The Las Vegas Film Critics Announces A Huge Amount of Nominations!


Creed

Here are the nominations for the Las Vegas Film Critics!  They loved Creed but, for some reason, not Saoirse Ronan!

Best Picture
1. Spotlight
2. Creed
3. Ex Machina
4. Straight Outta Compton
5. Beasts of No Nation

Best Director
1. George Miller (Mad Max: Fury Road)
2. Ridley Scott (The Martian)
3. Tom McCarthy (Spotlight)
4. Cary Fukunaga (Beasts of No Nation)
5. Ryan Coogler (Creed)

Best Actor
1. Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant)
2. Bryan Cranston (Trumbo)
3. Michael Fassbender (Steve Jobs)
4. Matt Damon (The Martian)
5. Michael B. Jordan (Creed)

Best Actress
1. Emily Blunt (Sicario)
2. Cate Blanchett (Carol)
3. Brie Larson (Room)
4. Lily Tomlin (Grandma)
5. Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl)

Best Supporting Actor
1. Sylvester Stallone (Creed)
2. Mark Ruffalo (Spotlight)
3. Tom Hardy (The Revenant)
4. Michael Shannon (99 Homes)
5. Idris Elba (Beasts of No Nation)

Best Supporting Actress
1. Alicia Vikander (Ex Machina)
2. Kate Winslet (Steve Jobs)
3. Rachel McAdams (Spotlight)
4. Elizabeth Banks (Love & Mercy)
5. Jennifer Jason Leigh (The Hateful Eight)

Best Screenplay (Original)
1. Ex Machina
2. Inside Out
3. Spotlight
4. Trainwreck
5. The Hateful Eight

Best Screenplay (Adapted)

1. Steve Jobs
2. The Martian

3. Room
4. Brooklyn
5. The Big Short

Best Cinematography
1. Roger Deakins (Sicario)
2. Emmanuel Lubezki (The Revenant)
3. John Seale (Mad Max: Fury Road)
4. Cary Fukunaga (Beasts of No Nation)
5. Robert Richardson (The Hateful Eight)

Best Film Editing
1. Mad Max: Fury Road
2. The Martian
3. Spotlight
4. Steve Jobs
5. The Revenant

Best Art Direction
1. The Hateful Eight
2. Brooklyn
3. The Danish Girl
4. Mad Max: Fury Road
5. The Martian


Best Costume Design

1. The Hateful Eight
2. Mad Max: Fury Road
3. The Danish Girl
4. Carol
5. Cinderella

Best Visual Effects
1. Mad Max: Fury Road
2. Ex Machina
3. The Martian
4. The Walk
5. In the Heart of the Sea

Best Score
1. The Danish Girl
2. The Revenant
3. Spotlight
4. Sicario
5. The Hateful Eight

Best Song
1. ‘See You Again’ (Furious 7)
2. ‘One Kind of Love’ (Love & Mercy)
3. ‘It’s My Turn Now’ (Dope)
4. ‘Simple Song #3’ (Youth)
5. ‘Writing’s on the Wall’ (Spectre)

Best Ensemble
1. The Big Short
2. The Hateful Eight
3. Straight Outta Compton
4. Trumbo
5. Spotlight

Best Animated Film
1. Anomalisa
2. Inside Out
3. The Good Dinosaur
4. Shaun the Sheep Movie
5. The Peanuts Movie

Best Documentary
1. Meru
2. Amy
3. Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief
4. Cartel Land
5. Best of Enemies

Best Foreign Film
1. Goodnight Mommy
2. Mustang
3. Phoenix
4. Respire
5. Tu Dors Nicole

Best Action Film
1. Mad Max: Fury Road
2. Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation
3. Kingsman: The Secret Service
4. Avengers: Age of Ultron
5. Ant-Man

Best Comedy Film
1. Trainwreck
2. The Big Short
3. Dope
4. Sisters
5. Spy

Best Family Film
1. Goosebumps
2. Cinderella
3. Pan
4. Ant-Man
5. Tomorrowland

Best Horror / Sci-Fi Film
1. Ex Machina
2. The Martian
3. Jurassic World
4. It Follows
5. Krampus

Best Breakout Filmmaker
1. Rick Famuyiwa (Dope)
2. Alex Garland (Ex Machina)
3. David Robert Mitchell (It Follows)
4. Marielle Heller (The Diary of a Teenage Girl)

Youth in Film Award

1. Abraham Attah (Beasts of No Nation)
2. Jacob Tremblay (Room)
3. Milo Parker (Mr. Holmes)
4. Shameik Moore (Dope)
5. Imogene Wolodarsky (Infinitely Polar Bear)

The Indiana Film Journalists Have Spoken And They Love A Film About Boston!


