Widely hailed as the most celebrated director of this century, Christopher Nolan nine stunning feature films include acclaimed masterpieces including Interstellar, Inception, Memento and The Dark Knight. Since 2006, Nolan has consistently produced a new film every two years but his newly announced upcoming project will leave a three year gap as it has confirmed that his new film will land in July 2017.
So far literally no announcements or rumours have been made regarding plot, genre or cast but we do know that Warner Bros are behind it and it’s competition on that weekend includes Luc Besson sci-fi Valerian (Cara Delevingne, Dane DeHaan, Clive Owen) and comedy musical sequel Pitch Perfect 2 (Anna Kendrick, Hailee Steinfeld, Rebel Wilson). The blockbuster friendly July release date suggests that we won’t be expected a low key noir thriller/drama such as Memento, Insomnia, Following or The Prestige.
Having visited superheroes three times already in The Dark Knight trilogy we can rule that genre out. It seems unlikely that WB would put another sci-fi film to compete with Valerian so we reckon Nolan is moving into a genre he’s yet to mine. Fantasy adventure? Historical epic? Horror? Either way, its almost certain that six-time collaborator Michael Caine will almost certainly star.
Meanwhile, it was also announced that British singer Sam Smith – Stay With Me, Money on My Mind, Lay Me Down – will be singing the theme song for the upcoming James Bond sequel Spectre (succeeding the likes of Tom Jones, Shirley Bassey, Duran Duran, Paul McCartney, Jack White, Louie Armstrong and Adele). The track is titled Writing’s on the Wall. The reveal was mildly surprising after strong rumours that the job would go to Ellie Goulding or Radiohead. Our own pick would be Florence and the Machine.
Spectre is directed by Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Road Perdition) and stars Daniel Craig (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo), Monica Bellucci (Irreversible), Christoph Waltz (Django Unchained), Ralph Fiennes (The Grand Budapest Hotel), Lea Seydoux (Blue is the Warmest Colour), Ben Whishaw (Cloud Atlas), Naomie Harris (28 Days Later), Rory Kinnear (The Imitation Game), Andrew Scott (Sherlock) and Dave Bautista (Guardians of the Galaxy).
There’s a good seven or so months until the Oscars really kick off but even now we might be able to make a few early predictions for some of the big hitters. This list will be rapidly changing over the coming months depending on the reception of some of these films. Gus Van Sant/Matthew MacConaughey drama The Sea of Trees seemed like a viable candidate until its Cannes flop. In some cases, we’re basing the predictions off their critical reception, festival buzz and hype and in other cases the popularity of a filmmaker involved. We’re ranking the selections in order of likelihood.
Best Picture:
40) The Good Dinosaur
Director: Peter Sohn (Partly Cloudy) Starring: Anna Paquin (True Blood), Steve Zahn (Dallas Buyers Club), Frances McDormand (Burn After Reading) Premise: An epic journey into the world of dinosaurs where an Apatosaurus named Arlo makes an unlikely human friend. Odds: Pixar’s second effort of the year may get overshadowed by their first but the studio’s good form might transfer into this look at an alternate history.
39) Creed
Director: Ryan Coogler (Fruitvale Station) Starring: Michael B Jordan (Chronicle), Tessa Thompson (Dear White People), Sylvester Stallone (First Blood) Premise: The former World Heavyweight Champion Rocky Balboa serves as a trainer and mentor to Adonis Creed, the son of his late friend and former rival Apollo Creed. Odds: The Rocky franchise had seriously drifted after the Best Picture winning original but, by shifting Stallone into and supporting role and bringing new hero Adonis Creed to the foreground, we might have a contender.
38) Secret in Their Eyes
Director: Billy Ray (Breach) Starring: Julia Roberts (Erin Brockivich), Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave), Nicole Kidman (The Hours) Premise: A tight-knit team of FBI investigators, along with their District Attorney supervisor, is suddenly torn apart when they discover that one of their own teenage daughters has been brutally murdered. Odds: The Argentinian adaptation of the same book won an Oscar for Foreign Language in 2009 but this might turn ought to be another unpopular remake.
37) By the Sea
Director: Angelina Jolie (Unbroken) Starring: Brad Pitt (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), Angelina Jolie (Changeling), Melanie Laurent (Beginners) Premise: Set in France during the mid-1970s, Vanessa, a former dancer, and her husband Roland, an American writer, travel the country together. They seem to be growing apart, but when they linger in one quiet, seaside town they begin to draw close to some of its more vibrant inhabitants, such as a local bar/café-keeper and a hotel owner. Odds: Jolie hasn’t yet cemented her position as an accomplished director but last year’s Unbroken got three Oscar nods meaning that By the Sea might follow suit.
36) Trumbo
Director: Jay Roach (Meet the Parents) Starring: Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad), Helen Mirren (The Queen), John Goodman (Argo) Premise: The successful career of Hollywood screenwriter, Dalton Trumbo, comes to an end when he is blacklisted in the 1940s for being a Communist. Odds: The Oscars have a track record of stories about Hollywood and redemption and Bryan Cranston should shine in the role but communist sympathies might not sit too well with the Academy.
35) Spectre
Director: Sam Mendes (Road to Perdition) Starring: Daniel Craig (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo), Lea Seydoux (Blue is the Warmest Colour), Christoph Waltz (Django Unchained) Premise: A cryptic message from Bond’s past sends him on a trail to uncover a sinister organization. While M battles political forces to keep the secret service alive, Bond peels back the layers of deceit to reveal the terrible truth behind Spectre. Odds: Prior to 2012’s Skyfall, Bond hadn’t had a Oscar win in nearly 50 years. If Spectre is an improvement, than the series may be on the way to a first ever Best Picture nomination.
34) Legend
Director: Brian Helgeland (42) Starring: Tom Hardy (The Dark Knight Rises), Taron Egerton (Kingsman), Paul Bettany (A Beautiful Mind) Premise: The film tells the story of the identical twin gangsters Reggie and Ronnie Kray, two of the most notorious criminals in British history, and their organised crime empire in the East End of London during the 1960s. Odds: The main Oscar buzz about the film surrounds Tom Hardy’s performance(s) but the crime biopic might be a dark horse in the contest.
33) The Martian
Director: Ridley Scott (Blade Runner) Starring: Matt Damon (Good Will Hunting), Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave), Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty) Premise: During a manned mission to Mars, Astronaut Mark Watney is presumed dead after a fierce storm and left behind by his crew. But Watney has survived and finds himself stranded and alone on the hostile planet. With only meager supplies, he must draw upon his ingenuity, wit and spirit to subsist and find a way to signal to Earth that he is alive. Odds: After back to back success with Gladiator and Black Hawk Down followed by the snubbing of American Gangster, acclaimed director Ridley Scott’s sci-fi epic The Martian may have the goods to put him back on top.
