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Oscars 2016 first predictions: Spielberg! Tarantino! Del Toro! Stone! Boyle! Star Wars! Bond! Pixar! Mad Max!

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:

  1. Steven Spielberg – Bridge of Spies
  2. Denis Villeneuve – Sicario
  3. Danny Boyle – Steve Jobs
  4. Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu – The Revenant
  5. George Miller – Mad Max: Fury Road
  6. Oliver Stone – Snowden
  7. Guillermo Del Toro – Crimson Peak
  8. JJ Abrams – Star Wars: The Force Awakens
  9. Scott Cooper – Black Mass
  10. F Gary Gray – Straight Outta Compton
  11. Paolo Sorrentino – Youth
  12. Ron Howard – In the Heart of the Sea
  13. Sarah Gavron – Suffragette
  14. David O. Russell – Joy
  15. Quentin Tarantino – The Hateful Eight

Best Actor:

  1. Michael Fassbender – Steve Jobs – Steve Jobs
  2. Michael Caine – Fred Ballinger – Youth
  3. Leonardo Di Caprio – Hugh Glass – The Revenant
  4. Johnny Depp – Whitey Bulger – Black Mass
  5. Tom Hanks – James Donovan – Bridge of Spies
  6. Jason Segel – David Foster Wallace – The End of the Tour
  7. Bryan Cranston – Dalton Trumbo – Trumbo
  8. Eddie Redmayne – Lili Elbe – The Danish Girl
  9. Ian McKellen – Sherlock Holmes – Mr Holmes
  10. Jake Gyllenhaal – Billy Hope – Southpaw
  11. Tom Hardy – Ronald/Reginald Kray – Legend
  12. Joseph Gordon Levitt – Edward Snowden – Snowden
  13. Colin Farrell – David – The Lobster
  14. Tom Hardy – “Mad” Max Rockatansky – Mad Max: Fury Road
  15. Tom Hiddleston – Hank Williams – I Saw the Light

Best Actress:

  1. Rooney Mara – Therese Belivet – Carol
  2. Marion Cotillard – Lady Macbeth – Macbeth
  3. Alicia Vikander – Gerda Wegener – The Danish Girl
  4. Emily Blunt – Kate Macer – Sicario
  5. Jennifer Lawrence – Joy Mangano – Joy
  6. Cate Blanchett – Carol Aird – Carol
  7. Charlotte Rampling – Kate Mercer – 45 Years
  8. Saoirse Ronan – Ellis Lacey – Brooklyn
  9. Juliette Binoche – Maria Enders – Clouds of Sils Maria
  10. Carey Mulligan – Maud – Suffragette
  11. Mia Wasikowska – Edith Cushing – Crimson Peak
  12. Charlize Theron – Imperator Furiosa – Mad Max: Fury Road
  13. Julianne Moore – Laurel Hester – Freeheld
  14. Angelina Jolie – Vanessa – By the Sea
  15. Amy Schumer – Amy – Trainwreck

Best Supporting Actor:

  1. Seth Rogen – Steve Wozniak – Steve Jobs
  2. Harvey Keitel – Mick Boyle – Youth
  3. Benedict Cumberbatch – Bill Bulger – Black Mass
  4. Benicio Del Toro – Alejandro – Sicario
  5. Mark Rylance – Rudolf Abel – Bridge of Spes
  6. Jesse Eisenberg – David Lipsky – The End of the Tour
  7. Robert De Niro – Rudy Mangano – Joy
  8. Christoph Waltz – Hans Oberhauser – Spectre
  9. Samuel L Jackson – Marquis Warren – The Hateful Eight
  10. Tom Hardy – John Fitzgerald – The Revenant
  11. Chris O’Dowd – David Walsh – The Program
  12. Josh Brolin – Matt – Sicario
  13. Tom Hiddelston – Thomas Sharpe – Crimson Peak
  14. Will Poulter – Jim Bridger – The Revenant
  15. Harrison Ford – Han Solo – Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Best Supporting Actress:

  1. Rachel Weisz – Lena Ballinger – Youth
  2. Kate Winslet – Joanna Hoffman – Steve Jobs
  3. Shailene Woodley – Lindsay Mills – Snowden
  4. Amy Ryan – Mary Donovan – Bridge of Spies
  5. Ellen Page – Stacie Andree – Freeheld
  6. Jessica Chastain – Lucille Sharpe – Crimson Peak
  7. Jane Fonda – Brenda Morel – Youth
  8. Kristen Stewart – Valentine – Clouds of Sils Maria
  9. Julie Walters – Mrs Kehoe – Brooklyn
  10. Melissa Leo – Laura Poitras – Snowden
  11. Rachel McAdams – Maureen Hope – Southpaw
  12. Helen Mirren – Hedda Hooper – Trumbo
  13. Anna Chlumsky – Sarah – The End of the Tour
  14. Helena Bonham Carter – Edith New – Suffragette
  15. Jennifer Jason Leigh – Daisy Domergue – The Hateful Eight

Best Original Screenplay:

  1. Youth – Paolo Sorrentino
  2. The Hateful Eight – Quentin Tarantino
  3. Inside Out – Pete Docter, Ronald Del Carmen, Meg LeFauve, Josh Cooley
  4. Bridge of Spies – Joel Cohen, Ethan Cohen, Matt Charman
  5. Ex Machina – Alex Garland
  6. Joy – David O. Russell, Annie Mumulo
  7. Sicario – Taylor Sheridan
  8. Hail Caesar – Joel Cohen, Ethan Cohen
  9. Demolition – Bryan Sipe
  10. The Good Dinosaur – Enrico Casarosa, Bob Peterson
  11. Suffragette – Abi Morgan
  12. Trainwreck – Amy Schumer
  13. Southpaw – Kurt Sutter
  14. Crimson Peak – Guillermo Del Toro, Matthew Robbins
  15. Irrational Man – Woody Allen

