22 July | Through the Shattered Lens

Today, the National Board of Review announced their picks for the best of 2018!

Every year, the announcement of the NBR’s picks is considered to be the “official” start of Awards Season. (This despite the fact that the Spirit Nominations were announced a few weeks ago and the Gotham Awards were handed out just last night.) Getting honored by the NBR is considered to be a big boost, when it comes to getting Academy recognition. Of course, nothing’s guaranteed but, since 2010, every NBR best picture winner (with the exception of A Most Violent Year in 2014) has received a corresponding Oscar nomination.

(Interestingly enough, the last time that the NBR winner actually went on to also win the Oscar for Best Picture was way back in 2008. That’s when Slumdog Millionaire won.)

This year, the NBR named, as best picture of the year, Green Book. That’s certainly a boost that Green Book, which has been struggling at the box office, needed. The NBR also gave a big boost to A Star Is Born (Bradley Cooper for Best Director, Lady Gaga for Best Actress, Sam Elliott for Best Supporting Actor), If Beale Street Could Talk (Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Supporting Actress), First Reformed (Best Original Screenplay and Top Ten of the Year) and maybe Black Panther and A Quiet Place (both of which were named as one of the ten best films of 2018).

Not getting a boost from the NBR: Spike Lee’s BlackKklansman and Damien Chazelle’s First Man, neither of which received any mention.

Here are the National Board of Review’s picks for the best of 2018:

Best Film: GREEN BOOK
Best Director: Bradley Cooper, A STAR IS BORN
Best Actor: Viggo Mortensen, GREEN BOOK
Best Actress: Lady Gaga, A STAR IS BORN
Best Supporting Actor: Sam Elliott, A STAR IS BORN
Best Supporting Actress: Regina King, IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK
Best Original Screenplay: Paul Schrader, FIRST REFORMED
Best Adapted Screenplay: Barry Jenkins, IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK
Best Animated Feature: INCREDIBLES 2
Breakthrough Performance: Thomasin McKenzie, LEAVE NO TRACE
Best Directorial Debut: Bo Burnham, EIGHTH GRADE
Best Foreign Language Film: COLD WAR
Best Documentary: RBG
Best Ensemble: CRAZY RICH ASIANS
William K. Everson Film History Award: THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WIND and THEY’LL LOVE ME WHEN I’M DEAD
NBR Freedom of Expression Award: 22 JULY
NBR Freedom of Expression Award: ON HER SHOULDERS