Adele won a Golden Globe and an Academy Award for her iconic ballad “Skyfall” from last year’s 007 blockbuster, but will Lana Del Rey’s “Young and Beautiful” end her winning streak at the 56th Grammy Awards?

Yes, it’s unlikely, isn’t it? Adele is royalty. She rarely loses.

The 26-year-old Brit has already won nine Grammy Awards including a massive sweep of the major categories in 2012. Next month she’ll go up against the “now you take me seriously” songstress Lana Del Rey in the always oddly dated Best Song Written for Visual Media category. Other contenders include Coldplay’s “Atlas” from “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” (an unlikely nominee for Oscar), Jesse J’s “Silver Lining” from “Silver Linings Playbook,” Colbie Caillat and Gavin DeGraw’s “We Both Know” from “Safe Haven” (dark horse potential Oscar nominee) and Regina Spektor’s “You’ve Got Time” from “Orange is the New Black” (who knew?).

While “Young and Beautiful” will likely lose to “Skyfall” this time around, the three nominations from “The Great Gatsby” in the song, original score and soundtrack categories could help Warner Bros. sneak it into the original score and original song races at the Academy Awards. Hey, everything helps.

Amazingly, besides the inclusion of “Great Gatsby’s” Craig Armstrong, the best score soundtrack nominees are identical to the Best Original Score nominees at the 85th Academy Awards last February: Alexandre Desplat’s “Argo,” John Williams’ “Lincoln,” Thomas Newman’s “Skyfall” and Oscar winner Mychael Danna’s “Life of Pi.” Will “Pi” win this time around? Don’t be so sure. And if Armstrong can upset? That’s a nice win to tout to Academy members if “Gatsby” makes the original score lineup this year.

The major film, TV and visual media nominees this year are as follows:

Best Compilation Soundtrack For Visual Media

“Django Unchained”
(Various Artists)
Label: Loma Vista/Universal Republic

“The Great Gatsby (Deluxe Edition)”
(Various Artists)
Label: WaterTower Music/ Interscope

“Les Misérables (Deluxe Edition)”
(Various Artists)
Label: Universal Republic

“Muscle Shoals”
(Various Artists)
Label: Universal Republic

“Sound City: Real To Reel”
Dave Grohl & Various Artists
Label: RCA Records/Roswell Records

Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media

“Argo”
Alexandre Desplat, composer
Label: WaterTower Music

“The Great Gatsby”
Craig Armstrong, composer
Label: WaterTower Music/Interscope

“Life Of Pi”
Mychael Danna, composer
Label: Sony Classical/Fox Music

“Lincoln”
John Williams, composer
Label: Sony Classical

“Skyfall”
Thomas Newman, composer
Label: Sony Classical

“Zero Dark Thirty”
Alexandre Desplat, composer
Label: Madison Gate Records

Best Song Written For Visual Media

“Atlas”
Guy Berryman, Jonny Buckland, Will Champion & Chris Martin, songwriters (Coldplay)
Track from: The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

“Silver Lining”
Diane Warren, songwriter (Jessie J)
Track from: “Silver Linings Playbook”

“Skyfall”
Adele Adkins & Paul Epworth, songwriters (Adele)
Track from: “Skyfall”

“We Both Know”
Colbie Caillat & Gavin DeGraw, songwriters (Colbie Caillat Featuring Gavin DeGraw)
Track from: “Safe Haven”

“Young And Beautiful”
Lana Del Rey & Rick Nowels, songwriters (Lana Del Rey)
Track from: “The Great Gatsby” (Deluxe Edition)

“You’ve Got Time”
Regina Spektor, songwriter (Regina Spektor)
Track from: “Orange Is The New Black”

For all of this year’s 56th Grammy Awards nominees, click here.

The 56th Grammy Awards will be handed out live on Jan. 24, 2014 on CBS.

The Best Original Song Oscar race was effectively over after “Frozen’s” massive box office take this past weekend. The film’s critical acclaim and record Thanksgiving animated haul has put Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez’s “Let it Go,” sung by Tony Award winner Idina Menzel,  in the driver’s seat to win the coveted Academy Award. In fact, Menzel’s version of the song is actually outselling the Demi Lovato cover version on iTunes at the moment.

Disney smartly released the complete sequence from “Frozen” featuring “Let It Go” online today.  You can watch it in the embedded video at the bottom of this post. At the moment, it’s the closest thing you’ll get to “seeing” Menzel, best known for her breakthrough role in “Wicked,” perform the impressive ballad. At least for the foreseeable future that is.

Menzel is currently work-shopping a new musical, “If/Then,” in Washington D.C. and it’s scheduled to open on Broadway in March 4, 2014. That’s just two days after the Academy Awards, so everyone hoping Menzel will perform during the show may need to lower their expectations. The producers haven’t 100% said there will be no musical performances during the Oscars, but they have touted a pre-show concert instead for all the nominees. The idea of Menzel belting “Let it Go” in the Dolby Theater could be moot anyway.

Because of her commitments to “If/Then,” Menzel has only been able to perform the song at the D23 Convention this past summer. It’s possible she’ll be able to sneak in some appearances over the next few weeks, but for now? Enjoy.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moSFlvxnbgk&w=640&h=360]

Martin Scorsese, whose movies have been pretty lavishly designed of late,  will receive the Cinema Imagery Award for the Art Directors’ Guild at their awards ceremony in February. [Variety]

Loving these left-field FYC pleas from Nathaniel Rogers and his crew: most recently, “Stories We Tell” for Best Editing, and Tye Sherdian for Best Actor. [The Film Experience]

Jonathan Rosenbaum on why a number of this year’s critics’ favorites, from “12 Years a Slave” to “The Act of Killing,” are — wait for it — overrated. [Jonathan Rosenbaum]

Steve Pond lists 10 dark-horse candidates to watch out for in the Best Foreign Language Film race: I’m totally with him on Belgium’s “The Broken Circle Breakdown,” which I do believe will be nominated. [The Wrap]

My French Film Festival, the world’s only online festival for French cinema, will run for a month from January, with Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Lynne Ramsay on the jury. [MFFF]

Larry Rohter meets Dana Rotberg, the Jewish Mexican director of New Zealand’s Maori-language Oscar submission “White Lies.” At least that category’s opening up. [New York Times]

How Jennifer Lawrence wound up kissing Amy Adams in “American Hustle.” [LA Times]

The category of Best Costume Design is always one of my favorite races, particularly in the pre-nominations stage. It can be so unpredictable. This is also the first year where the costume designers have formed a separate branch from the art department. While it is difficult to know precisely how this will affect the race, it only increases my curiosity in what appears to be a very open category beyond two rather obvious leading contenders.

This category is so fun to watch because it always seems to go out of its way to recognize achievements in the field that may well be off the coattails of other sweeping contenders. Though some nominations each year are usually taken by Best Picture nominees, that’s not as consistently so as in other categories. More notably, dreadful and/or divisive films are frequently cited, and it is commonplace for at least one, if not two or even three nominees, to be the only nomination received by their films. Only the makeup branch seems to be as original or adventurous in its selections.

Somewhat paradoxically, despite this branch”s proud and unabashed originality, it is also the place where period pieces tend to most dominate. While there is usually (but not always) a fantasy film nominated, this is not as frequently the case as in Best Production Design. And contemporary films tend to be nominated but a few times a decade (if that). Within this realm of “period,” clothes which are foreign and/or exotic are especially welcome, as is royalty.

This category certainly cites its favorite costume designers more than once. Even so, room is always made for at least one, and usually two or three, new nominees each year. Also, with a few notable exceptions, it is rare for a costume designer to accumulate more than three or four career nominations.

