The Globes are over and done with (and perhaps best left that way), but let’s take a look at how Team HitFix did with our predictions in any case.

Guy Lodge was the only one of us to correctly guess “12 Years a Slave” for the Best Picture – Drama prize. Greg and I were figuring on “Gravity.” But we all agreed Alfonso Cuarón would be crowned Best Director for his space epic and indeed he was.

In the acting ranks, Guy and I figured on “12 Years a Slave” star Chiwetel Ejiofor landing the drama win for lead actor, but of course, we were wrong (seeing as the HFPA only gave that film the one prize on the evening). Greg nailed it, though, guessing Matthew McConaughey. On the comedy/musical side of that line, however, our guesses were all over the place. Guy figured on Bruce Dern. Greg went out on a limb for Joaquin Phoenix. But I was correct in placing a bet on the movie star: Leonardo DiCaprio. (Though in fairness, it was a last-minute switch; I had been anticipating Dern along with Guy.)

As for leading ladies, we all knew Cate Blanchett was going to win in drama for her sure-to-be-Oscar-winning work in “Blue Jasmine,” but I chased a flight of fancy that Meryl Streep would win in the comedy field, despite the fact that HFPA didn’t much like “August: Osage County.” Big mistake and I should have stuck with that initial hunch, Amy Adams, as Guy and Greg did; the HFPA loved “American Hustle” and it was her time, after all.

Speaking of which, we all figured they would love David O. Russell’s film enough to hand it the screenplay prize, so none of us saw Spike Jonze and “Her” coming on that score.

Circling around to the supporting ranks, we all correctly pegged Jared Leto to win for “Dallas Buyers Club,” a runaway train at this point. But Guy kept figuring on “12 Years a Slave” with his Lupita Nyong’o bet. Greg and I went with eventual winner Jennifer Lawrence.

No surprise to any of us that “Frozen” would win Best Animated Feature, but we weren’t so together in solidarity for its original song prospects. Greg figured on “Let it Go,” while Guy thought HFPA would give “Inside Llewyn Davis” the prize for “Please Mr. Kennedy.” But my bet was that superstars U2 would grace the stage for “Ordinary Love” from “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom,” and so they did.

Sticking with music, Guy was the smart one to pick “All is Lost” as Greg figured on “Gravity” and I was thinking Hans Zimmer would take it for “12 Years a Slave.” We also had completely different ideas on Best Foreign Film, Greg opting for “The Hunt,” Guy betting on critical darling “Blue is the Warmest Color” and me going out on a limb for “The Great Beauty” (which paid off).

So what were the final tallies? Drumroll please…

Gregory Ellwood: 8/14
Guy Lodge: 8/14
Kristopher Tapley: 9/14

Whew. By the skin of my teeth. (And by the way, Dan Fienberg went 5/11 on the always mercurial TV side of things.)

How did you do on your Golden Globe predictions? Tell us in the comments section.

We’re in the home stretch with votes being tallied and the line-up of nominees for the 86th annual Academy Awards being readied. We’ll know what’s what on Thursday, bright and early, as will those who find themselves in this very competitive race.

Guy Lodge, Greg Ellwood and I will have a sweeping list of our predictions for you later today and you can parse them at your leisure. (I’m pretty much decided.) But as we gear up for the big reveal, as ever, I have some thoughts…

McConaughey’s perfect storm

Last night’s Best Actor in a Drama Golden Globe Award could have gone a number of ways. Chiwetel Ejiofor was my guess as one of few places the Hollywood Foreign Press Association would award “12 Years a Slave” (they opted to give it Best Picture…and only Best Picture). Robert Redford was a possibility as murmurs circulated that they might want the Hollywood legend on their stage. In the end they did what they usually do: they gave it to a movie star. They gave it to Matthew McConaughey.

Half an hour after McConaughey accepted his award, on the west coast, HBO premiered the new anthology series “True Detective.” Starring McConaughey and pal Woody Harrelson, it’s a dark and atmospheric piece of work that gets its hooks in you immediately and, most certainly, makes you wonder if we won’t see McConaughey back at the Globes next year accepting a TV prize for his haunted performance in the series. But what’s starting to click into place, it seems, is the possibility of McConaughey’s already perfect storm to become that much more, well, perfect.

“True Detective” will air almost every Sunday night for the next eight weeks (taking a break on Super Bowl Sunday, I believe). That puts the finale on March 9, the week after the Oscars. Voters are going to be pretty much reminded on a weekly basis about the range McConaughey exhibits and how much he has truly transformed his career in the last two years. That rushed speech last night may well have been practice, and odds are, he could be accepting an Oscar for Best Actor just before the series ties up all its loose ends.

Leo seizes the day

Speaking of the Best Actor race, that wave of phone calls Leonardo DiCaprio made at the end of the year to, in part, stem the tide of growing bad press around “The Wolf of Wall Street?” It was also smart awards strategy. A nomination for the actor was never a given in this hugely competitive year and, with ballots in hand, he talked to a number of outlets – including this one – at the perfect moment.

Often an Oscar season is all about timing. Remaining top of mind is crucial, particularly when the competition is so thick. And with a category that seems to have one spot up for grabs, at least four actors have an angle on it. Forest Whitaker got the SAG nod and has been very present (and approachable) with tributes throughout the season. Christian Bale got BAFTA and Golden Globe recognition, as did DiCaprio. And Robert Redford appears to be the guy on the outside looking in, with no industry support in the form of BAFTA or SAG recognition and only a Globe bid and a New York film critics win to, for lack of a better phrase, float his boat.

Redford didn’t come out here and play the game. It’s not his bag and, not to speak for him, he likely doesn’t concern himself with Oscar nominations (particularly with a big festival on the horizon). That paves the way, though, and my hunch – as you’ll see in our final predictions, published later today – is that DiCaprio properly seized the moment with a number of ballots still in hand.

Harvey’s best bet

I had my eye on the Best Picture – Drama race last night, which was obviously a close vote. My hunch was that “Gravity” would pull it out, but that in a shocker, “Philomena” – which the HFPA adored – could cause a stir. That didn’t happen and so we don’t get a bunch of “is it headed for an Oscar nod?” headlines today, but nevertheless, there’s that possibility.

I’ve already written about the potential for Harvey Weinstein to miss out on the big category for the first time since 2007. It may well be that “Philomena” was underestimated in favor of the big, starry ensembles of “August: Osage County” and “Lee Daniels’ The Butler,” because it seems to be The Weinstein Company’s best bet going into Thursday’s nominations announcement. And with a BAFTA nod in tow, it’s clear there is support across the pond, and that cross-over membership, however minimal, is a huge help in a tight year.

This just goes to show how truly fickle the awards season can be. You can understand why such focus would have been placed on the August release (“The Butler”) and the Toronto festival play (“August”). But sometimes the modest play, which really sings on screener, which stands out for being reserved in the face of other bombast on your slate…sometimes that’s the one.

Expect the unexpected

Three films stand at the top of the industry awards landscape with notices from everything from the Directors Guild of America to the American Cinema Editors. They are “American Hustle,” “Captain Phillips” and “12 Years a Slave,” with “Gravity” just barely a step behind. The dominant players in this season have been established, and you could probably add one of the Paramount movies – “Nebraska” or “The Wolf of Wall Street” – to fill out what would likely be a typical line-up of five Best Picture nominees.

