HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — The Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association (GALECA), comprised of over 100 critics and entertainment journalists nationwide, today unveiled its first-round picks for the best in movies and television of 2014. The nominations come across 25 categories, from mainstream to LGBTQ-centric, including four newly-added runs such as Film Director of the Year, TV Director of the Year and Music Video of the Year.
GALECA’s mission to honor content “from mainstream to gaystream” has led to an unusually wide variety of nominations and winners since its inception in 2009. The organization’s previous choices for Film of the Year were 12 Years a Slave, Argo, Weekend, I Am Love and A Single Man.
This time, the showbiz satire Birdman has the edge with four nominations in the movie categories, including Film of the Year and Michael Keaton for Film Performance of the Year – Actor. Just behind are The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Imitation Game and the fact-based crowd-pleaser Pride, about blue-collar miners and LGBTQs standing united for a cause. Annie, Tammy and Maleficent are among the titles vying for Campy Flick of the Year.
In TV categories, the transgender-comes-out-to-their-family dramedy, Transparent, leads with five nominations, including nods for star Jeffrey Tambor and creator Jill Soloway (for TV Director of the Year). The Normal Heart, Orange is the New Black and the new, breakneck drama How to Get Away with Murder (for TV Drama of the Year, star Viola Davis and Campy TV Show) are also well-represented.
LGBTQ-specific categories for TV and film have their own surprises, as do GALECA’s notions for Visually Striking Film of the Year (such as the Scarlett-Johansson-starrer Under the Skin) and “unsung” productions (the group gave TV’s wistful-youth comedy Please Like Me some love).
Other nominees: Taylor Swift, Gina Rodriguez, Stephen Colbert, John Oliver, Lisa Kudrow, Jack Falahee, Meghan Trainor and Neil Patrick Harris (the latter is up for Wilde Artist of the Year . . . James Franco won the title last year).
One winner is known already: George Takei, Star Trek icon and LGBTQ-rights activist, has been named Timeless Star. GALECA has previously awarded such luminaries as Lily Tomlin and Sir Ian McKellen their version of a career achievement honor.
This season’s winners will be announced next Tuesday, Jan. 20, with the group’s annual, free-wheeling Winners Toast set for Sunday, March 1, in Los Angeles.
For more information, visit galeca.com
The complete list of Dorian Award nominees is below.
GALECA DORIAN AWARDS NOMINATIONS: 2014/15
Film of the Year
Birdman – Fox Searchlight
Boyhood – Sundance Selects/IFC
The Grand Budapest Hotel – Fox Searchlight
The Imitation Game – The Weinstein Company
Pride – CBS Films
Film Performance of the Year – Actor
Steve Carell, Foxcatcher – Sony Pictures Classics
Benedict Cumberbatch, The Imitation Game – The Weinstein Company
Jake Gyllenhaal, Nightcrawler – Open Road
Michael Keaton, Birdman – Fox Searchlight
Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything – Universal
Film Performance of the Year – Actress
Essie Davis, The Babadook – Sundance Selects/IFC
Anne Dorval, Mommy – Lionsgate
Julianne Moore, Still Alice – Sony Pictures Classics
Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl – 20th Century Fox
Reese Witherspoon, Wild – Fox Searchlight
Film Director of the Year
Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel – Fox Searchlight
Ava DuVernay, Selma – Paramount
David Fincher, Gone Girl – 20th Century Fox
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Birdman – Fox Searchight
Richard Linklater, Boyhood – Sundance Selects/IFC
LGBTQ Film of the Year
The Imitation Game – The Weinstein Company
Love is Strange – Sony Pictures Classics
Pride – CBS Films
Stranger by the Lake – Strand Releasing
The Way He Looks – Strand Releasing
Foreign Language Film of the Year
Force Majeure – Magnolia Pictures
Ida – Music Box Films
Mommy – Lionsgate
Stranger by the Lake – Strand Releasing
Two Days, One Night – Sundance Selects/IFC
Unsung Film of the Year
Obvious Child – A24
Love is Strange – Sony Pictures Classics
Pride – CBS Films
The Skeleton Twins – Roadside Attractions
Snowpiercer – Radius/TWC
Documentary of the Year
(theatrical release, TV airing or DVD release)
The Case Against 8 – HBO
CitizenFour – Radius/TWC
Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me – Sundance Selects
Life Itself – Magnolia Pictures
Regarding Susan Sontag – HBO
Visually Striking Film of the Year
(honoring a production of stunning beauty, from art direction to cinematography)
Birdman – Fox Searchlight
The Grand Budapest Hotel – Fox Searchlight
Interstellar – Paramount
Snowpiercer – Radius/TWC
Under the Skin – A24
Campy Flick of the Year
Annie
Gone Girl
Into the Woods
Maleficent
Tammy
TV Drama of the Year
Fargo – FX
The Good Wife – CBS
How To Get Away with Murder – ABC
Mad Men – AMC
The Normal Heart – HBO
TV Comedy of the Year
The Comeback – HBO
Modern Family – ABC
Orange is the New Black – Netflix
Transparent – Amazon
Veep – HBO
TV Director of the Year
Lisa Cholodenko, Olive Kitteridge – HBO
Jodie Foster, Orange is the New Black -Netflix
Andrew Haigh, Looking – HBO
Ryan Murphy, The Normal Heart – HBO
Jill Soloway, Transparent – Amazon
TV Performance of the Year – Actor
Matthew Bomer, The Normal Heart – HBO
Matthew McConaughey, True Detective – HBO
Mark Ruffalo, The Normal Heart – HBO
Kevin Spacey, House of Cards – Netflix
Jeffrey Tambor, Transparent – Amazon
TV Performance of the Year – Actress
Viola Davis, How to Get Away with Murder – ABC
Lisa Kudrow, The Comeback – HBO
Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife – CBS
Tatiana Maslany, Orphan Black – BBC America
Frances McDormand, Olive Kitteridge – HBO
TV Musical Performance of the Year
Beyonce, MTV Video Music Awards – MTV
Neil Patrick Harris, “Sugar Daddy,” The Tony Awards – CBS
Jessica Lange, “Life on Mars,” American Horror Story: Freak Show – FX
Macklemore, Ryan Lewis, Madonna, et al., “Same Love,” The Grammys – CBS
Prince, Saturday Night Live – NBC
LGBTQ TV Show of the Year
Looking – HBO
Modern Family – ABC
Orange is the New Black – Netflix
Please Like Me – Pivot
Transparent – Amazon
Unsung TV Show of the Year
Getting On – HBO
Looking – HBO
Orphan Black – BBC America
Please Like Me – Pivot
Transparent – Amazon
TV Current Affairs Show of the Year
Anderson Cooper 360 – CNN
The Colbert Report – Comedy Central
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart – Comedy Central
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver – HBO
The Rachel Maddow Show – MSNBC
Campy TV Show of the Year
American Horror Story: Freak Show
How to Get Away with Murder
Jane the Virgin
Peter Pan Live!
Penny Dreadful
Music Video of the Year
Nicki Minaj, “Anaconda”
Perfume Genius, “Queen”
Sia, “Chandelier”
Taylor Swift, “Blank Space”
Meghan Trainor, “All About That Bass”
The “We’re Wilde About You!” Rising Star Award
Ansel Elgort
Jack Falahee
Ellar Coltrane
Jack O’Connell
Gina Rodriguez
Finn Wittrock
Wilde Wit of the Year
(honoring a performer, writer or commentator whose observations both challenge and amuse)
Stephen Colbert
Rachel Maddow
Bill Maher
John Oliver
Jon Stewart
Wilde Artist of the Year
(honoring a truly groundbreaking force in the fields of film, theater and/or television)
Xavier Dolan
Neil Patrick Harris
Richard Linklater
Jill Solloway
Tilda Swinton
Timeless Award
(to an actor or performer whose exemplary career is marked by character, wisdom and wit)
George Takei
