Another year, another top 10 list. This one, however, will be slightly different than previous installments.

You may not be aware, but there are two different protocols critics use to compile their end of year lists. Most reviewers only consider films that were released in their city or country during the calendar year. That means if a film was screened at a festival and hasn’t been released in theaters (yet) it wouldn’t qualify. The other protocol is somewhat obvious: you consider any film you experienced in a theater during the year. Traditionally, this pundit has always gone with the former. However, after screening so many films at the world’s top film festivals (snap), there were two motion pictures that had such a profound effect on me I’ve decided to transition to the latter qualifications for the foreseeable future. Therefore, this year’s list is a mix of films I originally screened at festivals in 2012 before their release this past year (two entries), at festivals in 2013 which have not been released yet (two entries) and those which fell within a traditional theatrical release window (six entries). Make sense?

For the list itself, check out the story gallery below. But, in case you’re curious what didn’t make it…

In no particular order, the best of the rest:
“Frances Ha,” “Wolf of Wall Street,” “American Hustle,” “Upstream Color,” “The Kings of Summer,” “Blue Jasmine,” “This is the End,” “Twenty Feet from Stardom,” “Mud,” “The Conjuring,” “The Bling Ring,” “Kill Your Darlings,” “The Heat,” “Enough Said,” “Behind the Candelabra”

Underrated:
“Oblivion,” “Man of Steel,” “Only God Forgives”

The HitFix editorial team will post our worst films of the year in a week or so. Smartly, I avoided seeing a number of the obvious clunkers over the past 12 months, but don’t worry “Jimmy P.” there’s an entry waiting with your name on it.

Look for a print version of Kris Tapley’s top 10 on Monday. Drew McWeeny’s top 10 will be revealed on Wednesday. Guy Lodge will unfurl his top 10 on Christmas day.

Agree? Disagree? Share your thoughts below.

The Academy has announced this year’s bake-off finalists for the Best Makeup and Hairstyling Oscar, and the big omissions appear to be Ron Howard’s “Rush” and Peter Jackson’s “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.” But the Jackass boys have cause for celebration!

Last year, the makeup branch extended the name of the category from merely Best Makeup to Best Makeup and Hairstyling in an effort to shine more light on the hairstylists who were already part of the group and had a very big hand in how the category shaped up each and every year. And last year’s winner in the category, “Les Misérables,” is a great example of that synergy between makeup applications and hair and wig work.

That kind of added value for hair designs can be seen in the advancement of “American Hustle” today. The 1970s caper film features an array of interesting styles, including even Christian Bale’s unkempt comb-over (tedious preparation of which opens the film in a hilarious little sequence).

HitFix recently asked actress Amy Adams about building her character with these outward elements. “I tend to like sort of the side-part, luscious curl,” she told our Gregory Ellwood. She couldn’t complain about the time it took to sport all those styles, though, because “Bradley [Cooper] was there early every day getting his hair set in perm rods.” The film is obviously a Best Picture player and it has a fair argument in this category, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see it land in the final lineup.

One film that is nowhere near the Best Picture conversation but could find a fair amount of love in the crafts categories is “The Lone Ranger.” Particularly the intense aging done to Johnny Depp’s Tonto in the film is just catnip for this branch, so of course it made it this far, and may even land a nomination. But other aging efforts, like “Lee Daniels’ The Butler” and “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom,” went ignored by the branch today. As did Best Picture frontrunner “12 Years a Slave.”

Meanwhile, again, the notable exclusions of “Rush” (with its burn work on actor Daniel Brühl) and particularly Peter Jackson’s “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” are interesting. One would have thought the “Hobbit” series at the very least would have continued to be recognized by the branch as its variety of prosthetics and creature-building designs remains unique in the fray. But no such luck this time, nor for another fantasy, “Oz the Great and Powerful,” with a department sporting the likes of Howard Berger, Yolanda Toussieng and Peter Montagna (seven nominations and three wins between them).

However, also in the realm of prosthetic work this year – and a movie we told you to watch out for with this branch – is “Bad Grandpa” from the Jackass clan. The film made the cut and may well land an Oscar nomination. The work that went into transforming Johnny Knoxville into the eponymous old-timer “had to withstand some pretty intense scrutiny and allow for a very subtle range of reactions, and it works beautifully,” our own Drew McWeeny wrote in his review of the film. “Knoxville is able to vanish into Irving, and on those occasions when a gag involves something extra, like a giant scrotum or a freakishly-elastic male member, the makeup department rises to that occasion as well.”

Elsewhere, where “The Hunger Games” failed to make it this far with the branch last year, the film’s sequel, “Catching Fire,” impressed the makeup and hairstylists enough this time around. It could be something to watch for, both in this category and in Best Costume Design. And a more subtle example of makeup that made the bake-off list today comes in the form of “Dallas Buyers Club,” with careful work done to enhance the already rail-thin Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto in the film.

“The Great Gatsby” and “Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters” rounded out the list, though other films I heard were very much in the conversation include “The Grandmaster,” “The Great Beauty” and “Star Trek Into Darkness.”

On Saturday, Jan. 11, all members of the Academy”s Makeup Artists and Hairstylists Branch will be invited to view 10-minute excerpts from each of the seven shortlisted films. Following the screenings, members will vote to nominate three films for final Oscar consideration.

Once again, the seven bake-off finalists for Best Makeup and Hairstyling are:

“American Hustle”
“Dallas Buyers Club”
“The Great Gatsby”
“Hansel & Gretel Witch Hunters”
“The Hunger Games: Catching Fire”
“Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa”
“The Lone Ranger”

All three films we were predicting to be nominated failed to make the list. Just goes to show how singular this branch can truly be.

Nominations in the category will be announced alongside all other Oscar nominees on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2014.

The 86th annual Academy Awards will be held on Sunday, March 2, 2014.

http://players.brightcove.net/4838167533001/BkZprOmV_default/index.html?videoId=4911843059001

The teaser trailer for Christopher Nolan’s first foray into filmmaking with the “Dark Knight” trilogy firmly in his rear view mirror landed today, and it’s certainly a tease. Fleeting images of America’s space race populate it, from Bell X-1 aircraft dropping into the atmosphere for collision course with the sound barrier to Walter Cronkite removing his glasses in awed disbelief after Neil Armstrong, the alien, set foot on the moon. Matthew McConaughey’s voice over reflects a world that has left that innovation behind, and with it, the spirit to achieve wonders.

This is a thematic thread I’m very, very interested in, and where once “Interstellar” was a genre curiosity – well, more than that, a sci-fi excursion I was very much looking forward to from an immensely talented commercial filmmaker and a charismatic, revived leading man fronting an amazing cast – it has now taken on a whole new hue for me. This could be an extremely meaningful portrait at a time when NASA is seemingly funded just enough to keep the lights on, when that eagerness to “make the unknown known” has given way to global concerns that are often times necessary, others merely a distraction.

Basically, this could pop as more than mere entertainment, and given the film’s prime Oscar season release date – Nov. 7, “one year from now,” as the trailer says – we could very well be talking about it in an awards context this time next year. Nolan has managed it before, landing major nominations (and four trophies) for “Inception” three years ago. And the Oscar race is what it is today largely because of “The Dark Knight’s” shunning in 2008.

