Writer's Guild of America (WGA) Announce Film Nominees-Better put Dallas Buyer's Club as Best Picture Nominee!

Every year the Writers Guild of America (WGA) rule numerous films ineligible for their awards, which make predicting the screenplay nominees a little more difficult.  Last year Les Miserables, Django Unchained, Amour, and Beasts of the Souther Wild were not eligible. Only Les Mis missed out on screenplay nomination.

This year's list of films ineligible includes Fruitvale Station, The World's End (Original Screenplay), Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, 12 Years a Slave, Philomena, Rush, Blue is the Warmest Color, and Short Term 12 (Adapted Screenplay).

So who edges out one of these nominees?  Look for 12 Years a Slave, and Philomena in Adapted Screenplay.  Lone Survivor will easily be replaced, but what other film?  My guess would be August: Osage County.

Original Screenplay is more crowded than ever before, Dallas Buyers Club is on a roll with the Guilds, landing nominations at SAG, PGA, and WGA, can it make it to Oscar in this category?  The screenplay nominees always throw some more unique films in the mix.  Inside Llewyn Davis was snubbed here again, can in sneak past one of these films.  What about Enough Said? Hustle, Jasmine, Her, and Nebraska seem safe.  I think Enough Said will sneak in as the fifth nominee at the Oscars.

WGA 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.

Nebraska, Written by Bob Nelson; Paramount Pictures

Adapted Screenplay

August: Osage County, Screenplay by Tracy Letts; Based on his play; The Weinstein Company

Before Midnight, Written by Richard Linklater & Julie Delpy & Ethan Hawke; Based on characters created by Richard Linklater & Kim Krizan; Sony Classics

Captain Phillips, Screenplay by Billy Ray; Based on the book A Captain’s Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALS, and Dangerous Days at Sea by Richard Phillips with Stephan Talty; Columbia Pictures

Lone Survivor, Written by Peter Berg; Based on the book by Marcus Lutrell with Patrick Robinson; Universal Pictures

The Wolf of Wall Street, Screenplay by Terence Winter; Based on the book by Jordan Belfort; Paramount Pictures

12 Years a Slave, Lee Daniel's The Butler, and August: Osage County, and Dallas Buyer's Club lead SAG Film Nominations

Before I even publish the television nominees (which matter), the film nominees are a big deal, and prove something far more interesting, the Oscar race is on!

I think the Supporting Actor race is once again the most interesting, I am not entirely certain Gandolfinni will score an Oscar nomination, but I predicted his nomination here.  This category was probably filled with more "surprises" than any other Tom Hanks, and Bradley Cooper the bigger stars snubbed for Barkhad Adbi in Captain Phillips and Daniel Bruhl in Rush.  Abdi has the Oscar nomination.

I went 5 for 5 in Supporting Actress I knew they would buy Julia Robert category fraud, her celebrity also helped her out like Nicole Kidman's in The Paperboy last year.  The other four nominees are locks in this category watch out for that elusive fifth person to knock Robert out, maybe Octavia Spencer.

In a surprise move Jennifer Lawrence was the only cast member to nominated from American Hustle, which is surprising because the film has so many actors, and this is where most of the support for the film would come come from, but as stated above no Cooper,  and no Amy Adams in Lead Actress.  The lead actress race looks locked up with five veterans, Streep, Bullock, Blanchett, Dench, and Thompson.

The Best Actor thud heard round the world is no Robert Redford in All is Lost, Tom O'Neil from goldderby.com is going to go crazy.  Redford hosts Sundance, but is kind an outside, whereas Whitaker and Hanks are pretty present, and two of the more popular films of the season, their nominations make sense.

Who predicted Dallas Buyers Club getting a nomination in Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture? I will buy you a shot, this was not on anyone's list, just proving the film has legs, and could sneak into the Best Picture race.  The rest of the nominees in this category were predictable, with 12 years a Slave leading the pack with 4 nominations.  August: Osage County and Lee Daniel's The Butler received and Dallas Buyer's Club all received 3 nominations while American Hustle has 2.

You may be asking where is The Wolf of Wall Street, Her, and some other late surging films?  Wolf did screen for as many members like Django Unchained last year, which did not get nominated at SAG, but then went on to score 5 nominations and 2 wins at the Oscars.  Look for films like Her, and Wolf to still show up at the Oscars.

