BIGGIE'S PLACE

BIG NOMINEES! (listed are all films with at least 3 nominations)

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies – 13 nominations [Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay, Ensemble Performance, Supporting Actor, Film Editing, Makeup, Original Score, Original Song, Stuntwork & Choreography, Visual Effects, Sound, Sound Editing]

Easily the best showing of the Hobbit series after An Unexpected Journey pulled in 9 nominations, and The Desolation of Smaug had 6 nominations last year.

The Grand Budapest Hotel – 11 nominations [Picture, Director, Original Screenplay, Ensemble Performance, Actor, Cinematography, Film Editing, Art Direction, Costume Design, Makeup, Original Score]

Birdman – 9 nominations [Picture, Director, Original Screenplay, Ensemble Performance, Actor, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress, Cinematography, Sound]

The Raid 2 – 7 nominations [Picture, Director, Cinematography, Film Editing, Stuntwork & Choreography, Sound, Sound Editing]

Fury – 6 nominations [Original Screenplay, Ensemble Performance, Cinematography, Art Direction, Makeup, Sound Editing]

In case it wasn’t obvious, if there had been 6 nominees for Picture & Director, Fury would’ve made the cut. Still a great showing here for a great film. David Ayer is quickly becoming the best writer-turned-director in the business.

Whiplash – 6 nominations [Picture, Director, Original Screenplay, Supporting Actor, Film Editing, Sound]

Gone Girl – 5 nominations [Adapted Screenplay, Ensemble Performance, Actress, Supporting Actress, Original Score]

Even without a nod for Picture or Director, another David Fincher movie racks up the nominations. The average Biggie nominations per Fincher movie since he became a consistent awards force in 2007 (with Zodiac, Benjamin Button, The Social Network, Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and now Gone Girl) is 6.6. Shockingly, a Fincher movie has yet to win the Best Picture Biggie, and Fincher himself has yet to win Best Director. That drought is bound to end eventually. He just happens to make great movies in years where there are one or two incredible movies (for instance, Fincher’s best film in my view, Se7en, was up for Best Picture against Braveheart, Heat, Crimson Tide and Casino in 1995).

Captain America: The Winter Soldier – 4 nominations [Adapted Screenplay, Original Score, Stuntwork & Choreography, Sound Editing]

Guardians of the Galaxy – 4 nominations [Art Direction, Makeup, Stuntwork & Choreography, Visual Effects]

Will Age of Utron be able to top 4 nods this time next year? Will Ant-Man be worthy of receiving any recognition?

Godzilla – 3 nominations [Visual Effects, Sound, Sound Editing]

Nightcrawler – 3 nominations [Original Screenplay, Actor, Supporting Actress]

People: (anyone with 2 or more nominations)

Wes Anderson – 3 nominations [Picture, Director, Original Screenplay]

Gareth Evans – 3 nominations [Director, Film Editing, Stuntwork & Choreography]

Alejandro González Iñárritu – 3 nominations [Picture, Director, Original Screenplay]

With his 3 Oscars. Color me jealous.

Peter Jackson – 3 nominations [Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay]

That makes 3 of our directing nominees who are up for producing, directing and co-writing their films. I don’t have the research in front of me, but that might be a first. Maestro Gareth Evans could’ve had 4 if I’d nominated The Raid 2’s script. Regardless, Evans remains the only director in Biggies history to be nominated in the Stuntwork category. He was also nominated and won for the first Raid film 2 years ago.

Fran Walsh – 3 nominations [Picture, Adapted Screenplay, Original Song]

Richard Armitage – 2 nominations [Ensemble Performance, Supporting Actor]

Damien Chazelle – 2 nominations [Director, Original Screenplay]

With Chazelle being double-nominated, ALL of this year’s directing contenders have multiple nominations.

