Live Tweet Alert: Watch GALAXY OF TERROR With #ScarySocial!

Posted on December 28, 2024 by Lisa Marie Bowman

As some of our regular readers undoubtedly know, I am involved in a few weekly live tweets on twitter. I host #FridayNightFlix every Friday, I co-host #ScarySocial on Saturday, and I am one of the five hosts of #MondayActionMovie! Every week, we get together. We watch a movie. We tweet our way through it.

Tonight, for #ScarySocial, I will be hosting 1981’s Galaxy of Terror!

If you want to join us on Saturday night, just hop onto twitter, start the film at 9 pm et, and use the #ScarySocial hashtag! The film is available on Prime and Tubi! I’ll be there co-hosting and I imagine some other members of the TSL Crew will be there as well. It’s a friendly group and welcoming of newcomers so don’t be shy!

Here Are The 2024 Austin Film Critics Association!

Posted on December 28, 2024 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Yesterday, the Austin Film Critics Association did their part to keep Austin weird by announcing their nominees for the best of 2024! The winners will be announced January 6th!

Best Picture
Anora
The Brutalist
Dune: Part Two
Conclave
Love Lies Bleeding
Nosferatu
Nickel Boys
The Substance
Sing Sing
Wicked

Best Director
Sean Baker – Anora
Brady Corbet – The Brutalist
Coralie Fargeat – The Substance
Rose Glass – Love Lies Bleeding
Denis Villeneuve – Dune: Part Two

Best Actress
Pamela Anderson – The Last Showgirl
Marianne Jean-Baptiste – Hard Truths
Nicole Kidman – Babygirl
Mikey Madison – Anora
Demi Moore – The Substance

Best Actor
Adrien Brody – The Brutalist
Daniel Craig – Queer
Colman Domingo – Sing Sing
Ralph Fiennes – Conclave
Hugh Grant – Heretic

Best Supporting Actress
Danielle Deadwyler – The Piano Lesson
Ariana Grande – Wicked
Felicity Jones – The Brutalist
Katy O’Brian – Love Lies Bleeding
Margaret Qualley – The Substance

Best Supporting Actor
Yura Borisov – Anora
Kieran Culkin – A Real Pain
Clarence Maclin – Sing Sing
Guy Pearce – The Brutalist
Jeremy Strong – The Apprentice

Best Ensemble
Anora
The Brutalist
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Sing Sing

Best Original Screenplay
Sean Baker – Anora
Brady Corbet & Mona Fastvold – The Brutalist
Jesse Eisenberg – A Real Pain
Coralie Fargeat – The Substance
Justin Kuritzkes – Challengers

Best Adapted Screenplay
Dana Fox & Winnie Holzman – Wicked
Greg Kwedar & Clint Bentley – Sing Sing
RaMell Ross & Joslyn Barnes – Nickel Boys
Peter Straughan – Conclave
Denis Villeneuve & Jon Spaihts – Dune: Part Two

Best Cinematography
Jarin Blaschke – Nosferatu
Lol Crawley – The Brutalist
Jomo Fray – Nickel Boys
Greig Frasier – Dune: Part Two
Benjamin Kracun – The Substance

Best Editing
Sean Baker – Anora
Coralie Fargeat, Jérôme Eltabet, & Valentin Féron – The Substance
Dávid Jancsó – The Brutalist
Joe Walker – Dune: Part Two
Hansjörg Weißbrich – September 5

Best Original Score
Daniel Blumberg – The Brutalist
Kris Bowers – The Wild Robot
Robin Carolan – Nosferatu
Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross – Challengers
Hans Zimmer – Dune: Part Two

Best International Film
Emilia Perez
Flow
I’m Still Here
Kneecap
The Seed of the Sacred Fig

Best Documentary
Dahomey
No Other Land
The Remarkable Life of Ibelin
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story
Will & Harper

Best Animated Film
Flow
Inside Out 2
Memoir of a Snail
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
The Wild Robot

Best Voice Acting/Animated/Digital Performance
Kevin Durand – Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
Lupita Nyong’o – The Wild Robot
Amy Poehler – Inside Out 2
Sarah Snook – Memoir of a Snail
Robbie Williams/Jonno Davies – Better Man

