LIST | 88th Academy Awards nominations, nominees

The nominations for the 88th Academy Awards in its 24 categories have been revealed at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. The Revenant takes the most Academy Awards nominations (12), with Mad Max second (11), and Fury Road third (10).

Happening on February 28, 2016 at the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center in Hollywood, the 88th Academy Awards will be hosted by Chris Rock, and will be aired live by the ABC network at 7 PM ET/4 PM PT. Also, the presentation of the Oscar will be televised live in at least 225 countries and territories all over the world.

BEST MOTION PICTURE OF THE YEAR

“The Big Short” Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner, Producers
“Bridge of Spies” Steven Spielberg, Marc Platt and Kristie Macosko Krieger, Producers
“Brooklyn” Finola Dwyer and Amanda Posey, Producers
“Mad Max: Fury Road” Doug Mitchell and George Miller, Producers
“The Martian” Simon Kinberg, Ridley Scott, Michael Schaefer and Mark Huffam, Producers
“The Revenant” Arnon Milchan, Steve Golin, Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Mary Parent and Keith Redmon, Producers
“Room” Ed Guiney, Producer
“Spotlight” Michael Sugar, Steve Golin, Nicole Rocklin and Blye Pagon Faust, Producers


ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTING

“The Big Short” Adam McKay
“Mad Max: Fury Road” George Miller
“The Revenant” Alejandro G. Iñárritu
“Room” Lenny Abrahamson
“Spotlight” Tom McCarthy


PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE

Bryan Cranston in “Trumbo”
Matt Damon in “The Martian”
Leonardo DiCaprio in “The Revenant”
Michael Fassbender in “Steve Jobs”
Eddie Redmayne in “The Danish Girl”

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE

Cate Blanchett in “Carol”
Brie Larson in “Room”
Jennifer Lawrence in “Joy”
Charlotte Rampling in “45 Years”
Saoirse Ronan in “Brooklyn”

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Christian Bale in “The Big Short”
Tom Hardy in “The Revenant”
Mark Ruffalo in “Spotlight”
Mark Rylance in “Bridge of Spies”
Sylvester Stallone in “Creed”

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Jennifer Jason Leigh in “The Hateful Eight”
Rooney Mara in “Carol”
Rachel McAdams in “Spotlight”
Alicia Vikander in “The Danish Girl”
Kate Winslet in “Steve Jobs”


ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

“The Big Short” Screenplay by Charles Randolph and Adam McKay
“Brooklyn” Screenplay by Nick Hornby
“Carol” Screenplay by Phyllis Nagy
“The Martian” Screenplay by Drew Goddard
“Room” Screenplay by Emma Donoghue

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

“Bridge of Spies” Written by Matt Charman and Ethan Coen & Joel Coen
“Ex Machina” Written by Alex Garland
“Inside Out” Screenplay by Pete Docter, Meg LeFauve, Josh Cooley; Original story by Pete Docter, Ronnie del Carmen
“Spotlight” Written by Josh Singer & Tom McCarthy
“Straight Outta Compton” Screenplay by Jonathan Herman and Andrea Berloff; Story by S. Leigh Savidge & Alan Wenkus and Andrea Berloff

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM OF THE YEAR

“Embrace of the Serpent” Colombia
“Mustang” France
“Son of Saul” Hungary
“Theeb” Jordan
“A War” Denmark

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM OF THE YEAR

“Anomalisa” Charlie Kaufman, Duke Johnson and Rosa Tran
“Boy and the World” Alê Abreu
“Inside Out” Pete Docter and Jonas Rivera
“Shaun the Sheep Movie” Mark Burton and Richard Starzak
“When Marnie Was There” Hiromasa Yonebayashi and Yoshiaki Nishimura

ACHIEVEMENT IN PRODUCTION DESIGN

“Bridge of Spies” Production Design: Adam Stockhausen; Set Decoration: Rena DeAngelo and Bernhard Henrich
“The Danish Girl” Production Design: Eve Stewart; Set Decoration: Michael Standish
“Mad Max: Fury Road” Production Design: Colin Gibson; Set Decoration: Lisa Thompson
“The Martian” Production Design: Arthur Max; Set Decoration: Celia Bobak
“The Revenant” Production Design: Jack Fisk; Set Decoration: Hamish Purdy

ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY

“Carol” Ed Lachman
“The Hateful Eight” Robert Richardson
“Mad Max: Fury Road” John Seale
“The Revenant” Emmanuel Lubezki
“Sicario” Roger Deakins

ACHIEVEMENT IN COSTUME DESIGN

“Carol” Sandy Powell
“Cinderella” Sandy Powell
“The Danish Girl” Paco Delgado
“Mad Max: Fury Road” Jenny Beavan
“The Revenant” Jacqueline West

ACHIEVEMENT IN FILM EDITING

“The Big Short” Hank Corwin
“Mad Max: Fury Road” Margaret Sixel
“The Revenant” Stephen Mirrione
“Spotlight” Tom McArdle
“Star Wars: The Force Awakens” Maryann Brandon and Mary Jo Markey

