DGA Nomineezzzzzzz

I didn't realize that the DGA nominees were announced today. Even when people starting Tweeting the names of those honored, I thought to myself, "What dull, middle-of-the-road predix. You know the DGA will shake it up, Fincher-style." But alas!

Another Guilds Group, Another Show...

Yet another guild has announced, and it's a favorite of mine: THE WRITERS GUILD! The Writers Guild is fun because every year they have a list of potential Oscar frontrunners that are deemed ineligible for their own prize, mostly something to do with registration or lack of guild membership or yada-yada-yada. For instance, Quentin Tarantino, one of the most distinct voices in screenwriting ever, has never been up for a WGA award because he refuses to join the guilds. That's a heads up, by the way: you won't find Django Unchained here, but don't expect that to impact its Oscar chances.
Because of this rule, though, we get to see work that otherwise wouldn't be so honored up for a nomination! And while no one wants to get in due to a technicality (ex.: no one wants to be crowned Mt. Rose American Teen Princess because of an exploding swan), they get to put "award-nominated screenwriter" on their resume. You know that's gotta feel good.

Producers to the Left, Art Directors to the Right

The Producers' Guild surprised everyone by announcing their nominees a day (or two?) early. Here are their nominees:

Awards Preliminary: The 2012 Longlists

It is a tradition, when I do my Hollmann Awards, to submit a longlist of contenders in each category beforehand. Inspired by the BAFTA tradition of same, the longlists not only allow me to gather my thoughts, but to highlight films and contributors that may not otherwise make my final ballot. You will, of course, find an entry for every one of my Top 25, but you will also see titles you may not expect -- Step Up: Revolution, Detention and The Guilt Trip are three films that I'm not necessarily mad about as a whole (ok, I'm totally in the tank for the bookenders), but whose strongest attributes I felt needed attention.

Except where noted, each category has 15 finalists.

So Long, 2012: The Best of the Year

Here is the beginning of my post.

Since 2008, I have posted the rankings of my favorite films of the year on the last day of the year. At first, it was just a Top Ten, but since 2009, I have compiled a Top 25. Why? Because I usually love more movies than I dislike; I have no real genre bias, nor do I differentiate between love for a wacky comedy, an Oscar contender, or Speed Racer. It's about what carries me off, lifts me off my seat and into the world of the film itself, forgetting for those two hours (or, increasingly, two and a half hours) that I am Walter Hollmann, blogger/movie theater employee. It's about what films remind me of why my best friend and I call ourselves Cinemaniacs.

Last year, I saw 82 films, and the result was a Top Ten that looked like this:

1. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

2. Drive

3. Super 8

4. Midnight in Paris

5. Young Adult

6. Contagion

7. The Ides of March

8. We Need to Talk About Kevin

9. Beginners

10. Anonymous

This year, I have seen a whopping 103 films, my best ever!

(more after the jump)

CINEMANIACS: Road to Gold

So my best friend and I have this show called CINEMANIACS, and we did a "Road to Gold" show following the New York Film Critics' Circle and the National Board of Review. And now I'm posting it. It's kind of a dream come true, and I don't know how many of these we'll do, but take a look!

Globes Giveth (Kidman), Globes Taketh (Knightley)

SONG

For You - Act of Valor

Safe and Sound - The Hunger Games

Suddenly - Les Miserables

Skyfall - Skyfall

Not Running Anymore - Stand Up Guys

Stand Up Guys? The Taylor Swift song from Hunger Games? Act of Valor? Guys, the only proper response to the HFPA is limitless adoration.

SCORE

Anna Karenina - Dario Marianelli

Argo - Alexandre Desplat

Cloud Atlas - Johnny Klimek/Reinhold Heil/Tom Tykwer

Life of Pi - Mychael Danna

Lincoln - John Williams

Finally, some love for Cloud Atlas! All very strong contenders; expect win for Karenina, Atlas or Pi. 

SCREENPLAY

Mark Boal, Zero Dark Thirty

Tony Kushner, Lincoln

David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook

Quentin Tarantino, Django Unchained

Chris Terrio, Argo

Your usual suspects, with two counting as original (Zero, Django), and three as adapted. Still think Silver Linings Playbook is weak in the script department, but I better get used to this.

BEST ACTOR IN A MUSICAL/COMEDY

Jack Black, Bernie

Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook

Hugh Jackman, Les Miserables

Ewan McGregor, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen

Bill Murray, Hyde Park on Hudson

Surprised that Hyde Park on Hudson can be considered a movie; especially depressing considering that Tommy Lee Jones' performance in Hope Springs goes unrecognized. Abandoned by SAG, the BFCA, and now the HFPA. Woe to the man who does not campaign for the pre-September release.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Alan Arkin, Argo

Leonardo DiCaprio, Django Unchained

Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Master

Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln

Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained

Arkin, Hoffman and Jones are definite locks at this point, but Globes switch it up a bit by nominating both DiCaprio and Waltz for Django. I'm surprised they didn't go for De Niro in Silver Linings, but they do love their Tarantino actors.

BEST ACTRESS - DRAMA

Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty

Marion Cotillard, Rust and Bone

Helen Mirren, Hitchcock

Naomi Watts, The Impossible

Rachel Weisz, The Deep Blue Sea

Emmanuelle Riva looking more and more like the outsider looking in...unless she winds up as the surprise nominee come January 10. Keira Knightley's incredible performance in Anna Karenina is officially KIA. If she can't get support from the Globes, there's no hope left. Glad for Cotillard, though. And how about that Rachel Weisz!

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Amy Adams, The Master

Sally Field, Lincoln

Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables

Helen Hunt, The Sessions

Nicole Kidman, The Paperboy

NICOLE KIDMAN. Oh my God, this is actually happening!

BEST ACTRESS - MUSICAL/COMEDY

Emily Blunt, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen

Judi Dench, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook

Maggie Smith, Quartet

Meryl Streep, Hope Springs

Yeah, I had a feeling Salmon Fishing would be their cup of tea, showing up both here and in Actor. Dench, Lawrence and Streep were givens, but I see they made up to Smith for not nominating her in Supporting Actress. She actually is delightful in Quartet, but Hoffman (or his editor or someone) chose to cut away from a lot of her beats, undercutting some of her performance. 

BEST PICTURE - MUSICAL/COMEDY

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Les Miserables

Moonrise Kingdom

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen

Silver Linings Playbook

BEST ACTOR - DRAMA

Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln

Richard Gere, Arbitrage

John Hawkes, The Sessions

Joaquin Phoenix, The Master

Denzel Washington, Flight

It's official -- the HFPA likes The Master more than SAG.

BEST DIRECTOR

Ben Affleck, Argo

Kathryn Bigelow, Zero Dark Thirty

Ang Lee, Life of Pi

Steven Spielberg, Lincoln

Quentin Tarantino, Django Unchained

BEST PICTURE - DRAMA

Argo

Django Unchained

Life of Pi

Lincoln

Zero Dark Thirty

Well, of course the best-directed films must be the dramas! Held out hope for a nod for Wes Anderson, but screenplay was already crowded and he was a longshot for director. No nod for Tom Hooper, either, which is a surprise considering Les Miserables was the supposed front-runner a week ago.

I'm grateful for Dench, Cotillard, Team Lincoln, Moonrise Kingdom and Nicole Kidman. I'm burning a candle for Anna Karenina and Cloud Atlas, two masterpieces that are more than their scores (not to look that gift horse in the mouth, though: deserved noms, both).