Awards Season 2015: Tez's Official Academy Award Nomination Predictions

Tomorrow, the nominations for the 88th Academy Awards will be announced and, like last year, the nominees for all 24 categories will be announced in the telecast. At 5:30am PST, directors Guillermo del Toro (Crimson Peak, Pan's Labyrinth) and Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain, Life Of Pi) will announce the nominees for some of the technical categories (including cinematography, make-up and hairstyling, sound editing) as well as Best Original Song and Best Documentary Feature. 

Then at 5:38am PST, Cheryl Boone Isaacs (President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences) and actor John Krasinski (The Office) will announce the rest of the nominees, including the acting categories, Best Director and Best Picture.

As has been my practice for the last few years, I like to try and predict who will be nominated (this is done for Best Picture, Best Director and the four acting awards). Below is my list of who I think will be named on Thursday.

NB. Just like the last few years, the Academy rules state that there could be anywhere between five and ten Best Picture nominees. I have selected ten films. If the total number of films nominated is less than ten, but one of the movies selected is named in my list of ten, I will count it as a successful prediction.

BEST PICTURE

The Big Short

Bridge Of Spies

Brooklyn

Carol

Mad Max: Fury Road

The Martian

The Revenant

Room

Spotlight

Straight Outta Compton

BEST DIRECTOR

Todd Haynes (Carol)

Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (The Revenant)

Tom McCarthy (Spotlight)

George Miller (Mad Max: Fury Road)

Ridley Scott (The Martian)

BEST ACTOR

Bryan Cranston (Trumbo)

Matt Damon (The Martian)

Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant)

Michael Fassbender (Steve Jobs)

Eddie Redmayne (The Danish Girl)

BEST ACTRESS

Cate Blanchett (Carol)

Brie Larson (Room)

Jennifer Lawrence (Joy)

Charlotte Rampling (45 Years)

Saoirse Ronan (Brooklyn)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Christian Bale (The Big Short)

Idris Elba (Beasts Of No Nation)

Mark Rylance (Bridge Of Spies)

Michael Shannon (99 Homes)

Sylvester Stallone (Creed)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Jennifer Jason Leigh (The Hateful Eight)

Rooney Mara (Carol)

Helen Mirren (Trumbo)

Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl)

Kate Winslet (Steve Jobs)

Usually a score of 15 is adequate, but given the fact that there could be anywhere between 5 and 10 Best Picture awards, I'ill be happy with a prediction of 18 or higher. Last year, I got 27 out of 33. I'm not that confident this year, and I'll tell you for why: there's a big question mark hanging over the lead Actress and Supporting Actress categories as there's a very real possibility that Rooney Mara and/or Alicia Vikander may be nominated as Best Actress for Carol and The Danish Girl, rather than in Supporting Actress. Different bodies have put them in different categories (although Mara has been more frequently placed in Supporting Actress, whilst Vikander has been equally in both). If one or both are bumped up to lead Actress then there are a couple of possibilities of what could happen; it's likely that Rachel McAdams will get a nod for her role in Spotlight or that Vikander herself will get a Supporting Actress nomination for Ex Machina. 

As for Supporting Actor, there's a lot of strong roles that have had previous nominations throughout awards season so it's the most fluid of categories in a way - you could easily see Paul Dano (Love & Mercy) or Mark Ruffalo (Spotlight) included in there, maybe even a nod for nine year old Jacob Tremblay for Room. 

In Lead Actor, I've gone for Matt Damon but wouldn't be too surprised to see Johnny Depp in his place for Black Mass (Depp got the SAG nomination ahead of Damon).

There are always sone surprises - last year, nothing for Laura Dern or Bennett Miller in the run-up and then Oscar nominations for Wild and Foxcatcher.

I'll post the nominees on Thursday afternoon so everyone can point and laugh and see how wrong I got it. Possibly.

Tez

Awards Season 2016: BAFTA Film Awards Nominations

Yesterday morning (8th January), bright and early, although luckily not as early as the Oscar nominations, the nominations for this year's BAFTA Film Awards was announced by Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Stephen Fry.

