Tonight: The Critics Choice Awards on A&E

Posted on December 11, 2016 at 8:00 am

Be sure to tune in to A&E tonight for the Critics Choice Awards, hosted by TJ Miller (“Office Christmas Party,” “Silicon Valley,” “Deadpool”). This is the awards show I love most, and only partly because as a member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association I get to vote in it. I also appreciate the award categories, with special attention to non-“prestige” but popular genres: action and comedy. I’ve attended in person three times, but this year I’ll be watching with all of you.

The nominations are:

BEST PICTURE

Arrival

Fences

Hacksaw Ridge

Hell or High Water

La La Land

Lion

Loving

Manchester by the Sea

Moonlight

Sully

BEST ACTOR

Casey Affleck – Manchester by the Sea

Joel Edgerton – Loving

Andrew Garfield – Hacksaw Ridge

Ryan Gosling – La La Land

Tom Hanks – Sully

Denzel Washington – Fences

BEST ACTRESS

Amy Adams – Arrival

Annette Bening – 20th Century Women

Isabelle Huppert – Elle

Ruth Negga – Loving

Natalie Portman – Jackie

Emma Stone – La La Land

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Mahershala Ali – Moonlight

Jeff Bridges – Hell or High Water

Ben Foster – Hell or High Water

Lucas Hedges – Manchester by the Sea

Dev Patel – Lion

Michael Shannon – Nocturnal Animals

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Viola Davis – Fences

Greta Gerwig – 20th Century Women

Naomie Harris – Moonlight

Nicole Kidman – Lion

Janelle Monáe – Hidden Figures

Michelle Williams – Manchester by the Sea

BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS

Lucas Hedges – Manchester by the Sea

Alex R. Hibbert – Moonlight

Lewis MacDougall – A Monster Calls

Madina Nalwanga – Queen of Katwe

Sunny Pawar – Lion

Hailee Steinfeld – The Edge of Seventeen

BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE

20th Century Women

Fences

Hell or High Water

Hidden Figures

Manchester by the Sea

Moonlight

BEST DIRECTOR

Damien Chazelle – La La Land

Mel Gibson – Hacksaw Ridge

Barry Jenkins – Moonlight

Kenneth Lonergan – Manchester by the Sea

David Mackenzie – Hell or High Water

Denis Villeneuve – Arrival

Denzel Washington – Fences

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Damien Chazelle – La La Land

Barry Jenkins – Moonlight

Yorgos Lanthimos/Efthimis Filippou – The Lobster

Kenneth Lonergan – Manchester by the Sea

Jeff Nichols – Loving

Taylor Sheridan – Hell or High Water

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Luke Davies – Lion

Tom Ford – Nocturnal Animals

Eric Heisserer – Arrival

Todd Komarnicki – Sully

Allison Schroeder/Theodore Melfi – Hidden Figures

August Wilson – Fences

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Stéphane Fontaine – Jackie

James Laxton – Moonlight

Seamus McGarvey – Nocturnal Animals

Linus Sandgren – La La Land

Bradford Young – Arrival

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

Arrival – Patrice Vermette, Paul Hotte

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them – Stuart Craig/James Hambidge, Anna Pinnock

Jackie – Jean Rabasse, Véronique Melery

La La Land – David Wasco, Sandy Reynolds-Wasco

Live by Night – Jess Gonchor, Nancy Haigh

BEST EDITING

Tom Cross – La La Land

John Gilbert – Hacksaw Ridge

Blu Murray – Sully

Nat Sanders/Joi McMillon – Moonlight

Joe Walker – Arrival

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

Colleen Atwood – Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Consolata Boyle – Florence Foster Jenkins

