Dear Neil,

It's a little over a week away from your debut as the host of Hollywood's biggest night so chances are this correspondence will simply arrive a little too late. 

The Academy Awards telecast is a monstrosity to put on and takes months to plan. In fact, the show's overall creative direction has usually been decided long before the Oscar nominations are even announced. And frankly, we're worried. The announcements from the Academy so far have made us wonder if your producers are intent on turning this into the biggest song and dance Academy Awards ever. So, better late than never to pass along some unsolicited advice, right?

Honestly, we shouldn't be even pestering you about all this. We'd address this to show producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, but we don't think they'll listen. The nation's TV critics have pretty much given them negative reviews for their past two producing efforts and the only lesson they seemed to have learned is that maybe Seth MacFarlane wasn't a good choice to host. 

We're reaching out to you because you actually have more experience at awards shows then they do! You've earned critical acclaim for hosting the Tony Awards four times and won an Emmy as a producer for each one of them. You've even hosted the Emmy Awards (twice!). You know how to judge a room at an awards show arguably better than anyone not named Billy Crystal. (Should we butter you up even more?)

But, again, we're worried Neil. You're great at the song and dance. Everyone knows and appreciates your talent. You made the Tony Awards must-see TV for every gay man and musical theater queen (not one and the same) for the past few years. Shoot, you just won a Tony Award for your performance in the revival of “Hedwig and the Angry Inch.” And from the outside looking in, this year's Academy Awards feels like a cascade of non-stop musical numbers ready to shower the globe with jazz hands.

There is the original number the “Frozen” songwriters are creating for you (supposedly not even the opening of the show), Anna Kendrick is on board for a song (we're guessing that rumored “Sound of Music” tribute), Jennifer Hudson is retuning to the show (certainly not to crack jokes), Jack Black is “performing” (he's sung on the show before) and that's just what we know about as we write you. And it doesn't even take into account all the live performances of the five nominated original songs. Hey, we love musical numbers, but it's an awards show about the movies right? At some point it needs to be about cinema, right?

We've come to the stage of acceptance where we're just preparing ourselves for a mini-Tonys. That may not be a bad thing with your involvement, but if you haven't figured it out already we just don't trust your producers (you saw “Peter Pan Live!” right?). Still, the show is always in flux until the actual broadcast takes place. There is always time to fiddle with it somewhat (we hope).

In that spirit, we've come up with nine suggestions that might help shape this Oscars into one of the best ever [you can find them in the embedded  gallery below]. Even if 80% of the viewers at home have never heard of “Boyhood” or “Birdman” before Oscar night and they all believe “American Sniper” is the obvious Best Picture winner (whoopsie) you could make this an Academy Awards to remember (in a good way). So, we know nine changes to the show might be tough, but two or three? Just trust us on this, will you?

Sincere regards,

Gregory Ellwood*

*Someone who still believes Chris Rock and Jon Stewart should be hosting on a regular basis.

LAIKA, the Portland-based animation studio behind Oscar-nominated films like “Coraline,” “ParaNorman” and “The Boxtrolls,” has opened its archives for the first time ever for a limited auction of over 250 puppets, models, props and art. “The Art of LAIKA” will be held by Heritage Auctions on Thursday, Feb. 12, 2015 in Beverly Hills.

A portion of the proceeds from the auction will be donated to The Art of Elysium, a non-profit arts organization that works to make art a catalyst for social change.

“In eight years of doing this, I've never seen such enthusiasm among the bidder and fan bases,” Heritage Auctions Public Relations Director Noah Fleischer said. “Every lot has a bid in. LAIKA's crafts are drawing a non-traditional audience for us: 25-35-year-olds.”

“The Boxtrolls,” of course, finds itself in a Best Animated Feature Film race that has been dominated by the likes of “How to Train Your Dragon 2” and “Big Hero 6.” But as I've always maintained, it's a pity films like this end up relegated to the “ghetto” of that category, because the craft – as evidenced by the materials up for this very auction – is tactile and worthy of its own recognition. The costume design is astounding, revealing of character and theme. The sound design builds a whole world that feels tangible, not overblown. The production design, to say the least, is jaw-dropping and meticulous.

Currently LAIKA is in the midst of production on “Kubo and the Two Strings,” which is directed by the studio's president and CEO Travis Knight and set for release in 2016. Matthew McConaughey, Rooney Mara, Charlize Theron and Ralph Fiennes provide voices.

You can take a look at the LAIKA items up for auction in the photo gallery below.

http://players.brightcove.net/4838167533001/BkZprOmV_default/index.html?videoId=4911387703001

Call “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” Marvel's attempt at a “grounded” political thriller. With, you know, tons and tons of special effects.

“It was supposed to be like this grounded action movie that was kind of based on 'Three Days of the Condor,'” said Dan DeLeeuw, the film's Oscar-nominated visual effects supervisor who sat down with me to discuss his first-ever nod. “[But] there”s like 3,000 [total] cuts in the film, and 2,500 had some sort of visual effect going on.”

As opposed to “Guardians of the Galaxy” — the other Marvel film nominated in this year's visual effects race — “Captain America: The Winter Soldier's” VFX work is far more subtle, which of course doesn't make it any less impressive. In one particularly stunning bit of wizardry, the film features a scene in which we're introduced to a 92-year-old Peggy Carter — a feat accomplished not by makeup (“it was kind of very restrictive to her face,” said Deleeuw of their attempt to go practical) but by merging Hayley Atwell's features with those of an older actress.

“We ended up shooting Hayley without any makeup and then we cast an older actress that had the face that we liked, had the old feel but not too old,” DeLeeuw described. “And then were able to track both the faces and apply the wrinkles and liver spots and the old age from the older woman”s performance and then mapped out onto Peggy, onto Hayley.”

Indeed, aging a younger actor on screen is a difficult thing to get right, making the effect Deleeuw and his team came up with all the more impressive. As Deleeuw himself says, “What we end up with I think is probably a game changer approaching old age makeup.”

In addition to effects that most audience members never give a second thought to — in Deleeuw's experience, “bullet hits” and “sparks” are two of the more difficult to pull off — the film also features an incredible climactic sequence in which three giant Helicarriers are brought down in flames. Not surprisingly, this was one of the most trying sequences for Deleeuw and his team to pull off.

“The inner child in you is like 'yeah!'” he said of the sequence, which also required them to digitally recreate a portion of Washington, D.C. “Originally the script said 'and the Helicarriers were disabled and crashed.' So then when you get in there it”s like 'no, they”ve got to shoot at each other. And then they”ve got to broadside each other.'  But just dealing with the complexity of all the models for that and the simulations. ILM [Industrial Light and Magic] did an awesome job with that.”

Another major component of Deleeuw's job lay in crafting digital doubles for the live actors, specifically Chris Evans and Anthony Mackie.

“We would scan them on the cyber scanner which basically stand on a pedestal and these laser scanners like move down past them and get a digital version of that,” said Deleeuw. “So, you know, it was lots of data collection at the beginning and then lots of textures and filling out their costumes…And sometimes motion capture, sometimes not, because sometimes what you”re actually doing to the actor you can”t motion capture because it would kill them, you know.”

Mackie's double in particular proved to be a difficult challenge, particularly given his character's high-flying antics. Indeed, the death-defying nature of the Falcon's aerial stunts made it necessary not only to double the actor's body but his face as well.

