AMC BEST PICTURE SHOWCASE
Feb. 14 and 21. Starts 10 a.m. both days. At Parkway Pointe 15 (Atlanta), Mansell Crossing 14 (Alpharetta) and Sugarloaf Mills 18 (Lawrenceville). $30 each day, save $5 on a ticket for both days (available only at theater box offices). For information on the two-day marathon and possible locations and tickets for the 24-hour marathon, go to www.amctheatres.com.
Remember when "The Interview" was the movie everyone was scrambling to see?
It all seems so silly now that Academy Awards night is three weeks away (and now that "The Interview's" harsh-as-a-dictator reviews are in). Some nominees are long gone from theaters while others are only now arriving in theaters. It's making it awfully hard for would-be annoying Oscar know-it-alls to catch every major category contender by Feb. 22.
Hard. But not impossible.
The easiest path runs right through the AMC Best Picture Showcase — easy being a relative term. Pluses: You're guaranteed of seeing all eight best picture nominees. Many of those will count as twofers, because they're also nominated for best director and in one or more acting categories (Heck, "Birdman's" a fivefer!).
Minuses: Only one of the five best actress nominees is from a best picture contender (“The Theory of Everything’s” Felicity Jones); meanwhile, odds-on favorite Julianne Moore’s movie, “Still Alice,” hasn’t even opened here yet. And marathon-ing it means spending consecutive Saturdays (Feb. 14 and 21) in a darkened theater, watching four movies back to back to … well, you get the idea.
Plus or minus, you be the judge: The "Best Picture Showcase 24-Hour Marathon." AMC's offering to unleash it at any of nine metro Atlanta theaters where 100 tickets are reserved by Feb. 13. For $65 apiece, extreme movie fans — or just extreme procrastinators — would get to experience a popcorn-fueled endurance test that begins with "Boyhood" at 10 a.m. on Feb. 21 and ends with "The Grand Budapest Hotel" at 3:45 a.m. the next day.
Not quite feeling up to that? Fear not. We’ve scoured theater timetables, DVD release and on-demand schedules and popular digital and streaming services to figure out where you can see all the top nominees right now. Or at least before E! aims its last obnoxious “Who are you wearing?” at some poor celeb on the red carpet.
(Note: This list covers the most widely used and readily accessible viewing options, but others may exist. The information is current as of Jan. 30 and may continue to change closer to the Academy Awards ceremony.)
BEST PICTURE
"American Sniper": In area theaters.
"Birdman": In area theaters; on iTunes and Google Play: Feb. 3; on DVD/Blu-ray, Amazon Instant Video: Feb. 17.
"Boyhood": In area theaters; now available on DVD/Blu-ray, iTunes, Google Play, Amazon Instant Video, Comcast on Demand, Netflix.
"The Grand Budapest Hotel": Available on DVD/Blu-ray, iTunes, Google Play, Amazon Instant Video, Comcast on Demand, Netflix.
"The Imitation Game": In area theaters.
"Selma": In area theaters.
"The Theory of Everything": In area theaters; on iTunes and Amazon Instant Video: Feb 10; on DVD/Blu-ray: Feb. 17.
"Whiplash": In area theaters; expected availability on Google Play: Feb. 10.
BEST ACTOR
Steve Carell, "Foxcatcher": In area theaters.
Bradley Cooper, "American Sniper": See best picture.
Benedict Cumberbatch, "The Imitation Game": See best picture.
Michael Keaton, "Birdman": See best picture.
Eddie Redmayne, "The Theory of Everything": See best picture.
BEST ACTRESS
Marion Cotillard, "Two Days, One Night": Opening Jan. 30 at Lefont Sandy Springs and Landmark Midtown Art.
Felicity Jones, "The Theory of Everything": See best picture.
Julianne Moore, "Still Alice": Opens Feb. 6 at AMC Phipps Plaza, Lefont Sandy Springs and Landmark Midtown Art; opening Feb. 13 at AMC Avenue Forsyth, AMC Barrett Commons, AMC Mansell Crossing.
Rosamund Pike, "Gone Girl": Available on DVD/Blu-ray, iTunes, Google Play, Amazon Instant Video, Comcast on Demand, Netflix.
Reese Witherspoon, "Wild": In area theaters.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Robert Duvall, "The Judge": Available on DVD/Blu-ray, iTunes, Google Play, Amazon Instant Video, Comcast on Demand, Netflix.
Ethan Hawke, "Boyhood": See best picture.
Edward Norton, "Birdman": See best picture.
Mark Ruffalo, "Foxcatcher": In area theaters.
J.K. Simmons, "Whiplash": See best picture.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Patricia Arquette, "Boyhood": See best picture.
Laura Dern, "Wild": In area theaters.
Keira Knightley, "The Imitation Game": See best picture.
Emma Stone, "Birdman": See best picture.
Meryl Streep, "Into the Woods": In area theaters.
BEST DIRECTOR
Alejandro G. Inarritu, "Birdman": See best picture.
Richard Linklater, "Boyhood": See best picture.
Bennett Miller, "Foxcatcher": In area theaters.
Wes Anderson, "The Grand Budapest Hotel": See best picture.
Morten Tyldum, "The Imitation Game": See best picture.
