What if Lisa Picked The Oscar Nominees — 2016 Edition

Posted on January 23, 2017 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 starred and listed in bold.

(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 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, and 2010!)

Best Picture

*American Honey*

Arrival

Hell or High Water

Kubo and the Two Strings

Best Director

*Andrea Arnold for American Honey

Shane Black for The Nice Guys

Barry Jenkins for Moonlight

David MacKenzie for Hell or High Water

Nicholas Winding Refn for The Neon Demon

Denis Villeneuve for Arrival

Best Actor

Andrew Garfield in Hacksaw Ridge

Ryan Gosling in The Nice Guys

Tom Hanks in Sully

Chris Pine in Hell or High Water

Ryan Reynolds in Deadpool

*Denzel Washington in Fences

Best Actress

*Amy Adams in Arrival

Kate Beckinsale in Love & Friendship

Viola Davis in Fences

Sasha Lane in American Honey

Emma Stone in La La Land

Anya Taylor-Joy in The Witch

Best Supporting Actor

*Mahershala Ali in Moonlight

Tom Bennett in Love & Friendship

Jeff Bridges in Hell or High Water

Alden Ehrenreich in Hail Caesar!

John Goodman in 10 Cloverfield Lane

Patrick Stewart in Green Room

Best Supporting Actress

*Naomie Harris in Moonlight

Felicity Jones in A Monster Calls

Riley Keough in American Honey

Jena Malone in The Neon Demon

Helen Mirren in Eye in the Sky

Angourie Rice in The Nice Guys

Best Voice Over and/or Stop Motion Performance

Auli’i Cravalho in Moana

Ellen DeGeneres in Finding Dory

Ginnifer Goodwin in Zootopia

*Liam Neeson in A Monster Calls

Art Parkinson in Kubo and the Two Strings

Charlize Theron in Kubo and the Two Strings

Best Original Screenplay

American Honey

*Hell or High Water

Kubo and the Two Strings

La La Land

The Nice Guys

The Witch

Best Adapted Screenplay

Best Animated Film

Finding Dory

*Kubo and the Two Strings

Moana

Sausage Party

The Secret Life of Pets

Zootopia

Best Documentary Feature

The Confessions of Thomas Quick

Holy Hell

O.J.: Made in America

Best Casting

Everybody Wants Some!!

Best Cinematography

Best Costume Design

Best Editing

Kubo and the Two Strings

*La La Land

Moonlight

A Monster Calls

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

Captain America: Civil War

Deadpool

Doctor Strange

Everybody Wants Some!!

Hail, Caesar!

*The Neon Demon

Best Original Score

Hell or High Water

Kubo and the Two Strings

Best Original Song

*”Audition (The Fool Who Dreams)” from La La Land

“How Far I’ll Go” from Moana

“Waving Goodbye” from The Neon Demon

“I’m so Humble” from Pop Star: Never Stop Never Stopping

“Drive It Like You Stole It” from Sing Street

“Go Now” from Sing Street

Best Overall Use Of Music

*American Honey

The Conjuring Part Two

Best Production Design

Best Sound Editing

Captain America: Civil War

Best Sound Mixing

Captain America: Civil War

Best Stunt Work

Captain America: Civil War

The Legend of Tarzan

Best Visual Effects

Arrival

*Doctor Strange

The Jungle Book

Kubo and the Two Strings

A Monster Calls

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Films Listed By Number of Nominations:

13 Nominations — La La Land

1o Nominations — Hell or High Water

9 Nominations — Moonlight, The Neon Demon

8 Nominations — American Honey, Arrival, Kubo and the Two Strings, A Monster Calls

6 Nominations — The Nice Guys

5 Nominations — Deadpool, Love & Friendship

4 Nominations — Captain America: Civil War, Hacksaw Ridge, Hail Caesar!, Moana, Sully

3 Nominations — Doctor Strange, Green Room, Sing Street

2 Nominations — The Conjuring 2, Everybody Wants Some!!, Fences, Finding Dory, The Jungle Book, 10 Cloverfield Lane, The Witch, Zootopia

1 Nomination — The Confessions of Thomas Quick, Don’t Breathe, Eye in the Sky, Holy Hell, Jason Bourne, The Legend of Tarzan, O.J.: Made in America, Pop Star: Never Stop Never Stopping, Rigged 2016, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Sausage Party, The Secret Life of Pets, Weiner, The Witness

Films Listed By Number of Oscars Won:

4 Oscars — American Honey

3 Oscars — La La Land

2 Oscars — Arrival, Moonlight, The Neon Demon

1 Oscar — Deadpool, Doctor Strange, Fences, Hacksaw Ridge, Hell or High Water, Kubo and the Two Strings, Love & Friendship, A Monster Calls, Sully, 10 Cloverfield Lane, The Witness

Will the Academy agree with my predictions? Probably not but we’ll find out on Tuesday!