“We knew a lot of what we wanted to do with the animation was you were not going to get just on a wire rig. There”s only so much you can do to an actor before they just can”t take it anymore,” said Deleeuw. “Initially most of the shots with Mackie were, you know, it”s close ups.  We”ll shoot the close up with him on the wire. Some of those shots even where we couldn”t get him to hang right, we would just kind of remove his body and just keep his face so even the close up shots are digi doubles.”

To enhance the realism of these closeups, the actor's face was scanned in a process that required him to stand in a “dome” while affecting a number of different facial expressions.

“[He was] surrounded by cameras and lights…And as [he did] that the lights cycle[d]. Like all the lights turn on and off in cycles so that when you bring all the information back on the computer you have your actor”s face giving a certain expression and emotion,” Deleeuw said of the process.

Despite all the digital trickery involved, Deleeuw made sure to note that directors Joe and Anthony Russo tried to shoot as much practical as they possibly could — all in an effort to keep things closer to that old-school “Three Days of the Condor” spirit: “It was a great marriage of like stunts and visual effects I think in this one,” he admitted.

So what's next for the newly-minted Oscar nominee? A stint on “Captain America 3” — which of course he couldn't tell me anything about — and (generally) continuing to live the dream of every aspiring visual effects artist.

“I think I”ve gotten really lucky,” he said of his involvement with Marvel, which began with a second unit stint on “Iron Man 3.” “Being a movie fan, comic book fan, you know, before getting into it…suddenly you actually get to play with superheroes, so like everything you do as a kid where you had like all your action figures and you”re smashing them together, you”re actually doing that in the movie now.”

As the Oscars approach and I check over the stats in the category that matters most* (Best Actress), I can't help but marvel again at Rosamund Pike's performance and long for more female roles that destroy us with sheer nerve and a dollop of evil. Bring me the diabolical ladies. The unscrupulous doyennes. The terrors who bewitch us with insane smarts and dubious intentions. Give that to me always.

With that mind, let's take a stroll back in time and remember 10 Best Actress-winning roles that are, at their core, horrifying. These are 10 Oscar-worthy dames we wouldn't want to meet in a back alley because they'd either shoot, shank, or reduce us to nothing with a dismissive cackle. 

*This is subjective, arguably. 

http://players.brightcove.net/4838167533001/BkZprOmV_default/index.html?videoId=4911422855001

With films like “Birdman” and “Boyhood” dominating the conversation, Harvey Weinstein's prediction that “The Imitation Game” will win the Best Picture Oscar might be looking a little shaky as the awards season heads into its final lap. But in the final analysis, the mission was accomplished as he dropped a considerable amount of money ($7 million) to acquire the picture out of the European Film Market and has already ushered it to over $100 million in box office receipts and counting. That's largely because the independent film has maintained a significant presence throughout the season, ultimately racking up eight Academy Award nominations.

There was a time, however, when the project was set up at Warner Bros. with the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio attached. It could have been a very different scenario. But financier and producer Teddy Schwarzman says he always felt like it needed to be made outside the studio system, and he put his name in the hat early.

“I was probably one of 20 companies that made an offer and never had the opportunity at that time to sit down with [producers] Nora [Grossman] and Ido [Ostrowsky],” Schwarzman says. “And so I just continued to track it. I read the announcement saying that it was progressed to a production deal and a year later it got put into turnaround. So I just raised my hand very aggressively and sat down with the team and pitched a vision for making the film with them, and we really clicked. I think that it was an interesting time for the film because the script had such a spotlight on it but now had gone through a bit of a hiccup.”

In hindsight, “it feels like it sort of happened exactly as it was supposed to,” Ostrowsky says of the failed Warner Bros. experience. “When we were at the studio, it's not that it felt wrong or right. It's just now looking back, and we've had both experiences, it makes perfect sense that it ended up coming together independently without any other consideration other than getting the story right and trusting the source material and trying to honor Alan Turing.”

Adds Grossman, “At the time, it felt right, and we were gathering information. This is our first experience. But I think our time at the studio prepared us to make the decisions we made when we decided to go independently.”

Weinstein had an interest in the project every step of the way as well, and when he saw footage at the European Film Market, he was sold without even having to see a completed film. “I got to watch a few minutes of footage of Benedict [Cumberbatch] and Keira [Knightley] and I just thought they had the right tone,” Weinstein says. “I think you could read this script, as we had, and if you just didn't have an actor who skirted the line between being incredibly unsympathetic and sympathetic at the same time, the movie is a disaster.”

As luring as the prospect of a savvy distribution partner like Weinstein might have been, however, the man does have a reputation for altering films. It's generally in the interest of making them more appealing to a wider audience, sometimes for better, sometimes for worse, but “Harvey Scissorhands” always looms over decisions like this.

“I think there was probably an initial concern, but he was so passionate about the film and the material and the story, we felt safe collaborating with him,” Grossman says.

“The Weinstein Company had been interested in the project for a long time and they tried to acquire it at the same time I was bidding for it,” Schwarzman says. “They tried to acquire it from me right after we had acquired it, in fact. I sat down with Harvey during the shoot and he tried to buy it there. So the level of passion and enthusiasm and belief in what we were doing was evident across the board. And in reality, we really wanted them to buy the film because it just felt like the type of material that The Weinstein Company would really know how to market and release.”

Ultimately, Schwarzman adds, Weinstein in fact went out of his way to let the filmmakers retain final cut. “He certainly had a handful of notes after we showed him our second-to-last cut of the film,” he continues, “but then we took those notes without being defensive or protective and tried them out internally. We weren”t required to show him any of their implementation, but we just came back to him with, you know, 'This one was a good note and these four weren't.' It was collaborative without being controlling.”

But while a guy like Weinstein has been through the Oscar ringer countless times over his career – molded it into a cottage industry that serves his business model, in fact – Grossman and Ostrowsky are experiencing the tempest for the first time. And a prestige, some might say Oscar-baity project like “The Imitation Game” makes for one serious trial by fire.

“I think what”s caught me off guard, and it's definitely not a complaint, is the sheer volume of it – like the number of events,” Ostrowsky says of the circuit. “We feel so thrilled to be honored by a lot of different awards and groups, [but while] it looks like it's all sort of fun and glossy – and there is that element to it – there's just a lot to take on.”

Grossman puts a finer point on it. “We're happy that we're here, but also sleep-deprived,” she says.

Find out whether “The Imitation Game” can turn any of those eight nominations into Oscar gold at the 87th annual Academy Awards on Sunday, Feb. 22.

http://players.brightcove.net/4838167533001/BkZprOmV_default/index.html?videoId=4910113765001

Sigh. Oscarcast producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron are apparently threatening to drown this year's show in musical numbers. No, really, according to the most recent press release, the pair are “creating several musical sequences,” and they keep lining up talent to participate.

First it was announced that Oscar-winning “Frozen” songwriters Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez would be penning a thing for host Neil Patrick Harris. (They talked about that a bit at the Grammys Sunday; check out the video above for more.) Then yesterday it was announced that Anna Kendrick would sing something on the show. And now, Jennifer Hudson has been added to the roll call.

I feel like a “Sound of Music” tribute is lurking in there somewhere. I could totally picture Kendrick twirling around, “The hiiillllsss are allliiiiiveee…” But I don't know. Maybe with Hudson they want to pay tribute to the eighth anniversary of “Dreamgirls.” (Just kidding, though I wouldn't put it past them.)

I wish the default on these things wasn't always “musical number.” I wish Oscarcast producers could learn from someone like Bill Condon and Laurence Mark, who turned the Academy Awards into a true celebration of film, not a vanilla ode to Broadway.