But there has still been aversion. “Inception” somehow – SOMEHOW – couldn’t find any love from the editors branch, let alone the directors branch. This year’s “Gravity” seems like a film guaranteed major success across the board, but you know what? Who knows? The Academy’s history with sci-fi has been complex to say the least, but I’m suddenly way more intrigued by the promise of this film. It seems to have something absolutely vital to say and I hope it nails that thematic construct. We have lost our awe. Funny that the movies are always there to help us get it back.

And again, I’m really stoked to see how McConaughey plays out in this ensemble. It was a shrewd move for Nolan to tap him for this project, though as the actor told me back in October, he’s keeping his perspective amid the excitement.

“What I’ve gotten out of the last two years that’s been so rewarding to me is I’ve been getting these experiences, man, just feeling like I’m in the clay, man,” he said at the time. “So going into a big movie I had a bit of fear, going like, ‘Was it so much of a machine that I’m going to still be able to have an experience?’ So that’s what I’m working on, that I am getting. Because I’m holding on and saying, ‘No, I’m still going to have an experience today. I still had an experience on Friday.’ I’m serving [Nolan’s] story but I’m still having a personal experience. And that was my biggest fear, or biggest trepidation going into it, but I have to say, I’m getting one out of it.”

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go watch that new Blu-ray of “The Right Stuff.”

“Interstellar” opens on Nov. 7, 2014.

Another nomination list, another leading haul for “12 Years a Slave.” This time, it’s the San Francisco Film Critics Circle, and Steve McQueen’s film receives nine nods. It’s not an especially inventive list, but it’s a solid one: nice to see the stars of “Blue is the Warmest Color” rack up another mention, while those of you rooting for “The Wolf of Wall Street” will be pleased to note nominations for Best Picture, Director and Actor. Perhaps the least expected mention: Harrison Ford’s supporting actor nod for “42.” That dogged FYC campaign finally yields some fruit. Winners will be announced on Sunday. 

Best Picture
“American Hustle”
“Gravity”
“Nebraska”
“12 Years a Slave”
“The Wolf of Wall Street”

Best Director
Alfonso Cuaron, “Gravity”
Spike Jonze, “Her”
Steve McQueen, “12 Years a Slave”
David O. Russell, “American Hustle”
Martin Scorsese, “The Wolf of Wall Street”

Best Actor
Bruce Dern, “Nebraska”
Leonardo DiCaprio, “The Wolf of Wall Street”
Chiwetel Ejiofor, “12 Years a Slave”
Matthew McConaughey, “Dallas Buyers Club”
Robert Redford, “All is Lost”

Best Actress
Cate Blanchett, “Blue Jasmine”
Sandra Bullock, “Gravity”
Judi Dench, “Philomena”
Adèle Exarchopoulos, “Blue is the Warmest Color”
Brie Larson, “Short Term 12”
Meryl Streep, “August: Osage County”

Best Supporting Actor
Barkhad Abdi, “Captain Phillips”
Michael Fassbender, “12 Years a Slave”
Harrison Ford, “42”
Will Forte, “Nebraska”
James Franco, “Spring Breakers”
Jared Leto, “Dallas Buyers Club”

Best Supporting Actress
Jennifer Lawrence, “American Hustle”
Lupita Nyong’o, “12 Years a Slave”
Lea Seydoux, “Blue is the Warmest Color”
Octavia Spencer, “Fruitvale Station”
June Squibb, “Nebraska”

Best Adapted Screenplay
“Before Midnight”
“Philomena”
“The Spectacular Now”
“12 Years a Slave”
“The Wolf of Wall Street”

Best Original Screenplay
“American Hustle”
“Gravity”
“Her”
“Inside Llewyn Davis”
“Nebraska”

Best Foreign Language Film
“Blue is the Warmest Color”
“A Hijacking”
“The Hunt”
“The Past”
“Wadjda”

Best Documentary
“The Act of Killing”
“The Armstrong Lie”
“Blackfish”
“Stories We Tell”
“20 Feet from Stardom”

Best Animated Feature
“The Croods”
“Despicable Me 2”
“Frozen”
“Monsters University”
“The Wind Rises”

Best Cinematography
“Gravity”
“Her”
“Inside Llewyn Davis”
“Nebraska”
“12 Years a Slave”

Best Art Direction/Production Design
“American Hustle”
“Gravity”
“Her”
“Inside Llewyn Davis”
“12 Years a Slave”

Best Editing
“All is Lost”
“American Hustle”
“Captain Phillips”
“Gravity”
“12 Years a Slave”
“The Wolf of Wall Street”

The Detroit Film Critics Society mixed things up a little with their awards, giving Spike Jonze’s “Her” another Best Picture win, but also going so far as to hand Scarlett Johansson their Best Supporting Actress prize for her voice work in  the film. They also went against the grain in Best Actress, giving the win to Brie Larson for indie darling “Short Term 12” — then doubling up by handing her their Best Breakthrough Performance award too. Larger-scale filmmaking muscled in with a Best Director win for “Gravity.” Full list after the jump.

Best Picture: “Her”

Best Director: Alfonso Cuaron, “Gravity”

Best Actor: Matthew McConaughey, “Dallas Buyers Club”

Best Actress: Brie Larson, “Short Term 12”

Best Supporting Actor: Jared Leto, “Dallas Buyers Club”

Best Supporting Actress: Scarlett Johansson, “Her”

Best Screenplay: Spike Jonze, “Her”

Best Ensemble: “American Hustle”

Best Documentary: “Stories We Tell”

Best Breakthrough Performance: :Brie Larson, “Short Term 12”

In this banner year for black filmmakers, the African-American Film Critics’ Association — which doesn’t exclusively honor black-themed cinema, but leans heavily in that direction — was always going to be spoilt for choice. No surprise, then, to see “12 Years a Slave” take Best Picture, Director, Screenplay and Breakout Performance for Lupita Nyong’o, while their Best Picture runner-up, “Lee Daniels’ The Butler,” won acting awards for Forest Whitaker and Oprah Winfrey. Sandra Bullock and Jared Leto round out the top prizewinners, while it’s nice to see Andrew Dosunmu’s superb “Mother of George” recognized further down. Full list after the jump. 

Best Picture: “12 Years a Slave”

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

Best Actor: Forest Whitaker, “Lee Daniels’ The Butler”

Best Actress: Sandra Bullock, “Gravity”

Best Supporting Actor: Jared Leto, “Dallas Buyers Club”

Best Supporting Actress: Oprah Winfrey, “Lee Daniels’ The Butler”

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

Best World Cinema: “Mother of George”

Best Animated Film: “Frozen”

Best Documentary: “American Promse”

Best Independent Film: “Fruitvale Station”

Best Breakout Performance: :Lupita Nyong’o, “12 Years a Slave

Best Music: Raphael Saadiq. “Black Nativity”

Top 10 Films of 2013
1. “12 Years a Slave”
2. “Lee Daniels’ The Butler”
3. “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom”
4. “American Hustle”
5. “Gravity”
6. “Fruitvale Station”
7. “Dallas Buyers Cllub”
8. “Saving Mr. Banks”
9. “Out of the Furnace”
10.  “42” 

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…

– FINAL SHOES DROP: Since we last spoke, “American Hustle” and “The Wolf of Wall Street” have finally screened. So it’s time to discuss them and their place in the season.

