[ For full episode catalogue please subscribe to our Patreon at Patreon.com/BestActress ] The year is 2014 and the nominees are: 1. Meryl Streep - August: Osage County 2. Cate Blanchett - Blue Jasmine 3. Sandra Bullock - Gravity 4. Judi Dench - Philomena 5. Amy Adams - American Hustle - In 2014 Cate Blanchett won the Oscar for her haunting performance in Blue Jasmine playing a New York socialite whose privileged life has come crashing down around her after her husband’s disgraced business dealings lands him in jail and eventually leads to his suicide. In Sophia Loren’s memoir “Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow: My Life”, the screen legend reveals that she still absorbs inspiration from other actors to enhance her own acting, saying, “Recently, I was struck by the last scene in Blue Jasmine, where Cate B has an expression on her face I’d never seen before. That expression crept inside me, and it lies there waiting to germinate a new plant, a new flower” - high praise. Also nominated was Meryl Streep playing a verbally abusive, drug addicted matriarch dying of cancer. Always love when Streep plays someone truly vile. Sandra Bullock was nominated for the panic attack known as Gravity. For many fans this nomination was a redemption for the controversial/lack lustre win for ’The Blind Side’ and it does not disappoint. Judi Dench delivers a heart breaking performance in Philomena searching for her son after Irish nuns sold him with her consent in the early 1950’s. Finally, Amy Adams becomes a first time nominee in the lead category playing a foxy con artist who uses her sexuality and wits to get what she wants in American Hustle. Join host Kyle Brownrigg with guest host Cathryn Naiker as they discuss.