We’re always lucky to have new music from Zedd.
Enjoy!
We’re always lucky to have new music from Zedd.
Enjoy!
Britney Spears wins an Academy Award!
Okay, it’ll probably never happen. I mean, I’ve watched Crossroads more times than I care to admit but even I have to admit that Britney is a better singer than actress. That said, we’ll always have the music video for Lucky, in which Britney does win an Oscar. Well, actually, Britney plays an actress named Lucky who wins an Oscar but, even before the tabloids did their thing, it was obvious that Lucky and Britney were one in the same. With the benefit of hindsight, there’s a poignant subtext to this song and this video. Lucky was the first video that Britney did that centered around the struggle to balance fame with happiness. It would not be the last.
Lucky was the second single to be released off of Oops! …. I Did It Again and it’s hard not to feel that both the song and the video were designed to let us know that, regardless of what we may have heard, Britney wasn’t always playing with hearts and getting lost in the game. Much as how Sometimes was meant to counterbalance the more exuberant ….Baby One More Time, Lucky seems to be saying, “There’s more to Britney than what you’re reading in the tabloids!”
This video was directed by Dave Meyers, who has directed videos for …. well, just looking at his credits, it seems like he’s directed videos for almost everyone. Kid Rock, Master P, Katy Perry, Ariana Grande, Jennifer Lopez, P!nk, Imagine Dragons, the fucking Dave Matthews Band …. he’s worked with them all. In fact, he directed that video for Katy Perry’s Fireworks. (Remember how sick we eventually all got of hearing that song? Seriously, all through 2010, I dreaded watching any sort of “inspiring” video because I knew Fireworks would be played at some point.) Anyway, Meyers has worked with Britney a few more times, directing the videos for Boys, Outrageous, and Radar.
Enjoy!
The Chicago Independent Film Critics Circle should not be mistaken for the Chicago Film Critics Association. However, since they’re both in Chicago, that does give me an excuse to once again use this picture of Al Capone.
Here are the nominees!
THE 10 BEST INDEPENDENT FILMS (in alphabetical order):
The Big Sick, Call Me By Your Name, The Florida Project, Get Out, A Ghost Story, Lady Bird, Lucky, Mudbound, The Shape of Water, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
THE 10 BEST STUDIO FILMS (in alphabetical order):
Baby Driver, Blade Runner 2049, Dunkirk, Logan, The Lost City of Z, mother!, Phantom Thread, The Post, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Wonder Woman
The complete list of nominees for the 2017 CIFCC Awards:
Okay, one final precursor to share with everyone today. The Indiana Film Journalists Association announced their picks for the best of 2017 on Monday. They really liked Lady Bird and The Shape of Water. They also liked Harry Dean Stanton for his final film role.
Best Film
Winner: “Lady Bird”
Runner-up: “The Shape of Water”
Other Finalists (listed alphabetically):
“Blade Runner 2049”
“Brigsby Bear”
“Dunkirk”
“The Florida Project”
“Get Out”
“The Post”
“Star Wars: The Last Jedi”
“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
Best Animated Feature
Winner: “Coco”
Runner-Up: “Loving Vincent”
Best Foreign Language Film
Winner: “Faces Places”
Runner-Up: “BPM (Beats Per Minute)”
Best Documentary
Winner: “Let It Fall: Los Angeles 1982-1992”
Runner-Up: “Liyana”
Best Original Screenplay
Winner: Greta Gerwig, “Lady Bird”
Runner-up: Jordan Peele, “Get Out”
Best Adapted Screenplay
Winner: Scott Frank, James Mangold and Michael Green, “Logan”
Runner-up: Hampton Fancher and Michael Green, “Blade Runner 2049”
