Scenes That I Love: The Nowhere To Run Montage From The Warriors


Today is Walter Hill’s birthday so what better day to share one of the greatest musical montages ever? In the Nowhere To Run montage from The Warriors, a radio DJ lets every gang in New York City know that they are all now hunting for the same group of people.  What I love about this montage is how the gangs grow increasingly flamboyant as the montage continues.  We go from seeing relatively normal-looking gang members to a bunch of people dressed up like a phantom baseball players.  It’s quite a progression!

From Walter Hill’s 1979 film, The Warriors, here is a scene that I love!

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Walter Hill Edition


4 Or More Shots From 4 Or More Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films lets the visuals do the talking!

Today, we here at the Shattered Lens wish a happy 82nd birthday to the great director Walter Hill.

Walter Hill is one of those legendary figures who has a devoted cult of fans but it still seems like he’s never quite gotten all of the opportunities and the acclaim that he deserved.  Perhaps because so many of his films are considered to be genre pieces, they were often not appreciated until a few years after they were first released.  But for film lovers and film students, Walter Hill is one of the most important directors of the past 50 years.

Today, we celebrate with….

4 Shots From 4 Walter Hill Films

The Driver (1978, dir by Walter Hill, DP: Philip H. Lathrop)

The Warriors (1979, dir by Walter Hill, DP: Andrew Laszlo)

Streets of Fire (1984, dir by Walter Hill, DP: Andrew Laszlo)

Last Man Standing (1996, dir by Walter Hill, DP: Lloyd Ahern II)

Here Are The DGA Nominations


The Directors Guild of America announced its nominations today.  The DGA is an even bigger precursor than the SAG and I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Oscar line-up mirror this DGA’s line-up.

Here are the nominees!

NARRATIVE FEATURE FILM
Greta Gerwig – Barbie
Christopher Nolan – Oppenheimer
Yorgos Lanthimos – Poor Things
Alexander Payne – The Holdovers
Martin Scorsese – Killers of the Flower Moon

FIRST TIME NARRATIVE FEATURE FILM

Cord Jefferson – American Fiction
Manuela Martelli – Chile ’76
Noora Niasari – Shayda
A.V. Rockwell – A Thousand And One
Celine Song – Past Lives

Here Are The 2023 SAG Nominations!


The nominations for the 2023 SAG Awards were announced earlier today and there were a few interesting results to be found.  The SAG Awards tend to be a pretty strong sign of what’s in the Oscar conversation, if just because the Actor’s Branch is the biggest voting bloc in the Academy so being snubbed (or unexpectedly mentioned) here can actually mean something.

Is that bad news for Charles Melton?  Melton has been dominating the critics awards for his performance in May/December but he was not nominated for a SAG Award.  In fact, no one from May/December was nominated, indicating that the film may not be the Oscar favorite that some assumed.

The Color Purple has not really figured that much into the critics awards but SAG obviously liked it.  For some reason, I was expecting The Holdovers to get an ensemble nomination.  It didn’t but Paul Giamatti and Da’Vine Joy Randolph still received individual nominations.

(In retrospect, I’m not sure why I was so convinced The Holdovers — which does not have the type of huge cast that is usually honored with the ensemble award — would get an ensemble nomination but oh well.  It happens!)

Willem DaFoe — and not Mark Ruffalo — was nominated for Poor Things.

It’s rare that any precursor ever lines up 100% with the actual Oscar nominations.  But SAG is one of the strongest precursors around so today (especially with the DGA film nominations coming out later) is good day to adjust your predictions.

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A CAST IN A MOTION PICTURE
American Fiction
Barbie
The Color Purple
Killers of the Flower Moon
Oppenheimer

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Annette Bening – Nyad
Lily Gladstone – Killers of the Flower Moon
Carey Mulligan – Maestro
Margot Robbie – Barbie
Emma Stone – Poor Things

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Bradley Cooper – Maestro
Colman Domingo – Rustin
Paul Giamatti – The Holdovers
Cillian Murphy – Oppenheimer
Jeffrey Wright – American Fiction

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Emily Blunt – Oppenheimer
Danielle Brooks – The Color Purple
Penelope Cruz – Ferrari
Jodie Foster – Nyad
Da’Vine Joy Randolph – The Holdovers