Madeline Fontaine – Jackie

Joanna Johnston – Allied

Eimer Ni Mhaoldomhnaigh – Love & Friendship

Mary Zophres – La La Land

BEST HAIR & MAKEUP

Doctor Strange

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Hacksaw Ridge

Jackie

Star Trek Beyond

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

A Monster Calls

Arrival

Doctor Strange

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

The Jungle Book

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

Finding Dory

Kubo and the Two Strings

Moana

The Red Turtle

Trolls

Zootopia

BEST ACTION MOVIE

Captain America: Civil War

Deadpool

Doctor Strange

Hacksaw Ridge

Jason Bourne

BEST ACTOR IN AN ACTION MOVIE

Benedict Cumberbatch – Doctor Strange

Matt Damon – Jason Bourne

Chris Evans – Captain America: Civil War

Andrew Garfield – Hacksaw Ridge

Ryan Reynolds – Deadpool

BEST ACTRESS IN AN ACTION MOVIE

Gal Gadot – Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

Scarlett Johansson – Captain America: Civil War

Margot Robbie – Suicide Squad

Tilda Swinton – Doctor Strange

BEST COMEDY

Central Intelligence

Deadpool

Don’t Think Twice

The Edge of Seventeen

Hail, Caesar!

The Nice Guys

BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY

Ryan Gosling – The Nice Guys

Hugh Grant – Florence Foster Jenkins

Dwayne Johnson – Central Intelligence

Viggo Mortensen – Captain Fantastic

Ryan Reynolds – Deadpool

BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY

Kate Beckinsale – Love & Friendship

Sally Field – Hello, My Name Is Doris

Kate McKinnon – Ghostbusters

Hailee Steinfeld – The Edge of Seventeen

Meryl Streep – Florence Foster Jenkins

BEST SCI-FI/HORROR MOVIE

10 Cloverfield Lane

Arrival

Doctor Strange

Don’t Breathe

Star Trek Beyond

The Witch

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

Elle

The Handmaiden

Julieta

Neruda

The Salesman

Toni Erdmann

BEST SONG

Audition (The Fools Who Dream) – La La Land

Can’t Stop the Feeling – Trolls

City of Stars – La La Land

Drive It Like You Stole It – Sing Street

How Far I’ll Go – Moana

The Rules Don’t Apply – Rules Don’t Apply

BEST SCORE

Nicholas Britell – Moonlight

Jóhann Jóhannsson – Arrival

Justin Hurwitz – La La Land

Micachu – Jackie

Dustin O’Halloran, Hauschka – Lion

Related Tags:

Awards

Washington Area Film Critics Awards 2016

Posted on December 5, 2016 at 10:57 am

This morning the Washington Area Film Critics announced our award winners for 2016.

“La La Land” was singing a happy tune when The Washington, D.C. Area Film Critics Association (WAFCA) announced their top honorees for 2016 this morning. Sparkling musical love story “La La Land” was the big winner, racking up seven awards, including Best Film and Best Director (Damien Chazelle).

“La La Land,” a song-and-dance romance about two star-crossed lovers struggling to make their professional dreams a reality, also earned the Best Original Screenplay prize for Chazelle’s adept balance of intimate human drama and heart-soaring musical set-pieces. The film swept the technical categories, including Best Original Score for Justin Hurwitz’s lushly beautiful compositions and Best Cinematography for Linus Sandgren’s resplendent lensing.

WAFCA awarded Best Actor to Casey Affleck for his quietly devastating work in touching family drama “Manchester by the Sea.” In the film, Affleck plays a grieving handyman who is given custody of his teenage nephew following the sudden death of the boy’s father. Lucas Hedges, who portrays his nephew, took home the award for Best Youth Performance.

For her exquisitely authentic turn in “Jackie,” Natalie Portman was feted with Best Actress honors. Portman portrays First Lady Jackie Kennedy during the week following President John F. Kennedy’s assassination.

Best Supporting Actor was awarded to Mahershala Ali, as a sympathetic drug dealer who offers solace to a bullied and neglected young boy, in “Moonlight.”

Best Supporting Actress went to Viola Davis for her searing work in “Fences,” based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning drama by August Wilson. Of special note, Davis previously earned a Tony Award for playing the same role in a 2010 Broadway production.

