Tag Archives: Cailee Spaeny

Here Are The 2023 Gotham Award Winners!

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

In one of the first events of Awards Season, The Gotham Awards were handed out tonight, with Past Lives picking up the award for best film.  Below, all of the winners are listed in bold!

Best Feature
Passages
Ira Sachs, director; Saïd Ben Saïd, Michel Merkt, producers (MUBI)

Past Lives
Celine Song, director; David Hinojosa, Pamela Koffler, Christine Vachon, producers (A24)

Reality
Tina Satter, director; Brad Becker-Parton, Riva Marker, Greg Nobile, Noah Stahl, producers (HBO Films)

Showing Up
Kelly Reichardt, director; Neil Kopp, Vincent Savino, Anish Savjani, producers (A24)

A Thousand and One
A.V. Rockwell, director; Julia Lebedev, Rishi Rajani, Eddie Vaisman, Lena Waithe, Bred Weston, producers (Focus Features)

Best International Feature
All of Us Strangers
Andrew Haigh, director; Graham Broadbent, Peter Czernin, Sarah Harvey, producers (Searchlight Pictures)

Anatomy of a Fall
Justine Triet, director; Marie-Ange Luciani, David Thion, producers (NEON)

Poor Things
Yorgos Lanthimos, director; Ed Guiney, Yorgos Lanthimos, Andrew Lowe, Emma Stone, producers (Searchlight Pictures)

Tótem
Lila Avilés, director; Lila Avilés, Tatiana Graullera, Louise Riousse, producers (Sideshow/Janus Films)

The Zone of Interest
Jonathan Glazer, director; Ewa Puszczynska, James Wilson, producers (A24)

Best Documentary Feature
20 Days in Mariupol
Mstyslav Chernov, director; Raney Aronson-Rath, Mstyslav Chernov, Derl McCrudden, Michelle Mizner, producers (PBS Distribution)

Against the Tide
Sarvnik Kaur, director; Koval Bhatia, Sarvnik Kaur, producers (Snooker Club Films, A Little Anarky Films)

Apolonia, Apolonia
Lea Glob, director; Sidsel Lønvig Siersted, producer (Danish Documentary Production)

Four Daughters
Kaouther Ben Hania, director; Nadim Cheikhrouha, producer (Kino Lorber)

Our Body
Claire Simon, director; Kristina Larsen, producer (Cinema Guild)

Breakthrough Director Award, Presented by Cadillac

Raven Jackson, All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt (A24)

Georgia Oakley, Blue Jean (Magnolia Pictures)

Michelle Garza Cervera, Huesera (XYZ Films)

Celine Song, Past Lives (A24)

A.V. Rockwell, A Thousand and One (Focus Features)

Best Screenplay

All of Us Strangers, Andrew Haigh (Searchlight Pictures)

Anatomy of a Fall, Justine Triet, Arthur Harari (NEON)

May December, Samy Burch (Netflix)

R.M.N., Cristian Mungiu (IFC Films)

The Zone of Interest, Jonathan Glazer (A24)

Outstanding Lead Performance

Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Origin (NEON)

Lily Gladstone, The Unknown Country (Music Box Films)

Greta Lee, Past Lives (A24)

Franz Rogowski, Passages (MUBI)

Babetida Sadjo, Our Father, The Devil (Cineverse)

Andrew Scott, All of Us Strangers (Searchlight Pictures)

Cailee Spaeny, Priscilla (A24)

Teyana Taylor, A Thousand and One (Focus Features)

Michelle Williams, Showing Up (A24)

Jeffrey Wright, American Fiction (Orion Pictures / Amazon MGM Studios)

Outstanding Supporting Performance

Juliette Binoche, The Taste of Things (IFC Films)

Penélope Cruz, Ferrari (NEON)

Jamie Foxx, They Cloned Tyrone (Netflix)

Claire Foy, All of Us Strangers (Searchlight Films)

Ryan Gosling, Barbie (Warner Bros. Pictures)

Glenn Howerton, BlackBerry (IFC Films)

Sandra Hüller, The Zone of Interest (A24)

Rachel McAdams, Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret (Lionsgate)

Charles Melton, May December (Netflix)

Da’Vine Joy Randolph, The Holdovers (Focus Features)

