http://players.brightcove.net/4838167533001/BkZprOmV_default/index.html?videoId=4911351297001

It was a good day for Marvel with the release of the 41st annual Saturn Awards nominations (geared toward genre work on the big and small screen). “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” led overall on the film side with 11 nominations, while “Guardians of the Galaxy” picked up nine. Christopher Nolan's “Interstellar” had a strong showing, too, with 10 mentions.

This year's Best Picture Oscar winner “Birdman” popped up four times, including in the Best Fantasy Film Release category where it dukes it out with films like “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” and “Into the Woods.”

Somehow Wes Anderson's “The Grand Budapest Hotel” is deemed a fantasy film, too, while this is the second group, I believe, that has chalked Paul Thomas Anderson's “Inherent Vice” up as an “action/adventure” film. OK… Additionally, the lack of “John Wick” — anywhere — is a significant WTF if you ask me.

On the TV side, it was “The Walking Dead” leading the charge with seven tips of the hat.

Check out the full list of nominees below. Winners will be announced on June 25. (Why not just get it over with sooner?)

And as the film awards season finishes its death throes, remember to relive it all at The Circuit.

Best Comic-to-Film Release
“The Amazing Spider-Man 2”
“Captain America: The Winter Soldier”
“Guardians of the Galaxy”
“X-Men: Days of Future Past”

Best Science Fiction Film Release
“Dawn of the Planet of the Apes”
“Edge of Tomorrow”
“Godzilla”
“The Hunger Games:  Mockingjay – Part 1”
“Interstellar”
“The Zero Theorem”

Best Fantasy Film Release
“Birdman”
“The Grand Budapest Hotel”
“The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies”
“Into the Woods”
“Maleficent”
“Paddington”

Best Horror Film Release
“Annabelle”
“The Babadook”
“Dracula Untold”
“Horns”
“Only Lovers Left Alive”
“The Purge: Anarchy”

Best Thriller Film Release
“American Sniper”
“The Equalizer”
“Gone Girl”
“The Guest”
“The Imitation Game”
“Nightcrawler”

Best Action/Adventure Film Release
“Exodus: Gods and Kings”
“Inherent Vice”
“Lucy”
“Noah”
“Snowpiercer”
“Unbroken”

Best Actor in a Film
Tom Cruise, “Edge of Tomorrow”
Chris Evans, “Captain America: The Winter Soldier”
Jake Gyllenhaal, “Nightcrawler”
Michael Keaton, “Birdman”
Matthew McConaughey, “Interstellar”
Chris Pratt, “Guardians of the Galaxy”
Dan Stevens, “The Guest”

Best Actress in a Film
Emily Blunt, “Edge of Tomorrow”
Essie Davis, “The Babadook”
Anne Hathaway, “Interstellar”
Angelina Jolie, “Maleficent”
Jennifer Lawrence, “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1”
Rosamund Pike, “Gone Girl”

Best Supporting Actor in a Film
Richard Armitage, “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies”
Josh Brolin, “Inherent Vice”
Samuel L. Jackson, “Captain America: The Winter Soldier”
Anthony Mackie, “Captain America: The Winter Soldier”
Andy Serkis, “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes”
J.K. Simmons, “Whiplash”

Best Supporting Actress in a Film
Jessica Chastain, “Interstellar”
Scarlett Johansson, “Captain America: The Winter Soldier”
Evangeline Lily, “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies”
Rene Russo, “Nightcrawler”
Emma Stone, “Birdman”
Meryl Streep, “Into the Woods”

Best Performance by a Younger Actor in a Film
Elle Fanning, “Maleficent”
MacKenzie Foy, “Interstellar”
Chloe Grace Moretz, “The Equalizer”
Tony Revolori, “The Grand Budapest Hotel”
Kodi Smit-McPhee, “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes”
Noah Wiseman, “The Babadook”

Best Film Director
Alejandro G. Iñárritu, “Birdman”
James Gunn, “Guardians of the Galaxy”
Doug Liman, “Edge of Tomorrow”
Christopher Nolan, “Interstellar”
Matt Reeves, “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes”
Joe Russo, Anthony Russo, “Captain America: The Winter Soldier”
Bryan Singer, “X-Men: Days of Future Past”

Best Film Writing
“Captain America: The Winter Soldier”
“The Grand Budapest Hotel”
“Guardians of the Galaxy”
“The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies”
“Whiplash”

Best Film Editing
“Captain America: The Winter Soldier”
“Edge of Tomorrow”
“Guardians of the Galaxy”
“Interstellar”
“Unbroken”

Best Film Production Design
“Dawn of the Planet of the Apes”
“Captain America: The Winter Soldier”
“The Grand Budapest Hotel”
“Guardians of the Galaxy”
“Interstellar”
“Into the Woods”

Best Film Music
“Captain America: The Winter Soldier”
“Dawn of the Planet of the Apes”
“Godzilla”
“How to Train Your Dragon 2”
“Interstellar”

Best Film Costume
“Dracula Untold”
“Exodus: Gods and Kings”
“Guardians of the Galaxy”
“Into the Woods”
“Maleficent”
“X-Men: Days of Future Past”

Best Film Makeup
“Dawn of the Planet of the Apes”
“Dracula Untold”
“Guardians of the Galaxy”
“The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies”
“X-Men: Days of Future Past”

Best Film Special/Visual Effects
“Captain America: The Winter Soldier”
“Dawn of the Planet of the Apes”
“Edge of Tomorrow”
“Guardians of the Galaxy”
“The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies”
“Interstellar”

Best Independent Film Release
“Grand Piano”
“I, Origins”
“A Most Violent Year”
“The One I Love”
“The Two Faces of January”
“Whiplash”

Best International Film Release
“Bird People”
“Calvary”
“Force Majeure”
“Mood Indigo”
“The Railway Man”
“The Theory of Everything”

Best Animated Film Release
“Big Hero Six”
“The Boxtrolls”
“How to Train Your Dragon 2”
“The LEGO Movie”
“The Wind Rises”

(Television and Home Entertainment nominees on the next page.)

TELEVISION

Best Network Television Series
“The Blacklist”
“The Following”
“Grimm”
“Hannibal”
“Person of Interest”
“Sleepy Hollow”

Best Syndicated/Cable Television Series
“American Horror Story: Freak Show”
“Continuum”
“Falling Skies”
“Salem”
“The Strain”
“12 Monkeys”
“The Walking Dead”

Best Limited Run Television Series
“Bates Motel”
“From Dusk Till Dawn”
“Game of Thrones”
“The Last Ship”
“The Librarians”
“Outlander”

Best Superhero Adaptation Television Series
“Agent Carter”
“Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”
“Arrow”
“Constantine”
“The Flash”
“Gotham”

Best Youth Oriented Television Series
“Doctor Who”
“The 100”
“Pretty Little Liars”
“Supernatural”
“Teen Wolf”
“The Vampire Diaries”

Best Actor in a Television Series
Hugh Dancy, “Hannibal”
Grant Gustin, “The Flash”
Andrew Lincoln, “The Walking Dead”
Tobias Menzies, “Outlander”
Mads Mikkelsen, “Hannibal”
Noah Wyle, “Falling Skies”

Best Actress in a Television Series
Haley Atwell, “Agent Carter”
Caitrionia Balfe, “Outlander”
Vera Farmiga, “Bates Motel”
Jessica Lange, “American Horror Story: Freak Show”
Rachel Nichols, “Continuum”
Rebecca Romijn, “The Librarians”

Best Supporting Actor in a Television Series
David Bradley, “The Strain”
Laurence Fishburne, “Hannibal”
Sam Heughan, “Outlander”
Erik Knudsen, “Continuum”
Norman Reedus, “The Walking Dead”
Richard Sammel, “The Strain”

Best Supporting Actress in a Television Series
Emilia Clarke, “Game of Thrones”
Jenna Coleman, “Doctor Who”
Caroline Dhavernas, “Hannibal”
Lexa Doig, “Continuum”
Emily Kinney, “The Walking Dead”
Melissa McBride, “The Walking Dead”

Best Performance by a Younger Actor in a Television Series
Camren Bicondova, “Gotham”
Maxim Knight, “Falling Skies”
Tyler Posey, “Teen Wolf”
Chandler Riggs, “The Walking Dead”
Holly Taylor, “The Americans”
Maisie Williams, “Game of Thrones”

Best Guest Performance in a Television Series
Dominic Cooper, “Agent Carter”
Neil Patrick Harris, “American Horror Story: Freak Show”
John Larroquette, “The Librarians”
Wentworth Miller, “The Flash”
Michael Pitt, “Hannibal”
Andrew J. West, “The Walking Dead”

HOME ENTERTAINMENT

Best DVD/BD Release
“Beneath”
“Blue Ruin”
“Odd Thomas”
“Ragnarok”
“White Bird in a Blizzard”
“Wolf Creek 2”

Best DVD/BD Special Edition Release
“Alexander: The Ultimate Cut”
“The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Extended Edition”
“Nightbreed: The Director”s Cut”
“Once Upon a Time in America: Extended Director”s Cut”
“Sorcerer”
“The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: 40th Anniversary Collector”s Edition”

Best DVD/BD Classic Film Release
“Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”
“The Horror at 37,000 Feet”
“The Ninth Configuration”
“The Picture of Dorian Gray”
“The Quatermass Experiment”
“The Time Machine”

Best DVD/BD Television Release
“Batman: The Complete Television Series”
“Hannibal, Season 2”
“Merlin: The Complete Series”
“Spartacus: The Complete Series”
“Star Trek: The Next Generation, Season 7”
“Twin Peaks: The Entire Mystery”
“Wizards and Warriors: The Complete Series”

Best DVD/BD Collection Release
“The Exorcist: The Complete Anthology”
“Halloween: The Complete Collection”
“Stanley Kubrick: The Masterpiece Collection”
“Steven Spielberg Director”s Collection”
“Toho Godzilla Collection”
“Universal Classic Monsters: Complete 30 Film Collection”

Open Road Films has released the first image of Oliver Stone's upcoming biopic “Snowden” which features Joseph Gordon-Levitt as the infamous leaker Edward Snowden and, surprise, it's not what you'd expect.