Ted_2_poster

The Indiana Film Journalist Association have announced their picks for the best of 2015 and they went with … Ted 2!

No, just kidding, they went with Spotlight.

Best Film

Winner: “Spotlight”
Runner-up: “Room”

Other Finalists (listed alphabetically):

“Anomalisa”
“The Big Short”
“Carol”
“The End of the Tour”
“Mad Max: Fury Road”
“The Martian”
“Steve Jobs”
“Straight Outta Compton”

Best Animated Feature

Winner: “Anomalisa”
Runner-Up: “Inside Out ”

Best Foreign Language Film

Winner: “Son of Saul”
Runner-Up: “Goodnight Mommy”

Best Documentary

Winner: “Amy”
Runner-Up: “Meru”

Best Original Screenplay

Winner: Tom McCarthy and Josh Singer, “Spotlight”
Runner-up: Matt Charman, Joel & Ethan Coen, “Bridge of Spies”

Best Adapted Screenplay

Winner: Emma Donoghue, “Room”
Runner-up: Adam McKay and Charles Randolph, “The Big Short”

Best Director

Winner: George Miller, “Mad Max: Fury Road
Runner-up: Tom McCarthy, “Spotlight”

Best Actress

Winner: Brie Larson, “Room”
Runner-up: Charlotte Rampling, “45 Years”

Best Supporting Actress

Winner: Greta Gerwig, “Mistress America”
Runner-up: Elizabeth Banks, “Love & Mercy”

Best Actor

Winner: Jacob Tremblay, “Room”
Runner-up: Jason Segel, “The End of the Tour”

Best Supporting Actor

Winner: Mark Ruffalo, “Spotlight”
Runner-up: Idris Elba, “Beasts of No Nation”

Best Vocal/Motion Capture Performance

Winner: Phyllis Smith, “Inside Out”
Runner-up: Tom Noonan, “Anomalisa”

Best Musical Score

Winner: Junkie XL, “Mad Max: Fury Road
Runner-up: Disasterpeace, “It Follows

Original Vision Award

Winner: “Anomalisa”
Runner-up: “Chi-Raq”

The Hoosier Award

Winner: Angelo Pizzo, writer/director/producer

And Here Are The San Francisco Film Critics Nominations!


Winners will be voted on tomorrow!

San Francisco Film Critics Nominations

Best Picture

Best Director

Best Actor

Best Actress

  • Cate Blanchett (Carol)
  • Brie Larson (Room)
  • Rooney Mara (Carol)
  • Charlotte Rampling (45 Years)
  • Saoirse Ronan (Brooklyn)

Best Supporting Actor

Best Supporting Actress

  • Elizabeth Banks (Love & Mercy)
  • Helen Mirren (Trumbo)
  • Mya Taylor (Tangerine)
  • Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl)
  • Alicia Vikander (Ex Machina)

Best Screenplay, Original

Best Screenplay, Adapted

Best Cinematography

Best Film Editing

Best Production Design

Best Animated Feature

Best Documentary

  • Amy
  • Best of Enemies
  • Listen to Me Marlon
  • The Look of Silence
  • Meru

Best Foreign Language Picture

Here Are The Confusing San Diego Film Critics Society Nominations!


The San Diego Film Critics Society announced their nominees for the best of 2015 and … well, there’s a little bit of confusion.  As Paddy Mulholland of Screen on Screen points out, the San Diego film critics did not list their nominees alphabetically.  But, at the same time, the SFDC hasn’t acknowledged that the nominees were listed as a ranked slate either.  So, when they list Ex Machina as their first nominee for Best Picture and Brooklyn as their second, were they announcing that Ex Machina was their pick for best picture and Brooklyn was the runner up?  Or did they just decided to randomly list the nominees?

The official winners will be announced on December 14th, at which point we will have clarity!

