12 Years a Slave and Inside Llewyn Davis scored Best Picture nominations this morning for the Gotham Awards. But the big story is that among the best actors nominees is Isaiah Washington for Blue Caprice, a very indie movie. Washington was made into the town pariah five years ago after an incident on his TV series “Grey’s Anatomy.” A fine actor, but his career looked like it was ruined. Nice to see him back. Of the Best Picture noms, I don’t really get “Ain’t Them Bodies Saints.” which sank without a trace, or the little known “Upstream Color.” But why not? In Breakthrough Actor and Director, I say Michael B. Jordan and Ryan Coogler for “Fruitvale Station,” which should have been nominated for Best Picture.

Best Feature
12 Years a Slave
Steve McQueen, director; Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Bill Pohlad, Steve McQueen, Arnon
Milchan, Anthony Katagas, producers. (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Ain’t Them Bodies Saints
David Lowery, director; Tony Halbrooks, James M. Johnston, Jay Van Hoy, Lars Knudsen, Amy Kaufman,
Cassian Elwes, producers (IFC Films)
Before Midnight
Richard Linklater, director; Richard Linklater, Christos V. Konstantakopoulos, Sara Woodhatch, producers
(Sony Pictures Classics)
Inside Llewyn Davis
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, directors; Scott Rudin, Joel Coen, Ethan Coen, producers (CBS Films)
Upstream Color
Shane Carruth, director; Shane Carruth, Casey Gooden, Ben LeClair, producers. (erbp)

Best Documentary
The Act of Killing
Joshua Oppenheimer, director; Signe Byrge, Joshua Oppenheimer, producers (Drafthouse Films)
The Crash Reel
Lucy Walker, director; Julian Cautherly, Lucy Walker, producers (HBO Documentary Films)
First Cousin Once Removed
Alan Berliner, director and producer (HBO Documentary Films)
Let the Fire Burn
Jason Osder, director and producer (Zeitgeist Films)
Our Nixon
Penny Lane, director; Brian L. Frye, Penny Lane, producers (Cinedigm and CNN Films)

Bingham Ray Breakthrough Director Award
Ryan Coogler for Fruitvale Station (The Weinstein Company)
Adam Leon for Gimme the Loot (Sundance Selects)
Alexandre Moors for Blue Caprice (Sundance Selects)
Stacie Passon for Concussion (RADiUS-TWC)
Amy Seimetz for Sun Don’t Shine (Factory 25)

Best Actor
Chiwetel Ejiofor in 12 Years a Slave (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Oscar Isaac in Inside Llewyn Davis (CBS Films)
Matthew McConaughey in Dallas Buyers Club (Focus Features)
Robert Redford in All Is Lost (Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions)
Isaiah Washington in Blue Caprice (Sundance Selects)

Best Actress
Cate Blanchett in Blue Jasmine (Sony Pictures Classics)
Scarlett Johansson in Don Jon (Relativity Media)
Brie Larson in Short Term 12 (Cinedigm)
Amy Seimetz in Upstream Color (erbp)
Shailene Woodley in The Spectacular Now (A24)

Breakthrough Actor
Dane DeHaan in Kill Your Darlings (Sony Pictures Classics)
Kathryn Hahn in Afternoon Delight (The Film Arcade and Cinedigm)
Michael B. Jordan in Fruitvale Station (The Weinstein Company)
Lupita Nyong’o in 12 Years a Slave (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Robin Weigert in Concussion (RADiUS-TWC)

