1. The Hardware
Not only do the makers of this year’s Oscar-contending films have to schlep to awards shows for the next three months—some of them will have to carry home heavy trophies. These are a few of them.
PLUS: December 2 Gotham Awards / December 6 International Documentary Association Awards / January 6 New York Film Critics Circle Awards / January 7 National Board of Review Awards / January 10 American Film Institute / January 11 Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards / January 19 Producers Guild Awards January 25 Directors Guild Awards / February 8 Art Directors Guild Awards / February 22 Cinema Audio Society Awards / March 1 Independent Spirit Awards
2. Who’s the Most Supportive Actor?
How long were this year’s candidates for Best Supporting Actor and Actress actually in their movies? By Camille Bromley and Noah Hurowitz
Photographs: Courtesy of Fox Searchlight (12 Years a Slave, Enough Said); Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures (Gravity); Courtesy of Sony Pictures (Captain Phillips, American Hustle); Courtesy of Walt Disney Pictures (Saving Mr. Banks); Courtesy of Universal Pictures (Rush); Courtesy of the Weinstein Company (The Butler, Fruitvale Station); Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics (Blue Jasmine); Courtesy of A24 Films (Spring Breakers); Courtesy of Focus Features (Dallas Buyers Club); Patrick McMullan (Roberts, Forte, Squibb)
3. Confessions of a First-Time Contender
Nebraska’s Will Forte, National Board of Review winner for Best Supporting Actor, on how he’s coping with awards season.
“Oh, man. I got to give a speech tonight, and I’m terrified. Terrified. I don’t have notes. I know I’m going to get so nervous and forget everything I wanted to say. I had a hard time sleeping last night, and I’m so honored to get this award, but just terrified at the same time. In my head, I’m like, What if it’s the worst speech anybody’s ever heard? What if I say somebody’s name wrong? Just so many stupid things that I worry about. I go to the things that they ask me to go to. It’s so exciting, but I get kind of anxious. There is a woman, Ilaria Urbinati, who helps me with the clothes. If she didn’t, I would be wearing ratty jeans and a flannel shirt, so thank God that’s not something I have to worry about. I just get anxious. Like I’m anxious right now. Maybe I overthink stuff.”
4. Advice From Awards-Season Veterans
For the first time since 2010, the Oscars are in March (blame the Olympics), which means a longer-than-usual season for the contenders. Here’s some advice from those who’ve been through it before.
Octavia Spencer
“You got to stay hydrated. You got to take your vitamins. Monitor your expectations. And Emergen-C. Focus on something else. Right now, I’m not even thinking about awards season—I’m renovating a house, so I just want to move into my damn house!”
Jonah Hill
“Sleep. Water. Emergen-C. Gum. Passport. Those are the only things you need to survive.”
Bérénice Bejo
“I have no idea how to survive awards season! [The Artist] was two years ago, and I still don’t know how I survived. Just enjoy it. It’s special to be nominated, I guess.”
5. The Dirty Campaigning
Harvey Weinstein has declared this “the most competitive [awards] season I’ve ever seen”—so you can plan on plenty of mudslinging. Here are some of the negative talking points already being used to sink this year’s contenders.
12 Years a Slave
Some historians doubt that Solomon Northup really wrote the memoir the movie is based on.
American Hustle
The movie is purportedly based on the real-life Abscam scandal, but none of the most fun parts (the love triangle, the twist ending, Bradley Cooper’s curlers) actually happened.
Captain Phillips
The movie portrays him as a hero, but crew members of the real-life Phillips are suing their former shipping company, claiming that he ignored warnings to avoid the Somali coast.
Dallas Buyers Club
Why wasn’t Jared Leto’s transgender character played by a transgender actor?
Saving Mr. Banks
Omitted from the Disney-backed movie: P. L. Travers’s bisexuality and controversial adoption and Walt Disney’s racism, sexism, and anti-Semitism.
The Wolf of Wall Street
Doesn’t the movie kinda glorify its title character’s drug abuse, philandering, and financial crimes?