Anyway, here are the San Diego nominees.  And again, h/t on this goes to Screen on Screen:

Best Picture
1. Ex Machina
2. Brooklyn
3. Mad Max: Fury Road
4. Room
5. Spotlight

Best Director
1. George Miller (Mad Max: Fury Road)
2. John Crowley (Brooklyn)
3. Lenny Abrahamson (Room)
4. Tom McCarthy (Spotlight)
5. Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (The Revenant)

Best Actor, Male
1. Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant)
2. Jason Segel (The End of the Tour)
3. Matt Damon (The Martian)
4. Bryan Cranston (Trumbo)
5. Jacob Tremblay (Room)

Best Actor, Female
1. Saoirse Ronan (Brooklyn)
2. Brie Larson (Room)
3. Charlotte Rampling (45 Years)
4. Charlize Theron (Mad Max: Fury Road)
5. Alicia Vikander (Ex Machina)

Best Supporting Actor, Male
1. Mark Rylance (Bridge of Spies)
2. Tom Noonan (Anomalisa)
3. Oscar Isaac (Ex Machina)
4. Paul Dano (Love & Mercy)
5. R. J. Cyler (Me and Earl and the Dying Girl)

Best Supporting Actor, Female
1. Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl)
2. Jennifer Jason Leigh (The Hateful Eight)
3. Helen Mirren (Trumbo)
4. Kristen Stewart (Clouds of Sils Maria)
5. Olivia Cooke (Me and Earl and the Dying Girl)

Best Original Screenplay
1. Noah Baumbach and Greta Gerwig (Mistress America)
2. Alex Garland (Ex Machina)
3. Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi (What We Do in the Shadows)
4. Quentin Tarantino (The Hateful Eight)
5. Tom McCarthy and Josh Singer (Spotlight)

Best Adapted Screenplay
1. Nick Hornby (Brooklyn)
2. Emma Donoghue (Room)
3. Charlie Kaufman (Anomalisa)
4. Donald Margulies (The End of the Tour)
5. Drew Goddard and Andy Weir (The Martian)

Best Cinematography
1. Roger Deakins (Sicario)
2. Yves Belanger (Brooklyn)
3. Dariusz Wolski (The Martian)
4. John Seale (Mad Max: Fury Road)
5. Emmanuel Lubezki (The Revenant)

Best Editing
1. Margaret Sixel (Mad Max: Fury Road)
2. Joe Walker (Sicario)
3. Pietro Scalia (The Martian)
4. Michael Kahn (Bridge of Spies)
5. Nathan Nugent (Room)
6. Stephen Mirrione (The Revenant

Best Production Design
1. Colin Gibson (Mad Max: Fury Road)
2. Mark Digby (Ex Machina)
3. Arthur Max (The Martian)
4. Francois Seguin (Brooklyn)
5. Adam Stockhausen (Bridge of Spies)

Best Sound Design
1. The Martian
2. Mad Max: Fury Road
3. Ex Machina
4. Sicario
5. Love & Mercy

Best Visual Effects
1. The Martian
2. Ex Machina
3. Mad Max: Fury Road
4. The Walk
5. Jurassic World

Best Use of Music in a Film
1. The Hateful Eight
2. Love & Mercy
3. Mad Max: Fury Road
4. Sicario
5. Straight Outta Compton

Best Ensemble
1. Spotlight
2. The Hateful Eight
3. Straight Outta Compton
4. Inside Out
5. The Big Short
6. What We Do in the Shadows

Best Animated Film
1. Inside Out
2. Anomalisa
3. Shaun the Sheep Movie
4. The Good Dinosaur
5. The Peanuts Movie

Best Documentary
1. Amy
2. He Named Me Malala
3. Cartel Land
4. Meru
5. The Wrecking Crew

Best Foreign Language Film
1. Phoenix
2. Taxi
3. White God
4. A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence
5. Goodnight Mommy

Best Breakthrough Artist
1. Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl / Ex Machina)
2. Jacob Tremblay (Room)
3. Emory Cohen (Brooklyn)
4. Abraham Attah (Beasts of No Nation)
5. Sean Baker (Tangerine)

 

Here Are The 74 Songs Eligible For Best Original Song!


Today, the Academy announced the 74 songs that have been ruled eligible for a Best Original Song nomination!  And you know what that means — it’s time for my to post the list!  (Our longtime readers should know, by now, how much I love lists!)

