Awards Season 2022: The 94th Academy Awards

Well... that was certainly something...

Did anyone have "angry actor smacks award host for insulting his wife, then proceeds to win an Oscar" on their Oscar bingo? No? Nor did I. But that's one of the things about live events: anything can happen. 

The telecast began with a spectacular performance of Best Original Song nominee "Be Alive" from King Richard by Beyoncé from the Compton tennis courts where Venus and Serena Williams practiced when they were growing up. Talk about starting with a bang!

This was the first time in three years that the Oscars had a host and, if I'm honest, I really didn't feel that having a host (or hosts) added anything to the evening. And to be honest, that's nothing to do with who they had as hosts: it was always going to be a poisoned chalice for whoever took the job and Amy Schumer, Wanda Sykes, and Regina Hall didn't do too badly. Let's put it this way: they were more Jimmy Kimmel than James Franco & Anne Hathaway. 

The three-act structure seemed to have gone by the wayside, with all three hosts periodically popping up throughout; the providers of the music changed each hour, but that was about it. There were a couple of funny lines (Amy Schumer referring to herself as "Melissa McCarthy said no" raised a chuckle, as did her "Did I miss anything?" when she reappeared after the Smith-Rock debacle; the not-so-subtle two fingers up to Florida's "Don't Say Gay" bill was also a joy), but generally the skits felt clunky and unfunny- Regina Hall playing up to being the thirsty singleton went on too long, and somehow we were meant to be OK with her feeling up Josh Brolin and Jason Momoa when you just know that if a male host tried to do the same with (for example) Helen Mirren and Zendaya, people would be frothing at the mouth.   

I actually didn't necessarily mind how they edited in the eight awards that were given out in the hour before the telecast began (although perhaps the irony of having the Best Achievement in Editing as one of the eight whilst relying on editors to seamlessly put that footage into the live show was lost on them). I did mind the utterly haphazard manner in which they interspersed them throughout, and I further minded that a lot of the material that was added in lieu of those eight awards were irrelevant puff.

The much vaunted performance of Encanto's "We Don't Talk About Bruno" was not, in fact, a full performance of the song. It started out as a performance, but then metamorphosed into this rap-heavy mishmash of "Celebrating The Oscars". That was one of a couple of utterly baffling decisions made throughout the night: why have three extreme sportsmen to host the 60 Years Of Bond montage? And why not immediately follow that montage with the live performance of "No Time To Die"? 

The whole "Oscars Cheer" moment- which, apparently, was The Flash entering speed force in Zack Snyder's Justice League- added nothing, and neither did the Fan Favourite Award (which armies of Snyder fans hijacked with Army Of The Dead after the four-hour Justice League cut was deemed ineligible as it was a re-release). I found the choice of music for the In Memoriam section to be a bit odd, but I did like the individual tributes to Sidney Poitier, Ivan Reitman, and Betty White. 

The guest hosts varied from funny to excruciating- Shang-Chi's Simu Liu and Tiffany Haddish fell into the latter camp (mostly because of Haddish's increasingly erratic behaviour), although I did like having a trio of live-action Disney princesses (Cinderella's Lily James, Aladdin's Naomi Scott, and The Little Mermaid's Halle Bailey) to announce Best Animated Feature.  

But the big talking point of the night is going to be what happened when Chris Rock presented the Best Documentary Feature award. Will Smith stormed the stage and smacked Rock in the face after Rock made a "GI Jane 2" crack about Jada Pinkett Smith (Pinkett Smith has alopecia and has been very honest and open about her struggles with the condition, and looked ever-so-slightly pissed off at Rock's remark). On Sky Cinema, the censors weren't quick enough to catch either of Smith's f-bombs, or Rock's dazed "Will Smith just smacked the shit out of me". Initially, I wasn't sure whether it was a bit, but it soon became clear that it wasn't. Smith's tearful speech as he returned to the stage to claim the Best Actor Oscar featured an apology, but to the Academy and fellow nominees. 

Onto the awards themselves.

Six out of six for the first time in a long time. Ariana DeBose, Troy Kotsur, and Jessica Chastain all gave very emotional acceptance speeches, all touching on themes of acceptance and finding your place in the world. I was also pleased that "No Time To Die" won Best Original Song, and I was chuffed that Kenneth Branagh- who has been nominated in seven different categories- won his first Oscar, for the screenplay of Belfast. I was also over the moon that CODA won Best Picture. It was a real feel-good end to a rocky show.  

This Oscars featured a number of firsts: we saw the first openly queer woman of colour (Ariana DeBose) win an acting award; the first Deaf actor (Troy Kotsur) win an acting award; this is the first time consecutive Best Director Oscars have been won by female directors (Chloé Zhao and Jane Campion), and it's the first time a film distributed on a streaming platform (CODA, via Apple TV+) has won Best Picture.

