The PGA Names CODA The Best of 2021


I’m a little late in reporting this but last night, the Producers Guild of America announced their picks for the best of 2021 and they promptly threw the Oscar race into chaos by selecting CODA, instead of the Power of the Dog.  Today, there’s a lot of people talking about the possibility of DGA winner Jane Campion taking Best Director while CODA, which also won the SAG Ensemble Award, takes Best Picture.

It could happen.  We’ll find out for sure next Sunday!

The Award for Outstanding Producer of a Feature Theatrical Motion Picture
Being The Ricardos
Belfast
CODA
Don’t Look Up
Dune
King Richard
Licorice Pizza
The Power Of The Dog
Tick, Tick…Boom!
West Side Story

The Award for Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures
Encanto
Luca
The Mitchells vs. The Machines
Raya And The Last Dragon
Sing 2
 
The Award for Outstanding Producer of Documentary Motion Pictures 
Ascension
The First Wave
Flee
In The Same Breath
The Rescue
Simple As Water
Summer Of Soul (…Or, When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
Writing With Fire

The DGA Honors Jane Campion


Last night, the Directors Guild of America awarded their top prize to Jane Campion and The Power of the Dog.  This is definitely good news for the film, as far as the Oscars are concerned.  With West Side Story now on HBO and so many people rediscovering how important a director Steven Spielberg really is, it seemed as if the momentum may have been shifting.  But, thanks to the DGA and the recent controversy over Sam Elliott’s comments about the film, The Power of the Dog is once again the front runner.

(To be honest, as far as Spielberg is concerned, it wouldn’t surprise me if a lot of Academy voters are currently of the “In just a few month, he’s going to get another chance with The Fabelmans” mindset.)

Here are the film winners from the DGA:

NARRATIVE FEATURE FILM
Paul Thomas Anderson – Licorice Pizza
Kenneth Branagh – Belfast
Jane Campion – The Power of the Dog
Steven Spielberg – West Side Story
Denis Villeneuve – Dune

FIRST TIME NARRATIVE FEATURE FILM
Maggie Gyllenhaal – The Lost Daughter
Rebecca Hall – Passing
Tatiana Huezo – Prayers For The Stolen
Lin Manuel-Miranda – Tick, Tick…BOOM!
​Michael Sarnoski – Pig
Emma Seligman – Shiva Baby

DOCUMENTARY
Jessica Kingdon – Ascension
Stanley Nelson – Attica
Raoul Peck – Exterminate All The Brutes
Questlove – Summer of Soul
Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi & Jimmy Chin – The Rescue

Lisa Marie’s Way Too Early Oscar Predictions For February


Is it too early to start talking about next year’s Oscar race?

Of course, it is!  But I’m going to do it anyway.

Below, you’ll find the installment of my monthly list of Oscar predictions, not for what will win at the end of March but instead for what we’ll see nominated next year.  Obviously, there’s a lot that we don’t know about what’s going to happen later this year.  Only a few of the movies listed below have firmly set release dates.  Needless to say, I haven’t seen any of the films below and, as a result, I’m largely going on instinct.  Who knows if the films will be as good as their plot descriptions?  As much as I hate the overused quote from William Goldman, right now, no one knows anything.  Indeed, it’s not really until Festival Season hits that we really start to get even a vaguely clear picture of the Oscar race and we’ve got a long way to go until Cannes.

(And really, it’s debatable how much of a factor Cannes really is.  If the Oscar nominations were determined by Cannes, Red Rocket and The French Dispatch would be battling it out for best picture right now.)

The predictions below are, for the most part, just random guesses.  Most of them involve people who have won Oscars in the past.  The Fabelmans is there because it’s a Spielberg film, just as Killers of the Flower Moon makes the list because it’s directed by Martin Scorsese and it stars Leonard DiCaprio and Robert De Niro.  And, of course, a lot of the predictions are just the result of wishful thinking on my part.  I think it would be kind of fun if David Lynch got an acting nomination for his role in The Fabelmans, whatever that role may be.  I also think it would be nice if Brendan Fraser got a nomination to go along with his recent comeback.  I don’t know much about The Whale, beyond the fact that Fraser plays a 600-pound man trying to reconnect with his daughter.  For now, that’s enough.

So, without further ado, here are my way too early Oscar predictions!  As always, take them with a grain of salt.