Having said all of that, it looks like a costume designer will be getting her sixth nomination this year. Patricia Norris was a staple in this category 25-35 years ago, when she received five nominations in the decade between 1978″s “Days of Heaven” and 1988″s “Sunset” (also being cited for “The Elephant Man,” “Victor/Victoria” and “2010”). Now 82 years old, she looks poised to return to the race for Steve McQueen”s “12 Years a Slave.” Headed for nominations across the board, this is the sort of period sweeper I can”t see missing here. It could also finally be Norris” time to ascend to the podium.

She”s going to face tough competition, however, from Catherine Martin. Baz Luhrmann”s wife, co-producer and production designer is also his costume designer. Her Best Production Design nomination for “Romeo + Juliet” and her Best Costume Design nod for “Australia” were the only mentions those films received from the Academy. She won both categories for “Moulin Rouge!” I expect her appropriately glamorous and, well, Lurhmann-esque take on the Roaring ’20s will earn her nominations in both categories this year, too. Heck, she could even win.

After this duo, this race gets trickier.

Michael O”Connor has already proven his ability to be a lone nominee for a film (“Jane Eyre”) and to win for a film with only one other nomination (“The Duchess”). “The Invisible Woman” is Ralph Fiennes”s second directorial effort, telling the tale of the mistress of Charles Dickens. Once again, O”Connor is designing 19th Century England, which has earned him two previous trips to the Oscars and is simply a preferred period in this category. I think his chances are strong.

Another Michael in this year”s race would be Michael Wilkinson. Designing the late-1970s world of Abscam for David O. Russell on “American Hustle” is a far cry from 19th Century England. But this looks to be incredibly memorable work and now the film is a New York Film Critics Circle winner! Wilkinson (who also designed “Man of Steel” this year) could well get his first nomination.

“Saving Mr. Banks” may not have as outlandish costumes of “American Hustle” but set a decade earlier, and tugging at Academy heartstrings, may prove enough to find Daniel Orlandi a home here. Like Wilkinson, Orlandi has been doing top-notch work for years. This take on 1960s Hollywood (as well as some pre-World War I Australia) may not be the showiest of period work but I still think he is sitting comfortably.

“Inside Llewyn Davis” is also set in the 1960s, but its threads, though wonderfully accurate and character-building, are even subtler than “Saving Mr. Banks.” This category seemed to finally awake to the talent of longtime Coen brothers collaborator Mary Zophres three years ago when she earned her first nomination for “True Grit.” Perhaps she could earn a second (and much deserved) nod this year?

Spanning American history four decades and beyond is “Lee Daniels” The Butler.” This populist film did feature, to a very large extent, rather uniform costumes and business suits. But it also captured class disparity in many different eras. And Ruth E. Carter has earned two previous nominations for “Amistad” and “Malcolm X.” Maybe number three is in the cards.

Anna B. Sheppard has also earned two nominations to date, albeit both for World War II-set films: “Schindler”s List” and “The Pianist.” “The Book Thief” is not going to enter their echelon in film history, and I”m inclined to think the film will be overlooked in the awards season outside of, perhaps, John Williams’ score. Having said that, in an open category, I would not rule her out.

Moving to the realm of fantasy, Richard Taylor has also earned two nominations in this category for “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring” and “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.” He won for the latter. “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” brings him back to Middle Earth with Bob Buck and Ann Maskrey. This team received both BFCA and guild nominations last year, so the work is obviously still turning heads. I do wonder if the novelty will have worn off from the perspective of the Academy, however.

The franchise fantasy film I”m actually most intrigued by in this category is “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.” Semi-contemporary and not as fantastical as some other competitors, Trish Summerville”s work may not jump to mind as an obvious contender. But the costumes are just so memorable, even being integral to the plot. That helped “The Devil Wears Prada” here seven years ago. Admittedly, that film concerned fashion, but it didn”t make $400 Million. I don”t expect a nod for Summerville. I just don”t want to rule her out.

Penny Rose”s work on the “Pirates of the Caribbean” films is iconic and I think it”s a tragedy she wasn”t nominated for them. In light of that, one wouldn”t think that “The Lone Ranger” or “47 Ronin” would be obvious tickets to the Oscars. But memorable costumes these films have. And as I stated at the outset, this branch is very open-minded.

Perhaps the likeliest fantasy contender Gary Jones for “Oz the Great and Powerful,” previously nominated with Ann Roth for suave work on “The Talented Mr. Ripley.” All four principal characters in this film looked fabulous in their Jones-designed attire. This is to say nothing of the numerous fantastical characters who needed bright and colorful wardrobes.

I”ll end by mentioning the great Sandy Powell. For all her astonishing work, she is still waiting for her first contemporary nomination. She even memorably spoke of this category”s aversion to contemporary designs when she won for “The Young Victoria,” and here she is this year with “The Wolf of Wall Street.” It”s the sort of stylish work that I could maybe, just maybe, see Powell rewarded for with a nomination, depending of course on how well received the film is by the industry.

So those are the leading contenders as I see them. But again, beyond “12 Years a Slave” and “The Great Gatsby,” this category strikes me as wide open indeed.

Next week, we finish our category analysis just in time for the holiday by jumping into Best Original Score.

Hard to believe that we’re a little over a month away from Sundance, a film festival so sprawling that the announcement of its lineup is staggered over several days. Along with the rest of Team HitFix, I’ll once more be braving the cold to give you the first word on eagerly awaited heavyweights and undiscovered gems alike. But not everything at the Sundance Film Festival is shiny and new — some premieres from other fests are too exciting not to be cherry-picked, which brings us to the Spotlight section. 

This year’s selection of eight Spotlight titles includes films initially premiered at Cannes, Venice and Toronto, among others — some of which perhaps didn’t get the attention they deserved in the initial festival rush, and some of which certainly did.

By this point, “Stranger by the Lake” is not hugely in need of a profile boost: French director Alain Guiraudie’s sexually explicit gay serial-killer thriller got people hot and bothered at Cannes, where it won Best Director in the Un Certain Regard section, and the critical superlatives have flowed from there. France’s leading film magazine Cahiers du Cinema voted it the best film of 2013; Sight & Sound among the year’s Top 10. Strand is releasing it Stateside on January 24, so this is something of a festival victory lap. 

Sorry, it’s a little ridiculous that “Man of Steel” – I don’t care WHAT you think of the film otherwise – was left off the Academy’s list of seven bake-off finalists for Best Visual Effects. But these things are often about politics, and I imagine there was plenty of that at play here.

(No, it’s not simply a collective negative opinion about the work in the film. Not always.)

Everything else we were predicting to be nominated made the cut. Others notable misses, though, include “Rush,” “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,” “The Great Gatsby,” “Oz the Great and Powerful” and “Ender’s Game.” I personally think “This is the End” should have at least made it this far but, again, effects house politics.

Check out the 10 films up for five slots below. I’m not sure yet what takes the vacated spot. Maybe “Star Trek Into Darkness.” Maybe “Oblivion.” But we all know where this Oscar is going at the end of the day. And with that in mind, I wish I had thought of Steve Pond’s headline before he did: “Academy announces 9 films that ‘Gravity’ will beat for the VFX Oscar.”

“Elysium”
“Gravity”
“The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug”
“Iron Man 3”
“The Lone Ranger”
“Oblivion”
“Pacific Rim”
“Star Trek Into Darkness”
“Thor: The Dark World”
“World War Z”

The Academy’s Visual Effects Branch Executive Committee determined the shortlist. All members of the Visual Effects Branch will now be invited to view 10-minute excerpts from each of the shortlisted films on Thursday, January 9, 2014. Following the screenings, the members will vote to nominate five films for final Oscar consideration.