Unsurprisingly, Dune was the biggest winner of the evening, taking home six awards (four of which were won before the telecast started). CODA won three Oscars, winning each category it was nominated in, as did The Eyes Of Tammy Faye which won in both its categories. 

Despite multiple nominations, Don't Look Up, Nightmare Alley, Being The Ricardos, Flee, Licorice Pizza, The Lost Daughter and The Tragedy Of Macbeth all went away empty-handed. 

Below is the full list of winners at the 94th Academy Awards (the eight categories marked with the asterisks were given out ahead of time):

Best Motion Picture of the Year: CODA

Best Actor: Will Smith (King Richard)

Best Actress: Jessica Chastain (The Eyes Of Tammy Faye)

Best Supporting Actor: Troy Kotsur (CODA)

Best Supporting Actress: Ariana DeBose (West Side Story)

Best Director: Jane Campion (The Power Of The Dog)

Best Original Screenplay: Kenneth Branagh (Belfast)

Best Adapted Screenplay: Siân Heder (CODA)

Best Animated Feature Film of the Year: Encanto

Best International Feature Film of the Year: Drive My Car

Best Cinematography: Dune

* Best Film Editing: Dune

* Best Production Design: Dune

Best Costume Design: Cruella

* Best Makeup and Hairstyling: The Eyes Of Tammy Faye

* Best Original Score: Dune

Best Original Song: "No Time To Die" (No Time To Die)

* Best Sound: Dune

Best Visual Effects: Dune

Best Documentary (Feature): Summer Of Soul (...Or, When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised)

* Best Documentary (Short Subject): The Queen Of Basketball

* Best Animated Short Film: The Windshield Wiper

* Best Live Action Short Film: The Long Goodbye

Congratulations to all winners!

Well, that is awards season done and dusted for another year. Thank you for coming with me on this journey. Tonight certainly hasn't been boring, that's for sure.

Until next time.

Awards Season 2022: Tez's Official Oscar Predictions

Tonight, the great and good of Hollywood will convene to celebrate the best of film-making in 2021 at the 94th Academy Awards.

For the first time in three years, the Oscars will have a host. Well, actually, it'll have three. The ceremony will be structured into three "acts" with a different host overseeing each act. The three hosts will be Amy Schumer (Trainwreck, I Feel Pretty), Regina Hall (Scary Movie, Girls Trip), and Wanda Sykes (Monster-In-Law, Evan Almighty). Great choices to oversee what is likely to be a fairly controversial ceremony.

I will reserve judgement to see how it's handled in the telecast, but I think that the decision that the producers have made to give nearly a third of the awards- the three short subject awards, Make-Up and Hairstyling, Production Design, Editing, Sound, and Original Score- out an hour before the telecast begins and editing in the winners' acceptance speeches throughout the main ceremony is a short-sighted and fairly disrespectful one, especially since it seems to have come at the behest of broadcaster ABC in an attempt to bring the runtime of the telecast down and provide "more time for comedy, film clips and musical numbers" (i.e. try and get the viewership up, hence the cynical inclusion of a live performance of Encanto break-out song and TikTok favourite "We Don't Talk About Bruno"). We'll see how seamless this is tonight. 

Nonetheless, it has become a tradition for me to predict the nominations and the winners in the main six categories (the four acting categories, Best Director and Best Picture). I've done this since 2003 with varying degrees of success. Last year, I got 4 out of 6 (choosing Chadwick Boseman and Carey Mulligan in the lead acting categories, instead of Anthony Hopkins and Frances McDormand).

So, without further ado, here are my predictions for who will win.

Best Supporting Actress: Ariana DeBose (West Side Story)

Wins at the Golden Globes, Critics Choice Awards, SAG Awards, and BAFTA, it's as certain as it can get that Ariana DeBose will be picking up the Oscar. And it will be well deserved. 

DeBose's performance as Anita is fearless, fiery, and flirtatious. She absolutely owns the screen in her two big musical numbers ("America" and "A Boy Like That") and makes the role her own, rather than an imitation of the inimitable Rita Moreno. She has a sisterly care for the young and lovestruck Maria (Rachel Zegler) and has no qualms in standing up to Bernardo (David Alvarez) if she thinks he's wrong. It's a powerful and commanding performance, made the more extraordinary for it being only her third substantial film role. 

I've a feeling that this role will do for DeBose what it did for Moreno, and she is at the start of a stellar career. An Oscar win certainly wouldn't hurt that.  

Best Supporting Actor: Troy Kotsur (CODA)

Initially, I thought that this award would be going to Kodi Smit-McPhee for his sensitive turn in The Power Of The Dog, but- much as with Ariana DeBose above- it feels as certain as these things can get that Troy Kotsur will be making history as the first Deaf actor to win a competitive acting Oscar.

