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New Day

Oscar Nominations Announced

Aired January 16, 2014 - 08:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back, everyone.

Time now for the five things you need to know for your NEW DAY.

Police say the 12-year-old who allegedly shot two classmates at a Roswell, New Mexico, middle school planned the attack, writing about it in a journal. One of the victims, an 11-year-old boy, remains critical.

Two former aides to Chris Christie could be served with subpoenas today. A New Jersey assembly committee will subpoena powers officially takes over the bridge-gate investigation at Noon Eastern.

President Obama preparing to announce proposed changes to the NSA surveillance programs. He's set to unveil the reforms tomorrow.

A hearing today on the security of Obamacare's federal website. The top Democrat on a House committee reminding his GOP counterpart, make sure lawmakers do not air sensitive information since the hearing is public.

Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates headed to the Pentagon today for a book signing event. Gates has ruffled many a Washington feather with his new memoir calling into question the president's war leadership.

We're always updating the five things you need to know, so go to newdaycnn.com for the latest.

And next up on NEW DAY, finally it is time for the Oscar nominations. We go live to Hollywood for the big announcements. We are just minutes away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Quite the chairs we're in. It's Oscar time.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: It's on.

CUOMO: We're just minutes away from the nominations. We're going to bring them to you live as they come out.

But first, let's bring in our panel of Hollywood experts. With us here, "Variety" editor, Mr. Gordon Cox, in Los Angeles, Krista Smith, senior west coast editor of "Vanity Fair," and CNN entertainment correspondent, you know her as Nischelle Turner. I'll start with you, Nischelle. What are we expecting? Come on. Give us something.

NISCHELLE TURNER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Well, we are expecting some pretty high drama this morning. We just got the three- minute to air countdown, so we're just minutes away from the nomination. Earlier this morning, guys, we were talking about shoe-in and wildcards.

And I would say one wildcard to look for - it's actually my top -- in my top three movies of the year, that's "Fruitvale Station." It's virtually been shut out of the big nominations so far this year, but it's a critical darling. Michael B. Jordan is a wildcard in the best actor race. Octavia Spencer in the supporting actress race. So maybe, just maybe, we could see "Fruitvale Station" get a little love from the Academy today.

BOLDUAN: And you said that stuck with you. That movie really stuck with you when you saw it.

TURNER: It's still (ph) of my favorites. Yes.

BOLDUAN: Gordon, give us your -- give us your quick take. What to keep an eye on while we're waiting.

GORDON COX, EDITOR, "VARIETY": Well, you know, it's a tough - it's a tough season. It's got --

BOLDUAN: Tough because there are so many good options?

COX: Because there are so many good options, this year in particular. You know it's always pretty much every year people say, oh, there's always deserving work that doesn't - that doesn't get nominated, but this year that is especially true because there's so many - so many good movies came out. And movies like "Fruitvale Station" that, you know, people get really behind, but may not find a place in the nominations.

CUOMO: Let me ask you something. How many nominations can you have in a category? Is there a rule? Is there a --

COX: It's five except for the lead -- except for best picture, which is between five and 10. It has been nine the last two years.

BOLDUAN: That's a lot.

COX: Some people think it's going to be eight this year. It's sort of based on the weighted ballot.

BERMAN: Krista, what do you think the toughest category is this year, the toughest to call?

KRISTA SMITH, SENIOR WEST COAST EDITOR, "VANITY FAIR": I think they're all a little tough to call. I have to say, the best actor, I mean it -- a couple of months ago it seems like, oh, this is a lock and everything has changed in the last month and a half. I mean best director is really hard to call. Is Martin Scorsese going to get in?

Is Paul Greengrass going to get in for "Captain Phillips"? Best actress, is it going to be Meryl or Amy - Amy Adams? I mean, I think in also the best supporting actress, is Oprah going to get in there and Julia? It is so - it's very exciting. I'd have to day, it's been a long time since we've had a race and a season that has been this up in the air at this point in time.