Best Adapted Screenplay:

  1. Steve Jobs – Aaron Sorkin
  2. Carol – Phyllis Nagy
  3. The End of the Tour – Donald Marguiles
  4. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl – Jesse Andrews
  5. The Revenant – Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Mark L Smith
  6. Mad Max: Fury Road – George Miller, Brendan McCarthy, Nick Lathouris
  7. Silence – Jay Cocks
  8. Snowden – Oliver Stone, Kieran Fitzgerald
  9. Brooklyn – Nick Hornby
  10. The Danish Girl – Lucina Coven
  11. Spectre – John Logan, Neil Purvis, Robert Wade
  12. Macbeth – Jacob Koskoff, Todd Louiso
  13. Black Mass – Scott Cooper, Mark Mallouk
  14. The Martian – Drew Goddard
  15. Star Wars: The Force Awakens – JJ Abrams, Lawrence Kasdan

Han Solo spin-off to be directed by Lord and Miller – casting: Aaron Paul? Miles Teller? Chris Pratt?

The development problems of the second Star Wars spin-off began with the quitting of Josh Trank (Chronicle, Fantastic Four) but the latest report states that replacements have been found in the form of Phil Lord and Chris Miller (the duo behind The Lego Movie and the Jump Street movies) and writers Lawrence Kasdan (Raiders of the Lost Ark) and his son Jon (The First Time). This confirms that Simon Kinberg (X-Men: Days of Future Past) has been given the boot. Additionally, we now know that it’ll be a prequel centred on legendary smuggler Han Solo.

Here’s a list of actors who’ll make awesome Hans.

Name: Aaron Paul
Age: 35
Nationality: USA
Previous works: Breaking Bad (2008-2013), Need for Speed (2014), Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014), Bojack Horseman (2014-)

Name: Chris Pratt
Age: 36
Nationality: USA
Previous works: Parks and Recreation (2009-2015), The Lego Movie (2014), Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), Jurassic World (2015)

Name: Jamie Bell
Age: 29
Nationality: UK
Previous works: Billy Elliot (2000), King Kong (2005), The Adventures of Tintin (2011), Fantastic Four (2015)

Name: Nick Robinson
Age: 20
Nationality: USA
Previous works: Broadwalk Empire (2012), The Kings of Summer (2013), Jurassic World (2015), Being Charlie (2015)

Name: Dave Franco
Age: 30
Nationality: USA
Previous works: 21 Jump Street (2012), Warm Bodies (2013), Now You See Me (2013), Bad Neighbours (2014)

Name: Michael B Jordan
Age: 28
Nationality: USA
Previous works: Chronicle (2012), Fruitvale Station (2013), That Awkward Moment (2014), Fantastic Four (2015)

Name: Shia LaBeaouf
Age: 29
Nationality: USA
Previous works: Transformers (2007), Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010), Lawless (2012), Fury (2014)

Name: Ellen Page
Age: 28
Nationality: Canada
Previous works: Hard Candy (2005), Juno (2007), Inception (2010), X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) (*played Han Solo in an Empire Strikes Back script read)

Name: Miles Teller
Age: 28
Nationality: USA
Previous work: The Spectacular Now (2013), Divergent (2014), Whiplash (2014), Fantastic Four (2015)

Name: Jack O’Connell
Age: 24
Nationality: UK
Previous work: Skins (2009-2013), Starred Up (2014), ’71 (2014), Unbroken (2014)

Name: Taron Egerton
Age: 25
Nationality: UK
Previous works: Testament of Youth (2015), Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015), Legend (2015), Eddie the Eagle (2016)

Name: Bradley Cooper
Age: 40
Nationality: USA
Previous works: The Hangover (2009), American Hustle (2013), Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), American Sniper (2014)

Name: Michael Fassbender
Age: 38
Nationality: Germany
Previous works: X-Men: First Class (2011), Prometheus (2012), 12 Years a Slave (2013), Steve Jobs (2015)

Name: Ryan Gosling
Age: 34
Nationality: Canada
Previous works: Drive (2011), Crazy Stupid Love (2011), The Ides of March (2011), The Place Beyond the Pines (2012)

Name: Harrison Ford
Age: 72
Nationality: USA
Previous works: Star Wars (1977), Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), Blade Runner (1982), The Fugitive (1993)

Star Wars Anthology: Han Solo – May 2018

Guardians 2 title revealed and Comic Con lineup announced

Marvel’s third phase has titled its new properties fairly simply – Ant-Man, Doctor Strange, Black Panther, Captain Marvel and Inhumans – while their sequels have received subtitles – Captain America: Civil War, Thor: Ragnarok and The Avengers: Infinity War. The new Spider-Man’s title is yet to have been revealed but the latest news from Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn is that the sequel has been titled: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2.

Gunn directs the cast of Chris Pratt (Jurassic World) as Star Lord, Bradley Cooper (Limitless) as Rocket, Zoe Saldana (Avatar) as Gamora, Vin Diesel (Pitch Black) as Groot, Josh Brolin (No Country for Old Men) as Thanos, Karen Gillan (Oculus) as Nebula, Dave Bautista (Riddick) as Drax, Seth Green (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) as Howard the Duck and Benicio Del Toro (Traffic) as The Collector

comic con international 2015 schedule panels Comic Con 2015: Full Movie & TV Show Schedule Revealed

The schedule for the famed San Diego Comic Con 2015 has been revealed.