His performance as Massachusetts fisherman Frank Rossi in Sian Heder's understated and quite beautiful family drama CODA is superb. He imbues the character with an Everyman likeability and a lot of the humour of the film comes from his dislike of the port authorities. There's one particular moment where he transitions from signing "testicle" to "hand grenade" which is just brilliant.  

His scenes with Emilia Jones (who plays Ruby, the hearing Child of Deaf Adults) as he realises what singing means to her are very emotional, especially when he asks her to sing for him and he touches her vocal chords to feel the song. Of the other nominated performances, I think only Smit-McPhee has the chance of taking the award from him. 

Best Actress: Jessica Chastain (The Eyes Of Tammy Faye)

Like last year, this year's Best Actress race has been very open with various people winning throughout. The only performance I've not been able to see was Penélope Cruz in Parallel Mothers, but I have caught the other four. 

Taking the lead of the SAG Awards and the Critics Choice, I think Jessica Chastain will be taking home the gold. It would have been very easy to have done a mere impersonation of disgraced televangelist Tammy Faye Bakker- she's been endlessly parodied since the 1970s- but Chastain finds the heart and soul of the woman beneath the layers of make-up and glitz, disappearing under (at first, subtle) prosthetics to give a truly captivating performance. 

Chastain also does her own singing of Tammy Faye's songs as well, and if there are things the Academy likes, it's a) real-life people, b) good make-up/prosthetic work and c) multi-talented performances. Chastain is 3 for 3 on these. Nicole Kidman might nip in and take it for her enchanting performance of Lucille Ball in Being The Ricardos, but I think Chastain will be thanking Tammy Faye tonight. 

Best Actor: Will Smith (King Richard)

Whilst I have several issues with the film- such as the downplaying of the Williams sisters' talent- and despite liking or connecting with other Best Actor performances more, it seems likely that it'll be third time the charm for Will Smith. 

As Richard Williams, father and coach to future tennis superstars Venus and Serena Williams, he gives a very un-Will-Smith-like performance, disappearing into a character that's occasionally pushy, often overbearing and overprotective, but utterly determined to have the girls reach their dreams (and crucially, they are their dreams). 

It is, I think, his best and most rounded character performance on-screen since Ali and- if he is going to win an Oscar- this would be the role for him to do it. Although, if Andrew Garfield's name gets announced, I'd be ecstatic.   

Best Director: Jane Campion (The Power Of The Dog)

With wins at the Golden Globes, Critics Choice Awards, BAFTA, and- crucially- the DGA, I will be absolutely shocked if any other name than Campion's comes up here. 

Her direction is crisp and clear, there are moments of true menace and beauty throughout, and she gets career-best performances from her four main actors. There's one particularly memorable scene where Phil (Benedict Cumberbatch) torments Rose (Kirsten Dunst) by quickly mastering a piece of music on the banjo whilst she struggles to play it on the piano; the entire thing is done without dialogue, but it's absolutely thrilling. 

Her recent ill-judged comments about the Williams sisters may have blotted her copybook somewhat, but her response to Sam Elliott's narrowminded critique of the film will have also won her some fans. It certainly feels like it's hers to lose, if you see what I mean. And if she does win, it'll be the first time that consecutive Best Director winners will be female. Imagine that. Only taken over 90 years...

Best Film: CODA

I've a feeling I'm going to be wrong here. It seems silly to fly in the face of three major awards bodies (BAFTA, Golden Globes, and Critics Choice) but my gut feeling is that CODA is going to pull off a surprise Best Picture win (or is it wishful thinking?) If The Power Of The Dog does win, I'm not exactly going to be mad about it (as a film, it's certainly got its positives) but CODA would be a worthy winner- and its surprise win at the Producers' Guild Awards shouldn't be discounted. 

In a different year, I think Emilia Jones and Marlee Matlin would have been joining Troy Kotsur in the acting categories for their powerful performances; Jones, especially, should be heading for the stratosphere after this. The script is tight and heartfelt, shot through with humour perfectly balancing the drama; the direction is unfussy and clean (it's beautifully shot throughout); the casting of Deaf actors to play Deaf characters and the frequent use of American Sign Language is a huge step forward for representation on-screen. 

It's poignant without ever being mawkish or sentimental or twee; it highlights issues without ever feeling like a polemic (or falling into TV-movie-of-the-week clichés). It is a real feel-good film and for it to take the biggest prize of the night would be a real feel-good ending to this awards season.

These aren't official predictions, but I'd like to see Belfast and CODA win the Original and Adapted Screenplay categories, Ari Wegner win Best Cinematography for The Power Of The Dog (making her the first female cinematographer to win, after becoming only the second woman to be nominated for the award), and "No Time To Die" to win Best Original Song. That said, I won't be mad if "Dos Oruguitas" from Encanto takes it, as that means Lin-Manuel Miranda will complete the EGOT. 