The Best Acting Ensemble award went to gritty Texas-set crime drama “Hell or High Water,” starring Chris Pine, Ben Foster, Jeff Bridges, Gil Birmingham and Katy Mixon.

In thoughtfully adapting author Ted Chiang’s short story “Story of Your Life,” Eric Heisserer earned Best Adapted Screenplay honors for humanist science-fiction drama “Arrival.”

Lyrical stop-motion animated adventure “Kubo and the Two Strings,” set in Ancient Japan, was awarded Best Animated Feature.

Best Documentary kudos went to “13th,” director Ava DuVernay’s incisive look at racism and the United States criminal justice system.

Paul Verhoeven’s electrifying psychological thriller “Elle” won Best Foreign Language Film.

WAFCA introduced two new categories this year. For his delicious turn as a big friendly giant who befriends a young orphaned girl in “The BFG,” Mark Rylance won the award for Best Motion Capture Performance. Tenderly playing a different kind of giant who comes to the aid of a child in need, Liam Neeson earned Best Voice Performance for “A Monster Calls.”

The Joe Barber Award for Best Portrayal of Washington, DC, given each year in honor of one of WAFCA’s cherished late members, went to “Jackie.”

The Washington, D.C. Area Film Critics Association comprises 50 DC-VA-MD-based film critics from television, radio, print and the Internet. Voting was conducted from December 2-4, 2016.

THE 2016 WAFCA AWARD WINNERS:

Best Film:
La La Land

Best Director:
Damien Chazelle (La La Land)

Best Actor:
Casey Affleck (Manchester by the Sea)

Best Actress:
Natalie Portman (Jackie)

Best Supporting Actor:
Mahershala Ali (Moonlight)

Best Supporting Actress:
Viola Davis (Fences)

Best Acting Ensemble:
Hell or High Water

Best Youth Performance:
Lucas Hedges (Manchester by the Sea)

Best Voice Performance:
Liam Neeson (A Monster Calls)

Best Motion Capture Performance:
Mark Rylance (The BFG)

Best Original Screenplay:
Damien Chazelle (La La Land)

Best Adapted Screenplay:
Eric Heisserer, Based on the Story “Story of Your Life” by Ted Chiang (Arrival)

Best Animated Feature:
Kubo and the Two Strings

Best Documentary:
13th

Best Foreign Language Film:
Elle

Best Production Design:
Production Designer: David Wasco;
Set Decorator: Sandy Reynolds-Wasco, SDSA (La La Land)

Best Cinematography:
Linus Sandgren, SFS (La La Land)

Best Editing:
Tom Cross, ACE (La La Land)

Best Original Score:
Justin Hurwitz (La La Land)

The Joe Barber Award for Best Portrayal of Washington, DC:
Jackie

Related Tags:

Awards

WAFCA Movie Award Nominations 2016

Posted on December 4, 2016 at 1:48 am

I am proud to announce the nominations for the 2016 movie awards from the Washington Area Film Critics Association.

Best Film:
Arrival
Hell or High Water
La La Land
Manchester by the Sea
Moonlight

Best Director:
Damien Chazelle (La La Land)
Barry Jenkins (Moonlight)
Kenneth Lonergan (Manchester by the Sea)
David Mackenzie (Hell or High Water)
Denis Villeneuve (Arrival)

Best Actor:
Casey Affleck (Manchester by the Sea)
Joel Edgerton (Loving)
Andrew Garfield (Hacksaw Ridge)
Ryan Gosling (La La Land)
Denzel Washington (Fences)

Best Actress:
Amy Adams (Arrival)
Annette Bening (20th Century Women)
Ruth Negga (Loving)
Natalie Portman (Jackie)
Emma Stone (La La Land)

Best Supporting Actor:
Mahershala Ali (Moonlight)
Jeff Bridges (Hell or High Water)
Ben Foster (Hell or High Water)
Lucas Hedges (Manchester by the Sea)
Michael Shannon (Nocturnal Animals)