32) Beasts of No Nation
Director: Cary Fukanga (True Detective) Starring: Abraham Attah (Out of the Village), Ama K Abebrese (The Cursed Ones), Idris Elba (Pacific Rim) Premise: A drama based on the experiences of Agu, a child soldier fighting in the civil war of an unnamed African country. Odds: The Academy may take a big step by nominating a Netflix original production for the first time
31) Everest
Director: Baltasar Kormakur (Contraband) Starring: Jake Gyllenhaald (Nightcrawler), Josh Brolin (No Country For Old Men), Jason Clarke (Zero Dark Thirty) Premise: A climbing expedition on Mt. Everest is devastated by a severe snow storm. Odds: A traditional disaster flick will hopefully be elevated by the fantastic ensemble.
30) Concussion
Director: Peter Landesman (Parkland) Starring: Will Smith (Ali), Gugu Mbatha Raw (Belle), Alec Baldwin (The Hunt For Red October) Premise: The story of Dr. Bennet Omalu, the brilliant forensic neuropathologist who made the first discovery of CTE, a football-related brain trauma, in professional football players. Odds: It’s been years since Smith’s last major critical success but the more serious tone surrounding this true life thriller may lead it Oscar bound.
29) The Walk
Director: Robert Zemeckis (Cast Away) Starring: Joseph Gordon Levitt (Looper), Ben Kingsley (Shutter Island), Charlotte Le Bon (Mood Indigo) Premise: The story of French high-wire artist Philippe Petit’s attempt to cross the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in 1974. Odds: The fact that the same story was turned into an Oscar winning documentary (Man on Wire) several years ago proves that the premise is more Academy friendly than blockbuster cool but the fact that the story has been visited successfully before may also hinder it.
28) Freeheld
Director: Peter Sollett (Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist) Starring: Julianne Moore (Still Alice), Michael Shannon (Boardwalk Empire), Ellen Page (Juno) Premise: New Jersey police lieutenant, Laurel Hester, and her registered domestic partner, Stacie Andree, both battle to secure Hester’s pension benefits when she is diagnosed with terminal cancer. Odds: Moore is on fine form after her win for Still Alice but there hasn’t yet been a remarkable amount of Oscar buzz surrounding it.
27) 45 Years
Director: Andrew Haigh (Weekend) Starring: Charlotte Rampling (Melancholia), Tom Courtenay (Doctor Zhivago), Geraldine James (Gandhi) Premise: In the week leading up to their 45th wedding anniversary, a couple receive an unexpected letter which contains potentially life changing news. Odds: The low key British drama might prove to be a contender but given the recent snubbing of Mike Leigh’s Mr Turner, the Academy may have turned away from that genre the larger scale Brit flicks such as The Imitation Game
26) The Danish Girl
Director: Tom Hooper (The King’s Speech) Starring: Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything), Alicia Vikander (A Royal Affair), Ben Whishaw (Skyfall) Premise: The remarkable love story inspired by the lives of artists Lili Elbe and Gerda Wegener. Lili and Gerda’s marriage and work evolve as they navigate Lili’s groundbreaking journey as a transgender pioneer. Odds: The Danish Girl has all the makings of a Best Picture winner – lavish period setting, Oscar friendly cast and director – but it’ll have to overcome its so far mixed-negative reception.
25) Straight Outta Compton
Director: F Gary Gray (Friday) Starring: Jason Mitchell (Contraband), Corey Hawkins (Non-Stop), Paul Giamatti (Sideways) Premise: The group NWA emerges from the mean streets of Compton in Los Angeles, California, in the mid-1980s and revolutionizes Hip Hop culture with their music and tales about life in the hood. Odds: Sharing its name with the rap sensation, this unlikely candidate surprised critics and was a smash hit with audiences but that won’t necessarily translate into Oscar success for the musical biopic.
24) Macbeth
Director: Justin Kurzel (Snowtown) Starring: Michael Fassbender (12 Years a Slave), Marion Cotillard (Inception), Paddy Considine (Dead Man’s Shoes) Premise: Macbeth, a duke of Scotland, receives a prophecy from a trio of witches that one day he will become King of Scotland. Consumed by ambition and spurred to action by his wife, Macbeth murders his king and takes the throne for himself. Odds: Kurzel might not be experienced with this scale of filmmaking but injecting a flavour of war epic to Shakespeare’s classic should shake things up, not to mention the roles Fassbender and Cotillard were born to play.
23) The Program
Director: Stephen Frears (The Queen) Starring: Chris O’Dowd (Calvary), Ben Foster (Lone Survivor), Dustin Hoffman (Rain Man) Premise: An Irish sports journalist becomes convinced that Lance Armstrong’s performances during the Tour de France victories are fueled by banned substances. With this conviction, he starts hunting for evidence that will expose Armstrong. Odds: The events depicted might be considered too recent to have a major effect on voters and O’Dowd (while talented) hasn’t yet reached Oscar appeal but Frears’ impressive back catalogue should accelerate hype.
22) Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
Director: Alfonso Gomez Rejon (The Town that Dreaded Sundown) Starring: Thomas Mann (Project X), Olivia Cooke (Bates Motel), Nick Offerman (The Kings of Summer) Premise: High schooler Greg, who spends most of his time making parodies of classic movies with his co-worker Earl, finds his outlook forever altered after befriending a classmate who has just been diagnosed with cancer. Odds: The Fault in Our Stars for the Kings of Summer audience. This charming romance with undoubtedly win the hearts of fans and critics but it might be too low key for the Academy.
21) Snowden
Director: Oliver Stone (JFK) Starring: Joseph Gordon Levitt (Inception), Nicolas Cage (Face/Off), Shailene Woodley (The Descendants) Premise: CIA employee Edward Snowden leaks thousands of classified documents to the press. Odds: Snowden’s story was told recently in the Oscar winning documentary Citizenfour meaning the source material has awards-friendly buzz but all of Oliver Stone’s recent work (Alexander, Money Never Sleeps, Savages) has been a let down. However, anti-American undertones didn’t do Zero Dark Thirty any harm.
20) Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Director: JJ Abrams (Stark Trek Into Darkness) Starring: John Boyega (Attack the Block), Oscar Isaac (Inside Llewyn Davis), Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years a Slave) Premise: New heroes must fight the rising threat of the New Order. Odds: While the reboot of a franchise that hasn’t been good since 1983 may make the Oscars treat The Force Awakens as Bantha fodder, it seems to possess the game changing level of effects that brought Avatar to success and made the original Star Wars a Best Picture nominee.
19) Hail Caesar
Directors: Joel and Ethan Cohen (The Big Lebowski) Starring: Josh Brolin (No Country For Old Men), George Clooney (Gravity), Tilda Swinton (Michael Clayton) Premise: A Hollywood fixer in the 1950s works to keep the studio’s stars in line. Odds: With four Oscar wins, the Coens are probably the most acclaimed screenwriters of our time but Inside Llewyn Davis’ snubbing might mean trouble for the pair’s more quirky efforts.