Doctor Who Confirmed for SDCC 2015 Panel Comic Con 2015: Full Movie & TV Show Schedule Revealed

Thursday:

  • Lionsgate: ‘The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2′: 12:00 PM-1:15 PM, Hall H
    Lionsgate presents an exclusive first look at one of the studio’s highly anticipated films coming to theaters this fall. Get a sneak peek into the powerful final chapter of the epic The Hunger Games film franchise. Attendees will be shown exclusive, never-before-seen footage from Mockingjay: Part 2 and treated to a cast and filmmaker Q&A session revealing details on the big-screen finale. Featuring stars Jennifer Lawrence and Julianne Moore and director Francis Lawrence.
  • CBS TV Studios Comic-Con Lineup: 12:00 PM-3:30 PM, Ballroom 20
    Exclusive Sneak Previews and Panels for the CBS series ‘Extant’, ‘Zoo’, ‘Under the Dome’, ‘Limitless’, and ‘Scorpion’.
  • ‘Doctor Who’: BBC America’s Official Panel: 2:15 PM-3:15PM, Hall H
    Following his record-breaking first season as the Doctor, Peter Capaldi will make his first ever appearance at Comic-Con with stars Jenna Coleman (Clara Oswald) and Michelle Gomez (Missy), and lead writer and executive producer Steven Moffat. Doctor Who follows the adventures of the Doctor, the time traveler who will continue to journey through all of space and time in epic adventures in the new season premiering this fall. Capaldi’s first season delivered BBC America its highest rated season ever and is available now on all digital platforms.
  • ‘Sherlock’: 3:45 PM-5:15PM, Ballroom 20
    Steven Moffat
     (co-creator, executive producer, and writer), Sue Vertue (executive producer) and Rupert Graves (actor, DI Greg Lestrade) discuss the latest adventures of Sherlock Holmes and his long-suffering faithful friend, Dr. John Watson. Sherlock will return to BBC in a forthcoming special.
  • MTV’s ‘Teen Wolf’: 5:00 PM-6:00PM, Ballroom 20
    Teen Wolf cast members and executive producer are taking Comic-Con by storm for the sixth consecutive year. The pack of MTV’s hit series Teen Wolf will dish secrets, share a sneak peek of the upcoming season, and answer fan questions.
  • ‘Damien’: 6:45 PM-7:45 PM, Room 6A
    From executive producer Glen Mazaara (The Walking Dead, The Shield), Damien follows the adult life of Damien Thorn, the mysterious child from the 1976 motion picture who has grown up seemingly unaware of the satanic forces around him. Haunted by his past, Damien must now come to terms with his true destiny: that he is the Antichrist. Starring Bradley James (Merlin), Barbara Hershey, Megalyn Echikunwoke and Omid Abtahi. Get an exclusive first look at the show followed by a Q&A with cast and producers, plus a special guest appearance.

Game of Thrones Season 6 Details Comic Con 2015: Full Movie & TV Show Schedule Revealed

Friday:

  • ‘Lucifer’ Pilot Screening and Q&A: 11:30 AM-12:30PM, Room 6BCF
    Lucifer is the story of the original fallen angel. Bored and unhappy as the Lord of Hell, Lucifer Morningstar has resigned his throne and retired to the City of Angels, where he owns an upscale piano bar called Lux. When a beautiful pop star is murdered, for the first time in roughly 10 billion years, he feels something awaken deep within him. Is he actually capable of feelings for a human being? The very thought disturbs him. The murder attracts the attention of LAPD homicide detective Chloe Dancer, who finds herself both repulsed and fascinated by Lucifer. At the same time, God’s emissary, the angel Amenadiel, has been sent to Los Angeles to convince Lucifer to return to Hell. But with the City of Angels at his feet and a newfound purpose, Lucifer’s having too much fun to go back now. Sexy, dark and irreverent, Lucifer makes its Comic-Con debut with a screening of the complete pilot episode, followed by a Q&A with series stars and producers. From Jerry Bruckheimer Television and Aggressive Mediocrity in association with Warner Bros. Television, and based on characters created by Neil Gaiman, Sam Kieth, and Mike Dringenberg for DC Entertainment’s Vertigo imprint, Lucifer premieres Midseason on FOX.
  • AMC’s ‘The Walking Dead’: 12:00 PM-2:00 PM, Hall H
    Andrew Lincoln, Norman Reedus, Steven Yeun, Lauren Cohan, Danai Gurira, Melissa McBride, Chandler Riggs, Sonequa Martin-Green, Michael Cudlitz
     and Lennie Jamesjoin executive producer and showrunner Scott M. Gimple, executive producer Robert Kirkman, executive producer Gale Anne Hurd, executive producer Dave Alpert, and special effects makeup supervisor and executive producer Greg Nicotero in a panel moderated by Chris Hardwick (The Nerdist, Talking Dead). The panelists will discuss the shocking finale of Season 5 and what to look forward to in Season 6, debuting this fall on AMC. Join the panelists for a Q&A session and an official sneak preview of Season 6.
  • ‘Minority Report’: 1:45 PM-2:45 PM, Ballroom 20
    Be one of the first to take a look at FOX’s new fall sci-fi action thriller. Based on the hit futuristic Steven Spielberg feature, Minority Report follows the unlikely partnership between a man haunted by the future and a cop haunted by her past, as they race to stop the worst crimes of the year 2065 before they happen. Join Stark Sands (Inside Llewyn Davis), Meagan Good (Think Like a Man franchise, Californication) along with other cast and producers for a special screening followed by a Q&A.
  • ‘Game of Thrones’ Panel and Q&A: 2:30PM-3:30PM, Hall H
    Based on the bestselling fantasy book series A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin, HBO’s Game of Thrones concluded its 10-episode fifth season in June and will begin filming its sixth season this summer. The series, executive produced and written by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, is an epic story of treachery and nobility, set on the continent of Westeros, where summers and winters can last years. Panelists include (in alphabetical order) Alfie Allen as Theon Greyjoy/Reek, John Bradley as Samwell Tarly, Gwendoline Christie as Brienne of Tarth, Liam Cunningham as Davos Seaworth, Natalie Dormer as Margaery Tyrell, Conleth Hill as Varys, David Nutter (director), Hannah Murray as Gilly, Carolyn Strauss (executive producer), Sophie Turner as Sansa Stark, Carice van Houten as Melisandre, and Maisie Williams as Arya Stark.
  • Marvel Television Presents: 3:00 PM-4:15 PM, Ballroom 20
    Jeph Loeb
     (Marvel’s head of television) brings you exclusive news and surprises about your favorite action-packed Marvel series on ABC. Join Jeph, showrunners, and the casts of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Agent Carter for this can’t-miss panel that’ll have everyone talking! Featuring Clark Gregg and Hayley Atwell.
  • ‘iZombie’ Special Video Presentation and Q&A: 5:45 PM-6:45PM, Ballroom 20
    After the shocking events in the season finale of brainy hit iZombie, be among the first to get the scoop on what’s in store for Season 2. Now that Liv (Rose McIver) gave the cure for zombie-ism to Blaine and Major (one that she desperately wanted to take herself!) will Ravi find a way to develop another cure? Will Clive remain in the dark about the existence of zombies? A special video presentation will be followed by a Q&A with series stars as well as executive producers Rob Thomas (Veronica Mars) and Diane Ruggiero-Wright (Veronica Mars). From Bonanza Productions Inc. in association with Spondoolie Productions and Warner Bros. Television and based on characters created by Chris Roberson and Michael Allred, published by DC Entertainment’s Vertigo imprint, iZombie returns this fall with all-new episodes on Tuesdays at 9/8c on The CW. iZombie: The Complete First Season will be released on Blu-ray and DVD on September 29.
  • Lucasfilm: ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’: 5:30 PM-6:30 PM, Hall H
    Lucasfilm president and producer Kathleen Kennedy, director J.J. Abrams, writer Lawrence Kasdan, and special guests provide a special look at Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Featuring Harrison Ford, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o and Andy Serkis.
  • ‘Orphan Black’: BBC America Official Panel: 5:45 PM-6:45 PM, Room 6BCF
    Stars Tatiana Maslany (Sarah and the Leda clones), Jordan Gavaris (Felix), Maria Doyle Kennedy (Mrs. S), Dylan Bruce (Paul), Kristian Bruun (Donnie), and Ari Millen (Mark and the Castor clones) and co-creators John Fawcett and Graeme Manson look back at last season before filming begins on Season 4. Orphan Black Season 3 is currently on VOD. For those new to the Clone Club, you can also start watching the BBC America series by streaming the first two seasons on Amazon Prime or download the entire series from any of the major digital platforms.
  • Star: ‘Ash vs. Evil Dead’: 6:00 PM-7:00PM, Room 6A
    Original filmmakers Sam Raimi (executive producer, director, writer), Rob Tapert (executive producer), Bruce Campbell (executive producer and star of the series, Ash), Ivan Raimi (co-exeuctive producer), and Craig DiGregorio (executive producer), along with Lucy Lawless (Ruby), discuss the highly anticipated new series and what fans can expect in the premiere season.
  • ‘Yoga Hosers’: 7:15 PM-9:00 PM, Hall H
    An evening with Kevin Smith. After all the interesting and exciting movie panels are over, Hall H belongs to a middle-aged loser who dresses like a 12-year-old! Ask Kev questions about AMC’s Comic Book Men and his forthcoming Mallrats sequel Mallbrats, and see the world premiere of the trailer to his new movie, Yoga Hosers. Wrap up a busy Friday with the Clown Prince of Comic-Con! With special guests from the Yoga Hosers cast. Featuring Johnny Depp and Haley Joel Osment.

