Let the Games Begin: Oscar Season Calendar

The Oscar race begins in earnest on Monday December 1st. That's when the New York Film Critics Circle will announce the winners of their year end awards. Of course, the Gotham Awards will also make an announcement, but the NYFCC has a far greater industry impact.

The critics cycle of the awards race is about to go full steam ahead. Influential critics from Los Angeles, New York, Boston, Chicago and most of the major cities will voice their opinions and give us year end "Best Of" lists.  When the critics are at their best, they highlight outside the box picks and help elevate a lesser seen film into an Oscar contender. At worst, they blindly follow the pack and check off the usual suspects.

Below is a breakdown of the major Oscar precursors so you can follow along. As you can see, December is mostly for the critics. The guilds take over in January, and often serve as a better barometer for how the big show will shake down. This is ever major announcement you should pay attention to until the Academy Awards on February 22nd. Who will survive the long march to the Dolby Theatre?

December 1 - New York Film Critics Circle (NYFCC): winners announced
December 1 - Gotham Awards: winners announced
December 2 - National Board of Review: winners announced
December 7 - Los Angeles Film Critics Association: winners announced
December 8 - AFI Awards: winners announced
December 8 - Online Film Critics Society: nominations announced
December 10 - SAG Awards: nominations announced
December 11 - Golden Globe Awards: nominations announced
December 15 - Online Film Critics Society: winners announced
December 15 - Critics Choice Awards: nominations announced
December 29 - Oscar Ballots mailed
January 2 - American Cinema Editors: nominations announced
January 5 - PGA Awards: nominations announced
January 5 - Art Directors Guild: nominations announced
January 7 - WGA Awards: nominations announced
January 7 - Costume Designers Guild: nominations announced
January 8 - Oscar Nomination Ballots due
January 9 - BAFTA Awards: nominations announced
January 11 - Golden Globe Awards
January 13 - DGA Awards: nominations announced
January 15 - Oscars: nominations announced
January 15 - Critics Choice Awards
January 15 - Annie Awards
January 24 - PGA Awards
January 25 - SAG Awards
January 31 - Art Directors Guild Awards
February 2 - Oscars Nominee Luncheon
February 7 - DGA Awards
February 8 - BAFTA Awards
February 14 - WGA Awards
February 17 - Costume Designer Guild Awards
February 17 - Oscar Ballots due
February 21 - Indie Spirit Awards
February 22 - The Academy Awards

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

To all my readers: Thank you for following along with me. I hope your Thanksgiving is filled with more food and booze than you can handle. Unfortunately, I had to stay in the city so I'll miss out on family dinner (but at least i missed the crappy travel weather). So I'm making my Mom's signature broccoli casserole, mixing several strong drinks, and catching up with some Oscar contenders I haven't seen yet. Look for more Oscar category analysis in the coming days and some theatre reviews over at smashcutreviews.com

Now I will leave you with the most awesomely bizarre musical number ever. It's "Turkey Lurkey Time"! Its an office party! The title uses fake words! Nothing makes sense! No Turkey Day is complete without it. =)

Independent Spirit Award Nominations

The nominations for the 30th Annual Independent Spirit Awards were announced on Tuesday November 25th. Films eligible for the Indie Spirits must be American films, made with budgets under $20 million.

"Birdman" was the top scorer with 6 nominations. "Boyhood", "Nightcrawler", and "Selma" picked up 5. Curiously, all four current frontrunners in the acting races are nominated at this year's Indie Spirits. Last year, all four Spirit acting winners repeated at the Oscars.

The Reese Witherspoon led "Wild" seems to be the biggest shoutout of the day. I'm sure they were hoping for Best Picture, Director, and Screenplay notices with this group given the smaller group of competitors, but they even missed a Best Actress bid for their star. This is just the first of many precursor nominations to come, so the "Wild" team doesn't need to be too worried yet.

Complete list below.