18) Silence
Director: Martin Scorsese (The Aviator) Starring: Andrew Garfield (The Social Network), Tadanobu Asano (Thor). Liam Neeson (Schindler’s List) Premise: In the seventeenth century, two Jesuit priests face violence and persecution when they travel to Japan to locate their mentor and to spread the gospel of Christianity. Odds: Silence seems Oscar bound but production delays and rumours that it’ll debut in Cannes 2016 suggest that the film might not be in competition until the 2017 Oscars.
17) The End of the Tour
Director: James Ponsoldt (The Spectacular Now) Starring: Jason Segel (Forgetting Sarah Marshall), Anna Chlumsky (In the Loop), Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network) Premise: A magazine reporter recounts his travels and conversations with author David Foster Wallace during a promotional book tour. Odds: The new Almost Famous? Segel and Eisenberg’s pairing will undoubtedly pick up a cult following but might be a bit abrasive for the Oscar crowd.
16) In the Heart of the Sea
Director: Ron Howard (Apollo 13) Starring: Chris Hemsworth (Rush), Cillian Murphy (28 Days Later), Brendan Gleeson (In Bruges) Premise: Based on the 1820 event, a whaling ship is preyed upon by a sperm whale, stranding its crew at sea for 90 days, thousands of miles from home. Odds: Ron Howard has experienced mass success with the disaster thriller genre but the merciless snub of his brilliant racing drama Rush hints at an anti-Howard agenda.
15) Mad Max: Fury Road
Director: George Miller (The Road Warrior) Starring: Tom Hardy (The Dark Knight Rises), Charlize Theron (Monster), Nicholas Hoult (Warm Bodies) Premise: In a stark desert landscape where humanity is broken, two rebels just might be able to restore order: Max, a man of action and of few words, and Furiosa, a woman of action who is looking to make it back to her childhood homeland. Odds: This bold action sequel received rave reviews but the fact that its plot can be sketched out on a napkin might put off some of the more traditional Academy voters.
14) Joy
Director: David O. Russell (American Hustle) Starring: Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook), Bradley Cooper (American Sniper), Robert De Niro (Casino) Premise: The story of a family across four generations and the woman who rises to become founder and matriarch of a powerful family business dynasty. Odds: Russell has a surprising three consecutive Best Picture nominees but the flop of his abandoned rom-com Accidental Love earlier this years prevents Joy from being his fourth.
13) Brooklyn
Director: John Crowley (Is Anybody There) Starring: Saoirse Ronan (Atonement), Domhnall Gleeson (About Time), Julie Walters (Billy Elliot) Premise: In 1950s Ireland and New York, young Ellis Lacey has to choose between two men and two countries. Odds: This star studded effort could be a major contender so long as it avoids the pitfalls of a procedural romantic drama (IE Anna Karenina).
12) The Lobster
Director: Yorgos Lanthimos (Dogtooth) Starring: Colin Farrell (In Bruges), John C Reilly (Chicago), Rachel Weisz (Enemy at the Gates) Premise: In a dystopian near future, single people are obliged to find a matching mate in 45 days or are transformed into animals and released into the woods. Odds: Merging comedy, romance and sci-fi with a bonkers concept from a Greek director making his English language debut. The Gilliam-esque level of weirdness will attract a lot of attention but may also backfire.
11) Youth
Director: Paolo Sorrentino (The Great Beauty) Starring: Michael Caine (The Dark Knight), Harvey Keitel (Reservoir Dogs), Rachel Weisz (The Constant Gardener) Premise: Fred and Mick, two old friends, are on vacation in an elegant hotel at the foot of the Alps. While Mick scrambles to finish the screenplay for what he imagines will be his last important film, Fred has no intention of resuming his musical career. But someone wants at all costs to hear him conduct again. Odds: Sorrentino’s The Great Beauty picked up a triple with Oscar, BAFTA and Golden Globes in the Foreign Language category so Youth should continue form but Sorrentino’s only other English language feature, This Must Be the Place, was one of his weakest.
10) Suffragette
Director: Sarah Gavron (Brick Lane) Starring: Carey Mulligan (Drive), Meryl Streep (The Iron Lady), Helena Bonham Carter (Sweeney Todd) Premise: The foot soldiers of the early feminist movement, women who were forced underground to pursue a dangerous game of cat and mouse with an increasingly brutal state. Odds: The all-female writing directing team may face the snubs that Ava DuVernay suffered with Selma last year but the feminist story may tie into the Academy’s own changing times.
9) Black Mass
Director: Scott Cooper (Crazy Heart) Starring: Johnny Depp (Public Enemies), Joel Edgerton (Zero Dark Thirty), Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game) Premise: The true story of Whitey Bulger, the brother of a state senator and the most infamous violent criminal in the history of South Boston, who became an FBI informant to take down a Mafia family invading his turf. Odds: A dark and intense modern gangster thriller akin to The Departed and Donnie Brasco. Hopefully, Pirates star Johnny Depp will prove his worth for the first time in years. The massively positive early response is greatly promising.
8) Crimson Peak
Director: Guillermo Del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth) Starring: Mia Wasikowska (Stoker), Tom Hiddleston (War Horse), Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty) Premise: In the aftermath of a family tragedy, an aspiring author is torn between love for her childhood friend and the temptation of a mysterious outsider. Trying to escape the ghosts of her past, she is swept away to a house that breathes, bleeds…and remembers. Odds: A lavish Gothic mood will elevate Crimson Peak from repetitive formulaic horror (The Conjuring, Insidious, Sinister, Annabelle) or even hits like the Carpenter-esque It Follows and indie smash The Babadook. Del Toro might exceed Pan’s Labyrinth’s three Oscar wins while busting the myth that horrors are Oscar immune (see Jaws, The Exorcist, Rosemary’s Baby, Aliens, The Silence of the Lambs).
7) The Hateful Eight
Director: Quentin Tarantino (Pulp Fiction) Starring: Samuel L Jackson (Jurassic Park), Kurt Russell (The Thing), Bruce Dern (Nebraska) Premise: In post-Civil War Wyoming, bounty hunters try to find shelter during a blizzard but get involved in a plot of betrayal and deception. Will they survive? Odds: Tarantino’s three Best Picture nominations may well be added to with this Western thriller. It’d be unlikely for this not to be an seventh consecutive hit for the filmmaker.
6) Carol
Director: Todd Haynes (I’m Not There) Starring: Rooney Mara (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo), Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine), Kyle Chandler (Super 8) Premise: Set in 1950s New York, a department-store clerk who dreams of a better life falls for an older, married woman. Odds: Carol has been the bookies’ favourite from the start but more recently more praise has gone towards its stars than the film itself.