But I have no idea what's being planned here so I'll just leave it at that. The last time Hudson performed on the Oscars, of course, was 2012 for that dubious “tribute to musicals” bit (she performed “And I Am Telling You” from “Dreamgirls”). Before that was the actual year of “Dreamgirls” when she picked up an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress and belted “Love You I Do.” So…

More news as it comes for the 87th annual Academy Awards, set to air and bring this train to a stop on Feb. 22.

The meticulously detailed sets of “The Imitation Game” have earned production designer Maria Djurkovic and set decorator Tatiana Macdonald their first Oscar nominations, a journey that began with delving into well-worn period tropes to present a unique slice of British history that had not been seen on the big screen before.

“That's the part of the filmmaking process that I absolute adore,” Djurkovic says. “I love recreating worlds that no longer exist. It”s a particular passion of mine. You discover a whole new world.”

Macdonald similarly relished the historical challenge. But she also emphasizes that it was the subject matter more than the time period that made this a particularly difficult film from a set decoration perspective. “I suppose any part of history is as interesting as the next,” she says. “The fact that it was very scientific and very mathematical gave it an extra layer of depth. We could keep adding layer and layer upon layer. The period itself has been worked so many times that it was nice [to go in that direction].”

When they read the script, they had an idea of who Turing was, but it was “quite superficial,” Djurkovic says. And with respect to the mathematician's home, Andrew Hodges” biography became an invaluable resource. “We know what he was interested in, what experiments he was doing the day before he died, and we just extrapolated from that,” Macdonald says.

It was important to understand and obtain the props from that world, and very little of it was fabricated, Macdonald reveals. “The difficult thing to find was radio equipment, that technical stuff,” she says. “Bletchley lent us one Enigma and we got another from a collector, and then it was making sure we had the radios, the headsets, etc. We had to really search for that.”

This film was particularly exciting for Djurkovic as not only was she creating Turing”s world but she also had the responsibility to create a whole “character,” of a sort, in Christopher, the codebreaking machine fictitiously named in the film for Turing's late close companion. “I went up to Bletchley Park and they have a replica of Christopher and we stood and looked at this thing and we made some decisions then and there,” she says. “Ours is bigger. It”s slightly more imposing. It was made like a big prop within the art department. In the film, you see Alan Turing working on the machine at different stages and of course they”re shooting those scenes closely together. We had to build the machine in its various stages very quickly because we couldn”t keep the crew waiting to shoot.”

Bletchley was a major setting that had to be recreated by Djurkovic and Macdonald as well. Djurkovic notes that there is a difference between the “historic reality” and the “cinematic reality” and this meant that shooting at the actual Bletchley Park was not an option. “The real Bletchley didn”t work,” she says. “The huts are too close together, and there is a big car park where you wouldn”t want there to be a car park.” As there was only a budget to build a minimal number of huts, clever camera angles were necessary to make the film work, and a great deal of the film needed to be shot in the studio.

Just as space had to be delineated to distinguish the film”s different settings, time was also key, as the movie was set in three separate eras. “For me, it comes very, very naturally,” Djurkovic says. “You don”t go, 'Oh, it”s the '20s, so therefore…' We”ll know instinctively what goes in the set while also being subtle.”

Macdonald re-emphasizes the importance of subtlety in the time shifts. “The school in the '20s helps delineate that period in Turing's life, but between the end of the war and the '50s, not much had changed [in terms of interior decoration], especially for an academic in Manchester. We were being incredibly subtle, hoping that people would know where we are.”

Despite the stereotypical view of '40s and '50s Britain being a drab era, Djurkovic and Macdonald felt it was important to have an interesting color palette. “There are some quite bright colors going on,” she says. “We weren”t afraid of color. Red features a lot in the film and Sammy [Sheldon Differ] with the costumes used a lot of bold colors. We made a conscious effort to try to do that, as England/World War II is often very, very brown in art. You can't just paint things random colors, though. The huts in Bletchley are all a particularly unattractive shade of brown. But I think there”s quite a lot of color.”

Macdonald adds that they “were very conscious not to make it too sludgy and war-like. In a way, because we look back on that era, we imagine it as an era that has no color. But I think it was as colorful as any other period. People like their colors!”

And now their work has been cited by the Academy, an experience Macdonald describes as “very exciting – to be honest with you, I”m gobsmacked.”

Djurkovic adds, “It”s bloody amazing! It”s obviously such a statement of recognition of one”s work, and this was a particularly lovely group of people.”

http://players.brightcove.net/4838167533001/BkZprOmV_default/index.html?videoId=4910138745001

When talent appears in introductions for movie trailers it should always give you pause. If you've got the goods you don't really need to try and make a movie preview more “special” than it already is. That being said, the inclusion of Dr. Dre and Ice Cube driving through the streets of Compton discussing “where it all started” before the new trailer for “Straight Outta Compton” works.

At this point in their lives, both men are icons who have crossed over from “hardcore rappers” to successful businessmen and, in Dre's case, a six-time Grammy winner. They are producers, not executive producers on the film. That means, for the most part, they have a very vested interest that the story of N.W.A., their story, is told right. And, as Cube notes, “The same thing we were going through with the police in the '80s these people are going through now.”

Director F. Gary Gray has a spotty track record, but it's the hands-on involvement of Dre and Cube that actually make “Straight Outta Compton” one to watch for. 

Even with a sketchy August 14 release date (just sayin').

Check out the trailer embedded at the top of this post and share your thoughts in the comments section.

The 2015 Grammy Awards telecast was, it turned out, bookended by reminders of Paramount's “Selma” just as Oscar ballots are making their way to the hands of voters for the final phase of Academy Awards voting. Ava DuVernay's Martin Luther King Jr. biopic, currently in release, was profiled on CBS' “60 Minutes” news program, while Common and John Legend closed out the Grammy ceremony with a rousing rendition of the film's Oscar-nominated original song “Glory.”

In the “60 Minutes” piece, most of the fire around the film was broached, with DuVernay being asked whether she thought being a woman of color finding this kind of success (the film is one of 2014's most critically acclaimed) could open a door for diversity in Hollywood, for instance. “I don't know,” DuVernay said. “I'm not a big believer in one person that's a door opener. Because I can open a door but if no one else comes through it, if it's allowed to close after me, it doesn't mean much.”

And either way, for reasons nuanced (the film was potentially underseen in major AMPAS branches due to late screener arrivals) or otherwise (#OscarsSoWhite, etc.), DuVernay failed to land a Best Director Oscar nomination and actor David Oyelowo failed to secure a nomination for his towering performance as king.

“Every time it was said to me I just moved it to the side,” DuVernay said of the countless people who felt confident in the run-up to nominations that she would be the first African American woman nominated for Best Director. “Because I never thought it would happen anyway. So when the nomination didn't come, it didn't do damage to me. It did for David.”

And when asked about criticism vis a vis the depiction of President Lyndon B. Johnson's politicking in the film, she held the same ground she has all season. “I disagree,” she said. “It's as simple as that. History is to be interpreted through the lens of the people who are reading it and experiencing it on the page or at the time, and this is my interpretation.

“I think the things folks are talking about is that he was a vigorous champion of civil rights. He did turn out that way. But he didn't start that way. To try to push the idea that he was always 100% in the corner of the black man and woman in America is to not know your history.”

She closed with a salvo that has been oft-repeated from the “Selma” camp throughout: “I'm interested in having people of color at the center of their own lives.”

