Richard Linklater’s ‘Boyhood’ Among Films Nominated for Best Feature

The official starting bell for the 2014 awards season has rung with the announcement this morning for the 2014 Gotham Awards.  Governed by the Independent Filmmaker Project, The Gothams, celebrating their twenty-fourth year are a New York based group that honors the best of independent cinema (think of it as an East Coast-only version of the Independent Spirit Awards.)  Nominees are voted on by distinguished juries comprised of critics and programmers.  In addition to the six categories, this year the Gotham Awards will doll out tributes to actress Tilda Swinton (who appeared in Only Lovers Left Alive, Snowpiercer and The Grand Budapest Hotel this year), director Bennett Miller (Foxcatcher) and Ted Sarandos, chief content officer at Netflix.  The Gotham Awards hold distinction for being the first awards of the year to announce their selections. 

Richard Linklater’s acclaimed coming of age drama Boyhood led the field with four nominations.  The film, which has been garnering nearly universal acclaim since premiering at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, was shot in small increments over the course of twelve years in relating the story of a young man growing into adulthood.  The IFC Films distributed indie opened in theaters and has since become one of the top grossing independent films of the year at the North American box office.  Alejandro Gonzalez Innaritu’s Birdman, Justin Simien’s Dear White People, Dan Gilroy’s Nightcrawler and Jonathan Glazer’s Under the Skin all received two nods.  In addition, the voting panel for the Best Actor prize ruled to award a special Gotham Jury Award jointly to Steve Carell, Channing Tatum and Mark Ruffalo for their work in Bennett Miller’s Foxcatcher.

The 2014 nominees are:

BEST FEATURE

• Birdman
• Boyhood
• The Grand Budapest Hotel
• Love is Strange
• Under the Skin

BEST ACTOR

• Bill Hader, The Skeleton Twins
• Ethan Hawke, Boyhood
• Oscar Isaac, A Most Violent Year
• Michael Keaton, Birdman
• Miles Teller, Whiplash

BEST ACTRESS

• Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
• Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Beyond the Lights
• Julianne Moore, Still Alice
• Scarlett Johansson, Under the Skin
• Mia Wasikowska, Tracks

BREAKTHROUGH ACTOR

• Riz Ahmed, Nightcrawler
• Macon Blair, Blue Ruin
• Ellar Coltrane, Boyhood
• Joey King, Wish I Was Here
• Jenny Slate, Obvious Child
• Tessa Thompson, Dear White People

BINGHAM RAY BREAKTHROUGH DIRECTOR AWARD

• Ana Lily Amirpour, A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night
• James Ward Byrkit, Coherence
• Dan Gilroy, Nightcrawler
• Eliza Hittman, It Felt Like Love
• Justin Simien, Dear White People

BEST DOCUMENTARY

• Actress
• CITIZENFOUR
• Life Itself
• Manakamana
• Point and Shoot

Last year, The Gothams chose Inside Llewyn Davis, from directors Joel and Ethan Coen, as their top film.  Eventual Oscar winner Matthew McConaughey won the Best Actor prize for his work in Dallas Buyers Club, and Brie Larson won the Best Actress prize for Short Term 12.  The ceremony will take place on December 1st in New York City.