Yes, Magnolia Pictures has at last confirmed the US release dates for both halves of “Nymphomaniac,” and it all comes to a head, so to speak, on Good Friday, April 18 — when Part Two will be set free into theaters. Part One, meanwhile, precedes it by nearly a month, hitting screens on March 21.

Of course, if you’re really impatient to see what Lars and the gang have been up to, the film will be available on VOD first: Part One on March 6, and Part Two on April 3. That’s customary practice with Magnolia titles, though I think whatever hell Lars has unleashed, it would probably be best experienced on a big screen. (The on-demand option does, however, mean that you can watch the first one mere days after the Oscars. Just to, you know, get the 2014 Best Picture discussion going early.)

Denmark, of course, is getting both films on Christmas Day, which bookends the Good Friday release date nicely: let it never be said that von Trier doesn’t throw a good holiday party. Magnolia’s synopsis, meanwhile, explains how the cast will be divvied up between the films:

NYMPHOMANIAC: PART ONE is the story of Joe (Charlotte Gainsbourg), a self-diagnosed nymphomaniac who is discovered badly beaten in an alley by an older bachelor, Seligman (Stellan Skarsgård), who takes her into his home. As he tends to her wounds, she recounts the erotic story of her adolescence and young-adulthood (portrayed in flashback by Stacy Martin). PART ONE also stars Shia LaBeouf, Christian Slater, Uma Thurman, Sophie Kennedy Clark, Connie Nielsen and Udo Kier. PART TWO picks up with the story of Joe”s adulthood, and stars Jamie Bell, Willem Dafoe, Mia Goth and Jean-Marc Barr in addition to Gainsbourg, Skarsgård, Martin and LaBeouf.

Will you be rushing out to see “Nymphomaniac?” Perhaps as an Easter treat? Take the family.

When I idly caught Teller’s documentary “Tim’s Vermeer” at Telluride back in August, it was an instant sensation. I adored its vision of art as ingenuity and the profound places it went. The film’s subject, Tim Jenison, received one of the most enthusiastic standing ovations I’ve ever seen at Telluride, and the film, thankfully, made the cut with the Academy’s list of documentary feature finalists earlier this week.

“Tim’s Vermeer” is “mostly an awe-inspiring curiosity,” I wrote from Telluride. “But it ends up dipping into the profound. What is art if not the height of ingenuity? If Vermeer and certain contemporaries used methods asserted by the Hockney-Falco thesis, is that ‘cheating?’ Or is it as majestic a note on the human spirit as something born purely of imagination?”

Sony Pictures Classics has provided us with the film’s quirky poster for an exclusive premiere today. Check it out below.

“Tim’s Vermeer” opens in limited release on Friday.

Among the many things I liked about yesterday’s NBR champ “Her” is the sleek, subtle futurism of its design elements — Casey Storm’s costumes, in particular, are among my favorites of the year, and while I wouldn’t expect the Academy to spring for them, I really hope the Guild takes notice of Storm’s cleverly evolved silhouettes and punchy color palette. After all, it’s the only film this year to inspire a range from a high-end fashion house: with Spike Jonze’s collaboration, Opening Ceremony is introducing the technology-minded line this month. Says Storm of his designs: “The idea was to create a world that looks a lot like the world we live in, but just different enough to tell you that you are not 100 percent in the present.” [New York Times]

Mark Harris weighs in on the first wave of critics’ awards and believes, despite its limited showing thus far, that “12 Years a Slave” is still in the driver’s seat. [Grantland]

An apt list considering the crowded nature of the Best Actor race: the 10 best performances to have lost that award. [The Film Experience]

Which of these are real films headed to Sundance, and which are made-up indies? I admit this quiz totally foxed me. [The Wire]

Martin Scorsese, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill and Terence Winter sit down for a lengthy “Wolf of Wall Street” chat. [Hollywood Reporter]

The husband-and-wife songwriting duo of “Frozen” discuss the process and inspirations that went into their compositions. (Aimee Mann? Who’d have thought?) [LA Times]

R. Kurt Osenlund reads the tea-leaves for “Saving Mr. Banks,” the film he predicts will be the most-nominated contender not to win a thing. [Slant]

With the British Independent Film Awards this weekend, local critics are bullish about the year in UK cinema. [Variety]  

Following the awards race for a living can have depressingly season-warping effects: Christmas shoppers line the streets of London, my local grocer is flogging fir trees on the pavement, and yet it only really felt like December to me when people started arguing about the New York Film Critics’ Circle awards on Twitter. The arguments varied — some were over the worthiness of the Circle’s actual selections, others over their impact on the Oscar race going forward, still others about the apparent racial implications of voting for Jennifer Lawrence. (I wish I was making that last one up.) Ah yes, ’tis the season. Isn’t it lovely?

In one respect, of course, it is. These are the fresh, early days of the awards marathon, when almost everything feels possible and pliable. Early projections that “12 Years a Slave” might oppressively sweep the precursors in the manner of “The Social Network” three years ago haven’t been borne out by the New York Critics’ or National Board of Review’s picks — which matched only in the documentary, animated and first film categories — nor by the recent Gotham Awards.

This feels right: a conversation about one’s favorite films of the year should be a lively back-and-forth, not an endless echo of agreement. And a conversation about one’s favorite films of the year is essentially what any critics’ award worth its salt should be; there are enough Oscar pundits on the block already that voting critics needn’t feel obliged to join their ranks. So far, the choices that have been made smack on genuine, idiosyncratic enthusiasm: nobody votes for “Her” as Best Picture, for example, because they suspect that’s what the majority will do. And the New Yorkers’ left-turn yesterday in favor of David O. Russell’s jazzy, lively character caper didn’t seem motivated by consequence or obligation — it’s not a film you’d jot down on a ballot for any reason other than that you had a blast with it.

So far, so good. But awards-watchers are scarcely less impatient to complain about results than they are to hear the results in the first place. (I know — I’m an awards-watcher.) And so, for everyone who welcomes the diversity and unpredictability of this nascent season, there’s another who wishes it was following the script that was effectively drafted for it at Toronto, if not before.

Digressing from that script is cause for active suspicion in some quarters. We were less than halfway into yesterday’s NYFCC vote (remember the pre-Twitter days when the winners were announced in one job lot?) when one reader cried foul: after “12 Years a Slave” lost Best Cinematography and Best Screenplay, he suggested that the critics had seemingly resolved to avoid Steve McQueen’s tough-minded slavery drama. He retracted his statement with good humor when McQueen duly won Best Director, but far less innocent accusations were being made elsewhere. “White power,” tweeted Sasha Stone when Jennifer Lawrence beat Lupita Nyong’o to Best Supporting Actress (by a single point, as it turns out). If it was a joke, it wasn’t exactly a light-hearted one: whether she meant to accuse the NYFCC of racially motivated voting or not, even making light of that scenario implies that voting for a (terrific) white actress over a (terrific) black one constitutes a political misstep, regardless of which performance you prefer. 

This is heady stuff for so early in the season, but I use it only as an example of the many ways in which critics’ awards can be over-interpreted at a stage when they’re the only ones in the game. The widely unexpected crowning of “American Hustle” yesterday provoked two widespread responses in the Twitterverse: that it was the Best Picture frontrunner (not something anyone said about “Mulholland Drive” when the NYFCC tapped it in 2001, but they weren’t first out of the gate then), and that it was “overrated” — a particularly rash term for a film that was still under a formal review embargo. (At least let us critics rate things before we overrate them.) Then again, “Hustle” failed to show up anywhere in the NBR vote today — is it underrated now?

It may sound excessively simplistic, but critics’ awards — valuable ones, at any rate — reflect little more than what a sizable (or sufficiently sizable) faction within that group either liked most, or liked more than the other options available to them. (It’s as misleading to speak of any critics’ group as a “they” as it is the Academy; chances are no two voters’ ballots look exactly the same.) That’s not to diminish their significance; rather that’s what makes them meaningful, to the recipients and their admirers, if not to the future of the Oscar race.