I've a feeling Dune will be taking home the most awards (I think it'll do well in the craft awards) and I'd love to see Flee win something, but I think that Summer Of Soul, Encanto, and Drive My Car will take the relevant categories. 

I'll be watching the Oscars broadcast tonight (well, early hours of Monday morning) and will update with my thoughts on the ceremony and all the winners as soon as I can once it finishes.

Awards Season 2021: Producers' Guild Awards (PGA) Winners and Writers' Guild Awards (WGA) Winners

It's Oscars week! 

Yep, the annual parade of self-congratulatory flim-flam ends on Sunday (who said "hooray!"?) with the 94th Academy Awards. There are a few more awards bodies to still give out their trophies, and two of the major guilds did just that this past weekend. 

PRODUCERS' GUILD AWARDS

The Producers Guild Awards (PGA) were handed out on Saturday (19th March). The film winners are:

Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures: CODA

Documentary Film: Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)

Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures: Encanto

This makes things interesting. CODA's win has taken a lot of people by surprise, and it's potentially a sign that Academy voters are perhaps not as enamoured with The Power Of The Dog as they once were. Crucially, final voting for the Oscars is still open (it closes on March 22nd) so this might make a difference. 

As previous years have shown, a PGA win doesn't automatically equate to a Best Picture Oscar win, but there's a great deal of overlap between the two. The Documentary and Animated Feature winners were not surprises.

WRITERS' GUILD AWARDS

The Writers' Guild Awards (WGA) were given out yesterday (Sunday 20th March). The film winners were:

Original Screenplay: Don't Look Up

Adapted Screenplay: CODA

Documentary Screenplay: Exposing Muybridge

Both Don't Look Up and CODA are nominated in their respective categories for the Oscars, so they may well repeat this success this weekend. However, CODA may face competition from The Lost Daughter and The Power Of The Dog (both of which weren't eligible for WGA consideration but were for the Oscars). Likewise, Don't Look Up could potentially lose out to Belfast.  

And, for anyone who's interested, Exposing Muybridge (written and directed by Marc Shaffer) is about trailblazing 19th-century photographer Eadweard Muybridge (crazy spelling, crazy guy), who was the first photographer to capture something moving faster than the human eye can see: Leland Stanford's galloping horses. 

Congratulations to all winners!

So it's the Razzies that are next to be announced; that'll be on Saturday 26th March (back to their traditional "Oscar Eve" date). 

Awards Season 2022: Directors' Guild Awards (DGA) Winners, BAFTA Film Awards Winners, and Critics Choice Awards Winners

 

Amazing, isn't it? You wait a week for some awards news and then- like buses- three lots turn up at once! Our awards cup metaphorically (and potentially physically) runneth over...

Yep, lots of awards goodness for y'all today, so let's jump in!

DIRECTORS GUILD AWARDS

On Saturday (12th March), the Directors' Guild Awards (DGA) were handed out. The film winners are:

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Films: Jane Campion (The Power Of The Dog)

Outstanding Directorial Achievement of a First-Time Feature Film Director: Maggie Gyllenhaal (The Lost Daughter)

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Movies for Television and Miniseries: Barry Jenkins (The Underground Railroad)

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary: Stanley Nelson (Attica)

Campion becomes the third female director to win the DGA, and is surely odds-on favourite to win the Oscar. [Spoiler alert: this isn't Campion's first Best Director win of the weekend.] This year also marks the first time that female directors have won both the Feature Film and First-Time Feature Film awards. 

BAFTA FILM AWARDS

Yesterday evening (13th March 2022), at the Royal Albert Hall, the 75th British Academy Film Awards were given out in a star-studded ceremony, hosted for the first time by Rebel Wilson. 

Lady Gaga, Salma Hayek, Stephen Graham, Troy Kotsur, Ariana DeBose, Joanna Scanlan, Caitriona Balfe, Sebastian Stan, Florence Pugh, Rachel Zegler, Benedict Cumberbatch, Lashana Lynch, Tom Hiddleston, and Kodi Smith-McPhee were among some of the stars in attendance to celebrate the best in film in a very different ceremony to the two-day, socially-distanced, and Zoom-heavy event held in 2021.

Here's a full list of BAFTA winners.