Much of Snowden's past has been skimmed over in public discussion.  People are aware he worked for the CIA for a time and eventually resigned before working for a Dell division contracted by the NSA.  That's where he acquired most of the thousands of classified documents he eventually leaked to news agencies around the world.  What many don't know, however, is that earlier in his life Snowden joined the U.S. Army Reserve and underwent Special Forces training before, reportedly, breaking both legs during a training accident. His attempt to serve his country as a soldier is your first look at Gordon-Levitt as Snowden, which you can check out at the top of this post.

Stone's first film since 2012's “Savages” features an intriguing cast including Shailene Woodley as Snowden's girlfriend Lindsay Mills, Zachary Quinto as Guardian journalist Glenn Greenwald, Tom Wilkinson as Guardian reporter Ewen MacAskill and Melissa Leo as “CITIZENFOUR” director Laura Poitras, among others.  “Snowden” is still in production and Open Road has currently scheduled it to open on Christmas Day (for the moment a wide release). 

“Snowden” is a curious entry on the 2016 awards landscape as it will come less than a year after “CITIZENFOUR” took home the Best Documentary Oscar.  It's also arriving only two years after Snowden's story began to dramatically unfold on the global scene.  A story, mind you, that is not over.  Snowden currently has found safe haven in Russia, but it's unclear how long that will last beyond his current three-year residency permit.  Moreover, Stone has been down this road before.  There was a lot of buzz about “W.,” 2008 his biopic of George W. Bush, but despite an impressive performance by Josh Brolin, that movie felt rushed and lacking perspective.  Could “Snowden” suffer a similar creative fate?

“Snowden” is currently scheduled to open nationwide on Dec. 25.

http://players.brightcove.net/4838167533001/BkZprOmV_default/index.html?videoId=4910061101001

Over the past half decade Walt Disney Studios has spent a great deal of time and money to create live action versions of some of their own animated classics.  While these films have performed at the box office, creatively they were often lacking.  The studio may have finally found its own fairy godmother in the form of director Kenneth Branagh and his new adaptation of “Cinderella.”

The Oscar nominated filmmaker is best known for shepherding new versions of “Hamlet” and “Henry V” to the big screen.  The former was released almost 20 years ago, but Branagh earned a reputation for bringing a modern sense of realism to Shakespeare's creations even if the stories were still set in the distant past.  This talent made him a smart choice to direct the underrated “Thor” and an even better hire for a movie that could have been just another shell for Disney”s consumer product division.

The latest incarnation of the classic fairy tale mostly follows the version put forth by Charles Perrault in 1697's “Cendrillon.”  The marked difference is an opening sequence that focuses on the loving relationship between a young Ella (Eloise Webb) and her mother (an almost unrecognizable Haley Atwell).  Ella's mother instills a remarkable kindness within her daughter and a love for animals and the family's country home.  Tragically, her mother passes away due to a sudden illness leaving Ella”s goodhearted father (Ben Chaplin) to raise her by himself.  Eventually, with Ella in her late teens, her father asks permission for one more chance at happiness.  That comes in the form of a recently widowed socialite Lady Tremaine (Cate Blanchett) and her own two daughters, Anastasia and Drizella (Holliday Grainger and Sophie McShera). Always looking on the bright side of life, Ella (now played enthusiastically by Lily James) wholly endorses her father's wishes and Lady Tremaine and her little devils quickly arrive to stir the pot.

Branagh and screenwriter Chris Weitz make some interesting choices at this point in the story and throughout, for that matter.  Blanchett plays the classic wicked stepmother with a wonderful Joan Crawford inspired facade, but they intentionally make her character less sympathetic than you might expect.  Our understanding of the Lady”s motives are communicated in one telegraphed scene where she overhears Ella and her father discussing their love for her departed mother and how they see her in their home, which Tremaine now lives in, every day.  This would potentially hurt anyone and it's just enough to plant the seed of resentment between Ella and her new Stepmother.  When Ella's father passes away during a long business trip, our heroine”s situation becomes increasingly dire.  Lady Tremaine certainly becomes increasingly manipulative, but her actions aren't over her dislike of Ella as a person. Instead, it's the frustration and burden of becoming potentially destitute with the death of yet another husband.  The filmmakers could have expanded on this, but that might have made it just a smidgen too real.  They don't want the audience to forget they're watching a fairy tale and want to keep things just fantastical enough for hope to live behind every corner (or almost talking mouse).

Ella”s new family slowly uses peer pressure to make her the de facto house servant. Who else could wash the clothes and cook the meals? These clearly aren't skills Anastasia and Drizella have learned (we comically discover they actually have no talents whatsoever).  Her stepsisters are smart enough to christen her with the nickname Cinderella though after she awakens with an ash-covered face after spending a night sleeping by the fire.  Bella certainly isn't happy about her situation, but she's so inherently optimistic and loves her house so much that she seems resigned to just grin and bear it.  However, after one particular episode where Lady Tremaine spectacularly insults her, she has something of an emotional breakdown, jumps on a horse and races through the woods to try to blow off some steam.  That's where she first encounters Kit (a charming Richard Madden), the Kingdom”s most eligible bachelor who is happy to find a young lady who doesn”t recognize him as the heir to the throne.  It's hard for any actor or director to pull off love at first sight, but Branagh is lucky enough that James and Madden have just enough genuine on screen chemistry to make you at least want to believe it's possible.  

Eventually, the tale proceeds, as you'd expect. Prince Charming wants to find the mysterious girl he met in the forest so a ball is set to determine his bride.  Lady Tremaine sees this as the best opportunity to escape misfortune and mistakenly believes one of his daughters could actually win his hand. And Cinderella? There is no way that Diva is going to take the chance her dowdy stepdaughter might embarrass her in front of the rest of the realm. She'll remain on the farm, thank you very much.

It should be noted that Weitz plays with the third act slightly by adding another justification for Lady Tremaine's actions, makes the King's wishes a significant part of the story and extends the search for Cinderella after the ball, but all and all it's still basically the traditional story Perrault wrote centuries ago.  Yes, there is a magical Fairy Godmother (a kooky and glammed up Helena Bonham Carter), a pumpkin coach and that iconic glass slipper.  Still, there are certainly moments where you wonder if this is the Cinderella little girls should aspire to be.  1998's “Ever After” was a wonderfully contemporary take on the tale that empowered our heroine to aspire to be more than a princess.  Almost 20 years later, this Bella's strength comes from her inherent optimism and belief in kindness.  Is that enough for the 21st Century?  It certainly slightly disconcerting and will be a discussion point for some parents, but sitting in theater its hard not to get swept up in Branagh's old-fashioned cinematic magic.

It must be noted that Branagh couldn”t come close to pulling that off without some absolutely jaw-dropping costumes by designer Sandy Powell, another beautiful score by longtime collaborator Patrick Doyle and impressive production design by Dante Ferretti. In particular, Ferretti helps create an intricately detailed land for Branagh to explore whether in physical or CG form.  

What makes “Cinderella” work is the combination of some textbook eye candy and the delightful pairing of James and Madden.  When Cinderella arrives at the ball, after the audience has spent a good hour primarily at the farmhouse, it needs to be a magical moment and it is.  That first dance between Bella and Prince Charming? A wonderfully conceived and staged sequence that exceeds your expectations. The climactic moment of discovery?  It features a smart storytelling twist that you might not have seen coming.  

Is this the “Cinderella” little girls and boys need in 2015?  Not necessarily, but if it encourages them dream a little more is that such a bad thing?

“Cinderella” opens nationwide on March 13.

It was a great night for Xavier Dolan at the Canadian Screen Awards today, where the wunderkind's latest film, “Mommy,” won nine awards, nearly sweeping every category. The only fields the film lost in were crafts categories conceded the critically reviled (but it's Canadian!) “Pompeii,” which took home five awards.

Check out the full list of winners below, the nominees here and everything else you can possibly imagine (more or less) at The Circuit.

Best Motion Picture
“Mommy”

Achievement in Direction
Xavier Dolan, “Mommy”

Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
Antoine Olivier-Pilon, “Mommy”

Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
Anne Dorval, “Mommy”

Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
Suzanne Clément, “Mommy”

Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
John Cusack, “Maps to the Stars”

Adapted Screenplay
“Elephant Song”

Original Screenplay
“Mommy”

Achievement in Art Direction
“Pompeii”

Achievement in Cinematography
“Mommy”

Achievement in Costume Design
“Pompeii”

Achievement in Editing
“Mommy”

Achievement in Makeup
“Mommy”

Achievement in Music – Original Score
“Maps to the Stars”

Achievement in Music – Original Song
“Dal Makhani” from “Dr. Cabbie”

Achievement in Overall Sound
“Pompeii”

Achievement in Sound Editing
“Pompeii”

Achievement in Visual Effects
“Pompeii”

Best Feature Length Documentary
“Super Duper Alice Cooper”

Best Cinematography in a Feature Length Documentary
“Everything Will Be”

Best Editing in a Feature Length Documentary
“Super Duper Alice Cooper”

Best Animated Short
“Me and My Moulton”

Best Live Action Short Drama
“Hole”

Best Short Documentary
“Jutra”

(Television and Digital Media winners on the next page.)