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Sterling K. Brown – American Fiction
Willem Dafoe – Poor Things
Robert De Niro – Killers of the Flower Moon
Robert Downey Jr. – Oppenheimer
Ryan Gosling – Barbie

OUTSTANDING ACTION PERFORMANCE BY A STUNT ENSEMBLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
Barbie
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
John Wick: Chapter 4
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A TELEVISION MOVIE OR LIMITED SERIES
Matt Bomer – Fellow Travelers
Jon Hamm – Fargo
David Oyelowo – Lawmen: Bass Reeves
Tony Shalhoub – Mr. Monk’s Last Case: A Monk Movie
Steven Yeun – Beef

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A TELEVISION MOVIE OR LIMITED SERIES
Uzo Aduba – Painkiller
Kathryn Hahn – Tiny Beautiful Things
Brie Larson – Lessons in Chemistry
Bell Powley – A Small Light
Ali Wong – Beef

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY AN ENSEMBLE IN A COMEDY SERIES
Abbott Elementary
Barry
The Bear
Only Murders in the Building
Ted Lasso

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Brett Goldstein – Ted Lasso
Bill Hader – Barry
Ebon Moss-Bachrach – The Bear
Jason Sudeikis – Ted Lasso
Jeremy Allen White – The Bear

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Alex Borstein – The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Rachel Brosnahan – The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Quinta Brunson – Abbott Elementary
Ayo Edebiri – The Bear
Hannah Waddingham – Ted Lasso

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY AN ENSEMBLE IN A DRAMA SERIES
The Crown
The Gilded Age
The Last of Us
The Morning Show
Succession

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Brian Cox – Succession
Billy Crudup – The Morning Show
Kieran Culkin – Succession
Matthew Macfadyen – Succession
Pedro Pascal – The Last of Us

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Jennifer Aniston – The Morning Show
Elizabeth Debicki – The Crown
Bella Ramsey – The Last of Us
Keri Russell – The Diplomat
Sarah Snook – Succession

OUTSTANDING ACTION PERFORMANCE BY A STUNT ENSEMBLE IN A DRAMA OR COMEDY SERIES
Ahsoka
Barry
Beef
The Last of Us
The Mandalorian

Film Review: Aftermath (dir by Jozsef Gallai and Gergö Elekes)


A woman named Kate (Fruzsina Nagy) drives down a road.  We don’t know where she is driving to but we can tell that she’s driving quickly and she’s not in the mood for any delays.  It’s the way that someone drives when they’re trying to escape but they’re not sure where they want to go.  It’s way you drive when you just want to convince yourself that you can somehow leave everything behind.

We hear what sounds like an accident and suddenly, Kate is waking up in a forest.  Her car is nowhere to be seen and Kate has no idea how she came to be in the forest.  In fact, she’s not even sure who she was before she woke up.  She has no memories of her past life, beyond fleeting visions that don’t always seem to fit together.  Eventually, she meets another apparent amnesiac, Bubba (Edward Apeagyei).  Bubba wears a locket around his neck and there’s a picture of a woman in the locket but he doesn’t seem to be quite sure who she was.

Bubba and Kate are not alone in the forest.  There are other wanderers and then there’s a group of men who appear to be soldiers, wearing crude uniforms and gas masks and carrying machine guns.  (The sight of the soldiers, with their crude uniforms, bring to mind the horrific militias that often spring up in the aftermath of a war and attempt to seize power out of the chaos.)  Receiving cryptic orders from their leader (Eric Roberts), the soldiers patrol the forest and execute anyone that they come across.  Their leader repeatedly tells them that they have to track down and execute everyone because the future of the world depends upon it.  Failure is not an option.