Best Picture

Babylon

The Fabelmans

The Holdovers

Killers of the Flower Moon

Kitbag

Maestro

She Said

TAR

White Noise

The Woman King

Best Director

Damien Chazelle for Babylon

Gina Prince-Bythewood for The Woman King

Martin Scorsese for Killers of the Flower Moon

Ridley Scott for Kitbag

Steven Spielberg for The Fabelmans

Best Actor

Bradley Cooper in Maestro

Brendan Fraser in The Whale

Paul Giamatti in The Holdovers

Ryan Gosling in The Actor

Brad Pitt in Babylon

Best Actress

Naomi Ackie in I Wanna Dance With Somebody

Ana de Armas in Blonde

Viola Davis in The Woman King

Cate Blanchett in TAR

Carey Mulligan in Maestro

Best Supporting Actor

Bobby Cannavale in Blonde

Robert De Niro in Killer of the Flower Moon

John Boyega in The Woman King

Tom Hanks in Elvis

David Lynch in The Fabelmans

Best Supporting Actress

Tantoo Cardinal in Killers of the Flower Moon

Laura Dern in The Son

Li Jun Li in Babylon

Da’Vine Joy Randolph in The Holdovers

Michelle Williams in The Fabelmans

CODA Wins Best Ensemble at the SAG Awards


The SAG Awards were handed out earlier tonight.  On the one hand, I’m kind of surprised and a little bit annoyed that Jessica Chastain won Best Actress for a performance that was not really that good.  On the other hand, I’m super happy for the cast and crew of CODA!

To be honest, this year’s Oscar race feels like it’s pretty wide open, especially when it comes to the race for Best Actress.  I’m not sure that anything’s more clear after the SAG awards, beyond the fact that Troy Kostur appears to be the new front runner for the Supporting Actor award.

Here are the SAG winners!

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A CAST IN A MOTION PICTURE
Belfast
CODA
Don’t Look Up
House of Gucci
King Richard

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Javier Bardem – Being The Ricardos
Benedict Cumberbatch – The Power Of The Dog
Andrew Garfield – Tick, Tick…Boom!
Will Smith – King Richard
Denzel Washington – The Tragedy of Macbeth

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Jessica Chastain – The Eyes Of Tammy Faye
Olivia Colman – The Lost Daughter
Lady Gaga – House of Gucci
Jennifer Hudson – Respect
Nicole Kidman – Being The Ricardos

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A TELEVISION MOVIE OR LIMITED SERIES
Murray Bartlett – The White Lotus
Oscar Isaac – Scenes from a Marriage
Michael Keaton – Dopesick
Ewan McGregor – Halston
Evan Peters – Mare Of Easttown

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A TELEVISION MOVIE OR LIMITED SERIES
Jennifer Coolidge – The White Lotus
Cynthia Erivo – Genius: Aretha
Margaret Qualley – Maid
Jean Smart – Mare Of Easttown
Kate Winslet – Mare Of Easttown

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY AN ENSEMBLE IN A DRAMA SERIES
The Handmaid’s Tale
The Morning Show
Squid Game
Succession
Yellowstone

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Jennifer Aniston – The Morning Show
Jung Ho-Yeon – Squid Game
Elisabeth Moss – The Handmaid’s Tale
Sarah Snook – Succession
Reese Witherspoon – The Morning Show

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A DRAMA  SERIES
Brian Cox – Succession
Billy Crudup – The Morning Show
Kieran Culkin – Succession
Jeremy Strong – Succession
Lee jung-jae – Squid Game

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY AN ENSEMBLE IN A COMEDY  SERIES
The Great
Hacks
The Kominski Method
Only Murders in the Building
Ted Lasso

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Elle Fanning – The Great
Sandra Oh – The Chair
Jean Smart – Hacks
Juno Temple – Ted Lasso
Hannah Waddingham – Ted Lasso

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Michael Douglas – The Kominski Method
Brett Goldstein – Ted Lasso
Steve Martin – Only Murders in the Building
Martin Short – Only Murders in the Building
Jason Sudeikis – Ted Lasso

OUTSTANDING  PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Caitriona Balfe – Belfast
Cate Blanchett – Nightmare Alley
Ariana DeBose – West Side Story
Kirsten Dunst – The Power Of The Dog
Ruth Negga – Passing

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A  SUPPORTING ROLE
Ben Affleck – The Tender Bar
Bradley Cooper – Licorice Pizza
Troy Kotsur – CODA
Jared Leto – House of Gucci
Kodi Smit-McPhee – The Power Of The Dog

OUTSTANDING ACTION PERFORMANCE BY A STUNT ENSEMBLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
Black Widow
Dune
The Matrix: Resurrections
No Time to Die
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

OUTSTANDING ACTION PERFORMANCE BY A STUNT ENSEMBLE IN A DRAMA OR COMEDY SERIES
Cobra Kai
Falcon and the Winter Soldier
Loki
Mare Of Easttown
Squid Game

Here Are The Oscar Nominations!