– THE PRECURSORS HAVE BEGUN: Film critics from New York to Los Angeles have begun dishing out end-of-year kudos, while the Screen Actors Guild and Golden Globe nominations have shed a little more light on the season.

– BEST OF THE YEAR: It’s the final podcast of 2013, and you know what that means: Top 10 lists!

(P.S.: This is a LOOOOOONNNGGGG podcast. So get comfortable.)

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.

UPDATE (12/31/13): As a certain film on this list (#3 in the recording) continues to linger for me and open up new, fascinating avenues, it has, in the last two weeks, crept up a spot. So consider the #3 film from me on this podcast to be #2 now, and vice versa. Great, great year.

“Here I Come” courtesy of Stuart Park.

I haven’t yet caught up with “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” myself. On my one opportunity to see it this week, it was scheduled against “The Wolf of Wall Street” and — well, you know. I didn’t get on at all with “An Unexpected Journey” last year, finding it narratively listless and visually garish (not helped by the divisive 48fps technology).

But my curiosity has been renewed after a number of trusted colleagues deemed the new instalment significantly superior to its predecessor. Drew McWeeny is among the believers, declaring the film a “thrilling” improvement. Now it’s your turn. Do you agree that “Smaug” is a step up? Perhaps you thought the first film required no improvement? Or can you still not get over the division of one slender book into three films? Share your thoughts in the comments if and when you’ve seen the film, and vote in our poll below.

  The third feature from by largely unheralded Calin Peter Netzer, the film was a deserving Berlinale champ, and among the smartest, most searing products of the recent Romanian New Wave – a creative boom that has yielded such tough-minded works as “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days,” “The Death of Mr. Lazarescu” and “Tuesday, After Christmas,” but has yet to earn the country a single Oscar nomination.

“Child”s Pose” would be an excellent place to start. Both a darkly warped family drama and a pointed indictment of Romanian institutional corruption, it stars the astonishing Luminita Gheorghiu (a LAFCA award winner a few years back for “Lazarescu”) as Cornelia, a steel-hearted, fur-coated socialite who expertly plays the system to wriggle her loveless lump of a son out of manslaughter charges when he drunkenly runs over a working-class child. The mother-son relationship at its heart is as conflicted as the Cornelia”s increasingly challenged conscience – it”s a film that crackles with genuine moral weight and consequence, and among the year”s finest in any language.

It may seem an urgently focused work, but for Netzer and his screenwriter Razvan Radulescu (a key cog in the New Wave, having also penned “4 Months,” “Lazarescu” and “Christmas,” among others), the project only came about when inspiration for another ran dry.

“We actually had a very different projecting in mind,” Netzer explains. “We went to the Costa Del Sol in Spain because I was interested in making a film about British retirees there, interviewing people there to get their mentality. But it somehow didn”t quite work, so we returned home. And there we had our own families with our own problems and our own domineering mothers – so we switched the story, and went with what we knew.”

He”s not joking about the “domineering mothers” part – though the narrative of “Child”s Pose” is (thankfully) wholly fictional, much of it is inspired by Netzer”s own family life. “Cornelia is, all of her, my mother,” he says frankly. “Razvan met her and was absolutely fascinated by her, so he and I talked a lot about our childhood experiences, and about our relationships to our mothers – mine in particular.”

He describes the process of making the film “a bit therapeutic for me… perhaps even a little bit Freudian.” And indeed, Cornelia is constructed with the kind of respectful but unsparing detail – a brutal kind of sympathy, if you will – that we tend to reserve for describing those we know and love most. Fiercely proud and protective, she”s an admirable woman in many senses, but it”s hardly a flattering character study: the film”s drama is propelled by her willful misapplication of her sharpest virtues. It can”t have been an easy film to write with one”s mother in mind, much less to eventually show her.

“She actually saw the film in Berlin and reacted very positively,” Netzer says guardedly. “I wasn”t quite sure how she”d interpret it. But she took it as a homage, if you like. And of course it”s fiction. She was maybe a bit afraid at the beginning that people would see her differently after they saw the film. But in fact she got many women telling her they”d have done exactly the same for their son in that situation, even though it”s a fictional situation!”

The film stands out from much recent, hardscrabble Romanian cinema by focusing principally on upper-class characters – the hard-up victims of Cornelia”s son”s antics play a vital role in the drama, particularly in a wrenchingly cathartic finale, but Netzer never assumes their perspective. He explains: “Our intention from the beginning to make a film about the high class of Romania. In Romanian cinema, family stories are set so much more often in the lower classes than in the middle classes, and I wanted this film to show another side.”

Telling the story from the grieving family”s point of view might have made for easier tragedy, but Netzer and Radulescu deemed it “more honest” to view it through Cornelia”s eyes: “Hers is a world I understand better than that of the victim”s parents. If I tried to see it through their eyes, it wouldn”t be socially authentic.” Though he believes the story a universal one, its politics are fairly specific. “I believe social structures in Romania are very much as they are described in the film. Institutional corruption is the usual; it hasn”t changed a lot in the past 20 years, in the post-Communist revolution. It remains a big problem.”

Released at home in March, shortly after its Berlinale triumph, the film was eagerly embraced by the Romanian public: Netzer claims it”s the most financially successful local film of the last decade. “People kept talking about it,” he says, still sounding somewhat giddy, even nine months later. “So in the third week of release there was much more interest than in the first week.”

When I ask him if the “New Wave” is recognized as such in its home country, or if it”s the rest of the world that has been late to acknowledge it, he pauses for though. “That”s a tricky question, and I really don”t know the answer,” he admits. “We try to make honest films about things that we know, things we are talking about. That”s very important. But maybe it”s just a talented generation: for example, Cristian Mungiu was in my class at film school. There”s a competitive spirit between filmmakers in Romania that”s quite healthy.”

Promoting “Child”s Pose” on the festival circuit – and now in the Oscar season – has been a full-time job, and he”s looking forward to tackling a new project in 2014, for which he”s already hashing out an idea. After his British-expat project fizzled, would he consider an English-language project again?

“I”m thinking about it,” he says cautiously, ” but it”s difficult to find a good screenplay anywhere. I”m not a director who really writes his own scripts. I had some meetings with some agents in LA and they told me there”s a similar crisis in Hollywood, and then asked me if I have something. But it”s not that easy – you have to understand the life and the society you”re making a film about.”

“Child’s Pose” opens in limited release Stateside on February 19, 2014.

I was hit with a pang of sadness this morning when it occurred to me that the Chicago Film Critics Association’s list of nominees this year are the organization’s first since the passing of legendary Chicago critic Roger Ebert. What would he have thought of “12 Years a Slave,” which led the way with 11 nominations? How would he have responded to “Gravity?” What invaluable insight might he have afforded films like “American Hustle,” “Her” and “Inside Llewyn Davis,” all of which fill out the group’s Best Picture slate? We’ll never know, and I don’t know – it strikes me as particularly unfortunate in a year like this, which has been so, so extraordinary. Rest in peace, Roger. Check out the full list of CFCA nominations below. And remember to keep track of the season via The Circuit.

Best Picture
“American Hustle”
“Gravity”
“Her”
“Inside Llewyn Davis”
“12 Years a Slave”

Best Director
Joel & Ethan Coen, “Inside Llewyn Davis”
Alfonso Cuaron, “Gravity”
Spike Jonze, “Her”
Steve McQueen, “12 Years a Slave”
David O. Russell, “American Hustle”

Best Actor
Bruce Dern, “Nebraska”
Chiwetel Ejiofor, “12 Years a Slave”
Oscar Isaac, “Inside Llewyn Davis”
Matthew McConaughey, “Dallas Buyers Club”
Robert Redford, “All is Lost”

Best Actress
Cate Blanchett, “Blue Jasmine”
Sandra Bullock, “Gravity”
Adèle Exarchopoulos, “Blue is the Warmest Color”
Brie Larson, “Short Term 12”
Meryl Streep, “August: Osage County”

Best Supporting Actor
Barkhad Abdi, “Captain Phillips”
Michael Fassbender, “12 Years a Slave”
James Franco, “Spring Breakers”
James Gandolfini, “Enough Said”
Jared Leto, “Dallas Buyers Club”

Best Supporting Actress
Scarlett Johansson, “Her”
Jennifer Lawrence, “American Hustle”
Lupita Nyong’o, “12 Years a Slave”
Lea Seydoux, “Blue is the Warmest Color”
June Squibb, “Nebraska”

Best Adapted Screenplay
“August: Osage County”
“Before Midnight”
“Philomena”
“12 Years a Slave”
“The Wolf of Wall Street”

Best Original Screenplay
“American Hustle”
“Blue Jasmine”
“Her”
“Inside Llewyn Davis”
“Nebraska”

Best Foreign Language Film
“The Act of Killing”
“Blue is the Warmest Color”
“The Hunt”
“Wadjda”
“The Wind Rises”

Best Documentary
“The Act of Killing”
“The Armstrong Lie”
“Blackfish”
“Stories We Tell”
“20 Feet from Stardom”

Best Animated Feature
“The Croods”
“From Up on Poppy Hill”
“Frozen”
“Monsters University”
“The Wind Rises”

Best Cinematography
“Gravity”
“Her”
“Inside Llewyn Davis”
“Prisoners”
“12 Years a Slave”

Best Original Score
“Blancanieves”
“Gravity”
“Her”
“Spring Breakers”
“12 Years a Slave”

Best Art Direction/Production Design
“Gravity”
“The Great Gatsby”
“Her”
“Inside Llewyn Davis”
“12 Years a Slave”

Best Editing
“American Hustle”
“Gravity”
“12 Years a Slave”
“Upstream Color”
“The Wolf of Wall Street”

Most Promising Filmmaker
Lake Bell, “In A World”
Ryan Coogler, “Fruitvale Station”
Destin Cretton, “Short Term 12”
Joseph Gordon-Levitt, “Don Jon”
Joshua Oppenheimer, “The Act of Killing”

Most Promising Performer
Barkhad Abdi, “Captain Phillips”
Chadwick Boseman, “42”
Adele Exarchopoulos, “Blue is the Warmest Color”
Lupita Nyong’o, “12 Years a Slave”
Tye Sheridan, “Mud”

The Producers Guild of America (PGA) has announced that Ryan Coogler’s Sundance sensation “Fruitvale Station” will be the recipients of this year’s Stanley Kramer Award. Established in 2002 to honor a production, producer or other individual whose achievement or contribution illuminates and raises public awareness of important social issues, the honor is of considerable note in a year featuring a number of films that have tackled racial injustice and inequality, Coogler’s film being one of the very best among them.

“‘Fruitvale Station’ is an important film that raises awareness about an injustice that we encounter in the news with grim regularity,” said PGA Awards Co-Chairs Lori McCreary and Michael De Luca. The film “has well earned the honor of the 2014 Stanley Kramer Award and we look forward to celebrating this extraordinary film.”

Added producer Forest Whitaker, “We are very excited that ‘Fruitvale Station’ is being honored with the Stanley Kramer Award. It is a testament to the director, the production team and the incredible efforts of the many talented people in our crew and cast who worked so hard because they believed in the message of this movie. Many thanks to the Producers Guild of America for this recognition. Our producing team is thrilled to have been able to tell a story that puts a human face on the issue of social injustice. We hope the film continues to have a positive impact on the ongoing dialogue that surrounds these issues.”

Previous recipients of the honor include “The Great Debaters,” “An Inconvenient Truth,” “Hotel Rwanda,” “In America,” “Antwone Fisher,” “Precious,” “In the Land of Blood and Honey” and “Bully.”

Nominees for this year’s PGA Awards will be announced on Thursday, Jan. 2, 2014.

The 25th annual PGA Awards will be held on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2014 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles.

 It’s never too early: Danish-Palestinian filmmaker Mahdi Fleifel has turned to crowd-funding to mount a 2014-15 Oscar campaign for his acclaimed documentary “A World Not Ours.” [Screen Daily] 

Steven Zeitchik notes the heavily British slant to yesterday’s Golden Globe nominations. [LA Times]

Scott Feinberg on the pros and cons of Oscar contenders revealing themselves earlier in the season. [Hollywood Reporter]

http://players.brightcove.net/4838167533001/BkZprOmV_default/index.html?videoId=4911999649001

LOS ANGELES – When I spoke to “Inside Llewyn Davis” star Oscar Isaac a few weeks back, he had just come from seeing “Another Day, Another Time.” The music documentary, which airs on Showtime Friday night, covers the Sept. 29 concert celebration of American folk music held at New York’s Town Hall in honor of the Coen brothers’ latest film.

At the time, Isaac noted how T Bone Burnett, the mind behind the film’s soundtrack and the concert, seemed to hover over the proceedings like an ethereal presence. “I don’t think he even really says anything but he’s just floating around,” the actor said. “I mean, literally, sometimes he just walks up behind someone that’s playing and just stands there, feeds the mojo, and walks away.”

Talking over a cappuccino at one of his favorite Brentwood haunts, the music maestro laughs at the quote. “There is a bit of that,” he concedes in his smooth yet weathered tone. “I feel like I walk around until it sounds exactly right. Especially when a lot of musicians are playing, you walk around until you can sort of hear everybody. You become sort of a conduit.”

The concert is populated by some of the same names who made a trip to Los Angeles for a west coast distilled version of the show last month, including Punch Brothers (“Chris [Thile] is the greatest musician out there today,” Burnett says in no uncertain terms), Willie Watson, Rhiannon Giddens and The Milk Carton Kids, including appearances from Joan Baez, Jack White and Marcus Mumford. And there’s a stand-out quote from Mumford in the film, in fact, that begins to get at the heart of what “Inside Llewyn Davis” – indeed, the whole of artistic expression – is all about.

“My temptation is to try and make everything big,” the Mumford & Sons frontman says before taking the stage for a haunting solo ditty. “So going back to the small and the quiet is quite exposing. It’s terrifying. It’s good, though, to do things that are scary.”

Says Burnett, “Exposed, that’s the beautiful thing about folk music. It’s sung by people without affectation. They’re not experts.”

