‘American Sniper,’ ‘Nightcrawler’ join Oscar players with ACE editing nominations

If you were looking for things to be shaken up a little bit in this year's Oscar race, the American Cinema Editors (ACE) offered a slight jolt Friday with the organization's 65th annual list of nominees for film editing. And if you were wondering if “Nightcrawler” might make a serious play on the circuit, well…

I will say I was wondering that. So much so that I had a piece prepped focusing on its potential before today's announcement, which included the film in a dramatic feature category that featured a tie for the first time ever. (The animated field saw a tie yielding four nominees in 2012, while “Babel” and “The Departed” actually tied for the dramatic win in 2006, but there hasn't been a tie leading to an extra nominee in the dramatic or comedy/musical categories before.)

Powerhouse Oscar players “Boyhood” and “The Imitation Game” unsurprisingly joined the party, and ditto Sundance hit “Whiplash.” But also in the mix were “American Sniper” (coming on strong at exactly the right time) and “Gone Girl” (holding on in a category that has done well by David Fincher films in recent years).

On the comedy/musical side, another big Best Picture player, “Birdman,” was chalked up alongside “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” “Guardians of the Galaxy,” “Into the Woods” and (yay!) “Inherent Vice.” So that means the films looking on from the sidelines are “Selma,” “The Theory of Everything” and “Unbroken.”

But this really does make me wonder all the more how strong “Nightcrawler,” a hugely popular film on screener as of late, might end up being in this race. But more on that shortly.

Check out the full list of film and TV nominees below and remember to keep track of the season at The Circuit.

The 65th annual ACE Eddie Awards will be held on Friday, Jan. 30.

Best Edited Feature Film (Dramatic)
“American Sniper” (Joel Cox, ACE & Gary Roach, ACE)
“Boyhood” (Sandra Adair, ACE)
“Gone Girl” (Kirk Baxter, ACE)
“The Imitation Game” (William Goldenberg, ACE)
“Nightcrawler” (John Gilroy, ACE)
“Whiplash” (Tom Cross, ACE)

Best Editing Feature Film (Comedy or Musical)
“Birdman” (Douglas Crise & Stephen Mirrione, ACE)
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” (Barney Pilling)
“Guardians of the Galaxy” (Fred Rasking, Hughes Winborn, ACE & Craig Wood, ACE)
“Into the Woods” (Wyatt Smith)
“Inherent Vice” (Leslie Jones, ACE)

Best Edited Animated Feature Film
“Big Hero 6” (Tim Mertens)
“The Boxtrolls” (Edie Ichioka, ACE)
“The LEGO Movie” (David Burrow & Chris McKay)

Best Edited Documentary (Feature)
“CITIZENFOUR” (Mathilde Bonnefoy)
“Finding Vivian Maier” (Aaron Wickenden)
“Glen Campbell: I'll Be Me” (Elisa Bonora)

Best Edited Documentary (Television)
“Cosmos: A SpaceTime Odyssey” – “Standing Up in the Milky Way” (John Duffy, ACE, Michael O'Halloran, Eric Lea)
“Pauly Shore Stands Alone” (Troy Takaki, ACE & Joey Vigour)
“The Roosevelts: An Intimate History” – “Episode 3: The Fire of Life” (Eric Ewers)

Best Editing Half-Hour Series for Television
“Silicon Valley” – “Optimal Tip to Tip Efficiency” (Brian Merken & Tim Roche)
“Veep” – “Special Relationship” (Anthony Boys)
“Transparent” – “Pilot” (Catherine  Haight)

Best Edited On-Hour Series for Commercial Television
“24” – “10pm to 11am” (Scott Powell, ACE)
“Mad Men” – “Waterloo” (Christopher Gay)
“Madam Secretary” – “Pilot” (Elena Maganini, ACE & Michael Ornstein, ACE)
“Sherlock” – “His Last Vow” (Yan Miles)
“The Good Wife” – “A Few Words” (Scott Vickrey, ACE)

Best Edited One-Hour Series for Non-Commercial Television
“True Detective” – “Who Goes There” (Affonso Gonçalves)
“True Detective” – “The Secret Fate of All Life” (Alex Hall)
“House of Cards” – “Chapter 14” (Byron Smith)

Best Edited Miniseries or Motion Picture for Television
“Fargo” – “Buridan's Ass” (Regis Kimble)
“Olive Kitteridge” – “A Different Road” (Jeffrey M. Werner, ACE)
“The Normal Heart” (Adam Penn)

Best Edited Non-Scripted Series
“Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown” – “Iran” (Hunter Gross)
“Deadliest Catch” – “Lost At Sea” (Josh Earl, ACE & Johnny Bishop)
“Vice” – “Greenland is Melting & Bonded Labor” (Joe Langford & Nick Carew)

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