Tag Archives: Emerald Fennell

Here Are The 2023 Astra Nominations!

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Astra Awards used to known as the HCA Awards but the name was changed this year for reasons unknown.  At first, I thought they had named the awards after the dog from The Thin Man but then I remembered that dog was actually named Asta.

(Seriously, folks, don’t rename stuff.  It’s confusing!  I’m still getting used to twitter being called X.)

Anyway, here are the 2023 Astra nominees.  There’s a lot of them, which I like.  (They give out a lot of awards that the Academy does not.)  While these awards, whether you call the HCA Awards or the Astra Awards, are not exactly the best Oscar precursors in the world, every bit helps when it comes to building momentum for Academy recognition.

Best Picture
“Air” (Amazon MGM Studios)
“American Fiction” (Orion Pictures / Amazon MGM Studios)
“Barbie” (Warner Bros. Pictures)
“The Color Purple” (Warner Bros. Pictures)
“The Holdovers” (Focus Features)
“Killers of the Flower Moon” (Apple Original Films)
“Maestro” (Netflix)
“Oppenheimer” (Universal Pictures)
“Past Lives” (A24)
“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” (Sony Pictures)

Best Director
Alexander Payne – “The Holdovers” (Focus Features)
Ben Affleck – “Air” (Amazon MGM Studios)
Bradley Cooper – “Maestro” (Netflix)
Celine Song – “Past Lives” (A24)
Christopher Nolan – “Oppenheimer” (Universal Pictures)
Cord Jefferson – “American Fiction” (Orion Pictures / Amazon MGM Studios)
Emerald Fennell – “Saltburn” (Amazon MGM Studios)
Greta Gerwig – “Barbie” (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Martin Scorsese – “Killers of the Flower Moon” (Apple Original Films)
Yorgos Lanthimos – “Poor Things” (Searchlight Pictures)

Best Actress
Carey Mulligan – “Maestro” (Netflix)
Emma Stone – “Poor Things” (Searchlight Pictures)
Fantasia Barrino – “The Color Purple” (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Greta Lee – “Past Lives” (A24)
Lily Gladstone – “Killers of the Flower Moon” (Apple Original Films)
Margot Robbie – “Barbie” (Warner Bros. Pictures)

Best Actor
Barry Keoghan – “Saltburn” (Amazon MGM Studios)
Bradley Cooper – “Maestro” (Netflix)
Cillian Murphy – “Oppenheimer” (Universal Pictures)
Colman Domingo – “Rustin” (Netflix)
Jeffrey Wright – “American Fiction” (Orion Pictures / Amazon MGM Studios)
Paul Giamatti – “The Holdovers” (Focus Features)

Best Supporting Actress
America Ferrera – “Barbie” (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Danielle Brooks – “The Color Purple” (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Da’Vine Joy Randolph – “The Holdovers” (Focus Features)
Julianne Moore – “May December” (Netflix)
Rachel McAdams – “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret” (Lionsgate)
Viola Davis – “Air” (Amazon MGM Studios)

Best Supporting Actor
Charles Melton – “May December” (Netflix)
Colman Domingo – “The Color Purple” (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Dominic Sessa – “The Holdovers” (Focus Features)
Glenn Howerton – “BlackBerry” (IFC Films)
Robert Downey Jr. – “Oppenheimer” (Universal Pictures)
Ryan Gosling – “Barbie” (Warner Bros. Pictures)

Best Cast Ensemble
“Air” (Amazon MGM Studios)
“Barbie” (Warner Bros. Pictures)
“Killers of the Flower Moon” (Apple Original Films)
“Oppenheimer” (Universal Pictures)
“The Color Purple” (Warner Bros. Pictures)
“The Holdovers” (Focus Features)

Best International Feature
“Anatomy of a Fall” (France)
“Concrete Utopia” (South Korea)
“Fallen Leaves” (Finland)
“Jawan” (India)
“Perfect Days” (Japan)
“Radical” (Mexico)
“Society of the Snow” (Spain)
“The Taste of Things” (France)
“The Teacher’s Lounge” (Germany)
“The Zone of Interest” (United Kingdom)

Best International Filmmaker
Hayao Miyazaki – “The Boy and The Heron” (GKids)
J.A Bayona – “Society of the Snow” (Netflix)
Jonathan Glazer – “The Zone of Interest” (A24)
Justine Triet – “Anatomy of a Fall” (NEON)
Trần Anh Hùng – “The Taste of Things” (IFC Films)
Wim Wenders – “Perfect Days” (NEON)

Best International Actress
Alma Pöysti – “Fallen Leaves” (MUBI)
Juliette Binoche – “The Taste of Things” (IFC Films)
Layla Mohammadi – “The Persian Version” (Sony Pictures Classics)
Leonie Benesch – “The Teacher’s Lounge” (Sony Pictures Classics)
Sandra Hüller – “Anatomy of a Fall” (NEON)
Roberta Colindrez – “Cassandro” (Amazon MGM Studios)

