2:00 PM For those of you who have access to a live feed - I'm settling in for Dianne Wiest's new play - feel free to discuss. I'll chime in soon.
5:25 PM Here are the winners with some quick thoughts on what this means for Oscar.
THE WINNERS
BEST FILM BOYHOOD
BEST BRITISH FILM THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING
LEADING ACTRESS JULIANNE MOORE Still Alice
LEADING ACTOR EDDIE REDMAYNE The Theory of Everything
SUPPORTING ACTRESS PATRICIA ARQUETTE Boyhood
SUPPORTING ACTOR J.K. SIMMONS Whiplash
DIRECTOR RICHARD LINKLATER, Boyhood
Same as it ever was. Despite the internet's total freak out earlier this weekend when Birdman added to its trophy haul with the prestigious DGA prize, the frontrunners remain the frontrunners. Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor are still competitive mind you, but I don't think they're as competitive as people think and I suspect these are all repeat wins at the Oscar.
EE RISING STAR Jack O’Connell
COSTUME DESIGN THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL Milena Canonero
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING Anthony McCarten
FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE IDA Pawel Pawlikowski, Eric Abraham, Piotr Dzieciol, Ewa Puszczynska
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL Wes Anderson
Jack O'Connell didn't explode quite the way I expected him to in the US this year but I think that's because foreign films (yes even British ones) are given such flimsy releases in the States so Starred Up barely made a dent and '71 hasn't even come out yet. But at least Unbroken was big for him. One suspects his dance card is filling up until about December 2017 any second now (if it hasn't already)
While most pundits are shifting their predictions in the technical categories to Grand Budapest Hotel I remain terrified that Into the Woods might still take Best Costumes. Terrified because, as talented as Colleen Atwood is, her pieces there felt like inferior variations on things she'd already done.
Adapted and Original Screenplays might well be the most confusing categories right now as we move towards Oscar night. The Globes went for Birdman, The USC Scripter went to Imitation Game, and BAFTA split between Theory of Everything and Grand Budapest Hotel. Both categories don't seem to have a frontrunner and I don't think you can rule out Whiplash either. The WGA announces their prizes on Valentine's Day and that's our last clue.
I'd love to see who you think SHOULD win these categories -- vote on the charts.
OUTSTANDING BRITISH DEBUT STEPHEN BERESFORD (Writer), DAVID LIVINGSTONE (Producer)
Pride
CINEMATOGRAPHY BIRDMAN Emmanuel Lubezki
SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS INTERSTELLAR Paul Franklin, Scott Fisher, Andrew Lockley, Ian Hunter
ANIMATED FILM THE LEGO MOVIE Phil Lord, Christopher Miller
SOUND WHIPLASH Thomas Curley, Ben Wilkins, Craig Mann
EDITING WHIPLASH Tom Cross
Though I predicted Whiplash's editing victory here I'm curious if it can really follow suit at the Oscars. Whiplash's editing is very strong -- maintaining the illusions of suspense in scenes that risk redundancy constantly. But will they really bypass 12 years of Boyhood in that category?
I had thought that the Sound Oscars were either going to Birdman or American Sniper but now that I see Whiplash as a winner it makes a lot of sense, ballotwise. Perhaps AMPAS members will also nod their heads to the percussive beat
Can Interstellar repeat this win at the Oscars or will Dawn of the Planet of the Apes find a way to remind voters that they didn't even get the Oscar the last time they deserved it in 2011 when the prize inexplicably went to Hugo instead.
BRITISH SHORT ANIMATION THE BIGGER PICTURE Chris Hees, Daisy Jacobs, Jennifer Majka
BRITISH SHORT FILM BOOGALOO AND GRAHAM Brian J. Falconer, Michael Lennox, Ronan Blaney
PRODUCTION DESIGN THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL Adam Stockhausen, Anna Pinnock
MAKE UP & HAIR THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL Frances Hannon
DOCUMENTARY CITIZENFOUR Laura Poitras
ORIGINAL MUSIC THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL Alexandre Desplat
I'm pleased that I predicted both Shorts winners. They're both up for Oscars too. Elsewhere, Original Score is not remotely a done deal, Oscar-wise. It's just as easy to picture Theory of Everything or The Imitation Game winning.