Cuarón Takes Home Two Academy Awards for “Gravity”

Alfonso Cuarón has matching Oscars to place on his mantel…

The 52-year-old Mexican filmmaker, a three-time nominee at this year’s Academy Awards, took home two prizes during the awards show.

Alfonso Cuarón

Cuarón was named Best Director for helming the 3D space thriller, Gravity, making him the first Mexican to win the award in that category.

During his acceptance speech, Cuarón paid special tribute to the film’s star Sandra Bullock.

“Sandy, you are Gravity, you are the soul and heart of the film. You are an amazing collaborator and one of the best people I have ever met,” he said.

Moments after Cuarón’s name was read, Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto tweeted: “Extraordinary work. Congratulations!”

Speaking backstage after collecting his Oscar, Cuarón said he hoped his win would help shine a light on the work of other Mexican filmmakers, and Mexican culture.

“I don’t think there is enough attention paid to Mexican culture and what is happening in Mexico,” Cuaron said.

Cuarón had been predicted to win the best director award, having swept the category in other awards ceremonies before Sunday’s Oscars, including the Directors Guild of America’s top prize.

In addition, Cuarón took home another award, winning the Best Film Editing Oscar alongside Mark Sanger for his hands-on work on Gravity.

Meanwhile, Gravity’s lenser Emmanuel Lubezki followed up his American Society of Cinematographers Award win with the Academy Award for Best Cinematography.

It was the Mexican cinematographer’s first win in six nominations. He previously earned nods for lensing 1995’s A Little Princess, 1999’s Sleepy Hollow, 2005’s A New World, 2006’s Children of Men and 2011’s The Tree of Life. three of Lubezki’s nominations were for his work on Cuarón films.

In all, Gravity was the night’s big winner, taking home seven awards.

But Cuarón and Lubezki weren’t the only Latinos to take home their first Oscars…

Jared Leto, a first-time nominee, took home the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his critically acclaimed performance as male-to-female transgender character Rayon in Dallas Buyers Club. It’s a role the 42-year-old part-Spanish American actor discusses in a featurette from the film’s distributor Focus Features.

Here’s a complete look at this year’s Oscar winners:

Best picture
12 Years a Slave

Best actor
Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club

Best actress
Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine

Best supporting actor
Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club

Best supporting actress
Lupita Nyong’o, 12 Years a Slave

Best director
Alfonso Cuarón, Gravity

Best animated feature film
Frozen

Best foreign film
The Great Beauty

Best original screenplay
Her, Spike Jonze

Best adapted screenplay
12 Years a Slave, John Ridley

Best original score
Gravity

Best original song
Let It Go, from Frozen

Best cinematography
Gravity

Best costume design
The Great Gatsby

Best documentary feature
20 Feet From Stardom

Best documentary short subject
The Lady in Number 6

Best film editing
Gravity

Best makeup and hairstyling
Dallas Buyers Club

Best production design
The Great Gatsby

Best animated short film
Mr. Hublot

Best live-action short film
Helium

Best sound editing
Gravity

Best sound mixing
Gravity

Best visual effects
Gravity

Cuarón Earns Three Academy Award Nominations

Alfonso Cuarón has doubled his Oscar nominations in one fell swoop…

During this morning’s Academy Awards press conference, the 52-year-old Mexican multi-talented filmmaker received three nominations for his critically acclaimed film Gravity.

Alfonso Cuarón

He’d previously earned nods for Best Original Screenplay for Y tu mamá también and Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Editing for Children of Men.

In addition to receiving a nomination for producing the Best Picture nominee, Cuarón is up for Best Directoran award he picked up at the Golden Globes – and Best Film Editing alongside Mark Sanger.

In all, the 3D sci-fi thriller starring Sandra Bullock earned a titanic ten Academy Award nominations, including a Best Actress nod for Bullock, tying David O. Russell’s drama American Hustle for the most nods this year.

Gravity’s lenser Emmanuel Lubezki follows up his American Society of Cinematographers Award nomination with an Oscar nod for Best Cinematography.

It’s the sixth Academy Award nomination for the Mexican cinematographer. He previously earned nods for lensing 1995’s A Little Princess, 1999’s Sleepy Hollow, 2005’s A New World, 2006’s Children of Men and 2011’s The Tree of Life. three of Lubezki’s nominations were for his work on Cuarón films.

But Cuarón and Lubezki aren’t the only Latinos nominated this year…

First-time Golden Globe winner Jared Leto has received his first-ever Oscar nomination.

The 42-year-old part-Spanish American actor/singer earned the nod for his gender-bending performance as male-to-female transgender character Rayon in Dallas Buyers Club. It’s a role he discusses in a featurette from the film’s distributor Focus Features.

The 86th Academy Awards will be awarded on Sunday, March 2 at the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland, televised live on ABC and hosted by Ellen DeGeneres for a second time.

Here’s a complete look at this year’s nominees.