Fifteen writers, critics and programmers participated in the nomination process, considering 203 eligible
submissions. The Nominating Committees for the 2013 Gotham Independent Film Awards were:
Nominating Committee for Best Feature and Breakthrough Director:
Scott Foundas, Lead Film Critic, Variety
Eric Kohn, Lead Film Critic, Indiewire
Christy Lemire, Film Critic, ChristyLemire.com and co-host, What the Flick?!
Andrew O’Hehir, Film Critic, Salon.com
Dana Stevens, Movie Critic, Slate
Nominating Committee for Best Actor, Best Actress, and Breakthrough Actor:
Justin Chang, Senior Film Critic, Variety
Noah Cowan, Artistic Director, TIFF Bell Lightbox
Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post Film and Theater Film Critic
David Rooney, Film & Theater Critic, The Hollywood Reporter
Leah Rozen, freelance entertainment writer

Nominating Committee for Best Documentary:
Charlotte Cook, Director of Programming, Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival
Ben Fowlie, Founder & Executive Director, Camden International Film Festival
Cynthia Fuchs, Film-TV Editor, PopMatters
Mike Maggiore, Programmer and Publicist, Film Forum
Sky Sitney, Festival Director, AFI Docs
Spotlight on Women Filmmakers ‘Live the Dream’ Grant

Tonight, the only charity associated with money making teen machine Justin Bieber throws its annual fundraiser. Pencils of Promise will salute, among others, newly elected New Jersey senator Cory Booker. Bieber’s huge increase earnings is tied directly to the sudden rise in income of Pencils of Promise.

The charity was founded in 2008 by Adam Braun, brother of Bieber’s manager Scooter Braun. But it’s only in the last two years that Pencils for Promise has real assets– over $2.2 million according to its most recent tax filing for 2011.

Of that money, almost $585,000 was spent on salaries. By contrast, only $159,167 was given in grants.

The Bieber difference has meant a lot to Adam Braun: an increase in his own official salary (included in that $585K total) from 2010 to 2011 from $59,100 to $99,500 for example. Contributions to the charity rose by almost a million dollars from 2010 to 2011. (The 2012 tax filing has not been published yet.) The charity finished 2011 in fine form: $1.8 million in assets, up a whopping $800,000 from the previous year. That’s thanks to having portions of tickets from Bieber concerts thrown into the till.

Pencils of Promise focuses on “giving every child” an education in three countries: Laos, Nicaragua, and Guatemala. They build schools, or rather classrooms, and there’s lots of evidence they’ve done just that. They were recently praised for investing $33,000 in schools in Ghana: http://allafrica.com/stories/201309251534.html

But their costs were high: $89,601 seems like a lot for travel considering Braun is the main staffer. Pencils of Promise also spent $76,864 on advertising and $40,000 on office expenses.

Meantime, PoP, as it’s called, has so far attracted little interest from A list celebrities other than Bieber-Braun friends Usher and Jaden Smith. Tonight’s event will be emceed by Sophia Bush, TV star of “One Tree Hill.”

George Clooney has asked that his “Monuments Men” be delayed until Spring 2014 according to a report in the Los Angeles Times. The all star film was supposed to be ready for release at Christmas and was primed for Oscar season. There was an even an extensive plan for international premieres all to be underwritten by art dealer Larry Gagosian.

But Clooney says the movie was not yet scored, and that composer Alexander Desplat was just getting under way with an orchestra. Plus, many of the special effects weren’t finished. “Monuments Men” is thus postponed. I wouldn’t be surprised if it opened in Cannes given its global nature. That, or a premiere at the Berlin Film Festival in February. (That might be a little awkward as the movie is about finding art stolen by or hidden from the Nazis.)

Sony may be relieved. They’ve got the very solid “Captain Phillips” in Oscar contention now. David O. Russell’s “American Hustle” will also be in the mix. Sony Pictures Classics has a sure thing in Woody Allen’s “Blue Jasmine.” Given the company’s calamitous summer, these films are enough. Bennett Miller’s “Foxcatcher” was also postponed for release until next year, although I am told that one is ready.

This leaves Clooney as “just” the producer of “August: Osage County” and a supporting actor in “Gravity.” I wouldn’t be surprised if there isn’t an Oscar campaign for his role in the Alfonso Cuaron movie now.