The 55th Annual Grammy Award Winners

Album of the Year - Mumford & Sons "Babel"
Record of the Year - Gotye feat. Kimbra "Somebody That I Used to Know"
Best New Artist - fun.
Song of the Year - fun. "We Are Young"
Best Country Album - Zac Brown Band "Uncaged"
Best Rap/Sung Collaboration - Jay-Z, Kanye West feat. Frank Ocean and The-Dream "No Church in the Wild"
Best Pop Vocal Album - Kelly Clarkson "Stronger"!!
Best Rock Performance - The Black Keys "Lonely Boy"
Best Urban/Alternative Album - Frank Ocean "Channel Orange"
Best Country Solo Performance - Carrie Underwood "Blown Away"
Best Pop Solo Performance - Adele "Set Fire to the Rain (Live)"
Best Pop Duo/Group Performance - Gotye feat. Kimbra "Somebody That I Used to Know"
Best Dance Recording - Skrillex feat. Sirah "Bangarang"
Best Electronica/Dance Album - Skrillex "Bangarang"
Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album - Paul McCartney "Kisses on the Bottom"
Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance - Halestorm "Love Bites (So Do I)"
Best Rock Song - The Black Keys "Lonely Boy"
Best Rock Album - The Black Keys "El Camino"
Best Alternative Music Album - Gotye "Making Mirrors"
Best R&B Performance - Usher "Climax"
Best Traditional R&B Performance - Beyonce "Love on Top"
Best R&B Song - Miguel "Adorn"
Best R&B Album - Robert Glasper Experiment "Black Radio"
Best Rap Performance - Jay-Z and Kanye West "N**gas in Paris"
Best Rap Song - Shawn Carter, Mike Dean, Chauncey Hollis & Kanye West "N**gas in Paris"
Best Rap Album - Drake "Take Care"
Best Country Duo/Group Performance - Little Big Town "Pontoon"
Best Country Song - Josh Kear and Chris Tompkins "Blown Away"
Best Americana Album - Bonnie Raitt "Slipstream"
Best Musical Theater Album - Once The Musical
Best Song Written for Visual Media - T-Bone Burnett, Taylor Swift, and The Civil Wars "Safe and Sound" from The Hunger Games
Best Score Soundtrack Album - Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo"
Best Complilation Soundtrack Album - Midnight in Paris
Best Spoken Word Album - Janis Ian "Society's Child: My Autobiography"
Best Comedy Album - Jimmy Fallon "Blow Your Pants Off"
Best Jazz Vocal Album - Esperanza Spalding "Radio Music Society"
Best Remixed Recording, Non Classical - Skrillex "Promises"
Best Short Form Music Video - Rihanna feat. Calvin Harris "We Found Love"
Best Long Form Music Video - Mumford & Sons, Edward Sharpes, The Magnetic Zeros and Old Crow Medicine Show "Big Easy Express"

The 66th Annual BAFTA Award Winners

Best Film - Argo
Best Director - Ben Affleck "Argo"
Best Actor - Daniel Day-Lewis "Lincoln"
Best Actress - Emmanuelle Riva "Amour"
Best Film Not in the English Language - Amour
Best Documentary - Searching For Sugar Man
Best Supporting Actor - Christoph Waltz "Django Unchained"
Best Supporting Actress - Anne Hathaway "Les Miserables"
Best Original Screenplay -  Quentin Tarantino "Django Unchained"
Best Adapted Screenplay - David O. Russell "Silver Linings Playbook"
Best Original Film Score - Thomas Newman "Skyfall"
Best Cinematography - Life of Pi
Best Production Design - Les Miserables
Best Editing - Argo
Best Sound - Les Miserables
Best Animated Film - Brave
Best Special Effects - Life of Pi
Best Makeup and Hair -  Les Miserables
Best Costumes - Anna Karenina
Best Outstanding British Film - Skyfall
Best Short Film - Swimmer
Best Animated Short - The Making of Longbird
Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer -  Bart Layton & Dimitri Doganis
"The Imposter"
Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema Winner - Tessa Ross