2016 in Review: Lisa Marie Picks The 26 Best Films of 2016!

Posted on January 14, 2017 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Well, the time is here! It’s time for me to reveal my picks for the best 26 films of 2016!

If there’s been any theme that I’ve found myself constantly returning to while looking back at the previous year, it’s that 2016 just wasn’t as good as 2015. That’s certainly true as far as movies are concerned. Whereas 2015 provided us with an embarrasment of riches, 2016 was — overall — a pretty bland year as far as cinema is concerned.

That doesn’t mean there weren’t some great films released in 2016. I’m proud of this list below. At the same time, I’m also a little bit frustrated. As happens every year, there are a few films that, as of this writing, I have yet to see. Weather permitting, I will see Silence and Jackie tomorrow and on Monday. If I feel that they need to be included in my top 26, I will come back and edit this list. And, of course, I still need to see some of the films that are no longer playing in theaters — Captain Fantastic, Hunt for the Wilderpeople, and some others. The list below should be considered my picks for the best 2016 films that I actually got to see.

Also, I still need to write reviews for two of the films listed below. Hopefully, I’ll be able to do that today. As soon as those reviews are posted, I’ll add links.

With all that in mind, here’s the list!

You can check out my picks for previous years by clicking on 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015!

Agree? Disagree? Have a list of your own? Let us know in the comments!

Previous Entries In The Best of 2016:

Here Are The Nominations of the Cinema Audio Society!

Posted on January 10, 2017 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Sound Oscars are often the hardest to predict, largely because few of us are sure what the difference is between Sound Mixing and Sound Editing.

However, if you’re filling out your Oscar ballot and hoping to make some money in your Oscar pool, you’re going to need some guidance! So, here are the just-announced nominations from the Cinema Audio Society!

MOTION PICTURE – LIVE ACTION

Doctor Strange
Production Mixer – John Midgley, CAS
Re-recording Mixer – Tom Johnson
Re-recording Mixer –Juan Peralta
Scoring Mixer – Peter Cobbin
ADR Mixer – Doc Kane, CAS
Foley Mixer – Scott Curtis

Hacksaw Ridge
Production Mixer – Peter Grace
Re-recording Mixer – Kevin O’Connell, CAS
Re-recording Mixer – Andy Wright
Re-recording Mixer – Robert Mackenzie
Scoring Mixer – Daniel Kresco
ADR Mixer – Diego Ruiz
Foley Mixer – Alex Francis

La La Land
Production Mixer – Steven Morrow, CAS
Re-recording Mixer – Andy Nelson, CAS
Re-recording Mixer – Ai-Ling Lee
Scoring Mixer – Nicholai Baxter
ADR Mixer – David Betancourt
Foley Mixer – James Ashwill

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Production Mixer – Stuart Wilson
Re-recording Mixer – Christopher Scarabosio
Re-recording Mixer – David Parker
Scoring Mixer – Joel Iwataki
ADR Mixer – Nick Cray
Foley Mixer – Frank Rinella

Sully
Production Mixer – Jose Antonio Garcia
Re-recording Mixer – John Reitz
Re-recording Mixer – Tom Ozanich
Scoring Mixer – Bobby Fernandez
ADR Mixer – Thomas J. O’Connell
Foley Mixer – James Ashwill

MOTION PICTURE—ANIMATED

Finding Dory
Original Dialogue Mixer – Doc Kane, CAS
Re-recording Mixer – Nathan Nance
Re-recording Mixer – Michael Semanick, CAS
Scoring Mixer – Thomas Vicari, CAS
Foley Mixer – Scott Curtis

Kubo and the Two Strings
Original Dialogue Mixer – Carlos Sotolongo
Re-recording Mixer – Tim Chau
Re-recording Mixer – Tim LeBlanc
Scoring Mixer – Nick Wollage
Foley Mixer – Darrin Mann

Moana
Original Dialogue Mixer – Paul McGrath
Re-recording Mixer – David E. Fluhr, CAS
Re-recording Mixer – Gabriel Guy, CAS
Scoring Mixer – David Boucher
Foley Mixer – Scott Curtis