Saturday:

  • Warner Bros.: 10:30 AM-12:00 PM, Hall H
    A “sneak peek” at a few upcoming releases from Warner Bros. Likely including The Man From UNCLE (Armie Hammer, Guy Ritchie), Pan (Hugh Jackman, Joe Wright), In the Heart of the Sea (Chris Hemsworth, Ron Howard), Point Break (Edgar Ramirez), Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice (Ben Affleck, Zack Snyder), Central Intelligence (Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart), Tarzan (Alexander Skarsgard, Margot Robbie), Knights of the Roundtable: King Arthur (Charlie Hunnam, Jude Law), Suicide Squad (Jared Leto, David Ayer) and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Eddie Redmayne, David Yates).
  • The Weinstein Company: ‘The Hateful Eight’: 1:30 PM-2:15 PM, Hall H
    Academy Award-winning writer/director Quentin Tarantino brings fans an exclusive look at his highly anticipated 8th film, The Hateful Eight. Followed by a Q&A session with the cast: Samuel L Jackson, Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Bruce Dern.
  • Legendary Pictures: 2:30 PM-3:30 PM, Hall H
    Filmmakers and talent from Legendary’s upcoming Warcraft (Duncan Jones, Dominic Cooper, Toby Kebbell) and Crimson Peak (Guillermo Del Toro, Tom Hiddleston, Jessica Chastain), distributed by Universal Pictures, will discuss the innovative slate and present never-before-seen material. Chris Hardwick (AMC’s Talking Dead) hosts the panel that will also include surprises from highly anticipated legendary movies, including Great Wall, Krampus, and more.
  • 20th Century Fox: 5:45 PM-7:30 PM, Hall H
    20th Century Fox Presentation including Fantastic Four (Miles Teller), Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (Dylan O’Brien), The Martian (Matt Damon), Bridge of Spies (Tom Hanks), Kung Fu Panda 3 (Jack Black), Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds), X-Men: Apocalypse (Jennifer Lawrence), Independence Day: Resurgence (Jeff Goldblum), Gambit (Channing Tatum), and Assassin’s Creed (Michael Fassbender).
  • Warner Bros. Television and DC Entertainment Screening Block: 8:00 PM-11:00 PM, Hall H
    Includes Supergirl season 1 (Melissa Benoist), Gotham season 2 (Ben McKenzie), Arrow season 4 (Steven Amell), The Flash season 2 (Grant Gustin) and Legends of Tomorrow season 1 (Brandon Routh).