However, while those films represent the cream of the season’s crop, there are others that have been left out of the conversation but nevertheless have support if you ask around. I’m talking about films like “Rush” and “Fruitvale Station” and “Lone Survivor,” all of which could pop up here or there when the nominations are revealed.

The tea leaves are valuable, of course. They give you a clear indication of which way the breeze is blowing. But year in and year out there are things unaccounted for, and that’s just the result of a vast group of 6,000-some odd members and the countless different flights of fancy they may have when they sit down to fill out their ballots. So count on at least a few unexpected choices, perhaps even in the major categories. It wouldn’t be a nominations announcement otherwise.

And with that, there’s precious little left to be said. Again, we’ll have final predictions from the whole HitFix Awards staff later this evening, but if you want to know where I’m leaning, you can find my predictions here. (Which reminds me, don’t forget to chalk up your predictions via HitFix Oscar Picks.)

Additionally, the Contenders section has been updated with final thoughts in every category.

“12 Years a Slave” may have barely scraped by at the Golden Globes last night, but if it’s any consolation, it was a more decisive winner with the North Carolina Film Critics’ Association. Steve McQueen’s film took six awards, including Best Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay and three acting wins. Cate Blanchett notched up yet another Best Actress win, “Inside Llewyn Davis” took the other writing award and “Monsters University” got one of its few animated wins of the season. Full list of winners after the jump; catch up with all the awards so far at The Circuit.

Best Picture: “12 Years a Slave”

Best Director: Steve McQueen, “12 Years a Slave”

Best Actor: Chiwetel Ejiofor, “12 Years a Slave”

Best Actress: Cate Blanchett, “Blue Jasmine”

Best Supporting Actor: Michael Fassbender, “12 Years a Slave”

Best Supporting Actress: Lupita Nyong”o, “12 Years a Slave”

Best Original Screenplay: Joel and Ethan Coen, “Inside Llewyn Davis”

Best Adapted Screenplay: John Ridley, “12 Years a Slave”

Best Animated Film: “Monsters University”

Best Documentary Film: “Stories We Tell”

Best Foreign Language Film: “The Hunt”

Tar Heel Award: “The Way, Way Back”

Made up of a globasl array of film journalists and academics, the International Cinephile Society tends to live up to its name with its awards — and this year, tyheir nominations are typically big on foreign and art house fare, mixed in with the more expected Oscar contenders. So it is that “12 Years a Slave,” “Her” and “Blue is the Warmest Color” lead the way with seven nominations apiece, while unusual individual nominations include Juliette Binoche for “Camille Claudel 1915” and Kristin Scott Thomas for “Only God Forgives.” Full list after the jump; check out everything else at The Circuit.

Best Picture
“Before Midnight”
“Blue is the Warmest Color”
“Frances Ha”
“Gravity”
“The Great Beauty”
“Her”
“Inside Llewyn Davis”
“Laurence Anyways”
“Spring Breakers”
“12 Years a Slave”
“The Wolf of Wall Street”

Best Director
Abdellatif Kechiche, “Blue is the Warmest Color”
Alfonso Cuarón, “Gravity”
Paolo Sorrentino, “The Great Beauty”
Spike Jonze, “Her”
Joel and Ethan Coen, “Inside Llewyn Davis”
Xavier Dolan, “Laurence Anyways”

Best Foreign Language Film
“Beyond the Hills”
“Blancanieves”
“Blue is the Warmest Color”
“Faust”
“The Great Beauty”
“The Hunt”
“In the House”
“Laurence Anyways”
“The Past”
“A Touch of Sin”

Best Actor
Leonardo DiCaprio, “The Wolf of Wall Street”
Chiwetel Ejiofor, “12 Years a Slave”
Oscar Isaac, “Inside Llewyn Davis”
Mads Mikkelsen, “The Hunt”
Joaquin Phoenix, “Her”
Melvil Poupaud, “Laurence Anyways”

Best Actress
Juliette Binoche, “Camille Claudel 1915”
Cate Blanchett, “Blue Jasmine”
Suzanne Clément, “Laurence Anyways”
Adèle Exarchopoulos, “Blue is the Warmest Color”
Greta Gerwig, “Frances Ha”

Best Supporting Actor
Anton Adasinsky, “Faust”
Michael Fassbender, “12 Years a Slave”
James Franco, “Spring Breakers”
Jared Leto, “Dallas Buyers Club”
Matthew McConaughey, “Mud”

Best Supporting Actress
Sally Hawkins, “Blue Jasmine”
Scarlett Johansson, “Her”
Lupita Nyong’o, “12 Years a Slave”
Léa Seydoux, “Blue is the Warmest Color”
Kristin Scott Thomas, “Only God Forgives”

Best Original Screenplay
“Blue Jasmine”
“Frances Ha”
“Her”
“Inside Llewyn Davis”
“Laurence Anyways”

Best Adapted Screenplay
“Before Midnight”
“Blue is the Warmest Color”
“In the House”
“Short Term 12”
“12 Years a Slave”

Best Cinematography
“Blancanieves”
“Faust”
“Gravity”
“Inside Llewyn Davis”
“Leviathan”

Best Film Editing
“Blue is the Warmest Color”
“Frances Ha”
“Gravity”
“Leviathan”
“Spring Breakers”
“The Wolf of Wall Street”

Best Production Design
“Blancanieves”
“Faust”
“The Great Gatsby”
“Her”
“Inside Llewyn Davis”

Best Original Score
“All is Lost”
“Blancanieves”
“The Great Beauty”
“Her”
“12 Years a Slave”

Best Ensemble
“American Hustle”
“Frances Ha”
“Inside Llewyn Davis”
“Short Term 12”
“12 Years a Slave”

Best Animated Film
“Ernest & Célestine”
“From Up On Poppy Hill”
“Frozen”
“Monsters University”
“The Wind Rises”

Best Documentary
“The Act of Killing”
“At Berkeley”
“Leviathan”
“Room 237”
“Stories We Tell”

Best Film Not Released in 2013
“Child’s Pose”
“The Congress”
“Gloria”
“Home from Home: Chronicle of a Vision”
“The Immigrant”
“Jeune et Jolie”
“Like Father, Like Son”
“Norte, The End of History”
“Only Lovers Left Alive”
“The Rendez-Vous of Déjà-Vu”
“Snowpiercer”
“The Strange Little Cat”
“Stranger by the Lake”
“Stray Dogs”
“Tom at the Farm”

There’s been such a flurry of awards-related news over the past few days that I somehow completely missed the announcement over the weekend that Chris Hemsworth has been selected to announce the Academy Award nominations on Thursday with new AMPAS president Cheryl Boone Isaacs. There was a time when this task routinely fell to a former Oscar winner or nominee — which, in case you need reminding, Hemsworth is not. But they’ve been mixing it up of late — Emma Stone did the honors last year. Will it fall to Hemsworth to announce a Best Supporting Actor nod for his “Rush” co-star Daniel Brühl? [AMPAS]

Oscar hopeful “The Broken Circle Breakdown” won the FIPRESCI Award for foreign language film of the year at the Palm Springs fest. [Screen Daily]