BOLDUAN: Nischelle, if you had to guess, we always look for someone sweeping the -- sweeping the nominations. Do you think one film's going to be nominated the most?

TURNER: Well, we saw for the Golden Globes two films that emerged as front-runners. "American Hustle" and "12 Years a Slave" both led that with seven nominations. We could definitely see them garner a lot this morning.

BOLDUAN: Here we go, Nischelle. We'll watch the nominations live.

TURNER: I'll give it to you guys.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

CHERYL BOONE ISAACS, PRESIDENT, ACADEMY OF MOTION PICTURE ARTS AND SCIENCES: Hello, everybody. Good morning and welcome to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. I'm Cheryl Boone Isaacs, president of the Academy.

Thank you.

I want to thank everyone for joining us for these exciting announcements, celebrating the heroes of movie making. And lucky for us, we have a superhero here with us today. Ladies and gentlemen, the very talented Chris Hemsworth.

CHRIS HEMSWORTH, ACTOR: Thank you very much, Cheryl, and good morning, everyone.

ISAACS: Let's get right to it.

The 2013 nominees for best performance by an actor in a supporting role are - Barkhad Abdi in "Captain Phillips," Bradley Cooper in "American Hustle," Michael Fassbender in "12 Years a Slave," Jonah Hill in "The Wolf of Wall Street," and Jared Leto in "Dallas Buyers Club."

Chris.

HEMSWORTH: Thank you. For best performance by an actress in a supporting role, the nominees are -- Sally Hawkins in "blue Jasmine," Jennifer Lawrence in "American Hustle," Lupita Nyong'o in "12 Years a Slave," Julia Roberts in "August: Osage County," and June Squibb in "Nebraska."

ISAACS: For best original song, the nominees are -- "Alone Yet Not Alone" from "Alone Yet Not Alone," music by Bruce Broughton, lyric by Dennis Spiegel, "Happy" from "Despicable Me 2," music and lyric by Pharrell Williams, "Let It Go" from "Frozen," music and lyric by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, "The Moon Song" from "Her," music by Karen O, lyric by Karen O and Spike Jonze. And "Ordinary Love" from "Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom," music by Paul Hewson, Dave Evans, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen, you may know them better as U2, lyric by Paul Hewson.

HEMSWORTH: For adopted screen play, the nominees are -- Richard Linklater, Julia Delpy and Ethan Hawke for "Before Midnight," Billy Ray for "Captain Phillips," Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope for "Philomena," John Ridley for "12 Years a Slave," and Terence Winter for "The Wolf of Wall Street."

ISAACS: For best original screenplay, the nominees are -- Eric Warren Singer and David O. Russell for "American Hustle," Woody Allen for "Blue Jasmine," Craig Borten and Melisa Wallack for "Dallas Buyers Club," Spike Jonze for "Her," and Bob Nelson for "Nebraska."

HEMSWORTH: For best animated feature film we are pleased to nominate "The Croods," Chris Sanders, Kirk De Micco and Kristine Belson, "Despicable Me 2," Chris Renaud, Pierre Coffin and Chris Meledandri, "Ernest & Celestine," Benjamin Renner and Didier Brunner, "Frozen," Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee and Peter Del Vecho, and "The Wind Rises," Hayao Miyazaki and Toshio Suzuki.

ISAACS: For best documentary feature the nominees are -- "The Act of Killing," Joshua Oppenheimer and Signe Byrge Sorensen, "Cutie and the Boxer," Zachary Heinzerling and Lydia Dean Pilcher, "Dirty Wars," Richard Rowley and Jeremy Scahill, "The Square," Jehane Noujaim and Karim Amer, "20 Feet from Stardom," nominees to be determined.

HEMSWORTH: For best foreign language film the nominees are - from Belgium, "The Broken Circle Breakdown," from Italy, "The Great Beauty," from Denmark, "The Hunt," from Cambodia, "The Missing Picture," and from Palestine, "Omar."