Breakthrough Series – Under 40 minutes
Beef, Lee Sung Jin, creator; Ravi Nandan, Alli Reich, Jake Schreier, Ali Wong, Steven Yeun, executive producers (Netflix)

High School, Clea DuVall, Sara Quin, Tegan Quin, creators; Clea Duvall, Dede Gardner, Laura Kittrell, Jeremy Kleiner, Sara Quin, Tegan Quin, Carina Sposato, executive producers (Amazon Freevee)

I’m A Virgo, Boots Riley, creator; Tze Chun, Michael Ellenberg, Marcus Gardley, Carver Karaszewski, Jharrel Jerome, Boots Riley, Rebecca Rivo, Lindsey Springer, executive producers (Prime Video)

Rain Dogs, Cash Carraway, creator; Cash Carraway, Sally Woodward Gentle, Lee Morris, executive producers (HBO | Max)

Swarm, Donald Glover, Janine Nabers, creators; Ibra Ake, Donald Glover, Stephen Glover, Janine Nabers Jamal Olor, Steven Prinz, Michael Schaefer, Fam Udeorji, executive producers (Amazon Studios)

Breakthrough Series – Over 40 minutes
Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire
Rolin Jones, creator; Mark Johnson, Rolin Jones, Anne Rice, Christopher Rice, Alan Taylor, executive producers (AMC)

Dead Ringers
Alice Birch, creator; Alice Birch, Anne Carey, Sean Durkin, Megan Ellison, Erica Kay, Ali Krug, Sue Naegle, Stacy O’Neil, David Robinson, James G. Robinson, Polly Stokes, Barbara Wall, Rachel Weisz, executive directors (Prime Video)

The English
Hugo Blick, creator; Hugo Blick, Emily Blunt, Greg Brenman, executive producers (Prime Video)

The Last of Us
Craig Mazin, Neil Druckmann, creators; Neil Druckmann, Craig Mazin, Rose Lam, Asad Qizilbash, Carolyn Strauss, Carter Swan, Evan Wells, executive producers; (HBO | Max)

A Small Light
Tony Phelan, Joan Rater, creator; Susanna Fogel, William Harper, Avi Nir, Tony Phelan, Joan Rater, Lisa Roos, Alon Shtruzman, Peter Traugott, executive producers (National Geographic)

Telemarketers
Adam Bhala Lough, Sam Lipman-Stern, directors; Nancy Abraham, Dani Bernfeld, David Gordon Green, Lisa Heller, Jody Hill, Brandon James, Sam Lipman-Stern, Adam Bhala Lough, Danny McBride, Tina Nguyen, Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie, Greg Stewart, executive producers (HBO | Max)

Outstanding Performance in a New Series
Jacob Anderson, Anne Rice’s Interview with The Vampire (AMC)

Dominique Fishback, Swarm (Amazon Studios)

Jharrel Jerome, I’m A Virgo (Prime Video)

Natasha Lyonne, Poker Face (Peacock)

Bel Powley, A Small Light (National Geographic)

Bella Ramsey, The Last of Us (HBO | Max)

Chaske Spencer, The English (Prime Video)

Rachel Weisz, Dead Ringers ((Prime Video)

Ali Wong, Beef (Netflix)

Steven Yeun, Beef (Netflix)

Here Are The 2023 Gotham Nominations (Only A Week Late!)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Wow!  I’ve been so busy coordinating this year’s Horrorthon that I totally missed the fact that the Gotham nominations were announced on October 24th!  In the past, the Gothams only honored films that were made for a certain low budget.  This year is the first time that they’ll be honoring films of any budget.  To me, that would seem to defeat the purpose of the awards but whatever.  Everyone wants to be an Oscar precursor nowadays.

Anyway, this is really late on my part but here are this year’s Gotham nominations!  Whether or not these nominations will give a boost to any of these film’s Oscar chances remains to be seen.  The winners will be announced on November 27th!