Best Stunt Work
Dune: Part Two
The Fall Guy
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Kill
Monkey Man

Best First Film
Vera Drew – The People’s Joker
Zoe Kravitz – Blink Twice
Josh Margolin – Thelma
Arkasha Stevenson – The First Omen
Sean Wang – Didi

The AFCA also acknowledges standout works from directors who live in Austin. Our nominees for 2024:
The Bikeriders (Jeff Nichols)
Fugitive Dreams (Jason Neulander)
Hit Man (Richard Linklater)
Sasquatch Sunset (Nathan and David Zellner)
Sing Sing (Greg Kwedar)

STARSHIP TROOPERS and Hell’s Half Acre – Taking my love of the movies on down the road (Part 4)!

Posted on December 28, 2024 by Bradley Crain

2022 was a big year for my wife Sierra and I when it comes to “movie tourism.” I’ve already discussed our trips to Pennsylvania and Colorado to celebrate my healthy obsession with the late, great action movie icon Charles Bronson. In that same year, we spent some time in the beautiful city of Casper, Wyoming. About 40 miles from Casper is a place called “Hell’s Half Acre.” Sierra lived in Casper for 18 years, and she told me that the movie STARSHIP TROOPERS was filmed there. I had no idea. I had watched the movie way back in late 90’s because it was directed by Paul Verhoeven, the Dutch director who had made a star out of Rutger Hauer before coming to America and directing films like ROBOCOP, TOTAL RECALL, and BASIC INSTINCT. I remember it being graphically violent, but I honestly didn’t remember much about it. The fact that it was filmed out in the middle of nowhere outside of Casper piqued my interest, and I was determined to know more.

In a nutshell, STARSHIP TROOPERS stars Casper Van Dien as Johnny Rico, a young man who joins the military after graduation to become a citizen, and because of his love for his high school sweetheart Carmen (Denise Richards). As part of his service, he finds himself in a war against the bug aliens of Klendathu. Every day is a battle for survival as the soldiers try to save the human race. Aside from Van Dien and Richards, director Verhoeven has assembled an excellent supporting cast that includes veterans like Michael Ironside, Clancy Brown, and even Rue McClanahan. Maybe it’s because I visited the location, but I enjoyed the movie much more now, than I remember enjoying it back in the 90’s.

Hell’s Half Acre stood in for the alien planet of Klendathu in STARSHIP TROOPERS. It’s an interesting looking area that reminds me of the look of the Grand Canyon when viewed from afar. It turned out to be the perfect place for an alien planet, even if there was always a chance that the cast and crew might run into a rattlesnake or two. Here’s a picture I took of the sign on the premises that tells you a little more about Hell’s Half Acre.

The picture at the top of the article shows how Hell’s Half Acre is used in the movie to represent the alien planet of Klendathu. Here’s an image of the movie’s star, Casper Van Dien, on location. I met several people in Casper who remember when the actors and the crew were staying in Casper during filming, and they all spoke very positively of Van Dien. I also find it interesting that Casper Van Dien is filming this movie just outside of Casper, Wyoming. What are the chances?

Here are few of the pictures we took on our visit. I sent the picture below to my son while we were out of town and asked him if he knew where we were. His guess was The Grand Canyon!

Making movies is one hell of a business, and visiting Hell’s Half Acre was a great reminder of the imagination it takes to create movie magic. It was also a fun way to spend part of day, especially for a movie lover like me!

Live Tweet Alert: Join #FridayNightFlix For Major League!

Posted on December 27, 2024 by Lisa Marie Bowman

As some of our regular readers undoubtedly know, I am involved in a few weekly live tweets on Twitter and Mastodon. I host #FridayNightFlix every Friday, I co-host #ScarySocial on Saturday, and I am one of the five hosts of #MondayActionMovie! Every week, we get together. We watch a movie. We tweet our way through it.

Tonight, at 10 pm et, #FridayNightFlix presents 1989’s Major League!

If you want to join us this Friday, just hop onto twitter, start the movie at 10 pm et, and use the #FridayNightFlix hashtag! It’s a friendly group and welcoming of newcomers so don’t be shy.

Major League is available on Prime! See you there!