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

“Amy” Asif Kapadia and James Gay-Rees
“Cartel Land” Matthew Heineman and Tom Yellin
“The Look of Silence” Joshua Oppenheimer and Signe Byrge Sørensen
“What Happened, Miss Simone?” Liz Garbus, Amy Hobby and Justin Wilkes
“Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom” Evgeny Afineevsky and Den Tolmor

ACHIEVEMENT IN MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING

“Mad Max: Fury Road” Lesley Vanderwalt, Elka Wardega and Damian Martin
“The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed out the Window and Disappeared” Love Larson and Eva von Bahr
“The Revenant” Siân Grigg, Duncan Jarman and Robert Pandini

ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC WRITTEN FOR MOTION PICTURES (ORIGINAL SCORE)

“Bridge of Spies” Thomas Newman
“Carol” Carter Burwell
“The Hateful Eight” Ennio Morricone
“Sicario” Jóhann Jóhannsson
“Star Wars: The Force Awakens” John Williams

ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC WRITTEN FOR MOTION PICTURES (ORIGINAL SONG)

“Earned It” from “Fifty Shades of Grey”
Music and Lyric by Abel Tesfaye, Ahmad Balshe, Jason Daheala Quenneville and Stephan Moccio
“Manta Ray” from “Racing Extinction”
Music by J. Ralph and Lyric by Antony Hegarty
“Simple Song #3” from “Youth”
Music and Lyric by David Lang
“Til It Happens To You” from “The Hunting Ground”
Music and Lyric by Diane Warren and Lady Gaga
“Writing’s On The Wall” from “Spectre”
Music and Lyric by Jimmy Napes and Sam Smith

ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND MIXING

“Bridge of Spies” Andy Nelson, Gary Rydstrom and Drew Kunin
“Mad Max: Fury Road” Chris Jenkins, Gregg Rudloff and Ben Osmo
“The Martian” Paul Massey, Mark Taylor and Mac Ruth
“The Revenant” Jon Taylor, Frank A. Montaño, Randy Thom and Chris Duesterdiek
“Star Wars: The Force Awakens” Andy Nelson, Christopher Scarabosio and Stuart Wilson

ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND EDITING

“Mad Max: Fury Road” Mark Mangini and David White
“The Martian” Oliver Tarney
“The Revenant” Martin Hernandez and Lon Bender
“Sicario” Alan Robert Murray
“Star Wars: The Force Awakens” Matthew Wood and David Acord

ACHIEVEMENT IN VISUAL EFFECTS

“Ex Machina” Andrew Whitehurst, Paul Norris, Mark Ardington and Sara Bennett
“Mad Max: Fury Road” Andrew Jackson, Tom Wood, Dan Oliver and Andy Williams
“The Martian” Richard Stammers, Anders Langlands, Chris Lawrence and Steven Warner
“The Revenant” Rich McBride, Matthew Shumway, Jason Smith and Cameron Waldbauer
“Star Wars: The Force Awakens” Roger Guyett, Patrick Tubach, Neal Scanlan and Chris Corbould

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT

“Body Team 12” David Darg and Bryn Mooser
“Chau, beyond the Lines” Courtney Marsh and Jerry Franck
“Claude Lanzmann: Spectres of the Shoah” Adam Benzine
“A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness” Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy
“Last Day of Freedom” Dee Hibbert-Jones and Nomi Talisman

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM

“Ave Maria” Basil Khalil and Eric Dupont
“Day One” Henry Hughes
“Everything Will Be Okay (Alles Wird Gut)” Patrick Vollrath
“Shok” Jamie Donoughue
“Stutterer” Benjamin Cleary and Serena Armitage

BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM

“Bear Story” Gabriel Osorio and Pato Escala
“Prologue” Richard Williams and Imogen Sutton
“Sanjay’s Super Team” Sanjay Patel and Nicole Grindle
“We Can’t Live without Cosmos” Konstantin Bronzit
“World of Tomorrow” Don Hertzfeldt

Videos: It's More Fun in the Philippines

The Philippines, a beautiful archipelago blessed with mesmerizing landscapes and happy people, is surely looking forward to seeing more tourists in the coming years as they take a peek at what this nation has to show to the world.

Being a resident of this country, I am aware there are a lot of issues that we, as a people, are facing; despite all these, our inherent hospitality never fails to impress every visitor from all parts of the world.

Cebu, Manila, Boracay, Davao - take your pick! Why it's more fun in the Philippines? I guess the answer lies in the videos below. Happy viewing!

Video Courtesy: Youtube channel DOT Philippines

 

Video Courtesy: Youtube channel DOT Philippines

   

Video Courtesy: Youtube channel DOT Philippines

Video Courtesy: Youtube channel DOT Philippines

Spotlight Philippines launches iSpot Company Feedback service

Got complaints against a certain company's bad customer service? Ever had recurring dropped calls in just one day? Been sold fake accessories, bags? Being passed on by customer representatives to different divisions for your iPhone 5 which does not seem to be working after two weeks of use? 