Tim Gray on the “officialisation” of Oscar screeners in this year’s race. [Variety]

Scott Feinberg reports from this weekend’s BAFTA Tea, where guests ranged from Sally Hawkins to Martin Scorsese. [Hollywood Reporter]

Musician Suzanne Vega has voiced her reservations about “Inside Llewyn Davis.” Hey, why not? [The Carpetbagger]

With “Inside Llewyn Davis” in mind, The Dissolve team discuss films about musicians, and what makes them work. [The Dissolve]

Claire L. Evans on why “Her” is a 21st-century “Flowers for Algernon.” [Grantland]

Steve Pond weighs up the final nine contenders for Best Foreign Language Film, and has his own ideas about which three the executive committee saved. [The Wrap]

Jamie Doward examines “Belle,” the British, female-led counterpoint to “12 Years a Slave.” [The Guardian]

Dana Harris kicks off Slate’s annual Movie Club discussion, with Wesley Morris, Stepohanie Zacharek and Mark Harris also set to participate. [Slate]

BEVERLY HILLS – There was a roar of cheers when Steve McQueen entered the FOX/Fox Searchlight Golden Globes party Sunday night. I know because I was standing right behind McQueen and his cast as they tried to walk into the packed Globes after party. The “12 Years a Slave” win for Best Picture – Drama and the surprising wins for FOX’s “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” Andy Samberg in the TV Series – Comedy or Musical categories made it (initially) the place to be.

Having attended the FOX party after past Golden Globes, it was clear there was an energy in the room that previous wins had not delivered. Movie and TV executives were beaming over the night’s big wins and stars such as Michael Fassbender and Lupita Nyong’o couldn’t stop smiling. And as the music got more energetic Mr. Benedict Cumberbatch seemed to be having a private dance party, but more on that later. There are five parties at the Beverly Hilton following the awards show every year including the FOX bash, HBO’s tough TV ticket party (almost for TV industry only), the NBC Universal Party, the annual Weinstein Company event which partnered with NetFlix this year and, the one and only Warner Bros./InStyle soiree which celebrated its 15th year.

Before making our way to the WB/In Style space, we stopped by NBC Universal’s party. We passed Best Actor in a Drama winner Matthew McConaughey in the hallway who was exiting the event, but caught Anthony Mackie and Jessica Chastain still enjoying the festivities. Amy Poehler and Tina Fey were already nowhere to be found and while the party itself was just a tad too E! for our tastes, the photo setups and former Olympians on hand made the event more interactive than one might expect.

The hottest ticket of the night (at least on the movie side) has always been the Warner Bros./In Style party, and that didn’t change this year. Word was Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan christened the dance floor before we got there, but other notables on hand included Ben Affleck, “Her” and “American Hustle” producer Megan Ellison, Idris Elba (sadly looking bored when we caught him), Taylor Swift, a euphoric Amy Adams, Jared Leto, Kerry Washington, Olivia Wilde, Uma Thurman, Sofia Vergara, Kate Mara, Oscar Isaac, Jessica Chastain, Diane Kruger (who mostly hung out on a couch in the smoking area), Orlando Bloom, Bryce Dallas Howard, Vanessa Hudgens, Michelle Dockery (seemingly everywhere this weekend), Heidi Klum and Julianna Margulies, among others.

Only at the WB/In Style party can you hit the most crowded dance floor, turn and see Cumberbatch dancing on one side of you (notice a recurring theme here?), Kelly Osborne moving her body in the same vicinity and “Modern Family’s” Eric Stonestreet getting up and at it for some old school “Motownphilly” behind you. The only thing missing was the “Glee” cast, who used to dominate the In Style dance floor every year. Unfortunately, it appears no nominations meant no party for that crew.

And if you’re wondering where Best Actress in a Drama winner Cate Blanchett was, well we caught her less than 30 minutes after the show leaving the press room, taking some photos with hotel security guards and making her way out of the Hilton. No celebrations — on site, at least — for the talented Aussie. She did, however, have her party in her hand, a Golden Globe that will likely soon be joined by a SAG Award, BAFTA statue and Oscar.

http://players.brightcove.net/4838167533001/BkZprOmV_default/index.html?videoId=4911801552001

Typically it’s easy enough to gauge where the Hollywood Foreign Press Association is going to lean. It’s a small enough group and there are enough of their whisperers out there that usually long before the show, more or less, everyone has a pretty good idea. But this year things were all over the place and the younger members of the group exemplify some shifting tastes. So we ended up with a love-spreading evening that dotted all the t’s and crossed all the i’s.

One thing going into the awards that was making the rounds was that the group were not big collective fans of Steve McQueen’s “12 Years a Slave.” And indeed, throughout most of the evening, it appeared the film might be headed for a shut-out. There must have been a thick nervous air hanging in the FOX viewing party tent in the Hilton parking lot, but by now at the after-soiree, spirits are surely high with relief. But the vote must have been very close.

Indeed, the HFPA spread the love about as much as they possibly could have. “American Hustle,” “Dallas Buyers Club,” “Gravity,” “12 Years a Slave” and “The Wolf of Wall Street” all received major wins. The director prize didn’t even go to one of the Best Picture winners. That’s not totally uncommon, of course, because they like to get as many people up on that stage as possible, but one single prize for the Best Picture – Drama winner? Again, it must have been close. And the only major Best Picture play that went away empty-handed was “Captain Phillips.” (“Nebraska also turned up a goose egg but doesn’t appear to be in the hunt for the Best Picture Oscar win in any case.)

Do Golden Globe wins do anything to shake up an Oscar race? Not really. Sometimes you can knock a speech out of the park and corral some extra love as a result, but no one really did that tonight. And anyway, Oscar ballots were already in, so the nominations have been decided.

All of that said, I do think Matthew McConaughey may have auditioned for an Oscar win tonight with his speech (as much as he could get out before being played off by the orchestra like everyone else, that is). A screenplay win for a movie like “Her” certainly helps box office-wise as it expands wider. “American Hustle’s” dominance (a field-leading three trophies) embosses it as a winner heading into phase two, and hey, Oscar voters like to know they’re voting for winners. So that’ll help.

But for the most part, no, this isn’t some major needle-mover or barometer. Even last year, when “Argo” caught its stride first at the CCMAs then at the Globes, I submit its fate was already sealed.

So no need to over-analyze things like Alex Ebert’s Best Original Score win or “The Great Beauty” snatching the Best Foreign Language Film prize. It’s all just another run on the awards season ladder, and as they tend to do when we have a close race like we do this year, the Globes just kept the door open for everyone.

The Oscar nominations come Thursday. That night, the Critics’ Choice awards (the next big televised awards show). By this time next week, we’ll have some more direction, but this promises to remain a contentious season right through the next phase. The three-way race between “American Hustle,” “Gravity” and “12 Years a Slave” is most certainly on.

If you want to relive the night, be sure to read through Dan Fienberg’s live-blog of the ceremony. We’ll have best and worst for you later.

Stay tuned later tonight for Greg’s party coverage. (Alas, this was the first year in a number of them that I couldn’t make it out to the show and after-party circuit. This bug that everyone has? Yeah, I have it, too.)