The Secret Life of Pets
Original Dialogue Mixer – Carlos Sotolongo
Re-recording Mixer – Gary A. Rizzo, CAS
Re-recording Mixer – David Accord
Scoring Mixer – Frank Wolf
Foley Mixer – Jason Butler

Zootopia
Original Dialogue Mixer – Paul McGrath
Re-recording Mixer – David E. Fluhr, CAS
Re-recording Mixer – Gabriel Guy, CAS
Scoring Mixer – Joel Iwataki
Foley Mixer – Scott Curtis

MOTION PICTURE—DOCUMENTARY

13th
Re-recording Mixer – Jeffrey Perkins

Eat That Question: Frank Zappa in His Own Words
Re-recording Mixer – Mark Fragstein
Re-recording Mixer – Marvin Keil
Re-recording Mixer – Armelle Mahé

Gleason
Production Mixer – Mark A. Rozett, CAS
Re-recording Mixer – James Scullion

O.J.: Made in America
Re-recording Mixer – Keith Hodne
Re-recording Mixer – Eric Di Stefano

The Music of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma and The Silk Road Ensemble
Production Mixer – Dimitri Tisseyre
Production Mixer – Dennis Hamlin
Re-recording Mixer – Peter Horner

The Visual Effects Society Snubs Arrival, Those Bastards

Posted on January 10, 2017 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Visual Effect Society announced their nominees today. Now, there were quite a few categories and a lot of nominations and they’re actually kinda interesting to look at but, in the interest of space, I’m not going to post all of the nominees. Instead, I’m going to post the three main categories because these are the categories that could potentially give some guidance as far as predicting the Oscar nominations is concerned.

If you want to see a full list of nominations, please click here and check out this list on AwardsCircuit.

Looking over the nominations, what’s interesting is that Arrival, the most acclaimed Sci-Fi film of the year, was totally and completely snubbed. I don’t know if that’s a bad sign or not. Arrival is a great sci-fi film and it features some great visual effects. But — and this is especially true when compared to films like Rogue One and Dr. Strange — the visuals are also rather low-key. Arrival is not a splashy film. That’s one reason why it’s also a great film.

Anyway, here are the nominations!

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature

Doctor Strange

Stephane Ceretti

Susan Pickett

Richard Bluff

Vincent Cirelli

Paul Corbould

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Christian Manz

Olly Young

Tim Burke

Pablo Grillo

David Watkins

Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children

Frazer Churchill

Hal Couzens

Andrew Lockley

Jelmer Boskma

Hayley Williams

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

John Knoll

Erin Dusseault

Hal Hickel

Nigel Sumner

Neil Corbould

The Jungle Book

Robert Legato

Joyce Cox

Andrew R. Jones

Adam Valdez

JD Schwalm

Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature

Allied

Kevin Baillie

Sandra Scott

Brennan Doyle

Viktor Muller

Richard Van Den Bergh

Deepwater Horizon

Craig Hammack

Petra Holtorf-Stratton

Jason Snell

John Galloway

Burt Dalton

Jason Bourne

Charlie Noble

Dan Barrow

Julian Gnass

Huw Evans

Steve Warner

Silence

Pablo Helman

Brian Barlettani

Ivan Busquets

Juan Garcia

Bruce Steinheimer

Sully

MIchael Owens

Tyler Kehl

Mark Curtis

Bryan Litson

Steven Riley

Outstanding Visual Effects in an Animated Feature

Finding Dory

Angus MacLane

Lindsey Collins- p.g.a.

John Halstead

Chris J. Chapman

Kubo and the Two Strings

Travis Knight

Arianne Sutner

Steve Emerson

Brad Schiff

Moana

Kyle Odermatt

Nicole P. Hearon

Hank Driskill

Ian Gooding

The Little Prince

Mark Osborne

Jinko Gotoh

Pascal Bertrand

Jamie Caliri

Zootopia

Scott Kersavage

Bradford S. Simonsen

David Goetz

Ernest J. Petti

Here Are The Producers Guild Nominations!

Posted on January 10, 2017 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Producer’s Guild of America, who are traditionally one of the most reliable of the Oscar precursors, announced their ten nominees for the best film of 2016 earlier today!

Not on the list: Martin Scorsese’s Silence. Last year, at this time, Silence was the most anticipated of the potential Oscar nominees. Now, 12 months later, whatever momentum that Silence had seems to have fizzled.