Here is a selection of the nominees::

BEST FILM

The Big Short

Bridge Of Spies

Carol

The Revenant

Spotlight

OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM

45 Years

Amy

Brooklyn

The Danish Girl

Ex Machina

The Lobster

BEST ACTOR

Bryan Cranston (Trumbo)

Matt Damon (The Martian)

Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant)

Michael Fassbender (Steve Jobs)

Eddie Redmayne (The Danish Girl)

BEST ACTRESS

Cate Blanchett (Carol)

Brie Larson (Room)

Saoirse Ronan (Brooklyn)

Maggie Smith (The Lady In The Van)

Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Christian Bale (The Big Short)

Benicio del Toro (Sicario)

Idris Elba (Beasts Of No Nation)

Mark Ruffalo (Spotlight)

Mark Rylance (Bridge Of Spies)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Jennifer Jason Leigh (The Hateful Eight)

Rooney Mara (Carol)

Alicia Vikander (Ex Machina)

Julie Walters (Brooklyn)

Kate Winslet (Steve Jobs)

BEST DIRECTOR

Todd Haynes (Carol)

Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (The Revenant)

Adam McKay (The Big Short)

Ridley Scott (The Martian)

Steven Spielberg (Bridge Of Spies)

A full list of nominees can be found here

Carol and Bridge Of Spies both have nine nominations and lead the field. The Revenant has eight, whilst Mad Max: Fury Road has seven.

A lot of the usual names here which are no surprise. I was surprised to see The Big Short and Trumbo making the nominations (as I wasn't sure if they'd had a release here to make them eligible). It's interesting that BAFTA have put Alicia Vikander as Best Actress for The Danish Girl (although they're not the first awards body to do so) but that does mean she is also nominated for Ex Machina. They've also thrown up some interesting possibilities for the Best Supporting Actor category, which is arguably the most open category so far this year.

This year's BAFTA Rising Star award nominees are John Boyega, Taron Egerton, Dakota Johnson, Brie Larson and Bel Powley. This award is voted on by the general public and you can vote for your favourite here.

The BAFTA Film Awards will be handed out on Sunday 14th February at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden. 

For those of you who aren't fans of this awards season frippery, you're in for a bit of a week of it. The blog's going to be teeming with the stuff until next Thursday, so at least you've got fair warning. Here's the timetable for the next week:

10/01/16 - Golden Globes ceremony
12/01/16 - Directors' Guild Awards nominations
13/01/16 - Golden Raspberry Awards nominations
14/01/16 - Oscar nominations

Enjoy the rest of your weekend, we'll have a review of The Hateful Eight for you shortly!


Tez

Awards Season 2016: Writers' Guild Awards Nominations

Today saw the nominations announced for this year's Writers' Guild Awards. As I've previously said, I don't tend to focus on the screenplay Oscars (certainly not to the same degree as the acting and directing ones; I certainly wouldn't attempt to predict what would get nominated), but- as a writer and a film fan- I do have an interest in what's been nominated. 

This year's nominations are as follows:

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Bridge Of Spies

Sicario

Spotlight

Straight Outta Compton

Trainwreck

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

The Big Short

Carol

The Martian

Steve Jobs

Trumbo

DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY

Being Canadian

Going Clear: Scientology And The Prison Of Belief

Kurt Cobain: Montage Of Heck

Prophet's Pray

There are several films that were not eligible for consideration due to guild rules, so films like The Hateful Eight, Inside Out, Suffragette, Ex Machina, Mad Max: Fury Road, Room, The Danish Girl and Brooklyn were not able to be considered. 

More awards nonsense on Friday (8th February) with the BAFTA Film nominations.

Awards Season 2016: Critics' Choice Movie Awards Nominations

More awards season shenanigans today with the announcement of the nominations for the 21st Annual Critics' Choice Awards.