Best International Actor
Christian Friedel – “The Zone of Interest” (A24)
Enzo Vogrincic – “Society of the Snow” (Netflix)
Eugenio Derbez – “Radical” (Pantelion Films)
Gael García Bernal – “Cassandro” (Amazon MGM Studios)
Koji Yakusho – “Perfect Days” (NEON)
Mads Mikkelsen – “The Promised Land” (Magnolia Pictures)

Best First Feature
A.V. Rockwell – “A Thousand and One” (Focus Features)
Adele Lim – “Joy Ride” (Lionsgate)
Celine Song – “Past Lives” (A24)
Chloe Domont – “Fair Play” (Netflix)
Cord Jefferson – “American Fiction” (Orion Pictures / Amazon MGM Studios)
Michael B. Jordan – “Creed III” (Amazon MGM Studios)

Best Animated Feature
“The Boy and The Heron” (GKids)
“Elemental” (Disney/Pixar)
“Nimona” (Netflix)
“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” (Sony Pictures)
“Suzume” (Sony Pictures/Crunchyroll)
“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem” (Paramount Pictures)

Best Documentary Feature
“20 Days in Mariupol” (PBS Distribution)
“American Symphony” (Netflix)
“Beyond Utopia” (Roadside Attractions)
“Little Richard: I Am Everything” (Magnolia Pictures)
“Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie” (Apple Original Films)
“Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” (AMC Theatres Distribution)

Best Action Feature
“Creed III” (Amazon/MGM Studios)
“Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves” (Paramount Pictures)
“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” (Disney/Marvel)
“John Wick: Chapter 4” (Lionsgate)
“Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” (Paramount Pictures)
“The Killer” (Netflix)

Best Comedy Feature
“Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret” (Lionsgate)
“BlackBerry” (IFC Films)
“Bottoms” (Orion Pictures / Amazon MGM Studios)
“Joy Ride” (Lionsgate)
“No Hard Feelings” (20th Century Fox)
“Theater Camp” (Searchlight Pictures)

Best Horror Feature
“Evil Dead Rise” (Warner Bros. Pictures)
“Knock at the Cabin” (Universal Pictures)
“M3GAN” (Universal Pictures)
“No One Will Save You” (20th Century Studios / Hulu)
“Scream VI” (Paramount Pictures)
“Talk To Me” (A24)

Best Short Film
“The ABCs of Book Banning” (MTV Documentary Films)
“The After” (Netflix)
“The Last Repair Shop” (Searchlight Pictures)
“Once Upon A Studio” (Disney)
“Strange Way of Life” (Sony Pictures Classics)
“The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar” (Netflix)

Best Voice-Over Performance
Ariana DeBose – “Wish” (Walt Disney Studios)
Bradley Cooper – “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” (Disney/Marvel)
Daniel Kaluuya – “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” (Sony Pictures)
Hailee Steinfeld – “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” (Sony Pictures)
Jack Black – “The Super Mario Bros Movie” (Universal Pictures)
Shameik Moore – “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” (Sony Pictures)

Best Original Screenplay
“Air” – Written by Alex Convery (Amazon MGM Studios)
“Anatomy of a Fall” – Written by Justine Triet & Arthur Harari (NEON)
“Barbie” – Written by Greta Gerwig & Noah Baumbach (Warner Bros. Pictures)
“Past Lives” – Written by Celine Song (A24)
“Saltburn” – Written by Emerald Fennell (Amazon/MGM Studios)
“The Holdovers” – Written by David Hemingson (Focus Features)

Best Adapted Screenplay
“American Fiction” – Screenplay by Cord Jefferson (Orion Pictures / Amazon MGM Studios)
“Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret” – Screenplay by Kelly Fremon Craig (Lionsgate)
“Killers of the Flower Moon” – Screenplay by Eric Roth & Martin Scorsese (Apple Original Films)
“Oppenheimer” – Screenplay by Christopher Nolan (Universal Pictures)
“Poor Things” – Screenplay by Tony McNamara (Searchlight Pictures)
“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” – Screenplay by Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, Dave Callaham (Sony Pictures)

Best Casting
Mary Vernieu & Lindsay Graham Ahanonu – “Air” (Amazon/MGM Studios)
Jennifer Euston – “American Fiction” (Orion Pictures / Amazon MGM Studios)
Allison Jones & Lucy Bevan – “Barbie” (Warner Bros. Pictures)
John Papsidera – “Oppenheimer” (Universal Pictures)
Bernard Telsey, Tiffany Little Canfield, and Destiny Lilly – “The Color Purple” (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Susan Shopmaker – “The Holdovers” (Focus Features)

Best Cinematography
Dan Laustsen – “John Wick: Chapter 4” (Lionsgate)
Rodrigo Prieto – “Killers of the Flower Moon” (Apple Original Films)
Matthew Libatique – “Maestro” (Netflix)
Hoyte van Hoytema – “Oppenheimer” (Universal Pictures)
Robbie Ryan – “Poor Things” (Searchlight Pictures)
Linus Sandgren – “Saltburn” (Amazon MGM Studios)