And the Common/Legend performance was a pretty epic send-off, notable at the end of a night that included a big win for the song's Oscar competition, Glen Campbell's “I'm Not Gonna Miss You,” in the Best Country Song category. Prior to the performance, Beyoncé took the stage to perform “Take My Hand, Precious Lord” from the “Selma” soundtrack

“Selma” is now playing in theaters.

http://players.brightcove.net/4838167533001/BkZprOmV_default/index.html?videoId=4910104164001

Last year's Oscar winner for Best Documentary Feature, “20 Feet From Stardom,” has rounded out its long awards run beginning as a competition player way back at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival with a Grammy for Best Music Film.

The doc, which won countless other prizes from critics and festivals last year, zipped past the competition including “Beyoncé & Jay Z: On the Run Tour,” Coldplay's “Ghost Stories,” “Metallica Through the Never” and Pink's “The Truth About Love Tour: Live from Melbourne.” It was the only traditional feature documentary in the bunch so it's little surprise it stood out to voters.

As previously reported, movie crossover winners at the Grammys this year included “Frozen's” hit track “Let It Go” and compilation soundtrack album, Pharrell's “Happy” from “Despicable Me 2” for Best Music Video, Glen Campbell's “I'm Not Gonna Miss You” for Best Country Song as well as Alexandre Desplat (“The Grand Budapest Hotel”) and John Williams (“The Book Thief”) winning for their film composition work.

The Grammys will go on into the night. Keep track of who's winning what here.

http://players.brightcove.net/4838167533001/BkZprOmV_default/index.html?videoId=4910115363001

Earlier today, Alexandre Desplat was a rather surprising winner for Best Film Music at this year's BAFTA Awards in London for his work in Wes Anderson's “The Grand Budapest Hotel.” Well, it's a great day for the prolific composer as he has just won a Grammy for the score as well, in the Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media Category.

Given the film's early-year release date, though, Desplat was mostly contending with 2013 films. Christophe Beck was nominated for “Frozen,” while two of last year's Oscar nominees, “Gravity” (Steven Price, who won the Academy Award) and “Saving Mr. Banks” (Thomas Newman) were in there as well. The only 2014 film in competition was “Gone Girl,” and alas, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross deferred to Mr. Desplat on this one.

Does that signal some clarity in the Oscar race? Not necessarily. But the film is obviously helped by being, in all likelihood, the most beloved nominee of the category. Others chalked up for a Best Original Score Oscar nomination this year are Desplat again for “The Imitation Game,” Hans Zimmer for “Interstellar,” Gary Yershon for “Mr. Turner” and Jóhann Jóhannsson for “The Theory of Everything.”

And by the way, another of last year's Oscar-nominated composers landed a Grammy today: John Williams. You remember “The Book Thief,” right? Well it won in the Best Instrumental Composition category against the likes of “Last Train to Sanity” (Stanley Clarke), “Life in the Bubble” (Gordon Goodwin), “Recognition” (Rufus Reid) and “Tarnation” (Edgar Meyer & Chris Thile).

More from the Grammys as they are announced here.

http://players.brightcove.net/4838167533001/BkZprOmV_default/index.html?videoId=4910113765001

Did you think “Frozen” was finished winning awards yet? Don't be silly. Remember, the Grammy calendar tends to straddle years, so 2013's Disney juggernaut is up against a couple of last year's players, and it won two big prizes at the Grammys Sunday.

The film won honors for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media, as well as Best Song Written for Visual Media for “Let It Go,” beautifully performed in the movie by Adele Dazeem…I mean, Idina Menzel. The song, you'll recall, also took home the Oscar last year.

And while we're on the subject of last year's Original Song Oscar players, Pharrell Williams' “Happy” is already a Grammy winner today, too. The song won Best Music Video against stiff competition from the likes of Arcade Fire and Sia. But maybe it wasn't so stiff after all. How do you compete with a 24-hour music video?

The Grammys are on-going and you can catch the winners here as they are announced across 14,256 categories.

http://players.brightcove.net/4838167533001/BkZprOmV_default/index.html?videoId=4910115362001

Glen Campbell has won the Best Country Song Grammy Award for his final song, “I'm Not Gonna Miss You,” featured prominently in the documentary “Glen Campbell…I'll Be Me” and an Oscar nominee for Best Original Song. Could he rain on Common and John Legend's “Selma” parade? It's possible.

As I've mentioned a couple of times, there is a real opportunity for the Academy to send Campbell – currently battling Alzheimer's disease – into the sunset with a tip of the cap for a song that, quite frankly, might be the most meaningful and emotional of the nominees. Tim McGraw was recently tapped to perform the track on the 87th annual Academy Awards, and it's worth noting, too, that this is the first time in a while that all the nominated songs will be performed on the show.

Other nominees in the Best Original Song Oscar category include the aforementioned “Glory” from “Selma,” “Everything is Awesome” from “The LEGO Movie,” “Lost Stars” from “Begin Again” and “Grateful” from “Beyond the Lights.” The only film with at least one other nomination besides is “Selma,” so it's in a strong position, but again, watch out for Campbell's soulful ditty. It's a powerhouse.

Campbell beat out Kenny Chesney's “American Kids,” Miranda Lambert's “Automatic,” McGraw and Faith Hill's “Meanwhile Back at Mama's” and Eric Church's “Give Me Back My Hometown.” It lost the Best Song in Visual Media Award, however, to “Frozen's” “Let It Go” (which incidentally won the Oscar last year).

Keep track of the Grammy winners as they are announced here.

What follows isn't the gospel. And it's not quite statistics, either. It's a presentation of what it means when the industry begins to speak during the Oscar season, and with the Screen Actors Guild Awards, the Producers Guild Awards, the Directors Guild Awards and the BAFTA Awards, the industry has most decidedly begun to speak in the run-up to the 87th annual Academy Awards.

There are some voices out there who get a little bent out of shape at the idea of awards writers, in their view, looking at these particular races as having an impact on the race. But it's not about causality, though. It's about revelation. The guilds and the British Academy merely reveal what's always been there. These are the first substantial clues to how the industry views the race.

A few caveats are worth mentioning, of course. The guild membership does not mirror Academy membership. The 15,000-strong DGA, for instance, is full of directors and first assistant directors and unit production managers and stage managers, even production assistants. That's a wide swath of disciplines (though, come to think of it, so is the Academy, albeit concentrated down quite a bit). So it's always possible for things to be seen in a different light at the Academy stage. At the same time, while all guild members aren't necessarily Academy members, pretty much all Academy members are guild members, so frame all of that as you will.

The fact remains, however, that the only film to win the PGA, DGA and SAG ensemble prizes but lose Best Picture was “Apollo 13” in 1995. It was a special case as it pertains to the modern circuit for two reasons. First, that was a time when the season extended into March, so the balloting timelines allowed for a deeper breath in phase two as well as reconsiderations and/or momentum shifts. Some would argue that that was crucial to a more complete season, one not as dependent on looking to precursors for guidance. Second, Ron Howard – inexplicably – failed to receive a Best Director Oscar nomination. But as “Argo” taught us a couple of years ago, that's not an immediate detriment. It did shed some weird light on his movie, though. Moreover, “Braveheart” is the only film to win Best Picture without winning at least one of those guild prizes (but it did win WGA).