Best Director
Winner: Greta Gerwig, “Lady Bird”
Runner-up: Guillermo del Toro, “The Shape of Water”
Best Actress
Winner: Saoirse Ronan, “Lady Bird”
Runner-up: Sally Hawkins, “Maudie”
Best Supporting Actress
Winner: Laurie Metcalf, “Lady Bird”
Runner-up: Allison Janney, “I, Tonya”
Best Actor
Winner: Harry Dean Stanton, “Lucky”
Runner-up: Gary Oldman, “Darkest Hour”
Best Supporting Actor
Winner: Willem Dafoe, “The Florida Project”
Runner-up: Doug Jones, “The Shape of Water”
Best Vocal/Motion Capture Performance
Runner-up: Sean Gunn & Bradley Cooper, “Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2”
Best Ensemble Acting
Winner: “The Florida Project”
Runner-up: “The Post”
Best Musical Score
Winner: Alexandre Desplat, “The Shape of Water”
Runner-up: Hans Zimmer and Benjamin Wallfisch, “Blade Runner 2049”
Breakout of the Year
Winner: Timothée Chalamet, “Call Me by Your Name” and “Lady Bird”
Runner-up: Kogonada, “Columbus”
Original Vision Award
Winner: “Loving Vincent”
Runner-up: “Brigsby Bear
The Hoosier Award
Winner: “Columbus”
(As a special award, no runner-up is declared in this category.)
Yesterday, the Phoenix Critics Circle revealed their nominations for the best films and performances of 2017!
Best Picture
Best Comedy Film
Best Science Fiction Film
Best Horror Film
Best Mystery or Thriller Film
Best Animated Film
Best Foreign Language Film
Best Documentary
Best Actor
Best Actress
Best Supporting Actor
Best Supporting Actress
Best Director
Best Screenplay
Best Score
Okay, only a few more precursors to go and we’ll be caught up.
Yesterday, The Chicago Film Critics Association announced their nominees for the best of 2017! I’m happy that they did so because it gives me an excuse to use that picture of Al Capone that I use whenever I post anything about the Chicago Film Critics.
Here are their nominees!
Best Picture
“Call Me By Your Name”
“Dunkirk”
“Lady Bird”
“The Shape of Water”
“Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri”
Best Director
Guillermo Del Toro, “The Shape of Water”
Greta Gerwig, “Lady Bird”
Luca Guadagnino, “Call Me By Your Name”
Christopher Nolan, “Dunkirk”
Jordan Peele, “Get Out”
Best Actress
Sally Hawkins, “The Shape of Water”
Vicky Krieps, “Phantom Thread”
Frances McDormand, “Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri”
Margot Robbie, “I, Tonya”
Saoirse Ronan, “Lady Bird”
Best Actor
Timothee Chalamet, “Call Me By Your Name”
Daniel Day-Lewis, “Phantom Thread”
James Franco, “The Disaster Artist”
Gary Oldman, “Darkest Hour”
Harry Dean Stanton, “Lucky”
Best Supporting Actress
Mary J. Blige, “Mudbound”
Holly Hunter, “The Big Sick”
Allison Janney, “I, Tonya”
Lesley Manville, “Phantom Thread”
Laurie Metcalf, “Lady Bird”
Best Supporting Actor
Willem Dafoe, “The Florida Project”
Armie Hammer, “Call Me By Your Name”
Jason Mitchell, “Mudbound”
Sam Rockwell, “Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri”
Michael Stuhlbarg, “Call Me By Your Name”
Best Adapted Screenplay
“Blade Runner 2049”
“Call My By Your Name”
“The Disaster Artist”
“Logan”
“Mudbound”
Best Original Screenplay
“The Big Sick”
“Get Out”
“Lady Bird”
“Phantom Thread”
“The Shape of Water”
“Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri”
Best Animated Film
“The Breadwinner”
“Coco”
“The LEGO Batman Movie”
“Loving Vincent”
“Your Name”
Best Documentary
“Abacus: Small Enough to Jail”
“City of Ghosts”
“Ex Libris: New York Public Library”
“Faces Places”
“Jane”
“Kedi”
“BPM (Beats Per Minute)”
“A Fantastic Woman”
“Loveless”
“Raw”
“The Square”
Best Art Direction
“Beauty and the Beast”
“Blade Runner 2049”
“Dunkirk”
“Phantom Thread”
“The Shape of Water”
Best Editing
“Baby Driver”
“Call Me By Your Name”
“Dunkirk”
“The Florida Project”
“Get Out”
Best Original Score