The show and resulting film were turned around very quickly, and Burnett says there are even plans to cut each performance so the songs can be released as video singles. A three-disc vinyl album from the show is also planned, and early considerations are being made for a full-blown tour next fall to help further catapult the careers of these musicians. “I don’t want to withhold anything from it, really,” he says. “And I want to be able to give it to the artists. Some of the artists whose pieces didn’t end up being in this film, they can put them online or sell them as singles.”

But much of the material is interesting in that it doesn’t necessarily feel like the music of the era depicted in “Inside Llewyn Davis.” That early Dylan folk era represented by a certain sort of pre-rock aesthetic gives way to more of a bluegrass bent, not too far off from the work that took flight in the wake of “O Brother, Where Art Thou?,” another Burnett/Coen collaboration.

“It’s more filled out,” Burnett says of the featured tracks. “And even in [‘Inside llewyn Davis’], Oscar’s tone doesn’t have anything to do with folk music at all. Other than Jeff Buckley – if Jeff Buckley was a folk singer – but that was the 80s. He sounds like that, or Ryan Adams. He’s in this much later wave of singers. And we didn’t do it with ‘O Brother, Where Art Thou?’ either. We don’t go for the form. We go for the content. We get the content right and let the form be whatever it wants in the room when you’re doing it, rather than trying to force a form over something.

“The other thing is you can play these games because no one’s heard these songs anyway. They think we wrote them all. Same thing that happened to Dylan. Everybody just thought he wrote all those songs!”

That’s the fascinating thing about this music and part of what makes it the beating heart of the Coens’ film. “If it was never new and it never gets old, it’s a folk song,” Davis says at the beginning of the film.

So much material was filmed at the New York event that Burnett says there may yet be another movie at some point. But for now, “Another Day, Another Time” represents a well-remembered evening dedicated to his life-long love: the cultural anthropology of folk music, offered up by some of the greatest unsung musicians of our time.

“That’s it,” he says. “This is completely what my life’s about at this point, at 65. It’s totally about exactly that. Who are we? How are we going to live? How are we going to treat people?”

“Inside Llewyn Davis” is currently playing in limited release. It will expand wider on Dec. 20. We’ll have more from Burnett on his contribution to the film in the coming weeks.

“Another Day, Another Time: Celebrating the Music of ‘Inside Llewyn Davis” airs on Showtime Friday, Dec. 13 at 10pm ET/PT.

Earlier today the list of eligible original score Oscar contenders was revealed by the Academy, so consider it great timing as we focus on the category today in our final craft category analysis of the season.

Best Original Score is one of the best known crafts categories, and for good reason. When done well, film music can become iconic, transcendent, even. Such scores are frequently rewarded in this category, in fact. Having memorable themes, lots of instrumentation and being, for lack of a better term, noticeable in the feature are all characteristics of work that is often recognized by the branch.

The composers do tend to give a good number of nominations to Best Picture contenders, but there are typically films nominated – frequently of the action or animated sort – that get in despite coming nowhere near a nomination in the top category. Films with ethnic-influenced music also tend to do disproportionately well here.

But perhaps the most notable aspect of this branch is its insularity. I want to be very clear about the spirit in which I make this observation. First, once new composers are nominated, they frequently get nominated again and again. More than half of the new composers nominated over the past decade have received multiple nominations since. Second, once new composers are nominated, they very often win. However, the fact of the matter is that only 16 new composers have earned a nod here in the past 14 years. In only one year was a majority of the nominated composers first-time nominees. There is usually only one first-timer, two maximum.

Having said that, I have a suspicion we are headed for two first-time nominees this year.

We may have received some clarification on the state of the race earlier this morning with the announcement of the Golden Globe nominees, but who knows? While there are usually at least three crossovers, there are often only two, and sometimes only one. But I actually think the HFPA was likely pretty spot-on this year.

Leading the way, in my view, is Steven Price for “Gravity.” Though never nominated before (and hence not a “lock” in my view), everyone agreed that this music was integral in complementing what was seen on screen. I could not imagine the film without it. The Globes have agreed, and the film is probably heading to nominations across the board. I would say Price is looking very good indeed for his first nomination, and assuming nominated, he”s in outstanding position for the win.

His biggest competition for that win, and even more assured for a nomination, in my view, is Hans Zimmer for “12 Years a Slave.” This score was haunting, and after a spell between 2001 and 2008 where he had seemingly fallen out of favor with the branch, Zimmer earned nominations in 2009 and 2010. It”s remarkable to think that this great composer has not won since “The Lion King.” He could end up back on stage again this year, though it’s worth noting that the work has been criticized for being heavily reminiscent of the composer’s work on films like “The Thin Red Line” and “Inception.”

But this is not Zimmer”s only chance at a nomination this year. He also composed the music for Ron Howard”s “Rush.” This soaring work could score with the branch, but I still have a feeling the McQueen film is his better chance. And while the SAG and HFPA have breathed new life into “Rush,” I remain reluctant to start predicting it in too many categories.

A composer who has never fallen out of favor is John Williams. The 48-time Academy Award nominee seems to be firmly in the running yet again this year with “The Book Thief.” While this film did not become a critical darling, nor does it have the sort of memorable theme that has defined much of Williams” career, it is still lovely work. And Williams has certainly been nominated for much less. With a Golden Globe mention behind him, I think the legend will get Oscar nod #49. (I”m sure it”s just a coincidence but Williams managed Globe and Oscar nods for another disappointing adaptation of a beloved 1930s/1940s-set book starring Emily Watson – “Angela”s Ashes.”)

Williams is second in total career nominations only to the legendary Walt Disney. The world of that mogul was brought to screen this year in “Saving Mr. Banks,” and while the lack of Globe and SAG nods was undoubtedly disappointing for the studio, I think the Academy may have another take on this title. And in any event, Thomas Newman is one of the branch”s favorites, having earned 11 nominations…this despite only four Golden Globes nods. So I am not at all worried about his absence there this year, but does the music of “Mary Poppins” cloud his contribution?

Newman is waiting for his first Oscar win to date, and his cousin Randy certainly knows a thing or two about that. Randy Newman finally won an Oscar for Best Original Song for Pixar’s “Monsters Inc.” 12 years ago. He’s back for the prequel, “Monsters University,” and while this Sully-and-Mike adventure may not have been Pixar”s best-received entry, Newman”s work was typically colorful in the best way possible. But do people really remember it and like the film enough? We shall see.

Also waiting for his first win is Alexandre Desplat. This year, he displayed his considerable talents on Stephen Frears” “Philomena.” As discussed in our interview with the composer, Desplat wrote a lovely theme that was used tremendously well throughout the film. And he”s earned five nominations in the past seven years, the first one (“The Queen”) for another Frears film. “Philomena” was clearly well-received by the HFPA. We”ll see if AMPAS follows suit.

Elsewhere, Golden Globe nominee Alex Ebert had to complement what we saw on screen in great detail on “All is Lost.” The film”s lack of dialogue made his work absolutely key, in fact. The music branch may well recognize that.

But I cannot help but wonder if the Alex with the better chance is Alex Heffes for “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom.” Heffes went to Africa to do meticulous research for this score. That exotic element of music can, as evidenced by recent patterns in the category, be quite beneficial. And while it may sound cynical, I cannot help but wonder if recent events in South Africa could help this film”s chances at nominations.