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association handed out wins for the 71st annual Golden Globe Awards Sunday night. “12 Years a Slave” and “American Hustle” were the big winners in the Best Picture ranks, while “Dallas Buyers Club,” “Gravity” and “The Wolf of Wall Street” took major prizes as well.

Check out the full list of nominees and winners below, and remember to keep track of the season via The Circuit.

FILM

Best Motion Picture – Drama
“12 Years A Slave” – WINNER
“Captain Phillips”
“Gravity”
“Philomena”
“Rush”

Best Motion Picture – Comedy Or Musical
“American Hustle” – WINNER
“Her”
“Inside Llewyn Davis”
“Nebraska”
“The Wolf of Wall Street”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama
Chiwetel Ejifor, “12 Years A Slave”
Idris Elba, “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom”
Tom Hanks, “Captain Phillips”
Matthew McConaughey, “Dallas Buyers Club” – WINNER
Robert Redford, “All is Lost”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama
Cate Blanchett, “Blue Jasmine” – WINNER
Sandra Bullock, “Gravity”
Judi Dench, “Philomena”
Emma Thompson, “Saving Mr. Banks”
Kate Winslet, “Labor Day”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Comedy Or Musical
Amy Adams, “American Hustle” – WINNER
Julie Delpy, “Before Midnight”
Greta Gerwig, “Frances Ha”
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, “Enough Said”
Meryl Streep, “August: Osage County”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Comedy Or Musical
Christian Bale, “American Hustle”
Bruce Dern, “Nebraska”
Leonardo DiCaprio, “The Wolf of Wall Street” – WINNER
Oscar Isaac, “Inside Llewyn Davis”
Joaquin Phoenix, “Her”

Best Performance by an Actress In A Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Sally Hawkins, “Blue Jasmine”
Jennifer Lawrence, “American Hustle” – WINNER
Lupita Nyong’o, “12 Years A Slave”
Julia Roberts, “August: Osage County”
June Squibb, “Nebraska”

Best Performance by an Actor In A Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Barkhad Abdi, “Captain Phillips”
Daniel Bruhl, “Rush”
Bradley Cooper, “American Hustle”
Michael Fassbender, “12 Years A Slave”
Jared Leto, “Dallas Buyers Club” – WINNER

Best Director – Motion Picture
Alfonso Cuarón, “Gravity” – WINNER
Paul Greengrass, “Captain Phillips”
Steve McQueen, “12 Years A Slave”
Alexander Payne, “Nebraska”
David O. Russell, “American Hustle”

Best Screenplay – Motion Picture
“Her” – WINNER
“Nebraska”
“Philomena”
“12 Years a Slave”
“American Hustle”

Best Animated Feature Film
“The Croods”
“Despicable Me 2”
“Frozen” – WINNER

Best Foreign Language Film
“Blue is the Warmest Color”
“The Great Beauty” – WINNER
“The Hunt”
“The Past”
“The Wind Rises”

Best Original Score – Motion Picture
“All is Lost” – WINNER
“The Book Thief”
“Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom”
“Gravity”
“12 Years A Slave”

Best Original Song – Motion Picture
“Atlas” from “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire”
“Let It Go” from “Frozen”
“Ordinary Love” from “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom” – WINNER
“Please Mr. Kennedy” from “Inside Llewyn Davis”
“Sweeter Than Fiction” from “One Chance”

TELEVISION

Best Television Series – Drama
“Breaking Bad” – WINNER
“Downton Abbey”
“The Good Wife”
“House of Cards”
“Masters of Sex”

Best Television Series – Comedy Or Musical
“The Big Bang Theory”
“Brooklyn Nine-Nine” – WINNER
“Girls”
“Modern Family”
“Parks and Recreatiom”

Best Performance by an Actor in a TV Series, Drama
Bryan Cranston, “Breaking Bad” – WINNER
Liev Schreiber, “Ray Donovan”
Michael Sheen, “Masters of Sex”
Kevin Spacey, “House of Cards”
James Spader, “The Blacklist”

Best Performance by an Actress In A Television Series – Drama
Taylor Schilling, “Orange Is The New Black”
Robin Wright, “House of Cards” – WINNER
Tatiana Maslany, “Orphan Black”
Julianna Margulies, “The Good Wife”
Kerry Washington, “Scandal”

Best Performance by an Actress In A Television Series – Comedy Or Musical
Zooey Deschanel, “New Girl”
Lena Dunham, “Girls”
Edie Falco, “Nurse Jackie”
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, “Veep”
Amy Poehler, “Parks and Recreation” – WINNER

Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series – Comedy Or Musical
Jason Bateman, “Arrested Development”
Don Cheadle, “House of Lies”
Michael J. Fox, “The Michael J. Fox Show”
Jim Parsons, “The Big Bang Theory”
Andy Samberg, “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” – WINNER

Best Mini-Series Or Motion Picture Made for Television
“American Horror Story: Coven”
“Behind the Candelabra” – WINNER
“Dancing on the Edge”
“Top of the Lake”
“White Queen”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television
Helena Bonham Carter, “Burton and Taylor”
Rebecca Ferguson, “White Queen”
Jessica Lange, “American Horror Story: Coven”
Helen Mirren, “Phil Spector”
Elisabeth Moss, “Top of the Lake” – WINNER

Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television
Matt Damon, “Behind the Candelabra”
Michael Douglas, “Behind the Candelabra” – WINNER
Chiwetel Ejiofor, “Dancing on the Edge”
Idris Elba, “Luther”
Al Pacino, “Phil Spector”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Jacqueline Bisset, “Dancing on the Edge” – WINNER
Janet McTeer, “White Queen”
Hayden Panettiere, “Nashville”
Monica Potter, “Parenthood”
Sofia Vergara, “Modern Family”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Josh Charles, “The Good Wife”
Rob Lowe, “Behind the Candelabra”
Aaron Paul, “Breaking Bad”
Corey Stoll, “House of Cards”
Jon Voight, “Ray Donovan” – WINNER

Cecil B. DeMille Award
Woody Allen

The day before the Golden Globes has always been packed full of industry events and pre-show parties. 2014 was no different, especially if you were anywhere near Doheny Drive in Beverly Hills or West Hollywood.

The day kicked off with the 2014 Independent Spirit Awards Brunch at BOA Restaurant where Spirit nominees (many also Globe nominees) mingled with mimosas in one hand and tofu quiche in the other. The event was primarily to announce the winners of the Spirit Awards Filmmaker grants and it was clear all of the recipients were incredibly thankful for the cash infusion. Angela Bassett, honorary chair of the 2014 Independent Spiirt Awards, was on hand to hand out one of the grants and talented couple Emily Mortimer and Alessandro Nivola doled out the others. Noted talent at the fete included Oscar Isaac, Will Forte, Bruce Dern, Lupita Nyong’o and Julie Delpy.

Just down Downey and running almost simultaneously was the annual BAFTA Tea party. That pesky flu bug going around prevented a member of the HitFix team from attending this year, but many of this season’s big guns were there including Cate Blanchett, Sandra Bullock, Alfonso Cuarón, Michael Fassbender, Chiwetel Ejiofor (who also hit the Spirits brunch), Tom Hanks, Steve Coogan and “Breaking Bad’s” Aaron Paul.