Best Film: The Power of the Dog

Outstanding British Film: Belfast

Leading Actor: Will Smith (King Richard)

Leading Actress: Joanna Scanlan (After Love)

Supporting Actor: Troy Kotsur (CODA)

Supporting Actress: Ariana DeBose (West Side Story)

Director: Jane Campion (The Power of the Dog)

Original Screenplay: Licorice Pizza

Adapted Screenplay: CODA

Outstanding Debut By A British Writer, Director Or Producer: Jeymes Samuel (writer/director) (The Harder They Fall) 

Animated Film: Encanto

Documentary: Summer of Soul (Or, When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised)

Film Not In The English Language: Drive My Car

Cinematography: Dune

Costume Design: Cruella

Editing: No Time To Die

Make Up And Hair: The Eyes Of Tammy Faye

Original Music: Dune

Production Design: Dune

Sound: Dune

Special Visual Effects: Dune

Casting: West Side Story

Short Animation: Do Not Feed The Pigeons

Short Film: The Black Cop

Rising Star: Lashana Lynch

Dune was the big winner of the night, taking home five Baftas. West Side Story, CODA, and The Power Of The Dog all took home two apiece. 

Despite multiple nominations, there was no love for Passing, House Of Gucci, Don't Look Up, Cyrano, or The French Dispatch. 

A couple of surprises in the BAFTA results: one bloody lovely one with Joanna Scanlan taking home Best Actress (and, yes, whilst the BAFTAs do tend to skew towards British talent, it's still a remarkable achievement). By that same token, I was surprised that Will Smith won Best Actor, as I was expecting it to go to Benedict Cumberbatch. Dune's dominance in the craft awards wasn't so much of a surprise, and it's something I would think will carry through to the Oscars. 

CRITICS CHOICE AWARDS

Also yesterday (13th March 2022), the 27th Critics Choice Awards were handed out. Taye Diggs returned for a fourth consecutive time as host, joined by Nicole Byer (Nailed It!, Brooklyn Nine-Nine). 

These were originally due to be given out at the start of January but the ceremony was delayed due to COVID-related concerns. It just so happened that the new date coincided with the BAFTAs. Awkward...

Here are a full list of the Critics' Choice Awards movie winners: 

Best Picture: The Power Of The Dog

Best Actor: Will Smith (King Richard)

Best Actress: Jessica Chastain (The Eyes Of Tammy Faye)

Best Supporting Actor: Troy Kotsur (CODA)

Best Supporting Actress: Ariana DeBose (West Side Story)

Best Acting Ensemble: Belfast

Best Director: Jane Campion (The Power Of The Dog)

Best Original Screenplay: Belfast

Best Adapted Screenplay: The Power Of The Dog

Best Comedy: Licorice Pizza

Best Foreign Language Film: Drive My Car

Best Animated Feature: The Mitchells Vs. The Machines

Best Score: Dune

Best Song: "No Time To Die" (No Time To Die)

Best Production Design: Dune

Best Editing: West Side Story

Best Costume Design: Cruella

Best Hair & Makeup: The Eyes Of Tammy Faye

Best Visual Effects: Dune

Best Cinematography: The Power Of The Dog

Best Young Actor/Actress: Jude Hill (Belfast)

The Power Of The Dog was the big winner, with four awards. Belfast and Dune have three apiece. 

So where does all of this leave the Oscars race? Honestly, anything can happen and it's not a done deal until you hear "And the Oscar goes to..." (although even then it's not always guaranteed; hi, La La Land). That said, I would say Will Smith, Troy Kotsur, Ariana DeBose, and Jane Campion wouldn't be overly presumptuous to clear some space on the mantelpiece for a certain statuette. The big variable is Best Actress; unlike the other acting categories, there hasn't been a runaway winner (although Chastain's win here, coupled with the SAG Award, potentially boosts her chances). As it stands, I've only seen two of the five Best Actress nominees so I can't really judge at the moment. Definitely have a bit of catching up to do...

Congratulations to all winners!

We are getting to the sharp end of the 2022 awards season, with just two weeks until the 94th Academy Awards. But before we get there, next weekend (19th/20th March) will see the other major guilds- the Producers' Guild and the Writers' Guild- announce the winners of their respective awards. 

You can rest assured the update about those will be a damn sight shorter than this one!

Awards Season 2022: Independent Spirit Awards Winners

[As it turns out, I had enough time to put this update out before heading off to Brighton. Least you don't have to wait a week for these results.] 

Last night (Sunday 6th March) the 37th Film Independent Spirit Awards took place. As I'm sure you all know by now, they recognise films made wholly or partly outside the traditional studio system. 

The awards were handed out in an in-person event at the traditional beachside tent in Santa Monica, hosted by husband-and-wife team Nick Offerman (Parks And Recreation) and Megan Mullally (Will & Grace). Things almost feel back to how they were BC (Before COVID) with one exception: instead of one day before the Oscars, the Spirit Awards were being held three weeks before. Not sure whether this will be a permanent change or if it's just for this year. 

Here's a full list of winners. 

