Entertainers of the Year 2014

Chris Pratt
2014 was Chris Pratt's year. The awesome body, The Lego Movie, the top grossing Guardians of the Galaxy. Then on tv he hosted the SNL season opener and before the year end holidays, Parks and Rec wrapped its final season. Next up for Pratt, Jurassic World hits theaters June 2015.

Reese Witherspoon 

Witherspoon produced Gone Girl, produced and starred in Cheryl Strayed's memoir Wild for which she has already received Golden Globe, SAG and Critics' Choice nominations. She is likely to obtain an Oscar nomination. While a much more under the radar film, her performance in The Good Lie was excellent. She also appeared in the awards fodder flick Inherent Vice, which reunited Witherspoon with her Walk the Line costar Joaquin Phoenix. Next year in May, Witherspoon costars with Sofia Vergara in the buddy pic, Don't Mess With Texas. 

Mark Ruffalo
Three superb roles across big and small screens. Ruffalo was heartbreakingly amazing in HBO's the Normal Heart. His performance earned him Emmy, Golden Globe, Critics' Choice TV and SAG nods. Begin Again with Keira Knightley was an indie delight. For his most recent work in Foxcatcher, Ruffalo received SAG, Critics' Choice Movie and Golden Globe nominations. An Oscar nom for Foxcatcher is likely. 2015 will have Ruffalo in the Avengers sequel in May and another indie in January.

Cameron Diaz
Diaz had the surprise spring hit The Other Woman and authored a wildly successful book about the female body. She was sitting pretty to weather the mediocre reception of Sex Tape in the summer. She hosted SNL for the fourth time just before the release of holiday pleaser, the Annie revamp. Diaz was on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon four times in 2014 and she even has her own door onto his set. Diaz produced the tv adaptation of Bad Teacher and it is rumored that Bad Teacher 2 will film in 2015.

Upcoming Oscar and Awards Season Important Dates

Dates for the Oscars and major awards season include:

• Friday, January 9th, BAFTA nominations announced
• Sunday, January 11th, The Golden Globes, 5pm NBC
• Thursday, January 15th:
• Oscar nominations announced 5am Pacific 
• Critics' Choice Movie Awards, 9pm on A+E
• Sunday, January 25th, SAG Awards, 5pm/8pm Pacific/Eastern TNT/tbs
• Monday, February 2nd, Oscar Nominee luncheon
• Sunday, February 8th, BAFTAS BBC America
• Tuesday, February 17th, Final Oscar ballots due, 5pm Pacific
• Saturday, February 21st, The Film Independent Spirit Awards 2pm IFC
• Sunday, February 22nd, the 87th Annual Academy Awards, 5pm/8pm Pacific/Eastern ABC

The Oscars are taking place, tied with 2009, the earliest in the year that they have been since 1932.

Neil Patrick Harris, the 2015 Oscar host

2015 Critics' Choice Movie Award Nominations

Thursday, January 15th at 9pm the Critics' Choice Movie Awards air on A+E and will be hosted by Michael Strahan. While a lesser known awards show with many categories, the Critics' Choice Awards definitely reflect on the attitudes of Hollywood and helps to predict the Oscar nominations. Awards are given by the Broadcast Film Critics Association. Birdman continues to dominate awards season and leads with thirteen nods. The Grand Budapest Hotel received eleven nominations and Boyhood eight. This is the 20th year for the awards and the first year that the awards show will air on television. This awards season marks the first year for several awards being televised; earlier in mid November the Hollywood Film Awards aired on CBS and Thursday, December 18th, the first ever People Magazine Awards air on NBC.