Moving along, Henry Jackman’s compositions for “Captain Phillips” were appropriately constrained in true Paul Greengrass style. But the score was also quite noticeable and could be remembered. The film has been doing well this awards season.

I personally found Jóhan Jóhannsson”s “Prisoners” score to be eerie and memorable. The Icelandic composer is well known in music circles for his non-film work as much as his cinematic contributions. We”ll see if the branch was impressed with his work this year.

But perhaps the likelier (if still not likely) “cool” choice would be Arcade Fire for Spike Jonze”s “Her.” Though this branch is conservative, and often eschews the rock world, it is not totally opposed to novel work. If it were, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross would never have been nominated, much less have won, for “The Social Network.” And this film is finding its niche.

So there are the top dozen contenders in my view. Though I”ve got to say that I sure did not see “Skyfall” coming at this point last year. I”ll watch with interest for the BFCA nods on Monday, and the Oscar nominations in January.

http://players.brightcove.net/4838167533001/BkZprOmV_default/index.html?videoId=4911844491001

Have you caught any interviews with Christian Bale over the past year or so?  Something’s changed. During his Batman years Bale was almost always a tough chat. Often it was because he seemed loathe to answer questions about the Nolan franchise when he was promoting other films, but even when he was doing press for “The Dark Knight” or “The Dark Knight Rises” he seemed well, for lack of a better descriptor, “oh, so serious.”  Due to two the fact he has two films releasing within two weeks of each other, an unusual occurrence for any star, Bale has been on something of a media blitz.  And, shockingly, he’s being more candid and friendly than ever.

While many critics, including HitFix’s own Kris Tapley, went gaga over Bale’s performance in Scott Cooper’s dark thriller “Out of the Furnace,” the 39-year-old actor woke up this morning to find himself with another Golden Globe nomination for his portrayal of the not-so bad conman Irving Rosenfeld in David O. Russell’s “American Hustle.”  Set in the late 1970’s, “Hustle” was influenced by the ABSCAM scandals which found local politicians, Congressmen and a U.S. Senator taking bribes for money. Rosenfeld is based on a real life hustler, Melvin Weinberg, who helped the FBI take down these corrupt public officials. Speaking to Bale last weekend in New York — in an interview you can see embedded at the top of this post — he talked about the evolution of turning Rosenfeld into a subtly different version of Weinberg.

“When we first read [the script], it was the historical drama that Eric Singer had written about ABSCAM, you know exactly how it went down,” Bale recalls. “And, David found it intriguing but more as a launching point to see these characters. He wanted to make it an emotional drama. He went away and did a page 1 rewrite. He did like 160 pages and none of them had any similarities to Eric Singer’s original script and equally gave me the freedom to go and create this character.”

It also turns out the physical transformation Bale went through for the film was completely of his own doing.  

Bale notes, “[David] hadn’t envisioned or believed I would put on any weight or anything like that, but I just fell in love with the look of Mel Weinberg who we took a lot of license with and who I made into Irv. His comb over and his rotund physicality and that sort of rolling ball nature to him. Not the con man you’d expect to see and then discovering this guy is a real romantic. He’s just trying to recreate his life that’s adventurous and exciting. ‘Please forgive me, so I tell a few lies in order to make my life more exciting in order to find some bigger truth, but who doesn’t in some ways?'”

The Oscar winner has endured major fluctuation in his weight for roles in “The Machinist,” “The Fighter” and even the “Dark Knight” series over the years.  After the weight gain for “Hustle” he jokes, “I always forget the promise I made to never do it (again).”

But, Bale continues, “The nice thing to says is I’ve never had a single director ask me to do any of this stuff. Everyone’s kind of gone, ‘Well, we can do it with a bunch of makeup and some prosthetics’ And then they discover I’m really doing it myself and they go, ‘Really? Are you O.K. doing that? I’ve never really had anyone say, ‘You have to get to this place.’ It’s always been me saying, ‘I have to get to this place.'”

A fellow Globe nominee this year, Matthew McConaughey, became emaciated for his work in “The Dallas Buyers Club” just as Bale had for “The Machinist” and “The Fighter.”  Bale hasn’t seen “Dallas Buyers” yet, but admits he has had many actors call him for tips on how to pull it off.

“Unfortunately I didn’t do it under any sort of doctor’s monitoring and so I’m loathe to give advice because what if it goes wrong for somebody else,” Bale says. “There really isn’t much of a secret to it. You eat less and do more. And whatever extreme you take that? The more skinny you’re going to become.”

But again, Bale and HitFix would remind you to seek out some medical advice before taking it to that extreme. Somehow, we’re not so sure it works for everybody just like that.

“American Hustle” is now playing in New York and Los Angeles. It opens nationwide on Jan. 18.

The Academy has just announced the 114 films eligible for this year’s Best Original Score Oscar, and all the usual suspects are present. That includes the five films nominated this morning in the category at the Golden Globes: Hans Zimmer for “12 Years a Slave,” Steven Price for “Gravity,” John Williams for “The Book Thief,” Alex Ebert for “All is Lost” and Alex Heffes for “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom.” At least the first three of those are widely predicted to score Oscar nominations too.

Most of the high-profile omissions were already known to us: though “Inside Llewyn Davis” has won several music awards from the critics, it was never going to be eligible give that the soundtrack is made up mostly of pre-existing songs. Mark Orton has received much praise for his twangy contributions to “Nebrasks,” but it’s been established that they aren’t original to the film. “Frozen” isn’t competing her either: the Academy didn’t used to mind handing this award to song-dominated Disney films, but they seem to be ruled out these days. Interestingly, Craig Armstrong’s Grammy-nominated score for “The Great Gatsby” is eligible; I somehow expected the Academy to disqualify it.

Also missing is two-time winner Gustavo Santaolalla for “August: Osage County,” Steve Jablonsky for “Lone Survivor” (though he makes the list for three other films), former winner Rachel Portman for “Diana” (no great loss there) and Tindersticks genius Dickon Hinchliffe for “Out of the Furnace” (he’s listed instead for “At Any Price”). I’m not surprised not to see Shane Carruth for his ingenious score for “Upstream Color” — almost inseparable from its sound design — but he’d be on my list.

The most frequently listed composer is Christophe Beck, who makes the list for four entries: “The Hangover Part III,” “The Internship,” “R.I.P.D.” and “Runner Runner.” Something tells me he won’t be nominated for any of them. Zimmer, meanwhile, is in a better position, with three possibilities: in addition to “12 Years a Slave,” he’s longlisted for “Rush” and “Man of Steel.” (He’s not, however, in the mix for “The Lone Ranger,” one of my favorite scores of the year — I guess the interpolation of the William Tell Overture was the sticking point there.)

Looking at this list, the five scores I’d most like to see recognized are: Daniel Hart’s inventively organic, handclap-filled “Ain’t Them Bodies Saints,” Win Butler and Owen Pallett’s rightly lauded work on “Her,” Ilan Eshkeri’s spare, chilling strings on “The Invisible Woman,” Rick Smith’s chattering electronica in “Trance” and Zimmer’s aforementioned (but divisive) work on “12 Years a Slave.” (Or perhaps Clint Mansell for “Stoker” — I’ve never been very good at counting to five.) 

Check out the full list on the next page and tell us who you’re rooting for.