Conspiracy theories may be fun, but they have the effect of crediting critics with too much guile: we’re proud people, often excessively so, and place far too much stock in our own artistic judgment to let anything else guide us when voting for the year’s best films. If “12 Years a Slave” hasn’t won any Best Picture awards yet, it’s because every group that has voted so far has a majority of individual members whose favorite film of the year is something else. That won’t hold forever, or probably even for another few days — in a month’s time, when the Left-Handed Critics Association of Northeast Wisconsin announces its winners, and the freshness of this week’s early results seems a hazy memory, we may well be wishing for another “American Hustle”-style blindsider, or crafting new conspiracy theories about films that have started following the script too obediently.

Critics have kind of brought this on themselves, of course, with their mushrooming awards and hungry promotion thereof. (It’s not as if they have to live-tweet their results). But let’s at least play nice as everyone plays favorites, and appreciate just how many of those there currently appear to be.  

Check out my updated predictions here.

As Amy Poehler succinctly noted last January, it’s once again time for the Golden Globes. The one night a year where the beautiful people of film rub shoulders with the rat-faced people of television (we kid).  Of course, that also means some of Hollywood’s biggest names need to socialize with the dreaded Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) in order to get that Golden Globes boost.  While the Globes mean little in terms of actual Oscar nominations or final wins, they have been a big help at the box office. And, when it all comes down to it, that’s what really matters most in awards season: money.

The HFPA is doing its best to avoid some of the more embarrassing nominations over the past few years that often come with their split “drama” and “comedy or musical” categories. So, as we look over the major contenders for this year’s nominations you’ll be surprised to see few red flags.  The only eyebrow-raiser — in some respects — is “The Heat” stars, but that’s because the field for best actress in a comedy or musical is slightly weak.

While the HFPA is a small organization, approximately 90 members, they are not the most secretive bunch. Therefore, every studio in town mostly knows what they really like and what they really don’t. “Lee Daniels’ The Butler”? Just Oprah and that’s about it. “Philomena”? They love it. “American Hustle”? Ditto.

With that in mind, check out the story galley below to see who’s in and who clearly isn’t before the nominations are announced next Thursday.

Agree? Disagree? Share your thoughts in the comments section.

The lineup for the 2014 Sundance Film Festival has been revealed, and it’s among the starriest in recent memory. Take a look at new images from some of the films unspooling at the Park City event, featuring such Hollywood names as Anne Hathaway, Aaron Paul, Christina Hendricks, Mark Ruffalo, Zoe Saldana, Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader, Lena Dunham, and Dane DeHaan.

Check out the photos here:

Kristen Stewart has come a long way from Forks.

The “Twilight” actress dons military fatigues in the very first image from “Camp X-Ray,” an upcoming military drama slated to screen in competition at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival. Written and directed by Peter Sattler (making his feature-length helming debut with the film), “Camp X-Ray” centers on Stewart’s character Cole, a young American soldier stationed at Guantanamo Bay who strikes up a friendship with a Muslim prisoner (Peyman Moaadi) who’s been held there for eight years. The title is a play on a now-defunct temporary detention facility at Gitmo that opened in 2002.

Check out the image below.

The 2014 Sundance Film Festival runs from January 16-26. You can check out the full lineup here.

The Sundance Institute announced the initial wave of narrative films and documentaries for the 2014 Sundance Film Festival today and it features one of the more star-studded competition lineups in the film’s history.

The U.S. Dramatic Competition features new films starring Kristen Stewart (“Camp X-Ray”), Anne Hathaway (“Song One”), Kristen Wiig (“The Skeleton Twins”), Aaron Paul (“Hellion”), Mark Ruffalo (“Infinitely Polar Bear”), Michael C. Hall (“Cold in July”) and Peter Dinklage (“Low Down”), just to name a few. Traditionally, Sundance positions films with more popular talent in the U.S. Premieres selections. This may be a welcome change for what is arguably the second most prestigious film competition in the world or a random blip based on the quality of films.

In a statement released by the festival, Robert Redford, President and Founder of Sundance Institute, as well as potential best actor nominee at the upcoming Academy Awards, said, “That the Festival has evolved and grown as it has over the past 30 years is a credit to both our audiences and our artists, who continue to find ways to take risks and open our minds to the power of story. This year’s films and artists promise to do the same.”

John Cooper, Director of the Sundance Film Festival and the man responsible for the creative direction of the festival, noted, “The films selected for our 2014 Festival show that filmmakers are empowered and emboldened by the 30-year legacy of the independent film movement. The confidence to play with the medium and to surprise audiences indicates the vital role independent film has come to serve in the cultural landscape.”

Some of the more intriguing titles in the aforementioned U.S. Dramatic competition include John Slattery’s feature directing and screenwriting debut “God’s Pocket” and Joe Swanberg’s follow up to “Drinking Buddies,” “Happy Christmas,” which features Anna Kendrick and Lena Dunham in starring roles.

Stewart toplines Peter Sattler’s “Camp X-Ray” which is one of the first non-documentaries to focus on the controversial Guantanamo Bay prison. She is no stranger to Park City having appeared in six previous films that screened at Sundance including “The Runaways” and “Undertow.”

J.J. Abrams is quietly participating in the festival as an executive producer, along with longtime business partner Bryan Burk, of Maya Forbes’ drama “Infinitely Polar Bear.” The acquisition title is supposed to feature impressive performances by both Ruffalo and Zoe Saldana.

Another film many will be looking out for is Justin Simien’s “Dear White People.” Simien previously worked in the marketing departments of both Paramount Pictures and Participant Films, but partially got recognition form is project thanks to a very funny twitter account of the same name.

Jeff Baena, who co-wrote “I Heart Huckabees” with David O. Russell, makes his directorial debut with “Life After Beth.” The comedy finds Dane De Haan as a man whose girlfriend (Aubrey Plaza) mysteriously comes back from the dead with unexpected consequences. The cast includes John C. Reilly and Molly Shannon.

Jeff Preiss’s “Low Down” is a period piece based on Amy Jo Albany’s memoir of the same name and could be a premier acquisition title. The prestige worthy cast includes John Hawkes, Elle Fanning, Glenn Close, Peter Dinklage, Lena Headley and Flea. And yes, that’s two “Game of Thrones” stars in the same movie. You can bet “Low Down” will get a prime Eccles Theater debut thanks to that.

Wiig and former “Saturday Night Live” co-star Bill Hader are taking a dramatic turn in Craig Johnson’s “The Skeleton Twins.” The duo will play two twins who realize the only way to turn their individual lives around is to improve their relationship.

Last year’s best supporting actress winner, Hathaway, had a very small cameo in last year’s entry “Don Jon,” but effectively makes her Sundance debut with Kate Barker-Froyland’s “Song One.” The romantic drama finds her character unexpectedly falling for a Brooklyn musician played by up and comer Johnny Flynn.

The World Dramatic competition includes films from Australia, Norway, Ethiopia, Serbia, India, Argentina and Chile. It also puzzlingly features two features from the United Kingdom including the musical “God Help the Girl” featuring, we assume, a singing Emily Browning.

As for the NEXT competition, the intriguing titles include the lesbian hooker buddy comedy “The Foxy Merkins,” the Watts, Los Angeles set “Imperial Dreams,” the Icelandic road trip comedy “Land Ho!,” a Valentine’s Day set comedy “Obvious Child” starring Jenny Slate, ’80s coming of age flick “Ping Pong Summer” with Susan Sarandon, Lea Thompson and Amy Sedaris, “Listen Up Philip” with Jason Schwartzman and Elisabeth Moss and, finally, Catherine Keener as a war photographer suffering post traumatic disorder after being held captive in Libya in “War Story.”

The U.S. Documentary and World Documentary competitions include such films as “The Cast Against 8” and “Fed Up.” A complete rundown is available here.

While the festival will reveal its out of competition Premieres, Midnight, New Frontier and Documentary Premieres selections, it did note that a total 118 feature-length films have been chosen and they, representing 37 countries and 54 first-time filmmakers, including 34 in competition. Over 12,218 films were submitted for consideration (72 more than for 2013), including 4,057 feature-length films and 8,161 short films. Most intriguingly, of the feature film submissions, 2,014 were from the U.S. and 2,043 were international. That last statistic is a clear indicator of the growing international prestige of the festival. And, as expected, a majority (97) of the feature films at the Festival will be world premieres.

The festival will begin on Thursday, Jan. 16 and end on Saturday, Jan. 26th. Instead of one opening night film, the festival will continue its recent tradition of kicking off the event with multiple pictures. This year, a film from each competition category will screen on the festival’s first day. They include “Whiplash,” “Lilting,” “Dinosaur 13” and “The Green Prince.”

A complete list of the U.S. Dramatic, World Dramatic and Next competition films along with key filmmakers and cast, is listed below.

U.S. DRAMATIC COMPETITION

“Camp X-Ray” (U.S.A.)
Director and screenwriter: Peter Sattler
A young woman is stationed as a guard in Guantanamo Bay, where she forms an unlikely friendship with one of the detainees.
Cast: Kristen Stewart, Payman Maadi, Lane Garrison, J.J. Soria, John Carroll Lynch.

“Cold in July” (U.S.A.)
Director: Jim Mickle, Screenwriters: Jim Mickle, Nick Damici
After killing a home intruder, a small town Texas man’s life unravels into a dark underworld of corruption and violence. Cast: Michael C. Hall, Don Johnson, Sam Shepard, Vinessa Shaw, Nick Damici, Wyatt Russell.

“Dear White People” (U.S.A.)
Director and screenwriter: Justin Simien
Four black students attend an Ivy League college where a riot breaks out over an “African American” themed party thrown by white students. With tongue planted firmly in cheek, the film explores racial identity in postracial America while weaving a story about forging one’s unique path in the world.
Cast: Tyler Williams, Tessa Thompson, Teyonah Parris, Brandon Bell.

“Fishing Without Nets” (U.S.A., Somalia, Kenya)
Director: Cutter Hodierne, Screenwriters: Cutter Hodierne, John Hibey, David Burkman
A story of pirates in Somalia told from the perspective of a struggling, young Somali fisherman.
Cast: Abdikani Muktar, Abdi Siad, Abduwhali Faarah, Abdikhadir Hassan, Reda Kateb, Idil Ibrahim.

“God’s Pocket” (U.S.A.)
Director: John Slattery, Screenwriters: John Slattery, Alex Metcalf
When Mickey’s stepson Leon is killed in a construction “accident,” Mickey tries to bury the bad news with the body. But when the boy’s mother demands the truth, Mickey finds himself stuck between a body he can”t bury, a wife he can”t please, and a debt he can”t pay. Cast: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Richard Jenkins, Christina Hendricks, John Turturro.

“Happy Christmas” (U.S.A.)
Director and screenwriter: Joe Swanberg
After a breakup with her boyfriend, a young woman moves in with her older brother, his wife, and their 2-year-old son. Cast: Anna Kendrick, Melanie Lynskey, Mark Webber, Lena Dunham, Joe Swanberg.

“Hellion” (U.S.A.)
Director and screenwriter: Kat Candler
When motocross and heavy metal obsessed, 13-year-old Jacob’s delinquent behavior forces CPS to place his little brother Wes with his aunt, Jacob and his emotionally absent father must finally take responsibility for their actions and each other in order to bring Wes home.
Cast: Aaron Paul, Juliette Lewis, Josh Wiggins, Deke Garner, Jonny Mars, Walt Roberts.

“Infinitely Polar Bear” (U.S.A.)
Director and screenwriter: Maya Forbes
A manic-depressive mess of a father tries to win back his wife by attempting to take full responsibility of their two young, spirited daughters, who don’t make the overwhelming task any easier.
Cast: Mark Ruffalo, Zoe Saldana, Imogene Wolodarsky, Ashley Aufderheide.

“Jamie Marks is Dead” (U.S.A.)
Director and screenwriter: Carter Smith
No one seemed to care about Jamie Marks until after his death. Hoping to find the love and friendship he never had in life, Jamie”s ghost visits former classmate Adam McCormick, drawing him into the bleak world between the living and the dead.
Cast: Cameron Monaghan, Noah Silver, Morgan Saylor, Judy Greer, Madisen Beaty, Liv Tyler.

“Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter” (U.S.A.)
Director: David Zellner, Screenwriters: David Zellner, Nathan Zellner
A lonely Japanese woman becomes convinced that a satchel of money buried in a fictional film is, in fact, real. Abandoning her structured life in Tokyo for the frozen Minnesota wilderness, she embarks on an impulsive quest to search for her lost mythical fortune.
Cast: Rinko Kikuchi.

“Life After Beth” (U.S.A.)
Director and screenwriter: Jeff Baena
Zach is devastated by the unexpected death of his girlfriend, Beth. When she mysteriously returns, he gets a second chance at love. Soon his whole world turns upside down…
Cast: Aubrey Plaza, Dane DeHaan, John C. Reilly, Molly Shannon, Cheryl Hines, Paul Reiser.

“Low Down” (U.S.A.)
Director: Jeff Preiss, Screenwriters: Amy Albany, Topper Lilien
Based on Amy Jo Albany’s memoir, Low Down explores her heart-wrenching journey to adulthood while being raised by her father, bebop pianist Joe Albany, as he teeters between incarceration and addiction in the urban decay and waning bohemia of Hollywood in the 1970s.
Cast: John Hawkes, Elle Fanning, Glenn Close, Lena Headey, Peter Dinklage, Flea.

“The Skeleton Twins” (U.S.A.)
Director: Craig Johnson, Screenwriters: Craig Johnson, Mark Heyman
Estranged twins Maggie and Milo coincidentally cheat death on the same day, prompting them to reunite and confront the reasons their lives went so wrong. As the twins’ reunion reinvigorates them, they realize the key to fixing their lives may just lie in repairing their relationship.
Cast: Bill Hader, Kristen Wiig, Luke Wilson, Ty Burrell, Boyd Holbrook, Joanna Gleason.

“The Sleepwalker” (U.S.A., Norway)
Director: Mona Fastvold, Screenwriters: Mona Fastvold, Brady Corbet) – A young couple, Kaia and Andrew, are renovating Kaia´s secluded family estate. Their lives are violently interrupted when unexpected guests arrive. The Sleepwalker chronicles the unraveling of the lives of four disparate characters as it transcends genre conventions and narrative contrivance to reveal something much more disturbing.
Cast: Gitte Witt, Christopher Abbott, Brady Corbet, Stephanie Ellis.

“Song One” (U.S.A.)
Director and screenwriter: Kate Barker-Froyland
Estranged from her family, Franny returns home when an accident leaves her brother comatose. Retracing his life as an aspiring musician, she tracks down his favorite musician, James Forester. Against the backdrop of Brooklyn”s music scene, Franny and James develop an unexpected relationship and face the realities of their lives.
Cast: Anne Hathaway, Johnny Flynn, Mary Steenburgen, Ben Rosenfield.

“Whiplash” (U.S.A.)
Director and screenwriter: Damien Chazelle
Under the direction of a ruthless instructor, a talented young drummer begins to pursue perfection at any cost, even his humanity.
Cast: Miles Teller, JK Simmons. DAY ONE FILM

WORLD CINEMA DRAMATIC COMPETITION

“52 Tuesdays” (Australia)
Director: Sophie Hyde, Screenplay and story by: Matthew Cormack, Story by: Sophie Hyde
Sixteen-year-old Billie”s reluctant path to independence is accelerated when her mother reveals plans for gender transition, and their time together becomes limited to Tuesdays. This emotionally charged story of desire, responsibility, and transformation was filmed over the course of a year-once a week, every week, only on Tuesdays.
Cast: Tilda Cobham-Hervey, Del Herbert-Jane, Imogen Archer, Mario Späte, Beau Williams, Sam Althuizen. International Premiere

“Blind” (Norway, Netherlands)
Director and screenwriter: Eskil Vogt
Having recently lost her sight, Ingrid retreats to the safety of her home-a place she can feel in control, alone with her husband and her thoughts. But Ingrid’s real problems lie within, not beyond the walls of her apartment, and her deepest fears and repressed fantasies soon take over.
Cast: Ellen Dorrit Petersen, Henrik Rafaelsen, Vera Vitali, Marius Kolbenstvedt. World Premiere

“Difret” (Ethiopia)
Director and screenwriter: Zeresenay Berhane Mehari
Meaza Ashenafi is a young lawyer who operates under the government’s radar helping women and children until one young girl’s legal case exposes everything, threatening not only her career but her survival.
Cast: Meron Getnet, Tizita Hagere. World Premiere

“The Disobedient” (Serbia)
Director and screenwriter: Mina Djukic
Leni anxiously waits for her childhood friend Lazar, who is coming back to their hometown after years of studying abroad. After they reunite, they embark on a random bicycle trip around their childhood haunts, which will either exhaust or reinvent their relationship.
Cast: Hana Selimovic, Mladen Sovilj, Minja Subota, Danijel Sike, Ivan Djordjevic. World Premiere

“God Help the Girl” (United Kingdom)
Director and screenwriter: Stuart Murdoch
This musical from Stuart Murdoch of Belle & Sebastian is about some messed up boys and girls and the music they made.
Cast: Emily Browning, Olly Alexander, Hannah Murray, Cora Bissett, Pierre Boulanger. World Premiere

“Liar’s Dice” (India)
Director and screenwriter: Geetu Mohandas
Kamala, a young woman from the village of Chitkul, leaves her native land with her daughter to search for her missing husband. Along the journey, they encounter Nawazudin, a free-spirited army deserter with his own selfish motives who helps them reach their destination.
Cast: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Geetanjali Thapa, Manya Gupta. International Premiere

“Lilting” United Kingdom
Director and screenwriter: Hong Khaou
The world of a Chinese mother mourning the untimely death of her son is suddenly disrupted by the presence of a stranger who doesn’t speak her language. Lilting is a touching and intimate film about finding the things that bring us together. Cast: Ben Whishaw, Pei-Pei Cheng, Andrew Leung, Peter Bowles, Naomi Christie, Morven Christie. World Premiere. DAY ONE FILM

“Lock Charmer (El cerrajero)” (Argentina)
Director and screenwriter: Natalia Smirnoff
Upon learning that his girlfriend is pregnant, 33-year-old locksmith Sebastian begins to have strange visions about his clients. With the help of an unlikely assistant, he sets out to use his newfound talent for his own good.
Cast: Esteban Lamothe, Erica Rivas, Yosiria Huaripata. World Premiere

“To Kill a Man” (Chile, France)
Director and screenwriter: Alejandro Fernandez Almendras
When Jorge, a hardworking family man who’s barely making ends meet, gets mugged by Kalule, a neighborhood delinquent, Jorge’s son decides to confront the attacker, only to get himself shot. Even though Jorge’s son nearly dies, Kalule’s sentence is minimal, heightening the friction.
Cast: Daniel Candia, Daniel Antivilo, Alejandra Yañez, Ariel Mateluna. World Premiere

“Viktoria” (Bulgaria, Romania)
Director and screenwriter: Maya Vitkova
Although determined not to have a child in Communist Bulgaria, Boryana gives birth to Viktoria, who despite being born with no umbilical cord, is proclaimed to be the baby of the decade. But political collapse and the hardships of the new time bind mother and daughter together.
Cast: Irmena Chichikova, Daria Vitkova, Kalina Vitkova, Mariana Krumova, Dimo Dimov, Georgi Spassov. World Premiere

“Wetlands” (Germany)
Director: David Wnendt, Screenwriters: Claus Falkenberg, David Wnendt, based on the novel by Charlotte Roche
Meet Helen Memel. She likes to experiment with vegetables while masturbating and thinks that bodily hygiene is greatly overrated. She shocks those around her by speaking her mind in a most unladylike manner on topics that many people would not even dare consider.
Cast: Carla Juri, Christoph Letkowski, Meret Becker, Axel Milberg, Marlen Kruse, Edgar Selge. North American Premiere

“White Shadow” (Italy, Germany, Tanzania)
Director: Noaz Deshe, Screenwriters: Noaz Deshe, James Masson
Alias is a young albino boy on the run. His mother has sent him away to find refuge in the city after witnessing his father’s murder. Over time, the city becomes no different than the bush: wherever Alias travels, the same rules of survival apply. Cast: Hamisi Bazili, James Gayo, Glory Mbayuwayu, Salum Abdallah. International Premiere

NEXT

“Appropriate Behavior” (U.S.A., United Kingdom)
Director and screenwriter: Desiree Akhavan) – Shirin is struggling to become an ideal Persian daughter, a politically correct bisexual, and a hip, young Brooklynite, but fails miserably in her attempt at all identities. Being without a cliché to hold on to can be a lonely experience.
Cast: Desiree Akhavan, Rebecca Henderson, Halley Feiffer, Scott Adsit, Anh Duong, Arian Moayed. World Premiere

“Drunktown’s Finest” (U.S.A.)
Director and screenwriter: Sydney Freeland
Three young Native Americans-a rebellious father-to-be, a devout Christian woman, and a promiscuous transsexual-come of age on an Indian reservation.
Cast: Jeremiah Bitsui, Carmen Moore, Morningstar Angeline, Kiowa Gordon, Shauna Baker, Elizabeth Francis. World Premiere

“The Foxy Merkins” (U.S.A.)
Director: Madeleine Olnek, Screenwriters: Lisa Haas, Jackie Monahan, Madeleine Olnek
Two lesbian hookers work the streets of New York. One is a down-on-her-luck newbie; the other is a beautiful-and straight-grifter who’s an expert on picking up women. Together they face bargain-hunting housewives, double-dealing conservative women, and each other in this prostitute buddy comedy.
Cast: Lisa Haas, Jackie Monahan, Alex Karpovsky, Susan Ziegler, Sally Sockwell, Deb Margolin.