The Oscar nominations have been announced!  The Power of the Dog leads with 12.

Initial thoughts: Don’t Look Up is one of the worst films to ever be nominated for Best Picture.  The acting nominations for Being The Ricardos shows that actors love movies about actors.  I’m very excited to see that Nightmare Alley was nominated for best picture.

I’m really happy that Jesse Plemons, Kirsten Dunst, and Jessie Buckley picked up their first nominations.  Plemons and Dunst now join Alfred Lunt and Lynne Fontane and Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton as a married couple nominated for playing a married couple in a film.

More later.  For now, here are the nominees:

Best Picture
“Belfast” – Laura Berwick, Kenneth Branagh, Becca Kovacik and Tamar Thomas, Producers
“CODA” – Philippe Rousselet, Fabrice Gianfermi and Patrick Wachsberger, Producers
“Don’t Look Up” – Adam McKay and Kevin Messick, Producers
“Drive My Car” – Teruhisa Yamamoto, Producer
“Dune” – Mary Parent, Denis Villeneuve and Cale Boyter, Producers
“King Richard” – Tim White, Trevor White and Will Smith, Producers
“Licorice Pizza” – Sara Murphy, Adam Somner and Paul Thomas Anderson, Producers
“Nightmare Alley” – Guillermo del Toro, J. Miles Dale and Bradley Cooper, Producers
“The Power of the Dog” – Jane Campion, Tanya Seghatchian, Emile Sherman, Iain Canning and Roger Frappier, Producers
“West Side Story” Steven Spielberg and Kristie Macosko Krieger, Producers

Best Director
Kenneth Branagh – “Belfast”
Ryûsuke Hamaguchi – “Drive My Car”
Paul Thomas Anderson – “Licorice Pizza”
Jane Campion – “The Power of the Dog”
Steven Spielberg – “West Side Story”

Best Actress
Jessica Chastain – “The Eyes of Tammy Faye”
Olivia Colman – “The Lost Daughter”
Penelope Cruz – “Parallel Mothers”
Nicole Kidman – “Being The Ricardos”
Kristen Stewart – “Spencer”

Best Actor
Javier Bardem – “Being The Ricardos”
Benedict Cumberbatch – “The Power of the Dog”
Andrew Garfield – “Tick, Tick…Boom!”
Will Smith – “King Richard”
Denzel Washington – “The Tragedy of Macbeth”

​Best Supporting Actress
​​​​Jessie Buckley – “The Lost Daughter”
Ariana DeBose – “West Side Story”
Judi Dench – “Belfast”
Kirsten Dunst – “The Power of the Dog”
Aunjanue Ellis – “King Richard”

Best Supporting Actor
​Ciarán Hinds – “Belfast”
Troy Kotsur – “CODA”
Jesse Plemons – “The Power of the Dog”
J.K. Simmons – ​​”Being The Ricardos”
Kodi Smit-McPhee – “The Power of the Dog”

Best Original Screenplay
“Belfast” – Written by Kenneth Branagh
“​Don’t Look Up” – Screenplay by Adam McKay; Story by Adam McKay & David Sirota
“King Richard” – Written by Zach Baylin
“Licorice Pizza” – Written by Paul Thomas Anderson
“The Worst Person in the World” – Written by Eskil Vogt, Joachim Trier

Best Adapted Screenplay
“CODA” Screenplay by Siân Heder
“Drive My Car Screenplay by Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Takamasa Oe
“Dune” Screenplay by Jon Spaihts and Denis Villeneuve and Eric Roth
“The Lost Daughter” Written by Maggie Gyllenhaal
“The Power of the Dog” Written by Jane Campion

Best Animated Feature
​”​Encanto” – Jared Bush, Byron Howard, Yvett Merino and Clark Spencer
“Flee” – Jonas Poher Rasmussen, Monica Hellström, Signe Byrge Sørensen and Charlotte De La Gournerie
“Luca” – Enrico Casarosa and Andrea Warren
“The Mitchells vs. the Machines” – Mike Rianda, Phil Lord, Christopher Miller and Kurt Albrecht
“Raya and the Last Dragon” – Don Hall, Carlos López Estrada, Osnat Shurer and Peter Del Vecho