Later Saturday night, CBS, Showtime and CBS Films held an impressive Globes celebration at SoHo House LA. Some of the talent on hand included Isaac once again, Joel and Ethan Coen, Frances McDormand, “Ray Donovan” stars Liev Schreiber and Jon Voight (very much starting to look his 75 years), Naomi Watts, Catherine Hardwicke, “Big Bang Theory’s” Kunal Nayyar, Kate Mara, Max Minghella, “The Good Wife’s” Julia Margulies and Josh Charles, LL Cool J, “How I Met Your Mother” star and Sundance veteran Josh Radnor, “Homeland’s” Morena Baccarin, “August: Osage County” and “The Millers” star Margo Martindale, numerous producers and showrunners, and, of course, CBS head honcho Les Moonves.

Directly across the street from the CBS shindig and beginning a few hours later was Anonymous Content and HBO’s pre-Golden Globes party celebrating the Sunday premiere of “True Detective.” (Yes, that’s a lot to take in for one event). Not HBO’s official party for the Globes (that’s Sunday night), this event still pulled in some big names in prestige film including Benedict Cumberbatch, his “Fifth Estate” co-star (and Globe nominee for “Rush”) Daniel Brühl, Ben Foster, director Greg Araki, Scott Bakula and a “Downton Abbey” reunion you may not believe. Yes, both Michelle Dockery (Lady Mary) and Dan Stevens (the late Matthew) were in the same room together (hold back the tears “Downton” fans). Eventually many of the attendees of the CBS party crossed over to the Anonymous gig for what made for an unlikely if not intriguing crowd.

Another big event Saturday night was the annual Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards dinner. Recipients including James Franco, Cate Blanchett, Spike Jonze, T Bone Burnett and Alfonso Cuaron were all in attendance, while over at the Chateau Marmont, Paramount Pictures was holding its annual pre-Globes soiree with talent such as Martin Scorsese, Peter Fonda, Jon Favreau and more.

Look for continuing Golden Globes coverage all weekend long on HitFix.

The ballots have been cast. Voting is over (for the moment).  There is nothing any pundit, actor, director, studio head or awards season sweet talker can do to affect the nominees for the 86th Academy Awards. It’s done. Now, all anyone in the game can do is wait. And maybe try to shake off their nervousness with a few drinks over this busy event weekend.

As we’ve noted for a number of months, this year’s best picture race is incredibly competitive and there are two tiers to the contest. First, the battle to actually win the prestigious honor and that’s squarely a three-picture race between “Gravity,” “American Hustle” and “12 Years A Slave” (more on that later). The second is the cutthroat fight just to get nominated. There are effectively 13 films with a realistic chance of getting a nomination and anywhere from three to five of them may find themselves out in the cold. Yes, it’s that tough. In fact, a publicist I spoke to recently noted it wouldn’t look as bad if their film didn’t make the cut if their were eight nominees because there would be so many other players also on the outside looking in.

There have been some interesting statistical pieces over the past few weeks including a post from none other than ex-Focus Features CEO and Oscar nominee James Shamus and some impressive (and easier to understand) work by Marshall Flores on Awards Daily on what the Academy’s voting system really means. Over the past two years it’s resulted in nine nominees instead of 10. However, in hindsight, both those years were not as competitive as this one. And yet, while I’m ranking 10 contenders below, my final prediction will likely be just eight or nine titles.* As always, the guild voting has been telling, as have remarks from voters regarding what they are and are not passionate about. When you step back and look at the puzzle, the clues for each picture’s chances are there. Whether this pundit has solved this tantalizing mystery will be revealed early Thursday morning.

*The HitFix team currently plans on posting our Oscar nomination predictions Monday night, PT.

In regards to actually winning the whole enchilada, we currently have an honest to goodness race on our hands. After next weekend, that might not be the case. If “American Hustle” wins both the SAG ensemble and the PGA award, it’s effectively over and Sony Pictures has their first best picture winner since “The Last Emperor” way back in 1987 (which was actually Columbia pre-Sony). If “Gravity” takes the PGA and DGA (the latter is somewhat expected), then the road to Oscar takes a different turn. If “12 Years” manages to win SAG and PGA? The Fox Searchlight drama is the frontrunner even if McQueen doesn’t take the DGA honor. And, speaking of real drama, if all three films manage to split the guild honors? Well, get ready for a very anxious February. And you can bet ABC would love that last scenario to help boost ratings for the show itself.

With all that in mind, here’s my current ranking of the best picture race as of Jan. 11, 2014.

1. “Gravity“
The trifecta before Globes and Guilds, pt.1

2. “American Hustle“
The trifecta before Globes and Guilds, pt.2

3. “12 Years A Slave“
The trifecta before Globes and Guilds, pt.3

4. “Captain Phillips“
The DGA nod for Greengrass sealed the deal.

5. “Nebraska“
Warning Nate Silver: An example where statistics don’t always matter.  Speaks to the older branch of the Academy. Been in for a long time.

6. “Philomena“
Another example where statistics don’t always matter. Supplanted the other TWC releases as likely Harvey’s only real best picture player.

7. “Dallas Buyers Club“
The surprise that had more support than many anticipated. A poignant, final reminder of what Focus stood for under the James Shamus regime.

8. “Her“
Might have come a bit to late for guilds such as the DGA, but just feels like too much love for it not to make the final list of nominees.

9. “Blue Jasmine“
Right on the precipice. Could go either way.

10. “The Wolf of Wall Street“
If there are 10, it’s in. Even with Scorsese’s DGA and BAFTA love too polarizing to be a lock beyond that.

We’re within a week of the big moment. Oscar nominations will be announced on Thursday next week and we’ll find out which films are the dominant forces throughout the Academy’s various craft categories. Yesterday we began final Tech Support analysis of the field with the categories of Best Cinematography, Makeup and Hairstyling, Original Score, Original Song and Visual Effects. Today we round out the field with the rest.

BEST COSTUME DESIGN (Tech Support Analysis)

I reckon Patricia Norris (“12 Years a Slave”) and especially Catherine Martin (“The Great Gatsby”) are pretty assured of nominations for detailed period work, the sort of which this branch eats up. The former’s omission at BAFTA was strange but I also note BAFTA nominated the AMPAS-ineligible “Behind the Candelabra.” Daniel Orlandi (“Saving Mr. Banks”) and Michael Wilkinson (“American Hustle”), meanwhile, have prestigious films with showy costumes. Both probably have a first nomination coming and both have earned BAFTA nods. All four of these costume designers received BFCA and CDG nods.

Another CDG (period) nod went to Kurt & Bart for “Dallas Buyers Club.” As fine as this work was, I think this is mostly just an American guild in love with the film. Instead, I’d look to Michael O’Connor to get the last nomination for “The Invisible Woman.” He’s managed two nominations for 19th Century England work before, on films that earned just one other nomination between them. BAFTA cited him. I expect AMPAS to follow suit.

However, my gut continues to tell me that Trish Summerville may get in for “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire,” an outlandish display of color and creativity. This branch sometimes goes for that. But at the expense of period prestige? Hit-and-miss. I do think Summerville has a better chance than her fellow fantasy CDG nominees Gary Jones & Michael Kutsche for “Oz the Great and Powerful” (I think the film is forgotten, not that that always matters with the costume designers) or Bob Buck, Ann Maskrey and Richard Taylor for “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” (notwithstanding their BFCA nomination, I feel the novelty has worn off of the threads of Middle Earth).

