugh Jackman a Best Actor nod), while Amy Adams was nominated for “The Master”, Sally Field for “Lincoln” and Helen Hunt for “The Sessions.”

The category with the biggest shocks of the morning definitely came from Best Director, which snubbed not only Hooper for “Les Mis”, but also thought-to-be-sure-bets Kathryn Bigelow for “Zero Dark Thirty” and Ben Affleck for “Argo.” The two films had been thought to be the frontrunners for not only Best Director but also Best Picture, and will seemingly face a much steeper uphill climb on the latter. Steven Spielberg got an expected and deserved nomination for “Lincoln” (which led all nominations with 12), while Zeitlin for “Beasts”, Russell for “Silver Linings”, Ang Lee for “Life of Pi” (which came in second with 11 noms, including Best Picture) and Michael Haneke for “Amour” (which also picked up a Best Picture nom) rounded out the five.

The full list of nominations, announced this morning by Oscar host Seth MacFarlane and Emma Stone, can be found below (thanks to AwardsDaily).

Santa Barbara Film Festival to present Eddie Redmayne, Ezra Miller and more with Virtuosos Award

January 8, 2013 | Posted by Linda Ge in Awards Leave a comment

The Santa Barbara Film Festival has announced their honorees for the 2013 Virtuosos Award, and it’s again filled with some of the year’s biggest breakout stars. Part breakout, part performance, the award is given to “standout performers”, and this year’s recipients are: Eddie Redmayne, for his portrayal of student revolutionary Marius in “Les Miserables”; Elle Fanning for her performance as a young war protestor coming of age in 1960s Britain in Sally Potter’s “Ginger and Rosa”; Omar Sy, a French actor, comedian, writer, producer and television personality who garnered raves in “The Intouchables”; Ann Dowd for her performance as a manager unwittingly drawn into a twisted prank in “Compliance”; and Ezra Miller, as the outrageous and heartbreaking Patrick in “The Perks of Being a Wallflower.”

Last year’s Virtuosos Award went to Demián Bichir, Rooney Mara, Melissa McCarthy, Patton Oswalt, Andy Serkis and Shailene Woodley, three of whom went on to receive Oscar nominations for their performances. This year’s honorees will be in town to pick up their trophies on January 29th. Other honorees this year include Jennifer Lawrence, who will be presented with the Outstanding Performer of the Year Award.

Emma Stone to announce Oscar nominations

January 7, 2013 | Posted by Linda Ge in Awards Leave a comment

“The Amazing Spider-Man” star Emma Stone will be announcing this year’s Academy Award nominations on the morning of this Thursday, January 10th, along with the telecast’s host for the evening, “Family Guy” creator Seth MacFarlane, it was announced today. Jennifer Lawrence did the honors last year, and Anne Hathaway the year before.

BEVERLY HILLS, CA – Nominations for the 85th Academy Awards® will be announced by the show’s host, Seth MacFarlane, and actress Emma Stone on Thursday, January 10. This will be the first time since 1972 that an Oscar show host has participated in the nominations announcement.

MacFarlane and Stone will unveil the nominations at a 5:30 a.m. PT news conference at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, where hundreds of media representatives from around the world will be gathered.

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BAFTA EE Rising Star Award nominees include Alicia Vikander, Elizabeth Olsen and “Life of Pi” star Suraj Sharma

January 7, 2013 | Posted by Linda Ge in Awards Leave a comment

After a rather embarrassing display last year with an all-male final five, BAFTA has taken the job of nominating their 2013 EE Rising Star Award out of the hands of the public. Instead, a committee made up of film committee deputy chairman Pippa Harris, director Kevin Macdonald, actor Benedict Cumberbatch and film critic Mark Kermode put together a much more inclusive and reasonable list this time around. Only now, with worthy nominees Elizabeth Olsen, Alicia Vikander, Suraj Sharma, Juno Temple and Andrea Riseborough in place, will the public get to vote for the eventual winner.