Best Documentary Feature
​​​”Ascension” – Jessica Kingdon, Kira Simon-Kennedy and Nathan Truesdell
“Attica” – Stanley Nelson and Traci A. Curry
“Flee” Jonas Poher Rasmussen, Monica Hellström, Signe Byrge Sørensen and Charlotte De La Gournerie
“Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)” – Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, Joseph Patel, Robert Fyvolent and David Dinerstein
“Writing with Fire” – Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh

Best International Feature
“​Drive My Car” – Japan
“Flee” – Denmark
“The Hand of God” – Italy
“Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom” – Bhutan
“The Worst Person in the World” – Norway

Best Cinematography
​”Dune” – Greig Fraser
“Nightmare Alley” – Dan Laustsen
“The Power of the Dog” – Ari Wegner
“The Tragedy Of Macbeth” Bruno Delbonnel
“West Side Story” – Janusz Kaminski

Best Costume Design
“Cruella” – Jenny Beavan
“Cyrano” – Massimo Cantini Parrini and Jacqueline Durran
“Dune” – Jacqueline West and Robert Morgan
“Nightmare Alley” – Luis Sequeira
“West Side Story” – Paul Tazewell

Best Film Editing
​”Don’t Look Up” – Hank Corwin
“Dune” – Joe Walker
“King Richard” – Pamela Martin
“The Power of the Dog” – Peter Sciberras
“Tick, Tick…Boom!” – Myron Kerstein and Andrew Weisblum

Best Makeup & Hairstyling
​​​​​”Coming 2 America” – Mike Marino, Stacey Morris and Carla Farmer
“Cruella” – Nadia Stacey, Naomi Donne and Julia Vernon
“Dune” – Donald Mowat, Love Larson and Eva von Bahr
“The Eyes of Tammy Faye” – Linda Dowds, Stephanie Ingram and Justin Raleigh
“House of Gucci” – Göran Lundström, Anna Carin Lock and Frederic Aspiras

Best Production Design
​”Dune” – Production Design: Patrice Vermette; Set Decoration: Zsuzsanna Sipos
“Nightmare Alley” – Production Design: Tamara Deverell; Set Decoration: Shane Vieau
“The Power of the Dog” – Production Design: Grant Major; Set Decoration: Amber Richards
“The Tragedy of Macbeth” – Production Design: Stefan Dechant; Set Decoration: Nancy Haigh
“West Side Story” – Production Design: Adam Stockhausen; Set Decoration: Rena DeAngelo

Best Sound
​​​​”Belfast” – Denise Yarde, Simon Chase, James Mather and Niv Adiri
“Dune” – Mac Ruth, Mark Mangini, Theo Green, Doug Hemphill and Ron Bartlett
“No Time to Die” – Simon Hayes, Oliver Tarney, James Harrison, Paul Massey and Mark Taylor
“The Power of the Dog” – Richard Flynn, Robert Mackenzie and Tara Webb
“West Side Story” – Tod A. Maitland, Gary Rydstrom, Brian Chumney, Andy Nelson and Shawn Murphy

Best Visual Effects
“Dune” – Paul Lambert, Tristan Myles, Brian Connor and Gerd Nefzer
“Free Guy” – Swen Gillberg, Bryan Grill, Nikos Kalaitzidis and Dan Sudick
“No Time to Die” – Charlie Noble, Joel Green, Jonathan Fawkner and Chris Corbould
“Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings” – Christopher Townsend, Joe Farrell, Sean Noel Walker and Dan Oliver
“Spider-Man: No Way Home” – Kelly Port, Chris Waegner, Scott Edelstein and Dan Sudick

Best Original Score
​​”Don’t Look Up” – Nicholas Britell
“Dune” – Hans Zimmer
“Encanto” – Germaine Franco
“Parallel Mothers” – Alberto Iglesias
“The Power Of The Dog” – Jonny Greenwood

Best Original Song

“Be Alive” from “King Richard” – Music and Lyric by DIXSON and Beyoncé Knowles-Carter
“Dos Oruguitas” from “Encanto” – Music and Lyric by Lin-Manuel Miranda
“Down To Joy” from “Belfast” – Music and Lyric by Van Morrison
“No Time To Die” from “No Time to Die” – Music and Lyric by Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell
“Somehow You Do” from “Four Good Days” – Music and Lyric by Diane Warren