Final Predictions
“American Hustle”
“The Great Gatsby”
“The Invisible Woman”
“Saving Mr. Banks”
“12 Years a Slave”
(alt: “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire”)

BEST FILM EDITING (Tech Support Analysis)

Now here is a six-film race if there ever was one. The BFCA cited “American Hustle,” “Captain Phillips,” “Gravity,” “Rush,” “12 Years a Slave” and “The Wolf of Wall Street.” BAFTA dropped “Hustle.” The American Cinema Editors (who divide into drama and musical/comedy) somehow missed “Rush” but that doesn’t mean I don’t think these six films will still be battling it out for the next six days.

“Gravity” certainly seems safe, being a post-production showcase at heart of the Best Picture race, and with suspense being so integral to its plot. Alfonso Cuarón (who edited with Mark Sanger) is likely to get his second nomination in the category. In second I would place Christopher Rouse. Not only does he seem incredibly respected by his colleagues, but “Captain Phillips,” like “Gravity,” is absolutely reliant on suspense.

Jay Cassidy and Crispin Struthers became surprising nominees last year for “Silver Linings Playbook,” showing the esteem in which they are held by their colleagues (or at least, how beloved that film was). “American Hustle,” where Alan Baumgarten joined their team, is more of an editing showcase. The only reason they would miss this year would be the competition. But I’m guessing they won’t. I’ll also go with “12 Years a Slave,” my bet for the likely Best Picture winner, if only because it’s so unusual for a Best Picture winner to miss a nomination here. But maybe it’s not so safe?

Daniel P. Hanley and Mike Hill are enormously respected by their colleagues, and this year they have edited one of the baitiest films in this category: a car racing feature. Logically, they should be assured, especially with BAFTA and BFCA nominations behind them. Their biggest potential pitfall is the fact that the film didn’t catch box office fire – plus the competition. And then there’s that strange ACE omission. While they’ve overcome that before (“Cinderella Man”), I’m guessing it’ll be too much this year.

And of course there’s the highly respected Thelma Schoonmaker. While the film is obviously divisive, “The Wolf of Wall Street” is clearly making waves. Moreover, she has to tie Michael Kahn’s record for most Best Film Editing nominations among working editors eventually, right?

Final Predictions
“American Hustle”
“Captain Phillips”
“Gravity”
“12 Years a Slave”
“The Wolf of Wall Street”
 (alt.: “Rush”)

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN (Tech Support Analysis)

For months, I’ve said “12 Years a Slave” and “The Great Gatsby” are assured of nominations in this category and I’m sticking by that. The precursors have seemingly centered around six other films – “American Hustle,” “Inside Llewyn Davis,” “Saving Mr. Banks,” “Her,” “Gravity” and “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” – for the final three spots. Each are acclaimed, find themselves in other races and have characteristics this branch tends to embrace. But I think “Inside Llewyn Davis” is too subtle and “Her” just isn’t the sort of work this branch goes for (I’d love to be proven wrong about this, though).

Of the other four, I’m comfortable putting “Saving Mr. Banks” in third. It’s been a while since Michael Corenblith has been in the game and a tribute to Old Hollywood seems something that will be eaten up. Elsewhere, I do think Middle Earth’s luck here will have to run out eventually. And it finally did this year at BAFTA, as “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” came up short. Having said that, Dan Hennah continued to break new ground on this feature and I suspect that they’ll want him back for a movie where the production design comparatively sticks out.

That leaves “Gravity” vs. “American Hustle” for slot number five. I’m going with the former because this branch does have an affinity for prestigious Best Picture nominees set in outer space, it’s warming up to CGI-complemented work and because I have a hunch that Judy Becker will need more of a production design showcase than “American Hustle” to ultimately get in. The work is sparser in “Gravity” but it’s also heavily detailed within that and, ultimately, more noticeable.

Final Predictions
“Gravity”
“The Great Gatsby”
“The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug”
“Saving Mr. Banks”
“12 Years a Slave”
(alt.: “American Hustle”)

BEST SOUND EDITING (Tech Support Analysis)

I’d begin by looking at what I view as the six leading contenders in Best Sound Mixing (“All is Lost,” “Captain Phillips,” “Gravity,” “Inside Llewyn Davis,” “Rush” and “12 Years a Slave”) and then eliminating “Inside Llewyn Davis” and “12 Years a Slave.” This leaves us with one lock – “Gravity” – and three films that seem solid. “All is Lost,” “Captain Phillips” and “Rush” all have disadvantages (perhaps too small in case of “All is Lost,” perhaps too subtle in the case of “Captain Phillips” and perhaps too, well, forgotten in case of “Rush”) but each is prestigious, with top-notch sound editing, and, prima facie, each seems to be the sort of movie this category embraces.

The fifth spot is tricky. “Monsters, Inc.” started a decade-long trend of animated films in this category. Could the sequel revive it? Or could it pave the way for “Frozen”? There is usually a blockbuster of sorts (more mainstream than “Gravity”) nominated here, but which one? “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” is part of a franchise that has had mixed success here (only one nomination out of four films) while there isn’t an obvious summer blockbuster to rise up (“Pacific Rim” is likely the best bet but “Iron Man 3,” “Star Trek Into Darkness” and “Man of Steel” are all floating around). Heck, maybe “12 Years a Slave” could actually score here?

I’ll instead go with “Lone Survivor” in the last spot. It caught a stride at the right moment (set to top the box office this weekend) and is a sound showcase. Also, Wylie Stateman is incredibly respected by his peers. It would be a fitting nomination.

Final Predictions
“All is Lost”
“Captain Phillips”
“Gravity”
“Lone Survivor”
“Rush”
(alt.: “12 Years a Slave”)

BEST SOUND MIXING (Tech Support Analysis)

I think it’s fair to say that “Gravity” is leading the way in this category, with its combination of prestige, sci-fi and unique score integration. The soundtrack of “Inside Llewyn Davis” was superb and has a respected crew. Even with its recent guild troubles, I’m comfortable ranking it second.

After that, things get trickier. I see four titles – “All is Lost,” “Rush,” “Captain Phillips” and “12 Years a Slave” – hot in the race for these final three nods. In my opinion, “All is Lost” certainly *should* receive a nomination here and the fact that it received a BAFTA nod even without any accompanying nominations suggests to me those in the industry can see this. “Captain Phillips” wasn’t quite the sound showcase as the other film set on the Indian Ocean, but it does have a broader appeal to the Academy. While I’m more comfortable predicting it in Best Sound Editing than Best Sound Mixing, I’m willing to chalk it up for two nominations from the branch. Similarly, “Rush” is exactly the sort of feature the sound categories tend to eat up. I don’t want to drop a prediction that I’ve had all year at the 11th Hour.

It may seem foolish to bet against “12 Years a Slave.” It’s clearly going to get a plethora of nominations. Sound mixing frequently joins a sweep and this did have some great sound work. To be totally honest, I expect it to make it in. But I’ve predicted the same quintet for months and I’m not sure which one to drop. The fact that BAFTA went for the five I’ve been predicting assuages my nerves – ever so slightly.