2013 Grammy Award Predictions: Album of the Year

Will Win - Mumford & Sons "Babel"

Could Win - fun. "Some Nights", Frank Ocean "Channel Orange", or Black Keys "El Camino"

Should Win - Black Keys "El Camino"

Commentary - Because there is no clear frontrunner in this years races, I am predicting a three way split between Record, Song, and Album of the Year. This is normally not a smart move, but this Grammy year is an interesting one, and even among the General categories, there is a lot of confusion, and not a lot of overlap. Conventional wisdom says that because fun is nominated in all four, it is going to win. Don't get me wrong, both fun, and Frank Ocean are possibilities, but this award has always favored more veteran performers. Black Keys could easily win, but I think that the popularity of Babel (which is still in the top ten in terms of sales), plus the upward rise of Mumford & Sons will be enough to put it over the top despite its lack of Record of the Year and Song of the Year nominations.

 

Argo Wins USC Scripter

I should have seen this coming, but I thought that the folks behind the Scripter, which awards both the source material and the screenwriter, would appreciate not only the best adaptation of the year, but the best script of the year, Tony Kushner's Lincoln. While I do not mind at all Argo winning Best Picture, and think that Affleck truly was snubbed in Director, it is a real shame that people can't look past the Argo machine long enough to realize the skill and hardwork it took to turn a dense, long,  and brilliant nonfiction book into a 2 1/2 hour movie that, despite some reports, is well-made and definitely has entertainment value, as evidenced by its incredible box office numbers. But alas, the Argo machine was too much, and will probably continue to steamroll today at BAFTA.

2013 BAFTA Predictions

Sometime tomorrow afternoon the winners will be announced for the BAFTA Awards. You can wait and see the winners at 8 pm EST on BBC America (or 11 if you won't to watch the Grammy's as well). The real story will be after tomorrow when the winners sink in (just as Oscar ballots are going out), and we will see what changes the British have wrought upon our American Oscar race.

Best Picture - Argo
Best British Film - Skyfall
Best Director - Ben Affleck "Argo"
Best Actor - Daniel Day-Lewis "Lincoln"
Best Actress - Jessica Chastain "Zero Dark Thirty"
Best Supporting Actor - Christoph Waltz "Django Unchained"
Best Supporting Actress - Anne Hathaway "Les Miserables"
Best Original Screenplay - Quentin Tarantino "Django Unchained"
Best Adapted Screenplay - Chris Terrio "Argo"
Best Animated Feature - Brave
Best Foreign Film - Amour
Best Documentary Film - Searching for Sugar Man
Best Production Design - Anna Karenina
Best Cinematography - Life of Pi
Best Costume Design - Anna Karenina
Best Editing - Argo
Best Makeup and Hairstyling - The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Best Score - Mychael Danna "Life of Pi"
Best Sound - Skyfall
Best Visual Effects - Life of Pi

2013 Grammy Award Predictions: Song of the Year

Will Win - fun. "We Are Young"

Should Win - The Writing Team for Kelly Clarkson's "Stronger"

Could Win - Carly Rae Jepson "Call Me Maybe"

Commentary - This category is one of the strangest in years, with really no veterans. I would love to see Kelly Clarkson's Stronger win this, but since she herself was not a part of the writing team, it hurts the songs chances. Miguel and Ed Sheeran should be lucky to be nominated, but neither seems to have enough to actually win. Carly Rae Jepson's Call Me Maybe was the record of the year, but alas was nominated for its songwriting. The popularity of the song could help it push through, but my guess is that fun, which is present throughout the pop and general fields, will win this one almost by default.