Best Animated Short
“Affairs of the Art” – Joanna Quinn and Les Mills
“Bestia” – Hugo Covarrubias and Tevo Díaz
“Boxballet” – Anton Dyakov
“Robin Robin” – Dan Ojari and Mikey Please
“The Windshield Wiper” – Alberto Mielgo and Leo Sanchez

Best Documentary Short
“Audible” – Matt Ogens and Geoff McLean
“Lead Me Home” – Pedro Kos and Jon Shenk
“The Queen of Basketball” – Ben Proudfoot
“Three Songs for Benazir” – Elizabeth Mirzaei and Gulistan Mirzaei
“When We Were Bullies” – Jay Rosenblatt

Best Live-Action Short
“Ala Kachuu – Take and Run” – Maria Brendle and Nadine Lüchinger
“The Dress” – Tadeusz Łysiak and Maciej Ślesicki
“The Long Goodbye” – Aneil Karia and Riz Ahmed
“On My Mind” – Martin Strange-Hansen and Kim Magnusson
“Please Hold” – K.D. Dávila and Levin Menekse

What If Lisa Marie Picked The Oscar Nominees: 2021 Edition


With the Oscar nominations due to be announced tomorrow, now is the time that the Shattered Lens indulges in a little something called, “What if Lisa Marie had all the power.” Listed below are my personal Oscar nominations. Please note that these are not the films that I necessarily think will be nominated. The fact of the matter is that the many of them will not be. Instead, these are the films that would be nominated if I was solely responsible for deciding the nominees this year. Winners are listed in bold.

I should also point out that, unlike the Academy (which is using a March to December, 2021 eligibility window), I am using a January to December 2021 eligibility window.  So, you may see a few nominees below that were technically nominated for the 2020 Oscars, despite the fact that the films themselves were not really given a theatrical release until the the first few months of 2021.  The Father is probably the most obvious example of this.

It should also go without saying that I’ve only nominated films that I’ve actually seen.  So, if you’re wondering why a certain film wasn’t nominated, it’s always possible that may have not gotten the opportunity to see it yet.  I have a feeling that The Souvenir Part II and Cyrano would have potentially shown up in the list of nominee below if either one of those films was currently available in my part of the world.  Of course, it’s also possible that I didn’t feel that a certain film was worthy of a nomination, despite what the critics may see.  In the end, my best advice is not to worry too much about it.  I’m not an Academy voter so ultimately, this is all for fun and that’s the spirit in which it should be taken.

You’ll also note that I’ve added four categories, all of which I believe the Academy should adopt — Best Voice-Over Performance, Best Casting, Best Stunt Work, and Best Overall Use Of Music In A Film.

Click on the links to see my nominations for 2020, 201920182017201620152014201320122011, and 2010!)

And now, without further ado:

Best Picure
Belfast
CODA
The French Dispatch
The Last Duel
Licorice Pizza
Mass
Nightmare Alley
The Power of the Dog
The Tragedy of Macbeth
Shiva Baby


Best Director
Paul Thomas Anderson for Licorice Pizza
Kenneth Branagh for Belfast
Jane Campion for The Power of the Dog
Joel Coen for The Tragedy of Macbeth
Fran Kanz for Mass
Emma Seligman for Shiva Baby


Best Actor
Nicolas Cage in Pig
Bradley Cooper in Nightmare Alley
Benedict Cumberbatch in The Power of the Dog
Anthony Hopins in The Father
Udo Kier in Swan Song
Denzel Washington in Tragedy of Macbeth


Best Actress
Jodie Comer in The Last Duel
Alana Haim in Licorice Pizza
Emilia Jones in CODA
Frances McDormand in The Tragedy of Macbeth
Rachel Sennott in Shiva Baby
Tessa Thompson in Passing


Best Supporting Actor
Reed Birney in Mass
Bradley Cooper in Licorice Pizza
Jamie Dornan in Belfast
Jason Isaacs in Mass
Troy Kostur in CODA
Chaske Spencer in Wild Indian


Best Supporting Actress
Caririona Balfe in Belfast
Ann Dowd in Mass
Kirsten Dunst in The Power of the Dog
Kathryn Hunter in The Tragedy of Macbeth
Ruth Negga in Passing
Martha Plimpton in Mass


Best Voice Over Performance
Olivia Colman in Ron Gone Wrong
Jack Dylan Grazer in Ron Gone Wrong
Micahel Imperioli in The Many Saints of Newark
Abbi Jacobson In The Mitchells vs The Machines
Danny McBride in The Mitchells vs The Machines
Sylvester Stallone in The Suicide Squad