5) Sicario
Director: Denis Villeneuve (Prisoners) Starring: Emily Blunt (Edge of Tomorrow), Benicio Del Toro (Traffic), Josh Brolin (No Country for Old Men) Premise: An idealistic FBI agent is enlisted by an elected government task force to aid in the escalating war against drugs at the border area between the U.S. and Mexico. Odds: American Sniper, Argo, Captain Phillips, District 9, Gravity, The Hurt Locker, Inception and Zero Dark Thirty have redefined the Oscar’s favour for the action thriller genre.
4) Inside Out
Directors: Pete Docter (Up), Ronaldo Del Carmen Starring: Amy Poehler (Parks and Recreation), Bill Hader (Trainwreck), Kyle MacLachlan (Twin Peaks) Premise: After young Riley is uprooted from her Midwest life and moved to San Francisco, her emotions – Joy, Fear, Anger, Disgust and Sadness – conflict on how best to navigate a new city, house and school. Odds: The animation has gained the best reception of any of Pixar’s work since 2010’s Toy Story 3 but it has been five years since the studio has had a major nomination besides Animated Feature.
3) Bridge of Spies
Director: Steven Spielberg (Schindler’s List) Starring: Tom Hanks (Captain Phillips), Amy Ryan (Birdman), Mark Rylance (Wolf Hall) Premise: An American lawyer is recruited by the CIA during the Cold War to help rescue a pilot detained in the Soviet Union. Odds: Spielberg’s career has had nine Best Picture films (including Jaws, The Colour Purple, Saving Private Ryan, War Horse and Lincoln) and 118 Oscar nods are most likely to be added to but the acclaimed director isn’t immune to snubs (Catch Me if You Can, Jurassic Park). Also, Hanks hasn’t had an Oscar nod since 2001’s Cast Away and even his career best in Captain Phillips didn’t sway the Academy.
2) The Revenant
Director: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (Birdman) Starring: Leonardo Di Caprio (Inception), Domhnall Gleeson (About Time), Tom Hardy (The Dark Knight Rises) Premise: The frontiersman, Hugh Glass, who in the 1820s set out on a path of vengeance against those who left him for dead after a bear mauling. Odds: Considering the grueling shoot and huge budget, the civil-war era epic could be the new Dances With Wolves (multi-Oscar winner with Kevin Costner) or the new Heaven’s Gate (world renowned flop with Jeff Bridges). Either way, the footage is incredible.
1) Steve Jobs
Director: Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire) Starring: Michael Fassbender (12 Years a Slave), Seth Rogen (Knocked Up), Kate Winslet (Titanic) Premise: The true story of the life of visionary Apple CEO Steve Jobs. Odds: While it suffered major development issues – loss of cast members (Christian Bale, George Clooney, Matt Damon, Bradley Cooper, Leonardo Di Caprio, Ben Affleck, Tom Cruise, Matthew MacConaughey, Charlize Theronl, Jessica Chastain, Scarlett Johansson, Natalie Portman) and director David Fincher – we reckon Steve Jobs is your next Best Picture winner.
Here’s a quickfire of the directors and stars we reckon will make the cut.
Best Director:
Steven Spielberg – Bridge of Spies
Denis Villeneuve – Sicario
Danny Boyle – Steve Jobs
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu – The Revenant
George Miller – Mad Max: Fury Road
Oliver Stone – Snowden
Guillermo Del Toro – Crimson Peak
JJ Abrams – Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Scott Cooper – Black Mass
F Gary Gray – Straight Outta Compton
Paolo Sorrentino – Youth
Ron Howard – In the Heart of the Sea
Sarah Gavron – Suffragette
David O. Russell – Joy
Quentin Tarantino – The Hateful Eight
Best Actor:
Michael Fassbender – Steve Jobs – Steve Jobs
Michael Caine – Fred Ballinger – Youth
Leonardo Di Caprio – Hugh Glass – The Revenant
Johnny Depp – Whitey Bulger – Black Mass
Tom Hanks – James Donovan – Bridge of Spies
Jason Segel – David Foster Wallace – The End of the Tour
Bryan Cranston – Dalton Trumbo – Trumbo
Eddie Redmayne – Lili Elbe – The Danish Girl
Ian McKellen – Sherlock Holmes – Mr Holmes
Jake Gyllenhaal – Billy Hope – Southpaw
Tom Hardy – Ronald/Reginald Kray – Legend
Joseph Gordon Levitt – Edward Snowden – Snowden
Colin Farrell – David – The Lobster
Tom Hardy – “Mad” Max Rockatansky – Mad Max: Fury Road
Tom Hiddleston – Hank Williams – I Saw the Light
Best Actress:
Rooney Mara – Therese Belivet – Carol
Marion Cotillard – Lady Macbeth – Macbeth
Alicia Vikander – Gerda Wegener – The Danish Girl
Emily Blunt – Kate Macer – Sicario
Jennifer Lawrence – Joy Mangano – Joy
Cate Blanchett – Carol Aird – Carol
Charlotte Rampling – Kate Mercer – 45 Years
Saoirse Ronan – Ellis Lacey – Brooklyn
Juliette Binoche – Maria Enders – Clouds of Sils Maria
Carey Mulligan – Maud – Suffragette
Mia Wasikowska – Edith Cushing – Crimson Peak
Charlize Theron – Imperator Furiosa – Mad Max: Fury Road
Julianne Moore – Laurel Hester – Freeheld
Angelina Jolie – Vanessa – By the Sea
Amy Schumer – Amy – Trainwreck
Best Supporting Actor:
Seth Rogen – Steve Wozniak – Steve Jobs
Harvey Keitel – Mick Boyle – Youth
Benedict Cumberbatch – Bill Bulger – Black Mass
Benicio Del Toro – Alejandro – Sicario
Mark Rylance – Rudolf Abel – Bridge of Spes
Jesse Eisenberg – David Lipsky – The End of the Tour
Robert De Niro – Rudy Mangano – Joy
Christoph Waltz – Hans Oberhauser – Spectre
Samuel L Jackson – Marquis Warren – The Hateful Eight
Tom Hardy – John Fitzgerald – The Revenant
Chris O’Dowd – David Walsh – The Program
Josh Brolin – Matt – Sicario
Tom Hiddelston – Thomas Sharpe – Crimson Peak
Will Poulter – Jim Bridger – The Revenant
Harrison Ford – Han Solo – Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Best Supporting Actress:
Rachel Weisz – Lena Ballinger – Youth
Kate Winslet – Joanna Hoffman – Steve Jobs
Shailene Woodley – Lindsay Mills – Snowden
Amy Ryan – Mary Donovan – Bridge of Spies
Ellen Page – Stacie Andree – Freeheld
Jessica Chastain – Lucille Sharpe – Crimson Peak
Jane Fonda – Brenda Morel – Youth
Kristen Stewart – Valentine – Clouds of Sils Maria
Julie Walters – Mrs Kehoe – Brooklyn
Melissa Leo – Laura Poitras – Snowden
Rachel McAdams – Maureen Hope – Southpaw
Helen Mirren – Hedda Hooper – Trumbo
Anna Chlumsky – Sarah – The End of the Tour
Helena Bonham Carter – Edith New – Suffragette
Jennifer Jason Leigh – Daisy Domergue – The Hateful Eight
Best Original Screenplay:
Youth – Paolo Sorrentino
The Hateful Eight – Quentin Tarantino
Inside Out – Pete Docter, Ronald Del Carmen, Meg LeFauve, Josh Cooley