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
12 Years a Slave
American Hustle
August: Osage County
Dallas Buyers Club
Lee Daniel's The Butler

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Lead Role
Bruce Dern-Nebraska
Chiwetel Ejiofor-12 Years a Slave
Tom Hanks-Captain Phillips
Matthew McConaughey-Dallas Buyer's Club
Forrest Whitaker-Lee Daniel's The Butler

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Lead Role
Cate Blanchett-Blue Jasmine
Sandra Bullock-Gravity
Judi Dench-Philomena
Emma Thompson-Saving Mr. Banks
Meryl Streep-August: Osage County

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
Barkhad Abdi-Captain Phillips
Daniel Bruhl-Rush
Michael Fassbender-12 Years a Slave
James Gandolfini-Enough Said
Jared Leto-Dallas Buyer's Club

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
Jennifer Lawrence-American Hustle
Lupita Nyong'o-12 Years a Slave
Julia Roberts-August: Osage County
June Squibb-Nebraska
Oprah Winfrey-Lee Daniel's The Butler

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.

Dallas Buyers Club is a Fantastic Film, Lead by Two Strong Performances from Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto

Dallas Buyers Club (4 out of 5 Stars)

Directed by: Jean Marc-Vallee (The Young Victoria)

Written by: Craig Bortan and Melisa Wallack (Mirror Mirror)

Starring Matthew McConnaughey, Jared Leto and Jennifer Garner

People always talk about the fact that a "cure" for HIV/AIDS has to be around the corner.  This film focuses on buyers clubs which are underground methods which attempt to get around federal/state laws.  Buyers clubs exist for all sorts of this ranging from marijuana to the focus of this film the Dallas Byers Club, which helped people get safe medication while high dosage of AZT was crippling people's immune systems.

The film tells the story of Ron Woodroof (McConnaughey) a straight male who is diagnosed with HIV and eventually contracts the AIDS virus.  Woodroof had lots of unprotected sex and did lots of drugs, but at the time of his diagnosis HIV/AIDS was still known as GRID (Gay Related Immune Deficiency). The climate of Texas at the time, and for the most part still today there was rampant homophobia.  Woodroof is told he has 30 days, and eventually fights to get treatment through buying AZT illegally.  Once the well runs dry Woodroof ends up in Mexico and all over the world finding alternatives to helping people feel healthy with the disease.  Woodroof starts this buyers club with woman named Rayon (Leto), together they create the Dallas Buyers Club where they sell membership to people dying of the diseases.

Club is a powerful film, and the film is made great by the performances from McConnaughey and Leto.  McConnaughey has knocked me out this year with two terrific performances in both this and Mud.  In Club McConnaughey transforms his body for the role losing tons of weight, but also disappearing into this character.  Woodroof is kind of scumbag throughout most of the movie, and he's someone you want to hate mainly for his rampant homophobia.  McConnaughey adds so many layers to this character making him layered, showing his passion, and heart to not help keep himself healthy, but to do right by other people in fighting the FDA on the policies.  The best role of his career.

I have always thought Leto was a great actor, Fight Club, American Psycho, but most of his career has been focused on his time as a musician with 30 Seconds to Mars.  Leto proves he has the chops as Rayon a transgender female.  While McConnaughey is going to get most of the attention because he is great, Leto gives this film heart; he is fantastic as Rayon.   Rayon has confidence, but in her vulnerable moments Leto shows the cracks in the exterior beautifully; he is phenomenal.

While these two men deserve the vast majority of the credit, the unsung hero of this project is writer Craig Bortan.  There is no data,, or information about Woodroof beyond an interview Bortan did with him in 1992 one month before Woodroof passed away.  In the interview Woodroof was said to be incredibly candid, mainly because he knew was so close to death.  Bortan does a good job giving these two people such fantastic depth.  My one complaint in the film is Garner's character who plays a doctor, helping run AZT trials.  Garner is great, but I think the character pulls focus away from these two.  Woodroof getting a love interest made the man in the film "more like able" but the goal of the film should be the man behind the club.  I found McConnaughey's growth as a person and connection to Rayon to be strong enough to make this a great film.

Director Jean Marc-Vallee brings to life an intricately woven tale about a complex man, and his constant struggle to live while fighting the government and some of their most inane regulations.  Marc-Vallee's first film, which I saw entitled C.R.A.Z.Y., was fantastic, The Young Victoria was a bit cold, but not bad.  This takes his direction to a whole new level, and creates an experience, which can't be forgotten.