Best Original Screenplay
Belfast
CODA
Licorice Pizza
Mass
Pig
Shiva Baby


Best Adapted Screenplay
The Father
The French Dispatch
The Last Duel
Nightmare Alley
Passing
The Power of the Dog


Best Animated Feature Film
Encanto
Flee
Luca
The Mitchells vs The Machines
Ron Gone Wrong
Summit of the Gods


Best Documentary Feature Film
Final Account
Flee
Boris Karloff: The Man Behind The Monster
Summer of Soul
Val
The Velvet Underground


Best International Feature Film
Another Round
Dear Comrades!
Flee
Quo Vadis, Aida?
Prayers For The Stolen
Summit of the Gods

Best Original Score
Assault on VA-33
Belfast
The French Dispatch
The Green Knight
Reminiscence
Shiva Baby


Best Original Song

“So May We Start” from Annette
“Beyond the Shore” from CODA
“Surface Pressure” from Encanto
“On My Way” From The Mitchells vs The Machines
“Remain” from Old
“Fire In The Sky” from Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Gold Rings


Best Overall Use Of Music
Annette
CODA
Encanto
Licorice Pizza
Summer of Soul
Tick …. Tick …. Boom!


Best Sound Editing
Black Widow
Dune
Godzilla vs. Kong
A Quiet Place Part II
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the 10 Rings
Spider-Man: No Way Home


Best Sound Mixing
Belfast
CODA
Dune
In The Heights
Tick …. Tick …. Boom!
Spider-Man: No Way Home


Best Production Design
Dune
The French Dispatch
The Last Duel
Licorice Pizza
Nightmare Alley
Tragedy of Macbeth


Best Casting
Belfast
CODA
East of the Mountains
Licorice Pizza
The Power of the Dog
Shiva Baby


Best Cinematography
Belfast
The French Dispatch
Nightmare Alley
Passing
The Power of the Dog
Tragedy of Macbeth


Best Costume Design
Dune
The Green Knight
The Last Duel
Nightmare Alley
Passing
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings


Best Film Editing
Belfat
The Father
The Last Duel
Licorice Pizza
Tragedy of Macbeth
Shiva Baby


Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Dune
The Eyes of Tammy Faye
The French Dispatch
The Green Knight
Nightmare Alley
The Suicide Squad


Best Stuntwork
Assault on VA-33
Black Widow
Dune
The Harder They Fall
No Time To Die
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings


Best Visual Effects
A Quiet Place Part II
Annette
Dune
Godzilla vs. Kong
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
Spider-Man: No Way Home

List of Nominees By Number of Nominations

10 Nominations — Belfast

9 Nominations — Licorice Pizza

8 Nominations — CODA, The Tragedy of Macbeth

7 Nominations — Dune, Mass, Nightmare Alley, The Power of the Dog, Shiva Baby

6 Nominations — The French Dispatch, The Last Duel

5 Nominations — Passing, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

4 Nominations — The Mitchells vs The Machines

3 Nominations — Annette, Encanto, The Father, Flee, The Green Knight, Ron’s Gone Wrong, Spider-Man: No Direction Home, The Suicide Squad

2 Nominations — A Quiet Place Part II, Assault on VA-33, Black Widow, Godzilla vs Kong, Pig, Summer of Soul, Summit of the Gods, tick….tick….BOOM!

1 Nomination — Another Round, Dear Comrades!, East of the Mountains, The Eyes of Tammy Faye, Final Account, Boris Karloff: The Man Behind the Monster, The Harder They Fall, In The Heights, Luca, The Many Saints of Newark, No Time To Die, Old, Prayers For The Stolen, Quo Vadis Aida?, Reminiscence, Swan Song, Val, The Velvet Underground, Wild Indian

List of Films By Number of Oscars Won:

3 Oscars — Licorice Pizza

2 Oscars — CODA, Dune, Nightmare Alley, The Power of the Dog

1 Oscar — Belfast, Dear Comrades!, Encanto, The Father, The French Dispatch, The Green Knight, The Many Saints of Newark, Mass, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Shiva Baby, Summit of the Gods, The Tragedy of Macbeth, Val, Wild Indian

8 Things That I Am Looking Forward To In February


Ah, February!