Best Costume Design
Jacqueline Durran – “Barbie” (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Oliver García – “Chevalier” (Searchlight Pictures)
Judianna Makovsky – “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” (Disney/Marvel)
Jacqueline West – “Killers of the Flower Moon” (Apple Original Films)
Holly Waddington – “Poor Things” (Searchlight Pictures)
Francine Jamison-Tanchuck – “The Color Purple” (Warner Bros. Pictures)

Best Editing
Laurent Sénéchal – “Anatomy of a Fall” (NEON)
Nathan Orloff – “John Wick: Chapter 4” (Lionsgate)
Thelma Schoonmaker – “Killers of the Flower Moon” (Apple Original Films)
Jennifer Lame – “Oppenheimer” (Universal Pictures)
Michael Andrews – “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” (Sony Pictures)
Kevin Tent – “The Holdovers” (Focus Features)

Best Hair and Make-Up
Nick Houy – “Barbie” (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Ryo Murakawa – “Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves” (Paramount Pictures)
Cassie Russek and Alexei Dmitriew – “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” (Disney/Marvel)
Kazu Hiro, Sian Grigg, Kay Georgiou, and Lori McCoy-Bell – “Maestro” (Netflix)
Nadia Stacey – “Poor Things” (Searchlight Pictures)
Carol Rasheed, Saisha Beecham, Lawrence Davis, and Tym Wallace – “The Color Purple” (Warner Bros. Pictures)

Best Original Song
“Camp Isn’t Home” from “Theater Camp” – Written by Ben Platt, Noah Galvin, Molly Gordon, Nick Lieberman, and Mark Sonnenblick – Performed by Ben Platt, Molly Gordon, Noah Galvin, Alexander Bello, Bailee Bonick, Donovan Colan, Jack Sobolewski, Kyndra Sanchez, Luke Islam, Madisen Lora and Quinn Titcomb (Searchlight Pictures)
“Dance the Night” from “Barbie” – Written by Mark Ronson, Andrew Wyatt, Dua Lipa, and Caroline Ailin – Performed By Dua Lipa (Warner Bros. Pictures)
“I’m Just Ken” from “Barbie” – Written by Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt – Performed by Ryan Gosling (Warner Bros. Pictures)
“Peaches” from “The Super Mario Bros Movie” – Written by Jack Black, Aaron Horvath, Michael Jelenic, Eric Osmond, and John Spiker – Performed by Jack Black (Universal Pictures)
“This Wish” from “Wish” – ​​Written by Julia Michaels, Benjamin Rice, and JP Saxe – Performed by Ariana DeBose (Disney)
“What Was I Made For?” from “Barbie” – Written By Billie Eilish O’Connell and Finneas O’Connell – Performed by Billie Eilish (Warner Bros. Pictures)

Best Production Design
Adam Stockhausen – “Asteroid City” (Focus Features)
Sarah Greenwood & Katie Spencer – “Barbie” (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Jack Fisk & Adam Willis – “Killers of the Flower Moon” (Apple Original Films)
Ruth De Jong – “Oppenheimer” (Universal Pictures)
James Price & Shona Heath – “Poor Things” (Searchlight Pictures)
Suzie Davies & Charlotte Dirickx – “Saltburn” (Amazon MGM Studios)

Best Publicity Campaign
“Barbie” (Warner Bros. Pictures)
“John Wick: Chapter 4” (Lionsgate)
“M3GAN” (Universal Pictures)
“Oppenheimer” (Universal Pictures)
“The Super Mario Bros Movie” (Universal Pictures)
“Wonka” (Warner Bros. Pictures)

Best Score
“Elemental” – Thomas Newman (Disney/Pixar)
“Killers of the Flower Moon” – Robbie Robertson (Apple Original Films)
“Oppenheimer” – Ludwig Göransson (Universal Pictures)
“Poor Things” – Jerskin Fendrix (Searchlight Pictures)
“Saltburn” – Anthony Willis (Amazon MGM Studios)
“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” – Daniel Pemberton (Sony Pictures)

Best Sound
“Ferrari” (NEON)
“John Wick: Chapter 4” (Lionsgate)
“Maestro” (Netflix)
“Oppenheimer” (Universal Pictures)
“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” (Sony Pictures)
“The Killer” (Netflix)

Best Stunts
“Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves” (Paramount Pictures)
“Fast X” (Universal Pictures)
“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” (Disney/Marvel)
“John Wick: Chapter 4” (Lionsgate)
“Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” (Paramount Pictures)
“Polite Society” (Focus Features)

Best Visual Effects
“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” (Disney/Marvel)
“Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” (Paramount Pictures)
“Oppenheimer” (Universal Pictures)
“Poor Things” (Searchlight Pictures)
“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” (Sony Pictures)
“The Creator” (20th Century Studios)

Here’s The Trailer For Saltburn!