Best Supporting Actress:
Viola Davis (Fences)
Greta Gerwig (20th Century Women)
Naomie Harris (Moonlight)
Molly Shannon (Other People)
Michelle Williams (Manchester by the Sea)

Best Acting Ensemble:
Fences
Hell or High Water
Manchester by the Sea
Moonlight
20th Century Women

Best Youth Performance:
Lucas Hedges (Manchester by the Sea)
Lewis MacDougall (A Monster Calls)
Sunny Pawar (Lion)
Hailee Steinfeld (The Edge of Seventeen)
Anya Taylor-Joy (The Witch)

Best Voice Performance:
Jason Bateman (Zootopia)
Auli’i Cravalho (Moana)
Ellen DeGeneres (Finding Dory)
Ginnifer Goodwin (Zootopia)
Liam Neeson (A Monster Calls)

Best Motion Capture Performance:
Liam Neeson (A Monster Calls)
Mark Rylance (The BFG)

Best Original Screenplay:
Taylor Sheridan (Hell or High Water)
Damien Chazelle (La La Land)
Kenneth Lonergan (Manchester by the Sea)
Barry Jenkins, Story by Tarell Alvin McCraney (Moonlight)
Yorgos Lanthimos, Efthimis Filippou (The Lobster)

Best Adapted Screenplay:
Eric Heisserer, Based on the Story “Story of Your Life” by Ted Chiang (Arrival)
August Wilson, Based on his Play (Fences)
Luke Davies, Adapted from the Memoir “A Long Way Home” by Saroo Brierley (Lion)
Patrick Ness, Based on his Novel (A Monster Calls)
Tom Ford, Based on the Novel “Tony and Susan” by Austin Wright (Nocturnal Animals)

Best Animated Feature:
Finding Dory
Kubo and the Two Strings
Moana
Sausage Party
Zootopia

Best Documentary:
Gleason
I Am Not Your Negro
O.J.: Made in America
13th
Weiner

Best Foreign Language Film:
Elle
Julieta
The Handmaiden
The Salesman
Toni Erdmann

Best Production Design:
Production Designer: Patrice Vermette; Key Decorator: Paul Hotte (Arrival)
Production Designer: Stuart Craig; Set Decorator: Anna Pinnock (Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them)
Production Designer: Jean Rabasse, ADC; Set Decorator: Véronique Melery (Jackie)
Production Designer: David Wasco; Set Decorator: Sandy Reynolds-Wasco, SDSA (La La Land)
Craig Lathrop (The Witch)

Best Cinematography:
Bradford Young, ASC (Arrival)
Stéphane Fontaine, AFC (Jackie)
Linus Sandgren, SFS (La La Land)
James Laxton (Moonlight)
Seamus McGarvey, ASC, BSC (Nocturnal Animals)

Best Editing:
Joe Walker, ACE (Arrival)
Sebastián Sepúlveda (Jackie)
Tom Cross, ACE (La La Land)
Nat Sanders, Joi McMillon (Moonlight)
Blu Murray (Sully)

Best Original Score:
Jóhann Jóhannsson (Arrival)
Mica Levi (Jackie)
Justin Hurwitz (La La Land)
Nicholas Britell (Moonlight)
Cliff Martinez (The Neon Demon)

The Joe Barber Award for Best Portrayal of Washington, DC:
Jackie
Jason Bourne
Loving
Miss Sloane
Snowden

Related Tags:

Awards

Gotham Awards 2016 — Nominations

Posted on October 20, 2016 at 3:20 pm

The movie awards season officially begins with the announcement of the nominations for the Gotham awards. While not all of the awards contenders are out yet (I’m expecting to see “La La Land” and “Fences” do well), this is a good indicator of the direction we are likely to see this year. I was especially happy to see one of my favorites of the year, “Everybody Wants Some!!” on the list, and the special ensemble award for the extraordinary cast of “Moonlight.”