“Admission,” Stephen Trask, composer
“Ain’t Them Bodies Saints,” Daniel Hart, composer
“All Is Lost,” Alex Ebert, composer
“Alone Yet Not Alone,” William Ross, composer
“The Armstrong Lie,” David Kahne, composer
“Arthur Newman,” Nick Urata, composer
“At Any Price,” Dickon Hinchliffe, composer
“Austenland,” Ilan Eshkeri, composer
“Before Midnight,” Graham Reynolds, composer
“The Best Man Holiday,” Stanley Clarke, composer
“The Book Thief,” John Williams, composer
“The Butterfly’s Dream,” Rahman Altin, composer
“The Call,” John Debney, composer
“Captain Phillips,” Henry Jackman, composer
“Closed Circuit,” Joby Talbot, composer
“The Company You Keep,” Cliff Martinez, composer
“The Conjuring,” Joseph Bishara, composer
“Copperhead,” Laurent Eyquem, composer
“The Counselor,” Daniel Pemberton, composer
“The Croods,” Alan Silvestri, composer
“Despicable Me 2,” Heitor Pereira, composer
“Elysium,” Ryan Amon, composer
“Ender’s Game,” Steve Jablonsky, composer
“Enough Said,” Marcelo Zarvos, composer
“Epic,” Danny Elfman, composer
“Ernest & Celestine,” Vincent Courtois, composer
“Escape from Planet Earth,” Aaron Zigman, composer
“Escape from Tomorrow,” Abel Korzeniowski, composer
“Evil Dead,” Roque Baños, composer
“47 Ronin,” Ilan Eshkeri, composer
“42,” Mark Isham, composer
“Free Birds,” Dominic Lewis, composer
“Free China: The Courage to Believe,” Tony Chen, composer
“Fruitvale Station,” Ludwig Goransson, composer
“G.I. Joe: Retaliation,” Henry Jackman, composer
“Gangster Squad,” Steve Jablonsky, composer
“Gravity,” Steven Price, composer
“The Great Gatsby,” Craig Armstrong, composer
“The Hangover Part III,” Christophe Beck, composer
“Hansel & Gretel Witch Hunters,” Atli Örvarsson, composer
“Haute Cuisine,” Gabriel Yared, composer
“Her,” William Butler and Owen Pallett, composers
“The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug,” Howard Shore, composer
“Hollywood Seagull,” Evgeny Shchukin, composer
“Hours,” Benjamin Wallfisch, composer
“How Sweet It Is,” Matt Dahan, composer
“The Hunger Games: Catching Fire,” James Newton Howard, composer
“Identity Thief,” Christopher Lennertz, composer
“The Incredible Burt Wonderstone,” Lyle Workman, composer
“Insidious: Chapter 2,” Joseph Bishara, composer
“Instructions Not Included,” Carlo Siliotto, composer
“The Internship,” Christophe Beck, composer
“The Invisible Woman,” Ilan Eshkeri, composer
“Iron Man 3,” Brian Tyler, composer
“Jack the Giant Slayer,” John Ottman, composer
“Jobs,” John Debney, composer
“Kamasutra 3D,” Sreejith Edavana and Saachin Raj Chelory, composers
“Labor Day,” Rolfe Kent, composer
“Lee Daniels’ The Butler,” Rodrigo Leão, composer
“Live at the Foxes Den,” Jack Holmes, composer
“Love Is All You Need,” Johan Söderqvist, composer
“Mama,” Fernando Velázquez, composer
“Man of Steel,” Hans Zimmer, composer
“Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom,” Alex Heffes, composer
“The Missing Picture,” Marc Marder, composer
“Monsters University,” Randy Newman, composer
“The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones,” Atli Örvarsson, composer
“Mud,” David Wingo, composer
“Murph: The Protector,” Chris Irwin and Jeff Widenhofer, composers
“Now You See Me,” Brian Tyler, composer
“Oblivion,” Anthony Gonzalez and Joseph Trapanese, composers
“Oldboy,” Roque Baños, composer
“Olympus Has Fallen,” Trevor Morris, composer
“Oz The Great and Powerful,” Danny Elfman, composer
“Pacific Rim,” Ramin Djawadi, composer
“Pain & Gain,” Steve Jablonsky, composer
“Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters,” Andrew Lockington, composer
“Philomena,” Alexandre Desplat, composer
“The Place Beyond the Pines,” Mike Patton, composer
“Planes,” Mark Mancina, composer
“Prisoners,” Jóhann Jóhannsson, composer
“R.I.P.D.,” Christophe Beck, composer
“Reaching for the Moon,” Marcelo Zarvos, composer
“Romeo & Juliet,” Abel Korzeniowski, composer
“Runner Runner,” Christophe Beck, composer
“Rush,” Hans Zimmer, composer
“Safe Haven,” Deborah Lurie, composer
“Salinger,” Lorne Balfe, composer
“Saving Mr. Banks,” Thomas Newman, composer
“The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,” Theodore Shapiro, composer
“Short Term 12,” Joel P. West, composer
“Side Effects,” Thomas Newman, composer
“The Smurfs 2,” Heitor Pereira, composer
“The Spectacular Now,” Rob Simonsen, composer
“Star Trek Into Darkness,” Michael Giacchino, composer
“Stoker,” Clint Mansell, composer
“Thor: The Dark World,” Brian Tyler, composer
“Tim’s Vermeer,” Conrad Pope, composer
“Trance,” Rick Smith, composer
“Turbo,” Henry Jackman, composer
“12 Years a Slave,” Hans Zimmer, composer
“2 Guns,” Clinton Shorter, composer
“The Ultimate Life,” Mark McKenzie, composer
“Unfinished Song,” Laura Rossi, composer
“Wadjda,” Max Richter, composer
“Walking with Dinosaurs,” Paul Leonard-Morgan, composer
“Warm Bodies,” Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders, composers
“We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks,” Will Bates, composer
“We’re the Millers,” Theodore Shapiro and Ludwig Goransson, composers
“What Maisie Knew,” Nick Urata, composer
“Why We Ride,” Steven Gutheinz, composer
“The Wind Rises,” Joe Hisaishi, composer
“Winnie Mandela,” Laurent Eyquem, composer
“The Wolverine,” Marco Beltrami, composer

Back in September, Ron Howard’s “Rush” premiered at the Toronto Film Festival to hugely favorable reviews. There was a lot of passion around the Formula One biopic and a nice head of steam going into its Sept. 20 release. Would it be a big awards player for Universal? It seemed quite possible.

But then the film failed to crack $30 million at the domestic box office and it was written off of the awards circuit. Even Daniel Brühl’s acclaimed and clearly inspired performance as Niki Lauda began to slip down prediction charts as Oscar season can often be seen as a time of sink or swim, with little middle ground. The last two days have proved to be a stellar windfall for the film, however, as it picked up two nominations from the Screen Actors Guild Wednesday and then, just this morning, a pair of Golden Globe nominations from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), including in the Best Picture (Drama) category.

Both Brühl and Howard phoned in this morning from Siena, Italy and the Canary Islands respectively, where they are hard at work on new projects, trying to keep above the season fray as best they can. And each expressed pleasant surprise that their labor of love has been so well remembered by voters this week.