Now for the BAFTA Awards. The last six films to win the Best Film prize across the pond went on to win the Oscar. Prior to that, it was way more touch and go. This year's big winner? “Boyhood.” So, in as many words, we have ourselves an interesting race. We've HAD ourselves an interesting race, really, but it's about as hot as ever now, and I say that as someone who felt like the game was over Saturday night. But I'll come back to this.

It used to be that looking throughout the various BAFTA categories for guidance did not make for a good test sample, because the BAFTA method of voting was formerly each branch choosing the winners for their discipline. As of 2012, they mimic the Oscar method: everyone votes for everything. And boy did they have a few swerves against the conventional wisdom Sunday. “Whiplash” for Best Film Editing and Best Sound. “The Grand Budapest Hotel” for Best Original Score. “The Theory of Everything” for Best Adapted Screenplay. And, of course, mirroring the critics' consensus of “Boyhood”/Richard Linklater when the guilds opted for “Birdman.”

In the Best Film category, BAFTA does not use the preferential ballot (as the Academy does). On these shores, we've seen that ballot work to the benefit of “Birdman,” and we've also seen a standard weighted ballot in a massive organization (DGA) lean that direction. So, in my view, this is still “Birdman's” to lose. But with ballots just going out on Friday, and the bulk of voting going on this week, well…it's all happening.

This is a pretty unique year. I don't know how else to put it. And I don't quite know why it's unique. I feel like the Oscar Industrial Complex, if you will, is really starting to impact things a bit. Just all the chatter, I mean. But there is also a lot of passion split a couple of ways, too, rather than just two or three films tops with major champions. Just look at that BAFTA vote. Lots of awards for “Whiplash,” “The Theory of Everything” and “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” yet one prize for “Birdman.” Things are really spread out, and that, I think, is when the preferential ballot system becomes a crucial part of the puzzle.

There is no “knowledge” to be had, and be super wary of anyone (including me – I have my moments) who claims to have the answer. There's only the empirical data and how you choose to contextualize it. I think we have a clear opportunity for the Academy to recognize Alejandro González Iñárritu (“Birdman” for Best Picture), Richard Linklater (“Boyhood” for Best Director) and Wes Anderson (“The Grand Budapest Hotel” for Best Original Screenplay) here, but just because there's a great opportunity doesn't mean, favorites being what they are, that it'll play out that way.

We'll really just have to see how the campaigns tackle this next week or so and how, ultimately, things play out in two weeks' time. And there aren't anymore clues to really be gleaned in the meantime. So you're on your own.

The Contenders section is about as updated as it's gonna get…for now.

The 2015 EE BAFTA Awards were handed out in London Sunday night and while the broadcast aired hours later in the United States, it didn't stop us from chronicling the twists and turns of a show often seen as a bellwether for the Academy Awards.

It took home only three BAFTAs, but “Boyhood” was the biggest winner of the night as it won Best Film and Richard Linklater earned Director honors. “The Grand Budapest Hotel” took home five statues including Original Screenplay for Wes Anderson, Production Design, Costumes, Original Music and Make Up & Hair. “Whiplash” earned three BAFTAs including J.K. Simmons for Supporting Actor, Editing and a somewhat surprising win in Sound. Expected Oscar winners Julianne Moore took Leading Actress and Patricia Arquette took Supporting Actress. Eddie Redmayne earned a key win over rival Michael Keaton by claiming the Lead Actor BAFTA for “The Theory of Everything.” The latter also won Best British Film and Adapted Screenplay.

“The LEGO Movie,” which was famously snubbed in the Best Animated Feature race for Oscar, won the BAFTA equivalent.

A complete list of this year's BAFTA winners, along with immediate analysis after each announcement, as follows…

OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM
“”71,” Yann Demange, Angus Lamont, Robin Gutch, Gregory Burke
“The Imitation Game,” Morten Tyldum, Nora Grossman, Ido Ostrowsky, Teddy Schwarzman, Graham Moore
“Paddington,” Paul King, David Heyman
“Pride,” Matthew Warchus, David Livingstone, Stephen Beresford
“The Theory of Everything,” James Marsh, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Lisa Bruce, Anthony McCarten – WINNER
“Under the Skin,” Jonathan Glazer, James Wilson, Nick Wechsler, Walter Campbell

Lowdown: Not a good moment for “The Imitation Game” here although it's worth noting “Theory” is a substantially bigger hit in the UK. 

ORIGINAL MUSIC
“Birdman,” Antonio Sanchez
“The Grand Budapest Hotel,” Alexandre Desplat – WINNER
“Interstellar,” Hans Zimmer
“The Theory of Everything,” Jóhann Jóhannsson
“Under the Skin,” Mica Levi

Lowdown: Wes Anderson's hit gets some BAFTA love and Desplat wins his second award from the organization. The first was for “The King's Speech.”

DOCUMENTARY
“20 Feet from Stardom,” Morgan Neville, Caitrin Rogers, Gil Friesen
“20,000 Days on Earth,” Iain Forsyth, Jane Pollard
“CITIZENFOUR,” Laura Poitras – WINNER
“Finding Vivian Maier,” John Maloof, Charlie Siskel
“Virunga,” Orlando von Einsiedel, Joanna Natasegara

Lowdown: Can anyone stop Laura Poitras' doc on the road to Oscar? At this point, it's right up there with Julianne Moore as one of the biggest locks of the night.

MAKE UP & HAIR
“The Grand Budapest Hotel,” Frances Hannon – WINNER
“Guardians of the Galaxy,” Elizabeth Yianni-Georgiou, David White
“Into the Woods,” Peter Swords King, J. Roy Helland
“Mr. Turner,” Christine Blundell, Lesa Warrener
“The Theory of Everything,” Jan Sewell

Lowdown: Another win for “Grand Budapest” over some impressive competition. The film may end up with a slew of below the line wins on Oscar night.

PRODUCTION DESIGN
“Big Eyes,” Rick Heinrichs, Shane Vieau
“The Grand Budapest Hotel,” Adam Stockhausen, Anna Pinnock – WINNER
“The Imitation Game,” Maria Djurkovic, Tatiana MacDonald
“Interstellar,” Nathan Crowley, Gary Fettis
“Mr. Turner,” Suzie Davies, Charlotte Watts 

Lowdown: Did we just remark that “Grand Budapest” might take home a few below the line wins on Oscar night? Three wins so far for Wes Anderson's opus.

BRITISH SHORT FILM
“Boogaloo and Graham,” Brian J. Falconer, Michael Lennox, Ronan Blaney – WINNER
“Emotional Fusebox,” Michael Berliner, Rachel Tunnard
“The Karaman Line,” Campbell Beaton, Dawn King, Tiernan Hanby, Oscar Sharp
“Slap,” Islay Bell-Webb, Michelangelo Fano, Nick Rowland
“Three Brothers,” Aleem Khan, Matthieu de Braconier, Stephanie Paeplow

Lowdown: I got nothing here. Hopefully the filmmakers charmed everyone with one of those honestly enthusiastic speeches short winners are known for.

BRITISH SHORT ANIMATION
“The Bigger Picture,” Chris Hees, Daisy Jacobs, Jennifer Majka – WINNER
“Monkey Love Experiments,” Ainslie Henderson, Cam Fraser, Will Anderson
“My Dad,” Marcus Armitage

Lowdown: “Bigger Picture” is actually the only BAFTA nominee also up for Oscar. Is this a good sign for its chances?