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Here’s the trailer for Saltburn, Emerald Fennell’s first film since her Oscar-nominated Promising Young Woman.  In this film, Barry Keoghan (who was so good in The Banshees of Inisherin) plays an awkward student at Oxford who becomes obsessed with his aristocratic classmate (Jacob Elordi).  Keoghan, Elordi, Fennell, and the film itself are all expected to be potential Oscar contenders.

The trailer certainly has a creepy vibe to it.

Barbie (dir. by Greta Gerwig)

Posted on by Leonard Wilson

I may be the wrong person to be writing about Barbie. As a guy, I can’t really empathize with all of the elements of womanhood. I’ll never experience childbirth, nor fully understand all of the issues women have to deal with (though watching the women in my family proved insightful over the years). The closest I’ll know is either through writing or having a girl character in Grand Theft Auto Online and having to deal with players shooting my character to hell for not getting into their ride when I clearly have one of my own.

Still, I can appreciate both the fun and the serious notes that Barbie offered.

I spent last Christmas with a friend’s family, watching as they passed gifts between each other. During the gift giving, my friend passed along a small wrapped box to his wife. She smiled up at him from the sofa, but looked at the box with a hint of confusion. Tearing into it, she gasped and then broke into tears, which silenced the room.

The unwrapped present was a Barbie Doll, complete in a luxurious dress. I think it might have been the Oscar De La Renta one.

She explained that when she was little, living in Colombia, she had always wanted a Barbie. Sure, there were dolls to be had, but nothing like a Barbie. I listened to this and smiled, associating it as the female equivalent of asking your parents for a Transformer but only ever receiving GoBots instead. I could relate.

It also reminded me of my little sister, who had the Dream House, the Car, and a box full of clothes. She’d humor me with my Transformers, I’d humor her with Barbie life, either borrowing a Ken or her Kimber from her Jem line. We’d hop in the convertible and drive.

I can imagine James Earl Jones’ character in Field of Dreams noting that Barbie “has marked the time” throughout history.

So, when it was announced that there was an actual Barbie movie being made, I knew I’d check it out, especially with all of the Oppenheimer madness on the same weekend. I decided to watch Oppenheimer first (a 5pm showing), and then Barbie (at 9:30pm) this past Thursday. This proved to be a good idea. Barbie‘s lighthearted approach was a stark contrast to Oppenheimer’s tone.

I enjoyed Barbie, which opens with a homage to 2001: A Space Odyssey and a narration by Dame Helen Mirren. It’s the tale of a Barbie – Stereotypical Barbie, if you need particulars (Margot Robbie, Babylon) who lives her life in Barbieland with all of the Barbies and the Kens. One Ken (Ryan Gosling, The Gray Man) has his heart set on Barbie. Life is nice in Barbieland, sunning by the beach during the day and partying at night. However, once our Barbie begins to have thoughts about death and her existence, the magic around her begins to be disrupted. With the help of a Crazy Barbie (Kate McKinnon, DC’s League of SuperPets), our Barbie finds herself on a quest towards the Real World to find her companion – similar to Toy Story‘s toys and their owners – and fix what’s gone wrong. Adding to the mayhem is Mattel, whose CEO (Will Farrell) discovers the breach between Barbie Land and the Real World and sends his own agents after Ken and Barbie.

Can Barbie make things right? Will Ken just tag along for the ride?

Written by Greta Gerwig & her husband, Noah Baumbach, Barbie‘s plot is pretty straightforward. Barbie is lighthearted throughout and the audience (which was pretty packed) seemed to enjoy it. My showing lost a mother and two kids in the front row around the time the story reached the Real World, however. Or perhaps they moved back to a higher row. The story gets itself involved with the complex role of women in society, which is both welcome and expected. While it’s not as heavy handed as The Handmaiden’s Tale in what it’s trying to say, I thought the story worked well and was extremely accessible, for the most part. Like many movies these days, Barbie has something to say about the times we live in. I’m not entirely sure how everyone else will handle it. I’m curious to know more about Gerwig’s other works. Although the film is shy of the 2 hour mark, it moves quite quickly.

Barbie is on par with Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer for the casting. There’s such a great line up here. Simu Liu (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings), Kingsley Ben-Adir (Marvel’s Secret Invasion), and John Cena (Fast X) as some of the Ken’s in town. From Netflix’s Sex Education, you have Ncuti Gatwa, Emma Mackey and Connor Swindels They’re paired off with Alexandra Shipp (Love, Simon), Nicola Coughlin (Netflix’s Bridgerton), Rhea Perlman (Matilda) and singer Dua Lipa. Longtime Barbie fans will also recognize Midge (Emerald Fennell, director of Promising Young Woman) and Allen (Michael Cera) in the mix. Barbie feels like a labor of love, with both the acting and the set design. Gosling and Robbie as the leads are fantastic. I can’t imagine a better person than Robbie for Barbie and Gosling gets a bit more with the songs he gets to sing. All in all, it’s a great party, and they’re both at their comedic best here.

