With awards season now getting into full swing, this weekend saw the announcement of the nominations for the 2014 Oscars.
All in all, there were no great surprises, with the annual shindig looking set to be a three-way race between the same three movies that dominated last week’s Golden Globes.
American Hustle and Gravity lead the pack with an impressive 10 nominations each, while Steve McQueen's disturbing history 12 Years a Slave comes in just behind with nine. All three are nominated for the coveted Best Motion Picture and Best Director awards, with Dallas Buyers Club, Philomena, Nebraska, Her, Captain Phillips and Wolf of Wall Street making up the rest of the Best Motion Picture field. It really could go either way, but if I was asked to stick my neck out and predict the winner I'd probably suggest 12 Years a Slave - firstly as it probably is the best film in the running, secondly out of a debatable sense of national pride for the plucky Brit director in among the Hollywood big boys, and thirdly because the Oscars' judges do tend to love a film with a message, and you can't get much more on message than dealing with the disgraceful legacy of US slavery.
By the same logic, Dallas Buyers' Club and Philomena could be worth an outside punt for covering homophobia and HIV, and the Catholic Church's interesting attitude to illegitimate children in the middle of the last century respectively. ??The Best Actor nominations basically feature the leads from the Best Motion Picture nominations, so a minor surprise there as Tom Hanks was widely tipped for his successful carrying of Captain Phillips. I
'm down for a two-horse race between Christian Bale (American Hustle) and Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers' Club) here. Best Actress, meanwhile, throws up award ceremony regulars Judi Dench and Meryl Streep (Philomena and August: Osage County) alongside relative newcomers Cate Blanchett, Sandra Bullock and Amy Adams (Blue Jasmine/Gravity/American Hustle).
Elsewhere, Great Gatsby looks a shoe-in for Best Production Design, Pixar is a notable absentee from the Best Animation category, and Nelson Mandela biopic The Long Walk to Freedom may feel a little hard done by to come away with a lone nomination for Best Original Song. Perhaps the greatest omission, of course, even though we already knew before the final nominations were announced, is that of Wadjda for Best Foreign Language Film, though local interest is maintained with DIFF-opening Palestinian drama Omar.
Join us live on March 2nd for all the results as they come in.
Chris Newbould