ISAACS: For best achievement in directing, David O. Russell for "American Hustle," Alfonso Cuaron for "Gravity," Alexander Payne for "Nebraska," Steve McQueen for "12 Years a Slave," and Martin Scorsese for "The Wolf of Wall Street."

HEMSWORTH: For best performance by an actress in leading role the nominees are -- Amy Adams in "American Hustle," Cate Blanchett in "Blue Jasmine," Sandra Bullock in "Gravity," Judi Dench in "Philomena," and Meryl Streep in "August: Osage County."

ISAACS: For best performance by an actor in a leading role the nominees are -- Christian Bale in "American Hustle," Bruce Dern in "Nebraska," Leonardo DiCaprio in "The Wolf of Wall Street," Chiwetel Ejiofor in "12 Years a Slave," and Matthew McConaughey in "Dallas Buyers Club."

HEMSWORTH: And finally we are pleased to announce that the films selected as the best picture nominees for 2013 are -- "American Hustle," Charles Roven, Richard Suckle, Megan Ellison and Jonathan Gordon (ph) producers, "Captain Phillips," Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti and Michael De Luca producers, "Dallas Buyers Club," Robbie Brenner and Rachel Winter (ph) producers, "Gravity," Alfonso Cuaron and David Heyman producers, "Her," Megan Ellison, Spike Jonze and Vincent Landay producers, "Nebraska," Albert Berger and Ron Yerxa producers, "Philomena," Gabrielle Tan, Steve Coogan and Tracey Seaward producers, "12 Years a Slave," Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremey Kleiner, Steve McQueen and Anthony Katagas producers, and "The Wolf of Wall Street," nominees to be determined.

For the complete list of all the nominations, please visit oscar.com.

ISAACS: And join us Sunday night, March 2nd, to celebrate these incredible artisan films at the Oscars. See you then.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

BOLDUAN: All right. All right.

CUOMO: Where do you want to start? Do you want to start with the one they finished with? Best picture?

BOLDUAN: No, let's start with best actor.

CUOMO: You want to start with best actor?

BOLDUAN: Yes. Let's start with best actor

CUOMO: Go ahead. What did we see there?

BOLDUAN: What do you think?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's name them first. We have Matthew McConaughey, Chewitel Ejiofor --

CUOMO: Bruce Dern, Christian Bale, Leonardo DiCaprio -- expected field.

COX: Yes. But that was probably one of the most competitive fields, also. There was -- Tom Hanks was a possibility for "Captain Phillips". Robert Redford was a possibility for "All is Lost". There's an unusually large number of actors who seemed deserving of a nomination.

BOLDUAN: Because I always feel like Tom Hanks is always a favorite to be nominated. He is kind of an Oscar -- I don't know -- he's a favorite there.

COX: Right.

BERMAN: Of course Matthew McConaughey going into this, you know, kind of a huge role coming out of the Golden Globes.

Krista, can you hear me?

SMITH: Oh, yes. Now, I can, yes. Matthew McConaughey, I don't think anybody is surprised by that. I think that Jared Leto, Matthew McConaughey -- the movie was exciting. They also got best original screen play. I'm still shocked that Oprah didn't get it. There didn't seem to be any love for "The Butler". That's really surprising to me.

I'm really shocked by Tom Hanks and Redford. Christian Bale, I don't think anybody had predicted but it seemed like there is a lot of love for "American Hustle" with best picture and it got best director and best actress, best actor, best supporting actor, you know, best supporting actress. It really went across the board. I think there are a lot of surprises this morning.

BOLDUAN: And Nischelle, before we move on to the next category, this -- best actor category kind of confirms one of the things I always think is the theme when it comes to nominations. If you are an actor and you really changed your performance, gained weight, lose weight, become a woman, become a man, generally feel like that's one of the themes in Oscar nominations.

