The Visual Effects Society Snubs Arrival, Those Bastards


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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

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


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

  • “20th 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

The Austin Film Critics Association Has Announced Their Nominations!


moonlightThe Austin Film Critics Association announced their nominees for the best of 2016 earlier today!  So, let’s see what my fellow Texans selected:

Best Film:

Best Director:

Best Actor:

  • Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea
  • Colin Farrell, The Lobster
  • Denzel Washington, Fences
  • Joel Edgerton, Loving
  • Ryan Gosling, La La Land

Best Actress:

  • Amy Adams, Arrival
  • Annette Bening, 20th Century Women
  • Isabelle Huppert, Elle
  • Natalie Portman, Jackie
  • Ruth Negga, Loving

Best Supporting Actor:

Best Supporting Actress:

  • Greta Gerwig, 20th Century Women
  • Michelle Williams, Manchester by the Sea
  • Min-hee Kim, The Handmaiden
  • Naomie Harris, Moonlight
  • Viola Davis, Fences

Best Original Screenplay:

Best Adapted Screenplay:

  • Eric Heisserer, Arrival
  • Luke Davies, Lion
  • Park Chan-wook, Jeong Seo-kyeong, The Handmaiden
  • Tom Ford, Nocturnal Animals
  • Whit Stillman, Love & Friendship

Best Cinematography:

Best Score:

Best Foreign-Language Film:

  • The Brand New Testament
  • Elle
  • The Handmaiden
  • Things to Come
  • Toni Erdmann

Best Documentary:

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

Best Animated Film:

Best First Film:

  • The Birth of a Nation
  • The Edge of Seventeen
  • Krisha
  • Swiss Army Man
  • The Witch

The Robert R. “Bobby” McCurdy Memorial Breakthrough Artist Award:

Best Austin Film:

  • Loving (dir. Jeff Nichols)
  • Midnight Special (dir. Jeff Nichols)
  • Slash (dir. Clay Liford)
  • Tower (dir. Keith Maitland)
  • Transpecos (dir. Greg Kwedar)

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Here Are the 91 Songs That Have Been Deemed Eligible For Best Original Song!


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Hi, Oscar watchers and predictors!

Well, the Academy has released the names of the 91 songs that have been deemed eligible for Best Original Song!

And here they are:

