Why '12 Years A Slave' And 'American Hustle' Are Frontrunners For The Critics' Choice Movie Awards
The nominees for the 19th annual Critics' Choice Movie Awards have been released and are pretty much as expected. The leaders of the pack are two of the years' most anticipated films, each boosting an ensemble cast and a unique story.
Steve McQueen's '12 Years A Slave' and David O. Russell's 'American Hustle' have garnered an impressive 13 nominations each, the Broadcast Film Critics Association announced on Monday (Dec 15th).
'12 Years A Slave' has been nominated for Best Picture, Best Actor for Chiwetel Ejiofor, Best Supporting Actor for Michael Fassbender, Best Supporting Actress for Lupita Nyong'o, Best Acting Ensemble, Best Director for Steve McQueen, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction, Best Editing, Best Costume Design, Best Makeup and Best Score for Hans Zimmer.
Upon doing the rounds at this year's film festivals, the historical drama was awarded after receiving positive reviews from critics for a real and raw portrayal of a horrific mark on American history.
Watch the '12 Years A Slave' trailer here
The film is an adaptation of Solomon Northup's account of his kidnap and subsequent sale into slavery until his rescue twelve years later. It depicts Northup's journey into the slave trade, where he went from being a freeman living in New York, to a plantation slave in New Orleans between 1841 and 1853.
British actor Chiwetel Ejiofor, who plays Solomon Northup, was heavily praised by audiences for this role, as was Michael Fassbender's portrayal of the brutal slave trader 'Edwin Epps'. The cast list also includes huge Hollywood star such as Brad Pitt, Paul Giamatti, Paul Dano, Benedict Cumberbatch and Alfre Woodard.
See next page for 'American Hustle'
Crime thriller 'American Hustle' earned nods for Best Picture, Best Actor for Christian Bale, Best Supporting Actor for Bradley Cooper, Best Supporting Actress for Jennifer Lawrence, Best Acting Ensemble, Best Director for David O. Russell, Best Original Screenplay, Best Editing, Best Costume Design, Best Makeup, Best Comedy, Best Actor in a Comedy for Christian Bale, and Best Actress in a Comedy for Amy Adams.
O.Russell's film, which has already won awards from the New York Critics Circle, follows a 1970s con artist, Irving Rosenfeld (Christian Bale), and his British lover, Sydney Prosser (Amy Adams), as they are forced to work with FBI agent Richie DiMaso (Bradley Cooper), who pushes them into the dangerous and attractive world of the Mafia and money to go with it. Irving's wife (Jennifer Lawrence) jeopardises the whole operation and could cause the lives of others to come crashing down.
Watch the 'American Hustle' trailer here
Cooper and Lawrence re-team from previously working with each other in 'Silver Linings Playbook', in which Lawrence won an Academy Award. Although a late release into the award season, 'American Hustle' is already garnering some considerable Oscar buzz.
But first who will be victorious at the Critics' Choice Movie Awards on Jan 16th 2014?