Sunday:

  • TV premieres including Heroes Reborn, American Horror Story, Scream Queens, Supernatural and The Vampire Diaries.

Mission: Impossible 5 posters, James Gunn teases Guardians 2 title and Star Wars director rumours

The new Disney-owned Star Wars franchise has assembled a brilliant set of filmmakers including writers Lawrence Kasdan (Raiders of the Lost Ark), Michael Arndt (Toy Story 3) and Simon Kinberg (X-Men: Days of Future Past), producer Kathleen Kennedy (Lincoln) and directors JJ Abrams (Super 8), Rian Johnson (Looper) and Gareth Edwards (Godzilla). When Josh Trank (Chronicle) departed the second spin off film he left a vacancy that’s looking to be filled. The latest rumour indicates that the two directors in contention for the job are Matthew Vaughn (Layer Cake, Stardust, Kick-Ass, X-Men: First Class, Kingsman: The Secret Service) and Jon Favreau (Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Zathura, Elf, Chef). Thematically, Favreau is more in tune with the Star Wars spirit but Vaughn’s consistency gives him the edge. The current rumours on this spin off are that it’ll focus on an adventure involving Han Solo and Boba Fett.

Marvel’s entries tend to vary between having a subtitle or not. In one camp there’s the Iron Man trilogy, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, Avengers Assemble and the upcoming Ant-Man and on the other there’s Captain America: The First Avenger, The Winter Soldier and Civil War, Thor: The Dark World and Ragnarok and the recent Avengers: Age of Ultron. We’d assumed that the follow up to last year’s smash hit Guardians of the Galaxy would simply be titled Guardians of the Galaxy 2 but in a recent tweet director James Gunn (Slither, Super), who has just finished the script, suggested that there’d be a new title:“No spoilers – not even the title.” We’d suspect that the title will give away a key villain or location in the film.

We’re expecting the cast to include Chris Pratt (Jurassic World) as Quill, Zoe Saldana (Avatar) as Gamora, Vin Diesel (Pitch Black) as Groot, Bradley Cooper (American Sniper) as Rocket, Josh Brolin (No Country for Old Men) as Thanos, Benicio Del Toro (Traffic) as The Collector, Dave Bautista (Spectre) as Drax, Karen Gillan (Oculus) as Nebula, Michael Rooker (The Walking Dead) as Yondu, John C Reilly (Chicago) as Denarian Dey, Glenn Close (Dangerous Liaisons) and Seth Green (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) as Howard the Duck.

Finally, Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation has begun the obligatory character poster campaign. In the spy sequel, Christopher McQuarrie (Jack Reacher) directs the cast of Tom Cruise (Edge of Tomorrow, Minority Report), Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker, Avengers Assemble), Rebecca Ferguson (The White Queen, Hercules), Simon Pegg (Shaun of the Dead, Stark Trek), Sean Harris (Prometheus, ’71), Simon McBurney (Rev, The Theory of Everything) and Alec Baldwin (Still Alice, 30 Rock).

Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation – July 30th

Guardians of the Galaxy 2 – April 28th 2017

Untitled Star Wars Anthology – May 2018

Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation

Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation

Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation

Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation

Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation

Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation

Andy Serkis’ Star Wars character revealed and Gunn drops GoTG2 villain hints

“There has been an awakening in the Force. Have you felt it?”

Andy-Serkis-Star-Wars-Performance-Capture

This opening line from the now iconic Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer belonged to the disembodied voice of Andy Serkis (The Lord of the Rings, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, The Avengers: Age of Ultron, King Kong) but we had no idea who the character was. It’s now revealed that the master of mo-cap is playing Supreme Leader Snoke, who we’re now presuming is evil.

As well as returning favourites Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher and ost of the new roles have been revealed: Oscar Isaac (A Most Violent Year) plays pilot Poe Dameron, Adam Driver (Girls) plays First Order enforcer Kylo Ren, Gwendoline Christie (Game of Thrones) plays villainous commander Captain Phasma, John Boyega (Attack the Block) is ex-Stormtrooper Finn, Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years a Slave) plays pirate Max Kanata and newcomer Daisy Ridley is scavenger Rey. However, Domhnall Gleeson (Ex Machina) and Max Von Sydow’s (Minority Report) roles haven’t been revealed.

While Marvel’s sci-fi smash hit Guardians of the Galaxy was undeniably brilliant it could have done with a more iconic villain than Ronin (Lee Pace) and let Thanos (Josh Brolin), Korath (Djimon Hounsou) and The Collector (Benicio Del Toro). After a recent suggestion that the sequel’s villain be Kang the Conqueror or the Shi’ar Empire but director James Gunn (Slither, Super) shot the rumours down. “Shi’ar and Kang are both owned by Fox. All decisions about who is in Guardians of the Galaxy 2 were made a long time ago.” This isn’t entirely promising for the film but it does mean that maybe Fantastic Four are facing Kang in a future instalment. Or the X-Men might use him to set up the Apocalypse Twins storyline to lead on from next years X-Men: Apocalypse.

GotG2 will likely star Chris Pratt (Jurassic World, The Lego Movie) as Star Lord, Zoe Saldana (Avatar, Stark Trek) as Gamora, Bradley Cooper (Silver Linings Playbook, American Sniper) as Rocket, Vin Diesel (Fast Five, Pitch Black) as Groot, Karen Gillan (Oculus, Doctor Who) as Nebula, Dave Bautista (Riddick, Spectre) as Drax, John C Reilly (Chicago, Wreck-It Ralph) as Denarian Dey, Glenn Close (Fatal Attractions, Dangerous Liaisons) as Nova Prime, Benicio Del Toro (Traffic, Sicario) as The Collector and Josh Brolin (No Country For Old Men, American Gangster) as Thanos.

Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens – December 18th

Guardians of the Galaxy 2 – April 28th 2017

Michael Fassbender in first Steve Jobs trailer

The biopic of technology pioneer Steve Jobs has had a rough ride. Aaron Sorkin (The Social Network) picked up the project as a screenwriter with George Clooney (Gravity) as the initial choice. Fight Club/Seven’s David Fincher entered the director’s chair with Leonardo Di Caprio (Inception, The Aviator) and Christian Bale (The Dark Knight, American Hustle) in consideration. In early 2014, these plans fell apart before director Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire, 127 Hours) rescued it. Names like Matt Damon (Good Will Hunting, The Bourne Identity), Ben Affleck (Gone Girl, Argo) and Bradley Cooper (Limitless, Guardians of the Galaxy) and the female lead was mentioned in connection Jessica Chastain (Interstellar, The Help), Natalie Portman (Black Swan, Thor) and Scarlett Johansson (Lost in Translation, The Avengers).

Eventually a cast was brought together and we can see them in action in the first trailer. The film takes place over three poignant moments in Jobs’ life and stars Michael Fassbender (Prometheus, 12 Years a Slave), Seth Rogen (The Interview, 50/50), Jeff Daniels (Looper, The Newsroom), Katherine Waterston (Inherent Vice, Michael Clayton), Michael Stuhlbarg (A Serious Man, Broadwalk Empire) and Kate Winslet (Titanic, The Reader).

Steve Jobs – November 13th

Fault in Our Stars wins at MTVs, Rebecca Hall joins BFG and Stallone in first still from Creed

BIrdman, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Birdman, Guardians of the Galaxy and Boyhood were among the most celebrated films of the previous awards season but the MTV Awards have a history of selecting mainstream flicks. Previous films to have been crowned include Terminator 2, A Few Good Men, Scream, There’s Something About Mary, The Matrix, The Lord of the Rings, Napoleon Dynamite, Wedding Crashers, Transformers, Twilight, The Avengers and The Hunger Games: Caching Fire. Last night’s results are in on the 2015 awards (novelty awards included).

Best Movie:

The Fault in Our Stars
American Sniper
Boyhood
Gone Girl
Guardians of the Galaxy
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1
Selma
Whiplash

Best Male Performance:

Bradley Cooper – American Sniper
Ansel Elgort – The Fault in Our Stars
Chris Pratt – Guardians of the Galaxy
Channing Tatum – Foxcatcher
Miles Teller – Whiplash

Best Female Performance:

Shailene Woodley – The Fault in Our Stars
Scarlett Johansson – Lucy
Jennifer Lawrence – The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1
Emma Stone – Birdman
Reese Witherspoon – Wild

Best Breakthrough Performance:

Dylan O’Brien – The Maze Runner
Ellar Coltrane – Boyhood
Ansel Elgort – The Fault in Our Stars
David Oyelowo – Selma
Rosamund Pike – Gone Girl

Best Scared Performance:

Jennifer Lopez – The Boy Next Door
Zack Gildford – The Purge: Anarchy
Dylan O’Brien – The Maze Runner
Rosamund Pike – Gone Girl
Annabelle Wallis – Annabelle

Best On Screen Duo:

Zac Efron & Dave Franco – Bad Neighbours
Bradley Cooper & Vin Diesel – Guardians of the Galaxy
James Franco & Seth Rogen – The Interview
Channing Tatum & Jonah Hill – 22 Jump Street
Shailene Woodley & Ansel Elgort – The Fault in Our Stars

Best Shirtless Performance:

Zac Efron – Bad Neighbours
Ansel Elgort – The Fault in Our Stars
Chris Pratt – Guardians of the Galaxy
Channing Tatum – Foxcatcher
Kate Upton – The Other Woman

Best Fight:

Dylan O’Brien vs Will Poulter – The Maze Runner
Chris Evans vs Sebastian Stan – Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Jonah Hill vs Jillian Bell – 22 Jump Street
Edward Norton vs Michael Keaton – Birdman
Seth Rogen vs Zac Efron – Bad Neighbours

Best Kiss:

Ansel Elgort & Shailene Woodley – The Fault in Our Stars
Rose Byrne & Halston Sage – Bad Neighbours
James Franco & Seth Rogen – The Interview
Andrew Garfield & Emma Stone – The Amazing Spider-Man 2
Scarlett Johansson & Chris Evans – Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Best WTF Moment:

Seth Rogen & Rose Byrne – Bad Neighbours
Rosario Dawson & Anders Holm – Top Five
Jonah Hill – 22 Jump Street
Jason Sudeikis & Charlie Day – Horrible Bosses 2
Miles Teller – Whpilash

Best Villain:

Meryl Streep – Into the Woods
Jillian Bell – 22 Jump Street
Peter Dinklage – X-Men: Days of Future Past
(Spoilers) – Gone Girl
JK Simmons – Whiplash

Best Musical Moment:

Jennifer Lawrence – The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1
Bill Hader & Kristen Wiig – The Skeleton Twins
Chris Pratt – Guardians of the Galaxy
Seth Rogen & Zac Efron – Bad Neighbours
Miles Teller – Whiplash

Best Comedic Performance:

Channing Tatum – 22 Jump Street
Rose Byrne – Bad Neighbours
Kevin Hart – The Wedding Ringer
Chris Pratt – Guardians of the Galaxy
Chris Rock – Top Five

Best On Screen Transformation:

Elizabeth Banks – The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1
Steve Carell – Foxcacher
Ellar Coltrane – Boyhood
Eddie Redmayne – The Theory of Everything
Zoe Saldana – Guardians of the Galaxy

Best Hero:

Dylan O’Brien – The Maze Runner
Shailene Woodley – Insurgent
Jennifer Lawrence – The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1
Martin Freeman – The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Chris Pratt – Guardians of the Galaxy

Trailblazer Award:

Shailene Woodley (The Descendants, Divergent, The Fault in Our Stars, The Spectacular Now)

Comedic Genius Award:

Kevin Hart (Get Hard, Ride Along, Think Like a Man, The Wedding Ringer)