Best Picture
"Birdman"
"Boyhood"
"Love is Strange"
"Selma"
"Whiplash"

Best Director
Damien Chazelle, "Whiplash"
Ava DuVernay, "Selma"
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, "Birdman"
Richard Linklater, "Boyhood"
David Zellner, "Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter"

Best Actor
Andre Benjamin, "Jimi: All is By My Side"
Jake Gyllenhaal, "Nightcrawler"
Michael Keaton, "Birdman"
John Lithgow, "Love is Strange"
David Oyelowo, "Selma"

Best Actress
Marion Cotillard, "The Immigrant"
Rinko Kikuchi, "Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter"
Julianne Moore, "Still Alice"
Jenny Slate, "Obvious Child"
Tilda Swinton, "Only Lovers Left Alive"

Best Supporting Actor
Riz Ahmed, "Nightcrawler"
Ethan Hawke, "Boyhood"
Alfred Molina, "Love is Strange"
Edward Norton, "Birdman"
J.K. Simmons, "Whiplash"

Best Supporting Actress
Patricia Arquette, "Boyhood"
Jessica Chastain, "A Most Violent Year"
Carmen Ejogo, "Selma"
Andrea Suarez Paz, "Stand Clear of the Closing Doors"
Emma Stone, "Birdman"

Best Screenplay
Scott Alexander & Larry Karaszewski, "Big Eyes"
J.C. Chandor, "A Most Violent Year"
Dan Gilroy, "Nightcrawler"
Jim Jarmusch, "Only Lovers Left Alive"
Ira Sachs & Mauricio Zacharias, "Love is Strange"

Best Cinematography
Darius Khondji, "The Immigrant"
Emmanuel Lubezki, "Birdman"
Sean Porter, "It Felt Like Love"
Lyle Vincent, "A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night"
Bradford Young, "Selma"

Best Editing
Sandra Adair, "Boyhood"
Tom Cross, "Whiplash"
John Gilroy, "Nightcrawler"
Ron Patane, "A Most Violent Year"
Adam Wingard, "The Guest"

Best Documentary
"20,000 Days on Earth"
"CitizenFour"
"Stray Dog"
"The Salt of the Earth"
"Virunga"

Best International Picture
"Force Majeure" (Sweden)
"Ida" (Poland)
"Leviathan" (Russia)
"Mommy" (Canada)
"Norte, the End of History" (Philippines)
"Under the Skin" (United Kingdom)

Best First Feature
"A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night"
"Dear White People"
"Nightcrawler"
"Obvious Child"
"She's Lost Control"

Best First Screenplay
Desiree Akhavan, "Appropriate Behavior"
Sara Colangelo, "Little Accidents"
Justin Lader, "The One I Love"
Anja Marquardt, "She's Lost Control"
Justin Simien, "Dear White People"

John Cassavetes Award (best feature made for under $500,000)
"Blue Ruin"
"It Felt Like Love"
"Land Ho!"
"Man From Reno"
"Test"

Piaget Producers Award
Chad Burris
Elisabeth Holm
Chris Ohlson

Someone to Watch Award
Ana Lily Amirpour, "A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night"
Rania Attieh & Daniel Garcia, "H."
Chris Eska, "The Retrieval"

Truer Than Fiction Award
Amanda Rose Wilder, "Approaching the Elephant"
Darius Clark Monroe, "Evolution of a Criminal"
Dan Krauss, "The Kill Team"
Sara Dosa, "The Last Season"

"Surveying the Field" Oscar Edition: Best Original Screenplay

The nominations for the two screenplay categories can be tough to predict correctly. Unlike most other top categories, where we can look to the coming guild nominations as a guide, the Writer's Guild often leaves us flying blind. Many eligibility rules of the WGA run contradictory to the Oscars and always leaves several contenders out of the running. So, without any help from precursor nominations, lets look at the contenders for Best Original Screenplay.