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Christian Bale in “American Hustle”
Bruce Dern in “Nebraska”
Leonardo DiCaprio in “The Wolf of Wall Street”
Chiwetel Ejiofor in “12 Years a Slave”
Matthew McConaughey in “Dallas Buyers Club” (Focus Features)

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Barkhad Abdi in “Captain Phillips”
Bradley Cooper in “American Hustle”
Michael Fassbender in “12 Years a Slave”
Jonah Hill in “The Wolf of Wall Street”
Jared Leto in “Dallas Buyers Club”

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Amy Adams in “American Hustle”
Cate Blanchett in “Blue Jasmine”
Sandra Bullock in “Gravity”
Judi Dench in “Philomena”
Meryl Streep in “August: Osage County”

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Sally Hawkins in “Blue Jasmine”
Jennifer Lawrence in “American Hustle”
Lupita Nyong’o in “12 Years a Slave”
Julia Roberts in “August: Osage County”
June Squibb in “Nebraska”

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM OF THE YEAR
“The Croods”
“Despicable Me 2”
“Ernest & Celestine”
“The Wind Rises”

ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY
“The Grandmaster”
Philippe Le Sourd
“Gravity”
Emmanuel Lubezki
“Inside Llewyn Davis”
Bruno Delbonnel
“Nebraska”
Phedon Papamichael
“Prisoners”

ACHIEVEMENT IN COSTUME DESIGN
American Hustle” Michael Wilkinson
“The Grandmaster” William Chang Suk Ping
“The Great Gatsby” Catherine Martin
“The Invisible Woman” Michael O’Connor
“12 Years a Slave”
Patricia Norris

ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTING
“American Hustle” David O. Russell
“Gravity” Alfonso Cuarón
“Nebraska” Alexander Payne
“12 Years a Slave” Steve McQueen
“The Wolf of Wall Street” Martin Scorsese

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
“The Act of Killing”
“Cutie and the Boxer”
“Dirty Wars”
“20 Feet from Stardom”

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
“CaveDigger”
“Facing Fear”
“Karama Has No Walls”
“The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life”
“Prison Terminal: The Last Days of Private Jack Hall”

ACHIEVEMENT IN FILM EDITING
“American Hustle” Jay Cassidy, Crispin Struthers and Alan Baumgarten
“Captain Phillips” Christopher Rouse
“Dallas Buyers Club” John Mac McMurphy and Martin Pensa
“Gravity” Alfonso Cuarón and Mark Sanger
“12 Years a Slave” Joe Walker

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM OF THE YEAR
“The Broken Circle Breakdown”
“The Great Beauty”
“The Hunt”
“The Missing Picture”
“Omar”

ACHIEVEMENT IN MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
“Dallas Buyers Club” Adruitha Lee and Robin Mathews
“Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa” Stephen Prouty
“The Lone Ranger” Joel Harlow and Gloria Pasqua-Casny

ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC WRITTEN FOR MOTION PICTURES (ORIGINAL SCORE)
“The Book Thief” John Williams
“Gravity” Steven Price
“Her” William Butler and Owen Pallett
“Philomena” Alexandre Desplat
“Saving Mr. Banks” Thomas Newman

ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC WRITTEN FOR MOTION PICTURES (ORIGINAL SONG)
“Alone Yet Not Alone” from “Alone Yet Not Alone”
“Happy” from “Despicable Me 2”
“Let It Go” from “Frozen”
“The Moon Song” from “Her”
“Ordinary Love” from “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom”

BEST MOTION PICTURE OF THE YEAR
“American Hustle”
“Captain Phillips”
“Dallas Buyers Club”
“Gravity”
“Her”
“Nebraska”
“Philomena”
“12 Years a Slave”
“The Wolf of Wall Street” 

Cuarón to Receive Visual Effects Society’s Visionary Award

There’s no denying Alfonso Cuarón is a visionary filmmaker… But now he’ll have an award to prove it.

The Visual Effects Society (VES), the industry’s professional honorary society, has named the 52-year-old Mexican filmmaker as the recipient of its Visionary Award in recognition of his extraordinary career, most recently including his landmark achievement on this year’s critically acclaimed 3D sci-fil film Gravity.

Alfonso Cuarón

The VES Visionary Award recognizes an individual who has uniquely and consistently employed the art and science of visual effects to foster imagination and ignite future discoveries by way of artistry, invention and groundbreaking work. VES will honor Cuarón for his consummate artistry, expansive storytelling and profound ability to use and pioneer technology and visual effects to bring his unique visions to life.

A three-time Oscar nominee and one of Entertainment Weekly’s Entertainers of the Year, Cuarón directed, co-wrote, produced and edited Gravity, which is one of the most acclaimed films of this or any year. The accolades that Cuarón and the film have received to date include: Best Director and Best Picture awards from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association; four Golden Globe nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actress (Sandra Bullock); and ten Broadcast Film Critics Association nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Visual Effects, Best Cinematography, Best Editing and Best Art Direction.

Cuarón made his feature film directorial debut in 1992 with Sólo Con Tu Pareja, the biggest box office hit in Mexico that year, which brought him an Ariel Award as the film’s co-writer. Cuarón made his American feature film debut in 1995 with the widely acclaimed A Little Princess, followed in 1998 by Great Expectations. He then wrote and directed Y tu mamá también, for which he received his first Oscar nomination, for Best Original Screenplay, as well as BAFTA Award nominations for Best Foreign Film and Best Original Screenplay. He went on to helm Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, the third film in the most successful motion picture franchise of all time. Cuarόn’s 2006 hit, Children of Men, was celebrated by critics and film fans for its groundbreaking techniques. The film brought two Oscar nominations to Cuarón, for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Editing.

“Alfonso pushes the known boundaries of filmmaking,” said Jeffrey A. Okun, VES Board Chair. “He has been at the forefront in using visual effects to tell remarkable, highly nuanced stories that change the way we think about what is possible to achieve. Throughout his career, Alfonso has shown a rare talent for using cutting-edge technology to engage us in his deeply visceral storytelling and create unforgettable cinematic experiences.”

The award will be presented at the 12th Annual VES Awards on February 12, 2014 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

Previous winners of the VES Visionary Award have been Christopher Nolan and Ang Lee.