BEST PICTURE
Birdman
Boyhood
Gone Girl
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Nightcrawler
Selma
The Theory of Everything
Unbroken
Whiplash

BEST ACTOR
Benedict Cumberbatch, The Imitation Game
Ralph Fiennes, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Jake Gyllenhaal, Nightcrawler
Michael Keaton, Birdman
David Oyelowo, Selma
Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything

BEST ACTRESS
Jennifer Aniston, Cake
Marion Cotillard, Two Days, One Night
Felicity Jones, The Theory of Everything
Julianne Moore, Still Alice
Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl
Reese Witherspoon, Wild

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Josh Brolin, Inherent Vice
Robert Duvall, The Judge
Ethan Hawke, Boyhood
Edward Norton, Birdman
Mark Ruffalo, Foxcatcher
JK Simmons, Whiplash

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
Jessica Chastain, A Most Violent Year
Keira Knightley, The Imitation Game
Emma Stone, Birdman
Meryl Streep, Into the Woods
Tilda Swinton, Snowpiercer

BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS
Ellar Coltrane, Boyhood
Ansel Elgort, The Fault in Our Stars
Mackenzie Foy, Interstellar
Jaeden Lieberher, St Vincent
Tony Revolori, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Quvenzhane Wallis, Annie
Noah Wiseman, The Babadook

BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE
Birdman
Boyhood
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Into the Woods
Selma

BEST DIRECTOR
Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Ava DuVernay, Selma
David Fincher, Gone Girl
Alejandro G Iñárritu, Birdman
Angelina Jolie, Unbroken
Richard Linklater, Boyhood

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Birdman, Alejandro G Iñárritu, Nicolas Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Jr, Armando Bo
Boyhood, Richard Linklater
The Grand Budapest Hotel, Wes Anderson, Hugo Guinness
Nightcrawler, Dan Gilroy
Whiplash, Damien Chazelle

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Gone Girl, Gillian Flynn
The Imitation Game, Graham Moore
Inherent Vice, Paul Thomas Anderson
The Theory of Everything, Anthony McCarten
Unbroken, Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, Richard LaGravenese, William Nicholson
Wild, Nick Hornby

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Birdman, Emmanuel Lubezki
The Grand Budapest Hotel, Robert Yeoman
Interstellar, Hoyte Van Hoytema
Mr Turner, Dick Pope
Unbroken, Roger Deakins 

BEST ART DIRECTION
Birdman, Kevin Thompson/Production Designer, George DeTitta Jr/Set Decorator
The Grand Budapest Hotel, Adam Stockhausen/Production Designer, Anna Pinnock/Set Decorator Inherent Vice, David Crank/Production Designer, Amy Wells/Set Decorator
Interstellar, Nathan Crowley/Production Designer, Gary Fettis/Set Decorator
Into the Woods, Dennis Gassner/Production Designer, Anna Pinnock/Set Decorator
Snowpiercer, Ondrej Nekvasil/Production Designer, Beatrice Brentnerova/Set Decorator

BEST EDITING
Birdman, Douglas Crise, Stephen Mirrione
Boyhood, Sandra Adair
Gone Girl, Kirk Baxter
Interstellar, Lee Smith
Whiplash, Tom Cross

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
The Grand Budapest Hotel, Milena Canonero
Inherent Vice, Mark Bridges
Into the Woods, Colleen Atwood
Maleficent, Anna B Sheppard
Mr Turner, Jacqueline Durran

BEST HAIR AND MAKEUP
Foxcatcher
Guardians of the Galaxy
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Into the Woods
Maleficent

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Edge of Tomorrow
Guardians of the Galaxy
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Interstellar

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Big Hero 6
The Book of Life
The Boxtrolls
How to Train Your Dragon 2
The Lego Movie

BEST ACTION MOVIE
American Sniper
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Edge of Tomorrow
Fury
Guardians of the Galaxy

BEST ACTOR IN AN ACTION MOVIE
Bradley Cooper, American Sniper
Tom Cruise, Edge of Tomorrow
Chris Evans, Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Brad Pitt, Fury
Chris Pratt, Guardians of the Galaxy

BEST ACTRESS IN AN ACTION MOVIE
Emily Blunt, Edge of Tomorrow
Scarlett Johansson, Lucy
Jennifer Lawrence, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1
Zoe Saldana, Guardians of the Galaxy
Shailene Woodley, Divergent