Walking in the footsteps of MR. MAJESTYK – taking my love of cinema on down the road (Part 3)!

Posted on December 27, 2024 by Bradley Crain

Some of my favorite trips have been related to my obsession with movies and Charles Bronson. Today, I share a wonderful day that my wife and I spent in Southern Colorado. I hope you enjoy!

In September of 2022, my wife and I attended two different out of state weddings. First, we drove to Casper, WY, and officiated a wedding for the children of some of Sierra’s long time friends. After leaving Casper, we headed towards Estes Park, CO, for another friend’s wedding. While sitting on the deck of our lodge in Estes Park, listening to a beautiful Rocky Mountain stream flowing down below, an amazing idea just hit me like a brick, and I wouldn’t let it go. So, I started researching the filming locations for Charles Bronson’s MR. MAJESTYK because I knew it was filmed in southern Colorado. While Sierra slept, I began planning out a route for our tour of the locations. The next morning I hit her up about my plan, and she was game. Man, I’m a lucky guy!

I always tell my friends on my “This Week in Charles Bronson” Facebook page that my visit to Southern Colorado on September 6th, 2022 was one of the great days of my life. As we visited the filming locations for MR. MAJESTYK in Canon City, Manzanola, and La Junta, I felt like I was hanging out with the spirit of Charles Bronson. One of the most interesting things about the experience is how similar the locations looked in 1974 and 2022, a span of 48 years. It’s so important to find that woman in life who let’s you be you, and Sierra spent time with me as I made videos of my experiece, reenacted certain scenes from the movie, and took pictures at every specific location I could find. We ended up spending that night at a hotel in Dodge City, KS, which somehow seems like the perfect ending to a fairy tale of a day!

I shared the picture at the top from the interesting “tunnel” locations in Canon City, Colorado. This was our first stop of the day. There’s an interesting scene in MR. MAJESTYK where melon farmer Vince Majestyk (Bronson) lures hitman Frank Renda (Al Lettieri) into his hunting country which featured those amazing rock tunnels. I always thought they were so cool. This is actually a hiking trail called The Tunnel Drive Trail that runs alongside the Arkansas River and Royal Gorge Route Railroad.

After leaving Canon City, we went to the town of Manzanola. This is the town where the bar and cafe sequences are filmed in MR. MAJESTYK. In the movie, the bar was painted white. For some reason, they’ve gone for pink at this point!

It was in Manzanola where I reenacted a scene where Vince Majestyk walks across the street to supervise the hiring of his melon picking crew. I found out that it’s actually a very busy highway, US Route 50, to be exact. I tried to cross the street about the same place where Charles Bronson did, but I also had to try to not to get run over. You can see a car passing by as I walk in the picture below. I made sure that interesting “triangle” doorway was present in both pictures.

We were hoping to have lunch at “The Majestyk Cafe” in Manzanola, but it was closed the day after Labor Day in 2022. I found the owners’ thoughts on Colorado’s mask mandates at the time to be interesting. Check out the picture of the door below. If I ever make it out that way again, hopefully we’ll get to check out their lunch special!

After leaving Manzanola, we went to La Junta where we visited a few more locations. You can see below that La Junta’s Police and Fire department building is still using the same signage.

One of the best scenes in the entire film is the sequence where they break hitman Frank Renda out of the prison transport bus. That scene is also filmed in La Junta. It starts at the Zavala Building with one of Renda’s henchman putting a stocking over his head. You can see a plaque that says “Zavala Building” behind Taylor Lacher below. We found that spot.

I took so many more pictures that day. I also recorded several videos as I visited the various locations. They are documented as the “Adventures of the Colorado Crains” on the This Week in Charles Bronson YouTube page. It was an awesome day, and I hope you enjoyed a few of the highlights!

Anora Wins In Dallas

Posted on December 25, 2024 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Reunion Tower (picture by Erin Nicole)

On December 19th, the Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association announced its picks for the best of 2024!