The race for Original Screenplay appears to be the most competitive its been in years. The scripts which I will say are safe for nominations are "Boyhood" and "Birdman". The twelve year process for Richard Linklater's coming of age drama will allow it to find tons of support here. It's a compelling narrative and a solo undertaking. If we look at screenplay winners from year's past, nominees with a single writer tend to have a leg up over efforts with multiple scribes.

That being said, "Birdman" will assuredly find a nomination here even with it's team of four writers. The script is an enormous aide in the overall dreamlike, surreal quality of the film. And voters in the branch worshipping well crafted wordplay will likely be drawn to the way the symbolic dialogue threads the many themes of the story together from scene to scene.

The other two which I feel relatively confident about, but not enough to call them locks are "The Grand Budapest Hotel" and "Whiplash". Wes Anderson isn't always able to find broad Academy appeal for his quirky films, but he has absolutely won over the writer's branch. Even films that weren't major Oscar players have found success in this category. Anderson has a singular voice and they dig it. "Whiplash" has proven to have staying power even if it hasn't lit up the box office. And the writer/director Damien Chazelle has worked his way into the conversation in for both Original Screenplay and Director. He's new to the Oscar game, but could become a new favorite face with this thrillingly paced story.

What gets the last slot? As of right now, I'm tempted to say the love being poured onto Selma will pull it along into several top categories, including this one. But writers Ava DuVernay and Paul Webb have lots of people nipping at their heels. Past nominees Mike Leigh and J.C. Chandor have projects that could make a splash. But, the Academy might think of "Mr. Turner" as merely a showcase for great design. "A Most Violent Year" needs to get past the dark and brooding vibe it gives off to attain some passionate fans.

Beyond that are all films that will need to find a larger well of support. "Foxcatcher" could come off as too cold and unflinching. "Interstellar" wins points for originality of concept, but will also fly over man voter's heads. "Dear White People" would be a wonderful choice, but this is the only race it has a decent chance at, and the campaign isn't as strong as other films in its way.  "The LEGO Movie" is certainly going after a nomination here like gangbusters, but they are an animated film that wasn't made by Pixar. Unfortunately, that's tough prejudice to overcome.

Disagree with what I've said? Do you think perhaps something like "Annabelle" has this one locked down instead? Let me know in the comments, and head over to The Contenders to check out my rankings for Best Original Screenplay and other categories.

HedHeads, McNally, and Chita. Oh My!

It's official! Despite adamant claims that he would never return to the role (or acting) again, John Cameron Mitchell is returning to Hedwig and the Angry Inch! Mitchell co-created the musical with Stephen Trask, and starred in the original Off-Broadway production as well as the film version (for which he received a Golden Globe nomination).

Current Hedwig Michael C. Hall will finish his extended run in the Broadway hit on January 18th. Mitchell will then take the stage beginning January 21st for a limited 8 week run. Tony winner Lena Hall remains with the show as Yitzhak.

Hedwig was without a doubt one of my favorite Broadway experiences ever. I'm of the mind it should be required viewing for all New Yorkers, and really all theatre fans everywhere. I cant wait to make a return trip to see the original star. Cue theatre queens calling for a "best replacement" Tony category again.

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In other news: The latest rumor circulating Broadway is that the Williamstown Theatre Festival cast of Kander & Ebb's The Visit has been privately contacted regarding availability for a spring Broadway bow. Book writer Terrence McNally has been reportedly using the success of his recent It's Only a Play to convince the Shuberts to give The Visit a shot in New York. And star Chita Rivera has been adamant for some time about recreating her role for Broadway.

Theatres being looked at supposedly include the Longacre and Helen Hayes (though Second Stage still has first option on the Hayes after Rock of Ages closes shop in January). The stage at the Longacre is probably a better fit for the massive two-tiered set from Williamstown.

Whatever theatre is chosen, one original cast member will have to sit this one out. Judy Kuhn is currently involved with the Broadway transfer of Fun Home, last season's hit Off-Broadway musical.