Aftermath deals with a very real fear.  The idea of suddenly waking up and discovering that you have not only lost your identity but also control over your own fate is at the heart of many horror stories and it’s also a reflection of the way many people feel about living in today’s world.  One wrong word, thought, or move and you can find yourself exiled into both a real and metaphorical wilderness.  When Kate wakes up with little memory of what the world was like before she ended up in that forest, she’s feeling what a lot of people have felt when they try to remember the world and their lives before the lockdowns of 2020 and all of the political and societal events that followed.  We live in a world that seems to change from day to day and, as result, everyone has had that moment when, like Kate, they’ve struggled to understand what’s happening.  From the minute that Kate wakes up with the feeling that she has no control over what’s happening to her, she becomes an instantly relatable character.  The audience not only wants to know what’s happening to her but they also want her to regain control of her fate.  If Kate can regain control, then those watching in the audience can also regain control.

The film’s cinematography emphasizes both the grandeur and the ominous atmosphere of the forest, making it a place that manages to be beautiful and threatening at the same time and the deliberate pace builds up suspense as Kate tries to discover why she is in the forest.  Fruzsina Nagy and Edward Apeagyei both give sympathetic and relatable performances as Kate and Bubba and the audience does care what happens to them.  Aftermath is both an intriguing thriller and a meditation on life and love.

Aftermath will be released on digital and blu-ray by Bayview Entertainment on January 30th.

 

 

Scenes That I Love: Sabata and Banjo’s Duel From Sabata


Today would have been Lee Van Cleef’s 99th birthday.

Last year, I reviewed one of Van Cleef’s final projects, a television series called The Master.  On the show, Van Cleef played John Peter McAllister, an American ninja.  However, Van Cleef was best known for appearing in several Italian spaghetti westerns, where his icy stare and ruthless intelligence were put to good use.

Today’s scene that I love features Van Cleef as the title character in 1969’s Sabata.  In this scene, he faces off in a duel with William Berger’s Banjo.  Even when he’s playing the good guy, like in this film, Lee Van Cleef leaves no doubt that he’s not someone you want to mess with.

Catching Up With The Films of 2023: Golda (dir by Guy Nattiv)


In Golda, Helen Mirren stars as Golda Meir, the 4th Prime Minister of Israel and the first woman to lead a government in the Middle East.

The film opens in 1974, with a visibly unwell Golda Meir braving a line of protestors as she testified before a commission that is investigating the events that led to the 19-day Yom Kippur War.  Sitting before the members of the commission, Meir lights a cigarette and, as the smoke forms around her, she speaks with a confidence that belies her physical frailness.  It’s the first of many cigarettes that we will see Golda Meir smoke throughout this film.  While Golda Meir was known for being a chain-smoker in real life, her smoking also plays an important thematic role in the film.  Golda Meir is terminally ill throughout the film, secretly undergoing chemotherapy and continually being told that her high-stress job, her cigarettes, and her coffee are not helping her health.  Golda, however, knows what she has to do to keep herself focuses and to handle the stress of being the leader of a small country that is surrounded by enemies and for her, that means drinking a lot of coffee and smoking a lot of cigarettes.  Much like Israel, she is not going to be told what to do by people who do not understand what she has to deal with on a daily basis.  Throughout the film, Golda willingly sacrifices her physical health for Israel, telling her more trusted aide (Camille Cattin) that the only thing that worries her is developing dementia in her old age.  A leader who cannot think cannot lead.

The majority of the film takes place in 1973, during the 19-day Yom Kippur War.  Israel is caught off-guard by a surprise attack led by Egypt and Syria.  Vastly outnumbered, the IDF struggles to repel the invaders.  While dealing with not only her own bad health but also the personal and ideological conflicts within her government, Meir also reaches out to the U.S. Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger (Liev Schreiber) for help.   Unfortunately, Washington D.C. is more concerned with Watergate than with the latest war in the Middle East and, as Meir quickly deduces, there is also worry that Saudi Arabia will cut off its supply of oil to any country that supports Israel.  Though Meir uses a combination of charm and shrewd political gamesmanship to convince Kissinger to put pressure on the Nixon administration, Meir still finds herself being pressured to accept an internationally-brokered ceasefire rather than pursue a strategy of forcing Egypt into negotiations….

Does this sound familiar?  A vicious surprise attack is launched on Israel during a holy day.  The Israeli Prime Minister, who is loved by some and vilified by others, is accused of not being sufficiently prepared for the attack.  Israel is initially isolated from the world, just to be pressured to accept a ceasefire as soon as it starts to prove its resiliency and humiliate its enemies.  Golda completed production before the October 7th attacks but the film feels like a direct response to them, a reminder that Israel has always had to fight for its existence and that it has always proven itself to be stronger than its enemies realize.