TURNER: Yes, you know, the Academy does love a transformation -- Kate. But you know, I was kind of surprised as well in this category. "Her" was nominated for best film but Joaquin Phoenix not nominated for best actor. Also, like they said, "The Butler" shut out this morning. No Forrest Whitaker -- he was an outside chance as well for this category. I do agree though best actor, probably the toughest category and the most competitive category this year.

CUOMO: All right. So best actress that we have. We have -- Cate Blanchett, Sandra Bullock, Judi Dench, Meryl Streep, Amy Adams.

BERMAN: Wow. Powerful, powerful group.

BOLDUAN: Same as in the actor category, don't you think --

CUOMO: All of them have won except for one -- right?

COX: Yes. All have won except for Amy Adams. She has been nominated but never won.

BOLDUAN: Any surprise here?

COX: Well, a lot of people thought Emma Thompson may get nominated for "Saving Mr. Banks". So the fact that she's not in there and the wild card was thought to be that the slot was -- thought to be between Meryl Streep and Amy Adams but it went to both of them. And Emma Thompson was overlooked.

(CROSSTALK)

BERMAN: Is there any risk of Meryl Streep fatigue at this point because she pretty much gets nominated every year and wins half of those years. At a certain point is the Academy going say enough, we're going to let someone new? Maybe Amy Adams this year?

CHRISTE: I think we never tire of Meryl Streep. It is her world out here in Hollywood and we live in it. I do think it is exciting for Amy. She has always been nominated as a best supporting actress. This is her first nomination as best actress. So -- I think it is -- it is all great performances but do I think that Cate Blanchett at this point probably has the lock on it.

BOLDUAN: Nischelle, when we were talking earlier, we were kind of thinking that maybe the dark horse, the wild card in this category, would be Julia Louie-Dreyfus -- that didn't happen. What do you think of these nominees?

TURNER: You know, I think Emma Thompson being omitted is a big omission in this category because going into award season, it was her and Cate Blanchett that everyone talked about. She was a favorite going in. So her not getting a nomination for "Saving Mr. Banks" I think is a really big omission.

But I do think that Amy Adams deserves a lot of credit for this role in "American Hustle". I think this was her film. I think it was her best work and she really deserved a nomination. By the way, this is Meryl Streep's 18th Oscar nomination. So Krista is right. This is her world and Hollywood -- we all just kind of sit around and wait for the next one for her.

CUOMO: She is someone who's made transformation commonplace, you know, whether it is physical or emotional, she's just such an actor's actor.

All right. So the big ticket is obviously when you get to best picture. We have nine nominees this year. Let me know if I leave any out. "12 Years a Slave", "Gravity", "American Hustle", "Captain Phillips", "Nebraska", "Dallas Buyers Club", "Her", "The Wolf of Wall Street" and "Philomena". Is that it -- I got them all.

BOLDUAN: Yes, you got them all I think.

CUOMO: Is there a prohibitive favorite when you look at this bunch? I have all these percentages in front of me.

COX: You know, I think -- the -- the two sort of front-runners would have to be "12 Years a Slave" and "Gravity" at this point. "American Hustle" also has a huge amount of support. I think those are three that have gotten a lot of support. And there is a lot of support for -- a lot of these other films, you know. "Nebraska" is very well liked. "Dallas Buyers Club" surprised people by how well it did today. "The Wolf of Wall Street" is also quite well regarded.

BOLDUAN: I feel like people are still watching and getting introduced to the movie "Her". I don't know if it was just because I haven't seen it yet. I was a little bit surprised at that one maybe because it is just recently out. What do you think?

SMITH: Well, I think "Her" is one of those quiet movies that people discover. Here in Hollywood we saw it a while ago, we loved it. It has a great cast. And it's Spike Jonze. He makes such beautiful films and this one is no exception.

And I think obviously this Oscar nomination is going to do a lot for this film and people getting that word out there and people seeing it. So I personally loved her. Amy Adams is also in that and she was great. Joaquin, he certainly was contender in the best actor category. So it is a really, really good film.