The standouts, though happen to be both America Ferrera (How to Train Your Dragon) and Ariana Greenblatt (65). If Robbie and Gosling are the perfect Ken and Barbie, than I would argue that Ariana and America had the perfect characters for helping the audience understand some of the parts we (guys, in particular) don’t get. The audience loved their interactions, and there was at least one part that garnered some applause and cheers from the crowd.

From a production design standpoint, everything is there in Barbie Land. The Barbie Dream house, the car, the pool. Whoever worked on these designs obviously played with the toys growing up and made a near flawless recreation. It felt like Bumblebee, with Transformers that were more like their animated counterparts than jagged pieces of shrapnel.

While there isn’t anything particularly special in the sound department (that’s more Oppenheimer‘s territory), music plays a big part in the Barbie experience. Whether it’s Gosling singing his heart out while pining for Barbie, or a lovely piece by Billie Eilish, it’s all fun and caring.

Overall, Barbie really surprised me. It manages to take something extremely simple – a doll loved by many – and surprisingly turn it into a thought provoking piece that may have you thinking differently about your mothers & grandmothers (or any of the women around you). At least, after you’ve stopped chuckling and or nodding with the music.

Here Are The Oscar Winners!

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Best Picture — Nomadland

Best Director — Chloe Zhao for Nomadland

Best Actor — Anthony Hopkins In The Father

Best Actress — Frances McFormand in Nomadland

Best Supporting Actor — Daniel Kaluuya, Judas and the Black Messiah

Best Supporting Actress — Yuh-jung Youn in Minari

Best Adapted Screenplay — Christopher Hampton and Florian Zeller for The Father

Best Original Screenplay — Emerald Fennell for Promising Young Woman

Best Animated Feature — Soul

Best Documentary Feature — My Octopus Teacher

Best International Feature Film — Another Round

Best Live Action Shot Subject — Two Distant Strangers

Best Animated Short Subject — If Anything Happens, I Love You

Best Documentary Short — Collette

Best Original Score — Soul

Best Original Song — “Fight For You” from Judas and the Black Messiah

Best Cinematography — Mank

Best Costume Design — Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

Best Editing — Sound of Metal

Best Makeup and Hair Styling — Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

Best Production Design — Mank

Best Sound — Sound of Metal

Best Visual Effects -Tenet

My Final 2020 Oscar Predictions

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Since today is Oscar Sunday and all, I guess it’s time for me to make my final predictions for what will win tonight! Here we go! No guts, no glory!

Best Picture: Nomadland

Best Director: Chloe Zhao for Nomadland

Best Actor: Chadwick Boseman in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

Best Actress: Carey Mulligan in Promising Young Woman

Best Supporting Actor: Daniel Kaluuya in Judas and the Black Messiah

Best Supporting Actress: Youn Yuh-jung in Minari

Best Original Screenplay: Promising Young Woman

Best Adapted Screenplay: Nomadland

Best Animated Film: Soul

Best International Feature Film: Another Round

Best Documentary Feature: Collective

Best Documentary Short: A Concerto is a Conversation

Best Live Action Short Film: Two Distant Strangers

Best Animated Short Film: If Anything Happens I Love You

Best Original Score: Soul

Best Original Song: Husavik from Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga

Best Sound: Sound of Metal

Best Production Design: Mank

Best Cinematography: Mank

Best Makeup and Hairstyling: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

Best Costume Design: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

Best Editing: The Trial of the Chicago 7 (bleh)

Best Visual Effects: Tenet

If I score 100% accuracy on my predictions, here’s how the night will end in totals:

3 Oscars — Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Nomadland

2 Oscars — Mank, Promising Young Woman, Soul

1 Oscar — Another Round, Collective, A Concerto is A Conversation, Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, If Anything Happens I Love You, Judas and the Black Messiah, Minari, Sound of Metal, Tenet, The Trial of the Chicago 7, Two Distant Strangers

In another few hours, we shall discover how good I am at guessing.

6 Directors Who I Hope Win An Oscar In The Next Ten Years

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Richard Linklater

Richard Linklater, the cinematic poet of Texas life, spent 12 years making one film. He took an enormous risk, starting an ambitious project with no guarantee of how it would end or that if would even end up being anything worth releasing. He assembled twelve years of footage and turned it into Boyhood, one of the best films of the century so far. For that, Linklater received the greatest acclaim of his career and, in 2015, he received his first Oscar nomination for Best Director.

Unfortunately, he then lost to a guy who made a gimmicky and pretentious movie about an actor producing a bad play.

My sincere hope is that Richard Linklater will get another chance. Though Last Flag Flying and Where’d You Go Bernadette? didn’t exactly live up to the hopes that some had for them as far as the Oscars were concerned, Linklater is a director who seems to have more than few great films ahead of him. Here’s hoping that, by 2031, the Oscars will have honored Richard Linklater.

Here are five more filmmakers who I hope will soon win their first directing Oscar.

The Safdie Brothers

Good Time and Uncut Gems are two of the most intense films ever made. In fact, they were probably too intense for the Academy, as neither one got the Oscar recognition that they deserved. Hopefully, the Safdies will continue to shock audiences while making great films and the Academy will eventually honor their efforts.