Best Feature
Passages
Ira Sachs, director; Saïd Ben Saïd, Michel Merkt, producers (MUBI)

Past Lives
Celine Song, director; David Hinojosa, Pamela Koffler, Christine Vachon, producers (A24)

Reality
Tina Satter, director; Brad Becker-Parton, Riva Marker, Greg Nobile, Noah Stahl, producers (HBO Films)

Showing Up
Kelly Reichardt, director; Neil Kopp, Vincent Savino, Anish Savjani, producers (A24)

A Thousand and One
A.V. Rockwell, director; Julia Lebedev, Rishi Rajani, Eddie Vaisman, Lena Waithe, Bred Weston, producers (Focus Features)

Best International Feature
All of Us Strangers
Andrew Haigh, director; Graham Broadbent, Peter Czernin, Sarah Harvey, producers (Searchlight Pictures)

Anatomy of a Fall
Justine Triet, director; Marie-Ange Luciani, David Thion, producers (NEON)

Poor Things
Yorgos Lanthimos, director; Ed Guiney, Yorgos Lanthimos, Andrew Lowe, Emma Stone, producers (Searchlight Pictures)

Tótem
Lila Avilés, director; Lila Avilés, Tatiana Graullera, Louise Riousse, producers (Sideshow/Janus Films)

The Zone of Interest
Jonathan Glazer, director; Ewa Puszczynska, James Wilson, producers (A24)

Best Documentary Feature
20 Days in Mariupol
Mstyslav Chernov, director; Raney Aronson-Rath, Mstyslav Chernov, Derl McCrudden, Michelle Mizner, producers (PBS Distribution)

Against the Tide
Sarvnik Kaur, director; Koval Bhatia, Sarvnik Kaur, producers (Snooker Club Films, A Little Anarky Films)

Apolonia, Apolonia
Lea Glob, director; Sidsel Lønvig Siersted, producer (Danish Documentary Production)

Four Daughters
Kaouther Ben Hania, director; Nadim Cheikhrouha, producer (Kino Lorber)

Our Body
Claire Simon, director; Kristina Larsen, producer (Cinema Guild)

Breakthrough Director Award, Presented by Cadillac

Raven Jackson, All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt (A24)

Georgia Oakley, Blue Jean (Magnolia Pictures)

Michelle Garza Cervera, Huesera (XYZ Films)

Celine Song, Past Lives (A24)

A.V. Rockwell, A Thousand and One (Focus Features)

Best Screenplay

All of Us Strangers, Andrew Haigh (Searchlight Pictures)

Anatomy of a Fall, Justine Triet, Arthur Harari (NEON)

May December, Samy Burch (Netflix)

R.M.N., Cristian Mungiu (IFC Films)

The Zone of Interest, Jonathan Glazer (A24)

Outstanding Lead Performance

Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Origin (NEON)

Lily Gladstone, The Unknown Country (Music Box Films)

Greta Lee, Past Lives (A24)

Franz Rogowski, Passages (MUBI)

Babetida Sadjo, Our Father, The Devil (Cineverse)

Andrew Scott, All of Us Strangers (Searchlight Pictures)

Cailee Spaeny, Priscilla (A24)

Teyana Taylor, A Thousand and One (Focus Features)

Michelle Williams, Showing Up (A24)

Jeffrey Wright, American Fiction (Orion Pictures / Amazon MGM Studios)

Outstanding Supporting Performance

Juliette Binoche, The Taste of Things (IFC Films)

Penélope Cruz, Ferrari (NEON)

Jamie Foxx, They Cloned Tyrone (Netflix)

Claire Foy, All of Us Strangers (Searchlight Films)

Ryan Gosling, Barbie (Warner Bros. Pictures)

Glenn Howerton, BlackBerry (IFC Films)

Sandra Hüller, The Zone of Interest (A24)

Rachel McAdams, Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret (Lionsgate)

Charles Melton, May December (Netflix)

Da’Vine Joy Randolph, The Holdovers (Focus Features)

Breakthrough Series – Under 40 minutes
Beef, Lee Sung Jin, creator; Ravi Nandan, Alli Reich, Jake Schreier, Ali Wong, Steven Yeun, executive producers (Netflix)

High School, Clea DuVall, Sara Quin, Tegan Quin, creators; Clea Duvall, Dede Gardner, Laura Kittrell, Jeremy Kleiner, Sara Quin, Tegan Quin, Carina Sposato, executive producers (Amazon Freevee)

I’m A Virgo, Boots Riley, creator; Tze Chun, Michael Ellenberg, Marcus Gardley, Carver Karaszewski, Jharrel Jerome, Boots Riley, Rebecca Rivo, Lindsey Springer, executive producers (Prime Video)

