Posted on July 21, 2022 at 6:15 pm
It was a great pleasure to join my friend Roxana Hadadi on the Arch Campbell show to talk about “Nope,” James Caan, and what we like and don’t like in movies and television this week!
Posted on June 13, 2021 at 12:23 pm
It was such fun to talk about why the Tracy-Hepburn classic “Desk Set” is a classic Christmas movie on the “Christmas Actually” podcast with Collin Souter and Kerry Finegan.
Posted on March 7, 2021 at 5:50 pm
I admit I’m biased. But my favorite awards show is the Critics Choice, and not because I vote in it. It is because these are the awards selected by people whose job is to see as many movies as possible with an objective critics eye. Here’s what the organization has to say about tonight’s show on the CW, hosted by Taye Diggs.
We have always respected and admired the Golden Globes for hosting the Party of the Year, if not for the HFPA’s restrictive membership policies. Sadly, the COVID-19 pandemic prevented the HFPA from throwing that party this year and the resulting Golden Globes telecast on Sunday was ill-conceived and poorly received.
This Sunday it will be our turn. And I promise you, the 26th annual Critics Choice Awards show will be quite different than the Globes – just as our Critics Choice Association differs from the HFPA. We proudly show our membership roster on our website, with photos, clearly demonstrating our diversity. There are Black and Asian and Latinx names and faces – men and women, young and old – representing virtually every state and major city in the US and Canada and some small towns, too.
Our far flung membership results in a very diverse slate of nominees. Among the important movies and series that we nominated for Critics Choice Awards – and were largely overlooked by the HFPA – are “I May Destroy You,” “Da 5 Bloods,” “Judas and the Black Messiah,” “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” and “One Night in Miami.”
Like the Globes, we will have virtually all our nominated performers participating virtually in our show on Sunday night. Our lineup of Presenters is even better than the Globes, including Kevin Bacon, Angela Bassett, Mayim Bialik, Phoebe Dynevor, Morgan Freeman, Gal Gadot, Jim Gaffigan, Chris Hemsworth, Jameela Jamil, Eva Longoria, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Jared Padalecki, Kyra Sedgwick, Yara Shahidi, Courtney B. Vance, John David Washington, and Catherine Zeta-Jones. But once the Critics Choice winner is announced and all the nominees have reacted, we will focus full-screen on the live acceptance speech, without awkwardly returning to the other nominees. And we will offer generous clips showcasing our nominated performances, a treat for audiences who may be inspired to discover movies and series they want to catch up on, without any cringe-worthy pledges from our executives to correct embarrassing organizational flaws.
Hosted for the third year in a row by Taye Diggs and with our special See Her Award going to Zendaya, we hope and expect that our 26th annual Critics Choice Awards show will be our best ever. And as the world starts to return to normal in the coming months, we will continue to shine our light on the best the creative community has to offer at our Critics Choice Real TV Awards, Critics Choice Documentary Awards, and Critics Choice Super Awards. Last month, we brought our 3rd annual Celebration of Black Cinema to a national audience for the first time, reinforcing our commitment to championing the broadest spectrum of popular entertainment.
This is the consensus of 400+ people who cover film and television every day for a living. The Critics Choice Awards show is culturally significant – and it’s going to be a lot of fun.
Posted on January 26, 2021 at 11:10 am
The OFCS Top Ten:
1. Nomadland
2. Da 5 Bloods
3. Promising Young Woman
4. Never Rarely Sometimes Always
5. First Cow
6. Minari
7. Sound of Metal
8. I’m Thinking of Ending Things
9. Soul
10. The Trial of the Chicago 7
“This list of nominations showcases the diversity and broad expressiveness of the film community. In a year where nothing was as we expected, and those expectations had to shift, cinema not only maintained its creativity and expansive canvas, but it managed to give new voices a chance to speak louder than they might have in any other year,” said Wesley Lovell, a member of the Governing Committee of OFCS, and founder of CinemaSight.com.
He added, “In our directing category alone, we have four women, each at varying points in their careers, alongside one of the major voices of his generation. It is one of our most diverse slates ever. As for the nominees of Best Picture, the feature films represent filmmakers from a wide array of backgrounds and experiences who are able to explore subjects that exemplify the breadth of American life in unique and compelling ways. I don’t think we could be more proud of the selections our members have made this year.”