BEST COMEDY
Birdman
The Grand Budapest Hotel
St Vincent
Top Five
22 Jump Street

BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY
Jon Favreau, Chef
Ralph Fiennes, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Michael Keaton, Birdman
Bill Murray, St Vincent
Chris Rock, Top Five
Channing Tatum, 22 Jump Street

BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
Rose Byrne, Neighbors
Rosario Dawson, Top Five
Melissa McCarthy, St Vincent
Jenny Slate, Obvious Child
Kristen Wiig, The Skeleton Twins 

BEST SCI-FI/HORROR MOVIE
The Babadook
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Interstellar
Snowpiercer
Under the Skin

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Force Majeure
Ida
Leviathan
Two Days, One Night
Wild Tales

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Citizenfour Glen Campbell: I'll Be Me
Jodorowsky’s Dune
Last Days in Vietnam
Life Itself
The Overnighters

BEST SONG
"Big Eyes" Lana Del Rey, Big Eyes
"Everything Is Awesome" Jo Li and the Lonely Island, The Lego Movie
"Glory" Common/John Legend, Selma
"Lost Stars" Keira Knightley, Begin Again
"Yellow Flicker Beat" Lorde, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1

BEST SCORE
Alexandre Desplat, The Imitation Game
Johann Johannsson, The Theory of Everything
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, Gone Girl
Antonio Sanchez, Birdman
Hans Zimmer, Interstellar

2015 Film Independent Spirit Award Nominations

Oscar Eve, or the 30th Annual Film Independent Spirit Awards will air Saturday, February 21st at 2pm Pacific and 5pm Eastern on IFC.

Love the nods for Obvious Child and Jenny Slate, this is the platform for the film to be given the recognition that it deserves. Birdman and Michael Keaton, Boyhood, Foxcatcher and Julianne Moore in Still Alice have shown up on all the nomination lists so far and that bodes well for their Oscar chances.

BEST FEATURE
Birdman

Boyhood
Love is Strange
Selma
Whiplash

BEST DIRECTOR
Damien Chazelle, Whiplash
Ava DuVernay, Selma 
Alejandro G Iñárritu, Birdman
Richard Linklater, Boyhood
David Zellner Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter

BEST SCREENPLAY
Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, Big Eyes
JC Chandor, A Most Violent Year
Dan Gilroy, Nightcrawler
Jim Jarmusch, Only Lovers Left Alive
Ira Sachs and Mauricio Zacharias, Love is Strange

BEST FIRST FEATURE (Award given to the director and producer) 
A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night
White People
Nightcrawler
Obvious Child
She’s Lost Control

BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
Desiree Akhavan, Appropriate Behavior
Sara Colangelo, Little Accidents
Justin Lader, The One I Love
Anja Marquardt, She’s Lost Control
Justin Simien, Dear White People

JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD (Given to the best feature made for under $500,000. Award given to the writer, director and producer) 
Blue Ruin
It Felt Like Love
Land Ho!
Man From Reno

BEST FEMALE LEAD
Marion Cotillard, The Immigrant
Rinko Kikuchi Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter
Julianne Moore, Still Alice
Jenny Slate, Obvious Child
Tilda Swinton, Only Lovers Left Alive

BEST MALE LEAD
André Benjamin, Jimi: All Is By My Side
Jake Gyllenhaal, Nightcrawler
Michael Keaton, Birdman
John Lithgow, Love is Strange
David Oyelowo, Selma

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE
Patricia Arquette, Boyhood 
Jessica Chastain, A Most Violent Year
Carmen Ejogo, Selma
Andrea Suarez Paz, Stand Clear of the Closing Doors
Emma Stone, Birdman

BEST SUPPORTING MALE
Riz Ahmed, Nightcrawler
Ethan Hawke, Boyhood
Alfred Molina, Love is Strange
Edward Norton Birdman
JK Simmons, Whiplash

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Darius Khondji, The Immigrant
Emmanuel Lubezki, Birdman
Sean Porter, It Felt Like Love
Lyle Vincent, A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night
Bradford Young, Selma