While You Were Gambling

Well, the desert was fun, but I've missed so much while I was away! I had a nice break from obligations/reality in the City of Sin for the past weekend and now its time to get back to work. Though I did manage to see some incredible theatre in Las Vegas with Cirque du Soleil's "O". It was my first time seeing one of their shows live, and it's just unspeakably cool.  After the show finished, I found myself wishing it could be on Broadway so I could experience it again at home...but I would likely spend all my money on repeat trips, so perhaps its in my own best interest that it isn't located in Manhattan. Plus, with the drinking and general gluttony of Vegas, the bodies of the acrobats cause some serious gym guilt.

Speaking of Manhattan theatre: Broadway heard the first Tony rulings of the season this past week. The Tony Awards Administration Committee met for the first of four times and dished out rulings on Holler if Ya Hear Me, This is Our Youth, Love Letters, It's Only a Play, You Can't Take it With You, The Country House, and On the Town. Most decisions went as predicted, based on billing and precedent, with a few notable exceptions.

Saul Williams will be the sole Lead Actor candidate from Holler if Ya Hear Me, despite Christopher Jackson's rather central role. Tavi Gevinson will be considered in Featured Actress for her Broadway debut in This is Our Youth. It's Only a Play and On the Town will also have just one lead candidate within their large ensembles: Nathan Lane and Tony Yazbeck, respectively. 

The most surprising decision is that the entire cast of You Can't Take it With You will be eligible in the featured categories. It may help James Earl Jones' chances come nomination time (the lead actor category is plenty stacked), but may hurt the ladies. Kristine Nielsen will now have to compete against her scene stealing co-stars Annaleigh Ashford and Elizabeth Ashley. My Tony contenders pages have been updated to reflect the rulings. 

We've also seen several shows make their grand entrance recently, including the Hugh Jackman vehicle The River, and the much anticipated revival of Side Show. I'm dying to see the new "come look at the freaks" take on Side Show, but I likely wont be able to see anything for a week given my rehearsal schedule. 

Shameless plug alert: if you'd like to see your favorite blogger perform (and put his money where his mouth is) I'm singing in a concert at the Duplex this Saturday at 6:30pm. I'll be performing songs by my friend Timothy Mathis in an evening titled "If Only I'd Written it Down". He's an excellent composer and I can't wait to perform his material. I'll try to channel a little bit of "Who Will Love Me as I Am" in honor of Side Show.  

And as we head deeper into the Oscar race, I am continuing to update those contender pages with my latest thoughts. "Selma" has recently crashed the party and made such an impression I'm going to put it in the top five Best Picture candidates. Of course the race is ever shifting, but the MLK drama seems to check off every requirement for Oscar love. Could we have the first year with two female best director nominations? Ava DuVernay makes a strong case for nomination (though I'm probably putting too much faith in the "boys-club" director branch ). The film "Selma" kicks out is "Foxcatcher", in my opinion. It's a cold film, with a depressing ending. It will get a lot of support from actors, but I think too much competition has entered the fray for it to make Best Picture. 

I'm off to obsess over my rankings, rehearse some songs, and attempt to contain my excitement that I'm seeing Glenn Close in A Delicate Balance in just over a week. If you hear squeals of joy coming from the Golden...it's totally me. 

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Before I jet off to escape the polar vortex fast approaching New York (Vegas baby!), I decided I'd launch a second portion of the site. It is Oscar season after all! I know I'm a theatre guy at heart, and I don't live in LA, and as opposed to my Tony coverage there are many more people talking about movies. But screw it, I love the Oscars too! Especially in a year with a Julianne Moore performance.

You'll notice a second "Contenders" section has been added to the site. Behold my personal rankings of where the Oscar races stand. I will obviously be adding more as soon as possible. Or as soon as my dual rehearsal schedules will allow (I'm a working actor for once twice!). I will update the lists with my current thoughts on how the races are shifting. So come back often to stay on top of things. Hopefully I can help you win your Oscar pool in February!