TELEVISION & DIGITAL MEDIA

Best Dramatic Series
“Orphan Black”

Best Dramatic Miniseries or TV Movie
“Bomb Girls: Facing the Enemy”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Dramatic Program or Miniseries
Jonas Chernick, “The Best Laid Plans”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Dramatic Program or Miniseries
Jodi Balfour, “Bomb Girls: Facing the Enemy”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role
Jard Keeso, “19-2” – “Deer”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role
Tatiana Maslany, “Orphan Black” – “By Means Which Have Never Yet Been Tried”

Best Comedy Series
“Call Me Fitz”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Continuing Leading Comedic Role
Don McKellar, “Sensitive Skin” – “Not the Haitian Corpse”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Continuing Leading Comedic Role
Joanna Cassidy, “Call Me Fitz” – “Alice Doesn't Live, Anymore”

Best Reality/Competition Program or Series
“The Amazing Race Canada”

Best International Drama
“Vikings”

Best News Anchor, National
Lisa LaFlamme, “CTV National News with Lisa LaFlamme”

Best Original Program or Series produced for Digital Media – Fiction
“Space Riders: Division Earth”

Best Sports Host in a Sports Program or Series
Ron MacLean, “Hocky Night in Canada”

Did you know that Kristen Stewart made history a week ago? The 24-year-old actress became the first American woman to win a prestigious Cesar Award, France's own version of the Academy Award. She also won it for an English-speaking role.  Think about that for a second.  This honor hasn't been bestowed upon Meryl Streep, Michelle Williams, Sigourney Weaver, Natalie Portman, Glenn Close, Susan Sarandon or any other globally acclaimed American actress over the past 30 years. No, it was Kristen Stewart who broke the French's reticence to reward anyone but their own.  Stewart, an actress who continues to (mostly) put studio work behind her following a string of acclaimed performance in indie films over the past year.  That career path continues with her next endeavor, the “Untitled Kelly Reichardt Project,”

In case the name is unfamiliar to you, Reichardt is an acclaimed director whose movies include festival favorites “Night Moves,” “Meek's Cutoff” and “Wendy and Lucy.”  Her latest project is an ensemble piece set in Montana.  According to Deadline, Stewart is on board to play a young lawyer from neighboring Idaho who takes a teaching job within the state and discovers an unlikely friendship with a local.  Laura Dern, the aforementioned Williams (who reunites with Reichardt after “Wendy and Lucy”), James Le Gros and “Mad Men's” Jared Harris have also been cast.  For all of Reichardt's critical success she's a talent whose films are marginally commercial, at best.  When you make a movie with her it's about the art and nothing more. And, lately, that's what Stewart has been all about.

After years of being contractually stuck in the “Twilight” series and attempting to launch another franchise with “Snow White and the Huntsman,” 2014 saw a sea change in Stewart's career with the release of Sundance Film Festival selection “Camp X-Ray,” Cannes selection “Clouds of Sils Maria” (for which she earned her Cesar) and “Still Alice,” which debuted at Toronto and went on to earn an Academy Award for its leading lady, Julianne Moore. Granted, Stewart has always tried to fit in an independent here or there between her studio obligations, but her recent choices are very reminiscent of the career path Matthew McConaughey began in 2011 and we all know how that turned out.  The increasingly prolific Stewart has three films set to debut in some capacity in 2015, “Anesthesia,” “Equals” and “American Ultra.”

Tim Blake Nelson's “Anesthesia” is an ensemble drama which also features Glenn Close, Corey Stoll, Sam Waterston and Michael K. Williams. It's been almost a year since production wrapped on the indie, but it didn't land at either Toronto or Sundance so it wouldn't surprise us if it earned a Tribeca debut (probably not a good sign).

“Equals” is the latest from Drake Doremus (“Like Crazy”) and finds Stewart and Nicholas Hoult as a couple trying to keep their romance secret in a future where emotions have been purposefully eradicated. The high profile project, which is still without U.S. distribution, also features Guy Pearce, Jacki Weaver and Bel Powley (“Diary of a Teenage Girl”).  If not Cannes than perhaps a Toronto premiere?

Lastly, Stewart reunites with her “Adventureland” co-star Jesse Eisenberg in Lionsgate's “American Ultra.”  This action comedy from the director of “Project X” and screenwriter Max Landis (“Chronicle”) made a slew of most anticipated lists, but still hasn't been dated by the studio.

Many have tried to dismiss Stewart's talents because of the “Twilight” films (hey, she didn't write the books) and her body of work is slowly starting to outweigh the negative after effects of that franchise. Moreover, no one bats 100% when it comes to picking projects (see Jennifer Lawrence and “Serena”), but Stewart has shown to have excellent taste over the past few years.  Before you know it she'll be thought of more for her gutsy indie choices than anything else.

Just you wait and see.

Leonard Nimoy will be remembered for many things. Foremost is creating an iconic character known the world over, but his contributions to the world of entertainment go far beyond what he achieved in front of the camera. He was also a writer, an artist and a director. As a filmmaker, he actually helmed two of the biggest hits of the 1980s, “Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home” and “Three Men and a Baby.” If moviegoers should have any regrets for Nimoy it's that he only made a few more films after those blockbusters. But his legacy lives on in many ways. It certainly lives on with me.

When you talk to most “Star Trek” fans, they are either of the age where they became fans of the franchise during its initial 60s run, when it was syndicated in the 70s or when it returned to television with “Star Trek: The Next Generation.” You rarely find anyone like me, who fell in love with “Star Trek” on the big screen. One of the first films I remember going to see in a theater as a kid was “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.” It was a packed house and without social media at the time, many people were shocked when Spock died at the end of the movie. Something about “Khan” has stuck with me even to this day. It somehow felt more real than “Star Wars” (you were a fan of one or the other back then) and the film's cliffhanger tease promised something more, that there could be hope just around the corner or in the inevitable “Star Trek III.” That resurrection was given away quite early when the follow-up was subtitled “The Search for Spock,” but it was Nimoy's direction that was the big surprise.

To this day “The Search for Spock” is one of my all-time favorite “Star Trek” movies. Each member of the Enterprise crew was given his or her own moment to shine (something that had been missing in the first two films) and Nimoy, along with some wonderful ILM visual effects artists and editor Robert F. Shugrue, crafted one of best sequences in the franchise, the theft of the Starship Enterprise. It was actually a series of scenes that wonderfully climaxed with Captain Kirk ignoring a last minute warning that he'd “never sit in a captain's chair again.” In almost textbook and classic Hollywood filmmaking and screenwriting, it began with Kirk attempting to get permission from his superior to return to the newborn planet where the body of his fallen friend was mistakenly left. The audience is then treated to a series of scenes that have gone down in “Star Trek” lore. Sulu (George Takei) has his “don't call me tiny” moment, Scotty (DeForest Kelley) delivers “up your shaft” and Uhura (Nichelle Nichols) rolls her eyes and takes down “Mr. Adventure,” helping her former crew mates teleport onto the Enterprise. So much is at stake for all the characters, most notably our hero Kirk, that when he ignores that last minute plea (you can guess what he ordered Sulu to do), I still remember a cheer from that suburban multiplex crowd.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkJ3–2K7yo]

“Star Trek III” had the unfortunate luck of coming right after the now classic “Wrath of Khan,” but Nimoy brought quiet moments and patience that were almost more cinematic than what Nicholas Meyer had crafted before him. Nimoy also directed his good friend, Shatner, in one of his best performances as Kirk (the death of his son wonderfully teetering on the edge of true pain and over-the-top glory), gave us one of the most underrated Christopher Lloyd performances and subtly injected humor into a film about death and resurrection. It's quite remarkable, except when you take into account his next effort, a film about saving humpback whales, earned over $109 million.

“The Voyage Home” brought “Star Trek” to heights it had never seen. It became a pop culture phenomenon ($100 million grosses were rare back then), was nominated for four Academy Awards (but shockingly not Best Visual Effects) and helped spur the television resurrection of the franchise with “The Next Generation.” The fourth “Star Trek” film was a time travel adventure that soared on the juxtaposition of our familiar Enterprise crew trying to adjust to late 20th Century San Francisco. The jokes were smart and the cast enthusiasm about shooting in real life locations was infectious. It was a rare four-quadrant “Star Trek” movie that you could bring your parents to and they could enjoy it with little knowledge of the franchise. It was such a hit that Touchstone Pictures asked Nimoy to direct an English language remake of the French hit “Trois Hommes et un Couffin.” That project should have made Nimoy an A-list Hollywood director, but somehow it didn't.

“Three Men and a Baby” found Ted Danson, Tom Selleck and Steve Guttenberg portraying three bachelors who find themselves forced to raise a newborn that may or may not be one of their actual offspring. Ironically, after “The Voyage Home,” Nimoy was the only sure thing in the production. Danson and Selleck where huge TV stars, but had largely failed at the box office. Guttenberg had success on a minor level with the “Police Academy” movies and “Cocoon,” but he was never given credit for the latter. “Three Men,” on the other hand, earned positive reviews and was a smash. It earned $168 million off an $11 million budget, making it a much bigger hit than iconic Touchstone releases such as “Down and Out in Beverly Hills” and “Ruthless People.” In theory, Nimoy could have done whatever he wanted at the studio. He chose to get serious with 1988's “The Good Mother.”  

The high profile drama found Diane Keaton playing a mother trying to deal with possibly losing custody of her young daughter after she joined her and her boyfriend (Liam Neeson) in bed one night. The movie was released during awards season and received mixed reviews. Unfortunately, it bombed at the box office, earning just over $4 million and also its subject matter sparked some very passionate debate. Considering how much money Nimoy had made Disney with “Three Men,” the film's disappointing performance should have resulted in simply one strike and both parties should have moved onto the next project. Not in this case. It pretty much sent Nimoy to studio director jail. In hindsight, “The Good Mother” was at the wrong studio. Even under the “edgy” Touchstone brand the project didn't go over well with family-friendly Disney, and with his lack of interest in helping the “Three Men” sequel, Nimoy was never specifically hired to direct by the company again.

Nimoy's last two directorial efforts were 1990's “Funny About Love,” a disappointing Paramount Pictures comedy starring Gene Wilder, and 1994's “Holy Matrimony,” a Hollywood Pictures (Disney) acquisition starring Patricia Arquette and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. “Matrimony” was such a bomb I didn't even realize it existed. You could feel Nimoy's fingerprints on Myers' “Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country,” which he co-wrote, but, sadly, that was it for him behind the camera.

Nimoy's contributions to cinema will live long after his passing. Not only did his work inspire a whole generation of filmmakers, but his quiet contributions to the Sundance Institute and other artistic endeavors will have a lasting effect.   

So, while we celebrate everything that Nimoy gave us in front of the camera, excuse us for being slightly sad that there wasn't more of a legacy behind it.

It took a long time to get off the ground, but the big screen adaptation of David Ebershoff's novel “The Danish Girl” is finally in production.  The fictionalized account Lili Elbe's life features Eddie Redmanye in the title role and reunites him with his “Les Miserables” director Tom Hooper.  The first image of this year's Best Actor winner as Elbe has now been revealed.

Elbe is known as being one of the first people to have sexual reassignment surgery (or at least have it publicly revealed).  The movie centers on her relationship with her wife Gerda (Alicia Vikander) and how her transition affected their lives. 