Generation Award:

Robert Downey Jr (The Avengers, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Sherlock Holmes, Zodiac)

Here’s the winners’ leaderboard:

Bad Neighbours, The Fault in Our Stars, The Maze Runner – 3
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 – 2
22 Jump Street, American Sniper, The Boy Next Door, Into the Woods – 1

With various big names already attached to his fantasy adventure The BFG, famed director Steven Spielberg (Jaws, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Jurassic Park, Schindler’s List, Saving Private Ryan, Minority Report, Catch Me If You Can, Lincoln) has enlisted even more cast members for the project. Rebecca Hall, the Golden Globe and BAFTA nominated star of Iron Man 3, The Town, The Prestige and Vicky Cristina Barcelona, was the first major addition in an announcement that included Jemaine Clement (What We Do in the Shadows, Flight at the Conchords) and Penelope Wilton (Shaun of the Dead, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel). The cast already includes Mark Rylance (Wolf Hall, Bridge of Spies), Bill Hader (Superbad, The Skeleton Twins) and Martin Freeman (Fargo, Sherlock, The Hobbit trilogy).

It’s so far unclear if the new film Creed will be an Oscar favourite or a limp reboot of the lagging Rocky franchise (one that began with a Best Picture win in 1976 steadily declined through four sequels in the 1980s and returned with the minor hit of 2006’s Rocky Balboa). The new addition of the franchise has Michael B Jordan (Chronicle, The Fantastic Four) reteaming with his Fruitvale Station (an acclaimed urban drama) director Ryan Coogler to play Creed’s grandson who recruits Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone – First Blood) as his new mentor to become a new boxing legend. The film’s first still has been revealed. Graham McTavish (The Hobbit, Outlander) and Tessa Thompson (Selma, Dear White People).

Creed – November 25th

The BFG – July 22nd 2016

James Gunn gives an update on Guardians 2 and Tom Hardy may be back for more Mad Max

Tom Hardy as Mad Max Mad Max: Fury Road: Tom Hardy Signed On For Three Sequels

The British actor Tom Hardy has had brilliant performances in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Warrior, Locke and Inception before stunning us as Bane in The Dark Knight Rises but he may be making his most iconic role yet in Mad Max: Fury Road. Now he’s hinted that the remake of the Mel Gibson trilogy is spawning its own franchise. Plans for a trilogy make sense but it’ll depend on decent box-office success this May.

Mad Max Fury Road explosion Mad Max: Fury Road: Tom Hardy Signed On For Three Sequels

“Everything’s based on figures and how things are perceived,” Hardy explained, “Inevitably it’s a business.” Fury Road is directed by the original’s George Miller and stars Charlize Theron (Monster, Young Adult, Prometheus), Zoe Kravitz (Divergent, X-Men: First Class), Riley Keough (The Runaways) and Nicholas Hoult (Warm Bodies, X-Men: Days of Future Past).

Guardians of the Galaxy

Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy shocked us all by becoming one of 2014’s biggest critcial and commercial hits and so the sequel was inevitable. Director James Gunn (Slither) just gave an update on where the follow up is in its development and his script has been submitted. “I turned in my treatment. I’m going in to meet about it Friday and we will start working on the screenplay next week.”

The cast will include Chris Pratt (Jurassic World, The Lego Movie) as Star Lord, Zoe Saldana (Avatar, Star Trek Into Darkness) as Gamora, Bradley Cooper (American Sniper, Limitless) as Rocket, Karen Gillan (Oculus, Doctor Who) as Nebula, Dave Bautista (Spectre, Riddick) as Drax, Michael Rooker (Jumper, Super) as Yondu and Vin Diesel (Fast and Furious, Saving Private Ryan) as Groot. We might also expect cameos by Benicio Del Toro (Traffic, Inherent Vice), Josh Brolin (No Country For Old Men, True Grit) and Seth Green (Buffy the Vampire Slayer).

Mad Max: Fury Road – May 14th

Mad Max 2 – 2017?

Guardians of the Galaxy 2 – Apirl 28th 2017

Interstellar and Kingsman win big at the Empire Awards

BAFTA chose Boyhood, Golden Globes elected the latter and The Grand Budapest Hotel, Oscars voted for Birdman while our own pick was Guardians of the Galaxy. Empire, a ceremony that brilliantly mashes together the arthouse and the mainstream, has just revealed its recipients. Previous winners of Best Film have included Seven, The Matrix, The Fellowship of the Ring, The Bourne Ultimatum, The Dark Knight, Avatar, Inception, Skyfall and Gravity. For a bit of background on the honorary awards, Hero marks a current contribution to cinema (Simon Pegg, Daniel Radcliffe, Keira Knightley, Michael Fassbender, Jude Law), the Icon/Legend celebrates a lifespan of great work (Brian Cox, Ewan MacGregor, Viggo Mortensen, Ian McKellen, Gary Oldman, Hugh Jackman) and Inspiration is for a modern master filmmaker (Monty Python, Aardman, Pixar, Michael Mann, Ray Harreyhausen, Guillermo Del Toro, Sam Mendes, Ron Howard, Kenneth Branagh, Edgar Wright, Stephen Frears, Spike Lee, Paul Greengrass).