Poor, slow service in a fast food service? Additional delivery and other hidden charges for something you bought online or for a good service you availed last time which turned sour? Improperly addressed flight concerns for company employee-committed mistakes? Getting no response from a large corporation? Not receiving receipts after buying a lot of items?

Getting below-minimum daily wages? Your boss emotionally scolding you all the time? Overused and overexploited by the company?

Worry no more! You can now share your grievances on poor customer service by using out simpple iSpot Company Feedback service. Post your complaints in anonymity through this post! Who knows, a lot of people share the same sentiments and empathize with you. 

Send your company complaints to spotlightphilippines(at)yahoo(dot)com(dot)ph. This service has arisen due to the author's disappointment on some companies' shift of concern from customer satisfaction to neglective profit maximization without consideration of working environment or provision for the needs of its employees which then affect their productivity and work ethics in the bigger picture. iSpot Company Feedback service is now available for complaints and concerns, and will start posting on Spotlight Philippines next week.

The service's philosophy lies on collective action to raise concerns that affect the general population influencing the market of these companies, so as to achieve better service and improve or alleviate stress generated from these external factors.

UPCAT: Useful Tips to Remember

Passing the University of the Philippines College Admission Test (UPCAT) is definitely one hard goal to accomplish, but life-changing gate pass to your dreams.

My X years of experience (won't tell what the number is, and I'm not delayed to end suspicions), tell me that I am capable of assisting you guys, and, as an older sibling, of giving you the most useful tips when taking the UPCAT.

And the list begins.

• Don’t answer questions in an orderly manner. Instead, if you are spending a lot of time on one problem, skip it and proceed to another item. Mind you, some very easy questions are scattered on the last part. Just put a slight pencil mark beside the item number of the problem you have skipped, and then get back to it once you've reached the end of the section.

• Rumors say that it is right minus (1/4) wrong. Up till now, I'm not sure if it's true. The rule follows that if you get an item wrong you get a 0.25 point deduction from your total score. Just be sure, that you always make a lucky guess when you're running out of time. 

• In the Reading Comprehension part, try to read the questions first, then seek the answers in the first and last paragraphs of the section. Read and understand, as fast as possible.

• Bring snacks, not too much and not too few. Just make sure you stay away from hunger and overeating. LBM is the most unwanted sickness you don't want to feel in the exam. It's like consuming another portion of your time.

• Take a good night sleep! Being in a conditioned shape helps a lot. Stay positive!

• Don’t over-review or overwork yourself the night before the exams, unless you want to appear haggard on the day itself.

• Be aware of the time limits, but DON'T EVER PANIC. Don’t mind what your seatmates do. If they're already finished, and you're not done yet, mind you own test paper.

• Bring your test permit, and remember the name of your testing are. If you get lost, DON'T PANIC.

• If you feel down, ask for His guidance. Rest if you must, but don't you quit!

 For questions regarding Useful Tips to Remember, visit Pinoy Talk Forum. Register for free! Visit my new website, Spotlight Philippines!

Spotlight Philippines: a year after

It's about time that Spotlight Philippines rise up to the challenge of informing the public and presenting itself as a guide for all ages going in and out of the Philippines.

A year ago, I started this blog so as to write things down whenever I'm alone, or whenever I just want to write about anything relating to the Philippines, from entertainment to sports, news to editorial, spotted videos to featured articles, and other good-to-know-about issues.

Now, I am gratefully honored to tell you that Spotlight Philippines now has its own website! Thank you so much for your support! I'm very privileged to have succeeded in countering my fear of failure in the online world.

And I'm very proud to say, that with all your support, I was able to create a series of traffic-generating blogs. These include the following:

1. Talk TV - a blog that will cater to all the events associated to Philippine TV, and will tackle the positive and negative sides of network rivalry. Moreover, this will air out different shout outs and comments of readers in support of tv networks and show business.

2. Spotlight Philippines -  tackles everything about the country and its people. It shall serve as a walking publicist of events occurring in the nation as it rises from the ashes of the past.

3. Tacloban City Express - a blog featuring the goings-on in Tacloban City

4. Products and Services Reviews - reviwe of author-picked products and services

5. Jejedex, Jejemon, Jejeje - everything about Jejemons

6. X, Y, Z: Let's Get It On - the blog of matured experiences. Catch new stories of people taking greater risks and facing tougher challenges in life.

7. Kapamilya VS Kapuso: Which One is Better? -  showcasing the rivalry between the two biggest networks in Philippine television

8. The SCENEdicate - my personal experiences

9; Paper Bug - book reviews

To visit the new Spotlight Philippines website, just click this link: www.spotlightphilippines.com

Maraming, maraming salamat po! Your comments will be highly appreciated.