The project has been in the works for years with Tomas Alfredson and Lasse Hallström both attached to direct at one time and Nicole Kidman, Marion Cotillard and Charlize Theron all potentially on board to play Elbe.

The film also features Amber Heard and Matthias Schoenaerts and is expected to be released by Focus Features later this year.  So, yes, it's possible Mr. Redmayne will find himself with another invitation to the Dolby Theater next February.

You can find a larger version of the image here below.

Excuse us if we go out on a limb here, but something tells us the collective brain trust at The Academy is glad this awards season has mercifully come to an end.

After an incredibly diverse 86th Academy Awards ceremony, where “12 Years a Slave” took Best Picture, a Mexican filmmaker won Best Director, Lupita Nyong'o earned a Best Supporting Actress Oscar and John Ridley won Best Adapted Screenplay, the Oscars appeared to take a step back in 2015. It wasn't just that “Selma” was snubbed in a number of major categories. The #OscarsSoWhite hashtag became a historical footnote that will haunt the Academy for years (and, trust, it will be back again if the public wills it). But it had more to do with all white nominees in the acting categories than just “Selma” itself. This also brought to light that it was yet another year without a female nominee in the Best Director category, thanks to the lack of women helming major motion pictures. And how about that telecast?

The 87th Academy Awards broadcast succeeded when Lady Gaga sang (though why at 11:15 PM EST is a reasonable question to ask), Common and John Legend performed and the winners stepped up to the microphone with some mighty impressive things to say (not always the case). There have been some articles over the past few days asking “How do we fix the Oscars?” Well, like any yearly program, the ratings are always going to be cyclical (anyone notice the lack of real star power this year?), but bringing on producers who emphasize laughs over musical numbers is always a smart idea.  

The talent, filmmakers and studios vying for awards season dollars also saw some new trends in the always shifting landscape. It's debatable, but films such as “Selma,” “A Most Violent Year,” “Cake,” “Still Alice” and “Two Days, One Night” could have earned more if they had opened earlier or gone wide before January. Some films might have picked the wrong festival for a premiere (“Inherent Vice”), some might have benefited from a festival debut (“Interstellar”) or a summer release (“Whiplash”) or a spring 2016 opening (“The Gambler,” “Big Eyes”), and we're still not completely sure why some movies didn't make more at the box office than they did (“Top Five,” “Foxcatcher,” “Pride”).  

As always, there were lessons to be learned and some new rules to live by as the daunting 2016 Oscar season begins to make its way from Park City to Hollywood's executive suites and on to Cannes. Let's review, shall we? (Don't worry, you won't be quizzed on this at the end.)

Expand the top seven categories with the same nomination rules as Best Picture
Want a surefire way to help solve the Oscars' increasingly serious diversity problem? Expand the four acting, screenplay and directing categories to up to seven nominees. Qualify the number of nominees with the same percentage rule the Academy has used for the past four years for Best Picture. Not only would it make sure that overlooked performances in incredible years don't get shortchanged (like Best Actor snubs Jake Gyllenhall and David Oyelowo), but it would encourage studios to make sure other contenders get their due.

Do you think there would have been a bigger campaign for “Beyond the Light” and “Belle” star Gugu Mbatha-Raw if the Best Actress category could have expanded to six or seven nominees? Would Chadwick Boseman and Viola Davis have gotten more serious consideration for “Get on Up?” Would Carmen Ejogo have a shot in Best Supporting Actress? Would Gillian Flynn have made the Adapted Screenplay cut? Maybe, maybe not, but at least some of those deserving talents would have been recognized. The Academy has proved the new rule works. This year, after three years of nine nominees, the membership voted for just eight Best Picture contenders. Why not try it in the other major races?

We're not kidding: It's time for Tina and Amy
First off, and it goes without saying, the reign of Craig Zadan and Neil Meron as Academy Awards telecast producers needs to end now. Last year's ratings were due to the fact that blockbusters like “Gravity” and “The Wolf of Wall Street” were seen by the public as legit Best Picture contenders and big stars including Leonardo DiCaprio, Sandra Bullock, Jennifer Lawrence and Matthew McConaughey earned nominations (among others). Neil Patrick Harris would have been a fine host three years ago, but at this point his shtick was predictable and he couldn't charm this room (bad jokes didn't help). People want to be entertained while watching the Oscars and laughter is a big part of it.

It's an open secret that many of the Academy's top picks to host the show routinely turn the job down. The perception is that it's not worth the effort because you can never make enough people happy (although Billy Crystal, Hugh Jackman, Steve Martin and Whoopi Goldberg certainly seemed to). It might be a fanboy dream, but it's time to bring Tina Fey and Amy Poehler into the fold. Their work on the Globes was more relevant and smart and they treated the audience at home like they were in on the game. They are no longer contractually bound to NBC and are coming off the high of hosting three great Golden Globe shows (historical note: the word “great” associated with “Golden Globes show”). When Academy institution Meryl Streep is bemoaning the fact Amy and Tina won't be at the Globes in 2016, you have an opportunity. Are we suggesting Meryl could single-handedly convince Fey and Poehler to host the Oscars next year? Well…

Or…

Comedians with hosting experience need to host the Oscars (and if they are former “SNL” cast members, that works too)
If Fey and Poehler really are a pipe dream then the Academy needs to find a producer who realizes that comedians with improv skills or comedic actors who have previously hosted awards shows are the way to go. Anyone catch how great Andy Samberg was hosting the Spirit Awards two years ago? It was a huge improvement over his MTV Movie Awards gig. It was clear he learned a lot and it helped turn the Spirits into a real show. Team him up with someone like Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Amy Schumer or Melissa McCarthy and you might have something. What about former SNLers and current movie stars Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader? How about bringing Chris Rock back? Or, here's an idea: Jon Stewart appears to have some free time on his hands at the end of the year. Maybe third time's the charm? Personally, I'm not a fan of Jimmy Kimmel, but at least you could sleep well knowing he'd produce a funny three-hour show. Oh, and some actual comedy writers on the staff wouldn't hurt either.

If you want to win Best Picture it's Venice, Telluride or bust
It sounds silly, but it's true. The last three Best Picture winners either had their world premiere at the Venice Film Festival and then screened at Telluride or premiered just at Telluride. Going back further, “The Artist” debuted at Cannes and screened at Telluride and “The King's Speech” premiered at Telluride. “The Hurt Locker” premiered at Venice, albeit a year before release, and “Slumdog Millionaire” debuted at Telluride. The last Best Picture winner to open in November or December without some sort of festival premiere? Clint Eastwood's “Million Dollar Baby,” and that was 10 years ago. History says you need to start the buzz over Labor Day weekend… until you don't.

Pitching history lessons won't help you with The Academy
One sad excuse you heard from Academy members on why they hadn't watched their “Selma” screeners during the nomination process was that it looked too much like a “history lesson.” Paramount Pictures created a campaign that largely focused on the historical impact of the “Selma” marches, but their print and AV materials may not have conveyed the emotion of those events enough. Having watched almost all of the “Selma” spots available online (and there are a bunch of them), they are punchy and avoid melodrama. The ads did a good job in getting younger moviegoers to go see the film when it went wide, but unfortunately, it may not be the best way to get The Academy's attention.

One reason for “American Sniper's” success is the fact that Warner Bros.' overall marketing campaign balanced a critical and consumer angle that always referenced that it was about “the greatest sniper in U.S. history,” but quickly sold imagery of a more emotional, personal story. When you watch the “Selma” TV spots, that's largely missing. The media helped open the movie to its core audience, but if awards season recognition was a priority, it missed out. “The Theory of Everything” and “The Imitation Game” also avoided this to a large degree in the nomination process.*

*Note: Check out the markedly different approach The Weinstein Company and Studio Canal took in their consumer TV spots in the U.S. and U.K. respectively.

You need to vet your film like a political candidate  
Attacks on a movie's historical accuracy are nothing new to Oscar campaigns. From “A Beautiful Mind” to “Zero Dark Thirty,” filmmakers and studios have been criticized by those who were there and politicians hoping to use controversy to get into the media spotlight. The difference this year was that for the first time the specific intent wasn't to hurt the film's box office, but to blatantly impact its Oscar chances. The Weinstein Company knew there would no doubt be some criticism of the events of Alan Turing's life depicted in “The Imitation Game,” but they could not have expected such a negative reaction in the United Kingdom. Sony Classics and Annapurna had to have been shocked with Mark Schultz's rant over “Foxcatcher” less than a week before Oscar nomination ballots were due when he'd personally been involved in the movie's production. Warner Bros. was lucky with “American Sniper”; the story of Chris Kyle's personal politics and beliefs didn't bubble up much in the media because at the same time competing contender “Selma” was under fire.

The filmmakers behind “Selma,” meanwhile, thought they would potentially have to deal with an unhappy response from Martin Luther King's family, but the anger from former members of Lyndon B. Johnson's administration was something of a surprise. Paramount seemed unprepared and the fact that it occurred during the Christmas/New Year's holiday week (major screener catch-up time for Academy members) only made things worse. All in all, the past season was a case study of what to do and what not to do for any studio bringing a “true story” to the awards season game. You better study your source material and be ready for any public attack at any time.

AFI Fest has secured its place as an Oscar launching pad
It may not have premiered a Best Picture winner or held a juried competition that's noteworthy (yet), but AFI Fest has secured itself as a hometown vehicle for studios to bring major players into the awards season game. In many ways it's become the Telluride or Toronto of Hollywood, and yes, there is some irony there. Some AFI premieres have had great success like “The Fighter” and others such as “J. Edgar,” “The Gambler” and, sadly, “A Most Violent Year,” failed to make an Oscar dent. This year, not only did nominated films “Foxcatcher,” “Still Alice,” “Two Days, One Night,” “Inherent Vice” and “Mr. Turner” screen at AFI, but the festival premiered “Selma” and “American Sniper” back-to-back on the same night, in the same theater. Luck had a lot to do with the latter double bill, but it was one of those nights hardly anyone involved in this game will forget.

A member of the press should be included in the In Memoriam selection committee
This is getting comical. Every year there is some member of the movie industry who passes away that is snubbed in the In Memoriam segment. It would be one thing if this didn't mean something to viewers and those in the Dolby Theater audience, but it does. The Oscars are the crown jewels of awards shows and people look forward to this segment. The Academy should bring in one or two respected members of the press who can act almost like overseers to make sure the organization, the show producers and the secret In Memoriam committee understand why you can't snub Joan Rivers during the show itself. In effect, it would be the Oscars' version of a United Nations election observer, but it's hard to imagine how it could make things worse.