The big news is that the 2nd song from the end credits of Love & Mercy — the one that everyone was expecting to be a front runner — has been ruled ineligible.  Here’s what is eligible!  Be sure to listen to all of these songs before the Oscar nominations are announced in January…

“Happy” from “Altered Minds”
“Home” from “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip”
“None Of Them Are You” from “Anomalisa”
“Stem To The Rose” from “Becoming Bulletproof”
“The Mystery Of Your Gift” from “Boychoir”
“I Run” from “Chi-Raq”
“Pray 4 My City” from “Chi-Raq”
“Sit Down For This” from “Chi-Raq”
“Strong” from “Cinderella”
“So Long” from “Concussion”
“Fighting Stronger” from “Creed”
“Grip” from “Creed”
“Waiting For My Moment” from “Creed”
“Don’t Look Down” from “Danny Collins”
“Hey Baby Doll” from “Danny Collins”
“Dreamsong” from “The Diary of a Teenage Girl”
“It’s My Turn Now” from “Dope”
“Ya Rahem, Maula Maula” from “Dukhtar”
“Earned It” from “Fifty Shades of Grey”
“Love Me Like You Do” from “Fifty Shades of Grey”
“Salted Wound” from “Fifty Shades of Grey”
“Hands Of Love” from “Freeheld”
“See You Again” from “Furious Seven”
“Brother” from “Godspeed: The Story of Page Jones”
“As Real As You And Me” from “Home”
“Dancing In The Dark” from “Home”
“Feel The Light” from “Home”
“Red Balloon” from “Home”
“Two Of A Crime” from “Hot Pursuit”
“Til It Happens To You” from “The Hunting Ground”
“I’ll See You In My Dreams” from “I’ll See You in My Dreams”
“The Movie About Us” from “Ingrid Bergman – In Her Own Words”
“Bhoomiyilenghanumundo” from “Jalam”
“Koodu Vaykkan” from “Jalam”
“Pakalppaathi Chaari” from “Jalam”
“Yaathra Manoradhamerum” from “Jalam”
“Lost In Love” from “Jenny’s Wedding”
“True Love Avenue” from “Jenny’s Wedding”
“Hypnosis” from “Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet”
“Juntos (Together)” from “McFarland, USA”
“The Light That Never Fails” from “Meru”
“The Crazy Ones” from “Miss You Already”
“There’s A Place” from “Miss You Already”
“Johanna” from “Mortdecai”
“Little Soldier” from “Pan”
“Something’s Not Right” from “Pan”
“Paranoid Girl” from “Paranoid Girls”
“Better When I’m Dancin’” from “The Peanuts Movie”
“Pink & Blue” from “Pink & Blue: Colors of Hereditary Cancer”
“Flashlight” from “Pitch Perfect 2”
“Birds Of A Feather” from “Poached”
“Still Breathing” from “Point Break”
“Manta Ray” from “Racing Extinction”
“Cold One” from “Ricki and the Flash”
“Torch” from “Rock the Kasbah”
“Someone Like You” from “The Rumperbutts”
“Aankhon Me Samaye Dil” from “Salt Bridge”
“Bachpana Thaa” from “Salt Bridge”
“Kanpne Lage Tum” from “Salt Bridge”
“Kyaa Bataaun Tujhe” from “Salt Bridge”
“Le Jaaye Jo Door Tumse” from “Salt Bridge”
“Na Jaane Kitni Door” from “Salt Bridge”
“Sookha Hi Rang Daalo” from “Salt Bridge”
“Feels Like Summer” from “Shaun the Sheep Movie”
“Phenomenal” from “Southpaw”
“Writing’s On The Wall” from “Spectre”
“Squeeze Me” from “The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge out of Water”
“Teamwork” from “The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge out of Water”
“Who Can You Trust” from “Spy”
“Came To Win” from “Sweet Micky for President”
“Mean Ol’ Moon” from “Ted 2
“Love Was My Alibi” from “The Water Diviner”
“Fine On The Outside” from “When Marnie Was There”
“Simple Song #3” from “Youth”

Here’s the 15 Films That Made The Best Documentary Shortlist!


tom cruise 2-1

Today, that Academy announced the 15 semi-finalists for the Best Documentary Feature award.  I’m sad to say that I haven’t seen as many of these as I should have.  However, I am happy to see that both Amy and Going Clear made the shortlist.

(I’m actually a bit surprised to see Going Clear made the cut, considering it’s subject matter.  If Going Clear is nominated, will there be a mass boycott of the Awards by Hollywood Scientologists?  Will this be an Oscar ceremony without Tom Cruise?)

Five of these films will be nominated for Best Documentary in January.