You know what film was on the list?

Deadpool!

Somehow, Deadpool has emerged as a legitimate Oscar contender. That doesn’t mean that it’s going to be nominated, of course. Last year, a lot of people made the mistake of getting excited when both Carol and Straight Outta Compton showed up among the Producers Guild’s nominations.

Here’s what we have to remember — every years, the PGA nominates 10 films. However, the Academy never nominates a full slate of 10 films. While the best picture nominees probably will all have received a PGA nomination, that doesn’t mean that every PGA nominee is going to be nominated for best picture.

Still, Deadpool is coming on strong with the guilds. It has some support among the industry.

A best picture nomination for Deadpool? Normally, I’d laugh that off. Then again, at one time, I also laughed off the idea that Mad Max: Fury Road would get a nomination, despite the fact that I thought Mad Max was one of the best films of 2015.

In the end, anything can happen. That’s one reason why Oscar watchers like me are always a little disappointed when the Oscar nominations are announced and the precursor season ends. During the precursor season, anything is possible.

Anyway, here are the PGA nominations:

The Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures:

Arrival

Producers: Dan Levine, Shawn Levy, Aaron Ryder, David Linde

Deadpool

Producers: Simon Kinberg, Ryan Reynolds, Lauren Shuler Donner

Fences

Producers: Scott Rudin, Denzel Washington, Todd Black

Hacksaw Ridge

Producers: Bill Mechanic, David Permut

Hell or High Water

Producers: Carla Hacken, Julie Yorn

Hidden Figures

Producers: Donna Gigliotti, Peter Chernin & Jenno Topping, Pharrell Williams, Theodore Melfi

La La Land

Producers: Fred Berger, Jordan Horowitz, Marc Platt

Lion

Producers: Emile Sherman & Iain Canning, Angie Fielder

Manchester By the Sea

Producers: Matt Damon, Kimberly Steward, Chris Moore, Lauren Beck, Kevin Walsh

Moonlight

Producers: Adele Romanski, Dede Gardner & Jeremy Kleiner

The Award for Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures:

Finding Dory

Producer: Lindsey Collins

Kubo and the Two Strings

Producers: Arianne Sutner, Travis Knight

Moana

Producer: Osnat Shurer

The Secret Life of Pets

Producers: Chris Meledandri, Janet Healy

Zootopia

Producer: Clark Spencer

The Award for Outstanding Producer of Documentary Theatrical Motion Pictures:

* The PGA previously announced the nominations in this category on November 22, 2016. The list below has been updated to include eligible producers.

Dancer

Producer: Gabrielle Tana

The Eagle Huntress

Producers: Stacey Reiss, Otto Bell

Life, Animated

Producers: Julie Goldman, Roger Ross Williams

O.J.: Made in America

Producers: Ezra Edelman, Caroline Waterlow

Tower

Producers: Keith Maitland, Susan Thomson, Megan Gilbride

Here Are The 2016 Nominations From The Casting Society of America!

Posted on January 4, 2017 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Academy really should give out an Oscar for Best Casting. But until they do, we’ll just have to be happy with the annual nominations from the Casting Society of America!

Here are the 2016 nominations. (It’s interesting to note that this is the third guild to nominate Deadpool. How many heads would explode is Deadpool somehow landed a best picture nomination? That probably won’t happen but the wild speculation is the best part of Oscar season!)

BIG BUDGET – COMEDY

“Deadpool” Ronna Kress, Jennifer Page (Location Casting), Corinne Clark (Location Casting)
“Hail, Caesar!” Ellen Chenoweth, Susanne Scheel (Associate)
“La La Land” Deborah Aquila, Tricia Wood
“Rules Don’t Apply” David Rubin, Melissa Pryor (Associate)
“Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” Bernard Telsey, Tiffany Little Canfield, Jo Edna Boldin (Location Casting), Conrad Woolfe (Associate), Marie A.K. McMaster (Associate)

BIG BUDGET – DRAMA

“Arrival” Francine Maisler, Lucie Robitaille (Location Casting)
“Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” Fiona Weir, Jim Carnahan (Location Casting)
“Hidden Figures” Victoria Thomas, Jackie Burch (Location Casting), Bonnie Grisan (Associate)
“Nocturnal Animals” Francine Maisler
“The Girl on the Train” Kerry Barden, Paul Schnee, Joey Montenarello (Associate), Adam Richards (Associate)