“Lone Survivor,” despite its acclaim, doesn’t have a crew with a history of awards. But it actually may have caught that aforementioned stride a bit too late. If the category is going more in the realm blockbusters, “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” has a tremendously respected crew so I wouldn’t cross it out of contention just yet. Of the summer blockbusters (of which there is usually one), “Pacific Rim” seems the likeliest contender in my opinion, but I wouldn’t rule out “Iron Man 3,” “Star Trek Into Darkness” or “Man of Steel.” Like in Best Sound Editing, I think the lack of an obvious “best bet” may ultimately doom this blockbuster group of contenders.

Final Predictions
“All is Lost”
“Captain Phillips”
“Gravity”
“Inside Llewyn Davis”
“Rush”
(alt.: “12 Years a Slave”)

And that’s that for another year. Tune in Thursday for my reactions to the nominees, but in the meantime, feel free to chalk up your predictions in the crafts categories below or at HitFix Oscar Picks!

Love “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel?” Love Richard Gere? Well, consider your day made. Fox Searchlight announced today that production on a sequel to the British feelgood hit from 2012 is officially under way in India, with Fox Searchlight once more backing the enterprise, and the first film’s Oscar-nominated director John Madden (“Shakespeare in Love”) back behind the camera.

Most of the original ensemble is also back on board, including Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Bill Nighy, Dev Patel, Celia Imrie, Ronald Pickup and Penelope Wilton. Tom Wilkinson, obviously enough, is not returning — shame they couldn’t write their way out of that, since I thought he was the first film’s MVP. There are, however, three high-profile new recruits: Richard Gere, Oscar nominee David Strathairn and the dependably excellent Tamsin Greig (“Tamara Drewe,” TV’s “Episodes”).

Where the first film was based on a popular novel by Deborah Moggach, “The Best Exotic Marigold 2” — as its currently titled — is based on an original story by Madden and returning screenwriter Ol Parker.

The new film finds the original gang still in residence at the eponymous Indian hotel run by a soon-to-be-married Sonny (Dev Patel), with Smith’s crotchety Muriel newly installed as co-manager. More romantic complications ensue amid the group, with Gere and Greig playing newly arrived guests vying for a single vacancy. Gere’s character is called Guy, so one good creative decision has already been made.

Madden says, “This film presented us with an irresistible opportunity: to continue a story we realized we had only just begun. Not to tell the same story again, but to pursue where the lives of these very different characters lead, with an audience which already holds them in great affection.”

“The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” received a smattering of recognition in the 2012 awards season, including BAFTA, SAG and Golden Globe nods. But it was principally a people’s favorite: a smash in the UK, it also grossed over $46 million Stateside — proved the profitable rewards of targeting under-served older audiences; “Philomena” recently hit much the same sweet spot. So it makes sense that a sequel is on the way — will you be seeing it?. 

The Georgia Film Critics’ Association, who had one of the more interesting nomination lists of the circuit so far, have named Spike Jonze’s “Her” the best film of the year., also handing it awards for Jonze’s screenplay and Arcade Fire’s score. Joaquin Phoenix initially tied with “12 Years a Slave” star Chiwetel Ejiofor for Best Actor, but the latter was handed the win based on nomination votes; Ejiofor’s co-stars Michael Fassbender and Lupita Nyong’o were also rewarded. Alas, the extensive love for “Upstream Color” at the nomination stage didn’t result in any awards, though “Short Term 12” for Best Adapted Screenplay is an against-the-grain choice. Full list of winners after the jump; everything else at The Circuit.

Best Picture: “Her”

Best Director: Alfonso Cuarón, “Gravity”

Best Actor: Chiwetel Ejiofor, “12 Years a Slave”

Best Actress: Cate Blanchett, “Blue Jasmine”

Best Supporting Actor: Michael Fassbender, “12 Years a Slave”

Best Supporting Actress: Lupita Nyong”o, “12 Years a Slave”

Best Original Screenplay: Spike Jonze, “Her”

Best Adapted Screenplay: Destin Cretton, “Short Term 12”

Best Animated Film: “Frozen”

Best Documentary Film: “Stories We Tell”

Best Foreign Language Film: “No”

Best Ensemble: “American Hustle”

Best Cinematography: Emmanuel Lubezki, “Gravity”

Best Production Design: Andy Nicholson, “Gravity”

Best Original Score: Arcade Fire, “Her”

Best Original Song: “Please Mr. President” from “Inside Llewyn Davis”

Breakthrough Award: Brie Larson (“Don Jon,” “Short Term 12,” “The Spectacular Now”)

Oglethorpe Award for Excellence in Georgia Cinema: James Ponsoldt, Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, “The Spectacular Now”

I think our 50-state tour of the American critics’ awards is slowly drawing to a close, but not before we hear from the Iowa Film Critics’ Association. And they like “12 Years a Slave” even more than the numerous other groups who have liked “12 Years a Slave” in the past six weeks. Steve McQueen’s film took every award it could from the group, including Best Picture, Director and three acting prizes. (They don’t appear to have a screenplay category.) “American Hustle” and “Nebraska” had strong support, to judge from the runner-up citations, but not enough to halt the sweep. Full list of winners and runners-up (second and third place, if you’re being hyper-specific) after the jump; everything else at The Circuit. 

Best Picture: “12 Years a Slave”
(runners-up: “Nebraska,” “American Hustle”)

Best Director: Steve McQueen, “12 Years a Slave”
(runners-up: David O. Russell, “American Hustle”; Alfonso Cuaron, “Gravity”)

Best Actor: Chiwetel Ejiofor, “12 Years a Slave”
(runners-up: Oscar Isaac, “Inside Llewyn Davis”; Bruce Dern, “Nebraska”)

Best Actress: Cate Blanchett, “Blue Jasmine”
(runners-up: Amy Adams, “American Hustle”; Sandra Bullock, “Gravity”)

Best Supporting Actor: Michael Fassbender, “12 Years a Slave”
(runners-up: Barkhad Abdi, “Captain Phillips”; Jared Leto, “Dallas Buyers Club”)

Best Supporting Actress: Lupita Nyong’o, “12 Years a Slave”
(runners-up: June Squibb, “Nebraska”; Jennifer Lawrence, “American Hustle”)

Best Documentary: “20 Feet From Stardom”
(runners-up: “Blackfish,” “Stories We Tell”)

Best Animated Film: “Frozen”
(runners-up: “The Wind Rises.” “Despicable Me 2”)

HOLLYWOOD – Academy members may have already submitted their ballots to determine this year’s Oscar nominations, but determining the industry’s guild winners is coming down to the wire. That was just one reason why Warner Bros. hosted an IMAX screening of Alfonso Cuarón’s “Gravity” with an impressive Q&A afterward at the Chinese Theater Thursday night for all of the major guilds. And if it ends up rubbing off on some Academy members in attendance down the road, that won’t hurt either.

The surprise moderator for the evening was none other than Jon Favreau, and anyone who has been to Comic-Con over the past five years knows that Favreau is a, no pun intended, marvel in front of a live audience. He didn’t disappoint here. The stars of the night, however, were Sandra Bullock and Alfonso Cuarón, but colleagues David Heyman (producer), Andy Nicholson (production design), Mark Sanger (co-editor) and Skip Lievsay (re-recording sound mixer) were also on hand.

