This month, the Oscar race will come into complete focus. The Producers Guild Awards announce their nominations Monday, the DGA announces the following week, and then the Academy Award nods are unveiled on January 15th. A key piece of the puzzle surfaced today as the American Cinema Editors (ACE) revealed its list of nominees for their 65th annual awards. Expected players like Boyhood, The Imitation Game, and Birdman (yes, there’s editing in Birdman) landed nods, but a couple of pleasant surprises surfaced like Nightcrawler and Inherent Vice. The former is making a strong case for a Best Picture nod, as Jake Gyllenhaal is garnering considerable notice for his stellar lead performance and there appears to be broad support for the film.
Hit the jump to see the full list of ACE Editing Awards nominees in both film and television, as well as a bit more analysis on my part.
Another expected nominee in the drama field is Kirk Baxter for Gone Girl, as David Fincher’s films have been a favorite in this Oscar category as of late. In fact, his last two movies both won the Best Editing Oscar, so it’s possible Gone Girl could keep the streak alive. Notable films that were let off the ACE Awards’ shortlist include Selma, The Theory of Everything, and Unbroken.
American Sniper is also looking like it will secure a Best Picture nomination despite the fact that there are just as many critics that despise it as there are that love it—though response among those in the filmmaking community appears to veer more towards positive. In terms of how the ACE Awards relate to the Oscars, the winner of the former isn’t always the winner of the latter, but there’s plenty of overlap with nominations.
These ACE Awards nominations tell us less about what won’t make the Best Picture cut than what might make it, and champions of Nightcrawler should take this notice as a positive sign. Of course, the PGA nominations on Monday will give us a much better idea of what to expect in terms of Best Picture Oscar nominees, so look for those and a full analysis by yours truly on Collider next week.
Check out the full list of ACE Eddie Awards nominations below. The ceremony will be held on January 30th.
Best Edited Feature Film (Dramatic)
American Sniper – Joel Cox, ACE & Gary Roach, ACE
Boyhood – Sandra Adair, ACE
Gone Girl – Kirk Baxter, ACE
The Imitation Game – William Goldenberg, ACE
Nightcrawler – John Gilroy, ACE
Whiplash – Tom Cross
Best Edited Feature Film (Comedy or Musical)
Birdman – Douglas Crise & Stephen Mirrione, ACE
Guardians of the Galaxy – Fred Raskin, Hughes Winborne, ACE & Greg Wood, ACE
Into the Woods – Wyatt Smith
Inherent Vice – Leslie Jones, ACE
The Grand Budapest Hotel – Barney Pilling
Best Edited Animated Feature Film
Big Hero 6 – Tim Mertens
The Boxtrolls – Edie Ichioka, ACE
The LEGO Movie – David Burrows & Chris McKay
Best Edited Documentary (Feature)
Citizenfour – Mathilde Bonnefoy
Finding Vivian Maier – Aaron Wickenden
Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me – Elisa Bonora
Best Edited Documentary (Television)
Cosmos: A SpaceTime Odyssey, “Standing Up in the Milky Way” – John Duffy, ACE, Michael O’Halloran, Eric Lea
Pauley Shore Stands Alone – Troy Takaki, ACE & Joey Vigour
The Roosevelts: An Intimate History, “Episode 3: The Fire of Life” – Eric Ewers
Best Editing Half-Hour Series for Television
Silicon Valley, “Optimal Tip-to-Tip Efficiency – Brian Merken & Tom Roche
Veep, “Special Relationship” – Anthony Boys
Transparent, “Pilot” – Catherine Haight
Best Edited One-Hour Series for Commercial Television
24, “10pm to 11am” – Scott Powell, ACE
Mad Men, “Waterloo” – Christopher Gay
Madam Secretary, “Pilot” – Elena Maganini, ACE & Michael Ornstein, ACE
Sherlock, “His Last Vow” – Yan Miles
The Good Wife, “A Few Words” – Scott Vickrey, ACE
Best Edited One-Hour Series for Non-Commercial Television
True Detective, “Who Goes There” – Affonso Goncalves
True Detective, “The Secret Fate of All Life” – Alex Hall
House of Cards, “Chapter 14” – Byron Smith
Best Edited Miniseries or Motion Picture for Television
Fargo, “Buridan’s Ass” – Regis Kimble
Olive Kitteridge, “ A Different Road” – Jeffrey M. Werner, ACE
The Normal Heart – Adam Penn
Best Edited Non-Scripted Series
Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown, “Iran” – Hunter Gross
Deadliest Catch, “Lost at Sea” – Josh Earl, ACE & Johnny Bishop
Vice, “Greenland Is Melting & Bonded Labor” – Joe Langford & Nick Carew