Reminder Rule: If you don't campaign, Academy members likely won't notice you
Listen, the work matters. No one is discounting that and it's one reason why Marion Cotillard was a “surprise” nominee (thank you early screeners). On the flip side, Laura Dern, Steve Carell and Robert Duvall are perfect examples of how being a fixture on the circuit markedly helps your chances at a nomination. Remember how Benedict Cumberbatch was a serious threat to win it all after Telluride and Toronto? He absolutely would have been if he could have campaigned more (his schedule wouldn't allow it). Is it a surprise that the two frontrunners for Best Actor, Eddie Redmayne and Michael Keaton, worked the circuit like seasoned pros? Nope. You gotta be in the game if you want a chance to win it.

Agree? Disagree? Share your thoughts below.

http://players.brightcove.net/4838167533001/BkZprOmV_default/index.html?videoId=4909991037001

It may have turned out only one Academy Award on Oscar night but Morten Tyldum's “The Imitation Game” led the way with nominations from the Jameson Empire Awards.

The Alan Turing biopic landed six mentions, including Best Film and Best Actor, Benedict Cumberbatch. It's joined in the top category by fellow Best Picture Oscar nominee “Boyhood” as well as “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes,” “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” and “Interstellar.”

If you're eager to make your voice heard, you can vote right over here.

Check out the full list of nominees below. Winners will be unveiled on March 29. More at The Circuit.

Best Film
“Boyhood”
“Dawn of the Planet of the Apes”
“The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies”
“The Imitation Game”
“Interstellar”

Best Director
Richard Linklater, “Boyhood”
Matt Reeves, “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes”
Peter Jackson, “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies”
Morten Tyldum, “The Imitation Game”
Christopher Nolan, “Interstellar”

Best Actor
Richard Armitage, “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies”
Bradley Cooper, “American Sniper”
Benedict Cumberbatch, “The Imitation Game”
Eddie Redmayne, “The Theory of Everything”
Andy Serkis, “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes”

Best Actress
Emily Blunt, “Edge of Tomorrow”
Felicity Jones, “The Theory of Everything”
Keira Knightley, “The Imitation Game”
Rosamund Pike, “Gone Girl”
Alicia Vikander, “Ex Machina”

Best British Film
“The Imitation Game”
“Kingsman: The Secret Service”
“Paddington”
“The Theory of Everything”
“Under the Skin”

Best Thriller
“Captain America: The Winter Soldier”
“Gone Girl”
“The Imitation Game”
“Kingsman: The Secret Service”
“Locke”

Best Comedy
“The Grand Budapest Hotel”
“The Inbetweeners 2”
“The LEGO Movie”
“Paddington”
“22 Jump Street”

Best Horror
“Annabelle”
“The Babadook”
“The Guest”
“Oculus”
“Under the Skin”

Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy
“Dawn of the Planet of the Apes”
“Guardians of the Galaxy”
“The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies”
“Interstellar”
“X-Men: Days of Future Past”

Best Male Newcomer
Ellar Coltrane, “Boyhood”
Taron Egerton, “Kingsman: The Secret Service”
Daiel Huttlestone, “Into the Woods”
Jack O'Connell, “Unbroken”
Dan Stevens, “The Guest”

Best Female Newcomer
Sophie Cookson, “Kingsman: The Secret Service”
Carrie Coon, “Gone Girl”
Essie Davis, “The Babadook”
Karen Gillan, “Guardians of the Galaxy”
Gugu Mbatha-Raw, “Belle”

http://players.brightcove.net/4838167533001/BkZprOmV_default/index.html?videoId=4910541403001

Is there any actress who appears as though she's having the time of her life than Jessica Chastain?  The two-time Academy Award nominee has joined Amy Adams as the next great American actress ready to be coronated for her body of work, but clearly isn't relegating herself to prestige fare.  Today, Deadline reported that Chastain is joining Chris Hemsworth, Emily Blunt and Charlize Theron in “The Huntsman,” and, quite honestly, the news made us smile.

“The Huntsman” has a lot of red flags surrounding it including the fact original helmer and screenwriter Frank Darabont departed over the dreaded “creative differences” excuse and first-time director Cedric Nicolas-Troyan (Visual Effects nominee for “Snow White and the Huntsman”) was brought on to replace him.  The Universal Studios flick is supposedly a prequel to the aforementioned “Snow White,” but it's all slightly confusing.  In hindsight, it was probably a mistake to develop it without Kristen Stewart in the fold considering her slew of impressive performances recently and how Theron's Ravenna figures into all of this  (not to mention when it actually takes place in relation to the first film) is head scratching.  At this point, we're going to assume Chastain is playing the Huntsman's wife who is referenced in “Snow White,” but…well, let's not spoil a prequel of all things, shall we?

For Chastain, “Huntsman” will be her fourth Sci-Fi or Fantasy role she's filmed over the past 18 months.  Christopher Nolan's “Interstellar” already hit theaters this past fall, Guillermo Del Toro's “Crimson Peak” can't come soon enough (it arrives in October) and Chastain is close to wrapping Ridley Scott's “The Martian” with Matt Damon and Kate Mara. That Sci-Fi epic will arrive just in time for awards season on Nov. 25.  What do these movies all have in common?  Epic stories with amazing worlds created by, mostly, top tier filmmakers. Yes, ladies and gentleman, Jessica Chastain is your Queen of Comic-Con 2015 (We're not kidding. “Crimson” and “Martian” are smart bets to panel there.)

Of course, the incredibly prolific actress isn't ignoring her bread and butter.  She's expected to shoot Xavier Dolan's indie “The Death and Life of John F. Donovan” with Kit Harrington and Susan Sarandon this spring and is still on board for Andrew Dominik's “Blonde” where she'll play none other than Marilyn Monroe.

So, are you still upset that Chastain got robbed of an Oscar nod for “A Most Violent Year”?  Well, you should be, but rejoice in that she'll be a welcome regular in your local theater for at least the next two years and likely, much, much longer.

http://players.brightcove.net/4838167533001/BkZprOmV_default/index.html?videoId=4910055483001

With the Academy Awards a memory and the “Birdman” team walking away with a boatload of Oscars, nondisclosure agreements keeping a lid on the secrets of the film's elaborate post-production digital “stitching” process have allowed a revelation to out. Technicolor, it turns out, invented an entirely new digital intermediate methodology to meet director Alejandro González Iñárritu's visual demands for the project, adding a whole new layer of depth to the already startling craftsmanship on display.

The “single take” quality of “Birdman” started out as whispers in the summer. I first heard about it from producer John Lesher on the set of “Black Mass” in June, that it was “sort of a magic trick” how the effect was achieved. But it was also made clear at the time that they weren't really talking about it, in part to maintain the illusion when viewers finally got a look at it (as they eventually did at the Venice Film Festival world premiere). Indeed, when I talked to González Iñárritu at the Telluride Film Festival in September, the director deflected any probing into the technical razzle dazzle. “In a way, I prefer to have the rabbit in the hat,” he said. “I don't want people to be distracted. It's experienced as one shot but I don't want people to think about that.”

Along the way, the wizards at Technicolor who were largely responsible for pulling off the experience had to keep mum about their role in things… until now. In a case study drafted by Technicolor publicity (and still at this late date unsanctioned by the filmmaker), the work done by wizards of the company like digital colorists Steve Scott and Charles Bunnag, DI editor Bob Schneider, color data assist manager Juan Flores and DI producer Michael Dillon, among others, finally gets its due.

“In editorial, they had a particular way they had to cut the various pieces to make it seem like it was seemingly one take over the course of many reels,” Steve Scott says in the release. “The problem was, that didn”t really work from the point of view of color timing because, basically, there were no visible cuts. There were, however, sections where a character was in one place and would walk to another room and meet new characters. Normally, we would color time each sequence so that it was seamless and matched everything else in that sequence. But here, it looks like the sequence never ends, even though the environment and people change.”

Scott called the project “the most challenging DI project” of his career, one that left him and his team no choice but to invent an entirely new methodology to the color timing process. Here's a solid chunk of the report that goes deeper still:

Scott, Bunnag, and Schneider put their heads together and eventually came to the conclusion that, like Iñárritu and Lubezki, they would have to be bold and try something they had never tried before – totally disregard where the official editorial cuts were located, and instead, subtly insert cuts designed specifically to meet their own needs as it related to the color grading process exclusively. This was a process that the Technicolor team eventually came to refer to as subtly “stitching” color-corrected sections together. “We figured out a way to insert cuts wherever they had a stationary camera, and when we inserted those cuts, we called them 'sections.' Then, when the cameras starts to move or whip-pan around again, we thought, that would be a good place to put a dividing line. So we would do the cut in the middle of whatever camera move there was, and then, instead of just a cut, we made a form of a dissolve, so that when you go from cut-to-cut for every shot, and every section in the movie, we are dissolving from one section to the next section to the next. This technique enabled us to do our color correction for each section where the characters land, and not worry about what was happening in the next shot, because in that next shot, we would know that the color would organically and seamlessly dissolve from one section to the next. That let us do all these independent, crazy, complicated color corrections that would flow organically from one to another.”

It's heady stuff. If you're interested in learning more, you can read the full case study here.

The 2014-2015 film awards season has, for the most part, drawn to a close. In the end, it was a great season for Fox Searchlight and “Birdman,” a film that dominated the guilds, hit a speed bump at the BAFTA Awards and cruised into Oscar weekend, first as a Spirit Award winner, and then as the Academy's ultimate champion.

If you want to relive the season, we won't judge. You can do so by clicking through all the various announcements linked below, from the critics' awards madness of December to the guild announcements of January and February. Before long, the slate will be wiped clean and we'll be off to the races once again.

