Ryan McNeil
Just over two weeks ago, I mentioned in this space that where the Oscar race for Best Picture is concerned nobody knew anything. Well know we know a bit more “anything”…but only a bit.
The fog is slowly beginning to lift, and a class is coming into focus. Thing is, it remains a very big class, and only one or two seem to be pulling a length or two in front. Much of the pack is still gathered very closely together and no single “HURT LOCKER versus AVATAR” narrative has presented itself.
The critics had their say last week, with CAROL and SPOTLIGHT being named best film by the New York and Los Angeles film critics associations respectively. As usual they don’t agree, so no sure bets from the east and west coast critics seeing eye-to-eye.
The Broadcast Critics followed with no major surprises, except that so far they are the only awards body to circle THE REVENANT as one of the year’s top films.
In-between there was the Screen Actors Guild, which seemed to very much be in “best cast” mode when nominating the best ensemble, since their lead nominee – TRUMBO – is a film that is getting no major love elsewhere.
So we’re at a list of about eighteen films in play, and one wonders how much of this will be dictated by how big the Best Picture nominee list is this year. Since the final race can be anything between five and ten films, this year’s contest becomes even harder to handicap.
With no clear frontrunner(s), is this the year Oscar finally drops down from a Best-of-Nine field?
Some other thoughts on the state of things…
- The year-end releases have yet to really catch on with awards bodies. JOY is completely m.i.a., THE REVENANT seems more like a moment for Leo to shine than it does to truly start-up the ‘back-to-back-Innuritu’ conversation, and for all its shrouding in physical media and throwing back to the golden age of the format, HATEFUL EIGHT has one early nod from the National Board of Review to show for things. Perhaps the age of the prestigious Christmas release is coming to an end?
- …but then there is THE FORCE AWAKENS. What to make of The AFI including it on their year-end top ten? As I write this, mass audiences have already begun to see it (though not I, quite yet). The return buzz is good…very good. Almost forty years ago, the beginning of this franchise managed to pull up a seat at the grown-ups table and earn a best picture nomination? To that end, the PGA nominees and especially the DGA nominees will be quite telling.
- Were STAR WARS to make the leap, one has to believe that would spell the end for FURY ROAD’s chances as a nominee. Ironically enough, the expansion of the best picture field was supposed to include mainstream, big budget films like MAD MAX and THE FORCE AWAKENS. Instead all of those “lower slots” have gone to (quite deserving) smaller titles. The blockbusters and the animated features have been able to take advantage…but I have a hard time believing that AMPAS will get in-touch with their inner popcorn rat and tap two of these selections in the same year. Does Max carry the day? Does The Force steal its thunder? Do they both cancel each other out?
SPOTLIGHT has to be considered the slight leader at the moment with the most love across the board. Behind it in the category of most probable I’d say to circle CAROL. After that? No clue.
Nobody knows anything.
Here’s a gathering of what’s gone down these past weeks. Feel free to make your guesses in the comments section.
NEW York Film Critics Award Winners
Best Picture
Carol
Best Director
Todd Haynes CAROL
Best Screenplay
Carol
Best Actress
Saoirse Ronan BROOKLYN
Best Actor
Michael Keaton SPOTLIGHT
Best Supporting Actress
Kristen Stewart CLOUDS OF SILS MARIA
Best Supporting Actor
Mark Rylance BRIDGE OF SPIES
Best Cinematographer
Edward Lachman CAROL
Best Animated Film
Inside Out
Best Non-Fiction Film (Documentary)
In Jackson Heights
Best Foreign Language Film
Timbuktu
Best First Film
László Nemes SON OF SAUL
Special Award
William Becker and Janus Films
Special Award
Ennio Morricone
Los Angeles Film Critics Awards Winners
BEST PICTURE
“Spotlight”
BEST DIRECTOR
George Miller, “Mad Max: Fury Road”
BEST ACTOR
Michael Fassbender, “Steve Jobs”
BEST ACTRESS
Charlotte Rampling, “45 Years”
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Michael Shannon, “99 Homes”
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Alicia Vikander, “Ex Machina”
BEST SCREENPLAY
Josh Singer and Tom McCarthy, “Spotlight”
BEST EDITING
Hank Corwin, “The Big Short”
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
John Seale, “Mad Max: Fury Road”
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Colin Gibson, “Mad Max: Fury Road”
BEST MUSIC SCORE
Carter Burwell, “Anomalisa” and “Carol”
BEST FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM
“Son of Saul”
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
“Anomalisa”
BEST DOCUMENTARY/NONFICTION FILM
“Amy”
Broadcast Critics Award Nominees
BEST PICTURE
The Big Short