It's an unusual awards season in that no clear front-runner has yet emerged to dominate the conversation. "Boyhood" seems to be leading the pack with sheer originality. But, with its low budget and limited below-the-line appeal, something could easily come along and knock it off its pedestal. "American Sniper" and "Selma" just roared onto the scene last night at the AFI fest. They are already making me reconsider my best picture lineup. It also cements David Oyelowo and Bradley Cooper as serious Best Actor threats in an already over-crowded field.

Could it help Bradley Cooper that he's getting some acting "street cred" by performing to over capacity houses on Broadway with The Elephant Man?  Another Oscar hopeful, Emma Stone, is also on the boards as Sally Bowles. See LA people? Sometimes New York is the place to be. Where else can you see an actor in American Sniper during the day and The Elephant Man at night? (In related new: if anyone has a ticket to said Elephant Man, I'm right over here. And I'm not above begging. Or cleaning apartments. #helpmeimpoor).

So peruse my rankings. Tell me how right or wrong I am. I'm heading out  west before the sub-zero temperatures hit (hmm maybe those LA people are onto something) and my workload makes me delirious. I hope you'll follow along with my Oscar season adventure. I have lots of opinions to share, and we can all discuss the one question that'll be on everyone's mind til February: What the hell happened at the end of "Birdman"?

New Season

Hello World!

I've taken quite a break from writing here. But now that changes. After last years' foray into the awards season I've done some travelling, a whole lot of work, and a deal of performing myself.  I have also begun to lend my voice to theatre reviews at smashcutreviews.com.  I do my best to see and write about as much as possible...but being a non-union actor with a survival job at a non-profit theatre company often limits the spending (and time) I can give. My expenses generally shake out in the following priorities: 1.) Rent 2.) Wine 3.) Seamless 4.) Theatre 5.) scraping together what's leftover towards new headshots and/or acting classes...and also seeing movies.

The new Broadway season began with Holler if ya Hear Me...well at least technically. The rap musical failed to make much of a dent on Broadway. But the fall has brought us a slew of shows to take in. It might actually be too many.  I don't know about you, but there are just more plays on Broadway than this theatre nerd has time to see. I've done a decent job so far; taking in This Is Our Youth, Love Letters, and The Real Thing. And I have tickets to A Delicate Balance in a few weeks (if you see me at the stage door, just get the eff out of my way. I love Glenn Close more than you do). But I have yet to take in You Can't Take it With You, Disgraced, Curious Incident, or It's Only a Play.

It speaks to the curious development over the past few years, where some of the most worthy straight plays of the season are now debuting in the fall. It used to be that shows in the fall, with only a few exceptions, failed to make much of an impact. They certainly didn't compete for Tonys. But success stories of early bowing productions like Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf and The Glass Menagerie have changed the game. Whereas producers used to backload the season with their would-be Tony players in the spring, you can now see definite Tony contenders in October. Though it's hard to keep up with, I'll take this incessant assault of (mostly quite good) straight plays over a barren fall season anyday.

And since most of the current season has been announced at this point, I'm introducing a new feature to the blog: The Contenders pages. On the right side of the site you'll see several links where I have laid out all the currently known contenders for a given category. These will be edited and updated as we learn more about the season, and I will hopefully expand them to include each Tony category very soon. And Mary, before you get up in my face about "But Im oh so sure what's-her-face will be considered featured for this show"; I'm using the best information I have at this given moment to compile the lists. No category placement is technically official til the Tony committee's decision. I'm sure we all know someone "in the know", but I'm just a theatre gay doing the best he can.

Anywhoo, I'm Back! And ready to give you lots of opinions about what's going on with Broadway.
I will leave you with a LEGO recreation of the original staging for Fiddler on the Roof...which I can't stop watching. Danny Burstein: Take a good look at your costume for next season.