BEST EDITING
Sandra Adair, Boyhood
Tom Cross, Whiplash
John Gilroy, Nightcrawler
Ron Patane, A Most Violent Year
Adam Wingard, The Guest

BEST DOCUMENTARY (Award given to the director and producer) 20,000 Days on Earth Directors: Iain Forsyth & Jane Pollard Producers: Dan Bowen, James Wilson

CITIZENFOUR
Director/Producer: Laura Poitras Producers: Mathilde Bonnefoy, Dirk Wilutzky,  Stray Dog
Director: Debra Granik Producer: Anne Rosellini,  The Salt of the Earth
Directors: Juliano Ribeiro Salgado and Wim Wenders Producer: David Rosier, Virunga Director/Producer: Orlando von Einsiedel Producer: Joanna Natasegara

BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM (Award given to the director) 
Ruben Östlund, Force Majeure (Sweden)
Pawel Pawlikowski, Ida (Poland)
Andrey Zvyagintsev, Leviathan (Russia)
Xavier Dolan, Mommy (Canada)
Lav Diaz, Norte, the End of History (Philippines)
Jonathan Glazer, Under the Skin (United Kingdom)

ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD (Given to one film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast)
Inherent Vice
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson Casting Director: Cassandra Kulukundis
Ensemble Cast: Josh Brolin, Martin Donovan, Jena Malone, Joanna Newsom, Joaquin Phoenix, Eric Roberts, Maya Rudolph, Martin Short Serena Scott Thomas, Benicio Del Toro, Katherine Waterston, Michael Kenneth Williams, Owen Wilson, Reese Witherspoon 

SPECIAL DISTINCTION AWARD
Foxcatcher
Director/Producer: Bennett Miller Producers: Anthony Bregman, Megan Ellison, Jon Kilik
Writers: E Max Frye, Dan Futterman
Actors: Steve Carell, Mark Ruffalo, Channing Tatum

18th ANNUAL PIAGET PRODUCERS AWARD – The 18th Annual Producers Award, sponsored by Piaget, honors emerging producers who, despite highly limited resources, demonstrate the creativity, tenacity and vision required to produce quality, independent films. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by Piaget.
Chad Burris, Elisabeth Holm, Chris Ohlson

21st ANNUAL KIEHL’S SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD – The 21st Annual Someone to Watch Award, sponsored by Kiehl’s Since 1851, recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by Kiehl’s Since 1851.
A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night, Director: Ana Lily
Amirpour H, Directors: Rania Attieh and Daniel Garcia
The Retrieval Director: Chris Eska

20th ANNUAL LENSCRAFTERS TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD – The 20th Annual Truer Than Fiction Award, sponsored by LensCrafters is presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by LensCrafters.
Approaching the Elephant, Director: Amanda Rose Wilder
Evolution of a Criminal, Director: Darius Clark Monroe
The Kill Team, Director: Dan Krauss
The Last Season, Director: Sara Dosa

Guardians of the Galaxy

It is no secret that Chris Pratt got ripped to portray Marvel comic book hero Peter Quill. His comedic skills are put to great use as well and he was perfectly cast as the lead. The ragtag team he works with include Zoe Saldana, trading her Avatar blue for green as assassin Gamora (though she does have a blue sister), Rocket Racoon voiced by Bradley Cooper and his muscle, Groot, voiced by Vin Diesel. Josh Brolin voices an uncredited role as Gamora's father Thanos, Benicio Del Toro portrays the Collector and Glenn Close is Nova Prime.

The movie balances sci fi, superhero, and comedy genres with special effects and excellent dialogue. The pop culture references begin immediately with the Awesome Mix Vol 1 mixtape (and subsequently a fantastic soundtrack) in the opening scene and proceed to include the Millenium Falcon, Jackson Pollock, Footloose, and John Stamos. While very mainstream, the movie is also offbeat at times and sometimes delightfully odd. The extensive backstories and amount of villains to keep track of would seem to indicate an effort to remain true to the comic book.