Bridge of Spies – Joel Cohen, Ethan Cohen, Matt Charman
Ex Machina – Alex Garland
Joy – David O. Russell, Annie Mumulo
Sicario – Taylor Sheridan
Hail Caesar – Joel Cohen, Ethan Cohen
Demolition – Bryan Sipe
The Good Dinosaur – Enrico Casarosa, Bob Peterson
Suffragette – Abi Morgan
Trainwreck – Amy Schumer
Southpaw – Kurt Sutter
Crimson Peak – Guillermo Del Toro, Matthew Robbins
Irrational Man – Woody Allen
Best Adapted Screenplay:
Steve Jobs – Aaron Sorkin
Carol – Phyllis Nagy
The End of the Tour – Donald Marguiles
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl – Jesse Andrews
The Revenant – Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Mark L Smith
Mad Max: Fury Road – George Miller, Brendan McCarthy, Nick Lathouris
Silence – Jay Cocks
Snowden – Oliver Stone, Kieran Fitzgerald
Brooklyn – Nick Hornby
The Danish Girl – Lucina Coven
Spectre – John Logan, Neil Purvis, Robert Wade
Macbeth – Jacob Koskoff, Todd Louiso
Black Mass – Scott Cooper, Mark Mallouk
The Martian – Drew Goddard
Star Wars: The Force Awakens – JJ Abrams, Lawrence Kasdan
Warner Bros suffered a major setback on their highly anticipated fantasy reboot of the DC hero Winder Woman. Director Michelle MacLaren, behind some of the best episodes of Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones, pulled out of the film leaving a gap to fill but the replacement has been announced as Patty Jenkins (Monster) is hired. Jenkins was in fact connected to Marvel’s superhero sequel Thor: The Dark World, long before the Edgar Wright/Ant–Man split, and left based on creative differences. Gal Gadot (Fast & Furious) is the Israeli star who’ll bring the new Wonder Woman to the screen.
Gladiator’s Ridley Scott sadly passed on the new Blade Runner sequel but BAFTA nominated director Denis Villeneuve (Enemy, Incendies, Prisoners) is taking his place. Harrison Ford (Raiders of the Lost Ark, Star Wars, The Fugitive) is confirmed to be reprising his role as the futuristic detective Rick Deckard but some new castings are now poised to be made. The latest report shows that Ryan Gosling (Drive, The Ides of March, Crazy Stupid Love, Blue Valentine, The Place Beyond the Pines) is in talks for a a so far unspecified role but you can’t deny some likeness to the original’s Rutger Hauer.
Festivals like Cannes are now major platforms for indie films to get the platform they need to campaign their way to the Oscars and the following list might show some early awards favourites, considering last year the films included Foxcatcher, Mr Turner, Two Days One Night, Maps to the Stars, Leviathan, The Homesman, How to Train Your Dragon 2 and Force Majeure but also included the massive flop Grace of Monaco. Here’s this years selection, which’ll each be scrutinised by the jury (led by Fargo and No Country For Old Men directors Joel and Ethan Cohen) for the prestigious prize of Palme D’Or.
Film: Dheepan Director: Jacques Audiard (A Prophet, Rust and Bone) Starring: Vincent Rottiers, Marc Zinga Premise: The story of a Sri Lankan Tamil warrior who flees to France and ends up working as a caretaker outside Paris. Nation: France
Film: Marguerite et Julien Director: Valerie Donzelli (Declaration of War) Starring: Anais Demoustier, Frederic Pierrot Nation: France
Film: The Tale of Tales Director: Matteo Garrone (Gamorra) Starring: Salma Hayek (Frida), Vincent Cassel (Black Swan), John C Reilly (The Aviator), Toby Jones (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy) Nation: Italy
Film: Carol Director: Todd Haynes (Far From Heaven, I’m Not There) Starring: Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine), Rooney Mara (The Social Network), Kyle Chandler (Super 8), Sarah Paulson (American Horror Story), Cory Michael Smith (Gotham) Premise:Set in 1950s New York, a department-store clerk who dreams of a better life falls for an older, married woman. Nation: United States
Film: Shan He Gu Ren (Mountains May Depart Director: Zhangke Jia (Still Life, A Touch of Sin) Starring: Tao Zhao Nation: China
Film: Out Little Sister Director: Hirokazu Koreeda (Nobody Knows, Still Walking) Starring: Haruka Ayase, Masami Nagasawa Nation: Japan
Film: Macbeth Director: Justin Kurzel (Snowtown) Starring: Michael Fassbender (12 Years A Slave), Marion Cotillard (Inception), David Thewlis (The Theory of Everything), Elizabeth Debicki (The Great Gatsby), Sean Harris (Prometheus), Jack Reynor (What Richard Did), Paddy Considine (The World’s End) Premise: Macbeth, a duke of Scotland, receives a prophecy from a trio of witches that one day he will become King of Scotland. Consumed by ambition and spurred to action by his wife, Macbeth murders his king and takes the throne for himself. Nation: United Kingdom, France, United States
Film: The Lobster Director: Yorgos Lanthimos (Dogtooth) Starring: Colin Farrell (Minority Report), Lea Seydoux (Blue is the Warmest Colour), Rachel Weisz (The Constant Gardener), Ben Whishaw (Cloud Atlas), John C Reilly (The Aviator), Olivia Colman (Tyranasour) Premise: In a dystopian near future, single people are obliged to find a matching mate in 45 days or are transformed into animals and released into the woods. Nation: Greece
Film: Mon Roi Director: Maiwenn (Polisse) Starring: Vincent Cassel, Louis Garrel Nation: France
Film: Mia Madre Director: Nanni Moretti (The Son’s Room) Starring: Margherita Buy (The Caiman), John Turturro (Barton Fink) Nation: Italy
Film: La giovinezza (The Early Years) Director: Paolo Sorrentino (This Must Be the Place) Starring: Rachel Weisz (The Constant Gardener), Michael Caine (Batman Begins), Jane Fonda (Coming Home), Paul Dano (There Will Be Blood), Harvey Keitel (Reservoir Dogs) Premise:Fred and Mick, two old friends, are on vacation in an elegant hotel at the foot of the Alps. Nation: Italy
Film: Louder Than Bombs Director: Joaquim Trier (Oslo August 31st) Starring: Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network), Amy Ryan (Birdman), Rachel Brosnahan (House of Cards), David Strathairn (Good Night and Good Luck) Nation: Norway, France, Denmark, United States
Film: The Sea of Trees Director: Gus Van Sant (Good Will Hunting) Starring: Matthew MacConaughey (Interstellar), Naomi Watts (King Kong), Ken Watanabe (Letters Form Iwo Jima) Premise: A suicidal American befriends a Japanese man lost in a forest near Mt. Fuji and the two search for a way out. Nation: United States