Amy,” On the Corner Films and Universal Music

Best of Enemies,” Sandbar

Cartel Land,” Our Time Projects and The Documentary Group

Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief,” Jigsaw Productions

He Named Me Malala,” Parkes-MacDonald and Little Room

Heart of a Dog,” Canal Street Communications

The Hunting Ground,” Chain Camera Pictures

Listen to Me Marlon,” Passion Pictures

The Look of Silence,” Final Cut for Real

Meru,” Little Monster Films

3 1/2 Minutes, 10 Bullets,” The Filmmaker Fund, Motto Pictures, Lakehouse Films, Actual Films, JustFilms, MacArthur Foundation and Bertha BRITDOC

We Come as Friends,” Adelante Films

What Happened, Miss Simone?,” RadicalMedia and Moxie Firecracker

Where to Invade Next,” Dog Eat Dog Productions

Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom,” Pray for Ukraine Productions

Here Are The 2015 Independent Spirit Nominations!


mara_blanchett_carol

Here are the 2015 Independent Spirit Nominations!  That’s right — Oscar season is officially here!  Soon, we will reach the point where every day, another group will be announcing their picks for the best of 2015 and the Oscar race will start to become a lot less cloudy.  Until then, we can look at the Independent Spirit Nominations and try to figure out what they all mean in the big scheme of things.

The two big indie best picture contenders — Carol and Spotlight — were nominated for multiple awards.  That’s to be expected.  If any film is going to benefit from the Spirit nominations, it will probably be Anomalisawhich is starting to look more and more like it might be a dark horse to score a best picture nominations.  As well, the Spirit nominations may serve to remind Academy members that Beasts of No Nation is one of the best films of the year.

Anyway, without further ado, here are the Spirit nominations!

Best Feature

Anomalisa
Beasts of No Nation
Carol
Spotlight
Tangerine

Best Director

Sean Baker, Tangerine
Cary Joji Fukunaga, Beasts of No Nation
Todd Haynes, Carol
Charlie Kaufman & Duke Johnson, Anomalisa
Tom McCarthy, Spotlight
David Robert Mitchell, It Follows

Best Screenplay

Charlie Kaufman, Anomalisa
Donald Margulies, The End of the Tour
Phyllis Nagy, Carol
Tom McCarthy & Josh Singer, Spotlight
S. Craig Zahler, Bone Tomahawk

Best First Feature

The Diary of a Teenage Girl
James White
Manos Sucias
Mediterranea
Songs My Brothers Taught Me

Best First Screenplay

Jesse Andrews, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
Jonas Carpignano, Mediterranea
Emma Donoghue, Room
Marielle Heller, The Diary of a Teenage Girl
John Magary, Russell Harbaugh, Myna Joseph, The Mend

Best Male Lead

Christopher Abbott, James White
Abraham Attah, Beasts of No Nation
Ben Mendelsohn, Mississippi Grind
Jason Segel, The End of the Tour
Koudous Seihon, Mediterranea

Best Female Lead

Cate Blanchett, Carol
Brie Larson, Room
Rooney Mara, Carol
Bel Powley, The Diary of A Teenage Girl
Kitana Kiki Rodriguez, Tangerine

Best Supporting Male

Kevin Corrigan, Results
Paul Dano, Love & Mercy
Idris Elba, Beasts of No Nation
Richard Jenkins, Bone Tomahawk
Michael Shannon, 99 Homes

Best Supporting Female

Robin Bartlett, H.
Marin Ireland, Glass Chin
Jennifer Jason Leigh, Anomalisa
Cynthia Nixon, James White
Mya Taylor, Tangerine

Best Documentary

(T)error
Best of Enemies
Heart of a Dog
The Look of Silence
Meru
The Russian Woodpecker

Best International Film

A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence

Embrace of the Serpent
Girlhood
Mustang
Son of Saul

Best Cinematography

Beasts of No Nation
Carol
It Follows
Meadlowland
Songs My Brothers Taught Me

Best Editing

Heaven Knows What
It Follows
Manos Sucias

Room

Spotlight

John Cassavetes Award (Best Feature Under $500,000)

Advantageous
Christmas, Again
Heaven Knows What
Krisha
Out of My Hand

Robert Altman Award (Best Ensemble)

Spotlight

Kiehl’s Someone to Watch Award

Chloe Zhao
Felix Thompson
Robert Machoian & Rodrigo Ojeda-Beck

Piaget Producers Award 

Darren Dean
Mel Eslyn
Rebecca Green and Laura D. Smith

BeastsofNoNation