BEST PICTURE
Winner: ANORA
Runners-up: THE BRUTALIST (2); CONCLAVE (3); DUNE: PART TWO (4); A COMPLETE UNKNOWN (5); THE SUBSTANCE (6); WICKED (7); NICKEL BOYS (8); A REAL PAIN (9); SING SING (10)

BEST DIRECTOR
Winner: Sean Baker, ANORA
Runners-up: Brady Corbet, THE BRUTALIST (2); Denis Villeneuve, DUNE: PART TWO (3); Coralie Fargeat, THE SUBSTANCE (4); RaMell Ross, NICKEL BOYS (5)

BEST ACTOR
Winner: Ralph Fiennes, CONCLAVE
Runners-up: Adrien Brody, THE BRUTALIST (2); Timothee Chalamet, A COMPLETE UNKNOWN (3); Colman Domingo, SING SING (4); Hugh Grant, HERETIC (5)

BEST ACTRESS
Winner: Mikey Madison, ANORA
Runners-up: Demi Moore, THE SUBSTANCE (2); Karla Sofia Gascon, EMILIA PÉREZ (3); Angelina Jolie, MARIA (4); Marianne Jean-Baptiste, HARD TRUTHS (5, tie); Nicole Kidman, BABYGIRL (5, tie)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Winner: Guy Pearce, THE BRUTALIST
Runners-up: Kieran Culkin, A REAL PAIN (2); Edward Norton, A COMPLETE UNKNOWN (3); Denzel Washington, GLADIATOR II (4); Clarence Maclin, SING SING (5)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Winner: Zoe Saldaña, EMILIA PÉREZ
Runners-up: Margaret Qualley, THE SUBSTANCE (2); Ariana Grande, WICKED (3); Danielle Deadwyler, THE PIANO LESSON (4); Monica Barbaro, A COMPLETE UNKNOWN (5)

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Winner: THE SEED OF THE SACRED FIG
Runners-up: EMILIA PÉREZ (2); ALL WE IMAGINE AS LIGHT (3); I’M STILL HERE (4); KNEECAP (5)

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Winner: SUGARCANE
Runners-up: DAUGHTERS (2); WILL AND HARPER (3); SUPER/MAN: THE CHRISTOPHER REEVE STORY (4); DAHOMEY (5)

BEST ANIMATED FILM
Winner: THE WILD ROBOT
Runner-up: FLOW

BEST SCREENPLAY
Winner: Brady Corbet and Mona Fastvold, THE BRUTALIST
Runner-up: Sean Baker, ANORA

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Winner: Grieg Fraser, DUNE: PART TWO
Runner-up: Lol Crawley, THE BRUTALIST

BEST MUSICAL SCORE
Winner: Kris Bowers, THE WILD ROBOT
Runner-up: Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, CHALLENGERS

RUSSELL SMITH AWARD (best low-budget or cutting-edge independent film)
Winner: THE SEED OF THE SACRED FIG

Here Are The 2024 Nominations of the Society of Composers and Lyricists!

Posted on December 25, 2024 by Lisa Marie Bowman

On the 19th, the Society of Composers and Lyricists announced their nominees for the best in scoring for 2024. The winners will be announced on February 12th.

Outstanding Original Score for a Studio Film
Clement Ducol, Camille – ‘EMILIA PEREZ’ (Netflix)
Hans Zimmer – ‘DUNE: PART TWO’ (Warner Bros. Pictures / Legendary Pictures)
Harry Gregson-Williams – ‘GLADIATOR II’ (Paramount Pictures)
John Powell, Stephen Schwartz – ‘WICKED: PART 1’ (Universal Pictures)
Kris Bowers – ‘THE WILD ROBOT’ (DreamWorks Animation)
Volker Bertelmann – ‘CONCLAVE‘ (Focus Features)

Outstanding Original Score for an Independent Film
Chris Bacon – ‘HERETIC‘ (A24)
Daniel Blumberg – ‘THE BRUTALIST’ (A24)
Dara Taylor – ‘MEET ME NEXT CHRISTMAS’ (Roberts Media)
Fabrizio Mancinelli – ‘HERE AFTER’ (Artina Films, ClaRo Productions, Fenix Entertainment, Hopscotch Pictures)
Heather McIntosh – ‘WINNER’ (Big Beach, One Community, Scythia Films, ShivHans Pictures)
Stephanie Economou – ‘THE BOOK OF JOBS’ (Bull’s Eye Entertainment, Rebellium Films)