Film: Sicario Director: Denis Villeneuve (Prisoners, Incendies) Starring: Emily Blunt (Looper), Josh Brolin (No Country For Old Men), Jon Beranthal (Fury), Benicio Del Toro (Traffic) Premise: A young female FBI agent joins a secret CIA operation to take down a Mexican cartel boss, a job that ends up pushing her ethical and moral values to the limit. Nation: United States
Films not competing:
Film: Mad Max: Fury Road Director: George Miller (The Road Warrior) Starring: Tom Hardy (The Dark Knight Rises), Charlize Theron (Prometheus), Nicholas Hoult (X-Men: First Class) Premise: In a post-apocalyptic world, in which people fight to the death, Max teams up with a mysterious woman, Furiousa, to try and survive. Nation: Australian, United States
Film: Irrational Man Director: Woody Allen (Annie Hall, Midnight in Paris, Vicky Cristina Barcelona) Starring: Emma Stone (The Help), Joaquin Phoenix (Her) Premise: On a small town college campus, a philosophy professor in existential crisis gives his life new purpose when he enters into a relationship with his student. Nation: United States
Film: The Little Prince Director: Mark Osborne (Kung Fu Panda) Starring: Rachel McAdams (Sherlock Holmes), Mackenzie Foy (Interstellar), Paul Giamatti (Saving Mr Banks), James Franco (127 Hours), Marion Cotillard (Inception), Jeff Bridges (True Grit), Benicio Del Toro (Traffic), Albert Brooks (Finding Nemo), Ricky Gervais (The Office) Premise: A pilot crashes in the desert and meets a little boy from a distant planet. Nation: France
Selma was a recent Oscar contender that proclaimed the importance of voting and a new film looking for similar success is Suffragette, a period drama depicting the women who campaigned for women’s rights in early 1900s Britain. The film’s first trailer is online for your enjoyment although it is very short. The director Sarah Gavron (Brick Lane) directs the cast of Carey Mulligan (An Education, Inside Llewyn Davis, The Great Gatsby, Drive), Meryl Streep (Doubt, The Deer Hunter, The Hours, The Iron Lady), Brendan Gleeson (In Bruges, Edge of Tomorrow, The Guard, Calvary), Ben Whishaw (Skyfall, Paddington, Layer Cake, Cloud Atlas) and Helena Bonham Carter (The King’s Speech, Les Miserables, Big Fish, Fight Club).
With five massively lauded films to his name (Kingsman: The Secret Service, X-Men: First Class, Stardust, Layer Cake and Kick-Ass), Matthew Vaughn is one of the century’s most established British filmmakers. The latest rumour as him to be in position to be directing the new reboot of Flash Gordon, a cult classic sci-fi fantasy of the 1980s. There has been no indication of this being a remake or straightforward sequel but we aware that writer George Nolfi (The Bourne Ultimatum, The Adjustment Bureau) is behind the treatment of the script.
007 makes his return hunting down a mysterious organisation that is somehow linked to his past in Spectre. The very first trailer has just confirmed some of our many speculative suspicions. The first trailer has now been released and our preview of it is below. What we’ve drawn from the trailer may be wrong but it may also turn out to be a minor spoiler for the film so be warned.
The opening shot shows the rubble of the MI6 headquarters that Javier Bardem’s Silva destroyed back in 2012’s Skyfall. This shows that the events of the previous film are having a lasting effect and that MI6 is still in turmoil from the disaster that M (Judi Dench) left. The rumour is that the head of MI5 (Andrew Scott) is merging the two but this may be Spectre’s ploy to infiltrate MI6. Bond is then seen in possession of some mysterious documents. Look closely and you’ll see it shows that following his parents death, James’ guardians were in fact the Oberhauser family, one of whom is Christoph Waltz’ character – making him a childhood friend of James’. The burnt out face on the photograph is almost certainly him.
Bond is then seen sailing towards the a mountainous chalet. Following shots of the new Bond girl and new sleeker Aston Martin, we discover this is the dishevelled residence of the equally decrepit Mr White (a recurring villain in Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace and a lead kingpin of Quantum, what we suspect to be the sister organisation of Spectre).
Finally there’s a glimpse at Spectre’s shadowy meeting room, featuring their twenty one key chiefs and Hans Oberhauser himself. Rumours keep on persisting about this character in fact being the infamous Ernst Stravo Blofeld, the most iconic villain of all of Bond’s history. Honestly, we hope this isn’t true as it’d be even more obvious than the disappointing Moneypenny reveal in Skyfall. The very final (gun)shot, we reckon, is almost identical to the cracked car windscreen glass from the finale of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. There are a couple of disappointing omissions from the trailer such as Q, M and the new henchman Mr Hinx but overall it’s a massively exciting teaser.
Sam Mendes (Road to Perdition, Revolutionary Road, American Beauty) directs the ensemble of Daniel Craig (Layer Cake, Munich), Monica Bellucci (Irreversible, The Matrix), Ralph Fiennes (The Grand Budapest Hotel, Schindler’s List), Lea Seydoux (Blue is the Warmest Colour, Midnight in Paris), Dave Bautista (Guardians of the Galaxy, Riddick), Naomie Harris (28 Days Later, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom), Ben Whishaw (Cloud Atlas, Paddington), Andrew Scott (Sherlock, Pride), Rory Kinnear (The Imitation Game, Southcliffe), Jesper Christensen (Melancholia, The Young Victoria) and Christoph Waltz (Inglorious, Django Unchained).
We thought we might never get to see this photo but we have the first look at the technology pioneer Steve Jobs biopic. The script, from acclaimed scribe Aaron Sorkin (The Social Network, Moneyball, Charlie Wilson’s War, A Few Good Men, The West Wing, The Newsroom), has been in development for years. David Fincher (Seven, Fight Club, Gone Girl) entered and then quit as director while actors being run through the casting mill included Christian Bale (The Dark Knight), Leonardo Di Caprio (The Wolf of Wall Street), Matt Damon (The Bourne Identity), Ben Affleck (Argo), Bradley Cooper (American Sniper), Jessica Chastain (Interstellar), Natalie Portman (Black Swan) and Scarlett Johansson (The Avengers).
With Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, Shallow Grace, 28 Days Later, 127 Hours, Slumdog Millionaire) at the helm, the film has moved into production with the very first images being revealed. The Oscar favourite will star Michael Fassbender (12 Years a Slave, Prometheus), Seth Rogen (Knocked Up, The Interview), Katharine Waterston (Inherent Vice), Jeff Daniels (The Purple Rose of Cairo, Looper), Michael Stuhlbarg (A Serious Man, Hugo) and Kate Winslet (Titanic, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind).
The upcoming Bond film Spectre is yet to have finished all of its production but the release of this poster means that we’re closer to seeing a trailer than we though. The shot seems to show Craig’s 007 looking more similar to Sean Connery. Sam Mendes (Skyfall, American Beauty, Road to Perdition) directs the cast of Daniel Craig (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo), Lea Seydoux (Blue is the Warmest Colour), Christoph Waltz (Django Unchained), Ralph Fiennes (The Grand Budapest Hotel), Naomie Harris (Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom), Dave Bautista (Guardians of the Galaxy), Monica Bellucci (Irreversible), Andrew Scott (Pride), Rory Kinnear (The Imitation Game) and Ben Whishaw (Cloud Atlas) as Q.
Be it Spectre, SPECTRE or S.P.E.C.T.R.E., Bond’s twenty fourth outing is attracting a lot of press attention and Empire has been tracking production from London to Berlin to the Austrian Alps. Their major new unveiling of the film kicks off in this weekend’s issue. As a sneak peak, we now have our first look at two of the film’s villains. Firstly the enforcer Hinx, played by Guardians of the Galaxy’s Dave Bautista, and the mysterious doctor Madeleine Swann (Blue is the Warmest Colour star Lea Seydoux) – pictured with director Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Road to Perdition, Jarhead, Skyfall).
This pair are working for our main villain Oberhauser, two time Oscar winner Christoph Waltz (Django Unchained, Carnage). This time round, our Bond is Daniel Craig (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), our Bond girl is Monica Bellucci (Irreversible), Moneypenny is Naomie Harris (Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom), Ben Whishaw (Paddington) is Q and Ralph Fiennes (The Grand Budapest Hotel, Harry Potter, Schindler’s List, In Bruges) is M. Rory Kinnear (The Casual Vacancy, The Imitation Game) and Andrew Scott (Sherlock, Pride) also take places on the cast.
Yesterday, we got a suited up Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) in the first character one sheet but Shutter Island, The Kids Are All Right and Foxcatcher star Mark Ruffalo dons his motion capture outfit for his Hulk close up. Banner will be posing a greater danger than ever before as the Scarlet Witch begins her mid games.
Joss Whedon (Firefly) commands the returning cast of Jeremy Renner (American Hustle, The Hurt Locker), Scarlett Johansson (Lost in Translation, The Prestige), Chris Hemsworth (Rush, The Cabin in the Woods), Chris Evans (Snowpiercer), Don Cheadle (Boogie Nights), Cobie Smulders (How I Met Your Mother), Stellan Skarsgard (Melancholia), Paul Bettany (Master and Commander) and Samuel L Jackson (The Incredibles) with the newbies Andy Serkis (The Hobbit), Elizabeth Olsen (Martha Marcy May Marlene), Aaron Taylor Johnson (Godzilla), Thomas Kretschmann (King Kong) and James Spader (The Blacklist).
Idris Elba’s departure caused some issues in casting for the new King Arthur reboot, from Sherlock Holmes/Snatch/Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels director Guy Ritchie, but from there Charlie Hunnam (Pacific Rim, Sons of Anarchy), Astrid Berges Frisbey (I Origins), Djimon Hounsou (Guardians of the Galaxy, Gladiator) and Jude Law (The Aviator, Road to Perdition, Artificial Intelligence) joined. Now Eric Bana (Star Trek, Hanna, Munich) is confirmed to be playing Arthur’s father Uther in the new film, which is setting up a franchise.
On the subject of Guy Ritchie, we have the trailer for his spy thriller The Man From UNCLE. It sees a Russian and American agent in 1963 forced to work together to prevent a nuclear disaster. It stars Henry Cavill (Man of Steel), Armie Hammer (The Social Network, The Lone Ranger), Alicia Vikander (Ex Machina, A Royal Affair), Elizabeth Debicki (The Great Gatsby), Jared Harris (A Game of Shadows, Lincoln) and Hugh Grant (Notting Hill, Cloud Atlas).
UNCLE isn’t the only spy movie planned this year with Kingsman: The Secret Service released and Melissa McCarthy’s comedy Spy and Mission: Impossible 5 still to come. The biggest release though is Spectre, the twenty fourth Bond instalment. The very first still has been revealed and shows Bond in action in the Austrian Alps.
Oscar winner Sam Mendes (Skyfall, Road to Perdition, Revolutionary Road, Jarhead, American Beauty) directs the cast of Daniel Craig (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), Lea Seydoux (Blue is the Warmest Colour), Naomie Harris (Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom), Dave Bautista (Guardians of the Galaxy), Ben Whishaw (Cloud Atlas), Monica Bellucci (The Matrix), Andrew Scott (Sherlock), Rory Kinnear (The Imitation Game) with Christoph Waltz (Django Unchained, Big Eyes) as Oberhauser and Ralph Fiennes (The Grand Budapest Hotel, In Bruges) as M.
The Man From UNCLE – August 14th
Spectre – October 23rd
Knights of the Roundtable: King Arthur – July 22nd 2016
Welcome to our BAFTA hub for 2015. Tonight is the biggest night of the British film calender as the esteemed academy elects its triumphant films, directors and stars. Keep on refreshing the page for the latest updates.
If you’re not preoccupied before the ceremony, try out our prediction game. Rank the nominees for Best Film, Director, Actor/Actress, Supporting Actor/Actress, Cinematography, British Film and Rising Star from 1-5. If your number one pick is correct you receive five points, number two gets four, number three gets three and so on. Comment your score from a maximum of 59. Unsure where to start? Try our own predictions as a primer. Get the full nominations list here.
The red carpet lineup is amassing: Benedict Cumberbatch! Eddie Redmayne! Keira Knightley! Steve Carell! Ralph Fiennes! Ethan Hawke! Mike Leigh! Jack O’Connell! Michael Keaton! Mark Strong!
Here we go!
Stephen Fry begins his annual interrogation of the esteemed audience members. Rosamund Pike! Julie Walters! Edward Norton!
Outstanding British Film:
The Theory of Everything
Pride
Under the Skin
The Imitation Game
’71
Paddington
Beckham awards the first win of the night. Does that put Theory in the front seat for Best Film?
Special Visual Effects:
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes Interstellar
X-Men: Days of Future Past
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Guardians of the Galaxy
It missed out on the main categories but it made up here. Jones and Hawking’s humour shining through again.
Supporting Actor:
Steve Carell – Foxcatcher
Edward Norton – Birdman
Ethawn Hawke – Boyhood
Mark Ruffalo – Foxcatcher JK Simmons – Whiplash
Witherspoon on her way to Leading Actress as she awards J Jonah Jameson a BAFTA.