Much like Darkest Hour, another film about a leader who was underestimated, Golda plays out like a dream of history, with the emphasis being on Golda Meir moving from one meeting to another, somehow managing to hold everything together while the world sometimes seem to be falling apart around her.  A good deal of the film’s tension comes from the moments when Golda and her advisors wait to hear whether or not their latest move has been a success.  One of the film’s most harrowing scenes features Golda listening over a radio as a group of Israeli volunteers are wiped out by the invading Egyptians.  It’s a scene that reiterates the human cost of war, regardless of which side wins.  (The film makes good use of historical footage of the war, mixing it with scenes of Golda and her cabinet planning their strategy.  Again, it serves to remind the audience that there are real consequences to every decision.)  Held together by Mirren’s intelligent and authoritative performance, Golda is a film full of details that stick with you.  I’ll always remember the scenes of Golda being led through an underground morgue so that she can secretly be treated for the cancer that is slowly killing her.  With each trip, the morgue become more and more filled with bodies.

Though Mirren’s performance was acclaimed, Golda itself opened to mixed reviews.  I suppose in today’s political atmosphere, that’s to be expected.  After all, Golda is not only a pro-Israel film but it’s also a film that portrays Henry Kissinger as being something other than a one-dimensional Bond villain.  For many of today’s very online film reviewers, all of that is heresy.  At a time when some so-called educated people are driven to a rage at just the sight of posters of abducted Israeli children, Golda‘s reception is not a surprise.  At a time when people are making excuses for terrorists who would attack farmers and concert-goers, a films as otherwise different as You Are So Not Invited To My Bat Mitzvah and Golda can feel like acts of beautiful cultural defiance.

History repeats itself, Golda tells us.  Golda may largely take place in 1973 but, ultimately, it’s a film about 2023 and 2024.

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Ulu Grosbard Edition


4 Or More Shots From 4 Or More Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films lets the visuals do the talking!

Today, on what would have been his 95 birthday, we pay tribute to director Ulu Grobsard with….

4 Shots From 4 Ulu Grosbard Films

The Subject Was Roses (1968, dir by Ulu Grosbard, DP: Jack Priestley)

Straight Time (1978, dir by Ulu Grosbard, DP: Owen Roizman)

True Confessions (1981, dir by Ulu Grosbard, DP: Owen Roizman)

Georgia (1995, dir by Ulu Grosbard, DP: Jan Kiesser)

The Seattle Film Critics Society Honors Past Lives!


The Seattle Film Critics Society has announced its picks for the best of 2023!

Best Picture
American Fiction – Cord Jefferson
Barbie – Greta Gerwig
The Holdovers – Alexander Payne
Killers of the Flower Moon – Martin Scorsese
May December – Todd Haynes
Oppenheimer – Christopher Nolan
Past Lives – Celine Song
Poor Things – Yorgos Lanthimos
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse – Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, Justin K. Thompson
The Zone of Interest – Jonathan Glazer

Director
Greta Gerwig – Barbie
Yorgos Lanthimos – Poor Things
Christopher Nolan – Oppenheimer
Martin Scorsese – Killers of the Flower Moon
Celine Song – Past Lives

Lead Actor
Paul Giamatti – The Holdovers
Cillian Murphy – Oppenheimer
Andrew Scott – All of Us Strangers
Jeffrey Wright – American Fiction
Kôji Yakusho – Perfect Days

Lead Actress
Lily Gladstone – Killers of the Flower Moon
Sandra Hüller – Anatomy of a Fall
Greta Lee – Past Lives
Margot Robbie – Barbie
Emma Stone – Poor Things

Supporting Actor
Sterling K. Brown – American Fiction
Robert De Niro – Killers of the Flower Moon
Ryan Gosling – Barbie
Charles Melton – May December
Mark Ruffalo – Poor Things

Supporting Actress
Danielle Brooks – The Color Purple
Penélope Cruz – Ferrari
Sandra Hüller – The Zone of Interest
Rachel McAdams – Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.
Da’Vine Joy Randolph – The Holdovers

