2nd Annual TeleFilmiest Awards - Nominations

Welcome back! It's Emmy season, which means only one thing: it's time for the better and more welcoming TeleFilmiest Awards. I watched a large amount of television this year, some of it good some of it just... never again. However, I have compiled my personal nominees for the most outstanding actors, actresses, directors, writers and shows and I am pleased to announce them in 26 categories here.

The 2nd Annual TeleFilmiest Awards:

And the nominees are...

COMEDY ENSEMBLE:

Brooklyn Nine-Nine:

Stephanie Beatriz, Andre Braugher, Terry Crews, Melissa Fumero, Joe Lo Truglio, Chelsea Peretti and Andy Samberg

Community:

Alison Brie, Yvette Nicole Brown, Donald Glover, Gillian Jacobs, Ken Jeong, Joel McHale, Danny Pudi and Jim Rash

Orange is the New Black:

Jason Biggs, Michael J. Harney, Michelle Hurst, Kate Mulgrew, Laura Prepon and Taylor Schilling

Parks and Recreation:

Aziz Ansari, Rashida Jones, Jim O'Heir, Rob Lowe, Nick Offerman, Aubrey Plaza, Amy Poehler, Chris Pratt, Retta and Adam Scott

Veep:

Sufe Bradshaw, Anna Chlumsky, Gary Cole, Kevin Dunn, Tony Hale, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Reid Scott, Timothy Simons and Matt Walsh

COMEDY GUEST ACTOR:

Brad Garrett as Gordon Lewis in The Crazy Ones

Andrew Rannells as Elijah Krantz in Girls

Jeremy Renner as Jeff Davis in Louie

Pablo Schreiber as George “Pornstache” Mendez in Orange is the New Black

Damon Wayans, Jr. as Coach in New Girl

COMEDY GUEST ACTRESS:

Pamela Adlon as Pamela in Louie

Uzo Aduba as Suzanne “Crazy Eyes” Warren in Orange is the New Black

Sarah Baker as Vanessa in Louie

Laverne Cox as Sophia Burset in Orange is the New Black

Mimi Kennedy as Marjorie Armstrong in Mom

DRAMA GUEST ACTOR:

Beau Bridges as Provost Barton Scully in Masters of Sex

Robert Forster as Ed in Breaking Bad

Jack Gleeson as Joffrey Baratheon in Game of Thrones

Robert Morse as Bertram Cooper in Mad Men

Pedro Pascal as Oberyn Martell in Game of Thrones

DRAMA GUEST ACTRESS:

Annaleigh Ashford as Betty DiMello in Masters of Sex

Allison Janney as Margaret Scully in Masters of Sex

Margo Martindale as Claudia in The Americans

Julianne Nicholson as Dr. Lillian DePaul in Masters of Sex

Diana Rigg as Lady Olenna Tyrell in Game of Thrones

DRAMA ENSEMBLE:

The Americans:

Noah Emmerich, Annet Mahendru, Susan Misner, Matthew Rhys, Keri Russell, Keidrich Sellati, Holly Taylor and Alison Wright

Breaking Bad:

Betsy Brandt, Bryan Cranston, Laura Fraser, Anna Gunn, RJ Mitte, Dean Norris, Bob Odenkirk, Aaron Paul and Jesse Plemons

Game of Thrones:

Alfie Allen, John Bradley, Gwendoline Christie, Emilia Clarke, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Liam Cunningham, Charles Dance, Stephen Dillane, Peter Dinklage, Natalie Dormer, Jerome Flynn, Aidan Gillen, Jack Gleeson, Iain Glen, Kit Harington, Lena Headey, Isaac Hempstead-Wright, Conleth Hill, Kristofer Hivju, Sibel Kekilli, Rose Leslie, Rory McCrann, Hannah Murray, Iwan Rheon, Sophie Turner, Carice van Houton and Maisie Williams

House of Cards:

Mahershala Ali, Rachel Brosnahan, Nathan Darrow, Michel Gill, Sakina Jaffrey, Michael Kelly, Gerald McRaney, Molly Parker, Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright

Mad Men:

Ben Feldman, Jay R. Ferguson, Jon Hamm, Christina Hendricks, January Jones, Vincent Kartheiser, Robert Morse, Elisabeth Moss, Jessica Pare, Kevin Rahm, Kiernan Shipka, John Slattery, Rich Sommer, Christopher Stanley and Aaron Staton

COMEDY DIRECTING:

Jorma Taccone for Brooklyn Nine-Nine (“Thanksgiving”)

Louis C.K. for Louie (“In The Woods”)

Jodie Foster for Orange is the New Black (“Lesbian Request Denied”)

Michael Trim for Orange is the New Black (“Can’t Fix Crazy”)

Chris Addison for Veep (“New Hampshire”)

COMEDY WRITING:

Andrew Haigh for Looking (“Looking for the Future”)

Louis C.K. for Louie (“So Did the Fat Lady”)

Nick Jones for Orange is the New Black (“Bora Bora Bora”)

Amy Poehler & Michael Schur for Parks and Recreation (“Second Chunce”)

