Nerd Culture Podcast

The nominations for the 2014 Academy Awards have been announced and to be honest, there were few surprises, except perhaps the exclusion of Saving Mr Banks. And, although there was no doubt that 12 Years A Slave would be included, I believe the number of nominations are excessive. I know that this is a controversial opinion, but I believe that film is highly over-rated.

And, on a side note, how the hell can Star Trek: Into Darkness be nominated for visual effects?! The use of fake Lens Flare should automatically exclude your film from any nominations! 🙂

2013 featured some great films, and some exceptionally strong performances, so I don’t envy the Academy members’ task to choose the best of the best from the list below.

Continuing the tradition from last year, I’ve included my Picks (who I want to win) & Predictions (who I think will win) for the winners of Best Picture, Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress & Director in the list below.

Best Picture
American Hustle
Captain Phillips
Dallas Buyers Club
Gravity
Her
Nebraska
Philomena
12 Years a Slave
The Wolf of Wall Street

My Pick: Her
My Prediction: 12 Years a Slave

Best Actor
Christian Bale, American Hustle
Bruce Dern, Nebraska
Leonardo DiCaprio, The Wolf of Wall Street
Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years a Slave
Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club

My Pick: Leonardo DiCaprio
My Prediction: Leonardo DiCaprio

Best Actress
Amy Adams, American Hustle
Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
Sandra Bullock, Gravity
Judi Dench, Philomena
Meryl Streep, August: Osage County

My Pick: Cate Blanchett
My Prediction: Cate Blanchett

Best Supporting Actor
Barkhad Abdi, Captain Phillips
Bradley Cooper, American Hustle
Michael Fassbender, 12 Years a Slave
Jonah Hill, The Wolf of Wall Street
Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club

My Pick: Barkhad Abdi
My Prediction: Jonah Hill

Best Supporting Actress
Sally Hawkins, Blue Jasmine
Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle
Lupita Nyong’o, 12 Years a Slave
Julia Roberts, August: Osage County
June Squibb, Nebraska

My Pick: Lupita Nyong’o
My Prediction: Jennifer Lawrence

Best Director
David O. Russell, American Hustle
Alfonso Cuaron, Gravity
Alexander Payne, Nebraska
Steve McQueen, 12 Years a Slave
Martin Scorsese, The Wolf of Wall Street

My Pick: Martin Scorsese
My Prediction: Steve McQueen

Click More for the rest of the nominations

Best Foreign Language Film
The Broken Circle Breakdown (Belgium)
The Great Beauty (Italy)
The Hunt (Denmark)
The Missing Picture (Cambodia)
Omar (Palestine)

Best Adapted Screenplay
Before Midnight – Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke
Captain Phillips – Billy Ray
Philomena – Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope
12 Years a Slave – John Ridley
The Wolf of Wall Street – Terence Winter

Best Original Screenplay
American Hustle – Eric Warren Singer and David O. Russell
Blue Jasmine – Woody Allen
Dallas Buyers Club – Craig Borten & Melisa Wallack
Her – Spike Jonze
Nebraska – Bob Nelson

Best Animated Feature Film
The Croods
Despicable Me 2
Ernest & Celestine
Frozen
The Wind Rises

Best Production Design
American Hustle
Gravity
The Great Gatsby
Her
12 Years a Slave

Best Cinematography
The Grandmaster
Gravity
Inside Llewyn Davis
Nebraska
Prisoners

Best Sound Mixing
Captain Phillips
Gravity
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Inside Llewyn Davis
Lone Survivor

Best Sound Editing
All Is Lost
Captain Phillips
Gravity
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Lone Survivor

Best Original Score
The Book Thief – John Williams
Gravity – Steven Price
Her – William Butler and Owen Pallett
Philomena – Alexandre Desplat
Saving Mr. Banks – Thomas Newman

Best Original Song
Alone Yet Not Alone from Alone Yet Not Alone – Bruce Broughton and Dennis Spiegel
Happy from Despicable Me 2 – Pharrell Williams
Let It Go from Frozen – Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez; The Moon Song from Her – Karen O and Spike Jonze
Ordinary Love from Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom – Paul Hewson, Dave Evans, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen

Best Costume
American Hustle
The Grandmaster
The Great Gatsby
The Invisible Woman
12 Years a Slave

Best Documentary Feature
The Act of Killing
Cutie and the Boxer
Dirty Wars
The Square
20 Feet from Stardom

Best Documentary (short subject)
CaveDigger
Facing Fear
Karama Has No Walls
The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life
Prison Terminal: The Last Days of Private Jack Hall

Best Film Editing
American Hustle
Captain Phillips
Dallas Buyers Club
Gravity
12 Years a Slave

Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Dallas Buyers Club
Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa
The Lone Ranger

Best Animated Short Film
Feral
Get a Horse!
Mr. Hublot
Possessions
Room on the Broom

Best Live Action Short Film
Aquel No Era Yo (That Wasn’t Me)
Avant Que De Tout Perdre (Just Before Losing Everything)
Helium
Pitaako Mun Kaikki Hoitaa? (Do I Have to Take Care of Everything?)
The Voorman Problem

Best Visual Effects
Gravity
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Iron Man 3
The Lone Ranger
Star Trek: Into Darkness