Joe Wright

Joe Wright is a veteran director, one who has directed two best picture nominees — Atonement and Darkest Hour — but who has yet to pick up a nomination for best director. (Personally, I would have nominated him for both Hanna and Anna Karenina.) Wright has two films coming out this year — the long-delayed Woman In The Window and the intriguing Cyrano. Of the two, Cyrano seems like the most likely Oscar contender. I can’t wait to see both of them!

Joanna Hogg

Joanna Hogg is a British director who was responsible for one of the best films of 2019, The Souvenir. She’s got a sequel on the way, The Souvenir Part II, and a murder mystery called The Eternal Daughter. With The Souvenir, she proved herself to be a sensitive director who has a great eye for detail and the ability to capture unforgettable performances. I can’t wait to see what she does in the future.

Debra Granik

Winter’s Bone and Leave No Trace are two films that get better each time that I watch them. Debra Granik was responsible for both. In Winter’s Bone, she directed Jennifer Lawrence in what is still Lawrence’s best performance. In Leave No Trace, she introduced the world to Thomasin McKeznie. Much as with Joanna Hogg, I look forward to seeing everything that she does in the future.

Kelly Reichardt

One of the most consistently interesting and challenging directors around, Kelly Reichardt deserved a nomination this year for her fantastic work on First Cow. Though Reichardt may have been snubbed this time, it’s hard not to feel that the Academy will get another opportunity to honor her.

Finally, I want to mention Emerald Fennell. I didn’t include her on this list because she’s nominated this year. Regardless of whether she wins tonight or not, Emerald Fennell is a filmmaker whose future work I will always make it a point to seek out.

What If Lisa Picked The Oscar Nominees: 2020 Edition

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

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 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. 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 I’ve only nominated films that were actually released in 2020.  Undoubtedly, Nomadland, Minari, Judas and the Black Messiah, and The Father will do very well with the Academy tomorrow but, as far as I’m concerned, they’re 2021 films and not eligible for my nominations.  They will be eligible next year, when I do my 2021 edition of What If Lisa Had All The Power.

It should also go without saying that I’ve nominated films that I’ve actually seen.

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 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, and 2010!)

Best Picture

The Assistant
Bad Education
First Cow
The Girl With A Bracelet
i’m thinking of ending things
Lovers Rock
Palm Springs
Promising Young Woman
Soul
The Vast of Night

Best Director

Stéphane Demoustier for The Girl With A Bracelet
Emerald Fennell for Promising Young Woman
Charlie Kaufman for i’m thinking of ending things
Steve McQueen for Lovers Rock
Andrew Patterson for The Vast of Night
Kelly Reichardt for First Cow

Best Actor

Ben Affleck in The Way Back
Riz Ahmed in Sound of Metal
Chadwick Boseman in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
John Boyega in Red, White, and Blue
Hugh Jackman in Bad Education
Delroy Lindo in Da 5 Bloods

Best Actress

Alison Brie in Horse Girl
Sidney Flanigan in Never Rarely Sometimes Always
Julia Garner in The Assistant
Melissa Guers in The Girl With A Bracelet
Sophia Loren in The Life Ahead
Carey Mulligan in Promising Young Woman

Best Supporting Actor

Brian Dennehy in Driveways
Aldis Hodge in One Night In Miami
Orion Lee in First Cow
Clarke Peters in Da 5 Blood
Paul Raci in The Sound of Metal
J.K. Simmons in Palm Springs

Best Supporting Actress

Jane Adams in She Dies Tomorrow
Glenn Close in Hillbilly Elegy
Olivia Cooke in Sound of Metal
Allison Janney in Bad Education
Chiara Mastroianni in The Girl With A Bracelet
Talia Ryder in Never Rarely Sometimes Always

Best Voice Over Performance

Jack Cruz in What Did Jack Do?
Bruce Davis in The Vast of Night
Tina Fey in Soul
Jamie Foxx in Soul
Nick Offerman in Frances Ferguson
Chris Pratt in Onward

Best Original Screenplay

The Assistant
Palm Springs
Possessor
Promising Young Woman
Soul
The Vast of Night

Bad Education

Best Adapted Screenplay

Bad Education
Emma
First Cow
The Girl With A Bracelet
i’m thinking of ending things
The Outpost

Best Animated Feature Film

A Shaun The Sheep Movie: Farmageddon
Onward
Red Shoes and the Seven Dwarfs
Soul

Best Documentary Feature Film

Alabama Snake
Athlete A
The Mystery of D.B. Cooper
Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind
The Social Dilemma
Tread

Best International Feature Film

Figurant
The Girl With A Bracelet
Gunpowder Heart
The Hater
The Life Ahead
The Shock of the Future

Best Live Action Short Film

Basic
Figurant
Host
Run/On
Waffle
What Did Jack Do?