February is usually one of my favorite months of the year.  Not only do we usually have a lot of Oscar scenarios to which to look forward but it’s also the month of Valentine’s Day!  This is the month of love, people!  Admittedly, pre-COVID, this was also the month when I would usually take my vacation and get out of town for a while.  My vacation’s going to be a little bit later this year, though.

What am I looking forward to this month?  Well, there’s always a chance of snow!  Of course, last year, it snowed in February and we ended up going without power for a week.  That was a difficult time for a lot of people down here in Texas.  It really wasn’t that difficult for me, though.  I kind of enjoyed the snow.  Even without the lights, I could still read a book late at night because of the light reflecting off of all the snow.  That was kind of fun.  But I should probably be careful about admitting that too loudly.

Anyway, here are eight things to which I am looking forward in February!  What are you looking forward to?  Let me know in the comments and maybe I’ll send some snow your way.  (And by snow, you mean cocaine, right?  No, I mean metaphorical snow.  Wait a minute, who am I talking to?)

  1. The Oscar Nominations

The Oscar nominations will finally be announced on February 8th!  With any luck, I will be posting my personal nominations on the 7th.  I have a lot of movies left to watch and I know I’m probably going to miss out on a few because there’s only so many hours during the day.  That sucks but I’m going to do my best, I promise.

2. The Winter Olympics

Am I looking forward to the Olympics?  On the one hand, I am because I’m love ice skating and curling and all of that good stuff.  On the other hand, I’m like, “This is the most problematic Olympics of my lifetime.”  I know that some people believe that we should have totally boycotted the Olympics this year.  I don’t agree with that because that wouldn’t accomplish much beyond punishing our athletes.  Instead, as a proud Irish-Italian-Spanish-American, I will be cheering on all of our athletes, even the really obnoxious ones and I will also be hoping that the coverage of the games will be honest when discussing why they are so controversial this year.

3. Death on the Nile

Speaking of controversy ….. Death on the Nile is finally getting released!  First, it was delayed by COVID.  Then it was delayed by Armie Hammer.  I’m just curious to see how it does at the box office.  Personally, I like the idea of Kenneth Branagh playing Poirot and solving murders.  To me, it’s interesting that he directed this film before Belfast but it’ll be opening at a time when it’s success or failure could effect Belfast’s Oscar campaign.

4. Cyrano

Cyrano is apparently going to finally get a wide release on February 25th.  I guess the hope is that it’ll pick up some Oscar nominations and, when it opens, everyone will be like, “Finally!  We can see what the Academy is so excited about!”  I hate platform releases but I’m still looking forward to finally seeing Cyrano.

5. Marry Me

This looks like the best romantic comedy of 2004!  Seriously, sometimes you see a trailer for a movie that is so destined to be bad that you just have to watch it.

6. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

My Marry Me comments apply here as well, except for the romantic comedy part.  Don’t worry. If this latest reboot/sequel doesn’t work, they’ll just try again in 2024.  Many years ago, someone got mad at me because I pointed out that no one would care about a Vermont Chainsaw Massacre.  I stand by that opinion.

7. Super Bowl Sunday

Yes, I watched a bit of football in January.  It was an experiment to see if I could get into the sport.  It turns out that I can’t.  But I’m still looking forward to the Super Bowl commercials and the trailers and the tweets!  Always, the tweets….

8. Valentine’s Day

I love Valentine’s Day and I never quite get the bitterness that it seems to inspire in some people.  Of course, I don’t think I’ve ever been single on Valentine’s Day, either.

As for what I’m not looking forward to in February …. the return of Celebrity Big Brother.  Ugh.  I’ll watch it but that doesn’t mean I’m looking forward to it.

Lisa Marie’s Oscar Predictions for January


Well, here we are. Another awards season is wrapping up. Almost all of the regional critic groups have announced their picks for the best of 2021. The Guilds have spoken. The front runners have emerged. Both Don’t Look Up and Being the Ricardos have weathered bad reviews and become probable Oscar nominees. If nothing else, I’ll have something to complain about for the next three or four months. At the same time, Power of the Dog has emerged as the critical favorite. Belfast seems to be the populist favorite. West Side Story is the big production that has to be nominated, even though no one seems to feel particularly strongly about it one way or the other. Dune is the blockbuster that the Academy is hoping will cause people to tune into the ceremony, especially now that it appears that the Spider-Man Oscar campaign has fizzled. Don’t Look Up is the “Let’s piss off the cons” nominee. Being the Ricardos is this year’s “Wow, our industry really is the best” nominee. Personally, I’m going to view tick, tick….Boom! as being the most likely dark horse to pull off an upset.