STUDIO OR INDEPENDENT – COMEDY

“20^th Century Women” Laura Rosenthal, Mark Bennett
“Bad Moms” Cathy Sandrich Gelfond, Meagan Lewis (Location Casting)
“Café Society” Juliet Taylor, Patricia DiCerto, Meghan Rafferty (Associate)
“Hell or High Water” Richard Hicks, Jo Edna Boldin, Chris Redondo (Associate), Marie A.K. McMaster (Associate)
“The Edge of Seventeen” Melissa Kostenbauder, Coreen Mayrs (Location Casting), Heike Brandstatter (Location Casting)

STUDIO OR INDEPENDENT – DRAMA

“Captain Fantastic” Jeanne McCarthy, Angelique Midthunder (Location Casting), Amey Rene (Location Casting)
“Jackie” Mary Vernieu, Lindsay Graham, Jessica Kelly (Location Casting)
“Lion” Kirsty McGregor
“Loving” Francine Maisler, Erica Arvold (Location Casting), Anne N. Chapman (Location Casting), Michelle Kelly (Associate)
“Manchester By the Sea” Douglas Aibel, Carolyn Pickman (Location Casting), Henry Russell Bergstein (Associate)

LOW BUDGET – COMEDY OR DRAMA

“Christine” Douglas Aibel, Stephanie Holbrook, Tracy Kilpatrick (Location Casting), Blair Foster (Associate)
“Goat” Susan Shopmaker, D. Lynn Meyers (Location Casting)
“Hello, My Name is Doris” Sunday Boling, Meg Morman
“Moonlight” Yesi Ramirez
“White Girl” Jessica Daniels

ANIMATION

“Finding Dory” Kevin Reher, Natalie Lyon
“Moana” Jamie Sparer Roberts, Rachel Sutton (Location Casting)
“The Jungle Book” Sarah Halley Finn, Tamara Hunter (Associate)
“The Little Prince” Sarah Halley Finn, Tamara Hunter (Associate)
“Zootopia” Jamie Sparer Roberts

Film Review: Finding Dory (dir by Andrew Stanton)

Posted on December 30, 2016 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Finding Dory, the latest film from Pixar, tells the story of Dory (Ellen DeGeneres), a regal blue tang (for our readers in Vermont, that’s a fish) who suffers from short-term memory loss. You may remember her from Pixar’s previous movie about fish, Finding Nemo. In that movie, she helped a clownfish named Marlin (Albert Brooks) find his son, Nemo (voiced, in Finding Dory, by Hayden Rolence). In the sequel, it’s Marlin and Nemo who are now helping Dory to find her parents.

Dory has spent years searching for her parents. Of course, it would be easier if she didn’t suffer from short-term memory loss. It seems that every time she sets out to track her parents down, she ends up getting distracted and forgets what she was doing. However, while helping to teach a class about migration, Dory has a sudden flashback to her parents (voiced, quite charmingly, by Eugene Levy and Diane Keaton). She sets out once again, determined to find her parents. This time, Marlin and Nemo are accompanying her. As Dory continually frets, she’s can’t do it alone because she can’t remember directions.

Though her memories are fuzzy and her flighty nature leads to some conflict with Marlin (who is just as cautious and overprotective of Nemo as he was in the first film), Dory eventually finds her way to where her parents were last seen. And, in doing so, Dory discovers that she and her parents originally lived at a water park, the California Marine Life Institute.

(One of my favorite parts of the film is that apparently, Sigourney Weaver recorded several greetings and other messages that are played continuously over the Institute’s PA system. “Hello, I’m Sigourney Weaver and welcome to the Marine Life Institute.” Dory becomes convinced that Sigourney Weaver is some sort of God-like being who is leaving personal messages for her. At one point, Dory exclaims, “A friend of mine, her name’s Sigourney, once told me that all it takes is three simple steps: rescue, rehabilitation, and um… one other thing?”)

Since this is a Pixar movie, Dory meets the usual collection of oddball and outcast sealife at the Institute, all of whom help her out while overcoming their own insecurities, providing properly snarky commentary, and hopefully bringing a tear or two to the eyes of even the most jaded of viewers. Finding Dory is full of familiar voices, everyone from Idris Elba to Bill Hader to Kate McKinnon. But, for me, the most memorable of all the voices (with the exception of Ellen DeGeneres herself) was Ed O’Neill’s. O’Neill brought Hank, the bitter but ultimately good-hearted seven-legged octopus, to poignant life. I imagine that, should there be another sequel, it will be called Finding Hank.