Best Feature: The Lost Daughter

Best Female Lead: Taylour Paige (Zola)

Best Male Lead: Simon Rex (Red Rocket)

Best Supporting Female: Ruth Negga (Passing)

Best Supporting Male: Troy Kotsur (CODA)

Best Director: Maggie Gyllenhaal (The Lost Daughter)

Best Screenplay: Maggie Gyllenhaal (The Lost Daughter)

Best First Screenplay: Michael Sarnoski and Vanessa Block (Pig)

Best Cinematography: Passing

Best Editing: Zola

Best First Feature: 7 Days

Best International Film: Drive My Car

Best Documentary: Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)

John Cassavetes Award: Shiva Baby

Robert Altman Award: Mass

The John Cassavetes Award is given to the creative team of a film budgeted at less than $500,000, whilst the Robert Altman Award is presented to the ensemble cast of the movie, its director, and its casting director(s). 

The Lost Daughter leads the winners with three awards, whilst Zola and Passing each get two. 

Congratulations to all winners!

We've got an awards-heavy weekend coming up, with the Directors Guild Awards (DGA) on Saturday 12th March, followed by the BAFTA Film Awards AND the Critics' Choice Awards on Sunday 13th March. 

Awards Season 2022: Screen Actors' Guild (SAG) Awards Winners

Just a quick update for you today, to let you know the film winners from the 28th Screen Actors Guild Awards, held last night (Sunday 27th February) at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California:

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture

CODA

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role

Will Smith (King Richard)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role

Jessica Chastain (The Eyes Of Tammy Faye)

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role

Troy Kotsur (CODA)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role

Ariana DeBose (West Side Story)

Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture

No Time To Die

It's always nice when awards bodies shake things up and make it feel less like a coronation and more of a competition.

Whilst Troy Kotsur's performance has been nominated multiple times throughout this awards season, this is his first win (with Oscar frontrunner Kodi Smit-McPhee previously winning the Golden Globe for his turn in The Power Of The Dog). CODA's Best Cast win seemed to come as a big surprise to a lot of people, not least actress Marlee Matlin (who plays Kotsur's wife). 

Whilst we're on the subject of shaking things up, Chastain's win for playing disgraced televangelist Tammy Faye Bakker has also put the metaphorical cat amongst the pigeons, especially as a) Nicole Kidman won the Golden Globe, and b) none of the Best Actress Oscar nominees were also nominated for a BAFTA. It'll be interesting to see how things pan out over the next few weeks.  

Helen Mirren was this year's recipient of the SAG Life Achievement Award, following in the footsteps of such figures as Betty White, Rita Moreno, Julie Andrews, and Lily Tomlin. 

In the television categories, Korean action drama Squid Game took home three awards whilst Ted Lasso won two, and Kate Winslet was awarded Outstanding Performance By A Female Actor in a Television Movie or Limited Series for Mare Of Easttown. 

Congratulations to all winners!

Next stop with awards season is this Sunday (6th March) with the Independent Spirit Awards, bucking tradition and being handed out weeks before the Oscars rather than the day before. 

[For the handful of people who may care, this is to let you know that there might be a delay with the blog featuring the Spirit Awards winners as Awards Guru (TM) Tez- i.e. the only one of the Watchers who is actually bothered about this frippery- is on holiday next week, and the results might not be available before he goes. He'll make every attempt to get the post sorted before he heads off, but- if he's not able to- he'll discuss the results when he's back on Friday 11th March] 

Awards Season 2022: Academy Award Nominations

As announced earlier this afternoon, here are some of the official nominations for the 94th Academy Awards:

BEST PICTURE

Belfast

CODA

Don't Look Up

Drive My Car

Dune

King Richard

Licorice Pizza

Nightmare Alley

The Power Of The Dog

West Side Story

BEST DIRECTOR

Paul Thomas Anderson (Licorice Pizza)

Kenneth Branagh (Belfast)

Jane Campion (The Power Of The Dog)

Ryûsuke Hamaguchi (Drive My Car) 

Steven Spielberg (West Side Story)

BEST ACTOR

Javier Bardem (Being The Ricardos)

Benedict Cumberbatch (The Power Of The Dog)

Andrew Garfield (tick, tick... Boom!)

Will Smith (King Richard)

Denzel Washington (The Tragedy Of Macbeth)

BEST ACTRESS

Jessica Chastain (The Eyes Of Tammy Faye)

Olivia Colman (The Lost Daughter)

Penélope Cruz (Parallel Mothers)

Nicole Kidman (Being The Ricardos)

Kristen Stewart (Spencer)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Ciarán Hinds (Belfast)

Troy Kotsur (CODA)

Jesse Plemons (The Power Of The Dog)

J.K. Simmons (Being The Ricardos)

Kodi Smit-McPhee (The Power Of The Dog)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Jessie Buckley (The Lost Daughter)

Ariana DeBose (West Side Story)

Judi Dench (Belfast)

Kirsten Dunst (The Power Of The Dog)

Aunjanue Ellis (King Richard)

A full list of nominees can be found here. 

So, if I've done my maths right, I make that 26/35 (74%). I've had better years, but it's still a decent showing. 

A couple of big surprises- notably the absence of Lady Gaga in Best Actress (with House Of Gucci only receiving one nod in total [in the Make-up and Hairstyling category, and thankfully ignoring Jared Leto's atrocious supporting turn]). I also wonder if now Kristen Stewart will be giving a shit about Oscar nominations- now she actually has one! I was holding off on watching Spencer because, based on the trailers, it felt like it was going to be a  case of a very good performance in a not-very-good film. I will report back. 

I was pleasantly surprised to see both Jesse Plemons and J.K. Simmons named in Best Supporting Actor, and am also chuffed to see Jessie Buckley get her nod for The Lost Daughter. I'm surprised that it's Judi Dench who's been nominated for Best Supporting Actress, as it's been Caitriona Balfe's name in contention right up til now. 

For those stat nerds amongst you, the 2021 version of West Side Story received fewer overall Oscar nods than the 1961 original (with seven v. 11), but the 2021 version of Dune has considerably more than its 1984 predecessor (10 v. a solitary Best Sound nod). 

The Power Of The Dog leads the pack with 12 nominations, with Dune in second place with 10. 

Congratulations to all nominees!

The 94th Academy Awards will be held on Sunday 27th March 2022, at the Dolby Theatre at the Hollywood & Highland Center. 

For the first time since 2018, the Oscars will have a host, who has yet to be announced. I've heard a rumour that Steve Martin might be back with his Only Murders In The Building co-stars Martin Short and Selena Gomez. That would be an interesting take.  

You'll be pleased to know there's a good fortnight before there's any more awards nonsense; our next stop will be the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards which will be given out on Tuesday February 22nd.

Awards Season 2022: Tez's Official Academy Award Nomination Predictions

Tomorrow morning, the nominations for the 94th Academy Awards will be announced. This year, they will be announced by Tracee Ellis Ross (Black-ish, Girlfriends) and Leslie Jordan (Will & Grace, American Horror Story)

Since 2003, I have tried to predict who will be nominated in several of the major categories (Best Picture, Best Director and the four acting awards). It's a sobering thought that I've been at this for nearly two decades. 

Below is my list of who I think will be named tomorrow.

As of this year, the Academy have committed to there being 10 Best Picture nominees. 

BEST PICTURE

Being The Ricardos

Belfast

CODA

Don't Look Up

Dune

King Richard

Licorice Pizza

The Power Of The Dog

tick, tick... Boom!

West Side Story

BEST DIRECTOR

Paul Thomas Anderson (Licorice Pizza)

Kenneth Branagh (Belfast)

Jane Campion (The Power Of The Dog)

Steven Spielberg (West Side Story)

Denis Villeneuve (Dune)

BEST ACTOR

Javier Bardem (Being The Ricardos)

Benedict Cumberbatch (The Power Of The Dog)

Andrew Garfield (tick, tick... Boom!)

Will Smith (King Richard)

Denzel Washington (The Tragedy Of Macbeth)

BEST ACTRESS 

Jessica Chastain (The Eyes Of Tammy Faye)

Olivia Colman (The Lost Daughter)

Lady Gaga (House Of Gucci)

Alana Haim (Licorice Pizza)

Nicole Kidman (Being The Ricardos)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Ben Affleck (The Tender Bar)

Jamie Dornan (Belfast)

Ciarán Hinds (Belfast)

Troy Kotsur (CODA)

Kodi Smit-McPhee (The Power Of The Dog)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Caitriona Balfe (Belfast)

Ariana DeBose (West Side Story)

Kirsten Dunst (The Power Of The Dog)

Aunjanue Ellis (King Richard)

Ruth Negga (Passing)

As we now have 10 Best Picture nominees (in addition to the 20 for acting and 5 for directing), I will be happy with any score over 20. Last year, it was 29/33 (88%). 

With Best Picture, I struggled to get 10 nominees (basically padding the list with a couple of entries). We might see Nightmare Alley or House Of Gucci sneak in in place of possibly Being The Ricardos and/or tick, tick... Boom! but I'm fairly confident of at least 7 of the names on there. 

I decided to go with the DGA nominees, although a surprise left-field nomination for Ryûsuke Hamaguchi (Drive My Car) could be possible, or Maggie Gyllenhaal receiving a nod for The Lost Daughter. 

I feel confident in 4 of the 5 Best Actor nods, although Mahershala Ali (Swan Song), Leonardo DiCaprio (Don't Look Up), or Peter Dinklage (Cyrano) could well take Bardem's place. Similarly, with Best Actress, there's a strong core- Chastain, Colman, Kidman, Gaga- and, whilst I've gone for Alana Haim, it wouldn't be a massive surprise to see either Jennifer Hudson (Respect) or Kristen Stewart (Spencer) in that place.