Rain Dogs, Cash Carraway, creator; Cash Carraway, Sally Woodward Gentle, Lee Morris, executive producers (HBO | Max)

Swarm, Donald Glover, Janine Nabers, creators; Ibra Ake, Donald Glover, Stephen Glover, Janine Nabers Jamal Olor, Steven Prinz, Michael Schaefer, Fam Udeorji, executive producers (Amazon Studios)

Breakthrough Series – Over 40 minutes
Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire
Rolin Jones, creator; Mark Johnson, Rolin Jones, Anne Rice, Christopher Rice, Alan Taylor, executive producers (AMC)

Dead Ringers
Alice Birch, creator; Alice Birch, Anne Carey, Sean Durkin, Megan Ellison, Erica Kay, Ali Krug, Sue Naegle, Stacy O’Neil, David Robinson, James G. Robinson, Polly Stokes, Barbara Wall, Rachel Weisz, executive directors (Prime Video)

The English
Hugo Blick, creator; Hugo Blick, Emily Blunt, Greg Brenman, executive producers (Prime Video)

The Last of Us
Craig Mazin, Neil Druckmann, creators; Neil Druckmann, Craig Mazin, Rose Lam, Asad Qizilbash, Carolyn Strauss, Carter Swan, Evan Wells, executive producers; (HBO | Max)

A Small Light
Tony Phelan, Joan Rater, creator; Susanna Fogel, William Harper, Avi Nir, Tony Phelan, Joan Rater, Lisa Roos, Alon Shtruzman, Peter Traugott, executive producers (National Geographic)

Telemarketers
Adam Bhala Lough, Sam Lipman-Stern, directors; Nancy Abraham, Dani Bernfeld, David Gordon Green, Lisa Heller, Jody Hill, Brandon James, Sam Lipman-Stern, Adam Bhala Lough, Danny McBride, Tina Nguyen, Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie, Greg Stewart, executive producers (HBO | Max)

Outstanding Performance in a New Series
Jacob Anderson, Anne Rice’s Interview with The Vampire (AMC)

Dominique Fishback, Swarm (Amazon Studios)

Jharrel Jerome, I’m A Virgo (Prime Video)

Natasha Lyonne, Poker Face (Peacock)

Bel Powley, A Small Light (National Geographic)

Bella Ramsey, The Last of Us (HBO | Max)

Chaske Spencer, The English (Prime Video)

Rachel Weisz, Dead Ringers ((Prime Video)

Ali Wong, Beef (Netflix)

Steven Yeun, Beef (Netflix)

Lisa Marie’s Oscar Predictions For September

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Well, it’s that time of the month again!  Here are my Oscar predictions for September!  The festival season has brought along a host of new contenders.

For instance, American Fiction made a splash at the Toronto International Film Festival and it looks like both it and Jeffrey Wright are going to emerge as legitimate contenders come awards season.  In the past, a film like Dream Scenario would probably be considered too strange for the Academy but, after A24’s success with Everything Everywhere All At Once, it seems like anything’s possible.  If nothing else, A24 knows how to sell a film.

Personally, I’d love it if Richard Linklater’s Hit Man picked up a few nominations, even though I haven’t seen it yet and I’m not even sure when Netflix is going to release it.  (Linklater is the patron saint of Texas filmmaking, so I’ll always hope the best for anything he’s involved with.)

There’s still quite a ways to go until the year ends and the race is very much in flux but we are finally at the point where we can look at a few films and say, with more than a little confidence, “That’s going to be nominated.”

Below are my predictions for September.  Be sure to also check out my predictions for March and April and May and June and July and August!