Ensemble Cast
Asteroid City – Douglas Aibel
Barbie – Lucy Bevan, Allison Jones, Oscar Koç
The Holdovers – Susan Shopmaker
Killers of the Flower Moon – Ellen Lewis, Rene Haynes, Kate Sprance, Elise Buedel
Oppenheimer – John Papsidera

Screenplay
American Fiction – Cord Jefferson
The Holdovers – David Hemingson
May December – Samy Burch
Past Lives – Celine Song
Poor Things – Tony McNamara

Documentary Film
20 Days in Mariupol – Mstyslav Chernov
Beyond Utopia – Madeleine Gavin
Even Hell Has Its Heroes – Clyde Petersen
Menus-Plaisirs — Les Troisgros – Frederick Wiseman
Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie – Davis Guggenheim

International Film
Anatomy of a Fall – Justine Triet
The Boy and the Heron – Hayao Miyazaki
Godzilla Minus One – Takashi Yamazaki
Monster – Hirokazu Kore-eda
The Zone of Interest – Jonathan Glazer

Animated Film
The Boy and the Heron – Hayao Miyazaki
Nimona – Nick Bruno & Troy Quane
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse – Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, Justin K. Thompson
Suzume – Makoto Shinkai
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem – Jeff Rowe

Cinematography
The Creator – Greig Fraser, Oren Soffer
Killers of the Flower Moon – Rodrigo Pietro
Oppenheimer – Hoyte van Hoytema
Poor Things – Robbie Ryan
The Zone of Interest – Łukasz Żal

Costume Design
Barbie – Jacqueline Durran
Killers of the Flower Moon – Jacqueline West
Napoleon – Janty Yates, David Crossman
Poor Things – Holly Waddington
Priscilla – Stacey Battat

Editing
Killers of the Flower Moon – Thelma Schoonmaker
Oppenheimer – Jennifer Lame
Past Lives – Keith Fraase
Poor Things – Yorgos Mavropsaridis
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse – Michael Andrews

Original Score
Killers of the Flower Moon – Robbie Robertson
Oppenheimer – Ludwig Göransson
Poor Things – Jerskin Fendrix
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse – Daniel Pemberton
The Zone of Interest – Mica Levi

Production Design
Barbie – Sarah Greenwood (production designer), Katie Spencer (set decorator)
Killers of the Flower Moon – Jack Fisk
Oppenheimer – Ruth De Jong (production designer), Claire Kaufman (set decorator)
Poor Things – Shona Heath, James Price (production designers), James Price (set decorator)
Wonka – Nathan Crowley (production designer), Lee Sandales (set decorator)

Visual Effects
The Creator – Jay Cooper, Ian Comley, Andrew Roberts, Neil Corbould
Godzilla Minus One – Takashi Yamazaki, Kiyoko Shibuya
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 – Stephane Ceretti, Alexis Wajsbrot, Guy Williams, Theo Bialek
Oppenheimer – Andrew Jackson, Giacomo Mineo, Scott Fisher, Dave Drzewiecki
Poor Things – Simon Hughes

Action Choreography
Godzilla Minus One – Takashi Yamazaki
The Iron Claw – Hiro Koda
John Wick: Chapter 4 – Stephen Dunlevy, Laurent Demianoff, Ralf Haeger, James M. Halty, Scott Rogers
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One – Wade Eastwood (stunt coordinator), Rudolf Vrba (fight coordinator)
Sisu – Oula Kitti (fight coordinator)

Youth Performance
Amie Donald – M3GAN
Abby Ryder Fortson – Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.
Ariana Greenblatt – Barbie
Sōya Kurokawa – Monster
Milo Machado Graner – Anatomy of a Fall

Villain of the Year
Gabi Bauer – Infinity Pool (as portrayed by Mia Goth)
Godzilla – Godzilla Minus One
The Patriarchy (as represented by the Kens) – Barbie
M3GAN – M3GAN (as portrayed by Jenna Davis and Amie Donald)
William “King” Hale – Killers of the Flower Moon (as portrayed by Robert De Niro)

Pacific Northwest Film
Dreamin’ Wild – Bill Pohlad
Even Hell Has Its Heroes – Clyde Petersen
Fantasy A Gets A Mattress – David Norman Lewis, Noah Zoltan Sofian
Richland – Irene Lusztig
Showing Up – Kelly Reichardt

Here Are The 2023 Nominations Of The Chicago Indie Critics!