“Blade Runner 2049”
“Dunkirk”
“Phantom Thread”
“The Shape of Water”
“War For the Planet of the Apes”
Best Cinematography
“Blade Runner 2049”
“Dunkirk”
“The Florida Project”
“Mudbound”
“The Shape of Water”
Breakthrough Performer
Timothee Chalamet, “Call Me By Your Name”
Dafne Keen, “Logan”
Jessie Pinnick, “Princess Cyd”
Brooklynn Prince, “The Florida Project”
Florence Pugh, “Lady Macbeth”
Bria Vinaite, “The Florida Project”
Breakthrough Filmmaker
Kogonada, “Columbus”
Jordan Peele, “Get Out”
Greta Gerwig, “Lady Bird”
John Carroll Lynch, “Lucky”
Julia Ducournau, “Raw”
Hi, everyone!
It’s time for me to post my monthly Oscar predictions! With Oscar season finally getting started, things are starting to become a lot more clearer. At the same time, especially when compared to the previous few years, it’s hard not to feel as if there’s a lot more uncertainty than usual.
For months, people were convinced that The Post was going to be the big Oscar contender but rumor has it that the film’s a bit of a mess. I can’t say that I’m surprised. Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep, and Steven Spielberg teaming up for a celebration of the press? That sounds like exactly the type of project that will bring out everyone’s worst, most mawkish instincts.
With the downfall of Hollywood power players and monsters like Harvey Weinstein, the Oscar outlook becomes even more hazy. If ever there’s been a year for the Academy to make a statement, this would be it. But will they have the courage? On the one hand, the Academy has made an attempt to broaden their membership and to bring in new voices and perspectives. On the other hand, Oscar host Jimmy Kimmel has already said he won’t be mentioning anything about Weinstein (or, I assume, James Toback or Kevin Spacey) during next year’s ceremony. Is the Academy going to make a statement or are they just going to try to pretend like nothing’s happened?
Could next year be the year that the Oscars embrace genre films? Some of the biggest disappointments of the year have been the movies that would typically contend for Oscars. Meanwhile, some of the most acclaimed films of the year — Get Out, It, Wonder Woman, Logan, — are all so-called genre films.
For my predictions below, I’ve decided to live in a world where the Academy embraces genre films. These predictions may be totally off but screw it. It’s the night before Halloween and I’m going to have fun. Besides, I can make a case for every single prediction found below.
Check out my predictions for January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, and September!
Best Picture
Call Me By Your Name
Darkest Hour
The Disaster Artist
Dunkirk
Get Out
The Shape of Water
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Best Director
Guillermo Del Toro for The Shape of Water
Martin McDonagh for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Christopher Nolan for Dunkirk
Jordan Peele for Get Out
Joe Wright for Darkest Hour
Best Actor
James Franco in The Disaster Artist
Andrew Garfield in Breathe
Jake Gyllenhaal in Stronger
Gary Oldman in Darkest Hour
Harry Dean Stanton in Lucky
Best Actress
Gal Gadot in Wonder Woman
Sally Hawkins in The Shape of Water
Frances McDormand in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Margot Robbie in I, Tonya
Emma Stone in Battle of the Sexes
Best Supporting Actor
Willem DaFoe in The Forida Project
Armie Hammer in Call Me By Your Name
Sam Rockwell in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Adam Sander in The Meyerowitz Stories
Patrick Stewart in Logan
Best Supporting Actress
Mary J. Blige in Mudbound
Allison Janney in I, Tonya
Melissa Leo in Novitiate
Laurie Metcalf in Lady Bird
Kristin Scott Thomas in Darkest Hour
Hi, everyone!