EDITING
“Birdman,” Douglas Crise, Stephen Mirrione
“The Grand Budapest Hotel,” Barney Pilling
“The Imitation Game,” William Goldenberg
“Nightcrawler,” John Gilroy
“The Theory of Everything,” Jinx Godfrey
“Whiplash,” Tom Cross – WINNER

Lowdown: Very nice win for “Whiplash” and Tom Cross. I still think this is one category where the Academy is going to reward the Sundance favorite on Oscar night.

SOUND
“American Sniper,” Walt Martin, John Reitz, Gregg Rudloff, Alan Robert Murray, Bub Asman
“Birdman,” Thomas Varga, Martin Hernández, Aaron Glascock, Jon Taylor, Frank A. Montaño
“The Grand Budapest Hotel,” Wayne Lemmer, Christopher Scarabosio, Pawel Wdowczak
“The Imitation Game,” John Midgley, Lee Walpole, Stuart Hilliker, Martin Jensen
“Whiplash,” Thomas Curley, Ben Wilkins, Craig Mann – WINNER

Lowdown: Another nice win for “Whiplash!” It's only up for Sound Mixing at the Oscars and will have plenty of competition from “Birdman” and “Sniper” (start debating your Oscar pool picks now).

ANIMATED FILM
“Big Hero 6,” Don Hall, Chris Williams
“The Boxtrolls,” Anthony Stacchi, Graham Annable
“The LEGO Movie,” Phil Lord, Christopher Miller – WINNER

Lowdown: Everything is awesome! From almost every voting body except the Academy! 

SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS
“Dawn of the Planet of the Apes,” Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, Erik Winquist, Daniel Barrett
“Guardians of the Galaxy,” Stephane Ceretti, Paul Corbould, Jonathan Fawkner, Nicolas Aithadi
“The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies,” Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton, R. Christopher White
“Interstellar,” Paul Franklin, Scott Fisher, Andrew Lockley – WINNER
“X-Men: Days of Future Past,” Richard Stammers, Anders Langlands, Tim Crosbie, Cameron Waldbauer

Lowdown: This is definitely a tough pick on Oscar night. “Interstellar,” “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” and even “Guardians” could, in theory, win. But this trophy certainly helps “Interstellar's” cause.

SUPPORTING ACTOR
Steve Carrell, “Foxcatcher”
Edward Norton, “Birdman”
Ethan Hawke, “Boyhood”
Mark Ruffalo, “Foxcatcher”
J.K. Simmons, “Whiplash” – WINNER

Lowdown: The quiet, steady road of Simmons' march to Oscar gold continues. Amazing to think it all began a little under a year ago at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival.

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Emma Stone, “Birdman”
Imelda Staunton, “Pride”
Keira Knightley, “The Imitation Game”
Patricia Arquette, “Boyhood” – WINNER
Rene Russo, “Nightcrawler”

Lowdown: After the DGA loss last night Arquette's win here has to be a sigh of relief for team “Boyhood.”

OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER
Elaine Constantine (Writer/Director), “Northern Soul”
Gregory Burke (Writer), Yann Demange (Director), “”71”
Hong Khaou (Writer/Director), “Lilting”
Paul Katis (Director/Producer), Andrew de Lotbinere (Producer), “Kajaki: The True Story”
Stephen Beresford (Writer), David Livingstone (Producer), “Pride” – WINNER

Lowdown: Honestly, as wonderful as “Pride” is, it's quite shocking Demange didn't take this for “71.” 

CINEMATOGRAPHY
“Birdman,” Emmanuel Lubezki -WINNER
“The Grand Budapest Hotel,” Robert Yeoman
“Ida,” Lukasz Zal, Ryzsard Lenczewski
“Interstellar,” Hoyte van Hoytema
“Mr. Turner,” Dick Pope

Lowdown: First win for “Birdman” is one of its most deserving. It “appears” Lubezki will go back-to-back with Academy Award wins as well.

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
“Birdman,” Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris Jr, Armando Bo
“Boyhood,” Richard Linklater
“The Grand Budapest Hotel,” Wes Anderson – WINNER
“Nightcrawler,” Dan Gilroy
“Whiplash,” Damien Chazelle

Lowdown: Four wins for “Grand Budapest.” Anderson is my personal pick in this category on Oscar night, but it will be a pick 'em between “Budapest,” “Boyhood” and “Birdman.”

FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
“Ida,” Pawel Pawlikowski, Eric Abraham, Piotr Dzieciol, Ewa Puszczynska – WINNER
“Leviathan,” Andrey Zvyagintsev, Alexander Rodnyansky, Sergey Melkumov
“The Lunchbox,” Ritesh Batra, Arun Rangachari, Anurag Kashyap, Guneet Monga
“Trash,” Stephen Daldry, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Kris Thykier
“Two Days, One Night,” Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne, Denis Freyd

Lowdown: Expected Oscar winner “Ida” gets a much needed boost after “Leviathan” took home the Golden Globe.

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
“American Sniper,” Jason Hall
“Gone Girl,” Gillian Flynn
“The Imitation Game,” Graham Moore
“Paddington,” Paul King
“The Theory of Everything,” Anthony McCarten – WINNER

Lowdown: Impressive win for “Theory.” This could have gone in a number of different directions. Would be shocking for Redmayne not to take Best Actor after key wins so far.

COSTUME DESIGN
“The Grand Budapest Hotel,” Milena Canonero – WINNER
“The Imitation Game,” Sammy Sheldon Differ
“Into the Woods,” Colleen Atwood
“Mr. Turner,” Jacqueline Durran
“The Theory of Everything,” Steven Noble

Lowdown: Five wins for “Grand Budapest Hotel.” Quite a night for Fox Searchlight and Wes Anderson in London.

THE EE RISING STAR AWARD (voted for by the public)
Gugu Mbatha-Raw
Jack O'Connell – WINNER
Margot Robbie
Miles Teller
Shailene Woodley

Lowdown: BAFTA used probably the worst photo ever of O'Connell to announce that he won online, but in the show's only publicly voted honor it's a very impressive win for the “Unbroken” star. Hollywood will take notice because, clearly, O'Connell has a real fanbase now.

DIRECTOR
Alejandro G. Iñárritu, “Birdman”
Richard Linklater, “Boyhood” – WINNER
Wes Anderson, “The Grand Budapest Hotel”
James Marsh, “The Theory of Everything”
Damien Chazelle, “Whiplash”

Lowdown: It ain't over yet! Linklater may have lost DGA last night, but he takes a much needed win here from the Brits.

LEADING ACTOR
Benedict Cumberbatch, “The Imitation Game”
Ralph Fiennes, “The Grand Budapest Hotel”
Jake Gyllenhaal, “Nightcrawler”
Michael Keaton, “Birdman”
Eddie Redmayne, “The Theory of Everything” – WINNER

Lowdown: Redmayne has won a Globe, SAG and now the BAFTA. (Whew, would have been embarrassing if he lost with Stephen Hawking in the house).

 LEADING ACTRESS
Amy Adams, “Big Eyes”
Felicity Jones, “The Theory of Everything”
Julianne Moore, “Still Alice” – WINNER
Rosamund Pike, “Gone Girl”
Reese Witherspoon, “Wild”

Lowdown: After so many years of sitting in the audience at countless awards shows never winning, this has to have been a wonderful few months for the deserving Ms. Moore.