Best Feature

Certain Women
Kelly Reichardt, director; Neil Kopp, Vincent Savino, Anish Savjani, producers (IFC Films)

Everybody Wants Some!!
Richard Linklater, director; Megan Ellison, Ginger Sledge, Richard Linklater, producers (Paramount Pictures)

Manchester by the Sea
Kenneth Lonergan, director; Kimberly Steward, Matt Damon, Chris Moore, Lauren Beck, Kevin J. Walsh, producers (Amazon Studios)

Moonlight
Barry Jenkins, director; Adele Romanski, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, producers (A24)

Paterson
Jim Jarmusch, director; Joshua Astrachan, Carter Logan, producers (Amazon Studios)

Best Documentary

Cameraperson
Kirsten Johnson, director; Marilyn Ness, producer (Janus Films)

I Am Not Your Negro
Raoul Peck, director; Rémi Grellety, Raoul Peck, Hébert Peck, producers (Magnolia Pictures)

O.J.: Made in America
Ezra Edelman, director; Caroline Waterlow, Ezra Edelman, Tamara Rosenberg, Nina Krstic, Deirdre Fenton, Erin Leyden, producers (ESPN Films)

Tower
Keith Maitland, director; Keith Maitland, Megan Gilbride, Susan Thomson, producers (Kino Lorber, Independent Lens)

Weiner
Josh Kriegman, Elyse Steinberg, directors and producers (Sundance Selects and Showtime Documentary Films)

Bingham Ray Breakthrough Director Award

Robert Eggers for The Witch (A24)

Anna Rose Holmer for The Fits (Oscilloscope Laboratories)

Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert for Swiss Army Man (A24)

Trey Edward Shults for Krisha (A24)

Richard Tanne for Southside with You (Roadside Attractions and Miramax)

Best Screenplay

Hell or High Water, Taylor Sheridan (CBS Films)

Love & Friendship, Whit Stillman (Amazon Studios)

Manchester by the Sea, Kenneth Lonergan (Amazon Studios)

Moonlight, Story by Tarell Alvin McCraney; Screenplay by Barry Jenkins (A24)

Paterson, Jim Jarmusch (Amazon Studios)

Best Actor

Casey Affleck in Manchester by the Sea (Amazon Studios)

Jeff Bridges in Hell or High Water (CBS Films)

Adam Driver in Paterson (Amazon Studios)

Joel Edgerton in Loving (Focus Features)

Craig Robinson in Morris from America (A24)

Best Actress

Kate Beckinsale in Love & Friendship (Amazon Studios)

Annette Bening in 20th Century Women (A24)

Isabelle Huppert in Elle (Sony Pictures Classics)

Ruth Negga in Loving (Focus Features)

Natalie Portman in Jackie (Fox Searchlight Pictures)

Breakthrough Actor

Lily Gladstone in Certain Women (IFC Films)

Lucas Hedges in Manchester by the Sea (Amazon Studios)

Royalty Hightower in The Fits (Oscilloscope Laboratories)

Sasha Lane in American Honey (A24)

Anya Taylor-Joy in The Witch (A24)

Related Tags:

Awards

Broadcast Film Critics Announce New Critics Choice Awards for Documentaries

Posted on August 1, 2016 at 1:38 pm

I am delighted that the Broadcast Film Critics Association, of which I am a proud member, has established a new set of awards for documentaries, with the first to be awarded on November 3, 2016. This is a category that has been long overdue for more recognition than one category each year. Awards will include:

Best Documentary Feature Film (Theatrical Premiere)
Best Documentary Feature (Television Premiere)
Best Director of a Documentary
Best First Documentary Feature
Best Music Documentary
Best Sports Documentary
Most Compelling Living Subject of a Documentary
Best Limited Documentary Series for Television
Best Ongoing Documentary Series for Television
Best Unstructured Reality Series
Best Song in a Documentary
Most Innovative Documentary
Best Investigative Journalist

Related Tags:

Awards Documentary