So, with all that in mind, here’s my last set of 2021 Oscar predictions.

Looking at the list below, I have to say that we certainly have a good race this year. It’s interesting that, this year, only films that were released between March and the end of December were eligible for the Oscars. 2021 was a very good year for movies! Not only do we have the nominees below but we also had films like The Father and Judas and the Black Messiah, both of which are 2021 films as far as I’m concerned.

(Consider this. If the Oscars had kept the eligibility window the same last year instead of extending it to accommodate films delayed by the pandemic, Anthony Hopkins would probably be the Best Actor front runner right now and the Academy probably would have given Chadwick Boseman a posthumous Best Actor award last April. I also imagine that Jesse Plemons would have a better chance of picking up a supporting actor nomination if the members of the Academy were currently screening both The Power of the Dog and Judas and the Black Messiah at the same time.)

To see how my thinking has evolved,  check out my predictions for March and April and May and June and July and August and September and October and November and December!

The Oscar nominations will be announced on February 8th. Below are my predictions!

Best Picture

Being The Ricardos
Belfast
CODA
Don’t Look Up
Dune
King Richard
Licorice Pizza
The Power Of The Dog
Tick, Tick….Boom!
West Side Story

Best Director

Jane Campion for The Power of the Dog

Adam McKay for Don’t Look Up

Lin-Manuel Miranda for tick, tick …. Boom!

Steven Spielberg for West Side Story

Denis Villeneuve for Dune

Best Actor

Nicolas Cage in Pig

Benedict Cumberbatch in The Power of the Dog

Andrew Garfield in tick, tick….Boom!

Will Smith in King Richard

Denzel Washington in The Tragedy of Macbeth

Best Actress

Jessica Chastain in The Eyes of Tammy Faye

Olivia Colman in The Lost Daughter

Jennifer Hudson in Respect

Nicole Kidman in Being the Riacardos

Kristen Stewart in Spencer

Best Supporting Actor

Bradley Cooper in Licorice Pizzia

Ciaran Hinds in Belfast

Troy Kostur in CODA

Jared Leto in House of Gucci

Kodi Smit-McPhee in The Power of the Dog

Best Supporting Actress

Caitriona Balfe in Belfast

Ariana DeBose in West Side Story

Kirsten Dunst in The Power of the Dog

Aunjanue Ellis in King Richard

Ruth Negga in Passing

Finally, Here Are The 2021 Nominations of the Costume Designers Guild!


I have one last set of guild nominations to share with you today.  Here are the 2021 nominations of the Costume Designers Guild!

Excellence in Sci-Fi / Fantasy Film
Dune – Jacqueline West & Robert Morgan
The Green Knight – Malgosia Turzanska
The Matrix Resurrections – Lindsay Pugh
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings – Kym Barrett
Spider-Man: No Way Home – Sanja M. Hays
The Suicide Squad – Judianna Makovsky

Excellence in Contemporary Film
Coming 2 America – Ruth E. Carter
Don’t Look Up – Susan Matheson
In The Heights – Mitchell Travers
No Time to Die – Suttirat Anne Larlarb
Zola – Derica Cole Washington

Excellence in Period Film
Cruella – Jenny Beavan
Cyrano – Massimo Cantini Parrini & Jacqueline Durran
House of Gucci – Janty Yates
Nightmare Alley – Luis Sequeira
West Side Story – Paul Tazewell

Here Are The 2021 Producers Guild Nominations!


The Producers Guild nominations is one of the biggest of the awards season precursors.  The fact that neither Spider-Man: No Way Home nor No Way To Die were mentioned here probably means neither is going to pull off a surprise best picture nomination.  So, it looks like Dune will get the blockbuster slot this year.

Both Being the Ricardos and Don’t Look Up were nominated.  Don’t even get me started.

The Award for Outstanding Producer of a Feature Theatrical Motion Picture
Being The Ricardos
Belfast
CODA
Don’t Look Up
Dune
King Richard
Licorice Pizza
The Power Of The Dog
Tick, Tick…Boom!
West Side Story

The Award for Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures
Encanto
Luca
The Mitchells vs. The Machines
Raya And The Last Dragon
Sing 2
 
The Award for Outstanding Producer of Documentary Motion Pictures
The PGA previously announced the nominations in this category on December 10th, 2021.
 
Ascension
The First Wave
Flee
In The Same Breath
The Rescue
Simple As Water
Summer Of Soul (…Or, When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
Writing With Fire