Hello my name is Dan “Skip Allen and this is my 3rd blog update on the Oscars
With some of the Awards being awarded and some of the other shows giving out there nominations I thought it was time for me to do my 3rd Oscar blog of the year. With Gravity and Inside Lewyn Davis taking the N.Y. and L.A. Film Critics Awards respectively we have found 2 of our front runners for the Awards season. With the Sag Awards and Golden Globes giving the lead of nominations to 12 Years a Slave and American Hustle we also have two more of our front runners. Gravity, Inside Lewyn Davis, 12 Years a Slave and American Hustle have definitely been festival and critical darlings, but will they get nominated for or winner an Oscar come Academy Awards Season. The nominations won’t be until January 16th but I’m gonna go on down my list of favorites and whether or not they will get nominated.
My Best Picture candidates are as follows Gravity starring George Clooney and Sandra Bullock and directed by Alfonso Cuaron, 12 Years a Slave starring Chiwetel Edjiofor, Micheal Fassbender, Lupita Nyong’o, Paul Giamatti, Paul Dano, Benedict Cumberbatch Brad Pitt and Alfre Woodard and directed by Steve McQueen. Dallas Buyers Club starring Matthew McConaughey, Jarrod Leto and Jennifer Garner and directed by Jean-Marc Vallee. Nebraska starring Bruce Dern, Will Forte, June Squibb and Stacy Keach. A Place Beyond the Pines starring Ryan Gostling, Bradley Cooper, Ava Mendez, Ray Liotta and directed by Derek Cianfrance. The Butler starring Forrest Whitaker, Oprah Winfrey, Terrance Howard, Lenney Kravits, Alan Rickman, John Cusack, Robin Williams, Jane Fonda and directed by Lee Daniel’s. Captain Phillips starring Tom Hanks, Barkhad Abdi and directed by Paul Greengrass. Blue is the Warmest Color starring Adele Exarchopoulos, Lea Seydoux and directed by Abdellatif Kechiche. The Spectacular Now starring Miles Teller, Shailene Woodley, Mary Elizabeth Winstead and directed by James Ponsoldt. Man of Steel starring Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Lawrence Fishbourne, Kevin Costner, Russell Crowe, Michel Shannon, Diane Lane and directed by Zach Snyder. This list is subject to change.
I have yet to see American Hustle starring Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Jeremy Renner, Jennifer Lawrence, Amy Adams and directed by David O’Russell. Saving Mr. Banks starring Tom Hanks, Emma Thompson, Paul Giamatti, Colin Ferral and directed by John Lee Hancock. The Wolf of Wall Street starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Matthew McConaughey, Jonah Hill, and directed by Martin Scorsese. Inside Lewyn Davis starring Oscar Isaacs, John Goodman, Justin Timberlake and directed by The Coen Brothers, Joel and Ethan Coen. August: Osage County starring Julia Roberts, Meryl Streep, Benedict Cumberbatch, Ewan McGreger, Juliette Lewis and directed by John Wells.
The Best Male Performances of the Year so far have been Ryan Gostling A Place Beyond the Pines, Forrest Whitaker The Butler, Micheal B. Jordan Fruitvale Station, Tom Hanks Captain Phillips, Saving Mr. Banks, Matthew McConaughey Dallas Buyers Club, Mud, The Wolf of Wall-Street, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Micheal Fassbender 12 Years a Slave, Robert Redford All Is Lost, Jarrod Leto Dallas Buyers Club, Bruce Dern Nebraska.
I have yet to see Mandela starring Idris Elba, Lone Survivor starring Mark Wahlberg, Inside Lewyn Davis starring Oscars Isaacs, Her starring Joaquin Pheonix, American Hustle starring Bradley Cooper and Christain Bale
My Best Female Performances of the Year so far are from Kate Blanchett, Adele Exarchopoulos and Lea Seydoux Blue is the Warmest Color, Lupita Nyong’o 12 Years a Slave, Eva Mendez A Place Beyond the Pines, Octavia Spencer Fruitval Station, Sandra Bullock Gravity, Naomi Watts Diana, Mary Elizabeth Winstead Shmashed, Oprah Winfrey The Butler.
I have yet to see Mandela starring Naomi Harris, American Hustle starring Amy Adams and Jennifer Lawrence, Saving Mr. Banks starring Emma Thompson. August Osage County Julia Roberts and Meryl Streep, Labor Day starring Kate Winslet.
My favorite movie directors of the year who directed the best movies are Lee Daniel’s The Butler, Steve McQueen 12 Years a Slave, Alfonso Cauron Gravity, Paul Greengrass Captain Phillip’s, Derek Cianfrance A Place Beyond the Pines, Jean-Marc Vallee Dallas Buyers Club, Nebraka Alexander Payne
Movies I haven’t seen by other directors are Inside Lewyn Davis directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, The Wolf of Wall-Street directed by Martin Scorsese, American Hustle directed by David O’Russell, Saving Mr. Banks directed by John Lee Hancock.
These are my Oscar favorites so far with a little over a month before the actual Oscar Nominations come out and two months before the awards are actually handed out. These picks can definitely change and usually do. I am definitely looking forward to seeing the movies I have yet to see and they could make a big difference in my picks at the end of the year.
Dan “Skip” Allen
From the Fourth Row! 