The Chicago Indie Critics have announced their nominations for the best of 2023 and here they are!

The winners will be announced on January 20th!

BEST INDEPENDENT FILM
All of Us Strangers – Producers: Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin, and Sarah Harvey
Anatomy of a Fall – Producers: Marie-Ange Luciani and David Thion
The Iron Claw – Producers: Sean Durkin, Tessa Ross, Angus Lamont, Derrin Schlesinger, and Juliette Howell
Past Lives – Producers: Christine Vachon, Pamela Koffler, and David Hinojosa
The Zone of Interest – Producers: James Wilson and Ewa Puszczyńska

BEST STUDIO FILM
Barbie – Producers: David Heyman, Margot Robbie, Tom Ackerley, and Robbie Brenner
The Holdovers – Producers: Mark Johnson, Bill Block, and David Hemingson
Oppenheimer – Producers: Christopher Nolan, Charles Roven, and Emma Thomas
Poor Things – Producers: Yorgos Lanthimos, Emma Stone, Andrew Lowe, and Ed Guiney
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse – Producers: Phil Lord, Chris Miller, Avi Arad, Amy Pascal, and Christina Steinberg

BEST FOREIGN FILM
Anatomy of a Fall – Producers: Marie-Ange Luciani and David Thion
The Boy and the Heron – Producer: Toshio Suzuki
Godzilla Minus One – Producers: Kenji Yamada, Kazuaki Kishida, Minami Ichikawa, and Keiichiro Moriya
When Evil Lurks – Producers: Roxanna Ramos and Fernando Diaz
The Zone of Interest – Producers: James Wilson and Ewa Puszczyńska

BEST DOCUMENTARY
American Symphony – Producers: Matthew Heineman, Lauren Domino, and Joedan Okun
The Disappearance of Shere Hite – Producers: R.J. Cutler, Kimberly Ferdinando, Nicole Newnham, Molly O’Brien, Elise Pearlstein, and Trevor Smith
Silver Dollar Road – Producers: Raoul Peck, Blair Foster, Rémi Grellety, and Hebert Peck
Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie – Producers: Davis Guggenheim, Annetta Marion, Jonathan King, and Will Cohen
20 Days in Mariupol – Producers: Raney Aronson-Rath, Mstyslav Chernov, Derl McCrudden, and Michelle Mizner

BEST ANIMATED FILM
The Boy and the Heron – Producer: Toshio Suzuki
Elemental – Producer: Denise Ream
Nimona – Producers: Karen Ryan, Julie Zackary, and Roy Lee
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse – Producers: Phil Lord, Chris Miller, Avi Arad, Amy Pascal, and Christina Steinberg
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem – Producers: Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, and James Weaver

BEST DIRECTOR
Greta Gerwig – Barbie
Alexander Payne – The Holdovers
Bradley Cooper – Maestro
Christopher Nolan – Oppenheimer
Celine Song – Past Lives

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Anatomy of a Fall – Justine Triet and Arthur Harari
Barbie – Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach
The Holdovers – David Hemingson
The Iron Claw – Sean Durkin
Past Lives – Celine Song

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
American Fiction – Cord Jefferson
Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. – Kelly Fremon Craig
Killers of the Flower Moon – Eric Roth and Martin Scorsese
Oppenheimer – Christopher Nolan
Poor Things – Tony McNamara

BEST ACTOR
Jeffrey Wright – American Fiction
Paul Giamatti – The Holdovers
Bradley Cooper – Maestro
Cillian Murphy – Oppenheimer
Teo Yoo – Past Lives

BEST ACTRESS
Sandra Hüller – Anatomy of a Fall
Lily Gladstone – Killers of the Flower Moon
Carey Mulligan – Maestro
Greta Lee – Past Lives
Emma Stone – Poor Things

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Ryan Gosling – Barbie
Glenn Howerton – BlackBerry
Dominic Sessa – The Holdovers
Charles Melton – May December
Robert Downey Jr. – Oppenheimer