BEST PICTURE
· Da 5 Bloods
· First Cow
· I’m Thinking of Ending Things
· Minari
· Never Rarely Sometimes Always
· Nomadland — WINNER
· Promising Young Woman
· Soul
· Sound of Metal
· The Trial of the Chicago 7
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
· Onward
· Over the Moon
· Soul — WINNER
· The Wolf House
· Wolfwalkers
BEST DIRECTOR
· Emerald Fennell — Promising Young Woman
· Eliza Hittman — Never Rarely Sometimes Always
· Spike Lee — Da 5 Bloods
· Kelly Reichardt — First Cow
· Chloé Zhao – Nomadland WINNER
BEST ACTOR
· Riz Ahmed — Sound of Metal
· Chadwick Boseman — Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
· Anthony Hopkins — The Father
· Delroy Lindo — Da 5 Bloods WINNER
· Steven Yeun — Minari
BEST ACTRESS
· Jessie Buckley — I’m Thinking of Ending Things
· Viola Davis — Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
· Sidney Flanigan — Never Rarely Sometimes Always
· Frances McDormand – Nomadland WINNER
· Carey Mulligan — Promising Young Woman
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
· Sacha Baron Cohen — The Trial of the Chicago 7
· Chadwick Boseman — Da 5 Bloods
· Bill Murray — On the Rocks
· Leslie Odom Jr. — One Night in Miami WINNER
· Paul Raci — Sound of Metal
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
· Maria Bakalova — Borat Subsequent Moviefilm WINNER
· Olivia Colman — The Father
· Talia Ryder — Never Rarely Sometimes Always
· Amanda Seyfried — Mank
· Youn Yuh-jung — Minari
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
· Da 5 Bloods
· Minari
· Never Rarely Sometimes Always
· Promising Young Woman, Emerald Fennell WINNER
· The Trial of the Chicago 7
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
· First Cow
· I’m Thinking of Ending Things
· Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
· Nomadland, Chloe Zhao WINNER
· One Night in Miami
BEST EDITING
· Da 5 Bloods
· Mank
· Nomadland, Chloe Zhao WINNER
· Tenet
· The Trial of the Chicago 7
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
· Da 5 Bloods
· First Cow
· Mank
· Nomadland, Joshua James Richards WINNER
· Tenet
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
· Da 5 Bloods
· Mank
· Minari
· Soul, Trent Reznor Atticus Ross WINNER
· Tenet
BEST DEBUT FEATURE
· Radha Blank — The Forty-Year-Old Version
· Emerald Fennell — Promising Young Woman WINNER
· Regina King — One Night in Miami
· Darius Marder — Sound of Metal
· Andrew Patterson –The Vast of Night
BEST FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
· Another Round
· Bacurau
· Collective
· La Llorona
· Minari (United States) WINNER
BEST DOCUMENTARY
· Boys State
· Collective
· Dick Johnson Is Dead WINNER
· The Painter and the Thief
· Time
TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS:
· Sound of Metal – Sound Design
· Emma. – Costume Design
· Tenet – Visual Effects
· Mank – Production Design
· The Invisible Man – Visual Effects
SPECIAL AWARDS
BEST NON-UNITED STATES RELEASE:
(This award is for the best films released outside the United States in 2020 that were not released in the United States during the eligibility period.)
· A Beast in Love (Japan)
· The Disciple (India)
· Ghosts (Turkey)
· Mogul Mowgli (United Kingdom)
· New Order (Mexico)
· Notturno (Italy)
· Rocks (United Kingdom)
· Saint Maud (United Kingdom)
· Summer of 85 (France)
· Undine (Germany)
SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS:
· “Small Axe” — Director Steve McQueen created a series of films for the small screen that rivals the best of the theatrical features of the year, that can be seen individually and yet work together to explore a cultural experience largely unseen on big screens, television, or streaming to date.
· Distributor Kino Lorber for being the first company to offer virtual film distribution as a way to help independent theaters during the pandemic through the Kino Marquee.
· Kudos to the independent theater entities that participated in presenting “Virtual Cinema” when forced to close due to the pandemic. Films that otherwise may not have been seen were made available through online platforms, with ticket prices shared by the distributor with the theater.
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS:
· Rob Bottin (Makeup Artist)
· David Byrne (Composer)
· Jane Fonda (Actor)
· Jean-Luc Godard (Director)
· Frederick Wiseman (Documentarian)
Posted on January 6, 2021 at 4:43 pm
And a movie doesn’t have to be a prestige film for us to love it. That’s why we now have this special show to honor popcorn movies, the movies that are just plain fun.
So the Critics Choice SUPER Awards honor the finest movies and series in the wildly popular but often under-appreciated Superhero/Comic Book, Action, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Horror and Animation genres. The inaugural Critics Choice SUPER Awards show makes its debut Sunday night on The CW Television Network (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT). It is hosted by Kevin Smith and Dani Fernandez and features a Special Legacy Award presented to the entire Star Trek Universe.
Every one of the 32 winners will appear on the show to accept their awards. There are also celebrity presenters galore and some of the most memorable packages of clips from the nominated movies, series and performances that you have ever seen.
Follow the Critics Choice Super Awards on Twitter and Instagram @CriticsChoice and on Facebook/CriticsChoiceAwards. Join the conversation using #CriticsChoice and #SuperAwards.
