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SCREEN: And The Oscar Goes To...
An intriguing hotel, a British mathematician, an American hero, a revolutionary icon, a telepathic superhero, the love of physics, the struggle for musical achievement and 12 years of filming all surround the 2015 Best Picture nominees at the 87th Annual Academy Awards. The eight films are in the running against one another in what some are calling a very tight category.
The Grand Budapest Hotel, winner of the award for Best Musical/Comedy film at this year’s Golden Globes has been nominated, but will it have a chance against other leading films at this year’s Oscars? The Wes Anderson film brought many laughs and earned lots of praise in early 2014, but critiques say it doesn’t live up to the hype of his previous film Moonrise Kingdom. Many feel David Fincher’s Gone Girl would have been a more suitable nominee, a film that was definitely snubbed at this years Academy Awards.
Whiplash, The Imitation Game, and the powerful Selma have all been nominated as well. Selma, the story of Martin Luther King Jr. and the Voting Rights Act of 1964, has been highlighted as one of the best films of the season but only received two nominations, the other being Best Achievement in Music Written for a Motion Picture, Original Song. Ava DuVernay did not receive a Best Director nomination, leading many shocked fans to declare their opinions on the unfairness of the Academy Awards via twitter.
The Clint Eastwood film American Sniper flew under the radar until it was nominated and has received great reviews from critics for its direction and for Bradley Cooper’s leading role. Up against this promising win is Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s Birdman and Richard Linklater’s Boyhood. Both films have touched different viewers on different levels and are getting the most praise this year. Michael Keaton won Best Actor in a Musical/Comedy at the Golden Globes and is also nominated for Best Actor for the role of Riggan, the washed up film actor struggling for a Broadway comeback while dealing with his own egotistical demons in Birdman. The film has nine nominations and has been praised for its amazing sound mixing, editing, cinematography, and direction.
Richard Linklater spent over a decade filming Ellar Coltrane, beginning when he was five-years-old. Critics call what Linklater did groundbreaking and revolutionary, taking a gamble on filming one section of the story every year for 12 years in a row and editing it together to make a visionary film about adolescence and family. The film has 6 nominations at the Oscars and won Best Motion Picture – Drama and Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture at the Golden Globes.
Sunday February 22nd on ABC you can watch all the nominees and winners accept their awards. Before awards night, head to your local theater and watch any or all of the 8 films and see which one you think deserves Best Picture.