Well, today is officially the start of Oscar season. This morning, the Independent Filmmakers Project announced this year’s nominees for the Gotham Awards! While the Gotham Awards may not be as well-known as some of the other precursors, their importance has grown over the past few years. Though most of the major studio contenders are typically not eligible, a Gotham nomination can provide a definite boost for an independent film.
This year, Get Out received the most nominations. Get Out has been mentioned as an outside possibility for an Oscar nomination. It’s generally considered to be the best reviewed film of the year but horror is a genre that has traditionally struggled with the Academy. For Get Out to receive a nomination, it’s going to need some help from the precursors (much as how Mad Max: Fury Road was legitimized by the critic groups in 2015). With the announcement of the Gotham nominations, Get Out is off to a good start.
I’m also happy to see that James Franco received a nomination for playing Tommy Wiseau in The Disaster Artist.
Here are the nominees:
Best Feature
Call Me by Your Name
Luca Guadagnino, director; Peter Spears, Luca Guadagnino, Emilie Georges, Rodrigo Teixeira, Marco Morabito, James Ivory, Howard Rosenman, producers (Sony Pictures Classics)
The Florida Project
Sean Baker, director; Sean Baker, Chris Bergoch, Kevin Chinoy, Andrew Duncan, Alex Saks, Francesca Silvestri, Shih-Ching Tsou, producers (A24)
Get Out
Jordan Peele, director; Sean McKittrick, Jason Blum, Edward H. Hamm, Jr., Jordan Peele, producers (Universal Pictures)
Good Time
Josh and Benny Safdie, directors; Paris Kasidokostas-Latsis, Terry Dougas, Sebastian Bear-McClard, Oscar Boyson, producers (A24)
I, Tonya
Craig Gillespie, director; Bryan Unkeless, Steven Rogers, Margot Robbie, Tom Ackerley, producers (NEON)
Best Documentary
Ex Libris – The New York Public Library
Frederick Wiseman, director and producer (Zipporah Films)
Rat Film
Theo Anthony, director; Riel Roch-Decter, Sebastian Pardo, producers (MEMORY and Cinema Guild)
Strong Island
Yance Ford, director; Yance Ford, Joslyn Barnes, producers (Netflix)
The Work
Sabaah Folayan, Damon Davis, directors; Sabaah Folayan, Damon Davis, Jennifer MacArthur, Flannery Miller, producers (Magnolia Pictures)
Whose Streets?
Jairus McLeary, director; Alice Henty, Eon McLeary, Jairus McLeary, Miles McLeary, producers (The Orchard and First Look Media)
Bingham Ray Breakthrough Director Award
Maggie Betts for Novitiate (Sony Pictures Classics)
Greta Gerwig for Lady Bird (A24)
Kogonada for Columbus (Superlative Films/Depth of Field)
Jordan Peele for Get Out (Universal Pictures)
Joshua Z Weinstein for Menashe (A24)
Best Screenplay
The Big Sick, Emily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani (Amazon Studios)
Brad’s Status, Mike White (Amazon Studios)
Call Me by Your Name, James Ivory (Sony Pictures Classics)
Columbus, Kogonada (Superlative Films/Depth of Field)
Get Out, Jordan Peele (Universal Pictures)
Lady Bird, Greta Gerwig (A24)
*Best Actor*
Willem Dafoe in The Florida Project (A24)
James Franco in The Disaster Artist (A24)
Daniel Kaluuya in Get Out (Universal Pictures)
Robert Pattinson in Good Time (A24)
Adam Sandler in The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) (Netflix)
Harry Dean Stanton in Lucky (Magnolia Pictures)
As always, these are just my initial thoughts. A full recap will appear on this site either tonight or tomorrow. It’s been crazy day/
Twin Peaks on TSL: