Everyone was expecting The Imitation Game and Benedict Cumberbatch to be called when the Independent Spirit Award nominations were revealed yesterday. Cumberbatch is considered a top 2 contender for Best Actor Oscar and then there’s the Harvey Weinstein factor. Remember what he did with Silver Linings Playbook?
But Cumberbatch, The Imitation Game, and, really, Harvey overall were totally shut out of the Spirits. And while that doesn’t mean that Cumberbatch won’t win the Oscar, it’s definitely slowed his momentum. Michael Keaton, on the other hand, will be at the Spirit Awards, and has probably edged ahead now, slightly. (Eddie Redmayne, for The Theory Of Everything, considered to be the trailing third in the Best Actor race, was not eligible because the film is primarily an English production.)
It’s Jake Gyllenhaal however who made up the most ground. Nightcrawler received 5 Spirit Award nominations, one for Jake in the lead role. As Joanna wrote yesterday, there’s a battle right now for that final Best Actor Oscar nomination (assuming Keaton, Cumberbatch, Redmayne, and Steve Carell make up the first four), and while Bradley Cooper is trying, Jake is getting closer. Jake is surging. And he’s doing it without looking like he’s campaigning for it.
Here’s Jake leaving Letterman last night. The interview airs tonight.
