LVFCS Goes for “Birdman” Down the Line

Boyhood has swept a majority of critics awards this last week, but today the Las Vegas Film Critics Society put their chips behind Fox Searchlight’s Birdman, awarding the film seven awards for best picture, best director, best actor, best screenplay, cinematography, ensemble and score. The next closest winner was Whiplash with two awards for supporting actor (J.K. Simmons and Breakout Filmmaker of the Year).

The LVFCS’ acting categories yielded some surprises, going with Tilda Swinton for Snowpiercer and Reese Witherspoon for Wild. Birdman wrapped up most of the technical awards, though Interstellar, Guardians of the Galaxy, Edge of Tomorrow split the remainder. The Lego Movie finished with wins for both Best Animated Film and Family Film. Along with the standard categories that most groups have, the LVFCS awards films for Best Comedy, Sci-fi/Horror, Action and the William Holden Lifetime Achievement Award.

Below are the complete list of 2014’s Sierra Award winners:

Best Picture
Boyhood
Whiplash
Grand Budapest Hotel
Wild
Birdman
Nightcrawler

Best Actor
Michael Keaton – Birdman
Bradley Cooper – American Sniper
Jake Gyllenhaal – Nightcrawler
Steve Carell – Foxcatcher
Eddie Redmayne – Theory of Everything

Best Actress
Reese Witherspoon – Wild
Scarlett Johansson – Under the Skin
Rosamund Pike – Gone Girl
Felicity Jones – Theory of Everything
Jennifer Aniston – Cake

Best Supporting Actor
Ethan Hawke – Boyhood
Edward Norton – Birdman
Mark Ruffalo – Foxcatcher
Richard Armitage – The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies
J.K. Simmons – Whiplash

Best Supporting Actress
Tilda Swinton – Snowpiercer
Emma Stone – Birdman
Patricia Arquette – Boyhood
Laura Dern – Wild
Keira Knightley – The Imitation Game

Best Director
Richard Linklater – Boyhood
Dan Gilroy – Nightcrawler
Wes Anderson – Grand Budapest Hotel
Alejandro González Iñárritu – Birdman
Damien Chazelle – Whiplash

Best Screenplay
Alejandro González Iñárritu, Nicolas Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Armando Bo – Birdman
Wes Anderson, Hugo Guinness – Grand Budapest Hotel
Damien Chazelle – Whiplash
Nick Hornsby – Wild
Richard Linklater – Boyhood

Best Cinematography
Emmanuel Lubezki – Birdman
Hoyte van Hoytema – Interstellar
Robert Yeoman – Grand Budapest Hotel
Sharone Meir – Whiplash
Yves Belanger – Wild

Best Film Editing
Joel Cox, Gary Roach – American Sniper
Sandra Adair – Boyhood
Tom Cross – Whiplash
James Herbert and Laura Jennings – Edge of Tomorrow
Douglas Crise, Stephen Mirrione – Birdman

Best Costume Design
Grand Budapest Hotel
Fury
Snowpiercer
Guardians of the Galaxy
Into the Woods

Best Art Direction
Interstellar
Grand Budapest Hotel
Snowpiercer
Into the Woods
Birdman

Best Visual Effects
Guardians of the Galaxy
Interstellar
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Edge of Tomorrow
The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies

Best Foreign Film
Ida
We Are the Best
Two Days One Night
Force Majeure
Wild Tales

Best Documentary
Citizenfour
Life Itself
Ivory Tower
Glen Campbell…I’ll Be Me
Whitey: United States of America vs. James J. Bulger

Best Animated Film
The Boxtrolls
Big Hero 6
The Lego Movie
How to Train Your Dragon 2
The Book of Life

Best Family Film
Muppets Most Wanted
Big Hero 6
The Lego Movie
How to Train Your Dragon 2
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Best Horror/Sci-Fi Film
Snowpiercer
The Babadook
Edge of Tomorrow
Under the Skin
Lucy

Best Comedy Film
Top 5
Neighbors
St. Vincent
22 Jump Street
Grand Budapest Hotel

Best Action Film
Snowpiercer
Guardians of the Galaxy
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Edge of Tomorrow
John Wick

Best Ensemble
Grand Budapest Hotel
Top 5
Birdman
Boyhood
Foxcatcher

Best Score
Birdman
Wild
Interstellar
Under the Skin
Whiplash

Best Song
“I Love You All” – Frank
“Battle Cry” – Imagine Dragons – Transformers: Age of Extinction
“I’m Not Gonna Miss You” – Glen Campbell… I’ll Be Me
“Glory” – Selma
“Daddy’s Lullaby” – Boyhood

Youth in Film
Ellar Coltrane – Boyhood
Mackenzie Foy – Interstellar
Noah Wiseman – The Babadook
Lorelei Linklater – Boyhood
Jaeden Lieberher – St. Vincent

Breakout Filmmaker of the Year
Jennifer Kent – The Babadook
Damien Chazelle – Whiplash
Dan Gilroy – Nightcrawler
Mike Flanagan – Oculus
Justin Simien – Dear White People

William Holden Lifetime Achievement
Bill Murray

LVFCS Top 10 Films of 2014
1. Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
2. Boyhood
3. Whiplash
4. Nightcrawler
5. The Grand Budapest Hotel
6. Wild
7. Selma
8. The Imitation Game
9. Snowpiercer
10. Under the Skin