Best Picture 

Air

American Fiction

Barbie

The Bikeriders

The Holdovers

Killers of the Flower Moon

Oppenheimer

Poor Things

Rustin

The Zone of Interest

Best Director

Greta Gerwig for Barbie

Jonathan Glazer for The Zone of Interest

Cord Jefferson for American Fiction

Christopher Nolan for Oppenheimer

Martin Scorsese for Killers of the Flower Moon

Best Actor

Leonardo DiCaprio in Killers of the Flower Moon

Colman Domingo in Rustin

Paul Giamatti in The Holdovers

Cillian Murphy in Oppenheimer

Jeffrey Wright in American Fiction

Best Actress

Jodie Comer in The Bikeriders

Natalie Portman in May December

Margot Robbie in Barbie

Cailee Spaeny in Priscilla

Kate Winslet in Lee

Best Supporting Actor

Willem DaFoe in Poor Things

Robert De Niro in Killers of the Flower Moon

Robert Downey, Jr. in Oppenheimer

Ryan Gosling in Barbie

Dominic Sessa in The Holdovers

Best Supporting Actress

Emily Blunt in Oppenheimer

Lily Gladstone in Killers of the Flower Moon

Sandra Huller in Zone of Interest

Julianne Moore in May December

Da’Vine Joy Randolph in The Holdovers

Film Review: Pacific Rim Uprising (dir. by Steven S. DeKnight)

Posted on by Leonard Wilson

Moving to directing isn’t always smooth

Pacific Rim Poster

.Duel was a success for Steven Spielberg, and Alex Garland had a wonderful success with Ex Machina. Conversely, Cinematographer Wally Pfister’s Transcendence wasn’t as well received. Though he has worked on TV, Pfister hasn’t had a motion picture follow-up (though I’m eager to see him do so). Everyone moves in different directions and at their own pace. Steven S. DeKnight is well-known for his work on Daredevil and the Spartacus series on Starz. He makes the leap to directing with Pacific Rim Uprising, the results of which are a mixed bag for me. I saw the original four times in the cinema. Uprising has some fun moments, most of them with John Boyega (John Boyega, Star Wars: The Last Jedi) and Cailee Spaeny (The Shoes), but it wasn’t particularly memorable for me. I don’t know if I could actually say I hated it. That doesn’t mean that the kids won’t love it. There are some good moments of action that are reminiscent of Saban’s Power Rangers, and the movie provides exactly what it advertises – Jaeger on Kaiju action.

Uprising takes place ten years after the end of Pacific Rim, focusing on Jake Pentacost (John Boyega, Star Wars: The Last Jedi) son of the now legendary Stacker Pentacost. The world has moved on from the Kaiju crisis in various ways. When a new threat looms on the horizon, Jaeger pilots are needed once again. Jake would rather not get involved, plowing his trade as Jaeger tech smuggler. When he meets up with Amara Namani, a young hacker (Spaeny), both are brought into the newest rendition of the Jaeger Program. This also leads to a family reunion of sorts with Jake’s sister, Mako Mori (Rinko Kikuchi), who now heads the program. We even have our favorite scientist duo returning in Gottlieb (Burn Gorman, Game of Thrones) and Geiszler (Charlie Day). With all this familarity, you’d think that more of the same is the perfect recipe for a sequel.

The plot could have used a little more development, at least in comparison to the first firm. Uprising does stand on its own, and I could see some interesting arcs develop in future films. My problem with it was just that I didn’t feel a sense of worry for anyone. In the first film, there was this sense of escalation. Every incident was increasingly more dangerous for everyone involved. I didn’t quite feel that this film, but it makes up for it for having some interesting action scenes. DeKnight keeps the scenes short and sweet, and the flow of the movie is quite good, despite the lack of fights. Those moments are few and far between, which kind of left me a little drowsy waiting for them.

From a character standpoint, the real gems in Uprising are Jake and Amara. Boyega and Spaeny are great in just about every scene they’re in. Scott Eastwood isn’t bad either, actually, though he really isn’t given much to work with. Everyone else appears to be filling in roles. While it would’ve been nice to see more characterization in the rest of the crew, they do what they need to in order to keep the story moving.

Visually, Pacific Rim Uprising hits all the right notes. The Kaiju are strange and the Jaegers are impressive. The action moves in such a way where you’re not too lost with what you’re viewing. If there are any problems in this area, it’s that they appeared too clean (and that’s just a nitpick, really). Where the Original used nighttime or rainy shots to mask the effects (much like the first T-Rex encounter in Jurassic Park), most of Uprising’s effects are in broad daylight. It looks great, but also had a HDR quality to it that (for me) felt like you were watching a high end demo reel. The 3D also helped with the effects there.

Overall, I’d easily catch Pacific Rim Uprising again once it hits the digital circuit. It might be worth the viewing on an IMAX screen or even in 3D, but it isn’t anything anyone needs to rush to see.