Here are a selection of their nominees:

Best Picture

The Big Short

Bridge Of Spies

Brooklyn

Carol

Mad Max: Fury Road

The Martian

The Revenant

Room

Sicario

Spotlight

Best Director

Todd Haynes (Carol)

Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (The Revenant)

Tom McCarthy (Spotlight)

George Miller (Mad Max: Fury Road)

Ridley Scott (The Martian)

Steven Spielberg (Bridge Of Spies)

Best Actor

Bryan Cranston (Trumbo)

Matt Damon (The Martian)

Johnny Depp (Black Mass)

Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant)

Michael Fassbender (Steve Jobs)

Eddie Redmayne (The Danish Girl)

Best Actress

Cate Blanchett (Carol)

Brie Larson (Room)

Jennifer Lawrence (Joy)

Charlotte Rampling (45 Years)

Saoirse Ronan (Brooklyn)

Charlize Theron (Mad Max: Fury Road)

Best Supporting Actor

Paul Dano (Love & Mercy)

Tom Hardy (The Revenant)

Mark Ruffalo (Spotlight)

Mark Rylance (Bridge Of Spies)

Michael Shannon (99 Homes)

Sylvester Stallone (Creed)

Best Supporting Actress

Jennifer Jason Leigh (The Hateful Eight)

Rooney Mara (Carol)

Rachel McAdams (Spotlight)

Helen Mirren (Trumbo)

Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl)

Kate Winslet (Steve Jobs)

A full list of nominees can be found here.

A lot of the same names are coming up in a lot of the same categories, which does indeed strengthen their chances of an Oscar nod. 

As with last year, there's a bit of overlap between these categories and some of the genre awards, with Charlize Theron nominated twice for Mad Max: Fury Road (as Best Actress and Best Actress in an Action Movie) and Jennifer Lawrence nominated twice for Joy (Best Actress and Best Actress in a Comedy). Interestingly, Matt Damon doesn't pop up twice for The Martian. In fact, The Martian isn't mentioned at all in the Comedy awards. Strange, that. 

When all categories are taken into account, it's Mad Max: Fury Road that leads the nominations with a whopping 13. Carol, The Martian and The Revenant all have nine, whilst Spotlight has eight.

That's the last little bit of awards season stuff for this year (who said 'thank goodness for that'?) but it all continues in earnest in the first full week of January with the Producers Guild award nominations on 5th January and the BAFTA nominations on 8th January.

Normal blogging service will now resume.

Tez

Awards Season 2016: Golden Globe Nominations

Today sees the announcement of the 73rd Annual Golden Globe Awards, awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA). The HFPA split their awards, giving certain categories for both Drama and Musical or Comedy, rather than just going for the out-and-out drama as most awards tend to do.

Below is a list of some of the nominees:

Best Picture - Drama

Carol

Mad Max: Fury Road

The Revenant

Room

Spotlight

Best Picture - Musical or Comedy

The Big Short

Joy

The Martian

Spy

Trainwreck

Best Director

Todd Haynes (Carol)

Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (The Revenant)

Tom McCarthy (Spotlight)

George Miller (Mad Max: Fury Road)

Ridley Scott (The Martian)

Best Actor - Drama

Bryan Cranston (Trumbo)

Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant)

Michael Fassbender (Steve Jobs)

Eddie Redmayne (The Danish Girl)

Will Smith (Concussion)

Best Actor - Musical or Comedy

Christian Bale (The Big Short)

Steve Carell (The Big Short)

Matt Damon (The Martian)

Al Pacino (Danny Collins)

Mark Ruffalo (Infinitely Polar Bear)

Best Actress - Drama

Cate Blanchett (Carol)

Brie Larson (Room)

Rooney Mara (Carol)

Saoirse Ronan (Brooklyn)

Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl)

Best Actress - Musical or Comedy

Jennifer Lawrence (Joy)

Melissa McCarthy (Spy)

Amy Schumer (Trainwreck)

Maggie Smith (The Lady In The Van)

Lily Tomlin (Grandma)

Best Supporting Actor

Paul Dano (Love & Mercy)

Idris Elba (Beasts Of No Nation)

Mark Rylance (Bridge Of Spies)

Michael Shannon (99 Homes)

Sylvester Stallone (Creed)

Best Supporting Actress

Jane Fonda (Youth)

Jennifer Jason Leigh (The Hateful Eight)

Helen Mirren (Trumbo)

Kate Winslet (Steve Jobs)

Alicia Vikander (Ex Machina)

A full list of nominees can be found here.