BEST FILM
“Birdman,” Alejandro G. Iñárritu, John Lesher, James W. Skotchdopole
“Boyhood,” Richard Linklater, Cathleen Sutherland – WINNER
“The Grand Budapest Hotel,” Wes Anderson, Scott Rudin, Steven Rales, Jeremy Dawson
“The Imitation Game,” Nora Grossman, Ido Ostrowsky, Teddy Schwarzman
“The Theory of Everything,” Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Lisa Bruce, Anthony McCarten

Lowdown: It ain't over yet! Again! The American Guilds might be showing support for “Birdman,” but “Boyhood” is making a charge with Oscar voting underway. It's worth nothing that the winner of the BAFTA has aligned with the Oscar winner for Best Picture since “Slumdog Millionaire” won in 2009. Before then they hadn't matched since “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” won in 2004. Much has changed over the years in terms of both Oscar's larger Best Picture pool and how BAFTA conducts its nomination and voting process. Many will also argue there is more crossover between the memberships of both organizations than ever before. Does that mean “Boyhood” should once again be considered the frontrunner? Does winning the three major guilds (SAG, PGA and DGA) mean less in the grand scheme of things? We'll find out when the Academy Awards are handed out in just two weeks.

What did you think of this year's BAFTAs? Could “The Imitation Game” end up being duplicating its BAFTA shut out at the Oscars? Share your thoughts below.

“Birdman” helmer Alejandro González Iñárritu won the Directors Guild of America's (DGA) award for best direction of a motion picture Saturday night, effectively firming up his film's march into the Oscars later this month. The Michael Keaton comedy also took top honors from both the Producers Guild and the Screen Actors Guild. With the DGA prize it joins films like “Argo,” “The King's Speech,” “Slumdog Millionaire,” “No Country for Old Men,” “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King,” “Chicago,” “American Beauty” and “Apollo 13” as the only films to pull off the hat trick. Only one of those, “Apollo 13,” failed to win the Best Picture Oscar.

So it's more or less settled, right? I confess, coming into the industry awards phase of the season, I didn't expect “Birdman” to dominate like this. And maybe that was ultimately its secret weapon. Everyone had their eyes on “Boyhood.” Then “The Grand Budapest Hotel” came on strong with guild nominations and became a talking point as a surprisingly dominant element. All along, “Birdman” has just been what it's always been: a critically acclaimed, production-heavy, solid contender that few expected – well, I'll just speak for myself there – to outpace the rest. And yet that's exactly what it's doing.

You won't get any complaints out of me. This is my favorite film of the year. And now the already-building backlash will sink its teeth all the way in. But the writing is right there in front of all of us and it doesn't look like anything can derail the train at this point.

Naturally, though, the Best Director race won't necessarily turn out like the DGA race did. Different set of people, different set of opinions and politics. There is a lot of love for Richard Linklater out there and he could still get a well-deserved Oscar for “Boyhood.” Actually, the great thing about “Birdman,” “Boyhood” and “The Grand Budapest Hotel” is that their directors are each nominated for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Writing at the Oscars. So there is a definite opportunity to spread the wealth, and I think few would have a big problem with that.

Either way, this has pretty definitively become “Birdman's” to lose. What I can't quite wrap my head around is how the film can win Best Picture but not, as the punditry (myself included) would presume, Best Actor. Or maybe that situation is more complex than many of us expect as well.

Elsewhere at the show, and probably most notable of all, four female directors took home prizes, three of them in the TV categories and the fourth in documentary. Additionally, it was announced that next year the DGA will institute an award for first-time filmmakers.

Check out the full list of DGA winners below, nominees here and the rest of the season's offerings at The Circuit.

FILM

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film
Alejandro G. Iñárritu, “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)”

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary
Laura Poitras, “CITIZENFOUR”

(Television winners on the next page.)

TELEVISION

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Dramatic Series
Lesli Linka Glatter, “Homeland” – “From A to B and Back Again”

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy Series
Jill Soloway, “Transparent” – “Best New Girl”

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Movies for Television and Mini-Series
Lisa Cholodenko, “Olive Kitteridge”

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Variety/Talk/News/Sports – Regularly Scheduled Programming
Dave Diomedi, “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” – “#1”

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Variety/Talk/News/Sports – Specials
Glenn Weiss, “The 68th Annual Tony Awards”

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Reality Programs
Anthony B. Sacco, “The Chair” – “The Test”

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Children's Programs
Jonathan Judge, “100 Things to do Before High School” – “Pilot”

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Commercials
Nicolai Fuglsig, MJZ (“Sapeurs,” Guinness; “Waiting,” FEMA)

Lifetime Achievement Award
Robert Butler

J.M.W. Turner biopic “Mr. Turner” has been praised for its recreation of the world Turner's world manner that only director Mike Leigh could pull off. And of course instrumental in fabricating that universe was costume designer Jacqueline Durran and production designer Suzie Davies, each of them Oscar-nominated for their work on the film.

A common starting place was trying to envision the world of an individual so famous, but whose actual appearance is not very well known. “We had a researcher, an academic, who researched every known piece of information about Turner before we started,” Durran says. “There aren”t that many portraits of him – about 10 – and she put those together and found books that were most succinct. We didn't have a script [because Leigh eschews the norm in this regard], so we knew a lot would depend on the relationship between Mike and the actor and how they chose to approach Turner.”

Davies started with Turner”s art work, naturally, in building the design of the production, scattering some sets with in-progress works, others with completed exhibits. “When Mike offered me the job in 2012, I went immediately to the National Gallery and saw Turner and so much of his work and sketch books and diaries that were there,” she says. “I was literally holding Turner”s sketch book. We used art as our main reference and all of the people who had rights to Turner”s work gave us the rights for free.”

Something that Durran and Davies had to work on together was developing the world in which Leigh”s characters would live. Durran notes that the lack of a script early on did not hinder her. “When I work with Joe Wright, I meet with him maybe before the actor is even cast,” she says of another collaborator. “I go ahead and flesh out his ideas for him, for the story he wants to tell. With Mike, it”s completely the opposite. It”s completely based in the characters and the actor. I”m not designing costumes for a story; I”m designing costumes for a character. I”m asking, 'What would this character wear when they”re working? When they”re eating?” The only thing [that can become a problem with this approach] is that there might be scenes you would not have thought about and you won”t know what the character would wear.”

Nevertheless, Durran notes, mistakes don”t arise with the frequency they do when everyone is reading a script and having different images of it.

“Mike is known for his collaborations with people,” Davies says. “We had offices all together where he was working with actors and the art department on different floors. As the rehearsals progress, we”d meet at lunchtime, I”d get him up to speed with where we were on locations and bits of research. You felt part of the process. You”re expected to have an opinion and give an opinion, so it”s very fulfilling. As things moved on, Mike explained the type of story he wanted to tell and I”d think how we”d built that set and how we”d find that location.”

Adds Durran, “It is a collaboration and it”s easier to feel that in a normal Mike Leigh film that doesn”t have a historical counterpart. Normally, you have no idea who this character is – someone is being created in the course of the conversation. Sally Hawkins would tell me in 'Happy-Go-Lucky' where her character grew up, would buy her clothes, and I”d go out and we”d arrive at something that looks like character. Here, however, we were sort of trying to match something from historical reference. But Tim [Spall, who plays Turner in the film] felt that there was some very scruffy Turner and that was how Tim felt his Turner would be.”

Davies was careful to use the sets to convey that Turner was a different character in different circumstances. She compares two different places where much of the movie was set: Mrs. Booth”s house in Margate and Turner”s home in London. The latter required much consideration about the sorts of paintings that would be hanging on his wall and the fact that, though he was an artist, he had to fit into conservative elements of society. This was not the case down in Margate.