Like any smart Marvel project, sequels and a growing franchise seem definite. Special effect nominations are likely, the movie is short listed for a Best Visual effects nod, and due to the success of the blockbuster references and montage inclusion at the Oscars probable. Amy Poehler could get in some jokes about her Parks and Rec costar Chris Pratt at the Globes as well.

Shout out to the Lees for being able to enjoy Guardians on my new big tv with excellent sound. It's going to make for great Oscar viewing.

Just a couple of the best quotes...
"It's not a purse, it's a knapsack!"
"Well, on my planet, we have a legend about people like you. It's called Footloose. And in it, a great hero, named Kevin Bacon, teaches an entire city full of people with sticks up their butts that, dancing, well, is the greatest thing there is."

2015 Golden Globe Nominations

Birdman continues to gain momentum as awards season gets into full swing with this week's nominations. On the television side, award magnet Modern Family was shut out. Mark Ruffalo again received double nominations for film and tv. Julianne Moore was nominated in both drama and comedy categories and Bill Murray was acknowledged in both movie and television categories.

The nominees were announced by Kate Beckinsale, Jeremy Piven, Paula Patton and Peter Krause Thursday morning, December 11th. Tina Fey and Amy Poehler return to host the Golden Globes for their third year in a row, Sunday, January 11th on NBC at 5pm Pacific, 8pm Eastern time.

MOTION PICTURES BEST DRAMA
Boyhood
Foxcatcher
The Imitation Game
Selma
The Theory of Everything

BEST COMEDY
Birdman
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Into the Woods
Pride
St Vincent

BEST DIRECTOR
Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Ava Duvernay, Selma
David Fincher, Gone Girl
Alejandro González Iñárritu, Birdman
Richard Linklater, Boyhood

BEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA
Jennifer Aniston, Cake
Felicity Jones, The Theory of Everything
Julianne Moore, Still Alice
Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl
Reese Witherspoon, Wild

BEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA
Steve Carell, Foxcatcher
Benedict Cumberbatch, The Imitation Game
Jake Gyllenhaal, Nightcrawler
David Oyelowo, Selma
Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything

BEST ACTOR IN A MUSICAL OR COMEDY
Ralph Fiennes, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Michael Keaton, Birdman
Bill Murray, St Vincent
Joaquin Phoenix, Inherent Vice
Christoph Waltz, Big Eyes

BEST ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL OR COMEDY
Amy Adams, Big Eyes
Emily Blunt, Into the Woods
Helen Mirren, The Hundred-Foot Journey
Julianne Moore, Map to the Stars
Quvenzhané Wallis, Annie

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
Jessica Chastain, A Most Violent Year
Keira Knightley, The Imitation Game
Emma Stone, Birdman
Meryl Streep, Into the Woods

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Robert Duvall, The Judge
Ethan Hawke, Boyhood
Edward Norton, Birdman
Mark Ruffalo, Foxcatcher
JK Simmons, Whiplash

BEST SCREENPLAY
Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Gillian Flynn, Gone Girl
Alejandro González Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, and Armando Bo, Birdman
Richard Linklater, Boyhood
Graham Moore, The Imitation Game

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

Force Majeure Turist, Sweden
Gett: The Trial of Viviane Ansalem Gett, Israel
Ida, Poland/Denmark
Leviathan, Russia
Tangerines Mandariinid, Estonia

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Big Hero 6
The Book of Life
The Boxtrolls
How to Train Your Dragon 2
The Lego Movie

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
"Big Eyes" from Big Eyes, Music and lyrics by Lana Del Rey
"Glory" from Selma, Music and lyrics by John Legend and Common
"Mercy Is" from Noah, Music and lyrics by Patti Smith and Lenny Kaye
"Opportunity" from Annie, Music and lyrics by Greg Kurstin, Sia Furler, Will Gluck
"Yellow Flicker Beat" from The Hunger Games Mockingjay Part 1, Music and lyrics by Lorde

