Two films with close Houston ties trailed behind a big bird(man) in the Houston Film Critics Society nominations for the year's best — and worst — motion pictures in the organization's 8th annual awards.
Birdman — written, produced and directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu — leads the way with 10 nominations, including Best Picture, Director, Actor (Michael Keaton), Supporting Actor (Edward Norton), Supporting Actress (Emma Stone), Screenplay, Cinematography, Original Score, Technical Achievement and Poster.
“Interestingly, both Boyhood and Budapest have Texas connections,” HFCS president Joshua Starnes said.
Austin native Richard Linklater's Boyhood — a coming-of-age drama shot intermittently over 12 years — followed with seven nominations, including Best Picture, Director, Supporting Actor (Ethan Hawke), Supporting Actress (Patricia Arquette) and Screenplay, as well as for HFCS' Texas Independent Film Award. Key scenes in the film were shot in Houston.
A close third is Houston-born Wes Anderson's film, The Grand Budapest Hotel, receiving six nominations, including Best Picture, Director, Screenplay, Cinematography, Original Score and Poster.
“Interestingly, both Boyhood and Budapest have Texas connections,” HFCS president Joshua Starnes said in a statement. “Linklater shot his film and makes Austin his home while Anderson is originally from Houston and a graduate of UT Austin.”
Other nominees for Best Picture include A Most Violent Year, Guardians of the Galaxy, The Imitation Game, Inherent Vice, Nightcrawler, Selma and Whiplash.
HFCS members, who are working film journalists on television, radio, online and in traditional print in the Houston area, also recognized five independent films made in the Lone Star State: Above All Else, Boyhood, Hellion, Joe, No No: A Dockumentary, and Stop The Pounding Heart.
To poke fun at some of the year's least appealing movies, the organization has also named the Worst Films of the Year. This year’s nominees are Blended, Dumb and Dumber To, Left Behind, The Identical and Transformers: Age of Extinction.
And they singled out five great film posters. The nominees in that category include Birdman; Godzilla (IMAX); The Grand Budapest Hotel; Guardians of the Galaxy (primary theatrical); and Inherent Vice.
HFCS' award winners will be announced on Jan. 10 at a ceremony at Sundance Cinemas.
2014 Houston Film Critics Society Nominations:
Best Picture
A Most Violent Year; Birdman; Boyhood; The Grand Budapest Hotel; Guardians of the Galaxy; The Imitation Game; Inherent Vice; Nightcrawler; Selma; Whiplash
Best Director
Paul Thomas Anderson, Inherent Vice; Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel; Damien Chazelle, Whiplash; Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Birdman; Richard Linklater, Boyhood
Best Actor
Benedict Cumberbatch, The Imitation Game; Jake Gyllenhaal, Nightcrawler; Tom Hardy, Locke; Michael Keaton, Birdman; Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything
Best Actress
Marion Cotillard, Two Days, One Night; Essie Davis, The Babadook; Felicity Jones, The Theory of Everything; Julianne Moore, Still Alice; Reese Witherspoon, Wild
Best Supporting Actor
Josh Brolin, Inherent Vice; Ethan Hawke, Boyhood; Edward Norton, Birdman; Mark Ruffalo, Foxcatcher; Andy Serkis, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes; J.K. Simmons, Whiplash
Best Supporting Actress
Patricia Arquette, Boyhood; Jessica Chastain, A Most Violent Year; Keira Knightly, The Imitation Game; Emma Stone, Birdman; Tilda Swinton, Snowpiercer
Best Screenplay
Wes Anderson and Hugo Guinness, The Grand Budapest Hotel; Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Jr., Armando Bo, Birdman; Damien Chazelle, Whiplash; Dan Gilroy, Nightcrawler; Richard Linklater, Boyhood
Best Animated Film
Big Hero 6; The Book of Life; The Boxtrolls; How to Train Your Dragon 2; The Lego Movie
Best Cinematography
Roger Deakins, Unbroken; Robert Elswit, Inherent Vice; Hoyte van Hoytema, Interstellar; Emmanuel Lubezki, Birdman; Robert Yeoman, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Best Original Score
Alexander Desplat, The Grand Budapest Hotel; Alexander Desplat, The Imitation Game; Johann Johannson, The Theory of Everything; Antonio Sanchez, Birdman; Hans Zimmer, Interstellar
Best Original Song
Big Eyes, Big Eyes; Everything is Awesome, The Lego Movie; Glory, Selma; I’m Not Going to Miss You, Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me; Lost Stars, Begin Again
Best Foreign Language Film
Force Majeure; Ida; Levitathan; The Raid 2; Two Days, One Night
Best Documentary Feature
Citizenfour; Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me; Jodorowsky’s Dune; Life Itself; The Overnighters
Texas Independent Film Award
Above All Else; Boyhood; Hellion; Joe; No No: A Dockumentary; Stop the Pounding Heart
Technical Achievement
Birdman; Boyhood; Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Best Poster
Birdman; Godzilla (IMAX); The Grand Budapest Hotel; Guardians of the Galaxy (primary theatrical); Inherent Vice
Worst Film of the Year
Blended; Dumb and Dumber To; Left Behind; The Identical; Transformers: Age of Extinction
Alejandro G. Inarritu's Birdman, starring Michael Keaton, leads the pack with 10 nominations from the Houston Film Critics Society.