Finding Dory continues the annual tradition of Pixar films making me cry. Finding Dory is an incredibly sweet and truly heartfelt movie but, at the same time, it’s also an extremely witty comedy. This is one of those Pixar films where the joy comes not only from looking at the amazing animation but also from listening to truly clever dialogue being delivered by some of the best voice actors around. DeGeneres does such a great job bringing Dory to life that, as the movie ended, my first instinct was to run out and buy a regal blue tang of my very own. But then I read an article on Wikipedia, which explained why I shouldn’t do that.

(Basically, blue tangs may look cute but they have big, scary spikes that can cut up your hand. As well, they don’t do well in captivity. So, if you’re planning on getting a Dory of your very own, you might be better off just rewatching this movie…)

It’ll make you laugh. It’ll make you cry. Finding Dory is another great film from Pixar.

Here Are The Nominations Of The Online Film Critics Society!

Posted on December 27, 2016 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Online Film Critics Society announced their nominations today. Along with the usual suspects, the 7 and a half hour documentary OJ: Made in America also picked up a nomination for best picture.

Best Picture

Arrival
The Handmaiden
Hell or High Water
Jackie
La La Land
Manchester By the Sea
Moonlight
O.J.: Made in America
Paterson
The Witch

Best Animated Feature

Finding Dory
Kubo and the Two Strings
Moana
The Red Turtle
Zootopia

Best Director

Damien Chazelle – La La Land
Barry Jenkins – Moonlight
Pablo Larraín – Jackie
Kenneth Lonergan – Manchester By the Sea
Denis Villeneuve – Arrival

Best Actor

Casey Affleck – Manchester By the Sea
Adam Driver – Paterson
Ryan Gosling – La La Land
Viggo Mortensen – Captain Fantastic
Denzel Washington – Fences

Best Actress

Amy Adams – Arrival
Isabelle Huppert – Elle
Ruth Negga – Loving
Natalie Portman – Jackie
Emma Stone – La La Land

Best Supporting Actor

Mahershala Ali – Moonlight
Tom Bennett – Love & Friendship
Jeff Bridges – Hell or High Water
Lucas Hedges – Manchester By the Sea
Michael Shannon – Nocturnal Animals

Best Supporting Actress

Viola Davis – Fences
Lily Gladstone – Certain Women
Naomie Harris – Moonlight
Octavia Spencer – Hidden Figures
Michelle Williams – Manchester By the Sea

Best Original Screenplay

Hell or High Water – Taylor Sheridan
Jackie – Noah Oppenheim
La La Land – Damien Chazelle
The Lobster – Yorgos Lanthimos, Efthymis Filippou
Manchester By the Sea – Kenneth Lonergan

Best Adapted Screenplay

Arrival – Eric Heisserer, Ted Chiang
Elle – David Birke, Philippe Djian
Love & Friendship – Whit Stillman
Moonlight – Barry Jenkins, Tarell Alvin McCraney
Nocturnal Animals – Tom Ford

Best Editing

Arrival – Joe Walker
Cameraperson – Nels Bangerter
Jackie – Sebastian Sepulveda
La La Land – Tom Cross
Moonlight – Joi McMillon, Nat Sanders

Best Cinematography

Arrival – Bradford Young
Jackie – Stéphane Fontaine
La La Land – Linus Sandgren
Moonlight – James Laxton
The Neon Demon – Natasha Braier

Best Film Not in the English Language

Elle – France
The Handmaiden – South Korea
Neruda – Chile
The Salesman – Iran
Toni Erdmann – Germany

Best Documentary

13th
Cameraperson
I Am Not Your Negro
O.J.: Made in America
Weiner

Best Non-U.S. Release

After the Storm
The Death of Louis XIV
The Girl With All the Gifts
Graduation
Nocturma
Personal Shopper
A Quiet Passion
Staying Vertical
The Unknown Girl
Yourself and Yours

Here Are The North Carolina Film Critics Association Nominations!

Posted on December 27, 2016 by Lisa Marie Bowman

For Christmas, there was a temporary pause in the flood of precursor awards. Now that Christmas has passed, Oscar season is back in full swing.

Today, the North Carolina Film Critics Association announced their nominations for the best of 2016!