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CRITICS AWARDS

African-American Film Critics Association (“Selma”)

Alliance of Women Film Journalists – Nominees | Winners (“Boyhood”)

Austin Film Critics Association (“Boyhood”)

Black Film Critics Circle (“Selma”)

Boston Online Film Critics Association (“Snowpiercer”)

Boston Society of Film Critics (“Boyhood”)

Broadcast Film Critics Association (Critics' Choice Movie Awards) – Nominees | Winners (“Boyhood”)

Central Ohio Film Critics Association – Nominees | Winners (“Selma”)

Chicago Film Critics Association – Nominees | Winners (“Boyhood”)

Dallas-Ft. Worth Film Critics Association (“Birdman”)

Denver Film Critics Society – Nominees | Winners (“American Sniper”)

Detroit Film Critics Society – Nominees | Winners (“Boyhood”)

Dublin Film Critics Circle (“Boyhood”)

Florida Film Critics Circle – Nominees | Winners (“Birdman”)

Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association – Nominees | Winners (“Boyhood”)

Georgia Film Critics Association – Nominees | Winners (“Boyhood”)

Hollywood Foreign Press Association (Golden Globe Awards) – Nominees | Winners (“Boyhood” and “The Grand Budapest Hotel”)

Houston Film Critics Society – Nominees | Winners (“Boyhood”)

Indiana Film Journalists Association (“Boyhood”)

Iowa Film Critics Association (“Boyhood”)

Kansas City Film Critics Circle (“Birdman”)

Las Vegas Film Critics Society (“Birdman”)

London Film Critics' Circle – Nominees | Winners (“Boyhood”)

Los Angeles Film Critics Association (“Boyhood”)

National Society of Film Critics (“Goodbye to Language”)

Nevada Film Critics Society (“Gone Girl”)

New York Film Critics Circle (“Boyhood”)

New York Film Critics Online (“Boyhood”)

North Carolina Film Critics Association – Nominees | Winners (“The Grand Budapest Hotel”)

North Texas Film Critics Association (“Boyhood”)

Oklahoma Film Critics Circle (“Boyhood”)

Online Film Critics Society – Nominees | Winners (“The Grand Budapest Hotel”)

Phoenix Film Critics Society – Nominees | Winners (“Birdman”)

San Diego Film Critics Society – Nominees | Winners (“Nightcrawler”)

San Francisco Film Critics Circle – Nominees | Winners (“Boyhood”)

Southeastern Film Critics Association (“The Grand Budapest Hotel”)

St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association – Nominees | Winners (“Boyhood”)

Toronto Film Critics Association (“Boyhood”)

Utah Film Critics Association (“Birdman”)

Vancouver Film Critics Circle – Nominees | Winners (“Boyhood”)

Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association – Nominees | Winners (“Boyhood”)

Women Film Critics Circle – Nominees | Winners (“Still Alice”)

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INTERNATIONAL AWARDS

Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA Awards) – Australian Awards | International Awards

British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA Awards) – Nominees | Winners (“Boyhood”)

British Independent Film Awards – Nominees | Winners (“Pride”)

Canadian Screen Awards – Nominees | Winners (“Mommy”)

César Awards – Nominees | Winners (“Timbuktu”)

Empire Awards – Nominees | Winners

European Film Awards – Nominees | Winners (“Ida”)

Lumière Awards – Nominees | Winners (“Timbuktu”)

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GUILD/INDUSTRY AWARDS

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Academy Awards) – Nominees | Winners (“Birdman”)

American Cinema Editors (ACE Eddie Awards) – Nominees | Winners (“Boyhood,” “The Grand Budapest Hotel”)

American Society of Cinematographers (ASC Awards) – Nominees | Winners (“Birdman”)

Annie Awards – Nominees | Winners (“How to Train Your Dragon 2”)

Art Directors Guild (ADG Awards) – Nominees | Winners (“The Grand Budapest Hotel,” “Guardians of the Galaxy,” “Birdman”)

Casting Society of America (Artios Awards) – Nominees I Winners (various)

Cinema Audio Society (CAS Awards) – Nominees | Winners (“Birdman”)

Costume Designers Guild (CDG Awards) – Nominees | Winners (“Birdman,” “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” “Into the Woods”)

Directors Guild of America (DGA Awards) – Nominees | Winners (“Birdman”)

Makeup and Hairstylists Guild –  Nominees | Winners (“Birdman,” “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” “Guardians of the Galaxy”)

Motion Picture Sound Editors (MPSE Golden Reel Awards) – Nominees | Winners (“American Sniper,” “Birdman,” “Unbroken”)

Producers Guild of America (PGA Awards) – Nominees | Winners (“Birdman”)

Screen Actors Guild (SAG Awards) – Nominees | Winners (“Birdman”)

Visual Effects Society – Nominees | Winners (“Dawn of the Planet of the Apes”)

Writers Guild of America (WGA Awards) – Nominees | Winners (“The Grand Budapest Hotel,” “The Imitation Game”)

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FESTIVAL AWARDS

Sundance Film Festival (“Whiplash”)

Berlin Film Festival (“Black Coal, Thin Ice”)

Cannes Film Festival (“Winter Sleep”)

Toronto Film Festival (“The Imitation Game”)

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OTHER AWARDS

American Film Institute's Top 10

Black Reel Awards – Nominees | Winners (“Selma”)

Cinema Eye Honors – Nominees | Winners

Film Independent Spirit Awards – Nominees | Winners (“Birdman”)

Final Draft Screenwriters' Choice Awards – Nominees | Winners (“Birdman,” “Gone Girl”)

GLAAD Media Awards – Nominees | Winners (“The Imitation Game”)

Gotham Awards – Nominees | Winners (“Birdman”)

International Documentary Association Awards – Nominees | Winners (“CITIZENFOUR”)

International Film Music Critics Association – Nominees | Winners (“Interstellar”)

MTV Movie Awards – Nominees | Winners (“The Fault in Our Stars”)

NAACP Image Awards – Nominees | Winners (“Selma”)

National Board of Review (“A Most Violent Year”)

People's Choice Awards (“Maleficent”)

Saturn Awards – Nominees | Winners

USC Scripter Awards – Nominees | Winners (“The Imitation Game”)

***

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The 87th Academy Awards are finally over. Now that we've all had a chance to try and rid ourselves of our massive celebratory hangovers, let's tackle the most important question of the day:

How did Kristopher Tapley and Gregory Ellwood do with their 2015 Oscar predictions?

We're so glad you asked because we were curious, too! It turns out that Tapley is the co-King of the Oscar pundits. He predicted 20 out of the 24 categories, matching Kyle Buchanan of Vulture. Ellwood predicted 17 correctly, tying him with Mark Harris of Grantland, but behind Glenn Whipp of the LA Times and Steve Pond at The Wrap (but also ahead of a lot of other famous bylines).

Let's take a moment and see where we both scored and where we failed miserably, because we expect we'll never live it down.

Animated Short
Greg – Correct
Kris – Correct

Live Action Short
Greg – Wrong
Kris – Correct

Ellwood: Took a chance with the more cinematic “Aya.” Thought “Phone Call” was predictable and familiar.  Obviously, the Academy wanted some comfort food in this category.

Documentary Short
Greg – Wrong
Kris – Wrong

Ellwood: “Crisis” is a fine, TV quality doc short. “Joanna” is beautiful and enduring. Biggest travesty of the night.

Tapley: “Travesty” is a bit rich. I did think the artful nature of “Joanna” would combine with its emotion for a victory, but the emotion of “Crisis” is evident, too. It made for a nice companion to “The Phone Call.”

Documentary Feature
Greg – Correct
Kris – Correct

Animated Feature Film
Greg – Wrong
Kris – Wrong

Ellwood: I'm not sure who was more mad about this win, Tapley or myself. Years from now people will go, “What? 'Big Hero 6' beat 'How To Train Your Dragon 2?'”

Tapley: Still mad. Come back to me…

Foreign Language Film
Greg – Wrong
Kris – Correct

Ellwood: Took a reach here on “Wild Tales.” Thought the more conventional Hollywood style (well maybe conventional Tarantino-esque style) would play better than “Ida.” Nope.

Tapley: Maybe in the old days, when voters were required to attend these screenings, “Wild Tales” could have pulled it off. It plays much better with an audience. Any one of these could have won, though. Tight year, and “Timbuktu” was probably formidable.

Visual Effects
Greg – Correct
Kris – Correct

Sound Mixing
Greg – Correct
Kris – Wrong

Ellwood: “Whiplash” was a major Academy favorite. Just made too much sense here.

Tapley: I had a hunch that if “Birdman” was going to win Best Picture, it had to rise above the recent three-Oscar limit for winners. I stretched that logic to here, but “Whiplash” made a lot of sense, too. Whatever happened, I figured “American Sniper” wouldn't take both.

Sound Editing
Greg – Correct
Kris – Correct

Ellwood: “American Sniper” was a slam dunk here. Would have put money on it in Vegas if I could have.

Tapley: You could have!

Original Song
Greg – Correct
Kris – Correct

Original Score
Greg – Wrong
Kris – Correct

Ellwood: Desplat was due, but the love for “Theory” in the Academy seemed strong. The score was such a substantial piece of the movie I stupidly went with my heart and not my brain on this one.

Tapley: I sort of held my breath and followed BAFTA on this one. The history was very much in “Theory's” favor, though, particularly if you look at the track record of the Globes in this category.

Production Design
Greg – Correct
Kris – Correct

Costume Design
Greg – Correct
Kris – Correct

Makeup and Hairstyling
Greg – Correct
Kris – Correct

Cinematography
Greg – Correct
Kris – Correct

Adapted Screenplay
Greg – Correct
Kris – Correct

Ellwood: Knew there was no way the Academy was going to let “The Imitation Game” go home empty handed.

Tapley: The inclusion of “Whiplash” still made this a hell of a wild card category. It did not find itself up against any of these films all season. I bet it was close.

Original Screenplay
Greg – Wrong
Kris – Correct

Ellwood: Wes Anderson had taken home every possible precursor. How could he lose here?

Tapley: Further to the mention in Sound Mixing, I figured the “Birdman” love had to stretch a bit wider. The Globes have a damn good track record here, but furthermore, I anticipated “Grand Budapest” mainly being viewed as a crafts achievement.

Film Editing
Greg – Correct
Kris – Wrong

Ellwood: Always thought “Whiplash” would win this one. Too much love in the Academy for it.

Tapley: I guess this just shows how weak “Boyhood” really was with AMPAS. It made sense to me as a winner here if it was indeed a serious Best Picture player, but I'm super happy that the best work on display won the prize.