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Rachel McAdams – Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.
America Ferrera – Barbie
Da’Vine Joy Randolph – The Holdovers
Julianne Moore – May December
Emily Blunt – Oppenheimer

BEST ENSEMBLE
American Fiction – Casting director: Jennifer Euston
Asteroid City – Casting director: Douglas Aibel
The Holdovers – Casting director: Susan Shopmaker
Oppenheimer – Casting director: John Papsidera
Poor Things – Casting director: Dixie Chassey

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Barbie – Rodrigo Prieto
Killers of the Flower Moon – Rodrigo Prieto
Oppenheimer – Hoyte van Hoytema
Poor Things – Robbie Ryan
The Zone of Interest – Łukasz Żal

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Barbie – Susan Greenwood and Katie Spencer
The Color Purple – Paul Denham Austerberry and Larry Dias
Killers of the Flower Moon – Jack Fisk
Oppenheimer – Ruth De Jong
Poor Things – Shona Heath and James Price

BEST COSTUMES
Barbie – Jacqueline Durran
The Color Purple – Francine Jamison-Tanchuck
Killers of the Flower Moon – Jacqueline West
Poor Things – Holly Waddington
Priscilla – Stacey Battat
Wonka – Lindy Hemming

BEST MAKEUP
Barbie – Ivana Primorac
The Iron Claw – Natalie Shea Rose and Elle Favorule
Maestro – Kazu Hiro, Sian Grigg, Kay Georgiou, Lori McCoy-Bell
Poor Things – Nadia Stacey, Mark Couler, and Josh Weston
Priscilla – Jo-Ann MacNeil and Cliona Furey

BEST EDITING
The Holdovers – Kevin Tent
The Iron Claw – Matthew Hannam
Oppenheimer – Jennifer Lame
Poor Things – Yorgos Mavropsaridis
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse – Michael Andrews

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Barbie – Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt
The Boy and the Heron – Joe Hisaishi
Killers of the Flower Moon – Robbie Robertson
Oppenheimer – Ludwig Göransson
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse – Daniel Pemberton

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
“I’m Just Ken” – Barbie – Written by Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt
“What Was I Made For?” – Barbie – Written by Billie Eilish O’Connell and Finneas O’Connell
“Keep It Movin’” – The Color Purple – Written by Halle Bailey, Denisia Andrews, Brittany Coney, and Morten Ristorp
“Peaches” – The Super Mario Bros. Movie – Written by Jack Black, Aaron Horvath, and Michael Jelenic
“A World of Your Own” – Wonka – Written by Neil Hannon, Simon Faraby, and Paul King

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
The Creator – Jay Cooper, Ian Comley, Andrew Roberts, and Neil Corbould
Godzilla Minus One – Kiyoko Shibuya and Takashi Yamazaki
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 – Stephane Ceretti, Alexis Wajsbrot, Guy Williams, and Dan Sudick
Oppenheimer – Andrew Jackson, Giacomo Mineo, Scott Fisher, and Dave Drzewiecki
Poor Things – Simon Hughes

BEST STUNTS
The Iron Claw – Hiro Koda and Chavo Guerrero Jr.
John Wick: Chapter 4 – Stephen Dunleavy, Scott Rogers, and Jeremy Marinas
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One – Wade Eastwood and Rudolf Vrba
Polite Society – Crispin Layfield and Rob Lock
Sisu – Oula Kitti

BREAKOUT ARTIST
Charles Melton
Dominic Sessa
Cailee Spaeny
Celine Song
Sophie Wilde

SIGHT UNSEEN AWARD
Helen Mirren – Barbie
Bradley Cooper – Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Oscar Isaac – Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Hailee Steinfeld – Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Jack Black – The Super Mario Bros. Movie

IMPACT AWARD
Local award given to individuals who have made a positive impact on Chicago cinema
Rebecca Fons – Gene Siskel Film Center
Dann Gire and Raymond Benson – “Dan and Raymond Movie Club”
Morgan Harris – Acacia Media Group
Katie Rife, Will Morris, and Ryan Oestreich – Music Box Theatre programming
Dennis Scott – Music Box Theatre organist