Best Documentary Short Film

Betye Saar: Taking Care of Business
John Was Trying To Contact Aliens
Lions in the Corner
Quilt Fever

Best Animated Short Film

Canvas

If Anything Happens I Love You

Best Original Score

Call of the Wild
First Cow
Mangrove
Possessor
She Dies Tomorrow
The Shock of The Future

Best Original Song

“Boss Bitch” from Birds of Prey
“Diamonds” from Birds of Prey
“Everybody Dies” from The Outpost
“Future Shock Work in Progress” from The Shock of the Future
“Gratia Plena” from Fatima
“Husavik” from Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga
“Jah Jah Ding Dong” from Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga
“Metamorph” from Gunpowder Heart
“The Spirit of Christmas” from The Christmas Chronicles 2
“True Love’s Flame” from What Did Jack Do?

Best Overall Use of Music

Bill & Ted Face The Music
Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga
Lovers Rock
Proising Young Woman
The Shock of the Future
Soul

Best Sound

Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga
Lovers Rock
The Outpost
Possessor
The Shock of the Future
Sound of Metal

Best Production Design

Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga
Emma
First Cow
i’m thinking of ending things
Possessor
The Shock of the Future

Best Casting

The Assistant
First Cow
Lovers Rock
Palm Springs
Promising Young Woman
The Vast of Night

Best Cinematography

First Cow
i’m thinking of ending things
Lovers Rock
Mank
She Dies Tomorrow
The Vast of Night

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

Bill & Ted Face The Music
i’m thinking of ending things
Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga
Hillbilly Elegy
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Promising Young Woman

Best Costume Design

Emma
Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga
Fatima
First Cow
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Tesla

Best Film Editing

Extraction
i’m thinking of ending things
The Outpost
Palm Springs
Promising Young Woman
The Way Back

Best Stuntwork

Bad Boys For Life
Birds of Prey
Bloodshot
Extraction
The Hunt
The Outpost

Best Visual Effects

The Christmas Chronicles 2
The Midnight Sky
The Outpost
Possessor
Radioactive
Tesla

Films By Number of Nominations

8 Nominations — First Cow, Promising Young Woman

7 Nominations — Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, i’m thinking of ending things

6 Nominations — The Girl With A Bracelet, Lovers Rock, The Outpost, Shock of the Future, Soul, The Vast of Night

5 Nominations — Palm Springs, Possessor

4 Nominations — The Assistant, Bad Education, Sound of Metal

3 Nominations — Birds of Prey, Emma, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, She Dies Tomorrow, What Did Jack Do?

2 Nominations — Bill & Ted Face the Music, The Christmas Chronicles 2, Da 5 Bloods, Extraction, Fatima, Figurant, Gunpowder Heart, Hillbilly Elegy, The Life Ahead, Never Rarely Sometimes Always, Onward, Tesla, The Way Back

1 Nomination — Alabama Snake, Athlete A, Bad Boys For Life, Basic, Bettye Saar: Taking Care of Business, Bloodshot, Call of the Wild, Canvas, Driveways, Frances Ferguson, The Hater, Horse Girl, Host, The Hunt, If Anything Happens I Love You, John Was Trying To Contact Aliens, Lions in the Corner, Mangrove, Mank, Midnight Sky, The Mystery of D.B. Cooper, Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind, One Night in Miami, Quilt Fever, Radioactive, Red Shoes and the Seven Dwarfs, Red White and Blue, Run/On, A Shaun The Sheep Movie: Farmageddon, The Social Dilemma, Tread, Waffle

Films By Number of Oscars Won

3 Oscars — The Girl With A Bracelet, Promising Young Woman

1 Oscar — The Assistant, Bad Education, Driveways, Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, Figurant, First Cow, Frances Ferguson, If Anything Happens I Love You, i’m thinking of ending things, John Was Trying To Contact Aliens, Lovers Rock, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, The Outpost, Palm Springs, Possessor, Shock of the Future, The Social Dilemma, Soul, Sound of Metal, The Vast of Night, What Did Jack Do?

Tomorrow, the Oscar nominations will be released and we’ll see if how much or, more likely, how little the Academy and I agree upon!

Here Are The DGA Nominations!

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

The DGA nominations have been announced!

The Directors Guild of America nominations are about as close to a reliable Oscar precursor as you’re going to get during the awards season so this is very good news for everyone who was nominated.  It’s also good news for those of us who were worried that the Borat momentum couldn’t be stopped.

DGA Nominees

Lee Isaac Chung – “Minari”
Emerald Fennell – “Promising Young Woman”
David Fincher – “Mank”
Aaron Sorkin – “The Trial of the Chicago 7”
Chloe Zhao – “Nomadland”

DGA Nominees For First-Time Feature:

Radha Blank (“The Forty-Year-Old Version”)

Fernando Frías de la Parra (“I’m No Longer Here”)

Regina King (“One Night in Miami”)

Darius Marder (“Sound of Metal”)

Florian Zeller (“The Father”)

Lisa Marie’s Final 2020-2021 Oscar Predictions

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

The 2020 Oscar nominations are finally going to be announced on March 15th and then the Oscars themselves are going to be awarded at the end of April.  To be honest, we should call these the 2020-2021 Oscars because I refuse to think of Nomadland, Minari, or The Father as being 2020 films.  Because of the extended eligibility window, they’re all Oscar-eligible but still….