Supporting Actor
Greg – Correct
Kris – Correct

Supporting Actress
Greg – Correct
Kris – Correct

Lead Actress
Greg – Correct
Kris – Correct

Lead Actor
Greg – Correct
Kris – Correct

Tapley: Michael. :(

Director
Greg – Correct
Kris – Correct

Picture
Greg – Wrong
Kris – Correct

Ellwood: Listen, “Birdman” was my #2 movie of the year and my prediction, “Boyhood,” didn't even make my top 10. I got screwed picking “Gravity” last year (don't get me started) so I went safe with “Boyhood.” Mistake, but I might do it again.

Tapley: “Safe” would have been following the guilds! That PGA/DGA/SAG trifecta is virtually bulletproof at this stage, and I think once and for all the PGA's preferential ballot is the skeleton key to the season. (Until, of course, it isn't.)

How did you do in your office or party Oscar pools?  Anyone get them all right?

The fact is I think Alan Sepinwall's review said it perfectly, right there in the headline, really. The 87th Oscars was a memorable event despite itself. A number of touching speeches and human moments on the Dolby Theater stage mostly mitigated some tone deaf writing, late-night-level jokes and an overall flatly produced show that started off so promisingly with an inspired opening number. It was, within that, a rather fitting and organic end to an unusual film awards season. And of course it ended on a note of PC outrage. Who would expect less in this day and age?

A number of socio-political statements were made by the evening's winners and none of them rang a false note. It was like the sincerity of significance was clawing past the show's need to go viral or something (thematically interesting to me given what's being studied in the Best Picture victor). Common or John Legend or Graham Moore or Patricia Arquette would register a meaningful and noble use of their air time and Neil Patrick Harris would be there to bat clean-up with a balls joke on the heels of suicide talk. High brow/low brow, right down to the damn telecast. Fascinating.

I do think we learned a couple of things, given the outcome. We learned that the British Academy's paradigm shift to the entire membership voting in the final round for every category (rather than branch-specific) has potentially eroded whatever suspense was left for the Oscars at this stage. Across the pond, “surprise” Oscar wins were presaged in the categories of Best Film Editing, Best Sound and Best Original Score. The membership crossover is what it is but at the end of the day, it's a significant voting pool made up of industry, i.e. like, minds. They don't vote for Best Picture with a preferential ballot and of course the categories of Best Director and Best Original Screenplay went their own way within the American Academy, but it's an interesting note nevertheless.

We also learned, as we ever do, that they can't see you coming. The spotlight needs to burn hot on something else, generally speaking. “Boyhood” came rolling into the second phase of the season with a full head of steam, emboldened by critics' awards dominance. It's hard to be the underdog under those circumstances, and that was always going to be the film's best play. But by the time the Oscar nominations were announced, that angle was simply no longer available.

So who's fault is that? I don't think it's as simple as that, really. But I do think the overall noise that makes up the “precursor circuit” has gotten so loud that it can have a negative impact. Not every film can survive as “the one” for so long like “The Hurt Locker” or “The Artist.” And the former arguably needed “Avatar” to be in the race as a wave to bounce off of throughout. I guess the point I'm more or less trying to make is that a film awards season contains multitudes, and if you join a chorus in anointing one of them too early (and “too early” stretches as late as the start of phase two, really), you're setting it up for defeat.

I went 20/24 on predictions, which I understand is good enough for tops among the punditry. But it seems like there is bound to be plenty of 20-plusers out there among you this year. Lots of different combinations in guessing these things could have been tested out.

The only true surprise of the evening was “Big Hero 6” zipping past “How to Train Your Dragon 2” in the final lap. I was, to be perfectly honest, a bit livid. But I'm passionate about this DreamWorks franchise because I think it represents the best of what the studio can be, as well as the direction they should be pointing creatively. So I wanted that recognized. (“Dragon” director Dean DeBlois, I should say, was delighted for Don Hall and Chris Williams when I saw him at the Fox after party. He, producer Bonnie Arnold, lead animator Simon Otto – they're all just happy the season is over so they can focus on bringing the trilogy to a meaningful close.)

In addition to the “Big Hero” blindside, I missed documentary short (expecting the artfulness of “Joanna” to push past the emotional procedural of “Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1”) and the two “Whiplash” wins that the BAFTAs hinted at: Best Film Editing and Best Sound Mixing.

Speaking of “Whiplash,” that film won three Oscars. Three Oscars! That's just sensational, and it's interesting that it became the Sundance 2014 standard bearer rather than “Boyhood” in the final analysis. It was a popular movie all year long and it was picking up new supporters all the way until the end. That adapted screenplay race may have been a true squeaker, and really, I couldn't be happier for Damien Chazelle, whose career is sure to just soar from here.

The Fox after party I mentioned was lively, dejected also-rans and jovial winners enjoying the end of the ride, desperately holding Monday at bay. Best Original Score winner Alexandre Desplat broke into a little celebratory dance. Michael Keaton slapped me a high five, still soaking it all in six months after “Birdman” first dropped in Venice. The “Grand Budapest” design winners represented Wes Anderson's film with pride. Emmanuel Lubezki snapped photos with friends and colleagues, humbled still after winning this recognition two years in a row.

But spirits are obviously going to be high at the winning team's shindig. Every time I turned around, there was someone clutching an Oscar. Fox Searchlight just owned it this year, leading the way in nominations with “Birdman” and “Grand Budapest,” and again with wins Sunday night – four apiece. They're cruising at this point, and given that it's one of the classiest games in town, you'll find very few who aren't happy for the mini-major and its success these last two years.

I circled the room a few more times, feeling the season slowly tick to a close. I congratulated Alejandro González Iñárritu on his way out, a member of an exclusive club with guys like Billy Wilder and Francis Ford Coppola who seized three Oscars in one night. I nibbled on a few more hors d'oeuvres and said some final goodbyes.

Then, it started raining again. I glimpsed Keaton scrambling to his car, quickly communicating the next move with his publicist. He slid out of sigh,t into the back seat of a sedan. The door closed, and suddenly – poof – it was over.

Next year will bring its own set of unique circumstances and, no doubt, its own bevy of talking points. González Iñárritu will be back, this time with Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hardy in tow. Richard Linklater, too. Joseph Gordon-Levitt will face off against himself in two high-profile biopics at the end of the year. Sundance gems will attempt to weather the storm like “Boyhood” and “Whiplash.” Steven Spielberg and Quentin Tarantino will be back after a couple years away from the circuit. Jonathan Demme and Gus Van Sant will have offerings. And Guillermo del Toro will try and insinuate genre into the discussion like his good friends González Iñárritu and Alfonso Cuarón have done with comedy and science fiction the last two years.

But that will be then. This is now. And now – once more, with feeling – it's over.

One of the more unfortunate exclusions from last night's “In Memoriam” montage was Joan Rivers. It's fair to say few have done more (for better or worse) for Oscars recognition than Rivers. There's an entire industry built on the place she carved for herself, and she was a filmmaker, so any notion that she didn't belong because she wasn't part of the community or something is just bogus. Well, the Academy has responded.

In a statement released to the LA Times, the organization collectively left it at this:

“Joan Rivers is among the many worthy artists and filmmakers we were unfortunately unable to feature in the In Memoriam segment of this year's Oscar show. She is, however, included in our In Memoriam gallery on Oscar.com.”

Well, that's nice and all. But…

I'm not bent wildly out of shape about it or anything, but again, it was just a little odd that someone who was so synonymous with Oscar night would be cast aside like that. Particularly a female trail-blazer, at a time when the Academy is under fire for being a boys' club.

Also – and I'm just throwing this out there – but maybe if there wasn't yet another arbitrary musical number following the segment, there would have been time for Rivers and the other “worthy artists and filmmakers” the Academy was “unfortunately unable to feature?”

http://players.brightcove.net/4838167533001/BkZprOmV_default/index.html?videoId=4910012934001

Well, we're done. Another Oscar ceremony ends, and with it, another awards season and another year of Tech Support here at In Contention.

On the whole, “The Grand Budapest Hotel” came out the big winner, taking four of the 10 crafts categories. “Whiplash” came up with two more while “Birdman,” “Interstellar,” “Selma” and “American Sniper” got in on the love-sharing with one apiece. Crafts category shut-outs for “Mr. Turner,” “Unbroken” and “The Imitation Game,” despite their impressive nomination counts, were unsurprising.

It was also a year of repeat victors. Winners in Best Cinematography, Costume Design, Makeup and Hairstyling, Sound Editing and Visual Effects had all won previously.

There was one big first-timer, though, in Alexandre Desplat – more on him in a moment. Others are still waiting for their first wins, alas. Cinematographer Roger Deakins, songwriter Diane Warren and sound mixer Frank Montaño immediately jump to mind.

Emmanuel Lubezki's triumph in Best Cinematography for the Best Picture winner surprised precisely no one. His second straight Oscar does leave the great Roger Deakins still waiting for his first statuette, which I'm convinced is coming in the next few years, but it also puts him in exclusive company.

“Birdman's” absence was most conspicuous in the category of Best Film Editing, as it became the first film since “Ordinary People” to win the top prize without a nomination there. Sandra Adair, despite her ACE Eddie win and 12-year commitment to “Boyhood,” was unable to fend off “Whiplash's” Tom Cross. A deserved win, expect Cross' cutting of the film to put him on the radar of many great producers and directors.

“Whiplash's” good fortune continued into Best Sound Mixing as Craig Mann, Ben Wilkins and Thomas Curley won on their first nominations. “American Sniper” could not break out for Gregg Rudloff, John Reitz and Walt Martin, whereas “Birdman” proved too subtle for Jon Taylor and Frank Montaño (double-nominated for “Unbroken”) and Thomas Varga to ascend the podium.
Meanwhile, in Best Sound Editing, Bub Asman and Robert Alan Murray managed to repeat their win for “Letters from Iwo Jima” with an “American Sniper” win. It was the obvious place to reward the film. And like that other Eastwood effort, it turned out to be the only place.

Best Visual Effects was another predictable category as “Interstellar” racked up another Oscar for Christopher Nolan's below-the-line team, led by Paul Franklin. Joe Letteri and his “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” crew can take heart that their achievements on this franchise will live in film history.