BEST SCORE
The Imitation Game
The Theory of Everything
Gone Girl
Birdman
Interstellar

TELEVISION
BEST TV COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Girls
Jane the Virgin
Orange Is the New Black
Silicon Valley
Transparent

BEST TV DRAMA
The Affair
Downton Abbey
Game of Thrones
The Good Wife
House of Cards 

BEST ACTRESS IN A TV DRAMA
Claire Danes, Homeland
Viola Davis, How to Get Away with Murder
Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife
Ruth Wilson, The Affair
Robin Wright, House of Cards 

BEST ACTOR IN A TV DRAMA
Clive Owen, The Knick
Liev Schreiber, Ray Donovan
Kevin Spacey, House of Cards
James Spader, The Blacklist
Dominic West, The Affair

BEST ACTRESS IN A TV COMEDY
Lena Dunham, Girls
Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep
Gena Rodriguez, Jane the Virgin
Taylor Schilling, Orange Is the New Black

BEST ACTOR IN A TV COMEDY
Louis CK, Louie
Don Cheadle, House of Lies
Ricky Gervais, Derek
William H Macy, Shameless
Jeffrey Tambor, Transparent

BEST MINISERIES OR TV MOVIE
Fargo
The Missing
The Normal Heart
Olive Kitteridge
True Detective

BEST ACTRESS IN A MINISERIES OR TV MOVIE
Maggie Gyllenhaal, The Honorable Woman
Jessica Lange, American Horror Story: Freak Show
Frances McDormand, Olive Kitteridge
Frances O'Connor, The Missing
Allison Tolman, Fargo

BEST ACTOR IN A MINISERIES OR TV MOVIE
Martin Freeman, Fargo
Woody Harrelson, True Detective
Matthew McConaughey, True Detective
Mark Ruffalo, The Normal Heart
Billy Bob Thornton, Fargo

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A TV SHOW, MINISERIES OR TV MOVIE
Uzo Aduba, Orange Is the New Black
Kathy Bates, American Horror Story: Freak Show
Joanne Froggatt, Downton Abbey
Allison Janney, Mom
Michelle Monaghan, True Detective

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A TV SHOW, MINISERIES OR TV MOVIE
Matt Bomer, The Normal Heart
Alan Cumming, The Good Wife
Colin Hanks, Fargo
Bill Murray, Olive Kitteridge
Jon Voight, Ray Donovan

2015 SAG Award Nominations

The SAG Awards got the jump on the Golden Globes nominations by one day, announced live by Eva Longoria and Ansel Elgort the morning of Wednesday December 10th. Birdman led the movie nominations with four and Modern Family television, also with four. Boyhood, The Imitation Game, and The Theory of Everything each received three film nominations. HBO led the networks with fourteen nominees. Jennifer Aniston received best female actor nomination for her much buzzed about performance in the movie Cake. Mark Ruffalo was nominated for both his work in television and film. The SAG film nominations provide a solid gage of the potential Oscar nominees, sometimes even more than the Golden Globes.

The confusion and debate about what qualifies a television program as a series or a miniseries is exemplified by the Outstanding Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries and Male Actor in a Drama Series categories with the SAG Awards. Both Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey received actor nominations in the drama series category for True Detective but Billy Bob Thornton was nominated for Fargo in the tv movie or miniseries category. Fargo had ten episodes and True Detective had eight. The Golden Globes have chosen to address this issue by renaming the miniseries category, Limited Series, which will include True Detective. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association has stated that the limited series category will be based on story and content, not on length or number of episodes. Earlier this year the Primetime Emmys had the same designations for True Detective and Fargo as SAG. The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences has a pretty specific definition for miniseries, "A miniseries is based on a single theme or storyline, which is resolved within the piece. In a single awards year, all of the parts must be presented under the same title and have continuity of production supervision. A miniseries consists of two or more episodes with a total running time of at least four broadcast hours (at least 150 program minutes)." Sounds simple enough but there is an additional rule that a miniseries can not include a 'created by' credit, which explains why True Detective lands in the full series category at the Emmys. As television evolves -- see also streaming content and its crop of nominees, the categories of awards shows will continue to change with the times.