“For Mrs. Booth”s house, I put a feminine spin on it and spent quite a bit of time to give this slight quirkiness,” Davies says. “We see a different side of Turner in terms of an area we”re not ready for. We think he”s a very London sort of guy but he”s very much a man of the people.”

Marking the passage of time was another place where the approach of the two disciplines had to differ. “That was more of an acting task,” Durran explains, noting that it was not at all certain that a character like Turner would have felt obliged to update his wardrobe much over a 20-year period. “We made a decision early on that we wouldn”t mark the passage of time with costumes. It would have become painful because every year, you”d need a new costume. There was a slight change but very slight.”

Davies, on the other hand, saw an outstanding opportunity to age sets and, in doing so, make them more historically accurate as well as serving the story. She cites the specific example of Turner”s red studio. “There”s a famous painting of Turner in his gallery and it”s got red walls,” she says. “We put a slight spin on this, made it red silk walls. I knew we were going to age that whole house down so I needed to make it look smarter at the beginning of the film. With the silk panels, we could make them threadbare and musty over the 20-year period.”

Durran is very pleased with the Academy's recognition of her work, but confesses she doesn't have the jitters she has in the past. With an Oscar win and three other nominations besides to her credit, some of that pressure is finally off, it seems. “But I keep working with the same directors, and they”re great directors,” she exclaims.

First-time nominee Davies, meanwhile, is truly in awe-struck. “It”s crazy and it”s wonderful and it”s thrilling and I still can”t quite believe it happened,” she says. “But I was at the nominees luncheon and I”ve got photographic evidence!”

We”ll see how the Oscar race ends for this pair at the 87th annual Academy Awards on Feb. 22.

Behold the NAACP Image Awards, where somehow Antoine Fuqua did a better job directing “The Equalizer” than Ava DuVernay on Best Picture winner “Selma” or Gina Prince-Bythewood on “Beyond the Lights.” Lots of dubious choices like that throughout this year's 46th annual awards, which tends to be a bit of a tradition, actually.

Check out the nominees here, the full list of winners below and the rest of the season's offerings at The Circuit.

FILM

Outstanding Motion Picture
“Selma” (Paramount Pictures)

Outstanding Directing in a Motion Picture
Antoine Fuqua, “The Equalizer” (Columbia Pictures)

Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture
David Oyelowo, “Selma” (Paramount Pictures)

Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture
Taraji P. Henson, “No Good Deed” (Screen Gems)

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture
Common, “Selma” (Paramount Pictures)

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture
Carmen Ejogo, “Selma” (Paramount Pictures)

Outstanding Independent Motion Picture
“Belle” (Fox Searchlight Pictures/ DJ Films)

Outstanding Documentary (Theatrical)
“Through A Lens Darkly: Black Photographers and the Emergence of a People” (Chimpanzee Productions, Inc.)

Outstanding Writing in a Motion Picture
Misan Sagay, “Belle” (Fox Searchlight Pictures/ DJ Films)

Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance
Loretta Devine, “Doc McStuffins” (Disney Junior)

(Check out television winners on the next page.)

TELEVISION

Outstanding Drama Series
“How to Get Away with Murder” (ABC)

Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series
Shemar Moore, “Criminal Minds” (CBS)

Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series
Viola Davis, “How to Get Away with Murder” (ABC)

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Joe Morton, “Scandal” (ABC)

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Khandi Alexander, “Scandal” (ABC)

Outstanding Comedy Series
“black-ish” (ABC)

Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series
Anthony Anderson, “‘black-ish” (ABC)

Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series
Tracee Ellis Ross, “black-ish” (ABC)

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
Laurence Fishburne, “black-ish” (ABC)

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Yara Shahidi, “black-ish” (ABC)

Outstanding Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special
“The Trip to Bountiful” (Lifetime Networks)

Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special
Blair Underwood, “The Trip to Bountiful” (Lifetime Networks)

Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special
Cicely Tyson, “The Trip to Bountiful” (Lifetime Networks)

Outstanding Documentary
“Bad Boys” (ESPN)

Outstanding Directing in a Motion Picture
Reggie Bythewood, “Gun Hill” (BET)

Outstanding Directing in a Dramatic Series
Carl Franklin, “House of Cards,” Chapter 14 (Netflix)

Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series
Ken Whittingham, “Parks and Recreation,” Prom (NBC)

Outstanding Writing in a Motion Picture
Shernold Edwards, “A Day Late and a Dollar Short” (Lifetime Networks)

Outstanding Writing in a Dramatic Series
Erika Green Swafford, “How to Get Away with Murder,” Let”s Get To Scooping (ABC)

Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series
Sara Hess, “Orange is the New Black,” It Was the Change (Netflix)

Outstanding News/ Information (Series or Special)
“Unsung” (TV One)

Outstanding Talk Series
“Steve Harvey” (Syndicated)

Outstanding Reality Series
“Iyanla: Fix My Life” (OWN)

Outstanding Variety (Series or Special)
“Oprah”s Master Class” (OWN)

Outstanding Children”s Program
“Doc McStuffins” (Disney Junior)

Outstanding Performance by a Youth in a Youth/Children”s Program (Series or Special)
Fatima Ptacek, “Dora and Friends: Into The City!” (Nickelodeon)

Outstanding Host in a Talk, Reality, News/Information or Variety
Steve Harvey, “Steve Harvey” (Syndicated)

(Check out music and literature winners on the next page.)

MUSIC

Outstanding New Artist
3 Winans Brothers (BMG)

Outstanding Male Artist
Pharrell Williams (Columbia Records)

Outstanding Female Artist
Beyoncé (Columbia Records)

Outstanding Duo, Group or Collaboration
“Stay with Me,” Sam Smith feat. Mary J Blige (Capitol)

Outstanding Jazz Album
“My Old Friend: Celebrating George Duke,” Al Jarreau (Concord)

Outstanding Gospel Album (Traditional or Contemporary)
“Where My Heart Belongs,” Gladys Knight (Shadow Mountain Records)

Outstanding Music Video
“You & I (Nobody in the World),” John Legend (Columbia Records)

Outstanding Song
“We Are Here,” Alicia Keys (RCA Records)

Outstanding Album
“Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics,” Aretha Franklin (RCA Records)

LITERATURE

Outstanding Literary Work, Fiction
“A Wanted Woman,” Eric Jerome Dickey (Penguin Random House)

Outstanding Literary Work, Non-Fiction
“Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption,” Bryan Stevenson (Spiegel & Grau)

Outstanding Literary Work, Debut Author
“Forty Acres,” Dwayne Alexander Smith (Atria Books)

Outstanding Literary Work, Biography/ Auto Biography
“Breaking Ground: My Life in Medicine,” Louis Sullivan with David Chanoff (University of Georgia Press)

Outstanding Literary Work, Instructional
“Promises Kept: Raising Black Boys to Succeed in School and in Life,” Joe Brewster, Michele Stephenson, Hilary Beard (Spiegel & Grau)

Outstanding Literary Work, Poetry
“Citizen: An American Lyric,” Claudia Rankine (Graywolf Press)

Outstanding Literary Work, Children
“Dork Diaries 8: Tales From A Note-So-Happily Ever After,” Rachel Renee Russell with Nikki Russell and Erin Russell (Simon & Schuster)

Outstanding Literary Work, Youth/Teens
“Brown Girl Dreaming,” Jacqueline Woodson (Nancy Paulsen Books)