Outstanding Original Song for a Dramatic or Documentary Visual Media Production
Andrew Wyatt, Lykke Li, Miley Cyrus – “Beautiful That Way” (from ‘THE LAST SHOWGIRL’) (Utopia Media, High Frequency Entertainment, Pinky Promise, Detour, Digital Ignition Entertainment)
Bear McCreary – “Old Tom Bombadil” (from ‘THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RINGS OF POWER’) (Amazon MGM Studios in association with New Line Cinema / Prime Video)
Christopher Lennertz – “Let’s Put The Christ Back In Christmas” (from ‘THE BOYS’) (Prime Video)
Diane Warren – “The Journey” (from ‘THE SIX TRIPLE EIGHT’) (Netflix)
Elton John, Brandi Carlile, Bernie Taupin, Andrew Watt – “Never Too Late” (from ‘ELTON JOHN: NEVER TOO LATE’) (Disney Branded Television, This Machine Filmworks, Rocket Entertainment)
Nicholas Britell, Steve McQueen, Taura Stinson – “Winter Coat” (from ‘BLITZ‘) (Apple Original Films)

Outstanding Original Song for a Comedy or Musical Visual Media Production
Abigail Barlow, Emily Bear – “Beyond” (from ‘MOANA 2’) (Disney)
Clement Ducol, Camille – “Mi Camino” (from ‘EMILIA PEREZ’) (Why Not Productions, Page 114, Pathé, France 2 Cinéma, Saint Laurent Productions)
Clement Ducol, Camille, Jacques Audiard – “El Mal” (from ‘EMILIA PEREZ’) (Why Not Productions, Page 114, Pathé, France 2 Cinéma, Saint Laurent Productions)
Lainey Wilson, Luke Dick, Shane McAnally – “Out of Oklahoma” (from ‘TWISTERS‘) (Universal Pictures)
Robbie Williams, Freddy Wexler, Sacha Skarbek – “Forbidden Road” (from ‘BETTER MAN’) (Paramount Pictures)
Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross & Luca Guadagnino – “Compress/Repress” (from ‘CHALLENGERS‘) (Amazon MGM Studios)

Here Are The 2024 Nominations for the Black Reel Awards

Posted on December 25, 2024 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The 2024 nominations for the Black Reel Awards were announced on December 19th. The winners will be announced on February 10th.

OUTSTANDING FILM
“Challengers” | Luca Guadagnino, Rachel O’Connor, Amy Pascal & Zendaya, producers
“Exhibiting Forgiveness” | Stephanie Allain, Derek Cianfrance, Sean Cotton, Titus Kaphar & Jamie Patricof, producers
“Nickel Boys” | Joslyn Barnes, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner & David Levin, producers
“The Piano Lesson” | Todd Black & Denzel Washington, producers
“Sing Sing” | Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar & Monique Walton, producers

OUTSTANDING DOCUMENTARY (awarded to the director)
“Dahomey” | Mati Diop, director
“Daughters” | Angela Patton & Natalie Rae, directors
“Luther: Never Too Much” | Dawn Porter, director
“Piece by Piece” | Morgan Neville, director
“Seeking Mavis Beacon” | Jazmin Renée Jones, director

OUTSTANDING ENSEMBLE (awarded to the casting director)
“Exhibiting Forgiveness” | Kim Coleman, casting director
“Hard Truths” | Nina Gold, casting director
“Nickel Boys” | Victoria Thomas, casting director
“The Piano Lesson” | Lindsay Graham & Mary Vernieu, casting directors
“Sing Sing” | Greg Kwedar, casting director

OUTSTANDING INDEPENDENT FILM (awarded to the director)
“Albany Road” | Christine Swanson, director
“Blink Twice” | Zoë Kravitz, director
“Hard Truths” | Mike Leigh, director
“I Saw the TV Glow” | Jane Schoenbrun, director
“We Grown Now” | Minhal Baig, director

OUTSTANDING SHORT FILM (awarded to the director)
“Chocolate With Sprinkles” | Huriyyah Muhammad, director
“Mosiah” | Jirard, director
“On a Sunday at Eleven” | Alicia K. Harris, director
“Self” | Searit Kahsay Huluf, director
“Will I See You Again?” | Michael Perez-Lindsey, director

OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SONG (awarded to the performers & writers)
“Bricks” from “Exhibiting Forgiveness” | Andra Day, performer; Andra Day & Jherek Bischoff, writers
“El Mal” from “Emilia Pérez” | Zoe Saldaña, Karla Sofía Gascón & Camille, performers; Clément Ducol, Camille & Jacques Audiard, writers
“The Journey” from “The Six Triple Eight” | H.E.R., performer; Dianne Warren, writer
“Like a Bird” from “Sing Sing” | Adrian Quesada & Abraham Alexander, performers; Adrian Quesada, Abraham Alexander & Brandon Marcel, writers
“Piece by Piece” from “Piece by Piece” | Pharrell Williams and Princess Anne High School Fabulous Marching Cavaliers, performers; Pharrell Williams, writer

OUTSTANDING SOUNDTRACK
“Bob Marley: One Love” – Tuff Gong / Island
“Mufasa: The Lion King” – Walt Disney Records
“Piece by Piece” – Columbia / I AM Other
“Wicked” – Republic / Verve
“The Wild Robot” – Black Lot Music

OUTSTANDING FIRST SCREENPLAY (awarded for the debut screenplay by a first-time writer)
“Blink Twice” | Zoë Kravitz
“Exhibiting Forgiveness” | Titus Kaphar
“Nickel Boys” | RaMell Moss
“Parallel” | Aldis & Edwin Hodge
“The Piano Lesson” | Malcolm Washington

OUTSTANDING CINEMATOGRAPHY
“Ernest Cole: Lost and Found” | Wolfgang Held & Moses Tau, cinematographers
“Luther: Never Too Much” | Bryan Gentry, cinematographer
“Nickel Boys” | Jomo Fray, cinematographer
“Rez Ball” | Kira Kelly, cinematographer
“Suncoast” | Bruce Francis Cole, cinematographer

OUTSTANDING COSTUME DESIGN
“The Book of Clarence” | Antoinette Messam, costume designer
“The Piano Lesson” | Francine Jamison-Tanchuck, costume designer
“Shirley” | Megan Coates, costume designer
“We Grown Now” | Courtney Wheeler, costume designer
“Wicked” | Paul Tazewell, costume designer

OUTSTANDING EDITING
“Daughters” | Adelina Bichis & Troy Lewis, editors
“Hard Truths” | Tania Reddin, editor
“Seeking Mavis Beacon” | Yeelen Nelson Cohen, Jon Fine & Jazmin Renée Jones, editors
“Twisters” | Terilyn A. Shropshire, editor
“We Grown Now” | Stephanie Filo, editor

OUTSTANDING HAIRSTYLING & MAKEUP
“Bob Marley: One Love” | Nadia Stacy & Carla Farmer
“The Book of Clarence” | Allison Lacour, Wayne Jolla Jr. & Yolanda Mercadel
“Nickel Boys” | Iganica Soto-Aguilar & Shandrea Williams
“The Piano Lesson” | Andrea ‘Mona’ Bowman & Para Shardé Malden
“Shirley” | Nakoya Yancey & Debi Young

OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION DESIGN
“Nickel Boys” | Nora Mendis (production designer), Elizabeth Herberg (art director) & Monique Champagne (set decorator)
“Nine” | Gilbert Ekow Ampah (production designer) & Edmund Johnson (set decorator)
“The Piano Lesson” | David J. Bomba (production designer), Chardae Adams (art director) & Patrick Cassidy (set decorator)

The Black Film Critics Circle Honors Sing Sing

Posted on December 25, 2024 by Lisa Marie Bowman

On December 19th, the Black Film Critics Circle named Sing Sing the best film of 2024!