And here they are:

BEST NARRATIVE FILM
Arrival
Hell or High Water
La La Land
Manchester by the Sea
Moonlight

BEST DOCUMENTARY FILM
13th
I Am Not Your Negro
Life, Animated
O.J.: Made in America
Weiner

BEST ANIMATED FILM
Finding Dory
Kubo and the Two Strings
Moana
Sausage Party
Zootopia

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Elle
The Handmaiden
A Man Called Ove
Toni Erdmann
Things to Come

BEST DIRECTOR
Damien Chazelle — La La Land
Barry Jenkins — Moonlight
Kenneth Lonergan — Manchester by the Sea
David Mackenzie — Hell or High Water
Chan-woo Park — The Handmaiden

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Chung-hoo Chung — The Handmaiden
James Laxton — Moonlight
Giles Nuttgens — Hell or High Water
Linus Sandgren — La La Land
Bradford Young — Arrival

BEST SPECIAL EFFECTS
Arrival
Captain America: Civil War
Doctor Strange
Jungle Book
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

BEST ACTOR
Casey Affleck — Manchester by the Sea
Joel Edgerton — Loving
Ryan Gosling — La La Land
Viggo Mortensen — Captain Fantastic
Denzel Washington — Fences

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Mahershala Ali — Moonlight
Jeff Bridges — Hell or High Water
Ben Foster — Hell or High Water
Lucas Hedges — Manchester by the Sea
Sam Neill — Hunt for the Wilderpeople

BEST ACTRESS
Annette Bening — 20th Century Women
Kate Beckinsale — Love & Friendship
Ruth Negga — Loving
Natalie Portman — Jackie
Emma Stone — La La Land

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Viola Davis — Fences
Greta Gerwig — 20th Century Women
Naomie Harris — Moonlight
Nicole Kidman — Lion
Michelle Williams — Manchester by the Sea

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Damien Chazelle — La La Land
Barry Jenkins — Moonlight
Kenneth Lonergan — Manchester by the Sea
Mike Mills — 20th Century Women
Taylor Sheridan — Hell or High Water

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Tom Ford — Nocturnal Animals
Eric Heisserer — Arrival
Seo-kyeong Jeong and Chan-wook Park — The Handmaiden
Whit Stillman — Love & Friendship
Taika Waititi — Hunt for the Wilderpeople

KEN HANKE MEMORIAL TAR HEEL AWARD
(To an artist or film with a special connection to North Carolina.)
Anthony Mackie
Jeff Nichols
Starving the Beast

The Alliance of Women Film Journalists Announced Their Picks For The Best of 2016!

Posted on December 22, 2016 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Alliance of Women Film Journalists (of which I am not a member and what’s up with that!?) announced their picks for the best of 2016 earlier this week.

And here they are:

AWFJ BEST OF AWARDS
These awards are presented to women and/or men without gender consideration.
Best Film
Arrival
Hell or High Water
La La Land
Manchester by the Sea
Moonlight

Best Director
Damien Chazelle – La La Land
Barry Jenkins – Moonlight
Kenneth Lonergan – Manchester by the Sea
David Mackenzie – Hell or High Water
Denis Villeneuve – Arrival

Best Screenplay, Original
20th Century Women – Mike Mills
Hail Caesar – Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
Hell or High Water – Taylor Sheridan
La La Land – Damien Chazelle
Manchester by the Sea – Kenneth Lonergan

Best Screenplay, Adapted
Arrival – Eric Heisserer
Lion – Luke Davies
Love & Friendship – Whit Stillman
Moonlight – Barry Jenkins
Nocturnal Animals –Tom Ford

Best Documentary
13th – Ava DuVernay
Gleason – Clay Tweel
I Am Not Your Negro – Raoul Peck
OJ Made in America – Ezra Edelman
Weiner – Elyse Steinberg and Josh Kriegma

Best Animated Film
Finding Dory – Andrew Stanton andAngus MacLane
Kubo and the Two Strings- Travis Knight
Moana – Ron Clements, Don Hall, John Musker, Chris Williams
Zootopia – Byron Howard, Rich Moore, Jared Bush

Best Actress
Amy Adams – Arrival
Isabelle Huppert – Elle
Ruth Negga – Loving
Natalie Portman – Jackie
Emma Stone – La La Land

Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Viola Davis – Fences
Greta Gerwig – 20th Century Women
Naomie Harris – Moonlight
Octavia Spencer – Hidden Figures
Michelle Williams – Manchester by the Sea

