Universal put all their eggs in the Get On Up basket, largely because of Chadwick Boseman’s performance. That doesn’t mean they don’t want it nominated elsewhere, but they’d be satisfied with Best Actor.

Get On Up

Stars: Chadwick Boseman, Nelsan Ellis, Dan Aykroyd, Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer, Jill Scott
Director: Tate Taylor
Premise: From IMDb: “A chronicle of James Brown’s rise from extreme poverty to become one of the most influential musicians in history.”
Oscar Chances: Fading: Earlier this year, I thought Boseman would be a guaranteed Best Actor nominee. Unfortunately, the film’s early release and fading buzz have left him an also-ran. He could still figure in the race, but there are too many contenders. That means he’s probably not going to make it.
Campaign-Proposed Categories:

• Best Picture (Brian Grazer, Mick Jagger, Victoria Pearman, Erica Huggins, Tate Taylor)
• Best Director (Tate Taylor)
• Best Actor (Chadwick Boseman)
• Best Supporting Actor (Nelsan Ellis, Dan Aykroyd)
• Best Supporting Actress (Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer, Jill Scott)
• Best Original Screenplay (Steve Baigelman, Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth)
• Best Cinematography (Stephen Goldblatt)
• Best Film Editing (Michael McCusker)
• Best Production Design (Mark Ricker, Rena DeAngelo)
• Best Costume Design (Sharen Davis)
• Best Makeup and Hairstyling (Julie Hewett, Kim Perrodin, Carla Farmer, Shannon Bakeman)
• Best Sound Mixing (Steve Morrow, Scott Millan, Greg P. Russell)
• Best Sound Editing (Gregg Baxter)
• Best Visual Effects (Dennis Berardi, Michael Borrett)
• Best Original Score (Thomas Newman)

Rotten Tomatoes:
80% (141 critics; as of 11/24/14)
Metacritic:
71 out of 100 (43 critics; as of 11/24/14)