(CROSSTALK)

BOLDUAN: What keeps striking me is the number of nominees 0-- nine. It can be as high as ten, it can be as few as five. But nine is an awful lot. Nischelle, what does the number tell you? Because it means the voters here think there are an awful lot of good movies out there.

TURNER: Right. It does. It means it was another strong year for movies this year. I do think, again, like you said, there could have been ten. There were some omissions here that probably will have people scratching their heads this morning. No "Saving Mr. Banks" which a lot of people loved that film. And again, we are talking about "Lee Daniels' The Butler", it was virtually shut out.

They could have put -- the Academy could have put one of those films in there as well. I do think it is interesting, though, because we talk about "The Wolf of Wall Street". You guys know how much I love that film after I saw it. We talked earlier about a month ago, guys. What did I say? Watch out for Jonah Hill and good news for him this morning. He got a nod from the Academy. This was his best work as well although Jared Leto is going to be hard to beat in that supporting actor category.

CUOMO: Jonah Hill was certainly transformative as well. "Wolf of Wall Street" you point out Nischelle Turner did better than many expected in terms of cross categories.

TURNER: Yes.

CUOMO: Let's take a break. When we come back we will see which movies fared best, which ones are a little of a disappointment at this stage. What's the story line?

When we come back.

BOLDUAN: What's going on.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: All right. Welcome back to NEW DAY.

We continue to break down the Oscar nominations with Variety editor, Gordon Cox; and in Los Angeles we have Krista Smith, senior West Coast editor of "Vanity Fair, and our own Nischelle Turner.

Nischelle -- all right. So let's get some story line action going here. You had "American Hustle" and "Gravity", ten nominations each. "12 Years a Slave" had nine. What do you see here in terms of story line? What kind of movies dominated and who is the big surprise success? What do you think?

TURNER: I think "Gravity" had such a great year. It was good movie and made a lot of money. I think it is one of the big surprises and celebration this morning that it leads nominations with ten along with "American Hustle". So it could be a very good year. I think Alfonzo Cuaron, he won for best director at the Golden Globes. We could see him going in as a bit of a front runner in this race. So look for "Gravity" to make a big splash.

And then look for the Weinstein company to start their campaigns because, you know, the race is on now. And so we will see who's going to be the winner.

BOLDUAN: All right. Krista, give us your final take.

SMITH: Well, I think it is really exciting because you have a really huge commercial movie and also a small independent film in "12 Years a Slave". I have to say it is a great year for film. I'm really happy for director Steve McQueen. It is his first nomination, his third film. His third collaboration with Michael Fassbender who got a nom and also Chewitel Ejiofor, brilliant actor, he's heartbreaking in his performance. So I think it's going to be very competitive.

CUOMO: All right. So as we talked about what were the big surprises and the great story lines that are going on with the actors, it is tough to beat for the Oscars.

Barkhad Abdi -- OK, who's he? He is one of the nominees for best supporting actor. He was in the "Captain Phillips". But it's his back story that makes him amazing.

Congratulations. We have him on the phone. Mr. Abdi, can you hear us?

BARKHAD ABDI, ACTOR: Yes, I can hear you. Thank you so much.

CUOMO: Well, congratulations to you. Well-deserved because of your performance, even more so because of the back story. Tell us, sir, before this movie, what was life for you?

ABDI: Well, I was a limo driver in Minneapolis.

CUOMO: A limo driver in Minneapolis. And how did you come to be there and what were you thinking about your dreams were for the rest of your life?

ABDI: You know, my dream was I was deciding to go back to school and get my engineering degree.

BOLDUAN: Now you have become an actor, an Oscar nominated actor when you know where you have come from and where you are today, what do you think about this nomination?

ABDI: That's right. Well, I'm very humbled and honored. The nomination means so much to me.

BERMAN: The odds had you as a likely nominee for best supporting actor. But still, when you heard them speak your name, what was that feeling like?

ABDI: That was just so exciting for me. I couldn't sleep all last night. I was thinking about it. So I just started jumping up and down as soon as we heard.