Best Actor
Casey Affleck – Manchester By The Sea
Joel Edgerton – Loving
Ryan Gosling – La La Land
Tom Hanks – Sully
Denzel Washington – Fences

Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Mahershala Ali – Moonlight
Jeff Bridges – Hell or High Water
Ben Foster – Hell or High Water
Lucas Hedges – Manchester By the Sea
Michael Shannon – Nocturnal Animals

Best Ensemble Cast – Casting Director
20th Century Women – Mark Bennett and Laura Rosenthal
Hail Caesar – Ellen Chenoweth
Hell or High Water – Jo Edna Boldin and Richard Hicks
Manchester by the Sea – Douglas Aibel
Moonlight – Yesi Ramirez

Best Cinematography
Arrival – Bradford Young
Hell or High Water – Giles Nuttgens
La La Land – Linus Sandgren
Manchester by The Sea – Jody Lee Lipes
Moonlight – James Laxton

Best Editing
Arrival – Joe Walker
I Am Not Your Negro — Alexandra Strauss
La La Land – Tom Cross
Manchester By The Sea – Jennifer Lame
Moonlight – Joi McMillon and Nat Sanders

Best Non-English-Language Film
Elle – Paul Verhoeven, France
Fire At Sea – Gianfranco Rossi, Italy
The Handmaiden – Chan-Wook Park, South Korea
Julieta – Pedro Almodovar. Spain
Toni Erdmann – Maren Ede, Germany

EDA FEMALE FOCUS AWARDS
These awards honor WOMEN only

Best Woman Director
Andrea Arnold – American Honey
Ava DuVernay -13TH
Rebecca Miller – Maggie’s Plan
Mira Nair – Queen of Katwe
Kelly Reichardt – Certain Women

Best Woman Screenwriter
Andrea Arnold – American Honey
Rebecca Miller – Maggie’s Plan
Kelly Reichardt – Certain Women
Lorene Scafaria – The Meddler
Laura Terruso – Hello, My Name is Doris

Best Animated Female
Dory in Finding Dory –Ellen DeGeneres
Judy in Zootopia – Ginnifer Goodwin
Moana in Moana – Auli’i Cravalho

Best Breakthrough Performance
Sasha Lane – American Honey
Janelle Monáe – Moonlight and Hidden Figures
Madina Nalwanga – Queen of Katwe
Ruth Negga – Loving

Outstanding Achievement by A Woman in The Film Industry
Ava DuVernay – For 13TH and raising awareness about the need for diversity and gender equality in Hollywood
Anne Hubbell and Amy Hobby for establishing Tangerine Entertainment’s Juice Fund to support female filmmakers
Mynette Louie, President of Gamechanger Films, which finances narrative films directed by women
April Reign for creating and mobilizing the #OscarsSoWhite campaign

EDA SPECIAL MENTION AWARDS

Actress Defying Age and Ageism
Annette Bening – 20th Century Women
Viola Davis – Fences
Sally Field – Hello, My Name is Doris
Isabelle Huppert – Elle and Things to Come
Helen Mirren – Eye in the Sky

Most Egregious Age Difference Between The Lead and The Love Interest Award
Dirty Grandpa – Robert De Niro (b. 1943) and Aubrey Plaza (b. 1984)
Independence Day: Resurgence – Charlotte Gainsbourg (b 1971) and Jeff Goldblum (b 1952)
Mechanic Resurrection – Jason Statham (b. 1967) and Jessica Aba (b. 1981)
Rules Don’t Apply – Warren Beatty (b. 1937) and Lily Collins (b. 1989)

Actress Most in Need Of A New Agent
Jennifer Aniston – Mother’s Day and Office Christmas Party
Melissa McCarthy – The Boss and Ghostbusters
Margot Robbie – Suicide Squad and Tarzan
Julia Roberts – Mother’s Day
Shailene Woodley – Divergent Series

Bravest Performance
Jessica Chastain – Miss Sloane
Naomie Harris – Moonlight
Isabelle Huppert – Elle
Sasha Lane – American Honey
Ruth Negga – Loving

Remake or Sequel That Shouldn’t have been Made
Ben-Hur
Ghostbusters
Independence Day: Resurgence
The Magnificent Seven
My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2

AWFJ Hall of Shame Award
Sharon Maguire and Renee Zellweger for Bridget Jones’s Baby
Nicholas Winding Refn and Elle Fanning for The Neon Demon
David Ayer and Margot Robbie for Suicide Squad
David E. Talbert and Mo’Nique for Almost Christmas