Can anyone who has actually seen The Martian tell me if it is indeed a comedy or a musical? IMDb lists the genres of the film as Adventure, Drama, and Sci-Fi. Maybe they've missed something. Maybe Matt Damon suddenly bursts out into a rendition of 'Life On Mars?' (like Jessica Lange in American Horror Story: Freak Show). Maybe there are sudden custard pies to the face. Maybe there's a string of knob gags. Or maybe the producers- seeing a rather full and massively competitive Drama category- have done what The Tourist did a few years ago and went for the Musical/Comedy route in order to get nominated. Maybe I'm just being massively cynical.

There's quite a bit of cross-over from yesterday's SAG Award nominations, although interestingly the HFPA stated that Rooney Mara and Alicia Vikander were going to be listed in the Lead Actress category for Carol and The Danish Girl respectively rather than in the Supporting Actress category. It'll be interesting to see where other award bodies will go with this. 

Interesting to see the two nominations for Mad Max: Fury Road, given that it's the kind of genre movie that tends to get overlooked. 

Next up for awards season will be the nominations for the 21st Annual Critics' Choice Awards, which will be announced on Monday December 14th

Awards Season 2016: SAG Awards Nominations

So, awards season is getting into full swing with today's announcement of the nominations for the 22nd Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards. These are for actors voted on by actors.

Below is a list of film nominations:

Outstanding Performance By A Cast In A Motion Picture

Beasts Of No Nation

The Big Short

Spotlight

Straight Outta Compton

Trumbo

Outstanding Performance By A Male Actor In A Leading Role

Bryan Cranston (Trumbo)

Johnny Depp (Black Mass)

Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant)

Michael Fassbender (Steve Jobs)

Eddie Redmayne (The Danish Girl)

Outstanding Performance By A Female Actor In A Leading Role

Cate Blanchett (Carol)

Brie Larson (Room)

Helen Mirren (Woman In Gold)

Saoirse Ronan (Brooklyn)

Sarah Silverman (I Smile Back)

Outstanding Performance By A Male Actor In A Supporting Role

Christian Bale (The Big Short)

Idris Elba (Beasts Of No Nation)

Mark Rylance (Bridge Of Spies)

Michael Shannon (99 Homes)

Jacob Tremblay (Room)

Outstanding Performance By A Female Actor In A Supporting Role

Rooney Mara (Carol)

Rachel McAdams (Spotlight)

Helen Mirren (Trumbo)

Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl)

Kate Winslet (Steve Jobs)

As well as Helen Mirren picking up two nods, so too does Mark Rylance (who is also nominated in the TV awards for Wolf Hall) and Idris Elba (in the TV awards for Luther). 

Another 'Good Showing For The Brits(TM)' with Fassbender, Redmayne, Mirren, Elba, Rylance and Winslet's nods. No love for Maggie Smith in the film category for The Lady In The Van; however, she does get a nod in the TV awards for Downton Abbey.

It's interesting to see that SAG have put Rooney Mara in the Supporting Actress category for Carol rather than Leading Actress and I do wonder whether other awards will do the same.

Tomorrow (10th December) sees the nominations for the Golden Globes, so expect more awards season malarkey then.

Review: Carol (UK Cert 15)

In 1950s New York, aspiring photographer Therese Belivet works in a department store. Into her life comes Carol Aird, an older woman who is looking for a Christmas present for her daughter. After Therese returns a pair of gloves that Carol left on her desk, their relationship deepens and Therese finds herself falling for Carol.

Patricia Highsmith (The Two Faces Of January, The Talented Mr. Ripley) originally published the novel The Price Of Salt under a pseudonym in 1952. The novel was republished under her own name, and retitled Carol, in 1990. Now, director Todd Haynes (I'm Not There.,Velvet Goldmine) with Rooney Mara and Cate Blanchett as the leads.  

Cate Blanchett is just superb as Carol, glamorous and positively oozing classic Hollywood elegance. She evokes memories of Lauren Bacall and Rita Hayworth throughout. Carol is divorcing from her husband Harge (Kyle Chandler) due to a previous affair she had with another female friend which has ramifications over custody of her daughter. There are several powerful scenes where Blanchett absolutely shines, none less than an emotional meeting towards the end with her lawyers. You really feel for her throughout. It's one of Blanchett's finest performances and any awards hype she gets is truly deserved.