For me, Best Supporting Actor is the category that's potentially the most open; I feel that Hinds, Kotsur, and Smit-McPhee are locked in, but there's two other slots which have had a variety of different names attached. 

Sadly one of those names is Jared Leto for House Of Gucci which, frankly, is mind-boggling; it's easily one of the worst performances I've seen on film in the last decade, deserving of as much scorn and derision as the Razzies have mustered, rather than Academy consideration.  

Bradley Cooper could sneak in for his turn as Barbra Streisand's boyfriend in Licorice Pizza, or (and I'd be delighted if this did happen) J.K. Simmons gets another nod, for playing William Frawley (the actor who played Fred in I Love Lucy) in Being The Ricardos. 

As for Best Supporting Actress? Potentially you could see Ann Dowd (Mass) or Jessie Buckley (The Lost Daughter), but I feel it's unlikely. 

The nominations will be announced tomorrow afternoon (around 1:20pm GMT) - there'll be a post up as soon as I can afterwards with the official nominations.

Awards Season 2022: BAFTA Film Awards Nominations

The nominations for the 75th British Academy (BAFTA) Film Awards were announced this afternoon, by Tom Allen (Bake Off: The Professionals, Live At The Apollo) and A.J. Odudu (Big Brother's Bit On The Side, Strictly Come Dancing) at the organisation's newly redeveloped London headquarters, BAFTA195 Piccadilly.

Like last year's announcement, this year's took place at a much more agreeable time of 12:10pm. After a couple of technical issues, and a lot of cringy "banter", nominees in several major categories were announced. 

Here's a selection of the nominees:

BEST FILM

Belfast

Don't Look Up

Dune

Licorice Pizza

The Power of the Dog

OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM

After Love

Ali & Ava

Belfast

Boiling Point

Cyrano

Everybody's Talking About Jamie

House of Gucci

Last Night in Soho

No Time To Die

Passing

LEADING ACTOR

Adeel Akhtar (Ali & Ava)

Mahershala Ali (Swan Song)

Benedict Cumberbatch (The Power of the Dog)

Leonardo DiCaprio (Don't Look Up)

Stephen Graham (Boiling Point)

Will Smith (King Richard)

LEADING ACTRESS 

Lady Gaga (House of Gucci)

Alana Haim (Licorice Pizza)

Emilia Jones (CODA)

Renate Reinsve (The Worst Person in the World)

Joanna Scanlan (After Love)

Tessa Thompson (Passing)

SUPPORTING ACTOR

Mike Faist (West Side Story)

Ciarán Hinds (Belfast)

Troy Kotsur (CODA)

Woody Norman (C’mon C’mon)

Jesse Plemons (The Power of the Dog)

Kodi Smit-McPhee (The Power of the Dog)

SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Caitríona Balfe (Belfast)

Jessie Buckley (The Lost Daughter)

Ariana DeBose (West Side Story)

Ann Dowd (Mass)

Aunjanue Ellis (King Richard)

Ruth Negga (Passing)

DIRECTOR

Paul Thomas Anderson (Licorice Pizza)

Jane Campion (The Power of the Dog)

Audrey Diwan (Happening)

Julia Ducournau (Titane)

Ryûsuke Hamaguchi (Drive My Car)

Aleem Khan (After Love)

A full list of nominees in all categories can be found here.

As they did last year, BAFTA had previously announced longlists for all categories, so you can see what was in contention for nominations here. 

Dune leads the field with 11 nominations across all categories, with The Power Of The Dog in second with 8.

Some interesting omissions- notably Olivia Colman, Andrew Garfield and Kirsten Dunst in the acting categories, and Kenneth Branagh in Best Director- although I don't think this will affect their Oscar chances too greatly. I was happy to see Aaron Sorkin's script for Being The Ricardos recognised in the Best Original Screenplay category, and Everybody's Talking About Jamie in Outstanding British Film. 

The nominees for the 2022 Rising Star award - the only BAFTA awarded by public vote- have also been announced: this year's nominees are Ariana DeBose, Harris Dickinson, Lashana Lynch, Millicent Simmonds, and Kodi Smit-McPhee. Find out more about them, and cast your vote here.

The 75th BAFTA Film Awards will be handed out on Sunday 13th March 2022 in an in-person ceremony at the Royal Albert Hall, with Rebel Wilson (Pitch Perfect, Bridesmaids) taking hosting duties. 

[Somewhat awkwardly, this is also the date that the rescheduled Critics Choice Awards will also take place.]

Congratulations to all nominees!

We are getting to the sharp end of the awards nominations now, with the Razzies due to announce theirs on Monday (7th February) and the Oscars on Tuesday (8th February).

I'll be making my Oscar nomination predictions as usual; expect them at some point on Monday.