David Quantick & Tony Roche for Veep (“Debate”)

DRAMA DIRECTING:

Charlotte Sieling for The Americans (“Behind the Red Door”)

Rian Johnson for Breaking Bad (“Ozymandias”)

Vince Gilligan for Breaking Bad (“Felina”)

Alex Graves for Game of Thrones (“The Lion and the Rose”)

Matthew Weiner for Mad Men (“Waterloo”)

DRAMA WRITING:

Oliver North & Tracey Scott Wilson for The Americans (“Martial Eagle”)

Gennifer Hutchison for Breaking Bad (“Confessions”)

Moira Walley-Beckett for Breaking Bad (“Ozymandias”)

Carly Wray & Matthew Weiner for Mad Men (“Waterloo”)

Sam Shaw & Michelle Ashford for Masters of Sex (“Catherine”)

MINISERIES/MOVIE DIRECTING:

Adam Bernstein for Fargo (“The Crocodile’s Dilemma”)

Ryan Murphy for The Normal Heart

Cary Joji Fukunaga for True Detective

MINISERIES/MOVIE WRITING:

Noah Hawley for Fargo

Matt Piedmont & Andrew Steele for The Spoils of Babylon

Nic Pizzolatto for True Detective

MINISERIES/MOVIE ACTOR:

Matt Bomer as Felix Turner in The Normal Heart

Martin Freeman as Lester Nygaard in Fargo

Woody Harrelson as Martin Hart in True Detective

Matthew McConaughey as Rust Cohle in True Detective

Billy Bob Thornton as Lorne Malvo in Fargo

MINISERIES/MOVIE ACTRESS:

Frances Conroy as Myrtle Snow in American Horror Story: Coven

Jessica Lange as Fiona Goode in American Horror Story: Coven

Julia Roberts as Dr. Emma Brookner in The Normal Heart

Allison Tolman as Molly Solverson in Fargo

Kristen Wiig as Cynthia Morehouse in The Spoils of Babylon

COMEDY SUPPORTING ACTOR:

Taran Killam as Various characters in Saturday Night Live

Joe Lo Truglio as Charles Boyle in Brooklyn Nine-Nine

Reid Scott as Dan Egan in Veep

Timothy Simons as Jonah Ryan in Veep

James Wolk as Zach Cropper in The Crazy Ones

COMEDY SUPPORTING ACTRESS:

Gillian Jacobs as Britta Perry in Community

Allison Janney as Bonnie Plunkett in Mom

Kate McKinnon as Various characters in Saturday Night Live

Kate Mulgrew as Galina “Red” Reznikov in Orange is the New Black

Chelsea Peretti as Gina Linetti in Brooklyn Nine-Nine 

MINISERIES/MOVIE:

American Horror Story: Coven

Fargo

The Normal Heart

The Spoils of Babylon

True Detective

VARIETY SERIES:

The Colbert Report

Comedy Bang! Bang!

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

Portlandia

Saturday Night Live

DRAMA SUPPORTING ACTOR:

Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister in Game of Thrones

Noah Emmerich as Stan Beeman in The Americans

Damian Lewis as Nicholas Brody in Homeland

Dean Norris as Hank Schrader in Breaking Bad 

Aaron Paul as Jesse Pinkman in Breaking Bad

DRAMA SUPPORTING ACTRESS:

Anna Gunn as Skyler White in Breaking Bad

Lena Headey as Cersei Lannister in Game of Thrones

Annet Mahendru as Nina Sergeevna in The Americans

Kiernan Shipka as Sally Draper in Mad Men

Allison Wright as Martha Hanson in The Americans

COMEDY LEAD ACTOR:

Fred Armisen as Various characters in Portlandia

Scott Aukerman as himself in Comedy Bang! Bang!

Louis C.K. as Louie in Louie

Jake Johnson as Nick Miller in New Girl

Andy Samberg as Jake Peralta in Brooklyn Nine-Nine

COMEDY LEAD ACTRESS:

Carrie Brownstein as Various characters in Portlandia

Anna Faris as Christy Plunkett in Mom

Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Vice President Selina Meyer in Veep

Amy Poehler as Leslie Knope in Parks and Recreation

Taylor Schilling as Piper Chapman in Orange is the New Black

DRAMA LEAD ACTOR:

Bryan Cranston as Walter White in Breaking Bad

Jon Hamm as Don Draper in Mad Men

Mandy Patinkin as Saul Berenson in Homeland

Matthew Rhys as Philip Jennings in The Americans

Michael Sheen as Dr. William Masters in Masters of Sex

DRAMA LEAD ACTRESS:

Lizzy Caplan as Virginia Johnson in Masters of Sex

Claire Danes as Carrie Mathison in Homeland

Tatiana Maslany as Various characters in Orphan Black

Elisabeth Moss as Peggy Olson in Mad Men

Robin Wright as Claire Underwood in House of Cards

COMEDY SERIES:

Brooklyn Nine-Nine

Girls

Louie

Orange is the New Black

Veep

DRAMA SERIES:

The Americans

Breaking Bad

Game of Thrones

Mad Men

Masters of Sex

TOTALS

Breaking Bad - 11

Orange is the New Black - 10

The Americans - 9

Game of Thrones, Louie, Mad Men, Masters of Sex - 8

Veep - 7

Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Fargo - 6

True Detective - 5

The Normal Heart - 4

American Horror Story: Coven, Homeland, Mom, Parks and Recreation, Portlandia, Saturday Night Live, The Spoils of Babylon - 3

Comedy Bang! Bang!, Community, The Crazy Ones, Girls, House of Cards, New Girl - 2

The Colbert Report, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, Looking, Orphan Black - 1

Winners will be announced on July 30th.