Carrie Coon – 2 nominations [Ensemble Performance, Supporting Actress]

Ralph Fiennes – 2 nominations [Ensemble Performance, Actor]

Michael Keaton – 2 nominations [Ensemble Performance, Actor]

Edward Norton – 2 nominations [Ensemble Performance, Supporting Actor]

Rosamund Pike – 2 nominations [Ensemble Performance, Actress]

Emma Stone – 2 nominations [Ensemble Performance, Supporting Actress]

NUMBER OF DIFFERENT FILMS NOMINATED:  34 (compared to 25 in 2013 and the Oscars’ 31 different nominated films in the same categories this year) – Booya, bitches! After the Oscars beat me last year in variety for the first time since I’ve kept track of this stat, ya boy comes roaring back in 2014 with a fucking smorgasbord of movies up for awards. And no, I don’t do this intentionally. I swear to Holy Jesus I don’t tally up the number of films until the moment I finish choosing every single nominee. I have a proven track record of having broader taste than the Academy, plain and simple.

NUMBER OF 2014 MOVIES I SAW (up to the day I published this post):  92 (compared to 85 in 2013)

THE STUDIO OF THE YEAR:

2014 Recipient:  20TH CENTURY FOX/FOX SEARCHLIGHT (releases included The Grand Budapest Hotel, Birdman, Gone Girl, X-Men: Days of Future Past, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, How to Train Your Dragon 2, Wild, The Fault in Our Stars, The Drop, The Maze Runner) – Fox takes the prize for the third time overall (I’ve been handing this award out since 2000), and the first time since 2010. It was basically a no-contest, too. Not even 9-time Studio of the Year winner Warner Bros. could put up a decent fight. When you hit on your prestige pictures and your summer tentpoles, you know you’re hot. Nobody did that better this year. Fox Searchlight remains the smartest and most consistent of all the studios’ indie divisions.

P.S. Anyone else wondered for years when they’re going to change their name to 21st Century Fox? No, just me? Fine.

CAREER AWARDS

BIGGIES MOTION PICTURE HALL OF FAME – 2015 INDUCTEES

My Hall of Fame recognizes its members’ body of work since the inception of the Biggies in 1989.

*I’m putting in one person for each wing this year since it’s been 3 years since I inducted anyone. Typically, the max is 5 per year.

in A-B-C order (click on any name to go to their IMDb page and be reminded why they’re so great)

–Vic Armstrong (Orson Welles Craftsmanship Wing) legendary stunt coordinator/action director/2nd unit director

–Tom Cruise (James Stewart Lead Actors Wing)

And just because, here’s every Tom Cruise death in Edge of Tomorrow:

–Philip Seymour Hoffman (John Cazale Supporting Actors Wing) {posthumous}

–Michael Mann (Alfred Hitchcock Directors Wing)

–Robert Richardson (Conrad L. Hall Cinematographers Wing)

–Scott Rudin (Sam Spiegel Producers Wing)

–Aaron Sorkin (Epstein-Koch Writers Wing)

–Hans Zimmer (Bernard Herrmann Composers Wing)

THE MARLON BRANDO LEGENDARY PERFORMANCE AWARD

2015 Recipient:  John Candy {posthumously}, for his body of work in 1987 and 1988 (Planes, Trains and Automobiles, Spaceballs and The Great Outdoors in 1987, and Uncle Buck in 1988). This is the first time I’ve included this career award since I gave it to Tim Curry for Clue back in 2010. I figured it was time to bring it back. I usually only give it out for one performance, but when I realized John Candy had made 4 of my all-time favorite comedies in 2 years, I thought it would be cooler to recognize all of them. I believe what Candy did in these two years is the most impressive stretch of cinematic comedy by any actor in history. All of these films are in my top 10 favorite comedies, and Planes, Trains and Spaceballs are my top 2 favorite comedies ever. And he did them both IN THE SAME YEAR. It goes without saying that he’s my all-time favorite comedic actor. Gone for 21 years now, he’d have been 65 in 2015. Goddamn, I miss John Candy.

That’s my kinda pancake.

John Candy, the greatest Canadian of all time.

Last, but not least, on page 5 I give you my Top 10 and Bottom 5 Movies of 2014, plus our annual bonanza of leftover GIFs, cool and funny memes, and other photos… (once you click, please wait a minute or two for all the GIFs to load for an optimal viewing experience)