There is also a television Stunt Team category that 24: Live Another Day, Boardwalk Empire, Game of Thrones, Homeland, Sons of Anarchy and The Walking Dead were nominated for. Should be The Walking Dead all the way. The stunt categories will be announced as part of the live red carpet coverage.

The SAG awards will air live on tbs and TNT on Saturday January 25th at 8pm Eastern and 5pm Pacific. The Golden Globe nominations will be announced tomorrow morning by Kate Beckinsale, Peter Krause, Paula Patton and Jeremy Piven at 8:20 and 8:35am Eastern time from the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Hollywood.


MOVIES
OUTSTANDING MALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Robert Duvall, The Judge
Ethan Hawke, Boyhood
Edward Norton, Birdman
Mark Ruffalo, Foxcatcher
JK Simmons, Whiplash

OUTSTANDING FEMALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
Keira Knightley, The Imitation Game
Emma Stone, Birdman
Meryl Streep, Into the Woods
Naomi Watts, St. Vincent

OUTSTANDING MALE ACTOR IN A LEAD ROLE
Steve Carell, Foxcatcher
Benedict Cumberbatch, The Imitation Game
Jake Gyllenhaal, Nightcrawler
Michael Keaton, Birdman
Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything

OUTSTANDING FEMALE ACTOR IN A LEAD ROLE
Jennifer Aniston, Cake
Felicity Jones, The Theory of Everything
Julianne Moore, Still Alice
Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl
Reese Witherspoon, Wild

OUTSTANDING CAST IN A MOTION PICTURE
Birdman
Boyhood
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
The Theory of Everything

TELEVISION
OUTSTANDING MALE ACTOR IN A TELEVISION MOVIE OR MINISERIES
Adrien Brody, Houdini
Benedict Cumberbatch, Sherlock: His Last Vow
Richard Jenkins, Olive Kitteridge
Mark Ruffalo, The Normal Heart
Billy Bob Thornton, Fargo

OUTSTANDING FEMALE ACTOR IN A TELEVISION MOVIE OR MINISERIES
Ellen Burstyn, Flowers in the Attic
Maggie Gyllenhaal, The Honorable Woman
Frances McDormand, Olive Kitteridge
Julia Roberts, The Normal Heart
Cicely Tyson, The Trip to Bountiful

OUTSTANDING MALE ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Ty Burrell, Modern Family
Louis CK, Louis
William H Macy, Shameless
Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory
Eric Stonestreet, Modern Family

OUTSTANDING FEMALE ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Uzo Aduba, Orange Is the New Black
Julie Bowen, Modern Family
Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep
Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY AN ENSEMBLE IN A COMEDY SERIES
The Big Bang Theory
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Modern Family
Orange Is the New Black
Veep

OUTSTANDING FEMALE ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Claire Danes, Homeland
Viola Davis, How to Get Away With Murder
Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife
Tatiana Maslany, Orphan Black
Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey
Robin Wright, House of Cards

OUTSTANDING MALE ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire
Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones
Woody Harrelson, True Detective
Matthew McConaughey, True Detective
Kevin Spacey, House of Cards

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY AN ENSEMBLE IN A DRAMA SERIES
Boardwalk Empire
Downton Abbey
Game of Thrones
Homeland
House of Cards

STUNT ENSEMBLES
OUTSTANDING ACTION PERFORMANCE BY A STUNT ENSEMBLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
Fury
Get On Up
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
X-Men: Days of Future Past

OUTSTANDING ACTION PERFORMANCE BY A STUNT ENSEMBLE IN A COMEDY OR DRAMA SERIES
24: Live Another Day
Boardwalk Empire
Game of Thrones
Homeland
Sons of Anarchy
The Walking Dead

SAG LIFE ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Debbie Reynolds