Gravity, and Her Top the L.A. Film Critics Association Awards (Among Many Ties)

Today with Boston Society of Film Critics, the New York Online Film Critics Association, and L.A. Film Critics Association (LAFCA) announcing their winners, there is an aura of split decisions.  Today Boston and New York picked 12 Years a Slave, but L.A. deemed Best Picture a tie between Gravity and Her.  Beyond the New York (non-online critics) who picked American Hustle these films have been dominating forces with numerous wins for Nebraska, and Inside Llewyn Davis in acting and technical categories.  The lack of consensus proves this year has a lot of quality films, and this could be one of the most interesting award seasons to date.

As stated above the LAFCA deemed Best Picture a tie between Gravity and Her.  Gravity took home four prizes including Best Picture, Best Director for Alfonso Cuaron, Best Editing, and Best Cinematography.  Her won two prizes, Best Picture, and Best Production Design, the film was a runner up in three other categories.

"It's a tie" seemed to be a repetitive pattern throughout the live tweeting of these winners.  There was a tie in the Best Actress category between Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine, and Adèle Exarchopoulos, Blue Is the Warmest Color.  There was also a tie in the Best Supporting Actor category between James Franco, Spring Breakers, and Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club.  Once again Blanchett and Leto stick out as the front runners of the award season in the acting categories.

Based on the voting for Best Actor I think its safe to say there are four locks McConaughey, Redford, Dern, and Ejiofor.  I think Tom Hanks is vulnerable for Captain Phillips, and there are many actors who could swoop in to take his spot.  Yet do these awards matter?  The films that were most helped by these critics awards were American Hustle (although forgotten by the rest) and Her, these awards get their names out their and cement motion for them to potentially make waves with the Academy.  

On another note props to the great Megan Ellison for winning the New Generation prize; she deserves it!

• Best Picture: Gravity and Her (tie)
• Best Director: Alfonso Cuaron, Gravity; runner-up: Spike Jonze, Her
• Best Actor: Bruce Dern, Nebraska; runner-up: Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years a Slave
• Best Actress:  Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine, and Adèle Exarchopoulos, Blue Is the Warmest Color (tie)
• Best Supporting Actor:  James Franco, Spring Breakers, and Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club (tie)
• Best Supporting Actress: Lupita Nyong’o, 12 Years a Slave; runner-up: June Squibb, Nebraska
• Best Screenplay: Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke,Before Midnight; runner-up: Spike Jonze, Her
• Best Foreign-Language Film: Blue Is the Warmest Color; runner-up: The Great Beauty
• Best Feature Animation: Ernest & Celestine; runner-up: The Wind Rises
• Best Documentary: Stories We Tell; runner-up: The Act of Killing
• Best Music Score: T Bone Burnett, Inside Llewyn Davis; runner-up: Arcade Fire and Owen Pallett, Her
• Best Cinematography: Emmanuel Lubezki, Gravity; Runner-up, Bruno Delbonnel, Inside Llewyn Davis
• Best Editing: Alfonso Cuarón and Mark Sanger, Gravity; Shane Carruth and David Lowery, Upstream Color
• Best Production Design: K.K. Barrett, Her; Runner-up: Jess Gonchor, Inside Llewyn Davis
• Douglas Edwards Independent/Experimental Film/Video Award:
• Cabinets Of Wonder: Films and a Performance by Charlotte Pryce
• The NEW GENERATION prize: Megan Ellison.