If Blanchett evokes Bacall, the one thought going through my head was how much Rooney Mara reminds me of Audrey Hepburn. Mara's performance as Therese is similarly excellent, really selling the emotional confusion as Therese comes to terms with her feelings for Carol- there's a particularly nice scene where she obliquely discusses it with her boyfriend Richard (Jake Lacy) who dismisses it as a 'crush'. What's also lovely is you can see Therese really blossom as a character, starting out as quite naive before becoming more grounded as the film goes on. Therese is in no way a supporting character, she's every bit a lead. 

The supporting cast are all good. Lacy and Chandler could easily have come off as brutish macho stereotypes but both put in strong performances as they come to terms with Therese and Carol's relationship, although actions which Harge takes throughout the course of the film undeniably put your sympathy at Carol's feet. There's also a stellar turn by Sarah Paulson (who really should be a better known actress than she is) as Abby, Carol's friend and former lover. 

Under a different director and in the hands of a lesser actress, Carol could have come across as a predatory lesbian who grooms the unworldly Therese. Thankfully, whilst Carol is the driving force behind their relationship, there's never any sense of coercion or manipulation. Their relationship is tender, tentative, initially restrained before breaking out into passion. It's real. It's rare to see a relationship between two women that is presented as honestly as it is here (especially when you consider the period setting). That's thanks in no small part to the wonderful script by Phyllis Nagy. 

The entire period detail of the film is immaculate, so massive props to the production designer, set decorators, costume, hair and make-up whose combined talents make this a sublime film to look at. 

This would work as a great companion piece to Haynes' 2002 film Far From Heaven (starring Julianne Moore, Dennis Haysbert and Dennis Quaid) which similarly took a look at relationships that would have been considered taboo. Both films have the period setting and Douglas Sirk aesthetic, yet quietly subvert them. Both features stand-out performances by their lead actresses and their supporting casts. Both films are a joy for cinephiles.

Rating: 5 out of 5

Tez

Awards Season 2016: Film Independent Spirit Awards Nominations

So here we go, Awards Season 2016 is off with today's announcement of the 31st Film Independent Spirit Awards nominations. These awards recognise films made wholly or partly outside the traditional studio system. 

Below is a selection of nominations:

Best Feature

Anomalisa

Beasts Of No Nation

Carol

Spotlight

Tangerine

Best Director

Sean Baker (Tangerine)

Cary Joji Fukunaga (Beasts Of No Nation)

Todd Haynes (Carol)

Charlie Kaufman & Duke Johnson (Anomalisa)

Tom McCarthy (Spotlight)

David Robert Mitchell (It Follows)

Best Male Lead

Christopher Abbott (James White)

Abraham Attah (Beasts Of No Nation)

Ben Mendelsohn (Mississippi Grind)

Jason Segel (The End Of The Tour)

Koudous Seihon (Mediterranea)

Best Female Lead

Cate Blanchett (Carol)

Brie Larson (Room)

Rooney Mara (Carol)

Bel Powley (The Diary Of A Teenage Girl)

Kitana Kiki Rodriguez (Tangerine)

Best Supporting Male

Kevin Corrigan (Results)

Paul Dano (Love & Mercy)

Idris Elba (Beasts Of No Nation)

Richard Jenkins (Bone Tomahawk)

Michael Shannon (99 Homes)

Best Supporting Female

Robin Bartlett (H.)

Marin Ireland (Glass Chin)

Jennifer Jason Leigh (Anomalisa)

Cynthia Nixon (James White)

Mya Taylor (Tangerine)

A full list of nominees can be found here.

Carol leads the field with six nominations in total (including, rather interestingly, two Best Actress nods- rather than relegating one of them to the Supporting Actress category), while Beasts Of No Nation and Spotlight each have five. 

The next major announcement for awards season isn't until 9th December with the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards, so you get a bit of a break from this vapid nonsense until then.

Tez