Next two British greats award a third.
Outstanding Contribution to British Cinema:
BBC Films (Revolutionary Road, We Need to Talk About Kevin, Jane Eyre, Made in Deganham, Notes on a Scandal, Billy Elliott, Coriolanus, Pride, An Education, Quartet, In the Loop, Philomena, Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa)
The Butler’s Cuba Gooding Jr dishes out the second acting category.
Supporting Actress:
Rene Russo – Nightcrawler
Emma Stone – Birdman
Keira Knightley – The Imitation Game Patricia Arquette – Boyhood
Imelda Staunton – Pride
A rising star and Bilbo himself award Birdman’s first win.
Cinematography:
Mr Turner (Dick Pope)
The Grand Budapest Hotel (Robert Yeoman)
Interstellar (Hoyte Van Hoytema)
Ida (Lukasz Zal) Birdman (Emmanuel Lubezki)
The ever sharply suited Loki and MI6 Head celebrate a great career beginning.
British Debut:
’71
Northern Soul
Lilting
Kajaki Pride
A fitting tribute to a true great, Lord Richard Attenborough, from Prince William and Robert Downey Jr.
Best Actress favourite Julianne Moore arrives.
Best Original Screenplay:
Richard Linklater – Boyhood Wes Anderson, Hugo Guinness – The Grand Budapest Hotel
Alejandro Gonalez Inarritu, Alexander Dinelaris, Nicolas Giacobone, Armando Bo -Birdman
Damien Chazelle – Whiplash
Dan Gilroy – Nightcrawler
Two JJ Abrams collaborators on stage. Shared universe? It’s all a conspiracy!
Foreign Language:
Leviathan
The Lunchbox
Two Days, One Night Ida
Trash
Gillian Flynn – Gone Girl Anthony McCarten – The Theory of Everything
Graham Moore – The Imitation Game
Jason Dean Hall – American Sniper
Paul King – Paddington
We taking a minute off to honour the In Memoriam section.
X-Men’s James McAvoy arrives – we forgot he was Scottish again.
EE Rising Star:
Gugu Mbatha Raw
Miles Teller
Shailene Woodley Jack O’Connell
Margot Robbie
Your new one to watch is Jack O’Connell, one of the many protogee’s of E4’s Skins who’s starred in the acclaimed likes of Starred Up, Unbroken and ’71.
Brick is back.
Director:
Alejandro Gonzale Inarritu – Birdman Richard Linklater – Boyhood
Damien Chazelle – Whiplash
James Marsh – The Theory of Everything
Wes Anderson – The Grand Budapest Hotel
Only God Forgive’s Kristen Scott Thomas compliments her opposite number.
Leading Actor:
Eddie Redmayne – The Theory of Everything
Michael Keaton – Birdman
Benedict Cumberbatch – The Imitation Game
Jake Gyllenhaal – Nightcrawler
Ralph Fiennes – The Grand Budapest Hotel
Another crossover in the work: Superman V Captain America!
Leading Actress:
Felicity Jones – The Theory of Everything
Amy Adams – Big Eyes Julianne Moore – Still Alice
Reese Witherspoon – Wild
Rosamund Pike – Gone Girl
That was a surprise: Tom Cruise!
Film:
The Imitation Game
The Theory of Everything Boyhood
Birdman
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Fellowship:
Mike Leigh (Mr Turner, Life is Sweet, High Hopes, Career Girls, Abigail’s Party, All or Nothing, Topsy Turvy, Secrets and Lies, Naked, Vera Drake, Happy Go Lucky, Another Year)
Here comes the quickfire awards.
Original Music:
Alexandre Desplat – The Grand Budapest Hotel
Documentary:
Citizenfour
Makeup and Hair:
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Production Design:
The Grand Budapest Hotel
British Short Film:
Boogaloo and Graham
British Short Animation:
The Bigger Picture
Editing:
Whiplash
Sound:
Whiplash
Animated Film:
The Lego Movie
Costume Design:
The Grand Budapest Hotel
We managed 53/59 so comment how you did. Here’s the winners leaderboard.
The Grand Budapest Hotel – 5
Boyhood, The Theory of Everything, Whiplash – 3
Ida, Interstellar, The Lego Movie, Pride, Citizenfour, Still Alice, Birdman – 1
Starring: Ben Whishaw, Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins, Nicole Kidman, Samuel Joslin, Madeleine Harris, Julie Walters, Peter Capaldi, Jim Broadbent, Imelda Staunton, Michael Gambon, Simon Farnaby, Matt Lucas
Michael Bond’s novels and subsequent TV show depicting the ever inquisitive bear Paddington have garnered the mass of international following his character now has. Remaking him in 2015 (almost sixty years on from his debut) can only be problematic. Appealing to modern audiences perhaps slightly more atuned with Ted or winning over the doubtful die hard fans seems to be two very different goals.
After a natural disaster destroys his home, a bear (Whishaw) journeys from Darkest Peru to London, where he wishfully expects a warm welcome. Reluctantly, Mr Brown (Bonneville) and his family (Hawkins, Joslin, Harris, Walters) accept him into their madcap home, unaware that a mysterious taxidermist, Millicent (Kidman), is strangely willing to take him off their hands.
The first step to ensuring excellence here was hiring the right people. Harry Potter producer David Heyman elevates this far from low rent productions like Pudsey, which this so easily could have been. Not only his Paddington himself visually fantastic; his whole Peruvian environment is remarkably stunning before he slickly slips into the city streets. Writers Paul King and Hamish McColl fill their script with childish immaturity and adult wisdom in equal measure.
Ben Whishaw, who famously replaced the voice of Colin Firth for the titular role, applies those same qualities into his own performance excellently while Downton’s Hugh Bonneville and Godzilla’s Sally Hawkins poignantly resemble the two halves of Britain today: the xenophobic or the welcoming. Youngsters Sam Joslin and Madeleine Harris don’t greatly impress as the children of the Browns but at least they’re far more likeable than the usual annoying infants occupying family films.
Even the stern Mr Brown is soon won over but the villains of the piece aren’t so easily charmed. New Doctor Who Peter Capaldi inexplicably creepy as the Farage-next-door type Mr Curry. Oscar winner Nicole Kidman shines as the comically cruel but undeniably scary Millicent, who has the twisted and macabre intention of killing and stuffing Paddington and actually poses a half decent twist in the ending.
The aforementioned finale may overly extend the amount of peril that the usual mild mannered past instalments contained but simultaneously gives a defiant emotional gut punch. Still retaining the classic quintessential charm while inserting an uncanny relevance to modern issues. The most iconic refugee of all time triumphs in this potentially timeless update.
8/10
” Long ago, people in England sent their children by train with labels around their necks, so they could be taken care of by complete strangers in the country side where it was safe. They will not have forgotten how to treat strangers.”
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