“Just Like Fire” from “Alice through the Looking Glass”
“Rise” from “American Wrestler: The Wizard”
“Friends” from “The Angry Birds Movie”
“Flicker” from “Audrie & Daisy”
“Seconds” from “Autumn Lights”
“A Minute To Breathe” from “Before the Flood”
“Glory (Let There Be Peace)” from “Believe”
“Mother’s Theme” from “Believe”
“Somewhere” from “Believe”
“The Only Way Out” from “Ben-Hur”
“Still Falling For You” from “Bridget Jones’s Baby”
“F That” from “The Bronze”
“Torch Pt. 2″ from “Citizen Soldier”
“Drift And Fall Again” from “Criminal”
“Take Me Down” from “Deepwater Horizon”
“Land Of All” from “Desierto”
“Sad But True (Dreamland Theme)” from “Dreamland”
“Angel By The Wings” from “The Eagle Huntress”
“Blind Pig” from “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them”
“One Frame At A Time” from “Floyd Norman: An Animated Life”
“I’m Crying” from “Free State of Jones”
“Gold” from “Gold”
“Champion” from “Hands of Stone”
“Dance Rascal, Dance” from “Hello, My Name Is Doris”
“I See A Victory” from “Hidden Figures”
“Runnin” from “Hidden Figures”
“Sixty Charisma Scented Blackbirds” from “How to Let Go of the World and Love All the Things Climate
Can’t Change”
“My Superstar” from “Ice Age: Collision Course”
“Seeing You Around” from “Ithaca”
“The Empty Chair” from “Jim: The James Foley Story”
“Audition (The Fools Who Dream)” from “La La Land”
“City Of Stars” from “La La Land”
“Start A Fire” from “La La Land
“Cateura Vamos A Soñar (We Will Dream)” from “Landfill Harmonic”
“Better Love” from “The Legend of Tarzan”
“Never Give Up” from “Lion”
“Equation” from “The Little Prince”
“Turnaround” from “The Little Prince”
“Moonshine” from “Live By Night”
“Loving” from “Loving”
“Hurry Home” from “Max Rose”
“Gone 2015″ from “Miles Ahead”
“Wish That You Were Here” from “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children”
“I’m Still Here” from “Miss Sharon Jones!”
“How Far I’ll Go” from “Moana
“We Know The Way” from “Moana
“Even More Mine” from “My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2″
“Waving Goodbye” from “The Neon Demon”
“I’m Back” from “Never Surrender”
“Find My Victory” from “Olympic Pride, American Prejudice”
“On Ghost Ridge” from “100 Years: One Woman’s Fight for Justice”
“Ordinary World” from “Ordinary World”
“Devil’s Girl” from “Outlaws and Angels”
“Levitate” from “Passengers”
“Ginga” from “Pelé: Birth of a Legend”
“Nobody Knows” from “Pete’s Dragon”
“Something Wild” from “Pete’s Dragon”
“Dancing With Your Shadow” from “Po”
“I’m So Humble” from “Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping”
“Stay Here” from “Presenting Princess Shaw”
“Celebrate Life” from “Queen Mimi”
“Back To Life” from “Queen of Katwe”
“Let The Games Begin” from “Race”
“Think About It” from “The Red Pill”
“The Rules Don’t Apply” from “Rules Don’t Apply”
“The Great Beyond” from “Sausage Party”
“Faith” from “Sing”
“Set It All Free” from “Sing”
“Drive It Like You Stole It” from “Sing Street”
“Go Now” from “Sing Street”
“The Veil” from “Snowden”
“Hymn” from “Snowtime!”
“Kiss Me Goodnight” from “Southwest of Salem: The Story of the San Antonio Four”
“Holdin’ Out” from “Storks”
“Heathens” from “Suicide Squad”
“Flying Home” from “Sully
“Montage” from “Swiss Army Man”
“Petit Metier” from “They Will Have to Kill Us First – Malian Music in Exile”
“Letter To The Free” from “13th”
“Down With Mary” from “Too Late”
“Can’t Stop The Feeling” from “Trolls”
“Get Back Up Again” from “Trolls”
“Smile” from “The Uncondemned”
“We Will Rise” from “Veeram-Macbeth”
“LA Venus” from “We Are X”
“New Dogs, Old Tricks” from “What Happened Last Night”
“Runnin’ Runnin’” from “What Happened Last Night”
“What’s Happening Today” from “What Happened Last Night”
“Who I Am” from “What Happened Last Night”
“The Ballad Of Wiener-Dog” from “Wiener-Dog”
“Try Everything” from “Zootopia”

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Here Are The 27 Films That Have Been Submitted For Best Animated Feature!


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Hi, everyone!

I know that a lot of you are busy being depressed right now but fear not!  Regardless of who won or who lost the last election, we still have Oscar season!

Oscar season is rapidly approaching and that means that it’s time to start trying to guess who and what will be nominated.  Yesterday, the Academy released the names of the 27 films that have been submitted for Best Animated Feature!

Here they are:

 

The Angry Birds Movie,

April and the Extraordinary World,

Bilal,

Finding Dory,

Ice Age: Collision Course,

Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV,

Kubo and the Two Strings,

Kung Fu Panda 3,

The Little Prince,

Long Way North,

Miss Hokusai,

Moana,

Monkey King: Hero Is Back,

Mune,

Mustafa and the Magician,

My Life As A Zucchini,

Phantom Boy,

The Red Turtle,

Sausage Party,

The Secret Life of Pets,

Sing,

Showtime!,

Storks,

Trolls,

25 April,

Your Name,

Zootopia

 

Myself, I’m hoping that Kubo and the Two String wins it all!

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