Jessica Chastain, Jennifer Lawrence continue awards reign with Golden Globe nominations, “Lincoln” leads with seven

December 13, 2012 | Posted by Rebecca Lewis in Awards Leave a comment

Another day, another list of nominations annnounced. Today it’s the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s Golden Globes, and pushing its reign further towards Oscar success is Kathryn Bigelow’s “Zero Dark Thirty“, which picked up nominations including Best Picture, Best Director for Bigelow and Best Screenplay for Mark Boal. Quentin Tarantino‘s “Django Unchained” is bouncing back from being left out of yesterday’s SAG nominations with five nominations including two in Best Supporting Actor in a Drama for Christoph Waltz and Leonardo DiCaprio.

“Zero Dark Thirty” star Jessica Chastain has been nominated in the Best Actress in a Drama category but making for a change, Chastain won’t be competing against her currently expected Oscar competitior Jennifer Lawrence, as Lawrence has been nominated in the Best Actress in a Musical/Comedy category. Chastian will come up against Marion Cotillard for her brilliant turn in “Rust and Bone” and Naomi Watts in “The Impossible”.

Lawrence’s “Silver Linings Playbook” co-star Bradley Cooper also gets some love from the HFPA with a nom in the Best Actor in a Musical/Comedy category, alongside Hugh Jackman for “Les Miserables” and Jack Black in the critically acclaimed but little seen “Bernie“.

There were several notable films and performances left out though, including “Beasts of the Southern Wild” nor the Globes-friendly “Magic Mike” and “Pitch Perfect“. The cast of “The Perks of Being a Wallflower had begun to garner small wins with critic’s groups, and the Golden Globes seemed like a good place for their awards hopes to expand but there was no room for Ezra Miller nor Emma Watson.

Click below for a full list of nominations. The Golden Globes ceremony will be hosted by Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, and will air Sunday, January 13 on NBC.

The casts of “Silver Linings Playbook” and “Lincoln” lead SAG nominations

December 12, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Awards 1 Comment

The actors have spoken, and they love “Silver Linings Playbook” and “Lincoln” (who can blame them?). The two Oscar frontrunners led the pack this morning, landing four nominations each as the Screen Actors Guild announced their nominees for 2012. Both films were nominated for Best Actor – Bradley Cooper squeezed in somewhat surprisingly for “Silver Linings”, while Daniel Day-Lewis’ Lincoln portrayal ranks among the finest of the year and was a sure bet. Jennifer Lawrence continues to dominate the Best Actress category, though her closest rival Jessica Chastain for critical darling “Zero Dark Thirty” was nominated as well. Working against Chastain’s film is the fact that it was left out of the lineup for Best Ensemble, the acting branch’s version of Best Picture.

The indie darling of the year, “Beasts of the Southern Wild”, was not eligible for SAG nominations for its impressive duo, Quvenzhane Wallis and Dwight Henry, due to their non-union status while filming, and whether this is a blow to their Oscar chances will remain to be seen. Musical “Les Miserables” landed an expected nomination for Best Supporting Actress for Fantine Anne Hathaway (and a rather unexpected one for Valjean Hugh Jackman in Best Actor), though none of the other young supporting players managed to break in.

The full list of film nominations can be found below, and the winners will be announced on January 27th, 2013.

Faces to Watch: Oscar 2012 Edition, from Jennifer Lawrence to the young cast of “Les Miserables”

December 10, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Awards, Features Leave a comment

It’s almost that time of year again, when young actors who are lucky enough to be recognized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences see a drastic rise in their profiles and the movie offers come flooding in. But first, you have to get nominated. With critics awards already underway and the SAG and Golden Globe nominations both coming this week (!!), now is the perfect time to check in on the dozens of young actors who are vying for just a few spots come Oscar nomination time on January 15th.

From likely winners to maybe-nominees to long shots that deserve some more attention (in descending order), we assess the chances of up and coming actors in each acting category below.

Start Here: Best Actress >>

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Palm Springs International Film Festival to honor Bradley Cooper with Desert Palm Achievement Award

December 10, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Awards 1 Comment

Its rival Santa Barbara Film Festival snapped up the chance to throw a party for Jennifer Lawrence, and now the Palm Springs International Film Festival is answering back by awarding Lawrence’s “Silver Linings Playbook” co-star Bradley Cooper with its Desert Palm Achievement Award.