Best Film:

Interstellar
Boyhood
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
The Imitation Game

Best British Film:

Kingsman: The Secret Service
Paddington
The Imitation Game
The Theory of Everything
Under the Skin

Best Director:

Christopher Nolan – Interstellar
Matt Reeves – Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Morten Tyldum – The Imitation Game
Peter Jackson – The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Richard Linklater – Boyhood

Best Actor:

Andy Serkis – Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Benedict Cumberbatch – The Imitation Game
Bradley Cooper – American Sniper
Eddie Redmanye – The Theory of Everything
Richard Armitage – The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

Best Actress:

Rosamund Pike – Gone Girl
Alicia Vikander – Ex Machina
Emily Blunt – Edge of Tomorrow
Felicity Jones – The Theory of Everything
Keira Knightley – The Imitation Game

Best Male Newcomer:

Taron Egerton – Kingsman: The Secret Service
Dan Stevens – The Guest
Daniel Huttlestone – Into the Woods
Ellar Coltrane – Boyhood
Jack O’Connell – Unbroken

Best Female Newcomer:

Karen Gillan – Oculus and Guardians of the Galaxy
Carrie Coon – Gone Girl
Essie Davis – The Babadook
Gugu Mbatha Raw – Belle
Sophie Cookson – Kingsman: The Secret Service

Best Comedy:

Paddington
22 Jump Street
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Inbetweeners 2
The Lego Movie

Best Horror:

The Babadook
Annabelle
Oculus
The Guest
Under the Skin

Best Sci-fi/Fantasy:

X-Men: Days of Future Past
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Guardians of the Galaxy
Interstellar
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

Best Thriller:

The Imitation Game
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Gone Girl
Kingsman: The Secret Service
Locke

Empire Legend:

Ralph Fiennes (The English Patient, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Schindler’s List, Skyfall)

Empire Hero:

Game of Thrones (Peter Dinklage, Emilia Clarke, Kit Harrington, Lena Headey, Charles Dance, Natalie Dormer, Sean Bean)

Empire Inspiration:

Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight trilogy, The Following, Inception, Insomnia, Interstellar, Memento, The Prestige)

Here’s a few images from the night itself, hosted by James Nesbitt. Guests include: Henry Cavill (Man of Steel), Olga Kurylenko (Quantum of Solace), Jessica Chastain (The Help), Simon Pegg (Shaun of the Dead), James McAvoy (Atonement), Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter), Reece Shearsmith (A Field in England) and Matt Berry (The IT Crowd).

Rosamund Pike

Matt Berry

Reece Shearsmith

James McAvoy, Daniel Radcliffe

Mark Strong, Sofia Boutella, Sophie Cookson, Jane Goldman, James McAvoy, Daniel Radcliffe

James Nesbitt, Simon Pegg

Dean-Charles Chapman, Liam Cunningham, Kit Harington, Isaac Kempstead Wright

James Nesbitt, Jessica Chastain

Christopher Nolan

Andy Serkis, Olga Kurylenko

Andy Serkis

Henry Cavill

MTV Movie Award Nominations – Guardians, Mockingjay, Neighbours and Fault in Our Stars lead

Boyhood, Birdman, Whiplash, The Theory of Everything, Still Alice and The Grand Budapest Hotel were the undisputed champions of the awards season but the MTV Awards (which is just a novelty promotional event for 2015’s films) can still provide an alternate choice. Let’s have a look:

Movie of the Year:

American Sniper
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1
Guardians of the Galaxy
Gone Girl
The Fault in Our Stars
Boyhood
Whiplash
Selma

Best Female Performance:

Jennifer Lawrence – The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1
Emma Stone – Birdman
Shailene Woodley – The Fault in Our Stars
Scarlett Johansson – Lucy
Reese Witherspoon – Wild

Best Male Performance:

Bradley Cooper – American Sniper
Chris Pratt – Guardians of the Galaxy
Ansel Elgort – The Fault in Our Stars
Miles Teller – Whiplash
Channing Tatum – Foxcatcher

Best Scared Performance:

Rosamund Pike – Gone Girl
Annabelle Wallis – Annabelle
Jennifer Lopez – The Boy Next Door
Dylan O’Brien – The Maze Runner
Zach Gilford – The Purge: Anarchy

Breakthrough Performance:

Ansel Elgort – The Fault in Our Stars
Rosamund Pike – Gone Girl
David Oyelowo – Selma
Dylan O’Brien – The Maze Runner
Ellar Coltrane – Boyhood

Best Shirtless Performance:

Zac Efron – Bad Neighbours
Chris Pratt – Guardians of the Galaxy
Channing Tatum – Foxcatcher
Ansel Elgort – The Fault in Our Stars
Kate Upton – The Other Woman

Best Duo:

Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill – 22 Jump Street
Zac Efron, Dave Franco – Bad Neighbours
Shailene Woodley, Ansel Elgort – The Fault in Our Stars
Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel – Guardians of the Galaxy
James Franco, Seth Rogen – The Interview

Best Fight:

Jonah Hill vs Jillian Bell – 22 Jump Street
Chris Evans vs Sebastian Stan – Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Dylan O’Brien vs Will Poulter – The Maze Runner
Seth Rogen vs Zac Efron – Bad Neighbours
Edward Norton vs Michael Keaton – Birdman

Best Kiss:

Ansel Elgort, Shailene Woodley – The Fault in Our Stars
James Franco, Seth Rogen – The Interview
Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone – The Amazing Spider-Man 2
Scarlett Johansson, Chris Evans – Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Rose Byre, Halston Sage – Neighbours

Best Villain:

(Spoilers) – Gone Girl
JK Simmons – Whiplash
Jillian Bell – 22 Jump Street
Meryl Streep – Into the Woods
Peter Dinklage – X-Men: Days of Future Past

Best Comedic Performance:

Channing Tatum – 22 Jump Street
Chris Pratt – Guardians of the Galaxy
Rose Byrne – Neighbours
Chris Rock – Top Five
Kevin Hart – The Wedding Ringer

Best Onscreen Transformation:

Eddie Redmayne – The Theory of Everything
Elizabeth Banks – The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1
Zoe Saldana – Guardians of the Galaxy
Steve Carell – Foxcatcher
Ellar Coltrane – Boyhood

Here’s the leaderboard:

The Fault in Our Stars, Guardians of the Galaxy – 7
Bad Neighbours – 6
22 Jump Street, Whiplash – 5
Gone Girl, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 – 4
Boyhood, Foxcatcher, The Maze Runner – 3
American Sniper, Birdman, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, The Interview, Top Five, Selma – 2