It should be noted the film got huge applause as the credits rolled (no doubt the second or third viewing for many in attendance), and you would have expected it based on the line of guild members that stretched around the block trying to get in. More intriguing was the standing ovation that Bullock received upon her introduction. Yes, it goes without saying SAG members are not usually conservative when it come to standing o’s, but when you’re talking about a sold-out house of over 900 people? That’s significant. And, moreover, Bullock was a recurring theme of the 40-minute post-screening conversation.

Favreau did his due diligence making sure each member of the panel got a chance to speak and topics such as the film’s sound design, Cuarón’s charming humility, the film’s groundbreaking lightbox shooting process and the screenplay all received significant playing time. What even the picture’s SAG Award and Golden Globe (and yes, soon-to-be-Oscar-nominated) actress likely didn’t expect was the effusive praise both Cuarón and Heyman bestowed upon her.

If you weren’t aware already, a majority of the time you see Bullock in “Gravity’s” space station sequences it is actually her. It is not a CG version of her floating through space. Favreau, who joked about his own appearance in a space suit in “Deep Impact,” was clearly in awe over how that was achieved without the use of wires being so obvious to the viewer. Part of it was due to production innovation, part of it was some wonderful puppeteers borrowed from the West End, but the key moments were physically performed and controlled by Bullock herself. The now iconic image of Ryan (Bullock) taking a moment to rest in the International Space Station as she folds herself into fetal position was just Bullock balancing herself on a bike seat. That’s some Cirque du Soleil stuff there and because so much of the world was created around her, every moment of her performance was timed to an unrealistic degree. (Cuarón joked he actually had to ask her not to shake her toe during one take.)

“You had X amount of time,” Bullock said. “You could not work out of that frame because they knew where a piece of debris was or a hand hold was. Your whole face and emotion had to be raw, but your body was doing it in that…time frame.”

Cuarón noted, “She knew that whole scene in pre-viz was going to be one minute long. She knew that at [14 seconds] her hand had to be in that very position. She had to perform in one minute. Not 1:10.”

One of the reasons it all works and Bullock has been lauded for what is ostensibly the performance of her career is that the audience is completely unaware of such limitations.

“One of the many miracles of the performance is that that is invisible,” Heyman said. “You don’t see that. Every moment for me in the film she infuses a truth and honesty and reality and limitations in every way. In a box, alone, not being able to move for long amounts of time. None of it shows…in the performance.”

Cuarón followed up, noting that “six months before [she was] just working out her body. Then going through every single beat of the script. Having such a clarity.  When we were rolling camera it was as though none of that existed. It was really remarkable.”

Praise from Heyman and Cuarón for Bullock is obviously nothing new. Especially after the trio have promoted the critically acclaimed blockbuster across the globe. In front of this audience, however, it had a purpose. No one doubts that Cate Blanchett is the frontrunner to sweep the remaining Best Actress honors for the rest of the season, but should she be? The more you consider, Bullock’s work may be the greater achievement. Could this evening in front of hundreds of SAG voters spark an upset? Likely not, but if so, it was one tiny piece of the awards season puzzle that might have made a difference.

One last thought: It’s unclear whether “Gravity” will be re-released in more IMAX or 3D theaters after Thursday’s Academy Awards nominations are announced (it will get a re-release in other theaters on Jan. 17), but it was an absolute wonder to catch it one more time on such a gorgeous screen. The owners of the new TCL Chinese Theaters are clearly more innovative than their predecessors. While they are no doubt looking to succeed financially with current films in release, programming modern classics such as “Gravity” in rotating repertory runs throughout the year (even as a Midnight movie) could be a big hit with LA’s cinephile audience.

“Gravity” is currently still in release nationwide.

A few years back, I think it was at the 2011 Santa Barbara film festival, I asked Christopher Nolan (then making the rounds for “Inception”) if he could ever see himself heading back to the Independent Spirit Awards with a modest piece of work. After all, the director got his start at Slamdance in Park City, with the 1999 entry “Following,” and again a couple years later with “Memento,” which would later be recognized at the Spirits.

“It depends on the story,” he told me at the time, before saying, tellingly, “I tend to think that if you have the chance to do a big film, you should do it while you can. I”m always worried maybe I won”t be able to do a big film again.”

And indeed, November’s “Interstellar” promises to be the biggest one yet. But as much of a fan of Nolan’s large-scale work that I am, I’m actually very, very eager to see him scale it back again. His best output, in my opinion, is still “Memento,” followed by “The Prestige,” though the latter showed the signs of ungainly structure that has plagued some of his bigger efforts (particularly “The Dark Knight Rises”). It would be a good exercise, if nothing else.

Then again, it’s not like the process has changed drastically as Nolan segued to bigger productions. As “Interstellar” star Matthew McConaughey told me in a recent interview, “Chris is a great mind. This is a big movie, so there’s a lot of things that have to be coordinated to make a scene work, which is different than something like [‘Dallas Buyers Club’]: 25 days, one camera, no lights, it’s about performance, follow this guy’s life, ‘go.’ There’s no time to be ‘considerate.’ So there’s a lot of things to ‘consider’ with a larger-scope movie like this where also the director is doing many things with the story. But when we’re shooting the scenes, it’s like you’re on an independent. It’s, ‘Get after it,’ a couple of takes, ‘We got it; move on.’ It’s not overly precious.”

Maybe Nolan will catch the spark and try his hand at something smaller coming off a recently announced honor that he’ll be receiving at the upcoming Slamdance fest, a tandem circuit focused on the most indie of indie productions. The organization has chosen Nolan as the inaugural recipient of the Founder’s Award.

“Throughout his incredible successes, Christopher Nolan has stood firmly behind the Slamdance filmmaking community,” Slamdance president and co-founder Peter Baxter said via press release. “We are honored to present him with Slamdance’s inaugural Founder’s Award.”

Added Nolan, “Slamdance continues to provide an important forum for emerging filmmakers and I’m proud to be part of their history.”

The 2014 Slamdance Film Festival runs Jan. 17th – 23.

Welcome to Oscar Talk.

In case you’re new to the site and/or the podcast, Oscar Talk is your one-stop awards chat shop between yours truly and Anne Thompson of Thompson on Hollywood. The podcast is broadcast in special installments throughout the season, charting the ups and downs of contenders along the way. Plenty of things change en route to Oscar’s stage and we’re here to address it all as it unfolds.

On the docket today…

– THE GUILDS HAVE MOSTLY SPOKEN: “American Hustle,” “12 Years a Slave” and “Captain Phillips” are out in front as the industry awards kudos circuit is in full swing. Does that make them the Oscar frontrunners?

– GLOBES ON THE WAY: The 71st annual Golden Globe Awards are being held Sunday. What films might get a nice publicity bump?

– WHITHER LLEWYN?: One film the industry just hasn’t taken to, all of a sudden, is the Coen brothers’ “Inside Llewyn Davis.” Why?

Have a listen to the new podcast below. If the file cuts off for you at any time, try the back-up download link at the bottom of this post. You to subscribe to Oscar Talk via iTunes here.

“Here I Come” courtesy of Stuart Park.