That means that it’s time for me to make my final Oscar predictions for this latest awards cycle.  Last night, The Golden Globes cleared up a few races and suggested that a few others are still in a state of flux.  Of the three big surprise winners from last night (Andra Day, Jodie Foster, and Rosamund Pike) Day seems to be the most likely to benefit from her victory.  I also think that Foster might benefit as well, just because she’s Jodie Foster and she doesn’t appear in a lot of films nowadays.  I’m also willing to say that, based on his getting a GG nom and a SAG nom, I think Jared Leto has a better chance than some might realize of picking up another Oscar nomination.

What about Glenn Close?  On the one hand, Close has never won an Oscar and she gives a very awards baity performance in Hillbilly Elegy.  On the other hand, Hillbilly Elegy was critically-blasted and both the film and Close’s performance were included on the Razzie longlist, which was released earlier today.  (The Razzies suck but that’s a topic for another post.)  I would feel better about Close’s chances if she had won a Golden Globe last night but I’m still inclined to include her in my predictions.

(To be honest, up until Close lost, I still thought there was a chance that Hillbilly Elegy could pick up an Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close-style best picture nomination, the type of nomination that comes as a result of voters watching a critically lambasted film for one performance and saying, “Well, that wasn’t as bad as everyone says!”)

Finally, I’m going to continue to predict a surprise Best Picture nomination for Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, just because it’ll be another chance for the same voters who nominated Vice to express their feelings about Donald Trump and Rudy Guiliani.

If you want to see how my thinking has evolved over this long awards season, check out my predictions for January (2020), February (2020), March (2020, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December, and January (2021)!

Here are my final predictions:

Best Picture

Borat Subsequent Moviefilm

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

Mank

Minari

News of the World

Nomadland

One Night In Miami

Promising Young Woman

The Trial of the Chicago 7

(I’m predicting 9 best picture nominees. I’m looking forward to the Academy going back to having a set number of best picture nominees.  It breaks my heart not to include First Cow and Sound of Metal among my predicted nominees.)

Best Director

Lee Isaac Chung for Minari

Emerald Fennell for Promising Young Woman

Regina King for One Night in Miami

Aaron Sorkin for Mank

Chloe Zhao for Nomadland

Best Actor

Riz Ahmed in Sound of Metal

Chadwick Boseman in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

Anthony Hopkins in The Father

Gary Oldman in Mank

Steven Yeun in Minari

Best Actress

Viola Davis in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

Andra Day in The United States vs. Billie Holliday

Vanessa Kirby in Pieces of a Woman

Frances McDormand in Nomadland

Carey Mulligan in Promising Young Woman

Best Supporting Actor

Sacha Baron Cohen in The Trial of the Chicago 7

Chadwick Boseman in Da 5 Bloods

Daniel Kaluuya in Judas and the Black Messiah

Jared Leto in The Little Things

Leslie Odom Jr. in One Night In Miami

Best Supporting Actress

Maria Bakalova in Borat Subsequent Moviefilm

Glenn Close in Hillbilly Elegy

Jodie Foster in The Mauritanian

Amanda Seyfried in Mank

Youn Yuh-jung in Minari

We’ll find out how right or wrong I am on March 15th!

The Nevada Film Critics Society Honors Promising Young Woman

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Earlier today, The Nevada Film Critics Society announced their picks for the best of 2020–early 2021 and what’s interesting is that Nomadland didn’t win a thing.  Instead, Promising Young Woman took the awards for Best Film, Best Actress, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay.

Meanwhile, in the supporting races, Daniel Kaluuya picked up another win for Judas and the Black Messiah while Glenn Close won for Hillbilly Elegy.  Kaluuya has been coming on strong during the latter half of this extended awards season, to the point where he’s now pretty much eclipsed other potential nominees like Paul Raci and Leslie Odom Jr..  Meanwhile, Glenn Close seems more and more likely to pick up her first Oscar with each passing day, regardless of what the overall critical response to Hillbilly Elegy may have been.

Here are the winners from Nevada:

Best Film – Promising Young Woman
Best Actor – Riz Ahmed for Sound of Metal & Anthony Hopkins for The Father (TIE)
Best Actress – Carey Mulligan – Promising Young Woman
Best Supporting Actor – Daniel Kaluuya – Judas and the Black Messiah
Best Supporting Actress – Glenn Close – Hillbilly Elegy
Best Director – Emerald Fennell – Promising Young Woman
Best Original Screenplay – Emerald Fennell – Promising Young Woman
Best Adapted Screenplay – Florian Zeller and Christopher Hampton – The Father
Best Documentary – The Dissident
Best Animated Movie – Soul
Best Production Design – Donald Graham Burt – Mank
Best Cinematography – Hoyte van Hoytenna – Tenet
Best Visual Effects – Tenet