“A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night” (U.S.A.)
Director and screenwriter: Ana Lily Amirpour
In the Iranian ghost town Bad City, a place that reeks of death and loneliness, depraved denizens are unaware they are being stalked by a lonesome vampire.
Cast: Sheila Vand, Arash Marandi, Dominic Rains, Marshall Manesh, Mozhan Marnó, Milad Eghbali. World Premiere

“Imperial Dreams” (U.S.A.)
Director: Malik Vitthal, Screenwriters: Malik Vitthal, Ismet Prcic
A 21-year-old, reformed gangster’s devotion to his family and his future are put to the test when he is released from prison and returns to his old stomping grounds in Watts, Los Angeles.
Cast: John Boyega, Rotimi Akinosho, Glenn Plummer, Keke Palmer, De’aundre Bonds. World Premiere

“Land Ho!” (U.S.A., Iceland)
Directors and screenwriters: Martha Stephens, Aaron Katz
A pair of ex-brothers-in-law set off to Iceland in an attempt to reclaim their youth through Reykjavik nightclubs, trendy spas, and rugged campsites. This bawdy adventure is a throwback to 1980s road comedies, as well as a candid exploration of aging, loneliness, and friendship.
Cast: Paul Eenhoorn, Earl Nelson, Alice Olivia Clarke, Karrie Krouse, Elizabeth McKee, Emmsjé Gauti. World Premiere

“Listen Up Philip” (U.S.A.) Director and screenwriter: Alex Ross Perry
A story about changing seasons and changing attitudes, a newly accomplished writer faces mistakes and miseries affecting those around him, including his girlfriend, her sister, his idol, his idol’s daughter, and all the ex-girlfriends and enemies that lie in wait on the open streets of New York.
Cast: Jason Schwartzman, Elisabeth Moss, Jonathan Pryce, Krysten Ritter, Josephine de La Baume. World Premiere

“Memphis” (U.S.A.) Director and screenwriter: Tim Sutton
A strange singer drifts through the mythic city of Memphis, surrounded by beautiful women, legendary musicians, a stone-cold hustler, a righteous preacher, and a wolf pack of kids. Under a canopy of ancient oak trees and burning spirituality, his doomed journey breaks from conformity and reaches out for glory.
Cast: Willis Earl Beal, Lopaka Thomas, Constance Brantley, Devonte Hull, John Gary Williams, Larry Dodson. World Premiere

“Obvious Child” (U.S.A.)
Director and screenwriter: Gillian Robespierre
An honest comedy about what happens when Brooklyn comedian Donna Stern gets dumped, fired, and pregnant, just in time for the worst/best Valentine’s Day of her life.
Cast: Jenny Slate, Jake Lacy, Gaby Hoffmann, David Cross, Gabe Liedman, Richard Kind. World Premiere

“Ping Pong Summer” (U.S.A.)
Director and screenwriter: Michael Tully
1985. Ocean City, Maryland. Summer vacation. Rap music. Parachute pants. Ping pong. First crushes. Best friends. Mean bullies. Weird mentors. That awkward, momentous time in your life when you’re treated like an alien by everyone around you, even though you know deep down you’re as funky fresh as it gets.
Cast: Susan Sarandon, John Hannah, Lea Thompson, Amy Sedaris, Robert Longstreet, Marcello Conte. World Premiere

“War Story” (U.S.A.)
Director: Mark Jackson, Screenwriters: Kristin Gore, Mark Jackson
A war photographer retreats to a small town in Sicily after being held captive during the conflict in Libya.
Cast: Catherine Keener, Hafsia Herzi, Vincenzo Amato, Donatella Finocchiaro, Ben Kingsley. World Premiere

Make it a second film in as many days that I had pretty much figured out of the Academy’s likely grasp that has been given a big boost on the precursor circuit. After the New York Film Critics Circle named David O. Russell’s “American Hustle” the year’s best film yesterday, the New York-based National Board of Review has chimed in today by naming Spiike Jonze’s “Her” the top film of 2013. The group also gave Jonze the Best Director prize.

I figured “Her” as a favorite on the critics circuit as recently as Monday in an Oscar column that mostly figured Steve McQueen’s “12 Years a Slave” was set to be the dominant force in these precursor announcements. The usually more populist-leaning NBR going the way of Jonze and his film is slightly more surprising, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the Los Angeles critics spring for the film in a big way on Sunday, either.

But for now, the film has to be taken pretty seriously in the Best Picture race for those of us (guilty) who weren’t doing so, because the last NBR winner that failed to land a Best Picture nomination was “Quills” 13 years ago. Other winners that have missed a corresponding Best Picture nod at the Academy include “Gods and Monsters” and “Betrayal,” but it’s very, very rare. Warner Bros. must be doing cartwheels at the promise of landing two Best Picture spots.

Elsewhere the group passed acting honors to Bruce Dern and Will Forte for their work in “Nebraska,” as well as Emma Thompson (“Saving Mr. Banks”) and Octavia Spencer (“Fruitvale Station”). The notices are a nice boost for Forte and Spencer in particular, who could use a foothold like this.

“Inside Llewyn Davis” and “The Wolf of Wall Street” won screenplay honors, while “Fruitvale Station’s” Michael B. Jordan and “Blue is the Warmest Color’s” Adele Exarchopoulos received breakthrough acting awards. The only notice for Alfonso Cuarón’s “Gravity” outside of the group’s list of the best films of the year was a “Creative Innovation in Filmmaking” award, but as with “12 Years a Slave,” the early precursors going in different directions only takes the heat and pressure off the Oscar player.

Check out their list of superlatives below.

Best Film: “Her”
Best Director: Spike Jonze, “Her”
Best Actor: Bruce Dern, “Nebraska”
Best Actress: Emma Thompson, “Saving Mr. Banks”
Best Supporting Actor: Will Forte, “Nebraska”
Best Supporting Actress: Octavia Spencer, “Fruitvale Station”
Best Original Screenplay: Joel and Ethan Coen, “Inside Llewyn Davis”
Best Adapted Screenplay: Terence Winter, “The Wolf of Wall Street”
Best Animated Feature: “The Wind Rises”
Breakthrough Performance: Michael B. Jordan, “Fruitvale Station”
Breakthrough Performance: Adele Exarchopoulos, “Blue is the Warmest Color”
Best Directorial Debut: Ryan Coogler, “Fruitvale Station”
Best Foreign Language Film: “The Past”
Best Documentary: “Stories We Tell”
William K. Everson Film History Award: George Stevens, Jr.
Best Ensemble: “Prisoners”
Spotlight Award: Career Collaboration of Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio
NBR Freedom of Expression Award: “Wadjda”
Creative Innovation in Filmmaking Award: “Gravity”

Top Films (alphabetical)
“12 Years a Slave”
“Fruitvale Station”
“Gravity”
“Inside Llewyn Davis”
“Lone Survivor”
“Nebraska”
“Prisoners”
“Saving Mr. Banks”
“The Secret Life of Walter Mitty”
“The Wolf of Wall Street”

Top 5 Foreign Language Films (alphabetical)
“Beyond the Hills”
“Gloria”
“The Grandmaster”
“A Hijacking”
“The Hunt”

Top 5 Documentaries (alphabetical)
“20 Feet from Stardom”
“The Act of Killing”
“After Tiller”
“Casting By”
“The Square”

Top 10 Independent Films (alphabetical)
“Ain’t Them Bodies Saints”
“Dallas Buyers Club”
“In a World…”
“Mother of George”
“Much Ado About Nothing”
“Mud”
“The Place Beyond the Pines”
“Short Term 12”
“Sightseers”
“The Spectacular Now”

Steve Coogan talks about getting serious (well, to a point) in “Philomena.” [The Credits]

Lost in “Her”: Sara Maria Vizcarrondo on the unexpected ways Spike Jonze’s latest corresponds with his ex-wife Sofia Coppola’s “Lost in Translation.” [Fandor]

Writing before yesterday’s NYFCC vote, Joe Reid braces himself for the onslaught of critics’ honors. [The Wire]

Benedict Cumberbatch and Jennifer Lawrence are Tumblr’s most reblogged stars. That J.Law backlash is really kicking in, isn’t it? [Vulture]

Alex Pappademas joins the small but passionate band of advocates for Cameron Diaz in “The Counselor,” who “boldly went where no other A-list actress would dare to go.” [Grantland]

Scott Foundas gets straight to wondering if Paul Walker will make the Academy’s In Memoriam montage. [Hollywood Reporter]

Eyebrows were raised back in September, when Woody Allen was announced as the 2014 recipient of the Cecil B. DeMille Award for career achievement at the Golden Globes. Not, of course, that it was a controversial selection in itself: you could argue for the award being a tad redundant, given that Allen hasn’t exactly been under-recognized in his career, but hardly undeserved.