Both festivals have become mandatory stops on the road to Oscar, with likely nominees and winners being handed various plaques and honors that are pretty, but mostly help raise their profile enough for Academy voters to take notice. In a crowded Best Actor Oscar field, Cooper needed the boost. He’ll be in good company with past winners including the likes of Jeff Bridges, Daniel Day-Lewis, Colin Firth and Sean Penn, all of whom eventually went on to win Best Actor. Cooper’s outlook isn’t quite that bright in this particular race, but this certainly helps him secure that elusive nomination.

“Bradley Cooper is just one of the many silver linings in David O. Russell’s enjoyable film ‘Silver Linings Playbook,’” said festival chairman Harold Matzner. “Cooper’s portrayal of Pat Solitano is a career-best performance that has created Oscar buzz and has audiences rooting for him despite the challenges he faces throughout the film.” He’ll accept his award at the 24th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival Awards gala on Jan. 5 at the Palm Springs Convention Center.

Critics groups boost Oscar hopes for Jennifer Lawrence, Dwight Henry and the “Perks of Being a Wallflower” cast

December 9, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Awards 1 Comment

It was a big day for various film critics’ groups around the country announcing their year-end bests, and some of our favorite rising stars got a bit of a boost in their quest for Oscar gold. The Los Angeles Film Critics Association, the Boston Film Critics Society and the New York Film Critics Online all announced their winners today, while down in San Diego, they released their list of nominees, which also yielded some interesting results.

After having some of her front-runner status chiseled away by Jessica Chastain in “Zero Dark Thirty”, who won the National Board of Review, and is part of the film that is winning just about every Best Picture race thus far, Jennifer Lawrence got a bit of her momentum back for her performance in David O. Russell’s “Silver Linings Playbook” – the LA Film Critics awarded her Best Actress, in a tie with French actress Emmauelle Riva for “Amour.”

LA also awarded Best Supporting Actor to “Beast of the Southern Wild” actor Dwight Henry, who needed the boost to remind voters that he, too, gave an impressive performance in Behn Zeitlin’s Sundance breakout feature. Thus far, all of the buzz has been linked to the film’s star, nine year old Quvenzhane Wallis, who decisively took home the Best Breakthrough Award from NYFCO today, and is a near lock for a Best Actress Oscar nomination.

Also getting a bit of a much needed boost today was the young supporting cast of “The Perks of Being a Wallflower”, one of our favorite movies of the year, who will need all the help they can get if they hope to crack through the Top Five of any acting categories come Oscar time. The Boston Society of Film Critics clearly loved the film and its stellar cast, handing Best Supporting Actor to Ezra Miller, while Best Supporting Actress hopeful Emma Watson lost to Sally Field for “Lincoln” by one vote. Watson was recognized again by the San Diego Film Critics Society, who nominated her in the category alongside a very young field that also included Rebel Wilson for “Pitch Perfect” and Samantha Barks for “Les Miserables.”

Full lists of winners and nominees can be viewed below.

NBR awards Bradley Cooper, Jessica Chastain, Quvenzhané Wallis, Tom Holland and the cast of “Les Misérables”

December 5, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Awards Leave a comment

Bradley Cooper has been named Best Actor by the National Board of Review for his performance in “Silver Lings Playbook”, while Jessica Chastain has won Best Actress for “Zero Dark Thirty”, which also took home the top honor of Best Picture. Supporting acting honors went to Leonardo Dicaprio for “Django Unchained” and Ann Dowd for “Compliance.” The cast of “Les Miserables” – Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried, Eddie Redmayne, Samantha Barks et al – will share the Best Ensemble award, though none were awarded individually.

Over in the Breakthrough acting categories, NBR gave Breakthrough Actress to expected Oscar nominee Quvenzhane Wallis for her performance as Hushpuppy in “Beasts of the Southern Wild”, which was also awarded Best Directorial Debut for Benh Zeitlin. Breakthrough Actor goes to Tom Holland, the young British star of tsunami disaster pic “The Impossible.” Holland is a much longer shot for an Oscar nom, though he is being pushed for the Lead Actor category.

NBR’s Top 10 Films after “Zero Dark Thirty” are, in alphabetical order: “Argo”, “Beasts of the Southern Wild”, “Django Unchained”, “Les Miserables”, “Lincoln”, “Looper”, “The Perks of Being a Wallflower”, “Promised Land” and “Silver Linings Playbook”

The full list of winners are below.

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