“I could tell that people really responded to the film in a good way, but all these strong movies were coming out and you wonder if people will forget,” Brühl said. “So I’m absolutely surprised and overwhelmed that we’re getting this recognition.

The actor said he lost his voice yesterday as a result of screaming through the streets of Siena, excited to have been recognized by his acting peers. Because for an actor, he said, it’s one of the most important awards there is. “I was so blown away by it,” he said, “to know that all these other actors have chosen me. If you look at the list [of Best Supporting Actor contenders] this year, it’s endless. When I was sitting there at the Governors Awards in LA, surrounded by the best of the best, it was impossible to consider that I’d be chosen.”

The year has been a “roller coaster” for Brühl, he said multiple times. Films like “Rush” and Bill Condon’s “The Fifth Estate” represent the first major roles he’s been offered in American films, and “Rush” in particular, including the relationship he forged with Lauda, has clearly made an impact. “Every day this was one of my best experiences ever,” he said of the film. But he’s also eager to find the time to gain perspective on it all, and staying hard at work in Tuscany filming Michael Winterbottom’s “The Face of an Angel” is helping him to remember why he does this in the first place.

“I can’t wait to sit by the Christmas tree with my mom and my girlfriend in a couple of weeks and digest and analyze this year,” he said. “Everything is a new step and it’s quite overwhelming. It’s all new experiences, and obviously January will be madness for me. But I’m trying to absorb and learn from all these people I’ve met.”

And how did Lauda respond when he got the news of Brühl’s good fortune this week? “He texted me and said, ‘I’ll see you on my private jet to LA,'” the actor recalls in the distinct accent. “He’s such a competitive guy so I guess he’s very proud that we got these nominations.”

Meanwhile, Howard – who is five days away from completing production on “In the Heart of the Sea” (also starring Chris Hemsworth) – was equally surprised that the film was remembered. Tackling an independent production like “Rush” was an “eye-opening” experience for the Oscar-winner and it was certainly a process he hasn’t been accustomed to in quite some time.

“Even back to trying to pitch it at the film market and help assure that it was going to have the resources that it could have, I’ve enjoyed the process,” he said. “I’ve felt challenged by it. When you get involved in something in that way, it motivates you to ask once, twice and more, ‘Is this worth it to you?’ And with ‘Rush,’ the answer was, ‘Absolutely.’ I wouldn’t want to miss this creative opportunity, and I’m so gratified by the recognition.”

One of the things he’s particularly proud of is the SAG recognition for the film’s stunt coordinators. “The stunt category sort of defined the creative challenge of tackling the story,” he said. “It meant a lot to me that they were nominated.”

The ambition of the project had to be matched with “will rather than ready cash,” he noted. So there hasn’t been a well of funding to keep any sort of campaign afloat, and on the circuit, he’s well aware of what it takes to stay on the radar. “The way the awards season has formed itself over the last decade or two has a lot to do with campaigning, a lot of which none of us have been able to do,” he said. “Daniel was able to do a dinner but I’ve been busy, Chris Hemsworth has been here in the Canary Islands with me, and because we’re not part of a company that’s a machine – we’re an independent enterprise – we don’t have that kind of money behind it.”

Indeed, a number of the producers on the film, as well as Howard, funded a Chateau Marmont event in West Hollywood themselves last month in recognition of Brühl’s work in the film, because they all agreed he “deserved that extra spotlight for another moment because it’s a rich, creative performance,” Howard said. The director also mentioned that the negative box office perception – likely due to the presence of someone like Hemsworth in the leading role, he surmised – was unfortunate for a film that actually is making money overseas. “So I felt rewarded that the movie made a sustained impression, because it truly is a labor of love project,” he said.

With that in mind, he said he finds it too bad that such things as box office are taken into account when awards voting takes place this time of year, but for his part, he tries to separate it. “I take the voting very seriously,” he said. “I don’t take [financial success] into account at all. I try not to, anyway. Who knows what subliminally seeps in there, which is why the campaign aspect of it is interesting on a sociological level. I’m sure I’m influenced by ads and by blogs and those conversations. But I really try to make it my sense of what I believe in the most, and what I like the most. It’s a tradition I’ve long enjoyed, whether I’m involved or not, either as a fan or a participant.”

This season, though, way out in the Canary Islands, he hasn’t had a chance to see many of this year’s awards contenders outside of “Gravity” and “Captain Phillips.” (He loved both.) And that even includes Alexander Payne’s “Nebraska,” which features his father Rance in a supporting role. But he’ll be remedying that as soon as production on his latest wraps.

“That’ll be my first awards season contender to watch when I get back,” he said.

“Rush” will be available on DVD and Blu-ray on Jan. 28.

Sundance’s first attempt to bring the festival to the public was the creation of Sundance London in the UK, where a selected programme of highlights is made available to the public — it was recently confirmed that the third annual Sundance London event will take place in the spring.

Now Americans are being catered for with the smaller-scale — but more far-reaching — Sundance Film Festival USA initiative. Nine films from the festival’s 2014 lineup have been selected, and will be screened to the public in nine venues (one film per venue, that is) across the country on January 30. That’s just four days after the festival closes, so audiences will be getting them while they’re hot. At each screening, the relevant filmmaker will be present for a post-film Q&A.

Festival director John Cooper says, “Year-round audiences and arthouse theaters are vital parts of the independent film community, and our Sundance Film Festival USA initiative allows us to extend the energy and excitement of the Festival to them.”

Many of the selections are on the starrier end of the Sundance spectrum. San Francisco audiences will be getting the Kristen Stewart vehicle “Camp X-Ray,” in which she plays a Guantanamo Bay guard who bonds with one of her prisoners. Chicago, meanwhile, gets Joe Swanberg’s “Happy Christmas,” in which Anna Kendrick (fresh from Swanberg’s “Drinking Buddies”) plays a young woman who moves in with her brother’s family after a breakup. Melanie Lynskey and Lena Dunham co-star.

Ann Arbor audiences get “Infinitely Polar Bear,” in which Mark Ruffalo plays manic-depressive family man trying to win back his wife (Zoe Saldana), Boston gets a serious-minded option in Joe Berlinger’s documentary “WHITEY: United States of America vs. James J. Bulger,” detailing the headline-making criminal trial of the famous gangster.

Houston gets “Cold in July,” Jim Mickle’s follow-up to his terrific horror remake “We Are What We Are,” which premiered at Sundance this year; this stars Michael C. Hall as a man whose live is thrust into chaos when he kills a home intruder.

Tennessee audiences get “Low Down,” a true-life coming-of-age story in which Elle Fanning plays Amy Jo Albany, raised in 1970s Hollywood by her hard-living pianist father Joe (John Hawkes). Tucson audiences also get Elle Fanning, this time in Jake Paltrow’s “Young Ones,” where she stars alongside Michael Shannon and Nicholas Hoult in a story of a boy thrust abruptly prematurely into adulthood. 

For Orlando viewers, “Little Accidents” stars Elizabeth Banks and Chloe Sevigny in a story of three people whose lives intersect when a teenage boys disappears in a tragedy-stricken mining town. Seattle gets Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig in “The Skeleton Twins,” about the redemptive reunion of estranged twins. 

More details, including theaters and booking links, are available on the Sundance website here. How many of you will you be joining in?