(Indeed, he has been given somewhat short shrift by the HFPA: his only two Globe wins have come in the Best Screenplay category, for “Midnight in Paris” and “The Purple Rose of Cairo,” though “Hannah and Her Sisters” and “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” both won Best Picture: Comedy or Musical. That’s right, “Annie Hall” lost to “The Goodbye Girl.”) 

Rather, given the Globes’ noted prioritization of star presence — to the occasional detriment of the awards themselves — it’s somewhat surprising that they’d hand their highest honor to someone guaranteed not to show up to accept it. As everyone knows, Woody Allen doesn’t do awards ceremonies; he relented once in 2002 to present a tribute reel to New York in the post-9/11 Oscars — but I can’t imagine what would induce him to attend the Globes. Not a gold-watch award, that’s for sure.

But fear not, the Globes will not go celebrity-free during this portion of the show — it was confirmed today that Diane Keaton will be on hand to accept the award on his behalf. You could hardly ask for a more ideal proxy: Allen’s former lover and longstanding friend, Keaton has worked on eight films with him, from 1972’s “Play It Again, Sam” (directed by Herbert Ross, adapted from the 1968 Allen stage play on which they met) to 1993’s reunion effort “Manhattan Murder Mystery,” for which Keaton received a Globe nod. She won the Globe — and, of course, the Oscar — for Allen’s “Annie Hall.”

Aside from Mia Farrow — who, one suspects, is unavailable for this particular gig — no actor has worked as intimately and extensively with Allen as Keaton, so her acceptance ought to be a colorful one on its own terms. (Although probably not quite as memorable as that of this year’s DeMille recipient, Jodie Foster.) What, if anything, the award will mean to Allen is another question. Meanwhile, could he also be nominated in competitive fields for “Blue Jasmine?” He won’t be in attendance, but there could be rather a lot of Woody at the Globes anyway.

I never realized that the Producers’ Guild of America announces their TV nominations separately from their film ones, but I suppose it makes sense — the buzz around the feature film nominees sucks up a lot of oxygen, so this way, everyone gets to feel special for a time. (The PGA actually announced their documentary nominees last week, so they really are spreading the joy.)

Anyway, today’s announcement made nominees of Bryan Cranston, Tina Fey, Kevin Spacey, David Fincher and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, among others. I don’t watch or follow enough TV to say comment with any authority on the selections, but it seems most of the usual suspects are present, including Emmy favorites “Breaking Bad,” “Homeland,” “Modern Family” and “Breaking Bad.”

In the drama category, four of the five series nominated last year by the Guild return to the fold, including reigning winner “Homeland.” The new entry is Netflix’s “House of Cards,” filling the slot previously held by three-time winner “Mad Men” — which falls out after five consecutive nominations.

Over in comedy, “Modern Family” is gunning for a fourth consecutive win, while the departing “30 Rock” — which itself earned a hat-trick of wins before “Modern Family” took over — is aiming to end on top. “Veep” is a new entry; “Arrested Development,” which never managed a PGA win in its initial run, is back in the mix. (Producers, meanwhile, don’t seem to dig “Girls” as much as directors and writers do.)

Anyway, plenty of other categories in the list below, but beyond scripted American television, my already limited knowledge dries up entirely. I’ll just let the “iCarly” and “Dora the Explorer” fans hash it out among themselves.

Norman Felton Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Drama

“Breaking Bad” (Melissa Bernstein, Sam Catlin, Bryan Cranston, Vince Gilligan, Peter Gould, Mark Johnson, Stewart Lyons, Michelle MacLaren, George Mastras, Diane Mercer, Thomas Schnauz, Moira Walley-Beckett)

“Downton Abbey” (Julian Fellowes, Nigel Marchant, Gareth Neame, Liz Trubridge)

“Game of Thrones” (David Benioff, D.B. Weiss, Carolyn Strauss, Frank Doelger, Bernadette Caulfield, Christopher Newman, Greg Spence)

“Homeland”  (Alex Gansa, Michael Cuesta, Alexander Cary, Henry Bromell, Howard Gordon, Chip Johannessen, Meredith Stiehm, Michael Klick)

“House of Cards” (Karyn McCarthy, Beau Willimon, John Melfi, Kevin Spacey, Joshua Donen, Eric Roth, David Fincher) 

Danny Thomas Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Comedy

“Arrested Development” (pending eligibility)

“The Big Bang Theory” (Bill Prady, Chucke Lorre, Steve Molaro, Faye Oshima Belyeu)

“Modern Family” (Paul Corrigan, Abraham Higginbotham, Ben Karlin, Elaine Ko, Steven Levitan, Christopher Lloyd, Jeffrey Morton, Dan O”Shannon, Jeffrey Richman, Chris Smirnoff, Brad Walsh, Bill Wrubel, Danny Zuker)

“30 Rock” (Jack Burditt, Robert Carlock, Luke Del Tredici, Tina Fey, Matt Hubbard, Marci Klein, Jerry Kupfer, Colleen McGuinness, Lorne Michaels, David Miner, Dylan Morgan, Jeff Richmond, Josh Siegal, Tracey Wigfield)

“VEEP” (Simon Blackwell, Christopher Godsick, Armando Iannucci, Stephanie Laing, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Frank Rich, Tony Roche) 

Outstanding Producer of Non-Fiction Television

“Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown” (Anthony Bourdain, Christopher Collins, Lydia Tenaglia, Sandra Zweig)    

“Duck Dynasty” (pending eligibility)

“Inside The Actors Studio” (James Lipton, Shawn Tesser, Jeff Wurtz)

“Shark Tank” (pending eligibility)

“30 for 30” (pending eligibility)

Outstanding Producer of Competition Television 

“The Amazing Race” (Jerry Bruckheimer, Elise Doganieri, Jonathan Littman, Bertram van Munster, Mark A. Vertullo)

“Dancing With The Stars” (Ashley Edens-Shaffer, Conrad Green, Joe Sungkur)

“Project Runway” (pending eligibility)

“Top Chef” (Daniel Cutforth, Nan Strait, Jane Lipsitz, Casey Kriley, Tom Colicchio, Andrew Wallace, Erica Ross)

“The Voice” (Stijn Bakkers, Mark Burnett, John de Mol, Chad Hines, Lee Metzger, Audrey Morrissey, Jim Roush, Kyra Thompson, Nicolle Yaron, Mike Yurchuk, Amanda Zucker) 

Outstanding Producer of Live Entertainment & Talk Television

“The Colbert Report” (Meredith Bennett, Stephen T. Colbert, Richard Dahm, Paul Dinello, Barry Julien, Matt Lappin, Emily Lazar, Tanya Michnevich Bracco, Tom Purcell, Jon Stewart)

“Jimmy Kimmel Live” (pending eligibility)

“Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” (Michael Shoemaker, Lorne Michaels, Gavin Purcell, Hillary Hunn)

“Real Time with Bill Maher” (Scott Carter, Sheila Griffiths, Marc Gurvitz, Dean Johnsen, Bill Maher, Billy Martin, Matt Wood)

“Saturday Night Live” (Ken Aymong, Erin Doyle, Steve Higgins, Erik Kenward, Lorne Michaels, Lindsay Shookus)

Outstanding Sports Program 

“Hard Knocks”

“Monday Night Football”

“Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel”

“SportsCenter”

“24/7”

Outstanding Children”s Program

“Dora the Explorer”

“iCarly”

“Phineas and Ferb”

“Sesame Street”

“SpongeBob Squarepants” 

Outstanding Digital Series

“Burning Love”

“Epic Rap Battles of History”

“The Lizzie Bennet Diaries”

“Video Game High School”

“Wired: What”s Inside”