Bridge of Spies
Brooklyn
Carol
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Room
Sicario
Spotlight
ACTOR
Bryan Cranston – Trumbo
Matt Damon – The Martian
Johnny Depp – Black Mass
Leonardo DiCaprio – The Revenant
Michael Fassbender – Steve Jobs
Eddie Redmayne – The Danish Girl
ACTRESS
Cate Blanchett – Carol
Brie Larson – Room
Jennifer Lawrence – Joy
Charlotte Rampling – 45 Years
Saoirse Ronan – Brooklyn
Charlize Theron – Mad Max: Fury Road
SUPPORTING ACTOR
Paul Dano – Love & Mercy
Tom Hardy – The Revenant
Mark Ruffalo – Spotlight
Mark Rylance – Bridge of Spies
Michael Shannon – 99 Homes
Sylvester Stallone – Creed
SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Jennifer Jason Leigh – The Hateful Eight
Rooney Mara – Carol
Rachel McAdams – Spotlight
Helen Mirren – Trumbo
Alicia Vikander – The Danish Girl
Kate Winslet – Steve Jobs
YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS
Abraham Attah – Beasts of No Nation
RJ Cyler – Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
Shameik Moore – Dope
Milo Parker – Mr. Holmes
Jacob Tremblay – Room
ACTING ENSEMBLE
The Big Short
The Hateful Eight
Spotlight
Straight Outta Compton
Trumbo
DIRECTOR
Todd Haynes – Carol
Alejandro González Iñárritu – The Revenant
Tom McCarthy – Spotlight
George Miller – Mad Max: Fury Road
Ridley Scott – The Martian
Steven Spielberg – Bridge of Spies
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Matt Charman and Ethan Coen & Joel Coen – Bridge of Spies
Alex Garland – Ex Machina
Quentin Tarantino – The Hateful Eight
Pete Docter, Meg LeFauve, Josh Cooley – Inside Out
Josh Singer and Tom McCarthy – Spotlight
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Charles Randolph and Adam McKay – The Big Short
Nick Hornby – Brooklyn
Drew Goddard – The Martian
Emma Donoghue – Room
Aaron Sorkin – Steve Jobs
CINEMATOGRAPHY
Carol – Ed Lachman
The Hateful Eight – Robert Richardson
Mad Max: Fury Road – John Seale
The Martian – Dariusz Wolski
The Revenant – Emmanuel Lubezki
Sicario – Roger Deakins
PRODUCTION DESIGN
Bridge of Spies – Adam Stockhausen, Rena DeAngelo
Brooklyn – François Séguin, Jennifer Oman and Louise Tremblay
Carol – Judy Becker, Heather Loeffler
The Danish Girl – Eve Stewart, Michael Standish
Mad Max: Fury Road – Colin Gibson
The Martian – Arthur Max, Celia Bobak
EDITING
The Big Short – Hank Corwin
Mad Max: Fury Road – Margaret Sixel
The Martian – Pietro Scalia
The Revenant – Stephen Mirrione
Spotlight – Tom McArdle
COSTUME DESIGN
Brooklyn – Odile Dicks-Mireaux
Carol – Sandy Powell
Cinderella – Sandy Powell
The Danish Girl – Paco Delgado
Mad Max: Fury Road – Jenny Beavan
HAIR & MAKEUP
Black Mass
Carol
The Danish Girl
The Hateful Eight
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Revenant
VISUAL EFFECTS
Ex Machina
Jurassic World
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
The Walk
ANIMATED FEATURE
Anomalisa
The Good Dinosaur
Inside Out
The Peanuts Movie
Shaun the Sheep Movie
ACTION MOVIE
Furious 7
Jurassic World
Mad Max: Fury Road
Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation
Sicario
FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
The Assassin
Goodnight Mommy
Mustang
The Second Mother
Son of Saul
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Amy
Cartel Land
Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief
He Named Me Malala
The Look of Silence
Where to Invade Next
SONG
Fifty Shades of Grey – Love Me Like You Do
Furious 7 – See You Again
The Hunting Ground – Til It Happens To You
Love & Mercy – One Kind of Love
Spectre – Writing’s on the Wall
Youth – Simple Song #3
SCORE
Carol – Carter Burwell
The Hateful Eight – Ennio Morricone
The Revenant – Ryuichi Sakamoto and Alva Noto
Sicario – Johann Johannsson
Spotlight – Howard Shore
Screen Actors Guild Award Nominations
Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
Beasts of No Nation
The Big Short
Spotlight
Straight Outta Compton
Trumbo
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
Bryan Cranston, Trumbo
Johnny Depp, Black Mass
Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant
Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs
Eddie Redmayne, The Danish Girl
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
Cate Blanchett, Carol
Brie Larson, Room
Helen Mirren, Woman in Gold
Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn
Sarah Silverman, I Smile Back
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
Christian Bale, The Big Short
Idris Elba, Beasts of No Nation
Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies
Michael Shannon, 99 Homes
Jacob Tremblay, Room
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
Rooney Mara, Carol
Rachel McAdams, Spotlight
Helen Mirren, Trumbo
Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl
Kate Winslet, Steve Jobs
AFI Movies of the Year
The Big Short
Bridge of Spies
Carol
Inside Out
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
Room
Spotlight
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Straight Outta Compton