The 13th Annual Black Reel Award Winners

The Foundation for the Advancement of African-Americans in Film (FAAAF) presented its winners for the 13th Annual Black Reel Awards. Winners included Beasts of the Southern Wild, Middle of Nowhere, Django Unchained and Skyfall. The full list of winners is below:

Outstanding Film
Beasts of the Southern Wild

Outstanding Actor
Denzel Washington | Flight

Outstanding Actress
Quvenzhane Wallis | Beasts of the Southern Wild

Outstanding Supporting Actor
Samuel L. Jackson | Django Unchained

Outstanding Supporting Actress
Naomie Harris | Skyfall

Outstanding Director
Ava DuVernay | Middle of Nowhere

Outstanding Screenplay (Original or Adapted)
Ava DuVernay | Middle of Nowhere

Outstanding Documentary
The Central Park Five | Sarah Burns, Ken Burns & David McMahon

Outstanding Ensemble
Django Unchained | Victoria Thomas

Outstanding Foreign Film
The Intouchables | France

Outstanding Score
Dan Romer & Behn Zeitilin | Beasts of the Southern Wild

Outstanding Song
John Legend “Who Did That to You” | Django Unchained

Outstanding Breakthrough Performance
Quvenzhane Wallis | Beasts of the Southern Wild

Outstanding Voice Performance
Dennis Haysbert | Wreck-it Ralph

Outstanding Independent Film
LUV | Sheldon Candis

Outstanding Independent Documentary
Soul Food Junkies | Byron Hurt

Outstanding Independent Short
The Bluest Note | Marques Green

Outstanding Television Documentary
Brooklyn Boheme | Nelson George & Diane Paragas

Outstanding Television Movie
A Beautiful Soul | TVOne

Outstanding Television Actor
Sean Patrick Thomas | Murder on the 13th Floor

Outstanding Television Actress
Aunjanue Ellis | Abducted: The Carlina White Story

Outstanding Television Supporting Actor
Courtney B. Vance | Let It Shine

Outstanding Television Supporting Actress
Alfre Woodard | Steel Magnolias

Outstanding Television Director
Vondie Curtis-Hall | Abducted: The Carlina White Story

Outstanding Television Screenplay
Elizabeth Hunter | Abducted: The Carlina White Story

International Film Music Award Nominees

Some great nominees, including some criminally snubbed scores, as well as Oscar nominees like Anna Karenina, Life of Pie, Lincoln, and Skyfall.

Film Score of the Year
"Cloud Atlas" (Tom Tykwer, Johnny Klimek, Reinhold Heil)
"The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" (Howard Shore)
"The Impossible" (Fernando Velázquez)
"Life of Pi" (Mychael Danna)
"Lincoln" (John Williams)

Film Composer of the Year
Mychael Danna
Alexandre Desplat
Danny Elfman
Fernando Velázquez
John Williams

Breakout Composer of the Year
Nathan Johnson
Zeltia Montes
Nic Raine
Dan Romer & Benh Zeitlin
Joseph Trapanese

Best Original Score for a Drama Film
"Anna Karenina" (Dario Marianelli)
"The Impossible" (Fernando Velázquez)
"Life of Pi" (Mychael Danna)
"Lincoln" (John Williams)
"There Be Dragons - Secretos de Pasión" (Robert Follk)

Best Original Score for a Comedy Film
"Moonrise Kingdom" (Alexandre Desplat)
"Salmon Fishing in the Yemen" (Dario Marianelli)
"The Sessions" (Marco Beltrami)
"Silver Linings Playbook" (Danny Elfman)
"Ted" (Walter Murphy)

Best Original Score for an Action/Adventure/Thriller Film
"The Amazing Spider-Man" (James Horner)
"Dans la Maison" (Philippe Rombi)
"The Dark Knight Rises" (Hans Zimmer)
"Skyfall" (Thomas Newman)
"Zero Dark Thirty" (Alexandre Desplat)

Best Original Score for a Fantasy/Science Fiction/Horror Film
"Cloud Atlas" (Tom Tykwer, Johnny Klimek and Reinhold Heil)
"The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" (Howard Shore)
"John Carter" (Michael Giacchino)
"Prometheus" (Marc Streitenfeld, Harry Gregson-Williams)
"Sinister" (Christopher Young)

Best Original Score for an Animated Film
"Brave" (Patrick Doyle)
"Frankenweenie" (Danny Elfman)
"ParaNorman" (Jon Brion)
"Rise of the Guardians" (Alexandre Desplat)
"Secret of the Wings" (Joel McNeely)

Best Original Score for a Documentary Feature
"Kingdom of Plants" (Joel Douek, Freddy Sheinfeld and Elik Alvarez)
"Los Mundos Sutiles" (Pascal Gaigne)
"Metsän Tarina" (Panu Aaltio)
"Samsara" (Lisa Gerrard and Michael Stearns)
"Shakespeare & Us" (Miguel d'Oliveira)

Film Music Composition of the Year
"The Cloud Atlas Sextet for Orchestra" from "Cloud Atlas" (Thom Tykwer, Johnny Klimek and Reinhold Heil)
"The Impossible Main Title" from "The Impossible" (Fernando Velázquez)
"John Carter of Mars" from "John Carter" (Michael Giacchino)
"Pi's Lullaby" from "Life of Pi" (Mychael Danna)
"The Peterson House and Finale" from "Lincoln" (John Williams)

2013 Grammy Award Predictions: Best New Artist

Will Win - fun.

Should Win/Could Win - Frank Ocean

Commentary - Some years, this award has afforded us some surprises (Esperanza Spalding for example). So even Hunter Hayes, The Lumineers, or Alabama Shakes are possibilities, as all have done well in their respective fields this year. But my guess is that this award is between the two artists who both made marks on other general categories, Frank Ocean in Album and fun in all four across the board. Ocean has the critical acclaim, and news is that his album just went gold. Compared to fun's sells that its not great, but it shows that he has at least a little power on the charts. But in terms of surprising Grammy popularity, radio airplay, and album sales, no one in this category compares to fun. I resent that they are considered new artists as they were once The Format, and that this is their second album, but Bon Iver's win last year proves, and many other nominees and winners over the years, that what the Recording Academy really means by "new" is when they finally get around to noticing them.

 

Visual Effects Society (VES) Award Winners

As expected, Life of Pi cleans up here, and I expect it will repeat with a Best Visual Effects Oscar. In the animation categories, Brave takes a clean sweep showing some muscle in the Animated Feature race. If it wins BAFTA, then it could surprise on Oscar night.

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects-Driven Feature Motion Picture
Life of Pi

Outstanding Animation in an Animated Feature Motion Picture
Brave

Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Feature Motion Picture
The Impossible

Outstanding Animated Character in a Live Action Feature Motion Picture
Life of Pi: Richard Parker

Outstanding Animated Character in an Animated Feature Motion Picture
Brave: Merida

Outstanding FX and Simulation Animation in a Live Action Feature Motion Picture
Life of Pi: Storm of God


Outstanding Created Environment in a Live Action Feature Motion Picture
The Avengers: Midtown Manhattan

Outstanding Created Environment in an Animated Feature Motion Picture
Brave: The Forest

Outstanding Virtual Cinematography in a Live Action Feature Motion Picture
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Outstanding Compositing in a Feature Motion Picture
Life of Pi: Storm of God

Outstanding Models in a Feature Motion Picture
The Avengers: Helicarrier

Outstanding FX and Simulation Animation in an Animated Feature Motion Picture
Brave

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Broadcast Program
Game of Thrones: Volar Morghulis

Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Broadcast Program
Boardwalk Empire: Episode 308

Outstanding Real-Time Visuals in a Video Game
Call of Duty: Black Ops II

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Commercial
Nike: Biomorph

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Special Venue Project
Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem

Outstanding Animated Character in a Commercial or Broadcast Program
Game of Thrones: Training the Dragons

Outstanding Created Environment in a Commercial or Broadcast Program
Game of Thrones: Pyke

Outstanding Virtual Cinematography in a Commercial or Broadcast Program
ZombiU

Outstanding FX and Simulation Animation in a Commercial or Broadcast Program
Guinness: Cloud

Outstanding Compositing in a Broadcast Program
Game of Thrones, Episode 210: White Walker Army

Outstanding Compositing in a Commercial
Chevy 2012 Silverado

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Student Project
Natalis