“Glory” from “Selma” was also a predictable Oscar winner, as the sole Best Picture nominee and winner of most of the precursors. While I did have a soft spot for Glen Campbell, if Common and John Legend did not win after that incredible performance, well… I don't know what would have happened. The other nominees were all first-timers except Diane Warren, who can celebrate having returned to the race but is still waiting for that first statuette.

Costume designer Milena Canonero won her fourth Oscar, for “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” over other past winners Colleen Atwood, Jacqueline Durran and Mark Bridges. That, too, was foreseeable and deserved. She's a classy, stylish lady and it was wonderful to see her with another Oscar. “Maleficent's” Anna B. Sheppard, it appears, will have to wait.

“Grand Budapest's” Frances Hannon and Mark Coulier also earned a predictable but deserved win for Makeup and Hairstyling. Coulier's statuette becomes his second (joining “The Iron Lady”).
But it was the third design win for “Grand Budapest” that truly delighted me as Adam Stockhausen and Anna Pinnock took home the Production Design trophy. They crafted the most “Wes Anderson” of Wes Anderson worlds and were deservedly rewarded for it.

Original Score was the category where “Grand Budapest's” luck was truly going to be tested, and it managed to continue its streak. Which brings us back to Alexandre Desplat. Edging out Jóhann Jóhannsson for “The Theory of Everything,” Desplat's victory was an inspired choice, capping off, as he himself recognized, an incredible decade. His genuine happiness was wonderful to witness.

At Tech Support, we seek to shine a light on the men and women who make our films what they are through their below-the-line contributions. Last night, the Academy honored a truly special group of them. While it's always possible to quarrel with some choices, it was hard to find too much fault this year and difficult to say anything bad about the winners. As for those who came up short? Their accomplishments will endure and the Academy may well give them their due in time.

It's been a pleasure going through the race with you once again. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.

http://players.brightcove.net/4838167533001/BkZprOmV_default/index.html?videoId=4910008996001

The ripples from the 87th Academy Awards will be felt for years to come. Most are positive, some are negative, but beyond a disappointingly long and unfunny telecast this wasn't an Oscar season that will be forgotten anytime soon.

First off, the importance of Fox Searchlight's dominance during the telecast cannot be discounted. The mini-major took home eight Academy Awards including Best Picture, Director and Original Screenplay for “Birdman.” The four wins for “The Grand Budapest Hotel” notably included Alexandre Desplat's first win for Best Original Score. Moreover, Searchlight has now joined only a small number of studios that have won Best Picture back-to-back. The films they release year after year continue to rank in most film critics' top 10 lists and the modern classics under their banner are significant enough to make parent studio 20th Century Fox green with envy.

Over the past two years, they have released “12 Years a Slave,” “Belle,” “Calvary,” “Grand Budapest,” “Wild” and “Birdman.” Their upcoming slate includes critically acclaimed Sundance titles “Mistress America,” “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl” and “Brooklyn.” They also have Jean-Marc Vallee's “Demolition” and Luca Guadagnino's follow-up to “I Am Love,” “A Bigger Splash.” If you are a filmmaker with “independent spirit,” there is simply no other studio you'd want to be at.

No conversation about the back-to-back success of “12 Years” and “Birdman” can be held without bringing up each film's primary financier, New Regency. When the Arnon Milchan's company had its production deal at Warner Bros. in the '90s, it helped co-finance classics such as “Heat,” “L.A. Confidential” and “Tin Cup,” among others. After the company segued to 20th Century Fox it mostly facilitated some of the worst films at that studio from 2000-2010. Something changed over the past five years (notably Brad Weston as CEO and President) and that new direction won't be ending anytime soon. New Regency has Alejandro González Iñárritu's “Birdman” follow-up, “The Revenant,” Cameron Crowe's “Aloha” and Warren Beatty's latest on deck.

For IFC Films, things are much more intriguing. If “Boyhood” had won Best Picture it would have radically changed the perception of the AMC Networks division. While the brain trust at IFC has always had incredible taste in acquisitions, outside of “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” in 2002 (almost a lifetime ago), they have not been major players at the box office or with original productions. “Boyhood,” which it should be noted was greenlit around the same time IFC had success with “Big Fat” and “Y Tu Mamá También,” may have helped transform the distributor into an actual destination for filmmakers.

But has it really? At Sundance, IFC still let the big boys battle for the best acquisition targets first (Searchlight, The Weinstein Company, Lionsgate, Focus, etc.), and then came in to pick up the more challenging titles that have smaller margins for success. Can they build on “Boyhood” or was it the final chapter of an early time in the company's history? It may all depend on how much AMC Networks cares about the theatrical releasing business, but we're leaning toward the latter assumption at this point.

The other big winner of the night was Sony Classics. “Whiplash” took home three Oscars including the expected Supporting Actor win for J.K. Simmons, Film Editing and Sound Mixing. Classics also scored with Julianne Moore's Best Actress win, which was a foregone conclusion for those of us who attended “Still Alice's” world premiere at Toronto back in September. And while we don't want to rain on anyone's parade, shouldn't these movies have made more at the box office? How is “Whiplash” only at $11.3 million? How is “Still Alice” just at $7.9 million? And “Foxcatcher,” with Steve Carell, Channing Tatum and Mark Ruffalo, only earned $12 million. Classics has an amazing lineup of films over their 20-year history, but are they always well served by their conservative marketing strategy? If it ain't broke don't fix it, right? But during this past season we certainly wondered if Damien Chazelle's Sundance Audience Award winner would have been better served in other hands. It might seem strange to say that after three Oscar wins, but there wasn't a competitor out there who couldn't understand why “Whiplash” wasn't a bigger hit. Frankly, we still don't.

And Harvey? Well, “The Imitation Game” was not the player many thought it would be and almost got shut out if not for a timely Adapted Screenplay win. There were some under-reported hiccups that got in The Weinstein Company's way though this season. A significant number of key marketing executives gave notice in October, right when awards season planning was at its height (including the President of Marketing). That had many in the industry wondering who was running the show and, frankly, it's something of a miracle TWC pulled off opening “Big Eyes,” “The Imitation Game” and “Paddington” (those last two significant hits) under those circumstances.

The bigger issue in this pundit's opinion weren't the attacks on the historical accuracy of “Imitation” (although it should be noted the film was far less popular in the UK than you would have thought), but Benedict Cumberbatch's unavailability. The Best Actor nominee was busy shooting other projects during much of the season and “The Imitation Game's” chances probably hinged on his ability to help charm the collective “room” a bit more. Many are crowing over Harvey Weinstein's weak Oscar haul the past two years. They would be smart to watch their words as they may soon come back to haunt them, and Harvey has endured far worse than this. He'll be back in the winner's circle and likely sooner than you think.

We're not even sure we want to touch Paramount's awards campaign for “Selma.” It's such a sensitive subject. Some of it was bad luck. Some of it was strategic mistakes. Moreover, the attacks on its historical accuracy will absolutely go down as one of the saddest moments in the history of Oscar campaigning. There was so much at play with “Selma,” but we're hoping Ava DuVernay, David Oyelowo and Plan B can relish in the $50 million worth of moviegoers who have experienced it in theaters across the country.

Focus Features did not earn the bounty of Oscars it took home last year for “Dallas Buyers Club,” but they pulled out a win for “The Theory of Everything's” Eddie Redmayne in an incredibly tight race for Best Actor (we'll never know just how close it was, but it was likely closer than you think). The company has also proven that it has fully transitioned from the James Schamus era and can still pull off a superb awards and marketing campaign when needed. Focus worked “Theory” for months and much of that p.r. helped it earn over $105 million globally (it cost just $15 million to make). It's a perfect example of using the prestige cache of awards season as a mechanism for box office success and, trust, they'll continue to be a player.

Lastly, while “American Sniper” took home just one Oscar Sunday night — no doubt a surprise and disappointment to most viewers — its nomination haul and the fact that many thought Bradley Cooper could crash the Best Actor race is a testament to Warner Bros.' awards team. Many Oscar prognosticators, including this one, didn't think the film was a player after its AFI debut in November (back-to-back with “Selma”). WB proved us wrong. They are simply the best major studio at the Oscar game and are in the race, somehow, every single year. They didn't give up on Paul Thomas Anderson's “Inherent Vice,” either. While other studios may have pulled back as much as possible when it was clear “Vice” wouldn't play broadly, WB kept going. They may not ever see a financial return on that film specifically, but the message it sent to auteur filmmakers about the studio? Priceless.

All of these companies are already well aware of their slates for the 2016 Oscar season. They will take a breather, but before you know it the game will begin again. Are you ready?

http://players.brightcove.net/4838167533001/BkZprOmV_default/index.html?videoId=4910012940001

HOLLYWOOD – On a night that saw a lot of stars using the Oscar stage as a platform to discuss social issues, John Legend and Common made one of the biggest impressions when accepting the award for Best Original Song — and it continued backstage.

“Some of the things I spoke about today, about the rolling back of some of the Voting Rights Act is real and people feeling that around the country, what I spoke about regarding incarceration is real and it's destroying communities and it's a waste of our national resources to put so many people in prison, and it disproportionately affects black and brown communities,” said Legend, who co-wrote “Selma” closing-credits tune “Glory” with the rapper. “And so when we think about equality and freedom and justice, we know we've got more work to do.  And we're going to do that work, we want to do that work, and we hope that our song is inspiration for those who want to do that work as well.”

For his part, Common — whose music has often tackled social issues — feels a responsibility to use his high-profile to promote social justice.

“I feel like to whom much is given much is required. And the fact that we have an opportunity to get to a stage like the Oscars, I mean how could you not say anything, especially representing a film like 'Selma,' representing the song 'Glory,' and just honestly being an artist that cares,” he said. ” Like beyond what we have done on this song, John has always made music about love.  He's been doing things for education for a long time.  He stands up for issues. …Those are the things that I feel like we can do as people in a position of power and influence.  So yes, I feel it's our duty.  And I don't hold any other artists accountable, but it's our duty, if you recognize that, to do it.”

It wasn't all so serious. Reacting to jubilant cries of several reporters when Julianne Moore was announced for Best Actress back at the ceremony, Common echoed the sentiments of many in the room when he noted, “You all knew she was getting that though, right?”