Best Film: Sing Sing
Best Director: RaMell Ross – Nickel Boys
Best Actor: Colman Domingo – Sing Sing
Best Actress: Cynthia Erivo – Wicked
Best Supporting Actor: Clarence Maclin – Sing Sing
Best Supporting Actress: Danielle Deadwyler – The Piano Lesson
Original Screenplay: The Brutalist
Adapted Screenplay: Nickel Boys
Cinematography: Nickel Boys
Documentary: Daughters
Animated Film: The Wild Robot
Foreign Film: All We Imagine As Light
Ensemble: Sing Sing
Pioneer Award: Denzel Washington
Rising Star/Best Newcomer: Malcolm Washington
Special Mention: Space Race

Here are the BFCC’s Top 10 films of the year:
1. Sing Sing
2. Wicked
3. Conclave
4. The Brutalist
5. Nickel Boys
6. The Wild Robot
7. Dune: Part Two
8. The Substance
9. Exhibiting Forgiveness
10. Flow

Here Are The 2024 Annie Nominations!

Posted on December 25, 2024 by Lisa Marie Bowman

On the 20th, the nominations for the Annie Awards were announced. The Annies honor the best in animation. There’s a lot of nominees so I’m just going to share the main film-related ones below. In case you’re putting down bets on what will be nominated for Best Animated Film, the nominations below might provide some hints!

(A complete list of nominees can be found here.)

The winners will be announced on February 8th.

BEST FEATURE
Inside Out 2 – Pixar Animation Studios
Kung Fu Panda 4 – DreamWorks Animation
That Christmas – Locksmith Animation for Netflix
The Wild Robot – DreamWorks Animation
Ultraman: Rising – Netflix Presents in association with Tsuburaya Productions
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl – Aardman and Netflix

BEST FEATURE-INDEPENDENT
Chicken for Linda! – Dolce Vita Films, Miyu Productions, Palosanto Films, France 3 Cinéma, Distributed by GKIDS
Flow – Sacrebleu Productions, Take Five, Dream Well Studio
Kensuke’s Kingdom – Paramount Pictures
Look Back – Studio Durian Distributed by GKIDS
Mars Express – Everybody on Deck, Je Suis Bien Content Distributed by GKIDS
Memoir of a Snail – Snails Pace Films / Arenamedia

BEST SPECIAL PRODUCTION
A Bear Named Wojtek – The Illuminated Film Company and Filmograf
Mog’s Christmas – Lupus Films
Orion and the Dark – DreamWorks Animation
Tabby McTat – Magic Light Pictures
Yuck! – Ikki Films & Iliade et Films

BEST SHORT SUBJECT
Beautiful Men – Animal Tank, Miyu Productions & Ka-Ching Cartoons
In the Shadow of the Cypress – Barfak Animation Studio
Ruthless Blade – Ideomotor Culture Media Co., Ltd.
The Swineherd – Fleng Entertainment and Tumblehead Productions
Wander to Wonder – Circe Films, Kaap Holland Film, Les Productions de Milou, Beast Animation, Blink Industries & Pictanovo

BEST DIRECTION – FEATURE
Chicken for Linda! – Dolce Vita Films, Miyu Productions, Palosanto Films, France 3 Cinéma / Distributed by GKIDS, Chiara Malta, Sébastien Laudenbach
Flow – Take Five, Sacrebleu Productions, Dream Well Studio, Gints Zilbalodis
That Christmas – Locksmith Animation for Netflix, Simon Otto
The Wild Robot – DreamWorks Animation, Chris Sanders
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl – Aardman and Netflix, Nick Park, Merlin Crossingham

BEST WRITING – FEATURE
Flow – Take Five, Sacrebleu Productions, Dream Well Studio, Gints Zilbalodis, Matīss Kaža
Inside Out 2 – Pixar Animation Studios, Meg LeFauve, Dave Holstein
Kensuke’s Kingdom – Paramount Pictures, Frank Cottrell-Boyce
Memoir of a Snail – Snails Pace Films / Arenamedia, Adam Elliot

BEST VOICE ACTING – FEATURE
Chicken for Linda! – Dolce Vita Films, Miyu Productions, Palosanto Films, France 3 Cinéma / Distributed by GKIDS, Mélinée Leclerc (Character: Linda)
Inside Out 2 – Pixar Animation Studios, Maya Hawke (Character: Anxiety)
The Wild Robot – DreamWorks Animation, Lupita Nyong’o (Character: Roz)
The Wild Robot – DreamWorks Animation, Kit Connor (Character: Brightbill)
Transformers One – Paramount Animation, Brian Tyree Henry (Character: D-16 / Megatron)