The Grand Budapest Hotel (Anderson, 2014)

Visionary director Wes Anderson throws the cynical filmgoing audience into his own pastel-painted world again in The Grand Budapest Hotel. Anderson is one of the most distinctive film directors working in the business today, with his over-the-top whimsy and nostalgia for “Old Hollywood” standing out among modern-day gritty reboots and mean-spirited comedies. With The Grand Budapest Hotel, Anderson brings the same visual panache featured in his other films, from The Royal Tenenbaums to Moonrise Kingdom, and features largely the same troupe of actors. On the surface, The Grand Budapest Hotel seems like just another warm-hearted ensemble comedy from Anderson, but the film takes some pleasantly surprising turns toward darkness, giving it an impressive level of stakes and gravitas.

House of Cards - The Second Season

Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright of House of Cards

It’s funny how a readjustment of expectations can drastically alter your enjoyment of a TV viewing experience. When House of Cards debuted its entire first season on Netflix in February 2013, the political series was being hailed as TV’s next great drama and a brand-definer; Netflix’s version of The Sopranos. The cast featured two-time Oscar winner Kevin Spacey, movie star Robin Wright, American Horror Story’s Kate Mara and a whole host of underrated character actors. Not only that, the talent extended beyond the cast to the directors and producers, with people like David Fincher and James Foley. As such, there were huge expectations going into House of Cards in season 1 that it was bound to be hailed as a disappointment if it were anything less than perfect. While much of the response was positive, there was still a huge group of TV critics who considered it nothing special, a show that might not even succeed if it were on television proper. I considered myself among this group of critics sorely disappointed by the show’s many flaws. Regardless, the show garnered a number of Emmy nominations, a win for Fincher’s directing, and a key level of buzz to help build anticipation for season 2. Knowing that the show was nothing special, I watched the second season with an entirely different framework — that of a ridiculous, campy, plot twisty political soap opera — and I surprisingly found myself enjoying House of Cards a lot more.

The Lego Movie (Lord & Miller, 2014)

The Lego Movie is the best film of 2014! Granted, it’s only February and the months before summer are mostly a barren wasteland of cheap horror movies and mind-numbing romantic comedies, but The Lego Movie is a rare gem among the crap. While its super-early release date suggests a lack of faith by the studio, the film manages to exceed beyond expectations and then some. That’s saying something, quite frankly, given how easy it would be for the film to coast on the Lego premise and the colorful animation just to help the company sell some more merchandise.

2nd Annual Filmiest Awards - Winners (Part 2)

Welcome to part 2 of my winners announcement for the 2nd Annual Filmiest Awards! With eight trophies already handed out in part 1, we will now get to the biggest awards of them all. Click here to read or review part 1. On with the show!

The first category to be announced tonight is Best Art Direction. The visual aesthetic of a film can be its most memorable part, whether it be through vibrant colors or muted tones. Last year's winner, Life of Pi, represents the absolute beauty that filmmaking can produce, and this year's winner is just as worthy.

The nominees for Best Art Direction are:

2nd Annual Filmiest Awards - Winners (Part 1)

Awards season is upon us, and the Filmiest Awards are just one of many to award the best in film. 2013 was one of the best film years in recent history, and many are set to become some of my favorites of all time. This is the second year for the Filmiest Awards, my own personal celebration of movie excellence. I will now present my awards in 16 categories over a two-day process.

Let's get things started.

The award for Best Original Song celebrates the best use of a song written exclusively for a movie. Such a song must contribute to the overall benefit of the movie it's intended for while also standing on its own as a genuinely outstanding song. Last year's award for Best Original Song went to "Big Machine" from Safety Not Guaranteed. Let's see which song is about to join this exclusive group.

The nominees for Best Original Song are:

2nd Annual Filmiest Awards - Nominations

I hereby present the 2nd Annual Filmiest Awards, otherwise known as my own personal awards for the year 2013. This has been an absolutely incredible year for film, and each nomination I've made is earned. No fillers anywhere.  Here are my nominations in 16 categories:

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

“Becomes the Color” from Stoker

“The Moon Song” from Her

“Please Mr. Kennedy” from Inside Llewyn Davis

“Together” from The Great Gatsby

“Young and Beautiful” from The Great Gatsby

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Bradley Cooper, American Hustle

Dane DeHaan, Kill Your Darlings

Michael Fassbender, 12 Years a Slave

James Franco, Spring Breakers

Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club